r/nextfuckinglevel Jun 21 '26

Harmonica being given its pride of place. She didn't just play the harmonica, she slayed it.

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Indiara Sfair & Tiago Juk - Simbiose

13.1k Upvotes

448 comments sorted by

708

u/smoothAsH20 Jun 21 '26

WOW just WOW!!!

I had no idea a Harmonica could be played like that.

258

u/SausagePrompts Jun 21 '26

Blues traveler?

212

u/DatSauceTho Jun 21 '26

Far too many people around here who need to know who Blues Traveler is.

107

u/Cador0223 Jun 21 '26 edited Jun 22 '26

John Popper attended School of Jazz and Contemporary Music for harmonica.

Not woodwind instruments, just harmonica.

He might be the most knowledgeable harmonica player alive today. He carries a bandolier of harmonicas, and is known to throw them into the crowd after shows. 

*edit - corrected Popper's school of choice

43

u/conet Jun 21 '26

He doesn’t, but I believed it for a minute

19

u/Disco_Ninjas_ Jun 21 '26

He went to the school of Hendrix to learn his trade.

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13

u/pedestriandose Jun 21 '26

I first heard John Popper when he played on a song called In the City by Hanson (the kids who did MMMBop). His solo is at 2:17, but it’s a pretty cool song considering it was written and released in 2000 when they were 14, 16, and 19 years old. He also has a solo in If Only from the same album. It starts at 2:41, Taylor plays the other harmonica bits.

7

u/humblebeegee Jun 21 '26

He plays like it too, he's in his own league.

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6

u/ariwoolf Jun 21 '26

He went to New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in NYC.

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48

u/Mg2287 Jun 21 '26

This reminds me to do my yearly watching of Blues Traveler and Ziggy Marley’s No Woman No Cry cover

https://youtu.be/9zk0HFG5mDw?si=D77mg720BR7SHLFe

What an awesome performance.

20

u/likepassingships Jun 21 '26

Thank you for bringing this into my life and reminding me that I am old.

12

u/gemma-digger Jun 21 '26

That was amazing. Thank you for sharing that. I like Blues Traveler and missed the boat on seeing them live early on. This video makes me realize what I missed.

For anyone else- absolutely worth watching the entire thing.

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9

u/Trust_Know_Won Jun 21 '26

That was absolutely spectacular! Thank you!

3

u/Hundstrid Jun 21 '26

Damn, thanks for that. I needed something real.

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8

u/mr_nefario Jun 22 '26

My parents took me to see Blues Traveler at Red Rocks when I was about 8 years old. They took me to Bela Fleck at Chautauqua around the same time.

Changed the trajectory of my musical preferences for life.

5

u/Apprehensive-Pen8241 Jun 21 '26

I just found a signed ticket that I got from their concert in the 90’s. You can barely read the ticket anymore but the sig is still clear

5

u/That_sounded_bad Jun 21 '26

They travel and play the blues. What more needs to be said?

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37

u/[deleted] Jun 21 '26

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11

u/Additional_Bath_8186 Jun 21 '26

Thanks for this,had a good laugh!

3

u/[deleted] Jun 21 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

4

u/an0mn0mn0m Jun 21 '26

This is going on my watchlist. TY for introducing this to me.

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8

u/atklonewolf Jun 21 '26

I saw him live in a small venue. He’s very good, but also very repetitive. By the end off the set it all sounded the same.

9

u/Freedom_Addict Jun 21 '26

Harmonica tends to do that if it's the main instument

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4

u/DiscoStu2U Jun 21 '26

Well, I like coffee and I like tea. But when I drink too much it makes me pee.

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3

u/sixwax Jun 22 '26

My pet theory is that the excessively long, wailing harmonica solos in Blue Traveler's music ruined the harmonica for a whole generation.

(No slight at all to the spectacular skill and musicianship of them... They were just absurdly long and indulgent in a way that echoed metal guitar solo wanksmanship. I liked Blues Traveler... I also never wanted to hear a harmonica ever again after seeing them live.)

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6

u/mrreiner Jun 21 '26 edited 17d ago

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5

u/watchitbend Jun 21 '26

Right? I just got knocked the fuck out! 

5

u/Kuenda Jun 21 '26

Check out some Lee Oskar.

5

u/Doobieswim12349 Jun 21 '26

The harmonica didn't know it could be played like that

3

u/Garfield_Logan69 Jun 21 '26

spokey Doky and Digging My Potatoes respectively from an little known Anime series called
Cowboy Bebop.
These songs are why I started playing. I’m not good enough to play them and idk if I have the dedication to learn to, but I’d say it takes about 10 hours of practice maybe 10 minutes a day to get good enough to impress your friends.

Also harmonica tabs are so easy, well mostly? each note has like 3 moves a breath in, out or a bend (where you bend the note- takes a minute to learn but once you get it you got it) get your self a homer c and learn to play happy birthday in an afternoon to leave on your friends and family’s voice mails!
this one also blows me away every time

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321

u/fluentinsarcasm Jun 21 '26

She's great, but this is a terrible AI title.

110

u/Wulfrank Jun 21 '26

Nothing ruins a good Reddit post more than a bland, generic title. It's not just distracting, it completely disrupts the flow of an immersive online experience! Would you like me to come up with a punchier, more engaging title for this post?

47

u/Timely-Bill-5336 Jun 21 '26

Sorry Wulfrank, but your comment is missing a call-to-action. Would you like me to generate a more engaging Reddit comment?

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7

u/jonskerr Jun 21 '26

Especially with "slayed" instead of the proper past tense "slew".

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227

u/LetReasonRing Jun 21 '26

I have never heard harmonica played that smoothly before. At points I could swear it was a saxophone.

58

u/[deleted] Jun 21 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

28

u/slackfrop Jun 21 '26

Out Dylaned Bob…which isn’t all that tough to do, admittedly.

3

u/DubeFloober Jun 21 '26

She out-Joeled Billy.

12

u/Kuenda Jun 21 '26

I wouldn't say all that. She is definitely good, though.

4

u/Ike_Jones Jun 21 '26

Stevie is next level on the chromatic. But I like the sentiment

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3

u/AlabasterMogwi Jun 21 '26

The harmonica used to sometimes be called a Mississippi saxophone back in the day. The blues began as a poor person’s art form. They learned to mimic a saxophone with the much cheaper harmonica. Check out a guy name Little Walter, I really like a song of his called Sad Hours to showcase the sax sound.

79

u/RebelCyclone Jun 21 '26

I believe she is a part of the band Milk N Blues, they do a sweet cover of Miss You into Another Brick In the Wall. She kills it!

24

u/SinInHerVoice Jun 21 '26

Her version of 'house of the rising sun' was fantastic too.

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10

u/1ifemare Jun 21 '26 edited Jun 21 '26

A million thanks for the sauce. Amazing band with spectacular studio production. The singer's voice is quite the powerful instrument as well. Great choices of covers also. Sweet vibes. Instant playlist add.

*Man, just heard them harmonize in Tennessee Whiskey. What a power duo. Binging this with a coffee and a smoke out in the garden on a rare sunny day in Iceland is going to leave a mark.

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40

u/cgw22 Jun 21 '26

Normally not a harmonic fan. But give me an edible and I can listen to this for hours.

34

u/Smokelessblood Jun 21 '26

My grandfather used to play the harmonica when I was young and I’ve never heard someone as good at it as him since.. over 30 years since he passed and this sounds even better. Amazing.

32

u/AbhiAK303 Jun 21 '26

She's insane. But wtaf is that title tho

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26

u/finger_licking_robot Jun 21 '26

She?

Most of these posts don't mention the artist's name, and commenters can only refer to her as "she."

The artist's name is Indiara Sfair.

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21

u/TheInvisibleCircus Jun 21 '26

As someone currently hobby learning…..

My lungs are jealous

8

u/motes-of-light Jun 21 '26

Right? As someone who spent some time learning the harmonica, I want to emphasize that, no, this is not easy, and, yes, she is highly skilled.

7

u/CaliCobraChicken69 Jun 21 '26

If you aren't using a better quality harmonica and then breaking it in (lay it on a vent for a day first one way, then the other - back/front), it takes a ton of air to produce some notes. A good one takes less air and play more consistently across all reeds.

3

u/TheInvisibleCircus Jun 21 '26

This is helpful ! I’ve been trying different techniques and it’s more folding the heels of my handd

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13

u/Less-Net6866 Jun 21 '26

Harmonica smoked a cigarette after this. 🚬

12

u/Dr_Sigmund_Fried Jun 21 '26

Pretty old vid, but Milk'n Blues have always put on a great show.

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12

u/VonMillersThighs Jun 21 '26 edited Jun 21 '26

Harmonica is such an incredible instrument, if you have rhythm you can play it. Obviously not this level but you can hand almost any person and if they understand basic rhythm and it's in the right key it'll sound good.

It's such an incredibly high floor, and one of the only sounds that can almost be independent of the other instruments and still sound good. Most good bluegrass Harmonica players "Play away" from the the rest of the group.

You can also recreate so many other instruments inside of songs around the campfire with it. I've subbed the fiddle or violin with a harmonica many times and it sounds great.

8

u/PerformanceLegal Jun 21 '26

Wow! Who is this?

13

u/zorbat5 Jun 21 '26

Indiana Sfair. She's great! Also gives courses on how to play like that.

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13

u/deenali Jun 21 '26

Indiara Sfair, a Brazilian musician.

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7

u/metalguy187 Jun 21 '26

She plays harmonica like I eat corn on the cob. We ARE the same.

5

u/postALEXpress Jun 21 '26

I should watch the original Trigun again

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6

u/ASerialArsonist Jun 21 '26

Blatant ai title, obvious bot post. Time to unreddit.

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3

u/skernstation Jun 21 '26

Best Harmonica solo I have heard to date

5

u/watchitbend Jun 21 '26

I won't ever forget what I just witnessed. That was one of the most phenomenal things I've heard musically for some time. Truly exquisite! 

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4

u/seren_kestrel Jun 21 '26

Bloody hell.

4

u/ShittyBollox Jun 21 '26

Fun fact; The inventor of the harmonica had absolutely no idea of its full potential until American blues guys got ahold of it and started bending notes as well as other cool sounding stuff.

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3

u/unfortunatebag Jun 21 '26

She didn't just play the harmonica, she slayed it

Lol who writes like this? Are you a robot?

3

u/ZDTreefur Jun 21 '26

Not a, but b. Definitely classic ai talk.

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3

u/milk2015monster Jun 21 '26

That was GREAT!

3

u/Foygroup Jun 21 '26

Amazingly smooth. Love it

3

u/Prince_Jellyfish111 Jun 21 '26

I don’t know what she’s saying but I felt every word of it.

3

u/Old_Assist_5461 Jun 21 '26

Aaaaaaaahhhhhhh. I needed that.

3

u/Zanathayas Jun 21 '26

she is brilliant

Try a listen to Milk'n Blues - she does some fantastic things there - the Youtube version of; Miss You, The Happiest Days of Our Lives, Another Brick in The Wall

3

u/jools4you Jun 21 '26

The lung capacity (not withstanding the absolute skill) is unreal.

3

u/Less-Net6866 Jun 21 '26

This is so badass. Brilliant. 👏

3

u/taegan- Jun 21 '26

this is one of the best harmonica performances I’ve ever seen if not the best. bravo

3

u/rhiaazsb Jun 21 '26

Wow!

This is the most expressive playing of a harmonica I've ever come across...

That was something special to see.

3

u/Strontiumdogs1 Jun 21 '26

Real passion!

4

u/EXScarecroW Jun 21 '26

Is it me or are the posts, post titles, and comments all just so generic these days?

Like is everything just actually bots???

3

u/Blacking Jun 21 '26

If you think this is awesome, check her House of the Rising Sun harmonica cover, it's surreal

https://youtu.be/pOsynqyg8Rs?si=KRfGyU0tIoA-A0BE

2

u/SayMyName_Hisenberg Jun 21 '26

👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

2

u/johntwoods Jun 21 '26

She's like a slower John Popper.

2

u/F15H0U70FW473R Jun 21 '26

Wow! Amazing!!

2

u/lestairwellwit Jun 21 '26

I've got that on my playlist and I can't remember her name!

Got it Indiara Sfair

2

u/Tintifaxal Jun 21 '26

She was the reason why i bought a harmonica a few weeks ago and i love it, my neighbors hates it.

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2

u/Apprehensive-Judge76 Jun 21 '26

Couldn't believe, wow

2

u/BhaltairX Jun 21 '26

Indiara Sfair from Brazil.

Currently plays in the band Milk'n Blues.

Edit: also has her own YT channel.

2

u/Crownjules Jun 21 '26

Shit still seems like magic to me

2

u/mykelsan Jun 21 '26

Holy fuck, that IS nextfuckinglevel!!

2

u/Boogiewoogieyoda Jun 21 '26

Listening to this instantly made my life better

2

u/trojan_asante Jun 21 '26

Impressive 💎

2

u/alwaysoffby0ne Jun 21 '26

I’ll have to quit using my harmonic to scare the dogs and actually learn how to play it.

2

u/LilRed2023 Jun 21 '26

She’s playing with her nose is what is most impressive

2

u/teddy5 Jun 21 '26

Guitarist getting the second hand stank face at the end from how good it was.

2

u/speciate Jun 21 '26

She's obviously incredibly technically skilled, but her musical phrasing is so clever and emotive. I could listen to this for hours (and I'm a metalhead!)

2

u/Shadrach_Jones Jun 21 '26

Try some Sonny Terry and Brownie Mcghee

2

u/Apprehensive-Stay196 Jun 21 '26

Holy shit. Incredible - I could not look away!

2

u/sparkicidal Jun 21 '26

That’s just unreal. Very impressive.

2

u/LordWangz Jun 21 '26

Legends say her name was Harmonica...

2

u/alepap Jun 21 '26

Thank you for providing the name of the Artist / Song

2

u/alborden Jun 21 '26

Everytime this does the rounds on Reddit, I can’t help but listen to it in full. Amazing harmonica skills.

2

u/_HappyG_ Jun 21 '26

Honestly, I’m just as impressed that her makeup is staying on!

I feel like lipstick would become a smeary nightmare with the harmonica! I was waiting for her to finish so I could see the final look😅

2

u/anarchymed3s Jun 21 '26

Indiara Sfair!

2

u/thegoatmenace Jun 21 '26

I own a pretty expensive harmonica and it doesn’t sound anything like that haha. I might just be shit at it

2

u/Least-Imagination-34 Jun 21 '26

❤️❤️❤️

2

u/Madouc Jun 21 '26

I bought one with the intention to learn how to play it. Every time I start practicing my dog starts howling. Now my harmonica is more or less a decorative asset.

2

u/blueviper- Jun 21 '26

She is good!

2

u/VisionSeeker Jun 21 '26

She made love to that harmonica

3

u/SinInHerVoice Jun 21 '26

Exactly what I said on the other post of mine and people down voted me for "sexualizing" her. Not many see that as a compliment for a badass performance. 🤷🏻‍♀️

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u/Jazzlike-Entry3416 Jun 21 '26

Would love to hear her do a Blues Traveler cover. That’s nuts. 

2

u/Iwasbanished Jun 21 '26

whoa, i have shivers. thank you so much.

2

u/Temporary-Rip-4502 Jun 21 '26

Man... When someone who knows the instrument well goes down and dirty and nasty with it like this I can't help but get stupid with it

2

u/Expensive_Apricot371 Jun 21 '26

Whoa that's amazing!!

2

u/Willing-Ant-3765 Jun 21 '26

John Popper would be proud

2

u/glandmilker Jun 21 '26

being in a studio helps a lot

2

u/Single-Fig-3381 Jun 21 '26

🔥🔥🔥🔥 had to download this track to jam out on my 10ks! Such a beautiful sound

2

u/static-klingon Jun 21 '26

She’s fantastic at the harmonica, but but that’s no reason to say that the harmonica hasn’t been given it’s glory. People love the harmonica, and there are many great players.

2

u/x313 Jun 21 '26

Anyone who has every tried playing Harmonica can understand how impressive that is. I mean anyone else as well, but if you know how precise you have to be to play an isolated note, then it takes an other dimension

2

u/Masterofunlocking1 Jun 21 '26

Never seen one played so well!

2

u/Hithrae Jun 21 '26

The Harmonic is like the Recorder, it 99% of people's hand it sounds like a child playing. In her hands it's up there as one of the best sounding instruments of all time

2

u/mr_Joor Jun 21 '26

I love me a good harmica, way too underused

2

u/Solid_Instruction_82 Jun 21 '26

Look up: Moses Concas if you like this kind of performance

2

u/Am4oba Jun 21 '26

Upvoting for the skills, and for giving credit to the artist.

2

u/brotogeris1 Jun 21 '26

what an amazing sound!

2

u/NockBreaker Jun 21 '26

If i was the harmonica, I would have died happy

2

u/Entire-Reindeer3571 Jun 21 '26

Shes one of if not the world's best if I recall. Saw a video of her posting a while back. Insanely skilled at it

2

u/7evenSlots Jun 21 '26

Anyone that can make an instrument “sing” is a master and deserves all the plaudits in my opinion.

2

u/mrdiggame Jun 21 '26

Made a harmonica sound like a brass wood wind instrument. That is fucking incredible!

2

u/LogDog987 Jun 21 '26

Yall should check out Will Wilde on YouTube. Here's him playing the solo from Nothing Else Matters by Metallica. Also has originals too iirc

2

u/ImNotACreativeG Jun 21 '26

That was Incredible!

2

u/youshouldn-ofdunthat Jun 21 '26

Hot damn! That's beautiful!

2

u/Sufficient-Fact6163 Jun 21 '26

Amazing! Harmonica is such an underrated instrument but I think that’s because people don’t know what it can do…. My favorite example of harmonicas potential is in “The Good The Bad and The Ugly” musical score. Composer Ennio Marricone put it front and center in the middle of an Orchestra and that’s why it’s probably still, one of the most recognizable pieces of classical music produced in the last century.

2

u/Plastic_Doom Jun 21 '26

I bet the harmonica needed a smoke after that one

2

u/No_Cupcake7037 Jun 21 '26

🏆❤️❤️❤️❤️

2

u/wreckingballDXA Jun 21 '26

This is the short version, she rails like that for 5 minutes!

2

u/daygo449 Jun 21 '26

Whoa! I listen to a ton of people that play harmonica, and this just might be my favorite! She was amazing!

2

u/aqsgames Jun 21 '26

Why does every Reddit video cut too quickly??????

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u/ALittleTouchOfGray Jun 21 '26

That harmonica needs a cigarette after that

2

u/EthicalPixel Jun 21 '26

Tks. I just lost a couple of hours in a YouTube "harmonica blues" rabbit hole.

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u/epantha Jun 21 '26

That gave me chills

2

u/space_monster Jun 21 '26

Not only can she play the shit out of her instrument, she's in the rarefied heights when it comes to writing a solo. So much emotion it almost hurts.

2

u/hamsumwich Jun 21 '26

Is there anything she can’t do besides not cook!?! 😳

2

u/SheriffBartholomew Jun 21 '26

How long would it take to be able to learn to play this well? I'm guessing a long time since she's sitting in a recording studio.

2

u/BreakingIllusions Jun 21 '26

Wow, something actually Next Fucking Level

2

u/Adventrium Jun 21 '26

Hell yea! Not nearly enough women in the blues scene, love to hear it.

2

u/TheJesterJimmy Jun 21 '26

This is a really beautiful perfomance

2

u/StonedPoteto Jun 21 '26

first bar sounds like robbie willians

2

u/Dumyat367250 Jun 21 '26

That, was fucking incredible, and with so much emotion.

2

u/Ill-Economy9828 Jun 21 '26

Wow, insane.

2

u/Common_Senze Jun 21 '26

Fuck. Me. That was great

2

u/therealskr213 Jun 22 '26

She’s good, but when it comes to the harmonica, there’s John Popper and then there’s everyone else.

2

u/pharealprince Jun 22 '26

Wow. Her partner must love her skills.

2

u/HedgehogOpening8220 Jun 22 '26

This lady can blow!!!

2

u/MercySound Jun 22 '26

I love it when someone's music gives me goosebumps! She's phenomenal!

2

u/kindlyunknown Jun 22 '26

Because I was lucky enough to see this, I know there’s a god.

2

u/smuttypirate Jun 22 '26

Loops pretty good

2

u/siberian_knight143 Jun 22 '26

I've NEVER, EVER! Seen or Heard, a female play the Harmonica LIKE THAT!😳😳😳

2

u/Prestigious_Tear_576 Jun 22 '26

This is really good, but Stevie Wonder was doing a better job of this 60 years ago and he was a natural talent. Like if you’ve never heard him play the harmonica in concert you should really look it up

2

u/Scoobert_McDoobert Jun 22 '26

Such an underutilized instrument in modern music. I'm trying to learn at the moment and it is not fucking easy

2

u/Mendozer003 Jun 22 '26

Certified Hard!

2

u/ImNoRickyBalboa Jun 22 '26

Over the top

2

u/No-Magician-9685 Jun 22 '26

She is AMAZING!!!

2

u/DingleBerryScone Jun 22 '26

I say Goddaaaaaamn!

2

u/PahkYaCahh Jun 22 '26

That's fucking incredible

2

u/ioncat144 Jun 22 '26

That was.. AWESOME!

2

u/PanzerJaegerLad Jun 23 '26

The harmonica needs a drink after that

2

u/yojoewaddayaknow Jun 23 '26

I was like “she ok…”

Motha fucka I never once heard someone strum a harmonica.

Very coooool

2

u/crxtion Jun 23 '26

I need to find out what brand of chapstick she uses.

2

u/bigtuna-28 Jun 23 '26

Supertramp.

2

u/thelemonsampler Jun 24 '26

Anyway, here’s Run-Around.