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Changed my mind about yaoi i think its the greatest thing ever
#Listen to my problems#hi dont read this#i mean i cant stop you but its just a whole lotta penis#like obviously some of it is still objective terrible but oh my GOD some artists are so very talented#i cannot praise kiryu-chan ni korosareru enough for bothering to draw soft cocks like yes ... yess .....#and in one panel majimers got his arm curled like the frikkin creation of adam picture i love being reminded that joints exist#and the positioning is sublime ... the parts where theyre koving around so much and have to straight up pin each other clutching grabbing .#calves hooked over ankles to press them into the mattress ...#and the classic mating press features as well <33#and the artist was a genius for drawing that fear taut expression like after the real cocksure ‘gonna eat you alive boy’ face#thank you.... that was truly an epic win for the yaoi community#have i talked about the soft cocks again yet because i loved it for that
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A bad guitar, 1961
In a recent interview with Reverb.com, Fender CEO Andy Mooney laid bare his true feelings about the Jazzmaster and Jaguar, and let me tell you, they were anything but glowing. In the exchange, he brands Leo Fender’s original designs as “not very good guitars” at the time of release, declaring the mistakes of the past fixed in Fender’s latest entries into the offset line.
Mooney takes a hard stance here, but to be honest his perspective here is nothing new. These critiques have been around for years, and even with the informed views of dedicated users of the Offset Guitar forum, the main axe associations with high profile players like Chris Stapleton and Nels Cline, and my own work over the last decade advocating for the guitars in print and performance –– pardon the horn tooting –– opinions on these fascinating guitars among the general populace are still very much divided.
I don’t blame folks for holding these opinions because even I, Dear Reader, once believed the very same things. Back in high school I had an Olympic white Japanese Jaguar, a parental purchase spurred on by my love of the band Bush. The kindest way I could describe the guitar is problematic; the strings skipped off of their saddles, the bridge shimmied down, and it would not stay in tune no matter what I did.
Eventually I traded it in on something more reliable, unwilling to wrestle with the instrument. When I finally came back to the offset guitar 14 years later, I realized that insatiable tinkerer Leo Fender wouldn’t have released a guitar he didn’t think was ready, and so I pushed through my preconceived notions of its flaws to gain a better understanding of the thing. I came out on the other side with a deeper appreciation for the man’s work.
It seems to me that when a player has a bad experience with these guitars, it’s often because they’ve been poorly maintained. In cases such as these, I view it as an opportunity to educate and reevaluate. After a conversation or a quick adjustment, the player might still decide the models aren’t for them, but more often than not they seem to “get it.” And that’s enough for me.
So here I am, returning from an extended hibernation like a grumpy, shaggy bear; like the aging ensemble cast of a ‘90s sitcom, lured into a reunion for the cameras by the dangling carrot of a handsome payday, each secretly knowing that the end product would not be nearly as good as the show’s initial run; like a cherished childhood movie that, upon re-viewing for the first time in 30 years, has way more adult themes than your young mind could then comprehend, causing feelings of retroactive discomfort because you watched it with your parents in the SAME ROOM???
Prodigal namesake that I am, I have returned with my proverbial pen pressed to the also proverbial page of the Guitar Bar website to feverishly scrawl this open[ish] response in an attempt to give some context and gentle rebuttal to his comments.
“They were not particularly good guitars when they were first introduced.”
When the Jazzmaster and Jaguar were first released in 1958 and 1962 respectively, they were not only top of the line models, but top sellers as well. While neither model was exactly embraced by the Jazz community, they nonetheless found favor with a varied group of players and all but defined the sound of Surf music while still in its infancy. For a time, they seemed to be everywhere. Admittedly, perceived popularity does not a good guitar make, so let’s look at a handful of early adopters.
At first, session players and country pickers liked the models well enough to use them on stage and in the studio, including Wayne Moss, Hank Garland, Willie Nelson, and Luther Perkins, who has an engraving of the model on his tombstone. If more proof is needed, here are three separate performances of Roy Clark absolutely shredding “12th Street Rag” on a bone stock Jazzmaster and Jaguar. These videos remain favorites of mine because they show someone really digging in and playing fast melodic runs on guitars that people seem to think can’t handle that kind of vigorous right hand technique.
But if they were so good to begin with, why did sales eventually taper off?
A refinished ’65 from a couple of years back. I actually put the stock bridge back on this one instead of the sloppily installed TOM. It was awesome.
Previously, I’ve explained that the most common complaints with the model aren’t the fault of the design, but rather, trying to make that design do things it was never intended to do: wearing a set of light gauge strings. In the Jazzmaster, Leo Fender’s intention was to appeal to Jazz guitarists by creating a solid body guitar with the string geometry of an archtop: a pitched-back neck, a floating bridge, and a tailpiece, and most importantly, all specifically designed to work with heavy gauge flat wound strings. We’re talking 12s, 13s, and 14s.
Once lighter gauges (9s and 10s) became the norm in the early to mid 1960s, inadequate string tension reduced the downward force on the bridge, resulting in tuning problems and string skipping. It’s like going off-roading with bald tires: you can certainly do it, but expect to slide around a bit.
At this point in my career I’ve set up well over a thousand of these guitars over the course of my career, and in the overwhelming majority of cases, once you throw on a set of 11 gauge rounds and shim the neck as Leo intended, they just work. They were good guitars then, and they’re still good guitars today.
For more information on setting up these guitars, have a look at our Demystifying series and my May 2017 cover story for Premier Guitar.
“We’ve made them functionally better”
It’s true that Fender has devoted a significant amount of time and resources into solving the perceived problems with these guitars, including modified vibrato positioning, redesigned bridges, strategically placed nylon bushings, and even neck pockets angled at the factory to eliminate the need for shims. These are all good ideas, a few even great; as is often the case when chasing mass appeal, some have not been as successful as Fender might have hoped.
Take the Classic Player, which features an angled neck pocket and an Adjust-O-Matic bridge yet can still fall prey to the same string path issues of more vintage-correct models. The AOM style bridge was not designed with a vibrato in mind, with sharp, shallow saddle slots that can cause tuning problems of their own. And that’s to say nothing of the mismatched 12” radius bridge on a 9.5” neck, which causes the E strings to be higher off of the fretboard than the D and G in the middle and makes for an inconsistent feel across the neck.
My friend Brian’s wonderful later model MarrGuar. An amazing guitar that set up beautifully.
Mooney specifically mentions the Johnny Marr model –– indeed a killer guitar –– yet it’s worth noting that many of the earliest of the bunch left the factory with 56mm bridge string spacing, which turned out to be only a hair slimmer than the width of the neck. Many players reported problems keeping the outer strings on the fretboard, which eventually led to Fender adopting slimmer 52mm spacing in later production runs (linked in case you need one). Here’s a shot of a lovely black one with the worst example of this I have yet to see.
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Scroll to see the neck and bridge string spacing problems.
A too-wide bridge…
…causing the E strings to fall off the neck when fretted
Strangely, the earliest American Professionals which came a few years later had the same problems, sometimes necessitating the need for aftermarket parts and prompting another mid-run update.
As for the new American Ultra guitars, they may not be for me but I can understand why many of the features might appeal to other players looking for a more modern take on the Jazzmaster. With an additional lead circuit control knob, a re-purposed rhythm circuit layout for out of phase operation, rollers for individual pickup volumes, and an S-1 switch for series options, it could be argued that functionally they’re more complex than ever.
However, once agin Fender curiously employs a mismatched bridge radius, this time a 9.5” bridge mated to a compound 10-14” radius neck, which puts the D and G strings higher off of the fretboard than the Es. Generally, compound necks work best when the string path is treated as a cone, flattening as it expands. In this case, a 16” bridge radius would set up far better than that of the stock part. I suspect we’ll start seeing even these guitars sporting alternative bridges before too long.
So yes, while it’s good that we’re seeing R&D dedicated to making adjustments, some of those adjustments haven’t actually solved the problems, but rather, changed the nature of them instead.
“Now you can actually play them.”
I’ve made this point abundantly not only in this piece but in nearly everything else I’ve done over the years, but the fact is that Jazzmasters and Jaguars were always playable –– stock bridge included. Take it from an ardent Mastery user: the original bridge is as viable as any other, and once it’s adjusted correctly it’s as fun as it is functional.
Not only is there a wealth of great music made with them over the years as proof, you can refer to articles on this blog, numerous posts on both my personal Instagram as well as Mike & Mike’s showing that the stock bridge is dependable and musical. Hell, every offset guitar the shop sells goes through the same setup process to show off what incredible instruments they can truly be with just a little extra effort.
Closing Arguments
Would you play this stripped ’61, original bridge and all? It was a total beast of a guitar.
Real talk: I get that Mooney’s comments may be a marketing tactic to steer customers toward the current lineup in the Fender catalog, and just in time for the holidays at that. You know the old song and dance: newer is better! Fender does make a great guitar and innovation can be a good thing, so to this I say, fair play.
Still, I have to believe there’s a better way to say so without throwing heritage –– and our beloved vintage instruments –– under the bus.
You see, over the last five or so years, it seems to have become fashionable in Fender’s corporate culture to downplay or outright disparage the legacy of Leo Fender, with reps at NAMM overheard saying things like “Leo didn’t get everything right” and “we fixed his mistakes,” phrases repeated at the onset of the latest feature set or spec tweak.
At best, comments like those in the previous sentence (as well as those which are the basis of this response) make Fender seem out of touch, and at worst, could erode the trust of a very loyal legion of customers.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll be saying it for as long as it needs saying: the Jazzmaster and Jaguar are Leo Fender’s most brilliant and misunderstood designs. It may have taken us 50 years to catch up, but now a growing and dedicated group of fans have found a unique sound here unlike anything you can get from other more traditional guitars.
Speaking personally, no matter what other instruments are available to me, I reach for an offset first. I have found my musical voice in the Jazzmaster and Jaguar, and I’m never more comfortable or more adventurous than when I have one in my hands.
One last quote:
“I have Jazzmasters and Jaguars… I have four in a line on my wall from 1966.”
Andy, if you’ve read this and have found any of it compelling, I’d love the chance to show you just how good those guitars on your wall can be. All I’ll need is a few sets of 11s or 12s, a screwdriver or two, and maybe a couple Cold Ones to share between us. Burritos are good, too.
Oh, and parking validation –– it’s a bit of a drive up from Long Beach and the last thing I want to deal with is finding a spot on those notoriously crowded Hollywood streets.
A bad guitar. A very bad guitar
An Open[ish] Response to Fender CEO Andy Mooney’s Thoughts on Offset Guitars In a recent interview with Reverb.com, Fender CEO Andy Mooney laid bare his true feelings about the Jazzmaster and Jaguar, and let me tell you, they were anything but glowing.
#Andy Mooney#CEO#fender#Fender CEO#Guitar#guitar tech#interview#jaguar#jazzmaster#Mastery Bridge#Michael James Adams#mike adams#mike and mike&039;s guitar bar#offset guitars#open letter#puisheen#radius#response#reverb#Seattle#set up#vibrato
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Papa Charlie Jackson was the first commercially successful male blues singer. A relaxed, confident crooner and seasoned 6-string stylist, he launched his recording career in 1924 and became one of Paramount’s more popular artists, releasing 33 discs by 1930. His classic versions of “Salty Dog,” “Shake That Thing,” “Alabama Bound,” and “Spoonful” set the template for many covers that followed. Playing fingerstyle or with a flatpick, Papa Charlie conjured a strong, staccato attack on his big guitar-banjo. His unstoppable rhythms were perfectly suited for dancing, and along with his label mate Blind Lemon Jefferson, he was one of the first bluesmen to flatpick solos on record.
Even during his prime, Papa Charlie’s old-time approach must have seemed an anachronism. But as with Jim Jackson, Gus Cannon, Charley Patton, Henry Thomas, Lead Belly, and other recording artists born in the 1880s or earlier, his non-blues records struck a resonant chord among listeners and provide us with examples of what African American music sounded like before the turn of the century. Jackson had a special affinity with ragtime and minstrel fare, and it’s likely he toured with medicine and minstrel shows before World War I. . . .
Warm and humorous, Papa Charlie’s follow-up release, the ragtimey, eight-bar “Salty Dog Blues,” made him a recording star. The song conveyed the sly perspective of an “outside man”:
“Now, the scaredest I ever been in my life Uncle Bud like to caught me kissin’ his wife, Salty dog, you salty dog . . .”
As the recording progressed, Jackson’s chugging banjo rhythm sped up, perhaps the result of natural excitement or an engineer’s nod that time was running out. On its flip side, “Salt Lake City Blues,” Papa Charlie’s capped his first recording of a standard 12-bar blues with a lovely solo.
Old-time New Orleans musicians from Buddy Bolden’s era recalled hearing far filthier versions of “Salty Dog Blues” long before Papa Charlie’s recording. And more versions followed Papa Charlie’s solo recording of the tune. In May 1926 Clara Smith recorded an inoffensive version for Columbia. Two months later, Papa Charlie Jackson made a great band version with Freddie Keppard’s Jazz Cardinals featuring Johnny Dodds on clarinet. The session may have been a reunion of sorts, since Keppard, Dodds, and Jackson all hailed from New Orleans. The performance concluded with a rousing aside of “Papa Charlie done sung that song!” Originally released as Paramount 12399, The Keppard version of “Salty Dog” was reissued by other labels during the ensuing years, including a version on American Music and an interesting 1941 pressing issued by the United Hot Clubs of America.
White country musicians picked up on Jackson’s songs as well. In 1927, Opry star Kirk McGee did close covers of “Salty Dog Blues and “Salt Lake City Blues” on Vocalion. “It was natural that Sam and Kirk McGhee, who used to play with Uncle Dave Macon back in the old days, were borrowing some of Papa Charlie’s stuff,” says Norman Blake. “Because Papa Charlie flatpicked, he crossed the line towards hillbilly or country. He recorded during that good era when there wasn’t exactly a distinction between black and white music and the musicians all kind of sounded the same when they played the mandolin, banjos, and fiddles.”
#far filthier eh?#thatbanjobusiness#that banjobusiness#I need a tag for sources#Resource#Papa Charlie Jackson#Charlie Jackson#links and resources
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2020
Hello. I hope you and yours are well. As is tradition, below are my selections for albums and songs of the year. As I have yet to receive a reply from you, dear reader, sincerely asking to unsubscribe, you are therefore the proud recipient of the list once more! I’ve altered the format from 5 tracks each month because, as I suspect many of you did, I went into a nostalgic hole for large chunks of this year (for me this consisted of at least two months of nothing but Funkadelic, which does mean my personalised algorithm is now ace), but also when I looked back at when many of these tracks were released it was front heavy for the first half of the year – another body blow to the supposed “monthly” mailer. I even considered not writing my one-liners, but where is the fun in that? Furthermore, trying to keep the long list to 60 tracks in total (equivalent to 5 per month) proved overly frustrating, so I’ve included some extras, especially as this year felt 13 month long. Notwithstanding said excuses, enough preamble, on with the list! Let me know what you think and do send me your own selections. Lots of love xx TOP 10s TOP 10 ALBUMS Baxter Dury – The Night Chancers Mildlife – Automatic SAULT – Untitled (Black Is) Alice Boman – Dream On Kanaan – Odense Sessions Lightning Orchestra – Source And Deliver Yves Tumor – Heaven To A Tortured Mind The Strokes – The New Abnormal Woods – Strange to Explain Erland Cooper – Hether Blether TOP 10 TRACKS Malena Zavala – En la Noche Caribou – You & I Yves Tumor – Kerosene! Puscifer – Apocalyptical Mildlife – Automatic King Hannah – Meal Deal SAULT – Wildfires // Bow [yes, there are two tracks there] Kanaan – Urgent Excursions To the Tundrasphere Frazey Ford – Golden Jessie Ware – What’s Your Pleasure? NEW MUSIC ‘MONTHLY’ MAILER Spotify Link Here Holy Fuck – Near Mint What better way to kick off a retrospective look at 2020 than with ‘Holy Fuck’ Alice Boman – It’s OK, It’s Alright Really love this album and this pick is a real downer, spectral and haunting but also touching Smoke Fairies – Out Of The Woods Jessica and Katherine still delivering a decade on, the chorus guitar riff is tops Nicolas Godin – The Border Air’s Nicolas Godin doing his best detached friendly robot, mais bien sur Moses Boyd – BTB Vibrant, propulsive, energetic, gotta move! The Men – Wading In Dirty Water Avid readers will know I’m a fan of these guys and this one rides a familiar Crazy Horse choogle Tame Impala – Breathe Deeper Funky bass, piano flourishes, solid synths, all groove Kanaan – Urgent Excursions To the Tundrasphere Ok, here it is, there’s always going to be at least one – this is the 14 min space rock jam – skip/enjoy! Frazey Ford – Golden This production is right up my street, soulful vocals swoop around tight rhythm section and hammond keys, an analogue dream Caribou – You and I From the analogue to a digital master, man this beat is catchy Pulled By Magnets – Cold Regime People Die File this under terrifying experimental jazz Jonathan Wilson – Riding The Blinds JW doing that 6/8 minor ballad thang Baxter Dury – Say Nothing Another album I loved this year and could have picked any number of tracks, so here’s a quote from Baxter: “My craft and in a sense a certain style has been perfected and it’s easy… I don’t have to do it again basically. I don’t want to hear another man talking over an orchestral background.” Ha! U.S. Girls – 4 American Dollars Slick funky, soulful, classic strings, building into a brilliant outro with great lyrics Deeper – Lake Song Detached vibe ala Joy Division / The Cure done through a Pavement lens with serious downer lyrics Pretty Lightning – Voo Doo Boo Swampy dirge guitar grooves Tamikrest – Anha Achal Wad Namda Another mailer favourite, Touareg guitar wizards Tony Allen, Hugh Masekela – Never (Lagos Never Gonna Be the Same) Master drummer who sadly passed away earlier this year just after this release, and two years after master trumpeter Masekela’s own passing, this track is a buzzing tribute to Fela Myrkur – House Carpenter Danish black metaller does Scandinavian folk: bright and beautiful Sufjan Stevens, Lowell Brams – The Runaround A weird album, even by Sufjan standards, but I found these electronic ambient sounds strangely comforting R.A.P. Ferreira – ABSOLUTES Rhythm & poetry The Weeknd – Blinding Lights What can I add to the smash of 2020? Catchy af Porridge Radio – Long Indie banger, with a decidedly angry, bitter, playful lyrics Cleo Sol – Her Light If online research is to be believed Cleo is part of the collective in SAULT with producer Inflo, but this album is standalone brilliance without knowing that, this is pure vintage soul vibes Malena Zavala – En la Noche I returned to this track more than any other this year, the rhythm, the vocals, the melody, the production, even if I have to use google translate to fully understand the lyrics Tom Misch, Yussef Dayes – Lift Off Molten guitar, groovy arrangements, and plenty of business from Dayes Yves Tumor – Kerosene! An absolute belter, amazing vocals, groove and crescendo perfection Warm Digits, The Orielles – Shake The Wheels Off (feat. The Orielles) Immediate synth pop, indie dancefloor (with some solid cowbell) EOB – Brasil First solo venture for Ed, acoustic folk gives way to rumbling bass banger, would very much like to experience this in a field Other Lives – Hey Hey I Grand rocking orchestral aural assault with hints of Morricone Elephant Tree – Sails Fulfilling the heavy dirge quota, that hit at 2:33 is a proper head in the speakers moment The Strokes – Why Are Sundays So Depressing This album snuck up on me, and then I found myself listening to it non-stop, this track such an ear worm Houses of Heaven – In Soft Confusion I think the right descriptor is darkwave – insistent drum machine, reverb soaked vocals, industrial production, gloomy pop hooks Joel Sarakula – Don’t Give Up on Me Operating in a dangerous space between homage and pastiche, groove and parody, this is smooth easy yacht rock Donny Benét – Second Dinner Following hot on the heels of pastiche, this time with tongue firmly in cheek, The Don and his 80s reverence lolz Perfume Genius – Whole Life Completely arresting, the lyrics an absolute gut punch, yet still gorgeous Jake Blount – Beyond This Wall From the press release, this album “features fourteen carefully chosen tracks drawn from Blount’s extensive research of Black and Indigenous mountain music. The result is an unprecedented testament to the voices paradoxically obscured yet profoundly ingrained into the Appalachian tradition” – this contemporary instrumental is a superb banjo and fiddle tune Holy Hive – Broom Formed by the drummer from the Dap Tones and inspired by being on tour with Lee Fields, this gentle soul, complete with tremolo guitar and horns, really floats Woods – Where Do You Go When You Dream A welcome return to form, this mellotron infused number is beautifully catchy Erland Cooper – Linga Holm Dramatic piano and strings from an altogether wild and wonderful album Mystery Jets – Screwdriver Loud / quiet dynamic, bombastic riffs, seething verses, the Jets turn it up to eleven to fight with love Jehnny Beth – Flower Another track where hushed verses give way to chorus explosions, serious tension and intensity Hinds – Good Bad Times Love that thudding bass drum, big stomping pop Norah Jones – Were You Watching? Smooth but haunting, with added Celtic flavour Braids – Young Buck Bleeps and bloops, melancholic poppy vocals, and the damnedest catchiest chorus Jessie Ware – What’s Your Pleasure? Is it getting hot in here? No further questions LA Priest – What Moves Quirky strutting electro, sleek yet squelchy SAULT – Wildfires + SAULT, Michael Kiwanuka – Bow Double billing because I couldn’t make a choice (plus when I realised the rhythms flow perfectly into one another it’s like it’s one song) Run The Jewels – a few words for the firing squad (radiation) Again, difficult to choose which track on this album; this is pure fire with sax and all GUM – The Thrill Of Doing It Right Turn this feel good banger up! Such a big hit when the horns drop at the start The Vacant Lots - Fracture Catchy, icy, synths (and Desert Sands label mates by the by) A.A. Williams – Melt Enchanting slow-burning, stirring post-rock, with a wonderful, soaring crescendo Lightning Orchestra – For Those Who Are Yet To Be Born A late discovery, but immediately catapulted to the top, self-described “psychedelic booty-shake” Kamaal Williams – Save Me Almost chose ‘Pigalle’ but the tight push drumming on this won out, hard funky jazz stylings of the Herbie variety Victoria Monét – Dive Lavish and groovy, and as Monét puts it: “They say most humans are about 60% water, but I believe women must be 69% so dive in baby." Secret Machines – Talos’ Corpse Genuinely so happy to see Brandon and Josh back and still with the big sounds All Them Witches – Enemy of My Enemy Relentlessly heavy, all the chops and described by one reviewer as the love child of TOOL, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Kyuss; I love this band Fenne Lily – Birthday Beautiful and bruised Mildlife – Automatic Another new discovery, in the pocket cosmic goodness and much as it pains me to quote from NME I can’t think of a better description than ‘Mobius strip funk’ Puscifer – Apocalyptical Maynard in the video for this track is an indelible image; massive swaggering Intruder-esque drums, angular menacing guitars, Carina’s ethereal edgy vocals, Maynard’s gritted teeth whispers, and apposite apocalyptical lyrics Matt Berninger – Loved So Little Confessional moody acoustic conjuring up Western-esque vistas Goldensuns – Denandra Moore Californian sun-drenched lo-fi groove, for fans of Conan Mockasin and Night Moves Frankie and the Witch Fingers – Cavehead F*cking excellent west coast garage psych melange and the B,D,E ascend at 3:10 is nod central King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – The Hungry Wolf Of Fate Genre bending brilliance once again from down under, this cut a heavy, doomy Sabbath assault King Hannah – Meal Deal Ominous drone opens into an acoustic tale of buying a flat with a spider in the bath, Hannah’s sinister smoky sultry vocals draw you in, before some menacing low frequency dirge guitar and drums kick in at 1:30… By this point on first listen I was already hooked, but then comes a great walloping Angel Olsen ‘Sister’ style crescendo, a glorious find at the end of the year (props to Manuel) HONOURABLE MENTIONS Elephant Stone – I See You Sam Lee, Elizabeth Frazer – The Moon Shines Bright Priscilla Ermel – Martim Pescador Rheinzand – Blind Dogleg – Fox The Flaming Lips, Deap Lips – Home Thru Hell The Heliocentrics – Hanging By A Thread Midwife – 2018 Chicano Batman – Color My life Trace Mountains – Rock & Roll Peach Pit – Shampoo Bottles Buscabulla – Vámono Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever – Cars In Space Jess Williamson – Wind on Tin Thiago Nassif, Arto Lindsay – Plástico The Vacant Lots – Endless Rain Nubya Garcia – Stand With Each Other (Feat. Ms MAURICE, Cassie Kinoshi, & Richie Seivwright) Juanita Stein – L.O.T.F. Carlton Melton – Waylay Paul McCartney – Long Tailed Winter Bird
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From crisis to topping La Liga
The calm and popular manager has put Lionel Messi centre stage while turning Neymar’s departure into an opportunity to recalibrate the team’s setup.
Sid Lowe, 6 November 2017 17.10 GMT
At the start of the season Gerard Piqué admitted that for the first time he felt “inferior”.
Barcelona had just lost the Super Cup: Real Madrid had scored five, Barcelona just one – and that was a penalty. Neymar had gone, 11 days after Piqué announced he was staying and 16 days since the vice-president said he was “200% sure” he wouldn’t leave. Coutinho hadn’t come yet and wouldn’t come at all. And nor had Marco Verratti, Héctor Bellerín, or even Ángel Di María. Iñigo Martínez was done then undone and in Nice, where “the walls shook”, Jean Michaël Seri “exploded”.
In the editor’s office at El Mundo Deportivo, walls shook too, phones rang and, near midnight, presses stopped, a front page hurriedly changed from “Seri Day” to “No to Seri”. Seri said his “dream” had been “broken”; for Barça, the nightmare seemed never-ending.The former president went to jail and the players call the current president Nobito, after a timid, naive and hapless cartoon character whose friend is a robot cat. When, that is, they don’t call him worse.
Neymar called the board a “joke” and threatened to take them to court; the feeling is mutual. That very day, he was back in Barcelona posing, all smiles, with the team-mates and best mates he had left behind.
The club he left behind were friends with Qatar, which no one liked much, then they were enemies of Qatar, which no one liked at all. And as for Catalonia, they don’t really know where they are: caught in a storm, incapable of pleasing all the people all the time, they’ve played in an empty stadium, supporters stopped at the gates while two directors resigned.
They’re involved in seven legal cases, all carefully laid out before the AGM, accused among other things of tax fraud and “an act of espionage”. A vote of no confidence was sought against the president, who has listened to chants to resign even on days of celebration, and although the motion failed that wasn’t the end of their troubles.
There were eight different men deciding signings (two of whom have walked now), but they still couldn’t get them done – despite, or perhaps because of, the €222m in their pocket. “We’ll sign one or two in the next few days,” the sporting director promised; four days later his PowerPoint presentation explained how, actually, he hadn’t signed any. Liverpool offered Coutinho €200m, he said; no we didn’t, Liverpool replied. “The best thing about the window,” Barcelona’s manager said, “is that it’s closed now.”
They did sign Ousmane Dembélé but the most expensive player in their history walked off 52 minutes into his league debut and won’t be back until Christmas, injuring himself as he tried to do a backheel.
“A more experienced player wouldn’t have done that,” his manager said.
Their most expensive signing of last summer is also injured now; more to the point, an easy scapegoat, he’s still there when many wish he wasn’t. Neymar has gone. Luis Suárez has gone off: he has not scored for 459 minutes, his worst run at Barcelona. And Leo Messi could yet go: he’s 56 days away from being able to negotiate with whoever he wants, for free. Their captain is 33, their centre-back is public enemy No1, until this weekend their backup striker had played just 82 minutes, and their other big signing was €40m 29-year-old from China who failed in England and no one wanted.
And they’re top.
Eleven weeks into the season, Barcelona are unbeaten. Played 11, won 10, drawn one, only Atlético Madrid have taken a point from them. In the Champions League they have won three, including victory over Juventus, and drawn one. In the league they have scored 30 – only Valencia have as many – and have conceded only four.
Ernesto Valverde has guided his team to the top of La Liga, winning 10 and drawing one of their opening 11 games. Josep Lago AFP/Getty Images
Inferior?
As La Liga pauses for the last time before Christmas, the international break offering a moment to stop and look around, what Barcelona see makes happy viewing: they have a four-point lead over Valencia in second and eight over Madrid and Atlético in third and fourth. It’s early and a word of warning from Mr Wolf wouldn’t go amiss – after all, the last coach to start like this, with the exact same numbers after 11 weeks, was Tata Martino, who didn’t lose until December and ultimately didn’t win anything at all – but it’s not insignificant: Madrid have never overcome a lead so large to win the title. And Barcelona are six points better off than they were at this stage last season.
It wasn’t supposed to be this way and at times this season it has been hard to explain why it is this way. Perhaps fixtures play a part – they’ve played six of the bottom nine – but it’s not like Real Madrid, who’ve played seven of the bottom nine, have had it tough by comparison.
They haven’t always impressed: Girona scored two own goals at Montilivi and Betis scored one at the Camp Nou; they had to come from behind to win 2-1 at the Coliseum, the winner coming moments after Getafe had a chance of their own; and after they beat Athletic at San Mamés, Sergio Busquets said: “We owe much of this to [goalkeeper Marc-André] Ter Stegen.”
It’s true that at times you can’t help thinking that a fall is coming and also true that they haven’t always been very “Barcelona”.
And yet. And yet there they are, top of the table with 10 wins. Despite everything.
Calm in a crisis, Barcelona could hardly have hoped for a better man in charge than Ernesto Valverde. Hugely likeable, universally popular and abnormally “normal”, a music, film and photography fan who likened his return to Athletic to The Godfather Part II and proved it by taking them to Europe four years in a row – they’re down in 15th now without him – he has a startling ability to block out the noise and cut through the bullshit, to not be dragged down by it all.
At Barcelona it helps that he is particularly popular with those most inclined to decry the club losing their religion, embraced by all sides, allowing shifts and tweaks that might draw opposition if imposed by others. But it helps more that it is all done so naturally.
“Valverde has made the Camp Nou fall in love with him,” the president Josep Maria Bartomeu said.
That may be an exaggeration but, a listener as well as a leader, it is true that he invariably connects. “After two years I said I would jump off a bridge for Luis Enrique,” Rakitic said. “I’d jump off a ladder for Valverde, [as] it’s very early. It’s clear what he wants from us and we’re happy with him.” It’s a start and a good one: neither Pep Guardiola nor Luis Enrique began their Camp Nou careers as well as this. Nor is it just the stats; the hope is that slowly, something is building.
Something a little different.
Well, sort of.
Messi still stands at the centre of everything, even more the centre of gravity than before: while Suárez may be partly a “victim” of the shift (albeit one his manager insists will come good), Valverde says: “We’re delighted to build our play around Messi.” And when a player is this good it is hard to argue, however much over-dependency concerns. Operating centrally but free, at once midfielder and striker, Messi has 12 league goals but his contribution can’t be quantified unless “everything” is a quantity – and at times it really can look like he is doing it on his own, starting, continuing, and finishing moves, even getting out the way if necessary: when Pablo Maffeo man-marked him against Girona, Messi headed to the touchline to ask his coach where he was most use, which spaces he could best vacate for others, from false nine to false footballer.
Around him, the structure is strengthened. An extra midfielder is added, a little more consistency. Valverde admitted that losing Neymar was not part of his plans and that his departure forced a rethink. It offered an “opportunity” to reinforce the midfield, to tilt the balance a little: maybe not the way some puritans would prefer, but back towards the centre.
There is another man alongside Busquets now, Ivan Rakitic finding his form, and Valverde was explicit that one of the things that attracted him to Paulinho was precisely that he was not the classic Barcelona player. Yet so far, he has also shown more willingness to use Andrés Iniesta and if the side has not always flowed, there were moments in the first half against Athletic and this weekend against Sevilla, while the second half at Atlético impressed.
“With Neymar we had more ‘punch’, but now we’re compact,” Rakitic says.
While Messi has dominated, there have been contributions from elsewhere, even if some respond more to the on-going search for the right mix than actual rotations: eight different players have been the ‘other’ attacker with Messi and Suárez, while 10 players have scored in the league. Last season, Madrid’s strength in depth was one of their defining features, while at Barcelona there was virtually nothing beyond the starting XI; this season, there has been a response.
Against Atlético, it was Suárez who scored, sure, but against Getafe it was Denis Suárez and Paulinho – second top-scorer with three league goals – who secured the victory. Gerard Deulofeu opened the scoring against Málaga.
And this weekend, against Sevilla, it was Paco Alcácer who got the goals.
Saturday was a curious kind of night, one that fits with Barcelona so far this season, a portrait of a team that so far may only offer up tentative conclusions but offers optimism too, when just three months ago there was virtually none.
A superb opening 20 minutes where they could have scored three or four settled into an impressive hour, but then it slipped away from them. On Messi’s 600th game for the club he didn’t score – he did, though, get the game’s only yellow card – but Alcácer, making only his second start, did. The former Valencia striker scored the first, only for Guido Pizarro to get an equaliser on the hour. Alcácer made it 2-1 five minutes later, meaning the man so often dismissed as a failure, signed last summer for €30m, has now scored nine in nine games and is running at an average of a goal every 141 minutes for Barcelona, Sport declaring him Super Paco on Sunday, El Mundo Deportivo declaring him Super Paco on Monday.
“Recovered him?” Valverde asked afterwards. “I never thought I didn’t have him.”
For the last half an hour, he didn’t. Alcácer was immediately removed – “he looked tired,” Valverde explained. Control was lost and as the final minutes ticked away, Barcelona hung on, exhibiting qualities rarely seen as theirs. They ended with a midfield of Mascherano, Busquets and Paulinho. While there are doubts, while there will be debates, they also ended with another win.
“And one thing’s for sure,” Valverde said, “we won’t apologise for winning.”
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Entertainment Earth and Bif Bang Pow! Unveiling New Marvel Collectibles at Toy Fair 2017
From classic characters to new movie-inspired products, the designers at Bif Bang Pow! and Entertainment Earth are unveiling dozens of all-new 2017 wooden Marvel-inspired collectibles sure to capture the hearts of fans and collectors of all ages for the very first time at their New York Toy Fair booth (#5452).
Pin Mate™ by Bif Bang Pow! With its charming 2-inch scale wooden figures, each with an individual series-driven number, the Pin Mate™ line celebrates its one-year anniversary with the exciting new addition of moveable wooden vehicles, wooden dioramas, and an ever-expanding cast of character wooden figures.
The Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Pin Mate Wood Milano Set with Masked Star-Lord and Yondu is ready to blast off for adventure. Including with a wooden Milano Pin Mate™ ship that features six seats and working wooden wheels, the movie-derived Masked Star-Lord (#47) and Yondo (#48) Pin Mate™ wooden figures set a course of fun in this unique set. But no journey is complete without the rest of the crew! The Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Pin Mate Wooden Figure Set of 5 offers fans more wooden figures that can join in the ride with an unmasked Star-Lord (#38), Gamora (#39), Drax the Destroyer (#40), a growing Groot (#41), and Rocket Raccoon (#42).
Also in 2017, Bif Bang Pow! introduces dozens of beloved, classically-styled Pin Mate™ wooden figures. For Spidey fans, the Spider-Man Pin Mate Wooden Figure Set of 5 gathers Spider-Man (#11), with a new Agent Venom (#46), Spider-Woman (#37), Spider-Gwen (#36), and Black Cat (#15) into one swinging collection.
In addition, individually sold Pin Mate™ wooden figures of Doctor Strange (#19), Thor (#28), The Punisher (#29), Daredevil (#30), Vision (#31), Luke Cage (#32), Peter Parker (#33), Mary Jane (#34), Gwenpool (#35), Spider-Gwen (#36), Spider-Woman (#37) join the line. Each figure features highly detailed, vibrant 360-degree artwork.
Wooden Push Puppets by Entertainment Earth Remember the hours of fun you had pressing the hidden buttons at the bottom of those adorable push puppets you had as a child? Well, now they are back! And for these retro-styled wooden classics, cute is ready for crime-stopping action. Created in a 5-inch scale and made from solid wood, Captain America, Iron Man, Spider-Man, Black Widow, and Deadpool bend, collapse, and stand back up on their themed base based on your touch for another round of good vs. evil – while looking amazing with the vibrant 360-degree artwork, of course.
Tiki Tiki Totem™ Wooden Characters by Entertainment Earth Whether you are avenging evil on Earth or guarding against space supremacy, take your Marvel fandom to new heights with Tiki Tiki Totem™ wooden characters by Entertainment Earth! Making its Toy Fair debut, this line of interconnecting, stackable, wooden Tiki Tiki Totem™ pieces allow you to create your own custom Tiki Tiki Totem™ poles with your favorite characters. Enjoy these 3-inches tall, character-inspired wooden figures from every angle with hand-painted, 360-degree artwork that includes some decal elements.
Each of these coveted collectibles can be seen at Toy Fair 2017 inside the Entertainment Earth and Bif Bang Pow! booth (#5452).
from AwesomeToyBlog http://ift.tt/2l6mtvn
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