#keith rankin did it AGAIN

[997]

[declanlikesmusic]

The Best Song on I'll Try Living Like This

In May of 2015, the now legendary & iconic vaporwave trio known as death's dynamic shroud put out what would be the 12th album in their now 50+ discography of full-length records, this one on the then-prestigious Dream Catalogue label: I'll Try Living Like This, produced solely by two of its members James Webster (known as HCMJ) and Keith Rankin (known as Giant Claw). The album was produced in the midst of awaiting cassette production for what would end up being their 13th album in 2016 on Rankin's Orange Milk Records label, produced by the remaining member Tech Honors: CLASSROOM SEXXTAPE.

From the moment it came out to this very day and beyond, I'll Try Living Like This remains to be seen as death's dynamic shroud's revolutionary, genre-redefining magnum opus and it stands as one of vaporwave's most creative & experimental records to achieve this level of notoriety. There's a lot to be said about each individual track and how it pushes the boundaries of a genre so many people neglectfully view as reductive & derivative. But one tracks I want to particularly highlight is one that isn't often seen as the emotional high point that it is early on into the record.

혼자 남은 지금 꼴이

The fourth track into the record in a short streak of amazing tunes kicks off with two samples: The introductory vocal humming of Avant from his song Separated and the stretched out instrumental to AOA's Miniskirt providing the beat & chords, provided more density & reverberation added to the beat. Beyond that, you hear a whole lot going on. There's a specific recurring vocal sample that gets chopped up & glitchy throughout the song, I can't confidently tell you where that's from, it could be from Separated again for all I could tell. Above that, you hear dialogue from CSI: NY spliced in, coming from Kim Kardashian of all people, some shimmering sounds coming from the intro to Fleetwood Mac's classic song Everywhere and later on, some lesser edited samples of the Legend of Zelda Sound & Drama, which I'll touch on in a moment.

It's an incredibly dense track, but more important than what it samples it how it feels to sample these things. The Miniskirt beat, once an upbeat, sharply produced k-pop track, is paulstretched & echoed out to feel much more lethargic but equally intoxicating. I think even without the added elements, the backing track is absolutely thick & heavy. It's like walking through the city on a packed night and just slowly dragging yourself through an extremely concentrated atmosphere, an opaque fog of urban smoke & emotional weight, and it wouldn't feel that way if it didn't sound so… melancholic.

There's a sadness permeating throughout the song. The strange CSI: NY dialogue, the dragged out & buffering vocal glitches, the lonely Avant vocalizing, there's something about all of those elements, combined with the once sensual love song beat profusely slowed down, that makes the whole experience feel so depressive, like an alcoholic bender. After two and a half minutes of this, you're given even more hints to what all of this is. A Japanese dialogue sample from the aforementioned Zelda Sound Drama plays and it of course reads like a piece of Zelda drama… but one sentence sticks out:

愛が鍵です。(Love is the key.)

A little further in, the shimmering of the Everywhere sample strips away. For a moment, it feels less crowded, but still… sad. Shortly before the four minute mark, Link's cry for Zelda is heard, the beat disappears for that moment and when it cuts back in, you hear something swelling in the background. You feel an emotional tension starting to rise. Then Avant sings.

We never turned our backs on each other But now that we're separated We can't stand one another And when we were together We never turned our backs on each other But now that we're separated We can't stand one another You did me wrong

This is a breakup song. More than anything else, it's a tragic, bittersweet, heart-wrenching breakup song. The added bass synths to the beat and orchestral strings climbing further up in the background for as long as those lines are sung; it feels like the rest of the track that came before was trying to suppress its deeply sorrowing emotions before all that resistance just shatters and every ounce of grief just spills out into tears falling into the puddles of rain below. The song concludes from there and it overall changes the dynamic depths of this album's extremely abtract concepts that are as hard to define, pinpoint or deciphir as this one is, if not more so.

This wasn't my favourite song for the longest time. I mean, for a long while, it was 그대 기억에 지쳐 잠들죠, but that's more of an interlude piece that directly transitions into a reprise of this song, funnily enough, that further elaborates on that Miniskirt sample with a bit of an eccojam. But other times, it was Loving is Easy or everybody's favourite 내 마음은 떨고. It was hard to define what really makes I'll Try Living Like This's best song. Sure, the latter had probably the best production of the bunch and the most energy for it, but an emotional pique or a definitive highly was hard to come by in an album that was always so consistent but always in some way relied on its surrounding pieces or the overall album package. 혼자 남은 지금 꼴이, however, completely stands on its own. As its own song and its own emotional piece.

I think it goes ultimately unrecognised in the grand scheme of this album because of how subtle it all is. Everything I just described to you about the song is subtle in their respective degrees. You really don't come to notice its value at the face; you find it out by digesting it further & more thoroughly, giving each listen its own time to clue you in to what it's about and what it's doing here on the album. It ultimately comes across as the most rewarding song on what is considered to this day to be death's dynamic shroud's masterpiece.

One that is immeditely ruined by the vocal samples on 이보다 좋을 수는 없겠어, but believe me, we do not want to have that conversation today.

[socaprince]

SOCA THERAPY - JUNE 9, 2024

Soca Therapy Playlist

Sunday June 9th 2024

Making You Wine From 6-9pm on Flow 98.7fm Toronto

Top Striker (Dr. Jay Plate) - Lil Natty & Thunda

Section (Ryan Sayeed's Riddim Section Intro) - Lil Natty & Thunda

Stagga Dance - Lil Natty & Thunda x Muddy

Whoop Waps - Skinny Fabulous x Jab King

Weh Yuh From - Keith Currency

Doh Bother Meh - Problem Child x Lavaman

Out The Way (Vincy Version) - Lyrikal

Fling It - Patrice Roberts

Born So - Problem Child

Bun Up - Shal Marshall

Is We (Travis World Edit) - Patrice Roberts

Anxiety (DJ Kevin Stage Edit) - Patrice Roberts

Anxiety (Dr. Jay Plate) - Patrice Roberts

Miracle - Kes & Tano

Beatin Road - Preedy

Beatin' Road (Remix) - Preedy x Patrice Roberts

Night & Day - Th3rd x JMTB

Wassy - Full Blown

The Answer - Erphaan Alves

Trini Gyal - Mical Teja

Grown Up - Patrice Roberts

Rocket - Preedy

Jub Jub - Kes

When Last (Remix) - GBM Nutron x Jus Jay King ft Grateful Co

Clock Een - Pumpa x Jus Jay King

Runway - Jagwa de Champ x Jus Jay King

Not Alone - Skinny Fabulous x Leadpipe x Jus Jay King

Bashment Come Back Again - Gorg ft Superlynks 

Black Chyna - Marzville 

Ba Ba Ben (Wine & Bend Pt 2) - DJ Cheem

Birthday Bashment Freestyle - Lil Rick

Happy Place (Ryan Sayeed's Riddim Up Intro) - Lyrikal

Backyard Jam - Farmer Nappy

Jam On De Inside - Jaiga

Better Days - Patrice Roberts

People Business - Teddyson John x Skinny Fabulous

Hold Me - Charly Black

10 Outta 10 - Machel Montano

TOP 7 COUNTDOWN - Powered By The Soca Source

Top Songs By Patrice Roberts Streamed on Apple Music (Reggae) in Canada

7. Tender - Patrice Roberts

6. Carry On - Patrice Roberts

5. Like It Like This - Patrice Roberts x Kes

4. Splash - Patrice Roberts x Nessa Preppy

3. Like Yuh Self - Patrice Roberts x Machel Montano

2. Ammunition [Clean] - Patrice Roberts x Dexta Daps

1. Mind My Business - Patrice Roberts x Travis World x Dan Evens

Rock n Roll - Preedy x Dr. Jay x DJ Crown Prince

Allez - Teddyson John

Brave - Dynamite

Ducking (Jus-Jay Intro Edit) - Fadda Fox

Holiday (DM Edit Clean) - Problem Child 

Hot Gyal Anthem (DJ Kevin Intro Edit) - GBM Nutron

In The Center (BD Did It) - GBM Nutron x Farmer Nappy

Ah Love It Here - Ricardo Drue

Fete Woman and Alcohol - Terron

The Menu - Teddyson John 

Impossible - Problem Child x Patrice Roberts

A Little Wine - Patrice Roberts

Bend - Imani Ray

The A List - Pumpa

Lost & Found - Preedy

Show Me - Added Rankin

Playing Mas - Fimba

In Front Ah Me - Keith Currency

My Time - Prezzi Don

How Ah Like It - Problem Child

Jook In The Junction (Selectah Kerry Edit) - Yung Bredda x College Boy Jesse

PAN MOMENTS

Dr. Cassandra - Chord Masters Orchestra

TANTY TUNE

(1994) Dada Ragga - Elsworth James

On And On - Roger George

Wishful Encounters - Bunji Garlin

Take A Wine - Bud

Watching Me - Gailann x Benjai

Roll It - Alison Hinds

On De Road - Massive Chandileer ft Ronnie McIntosh

Footsteps - Xtatik ft Wayne Rodriguez

Rudeness On De Road - New Direction

Conch Shell - WCK

Crazy Frog - Froggie

Send That Riddim Crazy - Bunji Garlin

Big Belly Man - Mac Fingall

Food Cookup (Road Mix) - Madd

Yardie - Krosfyah

Signal To Lara - Superblue

Rev De Engine - General Grant

Happy Carnival - Patrice Roberts

NORTHERN PRESCRIPTION

Bump & Shake Yuh Bam Bam - Connector

Wet Meh - Krosfyah ft Edwin Yearwood

Follow Dr. Jay @socaprince​ and @socatherapy

“Like” Dr. Jay on http://facebook.com/DrJayOnline

[nflfanpointii]

Game Balls from the Saints 48-7 plucking of the Eagles

New Orleans gives their fans an early portion of bird for Thanksgiving, and now gets ready for the main course

The New Orleans Saints dismantled another opponent on national television. This time they victimized the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, taking them apart in a game that was over well before the 4th quarter, and putting Philadelphia's playoff hopes in serious jeopardy. The Saints outgained the Eagles, 321-109 in total yardage in the first half while taking a 24-7 lead into the break. Touchdowns on their first three possessions of the second half put an exclamation point on this one, as New Orleans piled up 546 yards of total offense, while holding Philadelphia to only 196. Several Saints players had terrific games in this pummeling of Philadelphia, but here are a few of the biggest performances.

TRE'QUAN SMITH

Smith, a rookie 3rd round pick from Central Florida, has looked more comfortable in the New Orleans offense since a breakout performance against Washington last month. Smith exploded for 10 receptions, 157 yards and a touchdown in the best performance of his short career. He made several spectacular catches, showing sharp route running skills and precise ability to adjust for the ball against coverage. Smith has the skillset to be a dangerous weapon for this offense down the stretch, and with the emergence of Keith Kirkwood and the newly signed Brandon Marshall may make this the most well-rounded New Orleans offense ever.

DREW BREES

In his 200th game as Saints quarterback, Brees was as great as ever. He torched the beat up Eagle secondary for 360 yards and 4 touchdowns in just a tad over three quarters of action. He now has 25 touchdown passes, against just one interception for the season. Brees fired a scoring strike through coverage to Austin Carr for the Saints first touchdown, then two perfectly placed touchdown passes to Tre'quan Smith and Michael Thomas later that demoralized the Eagles defense. The fact that Brees has gotten passed up for league M.V.P. is unfathomable, but with ongoing performances like he's had this year, he may leave voters little choice but to award him a long overdue honor.

ALVIN KAMARA/MARK INGRAM

Much to the horror of the rest of the NFL, the most dynamic tandem of running backs in the league are back in full force. The two Pro Bowl backs combined for 174 rushing yards, 201 yards from scrimmage, and 3 touchdowns. Mark Ingram would get the ball rolling on the first drive with a 38-yd. burst to set up a field goal, then later bounced a run outside for a second quarter touchdown, one of two on the day. He finished with 103 rushing yards on just 16 carries, his second straight 100+ yard performance, and is creeping closer to overtaking Deuce McAllister as the Saints all-time rushing leader.

Alvin Kamara had 71 rushing yards of his own, and added a 37-yd. touchdown reception early in the fourth quarter on a spectacularly run pattern past former Saints safety Malcolm Jenkins. It was the only time either back was targeted in the passing game all afternoon, but showed the explosive versatility that either back possesses, making them feared by defensive coordinators.

MARSON LATTIMORE

Lattimore's first quarter interception on the Eagles' second drive helped set up a touchdown drive to give them a 17-0 lead and put momentum squarely on the Saints side. Lattimore, who had four tackles to go along with his interception, led the way in a shutdown performance by the entire New Orleans secondary. Dangerous Philadelphia receivers Zach Ertz, Alshon Jeffery, and Golden Tate were held to a combined 11 catches for just 96 yards, and Nelson Agholor was shut out. Lattimore, along with Eli Apple and P.J. Williams, are beginning to round into a solid trio of corners capable of containing a talented receiving corps.

CAM JORDAN

Jordan had only one tackle for the game, and none of his team's three sacks on Carson Wentz in another strong outing from the Saints front seven. Jordan however did cave in the right side of the Philadelphia line all afternoon, and hurried Wentz on several occasions. He nailed wideout Golden Tate in the Eagles backfield for a big loss that halted a drive, and continues to be a major reason for the Saints defensive success.

Brees was once again not sacked in another outstanding performance by the Saints offensive line. Michael Thomas caught 4 passes for 92 yards and a touchdown, becoming the first New Orleans receiver to go over 1,000 yards receiving in his first three seasons. Alex Anzalone and Demario Davis led another powerful effort by the Saints linebackers, while Sheldon Rankins and Alex Okafor disrupted the Eagles backfield all evening. This was another dominant all-around team effort by New Orleans, who now set their sites on a Thanksgiving feast of Dirty Bird next. Let Falcons Hate Week begin!

[toongrrl-blog]

Pink Power Rankings (Pt. 2)

This is our next segment of “Pink Power Rankings”, I hope to do a few more in the future, including ones centered on the American Girl dolls and the Disney Princesses. The video above is the famous “Think Pink!” musical number from Funny Girl, so without further ado, time to rank these pink moments!

The Gorgeous Ladies Of Wrestling

This is a show where wrestlers do their thing on a ring bordered by pink ropes, so of course pink is going to come up....a lot. Even when it comes to donuts and abortion ( “I like pink things” “Well if you liked pink things less, you wouldn’t be in this situation”). The show centers on a team of diverse women wrestlers and their manager (Sam Sylvia, played by a hilarious Marc Maron) and producer (closeted Bash Howard, played by the appropriately 80′s Ken lookalike Chris Lowell): struggling actress Ruth (by a charming Alison Brie),  former soap opera star and housewife turned wrestler and co-producer Debbie (the talented Betty Gilpin), stuntwoman and coach Cherry (a beautiful turn by Sydelle Noel) and her stunt-double husband Keith (utterly likable Bashir Salahuddin), daughter and sister of wrestlers Carmen (a winsome Britney Young), cheerful Brit Rhonda (the multi-faceted Kate Nash), wolfgirl Sheila (a dry Gayle Rankin), the humorous single mom Tammé (former wrestler Kia Stevens showing off brilliant emotional chops), the outrageous religious Jew Melrose (Fran Drescher lookalike Jackie Tohn), hairdressing kayfabe duo Stacy & Dawn (Kimmy Gatewood and Rebekka Johnson), Indian American bisexual med student Arthie (Sunita Mani a.k.a. the Turn Down For What girl), Olympian and taciturn Reggie (an athletic Marianna Palka), Valley Girl seamstress and former refugee Jenny (the eye-catching Ellen Wong), and the extroverted stripper and breakdancer lesbian Yolanda (a triple-threat Shakira Barerra). 

In the Season 2 finale of the show (and as a bid to keep the undocumented Rhonda in the United States) they stage a wedding ceremony for Rhonda where the rest of the wrestlers are wearing pink and gold leotards with ruffled sleeves (how 80s is that), which they integrate into their Vegas show in Season 3. In the first episode of the season, several things go wrong: Debbie and Ruth (in their wrestling roles Liberty Belle and the Soviet Zoya the Destroyer) comment in the local news on the Challenger spaceship launch where the rocket explodes in the air while Ruth is absorbed in her role as the heel, a fire alarm goes off at the casino during dress rehearsal which Jenny blames on her lighting incense to cleanse the atmosphere for the show (turns out to be false to distract from the doldrums of the tragedy), and the girls play on the tables and later have a successful show. A huge up in a show about the ups and downs of show business. 

Power Ranking: 8. 

The Plastics

“On Wednesdays we wear pink.”

One of the many rules to abide by if you are in North Shore High’s exclusive popular clique, The Plastics. Cady has been homeschooled abroad since she was a child and is transplanted to a surburban high school where it looks like dealing with social dynamics is going to be a lot tougher than knowing what to do if you encounter a lion out in the wilderness. Led by the ruthless and manipulative Regina George, the clique is formed up of girls who are the most privileged and prettiest in the high school (and when you look at it Regina is co-opting the power that comes with being the daughter of the founder of Toaster Strudel or being really pretty) and they keep a Burn Book of all their girl classmates (and one gay guy) where they write insulting things about them. They are quick to punish by calling your mom on the phone and telling her you got some urgent results from Planned Parenthood or by laying claim to your ex-boyfriend. But the leader Regina is a unhappy girl whose mother is more interested in pleasing her than nurturing her and she feels she cannot apply herself to intellectual activities because it’s “uncool” and that she has to be underweight to be the pinnacle of beauty, she belittles the self-worth of her most loyal friends for their intelligence or their popularity and views Cady as competition. Also as Regina learns, the student body is actually afraid of her and they are willing to laugh at her when given the chance. 

Power Ranking: 4.

Andie Walsh

I would be remiss not to include the main character of the film titled: Pretty In Pink. Our character is very smart, going places, hard-working, and a fashionista with her signature color (despite the hideous prom dress) and she has been disappointed in love by her richie boyfriend (and being hit on by his sleazebag friend and her childhood friend) and despite the prom look here, she has killer fashion sense. It’s a shame she cut up her maternal figure of a friend’s old 60s (cute) prom dress and another party dress to create this monstrosity. 

But she hits this prom to prove to the rich snobs at her school that they haven’t hurt her. And that is power.

Power Ranking: 9.5 (0.5 taken off for hideous prom dress!)

The Pink Ladies

The ultimate Pink clad clique, their pledge is to act cool and to be cool, til death do them part they think pink! They are the all female counterparts to the male T-Birds (the Burger Palace Boys in the original, edgier, musical) and they are interested in subverting the 1950s script for young women...to an extent, to be fair they don’t have a language for subverting respectability but it’s clear often they are mostly dates for the T-Birds. The girls actually do things that were considered shocking for mature women in 1959: they make out and have sex, it’s implied Rizzo gets an abortion (or it was a false positive), they wear pants and shorts, they indulge in the same vices as the boys, they have (gender-appropriate) ambition, multiple romantic partners, talk back to any boys bugging them or remarking on them, pierce their ears (no really women mostly had clip on earrings back then), and they wear clothes for comfort and even clothes that showcase their sex appeal. 

But one of them gives Sandy the now problematic behavior, it would have been more subversive if Sandy was encouraged to forget about Danny (which I think she did). But it was the late 1950s and it was hard for a female rebel. 

Power Ranking: 8.5. 

Taina Morales

The criminally underrated (and short-lived) sitcom Taina centers on a Nuyorican teenager and her family as she attends a performing arts high school as she works her way to becoming a singer and actress. Fushia, not plain pink, was Taina’s color and the color she picks for her Quincenera dress instead of the garish pastel pink ballgown her mother wants her to wear (as tradition). The episode covers the conflict regarding young Latinas and the pull between what mainstream American culture demands (consumerism and individualism by any means necessary) and the culture of their family’s homeland (which is more collective and built on hierarchy and just as shitty for women as individualist “Me first” culture). I want to say this to my non-Latina and non-Latinix readers: me and my sisters are dealing with a lot, we have demands from relatives who only see our age and youth and not the capable people we already are who have us flipping tortillas at 5 or watching younger siblings after school instead of a after-school job or extracurriculars or even hang out with friends and a mainstream culture that demands we all assimilate and be “real Americans”, try to be understanding and supportive.

It’s difficult but you have to set boundaries and assert your vision....lest you be a horror story from Say Yes to the Dress (Atlanta and Bridesmaids). 

Power Ranking: 10 (some folks have no idea). 

Deb Bradshaw

This is Deb Bradshaw, a resident of Idaho where fashion and tech-wise, everyone is stuck in the 1980s and 1990s and it was the mid-2000s. She sells handicrafts and takes glamour photos to raise funds for college and she hangs out with a couple of teenage boys who are quiet (Rico) or awkward (Napoleon) as she. Right now Napoleon’s sleazy Uncle Rico gives her a ad for breast enhancement supplements on the ruse that Napoleon recommended them for her. What does she do? Cry?

Nope. She calls Napoleon and tells him off for supposedly dissing her appearance, tells him she is content with her figure and he can take those supplements himself. In a time that was pushing girls to be sexy and hot and fun and extroverted to impress guys and where fashion was designed to show off impossibly slim, toned, and busty figures with long legs, it was something special. 

Power Ranking: 9.8

Little Jordan Sanders

Once up on a time (the early 1990s) there was a nerdy little girl who felt she wowed her fickle classmates and then a mean girl pulled a prank on her that landed her in to the hospital, from there she vowed she will do the bullying before anyone else bullies her.

So she becomes a nightmare boss whose employees can’t stand her (to the point where they are listening to relaxation tapes saying “So you want to slap your boss”) and she forbids carbs in her workplace as she doesn’t eat them. She gets confronted by a little girl with a magic wand who puts a spell on her that doesn’t seem to take but then Jordan wakes up in her preteen body again and has to attend middle school all over again where she gets bullied. 

So what does Jordan do? She arms herself with a huge Birkin bag and a pink power suit with a white plaid pattern and makes her way to school and manages to corrupt her new tween friends with her cynical world view. But at some point she embraces her inner geek girl and wakes up an adult woman again.

Power Ranking: 7, it’s a front but a fabulous front. 

Midge Maisel

This is the night that Midge would have been made for life....and the night where she burns a bridge with a friend and puts her’s and her manager Susie’s future in jeopardy. 

So after starting a career in stand up after her husband leaves her for his mediocre secretary, Midge gets to perform stand up at the famous Apollo theater before pop singer Shy Baldwin’s concert (part of his cross-country tour), this is the community he grew up in and where the local middle-aged mothers bake him goodies so he’d be persuaded to date their daughters. But Midge, a privileged Jewish American woman, is a fish out of water amongst the mostly African American audience and performers. 

So she starts to make jokes about Shy’s stage persona and hints at him being a closeted gay man which all bring down the house and impress the audience (and keep the Wop Wop Man at bay)....but then Shy’s manager reveals they have kicked her out from the tour for what she has done. For once the fabulous but thoughtless Midge has faced the consequences of her actions. 

Power Ranking: 10, she made an impact alright.

Meg Griffin

By far more the least empowered woman on this list or the list before (even more than Barb who got killed by a monster), Meg Griffin started Family Guy as a ordinary teenage girl who wasn’t popular at school but was assured of love from her then-loving, but dysfunctional and nutty family. Then after a brief cancellation and protests brought the show back, the show and even her family (along with the whole community) started bashing her and calling her “ugly” or dissing her for her weight to the point where the show was being (rightfully) accused of misogyny. Meg so far has had her father fart in her face, her mother try to seduce her boyfriend and leave her pills to potentially OD on, her obese brother gets popular and doesn’t invite her to his party because she doesn’t fit a narrow “boob to butt ratio” (seems like Family Guy hates body fat on women unless it’s on their boobs), her baby brother loves to feed off her tears and to her face told her to become bulimic, and her family dog tells her that God doesn’t exist because she has a shitty family (complete with a Mom he lusts after) and she has “a flat chest and a fat ass”.

 Also this “pink condom hat” wearing teen is dished crap by the writers because they claim not to have knowledge of writing teenage girls, gee what could be an improvement on that problem?

Is it any wonder that this girl may have violent episodes?

Power Ranking: 1 (most of the time). 

Quinn Morgendorffer

From day one pink has been a color that Quinn wore and while she updated her late 90s baby tee look with deeper colors and modest cuts, pink has remained a primary color. Actually pink has been her preferred color since childhood, her color for school dances, for camping trips, what she wears as a Mommy/Beauty vlogger, the color for the background Jane uses for her abstract portrait of Quinn, 

Quinn’s motivation is to be the most attractive and popular girl around, likely stemming from her father’s trait of needing people to pay attention to him, and coincidentally pink is what helps her fit in with her parents and helps her stand out from the Fashion Club, and it helps her align with the late 1990s standard of beauty and femininity (also somewhat aided by her grandmother) that prizes long, shiny, bouncy hair and a teeny weeny nose with microscopic pores, and a fat free (except for the boobs) body over intelligence and substance. This serves to set her apart from her sister Daria, who decides to go against the role. Which is sad because Quinn is very witty and savvy with a gift for fashion analysis and the sisters show a propensity for getting along much better than their mother did with her sisters. 

Later in the series, she starts maturing and leans more into her intellectual gifts, thus her jeans and shirt get deeper in color and flaunt her slender mid-section less (they still show the outline of her silhouette). She starts pulling away from her shallow clique and deals with a new friend with alcoholism (not much of a resolution at the end), thankfully somewhat like her sister, she can provide kinship over (cheeseless) pizza and diet soda.

Power Ranking: 10, Family Guy writers take notes. 

Daria Morgendorffer

Pink is the color of mortification for Daria. She is the only member of her family to not have a pinkish or reddish tone in her coloring (unless you count her traditional orange shirt under her green blazer and black skirt, something that calls to her mother’s power suit) and femininity seems forced on her. In fact the only time pink was used as a power move was when she used it to convince her sister to stop being a pseudo-intellectual by dressing up like her. 

In this image from the tie-in book The Daria Diaries, we see that a younger Daria is dressed up in a high-necked and puff-sleeved nightmare of a pin dress that looks so infantile, that likely Helen forced on her (Quinn would never pick that, no matter how mad Quinn is she would never make someone wear something if she didn’t think it was flattering), and while her mother and sister are in yellow-toned frills that closely matched their tastes, Daria stands apart glum and wishing someone would save her from this fashion emergency.

Power Ranking: 4, just loose the collar at least?

Glinda the Good Witch of the North

The Good (but slightly bitchy) Witch of the North is the representative for how powerful pink can be in 1939 (or rather any time because Oz operates outside our world). She is the guardian (was she battling the Wicked Witches of the East and West for supremacy while the Munchkins were terrorized? Gosh a lot of WWII allegories here) of Oz played by the closeted Bisexual and hilarious Billie Burke, she is good but not above encouraging munchkins to sing about how happy they are that the wicked witch is dead. While munchkins run around scared when the Wicket Witch of the West shows up to corner Dorothy and get the ruby slippers back, Glinda cooly plans on snatching the slippers and poofing them on Dorothy’s feet and drops shade on the Witch. 

But Glinda is one to remind the characters (and the audience) that they needed to discover the power within them to achieve their goals and come out the other end stronger, no one can make you believe that. 

Power Ranking: 10, this look is so iconic.

Kim McAfee

Truly an iconic pink look and not bad for a role where Ann-Margret makes her big break. The teenage Kim MacAfee, member of the Conrad Birdie fan club, gets pinned and is chosen to kiss Conrad during his farewell concert before he leaves for the army. Quite the glow up! But she has to deal with a jealous boyfriend who doesn’t want Conrad around (probably because he can’t make her scream and faint) and her feelings of “I don’t need him but I really want him with me”. This outfit was stunning and meant to convey a lot in 1963: it’s pants, it’s Schiaparelli Pink rather than a dainty pastel like she wears here, it shows off her figure, she sings about kissing men from Yale to Purdue while Conrad and her boyfriend Hugo sing about hot chicks and they all sing about having a lot of living to do. Of course Hugo leaves and she is distraught, up to the point where she kisses Conrad Birdie and Hugo sucker punches him in front of a live audience. She happily ends up with Hugo and wishes Birdie well, as opposed to when she is devastated over him heading to the army (is it no accident the sexists from Mad Men like the first version?).

Power Ranking: 9.5, truly iconic and the outfit to wear when you attempt to be a sexually liberated woman who doesn’t need a possessive man.

Caroline Brooks

Speaking of big breaks, this is the film where Esther Williams (the codifier for swimming musicals and synchronized swimming) makes her big break in a iconic career and it was quite an impressive entrance. And then starts a decade-long career of water ballet musicals and swimwear, the film isn’t remarkable for it’s plot (enjoyable rom-com) but for the impressive swimming sequences that show off Esther’s athletic skills (she was eligible for the 1940 Olympics). That is a way to make an impact with pink.

Power Ranking: 20.

Courtney Gripling

Who’s the girl in the pink capris?

It’s Courtney, it’s Courtney!

This song was sung two times in the show and it tells you a lot about the inner workings of a sweet but sheltered and often insensitive Middle School Queen (for measure, she sings this in a sparkly dress at a friend’s 13th birthday party, friend doesn’t mind though). Courtney would definitely be the kind of girl who’d wear white to a (Western) wedding. 

Pink (or peach or lavender or blue or cream) has been a signature color for Courney since the very beginning: it was the color of her pajamas, she told Ginger she looks really good in the color when she borrows sleepwear from the girl, she wore “Popular In Peach” nail polish for her exams the semester before, and she even wore the color of skirt and blouse she wore when she got bullied in high school and learned her family was losing their McMansion and their money (even her port-a-potty was pink with baroque gild). It highlights her delicate and privileged background, like lace or fine china, it will get spoiled.

So this girl, who got by with people being hired to do her homework and sung about herself at another person’s birthday party and had a talent show performance where she and her friends wore blonde wigs and matching costumes (with face masks of herself), the girl who was shocked to find out summer camps don’t have masseuses, the girl who wore platform sandals in the winter, or that Mom losing her platinum card is not the catastrophe she thinks it is.....suddenly finds her family in poverty after her father was caught doing white collar crime.

So sad, she was always better than Ivanka.

Power Ranking: 6.5, glorious look and character but not likely to be invited to anybody’s wedding in the future.

Cher Horowitz

It’s fitting the premier teen fashionista of Beverly Hills undergoes her enlightenment and makes up with her friend in a matching pink preppy ensemble. Cher Horowitz (despite clearly taking some lead from her BFF Dionne’s more sophisticated and colorful take on Bev Hills fashion) has been a trendsetter in-universe and at the time the film came out. 

Before the film came out, fashion was inspired by grunge or still stuck in the late 1980s or dominated by neon colors and power dressing and or mixing and matching, then the costume designer for the film (Mona May) decided on taking a twist on the preppy look, while keeping some sportiness and the colors of the time (even nodding to Beverly Hills 90210). May subtly updated looks that Sally Draper and Nancy Wheeler would have worn and for the rest of the decade teen girls were sporting mary janes, plaid, collars, floaty dresses, pastels, stripes, and knee socks. 

At the start of the film, Cher thinks she knows it all and she is the most popular girl in her school....she doesn’t really know it all (she’s Clueless).  She does aspire to be more and do more (and sometimes plagued by insecurity) and takes new grunge girl Tai under her wing and gives her a makeover that makes her look like a shorter, redhaired, and curvier clone of Cher herself until Tai gets swollen in the head and Cher realizes she loves her ex-stepbrother Josh. After an argument, a humbled Tai (in a style that combines the preppy femininity she learned in Beverly Hills and her skater geek inclinations that manages to hold well into the mid 2000s) makes up with her and they watch Tai’s love interest shred out. 

Here we see Cher in her feminine prep but the casual look and the prints help her empathize with the crowd on the grass. 

Power Ranking: 9.

Miss Piggy

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and it may be necessary from time to time to give a stupid or misinformed beholder a black eye.

The ultimate diva in pink, with all her charms, cannot attract Kermit the Frog and the woman who assured at least one generation of girls that they don’t need to be slender princesses to be the leading lady. Before Elle Woods, Miss Piggy came in with blown out wings and curls and in pink outfits assured of her own place in show business and of her own beauty and especially during an era when society was learning (slowly) to accept other forms of female personality and challenging gender roles. She was a revolutionary clad in the style of women of the Golden Age of Hollywood and made a mark for more body inclusivity in entertainment and transcended the girly girl/tomboy dichotomy that had been around to enforce stereo-typically feminine behavior and set up women to compete against one another. 

Power Ranking: 10.

Blossom

Sugar. Spice. Everything Nice. Chemical X. These are the things that created a trio of super-powered kindergartners, the leader wearing a large red bow over her long red locks and has a pink dress (and improbably large pink-colored eyes). These girls had to save their city from monsters and evil villains while attending Kindergarten and making time for their playroom. Blossom was Miss Perfect personified: cute, long pretty hair, perfect grades, ladylike behavior, intellectual, emotionally mature (she acted more 10 years old rather than her actual age of being born in a 5 year old’s body); but being Miss Perfect can make you blind to the resentment of others (she is rather bossy) and being liked and holding that as the standard could let you get run over. It’s fortunate that Blossom is learning how to advocate for herself and break the rules to save the day (like beating up evil senior citizens) now rather than at 14, 17, 24, 32.....

Power Ranking: 11. 

Renee Bennett

Renee Bennett (as played by Amy Schumer) is insecure about living in a world that seems to stop for women fitting a narrow standard of beauty, which doesn’t concern her as far as she’s concerned. Now Renee wears pink a few times in the film, highlighting her femininity and desire to be universally beautiful. She happens to make a wish to be beautiful during a rainstorm and the next day, she goes to Soul Cycle where she falls off a bike, hair gets caught in the bike and she hits her head and wakes up seeing a different person in the mirror. 

Now she walks around the world as if she was confident in being one of the most beautiful women in the room, if not the world. Suddenly her clothes show more skin, they are more twee (the bright colors and pastels), she’s taking huge fashion risks, and participating in bikini contests. Of course every film high hits a low where the protagonist’s ego is swollen, her friends feel alienated and later she bonks her head and believes she is back in her old body and no one has seen how “hideous” she is. Later she finds the confidence to “come out” as she is (as far as others are concerned, she hasn’t changed her looks too much). 

Power Ranking: 7.5

[spiderdreamer-blog]

Voltron Legendary Defender: The Top Episodes. Part 1: Honorable Mentions

Having just finished my full rewatch of Voltron Legendary Defender (short version: still love it overall, one of my favorite animated shows of the past decade, helped me meet one of my best friends), I felt in the rankin’ mood for the series’ best episodes/stories, and decided to narrow it down to ten proper and five honorable mentions. This proved more difficult than it sounds: there are a number of good standalones here, but the show is clearly designed for binging in a lot of ways (as an example, a few things I thought might have been poorly set up the first go-around actually did get backed up) that many episodes form official AND unofficial duologies and trilogies. Plus there are just a lot of solid episodes and stories being told. Additionally, I wanted to represent the full breadth of the show rather than sticking to only the early or the late seasons. It was hard, but I think I’ve got a nice crop here, and I hope you enjoy the analysis while offering the usual disclaimers that this is purely my opinion.

First, let’s have some HONORABLE MENTIONS, in chronological order:

“The Ark of Taujeer”: Or “the one where my OTP set sail in my heart forever”. In all seriousness, this is a damned fine episode on two fronts: opening up a dialogue and real relationship between Keith and Allura, and a clever sci-fi problem for our heroes to solve. The former proves to be intriguing for its very forthrightness; I’ve always thought of these two as very similar people in their mix of ideals and difficulties in communication, so the discussion that opens up between them has interesting layers. Keith is obviously struggling because of what belonging to the galra might mean to him personally in terms of this and his other relationships, but he’s not wrong to point out practicalities like the help they need. And yet, Allura is given full respect here in her trauma even as she arguably doesn’t come off well in her blanket condemnation (though even then, a seed is laid for her eventual valid point of “the Blade arguably hasn’t done enough/has been too cautious”). It’s thorny, and I like that both this and the Blade of Marmora at large commit to dealing with it in this way early on. The other half of the episode features something I always admired about the series, which is “how can we use the Lions/Voltron for things other than fights?” The Taujeerians and their dilemma offer a perfect solution to that with the dying planet and acid problems piling on top of each other, and Morvok proves to be a memorable adversary in his unctuous cowardice. David W. Collins and Neil Kaplan even provide some dark laughs on the vocal end in a scene where the diminutive commander attempts to weasel out of going after Voltron; it’s not often that our Big Bad can be a comedic straight man. 

“Bloodlines”: The introduction of probably my favorite supporting character in the whole show is an auspicious occasion indeed, though another big showcase for her will also be on the list proper. Krolia, Keith’s galra/Blade mother, makes an immediate strong impression thanks to Ana Gasteyer’s performance, her instant badass cred, and the writing, which doesn’t exactly try that hard to keep her revelation a surprise, but plays fair in establishing her as keeping in the principles of other Blades...and then turning that on its head. “I left you once. I’ll never leave you again” is still one of the great emotional whammies of the series, and she backs that up with perhaps the most cold-blooded mook offing ever. There’s also interest to be had in the other parts of the episode as Allura and Lotor grow closer in their search for information on Oriande; they have good chemistry as characters and actors (always love Kimberly Brooks, and AJ LoCascio is now on my radar as an actor who will instantly grab my interest on any project thanks to his exemplary work here), and the worldbuilding strengthens because of their interactions.

...and then, of course, there’s Fun Sentry, one of the most joyfully goofy subplots the series ever graced us with. I hope whoever came up with making his sendoff into a Wrath of Khan homage got a raise.

“Monsters and Mana”: Roleplay and D&D episodes are becoming ever more popular in both live action and animated shows thanks to an increasing visibility for that property thanks to programs like Critical Role and The Adventure Zone, as well as the realization of “oh, right, a bunch of nerds work on these shows”; She-Ra just did a great one in its second set of episodes. This one is arguably “filler” since it doesn’t progress the plot/is seen even in-universe as a “break” from all the craziness, but it proves delightful in a number of ways regardless. The stylistic shifts in the animation, such as the brief moments of pixelated characters or Shiro’s manga-style flashback, are an all too rare moment of the crew flexing their artistic muscles, while the voice cast is clearly having the time of their lives. This is probably my favorite singular performance by Josh Keaton as Shiro in the whole series; highlights include his distressed “HEY WHERE YOU GUYS GOIN’?!” after his Tragic Backstory accidentally bores, and his exuberant nerdery over how good a team-building exercise this is. Even more impressively, it manages to be a fun showcase for VLD’s typical mix of action/adventure and comedy, not letting one detract from the other. The final brawl against Dragon-Coran is as good a sequence as any “regular” fight one might encounter in the series, for example. Even Brian Parkhurst’s music gets in on the fun, offering high fantasy spins on things like the main theme.

“The Ruins”: Time for some good old-fashioned nightmare fuel, kids! Ex-druid Macidus (the callback of just who he is made me go “oh SHIT” on first viewing) proves to be one of the most singularly scary one-shot villains in the series through manipulation and totally going off the chain with lines like “The only escape..is DEATH!” Props to Chris Diamantopoulos in particular for an unnerving performance both as a false friend and then going full-bore with cackling, grandiose fervor; after Mickey Mouse and Storkules, I had no idea he had a performance like this in him. Visually, it’s striking as well, Macidus’ “home” offering a pungent sense of dread and menace well before we twig to his dishonesty, and the final teleportation spam fight is a great mix of slasher movie tension (the blade coming down right in front of Keith’s face is a classic jump scare) and Kosmo-assisted badassery (gotta love how the Blade hoovering away druids leaves no mess behind). It’s also a good showcase for Krolia and Keith as characters, the opening scenes showing just how likeminded they are in funny ways (”A BLOVAR RAPTOR JUST MELTED YOUR FACE OFF, HUNK! Now it’s eight on four.”), and their goodbye offering a tender sense of “we’ll meet again”. It’s touching to see how much Keith has grown in feeling secure that the people he loves will not abandon him.

(As a bonus, it has possibly my favorite Shiro Tries To Be Upbeat About Something Horrible moment when he talks about how routine kept him sane in the infinite void of the Black Lion, which is one of those times when you wonder if he even realizes what he’s saying)

“The Grudge”: One of the pleasures that came with the series expanding its horizons from our core cast is the deep bench of supporting characters it built up. Acxa proved to be one of the most intriguing even when first met as a silent, masked friend-then-foe before we even had an inkling of Lotor or the rest of his generals. Her quiet development into one of the most morally assured forces on either side of the conflict was a fascinating one due primarily to the fact that much of what we had to go on was internal or subtle, sparked by a few glances here or the skew that Erica Luttrell would put on her measured line readings. It was only when we met her again in season 7′s “The Way Forward” that she openly expressed feelings of guilt and remorse for helping Lotor, wishing to make a better future for herself and the universe. 

That thread continues and flowers here as she tries to make a place for herself on the Atlas, aided by Lance’s sister Veronica, who is herself intrigued (and maybe a titch bisexual: you can’t tell me SOMEONE wasn’t shipping this with how soft her face gets, as well as Krystina Alabado’s line readings, on moments like “I just wanted to get to know you better”). This gets combined nicely with the rising tension of Zethrid out for revenge against the paladins, Keith in particular, on a planet where they’re slowly running out of oxygen. Sparse resources is a problem the show rarely confronted outside of the repeated attempts to fix the Castle of Lions, but it proves to be a tense change of pace here, with the paladins having to rely on their wits to prevail. The final confrontation proves excellent as well, Erica and Jamie Gray Hyder putting in some of their series-best work as two former friends trying desperately to connect again. Thankfully, they do, and the denouement is sweetly earned.

And that’s part 1! Tune in next time for the properly ranked list o’ten.

[bellabooks]

GLOW: Gorgeous Ladies of Where’s the Gay?

Netflix has been churning out originals lately, and GLOW is one of the latest shows to get swept into the never-ending stream of bingeable content. In spite of its focus on an all-women wrestling league, the show has an upsetting lack of queer ladies. Drawing heavily from the 2012 documentary, GLOW: The Story of the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling, Netflix’s GLOW stars Alison Brie (Ruth) and Betty Gilpin (Debbie) in a big-haired, 1980s wrestling comedy. Brie plays a “quirky” aspiring actress who we are consistently reminded could be ugly OR pretty, they just can’t decide. Gilpin’s Debbie is a former soap star whose new-mom status and impending divorce put her in danger of never gracing the television ever again. Ruth and Debbie are our protagonists with their own personal history but, much like Orange is the New Black, it’s the secondary characters that really steal the show. If you’ve already made it through all ten episodes of GLOW, and have a heart, you probably fell in love with Carmen, aka Machu Picchu (Britney Young). A young woman from a wrestling family (the LumberJacksons), Carmen is just so damn precious and clearly in it for the love of wrestling as opposed to the fame that Ruth is chasing after. You also have Cherry Bang (Sydelle Noel), whose relationship with her adorable husband Keith (Bashir Salahuddin) doesn’t get nearly enough attention, Kate Nash as the token British attraction, Britannica, and a whole slew of others who outshine the drama between Ruth and Debbie. In true Netflix form, it’s the secondary ensemble that accounts for the show’s diversity and heart. Now I’m not going to lie, GLOW initially lost me after about two episodes but, with some encouragement, I took another crack at it. Aside from its slow start, what really put me off was the ambiguous queerness of Marianna Palka’s Reggie, aka Vicky the Viking. As soon as she popped up in the first episode, I was annoyed. Reggie is presented as the potentially-queer-lady in a common way geared toward the eye of the straight viewer. How is this, you ask? As disheveled, brutish, and semi-mute. I’ve noticed a trend, over the years, in how film and television present female characters who are coded as queer but are never actually revealed as queer (or are revealed as straight, SHOCKER). It has a lot to do with middle parts and messy hair, as seen on Mean Girls’ Janis Ian, Carrie Mae in House Bunny, and even my beloved Sandy Bullock before the Mustang Sally makeover in Miss Congeniality. Aside from the more well-known characters, most of those who fall into this trope and have few lines, the camera only going to them for non-verbal reactions. Reggie falls right into this trap; she appears as a kind of “ME LIKE SPORTS” tomboy that is easy to box up. Carmen also gave me some queer lady vibes. Presented as a naïve, cute (those dimples though) character trying to make a name for herself outside her family legacy, she appears as the gentle giant that has yet to have her sexual awakening. There are a few bonding moments with her roommate, Britannica (Kate Nash), that tell us she’s not used to being around so many women, and maybe there’s some potential for self-discovery there. Aside from Reggie and Carmen, there really is no other indication of queerness in GLOW, and it’s no surprise that both those characters are presented as not traditionally attractive. I don’t expect every show or movie to have some gay, but making a show about an all-women wrestling league without a single queer character seems like a missed opportunity to me. I mean, a bunch of ladies wearing outlandish costumes and pretending to beat the crap out of each other with ZERO flirting? A travesty. Including a queer character would have been just as easy as including a wolf-identifying character. What’s more, I’m tired of shows with no queer characters using masculine stereotypes to simultaneously tease queerness and imply that queerness is abnormal. The reason characters like Reggie and Carmen stand out in the negative is because they don’t conform to how people feel women (especially straight women) should look. The lack of queerness could be contributed to the fact that this is just the first season. Netflix has a habit of throwing things at the wall to see if they stick before getting into the good stuff. While GLOW tries pretty hard to touch on some serious life topics, it rarely ever takes us under the surface. Ruth and Bettie are trying to repair their friendship after an adultery incident, but we never get a true sense of their feelings. Cherry clearly has some history with the director, Sam Sylvia (Marc Maron), but we never get the full story (or even, like, part of the story). Even Sheila the She-Wolf (Gayle Rankin) seems to have some deep-seeded issues worthy of exploration, but all-in-all GLOW doesn’t give us a chance to really get to know its characters. The assumption is that they are setting us up for a season two where more of each character will be revealed. My question is, though, if Netflix is going to continue pouring money into originals even if they aren’t sure they’ll be successful, why not commit and include queer and trans characters? With the number of original shows Netflix has pumped out in the last year or two, the streaming platform has come under fire for the way that it handles diversity and sensitive topics. Judging by the cancellation of shows like Sense8 and The Get Down, Netflix doesn’t seem to have a problem with attempting inclusivity, it just has a problem with sticking by it. While GLOW fell a little flat for me, I did find it to be generally entertaining. It does lull in some places, but the writing has its clever moments. The show’s attempts at replicating the anti-political correctness of the original founder of GLOW can be schticky, and problematic, but I think many of the secondary characters are given some agency in combating this. If it does get a second season, I’d like to see more fleshed out characters, and maybe even a little bit of gay (just a little, for my sanity). To get a better understanding of the dynamic Netflix’s show is trying to replicate, I highly recommend watching the documentary mentioned above. There’s far more emphasis on comradery and the empowering nature of women’s sports, and it does a good job of contextualizing the absurdity that was the original Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling program. Plus, the woman Carmen is based on, Emily Dole aka Mountain Fiji, is a national treasure. http://dlvr.it/PTnwS9

[auburnfamilynews]

Nick Fitzgerald leads a rebuilding MSU offense. (AP Photo, Jim Lytle)

     War Eagle, everybody! It’s time now for another Auburn football preview! On September 30th, Auburn will host the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Last season’s game against the Bulldogs was expected to be a struggle, in Starkville. Instead, Auburn ripped into home-standing MSU and tore out to a 35-0 halftime lead. Auburn coasted to a 38-14 victory. The Bulldogs suffered through a rebuilding year last year, and hope to be a little stronger earlier in the season, this year.

     The Auburn Tigers will have opened the season with Georgia Southern, then traveled to Clemson. Auburn will then enjoy an early homecoming game against Mercer, before traveling to Missouri, prior to the home clash with Mississippi State. Auburn’s schedule at this point look manageable. Mississippi State’s gets difficult, pretty quickly. MSU opens with Charleston Southern, then travels to Rushton, Louisiana to take on Louisiana Tech as part of a CBS double-header. The Bulldogs then host LSU, followed by a trip to Athens, Georgia.

     Last season, Mississippi State improved on offense greatly, as the year went on. Quarterback Nick Fitzgerald came out of nowhere, to lead the Bulldogs, and this year he’s being touted as an All-SEC candidate by many pundits. There are some questions, going into the offseason. A banged up offensive line and receiver corps had difficulty handling a Bulldog defense that was allowed to blitz, in the spring game. Bulldog fortunes on the offensive side will depend on how many guys return healthy this fall, and whether the younger players continue to improve.

     Defense was really the biggest issue for Mississippi State last season, as they gave up 31.8 points per game, including giving up 35 to Umass, 38 to Auburn, 40 to Kentucky, 41 to Samford (!), 51 to Alabama, and 58 to Arkansas. Tackling in the secondary was sub-par, and the Bulldogs gave up 4.8 yards per rush.

     This season, MSU poached defensive coordinator Todd Grantham away from Louisville. Grantham was able to improve defenses at Georgia and Louisville, by installing a complex 3-4, multiple front blitzing scheme. The only caveat is that it sometimes takes a while for the players to learn such a system. For that reason, it’s better to be playing the Bulldogs in September, than November. The defense had 5 interceptions in the Bulldog spring game, including 4 off of starter Nick Fitzgerald. A couple of the picks were returned for touchdowns.

     The Bulldogs are rebuilding their special teams again this season, after losing kicker Westin Graves, and top return men Fred Ross, and Brandon Holloway. Junior Malik Dear was expected to be a major contributor this fall here, but he spent the spring game on the sideline with a knee brace on.

Auburn defensive line vs. Mississippi State offensive line: Auburn brings a big, athletic defensive line back this season. Likely starters at tackle are junior Dontavius Russell and sophomore Derrick Brown. Sophomore strong-side end Marlon Davidson was a beast on A-Day. The buck side will likely be manned by a combination of junior Jeffery Holland and senior transfer Paul James III. Auburn has a good bit of depth behind the starters, as well. Senior Martinez Rankin played center this spring, but I think Head Coach Dan Mullen would like to see the veteran slide out to left tackle this fall. My best guess, from left to right would be Rankin at tackle, junior Elgton Jenkins, junior Deion Calhoun would move over from right guard to center, sophomore Darryl Williams would move up at right guard, with redshirt freshman Greg Eiland getting the start at right tackle. The Bulldogs do have a fairly decent amount of depth on the line. The key will be getting a group to gel in September. Advantage: Auburn.

Auburn linebackers vs. Mississippi State backs: The Auburn Tigers have a good cross-trained quartet of upper echelon SEC-caliber linebackers. Junior Deshaun Davis, senior Tre’ Williams, junior Darrell Williams and junior Montravious Atkinson can play all three positions, and we might see any combination of these players out on the field at a given time. The Bulldogs are very solid at running back, with a trio of good players, led by junior Aeris Williams. Sophomore Nick Gibson and junior Dontavian Lee are also very capable. Advantage: Even.

Auburn corners vs. Mississippi State receivers: Auburn has a fairly good combination of starting corners, in junior Carlton Davis and sophomore Javaris Davis. The Tigers are hoping that Jamel Dean will be healthy this fall, as he is one of the fastest players on the team. Sophomore Jeremiah Dinson could move over from nickelback, if needed. The leading returning Bulldog receiver returning is senior Donald Gray. Senior Gabe Myles is said to have improved this spring, and sophomore Jamal Couch is a big target. Junior Malik Dear could be a factor, if he heals by September. Advantage: Auburn.

Auburn safeties vs. Mississippi State secondary receivers and quarterback: Auburn’s starting unit features seniors Tray Matthews and Stephen Roberts at safety, and sophomore Jeremiah Dinson at nickel back. There’s not much depth here, beyond senior Nick Ruffin, who’ll probably see as much playing time as the starters. The Tigers are solid here, as long as no one gets hurt. Sophomore Keith Mixon will likely get the nod at slot receiver, and the Bulldogs have several tight ends that were thrown into the fire pretty green, last season. We could see sophomore Farrod Green or senior Jordan Thomas or junior Justin Johnson at various times. Junior quarterback Nick Fitzgerald leads this offense. What’s worrisome is that coach Dan Mullen’s big armed, running quarterbacks tend to have a production jump in their second season starting. Fitzgerald threw for 2423 yards last season, and ran for 1375. He threw some bad interceptions in the spring game, but a lot of it could have been young receivers not being on the same page. Advantage: Even.

Punting: Sophomore Ian Shannon will likely get the nod as Auburn’s starting punter, after a couple of years of waiting in the wings. Shannon has looked good on A-Day a year ago, in warmups. The Tigers gave up only 19 punt return yards last season, on 6 punts, for a stifling 3.2 yards per return. The Tigers are still auditioning for the punt returner job. It’s thought that senior Stephen Roberts has the inside track, after returning 6 punts last season for 100 yards. MSU returns senior Logan Cooke at punter. Last season, Cook averaged 40.0 yards per punt. Bulldog coverage was almost as good as Auburn’s, allowing only 4.0 yards per return. The Bulldogs must replace Fred Ross as the return man, and the likely nod will go to senior Donald Gray. Advantage: Even.

Kickoffs: Daniel Carlson was very good kicking off last season, notching 57 touchbacks on 72 kickoffs. When Auburn did allow returns, opponents averaged only 18.0 yards per return. Junior Kerryon Johnson is Auburn’s most experienced return man returning, and he averaged 22.2 yards per return last season. Logan Cooke handled nearly half of the Bulldog kickoffs last season, and should handle the bulk this season. Cooke had 14 touchbacks on 25 kickoffs. MSU allowed 20.1 yards per return. The most dangerous of the return men last season was Keith Mixon, who averaged 25.2 yards per return. Advantage: Auburn.

Place kicking: Auburn sophomore Daniel Carlson is the man for Auburn. Carlson was 28 of 32 on field goals, and perfect on extra points. One of Carlson’s misses was a block by Vanderbilt. Some sources say that Mississippi State will apparently start freshman Tucker Day, right out of the gate. Others think senior Logan Cooke is more likely. Advantage: Auburn.

Auburn offensive line vs. Mississippi State defensive line: It’s still not settled who’ll start for Auburn on the line, although the starters looked pretty good on A-Day. It seems the tackle spots are set, with seniors Darius James and Braden Smith. Senior Austin Golson will likely start at center, although Auburn is bringing in senior transfer center Casey Dunn from Jax State. If Dunn starts, Golson could move to guard. Also transferring in this fall is former Florida State starting guard Wilson Bell. Bell is expected to start at one of the guard spots. If Dunn does not beat Golson out, the other likely starting guard would be sophomore Mike Horton. It will be interesting to see how the Bulldogs transition, here. Typically, Grantham likes to have a big, space-eating noseguard. Sophomore Jeffery Simmons has gained weight, and is listed at 307 pounds. That won’t be any advantage against Auburn’s front. Penciled in at end spots are sophomore Fletcher Adams, junior JUCO transfer Chauncy Rivers. MSU has depth at every position. Advantage: Auburn.

Auburn backs vs. Mississippi State linebackers: Auburn features junior H-back Chandler Cox blowing open holes. Running behind the big H-back will be massive junior Kamryn Pettway, and the shifty junior Kerryon Johnson in reserve. The Bulldog linebackers with the strength of the team last season, and could be again, if they develop within the new scheme. Inside backers should be sophomore Leo Lewis and senior Dezmond Harris. Outside should be juniors Gerri Green and Montez Sweat. Advantage: Auburn.

Auburn receivers vs. Mississippi State corners: At the end of spring, it looked like Auburn’s two starting outside guys were sophomore Nate Craig-Myers and sophomore Darius Slayton. Both guys can fly, have good height, and great hands. Redshirt freshman Marquis McClain had a great A-Day, and is someone to watch out for on the outside, as well. Throw junior Jamal Peters, redshirt freshman Cameron Dantzler, senior Lashard Durr and senior Tolando Cleveland in a bag, and shake. They all should play, and should be better than last season thanks to experience. Still, they have a tough unit to cover, in this game. Advantage: Auburn.

Auburn secondary receivers and quarterback vs. Mississippi State safeties: Auburn has potential threats here, starting with wickedly fast junior slot receiver Will Hastings. Sophomore Eli Stove can also fly. Tight ends Jalen Harris and Sal Cannella are expected to be a big part of the passing game as well. Auburn quarterback Jarrett Stidham is likely the starter in the opener. In 6 games as a freshman at Baylor, Stidham was electric. That trend continued during A-Day this spring, as Stidham was deadly accurate, and showed great mobility. At safety, the likely starters for MSU are juniors Brandon Bryant and Mark McLaurin. Jonathan Abraham and J. T. Gray provide depth. Advantage: Auburn.

     I think Auburn has a good chance to put up a lot of points in this game, if they are not forced into mistakes from furious blitzing. The real question will be stopping the MSU offense, particularly if their line and receivers are healed. The MSU offense has been a threat nearly every year that Dan Mullen has coached there.

     The Bulldogs should come in and play hard. They will need this game, after a couple of tough SEC matchups. And their schedule does not get much easier, the rest of the way. Only UMass and Brigham Young remain out of conference, and the season-ender at Ole Miss might be the easiest SEC game left for them.

Prediction: With the package of screens Auburn offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey uses, Auburn should be able to hurt the Bulldogs when they blitz. The Tigers run away from the Bulldogs, 45-20.

The post Bulldog Visitors to End September. (Previewing Auburn vs. Mississippi State.) appeared first on Track 'Em Tigers, Auburn's oldest and most read independent blog.

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