#Benjamin Schaeffer

[lgbtqreads]

Spotlight on: 2024 Lammy Finalists for Best Anthology

Today on the site we’re shining the spotlight on the 2024 finalists for the Lambda Literary Award for Best Anthology! Anthologies are pretty near and dear to my heart, having edited five of them, and I’m thrilled to help showcase these editors, contributors, and volumes before the Lammy Awards take place on June 11th! 2 Trans 2 Furious: An Extremely Serious Journal of Transgender Street Racing…

[sasheneskywalker]

sashene's to read list

fiction

A Good Girl's Guide to Murder Series by Holly Jackson

A Song of Wraiths and Ruin Series by Roseanne A. Brown

Adam Binder Series by David R. Slayton

Age of the Five by Trudi Canavan

Alex Stern Series by Leigh Bardugo

Alone With You in the Ether by Olivie Blake

An Ember in the Ashes Series by Sabaa Tahir

An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon

Angel Mage by Garth Nix

Arc of a Scythe Series by Neal Shusterman

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

Babel: An Arcane History by R.F. Kuang

Between Earth and Sky Series by Rebecca Roanhorse

Bloodchild by Octavia E. Butler

Book of the Ancestor Series by Mark Lawrence

Camp by Lev A.C. Rosen

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

Centenal Cycle Series by Malka Ann Older

Circe by Madeline Miller

City of Nightmares Series by Rebecca Schaeffer

Craft Sequence Series by Max Gladstone

Crier's War Series by Nina Varela

Crown of Shards Series by Jennifer Estep

Discworld by Terry Pratchett

Dreamblood Series by N.K. Jemisin

Dune Series by Frank Herbert

Ender's Saga by Orson Scott Card

Exhalation by Ted Chiang

Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender

Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun by Jonny Garza Villa

Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley

French Letters Series by Felicia Davin

Gallant by V.E. Schwab

Gentleman Bastard Series by Scott Lynch

Girls of Paper and Fire Series by Natasha Ngan

Give the Dark My Love Series by Beth Revis

Great Cities Series by N.K. Jemisin

Hearts of Heroes Series by Molly J. Bragg

Hell's Library Series by A.J. Hackwith

Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots

Hex by Jenni Fagan

Hierarchy Series by James Islington

History Is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera

I Killed Zoe Spanos by Kit Frick

I Wish You All the Best by Mason Deaver

If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio

Imperial Radch Series by Ann Leckie

In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan

Iron Widow Series by Xiran Jay Zhao

Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-Joo

King of Scars Series by Leigh Bardugo

Kings, Queens, and In-Betweens by Tanya Boteju

Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo

Legendborn Series by Tracy Deonn

Letters of Enchantment Series by Rebecca Ross

Lizard Radio by Pat Schmatz

London Calling by Alexis Hall

Loveless by Alice Oseman

Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard Series by Rick Riordan

Malice Duology Series by Heather Walter

Market of Monsters Series by Rebecca Schaeffer

Metro Series by Dmitry Glukhovsky

Mischief & Matchmaking Series by Emma R. Alban

My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

Normal People by Sally Rooney

Notes of a Crocodile by Qiu Miaojin

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston

Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series by Rick Riordan

Perfect on Paper by Sophie Gonzales

Poison Study Seriesby Maria V. Snyder

Portrait of a Thief by Grace D. Li

Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

Renegades by Marissa Meyer

Rise of the Empress Series by Julie C. Dao

Sadie by Courtney Summers

Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel

Secondhand Origin Stories by Lee Blauersouth

Shades of Magic Series by V.E. Schwab

Six Crimson Cranes Series by Elizabeth Lim

Six of Crows Series by Leigh Bardugo

Starless by Jacqueline Carey

Suicide Notes by Michael Thomas Ford

Teixcalaan Series by Arkady Martine

The Adrien English Mysteries Series by Josh Lanyon

The Atlas by Olivie Blake

The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta

The Black Magician Trilogy by Trudi Canavan

The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood

The Book of Tea Series by Judy I. Lin

The Books of Ambha Series by Tasha Suri

The Broken Earth Series by N.K. Jemisin

The Burning Kingdoms Series by Tasha Suri

The Butterfly Assassin Series by Finn Longman

The Celestial Kingdom Duology Series by Sue Lynn Tan

The City of Fantome Series by Catherine Doyle

The Councillor Series by E.J. Beaton

The Craft Wars by Max Gladstone

The Daevabad Trilogy by S.A. Chakraborty

The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin

The Faithful and the Fallen Series by John Gwynne

The Folk of the Air Series by Holly Black

The Girls I've Been by Tess Sharpe

The Goblin Emperor Series by Katherine Addison

The Green Bone Saga by Fonda Lee

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

The Heroes of Olympus Series by Rick Riordan

The Inheritance Games Series by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

The Kane Chronicles Series by Rick Riordan

The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin

The Licanius Trilogy by James Islington

The Lightest Object in the Universe by Kimi Eisele

The Locked Tomb Series by Tamsyn Muir

The Lunar Chronicles Series by Marissa Meyer

The Midnight Girls by Alicia Jasinska

The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Ann Older

The Mistborn Saga by Brandon Sanderson

The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells

The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas by Ursula K. Le Guin

The Passing Playbook by Isaac Fitzsimons

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

The Poppy War Series by R.F. Kuang

The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

The Queens of Renthia Series by Sarah Beth Durst

The Radiant Emperor Series by Shelley Parker-Chan

The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

The Shadow and Bone Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo

The Singing Hills Cycle Series by Nghi Vo

The Six Deaths of the Saint by Alix E. Harrow

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

The Tarot Sequence Series by K.D. Edwards

The Trials of Apollo Series by Rick Riordan

The Vanished Birds by Simon Jimenez

The Wicker King by K. Ancrum

The Winnowing Flame Trilogy by Jen Williams

The Witcher Series by Andrzej Sapkowski

The Young Elites Series by Marie Lu

These Feathered Flames Series by Alexandra Overy

These Violent Delights Series by Chloe Gong

They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera

This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar, Max Gladstone

This Woven Kingdom Series by Tahereh Mafi

Those Who Bear Arms Series by Maria Ying

Those Who Break Chains Series by Maria Ying

To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers

To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

True Love Bites by Joy Demorra

Undercover by Tamsyn Muir

Universe of Xuya Series by Aliette de Bodard

Villains Series by V.E. Schwab

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

Winter's Orbit Series by Everina Maxwell

nonfiction

All About Love: New Visions by bell hooks

Before We Were Trans: A New History of Gender by Kit Heyam

Bodies That Matter: On the Discursive Limits of "Sex" by Judith Butler

Border and Rule: Global Migration, Capitalism, and the Rise of Racist Nationalism by Harsha Walia

Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism by Sarah Wynn-Williams

Communion: The Female Search for Love by bell hooks

Dangerous Fictions: The Fear of Fantasy and the Invention of Reality by Lyta Gold

Delusions of Gender: How Our Minds, Society, and Neurosexism Create Difference by Cordelia Fine

Demanding the Impossible: A History of Anarchism by Peter H. Marshall

Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison by Michel Foucault

Domination and the Arts of Resistance: Hidden Transcripts by James C. Scott

Economism: Bad Economics and the Rise of Inequality by James Kwak

Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil by Hannah Arendt

Eros the Bittersweet by Anne Carson

Feminism Is for Everybody: Passionate Politics by bell hooks

Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center by bell hooks

Frames of War: When is Life Grievable? by Judith Butler

Gender Outlaw: On Men, Women and the Rest of Us by Kate Bornstein

Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe

Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity by Judith Butler

Gender Without Identity by Avgi Saketopoulou, Ann Pellegrini

I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado

Inferior: How Science Got Women Wrong—and the New Research That's Rewriting the Story by Angela Saini

Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Pérez

Know My Name by Chanel Miller

Let This Radicalize You: Organizing and the Revolution of Reciprocal Care by Kelly Hayes, Mariame Kaba

Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason by Michel Foucault

Making Social Spending Work by Peter H. Lindert

Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America by Ijeoma Oluo

No Logo by Naomi Klein

Not That Bad: Dispatches from Rape Culture by Roxane Gay

Perfect Victims: And the Politics of Appeal by Mohammed El-Kurd

Permanent Record by Edward Snowden

Precarious Life: The Powers of Mourning and Violence by Judith Butler

Revolting Prostitutes: The Fight for Sex Workers’ Rights by Molly Smith, Juno Mac

Scarlet A: The Ethics, Law, and Politics of Ordinary Abortion by Katie Watson

Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches by Audre Lorde

Stepping Off the Relationship Escalator: Uncommon Love and Life by Amy Gahran

The Anatomy of Prejudices by Elisabeth Young

The Archaeology of Knowledge and The Discourse on Language by Michel Foucault

The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine by Ilan Pappé

The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine: A History of Settler-Colonial Conquest and Resistance, 1917–2017 by Rashid Khalidi

The Master's Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master's House by Audre Lorde

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander

The Right to Sex: Feminism in the Twenty-First Century by Amia Srinivasan

The Sane Society by Erich Fromm

The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism by Naomi Klein

The Turnaway Study: Ten Years, a Thousand Women, and the Consequences of Having--Or Being Denied--An Abortion by Diana Greene Foster

The War on Disabled People: Capitalism, Welfare and the Making of a Human Catastrophe by Ellen Clifford

The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love by bell hooks

This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate by Naomi Klein

What Love Is: And What It Could Be by Carrie S.I. Jenkins

Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity by Julia Serano

White Feminism: From the Suffragettes to Influencers and Who They Leave Behind by Koa Beck

White Tears/Brown Scars: How White Feminism Betrays Women of Color by Ruby Hamad

Who’s Afraid of Gender? by Judith Butler

Zami: A New Spelling of My Name by Audre Lorde

(italics mean i've already fully read it)

[spiritgone]

❝ 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘦 , 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 ... ❞

˗ ˋ  ☁ 𝑺𝑷𝑰𝑹𝑰𝑻𝑮𝑶𝑵𝑬 is a private , dependent roleplay account ; starring a myriad of muses as written by 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐫 !!! do not interact with this blog , unless afflicted with the closed & private group !!! otherwise , you will be blocked ...

𝑹𝑶𝑺𝑻𝑬𝑹 𝑩𝑬𝑳𝑶𝑾 :

𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 : aelita schaeffer ( code lyoko ) , allison ' allie ' nelson ( the notebook ) , annie bennett warbucks ( annie [ musical ] ) , annie james ( parent trap [ 1998 ] ) , benjamin barry ( how to lose a guy ) , blake kosmas* ( percy jackson oc , son of hermes ) , bobby nash ( 9-1-1 ) , brandon ( winx club ) , bubbles utonium ( the powerpuff girls ) , cady heron ( mean girls ) , charlie kelly ( it's always sunny ) , eddie diaz ( 9-1-1 ) , elain archeron ( a court of thorns and roses ) , elle woods ( legally blonde ) , eric forman ( that 70's show ) , eun - ji yoo ( 9-1-1 oc ) , fiyero tigelaar ( wicked ) , griffin yun* ( dc oc ) , gwyneth berdara ( a court of thorns and roses ) , harvey kinkle ( sabrina the teenage witch ) , jake peralta ( brooklyn nine - nine ) , jason gray ( camp rock ) , julia trojan ( bandstand ) , kathani ' kate ' sharma brigderton ( bridgerton ) , katherine plumber ( newsies ) , kendall knight ( big time rush ) , lorelai gilmore ( gilmore girls ) , maddie buckley ( 9-1-1 ) , mamoru chiba ( sailor moon ) , minako aino ( sailor moon ) , musa of melody ( winx club ) , ned nickerson ( nancy drew ) , nick miller ( new girl ) , orpheus ( hadestown ) , peeta mellark ( the hunger games ) , scamp ( lady and the tramp ) , seo-ah kwon* ( percy jackson oc , daughter of ares ) , shawn spencer ( psych ) , shrek ( shrek ) , silas hynes* ( nightmare on elm street oc ) , sophie sheridan ( mamma mia! ) , steve harrington ( stranger things ) , subei xu* ( a court of thorns and roses oc ) , tara ' terra ' markov ( dc teen titans ) , tess tyler ( camp rock ) , troy bolton ( high school musical ) , wally clark ( school spirits ) , will byers ( stranger things ) , yrene towers westfall ( throne of glass ) .

*denotes original character

[kwebtv]

Eastbound and Down  -  HBO  -  February 15, 2009 – November 17, 2013

Sports Comedy (29 episodes)

Running Time:  30 minutes

Stars:

Danny McBride as Kenny Powers

Steve Little as Steven Bernard "Stevie" Janowski

Katy Mixon as April Buchanon (seasons 1 & 4, recurring seasons 2–3)

John Hawkes as Dustin Powers (season 1, recurring seasons 2–4)

Jennifer Irwin as Cassie Powers (season 1, recurring seasons 2–4)

Andy Daly as Terrence Cutler (season 1, recurring seasons 2–3)

Ben Best as Clegg (season 1, recurring season 2)

Elizabeth De Razzo as Maria Janowski (seasons 2–4)

Ana de la Reguera as Vida (season 2)

Michael Peña as Sebastian Cisneros (season 2)

Marco Rodríguez as Roger Hernandez (season 2)

Efren Ramirez as Catuey (season 2)

Recurring cast

Adam Scott as Pat Anderson (seasons 1–2)

Will Ferrell as Ashley Schaeffer (season 1, season 3)

Craig Robinson as Reg Mackworthy (season 1, season 3)

Bo Mitchell as Wayne Powers (seasons 1–3)

Don Johnson as Eduardo Sanchez Powers (seasons 2–3)

Marlene Forte as Soledad Sanchez (season 2)

Erick Chavarria as Casper (seasons 2–3)

Matthew McConaughey as Roy McDaniel (seasons 2–3)

Jerry Minor as Jamie Laing (seasons 2–4)

Sylvia Jefferies as Tracy (seasons 1–2)

Deep Roy as Aaron (season 2)

Joaquin Cosío as Hector (season 2)

Eduardo "Piolín" Sotelo as Announcer (season 2)

Jason Sudeikis as Shane Gerald/Cole Gerald (season 3)

Jon Michael Hill as Darnell (season 3)

Ike Barinholtz as Ivan Dochenko (season 3)

Lily Tomlin as Tammy Powers (season 3)

Alexander Ethan McGee as Dustin Powers Jr. (season 3)

Ken Marino as Guy Young (season 4)

Tim Heidecker as Gene (season 4)

Jillian Bell as Dixie (season 4)

Jon Reep as Jed Forney (season 4)

Omar Dorsey as Dontel Benjamin (season 4)

[brightbeautifulthings]

A - C | D - H | I - L | M - O | P - R | S - Z | Recent

Reviews are alphabetical by author and then by title.

Sachar, Louis - Holes - Small Steps

Sáenz, Benjamin Alire - Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

Sager, Riley - Final Girls - The Last Time I Lied - Lock Every Door

Sakavic, Nora - Elysium - The Foxhole Court - The Golden Raven - The King's Men - The Raven King - The Sunshine Court

Sanders, Bernie - Our Revolution: A Future to Believe In

Sarrantonio, Al - Halloweenland

Satrapi, Marjane - Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood - Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return

Schaeffer, Rebecca - Not Even Bones - Only Ashes Remain - When Villains Rise

Schow, Betsy - Spelled

Schumacher, Ashley - Amelia Unabridged - Full Flight

Schwab, Victoria (V.E.) - Our Dark Duet - This Savage Song - Vengeful - Vicious

Schwartz, Alvin - More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark - Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark - Scary Stories 3: More Tales to Chill Your Bones

Schwartz, Alyssa - The Lost Causes

Scorza, Nick - People of the Lake

Scott, Victoria - We Told Six Lies

Sebastian, Laura - Ash Princess

Sedoti, Chelsea - As You Wish

Selznick, Brian - Wonderstruck

Sepetys, Ruta - Between Shades of Gray

Sergi, Zachary - Major Detours

Shaffer, Mary Ann - The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society

Shah, London - The Light at the Bottom of the World

Shallcross, Leife - The Beast’s Heart

Shapero, Rich - Balcony of Fog

Sheff, Nic - Tweak

Sheinmel, Alyssa - A Danger to Herself and Others

Showalter, Gena - A Mad Zombie Party

Shusterman, Neal - Challenger Deep - UnBound - UnDivided - UnSouled - UnWholly - Unwind

Silverman, Laura - You Asked For Perfect

Simmons, Kristen - Find Him Where You Left Him Dead

Simon, Shaun - The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys

Simone, Sierra - A Merry Little Meet Cute

Smith, Scott - The Ruins

Smythe, Rachel - Lore Olympus: Volume One - Lore Olympus: Volume Two - Lore Olympus: Volume Three - Lore Olympus: Volume Four - Lore Olympus: Volume Five

Snyder, C.W. - Child of Nod - Queen of Nod

Solomon, Rivers - The Deep

Sparks, Kerrelyn - All I Want For Christmas Is A Vampire

Spinelli, Jerry - Love, Stargirl - Stargirl

Springer, Nancy - The Oddling Prince

St. Clair, Scarlett - A Touch of Darkness

Stanojevic, Ana - Fire Wave

Starling, Caitlin - The Luminous Dead

Steinbeck, John - Of Mice & Men

Stiefvater, Maggie - All The Crooked Saints - Blue Lily, Lily Blue - Call Down the Hawk - The Dream Thieves - Forever - Greywaren - Linger - Mister Impossible - The Raven Boys - The Raven King - The Scorpio Races - Shiver - Sinner - Swamp Thing: Twin Branches

Stine, R.L. - The Awakening Evil - Cheerleaders: The Evil Lives! - Cheerleaders: The First Evil - Cheerleaders: The New Evil - Cheerleaders: The Second Evil - Cheerleaders: The Third Evil - The Dead Boyfriend - The Haunted Mask - The Haunted Mask II - Say Cheese and Die! - Say Cheese and Die– Again!

Stoppard, Tom - Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead

Suma, Nova Ren - Imaginary Girls - 17 & Gone - A Room Away From the Wolves - The Walls Around Us

Sutherland, Krystal - House of Hollow - Our Chemical Hearts - A Semi-Definitive List of Worst Nightmares

Sutton, Kelsey (K.J.) - Fortuna Sworn - Smoke & Key

Suzuki, Kōji - Ring

Swyler, Erika - The Book of Speculation

Tahir, Sabaa - An Ember in the Ashes - A Reaper at the Gates - A Sky Beyond the Storm - A Torch Against the Night

Tartt, Donna - The Secret History

Taylor, Laini - Daughter of Smoke & Bone - Days of Blood & Starlight - Dreams of Gods & Monsters - Muse of Nightmares - Night of Cake & Puppets - Strange the Dreamer

Thiede, Emily - This Vicious Grace

Thomas, Aiden - Lost in the Never Woods

Thomas, Angie - The Hate U Give - On the Come Up

Thomas, Kara - The Cheerleaders

Thomas, Scott - Violet

Thorne, Jack - Harry Potter & The Cursed Child

Thorne, Sally - The Hating Game

Tiffany, John - Harry Potter & The Cursed Child

Tremblay, Paul - Floating Boy & The Girl Who Couldn’t Fly

Tucholke, April Genevieve - Between the Devil & the Deep Blue Sea - Between the Spark & the Burn - Slasher Girls & Monster Boys

Urban, Diana - All Your Twisted Secrets

Valentine, Danielle - How to Survive Your Murder

Vega, Danielle - Survive The Night

Veste, Luca - The Bone Keeper

Wallace, David Foster - Infinite Jest - The Pale King - This Is Water: Some Thoughts … about Living a Compassionate Life

Wallace, Kali - Shallow Graves

Walters, Damien Angelica - The Dead Girls Club

Ward, Catriona - The Last House on Needless Street - Little Eve - Looking Glass Sound - Sundial

Ware, Ruth - In A Dark, Dark Wood

Warga, Jasmine - My Heart and Other Black Holes

Way, Gerard - The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys

Weingarten, Lynn - Suicide Notes from Beautiful Girls

Weir, Andy - The Martian

Wells, H.G. - The War of the Worlds

Wells, Martha - All Systems Red - Artificial Condition - Exit Strategy - Rogue Protocol

Wexler, Jennie - Where It All Lands

Weyr, Garret - The Language of Spells

WhatAreFears - Not Easily Conquered

Whitcomb, Laura - A Certain Slant of Light - Under the Light

White, Kiersten - The Camelot Betrayal - The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein - The Excalibur Curse - The Guinevere Deception - Hide - Mister Magic

Whitehead, Colson - Zone One

Wilkinson, Brian - Paramnesia

Williams, Kate - Never Coming Home

Wilson, Carter - Mister Tender’s Girl

Winfrey, Kerry - Not Like the Movies - Waiting for Tom Hanks

Winning, Joshua (Josh) - Burn the Negative - Camp Carnage - Heads Will Roll - The Shadow Glass

Wolff, Tracy - Crave

Woodson, Jacqueline - Brown Girl Dreaming

Wyndham, John - The Day of the Triffids

Yamashita, Karen Tei - Tropic of Orange

Yolen, Jane - The Emerald Circus

Yoon, Nicola - Everything, Everything - The Sun Is Also a Star

Young, Suzanne - Hotel for the Lost - The Program

Yovanoff, Brenna - The Replacement

Yuknavitch, Lidia - The Chronology of Water

Zappia, Francesca - Eliza and Her Monsters - Katzenjammer - Now Entering Addamsville

Zentner, Jeff - Rayne & Delilah’s Midnite Matinee

[amaudiomedia]

Doctor Who Dark Journey Audio Drama Series

Emotionally shattered after a tragedy The Doctor arrives in London and becomes companion to Sherlock Holmes in an effort to stop Jack the Ripper’s murderous trail of terror. But is there an even greater evil at work in Victorian England?

Doctor Who Dark Journey is a Canadian, award winning audio series written by Andrew Chalmers and directed by MA Tamburro. Sound Design by Clayton Turner, Joshua Hemming, Kevin Gray, Levi Considine, Ben Barton. Theme music by Traffic Experiment, Episode Music by Joshua Hemming, David Goudie, Emily Klassen. The 12 episode series features a full musical score and sound effects plus a full cast of actors that take The Doctor and Sherlock Holmes on a dark journey through time and space.

LIKE and Follow AM Audio Media on Social Media

www.facebook.com/amaudiomedia

twitter.com/amaudiomedia

SERIES 1 

The Doctor Meets The Great Detective

A recently regenerated and emotionally shattered Doctor arrives in London where he becomes a unexpected companion to Sherlock Holmes. The Doctor and Sherlock are initially teamed up in an effort to stop Jack the Ripper's murderous trail of terror. But could there be an even greater evil at work in Victorian England?

Written by Andrew Chalmers, Directed by MA Tamburro, Sound Design by Clayton Turner, Theme Music by Traffic Experiment, Album Artwork by Dave Ladkin

Descent Into Darkness

Descending into the shadowy depths of a deserted Waterloo Station, the Doctor and Holmes find themselves face to face with a pack of wild murderous dogs, but what evil force possesses them and why?

Written by Andrew Chalmers, Directed by MA Tamburro, Sound Design by Clayton Turner, Theme Music by Traffic Experiment, Album Artwork by Dave Ladkin

Noble Soul Mates

In the middle of a White Chapel bar room brawl an entranced Doctor is intrigued to discover that the horror of ‘The Noble Project’ is no longer a burden that he must suffer alone. Linked by his guilt ridden past, The Doctor and Cassandra find themselves lost in each other but how much does she know about the broken Time Lord and how?

Written by Andrew Chalmers, Directed by MA Tamburro, Sound Design by Clayton Turner, Theme Music by Traffic Experiment, Album Artwork by Dave Ladkin

Emily Looks to the Stars

The Doctor discovers that the Ripper has more in common with a mysterious alien presence than he would like to admit. Struggling to save London from this dark force, the Doctor clashes with Holmes who is desperate for the Doctor to not allow his dark passenger, ‘The Sight’ to rise to the surface.

Written by Andrew Chalmers, Directed by MA Tamburro, Sound Design by Clayton Turner, Theme Music by Traffic Experiment, Album Artwork by Dave Ladkin

Death On Baker Street

As time runs out, Holmes, The Doctor and Emily decode the secrets of the stars and an ancient plot to initiate the demonic transformation of humanity.

Written by Andrew Chalmers, Directed by MA Tamburro, Sound Design by Clayton Turner, Theme Music by Traffic Experiment, Album Artwork by Dave Ladkin

SERIES 2

Legend Of The Beast

“The Doctor is dead. Long live The Doctor?..”

Holmes has to deal with an unhinged Doctor who has no mercy for those who oppose him. A Doctor who has cheated death many times but this time it’s very different and much more dangerous.

Written by Andrew Chalmers, Directed by MA Tamburro, Sound Design by Joshua Hemming, Theme Music by Traffic Experiment, Music by Joshua Hemming, Album Artwork by Aaron Gittoes

Exclusive Broadcast via Gallifrey Stands Podcast

The Case of the Poisoned Sky

“Summon the Beast, summon the Beast….”

The Doctor and Holmes take to the air in an attempt to stop the end of the world. But what evil waits for them in the dark skies above London?

Written by Andrew Chalmers, Directed by MA Tamburro, Sound Design by Joshua Hemming, Theme Music by Traffic Experiment, Music by Joshua Hemming, Album Artwork by Jeff Goddard

Exclusive Broadcast via The Geeko

The Age Of Banishment

“What would the demented woman have said to you Holmes?”

Holmes faces his tragic upbringing as the Illuminatos spirits taunt him with the sadness of the past ... the moment in which ‘Sherlock Holmes,’ hero of London was forged from pain and despair. As the shadows close in around them The Doctor must confront his own past. His shame and torment, the dark Gallifreyan days of ‘The Time of the Banishment’.

Written by Andrew Chalmers, Directed by MA Tamburro, Sound Design by Kevin Gray, Theme Music by Traffic Experiment, Album Artwork by Steve Andrew

Exclusive Broadcast via The WhoWars Podcast

The Passing Of Light

“You prayed when you lost them Doctor? Why?”

Holmes discovers the horrific truth of the Bonesmen and braves the horrific whispering shadows to save Emily. The foundations of The Doctors life are shaken to their very core as the shame of his ancient secrets is revealed by Gull and his illuminatos spirits.

Written by Andrew Chalmers, Directed by MA Tamburro, Sound Design by Kevin Gray Theme music by Traffic Experiment, Album Artwork by Dave Ladkin.

Exclusive Broadcast via The Droids Canada Podcast

Sins Of The Father

Cassandra and her murderous cult of Bonesmen continue to stay one step ahead of The Doctor and Holmes but our heroes have help from beyond the realms of existence itself.

Written by Andrew Chalmers, Directed by MA Tamburro, Sound Design by Levi Considine, Theme Music by Traffic Experiment, Music by David Goudie, Album Artwork by Jason Neil

Exclusive Broadcast via Geek Watch One

Lost Souls

As the darkness gives way to light the Doctor discovers that his journey is over but a new one is about to begin. As old friends walk the cobbled stones of Baker Street, a battle scarred Holmes, intelligence and bravery still intact but world view forever changed, wrestles with the darkest question of all…

“Doctor, in the chamber, were you possessed by that dark beast?”

Written by Andrew Chalmers, Directed by MA Tamburro, Sound Design and Music by Joshua Hemming, Theme Music by Traffic Experiment, Album Artwork by Paul Cooke

Exclusive Broadcast via Timey Wimey Tea Time

Dark Journeys End

The battle may have been won but for The Doctor the war wages on… For a Time Lord, memories never remain in the past. As the ghosts of yesteryear reappear in the Doctor’s life only one question remains … Can the Doctor make peace with himself or will his regret over the destruction of the Noble Project serve to end the Time Lords’s life?

Written by Andrew Chalmers, Directed by MA Tamburro, Sound Design by Benjamin Barton, Music by Emily Klassen, Theme Music by Traffic Experiment, Album Artwork by Gabrielle Schaeffer

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Di Michael Schaeffer Omer–Man. In una lettera urgente inviata ai responsabili militari israeliani, gruppi di difesa dei diritti umani chiedono che Israele cessi immediatamente di spargere prodotti chimici dannosi su Gaza.

L’esercito israeliano continua a spargere erbicidi pericolosi nei campi agricoli della Striscia di Gaza, tre anni dopo il rapporto di +972 Magazine su questa pratica. Questa settimana, tre gruppi di difesa dei diritti umani palestinesi e un gruppo israeliano hanno inviato una lettera ai responsabili militari israeliani, chiedendo loro di cessare immediatamente lo spargimento di prodotti chimici dannosi a Gaza.

L’ultimo episodio, in cui è stato utilizzato un prodotto cancerogeno, risale ai primi di dicembre. Numerose raccolte sono state danneggiate a Gaza, secondo i gruppi di diritti umani. “I contadini hanno subito perdite massicce a seguito dello spargimento e sono stati esposti a rischi sanitari associati agli agenti chimici utilizzati”, hanno dichiarato Al Mezan, Gisha e Adalah nella loro lettera al ministro israeliano della Difesa, Benjamin Netanyahu, al procuratore generale del Paese e all’avvocatura generale militare.

I gruppi di difesa hanno aggiunto mercoledì, in una dichiarazione comune: “Lo spargimento di prodotti chimici è una misura altamente distruttiva, che viola i diritti umani fondamentali, il diritto israeliano e il diritto internazionale”.

Israele ha mantenuto per anni una “zona di esclusione”  unilaterale all’interno della Striscia di Gaza e ha inviato regolarmente dei bulldozer e altro dall’altro lato della separazione per livellare la terra e distruggere piante e alberi, al fine di garantire una migliore visuale. Dall’inizio del 2015, l’esercito israeliano ha attraversato la barriera più di 217 volte in operazioni di questo tipo, una media di più di due volte a settimana.

Nel dicembre 2015, l’esercito israeliano ammise per la prima volta, in risposta alle domande di +972 Magazine, di aver fatto anche uso di erbicidi all’interno di Gaza. Secondo un reportage di Amira Hass per Haaretz, circa 35000 acri di terre agricole di Gaza sono state danneggiate da questa pratica. Lo spargimento ha danneggiato anche le colture israeliane vicino alla separazione. La lettera dei gruppi di difesa dei diritti umani rivela che i prodotti chimici sparsi dal fornitore dell’esercito israeliano, Roundup, sono stati dichiarati cancerogeni dall’Organizzazione Mondiale della Sanità e non adatti all’irrorazione aerea, a causa dei rischi per la salute e per le colture vicine.

Nel 2016, i contadini chiesero all’esercito israeliano di essere indennizzati per i danni subiti. L’esercito ha finora rifiutato.

Nonostante l’esercito israeliano abbia confermato a +972 e in seguito a Gisha di aver cosparso erbicidi sulla Striscia di Gaza, il ministro israeliano della Difesa ha affermato in una dichiarazione che gli aerei sorvolano esclusivamente il territorio israeliano. I contadini di Gaza, al contrario, hanno dichiarato che gli aerei volano sicuramente nello spazio aereo di Gaza.

Inoltre, secondo i documenti ottenuti dal gruppo di difesa dei diritti, l’irrorazione è effettuata deliberatamente quando la direzione del vento permette di spingere i prodotti verso l’interno di Gaza e non sui campi israeliani.

E’ noto che, durante la guerra del Vietnam, gli Stati Uniti sparsero l’agente Orange, il napalm e altri erbicidi e esfolianti per distruggere vaste zone della giungla per fini militari. Quando si conobbero gli effetti di tali pratiche sulla salute e sull’ambiente, venne ratificata la Convenzione sulle modifiche ambientali restringendo l’uso della guerra biologica. La convenzione entrò in vigore nel 1978.

Israele non fa parte di questa convenzione.

Israele “liberò” unilateralmente la Striscia di Gaza nel 2005, ritirando le truppe che vi stazionavano da più di 40 anni. L’esercito israeliano non ha rinunciato comunque al suo controllo sulla Striscia, che mantiene su diversi punti: le persone e i beni che hanno bisogno di un’autorizzazione per entrare e uscire da Gaza; le frontiere marittime della Striscia, comprese le zone di pesca in cui è possibile pescare; la “zona di esclusione” all’interno di Gaza, alle sue frontiere orientale e settentrionale; il suo spazio aereo; il suo registro anagrafico; gli spostamenti tra Gaza e il resto dei territori occupati.

Traduzione per InfoPal di Chiara Parisi

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Emmys 2021: Complete List of Winners

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Television’s biggest night is finally here! No, it’s not the M*A*S*H finale or any of the three Super Bowls Tom Brady lost – it’s the 2021 Emmy Awards ceremony.

This is the second Emmys in a row under pop culture’s new normal. The pandemic still trudges along and television now occupies a particularly prominent space in many households While the 2020 Emmy Awards went virtual, this year’s ceremony will be in-person at Los Angeles’s Microsoft Theater and hosted by Cedric the Entertainer. Hopefully the return to a big ballroom will provide plenty of elbow room for a jam-packed list of nominees.

This is the year that the Marvel machine officially makes its way into the television award landscape. Disney+ series WandaVision is nominated for 23 total awards, including the night’s biggest honor in Outstanding Limited Series. Meanwhile Apple TV+ scored a big hit with Ted Lasso, which broke the record for most nominations for a freshman comedy with 20. HBO continues to be a big awards presence thanks to Mare of Easttown. And then there’s the Netflix of it all with favorites like The Queen’s Gambit and The Crown.

The 73rd annual Emmy Awards has all the makings of a wild night. Follow along with each category and its winners here. Winners will be bolded and italicized.

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Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series

Rosie Perez – The Flight Attendant Hannah Einbinder – Hacks Aidy Bryant – Saturday Night Live Kate McKinnon – Saturday Night Live Cecily Strong – Saturday Night Live Juno Temple – Ted Lasso Hannah Waddingham – Ted Lasso

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series

Carl Clemons-Hopkins – Hacks Paul Reiser – The Kominsky Method Kenan Thompson – Saturday Night Live Bowen Yang – Saturday Night Live Brett Goldstein – Ted Lasso Brendan Hunt – Ted Lasso Nick Mohammed – Ted Lasso Jeremy Swift – Ted Lasso

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited/Anthology Series or Movie

Renee Elise Goldsberry – Hamilton Phillipa Soo – Hamilton Julianne Nicholson – Mare of Easttown Jean Smart – Mare of Easttown Moses Ingram – The Queen’s Gambit Kathryn Hahn – WandaVision

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited/Anthology Series or Movie

Daveed Diggs – Hamilton Jonathan Groff – Hamilton Anthony Ramos – Hamilton Paapa Essiedu – I May Destroy You Evan Peters – Mare of Easttown Thomas Brodie-Sangster – The Queen’s Gambit

Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series

Rebecca Sonnenshine – The Boys “What I Know” Peter Morgan – The Crown “The War” Yahlin Chang – The Handmaid’s Tale “Home” Misha Green – Lovecraft Country “Sundown” Dave Filoni – The Mandalorian “Chapter 13: The Jedi” Jon Favreau – The Mandalorian “Chapter 16: The Rescue” Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, Steven Canals, Janet Mock, Our Lady J – Pose “Series Finale”

Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series

Julie Anne Robinson – Bridgerton “Diamond of the First Water” Benjamin Caron – The Crown “Fairytale” Jessica Hobbs – The Crown “War” Liz Garbus – The Handmaid’s Tale “The Wilderness” Jon Favreau – The Mandalorian “Chapter 9: The Marshal” Steven Canals – Pose “Series Finale”

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

Gillian Anderson – The Crown Helena Bonham Carter – The Crown Emerald Fennell – The Crown Madeline Brewer – The Handmaid’s Tale Ann Dowd – The Handmaid’s Tale Yvonne Strahovski – The Handmaid’s Tale Samira Wiley – The Handmaid’s Tale Aunjanue Ellis – Lovecraft Country

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series

Tobias Menzies – The Crown O-T Fagbenle – The Handmaid’s Tale Max Minghella – The Handmaid’s Tale Bradley Whitford – The Handmaid’s Tale Michael K. Williams – Lovecraft Country Giancarlo Esposito – The Mandalorian John Lithgow – Perry Mason Chris Sullivan – This Is Us

Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series

A Black Lady Sketch Show Last Week Tonight with John Oliver Saturday Night Live The Amber Ruffin Show Late Show with Stephen Colbert

Outstanding Variety Talk Series

Conan The Daily Show with Trevor Noah Jimmy Kimmel Live Last Week Tonight with John Oliver Late Show with Stephen Colbert

Outstanding Variety Sketch Series

A Black Lady Sketch Show Saturday Night Live

Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series

Steve Yockey – The Flight Attendant “In Case of Emergency” Meredith Scardino – Girls5eva “Pilot” Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, Jen Statsky – Hacks “There Is No Line” Maya Erskine – Pen15 “Play” Jason Sudeikis, Brendan Hunt, Joe Kelly – Ted Lasso “Make Rebecca Great Again” Jason Sudeikis, Bill Lawrence, Brendan Hunt, Joe Kelly – Ted Lasso “Pilot”

Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series

James Burrows – B Positive “Pilot” Susanna Fogel – The Flight Attendant “In Case of Emergency” Lucia Aniello – Hacks “There Is No Line” James Widdoes – Mom “Scooby-Doo Checks and Salisbury Steak” Zach Braff – Ted Lasso “Biscuits” MJ Delaney – Ted Lasso “The Hope That Kills You” Declan Lowney – Ted Lasso “Make Rebecca Great Again”

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series

Aidy Bryant – Shrill Kaley Cuoco – The Flight Attendant  Allison Janney – Mom Tracee Ellis Ross – Black-ish Jean Smart – Hacks

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series

Anthony Anderson – Black-ish Michael Douglas – The Kominsky Method William H. Macy – Shameless Jason Sudeikis – Ted Lasso Kenan Thompson – Kenan

Outstanding Competition Program

The Amazing Race Nailed It! Ru Paul’s Drag Race Top Chef The Voice

Outstanding Directing for a Limited/Anthology Series or Special

Thomas Kail – Hamilton Sam Miller, Michaela Coel – I May Destroy You “Ego Death” Sam Miller – I May Destroy You “Eyes Eyes Eyes Eyes” Craig Zabel – Mare of Easttown Scott Frank – The Queen’s Gambit Barry Jenkins – The Underground Railroad Matt Shakman – WandaVision

Outstanding Writing for a Limited/Anthology Series or Special

Michaela Coel – I May Destroy You Brad Ingelsby – Mare of Easttown Scott Frank – The Queen’s Gambit Chuck Hayward, Peter Cameron – WandaVision “All-New Halloween Spooktacular!” Jan Schaeffer – WandaVision “Filmed Before a Live Studio Audience” Laura Donney – WandaVision “Previously On”

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited/Anthology Series or Movie

Michaela Coel – I May Destroy You Cynthia Erivo – Aretha Elizabeth Olsen – WandaVision Anya Taylor-Joy – The Queen’s Gambit Kate Winslet – Mare of Easttown

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited/Anthology Series or Movie

Paul Bettany – WandaVision Hugh Grant – The Undoing Ewan McGregor – Halston Lin-Manuel Miranda – Hamilton Leslie Odom Jr. – Hamilton

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series

Uzo Aduba – In Treatment Olivia Colman – The Crown Elisabeth Moss – The Handmaid’s Tale Mj Rodriguez – Pose Jurnee Smollett – Lovecraft Country

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series

Sterling K. Brown – This is Us Jonathan Majors – Lovecraft Country Josh O’Connor – The Crown Rege-Jean Page – Bridgerton Billy Porter – Pose Matthew Rhys – Perry Mason

Outstanding Comedy Series

Black-ish Cobra Kai Emily in Paris The Flight Attendant Hacks The Kominsky Method  Pen15 Ted Lasso

Outstanding Drama Series

The Boys Bridgerton The Crown The Handmaid’s Tale Lovecraft Country The Mandalorian Pose This is Us

Outstanding Limited/Anthology Series

I May Destroy You Mare of Easttown The Queen’s Gambit The Underground Railroad WandaVision

The post Emmys 2021: Complete List of Winners appeared first on Den of Geek.

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A$AP Ferg - Floor Seats from valentin petit on Vimeo.

Music video by Valentin petit & produced by Division.

Starring Asap Ferg.

Executive Producer: Theo Gall Creative Agency: HERC the agency Creatives: Emilio de Haan / Rogier de Bruin Producer: Niels Heimens 
/ REDLINE / Thecla Schaeffer / Karin Campbell Prod. Service: Collider Exe. Prod: Lucy Bidwell / Madeleine Askwith 
Producer: Christopher J. Lopez Prod. Supervisor: Salvatore Wan Prod. Coordinator: Lamar Williams

D.P: Hunter Daly 1st A.D: Deighton McKoy 2nd A.D Jason Bishop Division Paris Intern: Ella Nacash 1st A.C: Sachi Bahra 2ND A.C: Tyler Pakstis Loader: Tom Van Scoyoc Gaffer: Lorenzo Pace Grip: Alexa Carroll SWING / Alex Blum Audio Tech: Philip Kim Production Designer: Tatyana Bevs Prop Master: Peter Maye Art Assist: Josh Caras / Hallie Arias

Stylist: Kwasi Kessi / Roger McKenzie / Groomer Jomocuts H.M.U Artist: Kaprisha Gipson

Location Assist. Conlan Olderding Location Assist. Location Christopher Ramos

Assistants - Key Pa Christina Tucker / Eq Truck / Ben Handel / Richard Butts / Omari Brandy / Moisie Zinso  Eric Lopez ASSISTANT / Victor Vazquez / Erin Corley / Von Anise McCoy /
 Alberto Gomez / Joe Bearese / Aubin Delano / Edward Blackwell

Handler: Deon Douglas Assist. Handler: Kathy Nguy Cating Agency: Akrav Agency Casting Director: Joie Duke Rayan / Sarah Benjamin

Bikers: PJ, JT, Emmanuel, Jonathan, Jeremy, Julius, Hyrone, Tay Tay, Laquan & derrick

Produced: Roofeeo Recorded: : Vic Wainstein at Paramount Studios, Los Angeles, CA 
Mixed by Jaycen Joshua for The Penua Project at Larrabee Sound Studios, North Hollywood, CA 
Assisted by Jacob Richards, Mike Seaberg & DJ Riggins Mastered by Dave Kutch at the Mastering Palace, NYC.

Editor: Maxime Caro Editor Assist: Valentin Bordeau Sound Designer: Emilien Bernaux Color Grader: Arthur Paux Organic VFX: Nathan Almeras V.F.X Vincent Heine Graphic Designer: Charlotte Louis Storyboard: Miguel Vieira Copyrighte: Guillaume Audi Office Manager: Nathalie Catanzano

A$AP Ferg "Floor Seats" Director's Cut

[radiacavaret]

Recomendación para continuar con el erotismo, la radia y la palabra en flor, más allá de la electroacústica. La ausencia de temas gay y el homoerotismo en la música electroacústica se discute en el contexto de las cuestiones de género y música que se han planteado en la última década. El cuerpo de trabajo emergente del autor que trata estos temas sugiere posibles usos de la voz, el texto, el video y el teatro musical dentro de un lenguaje electroacústico para retratar la sexualidad y el deseo. 1. ANTECEDENTES

Al proponer una discusión sobre el tema del homoerotismo y la música electroacústica, recuerdo la respuesta "cortésmente escéptica" que recibió Roger Lonsdale cuando anunció su interés por las mujeres poetas del siglo XVIII: "¿Había alguna?". Afortunadamente, su investigación dio como resultado una antología de Oxford (Lonsdale, 1990) con 500 páginas de ejemplos de su trabajo, junto con su comentario de que el siglo XVIII vio un aumento notable de unas pocas mujeres poetas publicadas al principio a muchas más al final. Sin embargo, a principios del siglo XXI, sería difícil encontrar muchos ejemplos de homoerotismo en la música electroacústica además de mi propio trabajo y varias piezas de interpretación en las que la electrónica en vivo es un componente (ver Discografía). Será interesante ver si la situación ha cambiado a finales de siglo. La cuestión de esta ausencia merece algunas especulaciones. El erotismo y las cuestiones de género en general parecen curiosamente ausentes de la música electroacústica en su práctica, y solo en 1995 estos temas fueron planteados por Hannah Bosma, Mary Simoni y Andra McCartney dentro de la comunidad electroacústica, concretamente en la Conferencia Internacional de Música por Computadora en Banff, Alberta, donde casualmente presenté un acto de mi ópera electroacústica, Powers of Two, que presentaba a dos cantantes masculinos, uno de los cuales es un personaje gay (Truax, 1996). La discusión que surgió en esa conferencia y posteriormente en otros lugares se ha centrado en el papel de las mujeres en la música electroacústica (McCartney, 1993), preguntando, por ejemplo, si han sido 'filtradas' por procesos dentro de una cultura 'tecno-machista' asociada con tecnología en general y música electroacústica en particular. Se ha hecho un esfuerzo considerable, al menos en algunos sectores, para animar a las mujeres compositoras de música electroacústica y presentar su trabajo.Dado que parece haber una falta de temas gay en la música electroacústica, se podría plantear la misma pregunta sobre si los gays y lesbianas también han sido 'filtrados' del sistema, quizás por razones similares relacionadas con la tecnología. En mi experiencia, hay muchos menos compositores de música electroacústica gays y lesbianas de los que uno encontraría en la comunidad de música instrumental, y se puede decir que muy pocos de ellos están "fuera". Si se considera el medio artístico más allá de la comunidad de música electroacústica, su ausencia parece aún más notable. El siglo XX ha visto no solo una presencia muy visible de artistas y escritores homosexuales, sino también la proliferación de temas homosexuales en su trabajo. La poesía, las novelas, las películas, la danza y las obras de teatro homoeróticas son numerosas, incluso comunes, y gran parte del interés del público se centra en la medida en que estas influencias están "invadiendo" la televisión y el cine convencionales. Dentro de la comunidad artística, la presencia gay es un hecho. Antes de apresurarnos a condenar a la comunidad de la música electroacústica como 'atrasada', sería prudente examinar el papel de los artistas homosexuales en el campo de la música en general. Aunque todo el alcance de esta pregunta se encuentra más allá de este artículo, se puede señalar que no fue hasta la década de 1990 cuando se plantearon problemas de homosexuales o 'queer' dentro de la práctica de la musicología, sobre todo con la publicación histórica de Queering The Pitch en 1994 (Brett, Wood y Thomas, 1994) como la culminación del trabajo de un grupo dedicado de musicólogos estadounidenses; véase también (Solie, 1993; Gill, 1995). Su trabajo se basó en los esfuerzos pioneros de los llamados musicólogos `` radicales '' como Susan McClary, Richard Leppert, John Shepherd y otros, quienes en la década de 1980 sugirieron que la música se considerara dentro de su contexto social y, por lo tanto, de género, como se expresa en su seminario. antología Música y sociedad (Leppert & McClary, 1987).El debate que siguió a estas publicaciones, que continúa periódicamente hasta el día de hoy, tiene su perfil más alto en la cuestión de si tal o cual compositor 'era' gay (asumiendo que nuestro término moderno puede adaptarse para describir un personaje histórico). El debate que siguió a estas publicaciones, que continúa periódicamente hasta el día de hoy, tiene su perfil más alto en la cuestión de si tal o cual compositor 'era' gay (asumiendo que nuestro término moderno puede adaptarse para describir un personaje histórico). La especulación sobre la orientación sexual de íconos de la música clásica occidental como Schubert y Handel ha provocado una intensa controversia, posiblemente en detrimento de la comprensión de cómo un compositor vive y trabaja en un entorno homosocial particular (por ejemplo, Handel en la Italia de principios del siglo XVIII). ) podrían haber respondido a esa situación en su producción musical. ¿Por qué estos temas provocan tal debate? ¿Por qué habría de ser una afrenta si se mostraba que el compositor del Mesías era homosexual, cuando sin duda lo era el pintor de la Capilla Sixtina?

Desde mediados del siglo XIX, la música de varios compositores ha tenido un género específico asociado, a menudo en parejas. Los incondicionales heterosexuales de la música clásica europea, Bach, Beethoven y Brahms, se clasifican como masculinos, con Handel, Schubert y Tschaikovsky como sus respectivas contrapartes femeninas. Este tema, por simplista que parezca, dirige nuestra atención hacia la música y lejos de la biografía. En el siglo XX, con su énfasis en una pluralidad de estilos musicales, parece que el género y la orientación sexual se han separado de la lealtad estilística elegida por el compositor. El establecimiento musical afirma que sus elecciones artísticas están libres de discriminación porque la calidad musical es lo único que importa. Las mujeres y los compositores homosexuales a menudo se hacen eco de este sentimiento al negar que sean diferentes de sus homólogos masculinos o heterosexuales. 

Son simplemente compositores que resultan ser mujeres o homosexuales o cualquier otra categoría. De hecho, una prueba de escucha a ciegas con su música probablemente encontraría poca diferencia en la "voz" entre dichos compositores. Tal vez los musicólogos tradicionales tengan razón después de todo: la música instrumental aspira a un nivel de abstracción donde cuestiones como el género o la orientación sexual no juegan ningún papel.Sin embargo, tal neutralidad no puede mantenerse en el otro bastión de la cultura occidental, a saber, la ópera. La voz, el texto y el drama hacen que cada aspecto de la ópera sea muy específico de género. 

La norma heterosexual ejemplificada en el amor romántico sigue siendo central e ineludible hasta bien entrado el siglo XX, si no más allá. Los puntos de vista alternativos, como en otras áreas de la sociedad, deben ser utilizados como subtextos, entendidos por los iniciados mientras se conserva el barniz de normalidad. La tradición de los 'papeles de pantalón' para las mujeres en la ópera, por ejemplo, proporciona un delicioso doble sentido (Blackmer y Smith, 1995), al igual que posiblemente los castrati y los contratenores de épocas anteriores. Existe una larga tradición de atracción homosexual por la ópera en la que se puede identificar con una heroína trágica (Koestenbaum, 1993), o donde el registro extendido de la mezzosoprano desde notas masculinas profundas hasta notas femeninas altas puede tener un atractivo similar, según se informa una forma formativa. influencia sobre Walt Whitman, por ejemplo (Schmidgall, 1997).

No importa cuán ambiguamente hayan leído los homosexuales el género, la ópera, particularmente en el siglo XIX, permaneció firmemente arraigada en sus normas heterosexuales, y no surgió ningún ejemplo de un carácter positivo gay hasta tan tarde como Lulu de Alban Berg y la condesa Geschwitz, posiblemente la única persona en la ópera que realmente ama y está dispuesta a morir por el personaje principal. Ahora se cree que esta representación comprensiva está relacionada con el hecho de que la hermana de Berg, Smaragda, sea lesbiana. En Gran Bretaña, donde la actividad homosexual siguió siendo ilegal durante la mayor parte de la carrera de Benjamin Britten, sus óperas parecen transmutar la homosexualidad en el papel de un forastero genérico (pero comprensivo), como en Peter Grimes, o en un trágico encuentro entre el bien y el mal dentro de un grupo naval homosocial. medio ambiente, como en los personajes de Billy Budd y John Claggart. No es sorprendente que los críticos todavía debatan si una lectura homoerótica de estos trabajos es válida.

2. THE ELECTROACOUSTIC ERA Teniendo en cuenta estos antecedentes, puede ser más fácil ver por qué, al menos en sus primeros 40 años, ha habido poca preocupación por las cuestiones de género en la música electroacústica y pocas o ninguna expresión alternativa de deseo o erotismo. En primer lugar, el privilegio occidental de la abstracción en la música proporciona una base teórica para su continuación en la síntesis de sonido electrónico y por computadora, e incluso con la música electroacústica basada en sonidos del mundo real. Pierre Schaeffer se preocupó rápidamente por la naturaleza "anecdótica" de sus materiales concretos y buscó crear un enfoque abstracto, que ahora conocemos como un principio de la música acústica (Emmerson, 1986). Linda Dusman (2000) sostiene que es la misma ausencia del cuerpo en la música electroacústica lo que crea una inquietud de identificación de género con sus sonidos abstractos. Un modelo alternativo implicaría la creación de música basada en el contexto (Truax, 1994a, 2000), incluso si el resultado es un mundo virtual, o una realización más dramática.En segundo lugar, la música electroacústica surgió durante la era posterior a la Segunda Guerra Mundial, cuando el control masculino de la tecnología, desde la educación y la formación del consumidor hasta la profesión de ingeniería en general, y la ingeniería de audio en particular, era la norma (Truax, 1992b, 2001). Sólo recientemente las mujeres han podido avanzar en profesiones de audio dominadas por hombres (Sandstrom, 2000). Como resultado, los hombres que trabajan junto con la tecnología crean un ambiente homosocial, similar al que se encuentra en los deportes y el ejército, donde se imponen tabúes estrictos sobre la actividad homosexual y resultan en expresiones de negación homofóbica. Una versión musical de esta situación homosocial ocurre dentro de la comunidad de jazz tradicionalmente dominada por hombres que también ha sido en gran parte homofóbica. Pueden ocurrir excepciones, como el caso de Billy Strayhorn, cuya homosexualidad fue tolerada a través de su papel profesional como pianista y arreglista de Duke Ellington. Aunque, que yo sepa, no ha habido homofobia generalizada en la comunidad de la música electroacústica, ha habido una evasión tácita, o al menos una ausencia, de expresiones de sensibilidades homoeróticas, siendo las interesantes excepciones Still Blue (Homenaje a Derek Jarman) de Alessandro Cipriani. para mimo, saxofón, violonchelo, piano, video y cinta, que también existe en una versión de video, y la obra interactiva Sarrasine de Matthew Suttor, para intérprete con cinta y video basada en la novela de Balzac y 'S / Z' de Roland Barthes, la historia de un escultor francés que se enamora de un castrato italiano.Cuando la interpretación vocal o las grabaciones de voz se han incluido en la práctica electroacústica, que inevitablemente ponen en juego cuestiones de género, Bosma (1995) ha notado que la elección predominante de los compositores masculinos es la voz femenina en vivo, a menudo sin texto o solo con texto semi-comprensible. , y generalmente en el rango de soprano, aunque se encuentra una mayor variedad de voces de género con el componente de cinta. Una actuación típica que involucra al compositor y / o técnico masculino escondido detrás de una mesa de mezclas que maneja un poder de audio considerable, con una intérprete femenina en el escenario como exhibición visual, parece reflejar roles de género estereotipados en nuestra sociedad. La situación tiene un fuerte paralelismo con el pintor masculino en su caballete que representa a la modelo femenina desnuda, tradicionalmente como un objeto de deseo, pero en el siglo XX a menudo retratada de una manera distorsionada, incluso neurótica. Los practicantes de música electroacústica masculinos han hecho poco hasta ahora para cuestionar estos roles de género basados ​​en el poder.

3. SURGE UNA VOZ ALTERNATIVA

Se dice que el arte refleja la sociedad, pero si te miras en el espejo y no ves ningún reflejo, entonces el mensaje implícito es que no existes. Por lo tanto, el papel de la tecnología electroacústica debe ser permitir, alentar y facilitar que surjan y se escuchen voces alternativas, liberadas de algunas de las limitaciones de la creación musical tradicional. Si bien el acceso a esta tecnología seguirá siendo siempre un tema importante, ya que la emergencia de tales voces presupone este acceso, un tema aún más importante y difícil es la incorporación de otros puntos de vista en la obra misma, lo que yo llamo 'otras voces'. . En otras palabras, el compositor pasa de ser un artista que resulta ser mujer, gay, lesbiana, transgénero, de color, etc., a uno para quien todas y cada una de esas cualidades se convierten en parte integral de su trabajo. Creo que el surgimiento y la legitimación de estas voces alternativas es la única forma de combatir la hegemonía de la tecnología y su control sobre nuestras vidas.

En mi propio caso, puedo fechar el interés por la voz y el texto con género y su integración dentro de mi trabajo compositivo a fines de la década de 1980 cuando comencé a trabajar con sonido muestreado y su procesamiento, más notablemente con técnicas de granulación (Truax, 1992a, 1994b). Este interés, a su vez, surgió de un enfoque en el diseño tímbrico durante los últimos 15 años. El timbre, como nos recuerda John Shepherd (1987), es la entidad central que vincula el sonido con el mundo real; habla del nexo de experiencia que, en última instancia, nos constituye a todos como individuos. La textura, el grano, la calidad táctil del sonido nos acerca al mundo y nos recuerda la relación social de la humanidad ”.

Mi primer trabajo basado en la granulación del sonido muestreado fue The Wings of Nike (1987), cuyo único material fuente para tres movimientos fueron dos fonemas, uno masculino y el otro femenino. Se utilizaron con altas densidades de granos, incluidas transposiciones hacia arriba y hacia abajo una octava, lo que a veces desdibuja la distinción de género. En Cantar de los Cantares (1992) hubo un uso más extenso del texto de género, donde se tuvo que tomar una decisión sobre cómo usar el texto original de Cantar de los Cantares, que incluye líneas que se atribuyen convencionalmente a los personajes de Salomón y Shulamith, su amada. La solución simple fue que tanto los lectores masculinos como femeninos del texto lo registraran sin cambiar ningún pronombre. Cuando se combinan estas versiones, el oyente escucha tanto la voz masculina como la femenina ensalzando la belleza del amante, comparándola con las bondades de la naturaleza, así como líneas eróticas como el estribillo:

Yo soy mis amados y mi amado es mío, él apacienta entre los lirios.

Hay un uso frecuente de estiramientos de tiempo en la pieza, desde leves prolongaciones de las sílabas habladas para hacerla más rítmica y parecida a una canción, pasando por tramos más largos que enfatizan los patrones de inflexión de la lectura, y finalmente a extensiones extremas donde el sonido vocal se convierte en textura ambiental. El estiramiento granular de una voz, al agregar una gran cantidad de volumen auditivo al sonido con las múltiples capas de corrientes de grano (Truax, 1998), a menudo parece crear una sensualidad, si no una cualidad erótica, en el sonido vocal. Una palabra se convierte en un gesto prolongado, a menudo con contornos suaves y timbre enriquecido. Su impacto emocional se intensifica y el oyente tiene más tiempo para saborear sus niveles de significado. Song of Songs explota este efecto a lo largo de la obra, reservando los mayores grados de estiramiento para los interludios después de que se escuche cada porción del texto donde la cinta acompaña las igualmente sensuales líneas del oboe d'amore en vivo o corno inglés y las formas curvilíneas de proyectado gráficos por computadora de Theo Goldberg.

A lo largo de la obra se difuminan los límites, una metáfora del amor mismo. Por ejemplo, las voces muy estiradas mencionadas anteriormente se asemejan a los sonidos ambientales, mientras que las grabaciones reales del paisaje sonoro (p. Ej., Pájaros, cigarras, grillos) que también están estiradas y armonizadas comienzan a parecerse a las expresiones humanas. Las referencias musicales a melodías de las tradiciones cristiana y judía también se entrelazan cada vez más a medida que avanza la pieza. Asimismo, el texto con género y las voces masculinas y femeninas que lo hablan a menudo se entremezclan y sus distinciones son borrosas. Por ejemplo, el famoso texto "Soy la rosa de Sharon, el lirio de los valles" es recitado por la voz femenina con tres transposiciones que lo acompañan hacia abajo en el rango de la voz masculina. La difuminación de las representaciones heterosexuales y homosexuales del texto alcanza un pico emocional en el tercer movimiento, 'Evening', que utiliza el texto: Me llevó a la casa de banquetes y su estandarte sobre mí era amor. Me senté bajo su sombra y su fruta era dulce a mi paladar.Eres toda hermosa mi amor, no hay mancha en ti.Las articulaciones de tus muslos son como joyas, obra de manos de hábil trabajador.Esta tu estatura es como una palmera, y tus pechos como racimos de uvas.Hasta que amanezca y huyan las sombras, me llevaré a los montes de mirra y al collado del incienso.Yo soy mis amados y mi amado es mío. Soy mis amados y su deseo es hacia mí.Acompañadas por un fuego crepitante, las voces masculinas y femeninas comparten este texto, a veces reflejando una forma de dirección del sexo opuesto y, a veces, una forma del mismo sexo, como cuando la voz masculina y femenina comparten la frase 'tus pechos son racimos de uvas' pero la voz femenina prolonga la frase. El momento más explícitamente homoerótico se produce en el punto culminante donde la voz masculina saca a relucir la frase final `` su deseo es hacia mí '' (3:25), lo que lleva a la versión más estirada y expandida de la palabra `` deseo '', acompañada de el prolongado canto de un monje, el crepitar del fuego y una florida elaboración de la melodía de canto tocada por la trompa inglesa.Song of Songs fue una inspiración directa para la creación tres años después de la obra de teatro musical Powers of Two: The Artist (1995), que más tarde se convertiría en el Acto 2 de la ópera completa Powers of Two que he resumido anteriormente (Truax, 2000 ). Los cuatro personajes principales de la ópera incluyen una pareja heterosexual (soprano y barítono, como alternativa a la pareja convencional soprano / tenor), un tenor lírico gay (El artista) y una mezzosoprano lesbiana (El periodista). Los textos del Acto 2 han sido presentados y discutidos previamente (Truax, 1996). Decidí comenzar la composición de la ópera con este acto porque era el que solo tenía personajes masculinos, y hasta ese momento había caído en el patrón identificado por Bosma (1995) de escribir solo para voz femenina (aunque había usado una voz masculina hablada como material grabado en The Blind Man (1979), Wings of Nike y Song of Songs, como se describió anteriormente). Aunque los dos roles masculinos en este acto (Artista y Vidente) no son amantes, sus rangos vocales son similares (tenor lírico y contratenor) pero distinguibles. El entrelazamiento de dos voces masculinas agudas crea un sonido potencialmente homoerótico que, al parecer, la mayoría de los compositores heterosexuales han evitado, aunque un ejemplo operístico que involucra al tenor y al barítono se discutirá más adelante.Gran parte de la historia dramática de la ópera involucra las respectivas búsquedas de cada personaje por un compañero, así como por la realización psicológica y espiritual. Los actos 2 y 3 presentan a los personajes homosexuales y exploran el tema del 'otro imaginario' que aparece como una proyección de imagen de video deseable pero inalcanzable. El acompañamiento de cinta de 8 canales consiste principalmente en material vocal proporcionado por las voces de contratenor y contralto que aparecen en esos actos, respectivamente, expandido por medio de resonadores y estiramiento de tiempo granular de manera que los intérpretes en vivo (y la audiencia) se sumergen dentro de una voz. paisaje sonoro. La búsqueda de cada personaje se expresa en términos de inspiración artística para el Artista y una 'historia mediática' para el Periodista. De acuerdo con estas situaciones contrastantes, el 'otro deseable' para el Artista aparece como imágenes masculinas estetizadas e idealizadas en video, y como modelos femeninos derivados de la publicidad televisiva para el Periodista. Cada personaje debe abandonar estas imágenes ilusorias para progresar en su búsqueda. Para el periodista, esto significa abandonar las actividades materiales, como lo simboliza el hecho de que ella se convierte en la sucesora del personaje de Sibyl (un alto) y pasa a llamarse Safo. El Artista aprende que las respuestas que busca no están en el mundo externo, simbolizado por el personaje Vidente al que se dirige pero no puede comprender, sino dentro de sí mismo. Su aceptación final de sí mismo, así como de su amante, está plasmada en su texto final, "Te abrazo en mí". El 'compañero' real de cada personaje resulta ser los bailarines del Acto 1 que los imitaban pero a quienes los cantantes no podían ver. Ambos pares están unidos en el acto. 

4. ALMAS GEMELAS Mi CD más reciente, llamado Twin Souls, presenta una colección de obras electroacústicas con textos de género y varios estilos de interacción de artistas en vivo con esos textos. El tema central del "alma gemela" se puede aplicar a una variedad de formas de deseo humano por otro ser, ya sea una "imagen especular", una pareja idealizada o un "opuesto" complementario. El sonido electroacústico incorpóreo, que a menudo diseño como una imagen más grande que la vida del intérprete en vivo, parece particularmente apropiado para crear este papel reflejado. Sin embargo, este arquetipo, ya sea interpretado como una relación de sexo opuesto o del mismo sexo, adquiere una interpretación diferente en este último caso. Como señalaron William Roscoe (1995) y otros, el mito de los gemelos varones arquetípicos o divinos tiene una larga historia (por ejemplo, Baldr y Loki en las Eddas nórdicas, o Gilgamesh y Enkidu, el tema de mi segunda ópera, Gilgamesh), uno que pueda informar nuestra comprensión de las parejas homosexuales y otras amistades del mismo sexo.El tema del alma gemela se explora en dos arreglos corales, las canciones que dan título al CD, basado en la música de Powers of Two. El primero, subtitulado 'Tú y yo', reúne dos textos, el primero de Rumi (1207-1273) y el segundo de Katherine Philips (1631-1664):Feliz el momento en que estemos sentados en el Palacio, tú y yo, Con dos formas y con dos figuras pero con un alma, tú y yo.Los colores de la arboleda y la voz de los pájaros conferirán la inmortalidadEn el momento en que entramos en el jardín, tú y yoLas estrellas del cielo vendrán a mirarnos;Les mostraremos la Luna misma, se mezclará en éxtasis,Alegres y a salvo de tonterías, tú y yo.Jalal al-Din Rumi: The Divan of Shams I Tabriz (traducción de R. A. Nicholson)Así nuestras almas gemelas en una crecerán,Y enséñale al mundo un nuevo amor,Canjee la edad y el sexo, y muestreUna llama que el destino no se atreve a mover:Y cortejando a la Muerte para que sea nuestra amigaNuestras vidas juntas también terminarán.Katherine Philips: A la Sra. M. A. en Parting El amor expresado por Rumi es por el derviche Shams al-Din, de Tabriz, a quien veía como un compañero espiritual, y el de Katherine Philips es por sus amigas cercanas, un tipo de amor que difería del que ella sentía por su marido. . Este tipo de vínculo entre personas del mismo sexo se expresa mejor en el texto utilizado en el segundo arreglo coral (derivado del aria del periodista en el tercer acto de Poderes de dos) que dice en parte:No viví hasta este momento Coronado mi felicidad,Cuando pude decir sin un crimen"No soy tuyo, sino tú"....Entonces deja que nuestras llamas aún se enciendan y brillenY no hay control de miedo falsoTan inocente como nuestro diseño,Inmortal como nuestra alma. Katherine Philips: A mi excelente Lucasia, sobre nuestra amistadEn el CD se incluyen otros dos extractos de Powers of Two, a saber, In Memoriam AHH, el dúo masculino del Acto 1, y el Himno a la luna de Sibyl del Acto 3. El primero se basa en una estrofa de Alfred, la colección monumental de Lord Tennyson. de 131 poemas dedicados a la memoria de su amigo Arthur Hallam que murió inesperadamente.Tu voz está en el aire ondulante; Te oigo donde corren las aguas;Estás en el sol naciente,Y en el marco eres hermosa. ¿Qué eres entonces? No puedo adivinar;Pero aunque parezco estrella y florPara sentirte un poder difusor,Por eso no te amo menos:Mi amor envuelve el amor de antes;Mi amor es una pasión más vasta ahora;Aunque mezclado con Dios y la Naturaleza,Parece que te amo cada vez más.Estás lejos, pero siempre cerca;Todavía te tengo y me alegro;Prospero, rodeado de tu voz;No te perderé aunque muera.Alfred, Lord Tennyson: In Memoriam A.H.H., CXXX En la ópera, el dúo es entre el barítono heterosexual y el tenor gay, pero de acuerdo con el tema de las almas gemelas del CD, la versión grabada tiene varias pistas, el tenor toma ambas partes y continúa con el siguiente solo, basado en una estrofa de Hojas de hierba (Canciones de despedida) de Walt Whitman. Con frecuencia se ha señalado que hay pocos dúos masculinos en el repertorio de ópera tradicional, presumiblemente debido a la ausencia de relaciones amorosas entre hombres en sus tramas. Los machos que cantan juntos en la ópera, además de como coro, suelen ser los que compiten o están en conflicto, si no en una batalla directa. La excepción que prueba esta regla es el a menudo citado 'Dúo de pescadores de perlas' de Les Pêcheurs de Perles de Bizet, donde los dos amigos varones, Nadir y Zurga, recuerdan cuando ambos estaban enamorados de la misma hermosa mujer, pero decidieron renunciar a ella. para seguir siendo amigos. Un comportamiento tan sensato era presumiblemente aceptable en el siglo XIX porque la ópera estaba ambientada en un lugar exótico no europeo (Ceilán), mientras que la misma situación en uno europeo habría implicado inevitablemente un duelo y una muerte (como la retratada en Eugene Onegin ).En mi versión paralela de esta situación, todos los personajes del Acto 1 están confundidos en su búsqueda del amor, y en el dúo el tenor gay cree estar enamorado del barítono que a su vez está encaprichado con la imagen de video de la soprano. Al cantar el texto anterior, el tenor y el barítono toman frases alternas y se unen en la última línea de cada estrofa, reflejándose y uniéndose así, incluso si el objeto de su amor no es mutuo. El abrazo fallido que sigue y destruye la ilusión de amor del tenor da como resultado la canción de Whitman de separarse de un amante desconocido.Todas estas obras pueden considerarse como la recuperación de una lectura del mismo sexo de los textos tradicionales, en particular las expresiones líricas del amor. Mi tratamiento de ellos pone de manifiesto sus implicaciones homoeróticas, pero los textos originales mantienen esta interpretación como subtexto. Para desarrollar aún más estas ideas, recurrí a la poesía lírica homoerótica de Tennessee Williams que se encuentra en su antología Androgyne, Mon Amour (1977), mi obra lleva el mismo título. Como se describió anteriormente (Truax, 2000), la primera versión de la obra es una pieza de teatro musical, escrita para el virtuoso contrabajista estadounidense Robert Black, cuya interpretación grabada aparece en el CD de Twin Souls. Los poemas, leídos por Douglas Huffman, se escuchan en una cinta, y en la interpretación se crea la ilusión de que están dirigidos al instrumento mismo como el carácter "andrógino" del texto. Para apoyar esta ilusión, el texto a menudo se procesa a través de resonadores que modelan una cuerda física y se sintonizan con los tonos de las cuerdas abiertas en el bajo. Así, el intérprete masculino, cuya voz está representada por la poesía en la cinta, se entrelaza con el sonido del bajo que generalmente se clasifica como masculino (en contraste con el violonchelo que generalmente se clasifica como femenino). Las versiones expandidas de la voz y el bajo en la cinta crean de manera similar un paisaje sonoro sensual que refleja esta relación homoerótica.Para acompañar el CD, se preparó una versión en video de la obra en la que un bailarín, Walter Kubanek, interpreta el papel del andrógino. En varios puntos clave del video, la imagen del bailarín se superpone a la del bajo interpretado por Robert Black. En la secuencia de apertura, 'Tú y yo', la ilusión se intensifica al ver el cuerpo casi desnudo de la bailarina, con la cabeza gacha, los pies en la posición del cuello del instrumento, siendo acariciado e inclinado por el bajista. La imagen corta a un primer plano del cuerpo de la bailarina siendo golpeado por un arco real durante los gestos del col legno. En la siguiente secuencia de baile en solitario, el bailarín aparece hermanado (mediante la superposición de una imagen invertida digitalmente) con una imagen especular de sí mismo. Cuando la pieza vuelve a la segunda mitad del poema 'Tú y yo' al final, se repite la secuencia del espejo, esta vez con un retraso de 7 segundos. Esta cantidad de desincronización crea la ilusión de un segundo personaje en lugar de una imagen reflejada, de acuerdo con el texto, '¿Quién soy yo? … Un enemigo tuyo. Tu amante.' En la ópera, el dúo es entre el barítono heterosexual y el tenor gay, pero de acuerdo con el tema de las almas gemelas del CD, la versión grabada tiene varias pistas, el tenor toma ambas partes y continúa con el siguiente solo, basado en una estrofa de Hojas de hierba (Canciones de despedida) de Walt Whitman. Con frecuencia se ha señalado que hay pocos dúos masculinos en el repertorio de ópera tradicional, presumiblemente debido a la ausencia de relaciones amorosas entre hombres en sus tramas. Los machos que cantan juntos en la ópera, además de como coro, suelen ser los que compiten o están en conflicto, si no en una batalla directa. La excepción que prueba esta regla es el a menudo citado 'Dúo de pescadores de perlas' de Les Pêcheurs de Perles de Bizet, donde los dos amigos varones, Nadir y Zurga, recuerdan cuando ambos estaban enamorados de la misma hermosa mujer, pero decidieron renunciar a ella. para seguir siendo amigos. Un comportamiento tan sensato era presumiblemente aceptable en el siglo XIX porque la ópera estaba ambientada en un lugar exótico no europeo (Ceilán), mientras que la misma situación en uno europeo habría implicado inevitablemente un duelo y una muerte (como la retratada en Eugene Onegin ).En mi versión paralela de esta situación, todos los personajes del Acto 1 están confundidos en su búsqueda del amor, y en el dúo el tenor gay cree estar enamorado del barítono que a su vez está encaprichado con la imagen de video de la soprano. Al cantar el texto anterior, el tenor y el barítono toman frases alternas y se unen en la última línea de cada estrofa, reflejándose y uniéndose así, incluso si el objeto de su amor no es mutuo. El abrazo fallido que sigue y destruye la ilusión de amor del tenor da como resultado la canción de Whitman de separarse de un amante desconocido.Todas estas obras pueden considerarse como la recuperación de una lectura del mismo sexo de los textos tradicionales, en particular las expresiones líricas del amor. Mi tratamiento de ellos pone de manifiesto sus implicaciones homoeróticas, pero los textos originales mantienen esta interpretación como subtexto. Para desarrollar aún más estas ideas, recurrí a la poesía lírica homoerótica de Tennessee Williams que se encuentra en su antología Androgyne, Mon Amour (1977), mi obra lleva el mismo título. Como se describió anteriormente (Truax, 2000), la primera versión de la obra es una pieza de teatro musical, escrita para el virtuoso contrabajista estadounidense Robert Black, cuya interpretación grabada aparece en el CD de Twin Souls. Los poemas, leídos por Douglas Huffman, se escuchan en una cinta, y en la interpretación se crea la ilusión de que están dirigidos al instrumento mismo como el carácter "andrógino" del texto. Para apoyar esta ilusión, el texto a menudo se procesa a través de resonadores que modelan una cuerda física y se sintonizan con los tonos de las cuerdas abiertas en el bajo. Así, el intérprete masculino, cuya voz está representada por la poesía en la cinta, se entrelaza con el sonido del bajo que generalmente se clasifica como masculino (en contraste con el violonchelo que generalmente se clasifica como femenino). Las versiones expandidas de la voz y el bajo en la cinta crean de manera similar un paisaje sonoro sensual que refleja esta relación homoerótica. Para acompañar el CD, se preparó una versión en video de la obra en la que un bailarín, Walter Kubanek, interpreta el papel del andrógino. En varios puntos clave del video, la imagen del bailarín se superpone a la del bajo interpretado por Robert Black. En la secuencia de apertura, 'Tú y yo', la ilusión se intensifica al ver el cuerpo casi desnudo de la bailarina, con la cabeza gacha, los pies en la posición del cuello del instrumento, siendo acariciado e inclinado por el bajista. La imagen corta a un primer plano del cuerpo de la bailarina siendo golpeado por un arco real durante los gestos del col legno. En la siguiente secuencia de baile en solitario, el bailarín aparece hermanado (mediante la superposición de una imagen invertida digitalmente) con una imagen especular de sí mismo. Cuando la pieza vuelve a la segunda mitad del poema 'Tú y yo' al final, se repite la secuencia del espejo, esta vez con un retraso de 7 segundos. Esta cantidad de desincronización crea la ilusión de un segundo personaje en lugar de una imagen reflejada, de acuerdo con el texto, '¿Quién soy yo? … Un enemigo tuyo. Tu amante.' El único otro poema que se utiliza en su totalidad es 'Winter Smoke', que no avanza en la historia, pero captura imágenes de género relacionadas con el tema de la obra.El humo del invierno es azul y amargo: las mujeres te reconfortan en invierno.El aroma del tomillo es fresco y tierno:las chicas son música para recordar.Los hombres están hechos de roca y trueno:amenaza de tormenta para trabajar bajo.Los bosques de cipreses son oscuros como los demonios:los chicos son dientes de zorro en tu corazón.Durante las dos primeras estrofas se ve a la bailarina vestida como un personaje femenino.

En la tercera y cuarta estrofas, vuelve a la vestimenta masculina, primero como un hombre agresivo y luchador, luego como un adolescente atractivo, con atajos a una versión con el torso desnudo en el pizzicato que se sincroniza con los 'dientes de zorro'. imagen del poema.La cúspide erótica de la obra, titulada 'Liturgia de las rosas', muestra al bailarín primero dormido y luego despierto superpuesto al bajista sentado tocando glissandi armónico, y luego a dúo con el propio bajo contra un fondo de primer plano del instrumento cubierto de rosas. El bailarín se mueve sensualmente alrededor del instrumento explorando sus curvas y aberturas, la cadencia de esta secuencia corta a un primer plano del bailarín dormido en un abrazo del instrumento. Una versión hermanada de esta imagen se encuentra en la contraportada del folleto del CD.

El único otro poema utilizado en su totalidad es 'Winter Smoke', que no avanza en la historia, pero captura imágenes de género relacionadas con el tema de la obra.

El humo del invierno es azul y amargo:

las mujeres te reconfortan en invierno.

El aroma del tomillo es fresco y tierno:

las chicas son música para recordar.

Los hombres están hechos de roca y trueno:

amenaza de tormenta para trabajar bajo.

Los bosques de cipreses son oscuros como los demonios:

los chicos son dientes de zorro en tu corazón.

Durante las dos primeras estrofas se ve a la bailarina vestida como un personaje femenino. En la tercera y cuarta estrofas, vuelve a la vestimenta masculina, primero como un hombre agresivo y luchador, luego como un adolescente atractivo, con atajos a una versión con el torso desnudo en el pizzicato que se sincroniza con los 'dientes de zorro'. imagen del poema.

La siguiente escena, 'La hora del lobo', describe las secuelas del encuentro erótico, cuando son las 3 am y el amante se ha ido. El bajista fuma un cigarrillo, luego mira con nostalgia el instrumento que yace en el suelo y se mueve para acariciarlo, momento en el que se superpone una imagen de la bailarina dormida. La versión hermanada de esta imagen aparece en la portada del CD. Williams expresa el recuerdo del encuentro líricamente de la siguiente manera:

Sin embargo, existe este pequeño consuelo:

en el recuerdo curvo de mis manos queda indeleblemente

la carne desnuda del joven que se negó a quedarse más tiempo,

y podría conformarme con menos,

Dios sabe si no sin saberlo.

En la versión en video se superponen dos versiones de la bailarina, una durmiendo, la otra que se levanta del decúbito prono y comienza a salir por la pantalla, deteniéndose en dos puntos mientras la lúgubre línea musical asciende por todo el compás del instrumento. . El video hace que el homoerotismo del texto y la música sea mucho más explícito, pero en última instancia es una visualización del drama representado en la versión en vivo donde el oyente debe imaginar al "otro deseado".

5. CONCLUSIÓN

El acceso a la tecnología electroacústica por parte de mujeres o grupos minoritarios siempre seguirá siendo un tema importante. Sin embargo, igualmente importante y quizás más desafiante es qué otras visiones la tecnología le permitirá expresar al artista. Si todos tienen la oportunidad de sonar igual, ¿lo llamaremos igualdad? Durante los últimos doce años, más o menos, me he embarcado en un viaje artístico para crear obras basadas en el contexto, a diferencia de las que siguen siendo abstractas. Las composiciones de paisajes sonoros y las obras de teatro musical basadas en texto (Truax, 2000) han sido los vehículos principales para esta exploración. 

Además de diseñar las obras de tal manera que estén indisolublemente ligadas y moldeadas por sus referencias contextuales, considero que es un desafío adicional hacerlas más "universales" de manera que tengan una vida más allá de sus orígenes. Solo el tiempo dirá si las estrategias que he utilizado garantizarán esa longevidad. El género y la sexualidad parecen ser algunos de los temas más difíciles de tratar artísticamente, particularmente musicalmente. No es difícil ver por qué la mayoría de los compositores han evitado comprometerse con ellos. Por otro lado, estos aspectos están en el centro de nuestras vidas y nuestras formas de estar en el mundo, e ignoramos la energía que proporcionan a nuestro riesgo si los excluimos de nuestros esfuerzos creativos.

REFERENCIAS

Blackmer, C. y Smith, P. 1995. En Travesti: Women, Gender Subversion, Opera. Nueva York: Columbia University Press.

Bosma, H. 1995. Voces masculinas y femeninas en la música por ordenador. Proc. del Int. Computer Music Conf. (Banff, Canadá), págs. 139-142. San Francisco, CA: Asociación Internacional de Música por Computadora.

Brett, P., Wood, E. y Thomas, G. 1994. Queering The Pitch: La nueva musicología gay y lesbiana. Nueva York: Routledge.

Dusman, L. 2000. Allí no hay cuerpos: ausencia y presencia en la actuación acústica. En P. Moisala y B. Diamond (eds.) Música y género. Urbana, IL: Prensa de la Universidad de Illinois.

Emmerson, S. 1986. La relación del lenguaje con los materiales. En S. Emmerson (ed.) El lenguaje de la música electroacústica. Londres: Macmillan.

Gill, J. 1995. Queer Noises: Homosexualidad masculina y femenina en la música del siglo XX. Minneapolis: Prensa de la Universidad de Minnesota.

Koestenbaum, W. 1993. La garganta de la reina: ópera, homosexualidad y el misterio del deseo. Nueva York: Poseidon Press.

Leppert, R. y McClary, S. (eds.) 1987. Music and Society. Prensa de la Universidad de Cambridge.

Lonsdale, R. (ed.) 1990. Poetas de las mujeres del siglo XVIII. Prensa de la Universidad de Oxford.

McCartney, A. 1993. Inventar metáforas y metáforas para la invención: voces de mujeres compositoras en el discurso de la música electroacústica. En B. Diamond y R. Witmer (eds.) Música canadiense: cuestiones de hegemonía e identidad. Toronto: Canadian Scholars Press.

Roscoe, W. 1995. Queer Spirits. Boston: Beacon Press.

Sandstrom, B. 2000. Las mujeres mezclan ingenieros y el poder del sonido. En P. Moisala y B. Diamond (eds.) Música y género. Urbana, IL: Prensa de la Universidad de Illinois.

Schmidgall, G. 1997. Walt Whitman: A Gay Life. Libros de pingüinos.

Pastor, J. 1987. Música y hegemonía masculina. En R. Leppert y S. McClary (eds.) Music and Society, págs. 151-172. Prensa de la Universidad de Cambridge.

Solie, R. (ed.) 1993. Musicología y diferencia: género y sexualidad en la beca musical. Berkeley: Prensa de la Universidad de California.

Truax, B. 1990. Componer con sonido granular en tiempo real. Perspectivas de la nueva música, 28 (2): 120-134.

Truax, B. 1992a. Componer con sonido ambiental diferido en el tiempo. Leonardo Music Journal, 2 (1): 37-40.

Truax, B. 1992b. La música electroacústica y el paisaje sonoro: el mundo interior y exterior. En J. Paynter, T. Howell, R. Orton y P. Seymour (eds.) Companion to Contemporary Musical Thought, págs. 374-98. Londres: Routledge.

Truax, B. 1994a. La complejidad interior y exterior de la música. Perspectivas de la nueva música, 32 (1): 176-193.

Truax, B. 1994b. Descubriendo la complejidad interior: cambio de tiempo y transposición con una técnica de granulación en tiempo real. Computer Music Journal, 18 (2): 38-48 (ejemplos de hojas de sonido en 18 (1)).

Truax, B. 1996. Sonidos y fuentes en Powers of Two: hacia un mito contemporáneo. Sonido organizado, 1 (1), 13-21.

Truax, B. 1996. Inside. Cambridge Street Publishing, CSR-CD 9601 (Poderes de dos: el artista).

Truax, B. 2001. Twin Souls. Cambridge Street Publishing, CSR-CD 0102 (Androgyne, Mon Amour; In Memoriam A.H.H .; Himno a la luna; Twin Souls).

SITIOS WEB

www.sfu.ca/~truax

www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/su/gaylesb/glgxiv-mus.htmls

Ver también: artículo de Musicworks, # 108, 2010

[rmapracticeresearchgroup]

RMA Conference catch-up

This year’s RMA conference had some great practice research papers/workshops that you can still watch online until sep 18th here - 

https://www.goldsmithsrma2020.org/programme

Hopefully I’ve mentioned all of them, title/author/abstracts below, I haven’t seen all of these myself yet.

Mira Benjamin and Pete Furniss (Goldsmiths, University of London): Embodied Research Methodology as a Creative Framework for Performance Pedagogy in Higher Education

Recent discourses in Practice Research have addressed the epistemic capacities of embodied knowledge. In illustrating how knowledge can arise both as thinking and as doing (Varela et al. 1991, Knorr-Cetina 2001; Borgdorff, 2012; Schwab 2015), such conversations have seeded a community of embodied researchers, including a growing number of practice-based research projects in Music Performance. Following Ben Spatz’s argument that “knowledge inheres in practice” (Spatz, 2015: 25), we may understand the development of a musician’s technique as representing knowledge, which may be applied in many potential ‘instances of practice’. We propose that embodied research methodologies afford both constructive and creative frameworks in individual learning and teaching when applied in performance pedagogy in Higher Education. This approach offers an alternative to outcome-oriented pedagogies that may prioritise certain achievements at the expense of motivation and investment, and to the potential impairment of the health and well-being of students. Instead, an emphasis on learning as a discovery-led process of research (Bell & Stoneham 2016) – one in which the development of technique is seen as a growing of embodied knowledge – can carry a profound impact on student experience and engagement. Our argument is illustrated and discussed using recent case studies involving undergraduate and postgraduate Music Performance students, which evidence the creative potentials of critical self-reflection, questioning, and a focused attention to process.

Roundtable: The Location of Musical Knowledge Chair: Alex de Lacey (Goldsmiths, University of London) Panellists: Les Back, Alya Al-Sultani, Lemzi and Corey Mwamba.

Goldsmiths is located in New Cross, part of the London Borough of Lewisham. This area is vibrant and diverse, with bustling musical communities of many different kinds that underpin the everyday functionality of its home borough. This roundtable will bring together practitioners and scholars from across the institutional divide to ask what we can learn from community-led practice (in schools, in worship, in informal non-institutional settings [bars, clubs, halls]), and question how different forms of musical and artistic expression (jazz, spoken word, grime, South Asian diasporic practice, sound system traditions, hip-hop) function inside and outside the academy. It will seek to determine how musicians do what they do, how creativity is spoken about, and appraise the variegated ways of knowing that aren't typically located in an academic setting, yet are vital for a fuller, more nuanced, understanding of musical practice.

[unfortunately only the concert is video-archived, not the workshop process] Composition Workshop Chaired by Roger Redgate (Goldsmiths, University of London)

Composers: Paul Archbold, Yuko Ohara, David Gorton, Alastair Zaldua, Angela Slater, Panos Ghikas. Compositional research at Goldsmiths comes under the auspices of the Contemporary Music Research Unit (CMRU), which was founded by Professor Roger Redgate in 2011. This composition workshop is lead by violinist Peter Sheppard Skærved and oboist Christopher Redgate, two leading exponents of new music and practice based research, both of whom have a long standing association with Goldsmiths as musicians in residence. Peter Sheppard Skærved is currently an associated research fellow with the CMRU. A further feature of the workshop is the Howarth-Redgate oboe, an extended instrument designed by Christopher Redgate with a view to facilitating a wide range of contemporary techniques. The workshop will take place at Goldsmiths from 11.00–17.00 on Wednesday 9 September. Performers Christopher Redgate and Peter Sheppard-Skæverd will workshop a selection of pieces submitted to our CfP.

‘What Listening Knows’ David Chesworth (RMIT University, Melbourne)

This paper discusses the large-scale video and sound installation What Listening Knows and how it interrogates the act of listening, particularly the concept of ‘the microphone’s gaze’, which shifts the idea of the ocular gaze into an acoustic dimension. During a recent research residency in Wiltshire, the artist duo Sonia Leber and David Chesworth filmed performers acting as field recordists in the landscape, trailing through cornfields, unfathomable 72 henges, earthworks, anthills and ancient forests. The highly-detailed soundscape is composed from environmental sounds, spoken texts, performances, military aircraft above the forest canopy, surveillance technologies, and special compositions performed by Salisbury Cathedral choristers. The video reveals the temporal manipulations of two electronic musicians as they cut-up and splice the original recordings, subjecting them to changes of tape speed and direction. This references the methodology of musique concrète, originated by Pierre Schaeffer and others, where acousmatic music was created by manipulating recorded sounds to reveal new and affecting aspects of those sounds, obscuring the sound’s original identity and meaning. What Listening Knows explores compositional themes of musique concrète composers (male and female): ear perspective versus microphone perspective; intuition; non-human listening (by plants, animals, and electronic technologies); animism and sound; and transitional and marginal listening to different presences, absences and spaces of the mind. Key in this, is how different kinds of listening can lead us to experience new worlds beyond visual perception. What Listening Knows has been created for exhibition over three large-scale video projections and 16 audio channels across the cavernous main space at Messums Wiltshire from 11 September to 25 October, 2020.

Calibrating Spatial Typologies with Musical Ideas in Composition and Performance Emma Kate Matthews (Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London) 

This practice-based research presents a range of real and virtual scenarios in which acoustic characteristics of physical and virtual space, and conceptual spatial ideas are embodied in sonic works, with a particular focus on architecturally-aware and spatially-organised musical compositions. This paper acknowledges the spatially-precise works of composer Henry Brant in parallel to an exploration of the limitations and opportunities of ambisonic simulation technology and spatial audio as a tool for prediction and performance by architects, composers and musicians, and as employed in recent spatial music projects by the author. Throughout this paper, I use the self-coined term “spatiosonic” to refer to work which deliberately discovers productive reciprocities between music as constructed sound and architecture as constructed space. Constant developments in spatial audio technology is changing the way that we understand and experience relationships between architecture and music. An increasing freedom from a physical site-specificity is accompanied by a desire to access and replicate the acoustic character of ‘other’ spaces; both virtual and real. In order to maintain a critical and productive dialogue between the practices of constructing sound and constructing space, we must establish rigorous and precise methods for the calibration of these two worlds. This paper presents an initial identification and categorisation of spatial typologies in relation to sonic media as a means of establishing methodologies by which characteristics of both physical and virtual space can be more precisely calibrated with musical ideas in spatiosonic practice, using examples from recent spatial composition projects by the author.

Composition workshop: Scott McLaughlin: Composing for the Indeterminacy of the Clarinet, with Heather Roche.

The possibilities of woodwind multiphonics has been well-mapped in recent decades, to the point of the technique being ubiquitous in contemporary music. Resources by Bartolozzi (1967), Rehfeldt (1976), Farmer (1982), Weiss & Netti (2010), Watts (2015) and others have tended towards the goal of documenting only the most reliable and predictable fingerings. This strategy is entirely sensible for certain modes of composition/performance, but occurs at the expense of exploring the specific ways in which multiphonics can be indeterminate, and the rich compositional possibilities these indeterminacies offer that go beyond the production of arbitrary sounds and ‘effects’. This online workshop with Scott McLaughlin and clarinettists Heather Roche works through the key insights of the AHRC-funded project ‘The Garden of Forking Paths’ (2019–21) which develops compositional strategies for working with the indeterminacies of clarinets. The project flips the standard model of multiphonics by taking indeterminacies as opportunities to be followed; assigning a material-agency (Pickering 1995) to the clarinet wherein the instrument reveals new sounds through recursively exploring limited configurations of fingering/throat-embouchure-techniques. We develop compositional strategies for performatively generating and following the paths laid down by the instrument: see Tim Ingold’s concept of ‘wayfaring’ (2013). The workshop will explore different dimensions of this, demonstrating compositional strategies appropriate for several classes of indeterminacies.

‘The Pianist as Film Critic: Interpreting the Intermedial Dialogues of Nicole Lizée’s Criterion Collection’ Zubin Kanga (Royal Holloway, University of London) 

This paper explores the new approaches to interactions between a live performer and film, and the corresponding interpretative challenges, of the Criterion Collection works of Canadian composer, Nicole Lizée. These works take clips from iconic films by a major filmmaker, looping and manipulating them and using the resulting distorted film score, dialogue and foley as musical materials, with each scene transformed into a short study. Each set of studies thus becomes a musical portrait of a particular film auteur. In their integration of media, theatre and performance, these works exemplify the recently emerged compositional school identified as ‘The New Discipline’ (Walshe) or ‘Music in the Expanded Field’ (Ciciliani, Shlomowitz), while also being a unique outlier of this new intermedial genre. Focusing on her Scorsese Etudes (2018) (commissioned by the author) as well as the Hitchcock Etudes (2010) and David Lynch Etudes (2015), the paper will analyse the categories of relationships between live performer and film, the myriad musical materials resulting from different film manipulations, the different musical results from focusing on different filmmakers, and the interpretative challenges of negotiating all these possible combinations of source, style and transformation. Using correspondence with the composer, the author’s performance scores, and videos of the author’s performances, a new type of performer role will be demonstrated, one that is both a virtuoso and a film critic, interrogating auteur theory from the keyboard.

How to Become Ethereal: A Compositional Approach to Mass as a Timbral Dimension Ivonne Michele Abondano Florez (University of Leeds) 

As Asteris Zacharakis, Konstantinos Pastiadis and Joshua D. Reiss argue, the perceptual experience of timbre is strongly influenced, if not determined, by the use of words that describe its characteristics and behaviour, often in terms of luminance, mass, and texture. Spectral analysis of timbre allows for the formulation of more specific descriptors of timbral possibilities, contributing to a richer understanding of timbre in a multidimensional and dynamic perspective. Here, I focus on outlining the compositional approach for ‘A Weightlessness Process (... or how to become ethereal)’, a solo cello piece based on the timbral perception of mass, specifically from the experience of weight. In the field of physics, mass refers to the resistance that a body of matter offers to a change upon the application of a force. Timbre, as a process of interaction between the parameters of sound, implies continuous transformation. Thus, the perception of mass in timbre can be associated with its resistance to change, and ‘matter’ to the internal behaviour of timbre itself. From this perspective, weight is approached as the force exerted to determine the resistance given in timbre, as the perception of its internal interaction as well as the experience of the physical approach to the source of sound. Consequently, the spectral analysis of the cello techniques developed for this composition brings about a recognition that the perception of weight in timbre is influenced by parameters like loudness and spectral content. This information makes possible a classification of these techniques according to descriptors for the ‘measurement’ of weight that function as structural points in the weightlessness process, from a technical and conceptual perspective.

[cuethetommo]

2018 Grammy Nominations

*this is only a reflection of those categories that Solo OT5 were nominated in (except Best New Artist, I just wanted to include it), for the full list, click here.

GENERAL FIELD

Category 1 - Record Of The Year (Award to the Artist and to the Producer(s), Recording Engineer(s) and/or Mixer(s) and mastering engineer(s), if other than the artist.)

Redbone - Childish Gambino (Ludwig Goransson, producer; Donald Glover, Ludwig Goransson, Riley Mackin & Ruben Rivera, engineers/mixers; Bernie Grundman, mastering engineer)

Despacito - Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee Featuring Justin Bieber (Josh Gudwin, Mauricio Rengifo & Andrés Torres, producers; Josh Gudwin & Jaycen Joshua, engineers/mixers; Dave Kutch, mastering engineer)

The Story Of O.J. - JAY-Z (JAY-Z & No I.D., producers; Jimmy Douglas & Gimel "Young Guru" Keaton, engineers/mixers; Dave Kutch, mastering engineer)

HUMBLE. - Kendrick Lamar (Mike Will Made It, producer; Derek "MixedByAli" Ali, James Hunt & Matt Schaeffer, engineers/mixers; Mike Bozzi, mastering engineer)

24K Magic - Bruno Mars (Shampoo Press & Curl, producers; Serban Ghenea, John Hanes & Charles Moniz, engineers/mixers; Tom Coyne, mastering engineer)

Category 2 - Album Of The Year (Award to Artist(s) and to Featured Artist(s), Songwriter(s) of new material, Producer(s), Recording Engineer(s), Mixer(s) and Mastering Engineer(s) credited with at least 33% playing time of the album, if other than Artist.)

"Awaken, My Love!" - Childish Gambino (Ludwig Goransson, producer; Bryan Carrigan, Donald Glover, Ludwig Goransson, Riley Mackin & Ruben Rivera, engineers/mixers; Donald Glover & Ludwig Goransson, songwriters; Bernie Grundman, mastering engineer)

4:44 - JAY-Z (JAY-Z & No I.D., producers; Jimmy Douglas & Gimel "Young Guru" Keaton, engineers/mixers; Shawn Carter & Dion Wilson, songwriters; Dave Kutch, mastering engineer)

DAMN. - Kendrick Lamar (DJ Dahi, Sounwave & Anthony Tiffith, producers; Derek "MixedByAli" Ali, James Hunt & Matt Schaeffer, engineers/mixers; K. Duckworth, D. Natche, M. Spears & A. Tiffith, songwriters; Mike Bozzi, mastering engineer)

Melodrama - Lorde (Jack Antonoff & Lorde, producers; Serban Ghenea, John Hanes & Laura Sisk, engineers/mixers; Jack Antonoff & Ella Yelich-O'Connor, songwriters; Randy Merrill, mastering engineer)

24K Magic - Bruno Mars (Shampoo Press & Curl, producers; Serban Ghenea, John Hanes & Charles Moniz, engineers/mixers; Christopher Brody Brown, James Fauntleroy, Philip Lawrence & Bruno Mars, songwriters; Tom Coyne, mastering engineer)

Category 3 - Song Of The Year (A Songwriter(s) Award. A song is eligible if it was first released or if it first achieved prominence during the Eligibility Year. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.)

Despacito - Ramón Ayala, Justin Bieber, Jason "Poo Bear" Boyd, Erika Ender, Luis Fonsi & Marty James Garton, songwriters (Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee Featuring Justin Bieber)

4:44 - Shawn Carter & Dion Wilson, songwriters (JAY-Z)

Issues - Benny Blanco, Mikkel Storleer Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen, Julia Michaels & Justin Drew Tranter, songwriters (Julia Michaels)

1-800-273-8255 - Alessia Caracciolo, Sir Robert Bryson Hall II, Arjun Ivatury & Khalid Robinson, songwriters (Logic Featuring Alessia Cara & Khalid)

That's What I Like - Christopher Brody Brown, James Fauntleroy, Philip Lawrence, Bruno Mars, Ray Charles McCullough II, Jeremy Reeves, Ray Romulus & Jonathan Yip, songwriters (Bruno Mars)

Category 4 - Best New Artist (An artist will be considered for Best New Artist if their eligibility year release/s achieved a breakthrough into the public consciousness and notably impacted the musical landscape.)

Alessia Cara

Khalid

Lil Uzi Vert

Julia Michaels

SZA

FIELD 1 - POP

Category 5 - Best Pop Solo Performance (For new vocal or instrumental pop recordings. Singles or Tracks only.)

Love So Soft - Kelly Clarkson

Praying - Kesha

Million Reasons - Lady Gaga

What About Us - P!nk

Shape Of You - Ed Sheeran

Category 6 - Best Pop Duo/Group Performance (For new vocal or instrumental duo/group or collaborative pop recordings. Singles or Tracks only.)

Something Just Like This - The Chainsmokers & Coldplay

Despacito - Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee Featuring Justin Bieber

Thunder - Imagine Dragons

Feel It Still - Portugal. The Man

Stay - Zedd & Alessia Cara

FIELD 2 - DANCE/ELECTRONIC MUSIC

Category 9 - Best Dance Recording (For solo, duo, group or collaborative performances. Vocal or Instrumental. Singles or tracks only.)

Bambro Koyo Ganda - Bonobo Featuring Innov Gnawa (Bonobo, producer; Bonobo, mixer)

Cola - Camelphat & Elderbrook (Mike Di Scala, Elderbrook & David Whelan, producers; Mike Di Scala, Elderbrook & David Whelan, mixers)

Andromeda - Gorillaz Featuring DRAM (Damon Albarn, Jamie Hewlett, Remi Kabaka & Anthony Khan, producers; Stephen Sedgwick, mixer)

Tonite - LCD Soundsystem (James Murphy, producer; James Murphy, mixer)

Line Of Sight - Odesza Featuring WYNNE & Mansionair (Clayton Knight & Harrison Mills, producers; Eric J Dubowsky, mixer)

FIELD 4 - ROCK

Category 12 - Best Rock Performance (For new vocal or instrumental solo, duo/group or collaborative rock recordings.)

You Want It Darker - Leonard Cohen

The Promise - Chris Cornell

Run - Foo Fighters

No Good - Kaleo

Go To War - Nothing More

Category 14 - Best Rock Song (A Songwriter(s) Award. Includes Rock, Hard Rock and Metal songs. For Song Eligibility Guidelines see Category #3. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.)

Atlas, Rise! - James Hetfield & Lars Ulrich, songwriters (Metallica)

Blood In The Cut - JT Daly & Kristine Flaherty, songwriters (K.Flay)

Go To War - Ben Anderson, Jonny Hawkins, Will Hoffman, Daniel Oliver, David Pramik & Mark Vollelunga, songwriters (Nothing More)

Run - Foo Fighters, songwriters (Foo Fighters)

The Stage - Zachary Baker, Brian Haner, Matthew Sanders, Jonathan Seward & Brooks Wackerman, songwriters (Avenged Sevenfold)

Category 15 - Best Rock Album (For albums containing at least 51% playing time of new rock, hard rock or metal recordings.)

Emperor Of Sand - Mastodon

Hardwired...To Self-Destruct - Metallica

The Stories We Tell Ourselves - Nothing More

Villains - Queens Of The Stone Age

A Deeper Understanding - The War On Drugs

FIELD 20 - MUSIC FOR VISUAL MEDIA

Category 61 - Best Song Written For Visual Media (A Songwriter(s) award. For a song (melody & lyrics) written specifically for a motion picture, television, video games or other visual media, and released for the first time during the Eligibility Year. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.)

City Of Stars - Justin Hurwitz, Benj Pasek & Justin Paul, songwriters (Ryan Gosling & Emma Stone)

How Far I'll Go - Lin-Manuel Miranda, songwriter (Auli'i Cravalho)

I Don't Wanna Live Forever (Fifty Shades Darker) - Jack Antonoff, Sam Dew & Taylor Swift, songwriters (ZAYN & Taylor Swift)

Never Give Up -  Sia Furler & Greg Kurstin, songwriters (Sia)

Stand Up For Something - Common & Diane Warren, songwriters (Andra Day Featuring Common)

FIELD 29 - MUSIC VIDEO/FILM

Category 83 - Best Music Video (Award to the artist, video director, and video producer.)

Up All Night - Beck (Canada, video director; Laura Serra Estorch & Oscar Romagosa, video producers)

Makeba - Jain (Lionel Hirle & Gregory Ohrel, video directors; Yodelice, video producer)

The Story Of O.J. - JAY-Z (Shawn Carter & Mark Romanek, video directors; Daniel Midgley, video producer)

Humble. - Kendrick Lamar (The Little Homies & Dave Meyers, video directors; Jason Baum, Dave Free, Jamie Rabineau, Nathan K. Scherrer & Anthony Tiffith, video producers)

1-800-273-8255 - Logic Featuring Alessia Cara & Khalid (Andy Hines, video director; Andrew Lerios, video producer)

Category 84 - Best Music Film (For concert/performance films or music documentaries. Award to the artist, video director, and video producer.)

One More Time With Feeling - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds (Andrew Dominik, video director; Dulcie Kellett & James Wilson, video producers)

Long Strange Trip - The Grateful Dead (Amir Bar-Lev, video director; Alex Blavatnik, Ken Dornstein, Eric Eisner, Nick Koskoff & Justin Kreutzmann, video producers)

The Defiant Ones - Various Artists (Allen Hughes, video director; Sarah Anthony, Fritzi Horstman, Broderick Johnson, Gene Kirkwood, Andrew Kosove, Laura Lancaster, Michael Lombardo, Jerry Longarzo, Doug Pray & Steven Williams, video producers)

Soundbreaking - Various Artists (Maro Chermayeff & Jeff Dupre, video directors; Joshua Bennett, Julia Marchesi, Sam Pollard, Sally Rosenthal, Amy Schewel & Warren Zanes, video producers)

Two Trains Runnin' - Various Artists (Sam Pollard, video director; Benjamin Hedin, video producer)

[whileiamdying]

Music video by Valentin petit & produced by Division. Starring Asap Ferg. Executive Producer: Theo Gall Creative Agency: HERC the agency Creatives: Emilio de Haan / Rogier de Bruin Producer: Niels Heimens 
/ REDLINE / Thecla Schaeffer / Karin Campbell Prod. Service: Collider Exe. Prod: Lucy Bidwell / Madeleine Askwith 
Producer: Christopher J. Lopez Prod. Supervisor: Salvatore Wan Prod. Coordinator: Lamar Williams D.P: Hunter Daly 1st A.D: Deighton McKoy 2nd A.D Jason Bishop Division Paris Intern: Ella Nacash 1st A.C: Sachi Bahra 2ND A.C: Tyler Pakstis Loader: Tom Van Scoyoc Gaffer: Lorenzo Pace Grip: Alexa Carroll SWING / Alex Blum Audio Tech: Philip Kim Production Designer: Tatyana Bevs Prop Master: Peter Maye Art Assist: Josh Caras / Hallie Arias Stylist: Kwasi Kessi / Roger McKenzie / Groomer Jomocuts H.M.U Artist: Kaprisha Gipson Location Assist. Conlan Olderding Location Assist. Location Christopher Ramos Assistants - Key Pa Christina Tucker / Eq Truck / Ben Handel / Richard Butts / Omari Brandy / Moisie Zinso  Eric Lopez ASSISTANT / Victor Vazquez / Erin Corley / Von Anise McCoy /
 Alberto Gomez / Joe Bearese / Aubin Delano / Edward Blackwell Handler: Deon Douglas Assist. Handler: Kathy Nguy Cating Agency: Akrav Agency Casting Director: Joie Duke Rayan / Sarah Benjamin Bikers: PJ, JT, Emmanuel, Jonathan, Jeremy, Julius, Hyrone, Tay Tay, Laquan & derrick Produced: Roofeeo Recorded: : Vic Wainstein at Paramount Studios, Los Angeles, CA 
Mixed by Jaycen Joshua for The Penua Project at Larrabee Sound Studios, North Hollywood, CA 
Assisted by Jacob Richards, Mike Seaberg & DJ Riggins Mastered by Dave Kutch at the Mastering Palace, NYC. Editor: Maxime Caro Editor Assist: Valentin Bordeau Sound Designer: Emilien Bernaux Color Grader: Arthur Paux Organic VFX: Nathan Almeras V.F.X Vincent Heine Graphic Designer: Charlotte Louis Storyboard: Miguel Vieira Copyrighte: Guillaume Audi Office Manager: Nathalie Catanzano A$AP Ferg "Floor Seats" Director's Cut

[artwalktv]

Music video by Valentin petit & produced by Division. Starring Asap Ferg. Executive Producer: Theo Gall Creative Agency: HERC the agency Creatives: Emilio de Haan / Rogier de Bruin Producer: Niels Heimens 
/ REDLINE / Thecla Schaeffer / Karin Campbell Prod. Service: Collider Exe. Prod: Lucy Bidwell / Madeleine Askwith 
Producer: Christopher J. Lopez Prod. Supervisor: Salvatore Wan Prod. Coordinator: Lamar Williams D.P: Hunter Daly 1st A.D: Deighton McKoy 2nd A.D Jason Bishop Division Paris Intern: Ella Nacash 1st A.C: Sachi Bahra 2ND A.C: Tyler Pakstis Loader: Tom Van Scoyoc Gaffer: Lorenzo Pace Grip: Alexa Carroll SWING / Alex Blum Audio Tech: Philip Kim Production Designer: Tatyana Bevs Prop Master: Peter Maye Art Assist: Josh Caras / Hallie Arias Stylist: Kwasi Kessi / Roger McKenzie / Groomer Jomocuts H.M.U Artist: Kaprisha Gipson Location Assist. Conlan Olderding Location Assist. Location Christopher Ramos Assistants - Key Pa Christina Tucker / Eq Truck / Ben Handel / Richard Butts / Omari Brandy / Moisie Zinso  Eric Lopez ASSISTANT / Victor Vazquez / Erin Corley / Von Anise McCoy /
 Alberto Gomez / Joe Bearese / Aubin Delano / Edward Blackwell Handler: Deon Douglas Assist. Handler: Kathy Nguy Cating Agency: Akrav Agency Casting Director: Joie Duke Rayan / Sarah Benjamin Bikers: PJ, JT, Emmanuel, Jonathan, Jeremy, Julius, Hyrone, Tay Tay, Laquan & derrick Produced: Roofeeo Recorded: : Vic Wainstein at Paramount Studios, Los Angeles, CA 
Mixed by Jaycen Joshua for The Penua Project at Larrabee Sound Studios, North Hollywood, CA 
Assisted by Jacob Richards, Mike Seaberg & DJ Riggins Mastered by Dave Kutch at the Mastering Palace, NYC. Editor: Maxime Caro Editor Assist: Valentin Bordeau Sound Designer: Emilien Bernaux Color Grader: Arthur Paux Organic VFX: Nathan Almeras V.F.X Vincent Heine Graphic Designer: Charlotte Louis Storyboard: Miguel Vieira Copyrighte: Guillaume Audi Office Manager: Nathalie Catanzano A$AP Ferg "Floor Seats" Director's Cut

[jeremystrele]

The 10 Commandments of Painting

Who doesn’t love paint? It’s luscious and creamy and comes in every color imaginable. Regardless of the sheen — flat, eggshell, satin or gloss — painting is a great way to either radically or subtly transform your environment.  Your color choices are important because they can either stimulate the senses or create a sense of calm.

However, to achieve the perfect result, you can’t just start painting willy-nilly. Following these 10 commandments of painting can help to ensure success in your selection, prep and paint process.

Get inspired before you pick a paint color. Image courtesy of Benjamin Moore.

#1: Never uses swatches as the first step

Resist the impulse to just randomly select a color swatch and start painting. If you start painting on a whim, you may later decide you don’t really like that color. Take the time to figure out what you really like.

“Seek inspiration. Start by grabbing anything that appeals to you — anything that makes you stop for more than a couple of seconds,” says Andrea Magno, Benjamin Moore Color & Design Expert. If you tear out or pin enough pictures, she says you’ll start to see patterns emerge. “You’ll realize your eye is always drawn to dark greens, perhaps, or you find pastels fresh and appealing,” Magno says. “Maybe you like sharp contrasts, bright accent colors, gleaming white crown molding.” While black is the most stylish color of every year, some people prefer neutral colors like builder’s beige.

Make sure your color will work in the room. Image courtesy of PPG Paints.

#2: Choose your paint color last

Paint is available in a gazillion hues, but the same can’t be said for everything else in the room. “Before selecting your paint hue, it is important to first select new or consider your existing flooring, fabrics, window treatments and other fixed items that are staying in your room while you redecorate, since these furnishings have a limited color palette,” explains Dee Schlotter, Senior Color Marketing Manager at PPG Paints.

“Many homeowners paint their walls first, and then try to find bedding or furniture to accent with the wall color, which is difficult.” She recommends reversing this practice since paint colors are almost unlimited, and you can match and tint to almost any color. “Once the decor elements are considered, you can match your paint color or choose a complementary tone from the other colors in the home’s palette.”

Try it out on the walls first. Image courtesy of Benjamin Moore.

#3: Always use samples

Swatches are good, but nothing beats actual samples. “By painting out a sample on a piece of poster board, you now have a large sample that will provide a great representation of the color, and it will also help in understanding how a color reacts to the natural and artificial lighting in the home,” Magno explains.

Bold colors should be tried out in large sections. Image courtesy of PPG Paints.

Schlotter agrees. “Once you’ve narrowed down the color selection, PPG recommends purchasing a sample quart of the color and painting a swatch that is at least two feet by two feet so you can see the color against different lighting throughout the day and evening.” This will help you assess the color in both natural and artificial light.

Get your walls ready before you start painting. Image courtesy of Sherwin-Williams.

#4: Prepping is a must

Prep is the most important part of a painting project. “Prior to painting, remove surface contaminants with an appropriate cleaner, rinse thoroughly and allow to dry,” advises Mark Eichelberger, Senior Product Manager for Sherwin-Williams Consumer Brands Group.

If you’re painting exterior surfaces, Dan Schaeffer, Owner of Five Star Painting in Austin, recommends either power washing or otherwise cleaning the surfaces. “To make sure they’re dry, you can use a moisture meter to test moisture levels,” he says. “For shiny surfaces, you may want to sand to remove a sheen prior to recoating.”

And don’t forget to use primer — unless your paint contains it. “Primer typically does two things: it creates a surface on which the paint can bond and seals a surface so the finished paint is more uniform,” Schaeffer says.

Also, when you’re painting bare wood, like cedar and redwood, Eichelberger recommends a stain-blocking primer to cover knots in the wood. “Knots contain a high amount of tannin, a colored wood extract, which, if not properly primed, can bleed back in and show through the painted finish over time,” he says.

Create a smooth surface before painting. Image courtesy of Sherwin-Williams.

#5: Seal cracks and holes

Some DIYers try to seal cracks and holes with paint. Don’t do it. “When painting drywall, fill cracks and holes with patching paste and sand smooth,” Eichelberger says. Schaeffer agrees and adds that caulking the baseboards will make the paint job look clean and finished. “Also, caulking joints, especially exterior ones, is critical to sealing gaps so moisture doesn’t get in a house,” he says.

Give your paint a good stir before getting started. Image courtesy of PPG Paints.

#6: Most paint should be shaken and stirred

While James Bond prefers “shaken, not stirred,” you can do either with your paint cans to ensure the pigment is evenly distributed. “When pigment is added to a can of paint, it is typically shaken at the paint store,” Schaeffer says.  But in the event it hasn’t been, or if the paint has been sitting for a while, he advises shaking and/or stirring it. “However, not all products should be shaken before use. For example, polyurethane will introduce air bubbles and, for clear products, that is not ideal.”

Temperature should play a role in your painting planning. Image courtesy of Sherwin-Williams.

#7: There’s a right time to paint

There are ideal times to paint and times when it would be best if you didn’t paint. “Apply only when paint, surface and air temperatures are 50–90 degrees F (10–32 degrees C) during application and drying time,” according to Eichelberger.

For interior paint jobs, Mike Mundwiller, Benjamin Moore Field Integration Manager, says the environment is generally controlled (meaning you don’t need to worry too much about temp), but for exterior paint projects, he offers the following advice:

Ideal painting conditions are 77 degrees F and 50 percent relative humidity.

Do not paint in direct sunlight.

In early spring and late fall, do not start too early in the morning or work too late in the day.

High winds can cause the paint to dry too fast and cause lap marks.

Take it from the top. Image courtesy of Sherwin-Williams.

#8: You need a painting plan

Whether you’re using bold or neutral colors, paint the ceiling before you paint the walls — and work on one wall at a time, advises Eichelberger. “After painting the ceiling, start by edging around the ceiling, corners and trim with an angled brush. Then, immediately roll the inside of the wall before going to the next wall.” If you paint one wall at a time, he says the paint will blend much better and reduce the chance of streaking or lap marks.

When you’re painting with a roller, Eichelberger recommends applying from the dry area into the wet area using firm, crisscrossed strokes. “Finish with long, even strokes in one direction for a smooth, uniform paint finish.”

Your paint roller is your ally. Image courtesy of Benjamin Moore.

However, don’t overwork the paint, since most premium paints today flow on very easily, according to Mundwiller. “When rolling, let the roller do the work,” he says. “There is no reason to put a lot of pressure on the roller. Lay on a nice even coat and move on.”

Set yourself up for success by investing in the right tools. Image courtesy of Benjamin Moore.

#9: Don’t skimp on tools

While your technique is important, your tools can also determine the quality of your paint job. Eichelberger recommends using premium-quality rollers and premium-quality nylon/polyester brushes.

Mundwiller agrees. “Tools often make the difference between an easy job that looks great and a beastly job that doesn’t look so good when it’s finished.” He warns against scrimping on tools. “Use the recommended roller or brush for the paint you are using — it makes a huge difference.” And if you’re using a sprayer, Mundwiller recommends practicing in an inconspicuous area before tackling the main job.

Keep as much air out of your paint as possible. Image courtesy of Sherwin-Williams.

#10: Keep your paint and tools fresh

When you need to take a break from painting, don’t leave your paint and tools exposed. “Make sure to cover your paint by placing the lid back onto the container,” Eichelberger says. “Also, place aluminum foil over your handheld paint container, roller tray and your applicators.” If you don’t, he says the paint can dry and form a film on top, which makes it harder to apply the paint evenly.

Simple kitchen finds — like aluminum foil and plastic wrap — can help you keep your paint fresh. Image courtesy of Benjamin Moore.

And Mundwiller goes a step further. “If you take a break, wrap your brush and roller (handle and all) in plastic wrap and store them in the refrigerator, since this will keep the brush fresh for when you’re ready to paint again.”

The post The 10 Commandments of Painting appeared first on Freshome.com.

[owensrhodes]

The 10 Commandments of Painting

Who doesn’t love paint? It’s luscious and creamy and comes in every color imaginable. Regardless of the sheen — flat, eggshell, satin or gloss — painting is a great way to either radically or subtly transform your environment.  Your color choices are important because they can either stimulate the senses or create a sense of calm.

However, to achieve the perfect result, you can’t just start painting willy-nilly. Following these 10 commandments of painting can help to ensure success in your selection, prep and paint process.

Get inspired before you pick a paint color. Image courtesy of Benjamin Moore.

#1: Never uses swatches as the first step

Resist the impulse to just randomly select a color swatch and start painting. If you start painting on a whim, you may later decide you don’t really like that color. Take the time to figure out what you really like.

“Seek inspiration. Start by grabbing anything that appeals to you — anything that makes you stop for more than a couple of seconds,” says Andrea Magno, Benjamin Moore Color & Design Expert. If you tear out or pin enough pictures, she says you’ll start to see patterns emerge. “You’ll realize your eye is always drawn to dark greens, perhaps, or you find pastels fresh and appealing,” Magno says. “Maybe you like sharp contrasts, bright accent colors, gleaming white crown molding.” While black is the most stylish color of every year, some people prefer neutral colors like builder’s beige.

Make sure your color will work in the room. Image courtesy of PPG Paints.

#2: Choose your paint color last

Paint is available in a gazillion hues, but the same can’t be said for everything else in the room. “Before selecting your paint hue, it is important to first select new or consider your existing flooring, fabrics, window treatments and other fixed items that are staying in your room while you redecorate, since these furnishings have a limited color palette,” explains Dee Schlotter, Senior Color Marketing Manager at PPG Paints.

“Many homeowners paint their walls first, and then try to find bedding or furniture to accent with the wall color, which is difficult.” She recommends reversing this practice since paint colors are almost unlimited, and you can match and tint to almost any color. “Once the decor elements are considered, you can match your paint color or choose a complementary tone from the other colors in the home’s palette.”

Try it out on the walls first. Image courtesy of Benjamin Moore.

#3: Always use samples

Swatches are good, but nothing beats actual samples. “By painting out a sample on a piece of poster board, you now have a large sample that will provide a great representation of the color, and it will also help in understanding how a color reacts to the natural and artificial lighting in the home,” Magno explains.

Bold colors should be tried out in large sections. Image courtesy of PPG Paints.

Schlotter agrees. “Once you’ve narrowed down the color selection, PPG recommends purchasing a sample quart of the color and painting a swatch that is at least two feet by two feet so you can see the color against different lighting throughout the day and evening.” This will help you assess the color in both natural and artificial light.

Get your walls ready before you start painting. Image courtesy of Sherwin-Williams.

#4: Prepping is a must

Prep is the most important part of a painting project. “Prior to painting, remove surface contaminants with an appropriate cleaner, rinse thoroughly and allow to dry,” advises Mark Eichelberger, Senior Product Manager for Sherwin-Williams Consumer Brands Group.

If you’re painting exterior surfaces, Dan Schaeffer, Owner of Five Star Painting in Austin, recommends either power washing or otherwise cleaning the surfaces. “To make sure they’re dry, you can use a moisture meter to test moisture levels,” he says. “For shiny surfaces, you may want to sand to remove a sheen prior to recoating.”

And don’t forget to use primer — unless your paint contains it. “Primer typically does two things: it creates a surface on which the paint can bond and seals a surface so the finished paint is more uniform,” Schaeffer says.

Also, when you’re painting bare wood, like cedar and redwood, Eichelberger recommends a stain-blocking primer to cover knots in the wood. “Knots contain a high amount of tannin, a colored wood extract, which, if not properly primed, can bleed back in and show through the painted finish over time,” he says.

Create a smooth surface before painting. Image courtesy of Sherwin-Williams.

#5: Seal cracks and holes

Some DIYers try to seal cracks and holes with paint. Don’t do it. “When painting drywall, fill cracks and holes with patching paste and sand smooth,” Eichelberger says. Schaeffer agrees and adds that caulking the baseboards will make the paint job look clean and finished. “Also, caulking joints, especially exterior ones, is critical to sealing gaps so moisture doesn’t get in a house,” he says.

Give your paint a good stir before getting started. Image courtesy of PPG Paints.

#6: Most paint should be shaken and stirred

While James Bond prefers “shaken, not stirred,” you can do either with your paint cans to ensure the pigment is evenly distributed. “When pigment is added to a can of paint, it is typically shaken at the paint store,” Schaeffer says.  But in the event it hasn’t been, or if the paint has been sitting for a while, he advises shaking and/or stirring it. “However, not all products should be shaken before use. For example, polyurethane will introduce air bubbles and, for clear products, that is not ideal.”

Temperature should play a role in your painting planning. Image courtesy of Sherwin-Williams.

#7: There’s a right time to paint

There are ideal times to paint and times when it would be best if you didn’t paint. “Apply only when paint, surface and air temperatures are 50–90 degrees F (10–32 degrees C) during application and drying time,” according to Eichelberger.

For interior paint jobs, Mike Mundwiller, Benjamin Moore Field Integration Manager, says the environment is generally controlled (meaning you don’t need to worry too much about temp), but for exterior paint projects, he offers the following advice:

Ideal painting conditions are 77 degrees F and 50 percent relative humidity.

Do not paint in direct sunlight.

In early spring and late fall, do not start too early in the morning or work too late in the day.

High winds can cause the paint to dry too fast and cause lap marks.

Take it from the top. Image courtesy of Sherwin-Williams.

#8: You need a painting plan

Whether you’re using bold or neutral colors, paint the ceiling before you paint the walls — and work on one wall at a time, advises Eichelberger. “After painting the ceiling, start by edging around the ceiling, corners and trim with an angled brush. Then, immediately roll the inside of the wall before going to the next wall.” If you paint one wall at a time, he says the paint will blend much better and reduce the chance of streaking or lap marks.

When you’re painting with a roller, Eichelberger recommends applying from the dry area into the wet area using firm, crisscrossed strokes. “Finish with long, even strokes in one direction for a smooth, uniform paint finish.”

Your paint roller is your ally. Image courtesy of Benjamin Moore.

However, don’t overwork the paint, since most premium paints today flow on very easily, according to Mundwiller. “When rolling, let the roller do the work,” he says. “There is no reason to put a lot of pressure on the roller. Lay on a nice even coat and move on.”

Set yourself up for success by investing in the right tools. Image courtesy of Benjamin Moore.

#9: Don’t skimp on tools

While your technique is important, your tools can also determine the quality of your paint job. Eichelberger recommends using premium-quality rollers and premium-quality nylon/polyester brushes.

Mundwiller agrees. “Tools often make the difference between an easy job that looks great and a beastly job that doesn’t look so good when it’s finished.” He warns against scrimping on tools. “Use the recommended roller or brush for the paint you are using — it makes a huge difference.” And if you’re using a sprayer, Mundwiller recommends practicing in an inconspicuous area before tackling the main job.

Keep as much air out of your paint as possible. Image courtesy of Sherwin-Williams.

#10: Keep your paint and tools fresh

When you need to take a break from painting, don’t leave your paint and tools exposed. “Make sure to cover your paint by placing the lid back onto the container,” Eichelberger says. “Also, place aluminum foil over your handheld paint container, roller tray and your applicators.” If you don’t, he says the paint can dry and form a film on top, which makes it harder to apply the paint evenly.

Simple kitchen finds — like aluminum foil and plastic wrap — can help you keep your paint fresh. Image courtesy of Benjamin Moore.

And Mundwiller goes a step further. “If you take a break, wrap your brush and roller (handle and all) in plastic wrap and store them in the refrigerator, since this will keep the brush fresh for when you’re ready to paint again.”

The post The 10 Commandments of Painting appeared first on Freshome.com.