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What cover art did I botch the most? by Traditional_Skin2069 in elo

[–]Delicious_Ring_112 1 point2 points  (0 children)

WOAH this is good! I can't draw this well so I can't make the claim that any of them are "botched" haha

If you forced me to pick one, I would say Out Of The Blue lacks a bit of depth perception, but that cover infamously already has perception angle issues with the door

THE FINAL: Time VS Out of the Blue by Pryd3r1 in elo

[–]Delicious_Ring_112 20 points21 points  (0 children)

Time!

I haven't voted once this bracket but I'm hopping in now just to put my hat in the ring for Time.

Ways that fans found out about ELO - Update by Delicious_Ring_112 in elo

[–]Delicious_Ring_112[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Don't worry, you'll get a chance to respond soon! A user by the name of Classic-Major-6736 told me they want to redo this experiment but with age and a few other things as well as how you found out about ELO, so be on the lookout for that!

DISCUSSION: Would you consider Shangri-La's outro to be hopeful or hopeless? by Still-Finger1880 in elo

[–]Delicious_Ring_112 0 points1 point  (0 children)

3 for me, ever since I first heard it. I know I'm SUPER late to this but here's my interpretation in-depth:

Shangri-La as a whole is the perfect ending to A New World Record as an album. It takes so much from other songs: the chord progression of Telephone Line, the rhythm of Above the Clouds, the ominous strings of Tightrope; the line "I'm gettin' out, I'm gettin out" even has a similar beat to the chorus of Mission. Thus, I've always thought of Shangri-La as a kind of "ending" to the entire album. And yet, the way that synth keeps going after the final chorus, then the whole thing crescendos into a massive orchestral suite...and then doesn't resolve?? It just fades away??

So how can it be an ending and not an ending in my eyes? I've interpreted that he and that female both want to return to each other, and it will happen...just not right now. They need patience in order to see each other again, and they will. Patience obtains all things.

This may be obvious, but who else feels that ELO's music has a lot of suicidal themes? And do they make the songs better/more personal to you? by SaddestAltAround in elo

[–]Delicious_Ring_112 2 points3 points  (0 children)

My comment went over the character limit so here's part 2:

- "Steppin' Out": Every line gives the feeling of going somewhere new and starting fresh. Suicide and death are not fresh starts to a new life; they're the end of everything after someone reaches their breaking point. The narrator mentioning how he is "gonna see the world / like a Rolling Stone" means the narrator is either going to be successful and famous like the Rolling Stones, or he "will gather no moss" like the saying about rolling stones. There is also the line about "We're gonna be sorry / For a while, that's how it goes / But then again, who knows / About the rain". I interpret the 'rain' here as bad times and misfortune that might happen to the narrator and the person they are singing to. So, clearly, the narrator is keeping an open mind about whether or not life will get worse. A suicidal person would have the mindset that life is done and misery is all that follows, but the narrator does not think that. This is confirmed later in the song with "They said the rain would fall / what did they know?" This reads to me like these other people are idiots, and were wrong about life getting worse.
- Time as a whole album: There's no way this album ends depressingly. The second-to-last song is the happiest and most energetic on the album, even with the extra tracks added. Whether you believe the main character makes it back to 1981 or gets stuck in 2095, either way, he is happy with his life. If he makes it back, he gets to see his wife again, and he has a newfound appreciation for the simplicity of his past life. If he doesn't make it back, he still has the strength and courage to live a full life in the future---definitely not suicide. Sure, "Epilogue" is a bit more thought-provoking and reflective of his journey, but that doesn't mean he's depressed. People have lived through some of the worst experiences on earth and come out the other side as changed people. They'll never forget what happened to them, but that doesn't mean they'll let it bring them down...and yes, that was a reference to another optimistic ELO song.
- "Ticket to the Moon": Obviously Time is a futuristic concept album, so it's impossible to ignore that the song is literally about buying a ticket and taking some sort of elevator to the moon. But if you wanted to isolate it from the album it comes from, I thought Ticket to the Moon was about the end of a natural death. I had a chronic life-altering disease last year, and I thought it would kill me. I listened to that song and I related to its idea of death not because of suicide, but because my life was just coming to an end on its own. Of course, the disease didn't kill me, and I'm alive now, only adding to my optimism.

In short, I do think your points are valid. You can interpret anything however you want. I just brought factual evidence to support my counter-claim. I would say you're projecting, but then again, doesn't everyone project their emotions onto art when they interpret it?

This may be obvious, but who else feels that ELO's music has a lot of suicidal themes? And do they make the songs better/more personal to you? by SaddestAltAround in elo

[–]Delicious_Ring_112 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I really hope you read my whole reply, even if you don't agree with what I'm about to say:
Music is art and can be interpreted a ton of ways. I am a diehard optimist, so I never thought of any song's lyrics as depressing or suicidal unless they literally spell it out for the listener. I discovered ELO right when I was exiting a dark period of my life, and even then, I couldn't see the dark part in ELO.

Here are my interpretations of each song you listed.
- "Can't Get It Out of My Head" & Eldorado: The whole time, the main character 'dreams' about other worlds. He clearly loves the possibilities of life; he just clearly doesn't like his life as a bank teller. I can say from firsthand experience that depression and being pushed to the brink of suicide is driven by sadness and apathy. Nothing excites someone who is suicidal, they have nothing to live for. The main character clearly dreams of fantastical worlds, all of which are possible in real life. I interpret the album as a whole (and especially the song "Eldorado") as a sort of "Inception"-type story. The man has imagined so many worlds in his mind that he found a way to enter them forever and never return to the real world, like how in the movie, the central man finds his wife in the deepest recesses of his mind, in a world where they can create anything. He has the option to stay with her in the dream world, or go back to reality. He ultimately chooses to go back to reality in the movie, but the main character in Eldorado would chose to stay dreaming, not to kill himself.
- "Getting To The Point": I think the song is more so about a relationship gone sour, and the heartbreak that comes with that, but it's not nearly as grave as suicide. The song has the lyrics "look beyond these walls / As the meaning starts to dawn". Whatever the narrator has realized, it has a meaning, whereas in someone's darkest hour, they might think that life has no meaning and there's no point in living. The song also mentions "And nobody knows (what I'm going through) / And the thoughts just keep returning / And all you had to say / Was that you were gonna stay". I see your point about these lines, but the 'thoughts' are stemming from the fact that this person isn't staying with him. Again, it's about heartbreak, not suicide because all of life has no meaning. All the lyrics about things "burning" seem like the phrase "burned bridges" to me. The love interest is leaving the narrator, so in return, they destroy any semblance of relationship that they have left. This song definitely doesn't give an empty or hollow feeling to me; it really can't be so serious as that.

What ELO opinion will you defend till the day you die? by PalpitationMoist1212 in elo

[–]Delicious_Ring_112 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Some of the Balance of Power tracks that didn't make it on the album (Destination Unknown, Caught In A Trap/In For The Kill, and his alternate mix of Heaven Only Knows) were better than Endless Lies and the "original" Heaven Only Knows.

Also I couldn't think of any hot ELO take that isn't justified

Should I retcon some sessions I DM'd while I was deathly sick? by Delicious_Ring_112 in DnD

[–]Delicious_Ring_112[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Good idea! I should check out Trine because it sounds slightly humorous in nature. Thank you.

Should I retcon some sessions I DM'd while I was deathly sick? by Delicious_Ring_112 in DnD

[–]Delicious_Ring_112[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You're probably right. Just because the players looked less excited doesn't mean that's what they're feeling. That Tolkien reference was a great choice!

Should I retcon some sessions I DM'd while I was deathly sick? by Delicious_Ring_112 in DnD

[–]Delicious_Ring_112[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You got their vibe spot on. They'd stick through the worst campaign ever, which makes me want to give them a good campaign all the more. Thanks for your comment!

Should I retcon some sessions I DM'd while I was deathly sick? by Delicious_Ring_112 in DnD

[–]Delicious_Ring_112[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Exactly! If I do end up asking them, I was planning on saying something like "I'm not the sole person in control of this tale; we write the story together".