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introvertguide · 4 years ago

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A Clockwork Orange (1971); AFI #70

The current movie under review is a well known but not often watched work from Stanley Kubrick, A Clockwork Orange (1971). It is one of the best known acting performances of Malcolm McDowell and it occurred very early on in his career. It turns out that McDowell plays a very good crazy. The movie was nominated for many of the major awards at the Oscars (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Editing) but didn’t win any because it went against The French Connection and Kubrick’s movie was so filled with explicit rape scenes that it was originally rated X. I am not one to judge a director’s vision, but it seems like the movie would have done a lot better without all the weird rape scenes. There is a lot of very beautiful cinematography as well, which makes the juxtaposition to the sex and violence all the more jarring. Let’s go over the plot and I will keep track of the violence:

SPOILER WARNING!!! THIS MOVIE PLOT IS ABOUT TO BE COMPLETELY SPOILED SO DON’T READ AHEAD UNTIL YOU HAVE SEEN IT ON YOUR OWN!!! UNLESS, OF COURSE, YOU WANT TO BE ABLE TO KNOW AND REFERENCE THE MOVIE WITHOUT DEALING WITH ALL THE RAPE. IN THAT CASE, GO AHEAD AND READ AWAY!!!

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In a futuristic Britain, Alex DeLarge (Malcolm McDowell) is the leader of a gang of minions he calls "droogs": Georgie, Dim and Pete. One night, after getting intoxicated on drug-laden "milk-plus", they engage in an evening of "ultra-violence", which includes a fight with a rival gang who are busy raping a girl (weird sexual assault #1 and violence #1). They drive to the country home of writer Frank Alexander and trick his wife into letting them inside. They beat Alexander to the point of crippling him, and Alex rapes Alexander's wife while singing "Singin' in the Rain" (weird sexual assault #2 and violence #2; this scene was cut down in the US to get an R rating). The next day, while truant from school, Alex is approached by his probation officer, PR Deltoid, who is aware of Alex's activities and cautions him. He does it at Alex’s house while on his bed and Alex is just in his underwear and Deltoid socks Alex in the nuts. Alex goes out that day and meets two girls and brings them home to have fast forward sex with them simultaneously (weird sex but not assault).

Alex's droogs express discontent with petty crime and want more equality and high-yield thefts, but Alex asserts his authority by attacking them (violence #3). Later, Alex invades the home of a wealthy "cat-lady" and bludgeons her with a phallic sculpture while his droogs remain outside (violence #4). On hearing sirens, Alex tries to flee but Dim smashes a bottle in his face, stunning Alex and leaving him to be arrested. With Alex in custody, Deltoid gloats that the cat-lady died, making Alex a murderer. He is sentenced to fourteen years in prison. His entry into the prison is shown in painful detail including a strip search for drugs. This includes a guard checking Alex’s butthole for drugs (which was cut down for an R rating in the US).

Two years into the sentence, Alex eagerly takes up an offer to be a test subject for the Minister of the Interior's new Ludovico technique, an experimental aversion therapy for rehabilitating criminals within two weeks. Alex is strapped to a chair, his eyes are clamped open and he is injected with drugs. He is then forced to watch films of sex and violence (weird sexual assault #3 and violence #5), some of which are accompanied by the music of his favorite composer, Ludwig van Beethoven. Alex becomes nauseated by the films and, fearing the technique will make him sick upon hearing Beethoven, begs for an end to the treatment.

Two weeks later, the Minister demonstrates Alex's rehabilitation to a gathering of officials. Alex is unable to fight back against an actor who taunts and attacks him (violence #6) and becomes ill wanting sex with a topless woman (attempted sexual assault?). The prison chaplain complains that Alex has been robbed of his free will; however, the Minister asserts that the Ludovico technique will cut crime and alleviate crowding in prisons.

Alex is released from jail, only to find that the police have sold his possessions as compensation to his victims and his parents have let out his room. Alex encounters an elderly vagrant whom he attacked years earlier, and the vagrant and his friends attack him. Alex is saved by two policemen but is shocked to find they are his former droogs Dim and Georgie. They drive him to the countryside, beat him up, and nearly drown him before abandoning him (violence #7). Alex barely makes it to the doorstep of a nearby home before collapsing.

Alex wakes up to find himself in the home of Mr. Alexander, who is now confined to a wheelchair. Alexander does not recognize Alex from the previous attack but knows of Alex and the Ludovico technique from the newspapers. He sees Alex as a political weapon and prepares to present him to his colleagues. While bathing, Alex breaks into "Singin' in the Rain", causing Alexander to realize that Alex was the person who assaulted his wife and him. With help from his colleagues, Alexander drugs Alex and locks him in an upstairs bedroom. He then plays Beethoven's Ninth Symphony loudly from the floor below. Unable to withstand the sickening pain, Alex attempts suicide by jumping out the window.

Alex wakes up in a hospital with broken bones. While being given a series of psychological tests, he finds that he no longer has aversions to violence and sex. The Minister arrives and apologizes to Alex. He offers to take care of Alex and get him a job in return for his co-operation with his election campaign and public relations counter offensive. As a sign of good will, the Minister brings in a stereo system playing Beethoven's Ninth. Alex then contemplates violence and has vivid thoughts of having sex with a woman in front of an approving crowd (weird sex), and thinks to himself, "I was cured, all right!"

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The book did not have as much of a downbeat ending as the film. There was a final chapter that explained that Alex had actually become cured and wasn’t obsessed with sex and violence. This final chapter was actually added after the book was published for American audiences and Kubrick, who lived in London, was unaware of it and didn’t include this in his movie. Upon being made aware of the new ending, he did not like it and ignored it completely. I think this was probably the right idea because it would have been a lot less memorable if it would have had a nice happy ending.

I find it interesting that the AFI has claimed this movie for America when it is clearly British. The movie is based on a well known British novel from a well known British author who was speaking out against American psychologists who were promoting behaviorism and cognitive behavioral therapy. The movie is set and filmed completely in London, England with an all British cast. The movie is also filled with artwork from famous British artists that were popular in 60s swinging London. The only claim America has is that it was not banned under the relatively new MPAA ratings, it was only heavily restricted with an X rating. England, however, stopped showing the movie because of the backlash from the religious right and the film was not available in the UK from 1973 to 1999.

I watched the unrated version with commentary by Malcolm McDowell and his insight made for a much more interesting watch. It became apparent that Kubrick did not care much about the safety of his actors. The director had a hard time getting the actresses being raped to exude the fear he wanted since they were impowered British art students and were legitimately having fun. Kubrick did not want fun, he wanted realistic assault and trauma, dragging out these scenes with dozens of takes. Malcolm McDowell was physically injured when his character was assaulted on stage during the Ludovico demonstration. He was also afraid for his safety when he was being drowned by his former droogs. Finally, McDowell’s cornea was scratched when they were wedged open for the conditioning scene and the actor was temporarily blinded for weeks.

It seems like I am being harsh on this movie and that I don’t like it, but I find it fascinating to the point that I have seen it a dozen times. The use of the false eyelashes on the top and bottom of only one eye gives Alex this look of having two sides. The use of blocking to show the allegiances of characters towards and against each other is directing along the lines of Orson Welles. The use of the music diegetically throughout that causes Alex’s condition is truly creative. McDowell was a great choice for the lead because his face is so expressive. I have not seen a better “happy angry” face with the exception of maybe Jack Nicolson. In so many ways, it truly is a great movie.

One reason for so many viewings is that I have seen this in some of my psychology courses, specifically in cognitive and behavioral classes. The whole Ludovico technique is supposed to malign the work of Watson and Skinner as reducing the reason behind one’s actions down to the environment, removing the idea of free will. When using behavioral therapy, do we just alter the stimulus and response so that a person has no choice but to obey? If so, is that taking away their freedom of choice thus making them less human? If a person simply chooses to be bad, is it their right to do so and they must face those consequences without outside influence forcing them to change? All very good questions that are brought up by this movie.

So does this film belong on the AFI top 100? I am going to say no. It is a British film in every way except for the director, so much so that this movie is ranked by the BFI. It was rejected in the UK for a long period of time while it became somewhat of a cult classic in the US, but this doesn’t make it an American film. It is worthy based on quality, but is disqualified by location. So would I recommend it? Well...no. I like the film and it is fascinating at a psychological level, but it is a lot of art for art’s sake without consideration for humanity. The message is horrifically bleak and the movie is very uncomfortable to watch at times, and most viewers don’t want to be challenged in that way. If you want a movie that will purposefully offend you and test your sensibilities, then give it a try. If you want a fun or funny movie with a happy ending, then this is most definitely not the movie for you.

#Stanley Kubrick #a clockwork orange #british film #academy award nominated #malcolm mcdowell #afi top 100 #psychology #behaviorism #introvert #introverts

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sagehaleyofficial · 4 years ago

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HERE’S WHAT YOU MISSED THIS WEEK (1.13-1.19.21):

NEW MUSIC:

Citizen announced a new album titled Life in Your Glass World, due for release on March 26 via Run for Cover Records. They also released a new song along with the announcement, titled “I Want to Kill You.”

NOFX announced the details of their 14th album Single Album, which will be released on February 26 via Fat Wreck Chords. The band recently re-recorded their track “Linoleum” under the moniker “Linewleum.”

Of Mice & Men revealed they have signed to SharpTone Records, as well as released a new song titled “Obsolete.” Their upcoming EP, Timeless, is also set for release on February 26.

We Were Sharks began teasing fans with a series of videos that led to a website under the URL letushealyou.today. This also came with the announcement to pre-save their new single “Bring Me Down.”

Pop punk act Signs of Progress released a new music video for their song “Bones Exposed” last Thursday. The second single comes off of their debut EP Safe Haven, which was released last year.

The Spill Canvas signed to Pure Noise Records to release their upcoming album Conduit, their first album in nine years. The album is currently scheduled for release on March 5 and comes with their new single “Firestorm.”

Lights and ILLENIUM debuted a music video for their recent collab “Hearts on Fire.” The single was originally released on Christmas Day and follows the latter artist’s collab with Angels & Airwaves’ Tom DeLonge.

Foo Fighters released another track off of their upcoming 10th studio album Medicine at Midnight. The song, “Waiting on a War,” is an acoustic ballad, opposite of the album’s first single “No Son of Mine.”

Holding Absence released another song, “Afterlife,” off of their upcoming album The Greatest Mistake of My Life, which follows their previous single “Beyond Belief.” This preceded the announcement of the departure of bassist James Joseph.

AFI returned with two brand new songs titled “Twisted Tongues” and “Escape From Los Angeles.” The songs are the first new music from the band since the release of their EP The Missing Man in 2018.

Chapel dropped a brand new song titled “Pillow Talk,” along with a music video the band filmed themselves. The track follows “Mushy Gushy,” which was released last year.

Mayday Parade released a new live EP titled Live at Screaming Eagle, a follow-up to their previous EP Out of Here. The band recently played a livestream performance of their sophomore record Anywhere but Here.

Hayley Williams released a recorded cover of the Massive Attack song “Teardrop.” The singer originally performed the cover as part of the Ally Coalition's Seventh Annual Talent Show.

Weezer revealed a new surprise album titled OK Human, scheduled for release next Friday, January 29. The band still plans to release their anticipated album Van Weezer later this May.

TOUR ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Silverstein announced plans for a special virtual concert series titled “Out of This World.” The series will be made up of three different sets across three separate weekends.

Fall Out Boy played a set during the We the People Concert on Sunday, hosted by Keegan-Michael Key and Debra Messing. The livestream also featured performances by AJR, will.i.am and Carole King.

OTHER NEWS:

I Don’t Know How but They Found Me’s song “Leave Me Alone” hit the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Alternative Airplay Chart. The song marks their first-ever top placement on any chart.

Hassle Records revealed details of a special charity raffle, in which they are giving away some rare test pressings of select albums. The featured artists include Brutus, Phoxjaw, We Are the Ocean, Kerbdog and Rolo Tomassi.

Nothing,Nowhere.’s recent track “Fake Friend” recently entered the Billboard Alternative Airplay Chart at No. 34. The song is his first to enter the chart and comes off his upcoming album Trauma Factory.

Green Day’s hit song “21 Guns” was recently certified Gold in the United Kingdom. The track appears on the band's record 21st Century Breakdown, which itself is certified Platinum.

After its release this past Friday, You Me at Six’s new album Suckapunch has already scored the No. 1 spot on the Midweek UK Albums Chart. The album is potentially the band's second No. 1 album, following 2014's Cavalier Youth.

___

Check in next Tuesday for more “Posi Talk with Sage Haley,” only at @sagehaleyofficial!

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tazmuir · 6 years ago

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romancing the bone: a gideon the ninth fst

For my birthday in 2018, my two first readers just sent me an email with the subject heading, “We have very good taste.”

This FST is quite possibly the most serious, transformative and thoughtful transformative work ever presented to any canon, ever.

TRACKLISTING FOR YR CONVENIENCE

VOLUME ONE: HOUSES

Ist: Warm Blood – Carly Rae Jepsen

2nd: Jiyuu No Tsubasa – Linked Horizon

3rd: Pour It Up – Rihanna

4th: Warrior – Ke$ha

5th: Getcha Head In The Game – High School Musical

6th: Young Adult Friction – The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart

7th: So Happy I Could Die – Lady Gaga

8th: Titanium – David Guetta ft Sia

9th: THAUMATURGIC REVELATIONS – THE REVERENT BROTHERHOOD OF THE ABYSSAL SHROUD

VOLUME TWO: BONUS TRACKS

Gideon: Good Girls Go Bad – Cobra Starship

Harrowhark: Love Like Winter – AFI

Palamedes: That’s What I Go To School For – Busted

Cytherea: Camisado – Panic! At The Disco

Final Boss: Save Yourself, I’ll Hold Them Back – My Chemical Romance

End Credits: Spaceship - Kesha

VOLUME THREE: BAD LYCTOR SHIPPING

Immortals – Fall Out Boy

Ghost Of You – Good Charlotte

Out Of My Head – Charli XCX

#thaumaturgic revelations is my favourite song #from my favourite band: the reverent brotherhood of the abyssal shroud #have i mentioned this was also created by the author of the unspoken name #which you should buy and read #it was also created by her wife who lives in a pineapple under the sea and there lies dead and dreaming #honestly i can't think of a better reason to buy the unspoken name than just mutely pointing at this #gideon the ninth #one gets by with a little help from one's friends

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hamonsurveysoverdrive · 5 years ago

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Diabolical

When was the last time you threw up and why did you? Like, four months ago when I ate a cupcake that was too sweet. Have you ever had to talk someone out of suicide? No. What was your most embarrassing moment? No thanks lol Do you want revenge on the person who has hurt you the most? No, I’m an adult. Has anyone ever claimed that you saved their life? Yes. Did you ever have that near-drowning experience? Yes. What book are you currently reading? I’m listening to Animal Farm on Audible right now, even though I’ve read it a million times. But I share the account with my mom, and she’s reading Anna Karenina, which is what I wanted to read, so I’m just reading Animal Farm again until she’s done. Have you ever been to a concert and if so, how many and who played? I’ve been to a shit ton. Lemme see what I can remember, I’m that bored... Spice Girls, Sugarcult, Halifax, Puddle of Mudd, Tyler Read, Pentatonix, Devin Townsend, Cynic, The Offspring, Blink 182, The Toadies, 311, Chevelle, Lit, Willa Ford, Aaron Carter, Craig David, The Calling, Bowling For Soup, Panic! At the Disco, Weezer, Aerosmith, ZZ Top, Michelle Branch, Vanessa Carlton, Jack Johnson, ELO, No Doubt, Paramore, Neurosonic, Primordius... I feel like I’m missing a big one. Have you ever performed on stage? No. Were you ever scared to death of anyone you knew? Or are you currently? No. Are you a jealous person? It happens sometimes. Are you more likely to pick truth or dare? Truth. Do you believe that laughter is the best cure? No, medicine is. Do you/did you play any sports? If so, which? Nope. Have you ever been in a band? No. What were some things you wanted to be as an adult when you were a kid? A writer. What do you want to be now? Librarian. Do you like to make people laugh? Of course. Have you ever had to turn anyone down? Yepp. What's the longest you've stayed awake? Almost 48 hours. Have you ever broken a bone or ever had stitches? Stitches, yes. Broken bone, no. Where is your favorite vacation spot? Cities. Have you ever heard a strange noise outside when everyone else was asleep? Yes. Do you get distracted easily? Sometimes. Morning person or Night person? Night. Do you make people smile or do people make you smile? Both? Are you Embrassed easily? No. Comedy or Thriller? Both. Should you really follow your heart? To a point. Have you ever written a poem for someone? Yes. Do you listen to classical music to relax? Not really. How was your day? Not too bad. Have you ever been in love? Yes, I am right now. Is someone standing in your way of reaching your goal? Just myself. Are you a passionate person? Very much so. Mango or Strawberry smoothie? Mango. Have you ever ridden a horse? Yes. Do you play Mind games with people? Not intentionally. Do you Meditate? No. Ever yelled at someone because you were fustrated about something? Duh. Do you know how to whistle? No. Do you like kids? If not why? I like MY kids. Outfit of choice when going out to an Opera? Uhm, a fancy dress I suppose. Do you like driving alone or with people? Either. Who knows you best? Justin. Do you drink Milk daily? Ew, no. Are you easily Offended? If so do you show it? Not really. Do you like Cranberries that they serve for thanksgiving? Yes. What are you thankful for? My kids, my family, my friends, Justin, etc. What don't you understand that fustrates you? I don’t understand how to person who wrote this is so bad at spelling and grammar. Do you follow your instincts or Go with the flow? Both. Have you ever been in a relationship you never wanted to end? Yes. Do you plan on going to college? I am currently enrolled. What year do/did you graduate? I graduated high school in 2007. Unsure of when I’ll finish college, but hopefully by 2024. What was the last candy you ate? Uhm. DumDum sucker? When was the last time you were sick? Idk. Do you throw up a lot? No. What are you listening to? Girl’s Not Grey-AFI. Yes, I have my scene playlist on lmao What are you doing spring break? I don’t ever do anything. How do you feel about girls smkoing? Well, I do, so... Ever had a cigar? Yes If you live alone, you die alone. Do you agree? I guess? Don't you just love Paramore? I don’t love them, but I like them enough. How many times have you had sex this week? Well, I had sex three times last night lol When did you last take out the trash? My dad does that. Are you into politics? Yes Do you like scented candles? Sure Have you ever cried in front of the person you last kissed? A shit ton haha Don't you hate when it's awkward between ex's? Sure What color are your nails painted? They’re not Do you like someone who likes you back? Yes, that’s why we’re together. Is it hard for you to make decisions? Depends on the decision Do you want to get married someday? God no. What job do you have? N/a Can you run with your eyes shut without freaking out? I don’t run lol Do you like music loud or at a reasonable level? Both Have you ever visited New York? Yes, once Would you rather be on the beach right now? No, not a fan. Plus it’s October?

#surveys #survey

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salvajecho-a · 5 years ago

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// I added autoplay because i am weak

tracklist under cut

i can’t save the world if i’m not happy / eliza grace

arsonist’s lullaby / hozier

alligator blood / nicole dollanganger

sour times / portishead

i can’t save the world if i’m not happy (reimagined) / eliza grace

the great disappointment / afi

bones of a rabbit / young heretics

swan / nicole dollanganger

unfamiliar / the birthday massacre

#╰ ➵ ♪ ˖ ᶰᵒ ᵒᶰᵉ ᵃᵗ ᵃˡˡ ┊ ooc .

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st-percocet · 7 years ago

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rec masterpost

yo here’s some tunes that i recommend cause i get asked to rec bands/songs a lot so yea bold = absolute bangers that i can’t get sick of

SONGS: 1 trillion dollars - anti-flag 17 crimes - afi 302 - the lippies 5 to 9 - fidlar 6969 - ninja sex party acid baby - spilt addicted - simple plan afraid of heights - billy talent alfie - lily allen aliens are real don’t tweak - netherfriends all american girl - adickdid alone and stoned - king tuff alone is no together - jamie campbell bower / the darling buds a mask of my own face - lemon demon a more perfect union - titus andronicus a new wave - sleater-kinney anxiety - pinact atmosphere - joy division bad egg - hands off gretal bad habit - the kooks bad kids - black lips beach bones - more amor ft ryan ross beck and call - sundressed better man - jamie campbell bower better than sex - the midnight beast billionaire - travie mccoy ft bruna mars bitch theme - bratmobile black me out - against me bleed - out came the wolves bleed american - jimmy eat world body - mother mother boy grinder - jack off jill boyfriend - best coast boys wanna be her - peaches bubblegum - mystery jets but a nightmare - danzig byob - system of a down california uber alles - dead kennedys can we laugh now? - 7 year bitch cannonball - the breeders can’t go to hell - sin shake sin cardiac arrest - bad suns carried away - passion pit cat-o-nine-tails - L7 cemeterysexxx - doyle cheer up london - slaves chop suey - system of a down cold hands - the dose colder quicker - real friends come on eileen - dexys mightnight runners constant headache - joyce manor corrine - black honey crazy - gnarls barkley (cee lo green) creature - it looks sad. daddy issues - the neighbourhood dance like a maniac - the dollyrots danny don’t you know - ninja sex party dark necessities - red hot chilli peppers dark nights - dorothy death cup - mom jeans devilgirl - gorgeous frankenstein don’t come home - all human don’t mess with me - brody dalle don’t you wait - cloves dreaming dead girls - doyle egg - shoe. empty apartment - yellowcard even when the water’s cold - !!! evil eye - franz ferdinand faking the benz - from oslo family tree - black lips feels blind - bikini kill fill in the blank - car seat headrest firetruck vagina - baby guts first light - django django flannel - cardboard swords full circle - aerosmith fyi i wanna f your a - ninja sex party genghis khan - miike snow get busy - jimothy lacoste gia - fabulous disaster girls and boys - blur golden - travie mccoy ft sia good rhymes for bad times - bears in trees gothic roccata from the suite - léon boëllmann, roman penicki grace kelly - mika green eyes - wavves ha ha ha - the julie ruin hands down - dashboard confessional happy pills - weathers happy today - the wowz headfirst for halos - my chemical romance heroin - badflower hopeless - screaming females hung like jesus - cancerslug hypnotize - system of a down i killed abor day for you - panucci’s pizza i’ll be your butcher - cancerslug i look good - chantal claret it’s amazing - jamie campbell bower / the darling buds i wanna get better - bleachers i was a teenage anarchist - against me idiot - jeff the brotherhood is this sound okay? - coconut records i’m not crying you’re not crying are you? - dear and the headlights i’m not part of me - cloud nothings jellybean - video nasties jerk it out - caesers jerk of all trades - lunachicks just like you - nial harvest killer ball - gesu no kiwami otome kiss this - the struts la la lainey - forever the sickest kids ластоска - leningrad lezbophobia - tribe 8 liar - the dying arts lights out - royal blood lillibulero - bellowhead loner - fangclub lost on me - peace love bites (so do i) - halestorm makin’ whoopee - neil gaiman, amanda palmer max can’t surf - fidlar maxwell murder - rancid me and the bean - spoon miley - smwrs miss murder - AFI mixtape 2003 - the academic modern swinger - the pink spiders mother - danzig move (i’m coming) - chantal claret my best friend’s hot - the dollyrots my sharona - the knack nagoya - it looks sad. new born - purple nightmare - avenged sevenfold nite vision - mean jeans no surprise - the shacks not my girl - tokyo police club nothing can stop me - heavens to betsy nothing is wrong - analog rebellion no waves - fidlar oh bondage! up yours! - x-ray spex old folks home - cottonwood firing squad olly olly oxen free - amanda palmer (piano is evil version) only acting - kero kero bonito on your side - a rocket to the moon orgy for one - ninja sex party overdose - fidlar palm trees - smwrs panic switch - silversun pickups paradigm - avenged sevenfold paris - magic man psychedelic ascension - mr traumatik pudding - joel cossette rats - ghost red flag - billy talent river - eminem ft ed sheeran romance - wild flag romans - adam walicki salad days - mac demarco samantha - hole same damn life - seether same old blues - phantogram save me - aimee mann say it ain’t so - weezer schism - tool shia labeouf live - rob cantor shit twins - dads sick boy - kill hannah sick shit - together pangea silly boy - the blue van skulls and daisies - danzig slob - artificial fever soldier - dover southern comforting - hotel mira (prev. known as jpnsgrls) speak life - damien marley spooky ghosts - snckpck strange town - the moderates supermodel, superficial - voodoo queens sur la planche 2013 - la femme sweet ‘69 - babes in toyland sæla - black foxxes tears don’t fall (acoustic) - bullet for my valentine teenage whore - hole televisor - morningwood the beer - kimya dawson the devil’s son - creepshow the hounds - the protomen the sound of silence - simon and garfunkel the times they are a-changin’ - bob dylan think of you - bleached time bomb - rancid toy box - ward xvi transylvania - iron maiden trophy wifey - partyline turn me on (radio mix) - wet fingers twin sized mattress - the front bottoms typical girl - the slits ukulele anthem - amanda palmer us - regina spektor vampire’s kiss - john gold virgin sacrifice - doyle volcano girls - veruca salt wait for me - motopony waiting - jamie campbell bower waste of time - elvis depressedly weekend - smith westerns west coast - coconut records whole wide world - big tree without me - eminem you are going to hate this - the frights you’ll fall in love - mrs magician you’re gonna go far kid - offspring

BANDS: against me! - amanda palmer - artificial fever - avenged sevenfold - bellowhead - black foxxes - bleachers - bloodnun - blunderpuss - bullet for my valentine - cancerslug - cobra starship - counterfeit - danzig - dead! - death spells - doyle - earl. - electric century - fidlar - foo fighters - frank iero and the patience - ghost - good charlotte - gorgeous frankenstein - green day - hole - hotel mira - hounding - iron maiden - jimothy lacoste - kero kero bonito -leathermouth - leningrad - marilyn manson - mindless self indulgence - misfits - my chemical romance - ninja sex party - nirvana - papa roach - paramore - pencey prep - poison crow - pup - queen - queens of the stone age - rage against the machine - ramones - rancid - reggie and the full effect - simple plan - slipknot - spilt - sum 41 - swmrs - system of a down - taking back sunday - the darling buds / jamie campbell bower - the dead xiii - the dollyrots - the dresden dolls - the killers - the left rights - the levellers - the pretty reckless - the used - the world you love - video nasties - ward xvi - weathers - weezer - wolfe sunday - yellowcard

#don't reblog #this is for my faq #so i can keep updating it #rec list #long post//

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nomadiiccc · 7 years ago

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afi - burials rp starters

the sinking night

“ blackness drips down from both of my hands. “

“ i can hear your name through the sinking night. “

i hope you suffer

“ i faced destruction and you just killed me and walked away. “

“ i hope you suffer. “

“ no one will ever know you. “

“ deny the last one who cares. “

“ i’ve seen my darkest days. you gave each one to me. “

a deep slow panic

“ i watched you go out the door with poise i’d not seen before. “

“ teach me not to dream. “

“ slowly i’ll swallow your fears. “

“ teach me how you sleep so sweetly. “

no resurrection

“ i wanted to save you. “

“ you forced me out. i’m nothing now. “

17 crimes

“ if you had a day would you give me a moment? “

“ would you allow our play to leave no bone unbroken? “

“ i’m in love with poisoning. “

“ only bring your pretty, frightful gifts to me. “

“ i’m in love with your new screams. “

the conductor

“ break them down, shake up their beliefs. “

“ turn to a tourniquet and cinch yourself to me. “

heart stops

“ i have never been before so unhappy in my whole life. “

“ you were my first faith, made of lies like all the others. “

“ may the scars you left in me dig into you twice as deep. “

rewind

“ there’s no way to apologize. “

“ call your doting dogs. as their weak servility feeds your emptiness, remember me. “

“ in solitude you will sense me. “

the embrace

“ walk into traffic. “

“ to take my deepest breath i walk into the raging sea. “

“ this may be the perfect gift. “

wild

“ every promise i kept, kept you deceiving. “

“ i split my heart and watched you take every drop of my soul and leave me bleeding. “

“ i gave you life, now pray for death, breathed into you, you stole my breath. “

greater than 84

“ there’s an open sky and an empty city. “

“ keep your hands clean, just read my mind. “

“ we’re trapped between the nightmares. “

“ all the emptiness overfills this city, so you’ll be queen tonight. “

“ will you hold my hand as we count the hours? “

anxious

“ oh, i’m anxious and aching, breathing the burning air. “

“ swing love down and find the saddest song. “

“ i’ve found death finally and it feels like heaven. “

the face beneath the waves

“ tell me what it’s like to hold a heart as it shatters. “

“ are you somewhere listening to me? “

“ what do you do when my soul invites you? “

#rp memes #rp sentence starters #rp sentence memes #rp sentence prompts #rp ask meme #( meme. )#( queue. )

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pawspurses · 5 years ago

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Man Down

My Dad worked for the Canadian Wildlife Service when I was younger. With his job, he traveled all over Canada, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut tracking the migratory path of birds. After he was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2002, he founded the Prostate Support Group which is now called Prostate Edmonton Peer Support. Over the years, he was also heavily involved with the Motorcycle Ride for Dad. June 25, 2018, my Dad passed away after a lengthy battle with Prostate Cancer. The last couple of years were quite painful since cancer metastasized, spreading to the perianal lining in the stomach, bone marrow, and lymph nodes. So, being at Hair Massacure again for 2019, was even more important. Our team name for Hair Massacure is Team Afi (pronounced Avi ) 2019. Afi is Icelandic for Grandpa. One of the ladies at Calvin's work was very instrumental in our fundraising. She attached the link to their emails inspiring people to donate so that they could see Calvin with Pink hair. His goal was $1200 before he would go pink. Thanks to her efforts we all had pink hair before the event. The girls and I had a table at set up at Save-On-Foods as well asking for donations in any amount. I use to work for Save-On-Foods so I knew quite a few of the customers that took time to donate along with some of the staff. There are far too many people that I know who have cancer or know a friend or family member that has it. #canadianwildlifeserivce #family #HairMassacure #motorcycleridefordad #Movember #prostatecancer #ProstateEdmontonPeerSupport Read the full article

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introvertguide · 5 years ago

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Bringing Up Baby (1938); AFI #88

The current film on the AFI list is touted as the most screwball of all screwball comedies: Bringing Up Baby, (1938). It is a film that was adapted for the screen with the great Katharine Hepburn in mind. According to the writers, it fit her personality and sense of humor well and, with the addition of a lovable Cary Grant, was the perfect comedy vehicle. And audiences at the time hated it. It was a total flop during its initial box office run, director Howard Hawkes was fired from the studio, and Katharine Hepburn was labeled box office poison to the point that she had to buy out her contract because the studio would not give her any more work. Now the film is celebrated as favored comedy from the old Hollywood era. AFI listed it as the #88 greatest American film and the #14 best comedy film. So is this movie any good? Audiences in different eras disagree so I wanted to find out for myself. First I want to do the usual review of the plot (although this is a screwball comedy and it isn’t intended to make any sense) so let’s get the bold warnings out of the way...

SPOILER ALERT!!! THERE REALLY ISN’T A LOT TO SPOIL IN A SCREWBALL COMEDY BUT I DON’T WANT TO GET YELLED AT!!! PER USUAL, YOU SHOULD JUDGE A MOVIE FOR YOURSELF SO CHECK THE FILM OUT BEFORE READING FURTHER!! Alright, moving on...

The film begins with a bumbling paleontologist named David Huxley (Cary Grant). He is a man consumed by his work, yet he is somehow engaged to be married to a woman that is seemingly obsessed with taking second fiddle to his job. For the past four years, he has been trying to assemble the skeleton of a Brontosaurus but is missing one bone: the "intercostal clavicle". He is also tasked with impressing a potential patron named Elizabeth Random (May Robson), who is considering a million-dollar donation to his museum.

The day before his wedding, David meets Susan Vance (Katharine Hepburn) while attempting to solicit donations from the lawyer of Ms. Random. Susan callously plays the wrong ball which distracts David from attending to his potential patron and then she stubbornly wrecks David’s car while she tries to get to her own vehicle. Later that night, she distracts David again while he attempts to have a drink with the man from the golf course and the encounter ends up with both characters tending to ripped clothes in public. Susan seems to like to cause trouble and believes that her traits are fun. These qualities soon embroil David in several frustrating incidents.

The next day, Susan's brother Mark has sent her a tame leopard named Baby from Brazil. Its tameness is helped by hearing "I Can't Give You Anything But Love". Susan ignorantly thinks David is a zoologist and manipulates him into thinking she is being attacked by the animal. He does not call the police but goes to Susan and she bullies him into joining her in moving the leopard to her country home. Complications arise when Susan falls in love with him and tries to keep him at her house as long as possible, even hiding his clothes, to prevent his imminent marriage.

David's prized intercostal clavicle is delivered, but Susan's aunt's dog George takes it and buries it somewhere. When Susan's aunt arrives, she discovers David in a negligee. To David's dismay, she turns out to be potential donor Elizabeth Random. A second message from Mark makes clear the leopard is for Elizabeth, as she always wanted one. Baby and George run off. The zoo is called to help capture Baby. Susan and David race to find Baby before the zoo and, mistaking a dangerous leopard from a nearby circus for Baby, let it out of its cage.

David and Susan are jailed by a befuddled town policeman, Constable Slocum (Walter Catlett), for acting strangely at the house of Dr. Fritz Lehman (Fritz Feld), where they had cornered the circus leopard. When Slocum does not believe their story, Susan decides the best cover would be to tell the police that they are members of gang. This distracts the police long enough to allow her to escape to go and find Baby to prove she and David are innocent. The potential patron Ms. Random comes to the jail to free Susan and is embroiled in the plot when she talks about her leopard and is locked up. Eventually, the lawyer/golf partner shows up to verify everyone's identity. Susan thinks she found the correct leopard but unwittingly drags the highly irritated circus leopard into the jail. David saves her, using a chair to shoo the big cat into a cell.

Some time later, Susan finds David working on his dinosaur skeleton alone. He was dumped by his fiancée because of Susan and he is now single. He did not get the donation but finds that Random gave the money to Susan and now Susan wants to donate the money to the museum. David confesses that his time with Susan was the best time he has ever had and that he loves her. At this point, Susan inadvertently destroys the dinosaur that David has worked on for 4 years because she won’t listen to David’s warnings. He gives up and kisses Susan, resigned to the life that will come with loving this woman. The end.

After watching this film, I did some research and I can see why Hepburn was labeled box office poison following this movie. She apparently ruined many of the takes for this film which cost a lot of money. What is more, the director and the lead actors had overtime clauses in their contracts so everyone was paid about double what was initially agreed upon because of the actors fooling around. The film might have broken even or perhaps had a modest gain, but Hepburn caused extra costs to the production to the point of major financial loss. This was a point of lean times in America, so an actor that commanded hefty pay, caused expensive delays, and did not draw in a big audience was poison to a studio. She obviously went on to do great things for film and this work was eventually embraced by audiences, but Katharine Hepburn needed to be humbled and the reaction to this movie did just that.

I was surprised that there was a real leopard (tame of course, but still) on set with the actors. There were some shots in which the actors were filmed separately from the animal and everything was overlaid, but there were many scenes with the actors directly interacting with the leopard. Most famously, Hepburn’s character was talking on the phone while the leopard walked around her legs and the animal started to get rough with her feet. If you watch Hepburn’s face closely, she is not smiling but has darting eyes watching closely over the big cat. Apparently, the leopard lunged at Hepburn at first meeting and she did not really like the animal.

So let me get to the point of my personal feelings about the movie. I have watched it twice for this review: once straight forward and once with commentary by Peter Bogdanovich. I have looked at the reviews as well. It didn’t help. I and both my parents hated this movie. We have watched 41 movies on the AFI top 100 so far and this has been unanimously our least favorite. We do not like screwball comedies and this is famously “the most screwball of all screwball comedies.” I will not say that this film is bad because it obviously has a ton of fans, but I subjectively hated it. Let me explain before I get the hate mail.

Susan Vance is my kryptonite. She is a bullying socialite that does not care about anyone but herself and only does what she wants. She is manipulative towards a guy that just wants to build his dinosaur, and she wrecks his relationship, affects his job, ruins his car, endangers his life, and destroys his work. For some reason, in the movie world he falls in love with her for it. Susan Vance is the kind of person that has affected people negatively since forever. I guess it is funny because it is relatable? “Yeah, I have had my life ruined by human bulldozers like that. Wouldn’t it be funny if that person took a personal interest in plaguing me at every turn?” I am an introverted nerd and I have been harassed by the Susan Vances of the world. I don’t find them funny and actively avoid people like Susan Vance. I don’t want to see them in my movies, especially as the hero/love interest.

What hurt me was that Katharine Hepburn was apparently like this in her behavior at the time. She would talk off camera during filming and ruin takes. She would ad lib lines that she thought were funny and goof around with Cary Grant costing the studio hundreds of thousands and lots of lost time. It sounds like she was simply oblivious to the efforts of others. Her behavior as an actress and the character in the movie should not be rewarded. In film world, this bull in a china shop still gets her man. In the real world where a nation is recovering from a devastating financial crisis and facing a possible world war, nobody wants to see that garbage. As was appropriate, everybody got fired and the audience did not want to shell over their money. I am glad the film flopped and say it was deservedly so.

OK. I got that off my chest so let me now set aside my personal bias and answer the standard questions more objectively. Does this film belong on the AFI 100? Yes. It is maybe the best example of the screwball comedy of the 30s and, according to the Bogdanovich commentary, is a great example of the quick pace dialogue with double meaning that defined the time. I also think it is good to remember what happens when actors completely disregard their employers and their audience. Even the great Katharine Hepburn had to make a comeback when her audience turned on her. The placement of the film very low on the list seems appropriate to me as well. So then...would I recommend it? Subjectively, heck no. I found the movie frustrating to the point of being angry. Objectively, yes. A lot of people find whacky antics funny and any fan of shows like The Honeymooners or I Love Lucy and movies with The Three Stooges or The Marx Bros would likely enjoy this film. It has a 90% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes and Roger Ebert called it one of the 102 movies to see before you die since it is a perfect example of the genre. It seems like a movie most people would enjoy. Let me back pedal slightly and note that I have full respect for people who enjoy the film and I am glad cinema brings you some laughs. However, I hate the film with a passion and never plan on watching it again.

#bringing up baby #katharine hepburn #hollywood elite #over budget #susan vance #cary grant #screwball comedy #30s #old hollywood #afi movies #introvert #introverted #leopard #howard hawks

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michelleplayswithfire · 5 years ago

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Top 25 Top 40 Hits of 2006

Honorable mentions: Keep Holding On -- Avril Lavigne (#17 -- peak Dec. 23) (#64 -- YE 2007) Dirty Little Secret -- The All-American Rejects (#9 -- peak Jan. 21) (#48 -- YE 2006)* Move Along -- The All-American Rejects (#15 -- peak May 6) (#21 -- YE 2006)* Ms. New Booty -- Bubba Sparxxx Featuring Ying Yang Twins & Mr. ColliPark (#7 -- peak May 13) (#36 -- YE 2006) London Bridge -- Fergie (#1 -- peak Aug. 19) (#22 -- YE 2006) Money In The Bank -- Lil Scrappy Featuring Young Buck (#28 -- peak Dec. 23) Walk Away -- Kelly Clarkson (#12 -- peak Apr. 22) (#45 -- YE 2006) Do I Make You Proud -- Taylor Hicks (#1 -- peak Jul. 1) (#99 -- YE 2006) Hate Me -- Blue October (#31 -- peak Oct. 7) (#82 -- YE 2006)* Lean Wit It, Rock Wit It -- Dem Franchize Boyz Featuring Lil Peanut & Charlay (#7 -- peak Apr. 1) (#25 -- YE 2006) Show Stopper -- Danity Kane (#8 -- peak Sep. 9) (#79 -- YE 2006) Snap Yo Fingers -- Lil Jon Featuring E-40 & Sean Paul Of The YoungBloodZ (#7 -- peak May 27) (#24 -- YE 2006) Stupid Girls -- Pink (#13 -- peak Mar. 4) (#96 -- YE 2006) Honky Tonk Badonkadonk -- Trace Adkins (#30 -- peak Jan. 14) Stuntin’ Like My Daddy -- Birdman & Lil Wayne (#21 -- peak Nov. 18) What Hurts The Most -- Rascal Flatts (#6 -- peak Apr. 29) (#26 -- YE 2006) King Without A Crown -- Matisyahu (#28 -- peak Mar. 25)*

25. Chasing Cars -- Snow Patrol (#5 -- peak Oct. 14) (#29 -- YE 2006)* 24. Ridin’ -- Chamillionaire Featuring Krayzie Bone (#1 -- peak Jun. 3) (#8 -- YE 2006) 23. White & Nerdy -- “Weird Al” Yankovic (#9 -- peak Oct. 21) 22. Unwritten -- Natasha Bedingfield (#5 -- peak Apr. 29) (#6 -- YE 2006) 21. It’s Goin’ Down -- Yung Joc (#3 -- peak Jun. 24) (#18 -- YE 2006) 20. I Write Sins Not Tragedies -- Panic! At The Disco (#7 -- peak Aug. 26) (#20 -- YE 2006)* 19. Rompe -- Daddy Yankee (#24 -- peak Apr. 15) (#74 -- YE 2006) 18. Hips Don’t Lie -- Shakira Featuring Wyclef Jean (#1 -- peak Jun. 17) (#5 -- YE 2006) 17. Crazy -- Gnarls Barkley (#2 -- peak Jul. 22) (#7 -- YE 2006)* 16. Dani California -- Red Hot Chili Peppers (#6 -- peak May 27) (#23 -- YE 2006)* 15. So Sick -- Ne-Yo (#1 -- peak Mar. 18) (#17 -- YE 2006) 14. Call Me When You’re Sober -- Evanescence (#10 -- peak Sep. 9) (#77 -- YE 2006)* 13. Jesus, Take The Wheel -- Carrie Underwood (#20 -- peak Mar. 25) (#78 -- YE 2006) 12. Buttons -- The Pussycat Dolls Featuring Snoop Dogg (#3 -- peak Sep. 23) (#15 -- YE 2006) 11. SOS -- Rihanna (#1 -- peak May 13) (#19 -- YE 2006) 10. What You Know -- T.I. (#3 -- peak Apr. 22) (#47 -- YE 2006) 9. Miss Murder -- AFI (#24 -- peak Jun. 24)* 8. Dance, Dance -- Fall Out Boy (#9 -- peak Jan. 14) (#33 -- YE 2006)* 7. Black Horse and the Cherry Tree -- KT Tunstall (#20 -- peak Jun. 10) (#57 -- YE 2006)* 6b. Over My Head (Cable Car) -- The Fray (#8 -- peak Jun. 3) (#13 -- YE 2006)* 6a. How To Save A Life -- The Fray (#3 -- peak Oct. 7) (#27 -- YE 2006)* 5. Here It Goes Again -- OK Go (#38 -- peak Sep. 23)* 4. Promiscuous -- Nelly Furtado Featuring Timbaland (#1 -- peak Jul. 8) (#3 -- YE 2006) 3b. My Love -- Justin Timberlake Featuring T.I. (#1 -- peak Nov. 11) (#61 -- YE 2006) (#26 -- YE 2007) 3a. Sexyback -- Justin Timberlake (#1 -- peak Sep. 9) (#9 -- YE 2006) (#63 -- YE 2007) 2. When You Were Young -- The Killers (#14 -- peak Oct. 21)* 1. Temperature -- Sean Paul (#1 -- peak Apr. 1) (#2 -- YE 2006)

Albums Worth Checking Out: FutureSex/LoveSounds -- Justin Timberlake Back To Black -- Amy Winehouse St. Elsewhere -- Gnarls Barkley Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not -- Arctic Monkeys Modern Times -- Bob Dylan Hell Hath No Fury -- Clipse Food & Liquor -- Lupe Fiasco The Black Parade --- My Chemical Romance I'm Not Dead -- Pink B'Day -- Beyoncé Alright, Still -- Lily Allen 10,000 Days -- Tool The Sweet Escape -- Gwen Stefani Wolfmother -- Wolfmother 3121 -- Prince Stadium Arcadium -- Red Hot Chili Peppers Loose -- Nelly Furtado Costello Music -- The Fratellis

The Bottom of the Pile: We Run This -- Missy Elliott (#48 -- peak May 20) Bat Country -- Avenged Sevenfold (#60 -- peak Jan. 14)* Hypnotize -- System of a Down (#57 -- peak Jan. 14)* Kerosene -- Miranda Lambert (#61 -- peak Feb. 25) The Ghost Of You -- My Chemical Romance (#84 -- peak Jan. 14)* Chicken Noodle Soup -- Webstar and Young B featuring the Voice of Harlem (#45 -- peak Oct. 21) Our Country -- John Mellencamp (#88 -- peak Nov. 11) Love Me Or Hate Me (F**k You!!!!) -- Lady Sovereign (#45 -- peak Nov. 18) Hate (I Really Don't Like You) -- Plain White T’s (#68 -- peak Nov. 25)* The Kill (Bury Me) -- 30 Seconds To Mars (#65 -- peak Sep. 23)* Kick Push -- Lupe Fiasco (#78 -- peak Jun. 24) Touch The Sky -- Kanye West Featuring Lupe Fiasco (#42 -- peak Mar. 25) Coming Undone -- Korn (#79 -- peak Jul. 8)* Steady, As She Goes -- The Raconteurs (#54 -- peak Sep. 23)* Sorry -- Madonna (#58 -- peak Mar. 18) In The Sun -- Michael Stipe (#69 -- peak Feb. 25)* Black Sweat -- Prince (#60 -- peak Mar. 11) Goodbye For Now -- P.O.D. (#48 -- peak Feb. 11)* Gold Lion -- Yeah Yeah Yeahs (#88 -- peak Apr. 15)* Wings of a Butterfly -- HiM (#87 -- peak Mar. 18)* Every Day Is Exactly The Same -- Nine Inch Nails (#56 -- peak Apr. 22)* The Diary of Jane -- Breaking Benjamin (#50 -- peak Aug. 19)* The Pick of Destiny -- Tenacious D (#78 -- peak Nov. 4)* Canadian Idiot -- Weird Al Yankovic (#82 -- peak Oct. 21)* Who I Am Hates Who I’ve Been -- Relient K (#58 -- peak Mar. 4)*

Alternative songs are the ones starred.

#2006 #00s #2000s #top 25 #00s music #topforty

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kiss-my-freckle · 5 years ago

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Prints & DNA

Only going by what’s shown on-screen

1x1 Didn’t run Red’s DNA, Red’s prints matched 1x2 Red’s DNA from a scotch glass, results thrown away 1x6 Didn’t run Tom’s prints or DNA 1x6 Prints on Victor Fokin murder weapon, not in AFIS 1x10 Cooper said he ran & matched Red’s DNA. I believe he lied 3x11 Liz confirmed pregnant 3x12 Liz bought a pregnancy test, threw it away (3 weeks ago) 4x4 Pete runs DNA from the bones through CODIS - Ian Garvey 4x5 Alexander Kirk’s DNA report confirmed biological father 4x7 Kirk’s hospital DNA tests confirmed not the biological father 4x8 Kirk’s Doctor and Odette confirmed not the biological father 4x18 Prints on Diane Fowler’s record brush, not in AFIS 4x22 Red’s DNA from Seaduke evidence confirmed biological father 5x9 Christopher came back to life to save Scottie 5x22 Red’s DNA confirmed on the bones, imposter reveal 6x4 Red’s prints scanned upon prison intake, didn’t run his DNA 6x9 Katarina framed Red for U.S.S. Gideon using his prints 6x18 Ressler runs Dom’s prints through AFIS - Townsend Directive

#Rederina #Anti-Tom Keen #Anti-Keen2

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marjaystuff · 6 years ago

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Elise Cooper’s Interview with James Rollins

Crucible by James Rollins reunites the Sigma Force team in this thrilling story. Released just after the holidays, this plot is anything but merry. But readers of Rollins are used to a roller coaster ride where they get plenty of action blended with cutting edge science, historical mystery, and the latest technologies.

It is Christmas Eve where the Sigma Force friends are gathering to have a joyous holiday. But Monk Kokkalis and Gray Pierce find their holiday spirits quickly dampened after returning to Monk’s house in Maryland. The Christmas Tree is toppled, Kat, the computer expert of the group, is lying unconscious on the kitchen floor, and Monk’s two young girls have been kidnapped, along with Gray’s pregnant wife, Seichan. This happened shortly after a massacre in Portugal where five women scientists have been brutally massacred. Also missing is Mara Silviera who was making advances in artificial intelligence research. She is on the run, protecting herself and her computer’s life. Gray, Monk, and company set out to find Mara after realizing that she is the key to finding their loved ones and also to saving humanity,.

The action keeps moving at a brisk pace in this latest novel that is crafted around plausible scientific data. Rollins has a knack for weaving together new and old as well as warning readers what can happen in the not too distant future.

Elise Cooper: Artificial intelligence stories are as believable as alien stories?

James Rollins: I made sure to read the contrary view that question if AI is a threat. There are certain hurdles that will need to be crossed to bring about a self-aware human-like AI. Their position is that this technology will happen. Of those two dozen experts I interviewed the consensus is that it will happen in five to ten years because of the rapid advances. Two of the researchers thought we have already gone there. It is not an if, but a when.

EC: What about the non-believers who think this is pure science fiction?

JR: I use as an example, the story of AlphaGo, the first computer program to defeat a human. It played the board game, Go. The next generation self-taught itself in three days and also beat his big brother, the original version of the program. I think this book is written for the non-believers, and I did not write it like the movie “Terminator.”

EC: How did you get the idea for the story?

JR: I have an idea box. If I see an interesting article I put it in my box. Over the years I have collected more and more articles about AI. After reading the book, The Final Invention, the story idea popped into my head.

EC: You seem to have a good track record predicting what can happen?

JR: I would remind people that in my book, The Bone Labyrinth, which came out a few years ago, I warned how the Chinese researchers genetically altered the human gene at the sperm level. We just read last month: they did just that. What sounded like science fiction when this book came out has come true today. I think we will see that with Crucible, and readers will understand I raised the red flag. We need to make sure we produce a friendly AI.

EC: Are humans being taken over or helped by technology?

JR: I show this with the prosthetic arm of Monk that is controlled by his brain implants. This technology is out there. Currently they are working on prosthetic skin that can determine the difference between soft/hard, and cold/hot. The concern is that the brain controlled prosthetics can be hacked into and someone’s limbs can be controlled by another person. It is not much different than hacking into and controlling someone’s car.

EC: This is not a very happy Christmas story?

JR: I put the line in the book by one of Monk’s young daughters, “We’re we bad…Did Santa take us instead of giving us presents?” It is as much a Christmas story as “Die Hard.” The heroes of the book are put through a very brutal Christmas before they get a happy ending.

EC: Why compare the witch trials to AI scientists?

JR: The witch trials were the persecution of women who questioned the natural world so they had to be killed. Women in the sciences today are also questioning the natural world and although they are not killed they face a form of persecution. Many are listed at the bottom of research projects and this year a woman finally won the Nobel Prize in Physics, the first women to do it in 113 years.

EC: Locked-in syndrome is really scary?

JR: Yes, when a person is basically awake, aware at times, but can’t move their body. This is the most terrifying thing in the world. Many who have this can hear but cannot move. They are fully aware of what is going on but cannot respond. It is like being locked in a prison. What is hopeful are the new functional MRIs that can map the way people think and picture things. It is a form of mind reading and a way to communicate with people in a coma.

EC: How would you describe the AI, Eve?

JR: She matured from a narrow AI to AFI then eventually to ASI. I based her on the book Flowers for Algernon that was made into the movie “Charley.” Over the course of time his vocabulary increases multifold. He surpasses intellectually the average person’s language. There is math on one of the pages of my book to show how Eve goes beyond scientifically the human understanding, just as Charley had done in the movie. I gave her a double personality where she is split between dark and light. The one cared for by Mara nurtures and protects humans, while the other one, which was stolen, mirrors the torture done to her.

EC: There are three types of AI?

JR: We are in narrow AI currently, such as Siri or self-driving cars. What everyone is pursuing is AGI that have computers self-aware of themselves with some human level of intelligence that can differentiate. ASI will advance far beyond our intelligence and accelerates rapidly. I wanted Eve to start with a cold and calculating intelligence and then mature as she is trained in different types of environments.

EC: You refer to Valya as the Snow Queen. Did you ever read that book?

JR: It was written by Hans Christian Anderson and is a very disturbing story. It is about a brutal woman who tortures children. The early Fairy Tales told to children are pretty darn gruesome. We forget that because Disney cleaned up a lot of these stories. In my story, the Snow Queen is not based on the Disney character in “Frozen.”

EC: You also use the story as a warning?

JR: Remember when the Internet came out it was supposed to create a rosy world where we are all connected and can come together. Instead, we are more isolated and hide behind screens that allow the worst of ourselves to shine. What sounded like a great boon to humanity is actually the direct opposite. The same is true for AI. I hope people are not wearing rosy glasses.

EC: What do you want readers to get out of this novel?

JR: The whole point of the book is to make sure there are boundaries and that any AI has empathy. Just like Putin said, whoever controls it will control the world. It is probably true that whoever is the first will have a huge economic advantage. Government and corporations want to be the first and are not worrying about the consequences.

EC: Why no reference to Sigma on the cover?

JR: There was a lot of debate. I thought it should have been put on it. Some thought by putting it on there, new readers may be stopped from picking up the book; even though I write a book that can stand on its own. Just FYI: Amazon and Barnes & Noble have different editions, each with different endings and do refer to it as a Sigma team novel.

EC: Your next book?

JR: It will be an anthology of all my short stories. I also include a 110-page Tucker and Kane novella. It will be out in the summer. The next Sigma will be out in January 2020.

THANK YOU!!

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bobbystompy · 8 years ago

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My Top 132 Songs Of 2016

Previously: 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011

Haven’t started writing this yet, but after peaking at 73 songs in 2013, then dipping to 67 and 71 the last two years, it is unbelievable we hit 132 (blame Spotify’s easy ability to save music and create playlists).

I debated skipping around, but nahhh, let’s get it.

As always, the criteria/info:

This is a list of songs I personally like, not ones I’m saying are the “best” from the year; more subjective than objective

No artist is featured more than once

If it comes down to choosing between two songs for an artist, I try to give more weight to a single or featured track; it’s not the ultimate factor, but it typically makes sharing the music easier

Speaking of... each song on the list is linked in the title if you wanna check out some for yourself

BOBBY VS. THE SONGS, FID

132) Kendrick Lamar - “untitled 07 | levitate”

Yeah, not gonna do the thing everyone else is doing where we pretend Kendrick is making amazing music with 2016′s throwaway release. I had to trudge through so much weird-and-not-fun stuff on “Butterfly” last year; it’s time to be done with it. Kendrick is obviously a top flight MC and could end up as an all-time great, but, like, come on -- this is from an EP of b-sides, it’s (probably) the best song... and it’s still not that memorable. How this record is ended up on so many year end best of lists mystified me.

131) Young Thug - “Drippin'”

Thugger spazzin’ around.

130) 2 Chainz f/ Lil Wayne - “Gotta Lotta”

Eh, this song’s aight; beat good, kinda sticks with you sometimes. Funny it should be listed as “2 Chainz & Lil Wayne” -- peep the very creative album art -- yet ended up as a 2 Chainz solo feature (on technicality alone) due to Weezy’s ongoing label issues. These two play off each other well.

129) Real Friends - “Mokena”

This song is good, but it’s... a little too angst-y at points.

128) Iggy Pop - “American Valhalla”

The best compliment I can give this song is it sounds unlike anything I’ve ever heard. Not a fun listen every time, but if you consciously immerse, it can definitely work.

127) The Avett Brothers - “Ain't No Man”

Good mom song; feels like fun. passed the torch with this one.

126) Paul Simon - “Horace And Pete”

Louis C.K. got Simon to write a theme song for his dramedy “Horace and Pete”, and the diminutive one came through in spades. I sometimes like to shoehorn in the f-word when singing along to help break up some of the seriousness. But yeah, this feels like a ‘60s classic even though it’s essentially brand new.

125) Frank Ocean - “Nikes”

The A.V. Club summed up my opinion of the Frank Ocean record with one swift line: “On first listen, Blonde feels like a Cracker Jack box with no toy in it.”

Amen.

Don’t get it twisted: I love Frank, still believe in Frank, and of course consider “channel ORANGE” to (objectively) be one of the greatest albums of this generation, but “Blonde”? It didn’t connect. Somewhat reluctantly, I picked this song for the list because it was the first one I heard, and it stands as a symbol of the initial hope which faded over a few listens. But when Ocean breaks in after all the high pitched singing, it does feel like a moment.

Also, this line will always stick: “RIP Pimp C / RIP Trayvon, that n**** look just like me”.

124) DJ Khaled f/ Jay-Z & Future - “I Got The Keys”

DJ Khaled is a talentless jackass, annoyingly ad libbing his way into our brains. Unfortunately, my personal favorite artist chooses to make listenable songs with him. Alas, No. 124. Jay slaying with “My wife Beyoncé, I brag different”. Future... being Future.

123) Slim Thug - “King”

The always underrated Slim Thug, hangin’ out and tellin’ you about his life. Also lifting weights. Minus points for using the Pimp C sample Jigga used in “FuckWithMeYouKnowIGotIt” only three years ago.

122) American Football - “Give Me The Gun”

This band will never hit for me as much as it does with cool/laid back guitar people, but I enjoyed this tune. And I wish my friend Luke were here to listen with me.

121) Craig Finn - “Screenwriters School”

Craig Finn, as slow and chill as you’ll ever hear him.

120) Mikey Erg - “1001 Smashed Motel Rooms”

Solid verses, big chorus, and you can almost, like, tell he’s bald by the voice (not an insult).

119) Cassadee Pope - “Summer”

The former Hey Monday singer goes in on the strongest season.

118) The Cool Kids - “Connect 4″

It’s very difficult to write about The Cool Kids without using the word “cool”, but man, these guys have such a great interplay. It’s not two separate dudes taking turns; it’s a glorious intertwine with true chemistry.

117) Third Eye Blind - “Cop vs. Phone Girl"

This is our first song I’d call an imperative listen. I say this because you need you to hear Stephan Jenkins sing “Why's it so hard to say ‘Black Lives Matter’? / Doesn't mean that you're anti-white / Take it from me, I'm super fucking white”.

He remains bulletproof.

116) Wakrat - “Sober Addiction”

I was positive this song was a jam after one listen, but I’ve listened 3-4 times since, and it’s gotten progressively worse each time. If that’s not enough of a hook, the singer is the Rage Against The Machine bassist.

115) Owl Meet Rabbit - “This Side Of The Nut House”

A Christmas song with a “National Lampoon” reference.

114) YG f/ Drake & Kamaiyah - “Why You Always Hatin?”

Still a little unclear why Drake keeps agreeing to be in YG songs. His verse references sliding into DMs.

113) Yo Gotti f/ Nicki Minaj - “Down In The DM (Remix)”

...and we also have a track titled after it. My biggest memory with this song will be feeling sick in an Uber from Chicago to Forest Park on, like, a weekday morning but still mustering the nerve to laugh at the chorus, which is egregious enough before the “bridge” of “Snapchat me that pussy, if it’s cool”. Seriously. RIP, music.

112) The Dirty Nil - “Zombie Eyed”

This rips.

111) Microwave - “Homebody”

A good song that pulls you in further when the distortion gets bigger in the chorus.

110) AJJ - “Terrifyer”

Some days, you're a member of Queen Other days, you're a Kottonmouth King Some days, you're Emilio Estevez Other days, you're Charlie Sheen

109) Band of Horses - “Casual Party”

These guys are all smooth harmonies.

108) Fitz and the Tantrums - “HandClap”

This song is pretty unoffensive, but it’s catchy enough to work.

107) Nothing - “The Dead Are Dumb”

“The Dead Are Dumb” -or- if the “Twin Peaks” theme actually went somewhere.

106) Car Seat Headrest - “Unforgiving Girl (She's Not An)”

This band kinda reminds me of The Strokes; just a liiiiiitle less New York street and a tad more indie.

105) Vince Staples f/ Kilo Kish - “Loco”

Vince got into the news this year after defending the mom who had an extreme distaste for his lyrics in 2015′s “Norf Norf”. Let’s just say she also would not enjoy this one. His interplay with Kilo is on point.

104) GTA f/ Vince Staples - “Little Bit of This”

‘ey, it’s Vince again, and this one is stronger; somehow topping the high energy of “Loco” with another level of fire-spitting.

103) The Living End - “Monkey”

The Aussies broke a 13 year album hiatus with 2016′s “Shift”, and “Monkey”, one of the lead singles, did not disappoint. There will always be a place for songwriting like this.

102) Vic Mensa - “16 Shots”

This song is so raw and street and real. Sometimes you hear something, and it just cuts like a knife. I’m talking a “Straight Outta Compton” level here. Mensa has thoughts on police brutality in Chicago, and he ain’t holding back. He played this live on Kimmel, and his solemn-yet-wired energy could not be ignored.

101) Boyd & The Stahfools - “Summerly”

Some might say BATS sold out with this very commercial ode to Pollyanna’s raspberry wheat ale, but when you consume as much of it as those boys do, I say it’s legit art.

100) Macklemore & RL f/ J. Woods - “White Privelege II”

This is kinda like the Third Eye Blind message on Black Lives Matter, only the exact opposite. It’s... quite heavy handed, and while I like that from Macklemore, I realize a lot do not. All I can say in his defense is, like, man, it really seems like this dude is trying, and he certainly attempted to involve the right people. If that’s not good enough for you, I get it.

(Plus, he kinda digs on Iggy; throwing y’all a bone, just take it.)

99) Conor Oberst - “A Little Uncanny”

Oberst sounds a ton like Bob Dylan in this one, but he also sounds a ton like Oberst. It’s kinda like two massive folk tidal waves crashing into each other.

98) Cymbals Eat Guitars - “Have A Heart”

CEG -- despite a terrific name -- have always made music that felt obtuse, but this is the first song that felt ready-made to, like, give normal people a window to check out the band.

97) Green Day- “Bang Bang”

Everyone wants to over-analyze Green Day. But if you don’t do that, you’ll enjoy this as a fast and easy pop-punk song. It plays at my gym sometimes, and I always kinda assume people are annoyed by it. To quote Josh from “Heavyweights”, this pleases me.

96) James Vincent McMorrow - “Get Low”

Chill/cool.

95) The Flatliners - “Hang My Head”

This won’t end up in their all-time Top 5, but it’s a good song, and it was nice to hear from this band in 2016.

94) AFI - “Snow Cats”

This would sound right at home as a mid-tempo number on “Sing The Sorrow”.

93) Jay Electronica - “#TBE The Curse Of Mayweather”

Oof, what a shitty title. So, this is Jay Elect’s “blast back” at Kendrick Lamar after K-Dot slaughtered the rap game (and shit, maybe rap itself) in 2013′s “Control”. But here’s the thing... “Control” was “Control”. No one is topping “Control”. No one is successfully going at “Control”. That’s in its own stratosphere. Was it fun to see the enigmatic MC try? Sure. Did it make any type of impact? Eh, no. But I did enjoy the fake Kendrick voice.

92) The Dyes - “Loudmouth”

Out of every song so far, I’ve found this the toughest to write about. My favorite part is probably the way the guitar and bass play off each other, but my second favorite part has to be how sinister and swaggery it sounds.

91) Big Sean - “Get My Shit Together”

Maaaan, I missed Big Sean in 2016 after an extremely fruitful 2015. The few times he did surface -- on other people’s songs -- he stayed in form, so you’ll see more of him as this goes.

It feel like young Ray Allen with the white twins

90) Emeli Sandé f/ Jay Electronica & Áine Zion - “Garden”

Serene, with a fitting Jay Elect verse.

89) Yumi Zouma - “Haji Awali”

Chiller than a Coleman.

88) Jimmy Eat World - “Get Right”

We’ve talked about this before, but JEW typically have sunny day feel good songs, or nighttime darkness-type songs; this one’s the latter.

87) Into It. Over It. - “No EQ”

Sooooo good; melodic and percussive and soulful. It tugs at your heart just the right amount.

86) The Front Bottoms - “Joanie”

This really, really sounds like a Front Bottoms song, which I mostly mean as a compliment but also... am slightly worried about as it pertains to future material.

85) The Lumineers - “Ophelia”

Would I like to steal this song and give it to a girl and say I wrote it to mega impress her? Uh, duh. Piano for dayz.

84) Viola Beach - “Swings & Waterslides”

Kinda a lighter version of the Arctic Monkeys; mostly the singing... but in a big way.

83) The Game - “92 Bars”

It’s sposta be a Meek Mill diss, but it’s basically Game freestyling about a buncha stuff over a workable beat. Some real solid lines, too. My favorites:

- “I can kill you in four bars, that's a Kit Kat”

- “Let me tell you who suck, like banana Now and Laters” (haha)

- “Give me Left Eye back, take Fetty Wap and the Raiders”

- “Gum by them Yeezys, I'm the 6'5" Eazy” (MVP bar?)

- “This the Golden State and my shooters ain't on no hoop shit” (coooold)

82) OMI - “Hula Hoop”

I’mma give the write up here to my girl Alyssa Pawola, via her husband, Jeff Pawola (who watched the video after she was told the song reminded me of him):

She agreed with you!

She says it's because the singer dances similar to me and is a little goofy (compliment?), whereas all the girls around him are really good dancers (thus, her).

81) Joey Purp f/ Chance The Rapper - “Girls @”

If you’re not all-in on this song by the seven or eight second mark, then you can probably pass. HOWEVA, Chance and his 3 hat appear later on, so we call that incentive, young Bucky.

80) Vinnie Caruana - “I Don’t Believe You”

The feels like a last-song-on-the-record kinda track.

/looks up if it was the last song on the record

...8 of 10!

(Close enough.)

79) No Lenox - “Leave”

This song is heart and blood, with a rare use of “fucking” from Chris Trott.

78) JANK - “Versace Summer”

JANK is interesting. All of their artwork and motif make them seem like stoners (and maybe they are), but the music itself is so technical and synced. Like, you know they’re trying and very capable. So as weird as seeing “Versace” next to “JANK” might look, maybe it’s this high end brand that truly does fit their sound over, say, Faygo. But yeah, by the time this song is done, even though they’ve played the chorus a handful of times, you probably wouldn’t mind a handful more.

77) White Lung - “Dead Weight”

This band is just the coolest shit. They always go so, so hard, but this time, there’s a guitar playing mega bad ass leads to help even things out. I would believe you if you told me the guitar was also shooting lasers.

76) Descendents - “Without Love”

Like The Living End, the Descendents have also been out of the ‘releasing new records’ game for over a decade. And as jokey of a band as they’ve been in the past, this song has some of the same earnestness and vulnerability we heard on 2004′s “Cool To Be You”.

75) Andrew Bird - “Roma Fade”

For sure a candidate for coolest song title of 2016.

74) LVL UP - “Hidden Driver”

This is too indie for its own good.

73) A$AP Ferg f/ Big Sean - “World Is Mine”

Mostly included for Sean. Sorry, Ferg -- but you did give him the hook and a verse.

72) AM Taxi - “Enough To Feel Like Enough”

Like The Front Bottoms song from earlier, this AM Taxi song is very AM Taxi. But I ain’t ever worried about AM Taxi.

71) Rozwell Kid - “Baby’s First Sideburns”

Not sure I’ve ever heard a weak song by this band.

70) PARTYNEXTDOOR f/ Drake - “Come And See Me”

If you wanted to upset your love interest in 2016, hitting him or her with the “I hear you talkin' 'bout ‘we’ a lot, oh, you speak French now?” line was probably a good place to start.

69) Tancred - “Bed Case”

Kinda ‘90s, right? Nice.

68) Thrice - “Blood On The Sand”

Moderate take alert: I purport the Thrice singer sounds like Dave Grohl in this song, particularly during the chorus. Come at me with your agrees or disagrees.

67) MakeWar - “Ode”

The dude on this band’s album cover always reminds me of Rafa Nadal, which is weird, as I’d argue he looks -20% like Rafa Nadal. This song has a downcast energy. I think I wanna see these dudes live.

66) PKEW PKEW PKEW - “Asshole Pandemic”

Party punk, wooooo. You will not find a more circular 2016 lyric than “Why’s this fuckin’ dick gotta be such a cock?”

65) Adam Friedman f/ Mike Posner - “Lemonade”

blue eyes >>> brown eyes, Adam.

64) Matt and Kim - “Let’s Run Away”

As always-always-always, Matt and Kim are having more fun than we are.

63) Ariana Grande f/ Nicki Minaj - “Side To Side”

As recently as 40 days ago, I was emaling my friends about this track with the very loaded “I’m not sure this song is good at all”.

My buddy Brian’s response will probably jar you like it jarred me:

Gotta say, I have a soft spot for this song. I think the beat is pretty banging and the subject matter is a plus. Like, we do have to acknowledge that she's walking side to side because she's been having sex with dude all night and day and now her vagina is too sore to walk like a regular person. I can dig that.

Well then.

62) With You. f/ Vince Staples - “Ghost”

Weird music video, but definitely my favorite version of Vince that we got in 2016.

61) Fifth Harmony f/ Ty Dolla $ign - “Work From Home”

I was listening to this song with my girlfriend the other day, and I said something like “This song could really use a rap cameo”. Enter: the very forgettable Ty Dolla $ign. Still, a fun, sexty song. Also, I believe this is our first -- and only? -- song to have over one billion YouTube views (!!!).

60) Masked Intruder - “If Only”

This made it over other MI candidates due to the Winnie Cooper reference.

59) Fat Joe, Remy Ma, Jay-Z f/ French Montana & Infared - “All The Way Up (Remix)”

An easy chorus for sports teams to co-opt, as well as a “fuck off me” Jay verse. He bucks “Lemonade”, ups his products for the infinite time, and drops the mic after:

The OG's say, "Hov, how high is high enough?" I said "'till we eye and eye with the higher ups" Until we let 'em know, we ain't those n****s Until our baby's showered in gold, n**** Blue looking like Pac in the tub David LaChapelle levels of not giving a fuck Prince left his masters where they safe and sound We never gonna let the elevator take him down

Man.

Worry not, cockroach French is around to muck things up. It’s salvaged by a real dope Remy Ma verse, though.

58) Al Scorch - “Everybody Out”

The perfect soundtrack for escaping a busted speakeasy.

57) Tegan and Sara - “Dying To Know”

This song makes the list because the “Boyfriend” chorus was lazy as hell; it was like the “Closer” chorus, version 2.0. Conversely, “Dying To Know” has real emotion and a big, legit chorus.

56) Bloc Party - “The Good News”

A song I fear no one will like but me... but hey, my list.

55) New Lenox - “It’s Its Own Thing”

This is a song I wrote (and drummed on) about how winter sucks. It’s also about Chicago, being alone, finding someone, and using Banner Pilot to get through tough, frozen times. Shout out to Dave Rokos for singing the majority of the leads and Chris Trott for producing.

54) Julien Baker - “Photobooth”

I became enamored with the voice and talent of 21-year-old phenom Julien Baker throughout 2016, and though she released her debut album in 2015 (ALL TRACKS DISQUALIFIED, CHICA), she did drop this Death Cab cover for The A.V. Club this year, so I found a way to get her in the door. Now that we’re all here, I’ll give the floor to Deadspin’s Tom Ley:

What I did not expect was to like this version of the song so much that I now become visibly disgusted when I try to go back and listen to the original. Like all the good, thoughtful teens of my era, I spent a lot of time listening to Death Cab in my car, and I used to nod along pleasantly when “Photobooth” came on. But now I’m just angry I ever wasted any time listening to a lesser version of the song. In my opinion, Death Cab should just turn their entire catalog over to Julien Baker and be done with it.

Ironically, I will be seeing Baker open up for Death Cab singer Ben Gibbard later this January.

53) Desiigner - “Panda”

This is a bad song... but it’s incredibly listenable (for about 30 seconds, only it keeps going for a normal amount of time). It got upped on Kanye’s album, which likely sparked public interest in this mumble rap disaster. Literally the best thing you can say is it’s a Future rip off -- and he’s not all that great to begin with.

/sadly looks up YouTube view total

190 million; Fifth Harmony is like “pshhhh”.

Yet, “Panda” somehow endures. It feels fresh, saying “panda” repatedly never seems to tire, and it burned down the dance floor at Brian Pawola’s wedding this summer; old and young alike wanted to be pandas.

Now is also probably a good time to disclose my Halloween costume...

52) Cloud Nothings - “Modern Act”

Me, blogging about my excitement for the new Cloud Nothings album that drops in three weeks.

51) A Tribe Called Quest f/ André 3000 - “Kids” (no link)

Welcome back.

50) Run The Jewels - “Talk To Me”

Haven’t listened to RTJ3, but it’s only been out for, like, 10 days. Still, this song is as reliably dope as they’ve always been. I also felt compelled to include ATCQ and RTJ in these spots to ensure they were not above “Panda”.

Brave men didn't die face down in the Vietnam muck so I could not style on you

49) Kevin Devine - “No History”

My aforementioned buddy Dave Rokos likes this song because of its big chorus, and I’d also like to use it as a selling point.

48) Kings Of Leon - “Reverend”

For as big as Kings Of Leon are, I haven’t really heard this song anywhere.

47) Rae Sremmurd f/ Gucci Mane - “Black Beatles”

I always thought Rae Sremmurd were kinda meh (at best) and Gucci Mane was an idiot’s idiot (at absolute best), but this song’s a banger -- and this conclusion was reached prior to it going viral with the Mannequin Challenges. Speaking of... my 2016 Black Wednesday:

A video posted by Bobby L (@bobbystompy) on Nov 23, 2016 at 7:15pm PST

46) Grimes - “Kill V. Maim”

This song is straight out of a video game or action movie. Like, get ready to fight a boss or something.

45) Dave Hause - “With You”

Heartfelt ballad that feels sprawled out across a few genres.

44) Robin Thicke f/ Nas - “Deep”

What do we get when we combine a dude with no credibility and feature a dude with tons of credibility? A sneaky sizzling collab. And if you still got beef, remember: it ain’t that deep.

43) Against Me! - “Rebecca”

A lot of people have had this AM! song on their year end lists, and I wasn’t seeing it, but after a few extra spins, it became pretty clear this was thee highlight from the album. It’s got this kinetic energy, spinning out of control while somehow maintaining perfect balance.

42) Restorations - “See”

Restorations make spectrum songs; ones you listen to while the world moves in slow motion at an airport reunion, while time stops after a death, or stretches out on an overly contemplative Sunday evening. What I’m saying is, these dudes control the clocks.

41) Aaron West and the Roaring Twenties - “Green Like The G Train, Green Like Sea Foam”

Soupy from The Wonder Years’ solo project keeps -- PUN INTENDED -- chuggin’ along with this one. He’s singing in the same gear he always sings in, but the chorus and always trusty synced rhythms that break it in two definitely get me goin’.

40) Titus Andronicus - “No Future”

Titus Andronicus covering Craig Finn, and they add just the right amount of anguish to the proceedings. There’s such an obvious-yet-still-clever element to the “February’s about as long as it is wide” line.

39) Rihanna - “Needed Me” (NSFW-ish video)

This song is good -- Mustard on the beat, natch -- but RiRi murdering a dude in the back of a strip club in the video might be better.

38) Jeff Rosenstock - “Festival Song”

The former Bomb the Music Industry! singer dipped his toe in a few genres throughout his 2016 album “Worry”, though I’m not sure how to describe this one; it’s kind of spastic punk with some synthy keyboards and a catchy outro, strong enough to throw two capable haymakers as the song enters its final minute.

37) The Steve Adamyk Band f/ Colleen Green - “Carry On”

I hadn’t even heard of this band a month ago, but “Carry On” has quickly become a favorite; toe-tappin' rock.

36) The Naked And Famous - “Higher”

This band seems like they’d have -- there is no better word I’m so sorry -- epic concerts. Also, don’t miss out on the “In The Air Tonight”-sounding fills.

35) Phantogram - “You Don’t Get Me High Anymore”

Brilliant drum samples, drug stuff, and a pop sensibility; you seriously could not ask for more.

34) Child Bite - “Vermin Mentality”

This song is quite harsh, and I imagine if you had individual approval ratings for all 132 of these songs, it would very easily finish in the bottom five. That said, I think it rocks, and it reminds me of the Dead Kennedys’ best scenario.

33) Joyce Manor - “Last You’ve Heard Of Me”

Sure, I reacted like a mom when I saw Barry’s new neck tattoo in the video, but the song was the redeemer. Recommended if you like the Everclear “Santa Monica” intro, marijuana makes you tired, or you’ve found love in the parking lot outside a karaoke bar.

32) Cassino - “Alabama Song”

If you did happen to listen to “Vermin Mentality”, this’ll probably be the song to get that taste out of your mouth. I love its overall laid back vibe, even if what it’s about remains unclear after a good chunk of listens.

31) Direct Hit! - “Was It The Acid?”

This one lost several punk points after the singer revealed he did not use hard drugs. But still.

30) Bayside - “Pretty Vacant”

My buddy Brian Pawola doesn’t like this song because of the teenage-y “I can’t believe this is my life, I’m pretty vacant all the time” chorus, but that’s precisely why I do. Also, apparently the album it’s off of is called “Vacancy”, haha.

29) PUP - “Familiar Patterns”

Feels weird not picking a single, but this one was always my favorite; the same percussive power, shreddy singing, and unrelenting noise we got in their debut a few years ago. Also funny: they named their 2016 album “The Dream Is Over”, which is what the PUP singer’s doctor told him after diagnosing his vocal chord ailment.

28) Tokyo Police Club - “Not My Girl”

Sometimes, I wanna tell non-punk fans TPC is what all punk rock sounds like, because even though the band has more of a pop-indie element, they do seem like the genre’s best case scenario more often than not.

27) The Falcon - “If Dave Did It”

Feels like sacrilege picking a Dave Hause fronted track for my Falcon choice. After all, this is Brendan Kelly’s group, and after an EP and two full lengths, it’s Dave’s first ever time fronting a song in the band. But this song kept standing out. It also has a small drum solo, and even though basically all drum solos are bad, Neil Hennessy’s on the kit -- so you know you’re in good hands.

26) Chance The Rapper f/ 2 Chainz & Lil Wayne - “No Problem”

Chance’s “Coloring Book” was so positive and creative and multi-faceted that it feels a little wrong to pick a song that’s more traditional rap with typical guests, but it really is the best song, you know? For whatever reason, Lil Wayne’s nonchalant verse was my favorite, with his initial bars being the highlight:

I got problems bigger than these boys My deposits, they be on steroids Lord, free the Carter, n****s need the Carter Sacrificin' everything, I feel like Jesus Carter

But sure, we can also highlight funny 2 Chainz things:

- “Inside of the Maybach look like it came out of Ikea / Run shit like diarrhea” (oh my god)

- “Aye, aye, captain / I'm high, captain / I'm so high / Me and God dappin'” (haha)

Also, if you don’t raise-and-drop your arms for the “huh! huh!” part before the beat kicks in at the beginning after “lobby”, you’re a monster.

youtube

25) David Rokos - “Pacific Time”

Falling in lust with a California girl who has the keys to bomb ass hotel room overlooking the ocean? What self-deprecating heterosexual dude isn’t signing up for this?

24) NOFX - “Six Years On Dope”

Thrash punk, with Fat Mike and Eric Melvin divvying up the vocals after arguing to start the song. Here’s the July 2016 description I emailed to the gf:

So, the lead singer has kind of a flat, annoying voice, but then there's this guitarist who mostly does yell parts and not a lot of leads, but in this song, they both basically trade off yelling, and the guitar is blaring, and it just does not relent. They've released a million records at this point, but something about it feels so fresh. Like new blood has been infused into all of them.