#bolder

A prestigious clan, an entire family that played vital roles in their society for decades if not centuries, gone in one night. The head of the clan dead, the eldest MIA, and the youngest suddenly renounced the clan. The biggest player in the alcohol industry that Teyvat has to offer now has no real figurehead, and though we know that Elzer ended up picking up the pieces, it for sure took a couple years to truly reach smooth sailing again.

That's in the economics stand point.

Social is even worse. Crepus was an active member of Mondstadt, he visited the church, he was friends with many many high ranking people of all organisations (Varka, Cyrus, Seamus, Frederica, etc). His death would've rattled every organisation whether he was closely affiliated or not due to his connections.

Diluc and Kaeya were known to be so close that people often referred to them as twins despite Kaeya being younger and adopted. Diluc having been Mondstadt's youngest knight, he would've been very loved by everyone due to his outgoing nature and passion to protect. Kaeya was considered charming, polite, a sweet young man who stood next to his brother as a helping hand.

The citizens loved them.

And then suddenly, Diluc resigns without a word and leaves without a goodbye. On the same night, Kaeya was reported to be critically wounded, some rumours flying about a cryo vision and burn marks.

A few months later, Kaeya removed the Ragnvindr name from his legal documents, now only going by Alberich. It might not be a formal disownment due to him still being a minor, but it sent the message all the same.

A few months after that, he was promoted to Cavalry Captain and replaced his brother's position in the knights.

Mondstadt watched as Crepus's youngest morph into a silver-tongued charmer, walls so high that people forgot the person behind it. Most of the folks chalked it up to aging and growing up into his own person, though a select few stared at Kaeya in pity. A boy who lost it all. A polite and reserved young knight turned charmer to cope.

The entire structure of Mondstadt was shaken in a single night with no time to recover due to disasters after disasters.

One death of a prominent figure was bad enough, especially with his contributions to the core of their economy and the knights, but both his sons as well? The ENTIRE Ragnvindr family, at least legally, down in one night?

Shoutout to my Pinterest boards for holding my dreams and my Spotify for carrying my heart when I didn’t have the words. The Journey.. That Hurts Lately, I’ve been trying to look at the photos, videos, and songs that usually help me turn back into my own self. But honestly? Since there’s so much hurt in my heart and my body—physically, mentally, and emotionally—it’s just too hard right now. I…

Rumplestiltskin: Rumplestiltskin (1970)

"I'm Rumplestiltskin but I'm not a fairy tale; I'm on Bell Records ..."

So read 55-year-old promotional materials advertising this mysterious U.K. hard rock band named after the old Brothers Grimm fairy tale (correctly spelled Rumpelstiltskin, by the way), but were they truly capable of spinning musical straw into gold?

Well, I'm sure a few overzealous record collectors would want you to think so, but take it from me: the largely forgotten quintet's cunning attempt to mimic the suddenly profitable heavy rock stylings of Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, and others was highly suspect.

First you should know that singer Peter Lee Sterling, guitarist Alan Parker, keyboardist Alan Hawkshaw, bassist Herbie Flowers, and drummer Clem Cattini were all seasoned session musicians with prior experience playing pop, soul, rock, you name it, through the 1960s.

But here, they concealed their identities behind Groucho Marx mustaches and pseudonyms -- Peter Charles Greene (*), Andrew Balmain, Jeremy Eagles, Jackson Primrose, and Rupert Baer, respectively -- to throw first-generation metal-heads off their scent.

And masterminding all of this subterfuge was producer Shel Talmy (The Who, The Kinks, etc.), who probably hustled Bell Records' old fart A&R staff about this manufactured group and then was too lazy to even flesh out a convincing backstory story in the liner notes.

Heck, even the comic strip covering the album jacket deals in conniving impresarios taking people for a ride, but enough about these shenanigans -- let's talk about Rumplestiltskin's songs, which tend to be both creatively and structurally flawed ...

For starters, guitarist Parker sounds like he was just discovering fuzz distortion on the nasty riffs of "Make Me Make You," but he's zooming up and down the neck like Jimmy Page within a few minutes, before the group breaks down into a subtle and sultry blues.

Clearly cobbled together at very short notice: this first cut sets the tone for a lot of unfocused songcraft and disorderly arrangements (see "Mr. Joe (Witness for the Defence)" and "Squadron Leader Johnson"), often salvaged by undoubtedly capable musicianship.

At their best, Rumplestiltskin get in and get out before they can get themselves into trouble, just like their deceitful namesake: locking into a catchy groove on "Knock On My Door" and noodling efficiently on their eponymous instrumental.

But the tired old psychedelic formula of first single "Pate de Fois Gras" and sleepy, workmanlike, space-filling blues and soul clichés of "Poor Billy Brown" and "No One to Turn To" showed minimal effort and commitment.

And how could it be otherwise, when these same musicians were also plying their covert trade under similarly shady monikers like Hungry Wolf and Ugly Custard, while simultaneously performing on albums by Olivia Newton-John, Gerry Rafferty, and Serge Gainsbourg?

Maybe if they'd committed to Rumplestiltskin, more music fans would have tried to guess the band's name (sorry, couldn't resist), but instead even fewer took notice of their second LP, Black Magician, when it was released in '72 by German label Bellaphon.

p.s. -- Also in 1972, singer Stirling -- now calling himself Daniel Boone (?) -- enjoyed a cheesy M.O.R. hit with "Beautiful Sunday."

More Obscure Early '70s Heavy Rock: A.K.A.’s Do What You Like, Alamo’s Alamo, Ancient Grease's Women and Children First, Asterix’s Asterix, Atlee’s Flying a Head, Bang’s Mother/Bow to the King, Birtha’s Birtha, Blackwater Park’s Dirt Box, Bloodrock’s Bloodrock 2, Blues Creation’s Demon & Eleven Children, Bolder Damn’s Mourning, Boomerang’s Boomerang, Buffalo’s Volcanic Rock, Bull Angus’ Bull Angus, Cactus’ Cactus, Captain Beyond’s Captain Beyond, Charlee’s Charlee, Copperhead’s Copperhead, Cradle’s The History, Crushed Butler’s Uncrushed, Curly Curve’s Curly Curve, Dies Irae's First, Fanny Adams’ Fanny Adams, Flied Egg’s Dr. Siegel’s Fried Egg Shooting Machine, Flower Travellin’ Band’s Satori, A Foot in Coldwater’s A Foot in Coldwater, Fuse’s Fuse, Gift’s Gift, Hard Stuff’s Bulletproof, Haystacks Balboa's Haystacks Balboa, Head Over Heels’ Head Over Heels, Heavy Cruiser’s Heavy Cruiser…