Singing the Body Electric

Fandom 50 #17

It's not an exaggeration to say that my entire fifty-song list hinged on my choice for 1993. This was the year that had the greatest number of favourite songs by favourite bands vying for a single space, and whatever I slotted in had a domino effect spanning almost forty years as I prioritized finding other spots for the bands that didn't win out.

Was 1993 just a stellar year for Canadian music? Possibly. I think in general there was a maturing alternative sound in the air, not just in the mainstream breakthrough of grunge but people doing interesting things with folk, country, adult contemporary, and what used to be called college rock. There was a lot of accessibly different stuff out there getting radio play.

But I think it's mostly just that I was nine years old in 1993, had my first job (delivering the Pennysaver), and had the money to buy cassettes for myself for the first time. I had a hand-me-down Walkman too, and even though I'd got it because the tape player part had stopped working, it still functioned as a portable FM radio. My sister was old enough to have a proper after-school job, and she brought even more new music into the house that I was eager to borrow. Totally with permission, every time.

In short, 1993 was the year I started discovering my own music, and nothing hits like that.

Settling on Crash Test Dummies was partly a practical choice based on the logic puzzle I inadvertently created for myself and partly because God Shuffled His Feet just still thoroughly delights me as an album. And this song in particular seemed a fitting one to share thirty-some years later in my life.

Afternoons & Coffeespoons by Crash Test Dummies

Fandom 50 #15

1991 was one of the years with several contenders, but I knew I had to get some early Sarah McLachlan in here.

Into the Fire by Sarah McLachlan

Fandom 50 #12

There were a lot of Leonard Cohen songs in the running, but his 1988 I'm Your Man album fit tidily into the lineup, and this is one of the tracks on it that I'm always in the mood to listen to. (That said, I might also be sneaking in a cover of a Cohen song later on in the series.)

Everybody Knows by Leonard Cohen

Title: Here We Are
Fandom: Chance (2015)
Relationships: Amir Abbas/Trevor Bunting
Rating: General
Word Count: ~850
Content Info: n/a
Summary: An early morning during the first Ramadan of Trevor and Amir's marriage.
Notes: Written for the 2026 round of bethefirst. This story is also available on AO3.

The short film this fic is based on was made available for free online by its director, and I really recommend it if you're in the mood for a very sweet later in life romance between a socially isolated widower and a refugee fleeing state violence with his own loss who meet in a London park one day and offer each other a new lease on life.



( Here We Are )

I won't have a chance to tuck in until tomorrow, but this year's bethefirst collection is open!

This challenge involves writing the first fic for a fandom, and this time out there are 37 fics with 37 newly minted fandom tags, ranging from early 20th century contemporary novels to fantasy webcomics, horror podcasts, and art films.

The Collection on AO3

The Fic List on DW (since most fandoms aren't wrangled on AO3 yet)