Angelica Frey

I’ve been swamped with my day-job assignments but I am eager to pitch some weird features for Q4 and revive Italian Disco Stories. tips?

“It’s-a-me!” Celebrating the craft-first approach of Mario, 40 years young Over four decades, and with a plot that might, at first, ring simplistic and repetitive, Mario has endured. We dig into how Nintendo’s dedication to design and experience has kept the franchise fresh ...

What does it mean for a character to evolve without losing what made them beloved? Proud to have shared my perspective on Mario in "It’s Nice That" for his 40-year anniversary!

Thanks to @angelicafrey.bsky.social for having me.

Read:
www.itsnicethat.com/features/nin...

The Literary Inspirations for Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique - JSTOR Daily The creative works on which Hector Berlioz drew when writing his macabre and revolutionary symphony were fantastic indeed.

"A witches’ sabbath."

Today's article pick from Damn History, a free monthly newsletter for readers/writers of #popularhistory. Congrats to writer @angelicafrey.bsky.social!

Read/subscribe to Damn History: damn-history-16d93f.beehiiv.com/subscribe

daily.jstor.org/the-literary...

The Literary Inspirations for Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique - JSTOR Daily The creative works on which Hector Berlioz drew when writing his macabre and revolutionary symphony were fantastic indeed.

Given the news cycle, do what Hector Berlioz did and start imagining yourself as an artist indulging in an opium-fueled reverie, which culminates into his imagining his own death and being the centerpiece of a witches' sabbath! @jstordaily.bsky.social

daily.jstor.org/the-literary...

Explore a Digitized Edition of the Voynich Manuscript, “the World’s Most Mysterious Book” A 600-year-old manuscript—written in a script no one has ever decoded, filled with cryptic illustrations, its origins remaining to this day a mystery…. It’s not as satisfying a plot, say, of a Nationa...

Explore a Digitized Edition of the Voynich Manuscript, “the World’s Most Mysterious Book”

2024 was the year of the 'Chad' From protein bar packing to jawline gum, alpha male aesthetics ruled 2024.

How do you write about things that touch on RW culture without making it seem like you're dogwhistling? I think one ought to document its main tenets, but based on what I read in the wild, people seem to get a kick out of it.

I've been there, trust me : www.fastcompany.com/91249481/202...

Valerie Dore's "The Legend" Valerie Dore’s 1986 album The Legend, which tackles the Matter of Britain, aka Camelot aka Arthurian legends with typical Italo arrangements and instrumentations.

I co-write one of the best music newsletters which repeatedly gets endorsed....and copied).
Our latest instalment is on the 1986 Italo concept album "The Legend," a bizarre work mixing synths, 4/4 and Arthurian legends.

www.italiandiscostories.com/p/valerie-do...

Should I get into ACOTAR? Wrong Answers Only

Who are you trying to mog/one-up when you say you want to "define taste"? There's dozens, no, thousands of these publications

Why Are Video Games So Fond of Opera? - JSTOR Daily Video games have a long history of using musical excerpts from opera and classical music, but some creators take the in-game operatic sequence even further.

I am on @jstordaily.bsky.social again with a sweet little featurette on why video games just love inserting operatic interludes here and there. It uses Tim Summers's "Opera Scenes in Video Games: Hitmen, Divas and Wagner’s Werewolves" as a basis.

daily.jstor.org/why-are-vide...

‘My voice lends itself to sadness​ –​ I carry a lot of grief’​: Rebekah Del Rio, David Lynch’s musical muse​ Before she met Lynch, Del Rio’s only hit was in the Netherlands. But her sorrowful singing in Mulholland Drive changed everything. She talks about the death of her son, being homeless and overcoming l...

I can't believe David Lynch is dead! The way he used music in his movies is something nobody could ever achieve, let alone replicate.

Tangentially related, my profile of Rebekah del Rio for @theguardian.com

www.theguardian.com/music/2022/j...

Henry Cowell’s One True Desire - JSTOR Daily To “live in the whole world of music” was all the influential, experimental composer wanted—and did, even while imprisoned at San Quentin.

I'm on @jstordaily.bsky.social w/a feature on Henry Cowell.

"I had never deliberately concerned myself with developing a distinctive personal style but only with the excitement and pleasure of writing music as beautifully, as warmly, and as interestingly as I can."

daily.jstor.org/henry-cowell...

Hand-Drawn Game Guides: Mega Man goes live in a few minutes. I really hope you like what we're doing here. I'm grateful to be able to give this another honest shot and see this project through. Thanks so much for the support. (KS link on the next post)

Also, if you're an editor and like this type of stories, which are, actually, about Europop and pop culture but not from the usual trite POV, please do reach out. I am always eager to write more!

A Link between hairstyles How Legend of Zelda matched hair to the masculinity of the moment

In 2023, I investigated the evolution of Link's haircuts from a fashion and pop-culture-history perspective, with a discourse around masculinity sprinkled in :)

www.polygon.com/23779797/zel...

Why are Final Fantasy characters always singing? Not keeping any promises

If you like this story, also give my other @polygon.com features a read. This past summer, I wrote a an impassioned essay on diegetic songs (songs perceived as songs in-universe) in Final Fantasy-turns out I was right on the interpretation of "No Promises to Keep"

www.polygon.com/24212297/fin...

Mine too! Back from school I had the pokemon-hamtaro-doremi stack. Alas I could not benefit from the 1.30-2 slot as my school let out at 4 :///

The original Pokémon anime had unique theme songs in Italy — and they’re Eurodance bangers How did Pikachu conquer the dance floor?

When @mattleone.bsky.social announced @polygon.com was putting together a localization package, I jumped right in! I interviewed Giorgio Vanni and Max Longhi about the way they combined the four-to-the-floor beat (cassa in quattro in Italian) and anime whimsy.

www.polygon.com/pokemon/4926...

The original Pokémon anime had unique theme songs in Italy — and they’re Eurodance bangers How did Pikachu conquer the dance floor?

Day two stories! www.polygon.com/pokemon/4926...

Credit for these to @angelicafrey.bsky.social, @lewisgordon.bsky.social, and @kelslewin.bsky.social

2024 was the year of the 'Chad' From protein bar packing to jawline gum, alpha male aesthetics ruled 2024.

Think the "Chad" meme is a relic of internet history? Think again.
Brands brought the Megachad to life in 2024—and Fast Company is here to tell you how and why

www.fastcompany.com/91249481/202...

Move over, Mariah! The cheesiest, weepiest, silliest, booziest European Christmas bangers Bye Bye Bing and Brenda! Bonjour Janek and Piramis! Here’s our guide to the foreign festive anthems that get the whole continent schmoozing under the mistletoe. Warning: this article contains accordio...

Christmas pop songs outside the Anglosphere? Yes please! Here are the ones we chose for The Guardian (alas the limit was 14 entries!)

www.theguardian.com/music/2024/d...

Wicked; Megalopolis; Poor Things

WELCOME BACK STEAMPUNK <3

Italian Disco Anime: When Robots Danced to the 4/4 Beat The early Italian localizations of anime themes were all about disco and cosmic sounds

It's the Year of the Lord 1978, and anime series are being pitched to Italian network TV. How do you make them more palatable? Well, you write a bespoke opening theme because the original was, back then, deemed too "weird" for the Italian auditory palate.

www.italiandiscostories.com/p/italian-an...

Italian Disco Stories | Disco Bambino & Angelica Frey | Substack Italian Disco Stories spotlights the makers, the artists, and the performers who made Italian Disco a worldwide, genre-defining phenomenon. Click to read Italian Disco Stories, a Substack publication ...

Are you following my newsletter with Giuseppe "Disco Bambino" Savoni? We're the only editorial project on Italian and Italo Disco; 2,200 followers strong.

www.italiandiscostories.com

So where do journalists and writers gather on here? Are there good calls for pitches/gigs?

Hi! After an extremely busy six-month stretch, I now have some openings in my content business and for editorial work.

I write about design, tech, fashion, and art, and I am also eager to do some gift guides

Oh thank you for this. Your book has such a cool concept! I hope I can do the same for Final Fantasy or other Square (Enix) properties <3

It's Mental Health Awareness Month. For the sake of transparency, here is how this crumbling industry impacted my own well being. I don't think my reputation can recover from this, but I owe it to my loved ones to finally move on.

The Genesis of Italian Disco (No, Not Italo Disco) American influences, early synths, and Italy's own tradition created a unique sound. Folk pop divas and showgirls alike experimented with the genre to get a career boost.

🪩Most Italian Disco hits came out following the outsized popularity Saturday Night Fever in Italy but the earliest proto-disco hits came out as early as 1974.
@disco_bambino and I try to trace the origin stories of Italian disco

italiandiscostories.substack.com/p/the-genesi...