#{ etta romero }

[lgbtqreads]

New Releases: May 7, 2024

Picture Books It’s Pride, Baby! by Allen R. Wells (text) and Dia Valle (illustration) Lift your soul to the sky. Like summer sunbeams― Don’t live behind clouds. You shine! It’s Black Gay Pride Day in Washington, DC, and two gay parents are getting their child ready for a day at the National Mall. From cheerful neighbors to colorful outfits to fireworks, the vast LGBTQIA+ community is represented…

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

🌈 Queer Books Coming Out in May 2024 🌈

🌈 Good morning, my bookish bats! Struggling to keep up with all the amazing queer books coming out this month? Here are a FEW of the stunning, diverse queer books you can add to your TBR before the year is over. Remember to #readqueerallyear! Happy reading!

[ Release dates may have changed. ]

❤️ Farzana's Spite - Felix Graves 🧡 Archangels of Funk - Andrea Hairston 💛 How It Works Out - Myriam Lacroix 💚 Queer History A to Z - Robin Stevenson, Vivian Rosas 💙 Queerceañera - Alex Crespo 💜 Second Night Stand - Karelia Stetz-Waters, Fay Stetz-Waters ❤️ You Can Call Me Cooper - Cali Kitsu 🧡 Gooseberry - Robin Gow 💛 Grand Slam Romance - Ollie Hicks, Emma Oosterhous 💙The Witches of Silverlake - Simon Curtis, Stephanie Son 💜 Drawn to the Enemy - Barbara Winkes 🌈 The Truth of Our Past - Heather Leighson

❤️ Infaust - T.D. Cloud, Ambi Sun 🧡 Garner for Gold - Catherine Labadie 💛 The Z Word - Lindsay King-Miller 💚 Snake Charming - Genevieve McCluer 💙 The 7-10 Split - Karmen Lee 💜 Loving Jemima - Sienna Waters ❤️ The Potion Gardener - Arden Powell 🧡 A Swift and Sudden Exit - Nico Vincenty 💛 The Worst Ronin - Maggie Tokuda-Hall, Faith Schaffer 💙 Murray Out of Water -Taylor Tracy 💜 The Guncle Abroad - Steven Rowley 🌈 The Weight of What Was - Pip Landers-Letts

❤️ The Amazing Alpha Tau Pledge Project - Lisa Henry, Sarah Honey 🧡 I Met Death & Sex Through My Friend, Tom Meuley - Thom Vernon 💛 Malicia - Steven dos Santos 💚 The Sins on Their Bones - Laura R. Samotin 💙 SLUTS: Anthology - Michelle Tea 💜 You Should Be So Lucky - Cat Sebastian ❤️ Death's Country - R.M. Romero 🧡 Cinema Love - Jiaming Tang 💛 The Brides of High Hill - Nghi Vo 💙 Emma - Jenna Kent 💜 Wish We Were There - Lionel Hart 🌈 A Troublemaker in Her Eyes - Genta Sebastian

❤️ I Make Envy on Your Disco - Eric Schnall 🧡 Lavash at First Sight - Taleen Voskuni 💛 Queer Power Couples - Hannah Murphy Winter, Billie Winter 💚 In Repair - A.L. Graziadei 💙 A Heart Divided - Angie Williams 💜 Long After We Are Gone - Terah Shelton Harris ❤️ The Queen of Steeplechase Park - David Ciminello 🧡 Lunar Boy - Jes Wibowo, Cin Wibowo 💛 Hot Boy Summer - Joe Jiménez 💙 Sunhead - Alex Assan 💜 The Summer Love Strategy - Ray Stoeve 🌈 Into the Mouth of the Wolf - Erin Gough

❤️ The Girl in Question - Tess Sharpe 🧡 The Lost Erwain - Mariah Stillbrook 💛 Starfire - Naomi Hughes 💚 Adrift - Sam Ledel 💙 Shanghai Murder - Jessie Chandler 💜 April May June July - Alison B. Hart ❤️ A Bone in His Teeth - Kellen Graves 🧡 Cabin Fever - Tagan Shepard 💛 Don't Be a Drag - Skye Quinlan 💙 The Ride of Her Life - Jennifer Dugan 💜 The Redemption of Daya Keane - Gia Gordon 🌈 Nearlywed - Nicolas DiDomizio

❤️ The Sunforge - Sascha Stronach 🧡 The End of Time - Trudie Skies 💛 Silent Ones - Melissa Polk 💚 Prime Time Travelers - Neil Laird 💙 My Darling Dreadful Thing - Johanna van Veen 💜 The Honey Witch - Sydney J. Shields ❤️ Spitting Gold - Carmella Lowkis 🧡 Last Chance - Claire Highton-Stevenson 💛 Road Home - Rex Ogle 💙 Only for Convenience - Shannon O'Connor 💜 Linus and Etta Could Use a Win - Caroline Huntoon 🌈 Finding Molly Parsons - Alyson Root

❤️ Breathe: Journeys to Healthy Binding - Maia Kobabe, Dr. Sarah Peitzmeier 🧡 See You Next Month - Jamey Moody 💛 Until You Say My Name - Tatum Schroeder 💚 Disembark - Jen Currin 💙 True Love and Other Impossible Odds - Christina Li 💜 Flyboy - Kasey LeBlanc ❤️ Thirsty - Jas Hammonds 🧡 Hands Off - N. Slater 💛 Flooded Secrets - Claudie Arseneault 💙 The Deer and the Dragon - Piper C.J. 💜 To Be Loved - Frank G. Anderson 🌈 Snowblooded - Emma Sterner-Radley

❤️ Blood Remains - Cathy Pegau 🧡 Blood on the Tide - Katee Robert 💛 We Were the Universe - Kimberly King Parsons 💚 Loyalty - E.J. Noyes 💙 Spirits and Sirens - Kelly Fireside 💜 Clean Kill - Anne Laughlin ❤️ The Worst Perfect Moment - Shivaun Plozza 🧡 Oye - Melissa Mogollon 💛 Here for the Wrong Reasons - Annabel Paulsen, Lydia Wang 💙 Exhibit - R.O. Kwon 💜 Experienced - Kate Young 🌈 Parenting with Pride - Heather Hester

❤️ Road to Ruin - Hana Lee 🧡 Meet Me in Berlin - Samantha L. Valentine 💛 The Advice Columnist - Cade Haddock Strong 💚 where lost & hopeless things go - Bryony Rosehurst 💙 Pit Stop - Ellis Mae 💜 The Switchboard - Christina K. Glover ❤️ In the Shallows - Tanya Byrne 🧡 Have You Seen This Girl - Nita Tyndall 💛 Another First Chance - Robbie Couch 💙 The Only Light Left Burning - Erik J. Brown 💜 Keepers of the Stones and Stars - Michael Barakiva 🌈 A Little Kissing Between Friends - Chencia C. Higgins

[brokehorrorfan]

Book Review: The Living Dead by George A. Romero & Daniel Kraus

Prior to his death in 2017, filmmaker George A. Romero - best known for single-handedly inventing the zombie genre as we know it with his 1968 film, Night of the Living Dead - was writing a novel titled The Living Dead. After his passing, Romero’s estate collaborated with author Daniel Kraus to complete it. Although perhaps not the most obvious choice, Kraus is no stranger to the genre nor working with its masters (having previously co-authored two books with Guillermo del Toro, including the novelization of The Shape of Water), and he more than rises to the challenge.

The Living Dead finds Romero returning to the initial zombie outbreak, a subject he previously explored twice in his films; first in Night of the Living Dead, then again in Diary of the Dead. The sprawling, 656-page tome is split into three acts: The Birth of Death, from patient zero through the eventful first weeks of the dead rising; The Life of Death, an overview of the decade that followed; and The Death of Death, which picks up 15 years after the outbreak.

Akin to Stephen King's The Stand, the novel digs into the minutia of an assortment of characters' backstories to the point where the reader feels as if they truly know them, then hops around between their journeys until many of them intersect. The first act is familiar to anyone who's ever seen a zombie movie, but in the capable hands of Romero and Kraus, it's never dull. The middle section is kept brief; a smart choice since Romero's films cover that stage of the outbreak so adroitly. The final act is the most engrossing, as it traverses new territory previously unexplored in Romero's oeuvre.

The cast of characters include Etta Hoffman, an aloof census bureau statistician who notices that abnormality that sets the story in motion; Luis Acocella, San Diego’s assistant medical examiner who is the first to witness the dead rise; Greer Morgan, a teenage girl living in a trailer park; Chuck Chaplin, an anchor for a major cable news network; and Karl Nishimura, a master helmsman on his final voyage aboard a nuclear submarine.

A few short passages are told from the zombies' perspective, offering insight into the hunger driving their every move and suggesting something of a hive mind mentality. Carrying on Romero's tradition of largely avoiding the word "zombie," the ghouls are often referred to as They/Them. There is no indication as to what started the plague, but the book furthers concepts that Romero touched on in his films, including the undead becoming increasingly intelligent and interesting developments involving other species.

Romero's acerbic social commentary is present from the first page, where the authors note a political divide regarding a government agency's adoption of a standardized font with the word "Arabic" in its name. The vibrant characters are diverse in race, age, and socioeconomic status, allowing Romero and Kraus to show the impact of xenophobia, racism, and other forms of bigotry. The book also touches on society's over-reliance on technology, news outlets valuing ratings over truth, and even a fictitious actor exposing himself to women.

But The Living Dead's most timely aspect is the outbreak itself. It's downright chilling to read the story after witnessing firsthand how poorly the United States has handled an actual pandemic. In classic Romero fashion, the greatest threat to survival is not the zombies but fellow humans. Most notable is a boorish demagogue that reads as an allegory for Donald Trump, and he's the most vile Romero villain since Day of the Dead's Captain Rhodes. (The president in the book is only referred to in passing and never by name, giving it a more timeless feel than if it were to be set under the current administration.)

While budgetary restraints often limited how much of the apocalypse Romero could show in his films, the written form allows the visionary to explore the collapse of humankind in full. Filled with as much carnage as a classic zombie film, The Living Dead's gore will make the likes of Tom Savini and Greg Nicotero proud. Despite the macabre subject matter, however, there is a lyricism to the writing. Through Romero and Kraus' detailed prose, the reader is able to see the movie play in their mind.

The Living Dead boasts Romero's most poignant ending since Night of the Living Dead - although it was written by Kraus. It's made even more powerful by the note from Kraus that concludes the book. The thoughtful afterword details the coauthor's two-year deep-dive into the novel, including collaborating with Romero posthumously via the intermittent uncovering of his old writings, most of which were never widely released. Left with seemingly insurmountable shoes to fill, Kraus delivers a fitting swan song for the Godfather of the Dead.

The Living Dead will be published in hardcover, e-book, and audiobook on August 4 via Tor Books.

[readordiebyemilyt]

Fall is here (and summer’s my main time for reading comics), but check these out:

Harley Quinn #30: Obviously, Birds of Prey has me wanting to read more Harley again. Now that I’ve finally finished her New 52 series, I’m hoping to get into a couple volumes of the Rebirth issues this winter.

I Am Groot #5: Great art, and a fine end to a fun story: I wish they’d do this with more characters whenever a new Marvel movie is coming out. I feel like you can never have too many enjoyable single volume solo titles.

The Legend of Wonder Woman #9: I finally finished this series (see above for some great art and Etta being The Best). And what with Wonder Woman 84 coming out next year too, I want to read more about Diana. (I still have volume 2 of Sensation Comics: Wonder Woman, which has an adorable and hilarious story by Noelle Stevenson.)

Nova #1-5: I really love this series: see above for Ramón K. Pérez’s fun, extra-cartoonish spin on Sam’s inner monologue when it comes to him imagining talking to a girl he likes. (Pérez’s art is great in general, and all but one issue of this series is drawn by him.)

Shuri #3-5: I love Leonardo Romero’s art, and Nnedi Okorafor’s story makes me love Shuri even more than I already did. I’m sorry this series is ending after just two volumes (but not particularly surprised: up to your old shenanigans, aren’t you, Marvel?); see above for some great panels. 

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #42: I loved how each of the three artists here illustrated Doreen at a different time in her life: tomorrow I’ll post one more page because there were just so many great moments in this comic (technically issue #50!)

[auralhub]

Get to know: Aural HUB’s sports playlist

Just like music, sports elevates us to new levels of achievement, because when words fail to inspire, music speaks volumes. In order to inspire you during your routines and practices, here we introduce you to our very own Sports Playlist.

Let’s Get It Started (Spike Mix) — The Black Eyed Peas

“Let’s Get It Started” is the edited radio version of American group Black Eyed Peas song “Let’s Get Retarded”, from their 2003 album Elephunk. It gained popularity as the theme song for the 2004 NBA Playoffs on ABC and won Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group at the 2005 Grammy Awards.

Just Hold On — Steve Aoki, Louis Tomlinson

“Just Hold On” is the first solo music project by Tomlinson after One Direction parted ways. The song marked Aoki’s highest-charting song in the UK and US. The duo debuted the song live during a performance on The X-Factor, which occurred just days after news hit that Tomlinson’s mother died after battling with cancer. In the song, Tomlinson fills the lyrics with a sense of mourning and wonder of what happens after a loved one leaves your life.

Good Feeling — Flo Rida

“Good Feeling” peaked at number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100, and became a top ten hit in 16 countries. The song contains vocal samples from Etta James’ 1962 single “Something’s Got a Hold on Me” and Avicii’s song “Levels”, which also sampled the Etta James song, is used as the primary musical sample under Flo Rida’s rapping.

I Need Your Love — Calvin Harris, Ellie Goulding

“I Need Your Love” is a song by Scottish DJ Calvin Harris and English singer Ellie Goulding. It reached number four on the UK Singles Chart, making Harris the first artist in UK chart history to have eight top ten hits from one studio album. It also reached the top twenty in the US. The song was nominated for British Single of the Year at the 2014 BRIT Awards, while the music video was nominated for British Video of the Year.

Wake Me Up — Avicii

“Wake Me Up” is a song by Swedish DJ Avicii with vocals provided by American soul singer Aloe Blacc. Avicii introduced the song for the first time live on stage at the 2013 Ultra Music Festival. The experimental song reportedly confused and angered a section of the electronic dance festival community. Eventually, Avicii achieved critical and commercial success with the release of the single worldwide.

How Deep Is Your Love - Calvin Harris

“How Deep Is Your Love” features uncredited vocals by Norwegian singer and songwriter Ina Wroldsen and a collaboration with English Production trio Disciples. The single was critically and commercially successful, reaching the top-ten in 22 countries, including number two on the UK Singles Chart.

Shots & Squats — Vigiland, Tham Sway

After their single “UFO” made the top 10 of Spotify’s most played songs, Swedish duo Vigiland released “Shots & Squats” featuring Tham Sway, they achieved number-ones in Scandinavia over summer and fall 2015. The single became popular in Latin America due to Vine its use as the theme song for the MTV series SuperShore.

No Money — Galantis

“No Money” is a song by Swedish electronic music duo Galantis. The song features uncredited vocals from Reece Bullimore. It received commercial acclaim, peaking at number one in Norway and reaching the top ten in Sweden and the UK. Additionally, it became their first single to chart on the US’ Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 88.

I Could Be The One (Avicii VS. Nicky Romero) — Avicii, Nicky Romero

“I Could Be the One” is a collab between Avicii and Dutch DJ Nicky Romero, which features uncredited vocals from Swedish singer Noonie Bao. Internationally, the single topped the charts in Hungary and the UK.

FRIENDS (Borgeous Remix) — Marshmello, Anne-Marie, Borgeous

“FRIENDS” is a song recorded by American music producer Marshmello and English singer Anne-Marie. The friend-zone anthem was remixed by American DJ and music producer John Borger, better known by his stage name Borgeous.

Summertime Sadness (Lana Del Rey VS. Cedric Gervais) — Lana Del Rey, Cedric Gervais

“Summertime Sadness” is a song by American singer Lana Del Rey from her second studio album, Born to Die. In the summer of 2013, a remix by Cedric Gervais was released and helped the single become a sleeper hit, debuting at 72 on the Billboard Hot 100 and becoming the highest charting single of her career in the US with a peak of 6. The remix version of the song won a 2014 Grammy Award for Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical.

Stronger — Kanye West

“Stronger” is a song by American rapper Kanye West, from his third studio album Graduation. The track utilizes a sample of “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” by French house duo Daft Punk. The song reached the top of Billboard Hot 100, becoming West’s third number-one single. It was a top ten single in ten countries, topping the charts in four of them, including the UK. The song won a 2008 Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance and was named as one of the best songs of the year by Rolling Stone.

[wadeillinois]

Follow these Wadians (but not too closely, who knows what you’ll see):

ETTA ROMERO.

RHYS KINGSBURY.

JUDE MOORE.

VIOLET WINTHROP.

[bestdjkit]

Remember Avicii By Reliving 5 of His Most Unforgettable Moments

On the second anniversary of his death, we honor Avicii's legacy.

On this date two years ago,Avicii sadly passed away. Harnessing a persona so vibrant and a career so bright that it transcended the very industry that spawned it, he had an ineffable impact on the music industry—one that was felt in droves on April 20th, 2018.

His death plunged the collective psyche of the dance music world into a tailspin in one fell swoop. The devastating news filled us and emptied us all at once, like the water of a river after a storm. EDM lost its lifeblood that day, but Avicii's memory courses through the veins of his music, continuing to awe and inspire beyond the grave.

On the second anniversary of Avicii's tragic death, we are honoring his legacy by turning back the clock to five of his most unforgettable moments, which are crystallized not only in the annals of dance music history, but also in the hearts of his fans.

Final Show at Ushuaïa Ibiza

Avicii played his final show at famed nightlife destination Ushuaïa Ibiza on August 28th, 2016. Before retiring from touring at the ripe age of 26, his swan song at Ushuaïa was one for the books. According to live setlist aggregator 1001Tracklists, his set consisted of a litany of his own heartfelt, aching hits, like the Aloe Blacc-assisted "Wake Me Up," his Nicky Romero collaboration "I Could Be the One," and his iconic remix of Coldplay's "Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall." You can listen to the set in full here.

The Release of "Levels"

Perhaps the most recognizable song in the history of EDM, "Levels" has stood the test of time as a generational anthem. Its instantly recognizable melody and captivating Etta James sample, which gives its listeners the irresistible urge to sing at the top of their lungs, are just two of the ingenious elements of the song that propelled Avicii to international superstardom. The track was a tour de force, serving as a catalyst for the career of the most prolific DJ and producer dance music has ever seen.

$1 Million Donation to Feeding America

In 2012, Avicii embarked on an expansive 27-date tour called “House for Hunger” around North America. When the tour concluded, he donated all of his income from it to Feeding America, a major nonprofit organization that feeds more than 46 million people through over 200 food banks. He also went on to additionally donate a staggering $1 million to the charity. “Hunger hits everywhere and the US is not immune to it, for me personally, when I found out how widespread the hunger problem in the United States actually was, it blew my mind," he said. "I never would have imagined that one in six people in America struggle with hunger or that one in four children routinely do not get enough to eat.”

His Directorial Debut

In order to fight the trafficking of children, Avicii made his directorial debut in September 2015, producing the music videos for his singles "For a Better Day" and "Pure Grinding." The video for the former, which appeared on his Stories LP, was quite graphic, depicting two children being forced into a trafficker's car after frantically racing through fields to escape. "The promise of a better life often traps families and children into being used as tools for some of the most despicable people on earth," he said. "It’s an issue about which I hope to start a louder discussion, especially now with the huge number of families on the move from war-torn countries looking for safety and shelter.”

Madonna Appearance at Ultra 2012

Ultra Music Festival is known to attract the biggest names in electronic music, but Avicii took it to the next level in 2012 when he brought out the Queen of Pop herself, Madonna. Before they debuted his remix of her single "Girl Gone Wild," she rhapsodized about EDM. “I’ve been here in spirit for many years, but it’s good to finally be standing on the stage, looking at all you people who have come here from all around the world,” she declared prior to introducing Avicii. “In my world, the words ‘music’ and ‘dance’ are not separated. Electronic music has been a part of my life since the beginning of my career. I can honestly say that a DJ saved my life.”

FOLLOW AVICII:

Facebook: facebook.com/avicii Twitter: twitter.com/Avicii Instagram: instagram.com/avicii SoundCloud: soundcloud.com/aviciiofficial

from Best DJ Kit https://edm.com/features/remember-avicii-unforgettable-moments

[aion-rsa]

How The Living Dead Completes Romero’s Zombie Legacy

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This post is sponsored by

George A. Romero figuratively wrote the book on zombies with his low-budget, independent 1968 horror film epoch Night of the Living Dead. World War Z, 28 Days Later, Zombieland and even The Walking Dead trudged that territory but didn’t map much new terrain. Romero’s final novel, The Living Dead, completed by author Daniel Kraus (The Shape of Water novelization), doesn’t expand on the basics of the zombie apocalypse. It doesn’t challenge the zombie trope Romero filled out with his subsequent works on animated corpses, when The Living Dead had their Day, Dawn, Land, Diary and Survival. But, with it, Romero and Kraus do peer deeper into the mirror to find a bitter reflection of the horrors Romero brings out in The Living.

The Living Dead is character-driven in ways the feature films could never be. In Night of the Living Dead, the audience didn’t know, nor would they have cared, whether Helen Cooper (Marilyn Eastman) put on weight after marrying Harry (Karl Hardman). But we know this about Rosa, the wife of novel protagonist Luis Accocola, the Assistant Medical Examiner who logs the first case of reanimation in The Living Dead. We also know Luis paid for Rosa’s education and had to wait to marry her because she was so much younger than him. We know Rosa suffered a miscarriage long before the recently deceased became the ambulatory diseased.

We’ll never know if “They’re Coming to Get You” Barbra (Judith O’Dea) ever dreamed of dancing with Fred Astaire at night. But we know Luis’s assistant Charlene Rutkowski recoils from the very sight of Astaire when her mother Mae tunes in to the classic movie channel because the top hatted, tuxedo-sporting tap dancer tries to lead in her nightmares. Even before John Doe becomes the archive in the novel’s version of Patient Zero, Luis wants to know more about his history, whether he mattered. Why the homeless man is dressed so fine, and why he doesn’t have the curved spine of the long-term vagrant. In this respect, he is Romero. The unimportant details may not solve zombification, but it holds clues to the fading humanity.

The Living Dead is a fitting end to Romero’s zombie chronicles. The novel form allows him to bring more of himself into the pages, each of the characters filled out with flavors Romero himself test-tasted. There is also a bittersweet meta irony to the fact that the horror genius died before finishing the work and it was reanimated by Kraus, an unabashed fan and likely successor to the “Father of the Modern Zombie Film.” He hides Romero “Easter eggs” throughout the book, while also bringing in references to the pandemic apocalypse novel The Stand. Romero worked frequently with Stephen King, adapting his writer’s nightmare The Dark Half, having a barrel of fun with Monkey Shines, and indulging their shared love of EC Comics with Creepshow. The feature film adaptation was even shot in the four color scheme which defined the magazine. They further explored the horrors of publishing with Bruiser. The city of Bangor, Maine, which is King’s home turf, is referenced within the first few pages. He and Romero are wonderfully horrific friends.

The Living Dead is divided into three acts. Act One tells the story through the introduction of disconnected characters. It unfolds like an archive from the future written from multiple points of view. The history is being put together by a team in Washington, led by the researcher Etta Hoffmann. She is autistic and unflappably records survivors’ stories. Goaded on by an internet troll named Chucksux69, News anchor Chuck Corso at the cable station WNN broadcasts the events as they come in, even though he has no idea if anyone can see him. He does this while his co-workers try to eat him. Similar things happen at sea, where the US Navy aircraft carrier Olympia becomes a floating arena where dead sailors face off against the living crew. The gospel of the dead is spread zealously by a preacher in the book.

“When there’s no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth,” Romero warned in Dawn of the Dead. The characters in The Living Dead have to learn this for themselves. The only problem with living in a world written by George A. Romero is that the inhabitants didn’t grow up in a world with Romero in it. They don’t know what to do when the dead won’t stay dead. One of the most consistent things about zombies, whether they’re found in the Living Dead universe or one of the many other genre works, is you kill them by shooting them in the head. It doesn’t have to be a gunshot; Daryl on The Walking Dead does the deed with a bow and some arrows (though that series has gone on for a full decade without ever using the word zombie). From the very first ambulatory corpse, played by Bill Hinzman in Night of the Living Dead, to the present, a fractured skull is the only way to stop chomping teeth. Try telling that to the people in the book.

Why do zombies keep on biting? Day of the Dead posited the corpses reanimate because of primitive impulses in the spinal column. We, the audience, know from that movie onward it was because of special effects wizard Tom Savini. It would be nice to think of his hand on the elderly zombie in the novel who tries to gum someone to death. In The Living Dead, we learn zombies just wake up hungry. “This hunger is different from any you knew before,” a chapter opens. “This hunger is a lack. Something has been taken from you. You do not know what. This hunger is everywhere. Hunger, the fist. Hunger, the bones. Hunger, the flesh. Hunger, the brain.” Zombies aren’t evil, they are animalistic. Humans, on the other hand, are free to act horribly. If this particular horror niche is dead it can be reanimated here with this book. Night of the Living Dead brought the genre to life. The Living Dead gives Zombies souls. 

When Romero and some friends shot the indie film for just over $100,000 that would become The Night of the Living Dead, the country was going to hell. The Vietnam War was bringing death to the dinner table daily on the evening news. The generation which grew up in the shadow of the nuclear bomb was pulling away from a rotting society, unraveling like an exposed lower intestine. While women sew American flags sometime between “Year Fucking Six” and “Year Fucking Seven” of The Living Dead, Johnny and Barbara walk past a shredded flag as they enter the cemetery where their father is buried at the start of the film that started it all. The wreath is an empty gesture. Johnny can’t even remember what their father looked like.

Inspired by Richard Matheson’s 1954 novel I Am Legend and its film adaptation The Last Man on Earth, starring Vincent Price, Night of the Living Dead reincarnated Zombie movies. Once the realm of island magic culturally appropriated by actors like Bela Lugosi and George Zucco, zombies were now hungry legions munching on the living. Brains were not yet the delicacy The Simpsons would make them out to be. The undead are a metaphor for whatever we want to put on them. Romero is a political artist and the book is contemporary. Like the ill-equipped national response to COVID-19, we watch an unprepared society face a cataclysmic event and come apart at the seams. Similar to the effects of the quarantine, the zombie apocalypse is good for the environment. Also mirroring our times, the zombies infest a hate-filled world though they prove to be an equalizer of all classes and in the toxic racial divide.

“Someone dies, someone else learns to live,” Greer, a Black teenager who escapes an overridden trailer park in the Midwest at the beginning of the novel, is taught. Minority characters feature prominently in The Living Dead. Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated the year Night of the Living Dead was released. In the film, Ben, a Black character played by Duane Jones, survives the undead campaign, the tribal maneuvering of the other captive combatants around him, casual bigotry and betrayal only to be shot in the head by passing zombie thrill-killers. The final moments of the film shows photographs of men with dead zombies which look eerily similar to lynch mob photos.

Romero didn’t only use the undead as a political metaphor. They are endemic to all society. The Zombies aren’t the only brain-dead or dying characters in his films or the novel. In The Living Dead, most of the people’s minds are already infested by paranoid distrust of the news media and the hatred encouraged by social media. Luis’s life is saved at one point because he’s not flipping through his cell phone as he usually does. He actually notices the looks on the people’s faces. In Romero’s 1978 installment Dawn of the Dead, the citizenry’s minds were numbed by TV, radio and consumerism. Its biggest scene happens in a Pittsburgh shopping mall with muzak playing in the background. 

Act Two summarizes what would be the territory of 1985’s Day of the Dead (which gave zombies class-consciousness), 2005’s Land of the Dead, and Romero’s “found footage” installment Diary of the Dead (2007), but takes a turn at 2009’s western Survival of the Dead. Subtitled “The Life of Death,” Act Two spans eleven years, all of which are being recorded in “The Hoffmann Archive of Tales from the New World.” We learn zombies are more like us than we might wish to believe. Like modern man wastes most of its animal-based consumer products, the zombies only eat five percent of their kill. They also hold grudges. Zombies outnumber humans 400,000 to one. Camels, lions and zebras are immune to reanimation, but chimps come back from the dead.

Straightforward as they may be, Romero’s films were rarely what they seemed through the action. Subversive social commentary runs through his 1978 vampire film Martin, which was more about unfettered schizophrenia than vampires. John Amplas played the title role in a very realistic, and very violent, exploration. He drugs and rapes his victims before drinking their blood. The Crazies (1973) was more about the society struck by a military biological weapon more than an epidemic containment film. The Living Dead is more than a zombie novel. It is a bitter parable.

Act Three moves 15 years after the apocalypse as survivors try to put together a new civilization amidst an evolving zombie population. It is a planetary reset. The museums are covered in graffiti and overgrown. People begin to read books, mix paint, shoot each other in the face when agitated. The dead win. 

George A. Romero died on July 16, 2017, a relatively innocent time which, although it was only three years ago, seems very far away. Donald Trump rode a racist wave of xenophobia to the whitest White House the country has seen since President Andrew Jackson, but he was still treated as a joke. The Living Dead was written before COVID-19, the killing of George Floyd and a police force which militarized against protestors faster than the zombies could run in 28 Days Later. Romero and Daniel Kraus are visionaries who were able to make a parable of today’s times in almost real time. The news on Max Headroom came at you from 30 minutes in the future. The future legend of The Living Dead was predicted only months in advance to be delivered exactly on time.  

The Living Dead will be available to buy and read on August 4th. It is now available for pre-order.

The post How The Living Dead Completes Romero’s Zombie Legacy appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/39vjTbw

[cornerofmusic123]

El 8 de septiembre de 1989 nació Tim Bergling, en la ciudad de Estocolmo, Suecia, conocido profesionalmente como Avicii, Tim/Berg, es un disc jockey, remixer, y productor discográfico sueco. En una entrevista realizada por Vicious Magazine, Tim Bergling dijo que Avicii con una sola i significa el nivel más bajo del infierno budista; declaró: "...Un amigo me lo dijo y simplemente se me quedó grabado… Poco después, al crear mi página en Twitter tuve que elegir un nombre de usuario, y todos los demás que tenía en mi mente ya estaban usados. Avicii estaba disponible, por eso lo usé, y desde entonces ha seguido conmigo…" ¿Quién es Avicii? Emergió en la industria musical en 2008, cuando tenía 18 años, al hacer un remix de la canción del videojuego "Commodore 64", Lazy Jones. Esto le produjo su primera venta con Strike Recordings, bajo el título de "Lazy Lace". En abril de 2008, Avicii publicó su primera producción propia, "Manman", por el sello discográfico de Pete Tong, Bedroom Bedlam, después de ganar el concurso de Pete Tong "Fast Trax". Avicii recibió el 70% de los votos y después del lanzamiento contactó con numerosas etiquetas discográficas, promotores y agencias de reservas de todo el mundo. Incluso Laidback Luke mencionó Avicii en su página web Myspace diciendo: "Avicii, al ganar esta competición, ha dejado a muchos concursantes detrás de su polvo. Así que una felicitación grande para estos brillantes DJs por ganar el concurso y mucha suerte con sus futuras carreras". En 2010, Avicii publicó otra venta junto con el DJ sueco de nombre John Dahlbäck, titulado "Don't Hold Back", bajo el alias Jovicii. También trabajó con otros productores reconocidos en la escena electrónica como Kurt Cobain, los holandeses Nicky Romero y Shermano logy o los franceses Norman Doray y Sebastien Drums, entre otros. Aunque su trabajo se centra en canciones electrónicas, EMI puso a la venta una versión con vocales de su canción Bromance, con el título "Seek Bromance". En octubre de 2010, Avicii firmó un contrato con la discográfica europea A&R con EMI Music Publishing. Con lugar Londres y Nueva York, EMI es la cuarta empresa musical más grande y es productora de otras empresas, esto la hace ocupar ese cuarto puesto y la hace miembro de la RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America). En 2010, Avicii se embarcó en su primera gira mundial, empezando por Norte América y Europa del este. En 2010, Avicii logró colocarse en el puesto 39 en la lista de los 100 mejores DJs de la revista "DJmag". El 2011 le sonríe a Avicii, el joven productor se consolida como el sexto mejor DJ del mundo. Ya en el 2012 logra escalar tres lugares para posicionarse en el tercer puesto según la revista DJ Mag, siendo el Dj más joven dentro del TOP 10. En 2013, logró conservar la tercera ubicación en la encuesta. Su single Bromance (grabado y puesto a la venta bajo el seudónimo Tim Berg) consiguió entrar en el top 20 de Bélgica, Países Bajos y su nativa Suecia. Una versión vocal llamada "Seek Bromance" con Amanda Wilson, fue puesta a la venta poco después, alcanzando el UK Singles Chart y alcanzando el puesto nº 1 internacional en Beatport. Posteriormente ha lanzado varios singles como "Fade Into Darkness", (contiene los samples de Perpetuum Mobile), "My Feelings for You", "Street Dancer", y "Tweet It" entre otras. Su reconocimiento mundial llegaría en el 2011, cuando realizó un sampleo de la canción de música gospeloriginal de 1962, "Something's Got a Hold on Me" de Etta James, en su éxito "Levels", el cual logró ingresar en las listas musicales más importantes del mundo y obtuvo numerosas certificaciones. En ese mismo año fundaría su propia discográfica LE7ELS. En 2013 consigue su primer número uno en el Reino Unido gracias a "I Could Be the One", una co-producción junto al DJ holandés Nicky Romero. En junio de 2013, lanzó el sencillo "Wake me up" Con las voces del cantante estadounidense Aloe Blacc, logrando alcanzar el número uno en más de 30 países incluyendo Reino Unido, Suecia, Países Bajos, Australia, España y Alemania, entre otros. Éste fue el primer sencillo de su álbum debut titulado "Truelanzado" el 13 de septiembre de 2013. Le sucedieron sencillos como You Make Me y "Hey Brother", logrando éste último, la primera ubicación en países como Suecia, Alemania y Países Bajos, entre otros. En 2011, por primera vez Avicii y el DJ francés David Guetta realizan una co-producción titulada: "Sunshine", la cual fue incluida en el álbum "Nothing but the Beat", de David Guetta, en la versión electrónica de dicho álbum. Además fue nominada a los Premios Grammy como "Mejor Grabación Dance" en el año 2011. Su sencillo Levels fue nominado en la categoría "Mejor Grabación Dance" en los Premios Grammy de 2012. El 10 de noviembre de 2013, ganó el premio “Mejor Artista Electrónico” en los MTV EMA. En Norte América, "pinchó" en el Club Glow, en Washington, D.C.; en SET and Nikki Beach en Miami; en Club Pacha en Nueva York; en el Electric Zoo Festival en la isla Randall de Nueva York; en el Electric Daisy Carnival en Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum; en Ruby Skye de San Francisco; en Vision Night Club de Chicago; en The Guvernment de Toronto; además de Waterloo, Ontario; en el Club Mansion de London, Ontario; y en Wet Republic's Daylife en Las Vegas. Ha estado también en numerosas ciudades europeas y lugares como el Space y Ushuaia en Ibiza; en BCM en Magaluf (Mallorca), en elOpium (Barcelona) de Barcelona; en el Mónaco International Clubbing Show del Grimaldi Forum de Mónaco; en el Fabulous Festival deHertogenbosch, Países Bajos y en el Tomorrowland de Bélgica. En Sudamérica participó en el año 2013 en el Ultra Music Festival recorriendo países como Argentina, Chile, Brasil, Colombia y Venezuela. Algunos de estos conciertos han sido grabados por el canal de radio "Sirius XM" de música progressive y trance. El 23 de octubre de 2010, para reforzar su gira mundial, Avicii presentó un trabajo exclusivo de una hora en la radio Sirius XM. En noviembre de 2012 visitó El Salvador, dando un concierto en CIFCO. Su gira 2012 terminó el 10 de noviembre con una presentación en la ciudad de Monterrey ante más de 20.000 expectadores. Estilo Musical Su música está inspirada en: Tiësto, Laidback Luke, Eric Prydz, Tocadisco, Daft Punk, Sebastian Ingrosso, Steve Angello y Axwell. Avicii estaba fascinado con las producciones y pasó muchas horas en su estudio para la creación de una melodía dulce. Avicii nunca trató de quedar atrapado en un subgénero específico de la música house, sino que pretendía crear producciones innovadoras.

[brokehorrorfan]

Prior to his death in 2017, filmmaker George A. Romero (Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead) was writing a book titled The Living Dead. After he passed, Romero’s estate collaborated with author Daniel Kraus (The Shape of Water) to complete it.

The all-new, 656-page zombie novel will be published on June 9, 2020 via Tor Books. It’s available for pre-order for $29.99 in hardcover and $14.99 in e-book on Amazon.

The Living Dead’s synopsis is below. You can also read an except on EW.

On October 24th, John Doe rises from the dead. Assistant Medical Examiner Luis Acocella and his assistant Charlene Rutkowksi are vivisecting him when it happens, and so begins a global nightmare beyond comprehension.

Greer Morgan is a teenager living in a trailer park, and when the dead begin their assault, the true natures of her neighbors are revealed. Chuck Chaplin is a pretty-boy cable-news anchor, and the plague brings sudden purpose to his empty life.

Karl Nishimura is the helmsman of the U.S.S. Vindicator, a nuclear submarine, and he battles against a complete zombie takeover of his city upon the sea. And meanwhile, a mysterious woman named Etta Hoffmann records the progress of the epidemic from a bunker in D.C., as well as the broken dreams and stubborn hopes of a nation not ready to give up.

Spread across three separate time periods and combining Romero’s biting social commentary with Kraus’s gift for the beautiful and grotesque, the book rockets forward as the zombie plague explodes, endures, and finally, in a shocking final act, begins to radically change.

[readordiebyemilyt]

July is for reading comics at the pool!

I Am Groot #1: This was exactly as cute as I hoped it would be! I really like the art (see above for a great page that’s just the Milano looking beautiful), and I’m only a little bit worried about my sweet boy having a solo adventure...

The Legend of Wonder Woman #5: I’m finally getting into this series now that Diana and Etta are headed overseas. And Steve’s back! The art here is great, and since Diana’s about to become Wonder Woman and punch Nazis, I’m looking forward to reading the next four issues. 

Lumberjanes FCBD 2019: This issue is really a preview of the new OGN plus a fun story about Ripley meeting a Sphinx and “saving” Jen. (Also I need to catch up on Lumberjanes.)

Mystery Science Theater 3000 The Comic #3-4: See above for some great examples of how this comic really does bring movie riffing to print with hilarious results. Jonah and Black Cat are an entertaining duo, and Tom Servo, Teen Reporter, hopefully survives that plane crash, but the Crow-Keeper sections are probably my favorites. 

Shuri #1-2: Shuri is great, and so is her series, thanks to excellent writing by Nnedi Okorafor. (Plus Rocket and Groot are going to be in issue three, which is pretty much the best.) My only complaint about this book is that anyone would question why Shuri doesn’t want to be the Black Panther again. I mean, she died last time, so it makes sense to me that she’s going to explore other options first. I love Leonardo Romero’s art too--see above for some great images from issue two.

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #39-41: I say this every time I talk about Squirrel Girl, but I love this series, and I’m going to post more about issue #41 tomorrow because Thor and She-Hulk on a date was extremely great, as was Nancy figuring out that Peter Parker is Spider-Man, only he’s not right now, so they almost died, but then Tippy-Toe and a team of squirrels saved them. Also, Ms. Quizzler is another great villian/hopefully turned hero! And I’m glad Tony came around about helping the Skrulls, though I get why he was mad at first: he did get kidnapped and held for days in a freaky alien flesh prison. (It sounds worse than it was.) 

War of the Realms Journey Into Mystery #2-3: This continues to be a really fun series: I love the banter between the characters (see above for Miles and Thori being friends), and what’s the deal with the baby?! Is she really a demon, or is there some other Asgardian magical shenanigans going on here?

[lipwak]

VHS #332

Johnny Cash Profile, Music Behind The Scenes - Suspense, Etta James on Letterman, Randy Newman concert, 2 music segment/shows on WNYE - flamenco and Juniper Lane, Breakfast with the Arts - NRBQ (only 5 minutes of them, missed the most of it), American Masters - Muddy Waters, FMU love room studio cam, Monica, pt 2, 5/23/03 New York Burlesque Fest Webcam Blowout! *** Cablevision waveform monitor - Ch 121 *** Johnny Cash - Bravo Profile, episode 247 (97?) season 12001, Hallway Group Productions1:54 w/ commercials missed beginning, found his way out of cave, Folsom Prison Blues (not at Folsom), Marty Stuart, Billy Bob Thornton, Judy Collins, early life, MS river flooded their cotton farm, 5 feet high and rising (https://youtu.be/O2HrBcGvGYg) this clip, Rodney Crowell, wanted to be a radio star, Louvin Brothers show, George Jones, brother Jack died in a sawmill accident, hitchhiked to Detroit, joined Air Force, Memphis, Luther Perkins, Sam Phillips, I’ll bring a good band next time, Cry Cry Cry, Glen Campbell, Big River (https://youtu.be/wZF779OA0SI) this clip, Kris Kristofferson, Jerry Lee Lewis, Jack Clement, w/ Elvis, I Walk The Line, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Home Of The Blues (https://youtu.be/cmIvIOjVtJs) this clip, Carl Perkins, Levon Helm, Carter Family, on stage, Porter Waggoner, Tompall Glaser, Merle Kilgore, Ring Of Fire (https://youtu.be/gRlj5vjp3Ko) this clip, Merle Haggard, pep pills, George Riddle, Carnegie Hall - had laryngitis, Jackson (Folsom), San Quentin, concept albums, OBS, Dylan met him, circled him and said he was truly beautiful, part of the folk scene, Ballad of Ira Hayes (https://youtu.be/2ZyLCzwuTE0) this clip, prison concerts, Folsom, San Quentin (Merle Haggard was in the audience!), Boy Named Sue went #1, The Johnny Cash Show had folk rock musicians too, Man in Black (https://youtu.be/t51MHUENlAQ) this clip, started making movies, Kristofferson was working as a janitor at a recording studio and gave June Carter tapes of his songs, landed a helicopter on his lawn, The Highwaymen, Rick Rubin. *** Music Behind the Scenes - Suspense 1 hr Nosferatu, mood music used, The Third Man theme, Michael Kamen, (much too much on Mona Lisa), Donnie Brasco, Psycho, Bernard Herrmann, Elmer Bernstein, all-string score to Psycho, North By Northwest, Taxi Driver score finished just hours before he died, George Romero, John Carpenter, Halloween 5/4 time, Mark Kermode, Jerry Goldsmith, Chinatown, Robert Evans, Titus, Julie Taymor, Walter Murch, sfx, Midnight Express, heart synchs to dominant sound on the screen in theaters, Alan Parker, Giorgio Moroder, repetition. *** Etta James on Letterman, 8/12/02 - Sugar on the Floor (https://youtu.be/1klO7-PTzh8) not this clip. *** Musicians: Randy NewmanBravo You’ve Got A Friend In Metalk with host, his uncles, plays song his father wrote - Who Gave You The Roses for Bing CrosbyUncle Al wrote Cinemascope themeUncle Lionel song, Daniel Boonein New Orleans for 7 months, Dixie Flyersongs others coveredMama Told Me Not To ComeYou Can Leave Your Hat OnSail Awaywhere do his characters come from?Good Ole BoysRednecksGodPolitical ScienceShort People, needed an up song for the albumEagles sang background on alot of his songsBorn AgainMy Life Is GoodHookThe NaturalParenthood, I Love To See You SmileToy Story, When She Loved MeMonsters Inc - If I Didn’t Have YouOscar acceptance speechI Love LATickle Me *** WNYE Bright Nights, Big City Music NY flamenco guitar played by a Japanese man - Manuel de Falla - The Miller's Dance *** Juniper LaneMHZCPTV - unknown song- Tightrope *** Breakfast with the Arts - NRBQ 22 min (missed beginning)~5 min of NRBQ, the rest is talk with a few music clips See You Soon (end) (https://youtu.be/-C6s3135yqk?t=30s) this clip Terry Got A Muffin (https://youtu.be/IBsujRXinNQ) Not this clip.Elvis CostelloBonnie RaittKeith Richards Spirit House Records founders and Spookie Daly talk about NRBQ *** American Masters Muddy Waters - Can’t Be Satisfiedaudio level fluctuates http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/muddy-waters-cant-be-satisfied/730/ BB King, Long Distance Call (https://youtu.be/fe2LZYFaIho) this clip, Buddy Guy, Bonnie Raitt, Rolln and Tumblin, Amelia “Cookie” Cooper, David “Honeyboy" Edwards, Robert Morgenfield (brother), Elve Morgenfield, You Gonna Miss Me When I’m Gone, Alan Lomax looking for Robert Johnson, I Be’s Troubled (1st time Muddy heard his voice), Still A Fool, James Cotton, Buddy Guy, Muddy talks about his job in Chicago, Kieth Richards, I Can’t Be Satisfied, Marshall Chess, recording session, Jim Dickinson, I’m Your Hoochie Coochie Man (1958), Charles Williams (stepson) visits house, pics of them in the basement, watched baseball and ate ice cream, Nihi grape soda, liked beautiful young women, Bob Margolin, She’s Nineteen Years Old, Lucille McClenton (girlfriend), Newport, I’ve Got Mojo Working (https://youtu.be/1gNs-29s-0Q) this clip!, Charlie Musselwhite, Bill Wyman, Rolling Stones - I Just Wanna Make Love To You on the Hollywood Palace with Dean Martin, Electric Mud - I Just Wanna Make Love To You, Paul Oscher, Willie Smith, Sail On Honeybee (https://youtu.be/23rmaGTnr3g) this clip, My Home Is In The Delta, Hard Again, on stage with Jimmy Carter, Crosseyed Cat, Marva Morgenfield, Mannish Boy live,  had cancer, Bird Nest On The Ground Muddy in the car with...https://youtu.be/JgPIooV5H9A *** FMU love room studio cam, Monica, pt 2, 5/23/03 after Monkey Girl38:00 New York Burlesque Fest Webcam Blowout!Hear the whole show here: http://wfmu.org/flashplayer.php?version=3&show=7563&archive=116423(No playlist) 56k modem jerky video Seduction of the Virgin Princess - Sonny Lester & Ann Corio (https://youtu.be/6SUQ4_87m9I) this clip!, man in blue jacket on cam, Lullaby of the Leaves - Ray Martin and His Orchestra (https://youtu.be/TOr247TqVes) this clip, bump & grind on the webcam, Angie (Angie Pontani), NY Burlesque Festival benefit, burlesque fashion show, Kitten on the Keys - Dixie Evans signed red dress, red hot red, Miss Delirium Tremens - Dixie Evans black velvet pencil skirt, bring that zipper down, Joe Boob, Night Train - Alvino Ray (https://youtu.be/TuJNdIcBOo8) this clip!, takes top off, how do you do it? I touch myself alot, Pad - Bobby G Summers, man puts black hood on and sweeps floor, London March - George Melachrino, Angie, talk about baggy pants and working in the business, Kellita hot pink feathers San Francisco belly dancing, Salome and the 7 Veils, shows pic of her great aunt Olive, The Chocolate Princess, The Stripper - David Rose (https://youtu.be/5bLX06yR3wY) this clip, several girls on stage, (3) Pontani Sisters - Ganges A Go Go - Bombay The Hard Way (https://youtu.be/0q2Q0MK6eDI) this clip, thanks people, Joe Belock on next, finale, station id, Overture to Gypsy (https://youtu.be/tOIJmfoXl3M) this clip, cam shows computer, then my computer.

[fathersonholygore]

A&E’s Bates Motel Season 5, Episode 1: “Dark Paradise” Directed by Tucker Gates Written by Kerry Ehrin

* For a recap & review of the next episode, “The Convergence of the Twain” – click here So what’s next for Norman Bates (Freddie Highmore)? He’s done his mother Norma (Vera Farmiga) in. But mother will always live on inside him. Well, Norman continues on much like he did before. Living in mother’s world. Except the delusion’s only gotten deeper, and we’re one step closer to the territory Alfred Hithcock explored nearly 50 years ago at this point. Poor Norma, he acts as if Norma’s still alive and well. They go about their day, eating breakfast, talking about the chores Norman has been finishing down at the motel. He’s convinced himself mother is only hiding, she isn’t dead. She had to get away from all the trouble of her life. Amazing what the tortured mind can do, isn’t it? And then there’s Sheriff Alex Romero (Nestor Carbonell). I guess former sheriff. Now that he’s doing a stint in prison for being mixed up in a little too much corrupt business. That’s one of the great parts about Bates Motel: no characters, even the relatively better ones compared to others, are perfect; none of them are morally superior, they’re merely different shades of grey. Norman runs into a shop and meets a woman named Madeleine Loomis (Isabelle McNally). He, of course, rambles on about his mother. To anyone who doesn’t know him like the audience it sounds sweet. To us, it’s awfully creepy. Worse, he has some guy’s wallet. A guest from the motel? Or another grave? Hard to tell, though I assume the latter. He doesn’t remember where he got it, so he asks mother. She plays dumb and clearly knows something. Norman: “Do you ever have the feeling that you‘ve had the same nightmare over and over again, but that you can‘t remember it, you just remember the feeling of it?” Norma: “Nope” In their new home, Emma (Olivia Cooke) and Dylan (Max Theriot) have a little baby girl, and they’re celebrating Emma’s birthday in their beautiful house. Things are wonderful; Dylan’s been promoted. Then up shows Caleb (Kenny Johnson) at the door, throwing all sorts of emotions into the mix.

Trying to find out where the wallet came from, Norman searches the motel for clues. He keeps detailed records of his whereabouts, monitoring his blackouts. One of which coincides with a receipt from the man’s wallet. Uh oh. A man clearly at the Bates Motel to have discrete sex checks in as David Davidson. So sneaky Norman puts him in Room 1. You know why, he made that little peephole for himself, when he was spying on mother and Alex. Now he has a front row seat to the sex lives of others. Until mother calls him on the phone, interrupting his nasty little masturbatory fantasy. Even in death she controls his libido. Added to the fact there’s luminol ordered using his credit card, something else he doesn’t remember; something mother absolutely knows about while acting like she knows nothing. They sit and have nice dinners, but underneath it’s so volatile. He can’t even bring up Madeleine and her help with the paint without upsetting their delicate balance. Knowing where Norman ends up in Psycho, it’s interesting to see things bubbling up right now between him and his dead mother. Because we know it’s about to get a hell of a lot worse. And scarier still, Norman goes to the basement. To see his real mother, where she stays preserved, or sort of, sitting there like a doll. So at once he’s delusional and also lucid at times – the worst type of psychopath.

The next day Madeleine brings Norman some paint and brushes to sample colours. There’s an obvious chemistry between them, though she has no idea how terrifying he is under the facade. I can see a tension brewing, whether that’s sexual I don’t know yet. I’m thinking there’ll be problems with her husband down the line. Caleb’s trying to do his best fitting in with Dylan and Emma again. Although they’re ready to give him a chance, particularly once she finds out that Caleb helped with money for her surgery. She tells him what it meant, to help save her life. On the other hand, she asks him to leave. Because of who he is, as an uncle and father simultaneously to Dylan; she doesn’t want this affecting her own child. A tough but necessary move. Mother and Norman have an argument out in front of the motel. She isn’t happy that he’s going out to a small business owner meeting, one that Madeleine told him about. So she hauls him up to the house, to the basement. To the freezer. Where she shows him the body of the man whose wallet he’s been carrying around. They killed him. Even when neither of them fully understand who’s controlling whom in their situation. Regardless, it’s bad. Norman: “Well, it‘s not like we‘ve never done this before.”

So mother and son go about ridding themselves of the corpse. And while we watch them both take care of business, it’s really just Normal lugging the body around, struggling it into the trunk, and everything else. All to Etta James singing “At Last” during their dark family outing. A nice canoe ride at night, a body dumping. Perfect for the two of them. Except Norman still doesn’t understand why the man was trying to kill him. Why mother had to take him down. She loves to hide secrets. Then the man’s cell rings. An inmate from prison calling – it’s Alex. He’s trying to put an end to Norman. Only now, the young man knows.

What a great opener to Season 5! Loving it already. So much in store, including the storyline that will connect us to the Hitchcock classic. Next up is “The Convergence of the Twain” and I’m expecting big, creepy things! Bates Motel – Season 5, Episode 1: “Dark Paradise” A&E's Bates Motel Season 5, Episode 1: "Dark Paradise" Directed by Tucker Gates…

[wadeillinois]

– WELCOME TO WADE!

Congratulations, and our condolences! ETTA ROMERO ( Zoe Kravitz ), you’re INTANGIBLE.

Ivy! We’re super excited to see you bring Etta to life, especially given the fact that she’s a journalist! A lot to look forward to. 

Check out our acceptance checklist here.