#Rob Smith

[inahailofbulletz]

cd: pin

[justinspoliticalcorner]

PAYTON ARMSTRONG, CHARIS HOARD & EMMA MAE WEBER AT MMFA:

Since President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential election and endorsed his vice president, Kamala Harris, right-wing media have launched sexist and racist attacks at Harris to try to diminish her qualifications. They’ve claimed that she can’t be president because she doesn’t have biological children, labeled her “the ultimate diversity, equity, and inclusion candidate,” fixated on her laugh, claimed that she promotes "the occult,” and likened her to “Jezebel.”

Right-wing media have lobbed racist and sexist attacks at Harris for years, calling her a “DEI hire” who “gets more favorable treatment because of her race and gender.” Right-wing figures have also referred to Harris as an example of ”why DEI doesn’t work" and claimed she “launched her political career in [the] bedroom.” [Media Matters, 7/3/24, 7/11/24]

The right-wing media are already resorting to the tired old playbook of using racist and sexist tropes to attack apparent Democratic nominee Kamala Harris.

[burlveneer-music]

Fachada - Cidade Da Selva - Brazilian music imagined through a Washington, DC lens

Cidade Da Selva - There are a million stories in a naked city… In this sequel to Fachada’s "Mundos Secretos," "Cidade Da Selva" tells 16 of these stories. After departing the secret world of "Mundos Secretos," this new album, "Cidade Da Selva," by Fachada, sets new tones, delving deeper into the afro-noir diaspora, re-interpreting soul, funk, afro, Brazilian and deep jazz. Each tune is a vignette - altogether examining and immersing into the margins of imagination and magic. This album goes on a journey of retrospection through multicultural and site specific sounds; evoking visions and the spirit of a time and place in a mysterious jungle city. Fachada is the musical persona of autodidact, musician, and visionary artist Rob Smith. A D.C. native, Smith grew up on the sounds of the local 70s radio, immersed in funk, R&B, jazz, hip hop, and the city’s trademark Go-Go music. By the late 70s and early 80s he found himself at the center of DC’s emerging punk/DIY music scene; going to shows, drumming in bands, and being an artist at the ground zero of the city’s zeitgeist. A chance discovery of a stack of discarded Brazilian records at the city dump one day proved to be a catalyst, offering him a fortuitous portal to a “secret world” of rhythm and sound. All songs were composed, played and recorded by Fachada, who is once again accompanied by Mundos Secretos personnel: Ty Hussell on electric guitar, Adrian Baxter on flute and Swamp Guinee playing congas on "musical chairs" and "second shot." Additionally, Fachada welcomes  Charles Road, playing bass, acoustic guitar, and piano on "outside the shadows," which he co-composed. Mer Boel plays violin on "one look" and "cold drinks hot nights." Fachada plays, drums, bass, fender Rhodes, RMI Electra-piano, synthesizer, congas, rebolo, pandeiro, shakers, bells, triangle, cuica. 

[dustedmagazine]

Animal, Surrender! Listed

Animal, Surrender! is a duo made up of Sunwatchers’ Peter Kerlin on bass and Rob Smith on drums. On their first, self-titled album, the pair execute, loping, elastic grooves, nodding towards folk and blues but never quite settling into genre. In her review, Jennifer Kelly called the song, “Led by the Bit,” “an intriguing rattletrap construction, bounded by intricate, syncopated percussion but with Kerlin’s bass musing its bass-like dreams within these constraints.” Here’s what Kerlin and Smith are listening to.

Kelan Phil Cohran & Legacy — “White Nile”

PETE: I first started to slip into the Animal, Surrender! sound world upon hearing African Skies, by Kelan Phil Cohran & Legacy at Domino Sound in New Orleans in 2011. I asked the purveyor, “What is this and please tell me it’s for sale.” It’s been in regular rotation since. Pure magic, flawless without being precious for a single moment.

Jeff Parker — “2019-07-08-ii”

ROB: The drummer here, Jay Bellerose is my favorite currently-working drummer... all space, tone, and touch. Earthy patterns intersect and breathe in ways that simultaneously nurture and tug at the other voices in the ensemble. Although I absolutely love what he does with groups as dad-rockish as Alison Krauss & Robert Plant, this heady double-LP from Eremite really gives us a clear open view of his masterful creativity with timbre and air.

Ann O Aro — “Zardin”

PETE: The economy of the arrangements on this record and the spare, precise production were a touchstone in the recording stage of A,S!. There is some crazy stuff going on here though. O Aro’s voice is clearly a thing of beauty but that is 100% not the point at all. The music has an undeniable force and is bound together with an incredible tension. An example of the Maloya anti-colonial music from the Island of Reunion where she hails and a deeply personal dredging and catharsis synthesized seamlessly. Shout out to Mike Bones for turning me on to it.

Gunter Schickert — “Puls”

ROB: Klaus Schulze’s roadie didn’t use any synthesizers or sequencers to craft his own singular, prowling Berlin hypnosis. The warp and weft of multitrack tapes, guitars, and drums is exactly the kind of mind-fabric that prepared me for working within Animal, Surrender!

Jack Rose & The Black Twig Pickers — “Kensington Blues”

PETE: Rose loomed large for me. This track played on repeat in my mind for years. It’s so effortless, it’s as if the music existed already, unheard, and the band is just revealing it. My effort to balance multiple voices on the bass comes out of a fascination with this “American Primitive” sound. Nathan Bowles is here on percussion. Bowles shared the drum chair with Rob in Pigeons!

Hopkinson Smith — “Robert de Visée: Pieces de Theorbe”

ROB: One of the greatest musical conversations I ever had was speaking intimately with the genius lutenist Hopkinson Smith over pints of stout about unmeasured preludes and the intersections of baroque string music and bluegrass. This incredible 1979 recording of works for theorbo, an epic bass lute, shows how a multi-course bass instrument originally designed for accompaniment can take the spotlight, much as Peter’s 8-string bass does within this group.

Jessica Pavone — “Dawn to Dark”

PETE: I was split about which Pavone track to include here. Her recent “less tempered” works are riveting, but I chose this early Pavone chamber piece featuring my old bandmate, Emily Manzo, a pianist of extraordinary ability, who is also a gifted songwriter and singer. Here Pavone casts her as a vocalist. There’s musicality and presence in every nanosecond of her performance. Stunning yet never bombastic. The pacing and restraint that Jessica brings to the whole record leads you deep into some psychic space, you forget you’re listening to “chamber music.”

Henry Cow — “Nirvana for Mice”

ROB: Chris Cutler’s way of feeling deep grooves inside of twisted, asymmetrical compositions always sounds brand new and shocking to my ears despite this album’s 1973 session date. He’ll crack a nasty backbeat inside a careful avant woodwind arrangement, forcing your ass to swivel despite your brain being patiently sliced open on the band’s dissection table. Dada blues for sure.

75 Dollar Bill — “Beni Said”

PETE: One of the most consistently inspiring live bands in New York for the past decade. It was while lost in one of Che’s asymmetrical Mauritanian riffs on his modified Hagstrom 12-string that I had an “ah ha!” moment about the 8-string bass and how to bring it into the foreground. We’ve had an ongoing dialogue about it that has kept me going in those moments when I’m questioning this weird obsession I have with this uncooperative instrument.

Bullwackies All Stars — “Kicking Scott, Rockfort Dub”

ROB: Lloyd Barnes’ Bronx dub devastation provided an early shared navigational system for us in Animal, Surrender! Wackie spirals you down infinite, dissociative avenues of echo paved with the deepest bass around. Melodic organisms bloom from the cracks and illuminate pathways through the twisted urban ecology, clouds of pungent smoke notwithstanding.

[nthspecialll]

Funny stories from set

Here are some funny stories from the making of red dead that I have heard in interviews, with links to the videos if I have been able to find them again, just click the text with the line under.

(25.40) Between the takes of Red Dead Redemption 2, Rob (John) worked construction and one day they were using a Skidloader and he got driven over. He had to reach up and bang on the side of the thing to alert the driver. He ended up with a broken foot and couldn't work for eight months. One of the scenes that someone else ended up doing for him was Rip Van Winkle.

(31.22) The interaction where Charles throws Micah was orignally Charles throwing Bill and was the first thing that Noshir (Charles) filmed on set. With a mo-cap suit follows this big thing in front of the face that helps capture facial expressions (I think), and Noshir was like "I am going to wreck some shit" after being told that he wasn't allowed to turn his head to avoid his and Steve's (Bill) equipment crashing together and after being told over and over, they did it and the equipment indeed broke. So while standing in a T-pose after the set was done, he was just like "... I am so fired."

(6.45) Mick (Sean) and Roger (Arthur) actually knew one another before working on red dead together. Roger worked at a pub not far from the resturant that Mick worked at where they put plays on on the second floor and Roger would come and do readings. Roger auditioned for a part in a play around the beginning of rdr2, and he got the part however he had to cancel due to another bigger job he had gotten. And then Mick got the role of Sean and he figured it all out.

(36.40) Gabriel (Javier) started a rumor that the director was his dad, his stepdad. A lot of the new people on set would come up and be like "I feel like he doesn't like me" and Gabriel would be like "Oh don't worry that is just my dad, he likes you don't worry."

(41.30) Steve (Bill) and Ben (Dutch) would often stay in the same hotel when they were filming and they had this ritual called "Whiskey Hottop" where they would get in a hottop, pour themselves some whiskey and sit together. Sometimes Rob and Noshir would join as well.

(5.17) Rob and Ben knew one another as well from before the first red dead, as they both worked security at a bar called sky bar in Hollywood.

[therogerclarkfanclub]

I am living for these photos of Peter 😂😂

[mike-peabody]

I genuinely cannot understand how Mrs Brown’s Boys won… again! Tv times better not let us down or I’m outside their houses

Kiell’s face is everything!!

[arthursfuckinghat]

The ONE time Charles cracks a joke around John and it flew right over his head - bless these men

[cowbeeboy]

charles smith is a silly drunk. arthur morgan is a sillier drunk. why didn’t they get to silly drink together. why.

[positivexcellence]

creationentertainment: When you bring something extra cool (some throwback photos) for the #Supernatural cast to sign at Creation events! Come see the SPN cast on tour in 2025! See the list of dates and get tickets here: bit.ly/CreationEnt

[911lsbts]

Natacha sharing BTS from s5 and previous seasons.

[polovision]

this is the funniest thing i've ever fucking seen. rob babygirl this is too silly

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Christopher Wiggins at The Advocate:

As election season peaks, conservative LGBTQ+ supporters of former President Donald Trump are hosting “Trump UNITY” events across battleground states despite the former president’s lengthy record of anti-LGBTQ+ policies. Organized by the Log Cabin Republicans, the UNITY tour held a rally in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Tuesday, where gay conservative attendees emphasized economic issues over LGBTQ+ rights and downplayed the need for further protections, NBC News reports. For attendees, whose attendance numbers were eclipsed by straight counterparts in a half-empty hotel ballroom devoid of rainbow flags, this event was a space to champion Trump as the candidate of choice — even as he pledges to roll back rights for LGBTQ+ Americans. “I’m not voting because of marriage equality or LGBTQ rights,” 23-year-old Gage West told the outlet. “I’m voting because I want more money in my wallet.” His comments reflect a prevailing sentiment among the crowd of conservative gay men who said their focus is on economic and border security issues rather than LGBTQ+ rights.

Pronouns were mocked by attendees, and calls for equality were dismissed as “victim mentality,” echoing comments from conservative social media influencer Rob Smith, who argued that “the problems that this country are facing are far greater than any small affinity group.”

Some attendees believe the LGBTQ+ community has already achieved full equality. Fifty-seven-year-old Don Webber remarked, “We’re past that. We’ve reached that level of equality. My focus is more on my kids and the grandkids, the economy, the safety of our borders.” This rhetoric has drawn backlash from LGBTQ+ advocates who point out Trump’s record as one of the most anti-LGBTQ+ administrations in recent history. 

[...] The UNITY tour has also drawn attention for the inclusion of high-profile far-right figures who promote harmful anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric, including Scott Pressler, who has pushed baseless “groomer” narratives against the LGBTQ+ community, and former Republican Illinois U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock, who once voted against marriage equality and the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” but came out as gay years after leaving office. In early October, the Trump UNITY tour held a fundraiser in Pennsylvania. The event featured figures like Florida U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz. Gaetz has publicly pushed false narratives about transgender youth and endorsed anti-LGBTQ+ tropes.

The Trump UNITY events organized by quisling LGBTQ+ group Log Cabin Republicans have featured MAGA hacks who falsely assert that LGBTQ+ people have full equality. In reality, LGBTQ+ equality isn’t anywhere close to full completion and has backslidden in several states.

[reddeadgirl5]

I feel that John and Charles connected in the epilogue because of their own connection to Arthur. Arthur is the link and they both see a bit of him in each other. 🥺

[dustedmagazine]

Animal, Surrender! — S-T (Ernest Jenning)

Animal, Surrender! lopes elastically through moody melodies, the bass outlining minor key motifs that might, in other bands, be voiced through guitar. The player, in this case, is Peter Kerlin, he of Sunwatcher’s antic jazz-rock groove-blasts and Chris Forsyth’s long-horizon, improvisatory boogies, and yet you’ll hardly recognize him. These tunes remind me more of Dos, Watt’s double-bassed outfit with Kira Roessler, than anything else, though a bit of David Grubbs noodling post-everything melancholy drifts in from time to time.

It's mostly Kerlin’s show, but Rob Smith, drummer for Rhyton and D. Charles Spear, sits in on drums, giving tunes that sometimes wander (not aimlessly, but not in a straight line either) more heft and forward direction. When he enters into the title track, for instance, it shifts from a mindful meditation in notes and flurries into something more like a rock song, not exactly like but closer.

There are a couple of covers, one of Mike Wexler’s “After,” another of Nick Drake’s “One of Things First.” Both are shaded several shades darker here than in the originals—Drake’s song, in particular, is a buoyant, breezy piano blues tune, but Wexler’s version, too, has a certain lightness and mobility that’s not here in the cover. It is partly the low, slow cadence that infuses “After” with additional murk and mystery, partly the murmuring vocals. Even punched up with thwacking, cymbal clashing percussion, it hovers like a disquieting dream. “One of These Things First” rides a quicker, more agitated pulse of bass, the blues drained away into a more irregular melody.

If you’re looking for a bit of sunshine, “Four Corners of a Square World” comes closest to a porch blues ramble, though again, filtered through the bass’ lower register. The drumming complements it nicely, filling in the ends of phrases with bursts of percussive energy. It’s almost like they’re talking to one another through instruments.

Kerlin says that he intended this new project to reflect on man’s animal nature, and indeed, it has an intuitive, non-linear flow that, maybe, rejects constraining tradition and precedent. But animals, too, must abide by the rules, and the late track, “Led by the Bit,” is an intriguing rattletrap construction, bounded by intricate, syncopated percussion but with Kerlin’s bass musing its bass-like dreams within these constraints.  It feels like a portal to alternate states of perception, odd but inviting. The animal in Kerlin isn’t giving up quite yet.

Jennifer Kelly

[nthspecialll]

I think something that makes the red dead fandom so much more interesting is how active that the voice actors are and how much they interact with the fans. Especially as it isn't just the big creators but also the smaller crooks and crannies where not a lot of people would normally visit.

We have Noshir ruling tumblr, Roger having a party on Cameo, Alex is sharing Sabigail art on instagram and Rob is fooling around on tiktok, constantly interacting, constantly bonding. As someone who has been in a lot of fandoms, this is one thing I think makes the fandom so much better, that the cast is down here in the trenches with us. They are all amazing people who are keeping the fandom alive and helping to flesh out the characters with headcannons and ideas.

I love these voice actors and I want to thank them not only for making the game but for being so active with us, the fans, and so supportive of everything we make and all of our nerdy little ideas and things.