#that is a character theme and a college theme list in the making fellas

[sarcasticmudkip]

Casts DND music draft upon you

[writerfae]

☼ 𝑨 𝑺𝒖𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒕 𝑪𝒐𝒕𝒕𝒐𝒏 𝑩𝒂𝒚 - 𝒂 𝒘𝒊𝒑 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏☼

genre: YA/historical romance (I think) but make it gay

type: short story (several short stories? idk, we'll see)

themes: love, friendship, identity, summer

used tags: #wip: a summer at cotton bay

synopsis:

Queensland, 1903 - William Ainsworth, son of a reputable English family, spends the summer at his uncle's summer estate, Cotton Bay. There he meets Arthur Caulfield, the estate's stable hand. The two boys come from two completely different worlds, but they get along right from the start.

Arthur is different from Will's friends at home. He's bold, modest, independent, hardworking, and he shows Will a side of life that is completely new to him - away from his family's expectations and the eyes of British society.

As the two spend more and more time together, Will's affection for his new friend grows and soon he finds himself falling for the sturdy yet charming stable hand.

main characters:

eldest son of a British lord, has a younger sister called Josephine

prefers being called Will because he hates his name

he's baby. and a disaster gay

embarrassed his family because he got caught making out with a cute boy at college oops

so now he's on a time-out in Australia

but if his family thinks it'll stop the gay™ they're mistaken

seriously all Will does in Queensland is starting to question high society and become even gayer and that's pretty legend of him

Cotton Bay's stable hand, works for Will's aunt and uncle

they really regard him because he's such a honest and reliable fella

born near Melbourne, has traveled around in Australia a lot before he came to Queensland

farm gay, a strong boi with a good heart

likes horses, dreams of having his own ranch some day

most likely owns at least one cowboy hat

he saw the awkward mess that is Will and took an immediate liking to him

other characters worth mentioning:

Mr. Jacob Ainsworth - Will's uncle, owner of the estate

Mrs. Annabelle Ainsworth - his wife, Will's aunt

Millie Ainsworth - their daughter, Will's cousin

Charlotte Walton - daughter of a family friend, Will's uncle and aunt try to set him up with her

If anyone is interested, let me know and I make a tag list! If you want to be tagged in future "A Summer at Cotton Bay" posts, feel free to send me a message or respond to this post!

[in-tua-deep]

WHAT IF FIVE (IN THE BROKEN FIVE AU) FINDS A BEATEN UP PITBULL AND REFUSES TO GIVE HIM UP COS IT REMINDS HIM OF HIMSELF AND NAMES IT MISTER PENNYCRUMB

asdfgSFGDJ you’re so valid anon holy shit you’re absolutely right Five is absolutely going to adopt Mr. Pennycrumb come hell or high water

and it goes like this

Five shows up at home with a wriggly bundle that he sneaks in even though they live in a cabin not a mansion there is no place to hide in this house with eight people that they will not be found and yeah, Diego got away with bringing Marm home but that’s Diego and they already have Clyde and there’s that fear in Five’s chest that Ellie would cast his find aside even though logically he knows she would never do that

so yeah this is a doomed venture from the start

“What’cha got there?” Klaus asks, all wide eyes and enthusiasm and Five freezes but like,, the jig is up so he unveils the squirmy wriggly puppy that he shoved up his sweatshirt with an air of defeat

“a PUPPY” Klaus squeals loud enough to wake the dead (and Klaus would know, his powers are to do with the dead) and yeah there’s no hiding this

Ellie emerges with her hands on her hips and looks at them and Five has this puppy in his arms and it’s frantically wriggling and doing its level best to shower Five’s face in enthusiastic dog kisses and Five is looking at her with such big sad eyes and he so rarely asks for anything

“But Marmalade.” Ellie says, helplessly, because honestly bringing up Clyde would do nothing. Clyde would probably love having a puppy around for the kids to play with, he’s an older dog and can’t keep up with their energy a lot of the time though he’s always up for cuddles. 

“Marmalade is going to LOVE him.” Klaus says firmly, with all the belief of a child who hasn’t quite grasped the idea of a grouchy cat with a curious puppy who can’t keep its nose to itself, “we HAVE to keep him just LOOK”

and Ellie is looking. She’s looking at Five’s face and the fact that the puppy is pretty filthy and covered in mud and other kinds of grime and scratches and she already knows she’s lost the fight

“First things first a bath is in order.” Ellie sighs, making Klaus cheer because Klaus 100% knows they have a new puppy and Five is looking hopeful, “Where are the others, anyway?”

“Out with Vanya.” Klaus shrugs, “And I think Allison is at the movies with her town-person-friend.”

“Alright, into the bathroom. If you put that dog down on my clean carpets Five I swear - and also strip while you’re at it, that sweatshirt is filthy now. You can put some pjs on after.”

(they’d never been allowed to wear pajamas before bed back in the manor, let alone wear them before or to dinner - wild)

water gets all over the bathroom as her and Klaus and Five all work together to get the wriggly thing clean but between them they manage it even if Klaus looks like a begraggled rat at the end (Ellie needs to take him to get a haircut soon probably his curls are out of control) and at least Five is now squeaky clean as well after falling in the bath even if Ellie will have to mop up all the spilled water in a bit

“Where did you even find this little monster?” Ellie asks, voice fond as she offers one of Clyde’s toys for the puppy to gnaw on with his razor sharp little baby teeth

Five shifts in a way that means whatever is going to come out of his mouth Ellie probably isn’t going to appreciate. “Some boys were throwing rocks at him. In town. I’m pretty sure he’s a stray.”

Ellie pauses, voice mild, “And what were you doing in town? Alone?”

Five ducks his head, “Practicin’ jumping.” He mutters indistinctly, but Ellie catches every word. 

“You know you aren’t supposed to go to town on your own, Five.” Ellie sighs, running a hand through her hair. Even Allison had been picked up by the mother of her friend who was supervising what Ellie called in her head a playdate but would never say aloud because she was taking care of a bunch of teenagers who would throw a fit if she used such a childish term.

Five focuses on the puppy he’s scooped back into his arms, not looking at her. And Five is the most difficult child to enforce rules on, because of what got them here. She remembers the pale waif of a child he was when they first arrived, scared of his own shadow and shaking like a leaf whenever he thought he might have done something wrong. The others had told her about what their father had done, threatening Vanya’s life for his good behavior. A burden that no child should have to bear.

He’s better now, a little bit. He isn’t shaking at least, or hiding. The day he’d dropped a plate and proceeded to hide under her bed and refused to come out was still fresh in her mind. Ellie had sat there for hours quietly reading aloud from a book, interspersed with assurances that she wasn’t angry and she knew it wasn’t on purpose, praying that she was doing the right thing (she didn’t know how to be a parent, but she was trying and that should count for something)

Ellie considers her options carefully before opening her mouth, “Well I suppose you won’t be coming on the library trip with Ben on Saturday.” Five’s head snaps up to meet hers, looking a bit betrayed but Ellie smiles at him, “You’ll just have to stay home with this little fella here and make sure he doesn’t chew up the house. You can write a list of books you want and we’ll fetch them for you.”

“We can really keep him?” Five asks, eyes wide. 

“Yeah.” Ellie says, shaking her head, “But this is the last one. I’m serious. No more pets. I have all you little monkeys and that’s enough for me, goodness.”

Both kids stiffen at the word monkey and Ellie mourns a little bit in her mind at what the hell these kids went though. She’s not going to ask about it right now though, maybe another time

“He needs a name!” Klaus interjects cheerfully, and really he’s done very well at keeping quiet for so long. Then again, Klaus has always been pretty in tune with his siblings and worries over Five a lot. Even now he’s shuffled so that he’s pressed against his brother, using petting the dog as an excuse. Ellie’s onto the little brat, she knows his ways. “We should call him Toffee or something.”

“He already has a name!” Five protests, drawing the puppy closer (and honestly Ellie already likes this pup better than Marmalade, the pup takes the kids manhandling like an absolute champ), “His name is Mr. Pennycrumb.”

Ellie purposefully keeps her face smooth and blank even though on the inside she is automatically howling in laughter at the adorable cutesy name that just fell from the lips of one of her more serious kids. Absolutely perfect. She’s going into town right now to get that inscribed on a collar there is no way they’re changing it now

clearly Klaus is of a similar opinion even if he doesn’t have Ellie’s poker face, laughing freely as Five scowls. “It’s perfect!” Klaus crows, mollifying Five just a little bit, “I absolutely love it. Wonderful. I can’t wait to hear Luther say it.”

In Ellie’s youth they’d had pets with themes. All food names or all named after actors or characters from shows or books or whatever. And now she looks at her collection of animals. Clyde, Marmalade, and Mr. Pennycrumb

Wonderfully mismatched really. A bit like their family.

Mr. Pennycrumb fits in wonderfully and the kids are thrilled with a new puppy. Clyde cheerfully accepts the new addition even if he doesn’t seem especially impressed when Mr. Pennycrumb tries to chew his tail but the kids are occupied running around after the puppy and Clyde can relax on the porch and watch

surprisingly Marmalade doesn’t assassinate their new addition and seems to tolerate him, after giving Mr. Pennycrumb a few smacks when the puppy got too nosey and toothy with him (but with sheathed claws, so it was fine and Mr. Pennycrumb learned his lesson about respect and personal boundaries)

Five gains a habit of talking through Mr. Pennycrumb a bit (”Mr. Pennycrumb doesn’t like when X” Five says, clearly actually talking about himself, or “Mr. Pennycrumb wants to go to town/watch a movie/go to bed/etc.” - so it allows Ellie more insight and helps her from making missteps with him so she’ll take what she can get tbh)

“Seriously, no more animals though.” Ellie tells them all, “Unless you little suckers want me to take even more out of your college funds.”

“We have college funds?” Ben asks, eyes wide with surprise.

Ellie shifts, “I mean. There’s not much in them yet or anything but of course I started them. I mean, you guys don’t have to go if you don’t want to but I want you to have options. Like, I know I’m homeschooling you right now but that doesn’t mean you have to stay here forever, you know?”

Diego breaks the tension by popping up and saying - “Can i take money out to buy a sword?”

“Absolutely not, emergencies only.” Ellie immediately responds and is bombarded by the kids yelling out suggestions on what is definitely an emergency, like trips to a water park or to disney or to get those pretty shoes they saw in the shop window the other week and - 

Ellie loves her kids but damn that doesn’t mean they aren’t a handful

[aadhiskanmani]

As the title suggests this is my movie rec list.These are the films across industries and  stuff i feel needs more recognition and love. It is all a mixed Bag, Mixed Genres, Mixed reasons to suggest them right from the quality to acting to cinematography to story etc.. to critical acclaim Etc you get the picture. Now not all of them are like Blockbusters or like wah wah highly acclaimed though majority are but still i feel more people need to see them so do give a try. I love these films and i am proud of them so here it goes in no particular order.

p.s These are more recent films say last 2,3 yrs and the list doesn’t include films that are still in theatre like Uyaare, super deluxe,athrian,lucifer  etc 

Template is as follows the Titles include links with subs. Now they are msotly links for well known streaming giants so should not be an issue with majority but i will try to find and add alternate links too. Also will be adding lil synopsis detail of film and then in italics what i thought of it and why one should watch it just random thoughts kind of thing. we will see how far this will go because i have 30 titles approx to add LOL so i will have to break this post in parts and i might get lazy and forget to add my thoughts. we will see LOL

So Let’s Begin :)))

Part 1:( will break it in 10′s caz otherwise it is too much to post in one post )

Vikram Vedha |Tam | *R.Madhavan,Vijay Sethupathi:   Police officer Vikram is on the hunt to capture Vedha, a gangster. But when Vedha voluntarily surrenders himself, it challenges Vikram's perception of good and evil. [you should watch this one for it’s smart writing, superb characterization and wonderful performances, the intrigue factor keeps you hooked till the end and Not a trace of Maddy and Vijay in the Cgaracters of vikram and vedha they are truly those characters., Also i heard this one is in the process of getting remade in bollywood so watch it before it is ruined forever. IYKWIM... i will leave it at that because this isn’t the post for details on remake hehe

Geetha Govindham|Tel| *Vijay Devrakonda, Rashmika Mandanna: (the drive link will not open in the app from phones, use a PC):  A 25-year-old virgin searches for love. Super cute rom com and a feel good film. Music is really nice and basically a laugh riot or well i laughed a lot lol. 

Vada Chennai |Tam| *Dhanush,  Andrea Jeremiah,Aishwariya Rajesh |alt link |  A proficient carrom player sets foot in the world of crime and joins forces with local gangsters to settle their feuds. However, he decides to take them down when they plan to wipe out his locality. A perfect beginning to the triology,Truly enthralling, Truly an epic Gangster drama, it is built layer by layer and sucks you into the world of anbu and company right away. Dhanush is in his best form and andrea in her grey character is also surprsingly good. this gangster drama i actually loved like anything and this genre is really not something i enjoy mostly it has to be really good for me to enjoy it 

Njan Prakashan |Mal| *Fahadh Faasil,Sreenivasan |alt link|  Prakashan aka PR Akash is a typical Malayali man who aspires to lead a luxurious life without too much effort. As he tries to achieve this aim, a few insignificant figures walks into his life.

holds up a mirror to Society, simple,cynical, skeptical, thoroughly entertaining and teh one that makes you smile, also Fahadh plays the role of the guy we love to hate and then love so perfectly. but hey that is hardly a surprise i mean when is he not Excellent?.

Sairat| Marathi|* Rinku Rajguru, akash Thosar: {on netflix as well} Upper class Archie falls in love with a lower caste son of a fisherman, Parshya. Watch this one for it’s realistic approach and rawness. this one deals with a wide range of themes right from class system to the struggles of a young couple when they try to settle into a daily life to more dark themes such as honor killings but an epic film. it is so hard to explain in words how good it is and why one must watch this one. Just the honesty the passion of filmmaker shines + the music. one big thing about this film was how normal looking everyone  was they had realistic locations average looking cast but MAN THIS one makes you smile, laugh,cry, be sad, feel the pain like anything .the usp is the innocence of leads and the love story is so endearing Unfortunately this is also the original of dhadhak which isn’t even a speck of dust in terms of quality and basically rips everything that made sairat what it is from it and is a glossy totally non practical remake and devoid of any emotions + with terrible casting Loll.  Also this is my only Marathi entry on this list.

Ente Ummante Peru |Mal| Tovino thomas,Urvashi:| Alt link  The life and journey of Hameed to find his biological mother and how his life changes when Aisha comes into his life. Just Heartwarming would be my comment on it. this is again something one has to watch and experience to know why this one made it to the list. it is hilarious at times yet has some very tender moments. Tovino is a sweetheart as hameed and aisha amma is Lovesuper lovable and warm. this one just kinda engulfs you into it’s warmth. 

Majili |tel| *naga chaitanya, Samantha:  A former cricket player nursing his wounds of a failed relationship takes up the task of training his ex-lover's daughter and in the process discovers his feelings towards his wife and her unrequited love for him. I personally didn’t care for the first love story as it is very typical and clice But it is post the entry of sam where the film becomes worth making it to this list , simple and the one that makes you count your blessings and just be thankful to have someone who loves and supports you like sravani does for purna..  Chay and Sam’s chemistry is off he hook and they make it worth it totally. 

Arjun reddy| tel| shalini, VIjay devrakonda : alt link   Arjun Reddy (Vijay Deverakonda) is a Surgeon and the topper of the college. He falls in love with his junior, a Tulu girl (Shalini), who is four years younger to him. Due to some unfortunate incidents, they break up. How life takes them forward forms the rest of the story. A gamechanger in Telugu industry no wonder it has reached the cult status. it’s not like i haven’t been raving about it from past 3 days even more than before because the butchering in form of the remake hurts But wow What a revelation Mr Derakonda was in this and He rightfully won a Best actor award. Just Like sairat this one rises way above the script due to the acting of vijay and that honesty in the script and film making. idk it is hard to put in words for me but when you see these films you see how passionate the makers were while making them and the heart and soul they have put in the film just shows and touches you so hard.Now this one is 18+ so TW drugs, alcoholism and a lot on innuendos and banging hehe. BUT and i can’t emphasize enough IT IS WORTH EXPERIENCING IF YOU ARE A FILM LOVER. This is the one which leaves you in the undecided category or well it had left me in that do i love it? do i hate it? i was so confused until my rewatch and i have finally came to conclusion that i love it. this is like you can love me hate me but you can’t ignore me and it stays on your mind a lot longer then the 3 hrs runtime after you are done because you are in that wait what is my actual verdict hehe. Also i haven;t seen a more accurate depiction of a toxic relationship on desi screen where one is so obsessed and self centered that it becomes really hard to survive around him 

Thadam|tam| Arun vijay    The murder of a youngster creates confusion among a few cops when they find out that the one accused in the crime has a look-alike!.  Thadam has an intriguingly written flow of events that begin from the pre-interval point and the film maintains the suspense factor till the end. The lead actor is fab in his dual role it is hard to tell which one is which and who has actually done the crime but mind you int he beginning it is a little confusing as it keeps goign back and forth between the bg stories of 2 guys but the viewer isn’t told that it is actually dual role so i was like wait how come one min he is rich and in love with oen persona and next he is in slums doing thefts lol. anyway... 

Peranbu\Tam/Mal |*Mamooty  A story about a father who tries to understand the struggles of his disabled daughter Paapa. The plot highlights the journey of how he becomes a better man while he comes to terms with his child and her special needs. This one is Just purely about a father’s love for the child and how far a father can go for his child.

An Honorable mention to BAAHUBALI2 which requires no intro or anything from me to persuade one into watching it It is SELF EXPLANATORY.  

Phew OK i am calling it a day..... Part 2 will be posted soon... I am more then excited to  hear from you guys and your thoughts on these films plz do tag me if you post your reviews and your thoughts. i worked really hard on this so i will be more than excited to know if it was worth or no... I have so much more quality content in the queue and am super excited to share that with ya fellas..... it gives me great Joy to share the love for movies and a lot of satisfaction that all this FIlm nerd thing is coming to some use to others and i take a lot of pride in the fact that i am kind of is a film nerd hehe. Happy Viewing,,,,,,, 

[pkmnjesus]

Appmon quick FINAL thoughts

Wow! What a 7 months that was...I know I could have finished this series waayy sooner (especially if my blog wouldn’t have taken a break in July-August), but I had a life and future to worry about outside this tumblr bubble and in the end I’m glad I was able to find time to watch this series whenever I wanted to relax. Overall I really thought Appmon was good! I never really found a problem wit the episode pacing for important plot points, and I didn’t really find the beginning to be that boring really. At least it was better than Xros Wars’s first arc in my opinion. I can understand why maybe some people didn’t get into this because of maybe the humor it presented, or how much “filler” plot it had in certain episodes. I didn’t really see any episode to be filler (well maybe except the clip show in episode 26) because each episode at least addressed the main plot and how they could get one step closer to Leviathan. The series definitely wasn’t perfect, and I wished they would have used more of Appmon they gained throughout the series. At least with Xros Wars, you saw multiple appearances from many of Taiki’s Digimon that he had in his Xros Loader. At the same time, it really took me a while to understand how evolution worked and why the super grade needed to have a link most of the time. I just went with the flow and enjoyed what was shown to me on the screen lol.

I also have a few picky questions that really isn’t that significant but left me wondering...was Dantemon ever freed from being stone? Poor fella. Did L-Corp really just dissolve like that? No repercussions from its employees like Yuujin’s “mom”. And speaking of Yuujin...was that final scene confirm him to be alive again? If so, then I don’t get it lol...but I think it seemed to be like a dream or a fantasy from Haru? And Knight Unryuji man...I was a bit disappointed they didn’t bring him back for the final arc besides that short cameo in the end. His character had so much potential from what I was saw in him

Anyway with my minor complaints being out of the way, I pretty much love everything what Appmon was about. The theme of artificial intelligence taking over our world is interesting itself, and by using modern smartphone applications to this story presents a good example of how we today really so much on our phone and the internet to do everyday tasks and even in relaxing outside school or work. Honestly you don’t even have to be a Digimon fan to get into this series, because Appmon can stand alone on its own for being that unique. Sure it has some Digimon references (like the buddy partnership), but if you compare this to previous installments from the franchise it really gives off a different vibe from the characters and humor alone. Any sci-fi enthusiast would love a concept like this, and could easily get into this series.

I pretty much loved everyone from the main cast! Unlike other Digimon series where it actually took me a while to get in to the characters, I was intrigued with each one from the start (excluding Yuujin since I thought he was a side character in the first half of the series). From Haru’s adorkableness to help others (probably the most kind-hearted goggle protag out there), Eri’s badassery with a spice of elderly respect, and Astra’s eccentric attitude filming himself doing funny things while trying to follow in his family’s footsteps. BUT REI OH MY GAWD, he’s probably my favorite character! Episode 42 has to be my favorite episode from the series hands down. From being this punk hacker kid that drinks jelly juice we get to see a caring brother who wants nothing but to be cook good food for him...that drinks jelly juice too lol. And of course the best character of them all in everyone’s book the NOOOOOOOOOOOO guy. Probably one of the funniest gags I’ve seen in a series in quite a while. Pokémon typically does this stuff, but I’m happy to see Toei trying to format that with this goofy character. Too bad we never knew his name :(

For the Appmon, everyone was great! At times I did find Dokamon a bit annoying, but in a funny way xD He always made me laugh trying to get Eri’s attention. Offmon has to be my hands down favorite...I mean who doesn’t like Offmon?! JUST LOOK AT IT :3 Too damn adorable for this show.

I also really do wanna try and play the 3DS game too...then I realized it was only realized in Japan and I would probably need a 3DS emulator to get like an English translation -_- Oh well...maybe one day. But by looking at the cover art from the game, all I recognize is Haru, Gatchmon, and Offmon and I’m like WHO ARE YOU ALL YOU PEOPLE???? Probably the game’s AU xD

Anyway I don’t want to ramble too much about this and make this post long as it already is, but man what series that was...a highlight of 2018 for sure! And even though I am done with this series, that doesn’t mean that I can’t bring it up on my blog from time to time 👀I CAN FINALLY REBLOG STUFF FROM THE TAG NOW YESSSS (and I already saw similar posts of mine that were already GIFed and I wasn’t aware of it lol...was expected). To my new followers that I gained from this series (or old ones that liked Appmon too), please feel free to ask me questions or send me messages if you’d like to chat about it since I won’t be talking about it that much anymore moving forward after today. I don’t want to mention names, but I’m sure some of you are aware of a certain user that isn’t too fond of Appmon based on the reblogs on some of my posts. To each their own opinions, but please if you want to be critical and do nothing but hate, bash, and pull up ignorant arguments, don’t even bother getting a serious conversation with me lol....just putting it out there :^) I don’t hate anyone here, but I will ignore the ignorance, and hey you should too!

I know that a few Digimon Elitists and certain other folks feel a bit indifferent with Appmon (and some just judging a book by its cover), but you shouldn’t let that get to what you enjoy! This same goes for the Pokémon fandom as well, so I know the feeling. I personally will be an ambassador for Appmon to help spread to others (especially Digimon fans who don’t even know of this yet) when I get the chance to talk about it. I think I’ll start with my friend from college who watched Adventure to Frontier only...let’s see how he likes it xD

Again, I want to thank the Appmon fandom for all their kind words especially to @latiwings who always chats with me after each episode. It’s amazing how you can make friends by watching something! There are countless others too I want to mention, but it could be a long list lol...YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE <3 I am also grateful to have some of my posts being reblogged by @digi-egg who (if some of you didn’t know) is probably the biggest Digimon blog on the tumblr fandom. Basically the equivalent to @shelgon in the Pokémon tumblr side of things. Finally I want to thank Digimon Universe: Appli Monsters, for teaching me how to be a protagonist in my own life. I needed something like this because of the struggles I had to overcome this year. Haru and Gatchmon, thank you for my spiritual buddies! We all need a Yuujin in our lives.

[raggywaltz1954]

It’s another soggy grey day here in north Alabama, and as such, out comes the reflective music.  Here’s a record I found during my cross-country tour this summer.  To the music!

The Music

https://raggywaltz.files.wordpress.com/2018/09/festive-minor.wav

The Tune:  “Festive Minor”

Recorded:  15 January, 1959 in New York City

Personnel:

Gerry Mulligan-  Baritone Sax

Art Farmer-  Trumpet

Bill Crow-  Bass

Dave Bailey-  Drums

The music on this album is near-perfect.  Continuing his fruitful explorations in the piano-less quartet format, the music is clean, paired-back, and all-business, representing some of the better ‘cool’-toned jazz being made in the 1950’s.  Gerry Mulligan was always a reliable swinger, and his full-bodied bari sax perfectly fills in the cracks in the music, providing a harmonic foundation here, a lyrical solo there.  Art Farmer’s beautifully warm, malted trumpet serves as a wonderful foil to Mulligan’s baritone sax.  Art Farmer is one of the only examples of breathy trumpet I can think of, quite a difficult thing to accomplish on a brass instrument.  Bill Crow, former bassist with Marian McPartland’s trio, flourishes in the spare arrangements and instrumentation.  His bass lines are impeccable, swinging, and melodic.  In the drum chair is long-time Mulligan collaborator Dave Bailey.  Half of the tracks find him tastefully knitting away with brushes, the other half keeping time with sticks.  He was a perfect drummer in the context of Mulligan’s smaller combos, keeping things moving without getting to busy, in the great tradition of solid time-keepers like Kenny Clarke.

The music flows smoothly in the well-programmed sequence of tracks, opening with the unusual choice of a ballad, the title tune of the album.  Arranged by Mulligan, as were all the tunes on the album, the song features some great ensemble writing, with some improvised solos throughout.  “Just In Time” has some tempo changes (fittingly) and trading solos where Mulligan and Farmer alternate choruses.  There’s some great blowing here.  There’s a couple of tunes written by Mulligan with a nod towards the Newport Jazz Festival.  The cleverly titled “News From Blueport” is a lazy blues in waltz time, while “Blueport” is a straight-ahead blues with a quicker tempo.  “As Catch Can” has the fleetest of all the album’s tempos, with some excitingly driving solos to match.  Of course, there’s a few throwbacks on the album, too.  “My Funny Valentine” was established as a jazz standard at the hands of Mulligan’s earlier treatment of the tune with Chet Baker, and gets a fresh examination by Art Farmer here.  “Utter Chaos” is another old tune from Mulligan’s partnership with Chet Baker, often played as a set closer during club dates.

The best tune on the album, however, is slightly noir-ish original by Mulligan entitled “Festive Minor”.  With Farmer’s cup mute firmly in place and the simple yet effective melody taken up as a round between the two horns, the piece conjures up images of a rainy, dark day in the city as a suited man in a trench coat slinks down the sidewalk.  It’s like the opening of a black and white detective movie from the 1940’s or 50’s.  Farmer’s muted solo sets the mood with a bluesy, spare opening.  His use of space and silence heightens the mood while Mulligan’s languid sax purrs rhythmic accents in the background to provide a harmonic framework as well as some propulsion.  After Farmer’s solo, Mulligan blows some of the most lyrical, achingly beautiful bari sax on the record.  The title, “Festive Minor”, is at first a contradiction.  How can one be festive and happy yet minor and slightly dark?  The tune proves how.  The fellas are obviously enjoying themselves, playing some inspired and hip jazz, all with a slightly dark accent.  Bill Crow has a chorus to blow some bass, then the horns come back sans mute to restate the beguiling theme.

You know an album is good when our friend Scott Yanow over at Allmusic gives it a full five stars.  While tempering his 10/10 rating by pointing out the album’s brevity, he conceded that the music was significant and noted that “[v]irtually every selection is memorable..”  Which is true.  This is one of those rare albums where you can play it through without feeling the urge to skip a tune.  Absolutely superb jazz laid down by four men with the sparest of instrumentations.  Like Don Draper once said, it’s simple, but significant.

The Cover

Raggy Waltz Rating:  B-

An artistic, posed cover shot of an artist looking pensive and reflective isn’t new, but rarely does it actually match the mood of the music on the record.  It succeeds here, capturing both the album title and the music on the album.  The famous if not ubiquitous Burt Goldblatt is the photographer.  It’s a nice shot, utilizing light and shadows expertly to create a moody photograph.   The spare artwork on the cover is another way the cover art acts as a harbinger to the uncluttered music contained on the record’s grooves.  The album has seen better days, though, or hasn’t, to be more accurate.  It’s a victim of being stored in tight quarters with other records, without a protective album sleeve, and as a result has a worn patina with a faint ring of record wear.

Unfortunately, I suffer from a condition where things that should be serious are funny to me, and the longer I look at the cover, the more comedic it becomes.  Perhaps it’s because he looks like he’s on time out, perhaps it’s because he appears to be trying to figure out what else there is to say.  Either way, it makes me chuckle.

The Back

The liner notes, written by Gerry Mulligan, are quite entertaining and expressive.  This in spite of their succinctness.  In his brief essay, Mulligan mulls over the purpose of liner notes and what really needs to be said on the backs of albums.  After saying what he thinks is the only info really needed on albums (tune titles, personnel, and the dates the tunes were recorded), he makes some valid points of which most are still as valid today as they were in 1959 when he wrote them.

“But I notice a lot of jazz albums these days…whose notes go pretty far afield, with hardly a mention about what’s inside (sometimes no mention at all).”  I always hate that.  People who treat the back of albums like a college textbook, discussing all manners of the polemics of jazz and art and blah blah blah with barely a discussion about the music itself.  Mulligan goes on to indict those jazz writers who engage in such prose:

“But some of the people who do the most talking about jazz (that may even be the basic problem, right there!) don’t seem to get any real fun out of listening to it.  It seems to me that all the super-intellectualizing on the technics of jazz and the lack of response to the emotion and meaning of jazz is spoiling the fun for listeners and players alike.  So if the critics haven’t got everyone scared with a lot of high-flown technical talk and Jack Kerouac hasn’t got everyone impressed with the beauties of numbness and hipness for hipness’ sake, maybe we could launch a little enthusiasm and restore fun to its rightful place in jazz.”

Well-said.  He closes his liners by saying that he, his band, and the good people at Columbia put a lot of work into making this album, and how much fun it was.  What follows is a track listing with the recording date directly below each track.  The way it should always be.  More people like Mulligan should’ve written liner notes for jazz albums.

Because of Mulligan’s brief notes, there’s space for a gloriously large photograph of the Gerry Mulligan Quartet at a recording session in Columbia Record’s legendary 30th Street Studio in New York City.  I’m not sure what the brown smudge at the top of the album is, and I think it’s best that I don’t.  I tried to take the price tag off, but it began to take some of the cover with it, so it stayed.  The delightfully dated note about the mono record being able to be played on stereo equipment and thus never going out of commission is cool.  I mean, it’s not lying.  Almost 60 years later and it’s not obsolete yet!

The Vinyl

When done right, Columbia’s sound was unparalleled.  Their beautifully crisp, sonorous and life-like sound was famous even then in the 1950’s and 60’s.  Mono, stereo, 6-eye, 2-eye, it doesn’t matter.  Well, it kind of does, but that’s splitting hairs.  Pressed originally in 1959, the album used Columbia’s classic ‘6-eye’ labels, used for most releases in the mid-50’s thru the early 60’s.  My copy was a later pressing, as indicated by the runnout matrix codes of 2AH and 2AF, meaning a second master tape was used and was on its 32nd and 34th run.  All that means really is that this isn’t a brand-spanking new pressing.  The lack of a deep-groove shows it was probably a release from the early 1960’s.  Neato bandito.

Perhaps this is an indication for my increasing interest and fanaticism in collecting jazz records, but I actually like the mono pressing of this album more than the stereo version.  After having heard the stereo version online on Pandora and YouTube, the monaural version has more body, more bite, and more character, than the airy stereo.  Of course, this isn’t a very fair comparison, since I’ve only heard the stereo version online and not on a record.    At any rate, this record sounds fantastic, with barely a crackle or pop to be heard, and the fidelity is excellent for a 59-year old piece of vinyl.  The group is front and center, with the blessed acoustics of Columbia’s church studio giving the music some space and reverb.  Bill Crow’s bass and Dave Bailey’s drums are miked to perfection, and on my sound system it sounds like the fellas are in my room.  Amen and amen.  So where did I find an album in such great condition, anyhow?

The Place of Acquisition

After a cross-country drive originating in Ohio, my friend and I arrived at our destination of Salt Lake City, Utah.  An avid thrifter, my friend found a thrift store in town, so we checked it out.  I searched for the record section and eventually found two and a half stacks of records in the back corner of the store.  I didn’t expect to find much, it being Utah and all.  Buried among the Lawrence Welk, Percy Faith, Ray Coniff, and other typical thrift store vinyl detritus, I was shocked to find this record as well as two other solid jazz albums.  For only 50 cents, I felt like I was robbing the store.  Once I got home and played the album, I knew I had robbed them.  For being my first time in the state of Utah, this is the kind of souvenir I like to have to remember my time spent there. Luckily, the “rebirth of vinyl” craze hasn’t struck out there yet (I was at a thrift store that thought it was ok to charge $5.00 for a record! The nerve!).  Thanks, Salt Lake City!

    A cool-tinged album from one of the originators of the cool jazz sound. What Is There To Say? // Gerry Mulligan (Columbia CL 1307) It's another soggy grey day here in north Alabama, and as such, out comes the reflective music. 

[justincharlacher]

My Favorite Stuff of 2016

I was asked today if I had any favorite records of 2016, and after some consideration, the answer is no. I just didn’t listen to much music this year, and I’m actually relying on the year end lists of others to rectify that. I did watch a bunch of stuff and listen to a bunch of podcasts this year, so here is a list of stuff that moved me in those media, as well as two live music events that rocked me to bits in 2016.

Live music

The Local H reunion with original drummer Joe Daniels for a tour celebrating the 20th anniversary of their second record, As Good As Dead, kicked off in Chicago at the Metro on the anniversary weekend, April 15 and 16. I was there, and it was huge for me. Folks who know me know that Local H has been the band I’ve most consistently followed ever since seeing them touring for AGAD opening for Stone Temple Pilots in Philadelphia in November of 1996. So to be in their hometown for two sold out shows with Joe behind the kit for a set comprised of the entire AGAD record was amazing. It was made only better by the fact that current drummer Ryan Harding and singer/guitar/bass lunatic Scott Lucas kicked off the proceedings with a blistering set, and Lucas was then flanked by both drummers beating the ever-loving fuck out of a pair of quivering drum kits for a finale heavy on tunes from my favorite H record, 1998′s Pack Up the Cats. I would catch up with the tour a few weeks later in DC and Philly, a night that ended with a cheesesteak outing with the band and began with the fellas even tighter and more comfortable playing together. These dates were the highlights of my crappy 2016.

Nearly as awesome was seeing New Oreans sludge weirdos eyehategod in a tiny club in New York City in the fall. I’ve certainly seen EHG in tiny clubs before, but on this tour Lamb of God’s Randy Blythe was filling in for the ailing Mike Williams, and he was insane. I haven’t been into LoG for many years, and they long ago grew out of playing clubs, but this was a reminder of why I loved them so much. Blythe was a force of nature, a wild animal unleashed on a stage to a small room 2/3 full. Dude is the truth. Williams had a successful liver transplant at the end of the year, so hopefully he’ll back out croaking his unearthly vocals for the band soon enough, but catching the Blythe version was a real treat. 

Podcasts

Extra Hot Great remains my favorite podcast. The crew who brought you Television Without Pity and Fametracker brave tech issues and thousands of miles of distance to bring discussion of television and ridiculous games. David T. Cole, Sarah D. Bunting, and Tara Ariano are the best thing I pipe into my earholes every week. 

Slate’s Panoply network has expanded to include a wealth of great content, but I still gravitate to the OG lineup of The Culture Gabfest, Hang Up and Listen, and The Political Gabfest, which I turn on as soon as I wake up on Friday mornings. Each of these has three hosts with unique points of view and awesome chemistry, though they aren’t afraid to disagree. 

The Read is Kid Fury and Crissle. Angry. Black. Queer. Put on your helmet!

The Film Pigs have the only podcast about movies on the internet, and certainly the only one that Chuck D. composed theme music for. Just ask them. 

The Cracked Podcast often retreads ground covered in the articles on the site, but it’s worth it to hear Jason Pargin aka David Wong talk about anything. Dude is smart, thoughtful, and the kind of voice that needs exposure behind a humor site. 

We Hate Movies. Start with the Boondock Saints II  episode. You’ll thank me.

Television

Fleabag (Amazon Prime): This show you guys! Six episodes. Three hours. I dare you not to do it in one go. Phoebe Waller-Bridge is a revelation as the eponymous hero with a foul mouth and the need to nervously chat with the audience throughout her adventures. To say too much would be doing disservice to the fantastic narrative that Waller-Bridge, who also created and wrote the show, has constructed. Just brace yourself for a wallop of an ending--and the urge to start over again as soon as you’ve finished. This was my favorite tv thing in 2016.

Catastrophe (Amazon Prime): Season two. Rob and Sharon are parents. What could go wrong?

Banshee (Cinemax): This show aired its fourth and final season in 2016, though I only caught up with the first three seasons earlier in the year. It’s the show for folks (like me) who love the kind of R-rated, big dumb action pictures that Hollywood doesn’t make anymore. An unnamed thief gets out of prison after 15 years and hauls ass to small town Pennsylvania to meet up with the woman he left behind. By chance, he witnesses the death of the town’s new sheriff, and using quick thinking and a hacker best friend dressed in drag, assumes the sheriff’s identity. As sheriff Nate Hood, our hero fights crime and corruption, and an apostate Amish kingpin. The action is filmed spectacularly, the violence would make Kurt Sutter blush, and it’s Cinemax, so you know the sex is sultry and plentiful. This show is an underrated gem.  

Rectify (Sundance Network): Like Banshee, this one wrapped a four season run in 2016, and I had only just caught up with it. The tale of Daniel Holden, a man sentenced to death at 18 and released nearly twenty years later on a technicality (the show is cagey about his guilt), this is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen on television, full stop. With standout supporting performances from Abigail Spencer and Clayne Crawford so powerful that I followed the actors to lesser network dramas, this show creates a portrait of people just trying to work through an emotional bomb that as been dropped as the shattered son, brother, friend, and step-brother they thought they’d never see again walks among them. Powerful stuff from Ray McKinnon, who I still think of as Reverend Smith on Deadwood. 

Better Call Saul (AMC): Season two finds Jimmy with the opportunity to settle in as a legit lawyer and partner to Kim. Watching him willfully blow it is agony. 

Search Party (TBS): So yeah...TBS is making quality dramedies now. Alia Shawkat leads a group of painfully self-involved friends as they search for a missing girl who they sort of maybe knew in college. Being lost in life is the real thematic game here, and the show finds a fresh way to engage this age-old trope. 

Bojack Horseman (Netflix): I’m not sure that there has been a show as depressing as this one. Bojack Horseman wraps the self destructive tendencies of Walter White, Don Draper, and James McGill together and multiplies them. It’s made worse because he also really feels things, kind of. The third season dropped on Netflix in 2016, but you have to start from the beginning and give the show some time to hook you. It’s well worth it.

The People V. O.J. Simpson (FX): Never in a million years did I think I would even like this, but boy howdy... I loved it. Sarah Paulson is jaw-dropping in bringing Marcia Clark to life and her chemistry with Sterling K. Brown’s Christopher Darden is scorching. Whether or not Darden and Clark hooked up in real life, I can’t imagine many folks who didn’t want these two characters to just get busy already. Courtney B. Vance crushed the role of Johnnie Cochran. And what in God’s name was Travolta doing?! I hate Ryan Murphy products. I loved this show!

Finally, I’m going to toss out a group of good but not great shows that also watched intently in 2016. The Girlfriend Experience on STARZ expands on Soderbergh’s film with a real actress this time (though I think Sasha Grey did what was asked of her in the film). Quarry on Cinemax tells the story of a man who returns to Memphis after two tours in Vietnam and finds himself drawn into a mysterious underworld as an assassin. Lethal Weapon on FOX is far better than it has any right to be, and casts Rectify’s brilliant Clayne Crawford as Riggs to Damon Wayans’s Murtaugh. And Timeless on NBC tells the story of a hijacked time machine and the ragtag crew sent to chase it through American history. Abigail Spencer shows up in this one, so score another extension of Rectify. None of these shows is going to compete with greats like Rectify or Breaking Bad or The Wire, but even in a crowded tv market, I think they are worth a look. They are solid. 

Movies

This is a short one as I saw very few new movies in 2016.

Green Room: Jeremy Saulnier brings the hurt with this tale of a hardcore band touring the Pacific northwest who get caught up with group of violent skinheads after a gig. Practical gore. Psychological horror. Patrick Stewart bringing soft-spoken menace as the cool leader of the neo-Nazi group. Also, one of Anton Yelchin’s final performances before his tragic death. This one had me watching through my fingers in the theater.

Brand: A Second Coming: This documentary chronicling the ups and downs of Russell Brand was probably the most thought-provoking film I saw all year. Directed by Ondi Timoner, who has made a career of examining male hubris, this film depicts a man who seems to truly mean well but simply cannot get out of his own way. I found it to be a very powerful character study. 

The Nice Guys: I’m in the bag for Shane Black. He still makes the big dumb action pictures. I even liked Russell Crowe in this one.

The Conjuring 2: Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga are terrific. These films are legit scary. James Wan expertly uses his camera for maximum tension.

Blue Jay: Sarah Paulson again. I love her. And I’ve also become very fond of Mark Duplass the actor. I’ve mentioned this film before. A lovely two-hander about what could have (and maybe should have) been. 

So that’s it. On to 2017! Thanks for reading.