#Tommy Trojan

[dhart4214]

CROSSTOWN RIVALRY: UCLA Wins The Annual Crosstown Cup

The Victory Bell, which goes to the winner of the annual Crosstown Rivalry football clash, painted blue due to UCLA’s win over USC this year… IT WAS JUST ANNOUNCED: And – I must admit as I won’t lie – as a Bruin alum this is very good news from a personal standpoint… UCLA’s website, UCLABruins.com, has reported that the Bruin athletic program has won this year’s annual Crosstown Cup, the…

[emperornorton47]

Tommy Trojan

[slasheru]

rare early hexecutioner footage (aka concept art)

[tiltingground]

Podcast: Untitled Notre Dame USC Football Podcast - Episode 8.3 Week 1 Recap Ohio State Rice Week 2 Preview Marshall Stanford

Podcast: Untitled Notre Dame USC Football Podcast – Episode 8.3 Week 1 Recap Ohio State Rice Week 2 Preview Marshall Stanford

Week 1 of the 2022 college football season is in the books for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the USC Trojans, and we have split results. We start with the Fighting Irish who lost a close game to the Ohio State Buckeyes. We discuss what was a boring game that had few highlights for Notre Dame. We try to find some bright spots, while questioning the effectiveness of Notre Dame offensive…

[miaclemeverett]

Summary of Dream's livestream with Techno's father if people can't or are unable watch:

Most importantly, please support Techno's family and the Sarcoma Foundation by buying merch here: (You can also donate directly to the Sarcoma Foundation here)

Dream is streaming with Techno's father & staying with the family

Techno's father met Skeppy, for the Sarcoma Foundation Gala he asked for Skeppy's favorite video with Techno and Skeppy said it was the "skeppy tries to troll me but i troll him first" video

Techno's father has been intentionally pulling up memories and stories of Techno's whole life which was "a speedrun" and full of joy and happiness, rather than just focusing on the last week

When Techno and his younger sister were diaper age, she fell down the final 2 steps of the staircase (completely fine) and while their father was trying to explain to their mother what happened, Techno walked in and said "baby fall down CRASH"

The first message that Dream sent to Techno was trying to Trojan horse his way into Minecraft Monday by playing with Techno. Techno's reply was "maybe next time" and Techno kicked his ass in Dream's first MCM. Sapnap thought Techno was overhyped but then Sapnap watched the next Techno MCM and changed his mind

Techno's father didn't really watch or understand Minecraft, he watched Techno 1v1 tons of people without losing any hearts and asked him "Do the other players even know you're there?"

Techno vs. Dream $100k duel: Techno's father never saw him stress about anything in his career except for the duel. Techno's father was competitive on Techno's behalf like "who is this green smiling man gaining subscribers faster than my boy?!" Techno texted his dad as soon as he knew it was at least a tie and he couldn't lose.

Dream saw Techno release "death merch" and thought that was the coolest, most Technoblade thing he had ever seen

Techno's entire family loved the "no one took the news harder than my health provider. they're the real victim" joke

Dream did an elbow reveal in honor of Techno

Techno's father made a joke to Dream about getting ready to do his (Techno's father's) own face reveal

Techno's father made this joke: "This video today is sponsored by cancer, without which this video would not have happened" and Dream called him an idiot

Techno's father thinks Techno would have done a proper face reveal. There were a couple of months where doctors were saying the next step would be to amputate his entire arm and shoulder. Techno joked that it was going to be the most epic elbow reveal ever and that they'd "traumatize millions." Techno's father was as positive as he could be without being fake and he got Techno a present ahead of the surgery (which never ended up happening), a 1st edition printing of Hemingway's "A Farewell To Arms."

Dream and Techno teaming in MCC: This is when they really started becoming friends, before that they had been more rivals/frenemies. Techno also never said or joked about giving Dream his first MCC win.

Techno was whitelisted for way longer before he actually joined the server, back when it was just a few people (Tommy might have asked him to whitelist Techno).

Techno had a Minecraft account called "Whitelisted" when he didn't want to be recognized, just to make the joke "You can't do this if you're not whitelisted"

Techno's dad has GOTTA tell dad jokes

When Techno was young, he would always talk to his dad about being a gaming Youtuber and Techno's father would tell him "no one would want to watch someone else play a video game" lmao

When Techno was young and he'd be building for hours in Roblox and they'd have a power failure, Techno would complain to his dad about all of his work being wasted and Techno's dad would say "all of that PLAY wasted"

Techno talked to his dad about what circumstances would lead to him face revealing, he would have wanted it to be funny and memorable but he never had a clear plan for it

Techno had a front bedroom with a TERRIBLE desk. Techno's dad told Techno to come to the studio to pick out any chair he wanted, Techno went into his dad's office and picked his dad's chair LMAO. Techno's dad offered for him to work on a soundstage because their house had horrible acoustics but Techno said "eh." At 2am when the family was trying to sleep they'd hear him screaming and yelling, it was so annoying when it happened but so painful when it stopped

Techno's dad would text him a meme and Techno would call him a loser, he'd ask him to watch Hunter x Hunter together. Techno couldn't eat without watching TV at the same time

Techno's dad sometimes sees posts on Reddit and his instinct is to send them to Techno. Techno's dad has come close to making a reddit account, he said hello and thanks to Techno's subreddit and he reads their posts a lot when he can take it.

Techno's dad knew Techno had a big audience, but he didn't and still kind of doesn't understand how he meant a lot to people in ways that have nothing to do with PvP or funny jokes. He's proud of Techno and grateful to everyone. The executive director of the Sarcoma Foundation told Techno's family they haven't seen anything like this before with regards to fundraising, she told them that a little kid ran a lemonade stand and raised $150 for the Sarcoma Foundation in honor of Techno.

Techno's dad: "If we do the call-to-action (to donate to Sarcoma Foundation) 10 times, I should get 6 of them" (referencing Techno beating Dream in the duel 6-5). Dream: "I see where he got his humor from"

There has been a refresh today of the merch store so GO BUY THE MERCH!!!! Techno didn't like when there were delays in people receiving merch, so you can only order when it's in stock so GO BUY NOW

Dream will be signing some unreleased merch concepts to include as an extra in some orders

Techno's father thanked Dream and he appreciates everything Dream did for them, he also loves Skeppy

Dream wants to get everyone together and do a massive fundraiser

[stagefoureddiediaz]

Something something about Eddie’s injury being an ankle and the play on the idea of Buck being his Achillies heel.

Something something about Achilles and Patroclus being Buck and Eddie (A&P’s relationship is essentially a queer one if you read the Iliad)

The we have Chiron, who I feel rather perfectly fits Tommy. Centaurs were considered lusty and wild (a metaphor for toxic masculinity) so Chiron rose above that to become a wise and intelligent centaur who was charged with the education of Achilles. Much like Tommy rising above the toxic masculinity of the 118 before Chim hen and Bobby arrived, to become this confident and comfortable elder queer.

Achilles is the one who taught Patroclus what Chiron had taught him. So something something about Tommy being Bucks education around his queer identity and then later perhaps we’ll see Buck passing on that wisdom to Eddie as he goes through his own journey to being an out and proud queer.

Essentially Achilles and Patroclus were childhood friends (buck and Eddie up to this point), Achilles was taught by Chiron and became a great warrior at his hand (Tommy teaching Buck and helping him on his queer journey). Achilles taught Patroclus what. Huron had taught him and Patroclus also became a great warrior. They fought alongside each other (metaphor for being work husbands) and were said to be lovers when they were adults (ergo after Chiron). They died on the battlefield shortly after one another (Achilles was killed by Paris in the Trojan war after Patroclus was killed by hector (who Achilles killed to avenge P’s death))

[buckxtommy]

everytime i see tommy my brain's unsolicited response is 'i just know he's packing. i know he's hung like the trojan horse i just know it'

[welcometotheintro]

Some locations from TSC on the USC campus!!

The USC bookstore where Jean (inevitably) bought red and black school gear. I don’t think it was there when TSC took place but now there’s a cupcake atm

The courtyard around the Tommy Trojan statue (our mascot!) it’s not usually this busy but there’s a book festival today

Aquatic center where The Pool Incident happened. It’s also right next to the Lyon center where the team often works out

If I missed more locations from the book lemme know and I can add them

[oraclemilf]

Tommy has, thus far, in my recent memory

1] leaked where he was streaming at the library in front of 30,000 people

2] Almost leaked his password on stream

3] Done Love or Host with no background checks

4] Immediately the next day downloaded a Trojan.

Who THE FUCK taught this kid internet safety.

[shadowsight-aster]

"hey you! you're finally awake!"

tommyinnit.exe was the bane of my existence a few years back so of course the stupid trend infected me with the need to lore it up i reworked the doc the other day and basically: sbi lives in the kingdom of hypixel. techno goes off to the tournaments at the heart of hypixel, phil and kristin head with him to cheer him on.

tom wants to prove himself worthy to go with so he *JUMPS IN THE PIT.* tubbo, pit regular, dives in screaming after him. one severe beating later and tommy is in even deeper trouble with wilbur AND tubbo AND ranboo and pretty much anyone who isn't his mom.

in an attempt to redeem his pride, tom makes a deal with what is essentially a trojan virus (oh which its goal is to puppet tommy to the arena and infect everyone to have enough manpower to bring down hypixel's security to let in MORE nasty shit) and is then possessed and starts beelining for his big brother. Fun! ((oh and the virus boosts his jealousy and envy so much that it turns murderous for BOTH techno and wil))

[livelovecaliforniadreams]

And watching that and remembering it was so exciting. Like we, it was, there was such a vibe of, and it was also, I, I wanna say like the first, I mean, we, we never shot, like at a concert before. You know what I mean? We left the sound stage, which is always a scary proposition for a sitcom because you get in your little routine and your multicam and you know what you're doing, and then you take them outside and it goes crazy. But this was like beyond, we were basically inserting ourselves into their concert. And they were, yeah, they were, they were playing at the Coliseum. They were playing at, at the USC Coliseum down here in LA. It was not a San Francisco, no actual San Francisco concert, but luckily the USC colors and the 49ers colors are kind of close enough. That like, you could almost buy if you just didn't look at the, you know, Tommy, the Trojan head on the giant billboard behind them and all the people in USC sweaters and sweatshirts and hats and all of that. If you didn't look at that, you were like, oh, they're totally in San Francisco. -Jodie

So cool. And a, according to my very limited research, so this was a one hour concert after the USC game against California. And I don't know why, but the, okay. The Beach Boys are gonna put on an hour long concert. -Andrea

Again, Kokomo, it was, they were, it's Kokomo. It was Kokomo was, they were doing a bunch of press in relation to the song that came out with the movie. 'Cause the movie was doing really well, I think. And that, that was like, 'cause it was all kind of around that same time...I didn't remember what it was. I was like, was it a, why was it a concert? Like why, why were, why were there cheerleaders there? I wasn't, I was confused on that. So, and it was, you know, of course never explained, but Yeah. Like, they cut to the crowd and in the front it's like all, it's just the entire USC cheerleading squad. And you're like, oh. Pay no attention to them... Also, when running up on stage, something that you don't see, is I trip getting onto the stage at the Coliseum? I'm pretty sure, actually. I did trip and fall. I think it's the part where like, you see us running up on the stage and Bob has me by the hand. And I, and we're like running up and, and going up the steps. And I think just as it, like, we get to the stage, we clear camera and it cuts, but I'm pretty sure that's about where I tripped and like went sailing forward. But I think luckily Bob had me by the hand kind of, you know, yanked me up. Because I vividly remember, I was like, oh yeah, I remember that time I fell down at the Coliseum in front of like 25,000 people. Yeah. It was cool. -Jodie

That is so on brand for you. And it's like, no, Jody, we can't do a take two of this concert. It's one and done. -Andrea

But it was so much fun and you can just see all of us together having such a great time. Like, it was such a fun family memory to be up there and you know, I remember the excitement of shooting it. I remember it being like, you know, there's again that sort of live show excitement. And I don't really think that we had done anything at all, like that  before..And nothing that we had shot that was like, you get one chance to do it and this is it. You know, and you're in a concert and go for it. So I think I remember as a kid being like, oh my gosh, oh my God. It was probably why I fell down....But it was so much fun and, and just what a joyful experience and like to watch. We were having such a great time up there....The outfits that Candace and I were wearing, like I said, we okay. I can't rem.., like I said, I don't remember if we bought them like for ourselves and used them for the show or vice versa. It was probably that we got them for the show. But our wardrobe department..were very excited for the concert. 'Cause they knew they could do something really fun and Oh, yeah. And so I remember going to a, a store in down, like Venice Beach, Santa Monica called Nana's. And I think Nana's is, might still be there. Or maybe not, but in a different location. I mean, but okay. Anyway, it's probably closed down by now. Everything is closed down. But it was like the cool spot to go if you were like, wanted eighties gear. So if you see, I'm wearing, like, I have like a red, like, like little shirt on, but I have a black petticoat on. Which was, do you remember the, the, the days of, of Petticoats, like in the Madonna era? Where you would wear like a petticoat and then they had like these, like, you'd kind of put a skirt over the top of it if you wanted. And so Roberta took me to Nana's. -Jodie 

[zumwhy-plays-minecraft]

hiii i just read the second chapter of "the gold" and it was very good!!!! but im kinda confused about a name mentioned

so orpheus is wilbur, theseus is tommy, protesilaus is techno... who is euros? is it missa??? whether it is or not pls tell me why youve chosen that name for whoever it is since you have so kindly tempted me to

!!!!! YES!

Omg I didn’t think anybody would actually come talk to me about these buckle your fuckinh seatbelt Nonny cause I Have Thoughts And I Must Scream!

But first I should probably tell you that you are absolutely correct in all of your assumptions! Well done on matching the names to the people they belong to! Im going to take that as a sign that they sort of make sense!

Because that’s the case with the names, right? They make sense! Each name has a purpose and a very specific meaning and connotation attached to it.

Take Tommy / Theseus. Theseus is a mighty hero, the “greatest hero of Athens”, the one who united the warring African city states underneath his banner, a great hero by all accounts, only to be banished by those he considered friends, abandoned, and ultimately murdered. The storyline sounds a little familiar, right?

But the parallels don’t stop there! Techno / Protesilaus! Protesilaus is an unsung hero of the Iliad, the one who leads the way for all of the other warriors to step foot onto Trojan shores and make their mark.

And of course we have Philza / Zephyros, with our lovely Western Wind- the only one of the four winds to have a wife, commonly depicted with wings, associated with spring and this the color green… I hope you’re picking up what I’m putting down!

Because there are other associations that you can make, other patterns you can pick out, if you look! (Like, for example, you’ll notice that of the lovely lovely characters that we’re looking at that have been canonically given these Greek names, the ones that tend to get into the most trouble are the ones with the names of mortals, whereas the ones who are less inclined to be dragged into conflict have the names of gods… but I digress, as that’s probably more of just a funny coincidence and/or me misremembering what happened, and, you know, when Theseus is the one doing the dragging into conflicts, the data is a little biased but what am I saying this isn’t an actual interpretation/statement about anything- I’m making claims but I’m not married to them you know? Im just Having A Good Time, feel free to tell me if I’m Completely Wrong LMAO-)

So I essentially just took these patterns that were already starting to form, and expanded them! Techno and Tommy were given the names of Greek heroes who had similar themes, so Wilbur became Orpheus. Why Orpheus? You ask. Quite simple! A musician who changes the world with his words, a poet, if you will, who could cause even gods to pause to listen to him, who has a habit of attempting to meddle with the balance of life and death… you see where I’m going with this?

Then Philza, a god, has three mortal ‘sons’ (depending on what sort of interpretation you’re using but again I digress I digress for the sake of the fic they’re like biologically related but yanno whatever fiction is made to be interpreted!! Just have fun with it!!), but he is not the only one who’s got kiddos anymore, no sir!

Now for the Missa / Euros connection, you do have to stretch a bit, I openly admit it, especially since Euros is not a very well documented god At All. Euros is the East Wind, associated with autumn and sunrise, and generally (please feel free to take this with a grain of salt, I’m a first year classics minor I Barely Know What I’m Talking About Please Feel Free To Correct Me) regarded as one of the gentler of the four winds. But! If we look at Philza’s connection with Death (Mumza), and we say ‘hey, maybe that’s the reason he’s all birdlike, which is one of the major reasons he’s one of the winds’, and we look at Missa, there are two very big connections with Death that we find:

1. Mans is in a platonic polyamorous relationship with Death. Good for him! This is the like SUPER explicit connection

2. I mean he’s a skeleton. Or dressed like a skeleton. Also there’s the whole ‘angel’ thing. Death connection.

So. If we claim that Philza is a wind because of his connection with Death, and Missa is also connected with Death (and Phil), it only makes sense that Missa is also a wind, hence, Euros.

Now I could go into my whole idea about the place that Death/Mumza (and by extension, the names) has in the Connected SMP Universe in my head but that would take For Fucking Ever, so instead I will just thank you Profusely for letting me ramble on about these silly little guys, and leave you with Two Fun Facts!

1! I do have Greek names picked out for our lovely lovely kiddos, just for funsies.

2! I also have someone who I think would fit Boreas very very well, but as he’s not in the QSMP he won’t be showing up! (But I’d be down to hear ideas for other people y’all think would fit as our fourth and final wind! I’m just like. Collecting. Bird MCYTers. LMAO.)

[barkingzerbra]

https://dailytrojan.com/2024/04/27/gaza-solidarity-occupation-at-usc-continued-live-updates/

protesting students defaced tommy trojan. a dps car was called to watch over the statue and lapd was put on full alert.

there's a live tommy cam so you can find livestreamed footage of a part of the encampment on usc.

[grantgoddard]

Mister Soul Of Jamaica … and Thamesmead : 1938-2008 : reggae artist Alton Ellis

 The first record played on the first week’s show of the first reggae music programme on British radio was a single by Alton Ellis, a magnificent singer/songwriter too often overlooked when reggae legends are named. I immediately fell in love with his soulful voice, his perfect pitch and his beautifully clear enunciation, rushing out to buy ‘La La Means I Love You’ [Nu Beat NB014], unaware it was recorded two years earlier. Like many of Ellis’ recordings, this was a cover version of an American soul hit (despite the label’s songwriter credit), though Ellis distinguished himself from contemporaries by also writing his own ‘message’ songs with striking lyrics and memorable hooks. My next single purchases were noteworthy Ellis originals:

‘Lord Deliver Us’ [Gas 161] included an unusual staccato repeated bridge and lines that demonstrated Ellis’ humanitarian pre-occupations, including “Let the naked be clothed, let the blind be led, let the hungry be fed” and “Children, go on to school! Be smarter than your fathers, don’t be a fool!” Its wonderful B-side instrumental starts with a shouted declaration “Well, I am the originator, so you’ve come to copy my tune?” that predates similar statements on many DJ records.

‘Sunday’s Coming’ [Banana BA318] has imaginative chord progressions, a huge choir on its chorus and lyrics “Better get your rice’n’peas, better get your fresh fresh beans’’ that locate it firmly as a Jamaican original rather than an American cover version. Why does it last a mere two minutes thirty seconds? The B-side’s saxophone version demonstrates how ethereal the rhythm track is and shows off the dominant rhythm guitar riff beautifully. It’s a masterclass in music production.

It was only after Ellis had emigrated to Britain in 1973 that a virtual ‘greatest hits’ album of his classic singles produced by Duke Reid was finally released the following year, entitled ‘Mr Soul Of Jamaica’ [Treasure Isle 013]. I recall buying this import LP in Daddy Peckings’ newly opened reggae record shop at 142 Askew Road and loved every track on one of reggae’s most consistently high-quality albums (akin to Marley’s ‘Legend’). It bookended Ellis’ most creative studio partnership in Jamaica when Reid had to retire through ill health.

What was it that made Ellis’ recordings so significant? Primarily, as the album title confirms, it was that his voice uniquely sounded more ‘soul’ than ‘reggae’, occupying the same territory as Jamaica’s ‘Sam & Dave’-like duo ‘The Blues Busters’. I have always harboured the sentiment that, if he had been able to record in America during the 1960’s, Ellis could have been a hugely popular soul singer there. Maybe label owner Duke Reid shared this thought, having recorded ‘soul’ versions of some of Ellis’ biggest songs for inclusion in a 1968 compilation album ‘Soul Music For Sale’ [Treasure Isle LP101/5]. However, at the time, reggae was a completely unknown genre in mainstream America, so Reid’s soul recordings remained unknown there. [The sadly deleted 2003 compilation ‘Work Your Soul’ [Trojan TJDCD069] collected some fascinating soul versions by Reid and other producers.]

Secondly, Ellis’ superb Duke Reid recordings were backed by Treasure Isle studio house band ‘Tommy McCook & the Supersonics’ whose multitude of recordings during the ska, rocksteady and reggae eras on their own and backing so many singers/groups demonstrated a tightness and professionalism that is breathtaking. Using only basic equipment in the studio above Reid’s Bond Street liquor store, engineer Errol Brown produced phenomenal results for the time, operating a ‘quality control’ that belied the release of dozens of recordings every month.

Finally, Ellis’ recordings displayed a microphone technique that was unique in reggae and demonstrated his astute knowledge of studio production techniques. At the end of lines, he would sometimes turn his head away from the microphone whilst singing a note. Because Jamaican studios were not built acoustically ‘dead’, Ellis’ head movement not only translated into his voice trailing off into the distance (like a train pulling away) but also allowed the listener to hear his voice bouncing off the studio walls. ‘Reverberation’ equipment to create this effect technically was used minimally in studios until the 1970’s ‘dub’ era, so Ellis seemed to have improvised manually. Perhaps he had heard this effect on American soul records of the time?

On one of his biggest songs from 1969, ‘Breaking Up Is Hard To Do’ [Treasure Isle 220], you can hear Ellis use this effect during the chorus when he sings the words “everybody knows”, particularly just prior to the fade-out. It is similarly evident on Ellis’ vocal contribution to the brilliant DJ version of the same song, ‘Melinda’ by I-Roy [on album Trojan TRLS63] recorded in 1972.

The same vocal technique is audible on other songs including ‘Girl I’ve Got A Date’ [Treasure Isle DSR1691] in which Ellis elongates the word “tree” into “treeeeee”, as well as “breeze” into “breeeeeeze”, whilst moving his head away from the microphone.

I had always been intrigued by Ellis’ recording technique but had not thought anything more of it until, entirely by accident half a century later, I found startling 1960’s footage recorded at the Sombrero Club on Molynes Road up from Half Way Tree, Jamaica. Backed by Byron Lee’s Dragonaires, an uncredited vocal group I presume to be ‘The Blues Busters’ performed their 1964 recording “I Don’t Know” [Island album ILP923] during which one of the duo (Lloyd Campbell or Phillip James) moves his head away from the microphone at the end of lines, similar to what can be heard on Ellis’ recordings.

This started me searching for 1960’s footage of Ellis performing live. Sadly, I found nothing (either solo or in his previous duo with Eddie Parkins as ‘Alton & Eddy’ [sic], similar to ‘The Blues Busters’) to see if he emulated this vocal technique on stage too. For me, it remains amazing that the smallest characteristics audible in a studio recording (particularly from analogue times) can offer so much insight into the ad hoc techniques adopted to overcome the limitations of available technology. The ingenuity of music production in Jamaica during this period was truly remarkable.

Prior to emigration, Ellis had toured Britain in 1967, performing with singer Ken Boothe. Whilst in London, he recorded a single ‘The Message’ [Pama PM707] in which he raps freestyle rather than sings, fifteen years prior to Grandmaster Flash’s hit rap track of the same name, and declares truthfully “I’m the rocksteady king, sir”. Its B-side pokes fun at 'English Talk' that he must have heard during his visit. The backing music is the clunky Brit reggae of the time, but Ellis’ subject matter is fascinating for its innovation.

1971’s ‘Arise Black Man’ [Aquarius JA single] includes the lyric “From Kingston to Montego, black brothers and sisters, arise black man, take a little step, show them that you can, ‘coz you’ve got the right to show it, you’ve got the right to know it”. The verses and chorus “We don’t need no evidence now” are backed by a big choir. It’s a phenomenal tune despite not even having received a UK release at the time. (Was the chorus a reference to Britain's 1971 Immigration Act in which a Commonwealth applicant was "required to present [...] forms of evidence" to "prove that they have the right of abode" in the UK?)

The same year, ‘Back To Africa’ [Gas GAS164] has the chorus “Goin’ to back to Africa, ‘coz I’m black, goin’ back to Africa, and it’s a fact’ backed by a choir once again. There’s an adlibbed interjection “Gonna stay there, 1999, I gotta get there” that predates Hugh Mundell’s seminal song ‘Africans Must Be Free By 1983’.

Again in 1971, Ellis re-recorded his song ‘Black Man’s Pride’ [Bullet BU466], previously made for producer Coxson Dodd [Coxson JA single], with it’s shocking (at the time) chorus “I was born a loser, because I’m a black man”. The verses are a history lesson in slavery: “We have suffered our whole lives through, doing things that they’re supposed to do, we were beaten ‘til our backs were black and blue” and “I was living in my own land, I was moved because of white men’s plans, now I’m living in a white man’s land”. I consider this phenomenal song the direct antecedent of similarly themed, outspoken recordings by Joe Higgs (‘More Slavery’ [Grounation GROL2021]) and Burning Spear (“Slavery Days” [Fox JA pre]) in 1975. If only this Ellis song was as well-known as Winston Rodney’s! [In initial recorded versions, “loser” was replaced by “winner” and the song retitled ‘Born A Winner’.]

I first discovered Ellis’ song ‘Good Good Loving’ [FAB 165] as the vocal produced by Prince Buster for a DJ track by teenager Little Youth on the 1972 compilation album ‘Chi Chi Run’ [FAB MS8, apologies for the language] called ‘Youth Rock’. At the time, I was crazy about this recording, combining a high-pitched youthful talkover with a solid rhythm and Ellis’ trademark voice in the mix. I will be forever mystified as to why the DJ (sounding like Hugh Mundell/Jah Levi) seems to refer to “Cool Version by The Gallows [sic]” in his lyrics!

In 1973, Ellis released the song I never tire of hearing, ‘Truly’ [Pyramid PYR7003], that benefits from such a laid-back rhythm that it feels it could come to an abrupt stop at times. It is one of Ellis’ simplest but most effective songs and has become a staple of reggae ‘lovers’ singers since, employing wonderfully unanticipated chord changes. It sounds like a self-production, even though UK sound system man Lloyd Coxsone’s name is on the label. This should have been a huge hit record!

There are so many more Ellis tracks from this fertile early 1970’s period that make interesting listening, recorded for many different producers and released on different labels. Sadly, no CD or digital compilation has managed to embrace them all. I still live in hope.

After Ellis moved permanently to Britain during his late thirties, he must have struggled in the same way as some of his contemporaries, trying to sustain their careers in the ‘motherland’. Despite UK chart successes, Desmond Dekker, Nicky Thomas, Bob Andy and Jimmy Cliff were very much viewed as one-off ‘novelty’ hitmakers by the mainstream media rather than developing artists. Worse, Ellis had never touched the British charts. Neither did the majority of reggae tracks produced then in British studios sound particularly ‘authentic’ to the music’s audience, let alone the wider ‘pop’ market. Ellis performed at the many reggae clubs around Britain but the rewards must have been limited.

Ellis’ British commercial success came unexpectedly when another ‘novelty’ reggae single shot to number one in the UK charts in 1977. Its story is complicated! The previous year, Ellis’ 1967 song ‘I’m Still In Love With You’ had been covered in Jamaica by singer Marcia Aitken [Joe Gibbs JA pre]. A DJ version by Trinity over the identical rhythm followed called ‘Three Piece Suit’ [Belmont JA pre]. Then two young girls, Althia & Donna, recorded their debut as an ‘answer’ record to Trinity on the same rhythm and named it ‘Uptown Top Ranking’ [Joe Gibbs JA pre]. Other producers released their own ‘answer’ records, rerecording the identical rhythm, all of which could be heard one after the other blaring from minibuses’ sound systems in Jamaica at the time. Unfortunately for Ellis, Jamaica had no songwriting royalty payment system in those days.

I remember first hearing ‘Uptown Top Ranking’ as an import single on John Peel’s ‘BBC Radio One’ evening show. Even once it had been given a UK release [Lightning LIG506], Ellis was still omitted from the songwriting credit by producer Gibbs. Legal action followed and eventually Ellis was rewarded with half of the record’s songwriting royalties (for the music but not the lyrics), a considerable sum for a UK number one hit then. The same track (re-recorded due to producer Joe Gibbs’ intransigence) was then included on an album that Althia & Donna made for Virgin Records the following year [Front Line FL1012] that had global distribution, earning Ellis additional royalties.

Also in 1977, Ellis produced twenty-year-old London singer Janet Kay’s first record, a version of hit soul ballad ‘Lovin’ You’, released on his ‘All Tone’ label [AT006] that, prior to emigration, he had created in Jamaica to release his own productions. Ellis’ soul sensibilities and music production experience inputted directly into the creation of what became known (accidentally) as ‘lovers rock’, a uniquely British sub-genre that perfectly blended soul and reggae into love songs recorded mostly by teenage girls. This ‘underground’ music went on to dominate British reggae clubs and pirate radio stations for the next decade, even pushing Kay’s ‘Silly Games’ [Arawak ARK DD 003] to number two in the UK pop singles chart two years later.

Into the 1980’s and 1990’s, Ellis continued to release more UK productions on his label, including a ‘25th Silver Jubilee’ album [All Tone ALT001] in 1984 that revisited nineteen of his biggest hits, celebrating a career that had started in Jamaica as half of the duo in 1959. I recall Ellis visiting ‘Radio Thamesmead’ in 1986, the community cable station where I was employed at the time. He was living on London’s Thamesmead council estate and was interviewed about his label’s latest releases.

On 10 October 2008 at the age of seventy, Ellis died of cancer in Hammersmith Hospital. He had been awarded the Order of Distinction by the Jamaica government in 1994 for his contributions to the island’s music industry. I continue to derive a huge amount of satisfaction from listening to his many recordings dating back to the beginning of the 1960’s and wish he was acknowledged more widely for his outstanding contributions to reggae music.

Now, when I think of Alton Ellis, I fondly recall my daily car commute into work at KISS FM radio, Holloway Road in 1990/1991 with colleague Debbi McNally, us both singing along at the top of our voices to my homemade cassette compilation playing Alton Ellis’ beautiful 1968 rocksteady version of Chuck Jackson’s 1961 song ‘Willow Tree’ [Treasure Isle TI7044].

“Cry not for me, my willow tree … ‘coz I have found the love I’ve searched for.”

[I have curated an Alton Ellis playlist on Spotify though many significant recordings are unavailable.]

[bstroobery]

🐎

💬

these were the funniest 1s i saw

-tommy

Ask Game

🐎 - How often do your alters think about the Trojan empire?

🍓: Ok so to start this one off I’d like to say… kinda often?? But like barely. Mostly because we listen to Epic: The Musical a lot.

💬 - Best quote from an alter?

🧡🐍: I’ll take over this one since I’m the one in charge of Real Shit Said in Headspace (our funny little incorrect quotes thing on this blog where I just share the funny quotes I heard).

So many take the cake for this one. These are some of my favorites:

Jax actually wrote that one down. ^

And finally, one that I absolutely love that I’ve been meaning to write down:

🍓: *washing the dishes* Hey! I have a system here!

🌑: No, honey, you are a system.

[miaclemeverett]

I posted 11,766 times in 2022

9,467 posts created (80%)

2,299 posts reblogged (20%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@wilbursoot-updates

@geoguessbur

@firesnap

@lovejoypilled

@girlfictions

I tagged 1,261 of my posts in 2022

#youtube - 143 posts

#wilbur soot - 92 posts

#shubble - 57 posts

#lovejoy - 29 posts

#discourse - 21 posts

#tapl - 19 posts

#ash kabosu - 17 posts

#joe goldsmith - 15 posts

#tommyinnit - 14 posts

#jack manifold - 13 posts

Longest Tag: 122 characters

#ycgma is such a comfort album for me and “’i’ll keep making little distractions for you. be comfy :)’ makes me want to cry

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Summary of Dream's livestream with Techno's father if people can't or are unable watch:

Most importantly, please support Techno's family and the Sarcoma Foundation by buying merch here: (You can also donate directly to the Sarcoma Foundation here)

Dream is streaming with Techno's father & staying with the family

Techno's father met Skeppy, for the Sarcoma Foundation Gala he asked for Skeppy's favorite video with Techno and Skeppy said it was the "skeppy tries to troll me but i troll him first" video

Techno's father has been intentionally pulling up memories and stories of Techno's whole life which was "a speedrun" and full of joy and happiness, rather than just focusing on the last week

When Techno and his younger sister were diaper age, she fell down the final 2 steps of the staircase (completely fine) and while their father was trying to explain to their mother what happened, Techno walked in and said "baby fall down CRASH"

The first message that Dream sent to Techno was trying to Trojan horse his way into Minecraft Monday by playing with Techno. Techno's reply was "maybe next time" and Techno kicked his ass in Dream's first MCM. Sapnap thought Techno was overhyped but then Sapnap watched the next Techno MCM and changed his mind

Techno's father didn't really watch or understand Minecraft, he watched Techno 1v1 tons of people without losing any hearts and asked him "Do the other players even know you're there?"

Techno vs. Dream $100k duel: Techno's father never saw him stress about anything in his career except for the duel. Techno's father was competitive on Techno's behalf like "who is this green smiling man gaining subscribers faster than my boy?!" Techno texted his dad as soon as he knew it was at least a tie and he couldn't lose.

Dream saw Techno release "death merch" and thought that was the coolest, most Technoblade thing he had ever seen

Techno's entire family loved the "no one took the news harder than my health provider. they're the real victim" joke

Dream did an elbow reveal in honor of Techno

Techno's father made a joke to Dream about getting ready to do his (Techno's father's) own face reveal

Techno's father made this joke: "This video today is sponsored by cancer, without which this video would not have happened" and Dream called him an idiot

Techno's father thinks Techno would have done a proper face reveal. There were a couple of months where doctors were saying the next step would be to amputate his entire arm and shoulder. Techno joked that it was going to be the most epic elbow reveal ever and that they'd "traumatize millions." Techno's father was as positive as he could be without being fake and he got Techno a present ahead of the surgery (which never ended up happening), a 1st edition printing of Hemingway's "A Farewell To Arms."

Dream and Techno teaming in MCC: This is when they really started becoming friends, before that they had been more rivals/frenemies. Techno also never said or joked about giving Dream his first MCC win.

Techno was whitelisted for way longer before he actually joined the server, back when it was just a few people (Tommy might have asked him to whitelist Techno).

Techno had a Minecraft account called "Whitelisted" when he didn't want to be recognized, just to make the joke "You can't do this if you're not whitelisted"

Techno's dad has GOTTA tell dad jokes

When Techno was young, he would always talk to his dad about being a gaming Youtuber and Techno's father would tell him "no one would want to watch someone else play a video game" lmao

When Techno was young and he'd be building for hours in Roblox and they'd have a power failure, Techno would complain to his dad about all of his work being wasted and Techno's dad would say "all of that PLAY wasted"

Techno talked to his dad about what circumstances would lead to him face revealing, he would have wanted it to be funny and memorable but he never had a clear plan for it

Techno had a front bedroom with a TERRIBLE desk. Techno's dad told Techno to come to the studio to pick out any chair he wanted, Techno went into his dad's office and picked his dad's chair LMAO. Techno's dad offered for him to work on a soundstage because their house had horrible acoustics but Techno said "eh." At 2am when the family was trying to sleep they'd hear him screaming and yelling, it was so annoying when it happened but so painful when it stopped

Techno's dad would text him a meme and Techno would call him a loser, he'd ask him to watch Hunter x Hunter together. Techno couldn't eat without watching TV at the same time

Techno's dad sometimes sees posts on Reddit and his instinct is to send them to Techno. Techno's dad has come close to making a reddit account, he said hello and thanks to Techno's subreddit and he reads their posts a lot when he can take it.

Techno's dad knew Techno had a big audience, but he didn't and still kind of doesn't understand how he meant a lot to people in ways that have nothing to do with PvP or funny jokes. He's proud of Techno and grateful to everyone. The executive director of the Sarcoma Foundation told Techno's family they haven't seen anything like this before with regards to fundraising, she told them that a little kid ran a lemonade stand and raised $150 for the Sarcoma Foundation in honor of Techno.

Techno's dad: "If we do the call-to-action (to donate to Sarcoma Foundation) 10 times, I should get 6 of them" (referencing Techno beating Dream in the duel 6-5). Dream: "I see where he got his humor from"

There has been a refresh today of the merch store so GO BUY THE MERCH!!!! Techno didn't like when there were delays in people receiving merch, so you can only order when it's in stock so GO BUY NOW

Dream will be signing some unreleased merch concepts to include as an extra in some orders

Techno's father thanked Dream and he appreciates everything Dream did for them, he also loves Skeppy

See the full post

4,257 notes - Posted October 18, 2022

#4

wilbur calling the crowd “chat” - “you can take a boy out of twitch but you can’t take the twitch out of the boy”

6,699 notes - Posted October 30, 2022

#3

See the full post

7,800 notes - Posted May 19, 2022

#2

NO SHOT MOTHER INNIT IS BROTHER TRUTHING ON MAIN LIKE THIS

8,710 notes - Posted October 7, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

how do the people walk around their house

barefoot

socks

sandals / chanclas / flip flops

shoes (wtf is wrong with you)

64,986 notes - Posted February 19, 2022

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