#BANK Records NYC

[vergaarbak]

Cienfuegos – A Los Mártires - A Los Mártires

Oldie Goldie.

[losprimeros]

collector - no prospects [BNK-040]

[stormblessed95]

I sent a timeline into the op, I’ve removed the speculations, so hope this helps some

2023

JM dior show Paris 20th  jan 23 with Hobi 

JM album face promo Feb/march 23

JK visits him at dance practice BB probably Feb time 

1/2 jk goes live bam there 

This is the live where Tae makes him do a instagram live 

3/2 JM live from company late evening 

Same night Jk goes live and JM in comments Jk invites him for fried chicken

Same live where he says Jimins name and bam reacts and runs to the door 

10/2 JM live talks about jk, sings euphoria and talks about acting in photo shoots, 

11/2 jk live at boxing JM comments 

18/2 JM joins Hobi on his bday live at company 

Hobi had said he sees Jimin a lot at company and they play cards 

28/2 jk live talks about going to work and JM is in comments 

4/3 jk goes live gets tipsy 

6/3 JM live at company 

9/3 Yoongi bday, JM records himself watching the live, jk comment on Weverse about marry me thing 

13/3 JM flies to nyc 

Films day with vogue and practice for fallon

And fallon 

14/3 jk. X3 part live on white day- JM abroad but comments- leaves spoiler for smfp2 video teaser at midnight 

19/3 Jimin arrives in Korea 

24/3 Face is released 

24/3 JM on jimmy fallon show not live 

Jk goes love cooking 

27/3 JM goes on suchwita 

28/3 JM live jk spams comments- promos for face are done says to jk that it’s finished, jk says time flies 

28/3 writes I miss you on Weverse , jk replies me too, 

After jk goes live and watches Jimin content including suchwita 

Around early hours- JM replies see you soon the live is cute

29/3- Jimin Weverse live for face 

Late march- all member meal 

31/3- JM on music bank 

2/4 JM on ingagayo 

4th April- JM bb hot 100 live- jk is sleeping comment

8/4 Hobi and Tae go to JKs house and go on Weverse live 

8/4 jk flies to USA 

11/4- JM and Yoongi in weird YouTube show

16/4 jk at cochella 

17/4 Jk arrives home 

19th April - Hobi’s enlistment - epic hug moment 

They were together the night before 

Astro member died 19/4 pm

25/4 JM flies to nyc 

25/4 Jk and Tae attend dream premiere jk comes live straight after it late 

25/4 jk live seems sad and tired and says he is both,,cooks on live

JM had flown to NYC that day 

28/4 Jimin at Tiffany event nyc 

29/4 Jimin at d day concert usa

Jk at lv event in Seoul with Mingyu 

30/4 JM live with Yoongi 

During this time recording Who…

6/5 JM arrives in Korea 

23/5 JM goes to London and HP world

24/5 JK went live , sang angel

27/5 JM arrives home -

5th June Jk live talks about rainy day fight 

Watched Jimin on lee mijun show (sings along to like crazy ) 

12/6 jk falls asleep on live 

13/6 JM letter live for festa 

14/6 jk flying to la

15/6 JM live talks about rainy day fight 

Recording Muse that day too 

22/6 jk arrived home 

Late june- yoongis dday tour attendance Seoul 25th JM and jk 

29/6 jk live working out

1/7 JKs brother posts a pic of family game night ft JMs hand

4/7 jk 4am live with Mingyu 

July seven release 

JK flies to NYC -12/13?

JM flies out next day 13th

14/7 seven is released 

Go missing in NY state for 4 days - Ays filming

18/7 JM flies home 

24/7 jk arrived home from London 

25/7 JM posts about jk bb hot 100

27/7 jk goes live sings letter by Jimin at end 

28/7 - July when they come back from NYC- JKs epic in bed begging JM live 

30/7 jk inkagayo music show v visits him 

Celebrate hot 100  

August - jeju island trip ? Spotted by fans 

12th august- JK in Tokyo with Eunwoo??

3rd august JM d day concert 

3/8 jk goes live 

4th august jk d day concert 

5th august Weverse live JK

23rd and 24th august jk spotted in Busan with Eunwoo and Mingyu eating out 

September - 1/9- JM shirtless pic for JKs birthday 

Jk attends Tiffany even in Seoul. Comes live afterwards….. wearing watch set to JKs. Birthday time.

jK must have prepared 3D content in September 

He must have filmed suchwita on 3/9 ish 

5/9 jk flies to la 

9/9 jk arrived home from la 

12/9 jk flies to nyc

15/9 JM supported v at music show 

16/9 jk arrived home 

Jikook meal with Yoongi at some point ? Spotted but Jimin kind of confirmed this in mmm

21/9 jk flies to nyc 

25/9 jk arrived home 

28/9 chusseouk - JM posts pic on Instagram of whale cloud drawing saying jk did it 

29/9 jk releases 3d 

JM posts single cover 😅 with this emoji

4/10 jk live talked about Jeon Jimin 

Played like crazy x2 and smfp2 and other members songs

Had hung out with 97 friends that day

6/10 jk flies to la 

10/10 jk arrived home 

13 October- JM birthday live days Jk busy makes sad face and such concern 

13/10 jk music bank 

Around here JM Weverse interview said he has been spending time alone which if Jk was gone to 3D he would be 

14/10 jk flies to Budapest 

Oct- Tae posts pics of him and Jikook in jeju from?? 

20/10 jk arrived home 

23/10 jk at ck event Japan 

29/10- JMs production diary live- JK comes on for a minute 

Jm has golden hair…

They found out days before this about the enlistment 

Late October- 30/10 JM fan even

Mini moni music filming he has blonde hair 

3/11 jk live talking about Golden

Tae and JM live outside JKs house

November 4th- golden release 

&& Release party we only know bc JM posts photos 

5/11 jk flies to nyc

11/11 jk arrived home 

15/11- mini moni p2 filming 

16/11 JM flies to Budapest to film who mv 

17/11 ish JM stuck with you this is Jimin dance cover 

19/11 JM arrives home 

20/11 golden live in Seoul 

JM commented that hate you is his fave song

Rm attended 

Around here JM was spotted filming at a hot springs which we now know isn’t one and was a location for his jimmy fallon appearance 22/7/24

22/11- JM records sgmb track video 

Possibly fallon performance too given spotting date posts 

23/11 - they go to Japan together for about a week 

28/11 they arrive home from Japan 

29/11 jk flies to la 

2/11 jk arrived home 

5/12 - jk,JM,v,rm last live before enlistment very touchy feely 

JM said he’d been sick after Japan 

12/12- both at v and rms enlistment 

13/12- they enlisted  together in the buddy system

Very watered down, but I *think* (can't be 100% sure without going and looking everything up right now, but it looks good) totally accurate timeline of Jikook activities through 2023

[spiritundaunted]

King George VI & Queen Elizabeth traveling in NJ and NY, 1939

Queen Elizabeth and King George VI wave from the Canadian Pavilion at the New York World's Fair in 1939. Here's a little about their journey on that jam-packed day:

On June 10, 1939, the King & Queen arrived in Red Bank, NJ via special train. From there they traveled a few miles by open car to Fort Hancock at Sandy Hook, where they boarded the US destroyer Warrington for the trip across the harbor to Battery Park in lower Manhattan. (This is video of Warrington crossing the harbor. You can see how hazy it was that day.)

Bertie & Elizabeth were excited to see the New York skyline come into view, and when the ship passed the Statue of Liberty, they stood up from their deck chairs to get a better look.

These places are well known to me, and I always get a little bit of a fangirl thrill knowing I could be walking in Bertie's footsteps. 😊

The Sandy Hook ferry terminal today - most likely this was area where Warrington embarked from back in the day.

Fort Hancock is defunct now, but much of the old buildings and fortifications remain through preservation efforts, like these Officers' Quarters, which always make interesting pictures.

At the start of this very long day, the King & Queen first arrived at the train station in Red Bank, NJ, traveling from Washington DC. Here, they are disembarking the Royal Train and meeting with dignitaries. (photos from NPS and some fun first-hand recollections.)

The Red Bank train station today.

USS Warrington arriving at its ultimate destination - Battery Park in NYC. An enormous crowd awaited the royal couple, greeting them with thunderous cheers. Then they were whisked away again in cars for a high speed journey up the West Side Highway to visit the World's Fair in Queens.

Battery Park isn't the easiest spot to photograph right now because there is a lot of construction in the area. But this is opposite side view of the Pier One building where they would have docked. (you can see just the edge of it all the way on the right in the gif above of the ship arriving.) I'm standing at about the point where they would have gotten onto the West Side Highway.

Adding this last bit for fun, though I've shared it before. This is the breathless commentary of reporters and police dispatchers leading the royal entourage as they progressed from the USS Warrington to Pier One at the Battery, onto the West Side Highway and Grand Central Parkway, all the way to the 1939 World's Fair.

It was very unique reportage because this was the first time something like this was attempted on scene; going live to different reporters dispersed throughout the route, in cooperation with the NYPD and using their radios. It was considered a very challenging undertaking and cutting edge for it's day.

The recording is rather long (dispersed with regal marches when they had nothing to talk about!) but it is a very fun listen if you are interested in this sort of historical thing; especially when the crusty New-York-accented reporters get swept away with Royal Fever - "oh he's handsome!" and "oh she's lovely!" 😂

[truths33k3r4]

You said that Donnie had a job. But how? Wouldn’t people realize that’s he is a turtle?

Hello, @rosalol123!

Yup! In my universe of TMNT, Donatello has a remote job in IT work. (Inspired by the 2007 film!)

This is a fair question! "How could a mutant-turtle-teen be able to do an interview, accept a job, get money?" etc. And here's the best answer I can give for now. :)

Don was searching for the right job to help keep him and his family afloat after he graduated a year early from school. With the family only living off of the scraps from a nearby bakery's stale treats and pastries, Don knew they had to have a better diet in order to get the nutrients they needed and stay healthy. (A feat not exactly easy when living in the sewers of NYC.)

So he began searching for a job behind his family's back. He knew Master Splinter wouldn't approve, seeing how it was creating a risk for Don to be found by the world. But the freckled mutant was confident he could do it while still keeping his identity safe. He looked into IT work, (seeing how ever since he was a kid he enjoyed fixing machinery and gadgets and sometimes even coding when he was older), and began filling out applications.

Don was pleasantly surprised at how quickly his application was accepted. But that excitement quickly twisted into anxiety when he read the email from the manager asking for an interview. A FACE-TO-FACE INTERVIEW.

*PANIC*

After a quick prayer and a few deep breaths, Don found the solution to his problem: the truth. He replied to the manager's email saying that he had a horrible condition that made him look incredibly ugly, (partially true if going by human standards I guess), and that he hated for anyone to see his face without a good amount of fabric covering him. (Also true, he hated it when people scream in terror- it's crazy loud and hurts his head.) When the manager texted back apologizing for Don's supposed "condition", he said there was no need for a face-to-face interview, but rather a phone call and test of how well he could do with various difficult questions for the IT work he was asked to do for the job.

As expected, Don did splendidly, even beating the record for how quickly he finished the test. After one more test, (a different one to make sure he didn't cheat), he was hired.

(Now, I can only go so "realistic" with how I was going to answer this question- obviously Don would have needed a lot of personal information to be given to the manager in order to get the job: social security number, house address, credit card number, bank statement and account etc. So for now, I'll just say he "tweaked" a few things so he could get the job. No, I will not elaborate. XD)

After getting the job, Don finally revealed to his family what he'd been doing. Splinter was indeed a bit upset about it at first, but that protective concern quickly melted away into gratefulness once he learned why Don had taken the job in the first place. Ever since then, Don would work 8-5 every day except Sunday. With his hard-earned money, he would go and order delivery for fresh fruits and vegetables as well as eventual furniture for the family.

Don finds great fulfillment in having a job. Sure, there are some really BOTHERSOME customers sometimes, but it's worth it to deal with them in order to keep his family healthy and strong.

Thanks for the question! :)

~ Melissa

[jmdbjk]

This is literally my brain when it starts overanalyzing:

Anyone else like that? My brain won't stop thinking about Jikook in February-March. It has decided to go into overdrive on the Jikook chronology of those two months and the only way to appease it is to obsessively obsess.

Let's review: back when Cedric Murac of Calvin Klein posted on his Instagram story that he was on his way to Seoul on January 29, we all got excited, and then what?... crickets.... Then we had the audacity to be angry at Calvin Klein for using Army for clout hahahahahaha. We didn't know!! Who turned out to be the clowns? We were skeptical up until the first images dropped of Kookie's bare abs.

We have no idea exactly when the CK ads were photographed but the one big clue we have is JK's hair. Jungkook emerged from deep hibernation at the beginning of February. His hair was long, long on Feb. 3 and a week later on Feb. 11, he had bangs and it had a lot of waves in it when he was working out at Coach Tommy's gym. Much like the way his hair looks in the CK photos.

We saw JK on Feb. 27 and his hair was long in the back.

Not relevant but, in a way, also relevant: on February 28, Jungkook deletes his Instagram account. We are shooketh. At that moment I thought for sure there will be no ambassadorships for him, the whole point of having a large social media following is to harness those followers and turn them into cash money.

Ok back to the task at hand: We saw both Jimin and Jungkook on March 3 and JK's hair still looked long in the back. By March 14, JK had cut some of the length off the back.

My brain also wondering: when did JK's visit to Jimin's rehearsal happen? between Feb. 3 and March 13 when Jimin left Seoul to go to NYC to tape the Jimmy Fallon show? Or that week AFTER when he was rehearsing for the Korean television music shows? That would have been the week of March 20-27? The car live where he told JK it was ok that he didn't come to one of the pre-recordings was on March 28.

[Regardless, that's a quick turnaround for a Bangtan Bomb.]

My brain on a tangent: what is JK doing there at work to begin with? During this Bangtan Bomb he was already decked out in a CK ball cap and CK denims and not dressed for a workout or rehearsal. Who knows, maybe he was there for his own meetings, fittings, reviewing photos, or other activity. Yelling at my brain to FOCUS on the topics already being discussed!

March 15, Jungkook posts his ramen recipe on Weverse and he and Jimin proceed to have a back and forth convo with Jimin who says he needs to head to JK's house when he gets back to Korea.

March 19, Jimin returns to Seoul from New York after his Tonight Show filming and his feature video for Vogue magazine.

Mar. 23 at 3:06 a.m. Jungkook wants a midnight tuna/chicken goulash snack.

The next night, Mar. 24 at 12:58 a.m., Jimin does a Weverse live in the car on the way home following Music Bank taping.

On Mar. 26 at 9:39 p.m., Jimin does another live in the car following MCountdown taping.

On Mar. 27 at 2:53 a.m., Jungkook sits down with us to watch Suchwita with Jimin, a Jimin MV, a fan-made Jimin compilation video and more Jimin, Jimin, Jimin.

The Calvin Klein campaign dropped on March 28 at 6:30 a.m. after being teased 24 hours prior. That would have been 8:30 p.m. KST.

Mar. 28 Jimin starts a live at 6:00 p.m. in the car (heading east by the way... my brain geez) after Inkigayo recording and Jungkook jumps in the comments. He had seen Jungkook's Calvin Klein teaser images by then.

Confused yet?

Me? I'm a visual person so I had to do this to see how it all played out:

On April 3 at 3:30 a.m., Jimin comes on live to receive our love over his history making #1 BBHot100 achievement.

Jimin is still working. He is not sitting at home. There is something in the works, we just don't know what yet.

Jungkook is probably about to be on his way home because we suspect Hobi's induction day is this week [sobs]. Time rolls on and waits for no one.

ANYWAY!

I hope you were entertained. We still don't know when that Calvin Klein photoshoot was or when JK visited Jimin's rehearsal, but now you have a visual calendar where you can see the possibilities.

You're welcome. [finally slams that door in my brain.]

[seeminglyranch87]

Taylor & Travis Timeline

June 2023

June 2 - A tiktok is posted reporting to have seen Travis at a club in NYC in the past week, presumably May 26-28 (x)

June 16 & 17 - The Eras Tour ~ Acrisure Stadium, Pittsburgh

• N1 Mr Perfectly Fine & The Last Time

• N2 Seven (with Aaron Dessner) & The Story of Us

June 20, 21, 22 - the Tight End University 3-day training program is held in Nashville, Tennessee at Vanderbilt University

June 22 - Taylor enters Electric Lady Studios wearing an NFL Philadelphia Eagles sweater.

June 23 & 24 - The Eras Tour ~ US Bank Stadium, Minneapolis

• N1 Paper Rings & If This was a Movie

• N2 Dear John & Daylight

June 26 - Taylor is at Electric Lady Studios, NYC

June 27 - Taylor is at Electric Lady Studios, NYC. She appears to have been crying when leaving the studio

June 28 - Taylor is at Electric Lady Studios, NYC

June 29 - Taylor is at Electric Lady Studios, NYC

Jack Antonoff - posted photo 2 inside ELS on Taylor's birthday (13 Dec. 2023) calling her "dead tooth" and wishing her Happy Birthday.

It is later revealed that Down Bad was recorded this day (from TTPD)

June 30 - A video is released from the Tight End University program of Travis making friendship bracelets to hand out to his fellow tight end NFL players (x)

"Here at Tight End U we try to make it more special every single year that we do this. I thought what better way than to welcome the guys with friendship bracelets. Take a page out of Taylor Swift's book"

The Eras Tour ~ Paycor Stadium, Cincinnati, N1

photos: Taylor Hill

I'm Only Me When I'm With You (guitar) & Evermore (piano)

Return to the timeline

Go to previous update -> May 2023

Go to next update -> July 2023

[kanmom51]

JM Face masterlist

PJM1 is coming soon

Jimin IG story 5 February 2023

JM on TikTok 5 Feb 2023

JM TikTok 11 Feb 2023

JM dance challenge part 2

JM TikTok 18 Feb 2023

JM dance challenge part 3

JM new dance clip 25 Feb 2023

Face mood

JM concept photos - hardware version

JM concept photos - software version

Hard vr. Soft

JM Face emotion of the day

Enjoy it he tells us - Set me free pt. 2

The comparison - Lie and Set me free pt. 2

Hobi’s IG story 17 March 2023

Set me free pt. 2 - the visuals

JK told us

Fuck yeah JM

SMF pt. 2 - practice pic

JM Set me free pt. 2 - dance practice

Stunning

Finally user j.m is promoting his song

What I missed when I was sleeping 20 March 2023

What I missed when I was sleeping 20 March 2023

JM ‘Set Me Free Pt.2’ MV Photo Sketch

Like crazy - teaser

I guess we can start sharing pics from the album, right?

Okey guys, we can now reveal the big secret

JM Like crazy - my crazy thoughts

JM Face photo sketch

JM arriving for his KBS performance recording 24 March 2023

PolyC once again

Spotify with JM behind the scenes

JM  ‘FACE’ Album Cover Shoot Sketch

Jimin after day

Like crazy dance practice

I really love this interpretation

JM IG 25.03.2023 9:09 pm KST

Is letter a song for army?

Bringing this back

JM like crazy - dance challenge

If we didn’t think already that JM was a sweetheart

JM Face playlist

Bighit official IG - JM filters

JM like crazy dance challenge up

JM and Hobi dance challenge up too

Letter - the lyrics that didn’t make it

Serendipity and Letter

JM and the new Like crazy filter

JM at the Inkigayo pre-recording 28 March 2023

JM Like crazy photo sketch

Like crazy MV shoot sketch

JM at M countdown

JM M countdown full performances

JM now fulfilling the dreams of some super lucky fans

Set me free pt. 2 M countdown fan cam

Like crazy M countdown fan cam

Like JM like crazy

JM on Music Bank

What will JM eat for dinner?

JM performances Music Bank

Jimin “FACE” Special Cut for ARMY

Like crazy (English version)

Jimin Inkigayo 2 April 2023

Jimin’s “FACE” Selfie Diary for ARMY

JM Like crazy on Studio Choom

JM no. 1 Billboard 100

Tommy part of the JM fan club

Jimin W-live 4 April 2023

JM Weverse 5 April 2023

Full English subbed JM interview at SBS radio - Like JM Like crazy

JM IG 5 April 2023

JM and Niki (Enhypen) behind the scenes

JM IG 7 April 2023 8:23 pm

JM Choreography practice BTB

A day with JM in NYC - Vogue USA

Face off - what is it all about?

JM and Yoongi on Yoo Jae Suk’s DdeunDdeun

JM-JK 12 April 2023  

JM Spotify 14 April 2023  

Jimin’s ‘FACE’ album activities - behind the scenes  

Letter is for JK.  Period.

Letter again

Serendipity is now the preface and Letter is the forever

Dear.Army

Dear.Army again

JM ‘FACE’ Music Show Promotions Sketch  

Did JK promote other members like he did JM?

JM and the MVs for Face

Lookie what’s coming

Like Crazy new insights

Talking about JM’s Face Off

JM Production diary

JM Production diary

Coming soon

So he does know how to use his IG story

JM Production diary keyword interview

JM Production diary trailer

JM Production diary - The truth untold

JM Production diary - JM’s favorite lyrics from Face

Nah I couldn’t wait for my post for you guys to see this

JM Weverse 23 October 2023

Just me or same vibes?

We just lost him at that point

JM production diary documentary and live 23 October 2023

Muscle memory

JM production diary - the commentary

JM fanmeet 30 October

[beautifulpersonpeach]

Jimin is…

Jimin is one of the most admirable artists I’ve ever had the privilege to witness live. I’m in the back of a T cab (Kakao), writing this on my way to the airport to head back home. I’ve been offline because a friend informed me of an opportunity to attend Jimin’s pre-recording of his Music Bank show yesterday, I made the split second decision to go. I couldn’t attend Joon’s small concert in December, but I’m grateful I could see Jimin yesterday. He looked so happy. So satisfied. His perfectionist self was present in full force and he asked for the whole routine to be redone three or four times each time lol. Yoongi came on stage at some point and maybe it was the caffeine high but I had to steel myself. The whole thing still feels surreal. I saw them mere hours ago.

I see your asks and messages but I don’t know when I’ll get to them. I don’t think there’s much to say. I like the album, it’s a decent debut showing. I suspect a lot of people will appreciate some songs more once they see the choreography. Personally, I feel the need to sort through my thoughts a bit about the messages conveyed in FACE, partly because Jimin’s expressions recently contrast a lot with what I’m hearing in his album. I don’t know if I’m making sense, but I’m basically saying to not expect anything immediate. There’s also the pesky detail of getting in some sleep because my body clock is totally fucked up right now. And I somehow have to be in NYC on Monday operating at 100%.

You can expect to see me back here towards the end of next week. I hope FACE met or exceeded your expectations. 💜

[beardedmrbean]

NEW YORK (AP) — The leader of a New York City church where pop star Sabrina Carpenter filmed provocative scenes for a music video was stripped of his duties Monday after church officials said an investigation revealed other instances of mismanagement.

Monsignor Jamie Gigantiello was relieved of “any pastoral oversight or governance role” at his church located in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, Bishop Robert Brennan said in a statement issued by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn.

An investigation launched after the video revealed that Gigantiello made unauthorized financial transfers to a former top aide in New York City Mayor Eric Adams' administration, which is being investigated on charges of corruption, Brennan said.

“I am saddened to share that investigations conducted by Alvarez & Marsal and Sullivan & Cromwell LLP have uncovered evidence of serious violations of Diocesan policies and protocols at Our Lady of Mount Carmel – Annunciation Parish,” the bishop said. “In order to safeguard the public trust, and to protect church funds, I have appointed Bishop Witold Mroziewski as administrator of the Parish.”

Gigantiello's administrative powers were taken away after Carpenter’s video for her hit song “Feather” sparked criticism last November.

The priest has now also been cut from his pastoral duties, giving Mroziewski “complete authority over the parish,” including on liturgical matters, though Gigantiello will still be able to say Mass with Mroziewski's approval, said diocese spokesperson Adriana Rodriguez.

Brennan, who oversees Catholic churches in the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, said he also relieved a deacon who had been appointed as a temporary administrator during the investigation. He said the deacon had used racist and other offensive language during private conversations in the parish office that had been secretly recorded at Gigantiello’s direction.

Gigantiello didn’t respond to email and Facebook messages seeking comment Monday.

Released on Oct. 31, 2023, the “Feather” music video revolves around men behaving badly toward Carpenter before meeting grisly deaths.

At points in the video, the former Disney Channel star is seen pulling up to the distinctive brick church in a pink hearse and then dancing in front of the church’s ornate altar wearing a short black dress and a black veil alongside a colorful array of faux coffins.

The diocese at the time said it was “appalled” and that proper procedures for filming had not been followed.

Besides relieving Gigantiello of administrative duties, Brennan also dropped him from fundraising duties as vicar of development for the diocese and conducted a spiritual rite to restore the sanctity of the church.

In a letter to parishioners last November, Gigantiello said approving the filming was a “lapse in judgment” and maintained he wasn’t present at the time and didn’t realize how provocative the shoot would be.

On Monday, Brennan said a broader review uncovered other instances of administrative impropriety.

Among them is an ongoing investigation into Gigantiello’s use of a church credit card for “substantial” personal expenses, he said.

From 2019 to 2021, the monsignor also transferred $1.9 million in parish funds to bank accounts affiliated with Frank Carone, Adams' former chief of staff, Brennan said.

The bishop said Gigantiello failed to seek prior approval for the transactions and didn’t properly document them, in violation of the diocese’s investment policies and protocols.

Carone’s law firm repaid $1 million of the funds, along with about 9% interest, according to Brennan. Gigantiello also requested early repayment for the remainder, but without the substantial interest called for under the loan notes, the bishop said.

Federal investigators have subpoenaed the Brooklyn church seeking information about Carone and Gigantiello’s financial dealings, though neither has been accused of any wrongdoing.

Brennan stressed the diocese is “fully committed” to cooperating with law enforcement in its investigations.

Carone didn’t respond to an email seeking comment, but Gigantiello has defended his stewardship, telling The City, a local news outlet, that the investments were legal and yielded a significant return for the church.

Meanwhile, the commotion set off by her music video hasn’t been lost on Carpenter.

She made light of it during a concert at Madison Square Garden in late September, just days after Adams became the first New York City mayor indicted while in office.

“Damn, what now?” she said cheekily to the Manhattan crowd. “Should we talk about how I got the mayor indicted?”

[weneverlearn]

Aaron Lange, Peter Laughner, and the Terminal Town of Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland-based artist, Aaron Lange, tackles his first graphic novel, Ain't It Fun -- a deep dive into the oily depths of the Rust Belt's most influential music town, it's most mythological misfit, it's oft-forgotten artistic and political streaks, and beyond...

Aaron Lange and his book, 2023 (Photo by Jake Kelly)

--------------------------------------

There’s a recurring line in Aaron Lange’s remarkable new graphic novel, Ain’t It Fun (Stone Church Press, 2023), that states, “Say the words out loud. The River isn’t real.” The river Lange was speaking of is the Cuyahoga, that infamously flammable mass of muck that dumps out into Lake Erie.

Peter Laughner (the ostensible topic of Lange’s book) was an amazing artist who probably could’ve ditched the banks of the Cuyahoga for more amenably artistic areas back in his early 1970s heyday. Aside from his frequent pilgrimages to the burgeoning NYC Lower East Side scene (where he nearly joined Television) and a quickly ditched attempt to live in California though, he mostly stuck around northeast Ohio.

While desperately trying to find his sound and a workable band, Laughner smelted a post-hippie, pre-punk amoebic folk rock, and formed the influential embryonic punk band, Rocket from the Tombs, which later morphed into Pere Ubu. All of which – lumped up with other rust-belted oddballs like electric eels, Mirrors, DEVO, the Numbers Band, Chi-Pig, Tin Huey, Rubber City Rebels, and more – essentially helped formed the “proto-punk” template.

Laughner was also a rock writer of some regional renown, and contributed numerous amphetamine-fueled articles to regional mags like The Scene and Creem -- mostly concerning where Rock'n'Roll was going, colored as he was by the Velvet Underground, the Stooges, David Bowie, and Roxy Music playing in Cleveland a bunch of times around his formative years.

Sadly, in June 1977, Laughner died of acute pancreatitis at age 24. Aside from the first two seminal Pere Ubu 7-inch singles, the rest of Laughner’s recorded output was just one very limited self-released EP and, posthumously, a great double-LP comp of demo and live tracks, Take the Guitar Player for a Ride (1993, Tim Kerr Records). A surprisingly large batch of unreleased lost demos, radio shows, and live tapes appeared on the beautiful and essential box set, Peter Laughner (Smog Veil Records, 2019), that brought Laughner’s legend just a few blocks outside of Fringeville, as it received universally great reviews….

The Dead Boys became the most well-known act of that mid-70s Cleveland scene, though that only happened once they high-tailed it to NYC. Aside from DEVO, Chrissie Hynde, and the Waitresses (all of whom did their own versions of high-tailing it), nearly every other act in that fertile Cle-Akron proto-punk vortex soon dissipated, eventually getting the cult treatment at best.

Cleveland is indeed right there with NYC and London as punk ground zero, but Americans tend to equate buyable products as proof of import, so shockingly, the Pagans and The Styrenes just aren’t the household name they should be.

Decades of tape-trading stories, sub-indie label limited releases, and fanzine debates kept the mythology of those acts barely breathing underneath the end of the milennium’s increasingly loud R'n'R death knell. And as that mythology slowly grew, the fans and even the musicians of the scene itself still wonder what it all meant.     

Which, as you dig deeper into Ain’t It Fun, becomes the theme not just about the legendary rocker ghost of Peter Laughner, but of Cleveland itself. Ala Greil Marcus’ classic “hidden history” tome, Lipstick Traces, Lange interweaves Laughner’s self-immolating attempts at Beatnik-art-punk transcendence with a very detailed history of Cleveland, with its insane anti-legends and foot-shooting civic development.

Like much of the dank, rusted, and mysterious edges of the one-time “Sixth City,” the Cuyahoga has been cleaned up since, though I still wouldn’t suggest slurping up a swallow if you’re hanging on the banks of the Flats. I grew up in Cleveland and visit as often as I can because it’s an awesome place, no matter what they tell you. Or maybe, because of what they tell you.

If you are keen to swim down through the muck and mire of Cleveland’s charms, you don’t just get used to it, you like it. As for the “Cleveland” that the City Fathers have always tried so vainly to hype, us hopelessly romantic proto-punk fanatics say to those who would erase Cleveland’s fucked-up past and replace it with that weird fake greenspace underneath the Terminal Tower: “The City isn’t real.”

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Give us a quick bio.

Born in Cleveland, 1981. We moved to the west side suburbs when I was six. My parents didn’t listen to much music, and I don’t have older siblings. So I didn’t really listen to music at all until I was in high school, and I didn’t listen to any of the grunge or ‘90s stuff that was popular. I got real into the Beatles when I was in ninth grade, and at some point I got the Velvet Underground’s first album from the library because I saw Andy Warhol’s name on the cover. I didn’t know anything about them, so that was a real shock. I probably first heard Iggy Pop via the Trainspotting soundtrack, and pretty soon after I started getting into punk and generally more obscure stuff. Now I listen to more electronic stuff, ambient stuff. I also like most anything that falls under the broad “post-punk” umbrella. I really hate “rama-lama ding-dong” rock and roll.

What came first – music or drawing interest?

Drawing. I was always drawing… I’ve been a semi-regular contributor to Mineshaft for many years, which is a small zine/journal that features a lot of underground comix related stuff, but also has a beatnik vibe and includes poetry and writing. I’ve done the odd thing here and there for other zines, but I don’t really fit in anywhere.

Don’t really fit it – I feel that phrase describes a lot of the best / more influential Ohio musicians / bands. Did you feel that kind of feeling about Peter as you researched and wrote the book?

Peter was well liked, and he knew a vast array of people. If anything, he fit in in too many situations. He was spread thin.

When you lived in Philly, did you get a sense of any kind of similar proto-punk scene / era in that town? I sometimes, perhaps jingoistically, think this particular kind of music is almost exclusively confined to the Rust Belt.

I lived in Philly for nearly 11 years. As far as the old scene there, they had Pure Hell. But back then, anybody who really wanted to do something like that would just move to NYC.

So, is there a moment in time that started you on a path towards wanting to dig into Cleveland’s proto-punk past like this?

It was just something I had a vague interest in, going back to when I first heard Pere Ubu. And then later learning about the electric eels, and starting to get a feeling that Cleveland had a lot more to offer than just the Dead Boys. The Rocket from the Tombs reunion got things going, and that’s when I first started to hear Laughner’s name. A few years later, a friend sent me a burned CD of the Take the Guitar Player for a Ride collection, and I started to get more interested in Peter specifically.

Despite any first wave punk fan’s excitement about a Laughner bio, this book is moreso a history of Cleveland, and trying to connect those odd underground, counterculture, or mythological connections that the Chamber of Commerce tends to ignor as the town’s import. Was there a moment where you realized this book needed to go a little wider than only telling the tales of Laughner and the bands of that era? (Not that there’s anything wrong with that!)

Very early on I realized that none of this would make sense or have any true meaning without the appropriate context. The activities of the early Cle punk scene need to be viewed in relation to what was going on in the city. I think this is just as true with NYC or London – these were very specific contexts, all tangled up in politics, crime, rent, television, and also the specifics of the more hippie-ish local countercultures that preceded each region. You’ve got Bowie and Warhol and all that, but in Cleveland you’ve also got Ghoulardi and d.a. levy. Mix that up with deindustrialization and a picture starts to form.

So when did you decide on doing this book? You’ve mentioned this was your first attempt at doing a full graphic novel – and boy, you went epic on it!

I did a short version of Peter’s story back when I was living in Philadelphia. But upon completing that version – which I now think of as a sketch – it became clear that there was a lot more to say and to investigate. I spent about a year just thinking about it, forming contacts with some people, and tracking down various reference materials like records, zines, books, etc. Then my wife got a new job at Cleveland State University, so we left Philly. Once I landed back in Cleveland I started working on the book in earnest.

Page from Ain't It Fun -- all book images courtesy of the author.

By any chance was Greil Marcus’ book, Lipstick Traces (1989), an inspiration, as far as the “hidden history” factor, the trying to connect seemingly unconnected and lost historical footnotes into a path towards the culture’s future?

Yes. I read Lipstick Traces when I was around 19 or 20, and I’d never seen anything like it before. It really blew my mind, all the stuff about the Situationists and Dadaists and all that. Later on, I read Nick Tosches’ Dean Martin biography, Dino, and that was another mind blower. Another major influence is Iain Sinclair.

Ah Dino, another Ohio native. So, Laughner’s one-time partner, Charlotte Pressler’s book is mentioned, and I’ve seen it referenced and talked about for years – any inside word on if/when she might have that published?

Charlotte never wrote a book, though she did co-edit a book that collected the work of local poets. As far as her own writing, she’s done all manner of essays and poetry, and probably some academic writing that I’m not familiar with. As far as her completing “Those Were Different Times”— which was intended as a total of three essays— I’ve got some thoughts on that, but it’s not really my place to comment on it.

Pressler sounds like a very serious person in your book, as you say, she was kind of older than her years. But how was she to talk to?

Charlotte is serious, but she’s not dour. She’s got a sense of humor and she’s very curious about the world, always looking to learn new things. She’s an intellectual, and has a wide array of interests. We get along, we’re friends.

The fact that the town’s namesake, Moses Cleveland, left soon after his “discovery” and never came back – that’s like a template for how people envision a town like Cleveland: nice place to grow up, but you want to get out as soon as you’re legal. Even the musicians of the area might’ve agreed with that sentiment, even if many never left.  Do you think that has changed?

I’m glad I left Cleveland, but I’m also glad I came back. First off, my family is here. Second, the cost of living is still reasonable. I don’t know how people live in New York. I never have any money. I’d make more money if I had a full-time job at McDonald’s. That’s not a joke, or me being self-deprecating. How do artists live in New York? How do they afford rent and 20 dollar packs of cigarettes? I’m just totally confused by the basic mechanics of this. So yeah, I’m in Cleveland. It’s not great, but what are my options? I can’t just go to Paris and fuck around like a bohemian. I would if I could.

In Ain't It Fun, you reveal that one of the seminal Cleveland scene dives, Pirate's Cove, was once a Rockerfeller warehouse  – these kind of enlightening, almost comically perfect metaphors pop up every few pages. Not unlike the mythology that can sometimes arise in musician fandom, I wonder if these are metaphors we can mine, or just an obvious facts that the town drifted down from a center of industry to relative poverty.

“Metaphor” might be at too much of a remove. These facts, these landmarks — they create a complex of semiotics, a map, a framework. The city talks through its symbols and its landscape. If you submit to it and listen, it will tell you secrets. There is nothing metaphorical about this.

Is it a sign of privilege to look on destitution as inspiration? I’m guessing the sick drunks at Pirate’s Cove in 1975 weren’t thinking they were living in a rusty Paris of the ‘30s. Though I will say a thing I really loved about your book was that, for all its yearning and historical weaving, you still stick to facts and don’t seem to over-mythologize or put any gauze on the smog, like “Isn’t that so cool, man.” You capture the quiet and damp desperation of that era and Laughner’s milieu.

Poverty, decline, decay, entropy – these things are real. By aestheticizing them we are able to gain some control over them. And once you have control, you have the power to change things. This is not “slumming.” “Privilege” has nothing to do with it.

Page from Ain't It Fun

Do you know why the Terminal Tower (once the second tallest building in the world when it opened in 1928) was named that? It seems somewhat fatalistic, given the usual futurist positivism of the deco design era.

Terminal as in train terminal. It really pisses me off that there was once a time where you could go there and catch a train to Chicago or New York. It’s infuriating how this country dismantled its rail systems. And the Terminal Tower isn’t deco, but I think it is often confused with that style just by virtue of not being a gigantic rectangle. In that sense it does have more in common with a deco structure like the Chrysler building. Honestly, if you are looking for deco you might find more notable examples in Akron than you would Cleveland.

I notice a kind of – and bear with my lesser abilities to describe illustrative art – swirly style in your work that kind of aligns with art deco curves, maybe some Gustav Klimt…? In general, who were some illustrative inspirations for you early on?

That “swirly” style you describe is art nouveau. Deco came after that, and is more angular and clean. Additionally, a lot of underground comix guys were also poster artists, and there was often a nouveau influence in that psychedelic work – so there’s a bit of a thread there. As far as Klimt, I came to him kinda late, but I love him now.

The music of many northeast Ohio bands of that era has been generally tagged as “industrial” (the pre-dance industrial style, of course), cranky like the machinery of the sputtering factories in the Flats, etc… My guess is maybe the musicians were already finding used R'n'R instruments in thrift stores by that time, which would add a kind of layer of revision, turning old things into new sounds. Did you hear about of any of that? Or were there enough music stores around town? I know DEVO was already taking used instruments and refitting them; or electric eels using sheet metal and such to bang on…

I’m not a musician, so I don’t know anything about gear or stuff like that. I do know that Allen Ravenstine made field recordings in the Flats, and utilized them via his synthesizer. Frankly, I wish more of the Northeast Ohio bands had taken cues from Ubu and early Devo, because an “industrial” subculture definitely could have formed, like it did in England and San Francisco. But that never really happened here.

That kind of music was pretty popular on college radio and in a few clubs in Cleveland, though not many original bands with that sound arrived, aside from Nine Inch Nails who quickly took his act elsewhere… So in the book you mention local newsman, Dick Fealger. My memories of him are as a curmudgeon whose shtick was getting a little old by the time I was seeing him on the news, or his later opinion columns. Kinda your classic “Hey you kids, get off my lawn” style. You rightly paint him as a somewhat prescient reporter of the odd in his earlier days, though. I once had to go to a friend’s mother’s funeral, and in the next room in the funeral home was Dick Feagler’s funeral. I always regret not sneaking over and taking a peak into it to see who was there.

I like Feagler in the same way that I liked Andy Rooney on 60 Minutes. These were people that my grandparents liked. So I suppose my appreciation for Feagler is half nostalgia, half irony. I like cranks, grumps, letter-writers, street prophets. I like black coffee, donuts, diners, and blue plate specials – that’s Feagler’s world, the old newspaper world. Get up at 6 am and put your pants on, that kinda thing.

Yeah, I still found Feagler kinda funny, but like Jane Scott, while respect was always there, by the later ‘80s/’90s, both were set into almost caricatures  who were kind of resting on their laurels. 

Yeah, I remember seeing Jane at some random Grog Shop show back in the ‘90s, and I was kinda impressed. But no, she was never really cool. Jane was pure Cleveland, her career couldn't have happened anywhere else.

I remember seeing her sit right next to a huge house amp at the old Variety Theater for the entire duration of a Dead Kennedys show, taking notes for her review. Pretty impressive given her age at that point.

You also make a point of carving out an important space for The Damnation of Adam Blessing, a band that seems to get forgotten when discussing Cleveland’s pre-punk band gaggle. I find that interesting because in a way, they are the template for the way many Ohio bands don’t fit into any exact genre, and so often people don’t “get” them, or they’re forgotten later.

Damnation worked as a good local example for that whole psychedelic thing. They were very ‘60s. While the James Gang on the other hand, was more ‘70s— the cracks were starting to show with the ‘70s bands, they were harder and less utopian. Damnation feels more “Woodstock,” so they were useful to me in that regard.

I must add – for years I thought it was pronounced Laugh-ner, as in to laugh, ha ha, not knowing the Gaelic roots. Once I learned I was pronouncing it wrong, I still wanted to pronounce it like laughing, as it seemed to fit so darkly correct with how his life went, and Cleveland musicians’ love of bad puns and cheap comedians and such… Of course when I learned that it was an “ethnic” name, it made it that much more Cleveland.

Yeah, everybody says his name wrong. I used to too, and had to really force myself to start saying it as Lochner. But everybody says Pere Ubu wrong as well – it’s Pear Ubu.

I hate any desecration of any artwork, but I always loved the blowing up The Thinker statue story, as it seemed such a powerful metaphor of the strength of art, and Cleveland itself – the fact that The Thinker himself still sits there, right on top of the sliced-up and sweeping shards from the blast. It’s still there, right? And isn’t it true that there are like three more “official” Thinker statues in the world?

Yeah, I don’t condone what happened, but it is kinda cool. As a kid, the mutilated Thinker had a strong effect on me — I couldn’t have put it into words at the time, but I think it gave me a sense of the weight of history. It’s almost like a post-war artifact in Europe, something that is scarred. And yes, it’s still there outside the museum. And it’s a cast. I think there might be five official ones, but I’d have to look that up. If you are ever in Philadelphia, swing by the Rodin museum and check out The Gates of Hell.

I have only become a bigger fan of Laughner’s as the years pass. But there is something to the critique that perhaps he never really found his singular sound; that he was copping bits from Lou Reed and Dylan, and couldn’t keep a band together to save his life. And there was supposedly a feeling among some in the NYC scene that he was a bit of a carpetbagger.

Everybody has their influences, so Peter wasn’t in any way unique in that sense. I know he has a reputation for doing a lot of cover songs — which is true — but he also wrote a lot of originals, and there are some damn good ones which are still unreleased. “Under the Volcano” is just one such unheard song which I mention in my book, but there are others. As far as finding his own singular sound, he probably came closest to that with Friction. That group borrowed heavily from Television and Richard Hell, but also drew upon Richard Thompson and Fairport Convention. And when you think about it, those were really unlikely influences to juxtapose, and it created something original. Frustratingly though, Friction never achieved their full potential, as Peter was already losing it.

Yeah, Friction is kind of way up there with the “What if” bands… It’s interesting that for all his legend as a proto-punk figure, perhaps Laughner’s signature songs – Sylvia Plath” and “Baudelaire” – were gorgeous acoustic numbers. Though of course those early Pere Ubu songs were proto-punk and post-punk templates, somehow...

I honestly don’t know what happened with Ubu, as it is pretty distinct from Peter’s other work. Thomas isn’t really a musician, so we can only give him so much credit with how that sound developed. I honestly don’t know. There just must have been some sort of alchemy between the various players, and Thomas understood it and was able to encourage and guide it in the projects that followed over the years.

Page from Ain't It Fun

You also didn’t really detail Pere Ubu’s initial breakup – was there just not much to say?

Yeah, I think I mentioned it, but no, I didn’t really get into it. Pere Ubu is kind of a story unto themselves. But it might be worth mentioning here that Home and Garden was an interesting project that came out of that Ubu breakup. And Thomas also did some solo albums, but I’m not as familiar with those.

Yeah, I saw Home and Garden a few times way back, good stuff. You’ve mentioned to me that there were some people that didn’t want to talk to you for the book; and that people were very protective of Peter’s legacy and/or their friendship with him. To what do you attribute that?

It has everything to do with Peter’s early death. Some people are very protective of how Peter is remembered. And I think some people weren’t exposed to Peter’s dark side, so when they hear those descriptions of him it strikes them as untrue. I think Peter showed different sides of himself to different people.

I kind of felt as I was reading that you might say more about Harvey Pekar, as not only is he an interesting figure, but the most famous graphic novelist from Ohio, and I assume an inspiration of your’s.

Pekar’s great. Especially the magazine-size issues he was doing in the late ‘70s up through the ‘80s. It was important to me to include him in the book. But Pekar was a jazz guy, and that’s a whole other story, a whole other tangled web.

So, Balloonfest! Hilarious. I almost forgot about that. But I do remember Ted Stepien owning the short-lived Cleveland professional softball team; and for a promotion, they dropped softballs off the Terminal Tower, and if you caught one you won $1,000 or something. Do you recall that? It’s one of my favorite fucked-up Cleveland stories. Balls smashed car roofs, and cops immediately told people to run away.

Yeah, I’m aware of that baseball stunt. I generally try and stay away from anything even remotely related to professional sports teams — it gets talked about more than enough elsewhere. Oddly, I am interested in athletes who work alone, like Olympic skiers. I’m attracted to that solitary focus, where the athlete isn’t competing against other teams or players, but more competing with the limits of the human body, competing with what the physical world will allow and permit, that whole Herzog trip. I’m also interested in the Olympic Village, as this artificial space that mutates and moves across time and across continents.

As far as Balloonfest, I still watch that footage all the time. I use it as a meditation device. I’ll put it on along with Metal Machine Music and go into a trance.

A few years ago, as I am sure you are well aware, noted British punk historian Jon Savage put together a Soul Jazz Records comp of Cleveland proto-punk called Extermination Nights in the Sixth City. I grew up in Cleveland, lived in Columbus for awhile, and I never heard it called “the Sixth City.” Have you? If so, what does it refer to?

Nobody calls it that anymore. It’s an old nickname back from when Cleveland was literally the sixth largest city in the country.

I’d guess Ain’t It Fun was a tiring feat to accomplish. But do you have another book in the works? And if someone wanted to option Peter’s story for a movie, would you sign on? I personally dread rock biopics. They’re almost universally bad.

Yeah, I’ve got an idea for another book, but it’s too early to talk about that. As far as biopics, they are almost always bad, rock or otherwise. Rock documentaries are often pretty lousy too. A recent and major exception would be Todd Haynes’ Velvet Underground documentary, which is just goddamn brilliant. A film about Peter in that vein would be great— but there’s just no footage to work from. He didn’t have Warhol or Factory people following him around with a camera. So unless somebody like Jim Jarmusch comes calling, I won’t be signing off on movie rights any time soon.

Unless there is more you’d like to say, thanks, and good luck with the book and future ventures!

Stone Church Press has a lot of projects planned for 2024 and beyond, and I encourage anyone reading this to support small publishers. There is a lot of very exciting stuff going on, but you have to work a little to find it. Amazon, algorithms, big corporate publishers — they’re like this endless blanket of concrete that smothers and suffocates. But flowers have a way of popping up between the cracks.

Aaron Lange, 2023 (Photo by Jake Kelly)

[therappundit]

PUNDIT PICKS: THE CREAM of the Crop - continued... [My Favorite SONGS of 2024 (*so far*)]

ICYMI, my favorite album list from Jan. - Aug.: https://therappundit.tumblr.com/post/763889760563576832/pundit-picks-the-cream-of-the-crop-my-favorite

***Please note: the selections on this list had to have dropped by 8/31/24, FYI***

Yikes. This has been a doozy of a week, to say the least.

But the show must go on, and back in June/July I began compiling what would become my ongoing “best of” list for 2024, with every intention of dropping said list by the end of the summer...aaaaaand it is now October. In my defense, it has often felt like summer over the past few weeks (just one of many red flags to rise that potentially indicate that the world is finally ready to shake us off)...so is it that crazy to be dropping a "summer blowout" list as we sail into Thanksgiving territory???

Meh. Don't answer that - let's just get to the music. Here are my favorite rap SONGS of 2024, ***as of Labor Day weekend***....

MORE OF MY FAVORITE SONGS: "place i rep" by Remy Banks, "Banded Up" by Chief Keef feat. Tierra Whack, "Complications" by Reiiki APOLLO, "HOO" by LIFEOFTHOM, "Bonnet" by TiaCorine, "ALAMODE" by CJ Fly & Stoic, "Type Shit" by Future & Metro Boomin feat. Travis Scott & Playboi Carti, "Curtis Jackson" by C Stunna feat. Skrilla, "Pedal tha Ave" by Wiseboy Jeremy & Kirti Pandey, "Shining Brighter" by Quelle Chris, Denmark Vessey & Pink Siifu, "DUMMY" by JUNECINEMA feat. RoBB, Chow & rivan, "Rotation" by BagChaser Reke feat. 2Real, Rufus Sims, "Custard Spoon" by Cavalier, "Humpty" by Semiratruth, "NOTT" by Hitkidd, Key Glock & Doe Boy, "Money Problems" by Nino Paid feat. Lil Gray, "Colors" by Remble feat. Mozzy & Stoneda5th, "6ix Times 2Day" by BabyChiefDoit, "proper vertigo" by mynameisntjack feat. Sol ChYld, "euphoria" by Kendrick Lamar, "Fisherrr (Remix)" by Cash Cobain & Bay Swag feat. Ice Spice, "Cullinan Gang" by Nasaan feat. Icewear Vezzo, "Doubles" by Sasco feat. Big Flowers, "Grandmother's Lessons" by Your Old Droog, "Penmanship" by Kooley High & Tuamie, "THAT'S HARD" by Anycia feat. Cash Cobain, "Super Rufus" by Rufus Sims & Billionaire Boyscout, "LIBERATION" by Mutant Academy feat. Quelle Chris, "See The Sunset" by Nick Satchel & dp0mmy, “Short Stories” by Jawnino feat. MIKE

24. "12:50 in New York" by Chuckyy

(Probably my favorite flow in rap right now, the "new school" Chicago drill MC is blessed with a delivery that I can only describe as a "menacing auctioneer flow".)

23. "Amanda Seals" by ReallyHiiiM feat. B.A Badd & Boldy James

(Concrete hard ReallyHiiim beat, featuring some classic basement Boldy and B.A Badd vibes.)

22. "MESCALINE" by LaRussell & CAM CORTEZ

(LaRussell is one of the hardest working rappers in hip-hop today, so he has had plenty of high points in 2024, but the way he bounces over this "Grindin"-esque beat puts this joint over the top. LaRussell brings a breath of positivity into his music that the west coast sound is really benefting from right now.)

21. "Ray Vaughn" by Ray Wop

(Ray's recent run has added some teeth back to TDE that they lost when Kendrick moved on.)

20. "INFORMATION AGE" by No Label

(A NYC based crew that you absolutely need to keep on your radar.)

19. "SINCE I WAS LIL" by JasonMartin & DJ Quik feat. Curren$y, Bun B & Jay Worthy

(Classic westside head nodder with veteran reps from other cities. Dope album from Quik & the artist formerly known as Problem, if you haven't peeped it yet.)

18. "MLK" by Myaap & Nedarb

(Myaap has been one of my favorite artists out of Milwaukee since last year's "h.t.s. (Hit That Shit)", her records are fun as hell.)

17. "PAYMEAGRIP" by Ovrkast. & Cardo Got Wings

(His star keeps rising, as the barriers between sub-genres in rap music continue to fall. Ovrkast. has already proven to be one of the most impactful young producers doing it today.)

16. "Match That" by BRISTACKZ

(Another attention grabbing artist out of Milwaukee, rapping like a trap Missy Elliot, experimental in a similar vein as Certified Trapper, and like Trapper, Bristackz records might miss the mark...but when she hits, she hits real hard.)

15. "I'm G (OMG)" by Blu & Shafiq Husayn

(Funky, hard joint - with a perfect Easter egg of a movie sample worked into the hook.)

14. "Dream Blunt Rotation" by Rich Jones & Sleep Sinatra/SINAI. feat. AJ Suede, Qari & J.U.S

(As smooth of a dope posse cut as you're going to hear, coming from a diverse collection of some of the underground scene's finest.)

13. "Trippin" - Bossman DLow

(As contagious as mainstream rap can get today, and I'm still laughing at "I pullin' up in a what the fuck kinda car is that?")

12. "SONJE" by Mach-Hommy. feat. Hephzibah

(I went back and forth trying to choose which Mach song to include here, but in my mind this luscious instrumental best represents the strong vibes that run across #RICHAXXHAITIAN.)

11. "Rocafella Chain" by Grafh feat. Freeway, Peedi Crakk & Memphis Bleek

(A dope Roc-A-Fella themed posse cut is not what I expected to hear in 2024, but I couldn't be happier that it exists.)

10. "Gank Move" by Big Hit, Hit-Boy & The Alchemist feat. HitgirlLENA

(Hits that sweet spot between smooth west coast rider music and underground grime, and when that combination works well, there aren't many soundscapes capable of yielding a stronger outcome. This album's aesthetic is peak chemistry between Hit-Boy & The Alchemist, and I hope that all of the challenges facing Big Hit today end up in his rearview soon, because this talented family still has a lot to share with the world.)

9. "Psalm" by 7xvethegenius feat. Jae Skeese

(If 7xvethegenius wasn't high up on your radar before I sure hope she is now. 7xve packs all of the skills of a traditional "conscious MC" without sounding the least bit trapped within those constraints, she's an exceptional writer that knows how to corral the thoughts of a woman that's trying to excel in rap music in 2024, and that in and of itself, provides endless material. 7xvethegenius is the true MVP on Drumwork's team..yup, I said it!)

8. "Lost Angel" by Blu & Evidence

("This album is dedicated to L.A., and everybody who helped me get home, every step of the way." Blu and Evidence's Los Angeles album is easily one of the best rap albums of 2024, and even though it's a skip-free ride that showcases Blu's gifts as a presence on the mic and Ev's - somehow still underappreciated - incredible mastery over the production of this album, it's this loosie that the duo dropped earlier this year that perfectly captures Blu's heartbreak, and subsequent rise from the ashes of his painful past to release some of the best art of his already impressive career.)

7. "Yea Yea" by Star Bandz

(With certain records...you just know it as soon as you hear it. The beat, the swagger of the MC, thay MC's voice...on "Yea Yea" every box is checked. And Chicago's young rising star, appropriately named Star Bandz, has breakout potential written all over her.)

6. "expensive piss" - shemar & Child Actor

(Hazy, unrestrained, and representing some of the best indy music out there today, capturing some of the best traits of the boom-bap era but adding they're own twist to it, the combination of shemar and Child Actor yields a sound that I hope to hear a lot more of in the future.)

5. "The Harder They Come" by YUNGMORPHEUS & Alexander Spit

(The teeth of YUNGMORPHEUS's pen paired with the soothing palette of Alexander Spit, hit me in a special place when I first heard this song earlier in the year. The whole album they did together is great, but this one has stayed with me all year long as one of the strongest examples of hip-hop music being in great hands today.)

4. "Collection Plate" by Ka

(Still shocked to be writing this as the last time to ever be discussing a new Ka record. If The Thief Next to Jesus is to be remembered as the Brownsville poet's swan song, what a bittersweet beautiful farewell to behold. "Collection Plate" was the immediate favorite for me, as it captures Ka's knack for simple but highly effective hooks, sharply written verses without one word wasted, all of it dragged over a rolling organ that paints the picture of a Brooklyn evangelist better than anyone else ever could. 52 years was far from long enough, but thank you for all of the art you gave to the world while you were here, Kaseem.)

3. "Free Jesus" by Mike Shabb feat. Navy Blue

(Not totally sure of what the song means, but I felt it deeply from the moment that Shabb posted a snippet from the studio with Navy. I’d like to think that it’s a statement about how tales from the streets can escalate to God-like levels of exaggeration, and the fragile line separating the exaltation of idols from the reality…but whatever it means to you, it’s a potent attention grabber.)

2. "Zayre" by Previous Industries [Open Mike Eagle, Video Dave, STILL RIFT]

(One of many standout records from this trio, but for my money's worth, this joint captures what is so special about the whole album: nostalgia for "the way things used to be" has never sounded more peaceful and content with the present.)

1. "Doves" by Armand Hammer feat. Benjamin Booker

("It's cold again..." Truth be told, I didn't think Armand Hammer's 2023 AOTY We Buy Diabetic Test Strips needed another song to make if that much stronger, but here we are. Maybe the greatest songs that I have ever heard added to an album long after it dropped, "Doves" captures both the beauty and pain of loss. It would be a bleak song as cold as the heart of winter if it wasn't coming from the powerful duo of billy woods and ELUCID, who excel at showing us glimpses of their hearts shining through dark clouds. And the crackle of that Benjamin Booker hook takes this moment to another level.)

[velvaetalt]

jailbreak husbands

“you got me!?” ⛓️ “yeah, i got you, leo.”

[ on spotify ]

Iris by The Goo Goo Dolls — Suicide Romantics by Des Rocs — Angel of Small Death and the Codeine Scene by Seafret — Train by Brick + Mortar — Me and My Husband by Mitski — All the Pretty Girls by KALEO — California by The Delta Saints — Strangers by The Kinks — R U Mine? by Arctic Monkeys — The Phoenix by Fall Out Boy — FUCK YOU HEATHER by boyish — Northern Attitude (with Hozier) by Noah Kahan — Way Down We Go (Recorded at Spotify Studios NYC) by KALEO — The Only Thing by Sufjan Stevens — Movement by Hozier — The Garden by The Crane Wives — Stuck In The Middle With You by Stealers Wheel — Interlude: I’m Not Angry Anymore by Paramore — Infra-red by Three Days Grace — Devil Town by Cavetown — Up To No Good by The Hoosiers — Dear Fellow Traveller by Sea Wolf — Just One Yesterday by Fall Out Boy & Foxes — The Chain by Fleetwood Mac — I Follow Rivers by Lykke Li — Hard Came the Rain by Rag’n’Bone Man — Take Me to Church by Hozier — I Hate Everything About You by Halocene & Violet Orlandi — Fourth of July by Sufjan Stevens — Howlin’ for You by The Black Keys — Come with Me Now by KONGOS — Golden Dandelions by Barns Courtney — Nothing Personal by Des Rocs — No Good by KALEO — Very Good Bad Thing by Mother Mother — Creep by Radiohead — Psalms 40:2 by The Mountain Goats — Romantic Homicide by d4vd — Sinners by Barns Courtney — Hold Me Like a Grudge by Fall Out Boy — Love Like You by Caleb Hyles — Come a Little Closer by Cage The Elephant — Left Hand Free by alt-J — John Wayne by Lady Gaga — FOR YOUR LOVE by Måneskin — Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol — Exit Music (For a Film) by Radiohead — Secret Worlds by The Amazing Devil — Banks by lincoln Dear Arkansas Daughter by Lady Lamb — Paul by Cavetown — Beautiful Crime by Tamer — Ebb and Flow by The Dead Tongues — Too Late To Say Goodbye by Cage The Elephant — Christmas Kids by Roar — Never Love an Anchor by The Crane Wives — Something in the Orange by Zach Bryan — Hell and You by Amigo the Devil — Vulture Culture by Fangclub —I Bet on Losing Dogs by Mitski — The Winner Takes It All by ABBA — With Or Without You by U2 — Passenger by Deftones — Broken Crown by Mumford & Sons — Bad Romance by Lady Gaga

[parkminijiminie]

I’ve got a rough timeline of 2023……

JM dior show Paris 20th  jan 23 with Hobi 

JM album face promo Feb/march 23

JK visits him at dance practice BB probably Feb time 

1/2 jk goes live bam there 

This is the live where Tae makes him do a instagram live 

3/2 JM live from company late evening 

Same night Jk goes live and JM in comments Jk invites him for fried chicken

Same live where he says Jimins name and bam reacts and runs to the door 

10/2 JM live talks about jk, sings euphoria and talks about acting in photo shoots, 

11/2 jk live at boxing JM comments 

18/2 JM joins Hobi on his bday live at company 

Hobi had said he sees Jimin a lot at company and they play cards 

28/2 jk live talks about going to work and JM is in comments 

4/3 jk goes live gets tipsy 

6/3 JM live at company 

9/3 Yoongi bday, JM records himself watching the live, jk comment on Weverse about marry me thing 

13/3 JM flies to nyc 

Films day with vogue and practice for fallon

And fallon 

14/3 jk. X3 part live on white day- JM abroad but comments- leaves spoiler for smfp2 video teaser at midnight 

19/3 Jimin arrives in Korea 

24/3 Face is released 

24/3 JM on jimmy fallon show not live 

Jk goes love cooking 

27/3 JM goes on suchwita 

28/3 JM live jk spams comments- promos for face are done says to jk that it’s finished, jk says time flies 

28/3 writes I miss you on Weverse , jk replies me too, 

After jk goes live and watches Jimin content including suchwita 

Around early hours- JM replies see you soon the live is cute

29/3- Jimin Weverse live for face 

Late march- all member meal 

31/3- JM on music bank 

2/4 JM on ingagayo 

4th April- JM bb hot 100 live- kiss sound at start

8/4 Hobi and Tae go to JKs house and go on Weverse live 

8/4 jk flies to USA 

11/4- JM and Yoongi in weird YouTube show

16/4 jk at cochella 

17/4 Jk arrives home 

19th April - Hobi’s enlistment - epic hug moment 

They were together the night before 

Astro member died 19/4 pm

25/4 JM flies to nyc 

25/4 Jk and Tae attend dream premiere jk comes live straight after it late 

25/4 jk live seems sad and tired and says he is both,,cooks on live

JM had flown to NYC that day 

He did get out the car on the other side which people surmise that’s bc jk is in the car and he was wearing a Ck tee 

28/4 Jimin at Tiffany event nyc 

29/4 Jimin at d day concert usa

Jk at lv event in Seoul with Mingyu 

30/4 JM live with Yoongi 

During this time recording Who…

6/5 JM arrives in Korea 

23/5 JM goes to London and HP world gets out of car the other side 

24/5 JK went live and mentioned that JM had changed the air con settings sings angel part1 

27/5 JM arrives home - jk in car to pick him up? Took ages for them to let him in car 

5th June Jk live talks about rainy day fight 

Watched Jimin on lee mijun show (sings alone to like crazy ) 

12/6 jk falls asleep on live 

13/6 JM letter live for festa 

14/6 jk flying to la

15/6 JM live talks about rainy day fight 

Recording Muse that day too 

22/6 jk arrived home 

Late june- yoongis dday tour attendance Seoul 25th JM and jk 

29/6 jk live working out can hear door chime go off in background 

1/7 JKs brother posts a pic of family game night ft JMs hand

4/7 jk 4am live with Mingyu 

July seven release 

JK flies to NYC -12th

JM flies out next day 13th

Silver day date 

14/7 seven is released 

Go missing in NY state for 4/5 days 

18/7 JM flies home 

24/7 jk arrived home from London 

25/7 JM posts about jk bb hot 100

27/7 jk goes live sings letter by Jimin at end 

28/7 - July when they come back from NYC- JKs epic baker in bed begging JM live 

30/7 jk inkagayo music show v visits him 

Celebrate hot 100 can hear JM laugh in background? 

August - jeju island trip ? Spotted by fans 

12th august- JK with E in Tokyo but suspiciously looks like JM hmm 

3rd august JM d day concert 

3/8 jk goes live 

4th august jk d day concert 

5th august Weverse live JK

23rd and 24th august jk spotted in Busan with Eunwoo and Mingyu eating out 

September - 1/9- JM shirtless pic for JKs birthday 

Jk attends Tiffany even in Seoul. Comes live afterwards….. wearing watch set to JKs. Birthday time. Feet is all I’m saying 

jK must have prepared 3D content in September 

He must have filmed suchwita on 3/9 ish 

5/9 jk flies to la 

9/9 jk arrived home from la 

12/9 jk flies to nyc

15/9 JM supported v at music show 

16/9 jk arrived home 

Jikook meal with Yoongi at some point ? Spotted 

Jimin confirmed this in mmm

21/9 jk flies to nyc 

25/9 jk arrived home 

28/9 chusseouk - JM posts pic on Instagram of whale cloud drawing saying jk did it 

29/9 jk releases 3d 

JM posts single cover 😅 with this emoji

4/10 jk live talked about Jeon Jimin 

Played like crazy x2 and smfp2 and other members songs

Had hung out with 97 friends that day

6/10 jk flies to la 

10/10 jk arrived home 

13 October- JM birthday live days Jk busy makes sad face and such concern 

13/10 jk music bank 

Around here JM Weverse interview said he has been spending time alone which if Jk was gone to 3D he would be 

14/10 jk flies to Budapest 

Oct- Tae posts pics of him and Jikook in jeju from?? 

20/10 jk arrived home 

23/10 jk at ck event Japan 

29/10- JMs production diary live- JK comes on for a minute 

Jm has golden hair…

They found out days before this about the enlistment 

Late October- 30/10 JM fan event- some filming looks suspiciously like JKs handiwork with the zooming in habit 

Mini moni music filming he has blonde hair 

3/11 jk live talking about Golden

Tae and JM live outside his house but Tae says your house to JM.. KA translated it 

November 4th- golden release 

&& Release party we only know bc JM posts photos 

5/11 jk flies to nyc

11/11 jk arrived home 

15/11- mini moni p2 filming 

16/11 JM flies to Budapest to film who mv 

17/11 ish JM stuck with you this is Jimin dance cover 

19/11 JM arrives home 

20/11 golden live in Seoul - JM commented that hate you is his fave song. Rm attended 

Around here JM was spotted filming at a hot springs which we now know isn’t one and was a location for his jimmy fallon appearance 22/7/24

22/11- JM records sgmb track video 

Possibly fallon performance too given spotting date posts 

23/11 - they go to Japan together for about a week 

28/11 they arrive home from Japan 

29/11 jk flies to la 

2/11 jk arrived home 

5/12 - jk,JM,v,rm last live before enlistment very touchy feely 

JM said he’d been sick after Japan 

12/12- both at v and rms enlistment 

13/12- they enlisted  together in the buddy system

THANK YOU !!!

[jess-moloney]

I can't figure out what it is that Jess does that she is also making money to sustain her lifestyle.

She has to spend thousands of dollars to upkeep her face thanks to the cosmetic surgery she's gotten. She definitely gets cheek fillers and she would also have to keep getting fillers for her lips.

Look at her cheeks here. This isn't natural or normal. This is a sign of filler. You can look at her cheeks in lots of photos and see that it bulges abnormally under her eyes.

On top of that, she is somehow affording:

The ability to renew a business license for at least one business (Jess Moloney Management) and office space.

If you look at public records you can actually see that she's lost money between 2021 and 2022. Which means that she's lost work/clients/any number of things. This isn't a woman who is running a thriving business whatsoever. This is also net assets so it wouldn't be cash in the bank. Still, this indicates she's not making a lot of money on this business anyway she's probably putting more into it than she is making a profit out of it.

You can also see she's changed the address of the office several times over the years starting from more expensive locations to less expensive ones. This business is not operating at a profit it's operating at a loss. Someone with a thriving career and client list wouldn't be having profits go down.

I also, for the life of me, cannot find a physical address or location for Ice Studios. There seems to be one, somewhere, as they do promote it as a place/building where Renell takes their photos but it also doesn't seem to exist. Any business address I can find for Ice Studios goes back to the management company that filed for the business (and is not Ice Studios it's their offices). I can find a very old filing address for Ice Studios years ago but it's for a house in Brooklyn and I'm assuming where Renell lived when the business was first filed.

Since the house is not available I would assume that Renell still lives in that location (it's estimated to be worth half a million dollars) but does she run the studio out of her house? Is there an office location? Why doesn't this business have an office location when there seems to be a studio somewhere where photos are being taken? That also doesn't make any sense. Not all businesses need to have an office location, some can be run out of the home, but since Renell is clearly taking photos somewhere and there is a business called Ice Studios (with that word in the name) you would have to assume there is a photo studio location and/or filming (since they seem to produce videos as well).

Still, all of these things cost money, and it does seem that the place that Jess currently has listed as her office (for Moloney Management) has residential/living space. Though I can't get the exact price on that address, the surrounding space for sale is listed as £684,000 - £756,000. If she didn't outright buy a house/space there she's certainly paying rent of some sort and it's not going to be a low number. Nor is it going to be low if there's a studio space in NYC and she has to pay at least %50 of it because she's %50 owner of Ice Studios.

With all of this evidence that her own business is operating at a loss and there's little to no evidence that Ice Studios makes any sort of profit on anything....how is she affording any of this stuff without:

A massive trust fund that she has for some reason

Scamming people out of money and getting them to "invest" in her "business"

Taking Jamie's money and/or making him pay her for "management services"

Subletting office space/residential space since she clearly doesn't use it (but not legally since her name is still listed as owning that space/house)

A combination of these things

I'm very confused as to what she does as a job that justifies her keeping this business open and running, out of England of all places (with a residential space that she could potentially live in) when she's basically never in England and when/if she is, it's with Jamie and for short periods. We never see her in this office/house. We never see her at Ice Studios or Renell's house (I guess one could assume that Renell operates her studio out of her house but it's a small house so I would be surprised). None of this makes any sense. What exactly is her source of income that she can also continue to run these businesses and live this lifestyle when by all accounts she doesn't even have a job?

[temporary-dysphoria]

Bill (500 word fiction)

This was my entry for the NYC 500-word fiction competition, however real life occurred and I forgot what days were, so I missed the deadline.

My genre was Suspense and/or Thriller.

My action was reading someone else's mail.

My object was nail polish.

I'm pretty pleased overall with how this turned out. Let me know what you think of it!

Bill

Bill was the tenant before me. He never bothered to change his address when he left. You’d think that’d be the first thing that people do – apparently not. Our letterbox wasn’t very big, and the mailman never took back the letters, so I ended up collecting them in a pile. Just in case he ever came back for them. The kind of thing my mother would do.

You can learn a lot about someone from their mail. I learned Bill’s bank. I learned his preferred supermarket. I knew his birthday cards arrived in the third week of January.

I opened the blank envelope without even thinking. There was no name on the front, only our address. My drying nail polish left a sludgy red mark on thick paper. I should have waited.

I knew all about Bill, but I also knew nothing. I knew his health insurance was up for renewal. I knew he must have liked camping. And now, apparently, I knew he was receiving death threats.

I looked for him without success. Police had no record of a Bill McLean. He’d never existed. He was nothing more than black ink on envelopes, now piled in my living room.

My doorbell rang late one Thursday. When I opened the door, the weedy man behind looked as confused as I felt. It took me a minute to register the gun.

“He’s – he’s not here.” I stuttered out, mouth dry despite the glass of juice in my hand.

He left as quickly as he came and, in my naivety, I thought that was the last of it.

It wasn’t.

Cars stayed parked on the street for days at a time. Invisible eyes made the skin on the back of my neck crawl, yet I never saw anyone.

The next man was large, and waiting near my door when I got home from work.

“Where is Bill?”

I couldn’t decide what was more frightening, his voice, his size, or the knife on his belt.

“I don’t know – I’ve only got his mail.”

I handed it all over, the bills, the catalogues, the death threats.

The man grunted and threw them back through my doorway. Next minute I was against the wall, something sharp pressing against my throat.

“You lie. You die.”

And then he was gone too. There were only two more letters after that.

I was cooking dinner when the doorbell rang for the first time three months. I grabbed the baseball bat beside the fridge, just in case. It made me feel better.

People are never exactly as you picture them. The man in the doorway was well dressed, his hair neatly brushed back, holding a leather briefcase that looked like it had seen one too many train rides. The large bruise around his left eye was out of place on such a meek looking man.

“I’m so sorry to be a bother,” he said, and even his voice was mellow, “but I believe you’ve been looking after my mail.”