#Ancestor Allstars

[ancestorsalive]

Photograph of an unidentified woman, circa the 1850’s.

- Photo by Thomas M. Easterly, Part of Missouri Historical Society Collection)

[bongaboi]

2021 Grammy Awards: The List.

New age

Best New Age Album

More Guitar Stories – Jim "Kimo" West

Songs from the Bardo – Laurie Anderson, Tenzin Choegyal & Jesse Paris Smith

Periphery – Priya Darshini

Form//Less – Superposition

Meditations – Cory Wong & Jon Batiste

Jazz

Best Improvised Jazz Solo

"All Blues" – Chick Corea, soloist

"Guinnevere" – Christian Scott Atunde Adjuah, soloist

"Pachamama" – Regina Carter, soloist

"Tomorrow is the Question" – Julian Lage, soloist

"Celia" – Gerald Clayton, soloist

"Moe Honk" – Joshua Redman, soloist

Best Jazz Vocal Album

Secrets are the Best Stories – Kurt Elling featuring Danilo Pérez

ONA – Thana Alexa

Modern Ancestors – Carmen Lundy

Holy Room: Live at Alte Oper – Somi With Frankfurt Radio Big Band

What's the Hurry – Kenny Washington

Best Jazz Instrumental Album

Trilogy 2 – Chick Corea, Christian McBride & Brian Blade

on the tender spot of every calloused moment – Ambrose Akinmusire

Waiting Game – Terri Lyne Carrington and Social Science

Happening: Live at the Village Vanguard – Gerald Clayton

RoundAgain – Redman Mehldau McBride Blade

Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album

Data Lords – Maria Schneider Orchestra

Dialogues on Race – Gregg August

Monk'estra Plays John Beasley – John Beasley

The Intangible Between – Orrin Evans and The Captain Black Big Band

Songs You Like a Lot – John Hollenbeck with Theo Bleckmann, Kate McGarry, Gary Versace and The Frankfurt Radio Big Band

Best Latin Jazz Album

Four Questions – Arturo O'Farrill & The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra

Tradiciones – Afro-Peruvian Jazz Orchestra

City of Dreams – Chico Pinheiro

Viento y Tiempo - Live at Blue Note Tokyo – Gonzalo Rubalcaba & Aymée Nuviola

Trane's Delight – Poncho Sanchez

Gospel/contemporary Christian music

Best Gospel Performance/Song

"Movin' On"

Darryl L. Howell, Jonathan Caleb McReynolds, Kortney Jamaal Pollard & Terrell Demetrius Wilson, songwriters (Jonathan McReynolds & Mali Music)

"Wonderful is Your Name"

Melvin Crispell III, songwriter (Melvin Crispell III)

"Release (Live)"

David Frazier, songwriter (Ricky Dillard featuring Tiff Joy)

"Come Together"

Lashawn Daniels, Rodney Jerkins, Lecrae Moore & Jazz Nixon, songwriters (Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins Presents: The Good News)

"Won't Let Go"

Travis Greene, songwriter (Travis Greene)

Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song

"There Was Jesus"

Casey Beathard, Jonathan Smith & Zach Williams, songwriters (Zach Williams & Dolly Parton)

"The Blessing (Live)"

Chris Brown, Cody Carnes, Kari Jobe Carnes & Steven Furtick, songwriters (Kari Jobe, Cody Carnes & Elevation Worship)

"Sunday Morning"

Denisia Andrews, Jones Terrence Antonio, Saint Bodhi, Brittany Coney, Kirk Franklin, Lasanna Harris, Shama Joseph, Stuart Lowery, Lecrae Moore & Nathanael Saint-Fleur, songwriters (Lecrae featuring Kirk Franklin)

"Holy Water"

Andrew Bergthold, Ed Cash, Franni Cash, Martin Cash & Scott Cash, songwriters (We the Kingdom)

"Famous For (I Believe)"

Chuck Butler, Krissy Nordhoff, Jordan Sapp, Alexis Slifer & Tauren Wells, songwriters (Tauren Wells featuring Jenn Johnson)

Best Gospel Album

Gospel According to PJ – PJ Morton

2econd Wind: ReadY – Anthony Brown & group therAPy

My Tribute – Myron Butler

Choirmaster – Ricky Dillard

Kierra – Kierra Sheard

Best Contemporary Christian Music Album

Jesus Is King – Kanye West

Run to The Father – Cody Carnes

All of My Best Friends – Hillsong Young & Free

Holy Water – We the Kingdom

Citizen of Heaven – Tauren Wells

Best Roots Gospel Album

Celebrating Fisk! (The 150th Anniversary Album) – Fisk Jubilee Singers

Beautiful Day – Mark Bishop

20/20 – The Crabb Family

What Christmas Really Means – The Erwins

Something Beautiful – Ernie Haase & Signature Sound

Latin

Best Latin Pop Album or Urban Album

YHLQMDLG – Bad Bunny

Por Primera Vez – Camilo

Mesa Para Dos – Kany García

Pausa – Ricky Martin

3:33 – Debi Nova

Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album

La Conquista del Espacio – Fito Páez

Aura – Bajofondo

MONSTRUO – Cami

Sobrevolando – Cultura Profética

Miss Colombia – Lido Pimienta

Best Regional Mexican Music Album (Including Tejano)

Un Canto por México, Vol. 1 – Natalia Lafourcade

Hecho en México – Alejandro Fernández

La Serenata – Lupita Infante

Bailando Sones y Huampangos con Mariachi Sol De Mexico De Jose Hernandez – Mariachi Sol De Mexico De Jose Hernandez

Ayayay! – Christian Nodal

Best Tropical Latin Album

40 – Grupo Niche

Mi Tumbao – José Alberto "El Ruiseñor"

Infinito – Edwin Bonilla

Sigo Cantando al Amor (Deluxe) – Jorge Celedon & Sergio Luis

Memorias de Navidad – Víctor Manuelle

American roots

Best American Roots Performance

"I Remember Everything" – John Prine

"Colors" – Black Pumas

"Deep in Love" – Bonny Light Horseman

"Short and Sweet" – Brittany Howard

"I'll Be Gone" – Norah Jones & Mavis Staples

Best American Roots Song

"I Remember Everything"

Pat McLaughlin & John Prine, songwriters (John Prine)

"Cabin"

Laura Rogers & Lydia Rogers, songwriters (The Secret Sisters)

"Ceiling to the Floor"

Sierra Hull & Kai Welch, songwriters (Sierra Hull)

"Hometown"

Sarah Jarosz, songwriter (Sarah Jarosz)

"Man Without a Soul"

Tom Overby & Lucinda Williams, songwriters (Lucinda Williams)

Best Americana Album

World on the Ground – Sarah Jarosz

Old Flowers – Courtney Marie Andrews

Terms of Surrender – Hiss Golden Messenger

El Dorado – Marcus King

Good Souls Better Angels – Lucinda Williams

Best Bluegrass Album

Home – Billy Strings

Man on Fire – Danny Barnes

To Live in Two Worlds, Vol. 1 – Thomm Jutz

North Carolina Songbook – Steep Canyon Rangers

The John Hartford Fiddle Tune Project, Vol. 1 – Various Artists

Best Traditional Blues Album

Rawer than Raw – Bobby Rush

All My Dues are Paid – Frank Bey

You Make Me Feel – Don Bryant

That's What I Heard – Robert Cray Band

Cypress Grove – Jimmy "Duck" Holmes

Best Contemporary Blues Album

Have You Lost Your Mind Yet? – Fantastic Negrito

Live at the Paramount – Ruthie Foster Big Band

The Juice – G. Love

Blackbirds – Bettye LaVette

Up and Rolling – North Mississippi Allstars

Best Folk Album

All the Good Times – Gillian Welch & David Rawlings

Bonny Light Horseman – Bonny Light Horseman

Thanks for the Dance – Leonard Cohen

Song for Our Daughter – Laura Marling

Saturn Return – The Secret Sisters

Best Regional Roots Music Album

Atmosphere – New Orleans Nightcrawlers

My Relatives 'nikso' Kowaiks – Black Lodge Singers

Cameron Dupuy and The Cajun Troubadours – Cameron Dupuy And The Cajun Troubadours

Lovely Sunrise – Nā Wai ʽEhā

A Tribute to Al Berard – Sweet Cecilia

Reggae

Best Reggae Album

Got to Be Tough – Toots and the Maytals

Upside Down 2020 – Buju Banton

Higher Place – Skip Marley

It All Comes Black to Love – Maxi Priest

One World – The Wailers

Global music

Best Global Music Album

Twice as Tall – Burna Boy

Fu Chronicles – Antibalas

Agora – Bebel Gilberto

Love Letters – Anoushka Shankar

Amadjar – Tinariwen

Children's

Best Children's Album

All the Ladies – Joanie Leeds

Be a Pain: An Album for Young (and Old) Leaders – Alastair Moock And Friends

I'm an Optimist – Dog On Fleas

Songs for Singin' – The Okee Dokee Brothers

Wild Life – Justin Roberts

Spoken word

Best Spoken Word Album (Includes Poetry, Audio Books & Storytelling)

Blowout: Corrupted Democracy, Rogue State Russia, and the Richest, Most Destructive Industry on Earth – Rachel Maddow

Acid for the Children – A Memoir – Flea

Alex Trebek – The Answer Is... – Ken Jennings

Catch and Kill – Ronan Farrow

Charlotte's Web (E.B. White) – Meryl Streep and Full Cast

Comedy

Best Comedy Album

Black Mitzvah – Tiffany Haddish

I Love Everything – Patton Oswalt

The Pale Tourist – Jim Gaffigan

Paper Tiger – Bill Burr

23 Hours to Kill – Jerry Seinfeld

Musical theater

Best Musical Theater Album

Jagged Little Pill – Kathryn Gallagher, Celia Rose Gooding, Lauren Patten & Elizabeth Stanley, principal soloists; Neal Avron, Pete Ganbarg, Tom Kitt, Michael Parker, Craig Rosen & Vivek J. Tiwary, producers (Glen Ballard & Alanis Morissette, lyricists) (Original Broadway Cast)

Amélie – Audrey Brisson, Chris Jared, Caolan McCarthy & Jez Unwin, principal soloists; Michael Fentiman, Sean Patrick Flahaven, Barnaby Race & Nathan Tysen, producers; Nathan Tysen, lyricist; Daniel Messe, composer & lyricist (Original London Cast)

American Utopia on Broadway – David Byrne, principal soloist; David Byrne, producer (David Byrne, composer & lyricist) (Original Cast)

Little Shop of Horrors – Tammy Blanchard, Jonathan Groff & Tom Alan Robbins, principal soloists; Will Van Dyke, Michael Mayer, Alan Menken & Frank Wolf, producers (Alan Menken, composer; Howard Ashman, lyricist) (The New Off-Broadway Cast)

The Prince of Egypt – Christine Allado, Luke Brady, Alexia Khadime & Liam Tamne, principal soloists; Dominick Amendum & Stephen Schwartz, producers; Stephen Schwartz, composer & lyricist (Original Cast)

Soft Power – Francis Jue, Austin Ku, Alyse Alan Louis & Conrad Ricamora, principal soloists; Matt Stine, producer; David Henry Hwang, lyricist; Jeanine Tesori, composer & lyricist (Original Cast)

Music for visual media

Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media

Jojo Rabbit – Various artists

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood – Various artists

Bill & Ted Face the Music – Various artists

Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga – Various artists

Frozen II – Various artists

Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media

Joker – Hildur Guðnadóttir, composer

Ad Astra – Max Richter, composer

Becoming – Kamasi Washington, composer

1917 – Thomas Newman, composer

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker – John Williams, composer

Best Song Written for Visual Media

"No Time to Die" (from No Time to Die)

Billie Eilish O'Connell and Finneas O'Connell (Billie Eilish)

"Beautiful Ghosts" (from Cats)

Andrew Lloyd Webber and Taylor Swift (Taylor Swift)

"Carried Me with You" (from Onward)

Brandi Carlile, Phil Hanseroth and Tim Hanseroth (Brandi Carlile)

"Into the Unknown" (from Frozen II)

Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez (Idina Menzel featuring AURORA)

"Stand Up" (from Harriet)

Joshuah Brian Campbell and Cynthia Erivo (Cynthia Erivo)

Composing/Arranging

Best Instrumental Composition

"Sputnik"

Maria Schneider, composer (Maria Schneider)

"Baby Jack"

Arturo O'Farrill, composer (Arturo O'Farrill & The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra)

"Be Water II"

Christian Sands, composer (Christian Sands)

"Plumfield"

Alexandre Desplat, composer (Alexandre Desplat)

"Strata"

Remy Le Boeuf, composer (Remy Le Boeuf's Assembly Of Shadows featuring Anna Webber & Eric Miller)

Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella

"Donna Lee"

John Beasley, arranger (John Beasley)

"Bathroom Dance"

Hildur Guðnadóttir, arranger (Hildur Guðnadóttir)

"Honeymooners"

Remy Le Boeuf, arranger (Remy Le Boeuf's Assembly Of Shadows)

"Lift Every Voice and Sing"

Alvin Chea & Jarrett Johnson, arrangers (Jarrett Johnson Featuring Alvin Chea)

"Uranus: The Magician"

Jeremy Levy, arranger (Jeremy Levy Jazz Orchestra)

Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals

"He Won't Hold You"

Jacob Collier, arranger (Jacob Collier featuring Rapsody)

"Asas Fechadas"

John Beasley & Maria Mendes, arrangers (Maria Mendes Featuring John Beasley & Orkest Metropole)

"Desert Song"

Erin Bentlage, Sara Gazarek, Johnaye Kendrick & Amanda Taylor, arrangers (Säje)

"From This Place"

Alan Broadbent & Pat Metheny, arrangers (Pat Metheny featuring Meshell Ndegeocello)

"Slow Burn"

Talia Billig, Nic Hard & Becca Stevens, arrangers (Becca Stevens featuring Jacob Collier, Mark Lettieri, Justin Stanton, Jordan Perlson, Nic Hard, Keita Ogawa, Marcelo Woloski & Nate Werth)

Package

Best Recording Package

Vols. 11 & 12

Doug Cunningham & Jason Noto, art directors (Desert Sessions)

Everyday Life

Pilar Zeta, art director (Coldplay)

Funeral

Kyle Goen, art director (Lil Wayne)

Healer

Julian Gross & Hannah Hooper, art directors (Grouplove)

On Circles

Jordan Butcher, art director (Caspian)

Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package

Ode to Joy

Lawrence Azerrad & Jeff Tweedy, art directors (Wilco)

Flaming Pie (Collector's Edition)

Linn Wie Andersen, Simon Earith, Paul McCartney & James Musgrave, art directors (Paul McCartney)

Giants Stadium 1987, 1989, 1991

Lisa Glines & Doran Tyson, art directors (Grateful Dead)

Mode

Jeff Schulz, art director (Depeche Mode)

The Story of Ghostly International

Michael Cina & Molly Smith, art directors (Various Artists)

Notes

Best Album Notes

Dead Man's Pop

Bob Mehr, album notes writer (The Replacements)

At The Minstrel Show: Minstrel Routines From The Studio, 1894-1926

Tim Brooks, album notes writer (Various Artists)

The Bakersfield Sound: Country Music Capital Of The West, 1940-1974

Scott B. Bomar, album notes writer (Various Artists)

The Missing Link: How Gus Haenschen Got Us From Joplin To Jazz And Shaped The Music Business

Colin Hancock, album notes writer (Various Artists)

Out Of A Clear Blue Sky

David Sager, album notes writer (Nat Brusiloff)

Historical

Best Historical Album

It's Such a Good Feeling: The Best of Mister Rogers

Lee Lodyga & Cheryl Pawelski, compilation producers; Michael Graves, mastering engineer (Mister Rogers)

Celebrated, 1895–1896

Meagan Hennessey & Richard Martin, compilation producers; Richard Martin, mastering engineer (Unique Quartette)

Hittin' the Ramp: The Early Years (1936–1943)

Zev Feldman, Will Friedwald & George Klabin, compilation producers; Matthew Lutthans, mastering engineer (Nat King Cole)

1999 Super Deluxe Edition

Michael Howe, compilation producer; Bernie Grundman, mastering engineer (Prince)

Souvenir

Carolyn Agger, compilation producer; Miles Showell, mastering engineer (Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark)

Throw Down Your Heart: The Complete Africa Sessions

Béla Fleck, compilation producer; Richard Dodd, mastering engineer (Béla Fleck)

Production, non-classical

Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical

Hyperspace

Drew Brown, Andrew Coleman, Shawn Everett, Serban Ghenea, David Greenbaum, Jaycen Joshua, Beck Hansen & Mike Larson, engineers; Randy Merrill, mastering engineer (Beck)

Black Hole Rainbow

Shawn Everett & Ivan Wayman, engineers; Bob Ludwig, mastering engineer (Devon Gilfillian)

Expectations

Gary Paczosa & Mike Robinson, engineers; Paul Blakemore, mastering engineer (Katie Pruitt)

Jaime

Shawn Everett, engineer; Shawn Everett, mastering engineer (Brittany Howard)

25 Trips

Shani Gandhi & Gary Paczosa, engineers; Adam Grover, mastering engineer (Sierra Hull)

Producer of the Year, Non-Classical

Andrew Watt

"Break My Heart" (Dua Lipa)

"Me and My Guitar" (A Boogie wit da Hoodie)

"Midnight Sky" (Miley Cyrus)

"Old Me" (5 Seconds of Summer)

"Ordinary Man" (Ozzy Osbourne featuring Elton John)

"Take What You Want" (Post Malone featuring Ozzy Osbourne & Travis Scott)

"Under The Graveyard" (Ozzy Osbourne)

Jack Antonoff

"August" (Taylor Swift)

Gaslighter (The Chicks)

"Holy Terrain" (FKA Twigs featuring Future)

"Mirrorball" (Taylor Swift)

"This Is Me Trying" (Taylor Swift)

"Together" (Sia)

Dan Auerbach

Cypress Grove (Jimmy "Duck" Holmes)

El Dorado (Marcus King)

Is Thomas Callaway (CeeLo Green)

Singing for My Supper (Early James)

Solid Gold Sounds (Kendell Marvel)

Years (John Anderson)

Dave Cobb

"Backbone" (Kaleo)

The Balladeer (Lori McKenna)

Boneshaker (Airbourne)

Down Home Christmas (Oak Ridge Boys)

The Highwomen (The Highwomen)

"I Remember Everything" (John Prine)

Reunions (Jason Isbell And The 400 Unit)

"The Spark" (William Prince)

"You're Still the One" (Teddy Swims)

Flying Lotus

It Is What It Is (Thundercat)

Best Remixed Recording

"Roses (Imanbek Remix)"

Imanbek Zeikenov, remixer (SAINt JHN)

"Do You Ever (RAC Mix)"

RAC, remixer (Phil Good)

"Imaginary Friends (Morgan Page Remix)"

Morgan Page, remixer (Deadmau5)

"Praying for You (Louie Vega Main Remix)"

Louie Vega, remixer (Jasper Street Co.)

"Young & Alive (Bazzi vs. Haywyre Remix)"

Haywyre, remixer (Bazzi)

Production, immersive audio

Best Immersive Audio Album

The judging for this category was postponed.

Production, classical

Best Engineered Album, Classical

"Shostakovich: Symphony No. 13, 'Babi Yar'"

David Frost & Charlie Post, engineers; Silas Brown, mastering engineer (Riccardo Muti & Chicago Symphony Orchestra)

"Danielpour: The Passion of Yeshua"

Bernd Gottinger, engineer (JoAnn Falletta, James K. Bass, Adam Luebke, UCLA Chamber Singers, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra & Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus)

"Gershwin: Porgy and Bess"

David Frost & John Kerswell, engineers; Silas Brown, mastering engineer (David Robertson, Eric Owens, Angel Blue, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra & Chorus)

"Hynes: Fields"

Kyle Pyke, engineer; Jesse Lewis & Kyle Pyke, mastering engineers (Devonté Hynes & Third Coast Percussion)

"Ives: Complete Symphonies"

Alexander Lipay & Dmitriy Lipay, engineers; Alexander Lipay & Dmitriy Lipay, mastering engineers (Gustavo Dudamel & Los Angeles Philharmonic)

Producer of the Year, Classical

David Frost

Beethoven: Piano Sonatas, Vol. 9 (Jonathan Biss)

Gershwin: Porgy And Bess (David Robertson, Eric Owens, Angel Blue, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra & Chorus)

Gluck: Orphée & Eurydice (Harry Bicket, Dmitry Korchak, Andriana Chuchman, Lauren Snouffer, Lyric Opera Of Chicago Orchestra & Chorus)

Holst: The Planets; The Perfect Fool (Michael Stern & Kansas City Symphony)

Muhly: Marnie (Robert Spano, Isabel Leonard, Christopher Maltman, Denyce Graves, Iestyn Davies, Janis Kelly, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra & Chorus)

Schubert: Piano Sonatas, D. 845, D. 894, D. 958, D. 960 (Shai Wosner)

Shostakovich: Symphony No. 13, 'Babi Yar' (Riccardo Muti, Alexey Tikhomirov, Chicago Symphony Orchestra & Chorus)

Blanton Alspaugh

Aspects Of America - Pulitzer Edition (Carlos Kalmar & Oregon Symphony)

Blessed Art Thou Among Women (Peter Jermihov, Katya Lukianov & PaTRAM Institute Singers)

Dvořák: Symphony No. 9; Copland: Billy The Kid (Gianandrea Noseda & National Symphony Orchestra)

Glass: The Fall Of The House Of Usher (Joseph Li, Nicholas Nestorak, Madison Leonard, Jonas Hacker, Ben Edquist, Matthew Adam Fleisher & Wolf Trap Opera)

Kahane: Emergency Shelter Intake Form (Alicia Hall Moran, Gabriel Kahane, Carlos Kalmar & Oregon Symphony)

Kastalsky: Requiem (Leonard Slatkin, Steven Fox, Benedict Sheehan, Charles Bruffy, Cathedral Choral Society, The Clarion Choir, The Saint Tikhon Choir, Kansas City Chorale & Orchestra Of St. Luke's)

Massenet: Thaïs (Andrew Davis, Joshua Hopkins, Andrew Staples, Erin Wall, Toronto Mendelssohn Choir & Toronto Symphony Orchestra)

Smyth: The Prison (Sarah Brailey, Dashon Burton, James Blachly & Experiential Orchestra)

Woolf, L.P.: Fire And Flood (Julian Wachner, Matt Haimovitz & Choir Of Trinity Wall Street)

Jesse Lewis

Gunn: The Ascendant (Roomful Of Teeth)

Harrison, M.: Just Constellations (Roomful Of Teeth)

Her Own Wings (Willamette Valley Chamber Music Festival)

Hynes: Fields (Devonté Hynes & Third Coast Percussion)

Lang, D.: Love Fail (Beth Willer & Lorelei Ensemble)

Mazzoli: Proving Up (Christopher Rountree, Opera Omaha & International Contemporary Ensemble)

Sharlat: Spare The Rod! (NOW Ensemble)

Soul House (Hub New Music)

Wherein Lies The Good (The Westerlies)

Dmitry Lipay

Adams, J.: Must The Devil Have All The Good Tunes? (Yuja Wang, Gustavo Dudamel & Los Angeles Philharmonic)

Cipullo: The Parting (Alastair Willis, Laura Strickling, Catherine Cook, Michael Mayes & Music Of Remembrance)

Ives: Complete Symphonies (Gustavo Dudamel & Los Angeles Philharmonic)

LA Phil 100 - The Los Angeles Philharmonic Centennial Birthday Gala (Gustavo Dudamel & Los Angeles Philharmonic)

Langgaard: Prelude To Antichrist; Strauss: An Alpine Symphony (Thomas Dausgaard & Seattle Symphony Orchestra)

Nielsen: Symphony No. 1 & Symphony No. 2, 'The Four Temperaments' (Thomas Dausgaard & Seattle Symphony)

Elaine Martone

Bound For The Promised Land (Robert M. Franklin, Steven Darsey, Jessye Norman & Taylor Branch)

Dawn (Shachar Israel)

Gandolfi, Prior & Oliverio: Orchestral Works (Robert Spano & Atlanta Symphony Orchestra)

Singing In The Dead Of Night (Eighth Blackbird)

Whitacre: The Sacred Veil (Eric Whitacre, Grant Gershon & Los Angeles Master Chorale)

Classical

Best Orchestral Performance

"Ives: Complete Symphonies"

Gustavo Dudamel, conductor (Los Angeles Philharmonic)

"Aspects of America - Pulitzer Edition"

Carlos Kalmar, conductor (Oregon Symphony)

"Concurrence"

Daníel Bjarnason, conductor (Iceland Symphony Orchestra)

"Copland: Symphony No. 3"

Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor (San Francisco Symphony)

"Lutosławski: Symphonies No. 2 & 3"

Hannu Lintu, conductor (Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra)

Best Opera Recording

"Gershwin: Porgy and Bess"

David Robertson, conductor; Angel Blue & Eric Owens; David Frost, producer (The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; The Metropolitan Opera Chorus)

"Dello Joio: The Trial at Rouen"

Gil Rose, conductor; Heather Buck & Stephen Powell; Gil Rose, producer (Boston Modern Orchestra Project; Odyssey Opera Chorus)

"Floyd, C: Prince of Players"

William Boggs, conductor; Keith Phares & Kate Royal; Blanton Alspaugh, producer (Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra; Florentine Opera Chorus)

"Handel: Agrippina"

Maxim Emelyanychev, conductor; Joyce DiDonato; Daniel Zalay, producer (Il Pomo D'Oro)

"Zemlinsky: Der Zwerg"

Donald Runnicles, conductor; David Butt Philip & Elena Tsallagova; Peter Ghirardini & Erwin Stürzer, producers (Orchestra Of The Deutsche Oper Berlin; Chorus Of The Deutsche Oper Berlin)

Best Choral Performance

"Danielpour: The Passion of Yessuah"

JoAnn Falletta, conductor; James K. Bass & Adam Luebke, chorus masters (James K. Bass, J'Nai Bridges, Timothy Fallon, Kenneth Overton, Hila Plitmann & Matthew Worth; Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra; Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus & UCLA Chamber Singers)

"Carthage"

Donald Nally, conductor (The Crossing)

"Kastalski: Requiem"

Leonard Slatkin, conductor; Charles Bruffy, Steven Fox & Benedict Sheehan, chorus masters (Joseph Charles Beutel & Anna Dennis; Orchestra Of St. Luke's; Cathedral Choral Society, The Clarion Choir, Kansas City Chorale & The Saint Tikhon Choir)

"Moravec: Sanctuary Road"

Kent Tritle, conductor (Joshua Blue, Raehann Bryce-Davis, Dashon Burton, Malcolm J. Merriweather & Laquita Mitchell; Oratorio Society Of New York Orchestra; Oratorio Society Of New York Chorus)

"Once Upon a Time"

Matthew Guard, conductor (Sarah Walker; Skylark Vocal Ensemble)

Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance

"Contemporary Voices" – Pacifica Quartet

"Healing Modes" – Brooklyn Rider

"Hearne, T,: Place" – Ted Hearne, Steven Bradshaw, Sophia Byrd, Josephine Lee, Isaiah Robinson, Sol Ruiz, Ayanna Woods & Place Orchestra

"Hynes: Fields" – Devonté Hynes & Third Coast Percussion

"The Schumann Quartets" – Dover Quartet

Best Classical Instrumental Solo

"Theofanidis: Concerto for Viola and Chamber Orchestra"

Richard O'Neill; David Alan Miller, conductor (Albany Symphony)

"Adés: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra"

Kirill Gerstein; Thomas Adès, conductor (Boston Symphony Orchestra)

"Beethoven: Complete Piano Sonatas"

Igor Levit

"Bohemian Tales"

Augustin Hadelich; Jakub Hrůša, conductor (Charles Owen; Symphonieorchester Des Bayerischen Rundfunks)

"Destination Rachmaninov - Arrival"

Daniil Trifonov; Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor (The Philadelphia Orchestra)

Best Classical Solo Vocal Album

"Smyth: The Prison"

Sarah Brailey & Dashon Burton; James Blachly, conductor (Experiential Chorus; Experiential Orchestra)

"American Composers at Play - William Bolcom, Ricky Ian Gordon, Lori Laitman, John Musto"

Stephen Powell (Attacca Quartet, William Bolcom, Ricky Ian Gordon, Lori Laitman, John Musto, Charles Neidich & Jason Vieaux)

"Clairières - Songs by Lili & Nadia Boulanger"

Nicholas Phan; Myra Huang, accompanist

"Farinelli"

Cecilia Bartoli; Giovanni Antonini, conductor (Il Giardino Armonico)

"A Lad's Love"

Brian Giebler; Steven McGhee, accompanist (Katie Hyun, Michael Katz, Jessica Meyer, Reginald Mobley & Ben Russell)

Best Classical Compendium

"Thomas, M.T.: From the Diary of Anne Frank & Meditations on Rilke"

Isabel Leonard; Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor; Jack Vad, producer

"Adès Conducts Adès"

Mark Stone & Christianne Stotijn; Thomas Adès, conductor; Nick Squire, producer

"Saariaho: Graal Théâtre; Circle Map, Neiges, Vers Toi Qui Es Si Loin"

Clément Mao-Takacs, conductor; Hans Kipfer, producer

"Serebrier: Symphonic Bach Variations; Laments and Hallelujahs; Flute Concerto"

José Serebrier, conductor; Jens Braun, producer

"Woolf, L.P.: Fire and Blood"

Matt Haimovitz; Julian Wachner, conductor; Blanton Alspaugh, producer

Best Contemporary Classical Composition

"Rouse: Symphony No. 5"

Christopher Rouse, composer (Giancarlo Guerrero & Nashville Symphony)

"Adès: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra"

Thomas Adès, composer (Kirill Gerstein, Thomas Adès & Boston Symphony Orchestra)

"Danielpour: The Passion of Yeshua"

Richard Danielpour, composer (JoAnn Falletta, James K. Bass, Adam Luebke, UCLA Chamber Singers, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra & Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus)

"Floyd, C.: Prince of Players"

Carlisle Floyd, composer (William Boggs, Kate Royal, Keith Phares, Florentine Opera Chorus & Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra)

"Hearne, T.: Place"

Ted Hearne, composer (Ted Hearne, Steven Bradshaw, Sophia Byrd, Josephine Lee, Isaiah Robinson, Sol Ruiz, Ayanna Woods & Place Orchestra)

Music video/film

Best Music Video

"Brown Skin Girl" – Beyoncé, Saint Jhn & Wizkid Featuring Blue Ivy Carter

Beyoncé Knowles-Carter & Jenn Nkiru, video directors; Lauren Baker, Astrid Edwards, Nathan Scherrer & Erinn Williams, video producers

"Life Is Good" – Future Featuring Drake

Julien Christian Lutz, video director; Harv Glazer, video producer

"Lockdown" – Anderson .Paak

Dave Meyers, video director; Nathan Scherrer, video producer

"Adore You" – Harry Styles

Dave Meyers, video director; Nathan Scherrer, video producer

"Goliath" – Woodkid

Yoann Lemoine, video director; Horace de Gunzbourg, video producer

Best Music Film

Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice – Linda Ronstadt

Rob Epstein & Jeffrey Friedman, video directors; Michele Farinola & James Keach, video producers

Beastie Boys Story – Beastie Boys

Spike Jonze, video director; Amanda Adelson, Jason Baum & Spike Jonze, video producers

Black Is King – Beyoncé

Emmanuel Adjei, Blitz Bazawule, Beyoncé Knowles Carter & Kwasi Fordjour, video directors; Lauren Baker, Akin Omotoso, Nathan Scherrer, Jeremy Sullivan & Erinn Williams, video producers

We Are Freestyle Love Supreme – Freestyle Love Supreme

Andrew Fried, video director; Andrew Fried, Jill Furman, Thomas Kail, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Sarina Roma, Jenny Steingart & Jon Steingart, video producers

That Little Ol' Band From Texas – ZZ Top

Sam Dunn, video director; Scot McFadyen, video producer

[fusilsapompe]

Damencio’s Best of 2020

Est-il nécessaire de rentrer dans les détails pour énumérer tous les événements surnaturels qui sont apparus pour cette année 2020? Ce contexte si particulier n’a semble t-il pas poussé les pointures du rap américain à se remettre en question. Loin de là.

Le rap américain grand public continue sa chute inexorable vers une médiocrité annoncée. Les sorties des grosses pointures ont été affligeantes pour la plupart. Personne pour sauver l’autre. Vendu comme là où se trouve l’innovation dans la musique, le rap américain a semble t-il perdu de sa magie depuis trop longtemps. Est-ce dû à l’avènement de l’ère streaming qui poussent les rappeurs à sortir des albums, edition deluxe ou format plus court jusqu’à perdre la raison? Le streaming a forcément une part non négligeable dans cette nouvelle manière d’apprécier en apparence la musique. Le vendredi soir est devenu un chemin de croix pour l’auditeur qui ne sait plus où donner de la tête avec toutes ces sorties. Le plaisir musical est remplacé par un devoir qui doit être rendu une heure après l’écoute pour donner rapidement son avis sur les réseaux sociaux. Sommes-nous proches d’atteindre un phénomène proche de la Peak TV (accroissement exponentiel de la production de séries) mais pour la musique?

La pandémie qui s’est abattue sur le monde n’a pas arrangé les affaires du rap. Reports d’albums des grosses pointures pour 2021 (même l’intouchable Drake a choisi de reporter ses plans pour l’année prochaine), absence totale de tournées extrêmement lucratives depuis des mois et des pertes monstres qui ont poussé les rappeurs à un peu plus vendre leur âme au streaming, seule source revenue dans ce schéma délicat pour les rappeurs.

Et si le rap, berceau de l’innovation musicale depuis des décennies était devenu la musique actuelle et plus celle du futur? Le rap est-il devenu la musique populaire aseptisée de notre temps? L’irrévérence légendaire rangée définitivement au placard pour des calculs permanents sur les ventes de tel ou tel rappeur? L’avenir prochain confirmera probablement ce destin funeste.

Si facile d’accès, ce genre musical est omniprésent sur tous les canaux possibles en 2020. La qualité quant à elle se fait de plus en plus rare. Elle doit être désormais recherchée comme dans une mine d’or. Le salut du rap vient comme à son habitude du rap régional plus ou moins en bonne santé. Detroit, scène majeure du rap régional continue à dominer son monde, jusqu’à truster les charts américains avec “Whole Lotta Choppas” de Sada Baby. Cependant ce succès ne peut pas occulter cette contamination du streaming plus en plus prégnante même dans ces lointaines contrées.

La sortie de prison presque tombée du ciel de DrakeO The Ruler, rappeur d’exception, originaire de Los Angeles est une excellente nouvelle pour le rap. Considéré comme le leader de la nouvelle scène californienne, DrakeO a semble t-il une envie pressante de rattraper le temps perdu. Depuis sa sortie début novembre, le Californien a déjà sorti un projet et la liste s’allonge chaque jour. Promis à un avenir brillant, le rappeur a rencontré sur son chemin la police de Los Angeles prête à tout pour l’enfermer. Il doit sa liberté uniquement à la défaite électorale de Jackie Lacey, procureure du comté de Los Angeles en novembre dernier. Pendant son incarcération, DrakeO a trouvé le moyen de sortir de l’un des projets de l’année. Les voix enregistrées intégralement en prison et collectées par le producteur californien JoogSzn ont permis l’existence de ce désormais classique “Thank You For Using GTL” qui fera sans aucun doute date pour le processus unique d’enregistrement.

Pour les autres genres musicaux, le R&B se porte à merveille. Après avoir connu une mini-crise au début des années 2010, le R&B continue de nous surprendre, arrive à changer de forme pour donner une musique toujours aussi passionnante à suivre. On peut également utiliser cet argument pour le jazz. Annoncé comme musique morte depuis des années, le jazz renaît grâce à une nouvelle génération qui n’hésite plus à mélanger les genres. La recette est la même. Prendre des risques inconsidérés (écoutez Stranger Than Fiction de Moses Boyd) pour donner une musique vivante. Il est bluffant de voir à quel point le jazz arrive toujours à survivre à travers le temps. L’Angleterre a une part importante dans ce renouvellement. La nouvelle génération composée en grande partie de musiciens d’origine afro-caribéenne a donné d’excellents albums (Wu Hen de Kamaal Williams et Shabaka And The Ancestors entre autres) et a surtout réussi à réintroduire le jazz dans les grands médias, chose impensable il y a 10 ans.

La House, autre musique qui a connu ces moments de gloire au milieu des années 90, utilise ce même procédé pour étonnamment nous surprendre en 2020. La House a toujours été imprégnée de jazz et vice versa. Pour cette raison, Byron The Aquarius, originaire d’Alabama est définitivement l’un des artistes de l’année. Il ajoute d’autres influences qui font la différence (notamment le rap et l’Atlanta Bass). Cet artiste ultra productif a délivré un nombre incalculable de projets pour cette année et, sacrée prouesse, sont tous différents. Il a également réalisé un rêve, sortir un (formidable) album de jazz (Ambrosia) qui prouve que les ponts entre genres musicaux sont toujours aussi fonctionnels et permettent de faire exister une musique hybride et annoncent un nouveau souffle pour la House dans les prochaines années

Il était impensable de conclure ce bilan pour cette année 2020 sans évoquer la sidérante édition deluxe de Sign O’ Times de Prince, le double opus mythique du chanteur/guitariste/batteur... disparu il y a 4 ans. Après plusieurs supers éditions deluxe dont la franchement décevante de Purple Rain et la très bonne de 1999, Le Prince Estate a décidé les perles présentes depuis trop longtemps dans le vault de Paisley Park. Pas moins de 45 “inédits” (une dizaine dans le lot sont réellement de vrais inédits) peuvent être désormais écoutés et restent destinés principalement aux fans hardcores du chanteur. Répartis sur 13 vinyles (!), ces 92 titres qui composent cette édition super deluxe feront forcément date. Après une écoute approfondie de cette merveille, un constat se présente. Et si cette période bénie de Prince était finalement le futur de la musique en 2020? Il est assez cocasse de voir les jeunes artistes innovants d’avoir exactement la même approche musicale que le Kid de Minneapolis il y a 17 ans.

Cette sortie de Prince est un cadeau inestimable pour les auditeurs mais inévitablement un questionnement sur l’avenir de la musique désormais à la merci des géants du streaming, prêts à imposer leur vision mercantile aux artistes. Vendre son âme mais à quel prix?

RAP

 ATLANTA:

 Gunna - WUNNA

SahBabii - Barnacles

Playboi Carti - Whole Lotta Red

 CINCINNATI:

 Pink Siifu & YUNGMORPHEUS - Bag Talk

Pink Siifu & Fly Anakin (Virginia) - FlySiifu���s

 NEW-YORK:

 Ka - Descendants Of Cain

Preservation – Eastern Medicine, Western Illness

Armand Hammer - Shrines

MIKE - Weight Of The World

Akai Solo - Ride Alone, Fly Together

Nas - King’s Disease

Roc Marciano - Mt. Marci

 BUFFALO:

 Benny The Butcher - Burden Of Proof

  LOS ANGELES:

 The Professionals, Madlib & Oh No - The Professionals

LNDN DRGS - Burnout 4

Jay Worthy & Harry Fraud - Eat When You’re Hungry Sleep When You’re Tired

AcetheFace - New Faces

Buddy & Kent Jamz - Janktape Vol. 1

Desto Dubb & Thank You Fizzle - Stop Playin’ With That Man!

Kamaiyah - Got It Made

Rucci - I’m Still Me

AzSwaye - The Bird Whisperer

DrakeO The Ruler & JoogSzn - Thank You For Using GTL

Shoreline Mafia - Mafia Bidness

03 Greedo & Ron-Ron The Producer - Load It Up, Vol. 1

White John - Cases Pending

Sons Of Yusuf - Shaykh the World

The Alchemist - The Food Villain

Young Slo-Be - Slo-Be Bryant 2

DrakeO The Ruler - We Know The Truth

AzChike & AzSwaye - 3 Piece

AzKilo - Blitz

1TakeQuan - I’m Not a Rapper, Ima Ratchet

Almighty Suspect & AzChike - Almighty Chike 2

Ralfy The Plug - Fresh Outta School

DJ Muggs - Winter

$tupid Young - From Here On Out

Cookie Club - LAX

YS & Ron-Ron The Producer - Street Icons

Steelz - Steel Ain’t Changed

Young Drummer Boy - Can’t Relate

Kruk One - Restless

   DETROIT:

 Samuel Shabazz - I Was Wrong

Boldy James - The Price Of Tea In China

Band Gang Lonnie Bands - The Scamily

Los - No Love

Sada Baby - Skuba Sada 2

G.T. - Timeless

Quelle Chris & Chris Keys - Innocent Country 2

Nice - Must Be Nice 2

Damjonboi - Life of a Rap Star

Freshco - Born Broke Die Rich EP

Los & Nutty - Panagnl4e, Vol. 2

Allstar JR - Same House As Last Time

Babys World - Babys World 2

Lil P - No Feelings

Icewear Vezzo - Robbin’ Season 2

DT Da Kidd - Stuck In My Ways

Black Noi$e - OBLIVION

Band Gang Paid Will - Applying Pressure

Samuel Shabazz - Don’t Love Me So Much

Ponae - I Got a Line Up The Street

Boldy James & Sterling Toles - Manger on McNichols

Ponae - I Got a Line Up The Street Vol. 2

BabyTron - Sleeve Nash

Skilla Baby - Carmelo Bryant

DaeMoney & Top$ide - Slae Season

Top$ide & Los - G. Shit Vol. 1

Baby Smoove - I’m Still Perfect

Whitehouse Studio - Da House, Vol. 2

Baby Smoove - Hardwood Classic

G.T. - Merciless

Band Gang Lonnie Bands - Fuck Rap

Cash Kidd - No Socks 2

 FLINT:

 Rio Da Yung OG - City On My Back

Rio Da Yung OG - Accidental Shit Talkin’

RMC Mike - Sophomore Season

  CHICAGO:

 G Herbo - PTSD

Chris Crack - Washed Rappers Ain’t Legends

 MINNESOTA:

 Cardo - Game Related

 BAY AREA:

 Lil Blood - Lil Larry From DogTown

Chippass - LIL BACK

3rd World Momo - Big Season

Hail Nino - Most Wanted

Lil Yase - Kobe

ALLBLACK - No Shame 3

Sacramento:

ShooterGang Kony - Red Paint Reverend

Mozzy - Beyond Bulletproof

ShooterGang Kony - Still Kony 2

Cash Click Boog - Voice Of Struggle

3rd World Momo - Big Season 3

Chippass - BLUITT

Vont Da Rasta - Dedicated 2

16GEECHI - Ghetto Success

Lil Bean - 4THECULTURE

Prada Mack - DNA

Larry June - Numbers

  NEW ORLEANS:

 Curren$y & DJ.Fresh - The Tonite Show With Curren$y

Curren$y & Harry Fraud - The OutRunners

 MIAMI: Denzel Curry & Kenny Beats - UNLOCKED

 CANADA: Elaquent - Forever is a Pretty Long Time

 INDIANA: Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist - Alfredo

 NASHVILLE: Starlito - Paternity Leave

 DALLAS: David Morgan - Let Me Out

 SAINT-LOUIS: CHASETHEMONEY - Slim. E & Friends

 BEAT TAPE:

 Mecca: 83 - Quiet Moments

Jack Wolff - At Least a Double Fold

Knxwledge - 1988

Alfa Mist - On My Ones

Samiyam - Reflectionz

lojii & Swary - DUE RENT [Blends] +

MXXWLL - SHEEESH

Fitz Ambro$e & Ian Urbina - Bait To Plate (Inspired By ‘The Outlaw Ocean’) (a book by Ian Urbina)

Knxwledge - 10,000 Proof

Devonwho - Offworld

Swarvy - SUNNY DAYS BLUE

Beautiful Disco - ANXIETY FREE

Tiago Frúgoli Ensemble - Casa (Remixes)

ELWD - DANDELION

At the Ave - Cntrl002

RAS - RAS II

IAMNOBODI - Sketches, Vol. 1

Bless The Mad - Bless The Mad

 R&B/SOUL/FUNK:

 ROMderful - Press L To Continue

Khruangbin & Leon Bridges - Texas Sun EP

Moniquea - Los Robles & Washington

Terrace Martin - Sinthesize

Sassy Black - I Be Bae

Brandon Banks - STATIC

TOKiMONSTA - Oasis Nocturno

Marquis Hill - Love Tape: With Voices

Kyle Dion - SUGA

Orion Sun - Hold Space For Me

Jean Deaux - Watch This!

Ivan Ave - Double Goodbyes

DJ.Fresh & XL Middleton - The Fonk Vibes

Ric Wilson & Terrace Martin - They Call Me Disco

Nick Hakim - WILL THIS MAKE ME GOOD

Marie Dahlstrom - Like Sand

Dornik - Limboland

I,Ced - Interpretations

OXP - Swing Convention

Starchild & The New Romantic - Forever

Cleo Sol - Rose in the Dark

Peter CottonTale - CATCH

Young Gun Silver Fox - Canyons

Cold Callers - As The Sun Sets

Ego Ella May - Honey For Wounds

Shay Lia - Solaris

Khruangbin - Mordechai

Angela Muñoz & Adrian Younge - Introspection

Terrace Martin, Robert Glasper & 9th Wonder - Dinner Party

Lianne La Havas - Lianne La Havas

keiyaA - Forever, Ya Girl

Conor Albert - Collage 1

Gaidaa - Overture

Jacob Collier - Djesse Vol. 3

Flwr Chyld - Flow

Reuben James - Slow Down EP

Jada Nycole Ellise - Temporary Colors

Loren Oden & Adrian Younge - My Heart, My Love

Aaron Taylor - ICARUS

Steve Arrington - Down to the Lowest Terms: The Soul Sessions

Demae - Life Works Out...Usually

Grimm Lynn - Southern Grooves

Senpu & ROMderful - Peace Is Not A Dream

edbl - Boys & Girls Mixtape

Carrie Baxter - Placebo

James Tillman - Modern Desires

Insomnea - ...And It Goes Real High

Xavier Omär - if You Feel

Ty Dolla $ign - Featuring Ty Dolla $ign

Sassy Black - Stuck

Morgan Munroe - Layers 0.5

Dreamcastmoe & Shungu - Temptation

ROMderful - ICE CREAM CLONES

Kemi Ade - DRIVE (Dawn Edition)

Allysha Joy - Light It Again

Budgie - Holy Ghost Zone II

Liv.e - Couldn’t Wait to Tell You…

Otis Junior & Dr. Dundiff - Rising With It

Young Gun Silver Fox - Canyons

Terrace Martin - Conscious Conversations

Lex Amor - Government Tropicana

Ojerime - B4 I Breakdown

The Silhouettes Project - The Silhouettes Project

Amber Navran - Golden Light

SAULT - Untitled (Rise)

Nápoles - Slowin It

Joe Hertz - Current Blues

 JAZZ:

 Moses Boyd - Dark Matter

Kansas Smitty’s - Things Happened Here

FKAjazz - Lineage

Braxton Cook - Fire Sign

Terrace Martin - Soul Juice

Yazmin Lacey - Morning Matters

Emma-Jean Thackray - Rain Dance

Kassa Overall - I THINK I’M GOOD

Thundercat - It Is What It Is

Jeff Bradshaw - Stronger

Athletic Progression - Athletic Progression

Tenderlonius - After The Storm

HOWES3 - Moving Forward

Adrienne Indigo & Paul Grant - Rebirth

Tom Misch & Yussef Dayes - What Kinda Music

Tenderlonious - Tender Plays Tubby

John Caroll Kirby - My Garden

Zeitgeist Freedom Energy Exchange - ZFEX Vol.II

Jake Sherman - You’re a Dream

Ruby Rushton - Sun Khosi

PYJÆN - Sage Secrets EP

Roy Ayers, Ali Shaheed Muhammad & Adrian Younge - Roy Ayers JID002

Lettuce - Resonate

Throttle Elevator Music - Emergency Exit

Ambrose Akinmusire - on the tender spot of every calloused moment

Melodiesinfonie - Fragments

Kamaal Williams - Wu Hen

Oscar Jerome - Breathe Deep

Nate Smith - Light and Shadow

Nubya Garcia - SOURCE

Marcos Valle, Ali Shaheed Muhammad & Adrian Youge - Marcos Valle JID003

Carlos Homs, James Robbins & Juan Chiavassa - The Theory Conspiracy

Butcher Brown - #KingButch

Simon Jefferis - Vibrations

Javier Santiago - Rebirth - EP

Bless The Mad - Bless The Mad

Morgan Guerin - The Saga III

Derrick Hodge - COLOR OF NOIZE

Immanuel Wilkins - Omega

Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah - Axiom

Byron The Aquarius - Ambrosia

Blue Note - Re:imagined

III Considered III - III Considered III

Shabaka and the Ancestors - We Are Sent Here By History

Azymuth, Ali Shaheed Muhammad & Adrian Young - Azymuth JID004

Jahmal Nichols - Black Frequencies

Eric Essix - Songs From The Deep

Makaya McCraven - Universal Beings E&F Sides

Andrew Ashong & Kaidi Tatham - Sankofa Season

Potatohead People - Mellow Fantasy

Caixa Cubo - Angela

Paul Grant - Waves

Reginald Chapman - Prototype (Remixes)

Jahari Massamba Unit (Madlib & Karriem Riggins) - Pardon My French

Yussey Dayes, Charlie Stacey & Rocco Palladino - Welcome to the Hills

Horatio Luna - Boom Boom

Natalia Slade - Control

Setwun - Our World

Foshe & Horatio Luna - Nice to Meetcha

Doug Carn, Ali Shaheed Muhammad & Adrian Younge - Doug Carn JID005

Terrace Martin - Village Days

Yakul - Kaleidoscope

LCSM (Likwid Continual Space Motion) - Earthbound

cktrl - Robyn

Jeff Bradshaw - Stronger

Brasstracks - Golden Ticket

 ELECTRO/HOUSE/TECHNO:

 EQ Why - Gravitate

Night Stone - Night Stone

Byron The Aquarius - What up Doe? Vol. 1

Byron The Aquarius - Fish Soup EP

Fredfades & Jawn Rice - Luv Neva Fades

Tenderlonious - Quarantena

Byron The Aquarius - Apron EP

EQ Why - Equalized Records Presents: The Footwork Jungle Collection (Vol. 1 & 2)

Sango - Da Rocinha 4

Submerse - Get You Down

Machinedrum - A View of U

Fede Lng & Mojeaux - Shaolin 808 EP

Letherette - Mander House, Vol. 2

Steve Spacek - Houses

Space Ghost - Time to Dance

Jay Daniel - SSD

The Colours That Rise - Grey Doubt

Theo Parrish - Wuddaji

Dan Kye - Small Moments

Byron The Aquarius - What Up Doe? Vol. 2

Jitwam - Sun After Rain EP

DJ Earl - Bass + Funk & Soul

Space Ghost - Free 2 Be

Ratgrave - Rock

Linkwood - Face The Facts

Gotta Street Park - Volume Two

[ifaabeyo]

Maferefun Oggun Maferefun Oshun #respectthamagic #lovesuppliesbotanica #happyjune #blessings #irefusetoarguewithfools #oshun #oggun #omooshun #Repost @orishaschild with @get_repost ・・・ 🍯⚒According to the myth, Oshun was the only orisha, or deity, to return Oggun to the world after he had ventured into the forest to escape the annoyances of mankind. According to the myth, she entered the forest wearing a belt of five yellow handkerchiefs and carrying a gourd of honey. When she found Oggun, she dipped her finger in the honey and rubbed it on his lips. She also pulled him in towards her by tying the five yellow handkerchiefs around his waist. Oggun was enchanted by Oshun’s beauty and seduction, so he naturally followed. The color yellow, the number five, and honey are major elements involved in rituals devoted to Oshun, especially those meant to enchant or “sweeten” another individual. It is said Oggun never lost his love for Oshun, although he was once married to Yemaya. Credit: Cuban Allstar #oshun #oggun #witchesofinstagram #blackwitches #brujasofinstagram #brujas #priestess #blackwitchesofinstagram #witchesofcolor #brujalife #witches #witch #priestess #highpriestess #ifa #orishas #ancestors #blackbrujas #lightworker (at New York, New York) https://www.instagram.com/p/ByP9widAlOR/?igshid=v0swewc1z3sf

[armeniaitn]

Beyoncé and Taylor Swift make Grammy history: Full winner list

New Post has been published on https://armenia.in-the.news/culture/beyonce-and-taylor-swift-make-grammy-history-full-winner-list-70643-15-03-2021/

Beyoncé and Taylor Swift make Grammy history: Full winner list

Beyoncé has set a new record at the Grammy Awards with her 28th win, the BBC reports.

The star is now the most-awarded woman in Grammys history, overtaking bluegrass singer Alison Krauss.

“I am so honoured, I’m so excited,” she said while accepting her record-breaking trophy, for best R&B performance.

Taylor Swift also made history at Sunday’s ceremony, by becoming the first female artist ever to win album of the year three times.

The star was rewarded for her lockdown album Folklore – after previously winning with Fearless in 2010 and the pop opus 1989 in 2016.

Only three other artists have ever won the album of the year prize three times: Frank Sinatra, Paul Simon and Stevie Wonder.

Record of the Year

Beyoncé – Black Parade Black Pumas – Colors DaBaby Featuring Roddy Ricch – Rockstar Doja Cat – Say So WINNER: Billie Eilish – Everything I Wanted Dua Lipa – Don’t Start Now Post Malone – Circles Megan Thee Stallion Featuring Beyoncé – Savage

Album of the Year

Jhené Aiko – Chilombo Black Pumas – Black Pumas (Deluxe Edition) Coldplay – Everyday Life Jacob Collier – Djesse Vol. 3 Haim – Women in Music Pt. III Dua Lipa – Future Nostalgia Post Malone – Hollywood’s Bleeding WINNER: Taylor Swift – Folklore

Best R&B Performance

Jhené Aiko Featuring John Legend – Lightning & Thunder  WINNER: Beyoncé – Black Parade  Jacob Collier Featuring Mahalia & Ty Dolla $ign – All I Need Brittany Howard – Goat Head Emily King – See Me

Best Pop Vocal Album

Justin Bieber – Changes Lady Gaga – Chromatica WINNER: Dua Lipa – Future Nostalgia Harry Styles – Fine Line Taylor Swift – Folklore

Best Rap Song

Lil Baby – The Bigger Picture Roddy Ricch – The Box Drake Featuring Lil Durk – Laugh Now, Cry Later DaBaby Featuring Roddy Ricch – Rockstar WINNER: Megan Thee Stallion Featuring Beyoncé – Savage

Song of the Year

Beyoncé – Black Parade Roddy Ricch – The Box Taylor Swift – Cardigan Post Malone – Circles Dua Lipa – Don’t Start Now Billie Eilish – Everything I Wanted  WINNER: H.E.R. – I Can’t Breathe  JP Saxe Featuring Julia Michaels – If the World Was Ending

Best Latin Pop or Urban Album

WINNER: Bad Bunny – YHLQMDLG Camilo – Por Primera Vez Kany Garcia – Mesa Para Dos Ricky Martin – Pausa Deb Nova – 3:33

Best Melodic Rap Performance

DaBaby Featuring Roddy Ricch – Rockstar Drake Featuring Lil Durk – Laugh Now, Cry Later WINNER: Anderson .Paak – Lockdown Roddy Ricch – The Box Travis Scott – Highest in the Room

Best Pop Solo Performance

Justin Bieber – Yummy Doja Cat – Say So Billie Eilish – Everything I Wanted Dua Lipa – Don’t Start Now WINNER: Harry Styles – Watermelon Sugar Taylor Swift – Cardigan

Best Country Album

Ingrid Andress – Lady Like Brandy Clark – Your Life Is a Record WINNER: Miranda Lambert – Wildcard Little Big Town – Nightfall Ashley McBryde – Never Will

Best New Artist

Ingrid Andress Phoebe Bridgers Noah Cyrus Chika D Smoke Doja Cat Kaytranada WINNER: Megan Thee Stallion

Producer of the Year, Non-Classical

Jack Antonoff Dan Auerbach Dave Cobb Flying Lotus WINNER: Andrew Watt

Best Country Song

Miranda Lambert – Bluebird Maren Morris – The Bones WINNER: The Highwomen – Crowded Table Ingrid Andress – More Hearts than Mine Old Dominion – Some People Do

Best Country Duo/Group Performance

Brothers Osborne – All Night WINNER: Dan + Shay & Justin Bieber – 10,000 Hours Lady A – Ocean Little Big Town – Sugar Coat Old Dominion – Some People Do

Best Country Solo Performance

Eric Church – Stick That in Your Country Song Brandy Clark – Who You Thought I Was WINNER: Vince Gill – When My Amy Prays Mickey Guyton – Black Like Me Miranda Lambert – Bluebird

Best Rock Album

Fontaines D.C. – A Hero’s Death Michael Kiwanuka – Kiwanuka Grace Potter – Daylight Sturgill Simpson – Sound and Fury WINNER: The Strokes – The New Abnormal

Best Rock Song

Phoebe Bridgers – Kyoto Tame Impala – Lost in Yesterday Big Thief – Not Fiona Apple – Shameika WINNER: Brittany Howard – Stay High

Best Metal Performance

WINNER: Body Count – Bum-Rush Code Orange – Underneath In the Moment – The In-Between Poppy – Bloodmoney Power Trip – Executioner’s Tax (Swing of the Axe) – Live

Best Rock Performance

WINNER: Fiona Apple – Shameika Big Thief – Not Phoebe Bridgers – Kyoto HAIM – The Steps Brittany Howard – Stay High Grace Potter – Daylight

Best Rap Album

D SMOKE – Black Habits Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist – Alfredo Jay Electronica – A Written Testimony WINNER: Nas – King’s Disease Royce 5’9” – The Allegory

Best Rap Performance

Big Sean Featuring Nipsey Hussle – Deep Reverence DaBaby – Bop Jack Harlow – What’s Poppin Lil Baby – The Bigger Picture WINNER: Megan Thee Stallion Featuring Beyoncé – Savage Pop Smoke – Dior

Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album

(Burt Bacharach &) Daniel Tashian – Blue Umbrella Harry Connick, Jr. – True Love: A Celebration of Cole Porter WINNER: James Taylor – American Standard Rufus Wainwright – Unfollow the Rules Renée Zellweger – Judy

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance

J Balvin, Dua Lipa, Bad Bunny & Tainy – Un Dia (One Day) Justin Bieber Featuring Quavo – Intentions BTS – Dynamite WINNER: Lady Gaga with Ariana Grande – Rain On Me Taylor Swift Featuring Bon Iver – Exile

Best R&B Album

Ant Clemons – Happy 2 Be Here Giveon – Take Time Luke James – To Feel Love/d WINNER: John Legend – Bigger Love Gregory Porter – All Rise

Best Progressive R&B Album

Jhené Aiko – Chilombo Chloe X Halle – Ungodly Hour Free Nationals – Free Nationals Robert Glasper – F*** Yo Feelings WINNER: Thundercat – It Is What It Is

Best R&B Song

WINNER: Robert Glasper Featuring H.E.R. & Meshell Ndegeocello – Better Than I Imagine Beyoncé – Black Parade Tiana Major9 & EARTHGANG – Collide Chloe x Halle – Do It Skip Marley & H.E.R. – Slow Down

Best Traditional R&B Performance

The Baylor Project Featuring Jean Baylor & Marcus Baylor – Sit on Down Chloe x Halle – Wonder What She Thinks of Me Mykal Kilgore – Let Me Go WINNER: Ledisi – Anything for You Yebba – Distance

Best Latin Jazz Album

Afro-Peruvian Jazz Orchestra – Tradiciones WINNER: Arturo O’Farrill & the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra – Four Questions Chico Pinhero – City of Dreams Gonzalo Rubalcaba & Aimée Nuviola – Viento y Tiempo – Live at Blue Note Tokyo Poncho Sanchez – Trane’s Delight

Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album

Gregg August – Dialogues on Race John Beasley – Monk’estra Plays John Beasley Orrin Evans and the Captain Black Big Band – The Intangible Between John Hollenbeck with Theo Bleckmann, Kate McGarry, Gary Versace, and the Frankfurt Radio Big Band – Songs You Like a Lot WINNER: Maria Schneider Orchestra – Data Lords

Best Jazz Instrumental Album

Ambrose Akinmusire – On the Tender Spot of Every Calloused Moment Terri Lyne Carrington and Social Science – Waiting Game Gerald Clayton – Happening: Live at the Village Vanguard WINNER: Chick Corea, Christian McBride & Brian Blade – Trilogy 2 Redman Mehldau McBride Blade – Roundagain

Best Jazz Vocal Album

Thana Alexa – Ona WINNER: Kurt Elling featuring Danilo Pérez – Secrets Are the Best Stories Carmen Lundy – Modern Ancestors Somi with Frankfurt Radio Big Band – Holy Room: Live at the Alte Oper Kenny Washington – What’s the Hurry

Best Improvised Jazz Solo

Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah – Guinivere Pachamama – Regina Carter Gerald Clayton – Celia WINNER: Chick Corea – All Blues Joshua Redman – Moe Honk

Best Alternative Music Album

WINNER: Fiona Apple – Fetch the Bolt Cutters Beck – Hyperspace Phoebe Bridgers – Punisher Brittany Howard – Jaime Tame Impala – The Slow Rush

Best Musical Theater Album

Amélie American Utopia on Broadway WINNER: Jagged Little Pill Little Shop of Horrors The Prince of Egypt Soft Power

Best Comedy Album

WINNER: Tiffany Haddish – Black Mitzvah Patton Oswalt – I Love Everything Jim Gaffigan – The Pale Tourist Bill Burr – Paper Tiger Jerry Seinfeld – 23 Hours to Kill

Best Spoken Word Album (Includes Poetry, Audio Books & Storytelling)

Flea – Acid For The Children: A Memoir Ken Jennings – Alex Trebek – The Answer Is… WINNER: Rachel Maddow – Blowout: Corrupted Democracy, Rogue State Russia, and the Richest, Most Destructive Industry on Earth Ronan Farrow – Catch And Kill Meryl Streep (& Full Cast) – Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White)

Best Children’s Music Album

WINNER: Joanie Leeds – All the Ladies Justin Roberts – Wild Life

Best Global Music Album

Antibalas – FU Chronicles WINNER: Burna Boy – Twice As Tall Bebel Gilberto – Agora Anoushka Shankar – Love Letters Tinariwen – Amadjar

Best Reggae Album

Buju Banton – Upside Down 2020 Skip Marley – Higher Place Maxi Priest – It All Comes Back to Love WINNER: Toots & the Maytals – Got to Be Tough The Wailers – One World

Best Regional Roots Music Album

Black Lodge Singers – My Relatives “Nikso Kowaiks��� Cameron Dupuy and the Cajun Troubadours – Cameron Dupuy and the Cajun Troubadours Nā Wai Ehā – Lovely Sunrise WINNER: New Orleans Nightcrawlers – Atmosphere Sweet Cecilia – A Tribute to Al Berard

Best Folk Album

Bonny Light Horseman – Bonny Light Horseman Leonard Cohen – Thanks for the Dance Laura Marling – Song for Our Daughter The Secret Sisters – Saturn Return WINNER: Gillian Welch & David Rawlings – All the Good Times

Best Contemporary Blues Album

WINNER: Fantastic Negrito – Have You Lost Your Mind Yet? Ruthie Foster Big Band – Live At the Paramount G. Love – The Juice Bettye LaVette – Blackbirds North Mississippi Allstars – Up And Rolling

Best Traditional Blues Album

Frank Bey – All My Dues Are Paid Don Bryant – You Make Me Feel Robert Cray Band – That’s What I Heard Jimmy “Duck” Holmes – Cypress Grove WINNER: Bobby Rush – Rawer Than Raw

Best Bluegrass Album

Danny Barnes – Man on Fire Thomm Jutz – To Live in Two Worlds Vol. 1 Steep Canyon Rangers – North Carolina Songbook WINNER: Billy Strings – Home Various Artists – The John Hartford Fiddle Tune Project , Vol. 1

Best Americana Album

Courtney Marie Andrews – Old Flowers Hiss Golden Messenger – Terms of Surrender WINNER: Sarah Jarosz – World on the Ground Marcus King – El Dorado Lucinda Williams – Good Souls Better Angels

Best American Roots Song

The Secret Sisters – Cabin Sierra Hull – Ceiling to the Floor Sarah Jarosz – Hometown WINNER: John Prine – I Remember Everything Lucinda Williams – Man Without a Soul

Best American Roots Performance

Black Pumas – Colors Bonny Light Horseman – Deep in Love Brittany Howard – Short and Sweet Norah Jones & Mavis Staples – I’ll Be Gone WINNER: John Prine – I Remember Everything

Best Song Written for Visual Media

Taylor Swift – Beautiful Ghosts Brandi Carlile – Carried Me With You Idina Menzel & Aurora – Into the Unknown WINNER: Billie Eilish – No Time to Die Cynthia Ervio – Stand Up

Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media

Max Richter – Ad Astra Kamasi Washington – Becoming WINNER: Hildur Guðnadóttir – Joker Thomas Newman – 1917 John Williams – Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood Bill & Ted Face the Music Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga Frozen 2 WINNER: Jojo Rabbit

Best Contemporary Classical Composition

Thomas Adès – Adès: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra Richard Danielpour – Danielpour: The Passion of Yeshua Carlisle Floyd – Floyd, C.: Prince of Players Ted Hearne – Hearne, T.: Place WINNER: Christopher Rouse – Rouse: Symphony No. 5

Best Classical Compendium

Mark Stone & Christianne Stotijn – Adès Conducts Adès Clément Mao-Takacs – Saariaho: Graal Théâtre; Circle Map; Nieges; Vers Toi Qui Es Si Loin José Serebrier – Serebrier: Symphonic Bach Variations; Laments and Hallelujahs; Flute Concerto WINNER: Isabel Leonard – Thomas, M.T.: From the Diary of Anne Frank & Meditations on Rilke Matt Haimovitz – Woolf, L.P.: Fire and Flood

Best Classical Solo Vocal Album

Stephen Powell – American Composers at Play – William Bolcom, Ricky Ian Gordon, Lori Laitman, John Musto Nicholas Phan – Clairières – Songs by Lili & Nadia Boulanger Cecilia Bartoli – Farinelli Brian Giebler – A Lad’s Love WINNER: Sarah Brailey & Dashon Burton – Smyth: The Prison

Best Classical Instrumental Solo

Kirill Gerstein – Adès: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra Igor Levit – Beethoven: Complete Piano Sonatas Augustin Hadelich – Bohemian Tales Daniil Trifonov – Destination Rachmaninov – Arrival WINNER: Richard O’Neill – Theofanidis: Concerto for Viola and Chamber Orchestra

Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance

WINNER: Pacifica Quartet – Contemporary Voices Brooklyn Rider – Healing Modes Ted hearne, Steven Bradshaw, Sophia Byrd, Josephine Lee, Isaiah Robinson, Sol Ruiz, Ayanna Woods & Place Orchestra: Hearne, T: Place Devonté Hynes & Third Coast Percussion – Hynes: Fields Dover Quartet – The Schumann Quartets

Best Choral Performance

The Crossing – Carthage WINNER: James K. Bass, J’Nai Bridges, Timothy Fallon, Kenneth Overton, Hila Plitmann & Matthew Worth; Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra; Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus & UCLA Chamber Singers – Danielpour: The Passion of Yeshua Joseph Charles Beutel & Anna Dennis; Orchestra Of St. Luke’s; Cathedral Choral Society, The Clarion Choir, Kansas City Chorale & The Saint Tikhon Choir – Kastalsky: Requiem Joshua Blue, Raehann Bryce-Davis, Dashon Burton, Malcolm J. Merriweather & Laquita Mitchell; Oratorio Society Of New York Orchestra; Oratorio Society Of New York Chorus – Moravec: Sanctuary Road Sarah Walker; Skylark Vocal Ensemble – Once Upon a Time

Best Opera Recording

Boston Modern Orchestra Project; Odyssey Opera Chorus – Dello Joio: The Trial at Rouen Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra; Florentine Opera Chorus – Floyd, C.: Prince of Players WINNER: The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; The Metropolitan Opera Chorus – Gershwin: Porgy and Bess Il Pomo D’Oro – Handel: Agrippina Orchestra Of The Deutsche Oper Berlin; Chorus Of The Deutsche Oper Berlin – Zemlinsky: Der Zwerg

Best Orchestral Performance

Oregon Symphony – Aspects of America – Pulitzer Edition Iceland Symphony Orchestra – Concurrence San Francisco Symphony – Copland: Symphony No. 3 WINNER: Los Angeles Philharmonic – Ives: Complete Symphonies Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra – Lutosławski: Symphonys Nos. 2 & 3

Best Tropical Latin Album

José Alberto “El Ruiseñor” – Mi Tumbao Edwin Bonilla – Infinito Jorge Celedon & Sergio Luis – Sigo Cantado al Amor (Deluxe) WINNER: Grupo Niche – 40 Victor Manuelle – Memorias de Navidad

Best Regional Mexican Music Album (Including Tejano)

Alejandro Fernández – Hecho en México Lupita Infante – La Serenata WINNER: Natalia Lafourcade – Un Canto por México, Vol. 1 Mariachi Sol de Mexico de Jose Hernandez – Bailando Sones Huapangos con Mariachi Sol de Mexico de Jose Hernandez Christian Nodal – Ayayay!

Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album

Bajofondo – Aura Cami – Monstruo Culturo Profética – Sobrevolando WINNER: Rito Paez – La Conquesta del Espacio Lido Pimienta – Miss Colombia

Producer of the Year, Classical

Blanton Asplaugh WINNER: David Frost Jesse Lewis Dmitriy Lipay Elaine Martone

Best Engineered Album, Classical

JoAnn Falletta, James K. Bass, Adam Luebke, UCLA Chamber Singers, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra & Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus – Danielpour: The Passion of Yeshua David Robertson, Eric Owens, Angel Blue, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra & Chorus – Gershwin: Porgy and Bess Devonté Hynes & Third Coast Percussion – Hynes: Field Gustavo Dudamel & Los Angeles Philharmonic – Ives: Complete Symphonies WINNER: Riccardo Muti & Chicago Symphony Orchestra – Shostakovich: Symphony No. 13, “Babi Yar”

Best Remixed Recording

Phil Good – Do You Ever (Rac Mix) Deadmau5 – Imaginary Friends (Morgan Page Remix) Jasper Street Co. – Praying for You (Louie Vega Main Mix) WINNER: Saint Jhn – Roses (Imanbek Remix) Bazzi – Young & Alive (Bazzi vs. Haywyre Remix)

Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical

Devon Gifillian – Black Hole Rainbow Katie Pruitt – Expectations WINNER: Beck – Hyperspace Brittany Howard – Jaime Sierra Hull – 25 Trips

Best Historical Album

Unique Quartette – Celebrated, 1985-1896 Nat King Cole – Hittin’ the Ramp: The Early years (1936-1943) WINNER: Mister Rogers – It’s Such a Good Feeling: The Best of Mister Rogers Prince – 1999 Super Deluxe Edition Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark – Souvenir Bela Fleck – Throw Down Your Heart: The Complete Africa Sessions

Best Album Notes

Various Artists – At the Minstrel Show: Minstrel Routines from the Studio 1894-1926 Various Artists – The Bakersfield Sound: Country Music Capital of the West, 1940-1974 WINNER: The Replacements – Dead Man’s Pop Various Artists – The Missing Link: How Gus Haenschen Got Us from Joplin to Jazz and Shaped the Music Business Nat Shusloff – Out of a Clear Blue Sky

Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package

Paul McCartney – Flaming Pie (Collector’s Edition) Grateful Dead – Giants Stadium 1987, 1989, 1991 Depeche Mode – Mode WINNER: Wilco – Ode to Joy Various Artists – The Story of Ghostly International

Best Recording Package

Coldplay – Everyday Life Lil Wayne – Funeral Grouplove – Healer Caspian – On Circles WINNER: Desert Sessions – Vols. 11 & 12

Best Roots Gospel Album

Mark Bishop – Beautiful Day The Crabb Family – 20/20 The Erwins – What Christmas Really Means WINNER: Fisk Jubilee Singers – Celebrating Fisk! (The 150th Anniversary Album) Ernie Haase & Signature Sound – Something Beautiful

Best Contemporary Christian Music Album

Cody Carnes – Run to the Father Hillsong Young & Free – All of My Best Friends We The Kingdom – Holy Water Tauren Wells – Citizen of Heaven WINNER: Kanye West – Jesus Is King

Best Gospel Album

Antony Brown & group therAPy – 2ECOND WIND: READY Myron Butler – My Tribute Ricky Dillard – Choirmaster WINNER: PJ Morton – Gospel According to PJ Kierra Sheard – Kierra

Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song

Kari Jobe, Cody Carnes & Elevation Worship – The Blessing (Live) Lecrae Featuring Kirk Franklin – Sunday Morning We The Kingdom – Holy Water Tauren Wells Featuring Jenn Johnson – Famous For (I Believe) WINNER: Zach Williams & Dolly Parton – There Was Jesus

Best Gospel Performance/Song

Melvin Crispell III – Wonderful Is Your Name Ricky Dillard Featuring Tiff Joy – Release (Live) Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins Presents: The Good News – Come Together Travis Greene – Won’t Let Go WINNER: Jonathan McReynolds & Mali Music – Movin’ On

Best New Age Album

Laurie Anderson, Tenzin Choegyal, and Jesse Paris Smith – Songs from the Bardo Priya Darshini – Periphery Superposition – Form//Less WINNER: Jim “Kimo” West – More Guitar Stories  Cory Wong & Jon Batiste – Meditations

Best Music Film

Beastie Boys – Beastie Boys Story Beyoncé – Black Is King Freestyle Love Supreme – We Are Freestyle Love Supreme WINNER: Linda Ronstadt – Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice ZZ Top – That Little Ol’ Band From Texas

Best Music Video

WINNER: Beyoncé – Brown Skin Girl Future Featuring Drake – Life Is Good Anderson .Paak – Lockdown Harry Styles – Adore You Woodkid – Goliath

Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals

John Beasley & Maria Mendes – Asas Fechadas WINNER: Jacob Collier – He Won’t Hold You Erin Bentlage, Sara Gazarek, Johnkaye Kencridk & Amanda Taylor – Desert Song Alan Broadbent & Pat Metheny – From This Place Talia Billig, Nic Hard & Becca Stevens – Slow Burn

Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella

Hildur Guðnadóttir – Bathroom Dance WINNER: John Beasley – Donna Lee Remyle Boef- Honeymooners Alvin Chea & Jarrett Johnson – Lift Every Voice and Sing Jeremy Levy – Uranus: The Magician

Best Instrumental Composition

Arturo O’Farrill & the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra – Baby Jack Christian Sands – Be Water II Alexandre Desplat – Plumfield WINNER: Maria Schneider – Sputnik

Best Contemporary Instrumental Album

Christian Scott Atunde Adjuah – Axiom Jon Batiste – Chronology of a Dream: Live at the Village Vanguard Black Violin – Take the Stairs Grégoire Maret, Romain Collin & Bill Frisell – Americana WINNER: Snarky Puppy – Live at the Royal Albert Hall

Best Dance/Electronic Album

Arca – Kick I Baauer – Planet’s Mad Disclosure – Energy WINNER: Kaytranada – Bubba Madeon – Good Faith

Best Dance Recording

Diplo & SIDEPIECE – On My Mind Disclosure Featuring Aminé & Slowthai – My High Flume Featuring Toro y Moi – The Difference Jayda G – Both of Us WINNER: Kaytranada Featuring Kali Uchis – 10%

Read original article here.

[wardencommanderrodimiss]

You have Warrior cats ocs?

I made whole clans. I invented my own setting with my new clans. The only thing tying them to the original universe was that StarClan was called StarClan and that they’re cats who live in elaborate hierarchies and fight each other and have heterosexual relationship drama constantly.

So I had six Clans, and two Tribes. Each tribe was three of the clans - so the clans within each Tribe kept to their own territories, patrolled their borders, didn’t intermingle too much, but it wasn’t a deathly scandal if a cat mated with a cat from another clan, as long as you shared a tribe. Inter-tribal rivalries were…….Murder. Death. Hate. ThunderClan-ShadowClan first series throwdowns and hate.

The two tribes were SummerTribe and WinterTribe. The three Winter clans were IceClan, RainClan, and MountainClan. The three Summer clans were FireClan, MarshClan, and…..fuck what was the last one? Fuck. Uh. WhateverClan. 

SO. I populated all of these clans with names, and then I had my main cast. And the context here is important. These clans were long established, founded by cats who bore those names - Firewhatever, Rainwhatever, Whateverwhatever. And like, once that happens, no one names their kids with that prefix. Like there’s no ThunderClan cats named Thunderwhatever. That’s like Mary Sue style. (I generally don’t like the term “Mary Sue” but I’m gonna apply it to my own characters as I see fit.)

You can probably guess where I’m going with this: my main cast was six cats. Icewhatever, Firewhatever, Mountainwhatever, Marshwhatever, Rainwhatever, Whateverwhatever.

There was no reason for this. If there was some kinda prophecy bullshit that these idiots were supposed to fulfill, I don’t remember having one. Like there was no reason they were named like this and I didn’t justify it and I just kept rolling with it because fuckit those names were cool.

Icepaw was my main character. She was a light blue cat. Cats aren’t that color. We just fucking roll with it. The story started off with her receiving her warrior name, Iceheart. Did the leader hate her? Maybe. Like who does that to a cat. “Yeah your name is Iceheart. I don’t like you and I want you to be friendless because everyone will hear your name and think you’re a dick. Iceheart. Heart of ice. Icy heart. Yeah that’s a good name. Well done, me.”

I mean Iceheart was kind of a dick but I don’t know whether that was correlation or causation. Could be either.

So her two bffs were Rain… Rainpelt? Rainpelt, and IT WAS STONECLAN NOT MOUNTAINCLAN FUCK okay her best friends were Rainpelt and Stonelord. Iceheart and Stonelord had a fling, and then they broke up because of heterosexual nonsense: Iceheart fell for gasp a cat from the other tribe! HOW DARE SHE. SHUN. His name was Fire-eye and he was a fucking dipshit but he was sweet and funny and fucking. Ice and Stone over here like

LEAFCLAN THE LAST ONE WAS LEAFCLAN

Like thematically you know that Ice and Stone is not going to be a warm and fluffy, good, relationship. It just isn’t and I was way more into the thematics of Fire and Ice. So Iceheart dumped Stonelord and there was Drama and Fire-eye’s best friends, Marsh….Marshpelt? Then Rainpelt wouldn’t have been that. Uh. I’ll look up the details in the folders on my external hard drive from two laptops ago later, but I wanna run this from memory now. MARSHFUR we’ll call him Marshfur. And Leafwhatever, I’m not gonna try to remember her name. Marshfur and Leafwhatev weren’t very fleshed out characters. They existed so that Fire-eye would have friends. They were in a relationship. It was drama-free, because Fire-eye, Iceheart, and Stonelord used up literally all of the drama that was in the universe. No one else can have drama. These three have a monopoly on heterosexual nonsense.

Side note: like “Iceheart” is a bad name but also naming your kid “Marshkit” is like….why. Just call him Mudkit why don’t you. At least it isn’t Bogkit or Mirekit or Swampkit. WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY SWAMPCLAN TERRITORY if I ever did anything with Warriors ever again I’d have a SwampClan, led by Onionstar. WAIT NO, led by Allstar. Fuck you.

Anyway I never got to a plot resolution. Sometimes I waffled on Fire-eye and Iceheart having kids because drama. Eventually I gave Stonelord a gf named Honeysomething. They were cute. Stonelord got to be less of a dick as time went on, and Iceheart inversely became more of a dick. Stonelord’s just trying to get on with life with his sweet girlfriend and Iceheart just keeps popping out of nowhere screaming “AND ANOTHER THING” at him and honestly I hope Rainpelt found better friends.

Anyway all of the six became clan leaders so they were all Icestar, Firestar (heh), Marshstar, Stonestar, Rainstar, and Leafstar.

Skip ahead several generations. Setting: some AIM RPs I did with my bff @scattereddreamer. She had some of her own original clans too maybe? Whatever. Anyway we had our two Kits of Prophecy. Hers was Icekit, mine was Aurapaw. What the fuck do cats know about auras anyway? I mean they’re all kind of hippie stoner cats with the “go to sleep around a rock/a pond and commune with our dead ancestors” thing but honestly. I don’t fucking know. Aurapaw. Her siblings all had normal names. I think there was Smokepaw and Wolfpaw and someone else. They weren’t important to this. 

So anyway, Icekit and Aurapaw were learning that they were prophecized by chatting with their ancestors - my six ‘stars whose life drama you have read, and then SD’s four. She also had an Icestar. So there were two Icestars and an Icekit because fuck you.

Anyway there wasn’t much actual “learn about your destiny” going on because it was mostly “Icestar and Stonestar continue their heterosexual nonsense, part 73.4, the redux, right back at you with this shit.” Like you assholes are dead Icestar your mate is right there hi Firestar right fucking there and you’re going at it with your ex because neither of you knows how to let go and you both live for drama to the detriment of literally everyone ever around you. 

When she was feeling super petty which was all the time, Icestar would call him “Stoneheart” like bruh your name is Iceheart don’t go around trying to tell Stonelord “ha your heart is stone” by making up a new name for him, your given name was literally Iceheart. You trashcan. You absolute fool.

I think, in terms of real-world chronology, those RPs happened before I gave Stonelord his mate so back then he was just a forever alone douchecanoe still hung up on his ex after all these years, including all nine of their deaths and then however long eternity has been so far. God, eternity sucks. 

And those were my Warrior Cats OCs.

[writingguide003-blog]

Critics assemble: our writers pick their favorite superhero films

New Post has been published on https://writingguideto.com/must-see/critics-assemble-our-writers-pick-their-favorite-superhero-films/

Critics assemble: our writers pick their favorite superhero films

Batman v Superman v Captain America v all of the X-Men. Which cape-wearing, civilian-saving adventures are worth cheering?

Given the repetitive influx of superhero films in recent years, youd be forgiven for wanting very little to do with anything involving a cape, a mask and a post-credits teaser for a long time. But wait, the R-rated Wolverine sequel Logan hits cinemas this week and critics agree that its worth getting over yourself for.

Many are saying it will join the ranks of the all-time greats but what else should be on this list? Here are seven of the best from Guardian writers.

The Incredibles

Photograph: HO/Reuters

Was 2004 the superheroes annus mirabilis? That was when Marvel Studios initiated its ambitious plan to self-finance its movies, buy back the rights to characters such as Iron Man and the Incredible Hulk, and begin the 21st-century wave of superhero films, hugely popular with the public, but often patronised and dismissed the way westerns used to be.

But something else happened in 2004: the release of Pixars glorious animated superhero homage The Incredibles. Thats a film which doesnt fit easily into the superhero fanbase-constituency, and is part of neither the Marvel nor DC tribe (unless you count the fact that Pixar, like Marvel, is part of Disney). And Im conscious that in calling it a homage I may even now be denying it full superhero-film status. But a brilliant superhero film is what it is riffing on the X-Men and Fantastic Four with superb characters, a great supervillain, a terrific story and a sharp satiric theme on the subject of excellence, and the nature of risk, jeopardy and the state.

Mr Incredible (voiced by Craig T Nelson) is a lantern-jawed, barrel-chested superhero who plies his trade in the 1940s, the superheroes postwar first-generation comic book heyday. He is fighting alongside his fiancee, Elastigirl (Holly Hunter). When a member of the public sues him for preventing his suicide, it triggers a legal nightmare forcing the government to outlaw superheroism and to relocate supers to other cities with new identities and bland normality. Twenty years later, he and Elastigirl have suburban lives and he works in insurance a nightmarish perversion of his former calling. They have two kids whose superpowers they have to conceal at school. But then a new villain emerges with a secret connection to the Incredibles past, forcing them to reclaim their vocation and their destiny.

It is rightly celebrated for the superhero costumire, Edna Mode, voiced by the director and writer, Brad Bird, who thinks that capes are a bad idea and is passionately committed to her contemporary vision: I never look back, darling; it distracts from the now. There is a wonderful passage on the phenomenon of supervillains monologuing huge third-act set-piece speeches in which the villains talk about themselves and their awful vision.

Actually, in 2017, the non-talky streamlined all-action superhero film is pretty much against both capes and monologuing and also against Edna Modes injunction against looking back. Superhero films love origin myths, elaborate retro sequences from the past and all-around ancestor worship.

But as it happens, and incredible as it may sound, The Incredibles has a brilliant action sequence, as exciting as anything in any live-action superhero film or action film. Elastigirl and the two kids are flying in their plane to an island from which the errant Mr Incredible has sent a distress signal. Then she is attacked by rockets. The subsequent chase scene and midair explosion are absolutely nail-biting.

It is witty, smart, visually ravishing, and its generic insights are celebratory, not derisive. What a great superhero film. PB

Batman

Photograph: Allstar/Warner Bros/Sportsphoto Ltd/Allstar

I have to be honest: I am not the worlds biggest superhero movie fan. Put another way, when they took off in the late 80s, I thought they were a fad that would blow over in a few years; more fool me. In fact, the elevation to ever-prolonging ubiquity is one of the great mysteries of contemporary cinema: how this genre, that for years was considered only good for doltish teens, and treated with equivalent lack of respect, has steadily evolved into the mainstay of the global film industry. Be that as it may, I prefer the funny, candy-coloured type of superhero movie (Spider-Man, Thor, Deadpool) rather than the furrowed-brow earnestathons (Batman Begins, Captain America, Man of Steel) Ive never seen a superhero movie weighty or nuanced enough to justify the heavy-duty treatment.

But as films as opposed to moving comic-books superhero movies tend to fall down pretty hard. There are great sequences, brilliant set pieces, very nice shots but they rarely hold together, still less allowing actual narrative subtlety to intrude on the scene-shifting. The first and still, by my reckoning, only time that a superhero movie seemed way ahead of everything else was the first Tim Burton Batman, from 1989. A tour de force of design, cinematography, and cinematic texture, it was light years ahead of (the nevertheless highly enjoyable) Superman films that had blazed the superhero trail in the 1970s and 80s. Burtons brilliance was to make everything else look redundant and in many ways, nothing has changed since. AP

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Photograph: Moviestore/Rex

Heres a conspiracy theory: someone at the Academy purposefully shuffled those envelopes to detract from the much bigger scandal earlier in the evening: the snubbing of Garry Shandling in this years Oscars In Memoriam montage. I hope my choice of the Marvel movie in which he cameos as a sinister Hydra disciple will go some way to righting this wrong.

Shandlings 15-second appearance in this sequel to the first film featuring the weed who becomes the most fantastic hunk is one of my chief reasons for picking it; the other is its literally the only superhero movie I can ever really remember enjoying.

This is obviously a personal deficit, but perhaps it is, actually, a better superhero movie than most? There are terrific action sequences, for a start: that initial heist, fuelled with sexual tension between the Cap and the Black Widow, plus the most wonderful punch-up in a lift. Plus, vegetables to accompany all that meat and beef: a properly thought-provoking investigation of the morals of surveillance and the ethics of vigilantism in a democratically accountable society.

But perhaps what really clinched it for me as an Avengers movie I could get along with was the relative dearth of Robert Downey Jr. The more you can minimise this man, the more I shall like any movie. CS

Thor: The Dark World

Photograph: Allstar/Marvel Studios/Sportsphoto Ltd/Allstar

Many are hailing Logan for stretching the boundaries of what a superhero movie can be. Its dramatic, fervid, and realistic in its violence. But lets not do away with whats core to comics culture: deep, dank nerdery that ought not be allowed to see daylight.

I love comic books rich in lore and steeped in mythos, swirling in and out of realms with names impossible to spell. Thor: The Dark World stuffs two handfuls of delicious dorkiness into its maw, one rich in fantasy, the other in science fiction. Is the Asgardian bio-bed a quantum field generator or a Soul Forge? The answer, of course, is that it is both.

Thor: The Dark World has portals and Kronan Rock Men and invisible spaceships and a ray that can curl you up into a singularity and zap you into another dimension. A liquid totem called the Aether is almost in Malekith the Dark Elfs nefarious grasp, just in time for the quinquennial cosmic event known as the Convergence. Oh, God, I need to stop typing and grab my asthma inhaler, this sort of talk gets me all worked up.

In the middle of all this, theres the bickering romance between the sharp and sweet doctor played by Natalie Portman and her hunky blonde blue-eyed spaceman, Thor. When they reunite during a battle, the first thing she does is yell at him for never calling. When they visit Thors realm, Dr Foster quickly bonds with Thors mother. They may as well be eating intergalactic coffee cake. And there are still some who say mixed marriages cant work?!?

Thor: The Dark World is a rush of Absolute Comics mainlined direct to my amygdala, with a profound purity that few other modern superhero movies allow themselves. It is Worthy. JH

The Dark Knight

Photograph: Allstar/Warner Bros

While Batman Begins was a refreshingly coherent, mature and dark-hued film about the Caped Crusader (a relief after the eye-punishing gaudy excess of Batman & Robin), it was far from a masterpiece.

There was a major villain problem (a somewhat gimmicky last act switcheroo that didnt quite have the required impact) and a major Katie Holmes problem (needs no explanation) and as a result, it was a promising franchise-restarter but not the home run we might have hoped for. Three years later, Christopher Nolan returned, lessons learned and homework done, with a sequel that rose far above its generic peers and, despite the creation of the hero-packed DC and Marvel universes since, it easily remains unsurpassed.

The Dark Knight moves like a fiendish thriller, one that confidently pushes the boundaries of the superhero genre in a way that comic book fans may be familiar with but which for cinema-goers such as myself was a revelation. Its a breathtakingly brutal film, packed with staggering PG-13 violence and a bleak worldview thats unrelenting, grounding fantastical characters and situations in a world that, for once, is depressingly easy to relate to.

That villain problem? Easily fixed. The casting of Heath Ledger in the role of the Joker might have been initially unpopular with fans, who couldnt envision his leading man looks buried under cartoonish makeup, but his performance was dynamite, an Oscar-winning fireball of anger and anarchy. That Katie Holmes problem? Replaced. Maggie Gyllenhaal added depth and a genuine emotional connection which led to the shocking finale carrying even greater weight. Its one of the rare examples of a superhero film where each devastating act of violence or aggression has a lasting impact. In Nolans Gotham City, life and death both mean something.

It might be to blame for the dreary drudgery thats bogged down many ensuing superhero adventures but it remains a ruthlessly entertaining example of just how daring and necessary the genre can be. BL

Watchmen

Photograph: Clay Enos/Photo by Clay Enos

It may be difficult to credit given Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice recently picked up a gaggle of Razzies, but Zack Snyder was once seen as the coming man of comic book movies. His 2009 adaptation of Alan Moores sprawling graphic novel about an alternative 1980s in which Nixon remains in power and superheroes are real remains a high point of the film-makers career and proof that given a decent script, he is capable of producing eye-popping cinema beyond that of most his contemporaries.

The bravura opening montage, set to the strains of Bob Dylans The Times They Are A Changin, is unequalled in comic book movies. The casting is impeccable: Jackie Earl Haley has never been better than as the hardboiled, morally immovable vigilante Rorschach, a gurning, spitting man out of time whose psychological torment is written on his face whether wearing that famous mask or not. Patrick Wilson is wonderfully understated as the taciturn Nite Owl, a superhero who looks like an accountant with middle-aged spread, while Jeffrey Dean Morgan is perfect as the leering, sneering, cigar-smoking alpha male scumbag the Comedian, a role which surely won him the part of the villain Negan in The Walking Dead.

Naysayers argue that Watchmen is too close to its source material, bar a sensibly altered denouement. But Moores story is so epic in scale and splendid in its unexpectedly detailed rendering of the inner psyches of costumed crimefighters that Snyder was really only required to add visual flare. If there is a Citizen Kane of superhero movies, this is indisputably it. BC

X-Men: Days of Future Past

Photograph: Allstar/20th Century Fox

The best thing about this time traveling entry into the vast annals of X-Men history is the absolute disregard Bryan Singer had for newcomers. If you hadnt been paying attention to his line of mutant entertainment over the last decade or so, youd feel a bit like Kyle Reese being spat out into 1984 with no clothes and no idea what was happening. That slightly manic pace, which feels like its borrowed from a daytime soap opera, plus the period costume and references to Vietnam, Nixon and the height of 70s cold war paranoia made this a strangely daring superhero film.

Instead of something that tried to set out the basic idea of what the X-Men were and what they were all about a concept most grandmothers could probably grasp by now this just got straight into the internal machinations of a group that makes the EU look harmonious. Of course, the old themes of good and evil doing battle, and overcoming personal demons (in this case addiction for Professor X) are there, but it was delivered in a knowingly strange way. You could even argue the hectic feel and funny but slightly smug lines set the stage for the least superhero-y superhero of them all, Deadpool. Singer knew fans were au fait with the concept of time travel, and would love to see Magneto and Professor X as their younger selves, so he threw it all into a blender and Days of Future Past came out like a perfectly mixed bit of superhero bechamel. LB

Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/us

[lionzkingsview-blog]

Fifth-grade students from Ebenezer Avenue Elementary in Rock Hill we’re told to pick cotton and sing. The kids in the video are instructed to sing song lyrics, “I like it when you don’t talk back. Make money for me.” “I just can’t put my feelings into words,” said mother Jessica Blanchard. “That’s how upset I am.” The school had gone to the Carroll School as part of a field trip for Black History Month. The school was built in 1929 by and for African-Americans. Rock Hills Schools said the field trip was intended to create a unique learning opportunity and promote an understanding of the past. “As part of the fifth-grade curriculum, students study the Great Depression time period, and this field trip helps students make real-life connections to this era in American history,” the district said, in part, in a statement. Blanchard’s son said he thought picking cotton was a fun game and he didn’t understand the words to the song. “I’m African-American and my ancestors picked cotton. Why would I want my son to pick cotton and think it’s fun?” Blanchard said. -------------------------------------------------- Follow me also @therealremyredd #therealremyredd @colossill (The Black App) #BotherVex (BackUp) #blackinamerica #BlackLivesMatter #BlackHistory #blackhistorymonth #BlackLove #StephCurry #Lebron #Nas #Beyonce #Jayz #KimKardashian #cardib #WillSmith #Worldstar #getthestrap #colinkaepernick #Hiphop #DanielClary #JusticeForDanyeJones #survivingrkelly #grammys #oscars #allstar #nbaallstarweekend #jussiesmollett https://www.instagram.com/p/BuJ015YBW_t/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=18x3qyo56b18m

[samanthasroberts]

Isis is as much an offshoot of our global civilisation as Google

In the wake of terror attacks, and as Europe unravels, it feels as if we live in divided times. But civilisation is more united than ever. The challenges of the future climate change, AI, biotechnology will only bring us closer

Recent events in the Middle East and Europe seem to breathe fresh life into the clash of civilisations thesis. Western incursions into the Middle East have triggered an Islamic backlash that has driven millions of Muslim refugees westwards and inspired terrorist attacks from Orlando to Nice; now the EU is unravelling as European voters abandon multicultural dreams in favour of xenophobic local identities. Allegedly, this has happened because the west has chosen to ignore the deep logic of history. According to the clash of civilisations thesis, humankind has always been divided into diverse civilisations whose members view the world in different and often irreconcilable ways. These incompatible world views make conflicts between civilisations inevitable, and these conflicts in turn fuel long-term historical processes. Just as in nature different species fight for survival, so throughout history civilisations have repeatedly clashed, and only the fittest have survived. Those who overlook this grim fact do so at their peril.

The clash of civilisations thesis has far-reaching political implications. Its supporters contend that any attempt at reconciliation between the west and the Muslim world is doomed to failure. They further maintain that the EU can work only if it renounces the multicultural fallacy in favour of an unabashed western identity. In the long run, only one culture can survive the unforgiving tests of natural selection, and if the EU refuses to save western civilisation from Islamic State and its ilk, Britain had better go it alone.

Though widely held, this thesis is misleading. Isis may indeed pose a radical challenge, but the civilisation it challenges is a global civilisation rather than a uniquely western phenomenon. Not for nothing has Isis managed to unite Iran with the United States, and to create rare common ground between Israeli PM Binyamin Netanyahu and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. And even Isis, for all its medieval rhetoric, is grounded in contemporary global culture far more than in seventh-century Arabia; it caters to the fears and hopes of alienated, postmodern youth rather than to those of medieval shepherds and merchants. In pure organisational terms, Isis has more in common with a large corporation like Google than with the Umayyad caliphate. The surest sign of a real clash of civilisations is mutual incomprehension. Isis, in contrast, comprehends its enemies only too well  otherwise, its propaganda would not have been so effective. It is better, therefore, to see Isis as an errant offshoot of the global culture we all share, rather than as a branch of some mysterious alien tree.

Crucially, the analogy between history and biology that underpins the clash of civilisations thesis is false. Human groups including human civilisations are fundamentally different from animal species, and historical conflicts differ greatly from natural selection processes. Animal species have objective identities that endure for thousands of generations. Whether you are a chimpanzee or a gorilla depends on your genes rather than your beliefs, and different genes dictate diverse social behaviours. Chimpanzees live in mixed groups of males and females. They compete for power by building coalitions of supporters among both sexes. Among gorillas, in contrast, a single dominant male establishes a harem of females, and usually expels any adult male that might challenge his position. As far as we know, the same social systems have characterised chimpanzees and gorillas not only in recent decades, but for hundreds of thousands of years.

You find nothing like that among humans. Yes, human groups may have distinct social systems, but these are not genetically determined, and they seldom endure for more than a few centuries. Think of 20th-century Germans, for example. In fewer than 100 years, the Germans organised themselves into six very different systems: the Hohenzollern empire, the Weimar republic, the Third Reich, Communist East Germany, the federal republic of West Germany, and finally democratic reunited Germany. Of course they kept their language and love of beer. But is there some unique German essence that distinguishes their country from all other nations, and that has remained unchanged from Wilhelm II to Angela Merkel? And if you do come up with something, was it also there back in the days of Goethe, of Martin Luther and of Frederick Barbarossa?

What will happen when computers replace people in an increasing number of jobs? Alex Proyass I, Robot from 2004 Photograph: Allstar

The Preamble of the European Constitution (2004) begins by stating that it draws inspiration from the cultural, religious and humanist inheritance of Europe, from which have developed the universal values of the inviolable and inalienable rights of the human person, democracy, equality, freedom and the rule of law. This may easily give one the impression that European civilisation is defined by these values. Countless speeches and documents draw a direct line from ancient Athenian democracy to the present-day EU, celebrating 2,500 years of European freedom and democracy. This is reminiscent of the proverbial blind man taking hold of an elephants tail and concluding that an elephant is a kind of brush. Athenian democracy was a half-hearted experiment that survived for barely 200 years in a small corner of the Balkans. If European civilisation for the last 25 centuries has been defined by democracy and human rights, what are we to make of Sparta and Julius Caesar, the Crusaders and Conquistadores, the Inquisition and the slave trade, Louis XIV and Goebbels, Lenin and Mussolini?

European civilisation is anything Europeans make of it, just as Christianity is anything Christians make of it. And they have made remarkably different things of it over the centuries. Human groups are defined more by the changes they undergo than by any continuity, but they nevertheless manage to create for themselves ancient identities thanks to their storytelling skills. No matter what revolutions they survive, they can weave old and new into a single yarn. Even an individual may knit revolutionary personal changes into a coherent life story: I am that person who was once a socialist, but became a capitalist; I was born in Senegal, and now live in France; I married, then got divorced; I had cancer, and then got well again.

Similarly, a human group such as the Germans may come to define itself by the very changes it has lived through: Once we were Nazis, but we have learned our lesson, and now we are peaceful democrats. You dont need to look for some unique German essence that manifested itself first in Hitler and then in Merkel: this radical transformation itself makes the Germans who they are.

Isis, too, may uphold an allegedly unchanging Muslim identity, but their story of Islam is a brand new tale. Yes, they used some venerable Muslim texts and traditions to concoct it, but if I bake a cake from flour, oil and sugar that have been sitting in my pantry for the past two months, does it mean the cake itself is two months old? Conversely, those who dismiss Isis as un-Islamic or even anti-Islamic are equally mistaken: Islam has no DNA. Just as with Christianity, Islam is whatever Muslims make of it.

Isis wrecked the ancient site of Palmyra in Syria. Photograph: Valery Sharifulin/Tass

Yet there is an even deeper difference distinguishing human groups from animal species. Species often split, but never merge. About seven million years ago, chimpanzees and gorillas had common ancestors. This single ancestral species split into two populations that eventually went their separate, evolutionary ways. Once this happened, there was no going back. Since individuals belonging to different species cannot produce fertile offspring together, species can never merge. Gorillas cant merge with chimpanzees, giraffes cant merge with elephants, and dogs cant merge with cats.

Human tribes, in contrast, tend to coalesce over time into larger and larger groups. Modern Germans were created from the merger of Saxons, Prussians, Swabians and Bavarians, which not so long ago wasted little love on one another.The French were created from the merger of Franks, Normans, Bretons, Gascons and Provencals. Meanwhile across the Channel, English, Scots, Welsh and Irish gradually came together (willingly or not) to form Britons. In the not too distant future, Germans, French and Britons might yet merge into Europeans.

Mergers dont always last, as people in London, Edinburgh and Brussels are well aware these days. Brexit may well initiate the simultaneous unravelling of both the EU and the UK. But in the long run, historys direction is clear-cut. Ten thousand years ago humankind was divided into countless isolated tribes. With each passing millennium, these merged into larger and larger groups, creating fewer and fewer distinct civilisations. In recent generations the few remaining civilisations have been merging into a single global community. Political and ethnic divisions endure, but they do not undermine the fundamental unity. Indeed, some divisions are made possible only by an over-arching common structure.

***

The process of human unification has taken two distinct forms: weak heterogeneous unification and strong homogeneous unification. The weaker heterogeneous form involves creating ties between previously unrelated groups. The groups may continue to have different beliefs and practices, but are no longer independent of each other. From this perspective, even war is a bond perhaps the strongest bond of all. Ten thousand years ago, no tribe in America had any quarrel with Middle Eastern enemies, and no African clan bore grudges towards any European. In contrast, during the second world war, people born on the shores of the Mississippi went to their deaths on Pacific islands and European meadows, while recruits from the heart of Africa fell fighting among French vineyards and Alpine snows.

Historians often argue that globalisation reached a first peak in 1913, then went into a long decline during the era of the world wars and the cold war, and recuperated only after 1989. They fear that new conflicts may again put globalisation into reverse gear. This may be true of economic globalisation, but it ignores the different but equally important dynamics of military globalisation. War spreads ideas, technologies and people far more quickly than commerce. War also makes people far more interested in one another.Never had the US been more closely in touch with Russia than during the cold war, when every cough in a Moscow corridor sent people scrambling up and down Washington staircases. People care far more about their enemies than about their trade partners. For every US film about Thailand, there are probably 20 about Vietnam. The global war on terror simply continues the process of military globalisation.

Photograph: Benoit Tessier/Reuters

Nowadays, the global unity of conflict is perhaps most apparent on the internet, where Isis and the drug cartels are rubbing shoulders with Google and Facebook, and YouTube offers funny cat videos alongside instructions on how to make bombs. Islamic fanatics, murderous drug dealers and geeky hackers dont exist on unrelated planets; they share the same global cyberspace. All are thrilled by the blockchain technology that gave us the bitcoin; all count on easy accessibility via ubiquitous smartphones, and all are antagonised by national governments attempting to wrest control of the net.

Yet the world of the early 21st century has gone way beyond the heterogeneous unity of conflict. People across the globe are not only influenced by one another, they increasingly share identical beliefs and practices. A thousand years ago, planet Earth was home to dozens of different political models. In Europe you could find feudal principalities vying with independent city states and minuscule theocracies. The Muslim world had its caliphate, claiming universal sovereignty, but also experimented with kingdoms, emirates and sultanates. The Chinese empire believed itself to be the sole legitimate political entity, while to its north and west tribal confederacies fought each other with glee. India and south-east Asia contained a kaleidoscope of regimes, whereas polities in America, Africa and Australasia ranged from tiny hunter-gatherer bands to sprawling empires. No wonder even neighbouring human groups had trouble agreeing on diplomatic practices, not to mention international laws. Each society had its own political paradigms, and found it difficult to understand let alone respect alien political concepts.

Today, in contrast, a single political paradigm is accepted everywhere. The planet is divided between nearly 200 sovereign states, which generally agree on the same diplomatic protocols and on common international laws. Sweden, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea and Paraguay are all marked on our world maps as the same kind of colourful shapes; they are all members of the UN; and despite myriad differences they are all recognised as sovereign states enjoying similar rights and privileges. Indeed, they share many more political ideas and practices, including at least a token belief in representative bodies, universal suffrage and human rights. When Israelis and Palestinians, Russians and Ukrainians, or Kurds and Turks court global public opinion, they all use the same discourse of human rights, state sovereignty and international law.

The world may be peppered with various types of failed states, but it knows only one paradigm for a successful state. Global politics follows the Anna Karenina principle: healthy states are all alike, but every failed state fails in its own way, by missing this or that ingredient of the dominant political package. Isis stands out in its complete rejection of this package, and its attempt to establish an entirely different kind of political entity a universal caliphate. But it is unlikely to succeed precisely for this reason. Numerous guerrilla forces and terror organisations have managed to establish new countries or conquer existing ones, but they have always done so by accepting the fundamental principles of the global political order. Even the Taliban sought international recognition as the legitimate government of the sovereign country of Afghanistan. No group rejecting the principles of global politics has so far gained lasting control of a significant territory.

***

In pre-modern times, humans experimented not only with diverse political blueprints, but with a mind-boggling variety of economic models. Russian boyars, Hindu maharajas, Chinese mandarins and Amerindian tribal chiefs had very different ideas about money and taxation, and none was even aware of the existence of such a thing as the economy. Nowadays, in contrast, almost everybody believes in slightly different variations on the same capitalist theme, and we are all cogs within a single global production line. Whether you live in Mongolia, New Zealand or Bolivia, your daily routines and economic fortunes depend on the same economic theories, the same corporations and banks, and the same currents of capital. When finance ministers or bank managers from China, Russia, Brazil and India meet, they have a common language, and can easily understand and sympathise with their counterparts woes.

When Isis conquered large parts of Syria and Iraq, it murdered tens of thousands of people, demolished archaeological sites, toppled statues and systematically destroyed the symbols of previous regimes and of western cultural influence. Yet when Isis fighters entered the banks and found stashes of US dollars covered with the faces of American presidents and English slogans praising American political and religious ideals, they did not burn these dollars. For the dollar bill is universally venerated across all political and religious divides. Though it has no intrinsic value you cannot eat or drink a dollar bill trust in the dollar and in the wisdom of the Federal Reserve is so firm it is shared even by Islamic fundamentalists, Mexican drug lords and North Korean tyrants.

Doctors all over the word will dispense similar medicines made by the same drug companies Photograph: Alamy Stock Photo

Yet the homogeneity of contemporary humanity is most apparent when it comes to our view of the natural world and of the human body. If you fell sick in 1016, it mattered a great deal where you lived. In Europe, the resident priest would probably tell you that you had made God angry, and that in order to regain your health, you should donate something to the church, make a pilgrimage to a sacred site, and pray fervently for Gods forgiveness. Alternatively, the village witch might explain that a demon had possessed you, and that she could cast the demon out using song, dance and the blood of a black cockerel. In the Middle East, doctors brought up on classical traditions might explain that your four bodily humours were out of balance, and you could harmonise them anew with a proper diet and foul-smelling potions. In India, Ayurvedic experts would offer their own theories concerning the balance between the three bodily elements known as doshas, and recommend a treatment of herbs, massages and exercises. Chinese physicians, Siberian shamans, African witch doctors, Amerindian medicine men every empire, kingdom and tribe had its own traditions and experts, each espousing different views about the human body and the nature of sickness, and each offering its own cornucopia of rituals, concoctions and cures. Some of them worked surprisingly well; others were little short of a death sentence. The one thing that united European, Chinese, African and American medical conditions was that everywhere at least a third of people died before adulthood, and nowhere did average life expectancy exceed 40.

Today, if you are taken ill, it makes far less difference where you live. In Toronto, Tokyo, Tehran or Tel Aviv, you will be taken to similar-looking hospitals, where you will meet doctors who learned the same scientific theories in not-too-different medical colleges. They will follow identical protocols and use identical tests to reach very similar diagnoses. They will then dispense similar medicines made by the same drug companies. There are still some minor cultural differences, but Canadian, Japanese, Iranian and Israeli physicians hold much the same views about the human body and human diseases. After Isis captured Raqqa and Mosul, it did not tear down the hospitals; rather, it launched an appeal to Muslim doctors and nurses throughout the world to volunteer their services there. Presumably, even Isis doctors and nurses believe that the body is made of cells, that diseases are caused by pathogens, and that antibiotics kill bacteria.

And what makes up these cells and bacteria? Indeed, what makes up the entire world? Back in 1016, every culture had its own story about the universe, and about the fundamental ingredients of the cosmic soup. Today, learned people throughout the world believe exactly the same things about matter, energy, time and space. Take, for example, Irans nuclear programme. The whole problem with it is that the Iranians have exactly the same view of physics as the Israelis and Americans. If the Iranians believed that E=mc, Israel would not care an iota about their nuclear programme.

People still claim to believe in different things. But when it comes to the really important stuff how to build a state, an economy, a hospital, or a weapon almost all of us belong to the same civilisation. There are disagreements, no doubt, but then all civilisations have their internal disagreements indeed, they are defined by these disagreements. When trying to outline their identity, people often make a grocery list of common traits. They would fare much better if they made a list of common conflicts and dilemmas instead. In 1940, Britain and Germany had very different traits, yet they were both part and parcel of western civilisation. Churchill wasnt more western than Hitler; rather, the struggle between them defined what it meant to be western at that particular moment in history. In contrast, a !Kung hunter-gatherer in 1940 wasnt western, because the internal western clash about race and empire would have made little sense to him.

The people we fight most often are our own family members. Identity is defined by conflicts and dilemmas more than by agreements. What does it mean to be European in 2016? It doesnt mean to have white skin, to believe in Jesus Christ, or to uphold liberty. Rather, it means to argue vehemently about immigration, about the EU, and about the limits of capitalism. It also means to obsessively ask yourself What defines my identity? and to worry about an ageing population, about rampant consumerism and about global warming without really knowing what to do about it. In their conflicts and dilemmas, 21st-century Europeans are very different from their early-modern and medieval ancestors, but are increasingly similar to their Chinese and Indian contemporaries.

Whatever changes await us, they are likely to involve a fraternal struggle within a single civilisation rather than a clash between alien civilisations. The big challenges of the 21st century will be global in nature. What will happen when pollution triggers global climate changes? What will happen when computers replace people in an increasing number of jobs? When biotechnology enables us to upgrade humans, extend lifespans, and perhaps split humankind into different biological castes? No doubt, we will have huge arguments and bitter conflicts over these questions. But these arguments and conflicts are unlikely to drive us apart. Just the opposite. They will make us ever more interdependent, as members of a single, rowdy, global civilisation.

Yuval Noah Hararis Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow is published by Harvill Secker. ynharari.com

Source: http://allofbeer.com/isis-is-as-much-an-offshoot-of-our-global-civilisation-as-google/

from All of Beer https://allofbeer.wordpress.com/2018/12/19/isis-is-as-much-an-offshoot-of-our-global-civilisation-as-google/

[allofbeercom]

Isis is as much an offshoot of our global civilisation as Google

In the wake of terror attacks, and as Europe unravels, it feels as if we live in divided times. But civilisation is more united than ever. The challenges of the future climate change, AI, biotechnology will only bring us closer

Recent events in the Middle East and Europe seem to breathe fresh life into the clash of civilisations thesis. Western incursions into the Middle East have triggered an Islamic backlash that has driven millions of Muslim refugees westwards and inspired terrorist attacks from Orlando to Nice; now the EU is unravelling as European voters abandon multicultural dreams in favour of xenophobic local identities. Allegedly, this has happened because the west has chosen to ignore the deep logic of history. According to the clash of civilisations thesis, humankind has always been divided into diverse civilisations whose members view the world in different and often irreconcilable ways. These incompatible world views make conflicts between civilisations inevitable, and these conflicts in turn fuel long-term historical processes. Just as in nature different species fight for survival, so throughout history civilisations have repeatedly clashed, and only the fittest have survived. Those who overlook this grim fact do so at their peril.

The clash of civilisations thesis has far-reaching political implications. Its supporters contend that any attempt at reconciliation between the west and the Muslim world is doomed to failure. They further maintain that the EU can work only if it renounces the multicultural fallacy in favour of an unabashed western identity. In the long run, only one culture can survive the unforgiving tests of natural selection, and if the EU refuses to save western civilisation from Islamic State and its ilk, Britain had better go it alone.

Though widely held, this thesis is misleading. Isis may indeed pose a radical challenge, but the civilisation it challenges is a global civilisation rather than a uniquely western phenomenon. Not for nothing has Isis managed to unite Iran with the United States, and to create rare common ground between Israeli PM Binyamin Netanyahu and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. And even Isis, for all its medieval rhetoric, is grounded in contemporary global culture far more than in seventh-century Arabia; it caters to the fears and hopes of alienated, postmodern youth rather than to those of medieval shepherds and merchants. In pure organisational terms, Isis has more in common with a large corporation like Google than with the Umayyad caliphate. The surest sign of a real clash of civilisations is mutual incomprehension. Isis, in contrast, comprehends its enemies only too well  otherwise, its propaganda would not have been so effective. It is better, therefore, to see Isis as an errant offshoot of the global culture we all share, rather than as a branch of some mysterious alien tree.

Crucially, the analogy between history and biology that underpins the clash of civilisations thesis is false. Human groups including human civilisations are fundamentally different from animal species, and historical conflicts differ greatly from natural selection processes. Animal species have objective identities that endure for thousands of generations. Whether you are a chimpanzee or a gorilla depends on your genes rather than your beliefs, and different genes dictate diverse social behaviours. Chimpanzees live in mixed groups of males and females. They compete for power by building coalitions of supporters among both sexes. Among gorillas, in contrast, a single dominant male establishes a harem of females, and usually expels any adult male that might challenge his position. As far as we know, the same social systems have characterised chimpanzees and gorillas not only in recent decades, but for hundreds of thousands of years.

You find nothing like that among humans. Yes, human groups may have distinct social systems, but these are not genetically determined, and they seldom endure for more than a few centuries. Think of 20th-century Germans, for example. In fewer than 100 years, the Germans organised themselves into six very different systems: the Hohenzollern empire, the Weimar republic, the Third Reich, Communist East Germany, the federal republic of West Germany, and finally democratic reunited Germany. Of course they kept their language and love of beer. But is there some unique German essence that distinguishes their country from all other nations, and that has remained unchanged from Wilhelm II to Angela Merkel? And if you do come up with something, was it also there back in the days of Goethe, of Martin Luther and of Frederick Barbarossa?

What will happen when computers replace people in an increasing number of jobs? Alex Proyass I, Robot from 2004 Photograph: Allstar

The Preamble of the European Constitution (2004) begins by stating that it draws inspiration from the cultural, religious and humanist inheritance of Europe, from which have developed the universal values of the inviolable and inalienable rights of the human person, democracy, equality, freedom and the rule of law. This may easily give one the impression that European civilisation is defined by these values. Countless speeches and documents draw a direct line from ancient Athenian democracy to the present-day EU, celebrating 2,500 years of European freedom and democracy. This is reminiscent of the proverbial blind man taking hold of an elephants tail and concluding that an elephant is a kind of brush. Athenian democracy was a half-hearted experiment that survived for barely 200 years in a small corner of the Balkans. If European civilisation for the last 25 centuries has been defined by democracy and human rights, what are we to make of Sparta and Julius Caesar, the Crusaders and Conquistadores, the Inquisition and the slave trade, Louis XIV and Goebbels, Lenin and Mussolini?

European civilisation is anything Europeans make of it, just as Christianity is anything Christians make of it. And they have made remarkably different things of it over the centuries. Human groups are defined more by the changes they undergo than by any continuity, but they nevertheless manage to create for themselves ancient identities thanks to their storytelling skills. No matter what revolutions they survive, they can weave old and new into a single yarn. Even an individual may knit revolutionary personal changes into a coherent life story: I am that person who was once a socialist, but became a capitalist; I was born in Senegal, and now live in France; I married, then got divorced; I had cancer, and then got well again.

Similarly, a human group such as the Germans may come to define itself by the very changes it has lived through: Once we were Nazis, but we have learned our lesson, and now we are peaceful democrats. You dont need to look for some unique German essence that manifested itself first in Hitler and then in Merkel: this radical transformation itself makes the Germans who they are.

Isis, too, may uphold an allegedly unchanging Muslim identity, but their story of Islam is a brand new tale. Yes, they used some venerable Muslim texts and traditions to concoct it, but if I bake a cake from flour, oil and sugar that have been sitting in my pantry for the past two months, does it mean the cake itself is two months old? Conversely, those who dismiss Isis as un-Islamic or even anti-Islamic are equally mistaken: Islam has no DNA. Just as with Christianity, Islam is whatever Muslims make of it.

Isis wrecked the ancient site of Palmyra in Syria. Photograph: Valery Sharifulin/Tass

Yet there is an even deeper difference distinguishing human groups from animal species. Species often split, but never merge. About seven million years ago, chimpanzees and gorillas had common ancestors. This single ancestral species split into two populations that eventually went their separate, evolutionary ways. Once this happened, there was no going back. Since individuals belonging to different species cannot produce fertile offspring together, species can never merge. Gorillas cant merge with chimpanzees, giraffes cant merge with elephants, and dogs cant merge with cats.

Human tribes, in contrast, tend to coalesce over time into larger and larger groups. Modern Germans were created from the merger of Saxons, Prussians, Swabians and Bavarians, which not so long ago wasted little love on one another.The French were created from the merger of Franks, Normans, Bretons, Gascons and Provencals. Meanwhile across the Channel, English, Scots, Welsh and Irish gradually came together (willingly or not) to form Britons. In the not too distant future, Germans, French and Britons might yet merge into Europeans.

Mergers dont always last, as people in London, Edinburgh and Brussels are well aware these days. Brexit may well initiate the simultaneous unravelling of both the EU and the UK. But in the long run, historys direction is clear-cut. Ten thousand years ago humankind was divided into countless isolated tribes. With each passing millennium, these merged into larger and larger groups, creating fewer and fewer distinct civilisations. In recent generations the few remaining civilisations have been merging into a single global community. Political and ethnic divisions endure, but they do not undermine the fundamental unity. Indeed, some divisions are made possible only by an over-arching common structure.

***

The process of human unification has taken two distinct forms: weak heterogeneous unification and strong homogeneous unification. The weaker heterogeneous form involves creating ties between previously unrelated groups. The groups may continue to have different beliefs and practices, but are no longer independent of each other. From this perspective, even war is a bond perhaps the strongest bond of all. Ten thousand years ago, no tribe in America had any quarrel with Middle Eastern enemies, and no African clan bore grudges towards any European. In contrast, during the second world war, people born on the shores of the Mississippi went to their deaths on Pacific islands and European meadows, while recruits from the heart of Africa fell fighting among French vineyards and Alpine snows.

Historians often argue that globalisation reached a first peak in 1913, then went into a long decline during the era of the world wars and the cold war, and recuperated only after 1989. They fear that new conflicts may again put globalisation into reverse gear. This may be true of economic globalisation, but it ignores the different but equally important dynamics of military globalisation. War spreads ideas, technologies and people far more quickly than commerce. War also makes people far more interested in one another.Never had the US been more closely in touch with Russia than during the cold war, when every cough in a Moscow corridor sent people scrambling up and down Washington staircases. People care far more about their enemies than about their trade partners. For every US film about Thailand, there are probably 20 about Vietnam. The global war on terror simply continues the process of military globalisation.

Photograph: Benoit Tessier/Reuters

Nowadays, the global unity of conflict is perhaps most apparent on the internet, where Isis and the drug cartels are rubbing shoulders with Google and Facebook, and YouTube offers funny cat videos alongside instructions on how to make bombs. Islamic fanatics, murderous drug dealers and geeky hackers dont exist on unrelated planets; they share the same global cyberspace. All are thrilled by the blockchain technology that gave us the bitcoin; all count on easy accessibility via ubiquitous smartphones, and all are antagonised by national governments attempting to wrest control of the net.

Yet the world of the early 21st century has gone way beyond the heterogeneous unity of conflict. People across the globe are not only influenced by one another, they increasingly share identical beliefs and practices. A thousand years ago, planet Earth was home to dozens of different political models. In Europe you could find feudal principalities vying with independent city states and minuscule theocracies. The Muslim world had its caliphate, claiming universal sovereignty, but also experimented with kingdoms, emirates and sultanates. The Chinese empire believed itself to be the sole legitimate political entity, while to its north and west tribal confederacies fought each other with glee. India and south-east Asia contained a kaleidoscope of regimes, whereas polities in America, Africa and Australasia ranged from tiny hunter-gatherer bands to sprawling empires. No wonder even neighbouring human groups had trouble agreeing on diplomatic practices, not to mention international laws. Each society had its own political paradigms, and found it difficult to understand let alone respect alien political concepts.

Today, in contrast, a single political paradigm is accepted everywhere. The planet is divided between nearly 200 sovereign states, which generally agree on the same diplomatic protocols and on common international laws. Sweden, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea and Paraguay are all marked on our world maps as the same kind of colourful shapes; they are all members of the UN; and despite myriad differences they are all recognised as sovereign states enjoying similar rights and privileges. Indeed, they share many more political ideas and practices, including at least a token belief in representative bodies, universal suffrage and human rights. When Israelis and Palestinians, Russians and Ukrainians, or Kurds and Turks court global public opinion, they all use the same discourse of human rights, state sovereignty and international law.

The world may be peppered with various types of failed states, but it knows only one paradigm for a successful state. Global politics follows the Anna Karenina principle: healthy states are all alike, but every failed state fails in its own way, by missing this or that ingredient of the dominant political package. Isis stands out in its complete rejection of this package, and its attempt to establish an entirely different kind of political entity a universal caliphate. But it is unlikely to succeed precisely for this reason. Numerous guerrilla forces and terror organisations have managed to establish new countries or conquer existing ones, but they have always done so by accepting the fundamental principles of the global political order. Even the Taliban sought international recognition as the legitimate government of the sovereign country of Afghanistan. No group rejecting the principles of global politics has so far gained lasting control of a significant territory.

***

In pre-modern times, humans experimented not only with diverse political blueprints, but with a mind-boggling variety of economic models. Russian boyars, Hindu maharajas, Chinese mandarins and Amerindian tribal chiefs had very different ideas about money and taxation, and none was even aware of the existence of such a thing as the economy. Nowadays, in contrast, almost everybody believes in slightly different variations on the same capitalist theme, and we are all cogs within a single global production line. Whether you live in Mongolia, New Zealand or Bolivia, your daily routines and economic fortunes depend on the same economic theories, the same corporations and banks, and the same currents of capital. When finance ministers or bank managers from China, Russia, Brazil and India meet, they have a common language, and can easily understand and sympathise with their counterparts woes.

When Isis conquered large parts of Syria and Iraq, it murdered tens of thousands of people, demolished archaeological sites, toppled statues and systematically destroyed the symbols of previous regimes and of western cultural influence. Yet when Isis fighters entered the banks and found stashes of US dollars covered with the faces of American presidents and English slogans praising American political and religious ideals, they did not burn these dollars. For the dollar bill is universally venerated across all political and religious divides. Though it has no intrinsic value you cannot eat or drink a dollar bill trust in the dollar and in the wisdom of the Federal Reserve is so firm it is shared even by Islamic fundamentalists, Mexican drug lords and North Korean tyrants.

Doctors all over the word will dispense similar medicines made by the same drug companies Photograph: Alamy Stock Photo

Yet the homogeneity of contemporary humanity is most apparent when it comes to our view of the natural world and of the human body. If you fell sick in 1016, it mattered a great deal where you lived. In Europe, the resident priest would probably tell you that you had made God angry, and that in order to regain your health, you should donate something to the church, make a pilgrimage to a sacred site, and pray fervently for Gods forgiveness. Alternatively, the village witch might explain that a demon had possessed you, and that she could cast the demon out using song, dance and the blood of a black cockerel. In the Middle East, doctors brought up on classical traditions might explain that your four bodily humours were out of balance, and you could harmonise them anew with a proper diet and foul-smelling potions. In India, Ayurvedic experts would offer their own theories concerning the balance between the three bodily elements known as doshas, and recommend a treatment of herbs, massages and exercises. Chinese physicians, Siberian shamans, African witch doctors, Amerindian medicine men every empire, kingdom and tribe had its own traditions and experts, each espousing different views about the human body and the nature of sickness, and each offering its own cornucopia of rituals, concoctions and cures. Some of them worked surprisingly well; others were little short of a death sentence. The one thing that united European, Chinese, African and American medical conditions was that everywhere at least a third of people died before adulthood, and nowhere did average life expectancy exceed 40.

Today, if you are taken ill, it makes far less difference where you live. In Toronto, Tokyo, Tehran or Tel Aviv, you will be taken to similar-looking hospitals, where you will meet doctors who learned the same scientific theories in not-too-different medical colleges. They will follow identical protocols and use identical tests to reach very similar diagnoses. They will then dispense similar medicines made by the same drug companies. There are still some minor cultural differences, but Canadian, Japanese, Iranian and Israeli physicians hold much the same views about the human body and human diseases. After Isis captured Raqqa and Mosul, it did not tear down the hospitals; rather, it launched an appeal to Muslim doctors and nurses throughout the world to volunteer their services there. Presumably, even Isis doctors and nurses believe that the body is made of cells, that diseases are caused by pathogens, and that antibiotics kill bacteria.

And what makes up these cells and bacteria? Indeed, what makes up the entire world? Back in 1016, every culture had its own story about the universe, and about the fundamental ingredients of the cosmic soup. Today, learned people throughout the world believe exactly the same things about matter, energy, time and space. Take, for example, Irans nuclear programme. The whole problem with it is that the Iranians have exactly the same view of physics as the Israelis and Americans. If the Iranians believed that E=mc, Israel would not care an iota about their nuclear programme.

People still claim to believe in different things. But when it comes to the really important stuff how to build a state, an economy, a hospital, or a weapon almost all of us belong to the same civilisation. There are disagreements, no doubt, but then all civilisations have their internal disagreements indeed, they are defined by these disagreements. When trying to outline their identity, people often make a grocery list of common traits. They would fare much better if they made a list of common conflicts and dilemmas instead. In 1940, Britain and Germany had very different traits, yet they were both part and parcel of western civilisation. Churchill wasnt more western than Hitler; rather, the struggle between them defined what it meant to be western at that particular moment in history. In contrast, a !Kung hunter-gatherer in 1940 wasnt western, because the internal western clash about race and empire would have made little sense to him.

The people we fight most often are our own family members. Identity is defined by conflicts and dilemmas more than by agreements. What does it mean to be European in 2016? It doesnt mean to have white skin, to believe in Jesus Christ, or to uphold liberty. Rather, it means to argue vehemently about immigration, about the EU, and about the limits of capitalism. It also means to obsessively ask yourself What defines my identity? and to worry about an ageing population, about rampant consumerism and about global warming without really knowing what to do about it. In their conflicts and dilemmas, 21st-century Europeans are very different from their early-modern and medieval ancestors, but are increasingly similar to their Chinese and Indian contemporaries.

Whatever changes await us, they are likely to involve a fraternal struggle within a single civilisation rather than a clash between alien civilisations. The big challenges of the 21st century will be global in nature. What will happen when pollution triggers global climate changes? What will happen when computers replace people in an increasing number of jobs? When biotechnology enables us to upgrade humans, extend lifespans, and perhaps split humankind into different biological castes? No doubt, we will have huge arguments and bitter conflicts over these questions. But these arguments and conflicts are unlikely to drive us apart. Just the opposite. They will make us ever more interdependent, as members of a single, rowdy, global civilisation.

Yuval Noah Hararis Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow is published by Harvill Secker. ynharari.com

from All Of Beer http://allofbeer.com/isis-is-as-much-an-offshoot-of-our-global-civilisation-as-google/

[hammondcast]

Jerry Garcia in Paris Grateful Dead Jon Hammond Photos 1981 after Concorde Flight

JON HAMMOND·WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 16, 2017 NOTE: https://www.facebook.com/notes/jon-hammond/jerry-garcia-in-paris-grateful-dead-jon-hammond-photos-1981-after-concorde-fligh/10159164306115287/

In the year 1981 I flew to Paris France aboard the Air France Concorde Jet from John F. Kennedy International Airport to Paris Aéroport - Charles de Gaulle (CDG), flight lasted for 3 hours and 26 minutes. I shot these photos of Jerry and Grateful Dead at the Hippodrome de Vincennes / Hippodrome de Pantin, Paris, France with my Nikon Nikon F3 with motor - and ‘The Other One’ Bob Weir #JerryGarcia #GratefulDead #BobWeir #NikonF3 #JonHammond #Paris

Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, Phil Lesh - Grateful Dead in Paris photo by Jon Hammond 1981

Brent Mydland at the Hammond organ - Photo by Jon Hammond 1981 Grateful Dead in Paris

Grateful Dead Hammond Organist / Keyboardist Brent Mydland photo by Jon Hammond Paris 1981

Photo by Jon Hammond: Jerry Garcia Paris 1981 ©JON HAMMOND International

Jerry Garcia with his signature guitar - photo by Jon Hammond Grateful Dead in Paris 1981 #GratefulDead #JerryGarcia #Paris #NikonF3 #JonHammond #Concorde #AirFrance http://www.jonhammondband.com/blog....

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry...

Jerome John Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist, best known for his work as the lead guitarist and as a vocalist with the band the Grateful Dead, which came to prominence during the counterculture era in the 1960s.[2][3]Although he disavowed the role, Garcia was viewed by many as the leader or "spokesman" of the group.[2][3][4][5]

One of its founders, Garcia performed with the Grateful Dead for their entire thirty-year career (1965–1995). Garcia also founded and participated in a variety of side projects, including the Saunders–Garcia Band (with longtime friend Merl Saunders), the Jerry Garcia Band, Old and in the Way, the Garcia/Grisman acoustic duo, Legion of Mary, and the New Riders of the Purple Sage (which Garcia co-founded with John Dawson and David Nelson).[2] He also released several solo albums, and contributed to a number of albums by other artists over the years as a session musician. He was well known for his distinctive guitar playing and was ranked 13th in Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" cover story.[6]

Later in life, Garcia was sometimes ill because of his diabetes, and in 1986 went into a diabetic coma that nearly cost him his life. Although his overall health improved somewhat after that, he also struggled with heroin and cocaine addictions,[4][5] and was staying in a California drug rehabilitation facility when he died of a heart attack in August 1995 at the age of 53.[3][5] Birth name: Jerome John GarciaBornAugust 1, 1942 San Francisco, California, U.S.DiedAugust 9, 1995 (aged 53) Forest Knolls, California, U.S.GenresPsychedelic rock, blues rock, folk rock, country rock, jam rock, bluegrass, roots rockOccupation(s)Musician, songwriterInstrumentsGuitar, pedal steel guitar, banjo, vocalsYears active1960–1995LabelsRhino, Arista, Warner Bros., Acoustic Disc, Grateful DeadAssociated actsGrateful Dead, Legion of Mary, Reconstruction, Jerry Garcia Band, Old and in the Way, Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band, New Riders of the Purple Sage, Hart Valley Drifters, Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions Jerry Garcia's ancestors on his father's side were from Galicia in northwest Spain. His mother's ancestors were Irish and Swedish.[7] He was born in the Excelsior District of San Francisco, California, on August 1, 1942, to Jose Ramon "Joe" Garcia and Ruth Marie "Bobbie" (née Clifford) Garcia,[8][9][10] who was herself born in San Francisco.[7] His parents named him after composer Jerome Kern.[8][11][12] Jerome John was their second child, preceded by Clifford Ramon "Tiff", who was born in 1937.[13][14] Shortly before Clifford's birth, their father and a partner leased a building in downtown San Francisco and turned it into a bar, partly in response to Jose being blackballed from a musicians' union for moonlighting.[15]

Garcia was influenced by music at an early age,[16] taking piano lessons for much of his childhood.[17] His father was a retired professional musician and his mother enjoyed playing the piano.[8] His father's extended family—who had emigrated from Spain in 1919—would often sing during reunions..

http://www.jonhammondband.com/blog....

JON HAMMOND: Blog Bernard's Musical Dedication to his Children LATE RENT Jon Hammond Theme Song

#WATCHMOVIE HERE: Bernard's Musical Dedication to his Children LATE RENT Jon Hammond Theme Song Jon's archive https://archive.org/details/BernardPurdieDedicationToHisKidsLateRentCloserAtMikellsYoutube https://youtu.be/B5qGwUgEyvM New York NY -- Flashback to August 1989 - Studio drummer Bernard Purdie takes the microphone on last set at Mikell's with Jon Hammond and The Late Rent Session Men band to dedicate the performance to his children Phyllis and Anthony. Theme song for the long-running cable TV program The Jon Hammond Show "Late Rent" original composition with Jon Hammond at his 1959 B3 organ Bernard Purdie drums Chuggy Carter percussion Alex Foster alto saxophone Barry..

Mikell's was a legendary music club at 760 Columbus Avenue and 97th Street in New York City

Bernard's Musical Dedication to his Children LATE RENT Jon Hammond Theme Song

Posted on August 13, 2017#WATCHMOVIE HERE: Bernard's Musical Dedication to his Children LATE RENT Jon Hammond Theme Song Jon's archive https://archive.org/details/BernardPurdieDedicationToHisKidsLateRentCloserAtMikellsYoutube https://youtu.be/B5qGwUgEyvM New York NY -- Flashback to August 1989 - Studio drummer Bernard Purdie takes the microphone on last set at Mikell's with Jon Hammond and The Late Rent Session Men band to dedicate the performance to his children Phyllis and Anthony. Theme song for the long-running cable TV program The Jon Hammond Show "Late Rent" original composition with Jon Hammond at his 1959 B3 organ Bernard Purdie drums Chuggy Carter percussion Alex Foster alto saxophone Barry Finnerty guitar *Note: This historic clip is photographic proof that the actual location of Mikell's was 760 Columbus Avenue at 97th and not 808 Columbus as the current Whole Foods near the old location claims, highly interesting! This is some of the rare surviving footage from Mikell's, in the house that night [...] Read more

Jon Hammond Show 0812

Posted on August 9, 2017#WATCHMOVIE HERE: Jon Hammond Show 0812 Jon's archive https://archive.org/details/JonHammondShow0812Youtube `https://youtu.be/e3rhHaMHWHI Jon Hammond Show broadcast for 0812 on MNN TV Channel 1 Public Access TV Manhattan Neighborhood Network - Air Time: 01:30 AM on 08/12 - first segment: Opening intro this week at Anaheim Hilton Hotel "Head Phone" Jon Hammond Band with Bernard Purdie drums, special guest Koei Tanaka chromatic harmonica and then to Nashville Tennessee exclusive interview, Jon Hammond speaking with Harry Shearer just before he is awarded the American Eagle Award along with Crystal Gayle and Patti Smith - Paul Shaffer presented the award. Same night, Jon jumps a cab over to Big Shotz Nashville to play the first night (of 3) for the Mothertone Summer NAMM Party "Mother of All Hangs" - live performance of Jon's funk tune "Head Phone" - Jon Hammond Band with Kayleigh Moyer drums, Chuggy Carter percussion, Joe Berger guitar, Jon Hammond Sk1 Hammond organ + bass - 3rd year at [...] Read more

Jon Hammond Show Theme Song LATE RENT At Mothertone Party Nashville

Posted on August 6, 2017#WATCHMOVIE HERE: Jon Hammond Show Theme Song LATE RENT At Mothertone Party Nashville Jon's archive https://archive.org/details/JonHammondShowThemeSongLATERENTAtMothertonePartyNashvilleYoutube https://youtu.be/JhOeP7Qfdjs #Youtube #LateRent

by Jon Hammond

Publication date 2017-08-05 Usage Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Topics Mothertone, Nashville, Drums, Hammond Organ, Guitar, Percussion, NAMM Show, Night Party, Blues, Jazz, MNN TV, Late Rent, Funky

Language English

Nashville, Tennessee --Jon Hammond Show Theme Song LATE RENT at the Mothertone Party, first night of 3 'Mother of All Hangs' Summer NAMM Show Extravaganza produced / presented by Michael Turner annually with great Mothertone musicians and guest artists: Kayleigh Moyer drums, Chuggy Carter percussion, Joe Berger guitar, Jon Hammond organ [...] Read more

Jon Hammond at the New B3 Portable Organ in Melbourne Australia

#WATCHMOVIE HERE: Pocket Funk Pictures Video Youtube https://youtu.be/7RW56iYzPSQ Vimeo https://vimeo.com/216416280 Jon Hammond Allstar Band with special guest Lee Oskar Center Stage concert musikmesse ProLight + Sound 2017 with photographs by master photographers Andreas Meer and Dita Vollmond also Bernie Capicchiano. Peter Klohmann tenor saxophone, Giovanni Totò Gulino drums, Joe Berger guitar, Jon Hammond organ + bass, Lee Oskar harmonica - special events announcer Eleftherios Mavros, special thanks Wolfgang Lücke, Johannes Weber, Christopher Sparkes, Anke Lich, Ilona Schlesinger-Jakoby, Eva Lang, Michael Birk Veranstaltungslogistik GmbH, Messe Frankfurt Team - Note: This is the 31st musikmesse for Jon Hammond and Joe Berger! See you next year folks! http://www.jonhammondband.com Producer Jon Hammond Language English Jon's archive https://archive.org/details/JonHammondShow0506 Youtube https://youtu.be/5SNZe3IWFD4 Vimeo https://vimeo.com/215429988 Jon Hammond Show 0506 Broadcast MNN TV Channel 1 air time 01:30 AM, 05/06 - first segment, jazzkeller "Czechoslovakian Salsa Song" musikmesse Warm Up Party - "The FINGERS...are the SINGERS!" musikmesse "Warm Up Party" Jon Hammond & Band Jon Hammond - organ Joe Berger - guitar Peter Klohmann - saxophone Giovanni Totò Gulino - drums Usage Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Mr. Hammond has toured worldwide since 1991 using the incredible Sk1 organ by Hammond Suzuki..™ "Classic Hammond Sound...In A Suitcase!" The Jon Hammond Show is a funky swinging instrumental revue, featuring top international soloists. The show has universal appeal. Big Hammond orgel sound - 100% organic Jon Hammond’s equipment Hammond Sk1 organ powered by Markbass bass amplifier special thanks Eugen and jazzkeller Team black and white photographs courtesy of Elmar Lemes Saray Pastanesi Frankfurt baked the beautiful chocolate chocolate birthday cake for Jon Hammond and his guests Thank you to everybody for keeping this beautiful tradition going, celebrating 31 consecutive years musikmesse Jon Hammond Joe Berger & Band music composed by Jon Hammond ©JON HAMMOND International American Society of Composers, Authors & Publishers (ASCAP) as seen on The Jon Hammond Show MNN TV Channel 1 34th year of Jon Hammond’s cable TV show Second segment, Musikmesse-Session in Jazzkeller Hofheim Lydia's Tune Jon Hammond & Band - bossa nova tune from Jon's first album, Peter Klohmann t.s., Giovanni Totò Gulino dr., Joe Berger g., Jon Hammond o.+b.- composed by Jon Hammond Third segment, Melody Without Name Jon Hammond Band Jazzkeller Frankfurt - Note: Jon's organ is powered by Markbass Bass Amps house combo bass amp only - Joe Berger guitar, Peter Klohmann tenor saxophone, Giovanni Totò Gulino drums, Jon Hammond Sk1 Hammond organ - this is Jon Hammond and Joe Berger's 31st consecutive musikmesse traditional warm up party and Jon's 64th birthday party with many friends in the house in world famous jazzkeller Frankfurt Jon's birthday Chocolate Chocolate Cake baked by the best bakery in Frankfurt Saray Pastanesi http://www.HammondCast.com original composition by Jon Hammond ©JON HAMMOND International BREAKING MUSIC NEWS: -- DOWN HOME RECORDS IN-STORE PERFORMANCE: JON HAMMOND and MARC BAUM Funky Jazz & Blues + Free Red Beans & Rice - FRIDAY MAY 12th at 5PM - El Cerrito CA Jon Hammond and Marc Baum go back a long long time! - Jon Hammond at the Hammond organ Marc Baum on tenor saxophone 10341 San Pablo Ave. Down Home Music Store Downtown El Cerrito CA http://www.downhomemusic.com EVENT Producer Jon Hammond Language English Jerry Garcia, Jon Hammond Photos, Hippodrome Paris, Blues, Rock, #Hippodrome #HammondOrgan #GratefulDead #Jerry

[ancestorsalive]

HELLO DADDY

9th June 1940: Two little girls rush into the outstretched arms of their wheel chair bound father. He is a casualty from the British Expeditionary Force in France.

Credit & Photo by Reg Speller/Fox Photos/Getty Images

[viralhottopics]

Critics assemble: our writers pick their favorite superhero films

Batman v Superman v Captain America v all of the X-Men. Which cape-wearing, civilian-saving adventures are worth cheering?

Given the repetitive influx of superhero films in recent years, youd be forgiven for wanting very little to do with anything involving a cape, a mask and a post-credits teaser for a long time. But wait, the R-rated Wolverine sequel Logan hits cinemas this week and critics agree that its worth getting over yourself for.

Many are saying it will join the ranks of the all-time greats but what else should be on this list? Here are seven of the best from Guardian writers.

The Incredibles

Photograph: HO/Reuters

Was 2004 the superheroes annus mirabilis? That was when Marvel Studios initiated its ambitious plan to self-finance its movies, buy back the rights to characters such as Iron Man and the Incredible Hulk, and begin the 21st-century wave of superhero films, hugely popular with the public, but often patronised and dismissed the way westerns used to be.

But something else happened in 2004: the release of Pixars glorious animated superhero homage The Incredibles. Thats a film which doesnt fit easily into the superhero fanbase-constituency, and is part of neither the Marvel nor DC tribe (unless you count the fact that Pixar, like Marvel, is part of Disney). And Im conscious that in calling it a homage I may even now be denying it full superhero-film status. But a brilliant superhero film is what it is riffing on the X-Men and Fantastic Four with superb characters, a great supervillain, a terrific story and a sharp satiric theme on the subject of excellence, and the nature of risk, jeopardy and the state.

Mr Incredible (voiced by Craig T Nelson) is a lantern-jawed, barrel-chested superhero who plies his trade in the 1940s, the superheroes postwar first-generation comic book heyday. He is fighting alongside his fiancee, Elastigirl (Holly Hunter). When a member of the public sues him for preventing his suicide, it triggers a legal nightmare forcing the government to outlaw superheroism and to relocate supers to other cities with new identities and bland normality. Twenty years later, he and Elastigirl have suburban lives and he works in insurance a nightmarish perversion of his former calling. They have two kids whose superpowers they have to conceal at school. But then a new villain emerges with a secret connection to the Incredibles past, forcing them to reclaim their vocation and their destiny.

It is rightly celebrated for the superhero costumire, Edna Mode, voiced by the director and writer, Brad Bird, who thinks that capes are a bad idea and is passionately committed to her contemporary vision: I never look back, darling; it distracts from the now. There is a wonderful passage on the phenomenon of supervillains monologuing huge third-act set-piece speeches in which the villains talk about themselves and their awful vision.

Actually, in 2017, the non-talky streamlined all-action superhero film is pretty much against both capes and monologuing and also against Edna Modes injunction against looking back. Superhero films love origin myths, elaborate retro sequences from the past and all-around ancestor worship.

But as it happens, and incredible as it may sound, The Incredibles has a brilliant action sequence, as exciting as anything in any live-action superhero film or action film. Elastigirl and the two kids are flying in their plane to an island from which the errant Mr Incredible has sent a distress signal. Then she is attacked by rockets. The subsequent chase scene and midair explosion are absolutely nail-biting.

It is witty, smart, visually ravishing, and its generic insights are celebratory, not derisive. What a great superhero film. PB

Batman

Photograph: Allstar/Warner Bros/Sportsphoto Ltd/Allstar

I have to be honest: I am not the worlds biggest superhero movie fan. Put another way, when they took off in the late 80s, I thought they were a fad that would blow over in a few years; more fool me. In fact, the elevation to ever-prolonging ubiquity is one of the great mysteries of contemporary cinema: how this genre, that for years was considered only good for doltish teens, and treated with equivalent lack of respect, has steadily evolved into the mainstay of the global film industry. Be that as it may, I prefer the funny, candy-coloured type of superhero movie (Spider-Man, Thor, Deadpool) rather than the furrowed-brow earnestathons (Batman Begins, Captain America, Man of Steel) Ive never seen a superhero movie weighty or nuanced enough to justify the heavy-duty treatment.

But as films as opposed to moving comic-books superhero movies tend to fall down pretty hard. There are great sequences, brilliant set pieces, very nice shots but they rarely hold together, still less allowing actual narrative subtlety to intrude on the scene-shifting. The first and still, by my reckoning, only time that a superhero movie seemed way ahead of everything else was the first Tim Burton Batman, from 1989. A tour de force of design, cinematography, and cinematic texture, it was light years ahead of (the nevertheless highly enjoyable) Superman films that had blazed the superhero trail in the 1970s and 80s. Burtons brilliance was to make everything else look redundant and in many ways, nothing has changed since. AP

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Photograph: Moviestore/Rex

Heres a conspiracy theory: someone at the Academy purposefully shuffled those envelopes to detract from the much bigger scandal earlier in the evening: the snubbing of Garry Shandling in this years Oscars In Memoriam montage. I hope my choice of the Marvel movie in which he cameos as a sinister Hydra disciple will go some way to righting this wrong.

Shandlings 15-second appearance in this sequel to the first film featuring the weed who becomes the most fantastic hunk is one of my chief reasons for picking it; the other is its literally the only superhero movie I can ever really remember enjoying.

This is obviously a personal deficit, but perhaps it is, actually, a better superhero movie than most? There are terrific action sequences, for a start: that initial heist, fuelled with sexual tension between the Cap and the Black Widow, plus the most wonderful punch-up in a lift. Plus, vegetables to accompany all that meat and beef: a properly thought-provoking investigation of the morals of surveillance and the ethics of vigilantism in a democratically accountable society.

But perhaps what really clinched it for me as an Avengers movie I could get along with was the relative dearth of Robert Downey Jr. The more you can minimise this man, the more I shall like any movie. CS

Thor: The Dark World

Photograph: Allstar/Marvel Studios/Sportsphoto Ltd/Allstar

Many are hailing Logan for stretching the boundaries of what a superhero movie can be. Its dramatic, fervid, and realistic in its violence. But lets not do away with whats core to comics culture: deep, dank nerdery that ought not be allowed to see daylight.

I love comic books rich in lore and steeped in mythos, swirling in and out of realms with names impossible to spell. Thor: The Dark World stuffs two handfuls of delicious dorkiness into its maw, one rich in fantasy, the other in science fiction. Is the Asgardian bio-bed a quantum field generator or a Soul Forge? The answer, of course, is that it is both.

Thor: The Dark World has portals and Kronan Rock Men and invisible spaceships and a ray that can curl you up into a singularity and zap you into another dimension. A liquid totem called the Aether is almost in Malekith the Dark Elfs nefarious grasp, just in time for the quinquennial cosmic event known as the Convergence. Oh, God, I need to stop typing and grab my asthma inhaler, this sort of talk gets me all worked up.

In the middle of all this, theres the bickering romance between the sharp and sweet doctor played by Natalie Portman and her hunky blonde blue-eyed spaceman, Thor. When they reunite during a battle, the first thing she does is yell at him for never calling. When they visit Thors realm, Dr Foster quickly bonds with Thors mother. They may as well be eating intergalactic coffee cake. And there are still some who say mixed marriages cant work?!?

Thor: The Dark World is a rush of Absolute Comics mainlined direct to my amygdala, with a profound purity that few other modern superhero movies allow themselves. It is Worthy. JH

The Dark Knight

Photograph: Allstar/Warner Bros

While Batman Begins was a refreshingly coherent, mature and dark-hued film about the Caped Crusader (a relief after the eye-punishing gaudy excess of Batman & Robin), it was far from a masterpiece.

There was a major villain problem (a somewhat gimmicky last act switcheroo that didnt quite have the required impact) and a major Katie Holmes problem (needs no explanation) and as a result, it was a promising franchise-restarter but not the home run we might have hoped for. Three years later, Christopher Nolan returned, lessons learned and homework done, with a sequel that rose far above its generic peers and, despite the creation of the hero-packed DC and Marvel universes since, it easily remains unsurpassed.

The Dark Knight moves like a fiendish thriller, one that confidently pushes the boundaries of the superhero genre in a way that comic book fans may be familiar with but which for cinema-goers such as myself was a revelation. Its a breathtakingly brutal film, packed with staggering PG-13 violence and a bleak worldview thats unrelenting, grounding fantastical characters and situations in a world that, for once, is depressingly easy to relate to.

That villain problem? Easily fixed. The casting of Heath Ledger in the role of the Joker might have been initially unpopular with fans, who couldnt envision his leading man looks buried under cartoonish makeup, but his performance was dynamite, an Oscar-winning fireball of anger and anarchy. That Katie Holmes problem? Replaced. Maggie Gyllenhaal added depth and a genuine emotional connection which led to the shocking finale carrying even greater weight. Its one of the rare examples of a superhero film where each devastating act of violence or aggression has a lasting impact. In Nolans Gotham City, life and death both mean something.

It might be to blame for the dreary drudgery thats bogged down many ensuing superhero adventures but it remains a ruthlessly entertaining example of just how daring and necessary the genre can be. BL

Watchmen

Photograph: Clay Enos/Photo by Clay Enos

It may be difficult to credit given Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice recently picked up a gaggle of Razzies, but Zack Snyder was once seen as the coming man of comic book movies. His 2009 adaptation of Alan Moores sprawling graphic novel about an alternative 1980s in which Nixon remains in power and superheroes are real remains a high point of the film-makers career and proof that given a decent script, he is capable of producing eye-popping cinema beyond that of most his contemporaries.

The bravura opening montage, set to the strains of Bob Dylans The Times They Are A Changin, is unequalled in comic book movies. The casting is impeccable: Jackie Earl Haley has never been better than as the hardboiled, morally immovable vigilante Rorschach, a gurning, spitting man out of time whose psychological torment is written on his face whether wearing that famous mask or not. Patrick Wilson is wonderfully understated as the taciturn Nite Owl, a superhero who looks like an accountant with middle-aged spread, while Jeffrey Dean Morgan is perfect as the leering, sneering, cigar-smoking alpha male scumbag the Comedian, a role which surely won him the part of the villain Negan in The Walking Dead.

Naysayers argue that Watchmen is too close to its source material, bar a sensibly altered denouement. But Moores story is so epic in scale and splendid in its unexpectedly detailed rendering of the inner psyches of costumed crimefighters that Snyder was really only required to add visual flare. If there is a Citizen Kane of superhero movies, this is indisputably it. BC

X-Men: Days of Future Past

Photograph: Allstar/20th Century Fox

The best thing about this time traveling entry into the vast annals of X-Men history is the absolute disregard Bryan Singer had for newcomers. If you hadnt been paying attention to his line of mutant entertainment over the last decade or so, youd feel a bit like Kyle Reese being spat out into 1984 with no clothes and no idea what was happening. That slightly manic pace, which feels like its borrowed from a daytime soap opera, plus the period costume and references to Vietnam, Nixon and the height of 70s cold war paranoia made this a strangely daring superhero film.

Instead of something that tried to set out the basic idea of what the X-Men were and what they were all about a concept most grandmothers could probably grasp by now this just got straight into the internal machinations of a group that makes the EU look harmonious. Of course, the old themes of good and evil doing battle, and overcoming personal demons (in this case addiction for Professor X) are there, but it was delivered in a knowingly strange way. You could even argue the hectic feel and funny but slightly smug lines set the stage for the least superhero-y superhero of them all, Deadpool. Singer knew fans were au fait with the concept of time travel, and would love to see Magneto and Professor X as their younger selves, so he threw it all into a blender and Days of Future Past came out like a perfectly mixed bit of superhero bechamel. LB

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from Critics assemble: our writers pick their favorite superhero films

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(via Hope Bourne: A Wild Woman of Exmoor – Cherry's Cache)

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Nine year old Raymond Farmer from Freeport, Ohio and his pet racoon.

[lionzkingsview-blog]

I am not here to attack my black men. I just share my opinions and ideas that I use to make my life better. The things I use while working in the streets and with other young men. The world we live in as we know it may not be the same as it was for our ancestors but the lessons are still the same. If you want to tell what type of a man someone is, look at who he has around him. Look at how he treats his woman. That is timeless and is true no matter what time we are in. If you lay down with with someone you have to be ready to stand up and be a man. That also is timeless and still true. I can keep going. We as man are needed to be leaders. Not because we were in the 60s and 70s but because we are needed right now. To be a leader means we are going to be held accountable for the good and bad. Especially for them men who want to call themselves KINGS. So yes I know our women need help and they are not always right. I just feel with everything in my body and because I have made it work for me. If we fix our men our women will follow. Many women want their man to lead. It’s they white supremacy mindset that says being a man is toxic and that women need to be one the same level. We are not the same and I can’t do what women do or do I want . Just like they can’t do what I can do. So you can’t be angry when they are looking at you to take back your place as a man and stand y’all. Again I love my brothers but I will not sit back and see us doing wrong and say nothing. -------------------------------------------------- Follow me also @therealremyredd #therealremyredd @colossill (The Black App) #BotherVex (BackUp) #blackinamerica #BlackLivesMatter #BlackHistory #blackhistorymonth #BlackLove #StephCurry #Lebron #Nas #Beyonce #Jayz #KimKardashian #cardib #WillSmith #Worldstar #getthestrap #colinkaepernick #Hiphop #DanielClary #JusticeForDanyeJones #survivingrkelly #grammys #oscars #allstar #nbaallstarweekend https://www.instagram.com/p/BuHOaXxhTtU/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=u40vvpyouhid