Mark Reads ‘Soul Music’: Part 2

In the second part of Soul Music, Imp makes new friends and forms a band. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to read Discworld. 

So, this hasn’t quite grabbed me, but we’re barely into Soul Music and there are a ton of new characters. I’m giving it time! But there are also a lot of neat things here that I can relate to, so LET’S DISCUSS.

Imp Forms a Band

Seriously, one of the worst things in the world is the kind of gatekeeping present in the Guild of Musicians. In the video below, I used the example of experience requirements for jobs, since that generally works pretty well. But there’s actually a fairly common practice here in Los Angeles that is the ABSOLUTE FUCKING WORST: pay to play schemes. Plenty of venues force independent, unsigned bands to sell tickets to the venue’s show in order to play. Sometimes, they require that band to pay for a batch of tickets upfront and then earn their money back by selling them at face value, making it impossible for that band to make any money at all. Or, even worse, they’ll give a band a stack of fifty tickets, and say, “Hey, sell all these, and by showtime, if you haven’t sold them all, the remaining ones must be paid for by you, even if there’s no physical person using them.”

I find it horrifically corrupt and backwards. I understand that venues need money to stay open and do business, but plenty of them do so without such horrible tactics. Often, that’s because they actually support underground music instead of exploiting it!

Anyway, it’s because of just such a complication for Imp that he meets Lias Bluestone and Glod Glodsson, who both could not afford the guild’s fee to join and are stuck in the same predicament as him. Lias is a drummer in the loosest sense of the word, and Glod… I actually don’t know what Glod does. Sings? Plays a dwarf instrument? Anyway, the three musicians bond over their inability to join a guild and their inability to play in order to pay for said guild’s membership. I don’t know if this is intentional, but the way these three characters interact feels like it’s building off the developments in Men at Harms. Pratchett doesn’t make any jokes or comments about prejudicial thoughts between dwarfs, trolls, or humans. (Druids and trolls, however? That’s a different story.) Is this what Ankh-Morpork is turning into?  Is it really changing???

I do love the idea of a multi-species band! I just wonder what that guitar is going to do to these characters. Like many things on the Discworld, the shop itself seems to have opened at the right time to the right people. Where did it come from? Who is the old lady who runs it? What sort of path has Imp just unknowingly chosen? WHY WAS HE DRAWN TO THAT GUITAR? I don’t know the answers to these questions yet, but I suspect that, given the last big scene in this section, the guitar itself is going to help make this band’s success a little easier to find. But, this is the Discworld. At what cost? You know that’s the next question I have to ask! This isn’t going to go perfectly for them because of a magical guitar. Have they unleashed some awful power?

Susan

In terms of characters, though, I’m far more interesting in Susan. She doesn’t have much to do here, but I’m guessing that the Death of Rats sought her out in order to warn her about Death. Which seems strange to me for one reason:

Susan looked down again. The apparition was still there. There had been cheese on toast for supper the previous night. In books, at least, you were supposed to expect things after a late-night meal like that.

and

But the feeling… no, she realized… the memory was creeping over her from somewhere that this one was not only real but on her side. It was an unfamiliar concept. Her side had normally consisted of her.

So, had Susan never met her grandfather? Or had she met him, and the memory faded out of her mind every time she left his realm? I think that’s entirely possible, and it would explain her behavior towards others and her nonchalant attitude about her powers. She doesn’t know where it comes from! I AM INTRIGUED ABOUT THIS.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTQlxFMtKU0

Mark Links Stuff

– I am now on Patreon!!! MANY SURPRISES ARE IN STORE FOR YOU IF YOU SUPPORT ME.
– I will be at numerous conventions in 2016! Check the full list of events on my Tour Dates / Appearances page.
– My Master Schedule is updated for the near and distant future for most projects, so please check it often. My next Double Features for Mark Watches will be Death Note and Neon Genesis Evangelion. On Mark Reads, Diane Duane’s Young Wizards series will replace the Emelan books.
- Mark Does Stuff is on Facebook! I’ve got a community page up that I’m running. Guaranteed shenanigans!