#aka the song the developers got the name ''jimmy'' from

[haemosexuality]

i mean, look at my hair

look at the length of it and the shape of my body

[cocochannel00]

The Azoff Family: A Case Study on one of the Music Industry’s Most Connected Families

(ft. a breakdown of the Grammy voting process and problems)

This is very long so I will try and split it up into categories for everyone (sorry I got carried away- I spent like 2 hours writing this) but enjoy!

*Disclaimer: I want to preface while the majority of this is based in research, some parts may be speculation. I don’t know the family personally so I can’t tell you what goes on behind closed doors but I can tell you how parts of the entertainment/music industry work. I’ve had 5 internships in the industry (one in marketing at one of the big record labels) and the rest of my work is publicity (what I enjoy) and events and a former advisor used to run in the same circles as Irving Azoff (and he spilled some tea last year) I’m not out here to diminish the hard work of any artists or their teams, I’m simply here to showcase parts of the industry that aren’t always shown.*

Please also see: Story Time: How Fan Pages Directly Impact Columbia Records Decisions and Harry Styles Image

IRVING AZOFF: NEVER STOP THE GRIND

Let’s begin with the great business man himself Mr. Irving Azoff Irving Azoff is the literal posture child for connections and power in the music industry (he was also inducted into the 2020 rock and roll hall of fame class which is like a huge fucking deal for a manager to be inducted so you know he's the real deal)

In conclusion, I love Irving Azoff and his drive.

Irving Azoff: Early Years Run Down:

He came up middle class (dad was a pharmacist, mom a bookkeeper) in Danville, Illinois

He dropped out of college to run a small Midwestern concert-booking empire and managed local acts in the era

Opportunity came knocking and he got the chance to manage the Eagles and the rest is history

He's one of the best negotiators and has negotiated business on behalf of stars like Stevie Nicks, the Eagles, and Jimmy Buffet

Azoff has been an incredible manager and his drive to always advocate for his clients while basically not giving two sh*ts about what people think of him has gotten him the incredible reputation he has today.

All of Irving Azoff’s Major Job Positions:

Former President MCA (major label)

Former CEO of Ticketmaster and executive chairman of Live Nation Entertainment, the behemoth formed from Ticketmaster’s merger with Live Nation.

In 2013 he and Cablevision Systems Corp. CEO and New York Knicks owner James Dolan formed a partnership, Azoff MSG Entertainment (Currently still CEO)

----> Azoff also ran the Forum in Inglewood under Azoff MSG Entertainment after MSG purchased it in 2012 (it was sold in 2020 to the owner of the Clippers) — why do you think Harry played the forum for the Fine Line show? Azoff connection

Azoff MSG Entertainment encompasses all of the other companies including Full Stop Management, Global Music Rights (performance-rights org), and the Oak View Group (arena developing company)

He also is the co-founder and manager of the lobbying group Music Artists Coalition, a group that helps lobby for artists-rights issues such as royalty rates, copyright issue and healthcare insurance (see he's not all bad)

Essentially what I'm getting at is this man knows anybody who's anybody. He's the man you want on your team to help promote your music, plan your tour, and get you on that Grammy nom list.

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JEFFREY AZOFF: THE CHILD OF NEPOTISM

So for those of you that don't know, Jeffery Azoff is Harry's current manager and the son of Irving Azoff (the third of four kids). He's currently a partner at Full Stop Management, the company owned by Irving and the one artists such as Harry, Haim, the Eagles, Kings of Leon, and Meghan Trainer are signed to.

Jeffrey graduated from the University of Colorado's Leeds School of Business and started working fresh out of college at his father's old Management company (Frontline Management) working under Maroon 5's manager Jordan Feldstein (the only way you get that kind of internship/job as a 21 year old fresh out of college is if your family or family friends gives it to you). He worked here for 5 years.

Direct Quote from Irving Azoff to Jeffrey (really tells you a lot): "Listen carefully, because I’m going to say this one time. You have a phone and you have my last name. If you can’t figure it out, you’re not my son."

After working for his father, Jeffrey moved on to the talent agency CAA (Creative Artist Agency) where he worked for roughly 3 and half years before joining his dad in forming Full Stop Management in 2016.

While he was at CAA, Irving moved over clients like Christina Aguilera and the Eagles to the talent agency to help with tour booking instead of doing it internally through LiveNation (he was CEO).

Even though I'm sure Jeff has had to work somewhat hard to get to where he is (or at least to mess up his dad's work as he doesn't seem like the type to take laziness well), the door into the industry and every job was basically handed to him on a silver platter.

Not to mention if you watch episodes of keeping up with the  kardashians (like myself) you can actually see Jeff hanging out with kendall and the rest of the fam at their Palm Springs house (you know you're a nepotism kid if you have an in with the Kardashian crew). Invite me next time Jeffrey!!!

Think of the Azoff's as the mafia family of the music industry, you don't mess with the mafia

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THE GRAMMY AWARDS: STUDENT COUNCIL ELECTIONS ON STEROIDS

Ok so here's where we’re going to get into a bit more of the speculation/grey area. I don't need to tell you that award shows are corrupt (See the Golden Globes Emily in Paris scandal) and the Grammys are not an exception. Think of the Grammys as one big student council/government elections where despite the fact the teachers tell you six times to vote for the best candidate, you're still going to vote for your friends even if they aren't the best.

A simplified break-down of Grammy voting:

1) Recording Academy voting members (artists, producers, musicians- anyone involved first hand with the creation of music; All voting members must have been producers, performers or engineers on six or more tracks of a commercially released album (or 12 or more digital tracks) and record labels will submit nominations in various categories to the grammys (songs need to be released commercially between October 1 of the previous year and September 30th of this year). You can also become a voting member by either winning a grammy or being endorsed by a current voting member (hint hint)

2) Once received, the recording academy with have the academy of trustees and its reviewers organize them and approve any changes to the 30 categories/fields (aka they can add new categories or remove old ones; so no best ukulele album of the year -- this is where things get funky)

There's speculation that during this stage when these special groups of 8-10 people are organizing genres, there's an "unwritten rule" that you need to be careful what album you green light (especially for famous artists) if you don't want them to win) (Rob Kenner said this- he used to be on one of these committees). Famous people tend to get more votes from clueless or lay Academy members that don't know the specialized categories or don't care enough to listen to songs that aren't radio trending.

3) After the nominations occur, Voting members begin their first voting. Members can vote for the four general categories of record of the year, album of the year, song of the year and best new artist and a maximum of 15 categories, all within their areas of expertise. Now the interesting thing is that while these are the guidelines there is literally nothing stopping them from voting in whatever categories they want (i.g. a rapper voting in the opera category despite not listening to opera). Theses ballots are all tallied and the top 20 entries are determined in each category (funky moment #2)

In 12 of the 84 categories those top 20 go to the ballot and it's done; for the rest it’s not like that. 59 categories including the big four go to a "nomination review committees" (identities are protected so they can't get lobbied... sure) who take a look at the top 20 and narrow it down to 7 or 8. (these are the special committees the Weekend talked about when he was snubbed). They're supposed to choose the nominees "based solely on the artistic and technical merits of the eligible recordings" which lets be real if that was the case Watermelon Sugar (along with most of the others in the category) I don't think would have been nomimated as they are very generic pop (none of them are special... sorry to the WM lovers out there).

This committee is basically held to THE HONOR CODE SYSTEM... I mean tell me when the last time the honor code system worked in literally any scenario (literally wtf). Don't take my word for it though the former CEO of the Academy Deborah Dugan (a queen) filed a complaint against the Recording Academy basically claiming that the nomination review process was rigged (she was fired after 5 months on the job).

Quote from Deborah Dugan "Members of the board [of trustees] and the secret committees chose artists with whom they have personal or business relationships... It is not unusual for artists who have relationships with Board members and who ranked at the bottom of the initial 20-artist list to end up receiving nominations."

These review committees can also exploit there power by adding up to two nominees that don't appear on the top 20 list to the final voting ballot (except in the 4 big categories - which watermelon sugar that one wasn't nominated for)

They also have craft committees for like non performance stuff (like album notes, engineering and arranging) that don't even get voted on by the academy voting members

4) After all of that fucked up mess, the grammy's decided is ok, the ballots go back to the voting members for the final vote. Deloitte (an accounting firm) then counts all of them, seals them in envelopes, and delivers them to the Grammy award show.

** The Grammy's just announced this year they're removing the "secret committees" so let's see how things shift in the next couple of years**

So obviously I'm not saying this to discredit Harry's nomination or his win as Fine Line was in the US top 20 albums for the majority of 2020, however, we must acknowledge privilege. Harry has a big name to him and a huge following, and while all of that shouldn't be taken into account, it does. He also has the Azoffs, a very well connected family with friends in lots of places that would be able to put in a good word here and there to get support behind Harry. Harry won best pop solo performance for Watermelon Sugar in a category with Doja Cat, Justin Bieber, Billie Eilish, Taylor Swift, and Dua Lipa. Look at the names there, the songs (ya'll can try and remember them cause I'm too lazy to write it out) and tell me that those top names with all of the music produced didn't get there through some connections.

Do with all this information what you will and if you are interested in learning more about the entertainment industry on your own Endeavor (owners of WME, a big talent agency like CAA) is hosting a free online program called the Excellence Program to help guide the future generation of industry executives. The program is a-synchronous and starts on July 12th. Highly recommend giving it a go if you're interested!!!

Alright ya'll that's it. Feel free to message me with your thoughts!

Extra Sources if you'd like to read:

https://www.vice.com/en/article/pkdndn/how-grammys-voting-actually-works-and-where-the-alleged-corruption-lies

https://www.grammy.com/grammys/awards/voting-process

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2020-11-05/irving-azoff-eagles-manager

https://celebrityaccess.com/caarchive/jeffrey-azoff-exits-caa-to-launch-new-management-company/

https://www.rollingstone.com/pro/features/grammy-awards-secret-committees-945532/

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/grammy-awards-eliminate-secret-committees-voting-changes-1163887/

[marielambs-corner]

Under the Studios Ground, a BATIM x OtGW Crossover

Wanted to expand a little on this AU idea, that’ll be mostly like the events of the show placed in the studio with the crew as the cast in different situations. And here we have...

Henry as Wirt

Bendy as Greg 

An Alice Angel doll as Beatrice 

Sammy as the Woodsman 

The Ink Demon as The Beast 

Brute Boris as that beasty dog that’d later turn into a regular, original Boris 

The Lost Ones in Bendyland costumes as the Pottsfield people 

Bertrum as Enoch 

Level P’s lunch room as The Black Lamp tavern, with JDS crew being named by their roles (hosted by Lacie as The Mechanic)  

Wally!Boris as Fred the Horse 

Tom!Boris as Quincy Endicott 

Allison Angel as Margueritte Gray 

The Buttcher Gang as the frogs in the boat 

Malice Angel as Adelaide 

A Bendy Cartoon, all black and white, as the dream Greg/Bendy would have 

Susie as The Queen of Clouds

Adaptation and Plot Points!

First of all, the show’s dialogues would be mostly adapted according to how the events in the crossover develops.

The studio is like in game on its singular places, but would be all mashed up according, again, to how the events develops (Like, Pottsfield = Bendyland, and that’s way in the beginning, but later we go to Level P, and then we fuse In-Game Boris’ hideout with Tom and Allison’s hideout to make for all that “I don’t remember this place to be so big/This place is so big I don’t even recognize my own home” sort of thing, inserting as well the extended rooms from BATDS as a way to connect both hideouts).

I’ve given it a lot of thought, but the episodes Schooltown Follies and The Ringing of the Bell don’t seem to quite fit in here, sorry :/

This means No Ms. Langtree, no Jimmy Brown (even if Sammy and Susie fits well but I already asigned their roles), no Lorna and no Auntie Whispers.

Same goes for the frog AKA Jason Funderburger. Sorry ú-ù

Sammy would be carrying a projector that he’d need to lubricate with fresh thick ink to keep it running.

Where’s Norman~?

Joey is The Lie...

The Flashback episode AKA Into the Unknown would be Henry getting the letter and pondering if going or not, encouraged by Linda, even if that meant quite a long trip and who knows what Joey had in store, specially when he invites him to go to the studio and he gets in...

Instead of turning people into Edelwood trees to get the Oil, they start to turn into Searchers agonizingly slowly (a regular Searcher would be a Swollen Searcher with no more Thick Ink).

You Do realize the dark tone it will take with the roles, right? Maybe I should go chapter by chapter seeing how it works...

The Music Department. 

Hard Times at Bendyland

Songs of the Projector

Survivors’ Love

Lullaby in the Ink River

Toons in the Studio

Into the Studio

The Studio

There are parts where I just can’t figure by just writing, so maybe there’d be some drawings involved (actually I already got a third of the intro song).

One of the things that hooked me up with the idea of this crossover was the mental image of how the end, near the final battle against The Beast, would develop with these guys. So if you wan’t to tear your hearts out, I invite you to check under the cut~!

Gonna leave it as a dialogue only. If you are familiar with the scene, it’ll just resonate with you ^-^~

Henry: Bendy? Bendy!

Alice!Doll: I thought it was here...

Henry: A mask...

Alice!Doll: A tape.

Henry: It looks like Sammy’s stuff...

Alice!Doll: What happened here...?

Henry: Bendy! Oh, no. Bendy, are you--?

Bendy: ...Henry?

Henry: Oh, Bendy...!

Bendy: Henry, I did it...! I defeated the Ink Demon... *Coughs a lump of ink*

Alice!Doll: Oh,Golly! He’s also melting inside!

Bendy: I’m sorry, Henry...

Henry: No, Bendy. It’s my fault we ended up here. All’s been my fault! I shouldn’t have ditched you, that wasn’t right--!

Bendy: No, Henry. I mean... Joey...

Henry and Alice!Doll: What?

Bendy: He wasn’t here. He hasn’t been here since long ago. I- I lied to you...! And I can’t erase that now!

Henry: Bendy, no. That doesn’t matter--!

Bendy: It DOES Matter! *Coughs* There’s nothing you should be doing here. You shoulda go home.

Henry: No. I won’t leave you in here! I said I would take you out with me!

Bendy: Heh! That’s so sweet...! Lies are always sweet...

Henry: Bendy? BENDY!!

And one more thing. When I was plotting out this idea initially a year ago, I asked @/lnicol1990, writer of some Toon!Henry AU stories, if I could use their extended version of The Dancing Demon song (originally the intro for JT Music’s song Can’t Be Erased), and that’d replace Adelaide’s song with Bendy happily dancing and chirping while sining it in their journey. (Thanks again for allowing me. I know I haven’t done much ever since I told you about the idea but still means a lot you allowed me ;3;)

Alright! Thanks for bearing with me and my rants! I hope this would push me to actually do something for it ^^u

And again, if you are curious, want to know more about this, dig deeper than what I showed, you are totally welcome to ask!

*End of Lamb’s Rant!*

[cupcakesandcookies]

Hey you. You with the face. Can I get some fanfic asks in the flavors of 3 (any fic you want, honestly), 4 (for Polaris), 9 (for Cigarette Daydreams), 19, 25 (for Polaris), 28 (for any, honestly), and 31?

Heyo, you sure can! It’ll cost you some imperial credits though

3. Favorite Scene - I think I’ll do this for Polaris

So, one of my favorite things in recent writing memory has been being able to explore the Greystone Mansion in this story. It was actually surprisingly fun to watch videos, read about it, and look at the floor plan. I definitely took some liberties, but I tried to bring the overall spirit of it to the story. And I know the story’s all about Tori and Jade and the “almost”s and “never”s, but I’m gonna say my favorite scene was when Tori went back to the mansion and it was just her, by herself, reflecting.

That, and the ending that almost made me cry while writing it.

4. Any ideas that didn’t make the cut for Polaris?

Umm, kind of. There was nothing ever really written that I cut out (at least, in terms of more than a few paragraphs), but, at one point, there was supposed to be more about the creation process of the album. Damon was supposed to make an actual appearance during this part, but he got relegated to just being mentioned when I decided not to go through with it. I didn’t think it was particularly necessary, and I don’t know all the things that go on in a studio anyway, sooo. Also, there was a small flash of an idea for an additional scene with Elladora after Tori left Florence, but that got slammed shut pretty fast.

9. If I had to assign a theme song for Cigarette Daydreams, what would it be?

Hm, this is a hard one. Because the story is named after Cigarette Daydreams by Cage the Elephant and I think it could be suitable enough as a theme song. But also...Always Be by Jimmy Eat World could also work? Not in terms of the overall sound of it, but in terms of the lyrics. I think I’ll stick to Cigarette Daydreams though! Something about the atmosphere of that one just really connects for me. I’ll update you if I change my mind on this though

19. What words do you think you tend to use the most?

“Fuck”. Definitely “fuck” lol. But I’m also gonna take this as an opportunity to acknowledge something I criticize myself for, which is that I find myself using a lot of basic actions a lot. Like, “Carmilla looked” or “Laura said”, etc. I need to expand on my action vocab

25. What scene in Polaris took the longest to write? What was difficult about it?

Definitely the scene where Tori kissed Jade at her party. My brain was fighting me at pretty much every turn with that one. It took me three different sessions across three different days to finish that scene. I think it was hard because that was one that I’d kind of planted in my head as “this is very important” so I was trying to figure out the perfect way to write it and nothing I wrote seemed like it met that criteria.

28. Is there a part of Polaris that you’re surprised no one’s picked up on yet?

It’s not necessarily something no one’s picked up yet, but I’m kind of surprised there hasn’t been more talk about the connections between Cigarette and Polaris in that, really, a lot of Tori’s issues stem from how she was treated as a child and how the family around her acted. From a young age, she had a fucked up view of love thanks to her parents’ marriage and that continues all the way through Polaris.

31. What was the development process of [insert fanfic name] like?

I’m gonna compare and contrast here because the development process depending on the fic has been wildly different and I want to highlight that. Polaris, for instance, is one that I pretty much knew what I was doing from the get-go. Some scenes (aka the opening about Greystone) wound up being a lot longer than I thought they would be, while some were shorter. But I knew pretty much every major plot point I wanted to hit. Whereas with Tell Her You Love Her, I winged the hell out of it. I had no idea what I was doing for the majority of that thing and took it on a step-by-step basis

Sorry it took so long for me to get this.

[peace-coast-island]

Diary of a Junebug

Fall book recs!

Swear to Me by Rose Madison An old classic, a book I never get tired of reading! I met Rose in college and she’s a super talented writer! She wrote this, her debut novel, back in high school and it still holds up pretty well. I love the characters, especially Tux. I don’t know why, but I have a soft spot for well meaning and adorkable dumbasses. I also have a soft spot for characters like Rina, also an adorkable dumbass who’s a sweetheart most of the time and internally screaming half the time, usually over minor inconveniences.

The book is silly, heartwarming, and action packed. I think it could make a great manga adaptation if done properly - I’d definitely read that! A fairy quick read - about 160 pages, and the pacing is quick so the only issue is that it feels too short. But a lot happens in that short time!

Portal to the Past by The Livy Aubree Company I pretty much love almost everything by Livy Aubree. I’m also loving the new show, Orla and Ozzie, which is based on this graphic novel. I was always fascinated with the history behind the classic characters Orla and Ozzie, mainly Orla. Up until recently, Orla has been put on the wayside and aside from the graphic novel, she hasn’t really had time to shine.

I love the character dynamic between Orla and Ozzie, which is the strongest part about this story. The sequels are worth looking into, but they’re not as good. There’s some strong points but overall the sequels are inconsistent in terms of plot and character development. The show, which is finishing up its first season, is definitely worth the watch! 

Orla is one of my faves and I’m happy with how they handled Ozzie as his character has become a bit stagnant over the years - mainly because he’s the company’s mascot and all. What I like most is how the book and the TV show didn’t shy away from his flaws. Instead of making him a perfect goody two shoes (even when he’s clearly in the wrong - something that always annoyed me) they addressed the consequences of his actions and fleshed out his personality more so he wouldn’t be one dimensional. He was one of those characters who I always felt had a lot of potential to be interesting so I’m glad for this novel and the show.

An absolute must read! (Also I’m happy to say that my copy was signed by the show’s producer Levi Romero when I visited the island earlier this year!)

Wilde Louie by Jimmy Mathieson I enjoyed Postcards a lot so I looked into more books by him. This one is his second most popular book so I bought a copy at a second hand store when I found it. The Fairweathers is full of talented people and Jimmy has a knack for writing! 

Back at Concert in the Stars, Jimmy told me he’ll send an advanced copy of his latest book a week before it comes out - which will be around the end of the year - so I’ll be doing a review on that for my winter book reads!

So the story was really interesting! I love Louie and Shep’s relationship - the found family trope has always been one of my favorites! They both may be shady con artists but underneath they’re also good and caring people. Shep tries to act tough and all but the truth is he’s a father figure who ends up unintentionally adopting a bunch of misfits. And Louie turns into the exasperated big brother who’s like 10000% done when everything goes wrong. The humor and fast paced dialogue are the book’s strongest points!

Blizzards by Chuck Wortherly A book full of poems relating to snow and blizzards. There isn’t really much to say as that’s as straightforward as it can get. They’re short, one page poems and it’s a very fast read. I love the imagery and the brevity, which is really effective.

My top favorite is Freshly Fallen Snow, which to me reads like a song. It’s quiet and a bit sad, the imagery makes you feel alone and small - but not in an entirely bad way. Sort of like a quiet melancholy that settles into you. Another favorite is Ashes and Ice, which provokes striking and powerful imagery. There’s also Snowball Fights, which is about nostalgia, and Howls, which tells the story about a wolf lost in a blizzard.

Serena and the Cracked Sapphire by Shion Yuki One of my favorite mangas! It’s basically a magical girl type story, which I enjoy. I started reading the series in middle school and it still holds up really well. There’s twenty books in the series, which takes place in a span of five years. There’s a TV adaptation in the works that is planned to be released next year so I’m looking forward to that! Based on what I’m hearing, I have high hopes for the show.

So there’s the main character Serena, who’s a reincarnation of a princess. Her weapon is a wand with a cracked sapphire and most of the time she’s pretty OP as hell. There’s her team, a band of friends known as the Jewel Shards who fight alongside her. And there’s Celestia, who’s a reincarnation of a princess from a disgraced family, and she and Serena are soulmates. Serena’s like any other typical magical girl protagonist - clumsy, badass, sweet, stubborn, and optimistic. It can be cheesy and silly and it can be dramatic and sad. 

The first book in the series was and always will remain a classic. If you liked the first one, then you’ll enjoy the rest of the series. My favorite main arc is Team Crystal Shards because that’s when Serena’s team really comes together to fight the big boss. It’s basically the turning point in the series where Jewel Shards finally win the trust of the Crystal Stones and work together to fight the Shattered Diamonds. My favorite side arc is Apartment Hunting, where Serena and Crystal learn how to adult and fail epically at it. 

Shockwave by Rose Madison Rose’s first sci-fi book and it was a wild ride! I’ve never really got into post apocalyptic stories so I was intrigued to see how this would play out. I tend to like slice of life stories so this was nice. In the story, the apocalypse already happened so now it’s based on the characters living normal everyday lives - well as normal as it can get.

What I love most about this book is the storytelling. It’s third person narration through three main characters and the chapters are structured a certain way. Jenna’s chapters are focused on the present. She’s an inquisitive character who’s naive and easily impressed by everything. And there’s Swan, whose chapters starts out in the middle of the event going - sort of like that freeze frame moment where the narrator is trying to explain something by going back to the beginning. She represents the past and present, the one who provides most of the backstory behind the Shadow Wars. Finally there’s Lina, who represents the future as she’s always getting ahead of herself. Her chapters are dialog heavy and fast paced. The three characters are what carries the story and it intertwines together so well!

Unlike most stories about the apocalypse, this one is quite optimistic and lighthearted. There’s a lot of funny moments in the book like poor Swan who’s unable to catch a break as she winds up falling into all her cousin’s traps. Or Jenna mistaking a giant spaceship for two pyramids because she overslept and forgot her glasses. And there’s a running gag of Lina’s inventions always going haywire and turning evil, including the notable Project Shockwave. This book could make a really interesting sitcom!

Bumblebees and Lavender by Margie Shen Another poetry book, and it’s become one of my favorites! I’ve heard about Margie Shen for a while on social media but I was a bit hesitant to check her out at first. The last few popular poets I checked out were underwhelming, to put it nicely. I liked some of them but overall they were overhyped and the books were mediocre at best.

As for this one, I was throughly impressed. What I liked about this book is that the poems had substance. They’re not super short and simple - instead they’re complex and descriptive. My favorites were the ones that told a short story like Nutmeg Tea and The Beekeeper. There’s profound and thoughtful poems like Flora with Lavenders in Her Hair and Bittersweet Chocolates. I love A Touch of Honey, which made this book easily one of my favorites. I’m definitely going to look for more books by Margie Shen and keep an eye out for her next one, due out next year!

Seventeen and Counting by Eldred Emerson This is a ridiculous book and I love it! Sure some parts area bit too silly but it’s a wild ride from start to finish. There’s a movie adaptation that’s pretty faithful to the story and just as funny. It’s about this guy, his growing collection of cats, and their everyday misadventures. 

What I like the most is the names he gives his cats as he likes to go for the unusual. My favorite character is a black cat named Whiskercheeks, who goes by Whisk. His twin brother Wyn, short for Llewelyn, is considered the evil one and has the worst luck. Moneybags, aka Mon, is the baby of the family and causes a lot of mischief for the twins. There’s also Cotton Puffball, who’s always done with everything because everyone she knows is a mess. And there’s Rake Chewer, who likes to chew rakes and is a big klutz.

Overall it’s a really funny and cute book about a bunch of cats and their dorky owner.

[buttonholedlife]

'No Fiat five hundred techno!': why digital popular music in Cork is actually coming off|Songs|The Guardian

"Messy in the best feasible way," claims Stopper producer Doubt of the epiphanic expertise he had in 2015 at a storage facility rave in Estate House, north Greater london. "It was actually definitely rested atmospheres. Surveillance-- although I failed to observe a lot of-- were actually sound, and there were massive sausages all evening. I will certainly never actually skilled just about anything like that in Ireland."

He remained in Greater london since of English producer NKC, among the inventors of the club noise referred to as tough drum, then only a Soundcloud tag. Uncertainty (genuine title Ollie McMorrow) and fellow citizens Tension (Dylan O'Mahony) and also Syn (Reneé Griffin) put together their personal tag, Flood, a year after their tough drum rendezvous in Greater london. After discovering, trying out as well as moseying with close friends in Cork, all it took was NKC's raucous parties to dissolve their cumulative obstacle.

Flooding and also an internet of various other producers in their 20s from the tiny Irish south-coast urban area-- Numbertheory, Lighght, Ellll and also Superfície-- are right now creating titles for on their own in European club popular music circles, with syncopated mutations of percussion-driven electronic songs. Although they're not all quickly organized together, the popular denominator is a primal drum-laden noise where rhythms tumble at breakneck velocity. The songs provides a lot of these youthful musicians a feeling of reason and also identity-- even when much of all of them are leaving Ireland for a new beginning, amid the sanitising of young people lifestyle as developers set waste to alternate venues, and a roaring casing dilemma, with taking off homelessness and the development of Dublin as one of the world's very most costly areas to reside in.

Cork has actually cracked new ground in Irish music prior to. In the 1980s, it was actually the unexpected property to a vibrant reggae culture, the cello-brandishing post-punk outfit 5 Go Down to the Sea, and Microdisney, the county's response to Fleetwood Macintosh. It was actually the bar Sir Henry's, founded in the overdue 70s, that opened up many in the county to club songs, specifically house. "Mam Henry's was ground zero," states Cork house songs pioneer Shane Johnson, that co-founded a night there called Sweat that drew in worldwide celebrities like Kerri Chandler, Cajmere and also Derrick Might. "Certainly not only for the club setting, however, for the nearby rock scene just before it."

Building on its own legacy, Jimmy Horgan, that runs local area file retail store Plugd along with Albert Twomey, has been a cornerstone of nonconforming music in Stopper, regularly holding the new kind of developers upstairs in the store's live space, a site got in touch with the Roundy. "The guy takes a genuine passion in every kind of popular music that's made as well as played in the urban area," producer James O'Connell, 25, that tape-records as Numbertheory, distinguishes me. "He's really for the lifestyle."

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Originally coming from Dublin, Horgan is self-effacing in his appraisal of the city's dynamic percussive songs setting: to him, it is actually the musicians'unrelenting creativity that has actually made it all achievable."Most likely the first pointer I obtained of the noise was when Superfície-- then going under the name Sexworker-- decreased in a few demonstrations of his monitors, maybe back in 2013 or even 2014,"Horgan bears in mind.

"Me and my associate were actually astounded."Parishes of these young musicians, typically in residences or even apartments, are where component of this Stopper drum act were born. McMorrow, whose dad and also grandfather were actually each drummers, points out:"Percussion has regularly been a huge component of my life."As well as at 14, O'Mahony came to enjoy performers such as Burial and also labels like Warp and also Hyperdub, and determined he might perform it, also, pirating manufacturing software program, messing all around with the features, and also investing the final two years at institution seeking to create one thing"from another location nice". While joining the exact same college training program, O'Mahony met Lion, that had been actually recording as Syn, and would certainly put up at her place after course. She introduced all of them all, consisting of O'Connell, to a collection of brand-new, eardrum-bursting audios coming from tags including Her Records, Fade to Mind, as well as Celestial Aircraft. Superfície, a Brazilian-Irish developer now located in Berlin, showed them kuduro, baile rut and batucada, while tensions of percussive songs promoted by labels such as Príncipe and also Naafi, widened their horizons additionally. Lighght, AKA Eamon Ivri, simply learnt about Flood--

"a real inspiration "-- via Soundcloud, randomly and belatedly, prior to he ever satisfied them, in spite of their distance as well as identical interests. Flood's very first launch, a fun nine-track collection, showed up in 2017, a year after they formed. They chose that they required a center for "effectively talking over ideas and blaring monitors as loud as possible"as well as discovered a little, private stockroom space in an industrial sphere ignoring Stopper's docklands. The duality in their music, in between the organic and also the mechanical, may in part be mapped back to this aspect. "There was actually a raw comparison in between the commercial, gray and also decaying storehouses and also the beautiful scenery out on to Cork harbour,"mentions Question. Ellll, Berlin-based techno alchemist Ellen King, says the internet as well as local hubs may certainly not have been the

only reasons that Cork surfaced as a breeding place for unusual club songs." Cork has been actually an incredibly house-focused area, and although I have actually never gotten in touch with that, percussive music coming out of the metropolitan area in the final couple of years experiences like a feedback to that attitude." Facebook Twitter Pinterest From the very first few seconds you mash participate in on a Flooding singular, or a hypnotic Ellll release, or even a stormlike go crazy loosie coming from Lighght, you listen to dispute and tumult. Percussion-wise, they take coming from audios from around the world. Pay attention to the drums and also you may think about Latin The United States or even Africa. Yet in some cases local designs sneak in: Numbertheory consisted of an example of sean nós, an Irish practice of haunting, melismatic singing; Syn's track Coy featured a sample of the bodhrán, an Irish drum produced along with goatskin; Lighght's outstanding 2019 cd, Gore-Tex in the Nightclub, Balenciaga Amongst the Hedges, utilizes the harp. Irishness is there certainly, even when it is actually merely sneaking. Stopper is actually known more popularly as"the rebel county", the end result of its own lengthy past of fierce protection and obstinate anxiety, primarily against English policy. A caricature of Cork individuals in Irish society-- perma-vexed and also precariously parochial, created well-known abroad by firebrand footballer Roy Keane as well as pop lifestyle phenomena like the TELEVISION series Youthful Criminals-- relatively includes some fact." It's a motto, however the entire rebel aesthetic that Cork has actually taken on definitely forms the urban area. You view landscapes of Che Guevara, recommendations to the Palestinian source,"states O'Connell, whose pummelling drums are actually typically gone along with through sludgy heavy-metal themes.

Many of these musicians don't understand Cork's medical self-mythologising, however. "I failed to delight in much of my young people, and also spent a bunch of my time as a teen in nearby drinking areas," claims Syn, 25, whose mama has worked as a nightclub DJ. "I remember begrudging Cork coming from a younger age due to the lack of tasks for young people in the area beyond acquiring fucked up."

& Facebook

Twitter Pinterest DIY rushing was the only means ahead in a tourism-oriented nation where, every pair of months, an accommodation seems to substitute a critical nightlife hub. The eventual members of Flood threw much of their own events since, as they see it, commercialised places prioritise step and double-vodka invoices over the sensory knowledge. Today, Syn helps run a queer night phoned CXNT in the Roundy, where throbbing, untrendy designs like hardgroove, gabber and donk masquerade the norm. As O'Connell puts it: "The significant nightclubs simply would like to hear EDM as well as monotonous, Heineken-sponsored, white-bread, Fiat five hundred techno."

In spite of their own inspiration, as well as the assistance of Plugd and various other venues, like Kino as well as the Town Hall, developers are actually compelled to look somewhere else for chances. The sounds being actually developed in Cork have actually been promoted through performers as well as DJs in the resources, at Dublin Digital Radio-- a shelter for Ireland's weirdest noises, where McMorrow still holds a monthly show contacted Hush-- in addition to stimulating collectives including Club Convenience.

Several proficient producers and creatives have, at the very least semi-permanently, gone overseas. Certified math wizzard O'Connell left behind just recently for Beijing, while Master and also Superfïcie have both relocated to Berlin. As it happens, McMorrow is actually occupied preparing himself for a transfer to Glasgow when we communicate, a typical quest for Irish creatives in current years. Rental fees are lower there, disorders for nightlife lifestyle are much less suffocating, and younger individuals are actually, in his perspective, alleviated better in Scotland than in his home nation.

"Unless you're anticipating forking out over half your fundamental revenue each month, you possibly won't have the ability to locate a location to reside in Stopper," he regrets. "I will enjoy nothing at all greater than to become able to remain in Cork, as well as perform what I love right here, but today it is actually simply not practical."

Financial barricades have actually not stopped the momentum of these musicians. "Whether it is actually a storehouse event with 30 inebriated individuals reviewed in to a dark, dingy area paying attention to industrial remixes of Princess or queen Super star, or enjoying the Roundy get become a partially nude sweatbox," O'Mahony claims of his long-lasting minds of the community-based micro-scene, "it's the important things that were actually created for, and also by, people like us that stand up out."

This content was originally published here.

[mittensmorgul]

5.14:

Same, Cas. Same.

Lizbob was laughing at me earlier because I’m in the middle of this seemingly long stretch of episodes that involve Major Fandom Disagreements. And this is one of them. Because of this ^^

Under a cut because JIMINY CHRISTMAS THIS ONE GOT LONG...

(read more excised due to tumblr being shifty)

I will preface this episode review post with this disclaimer: CASTIEL’S LOVE OF CHEESEBURGERS IN THIS EPISODE IS NOT “PROOF” THAT JIMMY’S SOUL WAS STILL IN CASTIEL’S VESSEL AFTER 4.22.

Because everything else about s5 DISPROVES that Jimmy’s soul was still in there. I mean, if you believe that Cas being blown up by Lucifer in 5.22 was what “killed” Jimmy and sent his soul to Heaven, then why wouldn’t Cas being killed IN THE EXACT SAME FASHION by Raphael in 4.22 have done the same? You can’t have it both ways. Either being torn apart on a molecular level by an archangel kills a vessel or it doesn’t. If it does, Jimmy died in 4.22. If it doesn’t, then HE SHOULD STILL BE IN THERE, BUT CAS SAID DEFINITIVELY THAT HE’S BEEN IN HEAVEN FOR YEARS.

Since 4.22.

But, you might say BUT THEN WHY WOULD CAS HAVE BLAMED HIS HUNGER FOR RED MEAT ON HIS VESSEL? NAME CHECKING JIMMY SPECIFICALLY?!

Uh, angels aren’t incapable of lying, or deflecting the truth. And EVERYTHING about Cas’s body language in that scene screams prevarication.

Castiel: It's my vessel -- Jimmy. His, uh, appetite for red meat has been touched by Famine's effect.

Dude’s shifty as FUCK okay? He doesn’t want to admit how “human” he was becoming, cut off from Heaven. He spent all of s5 in a slow slide from grace. He couldn’t heal Bobby in 5.02, he couldn’t hunt Raphael alone in 5.03, he couldn’t smite Meg in 5.10, in 5.13 booping Sam and Dean back in 1978 nearly kills him, in 5.16 he’s reduced to trying to communicate with Dean in heaven via radio and a tv, and after 5.18 he’s rendered utterly human AND BRAIN DEAD FOR A TIME. I mean, he’s forced to use a GUN in 5.21 and a holy oil molitov in 5.22 because he’s just got no juice left. None. BUT IF HE’S NOT AN ANGEL THEN WHAT THE HELL IS HE?! He is terrified, that’s what. And this is his version of Denial.

He can’t even look at Dean when he says it. He’s been staring at Dean wide eyed up to this point, but when Dean questions it, he looks down at the burger, hesitates, and then blames his vessel as he BODILY TURNS AWAY FROM DEAN because he is so far in denial...

Okay, for those who don’t believe that and will only take Word Of God (aka authorial intent) as proof? BEN EDLUND SAID THE SAME DAMN THING:

“I always reserve in Castiel’s overall makeup the fact that there is an aspect of him that is purely flesh and purely human, which can function as it did in an episode before as a real Achilles’ heel, when he started to eat meat, because he just loved red meat. He couldn’t stop himself.”

I.e., THAT WAS ALL CAS. In his very own human body, with his very own human desires and feelings and tastes and vulnerabilities.

Castiel: I've developed a taste for ground beef. Dean: Well, have you even tried to stop it? Castiel: I'm an angel. I can stop anytime I want.

BUT HE VERY CLEARLY COULD NOT STOP. So what does that mean about the rest of his argument there-- that because he was an ANGEL he could stop whenever he wanted.

(insert “he’s no angel” tag here)

Okay, now that we have that all squared away, on with the fun!

*pushes play*

*regrets pushing play while watching a couple literally eat each other to death*

It’s Valentine’s day, and Dean and Sam have no real leads on the case, but Sam expects Dean to go out to celebrate Unattached Drifter Christmas. But Dean’s “not feeling it.”

SAM That's when a dog doesn't eat-- That's when you know something's really wrong. DEAN Remarkably patronizing concern duly noted. Nothing's wrong. We gonna work or what?

Dean doesn’t acknowledge that anything is wrong, because he feels... fine. I mean, he’s not troubled about anything. He’s not feeling the need to Perform anything.

Like in 12.18 we’ve been talking about how Dean uses sex as a coping mechanism. How he’s used alcohol, fighting, hunting even, not to mention LITERAL medications to self-medicate. Those are his go-to self-soothing things.

So if Famine blows into town and magnifies everyone’s desires, makes them “rabid” for the things they want-- like the cupid’s couple who were so starved for physical affection they tried to consume one another, like the second couple in the office who wanted to be Everything And All to each other without anything ever coming between them and ended up in a suicide pact so nothing would ever come between them again--

(JIM I don't know, baby. Seems like whatever we do, something in life is always gonna keep us apart-- Work, family, sleep .JANICE Now prison, maybe...JIM Maybe. But I think I have an idea...How we can stay together...forever...)

Like Cas giving in to his VERY HUMAN HUNGER for cheeseburgers (I miss you PB&J), and Sam giving in to his lust for demon blood... DEAN WAS NOT UNAFFECTED BY FAMINE.

It’s what Dean was literally starving for-- to be whole, to not NEED any of his coping mechanisms, to be able to drop the performance and just BE himself. Of course Famine would see it this way:

FAMINE:  That's one deep, dark nothing you got there, Dean. Can't fill it, can you? Not with food or drink. Not even with sex. DEAN Oh, you're so full of crap. FAMINE Oh, you can smirk and joke and lie to your brother, lie to yourself, but not to me! I can see inside you, Dean. I can see how broken you are, how defeated. You can't win, and you know it. But you just keep fighting. Just... keep going through the motions. You're not hungry, Dean, because inside, you're already...dead.

The smirking and joking? That’s Performing Dean. The “empty” bit isn’t Dean being “dead inside,” but the part of Dean that can reject the performance, that doesn’t NEED to be “filled,” because it’s already at peace with itself.

I am sort of skipping around here a bit... back to the morgue. Dean is amused by the coroner dude. So am I. That doesn’t bode well for the dude. The life expectancy of side characters who Dean finds amusing (like the guy Dean likes because he says “okey dokey”) usually drops to around zero.

Ew, Dean.

But the heart is the key, Sam recognizes the Enochian letter on it, so Dean calls Cas.

I don’t know what’s come over me. I don’t usually infuse these things with a lot of pics and gifs, but I like this episode. (ง’̀-‘́)ง

I think part of it lies in this significant thing that has also been a theme during s12 (and even during s11):

The DIFFERENCE between Sam’s reaction and Dean’s reaction to Cas.

When Cas asserts that a cupid has gone rogue and they have to stop him before he kills again... I mean, someone please offer me a non-desitel-related explanation for this difference, because I can’t find one anywhere.

(I am not actually soliciting non-destiel readings of this scene. I truly do not care about non-destiel readings of this scene. I’m just being hyperbolic)

But aside from the fact that everyone is in agreement about the cupid’s “handshake” technique

what do we really learn from meeting this particular cupid?

DEAN Why does heaven care if Harry meets Sally? CUPID Oh, mostly they don't. You know, certain bloodlines, certain destinies. Oh, like yours. SAM What? CUPID Yeah, the union of John and Mary Winchester--Very big deal upstairs, top priority arrangement. Mm. DEAN Are you saying that you fixed-up our parents? CUPID Well, not me, but... Yeah. Well, it wasn't easy, either. Ooh, they couldn't stand each other at first. But when we were done with them--Perfect couple. DEAN Perfect? CUPID Yeah. DEAN They're dead! CUPID I'm sorry, but... the orders were very clear. You and Sam needed to be born. Your parents were just, uh...meant to be. (sings) A match made in heaven- heaven! (Dean punches Cupid)

So heaven wanted John and Mary to get together. After 5.13 and what Michael told Dean about his “destiny,” this just adds another horrifying layer to all of that. Because “Destiny” was being rigged by heaven. Angels literally were the “agents of fate,” pulling every cosmic string to get all the pieces to line up exactly to bring on the apocalypse.

HORRIFYING.

John and Mary couldn’t stand each other at first, until the event Dean described in 12.01 about how John and Mary started dating?

Dean: Dad told me. March 23, 1972 you walked out of a movie theater, Slaughterhouse-Five, you loved it. And you bumped into a big marine and knocked him on his ass. You were embarrassed and he laughed it off, said you could make it up to him with a cup of coffee. So you went to, uh, Maroni's, and you talked and he was cute, and he knew the words to every Zeppelin song, so when he asked you for your number you gave it to him even though you knew your dad would be pissed. That was the night that you met-

So they couldn’t stand each other BEFORE this intervention by the cupid, who probably shoved the two of them into each other right there...

Like the instant change of heart that came over the two dudes in the bar in 8.23 after the cupid touched them. EVEN DEAN NOTICED THE CHANGE IN THEM.

Okay, back to the show, slightly out of order again, because I keep pausing it to go on mental tangents... I’m not constrained by the time limits of the TNT loop. Hooray for Blu-Rays. :P

*Dean absolutely COVERS his burger in ketchup, just like he does in 12.18, but here in 5.14 he doesn’t have an appetite for it. He’s not trying to “fill the void” inside himself. Instead, Cas takes his burger... like Dean eventually does to Cas’s burger in 10.09... but Cas doesn’t even get a bite before he spots the cupid and chases him down*

*the cupid hugs the crap out of Dean, then Cas, then Sam, then Cas makes him cry, then Dean punches him, and Cas tells Dean he hurt the cupid’s feelings... :P*

*have I mentioned how much I love this episode?*

SAM You just punched a Cupid! DEAN I punched a dick! SAM Um...Are we gonna talk about what's been up with you lately or not? DEAN Or not.

(something finally required Dean “self-medicating”, finally shattered the relative Calm he’d achieved so far this episode, and he lashed out)

*blah blah blah Famine blah blah I already covered the rest of this in the first section of this post...*

Sam doesn’t hunger for the blood itself, but for the power it gives him.

Just like Dean doesn’t hunger for food or sex or alcohol or violence. They’re just tools to help him manage. They are a performance.

I mentioned this in another review recently... maybe even the one for 12.10, but this is the EXACT scene Sam lampshaded for us outside the diner. In 5.14:

DEAN Demons. You want to go over the plan again? Hey, happy meal. The plan? CASTIEL I take the knife, I go in, I cut off the ring hand of Famine, and I meet you back here in the parking lot. DEAN Well, that sounds foolproof. (Castiel disappears) This is taking too long. (Dean gets out of the car)

Dean gave Cas like TEN WHOLE SECONDS before he decided it was taking too long. And he was right to be worried. Cas was completely overcome by Famine.

And in 12.10, after Cas goes into the diner alone, Dean is pacing grumpily for maybe a minute or two before Sam mutters under his breath:

SAM: And you're gonna storm in right... now. 

Sam knows.

But Famine here gives Sam and Dean VERY SIMILAR ASSESSMENTS of themselves, yet puts Sam’s situation in a “positive” light and Dean’s in a “negative” light... because he is bound to Lucifer. He’s “fattening Sam up” for Lucifer. He doesn’t care one jot about Dean. What for Dean was a vast void of emptiness that he’d never be able to fill (dead inside!) for Sam is a blessing for the exact same reason. Context matters...

FAMINE Stop! No one lays a finger on this sweet little boy. Sam, I see you got the snack I sent you. SAM You sent? FAMINE Don't worry. You're not like everyone else. You'll never die from drinking too much. You're the exception that proves the rule. Just the way...Satan wanted you to be. So... (Famine lifts his hands and gestures at the demons guarding him)...cut their throats. Have at them!

Sam gets ONE GLORIOUS VICTORY here, but it came at the price of him giving in to his hunger for power:

FAMINE I'm a Horseman, Sam. Your power doesn't work on me. SAM You're right. But it will work on them. (Sam uses his power to rip out all the souls Famine consumed)

So he has to be locked in detox again. At the very end, we finally see a crack in Dean--

CASTIEL That's not him in there. Not really. DEAN I know. CASTIEL Dean, Sam just has to get it out of his system. Then he'll be-- DEAN Listen, I just, uh...I just need to get some air. [Dean goes outside and looks up at the sky] DEAN Please...I can't...I need some help. Please?

Praying to God for help, Dean? When you had an angel by your side a moment ago who was more than willing to help? Right, Famine’s influence is gone. Your Calm Center is gone too. You can’t let yourself feel okay with Cas anymore. Not to mention a part of his “peacefulness” throughout the episode was due to Sam being “okay.” And he’s so not okay right now...

What is Dean’s hunger? Not to be hungry for anything. To have Cas by his side (though maybe not on a burger binge), to have Sam happy and healthy and whole-- and wholly human. To know they’re all working together. To trust them both completely and have them trust him in return.

ETA: Because Heck while rereading this I forgot: It’s been said plenty of times before, but this is also a huge part of why Sam controls everything he eats. BECAUSE HE NEEDS THAT CONTROL. It’s self-medicating the same way Dean’s self-medicating with what HE can control for himself.

I think a lot of both Sam’s performance of “normality” and Dean’s Performing Dean persona are coping mechanisms, and are rooted in the very same need to have any sort of control over their lives.

[votives]

2016 in Review

Last year I wrote a month-by-month summary of 2015 for my own benefit. I found it last week and it was really fun to see what happened in my own personal life. This is that, but for 2016. A lot happened in the world, but this really is just about my own personal life for me. If for whatever reason you care, feel free to read on. Cheers to 2017!

January: I rung in the new year with my friend Edel and two of her long-time friends, which was casual and fun and a great way to kick-off a year that I wanted to base on self-improvement and self-love. Nearly as soon as I got back to school, I got a job at my favorite coffee shop (which I’ve been working at for almost a year!) Not even a week later I was on my way home from d-hall dinner with my gal pal WXJM friends I made in fall ‘15 when my former roommate called me and told me that there was a package waiting for me when I came home. When I got home and opened my bedroom door, I was sprayed with confetti and a group of strangers (who just spent time in my horribly decorated room complete with a Rupert Grint cardboard cutout) sang the JMU fight song to me — I got into Student Ambassadors! Winter Storm Jonas barricaded me in my apartment allowing me to catch up on all my favorite movies, but also made me shovel several feet of snow out from around my car so I could drive to my first day at work. 

February: I started having friend-dates to find a mentor in SA and knew within 10 minutes of my coffee date with my friend Taylor that I needed her as my mentor. Emma came to visit one weekend, which was significantly less messy than the time she visited the semester before. A little later, at the mentor/mentee reveal, Taylor and I found out we got each other and pretty much became friend soulmates. (Things have continued as such). We started going to weekly yoga together. I had my first tour and became polo official. This month was heavy in that organization. It was also during this month that I absolutely crushed hard on this guy in one of my writing classes. We had the same political views, he was incredibly well spoken and funny, and he was literally a surfer from Hawaii. We went to a house show together, got lunch once or twice and hung out at the library on several occasions, but at the end of the day it didn’t go anywhere. 

March: Meredith, my parents & I went on a cruise for spring break. The first cruise Mer or I had ever been on. Was less then great, as one of our stops got cancelled (we were supposed to go to the Ernest Hemingway house) but it was still absolutely amazing to spend a week exploring with my best friend. Highlight: cave-diving in Mexico with Mer & my parents. I had my one year mark with The Breeze. I think everyone was a little shell-shocked when I didn’t apply for editor the month before, but I had just gotten the job and the organization and didn’t want to be overwhelmed. I was getting over Hawaiian boy when my friend suggested I go for this really outgoing boy I met a house show. He was a ball of energy and made me look quiet. With her help, he and a few of his friends became a part of our growing friend group and I tried to spend more time with him. Macrock happened which was 1. amazing 2. horrifying. I missed more of it than I would have liked to, but it was because I was having so much fun with my friends. I volunteered to help at the door of a random show, and ended up working the heavy metal show, also.

April: Either mid-March or early April I got really close to a handful of seniors in SA, which was the most devastating thing I could’ve done. I spent a lot of this month at the library or d-hall with them, and I spent a lot of weekends at their houses. It was around this time that I also developed a crush on a senior in WXJM who was planning to stay another year, which was good timing because I realized that my friend had slept with the boy she was helping to set me up with. I was named top writer in my section for The Breeze, and spent a growing time with my SA friends as I got disenchanted with WXJM for a little. We found out that our fourth-roommate, who we thought was living with us this current year, never signed the lease. I don’t think I ever actually said goodbye to her in person. 

May: I went to the beach for a week with a bunch of friends which was partly horrible and partly amazing. There was a ton of unavoidable drama, but I also learned that sharing a pullout couch with two other people makes you really close. I adopted a Jimmy Buffet mentality for the week and spent the entire week trying to be as happy and carefree as possible, and it worked. My parents, during this time, were moving from our 2015 residence to a house we’re currently renting closer to my dads work. When I got back, I interviewed for and got an internship for the summer. I’m a sneaky ass, so when I hung out with a bunch of friends the day before my birthday I decided to not mention my birthday to any of them. One of my closest friends, Lizzet, knew though and had secretly brought a gift. I got a bunch of angry texts at like 1 in the morning from friends mad that I didn’t remind them. The morning of my 20th birthday my mom informed me that the night before, my little cousin had been diagnosed with Leukemia. I cannot explain how devastated I was and still am about that. Later in the day, Meredith & Josh drove up to visit and spend several days with me. We went to DC, Great Falls, and watched a ton of Gossip Girl & Parks and Rec. 

June: I started my internship. I got surprisingly into Gossip Girl. Edel and I started to get lunches fairly often to discuss the weirdness of being a 20 year old but also having a business-casual job. My godson, Ben was born!  We sold and moved out of our lakehouse of eight years, which was weird to say the least. I went to visit Emma,  Autumn & Emily in Richmond. A lot of it didn’t go according to plan, but some highlights: I spent a TON of time with Daniel, Junaid, Ian & Dan (the senior friends and their roommates from April) and Autumn & I met fuckin Josh Radnor (aka Ted Mosby) when we were out to brunch. Had a mUCH needed catching-up session with Lizzet when I got back. 

July: We moved into our new lakehouse! The goal is to move out of the rental next year and my parents will move full-time to the lake. I went to my school apartment for a weekend to move-out and got to spend much needed time with Taylor and a friend Maddie who left my organization. Moving out of my apartment was weird, because I hated it but it had a lot of memories. Edel and I started a food instagram. Autumn came to visit me at the lake, which included trips to get icecream, kayaking ventures, tubing and trying to watch the stars. I went to NC for a weekend to see my much-missed high school friends. It was overwhelming and amazing and I could’ve spent another week easily. 

August: Met up with a friend from high school who happened to be interning in DC and went to my first ever Nats game. Meredith and Josh came to the lake for a weekend, the third time I got to see her this year which is honestly a miracle. Autumn and I moved in to our apartment on the same day, after only being assigned it like three days before after a summer of roommate assignments that fell through. We spent a lot of the night cleaning, then the rest of it unpacking and trying to get ready for orientation (We were FROGS: First Year Orientation Guides). My FROG group was amazing: my partner was a perfect contrast to me, and we ended up having a ton of mutual friends. My entire group of FROGs got really close together, and I particularly bonded with a friend named Taryn who is honestly just me. We’re pretty much twins. We also were both trying to start being some form of vegetarian at the same time, which is how we initially bonded. My first years kind of hated me at times and I didn’t have the same experience as most of my FROG friends, but I’m still really grateful for it. 

September: First few weeks of school were super fun because none of my responsibilities had really kicked in yet, so I could do whatever. I went to my first JMU tailgate which was incredibly fun, and I got to go to several games in the beginning of the season when I missed all of last season. Bikash and I started our third season at WXJM, Bear Necessities. I had dinner at the university presidents house. Emma and I became friends again, after a little bit of a hiatus. 

October: Realized that I have a crush on a good friend, which always sucks. Didn’t do anything about it. Taylor and I saw Chance the Rapper live, which was super weird and super amazing and the most fun. Taylor took me to the lavender farm because she just gets me. We went with the boy who ghosted me, which was weird, but it’s ok. Autumn turned 21! We had a bunch of people over to our apartment. It was so fun. I got a little in WXJM and she’s perfect. She’s my year, she’s cooler than me, and she’s incredibly vocal about the phenomenal things that she is passionate about. I went to Minnesota one weekend for my cousins wedding and got to see my moms side of the family, which I always miss. I impulse bought a razor scooter, which I once rode to work to make fun of my coworkers. Meredith and Josh came to visit JMU for Hallow-homecoming! A bunch of my alumni friends were also visiting that weekend. I didn’t get to see a lot of alumni, but I had a ton of fun with Mer and Josh: highlights include briefly going to a tailgate, going to Rocky Horror and going to Benny’s. 

November: Lizzet turns 21! I went to see Beach House in Charlottesvile, which was an amazing show and an interesting night. I got enough confidence to ask my lingering crush from last semester out to get pizza, but I’m pretty positive it was just as friends because that was the last time we talked even though it couldn’t have possibly gone better. The election happened, which was depressing. I participated in a live discussion on feminism for The Breeze, which was great. There was an armed man barricaded in my apartment building one morning and my roommates and I were told by a police officer (one of many surrounding my building) to evacuate and run to the clubhouse, where I stayed for several hours (not forced) to get updates. It ended peacefully. Mer turned 21 and I missed it, which sucked. For Thanksgiving we went to NC for like 4 hours, which was nice but brief. 

December: Taylor’s birthday! I got her a stuffed goat from You’ve Goat Mail for Christmas and I’m still absurdly proud about it. Lizzet took me to the Smallpools Concert for free, but we accidentally missed the meet & greets. I went to a Christmas Cocktail where I only knew a few people and walked away with a bunch of new friends: namely, a house-dog. I either got food poisoning or the stomach bug, who’s to tell. Operation Santa Claus happened and was super fun. After months of stress, I was accepted into a study abroad program in Italy, which my friend Emily is going on too. I had a really stressful academic end of the semester, but left for break feeling really good about the next semester. I have every intention to apply to be a section editor for The Breeze. I still have a crush on my friend that I realized in September and still haven’t acted on it. I’m torn between going for it or letting it go. Time will tell. A bunch of my family got sick over Christmas, and somehow I didn’t. So I’m either a huge successful germaphobe or I already had the bug. We binge watched The OA, and wow. My brother gave me a ton of records and my mom made some new pillows for me, so I decided to transform my room since we’re staying in our apartment. 

for 2017:

Looking forward to applying for editor

Looking forward to hitting one year @ black sheep

Looking forward to getting my own mentee in SA

Looking forward to studying abroad

Looking forward to turning 21 

Hoping my cousin becomes cancer free

Hoping we get to go on last year’s planned NYC trip, which we delayed

Hoping I either make a move or give up on that boy 

Hoping I get back into yoga & stay relatively healthy  

[americanahighways]

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photos by Jimmy Faber

Watching The National Reserve and Sarah Shook & the Disarmers play back-to-back at the Ardmore Music Hall last Saturday night, I realized that I was witnessing two nascent Americana bands literally headed in opposite directions.

Shook & Co. were on their last stop of a four-shows-in-four-nights East coast mini-tour, having been on tour — not only across the U.S., but in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Canada, the Netherlands, the U.K. and Spain to boot — almost non-stop since early March of 2018. The National Reserve, on the other hand, were just about to embark on the European leg of their ongoing tour, with shows starting next week in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Germany in support of their debut album Hotel La Grange.

Having caught Shook & the Disarmers, along with Zephaniah O’hora and Grady Hoss & The Sidewinders, at the tiny Dawson Street Pub in Philly in April of 2018, I was curious to see how the notoriously hard grind of life on the road might have affected them. The most obvious result was that the band was tight as hell, rolling through the best songs from their two albums (2017’s “Sidelong” and their 2018 follow-up “Years”) with precision, finesse and intensity. Shook’s voice was in fine fiddle and got stronger as the night went on, while guitarist Eric Peterson and pedal steel player Phil Sullivan took turns laying down tasty, Bakersfield-inspired licks. Bassist Aaron Oliva made playing barroom-brawl country on an upright bass look easy, while drummer Kevin McClain held the band’s groove steady throughout, shining particularly (though unobtrusively) on their trainbeat-driven numbers.

The band had clearly developed a solid sense of showmanship since I last saw them, when they came across as more of a fun-loving bar band that didn’t take itself all that seriously. Last March, Shook’s banter was carefree and edgy in that tough-chick, “I- don’t-give-a-shit” way of hers, the band happily chatted with the audience and the other bands’ personnel both on-stage and on the tiny patio by Dawson Street’s side door, they drank a just a wee bit (a-hem!), and they seemed genuinely to be having one hell of a good time.

This time around they seemed more self-aware, image-wise. Perhaps it was just that they are now playing bigger venues (the Ardmore Music Hall is easily eight times the size of the tiny Dawson St. Pub) as well as to more popular acclaim, with its attendant critical microscopes. Peterson, for example, came dressed up for the occasion, resplendent in a black silk top-hat decorated with a bright red band; with his lean, black-clad frame, dark-framed glasses and distinctly parted fu manchu- like grey beard, he looked the part of a poster-ready rock star.

The other band members were less nattily attired though. Except for Shook, who wore her usual combo of leather jacket (quickly removed), tattoos and fitted tee, they came casually dressed in grey t-shirts and jeans. Still, combined with the stage’s greater remove (compared to the stageless Dawson St. at least), the relative lack of between- song banter, the professional staging and light management, the overall impression I had was of a band that was less casual, but by the same token more professional and intent on taking their craft seriously.

The humorous moments I caught during the band’s time on stage at the AMH came when the singer ceremoniously tipped her plastic cup of whiskey with an over-hearty “Cheers!” to the crowd, and then later when I caught a glimpse of the band’s set list, with its cute, inside-jokey replacement of several abbreviated song names with titles like “Farting” (for “Parting Words”), “Home Fries” (for “Keep the Home Fires Burning”) and “Whut” (for “What It Takes”).

The crowd ate it up, singing along knowingly with several numbers. Those included “Fuck Up,” onto which the audience added an incongruously merry gloss to Shock’s weary, simmering anger, and “New Ways to Fail,” during which the crowd gave special emphasis to the line “I need this shit like I need ANOTHER HOLE IN MY HEAD.” By the time they got to “Damned If I Do, Damned If I Don’t” — during which Sullivan’s pedal steel quickly rose to the feisty occasion — a bunch of white- haired older gentleman in flannel shirts, jeans and trucker caps were crowding the front of the stage and shouting along with every word.

The only rumble of dissatisfaction I sensed from the crowd came when the band limited its encore performance to a single song. (In response to Shook’s ”We’ve got one more for you,” the crowd responded pleadingly: “How about two more?!?”) But what a performance that encore was! — with Shook spitting out the “Nah-AIILL in this here coffin” like an angry Appalachian cast-off, Peterson cueing up yet another habañero-hot Telecaster solo, and Sullivan following that with a series of well-lubricated pedal steel lines that prompted a chorus of “Yee-haw!!!’s” from the balcony.

Two earlier moments in the show shared the energy and joy of that encore. The first came when Shook delivered the recently-released ballad “The Way She Looked at You,” digging in passionately on the mournful chorus while Sullivan’s pedal steel wept openly behind her. The other big bump in energy, which sent a perceptible electric zing through the crowd this time, came when Peterson and Sullivan traded fours about 2:30 into “What It Takes,” while drummer Kevin McClain alternated deftly between delicate rim taps and rock-solid pounding. The ensemble playing was as tight as on the recording, but hearing and seeing it performed live was absolutely thrilling. It was clear at these moments that the band was not only clicking on all fours, but actively enjoying itself.

In short, Shook and her Disarmers delivered on all counts and clearly matched or exceeded the audience’s expectations. Still, to my mind at least, they did so in the professional and slightly cool manner of, say, a really good mechanic — rather than, in contrast with last year’s pre-European tour show at Dawson St., a band that was excited to be raisin’ hell out on the road, meeting new folks every night, and basking in the glory of a great new record.

On the other hand, the latter was exactly the vibe The National Reserve gave off during their thrilling 75+ minute, 11-song set. While I’m not sure the Reserve is quite “there yet” (to use a hack-critical phrase) in terms of the level of their songwriting — which is not as memorable and distinctive as Shook’s, for example — and their approach’s originality, they brought an impressive energy and verve, along with a white-hot level of musicianship, to their set at the AMH.

Like Shook and her Disarmers on their last two passes through Philly in 2018 (the second was at Johnny Brenda’s in mid-September), the Reservists seemed intent on kicking butt and taking no prisoners at AMH. Led by songwriter, vocalist and multi- instrumentalist Sean Walsh along with the towering Jon Ladeau on vocals and guitar, The Reserve came out rocking right off the bat with a Ladeau-led power-poppish number that incorporated three-part harmonies and (naturally) a jangly Rickenbacher guitar. Ladeau is a BIG guy and a strong vocalist with a rough-edged, soulful voice, and with his long dark hair and beard, American flag-adorned jeans jacket and hiking boots, he projected a powerful yet laid-back presence.

Walsh, who grew up about a half-hour from Ardmore, took over the lead vocals on the second number, and the two continued to toss the lead vocal baton back and forth for the duration of the set, with bassist Scott Povrick and drummer Brian Geltner intermittently contributing tasty harmonies. Walsh adorned this bouncy, melodic number with a scorching Les Paul solo featuring a nifty descending slide lick, which was followed by a second solo by Ladeau that actually drew screams from the crowd.

This back-and-forth dynamic, with their talents intertwining at times, continued throughout, much to the crowd’s delight. The Reservists followed those first two numbers with a wide variety of tunes, including a swampy blues rocker highlighted by a Freddie King-like solo by Ladeau; a folksy-twangy Americana singalong number called “Abe Lincoln”; a southern rocker featuring “Sweet Home, Alabama”-ish chord changes, a dual guitar attack AND dueling vocals; and a cover of Derroll Adams’ “Roll On, Babe” that incorporated a vaguely Caribbean shuffle beat, a glissando solo over chimey rhythm guitar effects, and a superb Les Paul slide solo by Walsh.

The second half of their set included the title song from their album Hotel La Grange, a slow ballad about meeting the “queen of Bowling Green” at that hotel; a mid-tempo country rocker with Allman Brothers overtones; a slide-centered blues rocker that evolved into an extended jam that showed off all of the band’s skills, drawing wild applause from the crowd and the exclamation “MAN, this is fun!” from Ladeau; and a tasty roots-gospel-country rock singalong with the refrain “Let me ride in your big Cadillac, Lord Jesus / Let me ride in your big Cadillac.” The audience happily crooned along on the latter.

They closed with a jammy southern rocker that featured more tasty harmonies and snazzy tempo changes. Watson and Ladeau cut loose on the breakdowns and solos during this one, without the song’s ever getting raggedy or wooly. Tight in concept and delivery, it was a fitting finale to the band’s impressive set.

I would be remiss if I failed to mention local duo Hannah Taylor and Rekardo Lee (aka, Jesse Lundy), who opened the evening with a fun eight-song set of blues-based numbers. With her big up-draft of bright red hair and blonde cowboy boots, Taylor belted out these tunes — which encompassed everything from mellow mid-tempo numbers, to a rockin’ Ricky’ Nelson number (“I Believe”), to some obscure, low-down 1920s blues ditties and even a slow, sweet version of “Blue Bayou” — with a twangy yet robust voice reminiscent of early Bonnie Raitt. Alternating between a metal resonator guitar that was “double-signed” (the first signature had rubbed off) by Edgar Winter and a jumbo acoustic, Lee complemented Taylor’s voice perfectly with his good-’n’-growly slide accompaniment and Chuck Berry-inflected blues licks. Their good-natured, diverse set proved the perfect aperitif for the night’s main courses.

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Merch, videos, and tour dates for Sarah Shook & the Disarmers can be found at: https://www.disarmers.com

Tour dates, band info, recordings and merch for The National Reserve are available at: https://thenationalreserve.com/home

Info and links for Hannah Taylor and the Rekardo Lee Trio can be found at: https:// http://www.facebook.com/htrl3/

  Show Review: Life on the Road: Sarah Shook & the Disarmers and The National Reserve Rev Up Their Engines at the Ardmore Music Hall @sarahshook @nationalreserve @ardmoremusicpa photos by Jimmy Faber Watching The National Reserve and Sarah Shook & the Disarmers play back-to-back at the Ardmore Music Hall last Saturday night, I realized that I was witnessing two nascent Americana bands literally headed in opposite directions.