#dollar mick smith

[arthursfuckinghat]

I absolutely love the train robbery mission with Arthur, John, Charles and Sean.

Sean being cocky and challenging Arthur to give his best shot at a bottle and losing dramatically, then insisting on coming on the raid and somehow managing to wriggle his way into going, Sean roasting Arthur and calling him old, Arthur then throwing a rock at him while he was sleeping, John asking Arthur if he's sure about bringing Sean along and getting the most deadpan, blank and exhausted "no" as a response, the three of them all simultaneously begging Sean NOT to talk about what his "Da once said", Charles getting frustrated and wondering why Sean has to talk so much all the time, then finally Sean proceeding to call them all old again - shit cracks me up every time.

[newagesispage]

                                                                           SEPTEMBER    2023 

THE RIB PAGE 

Riley Keough had a daughter last year that was named Tupelo Storm Smith-Peterson.  

***** 

To celebrate 40 Licks, the Stones gave out ice cream. ** The new album, Hackney Diamonds is finally hitting us in October!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hackney: Lacks originality, old, boring, broken glass. Diamond signifies 60 years. Oh, I can’t fucking wait!!!** Dartford, Kent has revealed, ‘The Glimmer Twins’. The bronze sculptures of Mick and Keith were done by Amy Goodman. 

***** 

Jon Stewart, John Mulaney and Pete Davidson are doing a sort of mini stand- up tour. 

***** 

There is another Kavin out there!!? 

***** 

Everything you love will probably be lost, but in the end, love will return in another way. -Kafka 

***** 

The latest sexual harassment news: Bill Cosby was charged with a new lawsuit y singer Morganne Picard. 

***** 

The Kate McKinnon Barbie can be bought. ** Greta Gerwig is the first woman to be sole director of a billion -dollar film. ** Bill Maher, continuing his role as the grumpy old neighborhood guy, got his boxers in a twist about the Barbie movie.  Hey, Bill: It’s only a movie! 

***** 

Ohio voters rejected a ballot measure that would have raised the threshold for amending the state constitution. 

***** 

Twitter was held in contempt of court when Musk wouldn’t release Trump’s twitter account to the DOJ. He was fined $350 thousand and forced to release it. 

***** 

David Weiss will investigate Hunter Biden. 

***** 

The new film, Liquor Store Dreams looks great!! 

 ***** 

Days alert: More than 25 Days cast members signed a petition to remove co- executive producer Albert Alarr. He has been reportedly harassing the set for some time. After an investigation because of offensive remarks, bullying, intimidation and inappropriate groping, he is OUT!! Janet Drucker is taking over.  Now, perhaps former cast members will be happy to come back for cameos. ** Word is that Dick Van Dyke will come to Salem on the first day of September!!** Tate and Theresa back for the funeral? Oh, C’mon .. Let's get these this fam back together!! 

***** 

Carlos Santana praised Dave Chappelle and then went on his own anti-trans rant. A woman is a woman and a man is a man. - Santana** Vampyre cosmetics has ended their deal with Alice Cooper. Cooper was asked about a statement he said in the 70’s that, “everyone in the future will be bisexual.” In part of his answer, he talked about the trans community saying kids should “at least become sexually aware” before considering their gender. He also called cases of transgender, “a fad.” The Alice Cooper makeup collection was only introduced 10 days before it was discontinued. 

***** 

Freddie Mercury’s belongings will be auctioned. 

***** 

AOH1996 is a new pill that looks very promising for cancer. 

***** 

Can’t wait to see Jules starring Jane Curtin and Ben Kingsley!! 

***** 

Bad news for Alexei Navalny: 19 more years.** It seems that Prigozhin and others from the Wagner group were killed in a plane crash. 

***** 

50 Cent was fed up with bad microphones at a show and threw one into the crowd. The mike gave Power 106 host, Bryhana Monegain a nasty looking head injury. 

***** 

2 bodies were found in the Rio Grande. One victim was found in the orange buoys that Texas is using as immigrant deterrents. 

***** 

It seems like more men than not are bald these days. 

***** 

There are yet more indictments for Trump. Why haven’t we seen one for inciting an insurrection? There are 18 co -conspirators in the Georgia indictment. Trump supporters are giving out names and addresses of jurors. If the cultists think that a president can do anything he wants, why were they so upset about the Lewinsky scandal? ** It seems to make no difference if the judges tell him to keep quiet, he just keeps talking. ** A memo found by the NY Times shows the planning of the fake elector plot. ** The FBI killed a man in Utah who threatened Biden and Alvin Bragg on Truth Social. A woman in Texas has threatened a judge. How many people will Scary Clown 45 take down as a direct result of listening to him? It is like they are on autopilot. Just waiting for the next way they can agitate this country. ** Both sides are getting mileage out of tis recent mug shot. It will probably be one of the best known pics in history. Green Day is selling shirts with the mug shot that read, ‘ultimate nimrod’. The $ will go to victims of the Maui wildfires.** One of Scary Clown’s cohorts at Mar A Lago has changed lawyers and testimony. 

***** 

Is Trump ineligible to run for President? There is a provision in the constitution that is part of the 14th amendment. Could this let the states decide if he can be on the ballot?? 

***** 

The first Republican debate was held on Aug. 24. 6 of the 8 present vowed to support Trump no matter what, if he is the nominee. Asa Hutchinson and Chris Christie did not raise their hands. Vivek Ramaswamy seemed very paranoid. He belittled the others for their prepared answers. Christie called him the Chat GPT candidate which was pretty funny. They talked abortion. Tim Scott and Mike Pence want this solved on a Federal level. Nikki Haley says they won’t have the votes. She is right. She seems to be the only one that claims climate change is real. Haley and Ramaswamy have already promised to pardon Trump. I won’t be surprised when they all come to blows. The crowd seemed poised not to listen to anything they had to think about. Trump supporters don’t seem to care how outrageous he is (whether he is there or not) and he does not care how outrageous they are. Reporters say they are finding that while interviewing many republicans, they no longer apologize for their racism. **Nikki Haley and Mike Pence seemed to get a bit of a bump from the debate. 

***** 

It seems some abortion- ban states are putting big $ into pregnancy centers that give minimal medical care. 

***** 

Streaming has started to be bundled just like cable. Isn’t this what we were trying to get away from?? 

***** 

Will the UAW strike? 

***** 

Tyler Massengill was sentenced to 10 years in prison and ordered to pay Planned Parenthood $45 mil. 

***** 

What the Hell is happening over at Washington Week?? The best political show on television has been revamped. Now they are pairing with The Atlantic and have added Jeffrey Goldberg as sometime host. I was routing for Laura Barron-Lopez as permanent host. 

***** 

Hey Mitch McConnell, there is no shame in being old and retiring. Why do these Senators think that they should be able to handle the Nations business when they appear to be senile? A lot of us get old and don’t get to continue in jobs we can no longer do. Enough is enough!! Give others a chance to lead!! 

***** 

White boys don’t eat pussy.- Elvis Presley 

***** 

Boo! To Jersey Mike’s for taking out the Miss Vick’s chips. Trying to keep it bland?? 

***** 

A street was renamed in NY to Black Benji way. 

***** 

State Farm and Aaron Rodgers have officially ended their relationship. 

***** 

Results of how the Dobbs decision has affected the job market are coming to light. Much had to shift in the medical community because of the Supreme Court. 

***** 

Extreme heat kills more people than all the other climate disasters. 

***** 

We are keeping an eye on international waters. Russia and China approached Alaska so we have sent naval patrol. 

***** 

Republican Senators have been bragging how wonderful all this infrastructure is. Most voted against it. Good for the current administration to remind us all of that. Bipartisan infrastructure is important to remember at election time. ** Word is that DeSantis gave $95 thousand to a Christian Conservative. 

***** 

Noah Gragson was suspended from Nascar for ‘liking’ a sick meme about George Floyd. Social media is often showing us what people are really like. ** There was a brawl at a white sox game. People are angry! 

**** 

John Cusack is touring with his movies. Please actors: More of this!! 

***** 

In the first pre -season game, the Browns won over the Jets, 21-16. 

***** 

R.I.P. Mark Margolis, Sharon Farrell, Bill Cunningham, William Friedkin, Jerry Moss, Bryan Randall, Hawaiian wildfire victims, Linda Haynes, Robert Swan, Rodriguez, Ashlea Albertson, Bob Barker, Arleen Sorkin and Robbie Robertson. 

[savage-kult-of-gorthaur]

"MORE TEXTURES AND BOMBAST THAN ACTUAL HARD ROCK, "BDB" IN RETROSPECT IS A STRANGE COLLECTION OF HIGHLY POLISHED PERFORMANCES."

PIC(S) INFO: Relaeased 50 years ago earlier this year -- Spotlight on the "Billion Dollar Babies" LP, the sixth studio album by American rock band ALICE COOPER, and released in March 1973 under the Warner Bros. label. The album became the best selling ALICE COOPER record at the time of its release, hit number one on the album charts in both the US and the UK, and went on to be certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. 

RECORD OVERVIEW: "If first impressions are key, then the look alone of the "Billion Dollar Babies" LP made it an instant classic. A prime artifact from the days when the music business spent lavishly on complicated and expensive album art, the package was designed like a wallet. Outside was a large gold coin with a baby's head encircled by embossed diamonds against a bright-green snakeskin-patterned background. Inside were pop-out trading cards and an oversized billion-dollar bill picturing the band. The inner sleeve has lyrics on one side and the band, dressed in white, looking hilariously perplexed by their surroundings, petting white rabbits among stacks of paper money while Cooper holds an infant whose eyes are ringed by the same black makeup design he wore onstage.

After the long, wearying struggle to succeed followed by endless touring and boundless adulation, Alice Cooper the band was both peaking and coming apart in 1973. Having recently released "Killer" (1971) with its singles "Be My Lover" and "Under My Wheels," and a follow-up, "School's Out" (1972), whose LP came packaged in a pair of women's panties, conditions were ripe for these early progenitors of shock, schlock, and glam rock to fashion one lasting achievement yet to be.

Guitarists Glen Buxton and Michael Bruce (who also plays keyboards), drummer Neal Smith, bassist Dennis Dunaway, and Vince Furnier (a.k.a. Alice Cooper) recorded BDB from August 1972 through January 1973 at the Cooper Mansion in Connecticut with a mobile recording unit, as well as in Morgan Studios, London, and The Record Plant in New York City. The engineers were Shelly Yakus, Frank Hubach, Robin Black, Peter Flanagan, Jack Douglas, and Ed Sprigg. Guitarists Mick Mashbir, Dick Wagner, and Steve Hunter (the latter two would be prominent in Alice Cooper's solo career) and keyboardist Bob Dolin provided extra support.

More textures and bombast than actual hard rock, BDB in retrospect is a strange collection of highly polished performances. Upon closer listen, piano parts are a subtle but surprisingly essential part of the arrangements. Never loud or overdriven guitars, sometimes keening, aid in the album's high-camp zeitgeist."

-- STEREOPHILE, "ReDiscoveries #5: Alice Cooper's "Billion Dollar Babies," by Robert Baird, published May 30, 2023

Sources: www.stereophile.com/content/rediscoveries-5-alice-coopers-billion-dollar-babies, Pinterest, Classic Bands, Wikipedia, various, etc...

[mattpoitrass7thgoal]

I know this is niche one so here is the reasons why for each Bruin being what wrestler. This doesn’t have to do with appearances more character, entrance music and overall performance.

Charlie Coyle: John Cena is a classic good guy and also is from Mass

Jake DeBrusk: Scott Steiner, I know what your thinking who? Scott Steiner is famous for his math speech where he takes his 75% chance of winning and then adds his 66 2/3 per cents to get to him having a 141 2/3 chance of winning at sacrifice. All I know is that if I had to watch Jake do math it would go along the lines of this speech.

Nick Foligno: Stone Cold Steve Austin=bald and a badass, Nick Foligno= bald and a badass sometimes

Derek Forbort: Goldberg, Goldberg never loses he also makes dumb decisions. I’m now respect the epic highs of Forbort Hockey he never has lows now.

Trent Frederic: Mankind, most famous for doing crazy stunts like getting thrown off the top of the steel cage multiple times. This guy just keeps making bad decisions so he can fight which suits Trent

Brandon Carlo: Kevin Nash otherwise known as big daddy cool diesel, honestly I gave him this guy solely because his nickname.

Matt Grzelcyk: Rob Van Dam, small and agile guys. Also out of all the bruins the one I would pick to randomly appear in a syfy shark film like Van Dam has done would be Matt.

David Krejci: The Undertaker, a person that’s just been around a long time that is consistently good. Also I feel like Krejci would have a random motorbike phase like the undertaker did.

Charlie McAvoy: Randy Orton. He has a nickname that is the legend killer and the amount of veterans of seen McAvoy ass check to oblivion I feel like he earns that title.

David Pastrnak: Ric Flair, always had the most over the top beautiful robes just like pastas suits

Jeremy Swayman: Kurt Angle who is an Olympic gold medalist, famous for winning with a broken neck. The only American I could think of here with any type of Gold medal was Sway. Wait I just done research and he won Bronze, I’ll change my reasoning too that how he is getting treated now is the same as fans chanting ‘you suck’ in time with Kurt Angles entrance music

Pavel Zacha and Jakub Zboril: Edge and Christian. One of the best tag teams to exist, childhood friends like our two boys (not the tag team parts just the friendship part).

Hampus Lindholm: The million dollar man Ted DiBiase…..have you seen Lindholms contract?

Tomas Nosek: Rowdy Roddy Pipper, Nosek is one of the rowdiest players I’ve seen, he lives for the drama

Connor Clifton: Cactus Jack/ Mick Foley. This wrestler is also Mankind (see Freddy) but this is another one of his egos which is hardcore which suits Cliffy hockey.

Mike Reilly: Heath Slater, classic loser just a jobber. Mike was on my template so I had to find someone that suits my boy.

Craig Smith: The Heartbreak Kid Shawn Michaels. Shawn Michaels is my all time favourite, his entrance music is sung by himself and is called sexy boy which suits Craig.

Brad Marchand: Chris Jericho, 2 Canadians that people hate

Linus Ullmark: The Big Show, solely for the entrance music which says that he is gonna give you a show.

Patrice Bergeron: Bret ‘the hit man’ Hart. Famously Hart has a quote that is ‘the best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be’ which is how I would describe Bergy

AJ Greer: CM Punk, one of the best heels there is. And i feel like Greer just knows how to taunt like him

[iwant-fuitgummi]

i found the page with all of schlatt’s aliases (the bolded ones are my favorites)

i’m so sorry

Schlatt

Jchlatt the Bi-Guy

My Drug Dealer

Schlagg

The Man of Steel

Logan from Big Time Rush

The PVP God

Schlatticus

Schlatticus Maximus

Jaylor Schwift

Jamaica Schlattville

Jay Scott

Big Hot Man

J Money

Jschlitt

Schlitt

Jshroud

JenocideSchlatt

Ladical

Parkinsons

NutSchlack

Schlurp

Jschlattos Basculus

Jslapmynuts

Work Guy

Wheels

Chrome Guy

Flying Man

Flight Man

Pence Man

Jack Frost

The Winner

Sun Rise Guy

Mr. Fortnite

Monitor Man

Mr. Goop

A p p l e man

Dropper Dude

Button Man

Ladder Man

Blades

Build Boy

Build Man

Build Bob

Mr Windex

Jstal

jschloot

Water Man

Mr SMP Live

King of Tekkit

Tekkit Man

GaySchlatt

Jschlong

The Cuck Shed Man

Jslat

Homewrecker

Jshmuck

Flap-Schlatt

The Lawnmower

Gay

Gayshat

The Parkour God

Funny Mic

The Parkour Prince

Mr Cobble

Schlett (British accent)

Mr Cobblestone

Eagle Eyes

Bladez

Breaker of Chains

Jesus H Christ

Gay Shart

The Bread Man

One half of the Hexxit Hebrew

Hackerman

Fifty Mick

Mr Minecraft

Mr Business

Greek Philosopher

Nice Catch 2

Twisty Neck

Sch

Slut

Gay Slut

Sack Schlatt

Sweatyballs

Wilbur's Pretty Princess

Wilbur Schlatt From Schlatt House

Bukowski

Islam

Nice Shot

Adolf Schlattler

Jason Schlatum

Mr Skid

Schlattdoesminecraft

Nacho Libre

SchlittleStick

FatSchlatt

JizzSlurp

Pokiman

JFK

Jacob Schlatt

Jgorsh

Nostalgia Critic

Cosby

Justin Trudeau

JMcChill

Schlattbama

Chuck

ProJschlatt

Joseph Stalin

Sea Cock

Schlattorious

Shlunk

Jamie Hyneman

Jefferey Epstein

Wilbur

Carson

Joko

Fitz

The Misschlatts

AntVenom

Technoblade

Alinity

ConnorEatsPants

ConarEatPant

Joebunga

Precum

Asianschlatt

Cumschlatt

Joe Jonas

Johnny Sins

Dad

Jay Hatt

Pewdiepie

Roll Man

Sea Salt

Semen

The Amazing Grapist

A Homo-Sexual

JUULSchlatt

2 Scoops

Smokestack

70 Nic (previously known as 50 Nic)

Jondar Shit

Wall Man

Mail Man

The Man with a Plan

Yes Papa

Furry

Jebediah

Jebediah Schlatt

Word Smith

Texas Instruments

Beethoven

Metronome

Colonel Sanders

Logan paul

JFLAT

JSOUP

No Plan Andy

Nice Catch

Yes

Jackie Robinson's Golden Boy

Wordsmith

Shit

Jshit

Jshat

Scat, Baby

Cat-Flap

VOICEOVERPETEACE

SwaggerSouls

James Charles

Schlonic the Hedgehog

Uh Oh

Noob Pooper

Terraria Man

Big Guy

New Guy

Counter Strike Man

Mr. Moustache Man

Mr. Rabbid

The Age of Empires

Jschalf

Man

Hot Gay Man

Sinus Infection

One Tablet Twice a Day

Hospital

Little girl

Your Man

POOPOOMAN

Dan Schneider

Jschlutt

The Sword Man

Jonathan Schlatt

Tiny Dick Man

Tiny Dick Boy

Nintey Thousand Dollars In Debt

The Horned Cuck

SheepBitch

WilberSoot

Traves

God

Mr Health and Safety

Jeff Bezos

El Presidente

Man of Steel

The Inventor of Loud = Funny

Secretary of Steel

Bilingual

Jimmy Neutron

Magic Fingers

Two in a Row

Two Piece

Floyd Mayweather

Addict

Dyin' Bryan

Mr. 8 Ball

Double Time

Doctor Shakey Jones

Shakey Bones

Shakey

Issac Newton

the Pool Boy

House Man

The Man Behind The Slaughter

Sword Man

The Fruit Ninja

Master Oogway

Gayass

Tony Hawk

The Hole In One Man

Larry the Lobster

Pablo Picasso

Power Plant

Power Point

Mr. Minecraft

Mr. Serotonin

Mr. Twitch

The Blade Runner

Lightning McQueen

Gongaga

Misfits

The Ebay Man

an eboy

Hook Line and Sinker

The Fisherman

The Hook Man

The Pacifier (starring Vin Diesel)

Renaissance Man

Inspector Gadget

Katniss Everdeen

Balls of Fury

The Night Owl

The North Tower

WordHunt

Luigi

Beyblade

Mr.Mutton Chops

Captain Price

The Deity

The Curator

The Steel Toe

The Foot Man

The Shit and Cum Man

Warrior

The God of Yoga

The Human Hula Hoop

The God of Wii Fit

Scott Slanders

'J for Joe Rogan' Schlatt

Mr Hands

Misfits Schlatt

Dick and Balls Man

SpaceX

Spitshine

Ricardo

S c h l a t t

Swiss Army Knife

Rbx

Scat Man

Manny from Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (so true)

Nice Catch

Gerund Gerald

The Rollercoaster Man

Mr. Cock and Penis

JFK (The J stands for Jschlatt)

The Hooker

Sunrise Guy

The Cat Whisperer

Trump

The Dicktator

The President o7

White boy

Gay boy

Flat

JFK’s Sister

Piss Boy

Bill Boy

Jerk Off

Thee Dick Cock Sucking Lover Boy

Thee Dick Cock Sucking Lover Man

Sunrise man

GaySchlatt

Mr. President

Jebediah Schlatt

Cripple

Bisexual

rammy (bad, very bad)

Hot

Schlattina

rort

me

verified guy

unverified guy

Jschlatt le stroke

Locker room dick sucker

Everyone’s fave white boy

Mr i hide in drug vans

Drunkschlatt

goatschlatt

the official goat

unverified goat man

verified goat man

goaty

supreme drug overlord

depressed </3

upload on theweeklyslap you cunt

cotton looking ass drug dealer

man in my window

cardiac arrest

foot cream lickere

hot garbage on my ceiling

the

inbred missisipi schlatt

Darth Schlagg

Schluddle

Relief

Schlurt

Schlong

[assortedmutts]

Job Edwards’ Top 10 Songs To Perform

Saddle Tramp by Marty Robbins

Come On Spring by Mick Harvey

Jack the Ripper by Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds

Dollar Bill Blues by Townes Van Zandt

I’m Not Drunk I’m Just Drinking by Mack Allen Smith

Hungry But Happy by Eddie Noack

Going To The Country by Pokey LaFarge

Praying Arm Lane by 16 Horsepower

Traditional Folksinger’s Lament (Do You Know Any Dylan?) by Eric Bogle

Sleeping On The Blacktop by Colter Wall

[anthonyisright]

Men of a Certain Age: The Dad Is Hot Tonite, Vol. 4

40 years of men releasing music at 40, one for each of my 40 years.

Marvin Gaye (b. 1939) - Ego Trippin’ Out John Lennon (b. 1940) - Watching The Wheels Bob Dylan (b. 1941) - Every Grain Of Sand Lou Reed (b. 1942) - Bottoming Out Mick Jagger (b. 1943) - It Must Be Hell Ray Davies (b. 1944) - Good Day Neil Young (b. 1945) - Drifter Al Green (b. 1946) - Soul Survivor Iggy Pop (b. 1947) - Strong Girl Steven Tyler (b. 1948) - What It Takes Nick Lowe (b. 1949) - All Men Are Liars Stevie Wonder (b. 1950) - Gotta Have You Jonathan Richman (b. 1951) - At Night Chris Knox (b. 1952) - Inside Story Robin Zander (b. 1953) - Didn't Know I Had It Adam Ant (b. 1954) - Wonderful Pete Shelley (b. 1955) - Hold Me Close John Lydon (b. 1956) - Another Way Ira Kaplan (b. 1957) - Autumn Sweater Prince (b. 1958) - The Greatest Romance Ever Sold Robert Smith (b. 1959) - Watching Me Fall Michael Stipe (b. 1960) - Imitation Of Life Wayne Coyne (b. 1961) - Ego Tripping At The Gates Of Hell Mark Arm (b. 1962) - Crooked And Wide Dean Wareham (b. 1963) - Star-Spangled Man Patterson Hood (b. 1964) - Tornadoes Frank Black (b. 1965) - Sing For Joy Lou Barlow (b. 1966) - Yawning Blue Messiah John Darnielle (b. 1967) - Lovecraft In Brooklyn LL Cool J (b. 1968) - It's Time For War Alan Sparhawk (b. 1969) - Poor Man's Daughter Rivers Cuomo (b. 1970) - Memories Lil Jon (b. 1971) - Mutate Dick Valentine (b. 1972) - Kill The Children Josh Homme (b. 1973) - If I Had A Tail Tiga (b. 1974) - Bugatti Justin Hawkins (b. 1975) - Mighty Wings Ben Gibbard (b. 1976) - Million Dollar Loan Kanye West (b. 1977) - Lift Yourself Pelle Almqvist (b. 1978) - I'm Alive

[bboyplankton]

2018 Playlist

1. A$AP Rocky – OG Beeper

2. Action Bronson – Prince Charming

3. The Alchemist feat. Earl Sweatshirt – E. Coli

4. Alina Baraz – Fallin

5. Anderson .Paak feat. Q-Tip – Cheers

6. Anderson .Paak feat. Kendrick Lamar – Tints

7. Animé – Reel It In

8. Apathy feat. Ryu – The Widow’s Son

9. Ariana Grande – R.E.M.

10. Ariana Grande – sweetener

11. Arin Ray feat. Babyface – Always

12. Arin Ray – Stressin

13. Arin Ray – With Or Without

14. Avery Wilson – Dollar Bill

15. Avery Wilson – Touch Down

16. Big K.R.I.T – Energy

17. Big K.R.I.T – 4 Tha Three

18. BJ the Chicago Kid – Rather Be with You

19. The Black Eyed Peas feat. Nas – Back 2 Hiphop

20. The Black Eyed Peas feat. Nicole Scherzinger – Wings

21. Black Thought & Salaam Remi feat. Reek Ruffin – Conception

22. Black Thought – Long Liveth

23. Blood Orange – Jewelry

24. A Boogie wit da Hoodie feat. Jessie Reyez – Pretending

25. Brent Faiyaz – Target on My Chest

26. Bridget Kelly – Pipe Dreams

27. Brownout – Fight the Power

28. Busta Rhymes – Jumpin’

29. Cardi B feat. Bad Bunny & J Balvin – I Like It

30. The Carters – BOSS

31. Casanova – Catch A Body

32. Chance the Rapper – I Might Need Security

33. Childish Gambino – This Is America

34. Chloe x Halle – Down

35. Chloe x Halle – Everywhere

36. Chloe x Halle feat. Joey Bada$$ - Happy Without Me

37. Christina Aguilera feat. Keida & Shenseea – Right Moves

38. Craig David feat. Ella Mai – Talk to Me, Pt. II

39. Craig David feat. GoldLink – Live in the Moment

40. Curren$y – Never Stop

41. Curren$y – This and That

42. Dave East – Thank You

43. Denzel Curry – Sumo I Zumo

44. Desiigner – Priice Tag

45. The Diplomats – Dipset Forever

46. The Diplomats feat. The Lox – Dipset/Lox

47. Doja Cat – Wild Beach

48. Domo Genesis – Façade Records

49. Drake feat. Static Major & Ty Dolla $ign – After Dark

50. Drake – Jaded

51. Drake – 8 Out Of 10

52. Dizzy Wright feat. Jazz – Hit Em With the Pose

53. Ella Mai feat. John Legend – Everything

54. Ella Mai – Love Me Like That (Champion Love)

55. Ella Mai – Own It

56. Eminem – Normal

57. Emotional Oranges – Personal

58. Eric Bellinger – By Now

59. Eric Bellinger feat. Dom Kennedy – Main Thang

60. Estelle feat. Kranium – Don’t Wanna

61. Estelle – Lights Out

62. Estelle – One More Time

63. Everything Is Recorded feat. Syd & Sampha – Show Love

64. Fall Out Boy – Young and Menace

65. Fall Out Boy – Wilson (Expensive Mistakes)

66. Freeway feat. Lil Wayne – Blood Pressure

67. Freeway – Come Back

68. Heather Victoria – Japan

69. Gucci Mane, Bruno Mars, & Kodak Black – Wake Up in the Sky

70. The Herbaliser – Submarine

71. Ice Cube feat. Too $hort – Ain’t Got No Haters

72. Ice Cube – That New Funkadelic

73. India Shawn feat. Alex Isley & Ré Lxuise – Water Me

74. The Internet – Come Over

75. The Internet – Mood

76. The Internet – Next Time/Humble Pie

77. J. Cole - ATM

78. Jacques – London

79. Jacques feat. Trey Songz – Inside

80. Jacques – 4275

81. Jade Novah – All Blue

82. Jaden Smith – Yeah Yeah

83. Jane Handcock - Heyyy

84. Janelle Monáe – Don’t Judge Me

85. Janelle Monáe feat. Pharrell Williams – I Got The Juice

86. Jay Rock – Knock It Off

87. Jayla Darden – Idea 709

88. Jayla Darden – Reminder

89. Jeremih & Ty Dolla $ign – These Days

90. Jessie Reyez feat. Normani & Kehlani – Body Count (Remix)

91. Jessie Reyez – Imported

92. JID feat. Method Man & Joey Bada$$ - Hot Box

93. JMSN – Explicit

94. JMSN – Real Thing

95. JMSN – Sunshine

96. Jorja Smith – February 3rd

97. Jorja Smith – Teenage Fantasy

98. Jungle – Beat 54 (All Good Now)

99. Jungle – Casio

100. Justin Timberlake – Flannel

101. Justin Timberlake feat. Alicia Keys – Morning Light

102. Justin Timberlake – Wave

103. Kali Uchis – Flight 22

104. Kali Uchis – Your Teeth In My Neck

105. Kaytranada feat. Ty Dolla $ign – Nothin Like U

106. Khalid – Vertigo

107. Kyle – It’s Yours

108. Kyle – ShipTrip

109. Leikeli47 – Roll Call

110. Lenny Kravitz – The Majesty of Love

111. Lenny Kravitz – Johnny Cash

112. Leon Bridges – Bad Bad News

113. Leon Bridges – If It Feels Good (Then It Must Be)

114. Leon Bridges – Shy

115. Lil Wayne – Dedicate

116. Lil Wayne – Open Letter

117. Lloyd feat. Curren$y - Blown

118. Lloyd feat. River – Infinity

119. Logic feat. feat. Ghostface Killah, Raekwon, RZA, Method Man, Inspectah Deck, Cappadonna, Jackpot Scotty Wotty, U-God, Masta Killa & GZA – Wu Tang Forever

120. Logic feat. Wale & John Lindahl – 100 Miles and Running

121. Lupe Fiasco feat. Elena Pinderhughes – Cripple

122. Lupe Fiasco – Happy Timbuktu Day

123. Lupe Fiasco feat. Nikki Jean – Stack That Cheese

124. Mac Miller – Hurt Feelings

125. Mac Miller – Jet Fuel

126. Mac Miller – Small Worlds

127. Mac Miller – What’s the Use?

128. Marc E. Bassy – Main Chick

129. Mario – Drowning

130. Mario – Goes Like That

131. Masego – I Had A Vision

132. Masego & SiR – Old Age

133. Marsha Ambrosius feat. PJ Morton – Hello Goodbye

134. Marsha Ambrosius – I Got It Bad

135. Meek Mill feat. Swizz Beatz - Millidelphia

136. Meek Mill feat. Rick Ross & Jay-Z – What’s Free

137. Meek Mill feat. Ella Mai – 24/7

138. Mick Jenkins feat. Mikhal Anthony – Stress Fracture

139. Mikky Ekko – Cherish You

140. Mila J feat. MIGH-X – Desiigner

141. Mila J – Without You

142. Mya – Ready 4 Whatever 2.0

143. Mya – Simple Things

144. Nao feat. Kwabs – Saturn

145. Nas – Bonjour

146. Nas – White Label

147. Ne-Yo – Breathe

148. Ne-Yo – Good Man

149. Ne-Yo – Over U

150. Ne-Yo – 1 More Shot

151. Niia feat. Gallant – Constantly Dissatisfied

152. Nick Grant feat. Stacy Barthe – Black Woman

153. Nick Grant feat. Sonyae Elise – The Ode

154. Nipsey Hussle – Blue Laces 2

155. Nipsey Hussle – Hussle & Motivate

156. Njomza – Lonely Nights

157. Noname – Don’t Forget About Me

158. Phony Ppl – Before You Get A Boyfriend.

159. Preme feat. PARTYNEXTDOOR – Can’t Hang

160. Preme feat. Ty Dolla $ign – Callin’

161. PRhyme feat. 2 Chainz – Flirt

162. Pusha T – The Games We Play

163. Raheem DeVaughn – Come Together

164. Ré Lxuise – Lynm

165. Ré Lxuise – Show You Off

166. Ré Lxuise feat. Dryod – Tell Me

167. Reason – Better Dayz

168. Reason – Summer Up

169. Reuben Vincent – You Know I Gotta

170. Rico Love – Sexual Professional

171. Rico Love feat. Teedrea Moses & Ball Greezy – Whole Lotta Sex

172. Ro James – Devotion

173. Royce da 5’9” feat. Boogie – Dumb

174. Royce da 5’9” feat. Ashley Sorrell – God Speed

175. Saba – Calligraphy

176. Sabrina Claudio – All to You

177. SiR – D’evils

178. SiR feat. ScHoolboy Q – Something Foreign

179. Slum Village – Hard Core

180. Smino – Hoopti

181. Smino – L.M.F.

182. Smino – Low Down Derrty Blues

183. Snoop Dogg feat. Jacquees & Dreezy – Everything

184. Styles P – Marie Antionette

185. Swizz Beatz feat. Kendrick Lamar, Jadakiss, & Styles P – Something Dirty/Pic Got Us

186. Swizz Beatz feat. 2 Chainz – Stunt

187. Summer Walker – Deep

188. Summer Walker – Girls Need Love

189. T.I. feat Anderson .Paak – At Least I Know

190. T.I. feat. Watch The Duck – Big Ol Drip

191. Teyana Taylor – Gonna Love Me

192. The-Dream – Forever

193. The-Dream – Platter

194. Tiara Thomas – I Can Tell

195. Tinashe – No Contest

196. Tink – Faded

197. Tink – Signs

198. T-Pain – Go Head

199. Tory Lanez – Benevolent

200. Tory Lanez – B.B.W.W. x Fake Show

201. Tory Lanez – Don’t Die

202. Tory Lanez feat. Bryson Tiller – KeeP IN tOUcH

203. Travis Scott – Coffee Bean

204. Travis Scott – No Bystanders

205. Travis Scott feat. Drake, Swae Lee, & Big Hawk – Sicko Mode

206. Trey Songz – Lay Yo Head

207. Txs – Destroyed

208. Tyler, the Creator – Big Bag

209. Tyler, the Creator – 435

210. Vince Staples – FUN!

211. Wale feat. Jacquees – Black Bonnie

212. Wale – It’s Complicated

213. Wiz Khalifa feat. Chevy Woods & Darius Willrich – Karate/Never Hesitate

214. Wiz Khalifa – Rolling Papers 2

215. Ye Ali feat. Tyus – T Shirt (Interlude)

216. Ye Ali feat. Jahkoy – Tell Me

217. YG feat. 2 Chainz, Big Sean, & Nicki Minaj – Big Bank

218. Young Thug feat. 6lack – Climax

219. Young Thug – Gain Clout

220. 6lack feat. Offset – Balenciaga Challenge

221. 21 Savage feat. J. Cole – a lot

222. 21 Savage feat. Yung Miami – a&t

223. 21 Savage feat. Beam, Project Pat, & ScHoolboy Q – good day

224. 21 Savage feat. Childish Gambino – monster

[brn1029]

Time for today’s Rock Report, brought to you by Meriwether’s bistro! swing by for, breakfast, brunch lunch or dinner at Meriwether’s Bistro inside Hells Canyon Grand Hotel in Lewiston. You’ll find bottomless soup and bread for only 8 bucks from 11am till closing! And Join Meriwethers Bistro's loyalty program and get a complimentary dessert or appetizer. Every dollar you spend equals one point and get DOUBLE points during happy hour and Sunday brunch.

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The Police drummer Stewart Copeland joined Eddie Vedder during a concert in Los Angeles to cover The Police's "Message In A Bottle." Vedder and his all-star band The Earthlings, comprised of Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, former RHCP guitarist Josh Klinghoffer, bassist Chris Chaney of Jane's Addiction, guitarist/vocalist Glen Hansard of The Swell Season, and producer/guitarist Andrew Watt, are currently on a brief tour of the U.S. in support of Vedder's new solo album, Earthling. Copeland joined Vedder and The Earthlings at Friday night's, February 25, show at the YouTube Theater in Inglewood, California.

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss recently released the official music video for "Searching For My Love," a song from the duo's chart-topping, long-awaited new album, Raise The Roof. The critically acclaimed Raise The Roof is currently in its 13th consecutive week at No. 1 on the Americana radio chart. The visual follows a series of lonely travelers on a mystical journey up a mountaintop, through the smoke and fog, down dirt paths and into the ocean, crossing paths with mermaids and more in a quest to discover a deeper treasure. "Searching For My Love," starring Julia Lucey and Rolan Meyer, was directed and produced by Matt Mahurin. It marks Robert Plant and Alison Krauss' first official music video in nearly 14 years.

A&E Network has announced that a four-part documentary on James Brown, executive produced by Mick Jagger and Questlove, will be released next year. The documentary, titled James Brown: Say It Loud, will explore the godfather of soul's legacy as a musical force, cultural catalyst, and dominant Black creative voice. Exploring his legacy through interviews with friends, family, collaborators and proteges as well as his music catalog, the documentary also includes never-before-seen archival footage. It will premiere on A&E in 2023 timed to what would have been Brown's 90th birthday.

[ericvick]

San Francisco tech companies sitting on record amounts of empty space

Marc Benioff, chairman and chief executive officer of Salesforce.com Inc., stands in front of a poster during a topping off ceremony for the Salesforce Tower in San Francisco, California, on Thursday, April 6, 2017.

Michael Short | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Cloudera exited its downtown San Francisco office early last year with plans to sublease the space and move its employees south to the software company’s Silicon Valley headquarters.

But the pandemic left the company with nobody to take over the office, forcing it to take a substantial real estate write-down.

At DoorDash’s nearby former headquarters, a tenant defaulted on rent a month into lockdown, resulting in lost income for the food delivery company, which was doubling as a landlord.

Airbnb said in its earnings report on Thursday that it took a $113 million impairment in the first quarter “related to office space in San Francisco that we deemed no longer necessary.”

Combined, those three companies have recorded nearly $200 million in real estate impairments in the past year after Covid-19 turned the Bay Area office market into a dead zone. That dollar figure swells to almost $1 billion when adding in lease-related write-downs from large tech employers Salesforce, Dropbox, Uber, PayPal and Zendesk.

While software and internet companies continued their stratospheric ascent in 2020, the plush offices they call home sat dormant, leaving San Francisco’s commercial real estate market with an unfamiliar supply glut. Much of the financial fallout was borne by the very tech companies that led a decade-plus bull market and expansion spree, snapping up massive amounts of space at record prices and often subleasing out full floors to start-ups and out-of-town businesses that were seeking a Bay Area outpost.

By the end of the first quarter of 2021, the amount of vacant sublease space in San Francisco had soared to 9.7 million square feet, up from about 3 million in late 2019, and accounted for 40% of all available commercial space in the city, according to commercial real estate firm Avison Young.

Mark Cote, co-founder of T3 Advisors, a tech-focused real estate firm that helps tenants with their growth plans, said that companies looking for an office in San Francisco have a rare opportunity over the next two to three quarters to get in at a discount. Unlike traditional landlords, which have been reluctant to drop lease prices, tech companies with excess space are sometimes willing to offer cut-rate rents and take the loss because they’ve already “faced the reckoning on the impairment,” Cote said.

“There’s a value window for tenants in San Francisco before the boomerang effect, where people and companies are going to come back,” said Cote, whose firm operates in Boston, New York and the Bay Area. “If you’re a sublandlord, you jump on an active tenant.”

Cote said companies paying $90 a square foot may offer subleases for $20 to $25 less and eat the difference. Robert Sammons, senior director of Northern California research at real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield, said that in addition to those discounts, companies are “layering on incentives such as free rent and additional tenant improvement allowances.”

Skyrocketing vacancies

Even with the discounts, it’s still not easy to find takers.

The Bay Area has been slow to reopen, and downtown San Francisco remains fairly hollow, even as vaccination rates in the city are among the highest in the country and Covid cases have plunged. Tech companies have stayed productive with employees working from home, alleviating the pressure to bring them back to the office and leading many to start planning for a hybrid future with less need for real estate.

The overall office vacancy rate in San Francisco climbed to 18.7% in the first quarter from 6% a year earlier, Cushman & Wakefield reported in its market overview for the period. That’s the highest since 2005, when the city was still recovering from the dot-com collapse. Numbers are similarly inflated in major markets such as New York and Chicago, but those cities are less reliant on tech, the industry that’s gravitating most aggressively to remote work.

Prior to the pandemic, analytics company Cloudera had planned to move several hundred employees from its San Francisco and Palo Alto, California, offices into its headquarters just south in Santa Clara. When the shutdowns began, the move was underway but the company hadn’t yet found any replacement tenants, leaving the space empty.

With nobody to pay the rent, Cloudera had to take an impairment charge last year of $35.8 million. Mick Hollison, Cloudera’s president, said in an interview that the Palo Alto office “would have been anybody’s envy just a few short years ago, and now it’s very difficult to sublease.”

Hollison said he expects about half of Cloudera’s employees to go back to the office in some capacity this year, but it’s likely that about 25% will be permanently remote and many others will only come in for part of the week.

“Our footprint will shrink over time,” he said.

Elsewhere in San Francisco, DoorDash took an $11 million impairment in the first three quarters of 2020. The app-based meal delivery company said in its IPO prospectus that a tenant’s business was disrupted by the coronavirus and that it told DoorDash in April “that it would not be making any future monthly rent payment.”

Airbnb’s $113 million charge in the first quarter of 2021 adds to $35.8 million in lease impairments last year. The room-sharing company laid off about 25% of its employees a year ago as the travel market cratered.

After Uber slashed about 20% of its workforce early in the pandemic, the ride-hailing company, which had been rapidly expanding in San Francisco, found itself with way too much real estate. Uber said in its 2020 annual report that it “exited, and made available for sublease, certain leased offices, primarily due to the City of San Francisco’s extended shelter-in-place orders and our restructuring activities.” The company recorded lease-related impairments for the year of $94 million.

Sign on facade at jobsite for construction of new headquarters of Uber Inc announcing work stoppage and delays during an outbreak of the COVID-19 coronavirus in San Francisco, California, March 19, 2020.

Smith Collection | Getty Images

Uber had 824,000 square feet of available sublease space across four locations in San Francisco at the end of the first quarter, according to Cushman & Wakefield, by far the most of any company. Dropbox was second with 418,000 square feet, after the collaboration software company announced plans to go remote-first. Dropbox’s impairment last year was just shy of $400 million, followed by an additional $17.3 million charge in the first quarter.

Salesforce, San Francisco’s largest private employer, has 287,000 square feet available. The company took $216 million in impairments last year due to “real estate leases in select locations we have decided to exit,” according to the company’s annual report.

‘Starting to see them reenter’

However, Sammons said, activity is picking up. Tenant demand is at the highest since before the pandemic began, indicating that more companies are shopping for space. Sammons said that a direct lease, through a landlord, of 200,000 square feet is about to be announced, which will be the largest since the pre-Covid days.

“Some had pulled out and put on pause any sort of expansions, and we’re starting to see them reenter the market,” Sammons said.

There’s also been recent movement in subleases. Design software company Figma just took over 100,000 square feet of downtown space from Credit Karma, which moved its headquarters to Oakland.

And Dropbox has been finding takers for large chunks of its vacant space.

BridgeBio, a drug developer, recently took close to 53,000 square feet from Dropbox, and Vir Biotechnology, another life sciences company, agreed late last year to sublease about 134,000 square feet of the complex.

Vir’s price per square foot starts at $47.77 this year and rises 3% annually to $68.11 in 2032, according to the lease agreement. When Dropbox signed its original 15-year lease in 2017, the company agreed to pay $62 per square foot in year one, which climbed to $93.78 in the final year. In leasing 736,000 square feet at that price, Dropbox was then reportedly signing the largest office deal ever in San Francisco.

While Dropbox may have to rely on discounts and other perks to lure potential tenants, the company is in a unique position to attract biotech firms. Its complex is in an area called Mission Bay that’s filled with medical centers and is zoned for life sciences companies.

Demand for space is so high in the booming biotech industry that earlier this year private equity firm KKR purchased the property for about $1.1 billion, with Dropbox still responsible for the remainder of its lease.

“Life sciences companies are now looking at the city because they see this opportunity,” Sammons said. The Dropbox building “has the floor plates and the floor plans, and everything is built and ready for life sciences companies.”

The sudden shift to what Dropbox is calling its “Virtual First” model has turned a cloud software company that was at the forefront of San Francisco’s emergence as a tech hub into one of the city’s biggest sublessors. At its slimmed-down headquarters and at other locations across the globe, Dropbox is maintaining some space for in-person collaboration and team-gathering sessions.

Dropbox said in its latest quarterly report that while it expects to generate additional sublease income and save some money by going remote, “there is no guarantee that we will realize any anticipated benefits to our business.”

Other San Francisco-based tech companies such as Twitter, Square and Okta have told employees they can work from anywhere now and into the future.

Still, T3’s Cote expects San Francisco to bounce back even if 20% or so of jobs are permanently remote. Tech employers will have to be more flexible and rational with their physical space, but they still want to be in the center of the action, he said.

“The main thing everyone has to remember is the talent of the labor force,” Cote said. “You can’t replicate that overnight.”

— CNBC’s Jordan Novet contributed to this report.

WATCH: Cushman & Wakefield’s CEO on why he’s confident office demand will return

[deanvannguyen]

All my 2017 writing

2017 was poisonous, corrosive and it consistently found new ways to chill my soul. I do, though, like some of the stuff I wrote in the last 12 months. Here's a list of everything published.

Smoke DZA & Pete Rock: Don’t Smoke Rock (Pitchfork)

Ain’t Nothin’ but a Paris Hit: PNL and the Art of French Hip-Hop (Passion of the Weiss)

The Power and the Peril: DOOM's albums ranked (Lactose and Lecithin)

Trump’s musical booking woes are unprecedented, even for a Republican (The Irish Times)

Diet Cig: “Tummy Ache” (Pitchfork)

Will the new festival from Glastonbury organisers be all that Bazaar? (The Irish Times)

Bay Area Boomin’: On Nef the Pharaoh’s Thrilling Career (Passion of the Weiss)

Sinkane: Life & Livin’ It (Pitchfork)

This Is A High: Blur’s Self-Titled LP Turns 20 (Headstuff)

Why Drake Matters (The Irish Times)

Searching For Sugar Man: How Nigeria’s Joe King Kologbo Lived The Highlife (Bandcamp Daily)

The bamboo ceiling: Hollywood’s problem with Asian actors (The Irish Times)

Burn the Soufflé: Hepburn and Holden’s Unjustly Forgotten Paris When It Sizzles (Headstuff)

How Much A Dollar Cost? On Prince's “Money Don't Matter 2 Night” (Forbes)

Mick Jenkins: “Pressed For Time (Crossed My Mind)” (Pitchfork)

The Meaning of Biggie: On Life After Death (Consequence of Sound)

Soul Control: Aretha Franklin’s ‘I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You’ Turns 50 (Vinyl Me, Please)

Lil Durk: Love Songs for the Streets (Pitchfork)

Real Estate: In Mind (Consequence of Sound)

Dippin’ Again: Juelz Santana’s Unlikely Comeback (Passion of the Weiss)

Raekwon’s 10 Favorite Hip-Hop Albums of All Time (Consequence of Sound)

Centre stage: The return of Craig David (Irish Examiner)

Rejjie Snow: “Flexin’” (Pitchfork)

Grooving Through 1980s Lagos and Livy Ekemezie’s “Friday Night” (Bandcamp Daily)

State of the Nation: On Kendrick Lamar's thrilling 'DAMN.' (Lactose & Lecithin)

Space Jam: the best soundtrack of them all? (The Irish Times)

The Undocumented review: “To me the Irish are not the criminals Trump talks about” (The Irish Times)

Loaded review: This IT crowd need to reboot their one liners (The Irish Times)

Is Rejjie Snow the rap game’s Conor McGregor? (The Irish Times)

‘Anne With an E’ is playful, quaint and undercut with darkness (The Irish Times)

Interview with Inua Ellams: “It was difficult settling in to Dublin, dealing with racism and ignorance” (The Irish Times)

Chris Cornell: the Greek god of grunge who blazed his own path (The Irish Times)

Ireland’s Interracial Couples: It’s a Daily Struggle (The Irish Times)

Top 50 Songs of 1997 (Consequence of Sound)

Album of the Day: Vincent Ahehehinnou, “Best Woman” (Bandcamp Daily)

Mafioso Monster: On Payroll Giovanni’s ‘Payface’ (Passion of the Weiss)

Why doesn’t the prospect of an ethnic taoiseach excite me? (The Irish Times)

The last of the great grungers (The Irish Times)

Arcade Fire at Malahide Castle: everything you need to know (The Irish Times)

Body & Soul: Six acts not to miss (The Irish Times)

Mach-Hommy and Knxwledge Team Up on ‘The Spook’ (Passion of the Weiss)

Puff Daddy’s ‘No Way Out’ Turns 20 (Passion of the Weiss)

Ooooooohh, on the S4U Tip: Britain’s Slickest New R&B Act (Passion of the Weiss)

Where the streets have no statues: why do the Irish hate U2? (The Guardian)

I have the Michael Jackson skin condition (The Irish Times)

Have you been listening to ‘fake music’ on Spotify? (The Irish Times)

Tyler the Catalyst (The Irish Times)

Lights, camera, contortion: the trailblazing work of Tim Saccenti (The Irish Times)

Neomadic review: 1990s east coast hip-hop with a Dublin flavour (The Irish Times)

England was theirs: the high point of The Smiths (The Irish Times)

The 12 best unsung cult films from the depths of Netflix (The Irish Times)

Mozzy – ‘1 Up Top Ahk’ review: Relentlessly tough and soulful journey (The Irish Times)

A Tribe Called Quest: one of hip hop's greatest ever journeys (The Irish Times)

Electric Picnic preview: A fortress of friends and curry cheese chips [partial] (The Irish Times)

A Guide to The Many Faces of Multi-Instrumentalist Charif Megarbane (Bandcamp Daily)

Electric Picnic – First impressions from a first timer (The Irish Times)

Electric Picnic – Rejjie Snow at EP2017: The homecoming of a new-age Dublin rap star (The Irish Times)

Electric Picnic – Orchestra’s take on 90s hits the hottest ticket in Stradbally (The Irish Times)

Electric Picnic – Bicep fails to show true EP muscle (The Irish Times)

Electric Picnic – Reviews from day two [partial: Katie Laffan, Jagwar Ma] (The Irish Times)

Electric Picnic – Review from day three [partial: Real Estate] (The Irish Times)

Electric Picnic – A Tribe Called Quest kick it at Electric Picnic (The Irish Times)

Electric Picnic – Father John Misty at Electric Picnic: ‘Where’d you get your hips?’ (The Irish Times)

Candice Gordon: Garden of Beasts – Gothic guitar-noir from Berlin-based Irish woman (The Irish Times)

Lee Ranaldo review: Proof that there’s life after Youth (The Irish Times)

The Best Post-Sonic Youth Songs (The Dowsers)

The 10 Best Curtis Mayfield Albums To Own On Vinyl (Vinyl Me, Please)

The cultural crimes and white privilege of Miley Cyrus (The Irish Times)

Kele Okereke review: The kitsch is all right – just about (The Irish Times)

King Krule - The OOZ album review: as classically cool as a round-neck tee (The Irish Times)

LeRoy Hutson: Anthology 1972-1984 – stepping out of Curtis Mayfield’s shoes (The Irish Times)

100 Round Goon: The Thrilling Rise of Q Da Fool (Passion of the Weiss)

Dublin’s Hip-Hop Scene: Can We Kick It? (Totally Dublin)

Looking for a job in Ireland? Don’t sound foreign (The Irish Times)

The new, hard-nosed Taylor Swift is a hard sell (The Irish Times)

Renaissance Man: The Story of Hermeto Pascoal’s Great Lost Album, “Viajando Com O Som” (Bandcamp Daily)

Best Two: NxWorries Re-Invent The Remix (Passion of the Weiss)

Slim chance: Why has Eminem’s music aged so badly? (The Irish Times)

Soul of a Woman: Sharon Jones’s final, funky masterwork, a year after her death (The Irish Times)

Talib Kweli: Radio Silence (Pitchfork)

On Danny Watts’ Deep-Thinking Debut “Black Boy Meets World” (Lactose and Lecithin) 

Tom Rogerson with Brian Eno: Finding Shore – music for lovestruck androids (The Irish Times)

G Perico: 2 Tha Left – LA rapper makes it look Eazy-E (The Irish Times)

‘Bout It, ‘Bout It: Cam’ron gets with ‘The Program’ (Passion of the Weiss)

The Best Albums of 2017: #80 – 61 [partial: #72. Pierre Kwenders – MAKANDA at the End of Space, the Beginning of Time, #68. Cosmic Analog Ensemble – Les Sourdes Oreilles] (Bandcamp Daily)

Statik Selektah: 8 (Pitchfork)

G-Eazy: The Beautiful & Damned – a grandiose hip-hop chronicle (The Irish Times)

Eminem: Revival review - gruelling, relentless and sterile (The Irish Times)

Best Albums of 2017 (50-26) [partial: #30 Serengeti – Jueles – Butterflies] (Passion of the Weiss)

The Best Rap Songs of 2017 [partial: #20 C Struggs – “Go To Jesus”, #14. Nef The Pharaoh – “Bling Blaow (Passion of the Weiss)

[chiseler]

HAUNCH, PAUNCH, AND JOWL

You probably can't call screenwriter Samuel Ornitz one of the stars of the Hollywood Ten. His name doesn't resonate like, say, fellow blacklisters Dalton Trumbo's or Ring Lardner Jr.'s do. Most of his films are now forgotten. Before he went to Hollywood, though, he wrote a semi-autobiographical novel that's still read for its marvelous details on the lives of Lower East Side Jews at the turn of the twentieth century.

Ornitz was born there to Polish immigrants in 1890. His family wasn't poor, like so many others in the neighborhood. His father ran a successful dry goods business. Ornitz's older brothers went to work for their dad, but Samuel rebelled and went into social activism. As a young man he worked for the Prison Association and spent much time in the notorious Tombs. He later worked for the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children as assistant superintendent.

Meanwhile he was writing. His first novel Haunch, Paunch and Jowl was published in 1923 as "an anonymous autobiography." Meyer Hirsch, the narrator, is a Lower East Side Jew who claws his way to wealth and power by any means necessary. Early chapters are rich with details of growing up on the streets at the end of the 1800s; the second half of the book is a pretty hard look at the corruption and graft that riddled city politics in the early twentieth century.

The story starts when Meyer is nine and jockeying for status among the other Jewish boys in the Ludlow Street Gang. They do a lot of fighting with a rival Jewish gang, the Essex Street Guerrillas. Both sides team up to fight the Irish kids, using fists, sticks, brickbats and stones. They disrupt local business, breaking shop windows and overturning sidewalk stalls, but the cops don't get involved -- it's just Sheenies versus Micks. The Jewish boys' nickname for a cop is Shammos, Yiddish for a synagogue caretaker. By the 1920s Shamus, as it was usually spelled, would be familiar slang for a cop or private detective, found everywhere in noir literature and films -- Bogart's Philip Marlowe refers to himself as a shamus a few times in The Big Sleep. It's not clear whether that derived from Shammos or from the Irish name Seamus, given that so many New York cops and detectives were Irish. Probably it was a confluence of the two.

As they get a little older the boys prowl the Bowery, which Ornitz describes as a "succession of saloons, bedhouses, two-cent coffee places, second-hand clothing stores, oyster stands, rescue missions, and second-hand shoe cellars... Underfoot it is slippery with chew-tobacco juice. Everybody is busy spitting. The old-timers, the right-at-home bums sun themselves in the doorways of lodging houses and at the corners. Panhandlers look for live ones. Fake cripples and blind men, offering pencils or shoe laces, whine for pennies. One drunk mutters, another speechifies, one sings or curses, and another lies prone in everybody's way and nobody pays him the least notice. Sailors, stevedores, oilers, stokers, firemen, hobos and street walkers crowd the sidewalks. Country boys, threadbare and hungry-eyed, fortune seekers stranded in the big city, and tired-looking, jobless men from everywhere, wander in this land of the down and out... Here is the city's back-wash of sewerage..."

Like Irving Berlin, another Jewish kid on the Lower East Side at the same time, Meyer and his teenage pals earn small change busking and serving as singing waiters in the concert saloons that infested the Bowery and Chinatown. Ornitz's kids work in one joint where the young Berlin actually sang: Scotchy Lavelle's saloon and dance hall at 14 Doyers Street. Lavelle was a famous hoodlum who had run with Patsy Conroy's gang of waterfront thieves in the 1860s and 1870s. Ornitz changes Scotchy's name to Frenchie, but otherwise gives us a documentary look inside the joint. A piano player -- Piano O'Brien in the novel -- accompanied the waiters on the keys as they belted out ballads, romantic tearjerkers currently popular on the street, and ragtime tunes. Ornitz writes:

'The art of a singing waiter is in a class by itself. It consists of carrying a song over a multitude of busy doings, remarks, orders, servings, making change and cleaning tables, all done during the song. Occasionally you interrupt the song to sing out the order, and then you must immediately take up the last word and note where you left off... During the heartrending moments of the piece you may have to make change for a two-dollar bill and reckon up the amount due, put down the change, receive your tip, move to the next table, mop its surface dry, remove empty glasses on a tray, call at the little door for your ordered drinks, pass out the right brass tags for the checker, show people to the tables, smile to known frequenters, laugh at a friendly gibe and stoop to pick up a coin thrown as a compliment to your vocal efforts."

Bowery and Chinatown dives drew an extraordinarily wide range of customers and looky-lous, from bums to toffs; even European royalty included a descent to the area on their New York itineraries. Ornitz:

"The East Side and West Side, uptown and downtown, drift in, singly, and in merry batches... curious lads, feeling adventurously grown up... young men with cigarettes dangling from their lips, careless-mannered, desperately affecting the nonchalance of rakes... little cliques of married men, thrillingly frisky and wicked with the matrimonial yoke cast off for a night... old men seeking youth at the fountain of folly... clean-faced college boys furiously living 'the life' ... swaggering gunmen, guerrillas and gangsters who five the place a tone... chummy groups of sailor boys and marines after a long practice cruise with faces as free and fresh as the open sea, consciously on a hell-raising shore leave... race track hangers-on and touts and jockeys in loud-patterned clothes... pimps aflash with jewelry and nobby clothes... puffed up one-horse politicians... cheap gamblers, loaded dice and cold deck artists...sneak thieves, hold-up and second-story men... husky yeggs... roving panhandlers... steerers to gambling and bawdy houses... flitting, temperamental fairies, the queer effeminate men... slumming parties, distinguished by their full dress... a world of men."

Then there were the prostitutes who "wind in and out of the table spaces like a garland of strangely strung and varied flowers... rumpled and faded, soiled and drooping with rough handling."

While some of Meyer's pals graduate to burglary and "the dreaded House of Refuge on Randall's Island," the first juvenile reformatory in the country when it opened in the 1820s, he goes to City College, the immigrants' school, "the rusty old chapel on Twenty-Third Street; vine-covered, with an air of scholarly detachment; of cloister quiet and dignity." He becomes what he calls a "Professional Jew," a lawyer and Tammany fixer, wooing the Jews away from the Socialists, organizing the pushcart men, working crooked deals in the courts and with the union bosses, sinking farther and farther into graft and greed, and growing fatter and fatter on the proceeds. Meyer sees himself as representative of his generation of ambitious young men:

"It did not take them long to see that the straight and narrow path was long and tortuous and ended in a blind alley... Politics stank of corruption and chicanery. Big business set even a worse example. Daily the people were treated to scandal after scandal in commerce, industry and government... The order of the day was -- PLAY THE GAME AS YOU SEE IT PLAYED... It was a sordid generation, a generation creeping out of the mud into the murk... It was the time and process of finding ourselves, a sort of evolutionary process that began as a creeping thing in the scum... I had taken root in the morass; I didn't dare try transplantation."

In time Meyer becomes a Superior Court judge and lives uptown on Riverside Drive, which he calls Allrightniks Row. Allrightniks is his term for Jews who'd made it, "who came in as impoverished immigrants" and "were made dizzy and giddy by sudden riches."

In 1929 Ornitz joined the droves of New York writers who headed out to Hollywood. After sound was added to commercial films in the late 1920s, the studios developed a ravenous hunger for people who could write to the new medium. The Coen Brothers' Barton Fink is a cartoon of the Ornitz generation of New York Jewish writers who went out to Tinseltown with their lefty ideals and social-realist scripts in their suitcases. Ornitz seems never to have fully committed himself to the studios, and never made it big there. He worked on a lot of B pictures. Even when it was a B for RKO or Republic, he tried to work a message in. His first movie, The Case of Lena Smith -- he wrote the story but not the screenplay -- reflected the injustices Ornitz had seen at the Tombs. Josef von Sternberg directed. Hell's Highway is about the mistreatment of a prison chain gang. In The Hit Parade, an ex-convict who jumped bail (Frances Langford) tries to hide her past when she makes it as a singer. Ornitz collaborated on some scripts with Nathanael West, and was one of the small army of writers who contributed to the 1934 adaptation of Fannie Hurst's novel about race relations, Imitation of Life.

In maybe his oddest Hollywood assignment, Ornitz and another New York transplant, Budd Schulberg (best known for On the Waterfront), wrote a 1938 Paramount adaptation of Little Orphan Annie. What we know now as a sickly-sweet musical was in the 1930s an extremely controversial comic strip. Cartoonist Harold Gray was a staunch Republican who hated FDR and built a lot of anti-union and anti-New Deal messages into his strip, outraging liberals. The New Republic denounced the strip in 1935 as "fascism in the funnies." Predictably, Ornitz and Schulberg turned Gray's politics upside-down in a version that was more class struggle than comic strip.

In 1933 Ornitz and two other future blacklisters, Lester Cole (nee Cohn, another son of Jewish Polish immigrants, who grew up in the Bronx and elsewhere) and John Howard Lawson (nee Levy, from a wealthy family in Yonkers), helped found the Screen Writers Guild. The three of them were among Hollywood's most outspoken members of or fellow travelers with the Communist Party in the 1930s. Lawson headed the party's Hollywood branch and would later be accused of leaning heavily on other screenwriters to pack as many lefty ideals into their movies as they could get away with.

In the Red Scare that swept up Hollywood after World War Two, they, along with Trumbo, Lardner and five others, refused to testify before HUAC. One of them, director Edward Dmytryk, later caved and named names, including Lawson's. They came to be known as the Hollywood Ten. They were all found guilty of contempt of Congress and drew prison terms of up to a year. Unlike Trumbo (Spartacus), Lawson (Cry, the Beloved Country) and Cole (Born Free), Ornitz never wrote a screenplay after that. He did write another novel about Jews in America, Bride of the Sabbath, and died in L.A. in 1957.

by John Strausbaugh

[wiremagazine]

MIAMI FILM FESTIVAL 2020 SPOTLIGHT FILMS

Photos provided by Miami Film Festival

ALELÍ Uruguay, Argentina, 2019 Director: Leticia Jorge Romero

Festival Summary: AL stands for Alba and Alfredo, E for Ernesto and LI for Lilian. The initials of everyone form the sign that hangs at the entrance of the family beach house: Alelí. Of everyone except Silvana, who was born late. With the death of Alfredo, the patriarch, and the imminent need to sell the beach house, the hidden bitterness between the siblings is exposed in full force. With unforgettable performances from Néstor Guzzini (Home Team, Another Story of the World) and Mirella Pascual (Whisky, A Twelve Year Night), Alelí is an absurdly hilarious and beautiful black comedy with a dysfunctional family at its center; a family that seems willing to set everything on fire.

CHATEAU VATO U.S., 2020 Director: Tom Musca

Festival Summary: A skilled gardener and his family move into an abandoned mansion after discovering the death of its wealthy owner. As the family leaves poverty and hardship behind, and starts embracing the comforts of the good life, the adventure of squatting nevertheless threatens to tear them apart; especially as they begin to unearth mysteries surrounding the homeowner's death. This rags-to-riches comedy of errors and mistaken identities is a strong indictment of the seemingly ever-widening class divide.

GRANDPAS Spain, 2019 Director: Santiago Requejo

Festival Summary: There are few human drives stronger than the need to feel useful; and that impulse is the engine that moves Grandpas, a crowd-pleasing comedy from Spain that deftly mixes generous humor with sharp observations about modern life and working environments. Isidro, Arturo, and Desiderio are three old friends (played by veteran character actors Carlos Iglesias, Roberto Álvarez, and Ramón Barea) who are finding it increasingly difficult to adapt to the changing job market, which is becoming more tech-centric and Americanized by the day. Most notably, no one seems interested in hiring anyone over 50-years old, and their considerable experience and talent are considered obsolete. Left taking care of their grandchildren, they hit on the idea of starting their own company… a daycare center! But their startup plan is met with derision, and the three friends must overcome their strongest obstacles yet in order to get it off the ground.

HEROIC LOSERS Argentina, Spain, 2019 Director: Sebastián Borensztein

Festival Summary: Set in Argentina during the 2001 financial crisis, the film centers on a group of small-town folks who gather all their savings for a dream project and entrust the money to their local bank. A day later, the government freezes all bank accounts. Worse, an unscrupulous lawyer has conspired with the bank manager to capitalize on the situation and swindle them out of every last dollar they'd saved. Months later, a rumor spreads about where their savings might be hidden. The group joins forces to take back what is theirs, creating a strong bond along the way. Now they just have to wait for the perfect night to carry out the complex plan to recoup their money. Featuring an all-star Argentinian cast (including Ricardo Darin and Chino Darin coming together for the first time as a father-and-son acting duo) and Borensztein's exhilarating directing style, Heroic Losers is a witty and thrilling film about people getting beat up by the system and deciding to punch back.

MUCHO MUCHO AMOR U.S., 2020 Directors: Cristina Costantini, Kareem Tabsch

Festival Summary: Extravagant Puerto Rican astrologer legend Walter Mercado charmed the world for over 30 years with his televised horoscopes. Equal parts Oprah, Liberace, and Mr. Rogers, Walter was a celebrated daily part of Latin culture – until one day in 2007 he mysteriously disappeared from the media landscape. Over a decade later, the filmmakers find Walter and invite us into his home and interior world as he prepares to restore his legacy in the public eye. The film explores Walter's complex story from the rural sugarcane fields of Puerto Rico to international astrology superstardom, rising above all doubters with a message of love and hope. Mucho Mucho Amor is a love letter to Walter Mercado. The filmmakers, who grew up watching him with their abuelitos, craft a film with levity and a playful spirit. Light-years ahead of his time, Walter has become a nostalgic cult icon of self-expression and positivity.

OUT IN THE OPEN Spain, 2018 Director: Benito Zambrano

Festival Summary: In 1946, a mere seven years after the end of the Civil War, Spain is still reeling from despair and poverty. A young boy escapes his tyrannical estate and sets off on the run. The ruthless overseer of the estate sends a search party to pursue him: dogs, men from the village, and a determined foreman. Beyond the search party, the boy faces a hostile, arid plain that he must cross if he is to escape from his pursuers. When he meets a grizzled, laconic shepherd (played by Spanish superstar Luis Tosar), it becomes clear that this quiet but resourceful man is the boy's only hope to be saved. Winner of the Goya Award for Best Adapted Screenplay (and nominated for five Goyas in total, including Best Picture), this thriller-western is one of the most acclaimed Spanish films of the year.

REEFA U.S., 2020 Director: Jessica Kavana Dornbusch

Festival Summary: Israel "Reefa" Hernandez is an 18-year-old Colombian immigrant and award-winning artist with a bright future. He is spending his last summer in Miami with friends, family and his new girl Frankie before hopefully moving to New York on an art scholarship. That summer, anxieties emerge twofold: Israel and his family nervously await their Green Cards while he desperately seeks recognition for his art. On August 6, 2013, as Israel spray paints one last wall, a fatal encounter leaves his family devastated, the Miami community outraged, and the country reeling from another case of police brutality.

THE BURNT ORANGE HERESY Italy, U.S., 2018 Director: Giuseppe Capotondi

Festival Summary: The late, great Miami writer Charles Willeford's classic art world noir thriller The Burnt Orange Heresy has been updated by Italian filmmaker Giuseppe Capotondi and Academy Award-nominated screenwriter Scott Smith into a biting satire of the world of contemporary high art and the attendant, controversial role of art criticism that swirls around it. Hired by an unscrupulous dealer (Mick Jagger) to steal a rare painting from one of most enigmatic painters (Donald Sutherland) of all time, an ambitious art critic becomes consumed by his own greed and insecurity as the operation spins out of control. The Burnt Orange Heresy is swanky, steamy and sexy, with Willeford's jet-black, cruelly-ironic humor firmly intact. Featuring smart, sly, and delightful performances from Jagger, Sutherland, Elizabeth Debicki and Claes Bang (The Square), The Burnt Orange Heresy is as visually stunning as it is thrilling.

THE LAST RAFTER U.S., 2020 Director: Carlos Rafael Betancourt, Oscar Ernesto Ortega

Festival Summary: After risking his life crossing the Florida Straits on a raft, a young Cuban searches Miami for his long-absent father. When a political shift makes him America's first Cuban undocumented immigrant, he must battle the new and bigger fear of deportation, while trying to find where he really belongs. Mining rich detail from their own experiences finding a footing in the United States, Carlos Rafael Betancourt and Oscar Ernesto Ortega have crafted a powerful film that is at once personal and strikingly timely.

THE PERSONAL HISTORY OF DAVID COPPERFIELD UK, 2020 Director: Armando Iannucci

Festival Summary: The Personal History Of David Copperfield re-imagines Charles Dickens' classic ode to grit and perseverance through the comedic lens of its award-winning filmmakers – Emmy winner and Oscar nominee Armando Iannucci (The Death of Stalin, HBO's Veep) and Simon Blackwell (HBO's Succession). The film, as the novel, follows good-hearted David Copperfield (Dev Patel) from birth through childhood, adolescence, and adulthood as he meets a host of kind and wicked Victorian characters on his journey from impoverished orphan to burgeoning writer. But the story of his life is the most fascinating tale of all. Featuring the classic wit of Iannucci and Blackwell's prior work, and standout performances from Patel, Hugh Laurie, Tilda Swinton and Peter Capaldi, The Personal History Of David Copperfield is one of the must-see films of 2020.

THE WEASELS TALE Argentina, Spain, 2018 Director: Juan José Campanella

Festival Summary: Four uniquely cantankerous characters – a beautiful star from the Golden Age of Cinema, an actor in the twilight of his life, a witty scriptwriter, and a cunning film director – all live together in a mansion where they have created an unusual environment, but one that works for them. When an ambitious young couple arrives with possibly dubious intentions, and tries to persuade the actress to sell the house, the other inhabitants must come together and conspire to prevent it. They are all past their primes, and outwitting the young hotshots won't be easy, but they might have a trick or two left in their bag. Featuring a cast of Argentinean luminaries, including Oscar Martinez, Luis Brandoni, and Graciela Borges, The Weasels Tale is perhaps the most wickedly fun film of Campanella's great career.

TU ME MANQUES Bolivia, U.S., 2018 Director: Rodrigo Bellot

Festival Summary: Jorge (Martinez), a traditional Bolivian father, receives news of the suicide of his son Gabriel. Weeks after the tragedy he finds his son's laptop where he discovers he had a romantic relationship with Sebastian, another young countryman who lives in New York City, where his son was studying. After an initial angry confrontation with Sebastian on Skype, Jorge decides to go to New York to look for answers about his son's death, but what he finds will change his life forever. With brave, heart-on-sleeve performances from beginning to end, Tu Me Manques has been moving film festival audiences and took home the Grand Jury Award at L.A. Outfest.

This was originally published in Wire Magazine Issue 4.2020

[rollingstonemag]

Un nouvel article a été publié sur https://www.rollingstone.fr/40-plus-grands-albums-punk-de-temps/

Les 38 plus grands albums punk de tous les temps

Les brûlots contestataires et les merveilles sur deux accords qui ont révolutionné le rock : tour d’horizon des meilleurs albums punk

Ramones, Ramones (1976)

En février 1976, lorsque les Ramones enregistrent leur premier album pour 6 400 dollars, leur programme est simple : “Éliminer le superflu pour se concentrer sur le fond”, comme le racontera Tommy en 1999. Difficile cependant de comprendre ce qui fait de ce disque, né de la fureur créatrice de quatre exclus de la culture ado mainstream de l’époque, l’un des plus géniaux, des plus influents et des plus durables de l’histoire du punk. En grand échalas pop, Joey scande “Hey ho, let’s go!” au début de “Blitzkrieg Bop”. Le guitariste Johnny réduit Dick Dale et Bo Diddley au staccato de “Beat on the Brat” et de “Loudmouth”. Dee Dee, bassiste et parolier, écrit sur ce qu’il connaît (la drogue, le désespoir, la prostitution) dans un style si télégraphique qu’il en est brillant. Le batteur, Tommy, qui a travaillé comme ingénieur du son sur des sessions de Jimi Hendrix, a coproduit Ramones en conservant sa concision et sa pureté. “Nous pensions pouvoir devenir le plus grand groupe du monde”, se souviendra Johnny. D’une certaine façon, c’est ce qui est arrivé. Et c’est par là que tout a commencé.

The Clash, The Clash (1977)

Le 3 avril 1977, un groupe de pub rock originaire de Londres, les 101’ers, donnent un concert avec les jeunes teigneux des Sex Pistols. L’avenir “était là, droit devant moi”, se souviendra Joe Strummer, le chanteur et guitariste des 101’ers. Un an plus tard, Strummer sera la voix rauque du Clash, qui se hissera au sommet des charts anglais avec le premier album rageur de son nouveau groupe. The Clash, qui contient des titres hyperpolitisés faisant écho à la colère de la rue, va transformer le punk anglais, qui n’était jusqu’alors qu’une rébellion de la jeunesse, en arme sociale active au travers de titres comme “White Riot”, “London’s Burning” et “I’m So Bored With the U.S.A.”. Strummer et son co- auteur, le guitariste Mick Jones, ne sont pas des agitateurs nés. C’est leur manager, Bernie Rhodes, qui les incite à aborder des sujets d’actualité dans leurs chansons. Mais l’effet, appuyé par le bassiste Paul Simonon et le batteur d’origine Terry Chimes, est décisif. CBS ne sortira l’album aux États-Unis qu’en 1979, en y ajoutant des singles plus récents. L’original demeure la bande-son d’une révolution naissante.

Never Mind the Bollocks Here’s the Sex Pistols, The Sex Pistols (1977)

Selon Johnny Rotten, “si les sessions s’étaient passées comme prévu, la plupart des gens auraient trouvé ça inaudible« . Pour des millions de personnes, cela fut effectivement le cas. Mais lorsque le seul album officiel des Sex Pistols prend d’assaut les charts pop britanniques, les paroles aboyées par Rotten sur l’avortement et l’anarchie terrorisent la nation tout entière. Le résultat n’en demeure pas moins la bible du punk, dont les influences se font sentir dans tout le rock.

Fun House, The Stooges (1970)

« Les Stooges étaient la parfaite incarnation de ce que la musique devrait être”, explique Thurston Moore, de Sonic Youth. Sur le deuxième album du groupe de Detroit (produit par Don Gallucci, le clavier des Kingsmen), cela signifie un chaos garage en avance de presque dix ans sur son époque. Le guitariste Ron Asheton joue aussi peu d’accords que possible (“T.V. Eye” n’en a qu’un), tandis qu’Iggy Pop canalise un psychédélisme tendance mauvais trip et un R’n’B métallique en une véritable débauche hormonale qui va inspirer des générations de bruitistes refoulés.

Entertainment !, Gang of Four (1979)

Gang of Four, véritable synthèse de James Brown, du hip-hop des débuts et du minimalisme des Ramones, fut une véritable force révolutionnaire en quête de justice pour les classes populaires. Le quatuor originaire de Leeds habille ici sa rhétorique marxiste d’un funk enragé et de rythmes disco vengeurs, le tout tailladé par le jeu assassin du guitariste Andy Gill.

Pink Flag, Wire (1977)

Aucun album ne résume mieux les possibilités infinies offertes par la simplicité radicale du punk que ce premier disque de vingt et un titres débités en 35 minutes chrono. R.E.M., Spoon et Minor Threat figurent parmi les groupes à avoir repris des chansons de Pink Flag, qui vont du hardcore façon Rubik’s Cube de “12 x U” au cauchemar tabloïd de 28 secondes de “Field Day for the Sundays” en passant par “Fragile”, la première jolie chanson d’amour punk. “Un album parfait”, comme le décrit Henry Rollins de Black Flag.

Double Nickels on the Dime, Minutemen (1984)

Ces trois gars du peuple originaire de San Pedro, en Californie, n’avaient aucune prétention mais un sacré bagout, et un goût prononcé pour l’analyse politique super-sérieuse comme dans “The Roar of the Masses Could Be Farts”. Tout au long de ce double album de quarante-cinq chansons, le guitariste D. Boon et le bassiste Mike Watt, amis de toujours et respectueux des mêmes valeurs punks, se renvoient la balle de manière jouissive. Comme le dit Boon dans “History Lesson, Part. II”, “notre groupe pourrait être votre vie”. Ils font également des incursions en territoire jazz et folk, et se permettent des reprises de Creedence Clearwater Revival, Steely Dan et Van Halen. Cet éclectisme eut un impact considérable sur des groupes comme les Red Hot Chili Peppers ou Pavement. Hélas, juste au moment où les Minutemen commençaient à jouir d’une notoriété nationale, Boon fut tué dans un accident de voiture, en 1985, peu après la sortie de leur dernier album, 3-Way Tie (For Last).

Damaged, Black Flag (1981)

“We ! Are tired ! Of your abuse ! Try to stop us ! It’s! No uuuuuuse !” (“Nous ! En avons assez ! De nous faire maltraiter ! Essayez de nous arrêter ! Vous ne pourrez pas y arriver !”). Black Flag, qui a perfectionné le genre hardcore made in Los Angeles, est un pur produit punk porté par la guitare démente de Greg Ginn et la rage toxique d’un Henry Rollins bodybuildé. Damaged leur vaudra de signer sur un gros label, qui refusera de sortir le disque sous prétexte qu’il est “antiparents”. Ce qu’il est effectivement, tout comme il est antiflics, anti-TV, antibière, et bien d’autres choses encore.

Los Angeles, X (1980)

X était un groupe bien trop arty pour la scène hardcore de Los Angeles. Dans ses chansons, le couple formé par John Doe et Exene Cervenka dépeint L. A. comme un cauchemar surréaliste peuplé de psychopathes sous acide et de cinéastes hollywoodiens déchus, le tout porté par la guitare rockabilly un rien déglinguée de Billy Zoom. Le disque est produit par Ray Manzarek des Doors, auxquels ils rendent hommage avec une version de “Soul Kitchen” qui aurait fait dresser les cheveux de Jim Morrison sur sa tête.

Singles Going Steady, Buzzcocks (1979)

Ces petits gars de Manchester firent tomber les barrières entre pop et punk grâce à des petits bijoux totalement irrésistibles parlant de colère et d’hormones, comme “Orgasm Addict” ou la chanson de rupture remarquablement mature “Oh Shit!”. Arme punk suprême, le batteur John Maher mène la danse sur “Ever Fallen in Love” comme s’il dirigeait un séminaire sur la sexualité humaine qui aurait affreusement mal tourné.

Horses, Patti Smith (1975)

Avant même qu’il n’existe, le punk avait déjà sa reine : une poétesse du Lower East Side mêlant à l’envi garage-rock sixties et Rimbaud pour créer sa propre vision hallucinée. Avec le guitariste Lenny Kaye, le pianiste Richard Sohl et le batteur Jay Dee Daugherty (mais aussi son copain du CBGB Tom Verlaine, coauteur de l’hommage à Jim Morrison “Break It Up”), elle accouchera du premier album marquant de la nouvelle scène new-yorkaise. Sa maison de disques détestait la photo de pochette signée Robert Mapplethorpe, un cliché abolissant les frontières entre genres, et tout aussi magnifique que la musique qu’il illustre.

Zen Arcade, Hüsker Dü (1984)

Le power trio du Minnesota transgresse toutes les règles du hardcore à trois accords avec ce double concept album racontant l’histoire d’un jeune gars qui quitte un foyer dysfonctionnel pour tenter sa chance en ville. Bob Mould et Grant Hart délaissent par instants les rugissement colériques pour des envolées d’émotion hardcore, mais la musique se permet parfois des élans psychédéliques ou folk déchaînés, jusqu’à l’instrumental final de 14 minutes, “Reocurring Dreams”.

Dig Me Out, Sleater-Kinney (1997)

En clamant haut et fort « I wanna be your Joey Ramone » (Je veux être ton Joey Ramone) en 1996 sur Call the Doctor, Corin Tucker et Carrie Brownstein de Sleater-Kinney lançaient un défi à elles-mêmes et à l’ensemble de la scène indie rock des années 1990. Leur album suivant, Dig Me Out, le relève haut la main. Le groupe venu d’Olympia, alors enrichi de la batteuse Janet Weiss et donc devenu un trio féministe punk, frappe un grand coup, tant avec le rapide et joyeux “Words and Guitar” qu’avec le romantique et tourmenté “One More Hour”.

New York Dolls, New York Dolls (1973)

Comme dit le chanteur David Johansen, “c’est en montrant que n’importe qui pouvait le faire que les Dolls ont influencé le punk”. Agressifs, crades, androgynes et bruyants, ils auront brillé grâce au glam déjanté de “Trash” et “Personality Crisis” tels des Rolling Stones sous acide. Ce premier album des Dolls, produit par Todd Rundgren, est à la fois glauque et arrogant en diable, raison pour laquelle Malcolm McLaren décidera de manager le groupe, avant de créer les Sex Pistols.

Milo Goes to College, Descendents (1982)

Originaires de L. A., les Descendents pensaient que leur premier album serait leur seul et unique disque, le chanteur Milo Aukerman étant sur le point d’entrer à la fac. Si le garçon obtiendra bien son diplôme de biologie, les Descendents deviendront tout de même une institution pop-punk, s’énervant contre leur pitoyable existence de petits-bourgeois sur “I’m Not a Punk” et “Suburban Home”, montrant ainsi le chemin à des groupes comme Green Day et tous les autres participants du festival Vans Warped Tour.

Marquee Moon, Television (1977)

Television a passé des années à jouer au CBGB avant d’arriver à obtenir un son aussi excitant par son ambition que celui des Ramones l’était par sa simplicité. Marquee Moon, qui s’inspire de la poésie surréaliste et du free-jazz, est le chaînon manquant entre la musique psychédélique des sixties et une folie plus agressive. En fait, il s’agit du premier et du meilleur album punk à guitare, qui donne aux rues sombres de New York un air de cour de récréation mystique.

Dookie, Green Day (1994)

Sorti juste après la mort de Kurt Cobain, le premier album de Green Day à paraître sur une major fit l’effet d’un électrochoc salvateur sur la jeunesse US. Dookie est un pur paradoxe : il se compose de quatorze titres parlant de désespoir, assénés avec un zèle digne des Who, mais qui s’avèrent aussi d’imparables tubes pop calibrés pour la radio. Le chanteur Billie Joe Armstrong l’a un jour décrit comme son “journal intime sur ce que c’est d’être un enfant des rues”, avide de rencontres et frustré au dernier degré.

Bad Brains, Bad Brains (1982)

Les Rastas noirs de Bad Brains avaient des racines jazz et reggae, et pourtant ils ont participé à la fondation de la scène hardcore de D.C. avec leur P.M.A (Positive Mental Attitude). Le groupe, qui doit son nom à une chanson des Ramones, était déjà une légende locale en 1982, à la sortie de son premier album uniquement disponible en cassette, sur lequel figure en bonne place le terriblement speed “Pay to Cum”.

Germfree Adolescents, X-Ray Spex (1978)

Parée d’un appareil dentaire et de fringues fluo, l’ado métisse londonienne Poly Styrene hurle des titres comme “Oh Bondage Up Yours!” (“Oh bondage, je t’encule”) sur des explosions de saxo, ou scande “I am a poseur and I don’t care! I like to make people stare!” (“Je suis un poseuse et je m’en fous ! J’aime que les gens me remarquent !”). Ce premier album explosif n’est jamais sorti aux États-Unis, mais grâce au bouche à oreille, il y est devenu un classique qui a influencé Sleater-Kinney, les Beastie Boys et bien d’autres.

Blank Generation, Richard Hell and the Voidoids (1977)

Cofondateur de Television, Richard Hell a inventé ce qu’il appelait “l’art loqueteux” de la mode punk vestimentaire et capillaire. Pour ce premier projet solo, il engagea Robert Quine, un fan du Velvet Underground dont le jeu de guitare abrasif s’avère idéal sur des antichansons d’amour comme “Betrayal Takes Two” et “Love Comes in Spurts”. Avec la chanson qui donne son nom à l’album, Hell nous offre l’hymne punk suprême, véritable libération née du néant.

The Singles, Bikini Kill (1998)

Sur leur premier album, paru en 1991 et disponible uniquement en cassette, Bikini Kill exigeait “le style révolutionnaire pour les filles, maintenant” (“Revolution Girl Style Now”), et c’est exactement ce que le groupe leader du mouvement riot grrrl des années 1990 nous offre avec ce disque. Le meilleur titre de ce best of demeure “Rebel Girl”, sur lequel apparaît Joan Jett, la mère de toutes les rebelles. En entendant la chanteuse Kathleen Hanna hurler “in her kiss, I taste the revolution”(“son baiser a le goût de la révolution”), des milliers de jeunes rebelles se sentirent prêtes à prendre d’assaut les barricades du patriarcat.

Terminal Tower, Pere Ubu (1985)

Alors que le punk en était à ses premiers frémissements à New York et à Londres, il commençait également à poindre à Cleveland, où Pere Ubu créait un “folk industriel” qui, en 1975, sonnait très post-punk. Le point culminant de ce set d’archive est sans aucun doute le glaçant “Final Solution”, un tube sombre dans lequel le chanteur David Thomas hurle sur la guitare brute de Peter Laughner. Ce dernier, qui ne menait pas une vie d’enfant de chœur, est mort alcoolique, à l’âge de 24 ans, mais le groupe qu’il a cofondé existe toujours.

All Mod Cons, The Jam (1978)

Auto-surnommé « le Cappuccino Kid », Paul Weller, le leader du groupe, canalisa la ferveur punk pour en faire naître un revival mod inspiré par les Kinks et les Who. Le troisième album des Jam offre un instantané de la vie londonienne, de “A’ Bomb in Wardour Street” à “Down in the Tube Station at Midnight”, un titre contre les punks de droite.

Vs., Mission of Burma (1982)

« Je pense qu’en fait, nous sommes un groupe prog-rock qui s’ignore, né à l’époque punk, » a déclaré un jour Clint Conley. Mais le groupe de Boston sera le premier à avoir une approche arty du punk, avec son premier single “Academy Fight Song”, en 1980. Vs. est un disque complexe, mais paradoxalement très noisy, comme le prouvent le titre anti-Reagan “That’s How I Escaped My Certain Fate” et l’hypnotique “Trem Two”.

Album Generic, Flipper (1982)

Flipper, qui doit son nom à un dauphin mort que le chanteur du groupe originaire de San Francisco avait trouvé sur la plage un jour de trip sous acide, avait deux bassistes et était spécialiste des longues impros jouées avec une extrême lenteur, comme le titre de 8 minutes “Sex Bomb”, qui referme Generic. Leur liberté insolente a inspiré Kurt Cobain, qui portait souvent un T-shirt Flipper fait maison.

Complete Discography, Minor Threat (1989)

Minor Threat a défini un nouveau code hardcore avec son tube « Straight Edge » en disant non aux drogues et à l’alcool, mais oui à l’intelligence et à la révolte contre le pouvoir. Bien qu’ils se soient séparés assez vite, les leaders de la scène de Washington D. C. demeurent à ce jour une influence majeure grâce à la sincérité avec laquelle Ian MacKaye a prêché la doctrine “straight edge”, qui explique comment introduire des valeurs révolutionnaires dans la vie de tous les jours.

(GI), The Germs (1979)

Les Germs n’ont sorti qu’un album avant que leur chanteur, Darby Crash (un cas désespéré) ne se donne la mort, en décembre 1980. Mais (GI), produit par Joan Jett, définit la norme d’un certain nihilisme made in L. A., qui masque dans un brouhaha hilarant des textes étonnamment nuancés.

Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash, The Replacements (1981)

La preuve absolue que des pochetrons du Midwest peuvent être aussi rapides, bruyants et crades que n’importe quel junkie new-yorkais, avec à la tête du gang le poète Paul Westerberg, qui coasse des textes sur la picole et le désespoir sur la musique “power trash” du groupe. Ce qui les fait vraiment sortir du lot, c’est l’humour qui se dégage de leurs textes (“Je déteste la musique, elle a trop de notes !”).

Fever to Tell, Yeah Yeah Yeahs (2003)

Trois étudiants en art de New York, menés par la bombe Karen O. Cette dernière miaule comme une panthère en chaleur, avant de vous faire saigner le cœur sur le slow tubesque “Maps”.

Walk Among Us, The Misfits (1982)

Glenn Danzig et sa bande de mutants du New Jersey apportent une touche d’ironie bienvenue à la scène hardcore, avec des tubes d’horror-punk comme “I Turned Into a Martian”.

Cut, The Slits (1979)

Ce groupe entièrement féminin, véritable pionnier en son genre, mêle rythmes reggae et guitares punk sur de joyeuses chansons anarchiques comme “Shoplifting”, qui contient les paroles inoubliables “We pay fuck all!” (“nous ne payons rien”).

Unknown Pleasures, Joy Division (1979)

Aucun groupe punk n’exprimera jamais son sentiment d’aliénation mieux que Joy Division. La voix profonde de Ian Curtis et la torpeur glaciale de sa musique ont inspiré des générations de punks gothiques.

13 Songs, Fugazi (1989)

Ian MacKaye, l’ancien leader de Minor Threat, invente un son post-hardcore sur lequel bouger son corps, et avec “Waiting Room”, il signe le meilleur titre punk repris dans les karaokés.

Penis Envy, Crass (1981)

Le collectif britannique Crass incarnait les idéaux anarchistes du punk, et la diatribe antisexiste de Penis Envy était de nature tout aussi radicale.

Enema of the State, Blink-182 (1999)

Une sorte de version potache ultra-efficace du Dookie de Green Day. Ce succès pop-punk est resté dans les classements pendant soixante-dix semaines.

Deep Fantasy, White Lung (2014)

On dirait Black Flag mené par un croisement de Patti Smith et Stevie Nicks. Les chansons sont toutes de véritables explosions de désir.

Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables, Dead Kennedys (1980)

L’album comico-hardcore ultime, contenant les satires hilarantes “California Über Alles” et “Holiday in Cambodia”.

Jon Dolan, David Fricke, Elisabeth Garben-Paul, Andy Greene, Will Hermes, Rob Sheffield, Douglas Wolk, Kathleen Aubert (traduction).

[aleatoryalarmalligator]

Life Story Part 48

I agreed to go to this thing called The Rendezvous with Sarah and her mom and her mom's boyfriend Jim. Both Sarah's mom Carol and her boyfriend Jim were very enthusiastic about doing things as people had done them back in the days of the Oregon Trail, and Fur trappers of the American North West. The Rendezvous is basically this established setting of people who trade goods that they have made over the course of the year that people might have used to make food, hunt, eat or have for entertainment back in the 1800's. It was something that lasted about five days, and most of the people who went camped for those five days, dressed in 1800's attire, with fur hats and full homemade leather outfits. Just a lot of incredibly odd people who spent the year sometimes making these old flasks and jars of molasses and articles of clothing.

I personally have never been fond of camping. It's great up till the point where you are trying to sleep and there are mosquitoes and it suddenly becomes freezing, and as you lay on the uneven ground that deceptively seemed like a sound place to set up your tent hours ago, and you wonder why you willingly chose to sleep on the dirt when there are warm beds in an inn somewhere twenty miles down the way, and you now have to listen to a bunch of drunk racist rednecks screaming their head off down the road at their campfire. I always think about Timothy Treadwell and that bear that ate him and his girlfriend alive. And then the sun comes up in the morning and it goes from 20 degrees to 95 degrees very quickly, and there is nowhere decent to use the bathroom and you have to spend most of the time packing up. It's nothing like the way people lived back in the old days, because back then there was a level of reason to be out in the woods at time and a level of appreciation for being savvy and conservative with what you had. And yes, there are those people who have these elaborate motor homes with televisions, plumbing, air conditioning and all of that, but that's not really camping is it? For me it has always been best to spend the day out in the mountains, and then return to civilization to sleep, and go back in the morning refreshed.

Anyway, we went to this thing with her mother and stepdad. For some strange reason Katie (remember her?), was still sort of in touch with Sarah and her mother here and again, and she came along as well. Katie was probably the most enthused about this kind of outdoorsy return to simpler times, me being the least, the city loving well electronic opium addict that I am. The campgrounds were outside of this small town in eastern Washington called Colfax. It was essentially just this big hideous field that became really hot in the daylight hours, and freezing in the evenings. And it was horrible hot. There was nothing worthy of buying, and I felt it was torture by day one. I wasn't about to make Sarah have to stay up there for five days alone though. Sarah and I were very close in that way. If one of us were supposed to suffer with an activity, we tended to try to stick together and do it together to make the most of it.

Katie was very enthusiastic about it. And we managed to befriend this kid named Shane who hailed from some rich area of Spokane, had a dad with a very fancy motor home we could hang out a little in, much too nice for any true mountain men of the wild frontier days. But most of the time, it was just as matter of all of us sitting around trying to pretend that sweat wasn't running down our chins. I was especially light headed given that I was dieting still and wasn't taking in adequate carbohydrates. Carol, dressed in a dress of the archaic age everyone was celebrating, was doing things from scratch like churning butter and all that. The 'mountain men' would sit around and drink beer, and say little things to us girls about how feisty we were, and that sort of thing. They all had mountain man names – or at least so called mountain man names like Hawk, or Turtle. I saw these men's friendliness as thinly veiled sexist attempts to flirt. Carol was cautious that we didn't go to these guys to hang out, though for Sarah and I the caution was hardly necessary. Katie didn't find anything weird or wrong about the way the men treated her, and seemed to feel like she was one of those men herself. The men all called her 'Heaps-a-trouble' and she stayed up all Saturday night with all these gross old men dressed like Davy Crockett, drinking herself to oblivion, and sleeping outside of our campground by her vomiting and in the state of a major hangover. It was far from ideal, but all in all this was the sort of thing that Katie thoroughly enjoyed and made the most of, and ultimately I am glad that she was okay.

I was never so happy to finally be home, and it would be the last time that I seriously considered a long-term camping trip with anyone. I was sunburned from head to toe, I smelled horrendous, My hair was thick and crusty with dirt and filth. And I think this is universal for anyone who has been sleeping on the ground too long, but my bed literally felt heavenly after I got out of the tub.

I was feeling really limited with music that I knew about at this point. It seemed like there was a lot out there that I just couldn't buy. There were musicians who just didn't get sold in Hastings or anywhere else really. But as far as I knew, there wasn't anywhere you could find music to listen to. I managed to find one place, I think it was called something like allcds.com or something like that. It was here were I would repeatedly listen to forty second sound bites from songs. It was here where I became acquainted with Johnny Thunders, Billy Bragg, The Modern Lovers and Captain Beefheart. I really was able to derive a lot just by hearing these poor quality soundbites over and over again. I would dream of the day that I might be able to buy albums like these. I also would sometimes listen to The Smiths and cringe. I would look at pictures of Morrissey and find him to be so annoying I just wanted to punch his face in. The level of vulnerability that came from him, in pictures or in music was really hard for me to handle. At the time, I didn't believe people should be soft, particularly women, but men too. I believed the world was a harsh place and in turn everyone should fight their way to the top. There was a sort of struggle I was having with connecting femininity to weakness, and I had been made to feel weak so much that there was this automatic need for me to oppose anything I deemed as weak. Morrissey had this nihilistic mopiness about him I couldn't even believe was real. And his hair was just too much.

At this time, Sarah and I were listening to a lot of Mudhoney, and the reason was almost entirely because for whatever reason Mudhoney albums were only three or four dollars a piece at Hastings and they were affordable and there were millions of them spilling out of the M section. Sarah and I really just couldn't afford anything more and it was such a good deal, and we wanted new music. At first, I don't even think I liked Mudhoney all that much, but I forced it upon myself until I did. I think I even learned to play 'Acetone' on guitar at some point.

Sarah would often come with me into Lewiston to visit. After the gig at Brenda's was up, my mother – in a bind, asked if we could stay at Jim and Connie's again. It was only for a few weekends. I think when Sarah would come with me on the weekends, she started maybe thinking about connecting more with her own dad, who rarely ever reached out to her. He had bought her an Ibanez acoustic guitar, and I think he might have financially contributed to buying her a bass as well, though I am not sure of the details regarding that. I think her father might have contacted her that weekend and told her he would take her to the Rockin' On the River festival, which was this small little musical thing that was supposed to happen in Clarkston out by the river each summer. It might have been the first of second year they decided to have it. She of course agreed to go, if only she could invite me as well.

From what I remember, her father showed up at my mom's that weekend to take us to the place. I remember it was a hot summer day, and I was wearing a bandanna around my head. The bands were all quite boring. The main act was the #1 Rolling Stones cover band of the US, and I remember seeing glimpses of the singer, a man who people said was pretentious and psychologically obsessed with embodying Mick Jagger in every way. He was in a terrible mood and kept waving people to get away from him. The opening act was this band that came from the area, and I remember nothing of their music other than they used a mandolin for one of their songs which was interesting. Then this other band came on, and they were famous for having made the theme song for a canceled sitcom at some point. It was very very hot. Sarah's dad wasn't happy to be there and I am not sure why he offered if he was going to be so upset about it, but we avoided him for the most part.

This guy came up to me who I didn't recognize at all. He said hi to me as though we knew each other well, and he started talking about my mom and sisters. I eventually couldn't nod or avoid it and I had to ask who he was, and he seemed shocked that I didn't recognize him. It was Chris. Chris was the singer of that band that never really was a band that my mom used to write lyrics for. He had dated my oldest sister Maria for awhile, and had been a very gross man that had lived in my mother's place back in 1999. The most clear memory I have of him was him spending a stupid amount of time beating up this stuffed animal Barney on the floor. Chris no longer had long hair, and he seemed to have taken a shower at some point. But then he started going on about how Maria was filth, and she deserved the beating she got for staying with Earl. This isn't to say that I have a great amount of admiration for Maria, but the fact that this complete stranger essentially wanted to come up to me and start talking poorly about the personal decisions of my eldest sister pissed me off. Maria hadn't seen Chris for six years, and I really don't believe she ever did anything too terribly cruel to him per say. So I told him to fuck off, and I walked away. He kept following me trying to apologize and it was quite annoying. Even when I had known him, I had been ten years old. We had nothing to say to one another.

I never got to see the Rolling Stones cover band perform. Sarah's dad mysteriously came up to us in the evening sun and told us we had to leave immediately. He was fuming about something in his thick Texas accent. I couldn't help but look at Sarah's dad and see so very little in common between the two. Sarah's dad was a meth addicted cowboy who never looked anyone in the eyes, was psychologically deranged and seemed incapable of ever confronting that he made a mistake, that and he was an opportunist and he had this distant unstable sense that he thought he knew everything. Whenever something didn't go his way, or he wanted something that was not his, he only had to convince himself that it was has, or that he was right. He didn't see Sarah as a person. I had seen pictures of him as a boy, and Sarah had a lot of similar facial features to boy Dean – that's his name, but when I looked at his face I could see nothing of Sarah's pixie like features on him. Sarah on the contrary seemed very much present and thoughtful in all the ways he was not. It was an absence of a relationship between the two that I thought was very strange. Dean might very well have been the most selfish man I have ever met.

He was angry about the road he was on, and he wanted to be at the other side of this field, so he simply swerved off the road into this field and drove across it to get to the other side. It made for quite a bumpy ride. He put this tape in the tape deck of older early 80's country and started talking really loud about how this was REAL COUNTRY, and the rest of it was a bunch of gays or something highly offensive and silly. We were to stay the night at this trailer he was staying in. He got angry when Sarah and I wanted to walk to the store to pick up something to eat, and he was weird towards us staying up late. But all in all, it was okay – meaning we survived to see another day. The next day I think we went back to my mothers so we could hang out and be on more comfortable terms.

I think it was two days later, but Sarah got a call from her uncle telling her that her father had just suffered a stroke. Sarah had never actually openly professed much care for her father given that he had very little to do with her at all – this visit was one of the most prolonged visits she had ever had since she was three, but I realized in that moment that some part of her very much did care after all. She still felt abandoned by him, and I think it actually effected her personally. It might have been some microscopic aspect of her mysteriously low sense of self worth. I don't know really though. She was very worried and as soon as the operation was done – I think the next day when the hospital said that Dean could have visitors, she went into the hospital to visit him. It was only about two blocks from where Jim and Connie were living, so she walked over by herself.

About a half hour later, she came back from the hospital weeping. I hadn't really seen Sarah cry all that often. She had gone into the hospital, fearful that her dad's life was in jeopardy, and being very open and caring about it. He had started to call her worthless, and a bunch of other things from the hospital bed. I don't remember what all was said, other than it felt to me like cruel comments seemed to come quite naturally from him. Everything he said was wrong of course, but he had essentially cut down Sarah pretty badly. He had called me a piss ant as well – whatever that even means, though it wasn't all that personal to me, or probably aimed at me so much as it was aimed at Sarah. After that, I don't think that Sarah ever made any real efforts to contact her father. She might have had lunch with him a few times after that, once every four years or so, but as of now, she hasn't spoken to him for five years or more. She doesn't know if he's alive or dead and she now genuinely doesn't care.

My mom found a new deal of a place. It was a house on the hills on the outskirt hill of Clarkston next to the river. It was a decent sized house. She knew this family the Nyes from her bartending. They were relatively wealthy, and both the mother and father had jobs that entailed fixing arcade games, emptying and refilling venting machines. I am not sure what it was exactly that they did or how they made so much money doing it, but it was some strange combination of those two. And they had some kids, that I never ended up meeting that my mom was given a discount on the rent of this second home they owned. There were these two little identical twin girls I remember seeing and hearing about, with blonde curls. They looked like angels.

The house had three bedrooms. She took the big room, and then gave both the other rooms to David, which was absurd and sort of unfair – not that Allison and I had no been through worse – I'd been made to sleep in clothes that had been vomited on and cold concrete, but it goes to show the level of extreme spoiling she did to David. I didn't really mind anyway, because I preferred spending most of my time on the couch watching movies anyway, and my mom was either babysitting the Nyes children or she was bartending and if not bartending she was surely running to her boyfriend Danny's place to cater to him. So it was basically my place for that whole summer. The air conditioner worked very well, and I have never failed to appreciate the wonders of a well working air conditioner. I remember I spent one of my rare times when I felt close to my mother, helping her remodel the bathroom. She put up this really neat wallpaper with elephants and lions. It wasn't as tacky as it sounds. It had an African theme, and it was probably one of the nicest bathrooms in any place I have ever lived.

Mostly what I remember about the Nyes was that outside, right next door and essentially what seemed like our front lawn, there was a house that was under construction. So everyday there were about ten men outside working on building this house next door. I could often hear them outside building away into the early evening. I also remember starving in that house. Just thinking of it gives me this confused shaky feeling. I spent a good deal of time dizzy and crazed with hunger, fighting against this sense that I must carry on for the sake of everything I hold dear and that even eating one bite of whatever something my mother brought home would bring me down forever. I swear she would at times bring home cakes and stuff just to get me to lose my momentum. And I was starting to take diet pills. They seemed to work pretty well, and I was very fond of them and kept them close by whenever I started feeling like I was a failure for not losing weight quickly enough. I dyed my hair fire engine red and cut bangs for myself in that place.

I started watching Johnny Depp movies over and over again. Mostly, I watched Crybaby, What's Eating Gilbert Grape?, Benny and Joon, Edward Scissorhands, Secret Window, and From Hell over and over again. I watched From Hell the most. I probably watched that movie about one hundred times. I don't recall what I loved about that movie so much, other than it had Johnny Depp in it. I guess a part of it may have been that I have always really enjoyed the late 1800's – early 1900's. There was something edgy about Jack the Ripper, it involved the freemasons on some level (though I never took the movie very seriously in this regard), there was an unhappy ending, and it had Johnny Depp in it. I also remember really liking the Marilyn Manson song at the end, I think it was 'The Nobodies'.

Crybaby was my favorite, until the end which I was always strongly disappointed by. There is this point that is near the ending of the film where Iggy Pop in a rabbit costume swoops down on a rope and collects Alison from a duet of Mr. Sandman with Baldwin, and he says 'YOU SING WITH THE SQUARES! OR YOU CAN SING WITH THE DRAPES?!' or something like that. And then it suddenly goes to the jail cell where she somehow dances her way in and gets him unlocked. I always hated that scene. What's more, the judge suddenly is cool with the Drapes, and Baldwin is taken down by a game of Chicken on their vehicles. It seemed empty after Iggy Pop made his proclamation. I understand the spoofy nature of Crybaby, but there was weak writing in the end comparatively to the beginning. Like, the Drapes are no longer considered bad at the end, and that took from the edginess of everything they stood for. And then a game of Chicken should never have been enough to get rid of the Square assholes for good and all. It gave me this sad sense that there could be no longer term existence to any of the things that the outsiders stood or lived for. There was this nihilistic sense of futility I would feel on the last scene where Crybaby and Alison are holding each other in picturesque fashion. Like nothing could be that good and stay real. It's best to live for small moments of perfection in your life, because any sense that a person can elongate out the fabric of their feelings, nothing stays the same. I mean, at the very end of the film, if anyone thought about it at all, the very notion that the 50's would inevitably come to an end was depressing enough given the style and nature of the characters and their circumstances. Youth dies, relationships fall apart. Glory fades. Nothing stays the same. It never meant anything.

Aside from those movies, I watched the movie Jawbreaker a lot as well. I think it was because it had Marilyn Manson in it for about five seconds. It's kind of weird to think about now, but I used to have an enormous crush on Marilyn Manson. I don't know why. It wasn't a sexual fetish, or something like that as it might be perceived. I don't know. He just seemed to have a presence about him that I was intrigued by, and not the obvious stuff like the eye and the hair. It was more in his demeanor. In interviews and such, he always seemed incredibly thoughtful and intelligent. And honest. He was more than ready in every way possible to explore unpleasant topics. There was a level of honest and creativity and self worship that I really admired, and that sense that he had created himself rather than letting middle of the road go-green car commercial get married grow boring and die mentality, or the Jerry Springer billboard emptiness rule who he became. To me he embodied some sense of meaning for what it meant to be alive. He was revenge for what modern society had taken away from us, but what that something was was very hard to say. I felt like he really got it, and he represented folks like me. I didn't adore his music that much. I was a fan of Mechanical Animals. I wasn't interested in drugs or partying too much. But there was really something about him that caught my eye.

I lastly, remember watching this movie about Jeffrey Dahmer, simply called 'Dahmer'. It chronicles a series of murders that Jeffrey Dahmer was responsible for and how he eventually got caught and all of that. It was very gross. I was eating this TV dinner while watching it, and as I watched Dahmer slowly and experimentally put his hand into the guts of this young man he had just grotesquely killed and put screws into his head, and I looked down at my dinner and it looked like nothing short of the guts on screen. It made me totally sick to my stomach and whenever I smell that certain kind of TV dinner sauce I get sick a little bit.

It was around this time that I got into my first serious fight with Sarah. It started out that we were driving around. Sarah had just received her first car, the 1979 blue Honda Civic with a rack on top– one of the only cars I can readily identify. We were driving around town. Sarah's mom wasn't really allowing Sarah to drive out to Lewiston or Moscow or anything for the time being, but she was letting her experiment by driving around the small towns of Juliaetta and Kendrick.  We stopped at the Juliaetta market/gas station – and Zack was suddenly just out there filling up the tank of his own vehicle. I was in shock and had no time to adjust to it. Sarah, innocently enough, drove right up to him and pulled down her window to start talking to him. He seemed to be leaning down and only talking to her. It was general stuff of, 'how have you been', and so on, but with her looking out the window, and Zack looking in, I felt suddenly very excluded. He had looked over at me briefly, but he hadn't even said hi.

Sarah and him were chatting, and then he started telling us about how his sister Whitney had just written a letter to Charles Manson and and Charles Manson had written to her letter in return. Zack seemed to have this enormous amount of respect for Charles Manson, and started saying that Charles Manson still being alive was the one 'great hope' for us all. I didn't know very much about Charles Manson, but it seemed borderline cruel to the people he had killed to think such a thought. But Zack said it so mindlessly and with the same level of conviction that he said all the other things he said. I started to feel this little tinge in the back of my head, this strange sense that I had spent the previous two years based on a lie, but I internally shoved that thought out before I let myself have it.

Mostly, I was silently freaking out. I felt like the rules of the game had suddenly shifted somehow. Why did Zack want to talk to Sarah rather than me? Didn't he remember me? Did he not remember all the things he said to me, about how special I was? He seemed to spend very little time looking at me or talking to me. He just was looking straight at Sarah and her straight back. And even though it honestly was not the primary reason, with my new hair – which I had sort of done something with for the first time ever, and my clean clothes and my more fit appearance – however minor – well, I really thought that Zack would have liked me more. I was being naive.  And I hated myself too because I knew that if I wanted Zack to talk to me, than really I should have been the one to reach out, rather than expecting him to talk to me. But if I talked, or ever asserted a real opinion, I felt and sort of knew he may not have liked me anymore. I had actually changed so much from ages thirteen to sixteen that I didn't know who he expected me to be even if he had talked to me.

The conversation was brief outside the store, and we headed back to my house to watch a movie. I started feeling alarmingly jealous of Sarah. Nothing ever seemed to go wrong for her. Her father was a loser, but that was it. I felt that she was taking my ambition and dreams and putting them for herself because she wanted to be 'cool' like I was. But she was just going through the motions to avoid feeling like there was nothing she wanted. She just copied me, and then went on to be far more successful with her copy of me than I ever was with my original. And now, even Zack liked her better. She had hogged all the spotlight and I had been forgotten in that five minute moment we had had back there. I was overreacting horrible, getting into this extreme thinking and it was getting hard for me to control myself much of the time. I was feeling really horrible about myself, suicidal and alone, seeing everything I had tried to become as some kind of gimmick, returning to this feeling of shame and being absolutely unlovable and weak. Just a worm hiding behind a mask. I didn't even feel human. Sarah was essentially Jolene in that Dolly Parton song. I felt like she had taken my man, but I wasn't about to sound or act out crazy enough to start pleading with her, so instead I felt overwhelmed and upset with her for being a fake.

We rented the movie we were going to watch. It was Wes Anderson's 'The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou. Sarah knew there was something wrong coming off of me in the car. She was probably clueless as to why I was mad. She didn't even have a confirmed knowledge that I was still in love with Zack. And if she had, I don't know that she really understood how a person could mean so much to another person at that time. In many ways, she saw crushes and boyfriends as something far more simple. She didn't know how to read this part of me very well. My sudden shifts in mood and sense of self worth was constantly wavering constnantly by this time in my life, and it took everything in my power to honestly not freak out at Sarah. It's like I couldn't tell if she was my friend or my enemy anymore. There was no between. Everything was pure or completely wretched and contaminated. I had this way of wanting to psychoanalyze everyone just to find an excuse to feel they were weak. My ego was both small, and very large all at the same time. It was very hard to exist in my own skin. Things felt like they were going crazy all the time. I had these ideals I felt that I had to live up to at all costs. And I was so far from them. The more this went on, the harder I was starting to lash out.

I wouldn't answer Sarah for the remainder of the evening, and I think I even raised me voice at her for no good reason when I finally did say something. I think she meekly asked me what was wrong, and I lashed out in some fashion. It wasn't very reasonable or kind for me to do this, but I was out of my mind at that point and little reason could enter into my thoughts. I was afraid that if I started losing it, it would never end. None the less and despite the awkwardness of the situation, we sat down and watched the entire movie, and despite that I was feeling suicidal, I found myself really enjoying everything about the film. It was this strange sensation of being enthralled and wanting to die. But by the time the movie was over, I a was still upset, and nothing had gotten better. We ended up driving around. Sarah was begging me at this point to tell her what was wrong, but I was so tired of fighting with her at that point. I felt like when she and I fought, she got some kind of strange stressful catharsis out of it, and it ultimately changed nothing. I really wanted things to change, and she wanted to spin in place. So talking to her was pointless. I kept telling her I didn't want to talk about it, until finally I snapped. It was dark by then, and we were parked at the end of town in a parking place for motor homes to get water and such. A few homes down, there was the sound of Metallica playing in the distance.

I snapped at her, telling her she was phony and she didn't really want to be in a band or change the world because she stood for nothing. She just wanted approval and to be comforted by shallow meaningless comforts and that people saw her and they thought she was a rebel and they saw me and thought I was worthless. She started crying and agreeing with everything I said. So I told her that if she agrees with me, than why does she continue to do it? Her answer was muddled and unclear and we were both crying at this point. I got even angrier and started actually raising my voice a bit telling her I didn't care if she agreed with me or not, I wanted her to actually understand. That she shirked a certain kind of responsibility and that simply avoiding things that didn't feel good was no way to live. She could give me no answers, and sort of just repeated herself. I told her I didn't know why she was even friends with me at all. We were both sobbing at the end, and she drove me home. I ran to my room and cried myself to sleep.

The thing about all of this was, is that Sarah definitely did have many of the problems with being fake and avoiding responsibility and all of that. She didn't stand for much, often got credit for being quirky and cute. She definitely had a lot of lessons to learn. She was copying me in several respects. She wanted my vision and passion and my struggles to be hers because she couldn't seem to feel passionate or really struggle. She was a softly spoiled only child and I was not. Having been through all of what I had, having goals and vision and standing for something was in many ways all I really felt I could have. Strangely, one of the reasons I think she did value my friendship was because underneath her need to insulate herself and receive empty praise was this sense of self loathing and emptiness that nobody would ever be able to easily identity, and I was constantly calling her out for it. Which made her feel like someone registered who she actually was.

On my end of it, I was showing strong signs of mental illness, and at the time, much of my behavior was similar to what I have read about Borderline. I can't say that I actually had Borderline, but there were some strong resemblances. And my self worth when it came to living in the world and communicating with people was very low. I had somehow become egotistical, and was in some ways, simply believing myself to be some kind of fucking saint that could go around like I was perfect, acting like I knew more than anyone else. It was kind of awful. But I wasn't capable of much alone. I relied on Sarah to basically do things for me that I couldn't do for myself. And she was honestly my only friend, the only person who really genuinely seemed to value me as a person,  the only person I could feel comfortable being myself around, and more or less my only family in many respects. Plus, Sarah really did have a natural and beautiful charisma about her. It's something I liked about her, and it's something most everyone who knew Sarah also liked about her. She wasn't faking that. She had this gentle way of making me feel better a lot of the time, and she was incredibly supportive. So my reliance on her was creating a very strange conflict within myself. She had a place in the world more than I did. She was prettier than me. Nobody wanted to be around me to be torn to bits for not meeting my impossible standards.

In any case, I was probably the last person to have the right to criticize Sarah.

I ended up avoiding Sarah's phone calls for two weeks. I don't know what I was doing actually. I felt weird about having kind of yelled at her (it wasn't yelling, but it was aggressively louder than normal speaking voice level). I was really tired of getting into fights and then continuing on as though it hadn't happened. And I wanted what I had said to actually mean something to her. I felt like she wanted me to be mad, and I still believe she sort of did. Still, we were going to be enrolling into a new school together and going everyday. Surely we were still friends. I just didn't know. With my extreme change in perspective it was hard to tell from day to day if she wasn't my friend at all, or if we were the very best of friends that had ever existed. I lived in this sort of suspended state where I didn't have any permanent perspective, and yet I was very much certain that I was always right. I imagine it got to be pretty annoying if anyone had actually talked to me other than Sarah.

Eventually, we made up two weeks later. I don't know if anything was really said about it however. We just needed to start working together again, so we made it work.

`PART 47 - http://tinyurl.com/y8xyogl9

PART 46 - http://tinyurl.com/ybqoxned

PART 45 - http://tinyurl.com/y94784tz

PART 44 - http://tinyurl.com/ydfpbzxt

PART 43 - http://tinyurl.com/yckvswd7

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PART 9 - http://tinyurl.com/yc2t6vfw  

PART 8 - http://tinyurl.com/ybl37utq

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PART 3 - http://tinyurl.com/mwp9atx

PART 2 - http://tinyurl.com/lbt6xq2

PART 1 - http://tinyurl.com/l8xbvg8