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bananaofswifts · 3 years

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By Jeff Opperman

Mr. Opperman is the global lead freshwater scientist for the World Wildlife Fund. He is the first author of the book “Floodplains.”

I had just started to scrub the sheet pan when I saw the glare from across the sink.

“Dad, that is so loud!”

Then, to her friend on the laptop Skype screen: “Sorry, my dad is now a huge Taylor Swift fan.”

My daughter is used to me wading into a pile of dishes to the soundtrack of my teen years — usually Bruce Springsteen or the Replacements. She seemed somewhat irritated that her father — a 50-year-old conservation scientist — had strayed from his musical lane.

Well, why not? Americans of all ages know that Ms. Swift is one of the most successful, influential pop stars of all time. She has won 10 Grammy Awards and is up for six more in this year’s competition. (The winners will be announced at a ceremony on Sunday night.) She surprised her millions of adoring fans with two unannounced albums in 2020 — “Folklore” and “Evermore.” Both received critical acclaim for their storytelling and production, but I heard another reason to celebrate them: They are filled with the language and images of the natural world.

The language of nature has been steadily draining from the vocabulary of our culture. With these sister albums, Ms. Swift pushes back hard on that trend.

On the albums, nature has primacy of place from the beginning: their cover art, with photography that shifts with the seasons like the menu of a farm-to-table restaurant. Recorded in the spring, “Folklore” finds Ms. Swift dwarfed by trees in a foggy vernal forest. On “Evermore,” recorded in the fall, we look over Ms. Swift’s shoulder to a stubbly field, bare trees in the distance reflecting the last glow of an autumnal sunset.

Both were recorded during the seemingly endless quarantine and isolation of 2020, and with these cover photos, Ms. Swift seems to be turning to nature for connection and solace.

The albums’ lyrics abound with references to nature: “running like water,” “Gold was the color of the leaves when I showed you around Centennial Park,” “You’ll poke that bear till her claws come out,” “Long limbs and frozen swims/You’d always go past where our feet could touch.”

There are stars, crescent moons, sunrises and sunsets, eclipsed suns, Saturn, comets and auroras, amber skies and purple-pink skies. There are cliffs and precipices and rabbit holes to trip on. Plants grow in the background — bushes, trees, grass, clover, willows and wisteria — and in two songs, ivy or other vegetation grows over characters. The passage of time is marked by wildest winters, spring breaking loose, salty-air summers, autumn chill and gray Novembers. There is snow and cold hands.

An emotional gulf between characters is the “sea you put between us.” Reunions take place “at our old spot, in the tree line.” Tears spill out as “acid rain on the pillow.”

As I’m a conservation scientists, not a music critic, I had to apply some rigor to this claim about the nature of Ms. Swift’s writing. So I analyzed the lyrics of the 32 songs on “Folklore” and “Evermore” and the lyrics of the first 32 songs from the Today’s Top Hits playlist on Spotify. The result? Ms. Swift uses nature-themed words seven times as frequently as the other pop songs do.

Aside from the poetic and aesthetic pleasure all this brings, does it really matter? I think so.

Our culture has experienced a steady and dramatic decline in its connections to nature. American children now spend an average of only four to seven minutes per day playing outdoors, compared with over seven hours per day in front of a screen. By now, they are far better at identifying corporate logos than native plants or animals; they can tell the difference between an Apple and a Coke, but not a maple from an oak.

A 2017 scientific paper published by the Association for Psychological Science reported that nature-themed words were losing ground in our pop culture. Researchers surveyed song lyrics, books and movie scripts and found that words associated with nature have declined steadily since 1950. During that time, the loss of nature words was most pronounced in songs. The scientists scanned the lyrics of 6,000 songs and found that the frequency of nature-themed words had declined by 63 percent. The researchers posit that as we lose our daily connection to nature, we think and write about it less often. Conservationists see these cultural declines as both symptoms of and contributors to many trends reflecting the decline of actual nature.

Against the backdrop of these declines, consider the song “Seven.” In its accompanying video, we see a grainy home movie of a young girl playing in trees as Ms. Swift sings:

Please, picture me in the trees

I hit my peak at 7

Feet in the swing over the creek

I was too scared to jump in

But I, I was high in the sky

With Pennsylvania under me

Are there still beautiful things?

Here, she packs in nature references at a dizzying clip while evoking the landscape of the state where she grew up. The girl in this song does not spend just four to seven minutes outside each day. Rather, nature, childhood and friendship are all intertwined and seared deep in memory.

In Ms. Swift’s lyrics, nature is not remote. It can also be suburban, even urban, and thus familiar and accessible. The backyards where little kids explore creeks become places to party for high schoolers. She name-checks two urban parks: the High Line in Manhattan and Centennial Park in Nashville, her adopted hometown.

Songs like this — in which nature is a place to bond, seek solace or just hang out — may be even more needed than songs that preach about saving it. Because this is not nature as a living (what I do) but simply nature as part of daily life. And that is what we are missing.

Ms. Swift’s songs aren’t going to reverse climate change or the decline of wildlife. But they are a step toward reversing the decline of nature in pop culture, and that matters. If we want to change the world to safeguard nature, and ourselves, we first have to see it. Art can do that.

As I finished the dishes, the song “Seven” came on, with this line evoking an undomesticated childhood: “Please picture me in the weeds. Before I learned civility, I used to scream ferociously.” And I saw my daughter — at the table, working hard as a high school junior — transformed back into her unkempt, tiny form of dirty knees and wild hair. “Hey, that was you,” I told her.

Her eyes gleamed, “Still is.”

Jeff Opperman is the global lead freshwater scientist for the World Wildlife Fund. He is the first author of the book “Floodplains” and a regular contributor to the energy and sustainability sections of Forbes.com.

#taylor swift #folklore #cool #ny times

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justchui · 7 years

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Decorative fan. Can be used for formal events such as weddings, balls, school dances or even costume accessories. Got a fairy festival or convention coming up? These are perfect adds to complete your costume. Want to set your bridesmaids apart? This is a perfect way to start! By Juschui Blossoms

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rj-anderson · 3 years

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🔥 𝕋𝕠𝕣𝕔𝕙 𝕡𝕣𝕖𝕠𝕣𝕕𝕖𝕣 𝕓𝕠𝕟𝕦𝕤𝕖𝕤 🔥 𝒂𝒗𝒂𝒊𝒍𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒘! The third and final book in the Flight and Flame trilogy comes out 𝐅𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝟗, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟏 — less than a month away! Some of my long-time readers have been waiting SEVEN YEARS for this epic conclusion to the story of a piskey girl named Ivy and the other magical folk of Cornwall, while others just discovered the books through Enclave’s lovely new hardcover editions of SWIFT and NOMAD this past autumn/winter. But whether you’re a new reader or a long-time fan, in the US or UK or some other country, you can preorder TORCH and receive these 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐬 as a thank-you! As shown in the graphic, this package includes the following: * Full-colour bookmark featuring a portrait of Betony aka the Joan, with art by @scarvenartist and @beanut_budder  * A beautiful 5" x 7" art card featuring a scene from the book, illustrated by @scarvenartist  * Signed bookplate personalized to you (or your preferred reader)  * Line art portraits of Ivy and Martin drawn by me, the author  * PLUS Part 3 of the exclusive Flight & Flame trilogy puzzle magnet! 🔥 𝕤𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕤 𝕘𝕠𝕠𝕕! 𝕙𝕠𝕨 𝕕𝕠 𝕀 𝕘𝕖𝕥 𝕚𝕥? 🔥 Preorder a copy of TORCH from your favourite bookseller (see handy link in my bio, or visit the books page of my website). Then send me a message or e-mail me at rja [at] rj-anderson [dot] com with: 1. Your full name and mailing address 2. Reader’s first name for the bookplate (or specify “none” if you just want it generic) 3. A screenshot or photo of the receipt for your preorder of SWIFT I’ll send you a note to acknowledge I’ve got it, and mail out your goodies ASAP! Offer open from now until 𝗙𝗲𝗯𝗿𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝟴, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟭. This giveaway is not affiliated with Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/CJ9hQmUAjW7/?igshid=1cvvd6f65acni

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astro-meg · 4 years

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Celtic Tree Astrology

by Avia Venefica

The Birch Birch - The Achiever

December 24 - January 20 If you were born under the energy of the Birch you can be highly driven, and often motivate others they become easily caught in your zeal, drive and ambition. You are always reaching for more, seeking better horizons and obtaining higher aspirations. The Druids attributed this to your time of birth, which is a time of year shrouded by darkness, so consequently you are always stretching out to find the light. Birch signs (just like the tree) are tolerant, tough, and resilient. You are cool-headed and are natural-born rulers, often taking command when a situation calls for leadership. When in touch with your softer side, you also bring beauty in otherwise barren spaces, brightening up a room with you guile, and charming crowds with you quick wit. Celtic tree astrology Birch signs are compatible with Vine signs and Willow signs. .

Celtic Tree Astrology: The Rowan Rowan - The Thinker January 21 - February 17 Celtic tree astrology recognizes Rowan signs as the philosophical minds within the zodiac. If you were born under the Rowan energy, you are likely a keen-minded visionary, with high ideals. Your thoughts are original and creative, so much so, that other's often misunderstand from where you are coming. This sometimes makes you aloof when interacting with others as you feel they wouldn't understand where you are coming from anyway. Nevertheless, although you may appear to have a cool exterior, you are burning within from your passionate ideals. This inner passion provides inner motivation for you as you make your way through life. You have a natural ability to transform situations and people around you by your mere presence. You are highly influential in a quiet way and others look to you for your unique perspectives. Rowan pairs well with Ivy and Hawthorn signs. .

Celtic Tree Astrology: The Ash Ash - The Enchanter February 18 - March 17 Those born under the Celtic tree astrology sign of the Ash are free thinkers. Imaginative, intuitive, and naturally artistic, you see the world in water-color purity. You have a tendency to moody and withdrawn at times, but that's only because your inner landscape is in constant motion. You are in touch with your muse, and you are easily inspired by nature. Likewise, you inspire all that you associate with and people seek you out for your enchanting personality. Art, writing (especially poetry), science, and theology (spiritual matters) are areas that strongly interest you. Others may think you are reclusive, but in all honesty, you are simply immersed in your own world of fantastic vision and design. You are in a constant state of self-renewal and you rarely place a value on what others think about you. Ash signs partner well with Willow and Reed signs. .

Celtic Tree Astrology: The Alder Alder - The Trailblazer March 18 - April 14 If you are an Alder sign within the Celtic tree astrology system, you are a natural-born pathfinder. You're a mover and a shaker, and will blaze a trail with fiery passion often gaining loyal followers to your cause. You are charming, gregarious and mingle easily with a broad mix of personalities. In other words, Alder signs get along with everybody and everybody loves to hang around with you. This might be because Alder's are easily confident and have a strong self-faith. This self-assurances is infectious and other people recognize this quality in you instantly. Alder Celtic tree astrology signs are very focused and dislike waste. Consequently, they can see through superficialities and will not tolerate fluff. Alder people place high value on their time, and feel that wasting time is insufferable. They are motivated by action and results. Alder's pair well with Hawthorns, Oaks or even Birch signs. .

Celtic Tree Astrology: The Willow Willow - The Observer April 15 - May 12 If you are a Willow sign, you are ruled by the moon, and so your personality holds hands with many of the mystical aspects of the lunar realm. This means you are highly creative, intuitive (highly psychic people are born under the sign of the Willow) and intelligent. You have a keen understanding of cycles, and you inherently know that every situation has a season. This gives you a realistic perspective of things, and also causes you to be more patient than most tree signs. With your intelligence comes a natural ability to retain knowledge and you often impress your company with the ability to expound on subjects from memory. Willow Celtic tree astrology signs are bursting with potential, but have a tendency to hold themselves back for fear of appearing flamboyant or overindulgent. It is your powers of perception that ultimately allow your true nature to shine, and what leads you to success in life. Willow signs join well with the Birch and the Ivy. .

Celtic Tree Astrology: The Hawthorn Hawthorn - The Illusionist May 13 - June 9 Hawthorn signs in Celtic tree astrology are not at all what they appear to be. Outwardly, they appear to be a certain persona, while on the inside Hawthorn's are quite different. They put the term “never judge a book by its cover” to the test. They live seemingly average lives while on the inside they carry fiery passions and inexhaustible creative flame. They are well adjusted and can adapt to most life situations well - making themselves content and comforting others at the same time. You are naturally curious, and have an interest in a broad range of topics. You are an excellent listener, and people seek you out as an outlet to release their burdens. You have a healthy sense of humor, and have a clear understanding of irony. You tend to see the big picture, and have amazing insight - although you typically won't give yourself enough credit for your observations. Hawthorn signs match up nicely with Ash and Rowan's. .

Celtic Tree Astrology: The Oak Oak - The Stabilizer June 10 - July 7 Those born under the Celtic tree astrology sign of the Oak have a special gift of strength. They are protective people and often become a champion for those who do not have a voice. In other words, the Oak is the crusader and the spokesperson for the underdog. Nurturing, generous and helpful, you are a gentle giant among the Celtic zodiac signs. You exude an easy confidence and naturally assume everything will work out to a positive outcome. You have a deep respect for history and ancestry, and many people with this sign become teachers. You love to impart your knowledge of the past to others. Oak signs have a need for structure, and will often go to great lengths to gain the feeling of control in their lives. Healthy Oak signs live long, full, happy lives and enjoy large family settings and are likely to be involved with large social/community networks. Oak signs pair off well with the Ash and Reed, and are known to harmoniously join with Ivy signs too. .

Celtic Tree Astrology: The Holly Holly - The Ruler July 8 - August 4 Among the Celtic tree astrology signs the Holly is one of regal status. Noble, and high-minded, those born during the Holly era easily take on positions of leadership and power. If you are a Holly sign you take on challenges easily, and you overcome obstacles with rare skill and tact. When you encounter setbacks, you simply redouble your efforts and remain ever vigilant to obtain your end goals. Very seldom are you defeated. This is why many people look up to you and follow you as their leader. You are competitive and ambitious even in the most casual settings. You can appear to be arrogant but in actuality you're just very confident in your abilities. Truth be known, you are quite generous, kind and affectionate (once people get to know you). Highly intelligent, you skate through academics where others may struggle. Because many things come to you so easily, you may have a tendency to rest on your laurels. In other words, if not kept active, you may slip into an unhealthy and lazy lifestyle. Holly signs may look to Ash and Elder signs for balance and partnership. .

Celtic Tree Astrology: The Hazel Hazel - The Knower August 5 - September 1 If you are born under the energy of the Hazel, you are highly intelligent, organized and efficient. Like the Holly, you are naturally gifted in academia, and excel in the classroom. You also have the ability to retain information and can recall, recite and expound on subjects you've memorized with amazing accuracy. You know your facts, and you are always well informed. This sometimes makes you appear like a know-it-all to others, but you can't help that; you're genuinely smart and usually know the right course of action because of your impressive knowledge base. You have an eye for detail, and like things to be “just so.” Sometimes this need for order and control can lead to compulsive behaviors if left unchecked. You have a knack for numbers, science and things that utilize your analytical skills. You like rules, although you are typically making them rather than playing by them. The Celtic tree astrology sign of Hazel joins harmoniously with Hawthorn and Rowan's. .

Celtic Tree Astrology: The Vine Vine - The Equalizer September 2 - September 29 Vine signs are born within the autumnal equinox, which makes your personality changeable and unpredictable. You can be full of contradictions, and are often indecisive. But this is because you can see both sides of the story, and empathize with each equally. It is hard for you to pick sides because you can see the good points on each end. There are, however, areas in your life that you are quite sure about. These include the finer things of life like food, wine, music, and art. You have very distinctive taste, and are a connoisseur of refinement. Luxury agrees with you, and under good conditions you have a Midas touch for turning drab into dramatic beauty. You are charming, elegant, and maintain a level of class that wins you esteem from a large fan base. Indeed, you often find yourself in public places where others can admire your classic style and poise. Vine signs pair well with Willow and Hazel signs. .

Celtic Tree Astrology: The Ivy Ivy - The Survivor September 30 - October 27 Among other cherished qualities of the Ivy Celtic tree astrology sign, most prized is your ability to overcome all odds. You have a sharp intellect, but more obvious is your compassion and loyalty to others. You have a giving nature, and are always there to lend a helping hand. You are born at a time of the waning sun so life can be difficult for you at times. This sometimes seems unfair because it appears that obstacles are coming at with no prompting on your part. Nevertheless, you endure troubling times with silent perseverance and soulful grace. Indeed, Ivy signs have a tendency to be deeply spiritual and cling to a deep-rooted faith that typically sees them trough adversity. You are soft spoken, but have a keen wit about you. You are charming, charismatic, and can effectively hold your own in most social settings. Ivy signs are attracted to the Celtic tree astology sign of Oak and Ash signs. .

Celtic Tree Astrology: The Reed Reed - The Inquisitor October 28 - November 24 Reed signs among the Celtic tree astrology signs are the secret keepers. You dig deep inside to the real meaning of things and discover the truth hidden beneath layers of distraction. When there is a need to get to the heart of the matter, most certainly the Reed sign will find the core. You love a good story, and can be easily drawn in by gossip, scandals, legend and lore. These tendencies also make you an excellent historian, journalist, detective or archeologist. You love people because they represent a diversity of meanings for you to interpret. You are adept at coaxing people to talking to you, and sometimes you can be a bit manipulative. However, you have a strong sense of truth and honor so most of your scheming is harmless. Reed people join well with other Reeds, Ash or Oak signs. .

Celtic Tree Astrology: The Elder Elder - The Seeker November 25 - December 23 Elder archetypes among Celtic tree astrology tend to be freedom-loving, and sometimes appear to be a bit wild to the other signs of the zodiac. In younger years you may have lived life in the fast lane, often identified as a “thrill seeker.” At the time of your birth the light of the sun was fast fleeting and so you take the same cue from nature. You are often misjudged as an outsider as you have a tendency to be withdrawn in spite of your extroverted nature. In actuality, you are deeply thoughtful with philosophical bent. You also tend to be very considerate of others and genuinely strive to be helpful. These acts of assistance are sometimes thwarted by your brutal honestly (which you openly share solicited or otherwise). Elder Celtic tree astrology signs fit well with Alder's and Holly's.

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dweemeister · 4 years

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2019 Movie Odyssey Awards

As the 2019 Movie Odyssey Award for Best Original Song final was extended, the 2019 Movie Odyssey Awards themselves are late. As always, this is the annual awards ceremony to recognize a year of films that I saw for the first time in their entirety in the calendar year. All films featured - with the exception of those in the Worst Picture category (and even then, the Worst Picture winner won a competitive award below) - are worth seeing.

The full list of every single film I saw as part of the 2019 Movie Odyssey can be seen in this link.

Best Pictures (I name ten winners, none of which are distinguished above the other nine)

The Ascent (1977, Soviet Union)

An Autumn Afternoon (1962, Japan)

BlacKkKlansman (2018)

The Informer (1935)

Kuroneko (1968, Japan)

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019)

Sons of the Desert (1933)

Victor/Victoria (1982)

The Westerner (1940)

Woodstock (1970)

Three of these Best Picture winners received 10/10 from yours truly: The Ascent, Sons of the Desert, and Woodstock. To my discredit, there are - for the second consecutive time - no silent films here. It is also the second consecutive Best Picture lineups without entries from the 1990s or 2000s. This is the first Best Picture lineup without a winner from the 1950s. It is, as a result of my seeing fewer feature-length films than usual this year, the most monolingual Best Picture field in a while. This field of ten runs the gamut of comedy, documentary (Woodstock is only the third documentary of 80 over the last eight years to be a Best Picture winner), horror, musical, American Western, war, family drama, and historical drama.

Best Comedy

Booksmart (2019)

Design for Living (1933)

The Great McGinty (1940)

Jewel Robbery (1932)

Jour de Fête (1949, France)

Sitting Pretty (1948)

Smokey and the Bandit (1977)

Sons of the Desert

Toy Story 4 (2019)

Victor/Victoria

Most of these had me bursting in laughter. Design for Living not Jewel Robbery may not have been gut-burstingly funny, but I appreciate the wittiness of ‘30s romantic comedies and so there get a spot here. Booksmart is the best pure comedy of 2019 and Smokey and the Bandit has been described by a few Southerners of not so much a comedy as it is a documentary of Southern culture in the 1970s. But Sons of the Desert, with Laurel and Hardy’s slapstick mastery, takes it away here. Fun fact: “Sons of the Desert” is the name of the international Laurel and Hardy fan club (its founding documents co-written by Stan Laurel).

Best Musical

Frozen II (2019)

The Happiest Millionaire (1967)

King of Jazz (1930)

Mary Poppins Returns (2018)

The Perils of Pauline (1947)

Rocketman (2019)

Thousands Cheer (1943)

Victor/Victoria

Oh this wasn’t close. Some films here may have packed more songs into their runtime (The Happiest Millionaire and Mary Poppins Returns), others were more fantastical (Rocketman), or dispensed with a plot altogether to concentrate on the music (Thousands Cheer)... but Victor/Victoria felt narratively decades of its time and was bolstered by an outstanding performance by Julie Andrews. Credit to Henry Mancini and Leslie Bricusse for their musical score, too.

Best Animated Feature

Frozen II

Fun and Fancy Free (1947)

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (2019)

Modest Heroes (2018, Japan)

Toy Story 4

There have been years where some category dries up in its nominees. This year, it was certainly animated feature. The wave of recent non-English language animated films that usually populate this category were severely diminished to just one last year: Modest Heroes. The weakest Toy Story film of the four - note that this bar is extremely high - is your winner, just edging HTTYD.

Best Documentary

The African Lion (1955)

Hale County This Morning, This Evening (2018)

Made in Vietnam (2017)

Minding the Gap (2018)

Pavarotti (2019)

Seadrift (2019)

Walk Run Cha-Cha (2019 short)

While I Breathe, I Hope (2018)

Woodstock

Yellowstone Cubs (1963)

A year that saw yours truly watch many more documentaries than usual sees Woodstock, directed by Michael Wadleigh, as the winner here. Woodstock perfectly immerses the viewer into the totality of the eponymous 1969 music festival of the same name and is one of the great concert films. Runners-up included the experimental Hale County This Morning, This Evening (a collection of contemporary images of black lives in Hale County, Alabama) and the excellent Minding the Gap (an observational glimpse into the lives of three friends from Rockford, Illinois who are all drawn to skateboarding and a devastating portrait of youth and masculinity in America) - both Oscar nominees and both shown on PBS earlier in 2019.

Congratulations to Walk Run Cha-Cha for being the first short film nominated in this category since 2015. I first saw it as part of the curatorial committee on Viet FIlm Fest this year and this New York Times film is now shortlisted as a potential Best Documentary Short Film nominee for the 92nd Academy Awards.

Best Non-English Language Film

The Ascent, Soviet Union

An Autumn Afternoon, Japan

Barnali (1963), India

The Garden of Mr. Vong (2017 short), Germany

Ginger and Fred (1986), Italy

Jour de Fête, France

Kuroneko, Japan

La Pointe Courte (1955), France

Pitfall (1962), Japan

Song Lang (2018), Vietnam

I may have seen fewer non-English language films this year, but there’s still a great selection here. In what was essentially a choice between The Ascent or An Autumn Afternoon, the only 10/10 recipient is the winner here. Vietnam has its first appearance in this category with Leon Le’s Song Lang - which is still making the film festival circuits.

Best Silent Film

Bobby Bumps and His Pointer Pup (1916 short)

Bobby Bumps at the Dentist (1918 short)

Bobby Bumps, Chef (1917 short)

Bobby Bumps in Their Master’s Voice (1921 short)

Bobby Bumps’ Last Smoke (1919 short)

Bobby Bumps Starts for School (1917 short)

The Curse of Quon Gwon: When the Far East Mingles with the West (1916 short)

Dr. Mabuse the Gambler (1922, Germany)

The Racket (1928)

Street Angel (1928)

As you can see, I didn’t see a lot of silent films this year. Dominated by Earl Hurd’s Bobby Bumps series of animated short films - Hurd innovated cel animation, a technique that would be used by pretty much everyone in hand-drawn animation for several decades - the winner is Fritz Lang’s sprawling crime epic, Dr. Mabuse the Gambler. The first Mabuse film is a solid, if imperfect, example of German Expressionism, a movement emphasizing darker stories and production/lighting design depending upon extremely angled sets and high-contrast lights and shadows.

Personal Favorite Film

Booksmart

The Farewell (2019)

House of Usher (1960)

The Moon-Spinners (1964)

Murder, She Said (1961)

One Foot in Heaven (1941)

Smokey and the Bandit

Sons of the Desert

Toy Story 4

The War of the Worlds (1953)

“I can hear the scratch of rat claws in the stone walls.” I mean, come on. How could one not appreciate Vincent Price’s straight performance in a fun, albeit loose, adaptation of Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher? Such a great horror movie for an October evening and you don’t want to be scared out your wits. Runners-up were two other literary adaptations: Murder, She Said (adapted from Agatha Christie’s 4.50 from Paddington and starring a fantastic Margaret Rutherford as Ms. Marple) and The War of the Worlds (a chilling adaptation of H.G. Wells’ novel, with special effects convincing for its time and a change of setting to SoCal).

Best Director

Stuart Cooper, Overlord (1975)

John Ford, The Informer

Fritz Lang, Dr. Mabuse the Gambler

Spike Lee, BlacKkKlansman

Laurence Olivier, Henry V (1944)

Yasujirô Ozu, An Autumn Afternoon

Irving Rapper, One Foot in Heaven

Larisa Shepitko, The Ascent

Kaneto Shindô, Kuroneko

Michael Wadleigh, Woodstock

By no agenda at all, we have our first woman winner in Best Director. Shepitko directs her film with the utmost discipline and interest; it is to cinema’s misfortune that she died so young. Other considerations were Ford, Olivier, Ozu, and Wadleigh.

Best Acting Ensemble

An Autumn Afternoon

BlacKkKlansman

The Farewell

The Great McGinty

The Holly and the Ivy (1952)

O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

One Foot in Heaven

Victor/Victoria

The Whales of August (1987)

Standout performances alone don’t always triumph here, nor do big names. So when it comes to collective performances, there was a wealth of options from the 2019 Movie Odyssey. Just edging An Autumn Afternoon (recommended for those who have seen several Ozu films) and The Whales of August (which I would recommend for those who have seen plenty of Bette Davis, Lillian Gish, and Vincent Price) is The Farewell. What surprised me most about the movie was how well-directed it was. I came into it expecting it to be poignantly written, but the caliber of acting from the cast was astoundingly high.

Best Actor

Demián Bichir, A Better Life (2011)

Yul Brynner, Anastasia

Rudolf Klein-Rogge, Dr. Mabuse the Gambler

Fredric March, One Foot in Heaven

Marcello Mastroianni, Ginger and Fred

Victor McLaglen, The Informer

Laurence Olivier, Henry V

Vincent Price, House of Usher

Burt Reynolds, Smokey and the Bandit

Edward G. Robinson, Little Caesar (1931)

Somewhat forgotten amid more popular John Ford films is The Informer. And with that, mostly forgotten is Victor McLaglen’s performance. McLaglen was a major star who peaked in the late 1920s and 1930s, mostly playing Irish drunks even though he himself was of English origin. He was relegated to supporting roles in the 1940s and beyond. He’s a force of nature as Gypo Nolan in The Informer though, and it is his brute force and physical acting that carries him over the likes March, Olivier, Price, and Robinson (who is my second choice here).

Best Actress

Jane Alexander, The Great White Hope (1970)

Julie Andrews, Victor/Victoria

Constance Bennett, What Price Hollywood? (1932)

Ingrid Bergman, Anastasia

Janet Gaynor, Street Angel

Giulietta Masina, Ginger and Fred

Yûko Mochizuki, Farewell to Dream (1956)

Lupita Nyong’o, Us (2019)

Ann Rutherford, Murder, She Said

Sharmila Tagore, Barnali

What can she not do? We think of Julie Andrews so much as the governess or nanny who makes everything right in the end. For those who don’t know, Andrews stars in Victor/Victoria as Victoria Grant, a struggling song-and-dance lady who, going along with her friend Robert Preston’s get-rich-quick plans, plays a man named Count Victor Grezhinski who plays a woman. Confused? Then you probably haven’t seen the movie (thanks to Blake Andrews’ direction, the film sells the illusion even though we the viewer can see through the disguise). Behind Andrews are Bergman, Nyong’o, and Rutherford.

Best Supporting Actor

Mahershala Ali, Green Book (2018)

Walter Brennan, The Westerner

Jackie Gleason, Smokey and the Bandit

Tom Hanks, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019)

Tim Blake Nelson, O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Robert Preston, Victor/Victoria

Anatoly Solonitsyn, The Ascent

Akim Tamiroff, The Great McGinty

Eijirô Tôno, Farewell to Dream

Supporting categories tend to like villainous roles. In a faux supporting role, Walter Brennan - that raspy-voiced (because of his exposure to mustard gas while serving in WWI) coot who had the misfortune/fortune? to always look at least sixty or seventy years old - is “Judge” Roy Bean, a hanging judge who holds kangaroo courts in his lawless corner of Texas. Charismatic, out-of-touch, sexist, and silver-tongued is Brennan in this film... and never for a moment is he anything other than a delight to watch (as much as you may hate his character). Within striking distance are Brad Pitt and Akim Solonitsyn.

Best Supporting Actress

Amy Adams, Vice (2018)

Beulah Bondi, One Foot in Heaven

Doris Davenport, The Westerner

Helen Hayes, Anastasia

Holly Hunter, O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk (2018)

Yoshiko Kuga, Farewell to Dream

Maureen O’Hara, Sitting Pretty

Kiwako Taichi, Kuroneko

Lesley Ann Warren, Victor/Victoria

The most recent Oscar winner for Best Supporting Actress does the same thing here for If Beale Street Could Talk. As the mother of the female lead in the film, King is an emotional scene-stealer from the first moment we meet her. Her character’s sojourn to Puerto Rico late in the film solidifies that. Far behind King is Yoshiko Kuga.

Best Adapted Screenplay

Yuri Klepikov and Larisa Shepitko, The Ascent

Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, Kevin Wilmott, and Spike Lee, BlacKkKlansman

Ben Hecht, Design for Living

Lulu Wang, The Farewell

Howard Sackler, The Great White Hope

Kaneto Shindo, Kuroenko

Dudley Nichols, The Informer

Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Casey Robinson, One Foot in Heaven

F. Hugh Herbert, Sitting Pretty

One Foot in Heaven is a film with its Christian themes on its sleeve. Hell, the film does revolve around a Methodist minister, his family, and the community he serves over the course of a few decades. But it is a film with no need to proselytize, its heart understanding how human suffering can be tempered with mercy and forgiveness. Runners-up were BlacKkKlansman; The Farewell; and O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Best Original Screenplay

James Gray and Ethan Gross, Ad Astra (2019)

Kôgo Noda and Yasujirô Ozu, An Autumn Afternoon

Emily Halpern, Sarah Haskins, Susanna Fogel, and Katie Silberman, Booksmart

Federico Fellini, Tonino Guerra, and Tullio Pinelli, Ginger and Fred

Preston Sturges, The Great McGinty

Rian Johnson, Knives Out (2019)

Quentin Tarantino, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Christopher Hudson and Stuart Cooper, Overlord

Kôbô Abe, Pitfall

Oliver Hardy, Jack Barty, Stan Laurel, William A. Seiter, Glenn Tyron, and Eddie Welch, Sons of the Desert

Ozu’s final film shows that, though he usually revolved around familial dramas, never changed his signature visual aesthetic, and demanded little sensational acting, his films were always imbued with a deeply-ingrained humanity - asking complex questions about aspects of our familial or public lives that we would not give a second thought to. Ozu and his frequent collaborator Noda make those mundanities cinematic. That is why he is one of the greatest writer-directors who has ever lived.

Best Cinematography

Hoyte Van Hoytema, Ad Astra

Alfred Milotte and Elma Milotte, The African Lion

Vladimir Chukhnov and Pavel Lebeshev, The Ascent

Robert Krasker, Henry V

Joseph H. August, The Informer

Kiyomi Kuroda, Kuroneko

Roger Deakins, O Brother, Where Art Thou?

John Alcott, Overlord

Paul Ivano and Ernest Palmer, Street Angel

Frank V. Phillips, The Wild Country (1970)

In the history of WWII films, Overlord almost always never gets a mention. But this highly personal story of one young British soldier’s service on D-Day - and its shocking, but realistic ending - is beautifully shot. Runners-up include The Ascent and Kuroneko.

Best Film Editing

Norman R. Palmer, The African Lion

Uncredited, Dr. Mabuse the Gambler

Andrew Buckland, Michael McCusker, and Dirk Westervelt, Ford v Ferrari (2019)

George Hively, The Informer

Alain Resnais, La Pointe Courte

Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, and Tricia Cooke, O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Jonathan Gili, Overlord

Barney Wolf, Street Angel

Everett Douglas, The War of the Worlds

Thelma Schoonmaker, Jere Huggins, Martin Scorsese, Michael Wadleigh, Stanley Warnow, and Yeu-Bun Yee, Woodstock

Taking editing techniques that had been used but not pieced together so masterfully before give the Woodstock team the victory here. Their closest competition came from Ford v Ferrari, Overlord, and The War of the Worlds.

Best Adaptation or Musical Score

An Ton That and Leon Le, and Song Lang

T Bone Burnett, O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Alfonso Corelli and Milton Ager, King of Jazz

Robert Emmett Dolan, The Perils of Pauline

Ian Neil, Rocketman

Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Frozen II

Henry Mancini and Leslie Bricusse, Victor/Victoria

Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, Mary Poppins Returns

Robert B. Sherman and Richard M. Sherman, The Happiest Millionaire

Herbert Stothart, Thousands Cheer

Every song was an original in Song Lang. And with cải lương a receding artform in Vietnam, what an unlikely shot in the arm Song Lang is - the beauty of its melodies and especially those lyrics. This category, which advantages musical scores over adaptation scores, also saw Mancini and Bricusse nearly take this one.

Best Original Score

Terence Blanchard, BlacKkKlansman

Bronislau Kaper, The Red Badge of Courage (1951)

Alfred Newman, Anastasia

John Powell, How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World

Leonard Rosenman, Fantastic Voyage

Alfred Schnittke, The Ascent

Max Steiner, The Informer

Leith Stevens, The War of the Worlds

William Walton, Henry V

John Williams, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)

Not the best field for Original Score, but our winner ranks among the greatest film scores of all time. For the second straight year, a composer better known for their classical music work rather than film scoring has won. Following Ralph Vaughan Williams for 49th Parallel (1941) is fellow Englishman William Walton. For Olivier’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s Henry V, Walton was inspired by Elizabethan music, stunning magisterial fanfares. And, of course, there is the passacaglia “Death of Falstaff”. Walton beats Newman, Steiner, and Williams by a country mile.

Best Original Song

“Are We Dancing?”, music and lyrics by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman, The Happiest Millionaire

“Crazy World”, music by Henry Mancini, lyrics by Leslie Bricusse, Victor/Victoria

“East Bound and Down”, music and lyrics by Jerry Reed, Smokey and the Bandit

“I Wish I Didn’t Love You So”, music and lyrics by Frank Loesser, The Perils of Pauline

“(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again”, music by Elton John, lyrics by Bernie Taupin, Rocketman

“Le Jazz Hot!”, music by Henry Macini, lyrics by Leslie Bricusse, Victor/Victoria

“The Next Right Thing”, music and lyrics by Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Frozen II

“The Shady Dame from Seville”, music by Henry Mancini, lyrics by Leslie Bricusse, Victor/Victoria

“Trường Tương Tư”, music and lyrics by Leon Le, Song Lang

“Woodstock”, music and lyrics by Joni Mitchell, Woodstock

Thank you all to those who participated in the preliminary and the final round of MOABOS this year!

Best Costume Design

René Hubert, Anastasia

Roger K. Furse, Henry V

Walter Plunkett, The Informer

Herman Rosse, King of Jazz

Yoshio Ueno, Kuroneko

Mary Zophres, O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Sarah Edwards, Ocean’s Eight (2018)

Edith Head and Waldo Angelo, The Perils of Pauline

Ghia Fam, Song Lang

Patricia Norris, Victor/Victoria

There were a handful of films I saw in 2019 that were revue musicals - something that, unless you’re an aficionado of musical theater history or know musical films, is unfamiliar to most people in 2020. A revue musical is a musical that features a collection of musical numbers that serve no narrative purpose when put together, often integrating dance or comedy sketches. Revue musicals were far more popular in the first half of the twentieth century. King of Jazz is an early two-strip Technicolor revue musical and its costume design reflects the extreme stylistic and cultural differences of its musical numbers. Behind King of Jazz are Anastasia and Song Lang.

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

Ma Kalaadevi Ananda and Tony Ward, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Uncredited, Dr. Mabuse the Gambler

Tony Sforzini and Vivienne Walker, Henry V

Jack P. Pierce, King of Jazz

Shigeo Kobayashi, Kuroneko

Louise McCarthy and Alan D’Angerio, Ocean’s Eight

Wally Westmore, The Perils of Pauline

Le Cam Huong, Song Lang

Greg Cannom, Kate Biscoe, and Patricia Dehaney, Vice

Paul Engelen, Harry Frampton, Peter Frampton, and Bobbie Smith, Victor/Victoria

Damn there was a lot of makeup in this movie, rendering certain actors unrecognizable. As much as despised Vice (more on that shortly), it takes the cake here. Also being considered was Dr. Mabuse the Gambler.

Best Production Design

John Graysmark, Andrej Andrejew, and William C. Andrews, Anastasia

Otto Hunte, Erich Kettelhut, Karl Stahl-Urach, and Karl Vollbrecht, Dr. Mabuse the Gambler

Jack Martin Smith, Dale Hennesy, Walter M. Scott, and Stuart A. Reiss, Fantastic Voyage (1966)

Paul Sheriff and Carmen Dillon, Henry V

Van Nest Polglase and Julia Heron, The Informer

John Myhre and Gordon Sim, Mary Poppins Returns

Anthony Masters, The Moon-Spinners

Cedric Gibbons, Daniel B. Cathcart, Edwin B. Willis, and Jacques Mersereau, Thousands Cheer

Rodger Maus, Tim Hutchinson, William Craig Smith, and Harry Cordwell, Victor/Victoria

Harper Goff, The Vikings (1958)

An absolutely ridiculous German Expressionist classic with ridiculous production design that would not have passed in an era with color. The amount of sets needed would have been mind-boggling. Behind Mabuse is Henry V (credit to the reconstruction of the Globe Theater).

Achievement in Visual Effects (all are winners because it would be unfair to compare the visuals of Ad Astra against 1953′s The War of the Worlds)

Ad Astra

Detective Pikachu (2019)

Fantastic Voyage

Ford v Ferrari

Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)

King of Jazz

Niagara (1953)

The War of the Worlds

Worst Picture

Gus (1976)

The Last Flight of Noah’s Ark (1980)

Vice

The World’s Greatest Athlete (1973)

Adam McKay’s conceit for The Big Short (2015) fails spectacularly with Vice - which I found neither funny nor enlightening. It is your “winner” over some pretty culturally insensitive, somewhat entertaining movies that folks who were creating Disney+ probably have not watched.

Honorary Awards:

Kevin Brownlow, for his efforts in silent film preservation

Earl Hurd, for innovating cel animation in film through the Bobby Bumps series

Robert Israel, for his modern-day film scores helping audiences connect to silent films

Jacqueline Stewart, for her scholarship on black cinema in the United States

FILMS WITH MULTIPLE NOMINATIONS (excluding Worst Picture... 48)

Fourteen: Victor/Victoria Nine: The Informer Eight: O Brother, Where Art Thou? Seven: The Ascent; Henry V; Kuroneko Six: Dr. Mabuse the Gambler; One Foot in Heaven Five: An Autumn Afternoon; BlacKkKlansman; King of Jazz; The Perils of Pauline; Smokey and the Bandit; Song Lang; Woodstock Four: Frozen II; Ginger and Fred; The Great McGinty; Once Upon a Time in Hollywood; Overlord; Sons of the Desert; Street Angel; The War of the Worlds Three: Ad Astra; The African Lion; Booksmart; The Farewell; Farewell to Dream; The Happiest Millionaire; Mary Poppins Returns; Rocketman; Sitting Pretty; Thousands Cheer; Toy Story 4; Vice; The Westerner Two: Barnali; A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood; Design for Living; The Great White Hope; House of Usher; How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World; Jour de Fête; La Pointe Courte; The Moon-Spinners; Murder, She Said; Ocean’s Eight; Pitfall

Victor/Victoria’s nominations haul is a record for the Movie Odyssey Awards.

WINNERS (excluding honorary awards and Worst Picture; 28) 3 wins: The Ascent, Victor/Victoria; Woodstock 2 wins: An Autumn Afternoon; Dr. Mabuse the Gambler; The Informer; King of Jazz; Sons of the Desert; The Westerner 1 win: Ad Astra; The Ascent; Detective Pikachu; Fantastic Voyage; The Farewell; Ford v Ferrari; Henry V; House of Usher; Godzilla: King of the Monsters; If Beale Street Could Talk; Kuroneko; Niagara; Once Upon a Time in Hollywood; One Foot in Heaven; Overlord; The Perils of Pauline; Song Lang; Toy Story 4; Vice; The War of the Worlds

85 films were nominated in 26 categories.

#2019 Movie Odyssey Awards #My Movie Odyssey

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arachnofille · 6 years

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“ Good order is the foundation of all things. ” STRENGTHS: Dedicated, strong - willed, direct & honest, patient & reliable, enjoy creating order, excellent organizers WEAKNESSES: Inflexible & stubborn, uncomfortable with unconventional situations, judgmental, too focused on social status, difficult to relax, difficulty expressing emotion

FOUR TEMPERAMENTS: Sanguine | Melancholic | CHOLERIC | Phlegmatic The choleric temperament is fundamentally AMBITIOUS & LEADER - LIKE . They have a lot of aggression, energy, and/or passion, and try to instill it in others. They can dominate people of other temperaments, especially phlegmatic types. They like to be IN CHARGE of everything. However, cholerics also tend to be either highly disorganized or HIGHLY ORGANIZED . They do not have in-between setups, only one extreme to another. Cholerics can also fall into deep and sudden depression. Essentially, they are very much prone to mood swings.

Vine signs are born within the autumnal equinox, which makes your personality changeable and unpredictable. You can be full of contradictions, and are often indecisive. There are, however, areas in your life that you are quite sure about. These include the finer things of life like food, wine, music, and art. You have very distinctive taste, and are a connoisseur of refinement. Luxury agrees with you, and under good conditions you have a Midas touch for turning drab into dramatic beauty. You are CHARMING, ELEGANT, & MAINTAIN A LEVEL OF CLASS that wins you esteem from a large fan base. Indeed, you often find yourself in public places where others can admire your CLASSIC STYLE & POISE . Vine signs pair well with Willow and Hazel signs. .

Most Thinker types are CEREBRAL , SKEPTICAL individuals, who often discount their emotions or intuition in favor of RATIONAL ANALYSIS . This intellectual approach to life can cause some Thinkers to appear RESTRAINED & UNEMOTIONAL to those around them. When hurt, they have to analyze or rationalize what happened before allowing themselves to feel their emotions. Once the emotions kick in, however, Thinkers can feel things as DEEPLY as any other soul type.

HOGWARTS HOUSE: Gryffindor | Hufflepuff | RAVENCLAW | Slytherin

LAW & CHAOS: Law (11) // GOOD & EVIL: Neutral (10)

DARK TRIAD: Psychopathy (7%) | MACHIAVELLIANISM (74%) | Narcissism (26%) Machiavellianism is a tendency to be MANIPULATIVE & DECEITFUL . It usually stems from a lack of respect or disillusionment for others

ROSENBERG SELF ESTEEM SCALE: 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30

BRAIN LATERALIZATION TEST: Right brain (17%) | LEFT BRAIN (83%)

Left brain dominant individuals are more ORDERLY, LITERAL, ARTICULATE, & TO THE POINT . They are good at understanding directions and anything that is explicit and logical. They can have trouble comprehending emotions and abstract concepts, they can feel lost when things are not clear, doubting anything that is not stated and proven..

TAGGED BY: stolen !

TAGGING: steal it !

#☠: ᴀ ʀᴇᴀʟ ꜱᴄʜʟᴏᴄᴋᴇʀ #this animal quiz is fuckin brutal tho

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cloudyskycomics · 3 years

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It's an old fan art from my NSFW Tumblr page. But since I'm closing that down I've decided to repost it here and show my respects to Autumn Ivy Enjoy!

#fan art #Full Metal Alchemist

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sweetdreamsjeff · 6 years

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Remember Me? - Extract from Dream Brother Part 1 of 2

Jeff Buckley drowned three years ago. He’d seemed on the brink of a brilliant rock ‘n’ roll future. Yet he had never shaken off his obsession, part anger, part yearning, with the father he had barely known - Tim Buckley, legendary singer-songwriter. David Browne on their lives and destiny

Friday 15 December 2000 19.17 EST

Although dusk was in sight, the moist, breezy Memphis air still felt mosquito-muggy inside and outside. It was May 1997 and Jeff Buckley, who had turned 30 about six months earlier, emerged from his bedroom in black jeans, ankle-high black boots, and a white T-shirt with long black sleeves and “Altamont” (in honour of the Rolling Stones’ anarchic, death-shrouded 1969 concert) inscribed on it. Though officially out of his 20s, he remained a rock'n'roll kid at heart. As he and his tour manager Gene Bowen stood outside on the front porch, Jeff said he was heading out for a while. Generally Bowen would accompany Jeff on expeditions while on tour, but tonight Bowen needed space. Some mattresses would be delivered shortly, and the last thing he needed was Jeff bouncing around the house when they arrived.

So, when Jeff told Bowen he would be leaving with Keith Foti, Bowen was mostly relieved. Foti was even more of a character than Jeff was. A fledgling songwriter and musician and a full-time haircutter in New York City, Foti had accompanied Bowen from New York to Memphis in a rented van, the band’s gear and instruments crammed in the back. Stocky and wide-faced, with spiky, blue-dyed hair, Foti, who was 23, could have been the star of a Saturday morning cartoon show about a punk rock band.

Jeff told Bowen that he and Foti had decided to drive to the rehearsal space the band would be using during the upcoming weeks. Bowen told them to be back at the house by nine to greet the band. Jeff said fine, and he and Foti ambled down the gravel driveway to the van parked in front of the house.

Suddenly it dawned on Bowen: did Jeff and Foti know where the rehearsal space was? For non-natives, Memphis’s layout can be confusing; it wouldn’t be hard to get lost or suddenly find one’s self in a dicey part of town. Bowen bolted through the front door, but the van was already gone. Oh, well, he thought, they’ll find the building. After all, they had been there just yesterday.

Cruising around Memphis in their bright yellow Ryder van, past weathered shacks, barbecue joints, pawnshops and strip malls, Jeff and Foti made for an unusual sight. Foti was in the driver’s seat, which was for the best; Jeff was an erratic driver. They cranked one of Foti’s mix tapes, and the two of them sang along to the Beatles’ I Am The Walrus, John Lennon’s Imagine and Jane’s Addiction’s Three Days. Foti and Jeff both loved Jane’s Addiction and its shamanesque, hard-living singer, Perry Farrell. It took Jeff back to the days in the late 80s when he was living and starving in Los Angeles, trying to make a name for himself.

It wasn’t Jeff’s fault that he shared some vocal and physical characteristics with his father and fellow musician, Tim Buckley. Both men had the same sorrowful glances, thick eyebrows and delicate, waifish airs that made women of all ages want to comfort and nurture them. It wasn’t Jeff’s fault, either, that he inherited Tim’s vocal range, five-and-a-half octaves that let Tim’s voice spiral from a soft caress into bouts of rapturous, orgasmic sensuality. In the 60s, Tim wrote and sang melodies that blended folk, jazz, art song and R&B; he had a large cult following himself, and some of those songs had been recorded by the likes of Linda Ronstadt and Blood, Sweat & Tears.

When Jeff had begun writing his own music, he, too, moved in unconventional ways, crafting rhapsodies that changed time signatures and leapt from folkish delicacy to full-throttle metal roar. None of this, he insisted, came from his father’s influence. His biggest rock influence and favourite band was, he said, Led Zeppelin. To his friends, Jeff talked about his bootleg of Physical Graffiti out-takes with more affection and fannish enthusiasm than he ever did about the nine albums his father had recorded during the 60s and 70s.

Tonight, for once, Tim’s ghost was not lurking in the rearview mirror. If anything, Jeff seemed at peace with his father’s memory for perhaps the first time in his life. Whenever Jeff had mentioned Tim in the past, it was with flashes of irritation or resignation. He sounded as if he were discussing a far-off celebrity, not a father or even a family member. In a way, Tim was barely either: he and his first wife, Mary Guibert, had separated before Jeff was born, and Jeff had been raised to view Tim’s life and music warily. But in the past few months, Jeff seemed to have begun to understand his father’s music and, more importantly, his motivations.

Jeff’s years in Los Angeles hadn’t been fruitful, but when he moved to New York in the autumn of 1991, a buzz began building around the skinny, charismatic kid with the big-as-a-cathedral voice and the eclectic repertoire. Many record companies came calling, and he eventually, hesitatingly, put his name on a contract with one of them, Columbia. After an initial EP, an album, Grace, finally appeared in 1994. A brilliant sprawl of a work, the album traversed the musical map, daring listeners to find the common ground that linked its choral pieces, Zeppelin-dipped rock and amorous cabaret. Certainly one of the links was Jeff’s voice, an intense and seemingly freewheeling instrument that wasn’t afraid to glide from operatic highs and overpowering shrieks to a conversational intimacy.

Beyond being simply one of the most moving albums of the 90s, Grace branded Jeff as an actual, hype-be-damned talent for the age. The record business was always eager to promote newcomers in such a manner, but here was someone with both a sense of musical history and seemingly limitless potential. Like Bob Dylan and Van Morrison before him, he appeared to be on the road to a long and commanding career in which even a creative misstep or two would be worth poring over. Comparisons with Tim were inevitable, and a disturbing number of fortysomethings had materialised at Jeff’s concerts to ask him about his father. But, much to Jeff’s relief, the comparisons had begun to diminish with each passing month.

Grace hadn’t been the smash hit Columbia would have liked, but worldwide it had sold nearly 750,000 copies, and it was talked up by everyone from Paul McCartney and U2 to Zeppelin’s Robert Plant and Jimmy Page. Fans in Britain, Australia and France adored him even more passionately than those in America. To his managers and record company, Jeff was a shining star, a gateway to prestige, money and credibility. A very great deal was riding on the songs he was testing out on the four-track recorder in the living room of his house in Memphis. Jeff didn’t like to think about those pressures, which is partly why he moved 1,000 miles away from New York. Here, he could think, write, create.

The drive from Jeff’s house to Young Avenue, where the rehearsal room was located, should have taken 10 minutes down a few tree-lined streets. But something was wrong. Before Jeff and Foti knew it, nearly an hour had passed and there was still no sign of the two-storey red-brick building. They found themselves circling around a variety of neighbourhoods, past underpasses for Interstate 240 and pawnshops. To Foti, everything began to look the same.

Jeff had an idea. “Why don’t we go down to the river?” he said. It sounded good to Foti, who had brought along his guitar and felt like practising a song he was writing. Having a talented, well-regarded rock star as an audience wouldn’t be so bad, either.

The Wolf River did not look particularly wolfish; it barely had the feel of a river. The city government had passed an ordinance banning swimming, but no signs indicated this restriction. According to locals, there didn’t have to be, since everyone in Memphis knew it was far from an ideal swimming hole. The first six inches of water could be warm and innocuous-looking, but thanks to the intersection with the Mississippi the undercurrents were deceptive. All day long and into the early hours of the morning, 200ft-long barges carrying goods from the local granaries and a cement factory hauled their cargo up and down the Wolf. With their churning motors, the tugboats that pulled the barges were even fiercer and had been known to create strong wakes. Local coastguard employees had once witnessed a 16ft flat-bottom boat being sucked under the water in the wake of a tug. Memphis lore had it that at least one person a year drowned in the Wolf.

Even if Jeff had heard these stories, he either didn’t care or disregarded them. Hopping over a 3ft-high brick wall, Jeff and Foti strode across a cement promenade strewn with picnic tables. Then Jeff hiked his black combat boots on to the bottom rung on the steel rail that ran alongside the promenade and jumped over. Foti, gripping his guitar, followed, and they found themselves barrelling down a steep slope, swishing through knee-high brush, ivy and weeds.

On the way down, Jeff shed his coat - just dropped it in the brush. “You’re not gonna leave it here, are you?” Foti asked, stopping quickly to pick it up. Jeff didn’t seem to be listening. Carrying Foti’s boom box, he continued down to the riverbank. The shore was littered with rocks, soda cans and shattered glass bottles, and it quickly sloped into the water just inches away. As gentle waves lapped on to the shoreline, Jeff set Foti’s boom box on one of the many jagged slate rocks on the bank, just an inch or so above the water. “Hey, man, don’t put my radio there,” Foti told him. “I don’t want it going in the water. It’s my only unit of sound.” Jeff didn’t seem to pay particular attention to that request, either.

By now, just after 9pm, Foti had strapped on his guitar and started practising his song. Looking right at Foti, Jeff took a step or two away, his back to the river. Before Foti knew it, Jeff was knee-high in the water. “What are you doin’, man?” Foti said. Within moments, Jeff’s entire body eased into the water, and he began doing a backstroke.

At first, Foti wasn’t too concerned: Jeff was still directly offshore, just a few feet away. He and Foti began musing about life and music as Jeff backstroked around in circles. “You know, the first one’s fun, man - it’s that second one … ” Jeff said, his voice trailing off as he continued to backstroke in the water.

With each stroke, Jeff inched more and more out into the river. Foti noticed and said, “Come in, you’re gettin’ too far out.” Instead, Jeff began singing Led Zeppelin’s Whole Lotta Love. “He was just on his own at that point,” Foti says. “He didn’t really observe my concerns.” Jeff had an impetuous, spur-of-the-moment streak. Many of his friends considered it one of his most endearing qualities; others worried that it bordered on recklessness. Like his father, he liked to follow his muse, to leap into projects passionately and spontaneously, even if they weren’t fashionable or appropriate. Take that night in 1975. Tim was on his way home from a gruelling tour. His record sales were in freefall, but lately he had tried to cut back on his drinking and drugging, and was attempting to get his music and even a potential acting career on track. On the way home from the last stop on his tour, he stopped by the home of a friend, who offered up a few drugs. What was wrong with a little pick-me-up after some exhausting road work? No one knew if Tim realised exactly what he had snorted that late afternoon, but it ultimately didn’t matter; he died that night of an overdose at the age of 28.

Although Jeff had experimented with drugs, he steered clear to avoid his father’s fate, both physically and artistically; he had learned from Tim’s mistakes in the matters of artistic integrity and handling the music business. Onstage, Jeff would often make cracks about dead rock stars, pretending to shoot up or breaking into spot-on mimicry of anyone from Jim Morrison to Elvis Presley. Once this new album was completed, he was planning to dig deeper into his family heritage and unearth the truth behind the seemingly ongoing series of tragedies that haunted his lineage.

Tonight, as he backstroked in the water, Jeff appeared to feel freer than he had in a while. The mere fact that he was in water was a sign of change. Although he had grown up near the beaches of Southern California, Jeff was never a beachcomber.

It was now close to 9.15pm, and Jeff had been in the river nearly 15 minutes. His boots and trousers must gradually have become more sodden and heavy. He began swimming further toward the centre of the river, circling around before drifting to the left of Foti. Then he began swimming straight across to the other side, or so it appeared to Foti. Directly across from them, on the opposite bank, was a dirt road that ran right up from the river. It looked so close - maybe Jeff felt he could reach it and take a quick stroll.

The tugboat came first, moments later. “Jeff, man, there’s a boat coming,” Foti said. “Get out of the fucking water.” The boat was heading in their direction, up from Beale Street. Jeff seemed to take notice of it and made sure to be clear of it as it passed. The next time Foti looked over, he still saw Jeff’s head bobbing in the water.

Not more than a minute had passed when Foti spied another boat approaching. This one was bigger - a barge, perhaps 100ft long. Foti grew more concerned and started yelling louder for Jeff to come back. Once again, Jeff swam out of its path, and Foti breathed another sigh of relief. In the increasing darkness, the speck that was Jeff’s head was just barely visible.

Soon, the water grew choppy, the waves lapping a little more firmly against the riverbank. Foti grew worried about his boom box. The last thing he wanted was to see it waterlogged and unusable. Taking his eye off Jeff for a moment, he stepped over to where Jeff had set the stereo down on a rock and moved it back about five feet, out of reach of the waves. Foti turned back around. There was no longer a head in the water. There was nothing - just stillness, a few rippling aftershock waves, and the marina in the distance. Foti began to scream out Jeff’s name. There was no answer. He yelled more. He continued screaming for nearly 10 minutes.

On the other side of the river, Gordon Archibald, a 59-year-old employee of the marina, was walking near the moored boats with a friend when he heard a single shout of “help”. Concerned, he looked out on to the water. But he saw nothing, nor heard anything more.

The folk singer Tim Buckley, who was to become Jeff’s father, married Mary Guibert in 1965.

It was spring 1966, Mary Guibert was three months pregnant, 18 years old, and Tim was out of town. Even before Tim left for New York, his wife suspected he was spending time with other women. “By no stretch of the imagination was this a marriage made in heaven,” she says. “He hadn’t been faithful to me for very long. And I thought that was perfectly acceptable because, after all, he was so wonderful, and I was so nobody.”

Mary says she told Tim about the pregnancy before he left for New York, but that he told her he had to leave town and that she should move back in with her family in Orange County, near LA, get a job, save money, and “maybe get an abortion or whatever you want to do”, she recalls him saying. Even then, Tim made no mention of another woman. “I just had no idea,” Mary says. “A lot of denial going on. Tons of denial on both sides, because he wouldn’t bring himself, to the very end, to say, 'You know, I really don’t love you very much’.” She sent Tim letters to various addresses in New York; his replies came fitfully and were pointedly vague. Finally, a mutual friend gave her the news: Tim was in New York with a new girlfriend, and would be back in Los Angeles shortly.

Lee Underwood, guitarist in Buckley’s band and a great friend, recalls the situation being a topic of discussion while he and Tim were in New York that summer. Given the choice of returning to Mary and Orange County or following what Underwood calls “his destined natural way”, Tim “decided to be true to himself and his music, fully aware that he would be accepting a lifetime burden of guilt. Tim left, not because he didn’t care about his soon-to-be-born child but because his musical life was just beginning; in addition, he couldn’t stand Mary. He did not abandon Jeff; he abandoned Mary.”

Finally, some action had to be taken. Tim came to meet Mary at a coffee shop near her home. What exactly happened remains unclear. Tim never talked to his friends about it, while Anna Guibert, Mary’s mother, recalls Tim giving Mary an ultimatum: divorce or abortion. According to Mary, she asked Tim what they should do about the marriage and pregnancy, and he replied, “You do whatever you have to do, baby”, and hung his head.

Afterwards, Mary, who was by now many months pregnant, walked home, told her mother the news and cried. As Anna Guibert remembers, “I said, 'That’s the best thing, honey. If he doesn’t want you, be free.’ She was crazy about Tim. But he wanted his career. There was no place for a baby in his life."Mary, however, did want her baby.

He was born on Thursday, November 17, 1966, at 10.49pm, after 21 hours of labour. The issue of identity loomed even before the child left the hospital. Mary named her son Jeffrey Scott - "Jeffrey” after her last high-school boyfriend before Tim (“my last pure boy-girl relationship, my last pure moment”) and “Scott” in honour of John Scott Jr, a neighbour and close friend of the Guiberts who died in an accident at the age of 17. Yet because Mary preferred Scott, the child was instantly called Scotty by his family. Tim was not available for consultation, since no one knew his whereabouts.

At school, Scotty was the eternal clown, making jokes, craving attention and being more interested in music (including cello lessons provided by the school) than grades. His second-floor bedroom became a rock enclave, his most valuable possessions being a Hemispheres picture disc by the prog-rock band Rush and all four of Kiss’s solo albums.

He had a guitar given to him by his grandmother, and although he hadn’t learned to master it, he would sit and cradle it, “like Linus’s blanket”, according to Willie Osborn, his childhood friend. Although Jeff had taken his father’s name, his music tastes reflected none of Tim’s influence. He was just eight years old when Tim died; they had had their only proper encounter just months before.

The meeting between Tim and Jeff Buckley, April 1975.

Mary Guibert was flipping through a local newspaper when she saw a listing for Tim Buckley’s upcoming show. It was, she says, “an epiphany”. It had been six years since she and her first husband had seen each other, and nearly as long since they had spoken. Mary and Jeff took the hour-long drive to Huntington Beach, an oceanside town 10 miles southwest of Orange County, and arrived at the Golden Bear just before Tim walked on-stage. They took a seat on a bench in the second row.

Jeff seemed enraptured, bouncing in his seat to the rhythms of Tim’s 12-string guitar and rock band. “Scotty was in love,” Mary says. “He was immediately entranced. His little eyes were just dancing in his head.” To Mary, Tim was still a dynamic performer, bouncing on his heels with his eyes shut, but she also felt he looked careworn for someone still in his 20s.

At the end of the set, no sooner had Mary asked her son if he wanted to meet his father than the kid was out of his seat and scurrying in the direction of the backstage area. As they entered the cramped dressing room, Jeff clutched his mother’s long skirt. It seemed a foreign and frightening world to him, until he heard someone shout out, “Jeff!” Although no one had called him that before in his life - he was still “Scotty” to everyone - Jeff ran across the room to a table where Tim was resting after the show.

Tim hoisted his son on to his knees and began rocking him back and forth with a smile as Jeff gave his father a crash course on his life, rattling off his age, the name of his dog, his teachers, his half-brother and other vital statistics. “I sat on his knees for 15 minutes,” Jeff wrote later. “He was hot and sweaty. I kept on feeling his legs. 'Wow, you need an iceberg to cool you off!’ I was very embarrassing - doing my George Carlin impression for him for no reason. Very embarrassing. He smiled the whole time. Me too.”

Tim’s drummer, Buddy Helm, recalls. “It was a very personal moment. The kid seemed very genuine, totally in love with his dad. It was like wanting to connect. He didn’t know anything personally about Tim but was there ready to do it.” The same seemed to be true of Tim; after years of distance from his son, he seemed to feel it was time to re-cement whatever bond existed between them.

Shortly after, before the second set began, Judy, Tim’s new partner, asked Mary if it would be acceptable for Jeff to spend a few days at their place: Tim would be leaving soon on tour, but had some free time. It was the start of the Easter break, so Mary agreed. Next morning, she packed Jeff’s clothes in a brown paper bag and drove him to Santa Monica to spend his most extended period of time with his father.

Tim and Judy lived a few blocks from the beach. As Jeff remembered it, the following five days - the first week of April 1975 - were largely uneventful. “Easter vacation came around,” he wrote in 1990. “I went over for a week or so, we made small talk at dinner, watched cable TV, he bought me a model airplane on one of our 'outings’ … Nothing much but it was kind of memorable.” Three years later, he recalled it with much more bitterness: “He was working in his room, so I didn’t even get to talk to him. And that was it.”

Mary recalls Jeff telling her that he would dash into Tim’s room every morning and bounce on the bed. At the end of his stay, Tim and Judy put Jeff on a bus out of Santa Monica, and Mary picked him up at the bus station in Fullerton. When Jeff stepped off, she noticed he was clutching a book of matches. On it, Tim had written his phone number.

By his teens, Jeff was exhibiting impressive musical skills, as another school band member, drummer Paul Derech, discovered when he visited Jeff in the Guibert home in early 1982. Sitting on his bed, Jeff played songs from Al Di Meola’s Electric Rendezvous and the first album by Asia. Even though Derech had to listen closely to Jeff’s guitar - Mary couldn’t yet afford an amplifier for her son - his dexterity was so apparent that Derech literally took a step back.

Once, Jeff pulled out a picture of Tim from his closet and softly said, “I’ve spent a lot of time looking at that picture”, before moving on to another topic. Derech, like other kids, sensed immediately that his father was a sore point. Instead, they talked music. Although punk and new wave were the predominant rock styles of the moment, Jeff had little interest in them. He preferred music that challenged him and transported him to imaginary worlds. In the late 70s and early 80s, that music was prog (short for progressive) and art rock - bands such as Yes, Genesis and Rush that revelled in complex structures, science-fiction-themed lyrics and virtuosic, fleet- fingered guitar parts that only a few teenagers could hope to master. In a friend’s garage, Jeff and Derech soon began jamming on versions of Rush songs. Jeff declined to sing, though; he told friends and family he wanted to be a guitarist, plain and simple.

The reason, some felt, was because he didn’t want to be compared to the musician father he barely knew. “He had exactly the same speaking voice as Tim,” recalls Tamurlaine, the daughter of Herb Cohen, Tim’s one-time manager. She befriended Jeff when he and Mary would visit the Cohen family for dinner. (Cohen and Mary kept in touch after Tim and Mary’s break-up.) During those meals, Jeff’s vocal and physical resemblance to his father led Cohen often to mistakenly call Jeff “Tim”.

Jeff moved to New York City in 1990.

Often sporting his black Hendrix T-shirt, Jeff immediately took to New York, hauling his guitar into the subway to play for change and roaming the streets. “I talked to him right after he got to New York and he was loving it,” recalls his friend Tony Marryatt, a fellow student at Musicians Institute in Hollywood. “He said it was just like a Woody Allen movie.” To support himself, he took a series of day jobs, from working at an answering service (for actors such as F Murray Abraham and Denzel Washington) to being an assistant at a Banana Republic clothes store.

#jeff buckley #remember me? part 1 #dream brother: the lives and music of jeff and tim buckley #david browne

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