Welcome to the DFB2! (a message for the new fans)

From the time MTV announced it was releasing the Daria DVD set, this blog's followers have more than doubled in number, and it has now collected over 165,000 hits. Lots of new fans and former fans were drawn in by the DVD set. You are always welcome here, and the fandom is glad to have you.

It might help to say a few general words about this blog and the Daria fandom's other party places on the Internet.

This blog was set up about 2.5 years ago, long before anyone know of the DVD release, as a multipurpose watering hole for this fandom. (Yes, there was a DFB before this one, but is is now inactive.) The giant links directory at left was put together to help people find the current hot spots as well as get nostalgic over the long-ago sites of glory. A lot of the Daria art here was recovered from long-extinct MTV and fan sites using the WayBack Machine, which is why it looks official (it was, at one time) but possibly unfamiliar. The sounds bites that play when you click on certain images came from the Daria's Sick, Sad Life Planner CD and various WAV collections online. And my colleagues and I add little notes about famous (or stupid) things that happened each day, usually related to Daria or just quirky enough that Daria would have liked them seeing them on Sick, Sad World. This blog thus imitates the SSLP, which also announced interesting anniversaries and holidays.

The main day-to-day function of the DFB2 is to list newly completed Daria fanfiction, as much of it as can be found. I might have missed a few recent stories, sorry, but am fixing that. If you know of a website where new Daria fanfiction is appearing, let me know.

EXTRA NOTE: I also frequently update and correct postings in the blog, so check back in every so often to see what's new, especially looking for NEW! tags.

And you can comment on anything Daria-ish here using the Comments section below each post. Try to stay current, because not many people will backtrack to read it.

The main message board for actual written conversation is at the PPMB (see links at left). Going off topic at least once in every thread is a requirement.

Any questions or comments are welcome. Glad to have more fans here! Now let's see if that Mystic Spiral TV series can get going...

FF.net

• Secret Plans and Clever Tricks, by Fringeperson (COMPLETE!): Every Saturday that Quinn had a date, Daria slipped into the overly pink and frilly room, tip-toed her way to the closet, and removed something. It didn't matter much what, but she carefully picked things that she was certain Quinn wouldn't miss – that is to say, things she had bought long enough ago she had probably forgotten about them. This item she then carefully photographed and folded, then put up for sale over the internet. As a small support for her father, she carefully divided the money from the sales and deposited a third into his bank account. Admittedly, Quinn would probably just spend it before their father even noticed the money had gone in, but Daria figured that if it spared her another trip into some national park where they would try to be one with nature, and just end up high on berries, then it was worth it.
• Technicolor Dream, by Miss Pennyfeather (Part 2): Trent sank his head under the pillow and stopped thinking. Soon he'd be in dream land and he'd forget everything about this unannounced interruption into his otherwise peaceful, uneventful life. He wasn't sure whether he had locked the front door, but he didn't care. He was going to fall asleep. But one eye remained open, one eye refused to close. He was staring at the darkness around him and he was thinking. Was it the music that was getting to him? Was it the gig? Was it the fact that he couldn't remember his mom's face? Was it the annoying mail box in front of their house? The name "Mystic Spiral" made him depressed too, but it had never caused personality deviations before.
• That's What You'll Take to the Grave, by Mediancat (COMPLETE!): After two rings, the person on the other end picked up. "Hello?" "G, it's Daria. I got a favor to ask." "Certainly. How can I be of assistance?" "Tell me what you know about todhunter demons." (Daria/Buffy the Vampire Slayer) [Story completes saga begun here and continued here.]
• While the Bat's Away: The Substitute, by Echopapa (continued): After Principal Li gave Ms. Dahl directions to her classroom, she closed the door behind her and went over to the picture window overlooking the Lawndale High campus. True, she could see more by studying the security monitors, but sometimes there was nothing like surveying things one's own eyes to give one a feeling of power. Another crisis averted, she thought. My efforts to keep Laaawndale High running smoothly never end... "Eh?" Her reverie was interrupted by the beeping of her phone. (Daria/DC Justice League)
  

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• The Dream of the White Darkness, by jtranser (continued): The magazine was one of Daria's guilty little secrets, one she indulged in only when at conferences out of town, away from anyone she knew. She'd go to the local book/magazine store, pick up a copy, pay for it, have it sacked and then take it directly to her car. Later, in her hotel room, she'd fix a mojito, turn on her mp3 player loaded with Martin Denny tracks, stretch out and read the latest issue of Modern Popular Culture Magazine. Within were such articles as: "Desperate Suburban Homemakers and Desensitized Robots equal Disappointed Love!", "Astral Freakout", "Repressed Hostility and Guilt: Your House Plants Know!"
• NEWER! The Ephemeral Ties that Bind, by Thecoffeeguru (continued): "Well, let me introduce myself. My name is Mrs. Manson and I am the student psychologist at Lawndale High. It is my job to..." "What kind of school employs a psychologist? Shouldn't you be an ex-hippie with a made-up certificate in motivational counseling?"
• LAST NEWEST! Eye of the Beholder, by GlitterShrooms (Part 2): After a brief phone call, Helen stood up in her office. She looked around with a smile. It was that time of week. Walking around, Helen closed her office’s blinds, and dimmed the lights. It wouldn’t be too long before she heard that sacred knock. Knock. Knock. “You can come in,” Helen said. Sandi Griffin entered the room wearing her French maid costume.
  
• MOAR NEWEST! Falling into College: The Clip Show, by RLobinske (Part 10): Seated at her computer desk, Daria looked over her shoulder and sighed. "You know, after all this time, I should be used to the weird feeling that someone is about to do something very strange to me. Alien adoptions, supernovas, long-term amnesia. You name it, someone's done it to me. That's why I subscribe to Angst Guard. So that no matter what is done to me, I can bounce back in the next story as good as new."
  
• Finn Morgendorffer 46: Shields Up, by HolyGrail2007 (COMPLETE!): It did not take long for rumors to spread at the school. After all, Barch was unexpectedly gone. While the males of the school may have been grateful for it, they were also curious. After all, if something could be done to get rid of Barch just like that, anyone would want that sort of power. Finn wasn’t sure if he should tell the truth. Stories got distorted very easily...
  
• The Hallowed Halls of Fielding, by Roentgen (Part 30): The students in Goodlet's class still segregated themselves. There were the "brains," who were a small group to themselves. There were the "average" and there were the "low" —Quinn's natural group, consisting of herself, Patty Clark, and a girl named Madeline de la Rosa. Each group approached the material at a different level; Quinn, Patty and Madeline approached at "survival." Even so, Quinn found herself listening in to the other two groups. And, amazingly, Quinn could actually understand what they were talking about. The really smart kids were riffing on the material, their questions half-reinforcement and half "can you top this?" as if they were trying to give each other an impossible exam that would be even worse than Goodlett's. (FF.net)
• Into the Fray, by Minx (Part 10): "From what we’ve been told, they use the women and children as bait and bargaining chips to get the men that are fit enough to fight to cooperate.” Trent paused and looked at the three girls. “Which is why we need to be careful. For all we know this guy is using you three as bait and fooling you into thinking he is a good guy, to lure us out of hiding.” “Why would they go to all of that trouble? It sounds like a waste of time; this isn’t one of those cop drama movies or whatever,” Quinn said. “Really? ‘Cause last I checked we were running around in a would-be war zone. Didn’t it cross your minds that this Sam guy is playing the good cop role, promising to bring back news on your folks so that we would welcome him back, only to realize that it was an ambush?”
• LAST NEWEST! John Lane 46: Substitute Plans, by RLobinske (Part 1): Ms. Ruiz paced back in forth in Principal Li's office beside Ms. Barch and Mr. DeMartino. "Might I remind you that was part of what made me agree to hire on to your school?" Ms. Barch cut to the subject at hand. "Do we get our raise or not?!" Ms. Li calmly said, "Better! A new coffee maker in the teachers' lounge."
  
• NEWEST! Judith Strikes! Opening Gambit, by Erin M. (Part 1): It was a dead world, and had been for some time. Civilization had its time and had moved on, quietly and with little fanfare. There were still some traces though. A few buildings still stood relatively undamaged and were still structurally sound. One of these was a large, red brick, two story house on a quiet suburban street. While a majority of the windows were shattered and blown out, the rest of the house was still intact. The lawn was yellowed and dead. If anyone was still around to look in the garage, they would have found an old red SUV sitting in there, also long dead form disuse. The interior of the house wasn't much better. The elements had taken over in the years since the end and the furniture was rotted and unusable in most of the house. In the living room were the remains of six human skeletons, all jumbled together in a pile in the center of the room. They, too, hadn't been disturbed in years.
  
• NEWER! A New Set of Rules, by Dennis (Part 12): The next two days were only slightly more productive than her library foray, so Daria was in what could charitably be called a foul mood when the wall buzzer heralded Kevin's arrival for his study session. She expressed her irritation by greeting him over the intercom with a hearty, “What the hell are you bothering me for?” His puzzled response, “Uh, to meet your for our tutoring session?” did nothing to reduce her annoyance, but rather than unleash a blistering string of profanities, she turned around and stalked from her room without further speech. On her arrival at the check-in desk, Kevin gave her an attempt at a mollifying smile, but she chose not to accept it. Without even looking at him, she signed him in and turned back to the hallway with a grumbled, “Come on, dumbass.”
  
• Shining Star: Temporal Conundrum, by RLobinske (COMPLETE!): Ringbearer Jane led the others to the Gateway Café just off the main plaza of Terra Beacon One. "Now everybody, just have a seat and order what you want, on me." Daria said, "Where are you going?" "I've got to go explain to the Ringmasters why I've brought four unauthorized persons and a car here. I'm sure that they've noticed by now and… they'll have questions." "Blame it on me," Daria said. "Oh, I will," Jane said. (FF.net)
  
• NEW! A Sick Sad Interview, by Abe (COMPLETE!): How did I get myself into this situation, anyway? Oh yes, of course: Jane. "Hey, they've got positions available for a junior reporter/interviewer and an assistant animator/graphics artist! With any luck, we can work there together!" and "Come on, it's Sick, Sad World!" So we get hired, and they stick Jane in a cubicle in an office building, doing stuff only very distantly related to her art, and send me all the way out to this one-horse town to interview some nut-case.
• LAST NEWEST! Tracksuits, by Malakite (Part 7): Quinn made her way back to the STET's main hallways, then stepped past the dozens of people who had received the glorious gift of early Renewal. Most of the recoverable wounded had already been removed for processing, along with the obsolete. After a few minutes of growing irritation at getting yet more blood on her boots, she found the man she was looking for, "supervising" a clean-up crew. With her friendliest voice she called to him. "Hello, Preacher." "Ah, good day Agent." He paused, then with his gaze sweeping over the bloodied piles, added, "or perhaps not so good."
  
• NEW! Unnamed alternate ending (Finn Morgendorffer 46: Shields Up), by Brother Grimace and TAG, continuing a story by HolyGrail2007 (COMPLETE!): Twenty years later, Finn woke up in his bed to find a frazzle-haired figure beside him, holding a two-handed axe high over her head, The mad figure looked down in triumph. "Never make an enemy you can't kill," hissed Angela Li.
  

Call Me a Tramp, Will They?

Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, famed English movie actor, director, musician, and political activist, was born today 121 years ago. Mr. O'Neill does a passable impersonation of "The Tramp" at right, especially in black and white like most of Chaplin's early movies. A depiction of Jane Lane as The Tramp (ouch!) appears in the Daria's Inferno computer game (left).

This is also Emancipation Day for everyone living in Washington, D.C. Party hearty!

In The Daria Diaries, the review of Mystic Spiral in "Muck and Rage" appeared on this day, but we're not sure which year.

In my list of unfinished stories a few posts ago, I forgot one extra-good one from long ago...

• A Sarcastic Beginning, by Thea Zara: OMG, what I wouldn't give to know happened next!

And now for the fanfiction...

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• The Dream of the White Darkness, by jtranser (continued): "Damn! Jane, what did you do to yourself? Your mouth, your eyes, your whole face....hell, your whole body! You - you look glossy! You look like you've been photoshopped!"
• NEW! Falling into College: The Clip Show, by RLobinske (Part 3): Karen walked across the main Quad and said, "From time to time, we managed to have a little bit drama around here, like the first time Michael asked Daria to marry him. Nice thought, lousy timing."
  
• NEW! A Few Years Difference, by Vlora (Part 5): "Well, class, we have a special guest today," O'Neill chuckled in a way that would strip paint off walls. He looked expectantly at Daria, who was sitting in the front right corner of the room. She was busy playing with a pencil when she looked up, smiling very vaguely at the class.
  
• Finn Morgendorffer 42: The Suburban Symphony, by HolyGrail2007 (Part 7): ”I’m not done. Finn, She might be bad at times, but she’s not always. And you, of all people know this. You and Daria may have had your moments, and I’m sure it was intense. But you know, she’s helped you, too. A lot. More than you’ll admit to me.”
• MOST NEWEREST!!! Jacob Morgendorffer, Esq., by CAP (Part 8): How Vincent and Amanda could leave their children for weeks on end seemingly on a whim at times was beyond him, especially leaving them in the care of Summer, whom Jake would not have entrusted with a goldfish.
  
• NEWEREST! A New Set of Rules, by Dennis (continued): Daria hurried to the library. She was bundled up against the cold Indiana January, with heavy coat, scarf, hat, and gloves, but still the cold wind cut right through her. Classes had begun only a few days ago, but between her work and helping Kevin, she felt like she'd already fallen behind. On this chilly Friday, the library offered a needed haven, both from the cold and the chaos. Kevin was on his last round of revisions, thanks to a heroic effort on both their parts, which meant she had a day or two to herself to catch up. She yanked the door open, struggling against the wind, and all but leaped inside.
  
• Some unnamed concept that I will name later, by SigDiff (continued): “We want to make the world like it was before,” Daria continued, “only better. It has to be better, or else we'll all end up right back here, in a destroyed civilization where people barely survive off the land and children grow up without even learning to speak.”

New Year's Traditions: The Countdown

It's getting close to 2010, everyone is watching TV and the music is playing and you don't see any reason why the new year should be much different from the old. And you have a point. The countdown has started, ten, nine, eight, seven...

...and then you receive a message, and it goes:

Remember your old room at home?

At right is a very nice reproduction of Daria's bedroom in Lawndale, borrowed from the Daria's Inferno computer game. Click on it to get the larger size. Take a look at it for a moment. If this had been your bedroom, what else would be present? What would not be there? How would you fix the room up differently? Does Daria's room pass the reminiscence test to actually look like the room of a disaffected sixteen-year-old girl? In other words, did MTV get it right? Put your opinions in Comments. I'm curious about this one. (Just remember the fourth wall, which has her bookshelves, computer, and desk.)

Conservative commentator and Daria fan Michelle Malkin turns 39 today. For details, see here. And the first part of a certain fanfic, "Mystik Spiral's Lonely Lawndale Band," began eight years ago this day.

The Shortest Month of the Year, but Packed

For a short month, February has a lot of Daria-ish fandom holidays. Today, for example, was the day Mystik Spiral had to appear for a band competition, the results of which may be discovered by reading this story.

Today was also the day, nine years ago, that a fan-created character had to report for military duty. You might be able to guess the name, but if not, the answer lies here.

Ten years ago, Daria herself got a special award from her many fans in Teen People magazine. She was pleased, in her own special way.

More indexing of Legion of Lawndale Heroes stories has taken place, this time on Dariaverse.com. Thanks to Lorenzo Sauchelli!

More soon, mostly asleep now and fuzzy in the head. Ciao.

More playing around in cyberspace

Some more things unearthed (is that the right word?), courtesy of the WayBack Machine.

• Another page for the Daria web browser. I've tried to download it, and to my surprise I downloaded something. Not sure what. I'm nervous about trying it out, though. Maybe tomorrow.
• The Cyber-Challenge III. Doesn't seem to do anything now.
• An old version of one of Daria's political essays. Interesting look.
• Did you know that Nicholas (of Mystik Spiral) had a drug problem? Maybe I mentioned this last year. Can't remember.
• I rather like Reburb.com. This would be a nice page to post in a Trent-oriented site (with music, of course).
• A batch of Trivia Contest pages, hard to capture: The Rules, The Site, The End, Round 9, Round 16.

And a special prize: a QuickTime movie showing a very important moment in the first episode. To my astonishment, I was able it to download to RealPlayer. And it works. Kinda crude, but it works. Good Lord.


FF.net

• Blood, Sweat, and Cheers, by Kristen Bealer (COMPLETE!): A newly minted classic AU, all the parts in one place.

PPMB

• Daylight: Falling From Grace - The Road to Nowhere, by Disco316 (Part 13): Gunfight at the OK-To-Cry Corral.
  
• Welcome Back, Daria, by Napalm Kracken (COMPLETE!): If you haven't read this one yet, start now. Outstanding in-character dialogue, really funny situations, great stuff.

The people who started the whole "self-insert" thing in this fandom

"The Transformed Staff" section of the MTV site had a flipbook by the same name, shortened to "Transformed." The contents are interesting and this is probably one of those flipbooks that would have done well with pictures. Here we go anyway. (Glenn Eichler is at right.)

1. Brian Moyer, layout artist (First appeared as Doo Dad Shop employee in "Malled")
2. Mike Baez, Character Designer (First appeared in "A Tree Grows in Lawndale")
3. Amy Palmer, Producer (First appeared in "College Bored")
4. Chris Costan, Color Supervisor (First appeared in "Fair Enough")
5. Shane Guenego, Production Assistant (First appeared in "Quinn the Brain")
6. R.J. Murphy, Office Manager (First appeared in "Quinn the Brain")
7. Kirk-Albert Etienne, Character Designer (First appeared in "Quinn the Brain")
8. David Trexler, Production Manager (First appeared in "Quinn the Brain")
9. Chris Prynoski, Director, Creator of MTV Downtown (First appeared in "Esteemsters")"
10. George Brennan, Assistant Director, Celebrity Deathmatch (First appeared in "Fair Enough")
11. Cindy Brolsma, Producer (First appeared in "Quinn the Brain")
12. Maria Rodas, Associate Producer (First appeared in "The Lost Girls")
13. Lemon Krasny, Co-Producer (First appeared in "Fair Enough")
14. Karen Kunkel, Post Production Producer (First appeared in "Legends of the Mall")
15. Lisa Collins, Production Coordinator (First appeared in "Daria Dance Party")
16. Corey Block, Production Coordinator (First appeared in "Fire!")
17. John Lynn, Studio Supervising Producer (First appeared in "Fair Enough")
18. Glenn Eichler, Executive Producer/Creator (First appeared in "Fair Enough")
19. Jody Schaeffer, Background Designer (First appeared in "The Daria Hunter")
20. Tom Marsan, Art Director (First appeared in "I Loathe a Parade")
21. Sophie Kitteredge, Colorist (First appeared in "Fair Enough")
22. Karen Disher, Daria's supervising director designed this character and based it upon her very own self. “Burnout Girl” appeared in the original Daria pilot and is often seen roaming the halls of Lawndale High, lost in thought, much like Karen. (First appeared in the pilot)

Yeah, could have done with a lot more pictorial info here. So it goes.

And here's a picture of Kevin Thompson's Jeep. And The Pigskin Channel. And some nice Trent wallpaper on the back of this page. I notice that the Official Mystik Spiral Fan Club membership card was lost (not saved), but someone else saved it for us in another thread on PPMB, bless you!

CONTEST! Finish Trent's Unpublished Song!

Found the napkin-written lyrics to one of Trent Lane's never-before-seen songs, about summer. (Not his older sister, the season.) Click on the picture for the big version. Even has a new pic of Trent, too! And we know there's a Lawndale Diner as well.

CONTEST!

Using what Trent started with for lyrics, complete his song in the Comments section below!

Turn on your speakers and click here for a surprise!

The Man Who Created Sadie Hawkins

Today is the 99th anniversary of the birth of Al Capp, creator of Li'l Abner. With that strip he also created the high-school tradition of Sadie Hawkins Days (usually November 13th) and Sadie Hawkins Dances, which have been used as plot devices in at least one Daria fanfic. Mystik Spiral has been known to perform at Sadie Hawkins dances, as you clearly see at left.

SFMB is now being molested by WOWbots. How are they getting through?

Legendeld has a few more Sunday thoughts on Daria fanfic.

Party on.

Ocean's Eleven Minus Nine

Here Nick and Max, two former members of Mystik Spiral, try out for the synchronized swimming team in the next Olympics. We use their image to celebrate a not-yet holiday, World Ocean Day. Yes, this is not yet a holiday so don't decorate your fish tank yet.

Wouter says this is a "forgotten song that will be forever linked to Daria." Agree? Disagree? Go here to register your vote.


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• Avenging, by Lorenzo Sauchelli (Parts 2 and 3): Daria is the new Cap, but who's the new Spider-Man? A Daria/ DELPHI/ Airwolf/ Marvel crossover (at least).
• John Lane 35: Give Me a C!, by Richard Lobinske (Part 2): "Oh Kevvie!" cried Brittany. "I got a C!" Kevin stared at her chest. "Um, babe, they look the same to me."
• New Life, by legendeld (Parts 4 and 5): There’s a story about why Quinn wears full length pants and a long sleeve shirt in the middle of summer. Will Jamie find out?
• Size Does Matter, by BlackHole (Part 25): "Friend" is still the f-word for Daria. (SFMB)
  
• Stacy Rowe, Seeker (Part II), by jtranser (continued): We learn that the Milky Way galaxy is like a giant Krispy Kreme donut with a special hole in its center. And God is Homer Simpson. (Just kidding. I hope.) Plus: A really dreadful pun. OMG, that was bad. :)
• Turnabout Confusion Part II: All The King's Horses, by Dennis (continued): Tiffany has a most confusing day—more so than usual, I mean.
  
  

Thank you for watching, and good night.

"Hey, we're the Blue Man Group, but we're thinking of changing the name."

Interesting.

The 2008 Visual FanWork Listing was updated today by Richard Lobinske (thank you!), which reminds me that I haven't updated the fiction list in two months. Hmmm.

LATER: Okay, I've begun the fanfiction update for 2008. It might take a few days, but it's moving.

Saw a recent news article about the Google book project, which is meant to put every written thing on Earth online (and searchable), which will make looking for copied term papers very difficult, I'm sure.

Just a quick fanfic update. I'll add more to this as the day goes on and the stories appear.

PPMB

• EarthFall, by legendeld (Episode 4, Part 3: Invid): Daria uses a secret weapon she didn't even know she had. If it fails, everyone dies.
  
• Embers, by Angelboy (Part 17): Five seconds later Quinn’s voice was heard throughout the spa. “EWWW!"
  
• John Lane 34: Barbeques and Gridiron, by Richard Lobinske (COMPLETE!): "I'm supposed to believe that?" Helen said. "It's in the police report," John replied.

Just a Teeny Bit Frustrated

Spent a long long time trying to locate a number of lost Daria flipbooks on the MTV.com site, to no avail. They cannot even be located through the WayBack Machine. Argh. The most recent flipbook on Mystik Spiral was my first priority, but it is just plain gone. Why would they eliminate that? Anyone up to it can check it out, too. It was at:

http://www.mtv.com/onair/daria/chapter5/flipbook_oneband/

However, I did discover a new way to view the alter-ego pix there: Daria: Cast Alter Egos. Weird, but it works as well as anything else, plus you get to add your own comments about each pic. Nice touch.

Unchained from Fortress CINCGREEN is "Retro Daria," an essay on Daria as a show of the 1980s, not the 1990s. It makes more sense than you'd think. Comments are welcome on the site.

A great amount of work is going into the Daria episodes on DariaWiki, with Nighthawk helping all previously named encyclopedia-ists.

D. T. Dey points out on PPMB that a place called the Bookcity Script Shop is selling copies of two Daria episodes for $10 each, here. Hmmm.

On PPMB, LSauchelli offers his artistic rendition of "Darius" Morgendorffer, from his story "Eyeshield Morgendorffer" (see below).

Have to update again, too much just came out, plus I missed some older stuff. *sigh*


FF.net

• Coming of Age, by Deep Metal (up to Part 20): Beavis and Butt-head go on a mighty quest. A stupid quest, yes, but a mighty one, and Daria is there to help, sort of. This tale is in the B&B section.
  
• Daria of the Drow, by Janarky (a.k.a. Dervish) (COMPLETE!): Ten chapters of wild-ass Daria/Dungeons & Dragons crossover goodness, in the D&D section.
  

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• Avalon, by legendeld (Part 10): Daria, Queen of Avalon? Perhaps, if she survives the next ten minutes.
• Breed, by legendeld (Part 3): Sandi accepted a pouch of blood and clean cup from Quinn. “Once you’re used to it," said Quinn, "I’ll show you how to fix the taste a little bit. A little vanilla or cinnamon can do wonders.”
• Eyeshield Morgendorffer, by LSauchelli (Part 2): Darius/Daria meets Jane. I cannot imagine how that's going to turn out.
  
• It's Like the Beginning of an Era, by Kristen Bealer (Part 2): How everyone came to be the way they are, all because of a dance.
• Legion of Lawndale Heroes Mini: For The Boys at Camp Victory, by Brother Grimace (COMPLETE!): Daria sends the soldiers in Iraq a very special gift.
• My Sons, by legendeld (Part 11): The riot and the cops were nothing. Grandma Barksdale is on her way.
• Stacy Rowe, Seeker (Part II), by jtranser (continued): Jake Morgendorffer as Yakov I, Tsar of all the Russias. Somebody's got to get that joke. Daria must have gotten it if no one else did. I just know the bill's going to come due for this, though, and it's gonna sting.
  
• Turnabout Confusion Part II: All The King's Horses, by Dennis (continued): It's good to be back in the food chain, if you're a shark.

Still have some stuff to post from the old sites. Stay tuned.

Trentisms, Part Four

[More stuff from the old Mystik Spiral webpage. The MP3 links no longer work, alas. The pic at left was positioned just above the description of "Freakin' Friends," below, so obviously this website took into account Is It Fall Yet? Track Four's notes have an obvious episode tie-in. TAG]

*

Listen to the haunting yet accessible music of Mystik Spiral by downloading the mp3 clips below.

Track One: ICE BOX WOMAN
Description: Originally released on Plush Records as a 45 b/w 'Behind My Eyelids,' this testament to a femme fatale (a few of them, actually) was the outgrowth of lead singer Trent Lane's sensitivity to the human condition. He was also inspired by the chilly emptiness of the family freezer. Recorded by Trent and Jesse in the Lane family basement. (Note: This song originally included a second verse, but the dehumidifier came on and drowned out the vocals. Look for a flawed-yet-extended version on the band's upcoming collection of outtakes and remixes.)

Track Two: OW! MY FACE!
Description: An impassioned tale of facial revenge and a tour de force of unmistakable volume. Recorded live at Lawndale's short-lived yet legendary Club Cinderblock. A driving beat coupled with evocative imagery make this one destined to top the charts. If the guys can stop arguing about whether the spiral logo is going in the right direction and ok the CD cover.

Track Three: LITTLE SISTER
Description: A birthday tribute to Trent's sister, Jane, director of band graphics until she got fed up with the whole spiral direction controversy and quit. Recorded live at The Iron Horse, formerly Club Cinderblock, formerly Ron's Razor Wire Warehouse.

Track Four: EVERY DOG HAS HIS DAY
A collaboration between Trent and Jesse (Jesse's comment, 'I really like dogs,' gave Trent the idea). An anthropomorphic lament, drenched with confusion, anger, and painful barre chords. Debut performance at a high school party for a cheerleader which really ruined their credibility for a while. There were pigs in a blanket, though, so it wasn't a total washout.

Track Five: OH! MA FACE!
Description: The only known cover of a Mystik Spiral song, by the French band Elastiqué (CD Single: Cacophonie 1999). A bonus are the extensive liner notes, which analyze the semiotics of the lyrics in term of existential theory and in relation to Pascal's Pensées. Kind of ironic since in translation they totally ignored the crop circle metaphor and turned it into a song about a frying pan, according to Trent's friend Monique's mother.

Track Six: THE LOST SESSIONS
Don't click here to play/download. They're still lost, but we're sure they'll show up one of these days.

'Not that we're selling out or anything. It's still about the music. It's not like we'd even want to end up on MTV ' - Trent Lane

'Freakin' Friends' is Mystik Spiral's most ambitious song yet, an opus of sorts, clocking in at least 2 minutes. Jesse's solo will really knock your socks off, if you wear them, which he doesn't.

[There had better be some good Mystik Spiral fanfic after all this! TAG]

Trentisms, Part Three

[The following is the band's official description on the Mystik Spiral webpage, on MTV's Daria site, circa 2000. Enjoy. TAG]

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Group Members: Trent Lane (lead vocals, guitar, clapping); Jessie Moreno (guitar, background vocals, lead 'yeah's); Nicholas Campbell (bass, background 'yeah's); Max Tyler (drums, supportive perspiration, lip synch - but he's sensitive about it).

Musical Influences: Jane's Addiction, Morissey, The Doors (the band, not the movie, which sucked), Cocteau Twins, Zappa, NIN, Nirvana, Gregorian Chants, thunder, the Banana Splits.

Similar Artists: Tragyc Cyrcle, Pyre of Pain, Styptic Pencil.

Mystik Spiral has earned $6.04 in the DOWNLOADING FOR DOLLARS program

All material is protected by copyright law and international treaties. You may download this material for personal use only. You may not resell, distribute, or duplicate for your own personal gain unless authorized by the copyright holder. It's kind of a scout's honor system. Honestly, we can't really do much about it. Please don't screw us over. Thank you.

Trentisms, Part Two

Found it.

The original official Mystik Spiral webpage, with loads of info on the band, its members, and music. Below is the Reburb.com description of the band's origins. UU, this one's for you.

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Music>Rock>Medium Loud>King of Deep>Sorta Trippy>

Band: Mystic Spiral

The roots of Mystik Spiral were planted when 12-year-old Trent Lane met musical soulmate Jesse Moreno at summer school (well, around the corner from summer school). These two young iconoclasts discovered that they shared a mutual love of rock and roll, water pistols, and gum.

With acoustic guitars donated to the band by Mr.Vincent Lane (a big draw on the singer songwriter circuit of early-1970s Ann Arbor, Michigan -- see Daybreak Dreamin') the two boys began experimenting with unorthodox riffs and jarring, atonal juxtapositions. Eventually Mr. Lane clued them into the concept of tuning, and things took off from there.

Performing for family and friends as 'Wax Lypps,' 'Indyan Burn,' and occasionally 'Boa Constryctyr,', the boys developed a repertoire of angst-driven power pop and Weird Al Yankovic covers. They decide to turn electric when they realized that it would be louder.

In high school, they teamed up with drummer Max Tyler after he answered a notice placed in a local paper. Attracted by the pared-down, zen-like simplicity of the ad ('They charge by the word,' Trent notes), Max blew everyone away with his energy, drive, and ownership of a drum kit. The threesome played numerous basements throughout their teen years, developing their signature style of pioneering 'trance punk.' They changed their name to Mystik Spiral and immediately began reconsidering it. But the name stuck, since Jesse had already written it in metallic marker on his guitar case.

The lineup became complete when the threesome spotted Nicholas Campbell hitchhiking along the side of the road in 1996, and the rest is history (including a five-hour wait for a tow truck when The Tank broke down a few yards later.)

In the late 90's, Jesse briefly also appeared with the group Bats With Guns, which later splintered into Cats With Gats and Bats with Bats. Trent has worked on many solo projects over the years, including an unfinished tone poem inspired by the weather, a yet-to-be-completed opera about the life of actor Nick Nolte, and an idea for a sort of hybrid comic book/CD sampler that he'll get around to eventually. Nicholas and Max wish people would pay more attention to them.

Mystik Spiral's Old Homepage: Found!

Daria fan UU long ago asked for a post about Mystik Spiral, and for a time I was confounded about what to write. Tonight I found the original Mystik Spiral homepage on an ancient MTV website. It is listed through the WayBack Machine here. Pick a date and click on it to view the page.

One problem, however. The page seems to have some sort of built-in redirect thinger that causes it to link up to the current MTV website, which produces a 404 error after giving you a tantalizing look at the page. I have managed to get Trent's speech about the Internet down, but little else. Maybe someone can work with this and we can get all the old data about Spiral and its crew that was thought lost. I've been clicking the STOP button at the top of my browser window to prevent the redirect from taking over, which helps.

Daria junkies, go at it!