#except……… I think Oscar is much more in tune with Charlie than the other two. and vice versa. like they Get eachother much the same way

[potato-lord-but-not]

I offer to you the ship of Roland Cummings, Delphine Cummings, and Charlie Dowd that has been absolutely rotting my brain and is ripe for Charlie angst. I talk about them a bit here in which I discuss multiple Charlie ships but I must spread the propaganda of them o7

Ohhhhhh despite not really being Roland/Noel girlie I can indeed see the appeal 👀

[3006tocontrol]

WOOF! first post in over six years - i'd been off the casualty bandwagon longer than i thought. sorry 4 hoarding this url lmao

i've been watching casualty on-and-off since 2006 (series 21 i think). none of the cast that were there when i started watching (excluding long running extras - shout out to paul oscar anderson!), and i'd often tune in after a period of non-watching to a cast of characters i knew nothing about. but up until this march, there was an exception to this rule: charlie! he was a familiar face, a constant and comforting presence and anchor - though i did often wonder if he had a short term memory issue given that he was remarkably emotionally stable given the loss of two spouses and all the traumatic coworker deaths. i wouldn't be surprised if they numbered in the hundreds after nearly 40 years (come to think of it, there have been a couple of character deaths where other characters been shown planting a tree outside the hospital to memorialise them - i always think, how is the hospital not now surrounded by forest?).

anyway. going off on a tangent there. i always assumed that casualty would end when charlie left. he's almost synonymous with casualty. i obviously had to watch his exit. started watching the episode before, then had the typical casualty re-entry experience of realising i had no context for what was going on, or any of the characters, with the exception of dylan, iain, jacob (who i thought was a nurse but is apparently a paramedic now? am i misremembering?), rash (who i think first appeared not long before i last fell off the bandwagon, so he still felt fairly new to me), and of course charlie. so i went back and watched all of a history of violence (casualty series have names now??? was news to me). i didn't really watch casualty at all from 2018-2023, and i notice that the format has changed a bit - the mini-series with more frequent breaks, which i think is probably a good idea, but also the sort of disintegration (to some extent) of the classic casualty dramatic distaster-of-the-week formula, which... yeah okay, i understand why they did it, it's hard to maintain that after 40 years. but i really liked it, even when it was cheesy or silly. hell, especially when it was cheesy or silly. i loved it when an episode started with something like a woman up a ladder in slipper socks holding a bunch of glassware and a long metal rod in a lightning storm. oooh, is she gonna fall? is she gonna get struck by lightning? is she going to safely descend the ladder as we cut to her husband gasping and clutching his chest? or her son collapsed on the toilet with a needle in his arm? is the whole house just going to burst into flame? all possibilities in holby - most casualty watchers have played "guess the accident". i was sad to see that format break down a bit. but then i was extra pleased that they brought it back with a vengeance for charlie's last episode. the road accident was an absolutely classic casualty Series of Unfortunate Events (tm) - just escalation after escalation, and then an oil tanker barrelling in just to double fuck everything right when you thought it had finished. it felt like the writers had just thrown out all their reservations about cheesiness or believability to give charlie one last absolutely classic casualty disaster. and i LOVED it, despite the undeniable cheesiness - not just in the disaster but charlie's flashback, the 80s dialed up to 11 (tears for fears on the walkman, someone said "sod thatcher", everything looks yellow), the reveal that the little girl he treated in the flashback was stevie, the "whatever the bloody hell i want" response to being asked what he was going to do with his retirement. i know some people thought it was a bit much, but i liked it. the final scene where he leaves the hospital was really touching as well, mostly because you could tell that there wasn't really any acting involved there - it was as much them acting out a scene in which the hospital staff applaud charlie as it was genuinely just all the actors and crew applauding derek thompson. and there's a moment where he's clearly caught off guard by it and chokes up (don't get me wrong, i've got a lot of respect for derek thompson, but i don't think his acting ability is quite up to that) and jfc i nearly did the same.

the prospect of charlie giving his life to the NHS and then facing death because the system is breaking down and there wasn't a surgeon available for him was heartrending, too, even though i was sure they were never actually going to let charlie die. one thing i love about newer casualty is that they're not afraid to be honest about the state of the NHS in a way that is undeniably political, to the extent that sadly it sometimes surprises me that the BBC allows it. whilst they are "quasi-independent" or whatever it's called, their status as a government-funded entity means that there have been instances over the last 14 years where it has felt like it has pandered to tory opinion (perhaps in the hope that it won't experience any further drastic cuts if it can endear itself to those in power? i don't know). my train of thought is getting lost here but hopefully you get what i mean

the only thing was, i was sort of expecting more of... i dunno, a fuss? a feature length episode, or more classic character guest appearances? i was expecting zoe, and was pleased to see her face (and iconic purple stethoscope) in the ED again after all these years. i was caught off guard by josh, and i genuinely jumped out of my seat and cheered when he appeared on screen (despite it being about 2am at the time lmfao). but i was expecting more - especially in comparison to his 30th anniversary episode. i know a lot of them in the 30th anniversary ep were clips (i imagine so the actors were able to do the scenes remotely rather than on set), but honestly i wouldn't have minded if they pulled the same trick again. if departed characters recorded clips for his 30th anniversary party, surely they'd record them for his retirement party? eh

[theloniousbach]

A Listener’s Journal #24: The Jazz Piano Trio in the 1950s, Pt. 3: Monk in Context

I started this (probably) three part series thinking about how Bud Powell, Oscar Peterson, Errol Garner, and Ahmad Jamal (and, Nat King Cole, I was reminded after the fact) helped create the piano/bass/drums but sometimes early on guitar trio as a fixture in jazz.  Art Tatum's virtuosity and embellishment was an influence as these players built a repertoire around the Great American Songbook.

Part 2 looked at Miles's '50s pianists--Red Garland, Wynton Kelly, and Bill Evans with Ahmad Jamal's space and taste as formative on Miles and influential on these players.

Now, I happily think about Thelonious Monk again, in relation to his friends Bud Powell and Elmo Hope along with the under appreciated Herbie Nichols.  These are composers, mostly, and I'll focus on Powell's "Un Poco Loco," Hope's "B's a Plenty," and Nichol's "Shuffle Montgomery."  The Monk trio work includes his original Blue Note 10" recordings recently rereleased, a '65 Columbia date, and two anomalous Riverside discs, one devoted to Ellington tunes and the other of standards.  The anomalies are chances to explore just how he conceived of tunes, the de/re- construction of standards sheds light on the ones he built himself.  

Monk's compositional logic is one of the more immediate rewards of my "listener's piano" exercises which I've reinitiated after a hiatus that began in the summer.  I have been playing much more guitar, in part spurred on by what I had been doing with the piano.  I return to the keyboard with a clearer sense on how to learn music.  "Well You Needn't" was where I started with an A part modulating from F6 to Gfl 6 with a nifty little repeated figure and a bridge with a figure that moves in half steps from G7 to B7 and back down.  I want to return to "Misterioso" which similarly takes a pattern up and down by steps to reinforce my wonder at the sheer logic of Monk's music,  It sounded so fresh, so magical, and so unlike anyone else, that it is a revelation to have even a small sense of how it works.  And how it works is as fascinatingly logical as JS Bach; making my theloniousbach sobriquet even more appropriate than I imagined.

But, it's equally true that Monk didn't exist in a vacuum--and listening to him in relation to these comrades has suggested some context.

Bud Powell is a giant, a mighty improviser who stood his ground with Charlie Parker.  A subsequent Listener's Journal with think about those two with Milt Jackson and Clifford Brown as consummate players (it will be hard to resist calling it "Bird, Bud, Bags, and Brownine").  He plays more covers than the others as he gobbles up improvisational vehicles.  But, his "Un Poco Loco" has a Latin rhythmic feel and Monkish angularity.  It's busier than Monk (nearly everybody is.  Monk can and does play, but his genius is that he's brave enough to let his compositions stand in their stark simplicity.), but it is nicely off kilter and of course he has a flurry of ideas about what to do with it.  Powell was Monk's friend and honored by the contrefactual of "Blue Skies," "In Walked Bud."  They were bebop veterans together, peers.

Elmo Hope was friends with both of them and can be seen as a synthesis of both of them.  That is, he is a fluid, adept player who deftly incorporates Monk's wonderful angles and discords.  He bears serious attention and I have welcomed this opportunity to listen to him closely in this context.  His "B's a Plenty" kicks off his self-titled album.  It's a jaunty bit of virtuosity, a prime example of being the proud little brother of Monk and Powell.  That would be enough except the wonderful little shards of phrases of at least "In Walked Bud" which perfectly makes the point.  It's busier than Monk, but then it's supposed to be.  It's also more than just Bud Powell lite.  His fluidity, invention, and skill deserve their own attention.

Finally, there's the even more undersung  Herbie Nichols who came to my attention years ago in AB Spellman's Four Lives in the Bebop Business.  Just as in this context, he was lesser known than Ornette Coleman, Cecil Taylor, and Jackie McLean.  His portrayal of Coleman as fiercely innocent was formative and Taylor's equally fierce intelligence was vivid.  McLean probably had the most contemporary success yet had that snatched from his too.  Nichols though was perhaps the most tragic figure.  He played the gigs he could, never quite in the mainstream (or perhaps they were too mainstream and old-fashioned).  In any case, his curious (and quite wonderful compositions) never got their due.  There are 4 Blue Note discs, but these tunes really didn't get played until Rosewell Rudd, Steve Lacy, and thenBen Allison and Frank Kimbrough (who in 2018 also did a wonderful survey of all 70 Monk compositions with Scott Robinson, Rufus Reid, and Billy Drummond) did a couple of albums with a quintet as the Herbie Nichols Project which also incorporated manuscripts that were never even recorded.  The exception that proves the rule is that Nichol's wrote the signature Billie Holiday song "Lady Sings the Blues."

Nichols is a thoughtful composer who creates nifty little puzzles to work through.  They are smart but not simply head trips.  "2300 Skidoo" and, for my purposes, "Shuffle Montgomery" have catchy but quirky melodies that sneak up on the listener.  He's a fine player and these albums are appealing, but the emphasis is on the compositions.  Monk recorded several versions of his tunes and that made the individual performances interesting as we got to compare sax players (oh what sax players), arrangements, rhythm sections.  If Monk had only been able to record one version of his tunes, we'd delight in them as compositions and wonder at the piano technique behind them.  Nichols isn't nearly as idiosyncratic as Monk as both pianist and composer, but, insofar as I think I know the dancer from the dance, in Nichol's it's the compositions.  But those are way more than enough to seek out these recordings on their own and in worthy juxtaposition to Powell, Hope, and Monk himself.

The piano trio came of age in the 1950s.  Getting to listen to all of these players chronicled in these three linked essays have secured them in my regular attention in this defiinitive idiom.

[diamantcowboy]

Radio, a yank the Musical Fanfiction

(pairing, Rotelli x Professor. You can find it on Ao3 if you want)

The Radio was playing an upbeat, jazzy tune when it all happened. Rotelli and Simon, aka “professor” were fast friends from the moment they met. It was almost like they were tied together somehow. For Rotelli, Professor seemed approachable to him. Sure he was taller than the Sicilian, but there was something in the soft brown eyes behind those glasses that made him seem kind, but there was a certain mischief to him like he could hold a conversation. It also could have been the sweet voice or handsome face or the slight curl of that light brown hair, but Rotelli preferred to call him approachable.

For Professor, he truly couldn't point why he liked Rotelli so much. Maybe it was all the things they had in common, after all, he wouldn't share his grandma's cookies with anyone. Rotelli was a sort of beacon of happiness, difficult to find nowadays. He was nice and had a very good voice that Professor liked.

It just makes sense that the two were each other's chosen dance partner from the moment someone played a record. On one particular day when the Squad was all dancing with each other, having a gay old time, something happened that Rotelli just could not get out of his head.

So, the fellas start laughing and dancing, of course, czechowski is the first down on the dance floor, dragging Tennessee down with him, and then Professor laughs that sweet laugh and says “C’mon Rotelli” and drags his chosen partner down too.

Rotelli didn't put much thought into it, dancing with Professor had become second nature to him, but something was different this time. This time Rotelli’s head seemed far away from dancing. Professor had noticed this and decided to do some grounding. Professor twirls Rotelli, who is caught off guard and trips, immediately being caught my Professor’s hands landing on Rotelli’s waist, right above his hips. Rotelli is looking into those sweet brown eyes now, and he blushes and laughs awkwardly.

“There's that smile!” Says Professor as they continue to dance, and Rotelli laughs again, this time because the Professor’s Bostonian accent made smile sound like “smoil”

“ Professor, it is a smile, not a ‘smoil’” Rotelli says jokingly and this time the Professor laughs

“You gettin’ smart with me Rotelli?”

“No, I am making a joke.”

“Lo stesso lo stesso” retorts the professor in his own Bostonian version of Italian.

All while they're bantering and dancing the Professor’s hands remain firmly on Rotelli’s hips and Rotelli can't seem to get this off his mind, nor can he get the

Professor’s voice or eyes or… pretty much anything off his scraped off of it as well.

Now, of course, Rotelli is a romantic, as much as he dislikes the fact, and he knows what all of this means, also unfortunately.  I mean how could he not know, he's read Oscar Wilde books, he's read the Hobbit, he knows that people fall in love with their buddy's on accident. He figures there's gotta be some way to stop it.

‘Maybe a member of the company can help me out? Think, this is gotta have happened to someone else in Charlie… can't be someone who's been blatant about their dislike of boys who are friends with Dorothy… probably, Stu, he looks at mitch in a way that someone whos in love probably would.’ Rotelli thinks to himself while in bed and he resolves to talk to Stu about his issue later.

--

“Stu I need your help,” says Rotelli when he finally gets a chance to ask Stu about his feelings and emotions issue.

“Uh, sure Rotelli, what do you need?”

“So uh, how do you stop accidentally being in love with your buddy?”

Stu's eyes get wide and scared “why do you think i know anything about being in love with

Anybody??”

“Well, you look at a mitch like you're in love?”

Stu’s head whips around and he whispers “How do you know about that”

“So you do--!”

“Hush!! You haven’t told anyone have you??”

“No? Why would I tell someone when I have the same problem”

Stu sighs in relief “Fine. what do you need help with”

“How do you stop being in love with a boy who  you think is a very nice and a special?”

Stu stares off into the distance for a moment

“Gosh, Rotelli. If I knew how to do that I don’t think I'd be looking at mitch the way I do”

“So we're both fucked, ah?”

“Seems to be we’re fucked, Rotelli” Stu confirms, “so, who do you have eyes for, seeing as its apparently blatant that I've got a thing for mitch”

“I don't a know Stu, it seems mine should be blatant as well. I fell for Professor, glasses and all”

“... yeah now that I think about it it is pretty blatant”

“See! I told you! I mean but how could you not love him! He's a handsome, and funny, and his eyeballs are warm somehow???? He is strong and lovely”

“Gosh don't even get me started on mitch! He's so tall and manly and ugh, don't tell anyone but he is a very good kisser”

“Woah, really”

Stu nods.

That day a friendship was born from being really gay for your friend.

Stu and Rotelli started hanging out more, talking to each other about their respective cute boys. Every time Mitch would whisper huskily into Stu’s ear, Rotelli would hear about it. Every time Professor complimented Rotelli, or cried to him, or held on a little too tight when they danced, Stu was the first to know. It was a comradery that only the gays truly know. It was like when you meet someone and say “I like your hair” and they say “I like yours too” and then makes a gay joke. It was that magical feeling of queer solidarity.

Now, of course, they started hanging out more, and of course, Professor had noticed. To him, he could tell that Rotelli was keeping secrets from him and telling those secrets to Stu. He felt like he’d done something wrong. What’d he do to make it so that Rotelli didn’t trust him with something? I mean he always told Rotelli his secrets… well all except one, but he sure as hell wouldn't be telling anyone that anytime soon. Nobody but him needed to know all the weird feelings he felt for the green-eyed Sicilian boy that may or may not be motivating this jealousy against Stu. He shouldn't even be jealous anyway, it's not like Rotelli belonged to him. It's not like sometimes professor stayed up thinking about him and whenever they were on the front lines he was the first one he worried about.

Ok maybe that second part was true, but the first one wasn't. Rotelli has the right to hang out with whoever he wants. Still, he doesn't wanna keep swallowing, but what's a fella to do?

But the next time they danced, this time dancing was far from Professor’s mind. This time Rotelli noticed that the Professors hold on his hips wasn't as tight as it was, and the professor didn't twirl him or dip him or anything like that. He didn't do anything that took paying attention. Rotelli felt a pang in his chest that he really did not like, and so he resolved to talk to Professor after lights out. Stu told him that American men often had no clue how to handle their emotions and so they bottle them all up till they have no idea what to do with them and try to drink them away, which is not an unfamiliar concept to him.

--

“Professor? Are you awake” Rotelli says quietly to his bunkmate climbing down from the top

“Yeah I am, what's on your mind pal?” answers the professor matching the volume.

“I've,ah… noticed that you have been a little with your head in the sky? I was wondering if you had a something on your mind that you’d want to tell me about”

Professor figured it was pretty much sooner rather than later that he’d have to talk about at least some of his feelings.

“You know how you’ve been hanging around Stu a whole lot?”

Rotelli nods

“Well, I keep gettin’ this feeling like, ya know your keepin’ secrets from me. I was just wondering if I did something wrong…”

Hearing these words out of Professor's mouth made Rotelli feel that pang again, poor guy. “No no not at all, you've never done anything to make me not trust you. It's just… there are some thoughts that I have that I can a only really say to Stu because Stu and I are the same. That's the only way I know how to say it”

Professor sighs and looks up at Rotelli “Are you… sweet on Stu?? I won't tell anyone I promise!” he rushes,

“No no no, I don't like Stu. besides he is interested in someone who is not me.”

“Oh.. well that's good then, you know you can really make a fella jealous keeping secrets like that you know. What's so similar about the two of you anyway”

Rotelli blushes, but it goes unseen in the dark of the cabin, “That is a harder question to answer my friend”

“C’mon, it can't be that bad. Not bad enough that you couldn't tell your best buddy right?”

There's a pause

“What if I told you, hypothetically,” Rotelli says the word with six syllables “that I fell in love with you on accident”

“Well, I’d hypothetically tell you that I would die for you,” Professor says, saying the word with five syllables

Rotelli laughs “and if I hypothetically asked you to kiss me?”

The Professor stares “I’d Hypothetically do it right there on the spot”

“Do it then”

Not a moment passed after Rotelli get that last word out before his mouth was caught by a pair of very soft Bostonian lips, The kiss was long and exciting, something that neither of them had ever felt and that neither one of them wanted to stop feeling. They kept going before they had to stop so they could sleep.

--

Stu and Rotelli meet at their usual spot and the first thing Rotelli says is “Professor is a good kisser”

-end-