jukebox_fest revealed!

[yelp]

I'm trying out some new exchanges this year, and this turned out to be a very fun one! As someone who mostly requests tiny fandoms, it was nice to feel like everyone was on equal footing, more or less, since it takes no more than a few minutes to consume each "canon". It was such an exciting moment for me to check the sign-up summary and see offers for my requests! Plural!! 

 

To figure out my own offers, I listened my way through all the songs during signups, and was captivated by this music video. It was so atmospheric and engrossing yet left me with so many questions. I'm very pleased I got the chance to try to answer them with No Delusions of Grandeur, Just Grandeur (one of the few comprehensible lyrics in the song, hehe). I'm mostly happy with how it turned out, though I worry it's not as polished as I usually like my exchange work to be. (I overestimated the amount of energy I'd have for writing/revisions while taking a work trip + ensuing jetlag, and didn't manage nearly as many revision passes as I normally would.) I'm curious whether I'll be able to feel the difference when I reread in the future, or if all the rough corners I think I'm sawing off during revisions are just in my head!

Because all the works were based on songs/music videos, I found it really easy to read through the collection during the anonymous period. The barrier to entry was similarly low as for Original Work, with the added dimension of also getting to see how the creator spun the source material. I ended up reading about 90% of the collection during the anonymous period, and left 48 comments. During this time, I saw someone else also commenting widely, and sent mental good vibes to them as we crossed paths on our journey (especially when they commented on my fic, heh). 

 

The exchange was also an excellent way to discover new music! As mentioned, I listened to all the nominated songs, and came out with a lot of new Spotify likes. Some of my favorites:

• The Curse of the Blackened Eye (Orville Peck) - I actually listened to this one a lot when writing my fic for this exchange. It has such a chill, meditative beat - perfect for writing to! 
• Sweet Jezebel (Mean Mary) - there were two great fics in the collection for The Guitar, which I also liked a lot, but sadly none for this one, which to me had a similar vibe. The storytelling and singing in this were both great!
• Anthem for the Already Defeated (Rock Plaza Central) - I didn't watch the video for this (I don't remember whether it was nominated as a song or MV), but I found the tune very catchy in an edgy, emo way.
• Hoist up the Thing (The Longest Johns) - This was just a lot of fun and put a huge smile on my face!