#rip leon russell

[duranduratulsa]

Up next on my 90's Fest Movie 🎬 🎞 🎥 🎦 📽 marathon. .Stargate (1994) on amazing blu-ray! #Movie #movies #scifi #actionadventure #stargate #jayedavidson #kurtrussell #jamesspader #vivecalindfors #ripvivecalindfors #AlexisCruz #ErickAvari #DjimonHounsou #Leonrippy #JohnDiehl #frenchstewart #RichardKind #bluray #90s #90sfest #durandurantulsas4thannual90sfest

[dollfacefantasy]

past the limit ♡

chris redfield x fem!reader ft. leon kennedy

you decide to act up when your boyfriend has a friend over, and he has no problem punishing you right in front of him.

cw: nsfw (18+), smut, spanking, daddy kink/ddlg, fingering, orgasm denial, praise/degradation, voyeurism/exhibitionism, marking (skin turning red)

a/n: commissioned by the lovely @skirt-russell. thank you again so so much <3

Chris nods along as Leon goes over the little points on the papers laid out across the kitchen counter. He was trying to focus. Leon had gone out of his way to stop by the house tonight just to go over some of the D.S.O's restructuring plans that might affect the BSAA.

Normally, he'd have no issue focusing on this. It was work, and when Chris was in work mode, it was hard to break that stone-faced concentration that overtook him. But today you were in a pissy mood. You'd been in one all day, giving attitude and rolling your eyes. Now you were sulking on the couch in the living room, watching some trashy tv show at a volume way louder than necessary.

So now Chris was in a pissy mood.

It was visible to Leon with how the older man kept glancing over his shoulder, as if that would telepathically communicate to you the need to get it together. The blond smirks at his friend's obvious displeasure.

"Trouble in paradise?" he asks with a small smirk.

Chris's eyes dart back to him. A bit of annoyance gnaws at him. He knows it was an innocuous comment, but it was just another reminder of your defiance; the fact that you were testing him, in front of someone else no less.

"Something like that," he grumbles.

He tries to get back to the topic of conversation, but the idea of you having some sort of perceived advantage feels like chafing between his thighs. He lets Leon finish one more sentence before he interjects.

"Just give me one second," he tells the other man before turning away and heading to the door that leads to the room just off the kitchen. He takes barely a step inside, only enough to get a look at you.

"Think you could turn that down, baby?" he says.

You don't even turn your head before shooting it down and saying "No. I'm watching it."

"How about watching it quieter?" he suggests, his tone growing clipped.

"How about you and your friend talk louder?" you retort.

A sharp exhale comes from his nostrils before he heads further into the room. He's much closer now, in a position to actually look down on you.

"How about," he starts, speaking firmly now and leaving no room for argument, "You go to the bedroom and watch it on the tv in there?"

"I was here first," you say flatly.

You still don't even look up at him, and he swears he can literally feel his blood pressure rising. His eyes feel hot and his limbs taut with irritation.

"I don't have time for petulant games. Move upstairs or turn the tv off," he says. The tone of his voice is commanding now, one he takes on when it's absolutely his way. When it's time for you to do as he says or receive punishment. You had the safeword, of course. It was there for you if you ever needed this to stay grounded. But this was exactly what you were looking for, wasn't it?

"No," you shrug. Now you do look up at him, and stare into his eyes like you can laser holes into them.

"Get your ass to bed. No tv at all now. I'm done playing with you, and I won't tell you again," he seethes. You can tell he's still reigning in his anger a bit, staying quiet to keep this conflict between the two of you.

"I won't tell you again. Fuck off," you spit.

And that's it. You'd hit the bullseye. Your boyfriend's eyes blaze with fury. Before you know it, his large fist is curled around your bicep, and you're yanked to your feet. He takes your spot on the couch and flings you face-down over his lap. One arm keeps you pinned there as he shuts off the tv.

You whine and kick your feet, but he's not having it. You don't even get a warning smack like usual. He goes straight for the waistband of your sweats and practically rips them off of you. Once your cheeks are exposed, his palm comes crashing down hard, a slap echoing through the room.

"What did you say to me, little brat?" he says before landing another lash, "You want to repeat that?"

All you can do in response is yelp at the stinging heat that radiates through your ass. Your head droops for a moment, but you stay strong and keep it up as best you can.

"What's that?" he taunts. Another slap rings out. "C'mon tell me what I heard come from that dirty mouth."

He smacks you again, ripping the words from your throat.

"I said fuck off," you whimper. You were already starting to regret your antics from how much your backside ached only a handful of hits in.

Once you repeat the words, the hardest lick yet rains down on your sore ass. You mewl and jerk your feet, but it's of no use.

"That's what I thought you said," he says. His voice is so cold it nearly sends a chill through you. "I thought you told me to fuck off, but I couldn't believe it. My baby girl would never talk to her daddy that way. She'd never say something like that to the man who takes care of her."

Oh god, the guilt. If there was one thing that made Chris the perfect candidate to have control of you, it was the way he could zip between intimidating you into submission and prodding at your emotions with ease. He continues lecturing before you get the chance to speak.

"My baby gets fussy sometimes, sure. But she'd never say something so blatantly disrespectful. Especially not with daddy's friend here," he chides.

"I'm sorry," you pout, giving him an inch.

"Oh you will be when I'm done with you. Save your apologies for now," he says.

Smack!

"Daddy, please," you whine, "I didn't mean it. I just wasn't thinking."

"Hush. I know you weren't thinking. That's obvious," he tuts, "That's not an excuse. Not one I'll accept. Thinking or not, you were behaving like a silly brat, and you know how I handle silly brats. You want to play games, you don't complain when you get your prize."

His palm tingles a bit itself from how hard he smacks you this time. You howl in pain, and he gives you another two quick slaps to drown it into whimpers.

"Quiet down. You know Leon can hear how bad you're being. He knows what's going on in here, that you're getting your naughty ass spanked by daddy," he taunts, "He knows what a needy, spoiled little girl you are."

As if on cue, Leon's head pokes through the living room door.

"Everything ok in here?" he asks. His tone is innocent enough, but you know in reality, he's asking Chris for permission to observe. Leon knew the kinds of things you and Chris got up to in your private life thanks to a couple nights when you got way too drunk and way too comfortable sharing things with him. Also Chris may have let it slip once or twice while bragging about you, but who's to say? Regardless, Leon knew, and he was interested.

Chris was fine with his interest, enjoyed it even. It felt good being admired. The thought of Leon having the two of you in the back of his mind riled him up more than he'd ever admit.

"Everything's fine. She decided to be a little mouthy, so I had to remind her how she's supposed to behave," Chris says as if it's the most casual thing in the world, "Come on in."

You feel your cheeks heating up, and you try to hide your face against Chris's hip out of instinct. He doesn't allow you that privilege though. He shifts you over his knee and tugs you back into place by your jaw as Leon heads over to a nearby chair.

"Daddy..." you whimper. A quiet plea for mercy. However, if you really needed mercy, you could call out that exact word, and it would all stop. You didn't though, so deep down, Chris knew you wanted this.

"What, sweetheart? You scared of daddy's friend all the sudden? You didn't seem so scared earlier, acting out when you knew he was here."

"It's different," you pout.

"You don't gotta worry, princess. Just act like I'm not even here. It's just you and your daddy," Leon adds, leaning back and getting comfortable. The mocking was clear in his voice, and the way he said 'your daddy' made your stomach twist in the most sickeningly erotic way.

"I tried to give you a warning, babydoll. Tried to give you a chance to be dealt with later. But words didn't work. You kept going, so now you're gonna take your punishment like a big girl."

Smack! Smack! Smack!

Three brutal hits land in the center of your butt. You shriek and buck your hips, but Chris has you held down nice and secure. You're not getting anywhere. 

Your pussy throbs between your thighs, both from the spanking and the extra set of eyes on you. You know you'll be dripping by the time this ends. You just have to last till then you remind yourself. You just had to take the punishment, and then daddy would play with you like always.

"Such a bad girl, and it's a shame because she's usually so good," he says, shaking his head, "I might be getting too soft on her."

"No, daddy," you whimper, "I'm sorry. It's not your fault. I was being dumb."

He switches from spanking you to rubbing your cheeks, massaging the soon-to-be bruised skin. You can feel his eyes on you along with Leon's. Both watch you with condescending lust.

"Yeah? You think you're really sorry now?" he asks.

"I am. I won't do it again," you sniffle.

He pops each cheek once, admiring how your glowing flesh jiggles. His hand then returns to rubbing the skin when he hears your whine grow in desperation. Leon watches on with interest.

Chris hums as if he has to think your previous words over. His warm, heavy hand continues to rub soothing circles on your ass. The silence is killer, waiting for the result even worse. But you get it soon enough when he gives you a final hard, searing smack.

"I think you have had enough," he agrees, "You just needed some attention, hm? Just needed daddy to make those bad, bratty feelings go away, yeah?"

His other hand pets your head and allows you to lean into the touch. You nod along to his words. A sigh leaves you. Finally you could get to the good part. His hand slides from the swell of your bottom and nudges your thighs open. The pads of his fingertips coast over the damp fabric of your underwear.

"You think you deserve this, baby?" he asks, "You think you deserve daddy's touch after being so disobedient."

"I don't know..." The words come out soft and uncertain. It felt like a trick question, saying yes would get you in trouble but relenting to the possibility that you didn't deserve this could mean he'd take it away.

"You don't know? You were so sure of yourself earlier," he mocks.

Leon chuckles from his seat, and your head feels as though it's engulfed by the heat of humiliation. You whimper as your eyes cast down which only amuses the other man more.

"You're lucky daddy can't keep his hands off you when your ass is all cute and red like this," he says.

His digits press down on your pussy harder over the thin fabric between your thighs, drawing a mewl from between your lips. He works the thick appendages under the sticky cloth and swipes them through the gleaming slick there.

"Such a nasty little girl. Getting all wet when you're supposed to be thinking about what you did wrong," he says.

"I am thinking, daddy. Promise," you whimper. "I just-"

Before you can finish that thought, pinches your clit. Your words die by the sword of your own moan. Your hips jerk over his knee. Muted laughs come from both him and Leon. His middle finger begins to circle and tease the sweet little bud.

"Hit that button, and your brain just turns off, isn't that right, honey?" Chris coos, his voice dripping with mockery.

But you don't care about that. You were still getting what you craved. Leon and him could make fun of you as much as they wanted as long as you got your pretty little pussy played with.

"Mhm," you hum.

"Good girl. Maybe I should do this anytime one of daddy's friends is gonna come over," he says, "What do you think Leon?"

The D.S.O. agent perks up and shifts in his chair from where he had been passively palming himself. "I think that's a good idea," he agrees, "Sticking a vibrator on her little cunt would keep her in line the whole time."

Another moan floats from your lips upon hearing that. At the same time, Chris had started stroking your bundle of nerves directly. His digit flicks over it and massages at the tingling pleasure blooming from that spot.

"You like that, sweetheart? That what you need to be a good girl?" he prompts.

You nod. His fingers glide through your arousal to teasingly dip into your entrance. They don't stay there though. They drift upwards again and return to stimulating your clit alone. It's still enough to get you close, so you don't protest.

Your thighs vibrate with the impending release. You clutch at his thigh and try to hold still as best you can.

"Getting close, pretty baby?" he coos and twirls a little figure eight on your pulsing nub.

"Yeah, daddy," you whimper.

"So precious," he mutters and keeps up his efforts.

The pleasure blooms in your tummy. You can feel yourself approaching the high. Everything grows soft and hazy. Your fingers dig into his jeans as his stroke you into bliss.

"Daddy, I'm gonna cum," you whine.

But as soon as you utter that phrase, he takes it all away.

In seconds, his hand leaves the warmth of your center. He pushes your legs closed again, lightly patting your ass and boosting you onto the wobbly limbs. You feel like you're gonna collapse. Looking at him with confused urgency, you whimper and reach for him.

He grabs your hands and kisses the palms before chuckling. "You didn't think you'd get to cum, did you? That wouldn't be a very good punishment."

Your lip quivers with the intense desire to protest, but you knew he wouldn't budge. Leon laughs slightly at your dilemma. You shoot him a glare for it but then groan and stamp your foot, deciding not to complain.

"That's my girl," Chris praises. He rubs your hip bone and presses a kiss to one of your stinging cheeks. "You head up to bed. You need to rest after getting that sweet ass spanked raw. I'll be up there in a little bit."

You nod and look down, doing some sort of inverse walk of shame.

"Oh, and baby?" he calls before you can actually leave the room.

"Yeah?" you ask, turning to give him a hopeful look.

"Ever pull some shit like that again, and you'll be right back over my knee."

[wroughtironsoul]

[bootiesbooksandtheblues]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! - BIZ MARKIE (RIP) - BRENDA RUSSELL - LEON HUFF #jammin #HipHop #SOULmusic #BlackMusicMatters #beautifulisBLACK https://www.instagram.com/p/CcFtzu-OXFa/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[robmillistw2]

Ken Hensley re-evaluated ('Proud Words On A Dusty Shelf'; 1973)

Like any musician/songwriter preparing to record an album, especially those of us in the lowly pub/club circuit and definitely self-recorded, produced and released catalogue (this will be my second), I have been looking back through my vinyl racks at sources of inspiration - and when you play mainly Hammond organ and electric piano a lot of the time but are very much an 'album rock' man, you don't have the role model choice of guitar-toting contemporaries. So it's Traffic-era Winwood and the Greg(g)s Allman and Rolie. Leon Russell and/or Elton John circa Tumbleweed Connection. And Lee Michaels, for the more intrepid.

So it was that in the rack lurked Ken Hensley's 'Proud Words On A Dusty Shelf'. Oh, that one. Haven't played it for thirty years. Let's see what's what.

Now, let's be clear - thirty years ago I was 18 and soaking up just about anything of a certain vintage. I was working in a record shop on Saturdays, so had great access to the kind of second division LPs that you didn't casually hear. One week it was Uriah Heep's 'Salisbury' I took home.

I'll be honest - at the time, I didn't feel it. David Byron is held up as a god by metal fans (and to be fair to Byron, he was absolutely the genuine article of what Justin Hawkins is a very, very bad photocopy of) and Mick Box's guitar work is owed a debt of gratitude by everybody who came along in NWOBHM time - but at the time, I was a bit more hippy dippy than hard rock, and liked the 'sixties hangover' that Zep and Mountain seemed to have more of than Heep. With hindsight, I should have persevered as it is one of the more interesting heavy rock albums of c1970-71, as the 'roots of metal' bits are tempered by softer moments, and the whole thing concludes with the title suite with orchestral accompaniment. But this isn't a post about 'Salisbury' and suffice to say that at the time, I didn't feel it.

The LP went back to the shop, but I did log that the mellower moments were written by Ken Hensley, the organist, who also wrote copious sleeve notes and seemed much more sensible and musically sophisicated than just a 'metalhead'. Not long after I was in a junk shop somewhere and for almost no money at all I found a copy of 'Proud Words On A Dusty Shelf'.

It was inevitable I'd buy it: it was one of those typical early 70s lavish gatefold sleeves with a leather-bound book theme. They always did those luxury packages for spin off albums by main writers (Alan Hull 'Pipedream', anyone?) in the early 70s. Love all that. And of course 'Oh, that's the nice, chatty chap from Uriah Heep who wrote the mellow bits' sprang to mind. I bought it, gave it a spin, thought no more of it. It was good enough to keep. I wasn't a singer or songwriter in those days.

Thus 30 years on, in the search for Hammond-wielding, singer-songwriter examples, this week I played it again. It's pretty good, actually.

Hensley wasn't daft and the album opens with 'When Evening Comes' - plenty of guitars there to avoid losing the Heep audience, which by 1973 wasn't small, who would also be comforted by the presence of Lee Kerslake (drums; RIP) and Gary Thain (bass; RIP) who along with Ken himself are the core of the album crew. The only other credit is to one Dave Paul for some of the bass parts; this makes sense at the sessions for this album started back in 1971 when Thain was not in the Heep camp yet.

Hensley had always mixed and matched keyboards and guitar in Uriah Heep and bittersweet ‘From Time To Time’ sees his acoustic well to the fore, with synthesiser and organ joining the party as the song progresses, almost in lieu of strings and nicely judged. Kerslake turning in a solid beat here that Levon Helm would have patted him on the back for.

‘A King Without A Throne’ sees Ken back on the piano, in a kind of shuffle/boogie, kind of pop way that the driving, melodic bass is as much responsible for making you want to think of Macca as the piano.

There’s definitely a classic American songwriter influence - the effortless melody, the Brian Wilson/Carole King chord inversions about ‘Rain’, a gentle piece with Hensley again at the piano, with just vibes and a bit of organ used to build dynamics, and no rhythm section. The vocals at full throttle are Ken in harmony with himself and as you’d expect, much of the high harmony work that was a Heep trademark is evident on a lot of this record, albeit in a subtler fashion without Byron - less Three Dog Night/Vanilla Fudge.

Side one closes with the title track, which along with the opening cut bookends the first side with solid guitar fare; Ken’s slide getting an airing here as it did often in Uriah Heep. Kerslake and Thain (or Paul?) again coming up with the goods, the former shining in a very Simon Kirke-like fashion.

‘Fortune’ kicks off side two in a more arranged fashion: what starts out semi-Floyd-y with a bedrock of organ and heavily reverb’d slide guitar then gives way to passages of acoustic guitar and a tempo change to triplet feel over a distinctly George Harrison guitar arpeggio that when this passage returns, closes the song in a semi ‘She’s So Heavy’ manner. Once again, Ken’s vocals are big and soulful. The cycling song sections are a little of their time - but, hey.

One of the most striking elements about ‘Proud Words On A Dusty Shelf’ is how great a drummer Lee Kerslake was outside of heavy rock (his Heep and then Ozzy tenure rather cement it within the genre). On ‘Black Hearted Lady’, Lee sounds to my ears very much like Martin Lamble was in early Fairport - solid, but restrained and a little playful here and there. In fact, the whole song sounds like a product of that scene - not unlike Matthews Southern Comfort with Ken playing some lovely tasteful song-led lead guitar (a pal commented that there’s more than a little of early Stones tenure Mick Taylor about it) and some immaculate acoustic descending arpeggios.

The acoustic guitar, great drums and vocal harmonies mood remains for ‘Go Down’, and again Kerslake has my bacon sandwich on the floor: here he is very Keltner (and the bassist has the Lee Sklar vibe) and the entire song has that USA 70s ‘shop gloss’: Ken’s tracked vocals, pristine acoustic parts and composition presage Hall & Oates here: of course, this is a 1973 product and that was the year of ‘Abandoned Luncheonette’ and Springsteen’s debut - the 'new USA breed' - but this was recorded between November ’71 and November ’72!

Ken is back at his piano for the intro of ‘Cold Autumn Sunday’, and after the beautiful intro, Kerslake is back in Levon mode, both for the fill that brings the band in and the general infectiously unhurried groove. This is my absolute favourite of the album, with a Leon Russell/early Elton feel and some distinctly Ronnie Wood like guitar from Ken. I’m a sucker for Spooky Tooth/Joe Cocker ‘white rock meets gospel’ and the band briefly hushes a little for the choir before the final hurrah.

Anglo-Americana is still the mood of the closer ‘The Last Time’ and here Ken (the album notes say everything but bass and drums is he) gives an even more Transatlantic flavour by adding pedal steel.

It strikes me that Ken Hensley was a very adaptable musician, true to his craft: the song came first and the parts to serve it. Lee Kerslake has knocked me for six listening back to this and to return to my original context of listening to albums before recording myself, in Ken Hensley I’ve found a great role model of a man who sang with soul and conviction without being blessed with a David Coverdale, Mike Harrison or Gary Brooker king-sized voice, and without overdoing the faux American twang. Enjoyed that a lot; RIP Ken Hensley and Lee Kerslake who left us in 2020.

Kenneth William David Hensley (24 Aug 1945 – 4 Nov 2020)

[jungleindierock]

Rip It Up + Start Again - TV series trailer.

Trailer for a brand new TV series about post punk, and based on Simon Reynolds' fantastic book Rip It Up + Start Again, hence the title. This four part documentary series is directed by Nikolaos Katranis and Russell Craig Richardson, with Academy Award winner Leon Gast, the first part will air on the 27th January. It’s an amazing chronicle of the original post punk scene, tracking its players from student centers and bombed-out warehouses through the early '80s when it transformed into goth, synthpop, New Romantic, and the New Pop movement that spawned ABC and Frankie Goes to Hollywood.

The film features new interviews and rare archive live performances with Jah Wobble (PiL), Ana da Silva (Raincoats), Genesis Breyer-P-Orridge (Throbbing Gristle, Psychic TV), Mark Stewart (The Pop Group), Stephen Mallinder (Cabaret Voltaire) and many, many more.

As soon as i find out where it’s going to be aired and the dates i will re-post it with the information, i am so looked forward to watching this and the trailer it’s is so good!!! i enjoyed it so much and is just 17mins long,

[theseib-blog]

🎶 LEON RUSSELL - THE BEST OF LEON 🎶 My first post! Welcome to my Tumblr! I'm starting off with my first post with a recently acquired record from the late talented singer Leon Russell. Does anyone else have beard envy? Tightrope has to be one of the catchiest songs from the 1970's.

[topherfoxtrot]

So anyways I made a John Walker playlist and I'm here to tell y'all about it.

[listen to it here]

We start with III - Scalene. This song has no spoken words (I have a whole playlist full of those) and I want it to represent John's childhood. It's calm, collected and comes before our first part:

Part 1: the soldier

Soldier side - System of a Down. Such a classic. Song is about the life of a soldier in the midst of war. Deciding who gets to life and who gets to die, missing home. It's sad shit and it's only getting started.

The Trooper - Iron Maiden. Again, life of a soldier. Except here we have a lot of emphasis on violence and revenge. The us vs them mentality all over.

Sad Statue - System of a Down. Not much of a soldier song but rather a song about a whole generation being remembered by their wrong doings. The statue of liberty here is used as an american symbol which I see fit.

Empty Walls - Serj Tankian. Our last soldier song has a lot of war imagery. Dead bodies, explosions, intoxication, death in general. The clip is also super neat.

Part 2: the captain

Savana fleur (interlude) - Gus & Vic. Our first interlude has city sounds. This part deals with how others perceive john. Which of course is a big deal for him.

Holding our for a hero - Bonnie Tyler. Yeah the song from Shrek II. As the title says it's a song about someone (I like to imagine Olivia signing it) who is desperate in a hero less world who calls for a hero.

Brianstorm - Artic Monkeys. This song is about a guy (Brian) who is super famous and everyone wants to either kiss or kick him. Like John, Brian is being admired and hated at all times. And it's exhausting.

Walk - Pantera. Rock makes a comeback in the playlist here. This songs talks about someone who demands you to give him space and the respect he deserves. Is it reality or more of a wish from John? I can't decide.

The Bandit - Kings of Leon. Here we follow the story of a cowboy who goes out to catch a bandit. All the town's people are screaming on top of their lungs demanding the cowboy to catch the damn bandit. Can you see the parallels?

Guns - Coldplay. A song about melting instruments and toys to make more guns. I'm aware the song is satirical but we can agree that a lot of people see John as a extension of US Imperialism so here it is.

Part 3: The man

The WLF - Mac Quayle. This song is intense because we are about to enter John's headspace and psych.

Broken - Seether feat. Amy Lee. This song is about someone who feels broken because they're missing someone. RIP Lemar.

Animal I Have Become - Thee Days Grace. This bop is about someone who is ashamed of who they have become. Also they can't scape themself.

Jekyll and Hyde - Five Finger Death Punch. Here we have someone with a lot of weight on their shoulders and with a lot of repressed anger. So much that when it comes out they feel like a different person.

Where Is My Mind - Telepathic Teddy Bear. Y'all know his song, it's about being confused lol. But this remix is really good so go check it out. I particularly like the ending.

We're Not Alright - Zebrahead. This song also talks about war but I think it's too upbeat to be in part 1. That's literally it.

Massacre - Kim Petras. In this song the lyrical person is seemingly a force of nature. Lots of violence imagery. I think this is John when he runs after Nico. Angry, thirsty for blood and unstoppable.

The good life - Three Days Grace. I'm this one we have a reflection about the american dream. I'm pretty sure John wanted that when he joined the army. Too bad he was chosen ( by the government, not Steve) to wield the most heavy shield in the world.

Dread in My Heart - Mother Mother. On the last song we have someone with a dread in their heart that just never goes away. They just learn to live with it knowing damn well it will never go away.

Epilogue

Willow (dancing witch) - Taylor Swift. Now this song was used in a Wyatt Russell fancam posted on twitter [this one] so now I can't listen to it without thinking of John hahahahaha. Hope y'all enjoy my playlist.

[yasbxxgie]

Freddie King And The Harsh 'Business' Of The Blues Fresh Air (NPR, 7/14/10) +MP3

Texas claims Freddie King as its son. But although he was born on a farm near Gilmer in 1934, King's real contribution came as one of the young musicians from Chicago's West Side who challenged the Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf South Side musicians starting in the late '50s. Guitarists like Otis Rush and Magic Sam played aggressive, virtuosic blues that attracted a younger crowd. Freddie King ran with them.

King was always an innovator, and on his very first record, made for the tiny El Bee label in 1956, he used Robert "Big Mojo" Elem on electric bass, an instrument Elem played in King's band, but few others in town used.

Freddie King's big break came in 1960, when King Records opened an office in Chicago. Sonny Thompson, a seasoned veteran of postwar rhythm and blues, was the talent scout, and after learning that Leonard Chess didn't think Freddie King was worth signing, snapped him up and took him to the label's home in Cincinnati to record. The very first session in August resulted in "Hide Away," the song that has been linked with Freddie King's name ever since.

"Hide Away" was a tune everyone on the West Side played, probably written by Hound Dog Taylor. King's version, named after one of his favorite clubs (Mel's Hideaway Lounge), entered the Top 10 in the rhythm and blues chart, and even got to No. 29 on the pop charts. Freddie King had a white following almost from the beginning. King -- and Sonny Thompson -- wanted to prove that King was also a singer, and his next session had "I'm Tore Down," the hit to prove it.

"I'm Tore Down" again rocketed into the rhythm and blues Top 10, but the pop market ignored it. Freddie King only saw the charts one more time during this period, with a Christmas record that charted for one week. But King Records kept recording him, and more and more he was on the road with revues, barnstorming the country. When he was home on the West Side, he and his band worked seven days a week if they wanted to.

The thing was, although Freddie King's records sold steadily, they didn't sell a lot. His contract was up in 1966, and King parted ways with his label. He'd already moved his wife and six children to Dallas, and used that as a base from which to tour. Meanwhile, Eric Clapton recorded "Hide Away" with Mayall's Blues Breakers in England; Clapton was only the first British guitarist to show his explicit debt to Freddie King. King returned the favor by going to England and touring, showing the Brits how it was done.

In 1968, Atlantic Records in New York started a new label, Cotillion, for saxophonist King Curtis to record who he wanted. He wanted Freddie King, and so in July, King entered the studio for the first time in two years. Curtis assembled an amazing band, and they got to work.

It's hard to say why the two singles and two albums on Cotillion didn't sell, unless they were too sophisticated for the rock market and too old-fashioned for the new soul market, but for me, they remain the peak of Freddie King's output. The valley was to come: Leon Russell, flush with success from kick-starting Joe Cocker's career, signed Freddie King.

Russell's intentions were no doubt sincere, and King tried, but at their best -- as in the track "Going Down" -- the recordings were oil-and-water blues-rock, and at their worst, generic '70s blues sludge. Freddie King stayed with Russell until 1972, then moved on to RSO Records, run by Eric Clapton's manager. These recordings are among the few not represented on a new retrospective, Taking Care of Business, which spans much of King's career.

Freddie King was living hard by this point, drinking copiously, and always downing a couple of Bloody Marys before stepping on stage because, as he told a journalist, "they've got food in them." In 1976, playing a club in New Orleans, King passed out in the middle of a solo. He went back up to Dallas and played a gig in New York on Christmas. But he canceled a show scheduled for the next night, returned to Dallas and went into the hospital. He died, riddled with ulcers and suffering from pancreatitis, on Dec. 28, 1976, at the age of 42.

*Transcript

[tabloidtoc]

OK, January 4

You can buy a copy of this issue for your very own at my eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/str/bradentonbooks

Cover: Ashton Kutcher haunted by his mistakes

Page 2: Contents 

Page 4: Jennifer Garner ready for romance -- Jennifer has proven she’s fine on her own but she’s eager for her happy ending and has even set her sights on some of Hollywood’s most eligible hunks like Chris Evans but seems happily single; she binge-watched Outlander and was totally taken with Sam Heughan and she also finds Martin Henderson very sexy but heard he has a girlfriend 

Page 6: After a tumultuous few years Hayden Panettiere’s 2021 is looking bright and she’s been working on herself since her split from toxic ex-boyfriend Brian Hickerson -- she’s taken control of her life and is making good choices -- she’s been able to rebuild her life and her relationship with her daughter Kaya who lives in Ukraine with her dad and next on her agenda is reviving her once-hot career

Page 7: Justin Bieber who’s been a devoted member of the controversial celeb-favored Hillsong Church for years is studying to become a minister -- Justin has long credited Hillsong and especially charismatic and recently fired pastor Carl Lentz for saving him from his dark period of drugs, public meltdowns and arrests -- Justin doesn’t plan to give up his music career but he feels there’s a bigger calling out there for him

* Jessica Simpson has signed deals for both a docuseries and a fictionalized series based on her life but not everyone is so pumped about her tell-all tendencies and least of all is her ex-husband Nick Lachey -- for Nick it’s just dredging up a past that’s better left alone and Nick hopes that Jessica goes easy on him in the scripted series but deep down knows there’s precious little chance of that

* Madonna is majorly inserting herself in her daughter Lourdes Leon’s love life and she’s constantly on the phone asking how things are going between Lourdes and her socialite beau of three years Jonathan Puglia and she wants to know when they’re making things official -- Madonna even pushes for double dates so she can bring her 26-year-old boyfriend Ahlamalik Williams -- Lourdes appreciates how much her mom cares but she’s finding all the micromanaging too much to handle 

Page 8: Jason Aldean who boasts an $80 million fortune loves splashing his cash around especially when it comes to his children -- the singer who shares son Memphis and daughter Navy with wife Brittany and girls Kendyl and Keeley with his ex likes being seen as the moneybags and leaves tough love to the kids’ moms and he’s always pulling out $100 bills for his teens and buying his little ones new clothes, toys and high-tech gadgets even though they’re so young -- he’s definitely spoiling the kids but nobody complains about it so he just keeps on buying them stuff because nothing makes him happier 

* The milestone 6-0 is still months away but George Clooney is planning to do some serious partying for his birthday and he’s sparing no expense -- he’s looking at celebrations across the States and Europe plus a boys-only getaway to Mexico 

* Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence are having a blast filming their first movie together so much so that tongues are wagging about the pair’s fiery chemistry on the set -- even though Leo and Jen behave like total pros when the cameras aren’t rolling there’s a running joke among the cast and crew that Jen’s marriage to Cooke Maroney could be in trouble -- of course the reality is that Jen is crazy about her husband and Leo who is dating model Camila Morrone has a strict rule never to get involved with costars but still there’s an attraction that can’t be denied 

Page 10: Red Hot on the Red Carpet -- stars get glamorous in glitzy looks -- Alexa Chung, Tiffany Haddish

Page 11: Maya Hawke, Sarah Hyland 

Page 12: Who Wore It Better? Yara Shahidi vs. Cindy Bruna, Becky G vs. Sofia Carson 

Page 13: Celine Dion vs. Shailene Woodley

Page 14: News in Photos -- Jessie James Decker in a pink bikini in Nashville

Page 15: Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt and their son Gunner doing a Christmas card shoot in L.A., Jessica Alba spent the day handing out Honest goodies at the Baby2Baby Holiday Drive-Thru Distribution in L.A. 

Page 16: Gwen Stefani rocked a cat-themed holiday jumpsuit while on the way to the recording studio in Santa Monica, Leighton Meester surfing in Malibu 

Page 17: Maria Sharapova brought back the 1970s during a photoshoot in L.A., Pink kept it casual during a coffee run to Starbucks in L.A., Tia Mowry returned home with a full trunk of gifts and goodies in L.A. 

Page 18: Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra Jonas exploring London 

Page 20: Let’s Get Physical -- Robin Wright took her bicycle out for a spin in L.A., Chris Hemsworth shows off his ripped body while lifting a tire, Winnie Harlow in L.A. 

Page 22: Deck the Halls -- newly-engaged Jonathan Bennett gushed of spending his first Christmas with fiance Jaymes Vaughan, Jonathan and Drew Scott dressed as elves 

Page 23: Jon Bon Jovi and his dog, Selena Gomez with her dog Winnie in front of the Christmas tree, Brooke Burke kicked off the season by signing ornaments that will be auctioned off by Operation Smile 

Page 24: Malin Akerman arranged the sheets and blankets and pillows at a Hotel Style Collection from Walmart event in NYC, Jeremy Renner filmed a scene for Hawkeye in NYC, Chrishell Stause stepped out for a morning walk with her rescue pooch Gracie in L.A. 

Page 26: Inside My Home -- Marc Anthony’s elegant estate in Coral Gables, Florida 

Page 28: Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart are planning to renew their vows on Valentine’s Day which is 12 years to the day after Harrison proposed to Calista on their sprawling Jackson Hole, Wyoming ranch -- Calista is incredibly touched that Harrison is organizing this and he’s thoughtfully arranging to have her favorite flowers to be flown in and has already booked a local band and a caterer and baker 

Page 29: Emily Blunt and John Krasinski might be ready for baby No. 3 but friends are encouraging them to get their marriage on track first -- the two have had a tough couple of years and John can be hard to deal with and cranky when he’s working -- while the duo tend to put a super-positive spin on their marriage in public not everyone is convinced things are so rosy at home but Emily wants another child and so does John so they’re willing to take the risk 

* Meghan Markle and Prince Harry plan to kick off 2021 with a much-needed tropical vacation -- after an emotionally turbulent year Meghan and Harry are ready for this break -- following a quiet Christmas at home the couple is looking forward to relaxing on a warm beach somewhere, sleeping in, soaking up nature’s beauty and reconnecting as a couple -- they’re considering a private island in Hawaii or off the coast of Fiji 

Page 30: Taylor Swift who’s been collecting bridal magazines and wedding ideas since she was a teen will have to adjust to the idea of a small sequestered affair when her boyfriend Joe Alwyn officially pops the question -- the once-outgoing singer has turned into a hermit since hooking up with the British actor who insists on total privacy and loathes attention and now Tay’s inner circle is said to be worried that in Joe’s continued efforts to fly under the radar he’ll ultimately nix the lavish nuptials Taylor’s long envisioned

* Justin Timberlake and Olivia Wilde have a past -- dating briefly in 2011 and costarring in two films but they won’t have a future if Justin’s wife Jessica Biel has any say -- Justin is eager to work with newly single Olivia again but the collab between the old pals is a total no-no as far as Jess is concerned because she’s always seen Olivia as a threat and particularly now that she’s split from Jason Sudeikis

* Love Bites -- Bachelor Nation’s Emily Ferguson and hockey player William Karlsson are engaged, Christina Milian and Matt Pokora have another baby on the way, Gleb Savchenko and Cassie Scerbo dating 

Page 32: Cover Story -- Ashton Kutcher haunted by his past -- the actor is wrestling with major demons and regrets -- the grisly murder of his then-girlfriend Ashley Ellerin has stayed with him -- Ashton and wife Mila Kunis have weathered some storms but they’re in a good place now

Page 36: Celebrity Dads and Their Darling Daughters -- Michael and Carys Douglas, John and Ella Bleu Travolta, Lionel and Sofia Richie 

Page 37: Don and Dakota Johnson, Phil and Lily Collins 

Page 38: Ryan and Ava Phillippe, Mark and Lola Consuelos, Johnny and Lily-Rose Depp 

Page 39: Lenny and Zoe Kravitz, Clint and Francesca Eastwood, Alec and Ireland Baldwin, Rod and Ruby Stewart 

Page 40: Interview -- Charlize Theron does it all -- the actress, mom and producer talks about taking on projects that are close to her heart 

Page 42: New Year, New You -- kick-start a healthy 2021 with these celeb-approved wellness resolutions 

Page 46: Style Week -- Good American cofounded by Khloe Kardashian recently launched its first-ever footwear collection 

Page 54: Entertainment 

Page 55: Q&A with Brian Austin Green 

Page 58: Buzz -- Prince George and Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis joined their parents Prince William and Duchess Kate on the red carpet for the very first time and held hands on their way to London’s Palladium to watch the National Lottery’s Pantoland

Page 60: Sound Bites -- Gwyneth Paltrow on getting starstruck, Kurt Russell on wife Goldie Hawn’s penchant for sleeping in total darkness, Jimmy Fallon on which SNL costar he’d want to be stuck on a desert island with (Tina Fey), Chrissy Teigen on being embarrassed 

Page 61: Megan Thee Stallion on the guidance she gets from Jay-Z and Beyonce, Frances McDormand on hooking up with husband Joel Coen, Chad Michael Murray on seeing pics from his heartthrob days, Rachel Brosnahan on what the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel fans can look forward to 

Page 62: Horoscope -- Capricorn John Legend turned 42 on December 28

Page 64: By the Numbers -- Larry David 

[rolloroberson]

BOBBY KEYS

“Bobby Keys is not the best saxophone player in the world, he’s the best rock ‘n’ roll saxophone player in the world.”

— The Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts

Just to list a very few... Bobby started touring with Buddy Holly at age 15; Bobby met The Rolling Stones in 1964 while playing with Bobby Vee; from 1969 until Bobby’s death in 2014 he played on multiple albums and tours for The Rolling Stones. Bobby also played for Joe Cocker, George Harrison, John Lennon, Ringo Starr, Graham Nash, Delaney & Bonnie, BB King, Harry Nilsson, Marvin Gaye, Jerry Lee Lewis, Eric Clapton, Fats Domino, Dr. John, Leon Russell, and many more. He is exactly what Charlie Watts stared the preeminent rock and roll sax player of all.

[myrecordcollections]

BB King

The Best Of BB King (ABC Label)

@ 1973 US Pressing 

****

In spite of 1972 being one of the stalest years in the history of popular music, the spate of reissues from all the major record companies and countless minor ones picks up more speed all the time, and the results (uneven as they are) are generally encouraging. All four of these albums represent attempts both at recapitulating the contributions of three black titans and cashing in on the belated widespread recognition of those contributions. Curtis Mayfield had a long string of hits with the Impressions but it took Super Fly to make him a household name. Ray Charles may have been bigger in the late Fifties and early Sixties than he is now, but he was more vital then, too. His earlier work deserves the endless repackaging. As for B.B. King, I can still remember the first time I saw a couple of kids in a department store line, audibly opting to chance $3.50 on an album called Lucille because some Limey speedfreaks had made it hip, and I’m sure that both they and I are glad they did, but B.B. King’s career didn’t begin when the royalties began pouring in from flash guitar covers and he was invited to tour with the Rolling Stones, so a thoughtful collection of vintage King is imperative.

Ray Charles doesn’t have as many hits these days as he used to, but he’s more renowned than ever before anyway. He’s become something of a national institution, like the Duke Ellington of R&B; even Pres Nixon has made an official declaration of Charles fandom. But the Pres ain’t exactly the type to do back-flips for “What’d I Say” or “The Right Time,” and Ray’s been hacking his way ever deeper into the tissue veldts of MOR for a full decade now. He still makes a good record every once in a while, but in his prime he was raunchy enough to split your skull and rock you into fundamentalist frothing fits. He created rock ‘n’ roll as much as Berry or Little Richard or anybody; he practically drew up the blue-prints for an entire era of gritty Stax R&B, and nobody ever wrenched their way deeper into the soaring terror of the blues. If you want to hear him really rip the joint apart and put it back together again with a cry, go back to those great Atlantic sides. The essence is on three albums: The Genius of Ray Charles. The Genius Sings the Blues and The Greatest Ray Charles. Or, for a fantastic overview, Atlantic’s four-record compilation The Ray Charles Story. Ray’s move from Atlantic to ABC made him rich and, initially at least, the musical rewards were probably as bountiful as ever and an idiomatic breakthrough besides. In search of a buck-grabbing formula, ABC sent him through albums like The Genius Hits the Road (“Georgia on My Mind,” “Mississippi Mud,” “Carry Me Back to Old Virginny” etc.), and miraculously he came up with brilliant, deeply soulful amalgams of gospel roots and mainstream pop. But the real turning point was a record called Modern Sounds in Country & Western Music, which was released about 12 years ago, at which time it promptly became the Number One album in America and changed the face of the milder strains of radio pop as irrevocably as his early work had done for rock ‘n’ roll. All through the Sixties the marriage of C&W to blues or bluesy euphemisms reigned, and whether you picked up on Glenn Campbell or Lee Hazelwood or any one of the rest of the multitude exploiting this new form, it all began with Ray Charles.

Ray himself exploited his innovation till the power of the original purveyor began to pale, and not everything on All-Time Great Country & Western Hits is great. But enough of the prime is here to make it worthwhile, especially if you haven’t picked up any of the many previous Charles reissues. “I Can’t Stop Loving You” was his first big move at this amalgam, and it’s still as tearfully puissant today as it was in 1961. Add the occasional C&W standard rendered in R&B style fully as uncompromising as any early Charles (the boiling “You Are My Sunshine” being the earliest and most potent example here), and you have a record as profound and essential as anything out today.

Lots of people think the Super Fly soundtrack the best soul album of 1972, but those unfamiliar with the Impressions owe it to themselves to discover what Curtis Mayfield was up to in the times before the most vital expression of black music was almost forced to deal with heroin death. “Freddie’s Dead” is already a Seventies standard, and His Early Years with the Impressions is a fine reminder that Mayfield possessed a consistent gift for creating hits destined to become classics all through his career. The vocal harmonies of the Impressions could be as mellow a balm as anything by Smokey Robinson and, like Robinson, Mayfield was never saccharine.

In fact, this late rehearsing of his past achievements impresses you firmly, even if you missed it first time around, with the fact that Mayfield was a groundbreaker in the nascent status of black popular music as a direct expression of the changes in black consciousness. When “Keep On Pushing” was a hit it was fairly easy to find shadings of meaning in its lyrics which formed as clear a link between the oldest gospel message and something far more topical, as it was to revel in the perfect evolutionary link between the purely musical freight carried out of church and the AM soul stylings which reached their summit in the mid-Sixties.

“It’s All Right” illuminates the same historic junction, and “We’re A Winner” takes it out of the realm of ambiguity, straight across the threshold of blatant backbeat radio anthem. Meanwhile, if you’re only familiar with things like “Gypsy Woman” in the eviscerated cover versions of white fluff-boys, get ready to be moved to the shoals of your soul by a whole other, more masterful and authentic type of vocal dramatics.

Again, the packaging is pretty bland, and another caveat is that lots of this stuff has been observed in the original albums selling for far less in bargain bins around the country (plus the fact that lots of those original packages were a joy in their very crassness, like that great Keep On Pushing cover observed among Dylan’s most conspicuously prized possessions on the Bringin’ It All Back Home jacket). But if Super Fly was your introduction to Curtis, you’ll want to make a point of picking this up before his pre-soundtrack solo albums, which qualitatively fall way below both what preceded and followed them.

B.B. King has in his belated flush of success become almost as frustrating for the aficionado of the Real Shit as Ray Charles. B.B. plays Vegas now, no fault there, and hits both the colleges and TV talk shows. So he’s finally out of the scuffle, at late long last. Unfortunately, his music has also gotten less interesting with each successive album. Vintage King wasn’t just something for punks to prove they could tell a good blues guitar solo from a bad one; it was stark, evil stuff. Troubled and troubling.

The difference between these two B.B. albums is the difference between chills and chips, between hearing a raw edge that makes Back in the Alley more than just a good colorful title, and satisfying your curiosity about how B.B. King would work in the context of a standard Leon Russell Hollywood camp meeting. And it’s not just a matter of backalleys vs. proximity to pop-stars: There is just no way a cut from the legendary Live at the Regal album, which molded countless Sixties guitarists and stands alongside things like James Brown at the Apollo as one of the all-time classic in-person R&B disks, there is no way something like that is not gonna shut down a pleasantly perfunctory session cut at Cook County Jail two or three years after Johnny Cash made it both righteously hip and fiscally sound to jam for jailbirds.

Actually, the chronological distance between the two albums is not all that great. Back in the Alley begins in 1964 and leaves off just short of where The Best of B.B. King picks up, but the difference in mood and meat is sufficient to make the choice clear, even if Best Of does have the incredible “The Thrill Is Gone.” It’s the fine line between a man playing with total commitment to an audience he has probably had for years which can savor his peaks and bear an off night, and a man playing for people who’ve been sold his legend and will love anything because they know they’re supposed to. But you don’t have to be any kind of connoisseur to tell the difference.

Rolling Stone 1973

[mostlysignssomeportents]

#1yrago Happy Public Domain day: for real, for the first time in 20 years!

Every year, Jennifer Jenkins and Jamie Boyle from the Duke Center for the Public Domain compile a "Public Domain Day" list (previously) that highlights the works that are not entering the public domain in America, thanks to the 1998 Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act, which hit the pause button on Americans' ability to freely use their artistic treasures for two decades -- a list that also included the notable works entering the public domain in more sensible countries of the Anglophere, like Canada and the UK, where copyright "only" lasted for 50 years after the author's death.

But this year, it's different.

This is the year that America unpauses its public domain; it's also the year that Canadian PM Justin Trudeau capitulated to Donald Trump and retroactively extended copyright on works in Canada for an extra 20 years, ripping works out of Canada's public domain, making new works based on them into illegal art (more proof that good hair and good pecs don't qualify you to be a good leader -- see also: V. Putin -- not even when paired with high-flying, cheap rhetoric).

Even as Canada's public domain has radically contracted, America's has, for the first, time, opened.

So this year's American Public Domain Day List is, for the first time in 20 years, not a work melancholy alternate history, but rather a celebration of works that Americans are newly given access to without restriction or payment, for free re-use and adaptation, in the spirit of such classics as Snow White, West Side Story, My Fair Lady, All You Need is Love, and more (More than 1,000 in all, summarized in this handy spreadsheet -- thanks Gary!).

Films * Safety Last!, directed by Fred C. Newmeyer and Sam Taylor, featuring Harold Lloyd * The Ten Commandments, directed by Cecil B. DeMille * The Pilgrim, directed by Charlie Chaplin * Our Hospitality, directed by Buster Keaton and John G. Blystone * The Covered Wagon, directed by James Cruze * Scaramouche, directed by Rex Ingram

Books * Edgar Rice Burroughs, Tarzan and the Golden Lion * Agatha Christie, The Murder on the Links * Winston S. Churchill, The World Crisis * e.e. cummings, Tulips and Chimneys * Robert Frost, New Hampshire * Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet * Aldous Huxley, Antic Hay * D.H. Lawrence, Kangaroo * Bertrand and Dora Russell, The Prospects of Industrial Civilization * Carl Sandberg, Rootabaga Pigeons * Edith Wharton, A Son at the Front * P.G. Wodehouse, works including The Inimitable Jeeves and Leave it to Psmith * Viginia Woolf, Jacob's Room

Music * Yes! We Have No Bananas, w.&m. Frank Silver & Irving Cohn * Charleston, w.&m. Cecil Mack & James P. Johnson * London Calling! (musical), by Noel Coward * Who’s Sorry Now, w. Bert Kalmar & Harry Ruby, m. Ted Snyder * Songs by “Jelly Roll” Morton including Grandpa’s Spells, The Pearls, and Wolverine Blues (w. Benjamin F. Spikes & John C. Spikes; m. Ferd “Jelly Roll” Morton) * Works by Bela Bartok including the Violin Sonata No. 1 and the Violin Sonata No. 2 * Tin Roof Blues, m. Leon Roppolo, Paul Mares, George Brunies, Mel Stitzel, & Benny Pollack (There were also compositions from 1923 by other well-known artists including Louis Armstrong, Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, WC Handy, Oscar Hammerstein, Gustav Holst, Al Jolson, Jerome Kern, and John Phillip Sousa; though their most famous works were from other years.)

And as great as that list is, it's hardly a patch on the amazing works we'd be inheriting if the Sonny Bono law hadn't been passed and the 1978 law was still on the books -- works whose authors fully expected them to be in the public domain as of tomorrow:

Books * Madeleine L’Engle, A Wrinkle in Time * Rachel Carson, Silent Spring * Barbara Tuchman, The Guns of August * Katherine Anne Porter, Ship of Fools * James Baldwin, Another Country * Philip K. Dick, The Man in the High Castle * Thomas Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions * Vladimir Nabokov, Pale Fire * Anthony Burgess, A Clockwork Orange * Michael Harrington, The Other America * Milton Friedman, Capitalism and Freedom * J.G. Ballard, The Drowned World * Ray Bradbury, Something Wicked This Way Comes * Ken Kesey, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest * Edward Albee, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? * Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich * Doris Lessing, The Golden Notebook * Helen Gurley Brown, Sex and the Single Girl * Ingri d’Aulaire and Edgar Parin d’Aulaire, D’Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths

Movies * Lawrence of Arabia * The Longest Day * The Manchurian Candidate * Dr. No * Jules and Jim * Sanjuro * Birdman of Alcatraz * Mutiny on the Bounty * Days of Wine and Roses * How the West Was Won

Music * Dream Baby (How Long Must I Dream), by Cindy Walker, performed by Roy Orbison * Blowin’ in the Wind, Bob Dylan * Watermelon Man, Herbie Hancock (from his first album, Takin’ Off) * Twistin’ the Night Away, Sam Cooke * You Can’t Judge a Book by the Cover and You Shook Me, Willie Dixon * Surfin’ Safari, The Beach Boys * Songs from A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Stephen Sondheim * Dream Baby (How Long Must I Dream), Cindy Walker * Big Girls Don’t Cry, Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio * Breaking Up Is Hard To Do, Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield * Little Boxes, Malvina Reynolds * The Loco-Motion, Gerry Goffin and Carole King * Soldier Boy, Luther Dixon and Florence Greenberg

And, as Jenkins and Boyle point out, the largely hidden casualty of copyright term extension is the scholarship and research published in academic journals, who paid nothing for these works, and who have locked them up for decades to come:

https://boingboing.net/2018/12/31/thanks-justin.html

[diceriadelluntore]

Storia Di Musica #91 - Rolling Stones, Exile On Main Street, 1972

Uno degli album più leggendari, seminali e storici di tutti tempi viene registrato in esilio (da cui il titolo). Infatti nel 1971 il Governo Britannico indaga i Rolling Stones di evasione fiscale. I 4 con notevole nonchalance in tutta risposta si spostano in Francia. Mick Jagger si trasferisce a Parigi con sua moglie Bianca, gli altri (Mick Taylor, Bill Wyman, Charlie Watts) in costa azzurra, mentre Keith Richards affitta una incantevole villa a Villefranche-sur-Mer, vicino a Nizza, che si chiama Nellcôte. In mancanza di uno studio di registrazione “all’altezza” nella zona, Richards insieme al produttore Jimmy Miller e ai due leggendari ingegneri del suono, Andy e Glys Johns, improvvisa studio di registrazione la cantina della villa. A questo punto iniziano leggende di ogni tipo su come avvenissero le registrazioni, e soprattutto in quale stato psicofisico, fatto sta che il soggiorno per le registrazioni fece la fortuna dei pusher locali e delle libertine: è certo che spesso il gruppo non suonava nè registrava insieme, e Wyman visto l’andazzo se ne andrà dalla band. Sia come sia, il disco fu remissato ai Sunset Studio di Los Angeles. Quando esce nel maggio del 1972, Exile On Main Street è un doppio LP dove gli Stones celebrano, quasi ad immergercisi totalmente, le radici del rock, soprattutto la musica nera americana. Vuoi per l’informalità delle sessioni, vuoi per la creatività sfrenata del periodo (ricordiamoci che Exile chiude il periodo d’oro degli Stones), il sound del nostri è sporco, ruvido, ma è perfetto per il canto slabbrato e sfrontato di Jagger e Richards. Il disco non ha avuto un singolo di successo come nei precedenti, ma nell’insieme è di una solidità e di una qualità incredibili. Il riff midtempo di Rocks Off apre le danze, poi passano ad omaggiare Chuck Berry (uno dei pilastri simbolici della loro musica) con Rip This Joint, Casino Boogie ha un testo che si rifà al cut-off di William S. Burroughs, che fu ospite della villa di Richards in quel periodo. Tumbling Dice è il primo capolavoro, il primo brano dove il rock si fonde con i superbi cori in stile stax sound, e si dice fosse stato scritto da Richards mentre giocava a dadi con una corista, Clydie King. Sweet Virginia è una dolce ballata country, quasi bucolica, Torn And Frayed ha un piano honky tonk accattivante e delicato. Non ci sono momenti deboli: Happy fu registrata in primo tempo solo da Richards, Miller e il fidato sassofonista Bobby Keys, Let It Loose è una ballatona con cori soul da pelle d’oca e accendini accesi ai concerti, All Down The Line è il più classico brano rock alla Stones, Shine A Light, che era stata donata in via embrionale a Leon Russell qualche anno prima (Get A Line On You, del 1968), qui viene rivestita in modo scintillante e diviene un  loro classico, e fu usata come titolo da Martin Scorsese per un magnifico documentario concerto dedicato a questa band immortale. Come in tutti i dischi degli Stones di questo periodo, il brano finale è un gioiellino: Soul Survivor ha uno dei micidiali riff di Richards e gronda black music, chiudendo un disco che definire epocale è poco. Non è geniale come lo fu Let It Bleed (1969), tossico e devastato come Sticky Fingers (1971) ma Exile On Main Street è il loro lavoro più ambizioso e musicalmente grandioso della loro carriera ultra-cinquantennale, il disco forse meno inglese e più americano. Va ricordata, perchè componente centrale nel mito del disco, la copertina: un collage di foto in bianco e nero di Robert Frank che ritraevano freak e persone fotografate dal barbiere, spezzoni d Super 8, impaginati da Norman Seeff e John Van Hamersveld. Il retro ritraeva gli Stones mentre mangiano, sbadigliano, leggono il giornale, e contiene dei versi delle canzoni tutto giustapposto a frammenti di testi delle canzoni contenute nell'album: Uno dei più famosi dice: Io ti ho dato dei diamanti, tu mi hai attaccato una malattia. Che sembra una dichiarazione di intenti.

[callunavulgari]

Scrapbook 2020 | Pt. I

Reminder:

Normal font - Indifferent/Neutral Italicized font - Enjoyed bold font - Loved with an asterisk* - All time favorite (bracketed titles) - Re-watches/Re-reads strikethough - Disliked

Goals are: read seventy-five books, finish five video games, write something novel-length and write something original. These last two goals CAN be combined. So you know, nearly the exact same goals from last year.

MOVIES

January

My Neighbor Totoro

(Matilda)

(The Mummy)

The Pacifier

(Moana)

Lion King (2019)

February

Hereditary

(The Lion King 2)

Kiki’s Delivery Service

March

(Tangled)

(Zootopia)

(Lilo and Stitch)

(The Swan Princess)

(The Swan Princess: Secret of the Castle)

(The Swan Princess: The Mystery of the Enchanted Kingdom)

April

Onward

(Your Name)

(Frozen 2)

Happy Death Day

Promare

May

(Free Willy)

(Star Wars: The Last Skywalker)

(Free Willy 2)

(The Road to El Dorado)

(Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron)

(Prince of Egypt)

BOOKS

January

The Secret Commonwealth | Philip Pullman [Fin]

The Great Hunt | Robert Jordan [Fin]

Wanderers | Chuck Wendig

The Dragon Republic | R.F. Kuang

February

Wanderers | Chuck Wendig [Fin]

The Dragon Republic | R.F. Kuang [Fin]

Runebinder | Alex Kahler [Fin]

The Book of M | Peng Shepherd [Fin]

Call Down the Hawk | Maggie Stiefvater [Fin]

(The Diviners | Libba Bray) [Fin]

(Lair of Dreams | Libba Bray) [Fin]

(Before the Devil Breaks You | Libba Bray) [Fin]

King of Crows | Libba Bray [Fin]

Gods of Jade and Shadow | Silvia Moreno-Garcia [Fin]

The City of Brass | S.A. Chakraborty

March

The City of Brass | S.A. Chakraborty [Fin]

Legion | Brandon Sanderson [Fin]

Taproot | Keezy Young [Fin]

Mooncakes | Suzanna Walker, Wendy Xu [Fin]

Loki: the God Who Fell to Earth | Daniel Kibblesmith [Fin]

The Lost Future of Pepperharrow | Natasha Pulley [Fin]

The Hazel Wood | Melissa Albert [Fin]

The Black Tides of Heaven | J.Y. Yang [Fin]

Gideon the Ninth | Tamsyn Muir** [Fin]

Loki: Where Mischief Lies | Mackenzie Lee [Fin]

American Royals | Katharine McGee [Fin]

River of Teeth | Sarah Gailey [Fin]

We Are Okay | Nina LaCour [Fin]

Where the Crawdads Sing | Delia Owens [Fin]

A Memory Called Empire | Arkady Martine [Fin]

April

The Dream Peddler | Martine Fournier Watson [Fin]

The Dragon Reborn | Robert Jordan [Fin]

The Glass Hotel | Emily St John Mandel [Fin]

On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous | Ocean Vuong [Fin]

The Unhoneymooners | Christina Lauren [Fin]

(Captive Prince 1 | C.S.Pacat)  [Fin]

(Captive Prince 2 | CS Pacat)  [Fin]

(Captive Prince 3 | CS Pacat)  [Fin]

The Flatshare | Bath O’Leary [Fin]

A Study in Brimstone | G.S. Denning [Fin]

May

Sky In the Deep | Adrienne Young [Fin]

House of Salt and Sorrows | Erin Craig [Fin]

The Sparrow | Mary Russell [Fin]

Here and Now and Then | Mike Chen [Fin]

Burn for Me | Ilona Andrews [Fin]

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms | N.K. Jemisin [Fin]

Mister Monday | Garth Nix

PODCASTS

January

King Falls AM, Eps 35-75

February

King Falls AM, Eps Live Special-84

The Penumbra Podcast | Juno Steel and the Tools of Rust

(Zero Hours - Ep 7)

March

King Falls AM, Eps 84-100

April

(The Magnus Archive, s1)

The Magnus Archive, s5

Welcome to Night Vale

The Bridge

The Adventure Zone

May

The Magnus Archive, s5

TV SHOWS BY SEASON

January

The Great British Baking Show, s7, s6

Lost In Space, s2

The Magicians, s3, s4

The Untamed

February

The Untamed**

The Terror, s2

March

Guardian

Haikyuu

Westworld, s3

April

The Great British Baking Show, s6

Westworld, s3

Jeopardy 

The Guardian

May

Motherland: Fort Salem

(Avatar: The Last Airbender)

Buzzfeed Unsolved: Supernatural

Buzzfeed Unsolved: True Crime

Watcher Entertainment

She-Ra, s5**

The Guardian

(Avatar: The Last Airbender)

VIDEO GAMES

January

Pokemon: Shield (30 hrs) [Fin]

Monster Hunter World: Iceborne (10 hrs)

February

Monster Hunter World: Iceborne (30 hrs)

Transistor [Fin]

Plague Tales: Innocence (15 hrs)

Civ VI (France- FIN, Victory)

Assassin’s Creed: Origins (20 hrs)

March

Kingdom Hearts 3

Luigi’s Mansion [Fin]

(LoZ: Breath of the Wild)

April

(LoZ: Breath of the Wild)

The Outer Worlds

Oxenfree

May

Final Fantasy 7 Remake

Shadow of the Colossus

DELIGHTFUL FIC

January

A Miracle in Thunder by LazyBaker | Stranger Things | Harringrove | 4.5k | Christmas morning, Steve’s pulling into a nearly empty parking lot to open Family Video on his own.

The White Wolf by norgbelulah | Castlevania | Alucard/Trevor/Sypha | 6k | Trevor and Sypha travel back to the Belmont Estate and Castle Dracula, unsure of what they will find there.

Stainless by Fahye | The Untamed | Lan Zhan/Wei Wuxian | 6.5k | "I'm starting to feel," says Lan Xichen, "that this was a counterproductive suggestion."

sleep in your bed by copperwings | The Untamed | Lan Zhan/Wei Wuxian | 12k | or; Wei WuXian has a tendency to fall asleep in places where he shouldn't. Lan WangJi disapproves.

by the grace of a ride along by brawlite | The Witcher | Geralt/Jaskier | 5k | They shouldn't so often find themselves in situations like this. And yet.

this line bisects by adspexi | The Queen’s Thief | Attolia/Eugenides/Costis | 1k | The rumors around Costis' status as a royal favorite haven't quieted down. The king doesn't seem to mind.

Be kind by longnationalnightmare | The Magicians | Quentin/Eliot | 10k | It was absurd how much Eliot meant it— you’re cute—so cute Eliot wanted to swallow him whole.

Reclaimed by betts | Star Wars | Reylo | 14k | Or: After the passing of new legislation, Rey and thousands of other omegas are rescued from the abusive grasps of their alphas. She gets adopted by a new alpha and braces herself for the cruelty she’s grown used to. But Ben isn’t like other alphas, and Rey slowly warms to his kindness.

Make a list of things you need by longnationalnightmare | The Magicians | Quentin/Eliot | 10k | “Whose wedding?” he asked, and only stopped assessing the room when Eliot failed to answer. “El, who’s getting married?”

seldom all they seem by Fahye | The Untamed | Lan Zhan/Wei Wuxian | 24k | or, one hundred and thirty-three principles of the Gusu Lan, pertaining to the state of marriage

love is touching souls (surely you touched mine) by ToAStranger | Harry Potter | Harry Potter/Tom Riddle | 34k | Voldemort is dead. It's Christmas, and Harry's just opened a gift from Fred and George Weasley.

back to back by serenfire | The Witcher | Geralt/Jaskier | 13k | (Or: If Yennefer gets to be improbably naked in canon, then I am making Jaskier equally, if not more, naked. It's equality.)

You're a Story (I Can Follow) by Page161of180 | The Magicians | Queliot | 20k | The Monster's been defeated, Quentin is dead, and Eliot has a quest of his own--if he can trust himself to complete it. An Orpheus and Eurydice remix.

Lover's Touch by Rizandace | The Magicians | Queliot | 25k | Q gets cursed, and Alice can't help. Magic forces Q and Eliot to cuddle and talk about their feelings.

Possession by yaskween | The Magicians | Queliot | 9k |  “Honestly? I don’t mean to be rude,” Eliot started, having trouble meeting Quentin’s eyes again. “But I don’t think I can handle being this close to you right now.”

You In My Head by stele3 | The Magicians | Queliot | 5k | Apparently, the Monster hadn’t cared much about hydration. Eliot hasn’t been this parched since Ibiza 2012.

fall through by sarcasticfishes | Buzzfeed Unsolved | Shane/Ryan/Sara | 8k |  “Sorry man, our flights are grounded because of some freak storm. Waiting to see if we can get one out tomorrow,” Shane reads aloud, and Sara pouts down at the screen.

with them indiana boys (on them indiana nights) by ToAStranger | Stranger Things | Harringrove | 5k | The thing is, when Billy first saw Steve Harrington, he knew.  

The Genius of the Western River by Siria | Buzzfeed Unsolved | Shane/Ryan | 14k |  Shane’s totally working on being flippant about all those times he joked about Ryan’s godlike physique, never suspecting how true those jokes might be—the two of them just have to defeat a supernatural serial killer first.

I was born to blanket you in flowers by MyFandomCausesHanaji | The Untamed | Wei Wuxan/Lan Zhan | 5k | “I have folded a thousand paper flowers for you.”

A Temporary Favor by oxymoronic | Stranger Things | Harringrove | 30k | It’s barely three days since El closed the gate when Hopper tells him he wants to rip a hole in space and time to rescue Billy Hargrove. Steve thinks it’s the dumbest thing he’s ever heard.

February

it’s a long way forward (so trust in me) by suzukiblu | The Witcher | Geralt/Jaskier | 25k | “Does that stop heat?” Jaskier asks curiously, absentmindedly tuning his lute as he speaks. He hadn’t thought anything could, but, well . . . witchers and their potions.

Love as You Are by thisgirlsays22 | The Witcher | Geralt/Jaskier | 16k | Jaskier didn’t want to marry just any noblewoman--no matter how comely she may be--he wanted adventure and many loves, but most importantly his biggest, greatest love of all.

GERALT'S A SOFT BOI send tweet by relenafanel | The Witcher | Geralt/Jaskier | 2k | WIP |  “Hey, so this is where you ended up,” Jaskier said, sliding into the chair across from Geralt in the sad truck-stop diner 50 kilometres outside of the backwater swamp-dump reporting an infestation of drowners.

The Rule Of Opposites by entanglednow | Good Omens | Aziraphale/Crowley | 6k | In which they are opposing forces, not designed to touch, anathema to each other. Crowley refuses to accept it.

have you noticed I’ve been gone? by suzukiblu | The Witcher | Geralt/Jaskier | 12k | Jaskier is a very good kisser, and almost kisses Geralt often enough, which is a damn sight closer than most people get. Even when he’s paying for it, he doesn’t get kissed enough. Jaskier gets close, though.

Chattoter Trending by DragonBandit | Pokemon | Leon/Raihan | 2.5k | Neither Raihan or Leon have told the greater public about their relationship. Then Raihan posts the wrong picture to Chattoter.

from me to you by Ceta | The Untamed | Wei Wuxian/Lan Zhan | 14k |  Wei Too Cool ✓ @wei-wuxian correct me if i’m wrong but i’m pretty sure that’s a love song @LanWangJi #AtFirstSight

Do it Again by thisgirlsays22 | The Witcher | Geralt/Jaskier | 7k | By the twentieth time Geralt has gone through the loop, he decides to just throw himself off the cliff’s edge after Borch.

March

The Absolutely True Story of the Yiling Patriarch: A Manifesto in Many Parts by aubreyli | The Untamed | Wei Wuxian/Lan Zhan | 20k |  “Love?” he croaks, then clears his throat and tries again. “Lan Zh— uh, Hanguang-jun, in love?”

bend all the rules by brawlite | Stranger Things | Harringrove | 14k | Billy knows that it’s a bad idea to hook up with his old high school rival and certified Straight Guy™, Steve Harrington -- but Hawkins is real bleak during the holidays, and Billy’s just trying to make it through winter break without dying of boredom.

April

Probability Engine by @kaikamahine | The Watchmaker of Filigree Street | Keita/Thaniel | 22k | The worst part about knowing you will have to shove Merrick Tremayne into the path of an oncoming cannonball is that you genuinely enjoy the man's company. Unfortunately, this becomes something of a recurring theme.

rare the man who'll hold to faith by Fahye | The Untamed | Wei Wuxian/Lan Zhan | 13k |  "There is the mark of our bargain, and here is the challenge," said the Yiling Patriarch.

a stone to break your soul, a song to save it by rikke | The Untamed | Wei Wuxian/Lan Zhan | 180k | When the entire cultivation world turns against Wei WuXian, Jiang Cheng comes up with a plan to save him and arranges a marriage between his brother and the Second Jade of Lan, Lan WangJi.

a prize for rotten judgement by sarcasticfishes | Buzzfeed Unsolved | Ryan/Shane | 10k | “You’d drive each other crazy. You sit together at your office all day, and then you’d be commuting home together, eating dinner together, watching TV together, going to bed — well, not together, but you get it, right?”

Linger in the Sun by etymologyplayground | The Untamed | Wei Wuxian/Lan Zhan | 39k | "Tell Lan Zhan that I'm weeping uncontrollably," Wei Wuxian says to the juniors. "Tell him I'm truly pitiful and he needs to do everything I say until I'm well again."

Every ridge hand-picked by the late sun’s slant light by wildestranger | The Guardian | Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan | 7k | “Long time, no see,” he says.The Black Cloaked Envoy blanches.

If Life Was A Movie We’d Have A Better Soundtrack Than This by galaxysoup | The Guardian | Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan | 46k | The first time Shen Wei meets Zhao Yunlan is when he innocently steps out of his Monday morning office hours and is immediately slammed into by 180 pounds of cop pursuing a suspect on foot.

Sex, Science, and True Love: A Rigid Analysis of the Practical Applications of Dual Cultivation by aubreyli | The Untamed | Wei Wuxian/Lan Zhan | 24k | WIP | “The Lans are far too boring and repressed for something like this,” Wei Wuxian said, with the authority of one who had been resoundingly ignored by a Lan for the past month. “Can you imagine Lan Wangji dual cultivating?”

and so my heart beats wildly by lily_winterwood | The Untamed | Wei Wuxian/Lan Zhan | 106k | “You know, you’re the one to beat this year,” Jiang Cheng offers helpfully, having seen the glare from right next to him. “Hanguang-jun’s been through juniors with the rest of us, he knows all of our tics. You’re an unknown variable, since he’s never competed against you before.”

Weird and/or Wonderful by beethechange | Buzzfeed Unsolved | Shane/Ryan | 12k | Or: During the filming of an episode of Weird and/or Wonderful World, Ryan tosses a shoelace and a wish in an ancient magical wishing well. Mistakes are made.

one good thing by Yuu_chi | The Untamed | Wei Wuxian/Lan Zhan | 26k | Wei Wuxian has been haunting his childhood home for three years. He's perfected the fine art of scaring away all the tenants, and has grown used to living with the dying flowers in the garden as his only company.

  stay with me, go places by beethechange | Buzzfeed Unsolved | Shane/Ryan | 16k | “Never have I ever,” Shane says, feeling his way delicately around the syllables, making nice with all the consonants and vowels, “hooked up with a friend at a wedding.”

once more with feeling by sarsaparillia | Oxenfree | Alex/Jonas | 26k | Alex, stumbling through the time-stream.

hey boy, take a look at me by weakspots | Buzzfeed Unsolved | Ryan/Shane | 17k |  Ryan is 27, for Christ’s sake, and he’s not exactly hideous, so there’s really no reason to spend his money on a dude — a dude — whose face he’ll never see but whose livestreams he’s been jerking off to for roughly 4 months now.

Warm Blanket by surveycorpsjean | Promare | Lio/Galo | 19k | He wonders if Lio remembers.

spend some time with me (i really like your company) by fencer_x | Promare | Galo/Lio | 73k | Galo Thymos is the worst hostage ever, and Lio regrets kidnapping him with every waking breath.

times that are broken can often be one again by sarcasticfishes | Buzzfeed Unsolved | Ryan/Shane/Sara | The moment the lights come on, Shane senses that something is wrong.

my age has never made me wise by idrilka | The Untamed | Wei Wuxian/Lan Zhan | 63k | “We hear that His Excellency might be married by summer’s end,” the merchant’s wife says and Wei Wuxian freezes, his heart in his throat. “The Gusu Lan sect has been buying enough red silk and brocade that the merchants in Caiyi can’t satisfy the demand.”

May

The Shops on Morning Street by mikkimouse | Castlevania | Alucard/Trevor | 7k | Trevor Belmont, former monster hunter and current florist, is tasked with looking into the proprietor of the new tattoo parlor across the street, much to his annoyance.

Sarva by rageprufrock | Guardian | Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan | 5k | Or, 一切. At work, in public, Shen Wei is meticulously, seamlessly polite. In bed, he's something else.

Heartbeat by quackers | Buzzfeed Unsolved | Ryan/Shane | 66k | So the guy Ryan sits next to at work is a vampire. That's no big deal, right?

Soup-pocalypse and The Great Curry Cataclysm by SquadOfCats | Harry Potter | Draco/Harry | 104k | Eleven years after the war, Draco Malfoy leads a quiet, boring, and perfectly respectable life, thanks very much. Or, at least he does, until a sudden and very unexpected veela awakening causes him to throw soup all over Harry Potter in the middle of the Ministry cafeteria.

until you fit beneath me (and you’re breaking like a wave) by beethechange | Buzzfeed Unsolved | Ryan/Shane |  In which Shane Madej succumbs to the mortifying ordeal of being known—but not before being a real butthead about it for many thousands of words first.

there is no such thing by gh0stly | Buzzfeed Unsolved | Ryan/Shane | 10k | A simple investigation turns serious as Ryan suspects the black dog of Hawthorn road isn't the only demonic entity to have followed him home.

oracle bones by orphan_account | Avatar: TLA | Zuko/Katara | 3k | The foreign, pictorial characters that bracelet Zuko's left wrist have never been covered in any of his lessons. He cannot read them.

Third Time's A Charm by quackers | Buzzfeed Unsolved | Ryan/Shane | 31k | Shane can't help but fall for the hot young lifeguard that stars in his Baywatch inspired daydreams, but he has a secret that no one can know. Not even Ryan.

Milk and Honey by quackers | Buzzfeed Unsolved | Ryan/Shane | 18k | Sure, the fae were real. Everyone knew that.Ryan being fae? As likely as ghosts existing.

Technically-Terrestrial by quackers | Buzzfeed Unsolved | 60k | Nearly forty years ago, the disgraced group of an alien race found refuge amongst the population of Earth.And now Shane Madej, who is more-or-less human, kind-of-actually-an-alien, has to convince his terrified best friend Ryan that he's not about to abduct him.

play me like a love song by sky_somedays | Buzzfeed Unsolved | Ryan/Shane | 10k |  Shane is Ryan's beleaguered history TA. Ryan won't stop suggesting insane theories.

one word from you by mme_anxious  | The Untamed | Lan Zhan/Wei Wuxian | 5k |  Wei Wuxian manages to get himself cursed and Lan Wangji just wants to be helpful. 

DELIGHTFUL FANVIDS

January

A Tribute to 2019 Cinema

Geralt & Yennefer | Wicked Game

chaos | Yennefer of Vengerberg

Yennefer of Vengerberg || SURVIVOR

The Multifandom Mashup 2019

Multifandom Mashup 2019

Natural ][ Multifandom

Yennefer Of Vengerberg | Here I Am

destiny [The Witcher]

star wars || war pigs

THE WITCHER || IN THE END [Happy New Year!]

Sucker [Jaskier & Geralt / Humor]

The Witcher || War Pigs

Lee Scoresby ][ Rebel Just For Kicks || HDM

Jaskier & Geralt || Hold on

February

The Art of Cinema

Jaskier & Geralt || Hold on

Jaskier || Oh No!

The Witcher || River

Geralt Of Rivia || Old Town Road

Multifandom | Glitter & Gold

Everybody knows | Multifandom

Merlin | Survivor

March

xue yang & xiao xingchen (the untamed MV) | hold on

Wei Wuxian | The Yiling Patriarch

The Untamed | Devil from Heaven

陈情令-The Untamed (2019) | but I'm only human | Yiling Patriarch

wei wu xian & lan wang ji (the untamed MV) | they don't know about us

Wangxian || Us Against the World (The Untamed)

Wei Wu Xian & Lan Wang Ji | A Thousand Years (The Untamed FMV)

hannibal || the way you are

Wei Wuxian & Lan Wangji | Bury our Love《陈情令 The Untamed》

The Untamed FMV | Wei Wuxian & Lan Wangji | 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁𝓎

The Untamed MV - Rule the World

𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘺 || wei wu xian 陈情令

陈情令 | The Untamed - I Will Carry You

wei wu xian & lan wang ji (the untamed MV) | beautiful mess

The Witcher | Geralt Of Rivia

Kylo Ren & Rey | I Know You

Miles Morales | Whatever It Takes

EGO - Wei Wuxian

Wei Wuxian | Rebel Just For Kicks

Geralt of Rivia // Glitter and Gold

Glitter & Gold ][ TUA

Eliot Waugh - Let It Happen

Jaskier ❤️️ Everybody Loves Me

April

DJ Earworm - YouTube Sings Dance Monkey (100 COVERS)

Khan ][ Believer

Roman Sionis | Black Mask ][ Bad Guy

(Star Wars) Kylo Ren | Redemption

(The Witcher) Geralt of Rivia | The White Wolf

Sirius & Regulus | Black Flies

The Marauders | HOME

(Marvel) Thor | The New Path

(Marvel) Tony Stark | My Legacy

A Song of Ice & Fire

(GoT) Daenerys Targaryen | My Reign is Over

Harley Quinn ][ Feeling Good

Multifandom II You'll Always Be A Monster

Haru & Rin || Deep Blue

Star Wars - Anime Opening 1 (A New Hope Arc)

It's hard

Severus Snape

Marvel || BLUE MONDAY

never surrender

May

[AMV] In The Name of Love [Yuri!!! on ICE]

Catra & Adora | I love you, I always have (+S5)

Sherlock ][ Bohemian Rhapsody

(Marvel) Avengers | Catastrophe

DELIGHTFUL MUSIC

January

There She Goes - Sixpence None the Richer

Don’t You Forget About Me - Simple Minds

Devil Side - Foxes 

Medhel an Gwyns - Anna Dudley

A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square - Tori Amos

Toss A Coin to Your Witcher - Witcher OST

Smile For the Camera - UPSAHL

Fail We Must Sail We Must - Unloved

It’s Not You, It’s Me -Unloved

Bill - Unloved 

Cry Baby Cry - Unloved

Sigh - Unloved

Teeth - 5 Seconds of Summer

My Dear - The Castros

Us - Regina Spektor

Houses - Great Northern 

Beautiful Dreamer - The Magicians Cast

Graveyard - Halsey

Imperfections - Celine Dion

Premonitions - Vaults 

Jagwar - Shells

Nice To Meet You - Niall Horan

Handsome and Wealthy - Migos

Thunder - Shaed

6 Underground - The Sneaker Pimps

February

Land of Yesterday - Anastasia Original Broadway Cast

You’re Somebody Else - Flora Cash

Masterpiece - Vargas & Lagola

Everybody Knows - Sigrid

Fly Me to the Moon - Frank Sinatra

Cringe - Stripped - Matt Maeson

Black Out Days - Phantogram

You Don’t Get Me High Anymore - Wakey!Wakey!

Pep Talk - Judah & the Lion

Ag Bruach Dhun Reimhe - Eithne Ni Uallachan

Grave Digger - Matt Maeson

Hidden Lakes - Shearwater

Maker - Anjimile

The Untamed sountracks - vocal and instrumental

Cut My Lip - 21 Pilots

Cancer - 21 Pilots

Strawberry Fields - The Beatles

March

Infinity - Jaymes Young

Chadelier - Sia

No Time to Die - Billie Eilish

South of the Border - Camila Cabello & Cardi B

Moondust - Jaymes Young

April

2020 playlist

May

2020 playlist

POSTED FIC

January

a different kind of danger in the daylight | Shades of Magic | Kell/Lila/Holland | 6,930 words | Sleeping with Holland was never part of the plan. 

February

love will have it's sacrifices | Teen Wolf | Sterek | 7,719 words | “So,” Allison starts, biting her lip. “You’re telling me that you think your roommate is a werewolf.”

March

Teeth | The Witcher | Jaskier/Geralt | 2,368 words |  “You wrote a song about my teeth,” Geralt says.

April

Lithium | Kingdom Hearts | Axel/Roxas | 378 words |  The grass is cool and faintly damp, still springy under your palms.

the thrill of knowing how alone we are | Stargate Atlantis | Rodney/John | 1,077 words | “Right now, I really don’t know if I want to kiss you or shove you off the damn bridge.”Rodney, who is, in fact, on a bridge right now, has never had the best sense of self preservation, because he snaps right back, “Oh good, can I pick?”

i hope you lose your way | Kingdom Hearts | Sora/Riku | 1,725 words |  The last summer that he and Sora were together, truly together, before the inexplicable pull of adulthood drew them further and further apart until that thread finally snapped, they went on a road trip.

ephemeral | The Untamed | Lan Zhan/Wei Wuxian | 2,353 words | “Composing is what suits me now,” Lan Wangji says, his voice like a shrug. “In a year, it may be dancing.”

May

fifteen flares inside those ocean eyes | Stranger Things | Billy/Steve | 4,108 words | As Steve watches, the man arches one of those eyebrows and asks, “Are you trying to get eaten by a shark?”

WIPS | UNPUBLISHED | ORIGINAL

January

N/A

February

N/A

March

N/A

April

The Untamed, ephemeral, 2148 words

May

Untitled Mermay Fic | Stranger Things | Harringrove | 3.367 words

FANMIXES/GRAPHICS

January

All the 8tracks imports

February

N/A

March

N/A

April 

N/A

May

Writing Playlist

[randomlyrandoms]

CELEBRITY DEATHS 2019

JANUARY Pegi Young - Jan. 1 (Folk Singer) Bob Einstein - Jan. 2 (TV Actor) Gene Okerlund - Jan. 2 (Sportscaster) Daryl Dragon - Jan. 2 (Pop Singer) Herb Kelleher - Jan. 3 (Entrepreneur) Jo Andres - Jan. 6 (Director) Annalise Braakensiek - Jan. 6 (TV Actress) Kevin Fret - Jan. 10 (Rapper) Mel Stottlemyre - Jan. 13 (Baseball Player) Carol Channing - Jan. 15 (Stage Actress) Hailie Masson - Jan. 17 (TikTok Star) Windsor Davies - Jan. 17 (TV Actor) Mary Oliver - Jan. 17 (Poet) Boo the Pomeranian - Jan. 18 (Dog) John Coughlin - Jan. 18 (Figure Skater) Sean Dolan - Jan. 19 (Family Member) *Ethan & Grayson's Father* Masazo Nonaka - Jan. 20 (Supercantenarian)   Emiliano Sala - Jan. 21 (Soccer Player) Ashley Lovelace - Jan. 21 (Imstagram Star) Kaye Ballard - Jan. 21 (Stage Actress) Russell Baker - Jan. 21 (Memoirist) Kevin Barnett - Jan. 22 (Comedian) James Frawley - Jan. 22 (Director) Oliver Mtukudzi - Jan. 23 (Reggae Singer) Aloysius Pang - Jan. 24 (TV Actor) Fatima Ali - Jan. 25 (Chef) Michel Legrand - Jan. 26 (Composer) Jayo Sama - Jan. 27 (Rapper) Pepe Smith - Jan 28 (Rock Singer) James Ingram - Jan. 29 (R&B Singer) Dick Miller - Jan. 30 (Movie Actor)

FEBRUARY Clive Swift - Feb. 1 (TV Actor) Neal James - Feb. 1 (Reality Star) *Kristoff St. John - Feb. 3 (Soap Opera Actor) Julie Adams - Feb. 3 (TV Actress) Matti Nykanen - Feb. 4 (Skier) Albert Finney - Feb. 7 (Movie Actor) John Dingell - Feb. 7 (Politician) Frank Robinson - Feb. 7 (Baseball Player) Fabio Legarda - Feb. 7 (Reggaeton Singer) Cadet - Feb. 9 (Rapper) Ron W. Miller - Feb. 9 (Entrepreneur) Jan Michael Vincent - Feb. 10 (Movie Actor) Pedro Morales - Feb. 12 (Wrestler) Gordon Banks - Feb. 12 (Soccer Player) Bruno Ganz - Feb. 15 (Movie Actor) Saban Saulic - Feb. 17 (Folk Singer) Sean Milliken - Feb. 17 (Reality Star) *Karl Lagerfeld - Feb. 19 (Fashion Designer) Stanley Donen - Feb. 21 (Director) Beverley Owen - Feb. 21 (TV Actress) Peter Tork - Feb. 21 (Pop Singer) Brody Stevens - Feb. 22 (Comedian) Morgan Woodward - Feb. 22 (TV Actor) Clark James Gable - Feb. 22 (TV Actor) Lisa Sheridan - Feb. 25 (TV Actress) Mark Hollis - Feb. 25 (Rock Singer) Christian Bach - Feb. 26 (Soap Opera Actress) Nathaniel Taylor - Feb. 27 (TV Actor) Andre Previn - Feb. 28 (Composer) Anna Cunningham - Feb. 28 (TikTok Star)

MARCH Katherine Helmond - March 1 (TV Actress) Elly Mayday - March 1 (Model) Janice Freeman - March 2 (Pop Singer) **Luke Perry - March 4 (TV Actress) Keith Flint - March 4 (Pop Singer) Ted Lindsay - March 4 (Hockey Player) King Kong Bundy - March 4 (Wrestler) Chokoleit - March 9 (Comedian) Jed Allan - March 9 (Soap Opera Actor) Hal Blaine - March 11 (Drummer) Felicite Tomlinson - March 13 (Instagram Star) Mike Thalassitis - March 15 (Reality Star) Lil Mister - March 15 (Rapper) Dick Dale - March 16 (Guitarist) Richard Erdman - March 16 (TV Actor) Scott Walker - March 22 (Pop Singer) Agnes Varda - March 29 (Director) Nipsey Hussle - March 31 (Rapper)

APRIL Wowaka - April 5 (Pop Singer) Seymour Cassel - April 7 (Movie Actor) Mya-Lecia Naylor - April 7 (TV Actress) Earl Thomas Conley - April 10 (Country Singer) Bibi Andersson - April 14 (Movie Actress) Georgia Engel - April 15 (TV Actress) Black Jezuss - April 15 (Rapper) Alan García - April 17 (Politician) Lorraine Warren - April 18 (Supernatural Investigator) Julio Melgar - April 19 (World Music Singer) Stefanie Sherk - April 20 (TV Actress) Ken Kercheval - April 21 (TV Actor) Mark Medoff - April 23 (Playwright) John Singleton - April 29 (Director) **Peter Mayhew - April 30 (Movie Actor)

MAY   Rachel Jones - May 4 (Blogger) Rachel Held Evans - May 4 (Religious Author) Max Azria - May 6 (Fashion Designer) Jim Fowler - May 8 (TV Show Host) Peggy Lipton - May 11 (TV Actress) Pua Magasiva - May 11 (TV Actor) Alvin Sargent - May 11 (ScreenWriter) Elsa Patton - May 12 (Reality Star) Doris Day - May 13 (Movie Actress) *Grumpy Cat - May 14 (Cat) Tim Conway - May 14 (TV Actor) Isaac Kappy - May 14 (Movie Actor) I.M. Pei - May 16 (Architect) Ashley Massaro - May 16 (Wrestler) Bob Hawke - May 16 (World Leader) Herman Wouk - May 18 (Noveist) Niki Lauda - May 20 (Race Car Driver) Bart Starr - May 26 (Football Player) Gabriel Diniz - May 27 (World Music Singer) Bill Buckner - May 27 (Baseball Player) Susan Anne Christman - May 29 (Family Member) Leon Redbone - May 30 (Jazz Singer) Patricia Bath - May 30 (Inventor) Roky Erickson - May 31 (Rock Singer)

JUNE José Antonio Reyes - June 1 (Soccer Player) Ani Yudhoyono - June 1 (Political Wife) Dr. John - June 6 (Jazz Singer) Noemi Ban - June 7 (Non-Fiction Author) Curlyhead.kidd - June 8 (Instagram Star) Mary Duggar - June 9 (Reality Star) Bushwick Bill - June 9 (Rapper) Gabriele Grunewald - June 11 (Runner) Sylvia Miles - June 12 (Movie Actress) Sean McCann - June 13 (TV Actor) Edith González - June 13 (Soap Opera Actress) Franco Zeffirelli - June 15 (Director) Bishop Bullwinkle - June 16 (Soul Singer) Mohamed Morsi - June 17 (Politician) Gloria Vanderbilt - June 17 (Entrepreneur) Philippe Zdar - June 19 (DJ) Judith Krantz - June 22 (Novelist) Dave Bartholomew - June 23 (Songwriter) Stephanie Niznik - June 23 (TV Actress) Fame Reek - June 24 (Rapper) Billy Drago - June 24 (Moive Actor) Etika - June 25 (Youtube Star) **Beth Chapman - June 26 (Reality Star) Max Wright - June 26 (TV Actor) Hella Sketchy - June 27 (Rapper)

JULY Tyler Skaggs - July 1 (Baseball Player) Lee Iacocca - July 2 (Entrepreneur) Arte Johnson - July 3 (TV Actor) Chris Cline - July 4 (Entrepreneur) **Cameron Boyce - July 6 (TV Actor) Martin Charnin - July 6 (Director) Joao Gilberto - July 6 (Guitarist) *Rip Torn - July 9 (Movie Actor) Freddie Jones - July 9 (Movie Actor) **Denise Nickerson - July 10 (Movie Actress) Emily Hartridge - July 12 (Youtube Star) Bianca Devins - July 14 (Instagram Star) Rutger Hauer - July 19 (Movie Actor) Gabe Khouth - July 23 (Voice Actor) David Hedison - July 23 (TV Actor) Beji Essebsi - July 25 (Politician) Russi Taylor - July 26 (Voice Actress) Carlos Cruz-Diez - July 27 (Pop Artist) Dillon Henderson - July 28 (Youtube Star) The King of Random - July 29 (Youtube Star) Nick Buoniconti - July 30 (Football Player) Harold Prince - July 31 (TV Producer)

AUGUST Toni Morrison - Aug. 5 (Novelist) David Berman - Aug. 7 (Rock Singer) Ben Unwin - Aug. 14 (TV Actor) Peter Fonda - Aug. 16 (Movie Actor) Cedric Benson - Aug. 17 (Football Player) Gina Lopez - Aug. 19 (Environmentalist) Jessi Combs - Aug. 27 (TV Show Host) Valerie Harper - Aug. 30 (TV Actress)

SEPTEMBER Peter Lindbergh - Sept. 3 (Photographer) Carol Lynley - Sept. 3 (Movie Actress) Lashawn Daniels - Sept. 3 (Songwriter) Chris March - Sept. 5 (Fashion Designer) Jimmy Johnson - Sept. 5 (Guitarist) Robert Mugabe - Sept. 6 (World Leader) Robert Axelrod - Sept. 7 (Voice Actor) Camilo Sesto - Sept. 8 (World Music Singer) Robert Frank - Sept. 9 (Photographer) Daniel Johnston - Sept. 11 (Folk Singer) Eddie Money - Sept. 13 (Rock Singer) Ric Ocasek - Sept. 15 (Rock Singer) Phyllis Newman - Sept. 15 (Stage Actress) Suzanne Whang - Sept. 17 (TV Actress) Cokie Roberts - Sept. 17 (Journalist) Aron Eisenberg - Sept. 21 (TV Actor) Sid Haig - Sept. 21 (Movie Actor) Carl Ruiz - Sept. 21 (Chef) Robert Hunter - Sept. 23 (Songwriter) Linda Porter - Sept. 25 (TV Actor) Jacques Chirac - Sept. 26 (Politician) Jose Jose - Sept. 28 (World Music Singer) Jessye Norman - Sept. 30 (Opera Singer) Louie Rankin - Sept. 30 (Reggae Singer)

OCTOBER Karel Gott - Oct. 1 (Pop Singer) Kim Shattuck - Oct. (Rock Singer) Diahann Carroll - Oct. 4 (TV Actress) Ginger Baker - Oct. 6 (Drummer) Rip Taylor - Oct. 6 (Movie Actor) Larry Junstrom - Oct. 6 (Guitarist) David Weisman - Oct. 9 (Film Producer) *Robert Forster - Oct. 11 (Movie Actor) Kadri Gopalnath - Oct. 11 (Saxophonist) Sulli - Oct. 14 (TV Actress) Elijah Cummings - Oct. 17 (Politician) Alicia Alonso - Oct. 17 (Dancer) Bill Macy - Oct. 17 (TV Actor) Willie Brown - Oct. 22 (Football Player) Robert Evans - Oct. 26 (Film Producer) John Witherspoon - Oct. 29 (TV Actor)

NOVEMBER Rudy Boesch - Nov. 1 (Reality Star) Brian Tarantina - Nov. 2 (TV Actor) Walter Mercado - Nov. 2 (TV Show Host) Laurel Griggs - Nov. 5 (Stage Actress) Fred Cox - Nov. 20 (Football Player) Goo Hara - Nov. 24 (Pop Singer) Gary Rhodes - Nov. 26 (Chef) Godfrey Gao - Nov. 27 (Model)

DECEMBER Shelley Morrison - Dec. 1 (TV Actress) Ron Leibman - Dec. 6 (TV Actor) Juice WRLD - Dec. 8 (Rapper) Caroll Spinney - Dec. 8 (Puppeteer) Rene Auberjonois - Dec. 8 (TV Actor) Marie Fredriksson - Dec. 9 (Pop Singer) Philip McKeon - Dec. 10 (TV Actor) Danny Aiello - Dec. 12 (Movie Actor) Chuy Bravo - Dec. 14 (Reality Star) Mama Cax - Dec. 16 (Blogger) Claudine Auger - Dec. 18 (Movie Actress) Sue Lyon - Dec. 26 (Movie Actress) Don Imus - Dec. 27 (Radio Host)