#little fellow deserved to boogie too

[it-happened-one-fic]

Polka - Light and Shadows - Strictly NRC Dancing

Author Notes: The dance I used for this fic is another type of Polka, this time from Mexico. More specifically the Mexican folk dance from Chihuahua, Mexico: Polka Luz y Sombras. I recommend watching the performance on Youtube labeled “Mexican Folk Dance - Polka Luz y Sombras de Chihuahua México” and posted by Vive El Folklore. I had a lot of trouble finding out much about this Polka, but there are several performances on Youtube, including the one I recommended. Just like the rest of this AU/series the reader is female for this fic. I hope you enjoy!

If you would like to read more this AU/series, the fics can be found here: Strictly NRC Dancing AU Master-List

Type: Dance AU/ female reader/ fluff/ PLATONIC

Word Count: 721

The final dance of the polka class was largely just for fun. It wasn’t going to be scored and was a favor from the teachers to me.

 This was because my partner for the final polka was not allowed to take the dance classes simply because he would download all of the information and motions off of the internet and immediately become a flawless polka dancer.

 My partner was none other than Ortho.

The little robot boy had confided in me when he practiced with me on the sly that he also wanted to dance. 

He’d learned the motions already and enjoyed dancing with me before going directly to Idia with the motions he’d downloaded from our practice to help his brother learn to dance without me and Ignihyde’s housewarden ever having to meet up. 

Ortho also understood why he couldn’t be allowed to take the class, though. He would, inevitably, get the top spot in the class simply due to the nature of how he learned. 

But he still wanted to participate. He enjoyed watching others performances and wanted to join in.

Which was why I asked all of the judges if I could have a single favor and dance with someone I wanted to dance with at the end of all of the other performances. Initially, they had been wary. But when I explained the situation, that all changed very quickly. 

I’d told Ortho the very next day and received a rather bruising hug from the ecstatic boy, who’d immediately zipped home to tell his brother. 

He’d then come back just as quickly to tell me he knew exactly which polka he wanted to do. A hyper-specific Mexican polka. The “Luz y Sombras” that was native to Chihuahua, Mexico, in my world.

It was honestly pure luck that Sam happened to know this dance, and, with Ortho’s help, he’d taught me the steps to the incredibly fast polka that was filled with stomps, kicks, and even dancing, quite literally, cheek to cheek.

We couldn’t make it through a single practice session without someone getting tickled, usually me or Sam, while Ortho seemed to genuinely enjoy just watching the two of us dancing and clapping along just as much as he enjoyed actually practicing with me himself.

When it came time for our performance, I was surprised to see Crewel flagging me down, a smile on his face as he motioned me over to the dressing room. “You didn’t think I’d let you go without a costume change, did you pup?”

I stared at him, half shocked and half amused that he’d designed a dress for even this performance. 

The alchemy teacher/fashion designer held out the white blouse, a white skirt, a belt, some little black boots, and even some white bloomers for when my skirt inevitably whipped up due to the frenzied motions required by the dance.

Crewel calmly explained as he carefully handed each of the articles of clothing over to me, “Luz y Sombras means light and shadows, so you’ll be the light side of the dance. Apparently, Idia is going to handle making our little Ortho look like a shadow.”

And Idia had indeed made Ortho look like a little shadow by changing out a lot of the boy’s white plating for black. All that was left now was to perform.

And perform we did, our feet hitting the floor loudly for each stomp as we kicked out, smiling all the while. We’d barely even gotten started dancing before the majority of our fellow students and even the teachers were clapping along and cheering.

While it was not a dance that was graded or had anything of real import resting on its success, it was easy to say that it was everyone’s favorite performance. 

Even Idia had remained after his dance, hiding off to the side so that he could film his little brother with a wide grin on his face that made me wonder if his cheeks hurt as much as mine did from all the smiling.

It was true that I was beyond exhausted by the time our energetic performance came to an end. But it was also true that I’d probably enjoyed my dance with Ortho more than any of the others, and his bright, sparkling eyes had made it beyond worth it.

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[lothioriien]

richie tozier and his zoomer teen: headcanons

A/N: I tried keeping this as gender neutral as possible, but idk it’s a lil implied that the kid’s a girl. i’m trying to learn how to write gender neutral stuff :”)

By teenager, I mean around 16-17! High school age!!

Enjoy!

Sometime in the early 2000s, famous comedian Richard Tozier went to a party and came home with a woman.

oh yeah they deffo got it on that night

But that was a one night stand kind of thing, and Richie didn’t have any contact with her until about a year later.

He got up the couch one early evening to the ringing of his doorbell, and found a basket and a bag filled with baby food, diapers, and clothes perched on his doorstep

And in the basket? A small child, an apology note from the mother, and a birth certificate with his name listed as the father.

Oh boy did his life completely change after that.

It was him and the child, against the world.

but let’s skip the details on him struggling to take care of an infant first and move on a bit to when the kid’s older.

You, of course, are the baby that was left on his doorstep, and Richie tried to be the best father he could be despite his touring career as a comedian.

He’d bring you to the shows, even if you didn’t understand a thing that went on, though eventually when you’d help him write some material when you were older.

Constantly touring with him as a kid meant you were homeschooled. But that didn’t stop you from having a social life. You’d be friends with a lot of his fellow comedians, and John Mulaney was your ultimate favorite friend of his.

you just loved the very tall and gangly twelve year old looking man named uncle john.

Your academic life though was not too bad. You’re pretty intelligent, but when it came to maths, oh boy.

As a kid, you’d ask Richie constantly about math. He’d hate the school curriculum you had because math was different back when he was younger. He’d always help you, but it was mostly the internet just teaching you both.

You’d introduce him to vines (through iconic vine compilation videos), but mostly because he was so confused with this new language you were speaking.

Eventually he’d say some vines back to you and it’d come off so weird cause he’s a 40 year old white dad. You love him, nonetheless, and appreciate the effort

A lot of your instagram stories or snapchat stories are you filming him as you sing “You are my dad! You’re my dad! Boogie woogie woogie!”

He found it cute at first, where he would smile at you hiding behind your phone and hug you after cause dang he loves his kid so much and would die for you

then later, he’s evidently so annoyed because you do it constantly. As in he takes off his glasses, puts his head in his hands and just sighs so loudly.

When tiktok became the new vine, you were on the app every single day, making it a goal of yours to become tiktok famous.

You’d force your dad to do tiktoks with you

“I love my daddy. he is my superhero”

“Famous relative check!”

BUT THE PERFECT AUDIO

“Don’t look at me like that.” “YOU’RE MY DAD. BOOGIEWOOGIEWOOGIE!”

Gaining some clout because he is a pretty famous comedian 👀

Saying “ok boomer” to him when he’d annoy you

But then he’d clap back by being like “What the fuck Y/N. I was born in 1976, i’m not that old.”

“Yeah but sometimes you think like a boomer.”

“Ok, zoomer.”

“Dad. No. Get out.”

He’s really chill with you swearing. You definitely got that habit from him.

“What the actual fuck, Richard.”

“At least have the fucking decency to call me dad, Y/N.”

He got you into video games at a young age. Every time there was a new console or a new interesting game out, you’d both be up early to go out and get the said console/game.

And in each game you’d play, there would be hilarious commentary.

it’s basically that video with bill hader playing god of war with conan but imagine that and a zoomer’s feral energy combined.

He also got you into becoming a cinephile. Though unlike him, you read the books before watching the movie.

Marathoning a bunch of tv series together and you can never watch any new episode without him. Friday nights were reserved especially for it.

Richie can’t fucking cook for the life of him. Growing up, it was always take out, pizza, instant noodles, or mac and cheese.

He tried learning how to cook, he really did. But it was just so bad that eventually you’d learn how to do it. Then you’d try to teach him how too.

But did he get better as a cook?? Not really.

He once accidentaly set almost the whole kitchen on fire when he tried making pasta when you were 15.

“DAD, YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO PUT WATER IN THE POT FOR PASTA.”

“HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW THAT? I JUST WANTED TO DO SOMETHING SPECIAL FOR YOU!”

“I APPRECIATE THE GESTURE BUT PLEASE DON’T EVER TRY TO COOK AGAIN.”

The following morning, he got up and learned how to make pancakes with sausages, bacon, and eggs.

It was damn good, and by far the best thing he ever made.

So his pancakes became a regular thing.

On casual dinner nights at home, he’d let you have a drink with him and be drinking buddies. He taught you how to drink and be safe with drinks (cause we stan a protective father amirite)

Speaking of protective father, he’d be so picky and open about the people you’d date

“Really Y/N? That person? They’re fucking trash and you know it. You deserve better, sweetie.”

“But dad. They’re hot.”

“That’s still a no from me, kiddo.”

Having the most random, yet somehow meaningful conversations with Richie, yet roasting him at the same time.

“Y/N, do you think I would be classified as a papi by people.”

“No. You still wear hawaiian shirts over a t-shirt. You’re too tacky for that. You’re a papa, not a papi.”

But somehow, you also adopt his fashion style?

Cause hawaiian shirts are pretty cool? Very John Deacon ala 80s aesthetic?

And then he roasts you back from the time you called him tacky.

“Respect the drip, Richard.”

Even though you always poke fun at each other, you guys are actually so open with each other and just talk about anything and everything.

Oh no when you first got your period, he was panicking and nearly bought the entire aisle of pads and tampons because he was so clueless

Meeting the Losers Club was exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time. You didn’t know what to expect of them or what they’d expect from you.

You clung to your dad the whole time, watching him reunite with his childhood friends. Each one of them had a look of surprise and confusion the moment they laid their eyes on you.

They found you to be like a mini-me of Richie, as both of you were clad in printed/hawaiian shirts and glasses.

“Jeez, Richie. Why’d you decide to bring a fucking clone of yourself?” asked Eddie.

“That’s my kid, you dumbass! Eddie, this is Y/N.”

“No shit, you have a kid! You got married, dipshit?”

“No, uh, it’s just them and me.”

You decided to butt in jokingly, “Joe was in the picture for a while too,”

“Joe? Who the fuck is Joe?” The minute Eddie asked this, Richie knew what was coming next.

“Joe mama.” Thus receving a high five from your father and a groan from Eddie.

at first, everyone else would not believe Richie ‘Trashmouth’ Tozier had his very own kid, but the minute you started to get comfortable and joke around, it really clicked for them.

“There’s no doubt they’re Richie’s kid. Look at them! They’re basically a carbon copy of him!” Eddie would have exclaimed.

You‘re very liberal and open-minded, supporting the LGBT+ community and such, but you didn’t really know Richie’s stance on it.

Perhaps it was because he’d been surpressing his feelings for a specific boy from his childhood for almost his entire life, and he didn’t really talk about that topic so much.

But when you saw the chemistry between your dad and Uncle Eds, you sensed a little something there on both ends.

always saying a specific vine under your breath when you see them “two bros, chilling in a hot tub, five feet apart cause they’re not gay” (thank you to for this hc)

OKAY UNCLE EDS LIVES IN THIS AND HE’S DEFFO A BIG PART OF YOUR LIFE AFTER ONE SPECIAL TRIP TO DERRY, MAINE.

You’d say the vine so much, Richie eventually heard it and pulled you aside.

“Y/N, I- how did you know?”

“Know what dad?”

It took a little while for him to come up with the proper words to say. How was he gonna break this to you?

“Y/N..honey, I’ve had feelings for your Uncle Eds ever since we were kids. I-i don’t know, it really scared me as a kid to feel that way so I never talked about it. I guess what I’m trying to say is, kiddo, I’m gay.”

“Huh? I thought you were American?”

the man was basically on the verge of tears. He was so tense, he almost forgot to breathe. But the moment you hugged him and told him that it’s okay, that you love him so much, and that you’re so proud of him, he wrapped you in the biggest bear hug and cried. You cried too.

A/N: Imma end it here for now :)

So sorry it took forever!! I hope you enjoyed!!

Let me know if you want a part 2! 🤪

[theyearoftheking]

Book 2: ‘Salem’s Lot

Success is my only motherfuckin' option, failure’s not Mom, I love you, but this trail has got to go, I cannot grow old in Salem's lot So here I go is my shot Feet fail me not 'cause maybe the only opportunity that I got

-Eminem, Lose Yourself

The mere mention of ‘Salem’s Lot has had my brain playing this song on repeat for weeks. And after reading ‘Salem’s Lot, I’d like to point out to Eminem that it’s actually quite difficult to grow old in ‘Salem’s Lot. You’re more likely to be turned into a creepy vampire than grow old and die of natural causes in The Lot. But I feel like if I were to ever address this with one Marshall Mathers, he’d punch me in the face. So I guess I’ll just rest comfortably with my superior Stephen King knowledge. 

This was my first reading of ‘Salem’s Lot, and while I enjoyed Carrie; I feel this was the book that made the Stephen King “style” a thing fans are all familiar with. I’m not going to dive into the entire plot and every character, but the format of the book, and the relationships the characters form will be familiar to all King fans. Let me explain.

Part One: The Introduction 

The book is divided into three parts. In Part One: Marsten House, we learn about the lovely little town of Jerusalem’s Lot, and start feeling a creeping sense of dread every time the Marsten House is mentioned. We don’t know why we feel creepy dread quite yet, but the feeling is lurking in our stomach like a slimy gas station burrito. We also experience a meet cute between Ben Mears and Susan Norton. Ben is a writer, hanging out at the park, trying to forget all the negativity and bad juju he experienced the first time he lived in ‘Salem’s Lot. But now he’s back, living at Eva Miller’s boarding house, working on his next novel. Susan sees him in the park, and just so happens to be reading one of his books. She asks for an autograph, and he inscribes it, “For Susan Norton, the prettiest girl in the park...” The rest is history. Well, vampire, bloodshed history. But romantic history none the less. 

Later on, Ben Mears references The Haunting of Hill House, which was an inspiration for this novel. He tells Susan the subject of his newest novel is,          ”...it’s about the recurrent power of evil...” Art imitating life, ammiright, Steve??? 

Part one also gives us our first (of three!) Wisconsin references. Ben decides to hit up the local watering hole, Dell’s, where he runs into fellow boarding house resident, Weasel Craig. To hear Ben describe it, “...his breath alone could have made Milwaukee famous.” I mean... we do love and brew a lot of beer in this city. But you can imagine my disappointment when in the next paragraph, Weasel orders a pitcher of Budweiser. Gross, Weasel, You deserve to be taken out by those vampires. 

Part one continues to give us plenty of local color, and describes the residents of the town (spoiler: don’t get too attached to any of them). Part one ends with some creepy goings-on at the cemetery, and some children disappearing, and later re-appearing in slightly alarming form. Oh, and a lot of bodies at the morgue start disappearing. Never a good sign. 

Part Two: The Dread Explained, and the Start of Shit Going Sideways 

Part Two: The Emperor of Ice Cream is when the beat drops. But before all of that, we have our final two Wisconsin references. King twice mentions a Packers Patriots game everyone in town is anxious to watch. Ok. I have questions. So many questions. How did Steve decide on this particular football match-up? We’re not division rivals, we don’t even play in the same division. The Packers and Patriots play each other once in a blue moon. Wouldn’t the Bills or the Jets have been a more sensible selection? Maybe the Dolphins? Maybe they were good back in 1975? I don’t know. I do know I personally love Packers/Patriots games because I love seeing Tom Brady pout like a little bitch on the sidelines when our inconsistent defense shows up and decides to tackle him. Repeatedly. It’s a miracle Brady doesn’t trip over that lower lip more.

But I digress. Part two is where shit really starts to go wrong, and we understand the problems plaguing ‘Salem’s Lot are the result of a powerful vampire, Mr. Barlow and his keeper, Mr Straker, moving into Marsten House. That’s right... it’s a vampire book, kids. These two keep a low profile by buying a creepy old murder house, and running an antique store full of old junk in town. As you do. 

King holds true to a lot of the traditional vampire stereotypes: they only come out at night, they are burned by sunshine, they sleep in coffins or boxes, they need to be invited in, and they can be repelled by a crucifix or some holy water. No glittery, pretty vamps here. Sorry, Twilight fans. This probs isn’t the book for you.

Part two of the book is filled with creepy passages full of suspense. You know, those parts when you find yourself cringing and chanting, “No! No! Don’t crawl into the creepy old murder house during the day! I don’t care if you think the vampires are sleeping! This isn’t going to end well!” I know most people have those moments when watching movies... but this book (and King in general) usually brings out all the creepy, cringy feels for me.

So, Ben, Susan, and their ragtag band of friends begin to understand the vampire problem, and realize they need to address it before everyone in town either flees, or becomes part of Barlow’s vampire army. One member of their merry band of vampire killers is a little boy by the name of Mark Petrie. Mark lost two of his best friends in the initial round of vampire attacks, and feels guilt about this. If they weren’t on their way to his house to play with his models, maybe they wouldn’t have ended up as part of the un-dead. As a result of this guilt, Mark wants to help the grownups fight the vampires. He’s a bad ass kid. I hope my kid would behave the same way if we were fighting a vampire onslaught in Milwaukee. 

King best sums up their crew of vampire killers as, “An old teacher half-cracked with books, a writer obsessed with his childhood nightmares, a little boy who has taken a post-graduate course in vampire lore from the films and the modern prenny-dreadfuls...” 

Accurate af. 

Part Two ends with a passage I have to share... “The ordinary fellow isn’t half so leery of the superatural as the fiction writers like to make out. Most writers who deal in that particular subject, as a matter of fact, are more hardheaded about spirits and demons and boogies than your ordinary man in the street...” 

Part Three: The Real Action, All the Deaths & the Conclusion

Part Three: The Deserted Village wraps everything up. Almost all the residents of ‘Salem’s Lot are turned into vampires, including almost all of the vampire hunters with the exception of Ben and Mark. They ‘nope’ right on out of ‘Salem’s Lot and head for Mexico. Because they’ve seen some shit, and they need to live in perpetual sunshine where they never have to fight vampires again. Only, Ben can’t stop reading the Portland Press-Herald and realizes shit is getting real in Maine again, and they eventually need to go back. Poor Mark; it’s bad enough he lost his friends, had to stake both his parents, and killed the vampire’s keeper. But now he needs to go back? Ugh. 

Part three also gives us two coveted Dark Tower references (because, The Beam). 

“Ann Norton drew the .38 from the pockets of her wrapper like some creaky gunslinger from beyond time...” 

Oh snap. It’s coming. Da da chick, da da chum! 

I’ve also failed to mention much about Father Callahan. He was the Catholic priest of ‘Salem’s Lot who suffered a vampire bite despite his crucifix and holy water bath, and was last seen on a bus getting out of town, drinking cheap truck stop liquor. But we’ll see him again. ‘Tis ka. 

All and all, a very satisfying book, and I’m very glad I’ve finally gotten around to reading it.

In summation:

Total King Wisconsin Mentions: 4

Dark Tower References: 2

Book Grade: B+

Rebecca’s Definitive Ranking of Stephen King Books:

Salem’s Lot

Carrie

Next up is The Shining; which is perfect since Wisconsin is expecting its first major snowfall this weekend. Fun times. 

Until next time- long days and pleasant night, readers!

Rebecca

[airadam]

Episode 146 : Rise.

"Put on the wings of the morning and fly."

- Capleton

It somehow feels like an awful long time since the last episode - the new job has been keeping me extra-busy and the speed of world events just seems to keep accelerating. Sadly, one of those events was the passing of Biz Markie - another legend lost too soon. I've selected one of his most famous tracks to close the episode, but I hope you enjoy the fifty or so minutes before that as well.

Twitter : @airadam13

Twitch : @airadam13

Playlist/Notes

Above The Law : 100 Spokes

Air Adam trivia : I own four copies of this on 12"! I had a beat-juggle routine with one of the remixes, and in the old days, you couldn't just hit "instant doubles" on Serato - plus the records do wear out! The original is the better track for a straight listen though, with Cold 187um handling the production and the first verse, with the late great KMG bringing his trademark low-key style to the second. This is more easily available on the excellent "Time Will Reveal" album - which I actually have twice on vinyl, and once on CD...

The Rattler Proxy : Death Machine (Jokers of the Scene Remix)

I don't know if this will be everyone's cup of tea, but it's a track I've been playing heavily since I first heard it on one of Victoria Rawlins' Twitch sets. If you've got great headphones, or big speakers, you'll be amazed at how the low end comes in and envelops you after the long ambient intro. The Rattler Proxy were a Greek duo who broke up last year, but this remix of one of their 2014 releases feels like a lasting classic to me.

Semi Six ft. Tha Essence & 5'4 : Heaterz

Fellow Polo enthusiast and Detroit native Semi Six is back with a new EP "Assorted Fries", and brings a couple of spitters along for the ride on this single. Atlanta's Tuamie provides the crispy-clean instrumental, and the whole track is no hook, pure bars.

Elzhi : Light One, Write One

Last year saw the release of Elzhi's third solo LP "Seven Times Down Eight Times Up", which follows the old-school tradition of having the same production personnel from beginning to end - in this case, JR Swiftz out of Brooklyn. Always a skilled writer, El gets busy over the nice soulful jazz/vocal sample and classic boom-bap drums.

* as an aside - you only have to get up as many times as you fall down...

Capleton ft. Method Man : Wings Of The Morning

I remember having to look up the meaning of the title; it's shared with a 30s film, but originally from the Book of Psalms. This is a winner from the era when US artists began to collaborate with reggae and dancehall stars - with results of varying quality, it has to be said! It shows how well it really can be done, with Capleton's Rastafari lyrics and deejay style meshing with the characteristic grittiness of the sound of Wu-Tang's Method Man. The piano sample will be familiar to many, hooked up by Stuart Brown, and the drums are rugged enough to do justice to the vocalists. The 1995 "Prophecy" album was a strong release, and this was one of the best cuts from it.

Lone Apostrophe : Take Me

Manchester's own Lone Apostrophe is a true student of beatmaking, and his new "Webs" collection is a great pickup for anyone with an attachment to the golden age of the boom-bap. Those echoed/delayed horns take you back to mixtapes in 1993...a mood.

1982 ft. Skyzoo and Jared Evan : Summer In New York

If ever there was a track that announced the title before you hear it, it might well be this one! The combination of Statik Selektah and Termanology is also known as 1982, and their compact new release "The Summer EP" is headed up by this sunny track, which is definitely lifted by Jared Evan's hook .

Nas ft. Cordae and Freddie Gibbs : Life Is Like A Dice Game

"When I finish this shit, sure to be a hit..." I was extremely surprised to see this one pop up recently! Many years ago, there was an unreleased Nas track with the same title, ropey sound quality but as dope as you'd expect. It was recorded around the time of "Illmatic", and leaked on the underground but never made an official release. Apparently, Spotify recently asked Nas if he'd resurrect it and so the production was re-done (by Hit-Boy) and he brought in Freddie Gibbs and Cordae to join him for a memorable recording. This deserves to be the hit Nas predicted it would be over twenty-five years ago.

Sadat X ft. Jigmastas : Don't Get It Twisted (PUTS Remix)

One of those great independent 12" releases that illustrate why the streaming services aren't (at least yet) in a position to replace a collection built over years. This remix by People Under the Stairs was on the B-side of the "Plan X" single, and pairs up Sadat X with Kriminul of Jigmastas - as you'd expect, the original was produced by DJ Spinna.

Tanya Morgan ft. Kooley High : So Good

Sonically, seasonally appropriate once again - this 80s soul club-sounding cut has summer written all over it. Tanya Morgan (Donwill and Von Pea, if you didn't know) will be releasing their fifth LP "Don and Von" in August, from which this is the second single. The North Carolina crew Kooley High come along to deepen the MC roster for this one, which whets the appetite for the album perfectly.

Buckwild : Mad Ammo (Instrumental)

A vintage SP-1200 beat from the disk boxes of DITC's Buckwild, as originally heard when it was dug out and rhymed over by Celph Titled on the "Nineteen Ninety Now" LP. 

REMI ft. Konny Kon : Good Mates

I'm glad Michelle Grace Hunder put me up on the latest (and final) album by this crew out of Melbourne, not least since I happened upon a Konny Kon guest appearance I might otherwise have missed! "PTSD in the hood runs undiagnosed" - isn't that just the truth? Remi and Konny spit raw reality on their verses, with Sensible J on production. Definitely peep the "Fried" LP.

Pete Rock ft. Pharoahe Monch : Just Do It

We go back to the "Soul Survivor 2" collection for this track - not quite up to the mark of the first, but still an excellent LP. Only great producers can make a beat as sparse as this and make it sound complete, not unfinished. The spaced-out keys on the hook are an added bonus, a nice bit of additional polish. Pharaohe Monch can sound good on pretty much anything, so when he gets quality material like this then it's an easy win. 

Roots Manuva ft. Ricky Rankin : Bashment Boogie

I've been meaning to play this one for years - originally thought it would be one to open a show with, but I think it works well enough here! One of the early tracks on Roots' critically-acclaimed second LP "Run Come Save Me", this one bumps along with a digital flavour (Lotek on the beat) as he tells the story of getting ready to go out of town for a jam. One of the great artists ever to come out of the UK scene, Roots drops plenty of references that the home crowd will get, and it still stands up twenty years after release.

Khadejia ft. Product : Here We Go

A slightly obscure track, despite all the personnel involved! This was on Funkmaster Flex's "60 Minutes of Funk - The Mix Tape Volume III" release, and he produced it along with Wyclef and Jerry Wonder. I believe this is Khadejia's only headline release, but she's got a fair few features in her discography, including "Can't Help It" by Royal Flush which I love. Accompanying her are the duo The Product, whose releases I must say passed me by at the time! They borrow a classic Boogie Down Productions lyric and build around it for a nice little jam.

Flamingosis : Jet Skis & Hennessy

Flamingosis just has that knack of cooking up instrumentals that make you feel great. This selection from "Flight Fantastic" is no exception, and perfect for a summer's evening.

Biz Markie : Nobody Beats The Biz

What can I say that hasn't been said about this certified classic from a recently-departed giant? Well, maybe I can give you some trivia gems you may not have been aware of - it's got to be one of the most-sampled Hip-Hop tracks of all time, the title/hook is based on commercials from an 80s electronics chain in NYC, and Biz bought every copy of the Lafayette Afro Rock Band record containing "Hihache" (used for the drums here) from one shop to replace Marley Marl's scratched-up copy! A legendary track from the "Goin' Off" LP, which will be played as long as this culture lives.

Please remember to support the artists you like! The purpose of putting the podcast out and providing the full tracklist is to try and give some light, so do use the songs on each episode as a starting point to search out more material. If you have Spotify in your country it's a great way to explore, but otherwise there's always Youtube and the like. Seeing your favourite artists live is the best way to put money in their pockets, and buy the vinyl/CDs/downloads of the stuff you like the most!

Check out this episode!

[redsoapbox]

28 BANDS / WHAT HAPPENED TO MY TIPS FOR THE TOP?

 18 months ago, in an attempt to nudge the redsoapbox blog outside of its comfort zone, I spent many a long hour trawling the internet in search of up and coming artists with the potential to make an impact on pop culture. 28 bands (click the archive link to find the original article) featured acts from the blog’s base here in Wales, from many other parts of the U.K. as well as musicians from America, Canada, France, Sweden, New Zealand and Finland. All manner of genres were included - from country, soul and easy listening to indie-noir, psych-funk and art-punk. Some artists were easier to identify than others - Liz Brasher, for example, seemed an obvious star in the making, while others, such as Turku’s Those Forgotten Tapes, had yet to play even a single gig!  

So, how have they all fared? Well, as might be expected, it’s something of a mixed bag. There have been successes - one artist appeared in an Academy Award-winning musical, another in a long-running BBC soap, national album prizes have been won and summer support slots with Dylan and Neil Young secured. There have been dispiriting failures too  - one or two bands have barely gigged, some have remained unsigned (though in many cases they continue to self-release sublime music) and one group folded straight after an excellent debut album.

Taking the artists in the original order in which they were featured, here’s an update on progress made -

Hand Habits

Meg Duffy released sophomore album Placeholder in January 2019 to widespread critical acclaim. Pitchfork said it best, describing the album as a ‘bucolic mix of pleasing melody, soft guitars and gentle vocals’.

Boy Azooga

It’s been a massive year for the Cardiff combo. Storming singles “Face Behind Her Cigarette” and “Loner Boogie” secured the band a spot on the cult show Later... With Jools Holland and a record deal with Heavenly followed. The band’s debut album (One) (Two) (Kung Fu) won the 2018 Welsh Music Prize (for which I was a juror) and the group has recently been confirmed as support for Bob Dylan and Neil Young gigs later in the summer. I interviewed frontman Davie Newington for New Sound Wales last year  http://www.newsoundwales.com/interviews/boy-azooga-interview-by-kevin-mcgrath/

Liz Brasher

As mentioned in the intro, North Carolina’s Liz Brasher seemed an obvious choice in the ‘next big thing’ stakes. In 28 bands, I predicted a ‘tidal wave of hype’ would greet the release of her debut album. I wasn’t kidding, either, with  PopMatters declaring Painted Image to be evidence that Brasher is ‘one of the next thundering and commanding voices of soul music’.

Liz Brasher live

Family Jools

A run of exceptional tunes through 2016 - 2018 including “Get Off”, “Fallacy” and “Don’t Know” was supposed to lead to a debut album by the end of last year. The departure of Jack Hawkins (guitar) was the first outward sign that the project was in danger of veering off the rails and there is no sign at present of that elusive album. Another fine single “She’s a Mother” surfaced a few months back and exactly five hours ago they band have announced a forthcoming single by the name of “California Sun”. I’m still a true believer, though. You can find my interview with the band via the archive link. 

There is a Family Jools gig available here https://bndrmusic.io/

Sarah Munro

Sarah released a fine sophomore album Angel Road in June last year and, somewhat bizarrely, turned up busking outside a hospital in the long-running BBC soap Holby City which aired in February.  

Armstrong

The fact that I became somewhat smitten with Armstrong last year will be no secret to readers of this blog. That this fellow Welshman’s incredible music had hitherto escaped me boggled the mind somewhat. Discovering timeless albums like “Under Blue Skies” and “Songs About The Weather” gave me one hell of a kick. In an interview I conducted with Julian Pitt (the sole member of Armstrong) for Wales Arts Review in April last year, the singer/songwriter was excited about a planned re-release of Under Blue Skies (with a whopping 8 extra tracks!) and his continuing work on a brand new album Happy Graffiti. Anyone who read the interview closely, though, might have been a little worried about how long those projects might take to come to fruition. Happily, I can confirm that the sterling efforts of The Beautiful Music and Country Mile Records have borne fruit, with Under Blue Skies available to order from the following links

http://thebeautifulmusic.com/

http://www.countrymile.org/Releases/Armstrong/armstrong.html

You can read the interview here -

https://www.walesartsreview.org/interview-armstrong/

Keeva

While the much-hoped-for album has yet to materialise, there was a richly tender EP Four Sad Songs and a Ballad to cling on to in the meantime. Keeping my fingers firmly crossed that an album is just around the corner.

The Salient Braves

Aside from a single track,“Slob,” released last July, all seems deathly quite. I assume the Braves continue ‘pissing into the indie wind’ as their twitter profile proudly boasts!  Until we hear anything new then, we’ll just have to resort to re-playing the majestic Delusions of Grandeur over and over again. Believe me, that’s no hardship!

https://thesalientbraves.bandcamp.com/

Estrons

Local favourites with a fantastic live reputation, Estrons released a corking debut album You Say I’m Too Much, I say You’re Not Enough to huge approval and then promptly split. They made their mark though, 2015 single “Make a Man” should be on anyone’s shortlist for best song of the twenty-tens.

Thou Swell

Absolutely fell in love with the demo version of “What’s Your Name” that appeared on Soundcloud in December 17. There was a smattering of London gigs in the first half of 2018 and the promise of a live EP, but everything has gone worryingly quiet since.

https://soundcloud.com/user-911275129

The Regrets

Seattle’s pristine purveyors of jangle pop released a new EP, Endless Desire, which featured five frothy tracks including the rather marvellous “Under a Sideways Moon”. 

 https://wearetheregrets.bandcamp.com/album/endless-desire

Head Noise

Mitch Tennant’s electro art-punks continue to battle Welsh music establishment indifference. A sequence of intriguing EP’s has been met with stunned silence. Hopefully, a debut album, due before the year's end, will finally break down some of these artificial barriers. As Mitch himself often says, ‘D.I.Y or Die, Baby!’. 

Head Noise

You can read my interview with Mitch here

 https://www.walesartsreview.org/interview-head-noise/

Jade Jackson

Jackson’s sophomore album Wilderness earned across-the-board critical acclaim on its release last month with American Songwriter complimenting the singers ‘tenacious honey-and-grits voice’. Opinion former’s No Depression called it the same way, highlighting Jackson’s ‘warm, confident vocal delivery’.

QTY

The band seem to have disappeared from all thing social media!  Still, we’ll always have the eponymous debut album!

HOTEL LUX

Hotel Lux’s latest single, the stunning “English Disease”, had more than a dab of Robert Lloyd about it. If Hotel Lux can measure up to theNightingales, then you won’t hear me complaining. Set to play Cardiff’s Swn Festival in October, where I can get a closer look at them. 

Hotel Lux  

Cozy Slippers

Seattle’s three-piece Cozy Slippers released a cracking EP Postcards last April and are set to follow up with a new single “A Million Pieces” for German independent label Kleine Untergrund Schallplatten on the ninth of August. The band has also confirmed that plans for a U.K. tour are in the pipeline.

https://cozyslippers.bandcamp.com/album/postcards

Common Holly

The band is about to launch it's Back From the Dead’ tour later this month, taking in Toronto and Winnipeg along the way before hopping across the border to support Mauno on their short American sojourn.

BUZZARD BUZZARD BUZZARD

An enforced name change saw Cardiff outfit Buzzard triple their moniker in an unfortunate start to Tom Rees’ campaign for superstardom. Rees aims pretty high, recently telling N.M.E. that the combo’s single “Late Night City” made him cry in a way that only “Wichita Lineman” ever had before. Fresh from playing the BBC Introducing stage at Glastonbury, the band are set to release a new single “Love Forever” later this month. Mark them down as potential world-beaters!

Nervous Dater

The band is currently opening for Los Campesinos! on their ‘Save America Tour’. If you haven’t invested in their spiky Don’t be a Stranger album, then why the hell not? 

The Greek Theatre

As recounted in the original 28 bands blog, Swedish duo Sven Froberg and Fredrik Perrson wrote an entire series of albums and then decided on a date for their break up all within weeks of their formation in 2009. So far, the Greek Theatre masterplan has yielded two sublime albums Lost at Sea (2013) and Broken Circle (2017). I have struggled in vain to discover when the next record is slated for release, all to no avail. We can only assume that their surreal plan is still in force and that a third album is on the way! 

oblong  

Andrew Clement, Hwys Grav and Rob Daniel should apply to join the magic circle forthwith. The Llanelli post-punk band’s trick of conjuring up two feisty, furious and humorous albums Brilliant...Gwd (2017) and  Hollulluog (2019) in double-quick time deserve the respect of their musical peers.

https://oblong1.bandcamp.com/

The Glad Machine

Nothing to report here, save for the release of a Christmas single “Days Gone By” and, wait a mo, a brand new single released this very day (5th of July). Just going to take a listen.......be back soon!  Okay, the song is called “Virginia” and sits pretty neatly alongside the material from their debut album - file under thumping, melodic American rock.

Illuminati Hotties

The Hotties’ terrific debut album Kiss Yr Frenemies, the sound of which is described as “tenderpunk” by the group’s sole permanent member Sarah Tudzin, was rapturously received by the music press. Pitchfork, in particular, was persuaded, claiming that “every emotional abrasion and pang of longing on Kiss Yr Frenemies is conveyed with just the right mix of sadness and acerbity”.

Somehow

Erwan Pepiot’s tantalising description of the Somehow sound - ‘halfway between Joy Division and Belle and Sebastian’ should grab the attention of even the most jaded pop music consumer. The duo’s brand new single “Shut Your Eyes and See” certainly lives up to the billing. A new album, Low Tide, will be released on October the 25th.

Somehow

Crystal Furs

Having released a new album, Pseudosweet, in January, the band seems to have successfully overcome the departure of lead vocalist Amanda Hand (now fronting electro-pop combo Big Heaven). 

Jetstream Pony

A rip-roaring EP, Self-Destruct Reality, captured the group on top form. A new song “Mitte” has just been demoed and is a forerunner for an album release later on in the year. 

Sandra’s Wedding

The band’s debut album, Northern Powerhouse, is a certifiable classic of indie-pop. An album for the ages! How to follow that? - with a corking EP Good Morning, Bad Blood which builds the anticipation for a much-anticipated sophomore album.

Marlon Williams

William’s sophomore album Make Way for Love racked up three New Zealand music awards, but perhaps the most surprising development among the 28 bands featured here was Marlon’s role in Bradley Cooper’s Oscar-winning remake of A Star is Born.

Those Forgotten Tapes

I’ve left the most disappointing news until last. Sadly, Those Forgotten Tapes have put their rock ‘n’ roll project on indefinite hold. When I interviewed the Finish combo shortly after blogging 28 Bands, the group was in the midst of recording a debut album and there was a real air of optimism around. Following the interview, I kept in touch with Jari Oisalo, the driving force behind TFT, but as time went by without any word of an album it became clear that something had gone awry. Without breaking any confidences, there have been health issues which contributed in large part to the dissolution of the group. Jari intends to remix the four recorded TFT tracks (which you can hear below) and has hopes that a TFT album will see the light of day at some point.

In the meantime, Jari has recorded an album Tahtijuttuja as Salainen avaruusohjelma (Secret Space Program), there is a link below to their track “Buffalo” as well as resuming work on a shoegaze album under the moniker Tyynyt. You can listen to their track Pusuudelleen, reviewed positively in the N.M.E back in the day, below.

https://soundcloud.com/thoseforgottentapes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bd91VstQyWk

https://soundcloud.com/solinarecords/tyynyt-pusuudelleen

A number of the acts featured here are reviewed/interviewed in Pop Hack, my debut collection available now via Amazon Kindle and are included in my Spotify Pop Hack playlist (see the archive link for details) while I have also created a brand new 28 bands’ Spotify playlist which can be can be accessed here -

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5tKzsqVHGTQZzZVUDkxlGd?si=F1G7ZFTRTI2SXJ1uBOo_gg)

[chapulana]

A Deep Look At The 2019 McDonald’s All-American Class

Long gone are the times when Earvin – later known as Magic – was named to be part of what was to be the first class of McDonald’s All-Americans to ever grace such honor. He, along another 13 more players from around the nation and two alternates just in case someone couldn’t make it, were selected for the team that comprised what were supposed to be the most stacked roster of high school seniors available back then in 1977 to face a squad made out of stars from Washington D.C.

Of those who made it to the NBA (10 of the 14), almost everyone had at least three or four fruitful seasons in the League, while Magic Johnson became the face of it during his peak. The trend has been steady since the first edition of the game, and although there have been atrocious classes (the one of 1992 only featured six future NBA players, and three never reached 600 games) the norm says that more than half the field of players selected would have productive pro-careers. On this side of excellence, we only have to look at the class of 2014, as only one player remains out of the NBA yet is still playing for Kentucky at collegiate level, and is expected to reach the League this next summer, making it 24 of 24 pros.

We still don’t know what will happen to the class of 2018 in terms of their career development. What we already know are the names of those who will feature in this upcoming late-March clash between the East and West All-American teams.

The rosters, must be said, are as stacked as they can. Yes, there are snubs. Yes, there are players who – most probably – will eventually flop. It’s the law of nature and we can do nothing about it. The selection committee had to chose between 800+ pre-selected players (including boys and girls) and only 24 made the final cut (48 if we include the girls’ teams). That means less than 6% of the players that appeared on the preliminary list will play in March, let alone the percentage if we consider all seniors and eligible kids playing around the nation.

Although each scouting service ranks player differently, we can look at 247Sports Composite rankings (which aggregates those of multiple sites) to get an overall idea of how the selection went and who deserved to get in or was left out without meriting it. Of the 24 selected, only three fall off the best 24 players ranked by 247Sports (No. 27 Trendon Watford, No. 26 Tre Mann and No. 47 Samuell Williamson). They got in by moving next-best ranked No. 18 Onyeka Okongwu, No. 21 Will Baker and No. 22 Keion Brooks out. By these rankings – which by no means should be taken as the be-all end-all benchmark of future success – the selections were pretty much spot-on.

With the names already known, let’s take a quick look at the tiers of prospects that will feature (and who won’t) on the 42nd edition of the McDonald’s All-American game:

Tier 1: Can’t-Miss Kids

The cream of the crop of this season’s class of HS seniors is highlighted by James Wiseman, Vernon Carey, Cole Anthony and Anthony Edwards. Everyone of them boast a grade of 0.999+ on 247Sports, which is to say they are historically on par with prospects such as Andrew Wiggins, Anthony Davis, Ben Simmons or Kyrie Irving. Two of them, Anthony and Edwards, have yet to pick a college and will play together on the East team along other players who could sway their final decisions. A little under that mark, I would personally put Scottie Lewis (No. 12), Bryan Antoine (No. 13) and Nico Mannion (No. 14) in this group too.

Tier 2: Best Prospects

A notch below the sure-things (if we can be sure of anything at this level), we find a bunch of players that have been tearing up rivals during the past few seasons. For me, the names to keep an eye on would include those of Jaden McDaniels (No. 5), Isaiah Stewart (No. 6), Kahlil Whitney (No. 8), Tyrese Maxey (No. 10), Josh Green (No. 11) and Isaiah Mobley (No. 17). I find hard to find glaring faults in their game, and that made them stay in this second group.

Tier 3: Good-not-Great Guys

Be it a lack of effort (because of them or the lack of competition, which can happen at this level), of an aspect of the game (outside shooting, vision, rebounding, defense, you name it) or any other little flaw, the next few guys are also at the top of the game but dropped to this third tier. Here I would allocate kids such as Matthew Hurt (No. 7), Precious Achiuwa (No. 9), Joshia James (No. 15), Trayce Jackson-Davis (No.16), Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (No. 19), Armando Bacot (No. 20) and Tre Mann (No. 26). I hope I don’t have to remind you that even while they were put in this third level, this guys were cherry picked from all of the nation’s senior, so we are not dealing with middling players here.

Tier 4: All-Upside Players

Finally, at this point we are left with five prospects that for one reason or another are not ranked that high as their peers. On average, they are low in the positional ranks for the role they play on the court, and that means they’ll play with a chip in their shoulder, thus trying to elevate their game over that of the most coveted players. Here, then, we’d have Oscar Tshiebwe (No. 23), Wendell More (No. 24), Trendon Watford (No. 27) and Samuell Williamson (No. 47).

No-No Tier: Snubs and Misses

I have already said it and I can’t be clearer: this All-American class of players is as good as it can be, snubs or not. Even with that, though, some names that won’t be on the court for the all-star game this next March make some of the selections a little dubious not because of the lack of quality of those picked, but because of the talent of those left out.

The most glaring case can be that of Onyeka Okongwu (No. 18), who playing for Chino Hills has never been nationally ranked lower than No. 20 and has quite a resumé including being named California Mr. Basketball and having a national AAU chip to his name. With him, two other already mentioned prospects ranked between the best 24 players of the nation (Will Baker and Keion Brooks) will be watching from home. On a personal level, I’d include Cassius Stanley (No. 27), Jalen Lecque (No. 29), Boogie Ellis (No. 36) and Isaac Okoro (No. 38) as notable omissions that will take some fun off the game not being part of it.

At this point, and just to close all of this, you may still be wondering why after reading more than a thousand words you have yet to find the name of LaMelo Ball. The youngest of the BBB brothers is playing point at SPIRE Academy (OH) this season after a spell in Lithuania. That, precisely, is what has – also with the business of LaVar Ball floating around – made it a tough out for him to make a name for himself in the HS and college recruiting rankings, as his situation is unique. Although considered one of the best point guards and overall players in the nation (ESPN just ranked him No. 13 for the 2019 class, only behind fellow PGs Cole Anthony and Nico Mannion), he has yet to receive official offers from meaningful NCAA DI colleges and that is not a lock to happen as he could be deemed ineligible to play at that level. This could mean sitting out for a year, another season playing in Europe or at another country and team who eventually wanted his services, or enter the NBA’s outer-circles by playing for a G-League team before he declares for the 2020 NBA draft. In any case, LaMelo’s ability is undeniable and he will make it to the League in most scenarios. Don’t be surprised if you don’t hear his name a lot during the next twelve months, but prepare to see him raise on mock drafts come June 2020.

Wiseman, Carey, and the rest of the top-crew will still be there, but competition will definitely emerge from the most unexpected places and things will start looking much different once the new college season start next fall and finishes months later with everybody looking to make the jump to pro-ball.

* * *

Read the full feature on SBNation.

[neingel]

Far Wanderings: Modern Masters 2017, a Critical Review

Well, we’re back with another episode of Far Wanderings! Where I talk about a certain format/topic/deck in the game, this week or two has all been about Modern Masters 2017-which I hoped many of you had the chance to open a box with your friends or just sit down at your local game store for a simple draft.

Well...MM17 was a blast! I wrote a small article back then with a slight tinge of ranting, in which I was disappointed about the lack of good reprints in the set when it is very close to it’s release date. With much fear among stores around the world dumping pre-order boxes of the set. Not only did MM17 prove me and many others wrong, it smashed through everyone’s biggest hopes and dreams, had an awesome draft environment and the box design was ~Amazing~. 

But first, how good was my box?

I did have a good chance to draft MM17, when a fellow lecturer of mine could get a box around SGD250(around USD178), a few of us decided to chip in seeing it was bought at a cheaper price. This was the “notable results” of our box:

The box overall was not as bad as I have though it would be, having hit both Goyf, Lili and Voice aside from the other jank mythics was extreme luck on the box’s part, I also pulled myself a foil Venser which was something I really wanted( besides Snapcaster of course :] ). However, the biggest letdown was 1 Fetch and the fact there were no Damnations, Blood Moons or even Goblin Guides. Considering that we bought the box for cheap, we still broke even and manage to keep the remaining rares, commons and uncommons for free.

Seeing other box openings though, especially on Youtube such as Alpha Investments, Boogie, Tolarian and many others have done. The whole topic on box openings seems to me like a big hit or miss. Some boxes can have 1 or 0 fetches, whereas others have all 5 fetches and 3 solid Mythics. Considering they all of them have opened at MSRP/Net Price, I would consider myself to be very lucky where I had someone who could pre-order for a considerably cheaper price.

The draft environment 

This is what I clearly like about this set, the fact that there is strong support pushing 2, 3 or 4 color draft archetypes. The fact that all 10 Signets, all 10 Guildgates as well as the 5 Tri-Lands from the Shards of Alara clearly is not only helpful support for the draft environment but also provides a strong welcome challenge towards draft, going 3 or more colors. Something which has not been open or encouraged to do in draft, is now possible and could very well be playable.

Some of the archetypes I felt were well supported, often could do better with the addition of a 3rd color, such examples would include:

UW Blink to Bant Blink (Thragtusk and Vital Splicer are strong additions together with Stoic Angel/Rhox War Monk)

BG Sacrifice to Jund Sacrifice (Holy crap Red/Jund offers some really strong value creatures that would LOVE to be sacrificed)

RG Aggro to Naya Aggro (Thornscape Battlemage gives more reach and GW provides all the beatdown any aggro fan would love in draft)

UB Control to Grixis Control (Not sure about you, but if you picked Cruel Ultimatum at any 1 point, changing the deck to Grixis Control is worth the try with access to Terminate, Falkenrath Aristocrat or even Sedraxis Specter)

If you really couldn’t have more fun drafting a strong 2 color archetype, the set is quite forgiving at giving players the reach they need for a 3 color manabase, at the same time providing more powerful options for their 3rd color.

I managed to draft twice, my first time trying out a spicy Jund aggro deck featuring Broodmate Dragon and Desecration Demon, my 2nd attempt however was UW Blink with 2 Vensers, Restoration Angel and Deadeye, together with an unruly crew of creatures having an ETB I could grab at that point.

Let’s talk about Rarity

Many would have known by now, a bunch of cards having their rarity downgraded, most possibly to allow an easier/much forgiving draft environment or to help Pauper out(Pauper players unite!). As me being quite a Pauper man at heart, I was extremely excited to see some cards finally getting a downshift to common. I’ll just make a small section of the top 5 MM17 Pauper Cards here.

#1: Burning-Tree Emissary

Everyone’s dream card that was in Pauper has finally finally printed as a common. Burning-Tree Emissary might finally be the final piece that Pauper Zoo or any RGx Shenanigans need. The 2 drop previously from Gatecrash is a very sick card, effectively a 2/2 for 0 that can follow up with a tempo play. Whether you decide to use the RG it produces for removal or another creature, Burning-Tree Emissary is one of those cards that is sure to shake up the Pauper metagame.

#2: Mortician Beetle

This little beetle got turned from Rare to Common :/ . Not something we see everyday in a reprint set but it seems to be another new toy for Pauper to play with. Pauper already has a BG Aristocrats/Sacrifice deck, that features Carrion Feeder, Bloodthrone Vampire and a bunch of other creatures that produce value when they die, Mortician Beetle not only fits perfectly in that deck, but it is scary with the already favored sac outlet/win-con Carrion Feeder, having 2 one-drops that are sure to grow big when the engine of the deck starts going makes GB  Aristocrats a deck to be reckoned with sometime in the future.

#3: Magma Jet

Magma Jet is probably one of my favorite red instants in the whole game, though cards like Lightning Strike and Searing Spear do 3 damage for the same cost. What has made Magma Jet an Uncommon all this while before MM17 was the fact that it had Scry 2. I could see this played in almost any Aggro shell, Burn or even a spicy UR Tempo build anytime soon. Overall, I’m very impressed with Wizards’s decision to push Magma Jet down to a common.

#4 Augur of Bolas

Augur of Bolas has only been printed 2 times, both at uncommon. With it now at common, control decks in Pauper finally look like they have a solid choice of dig in the form of a 2 drop. Augur will die to a bolt and any other removal, but it does provide a solid body early game. Generating card advantage for 2 mana is quite strong at any stage of the game. Thumbs up to Wizards again :)

#5 Dinvora Horror

Instead of playing the Chittering Rats/Archaeomancer combo in UB control, that deck sure has a new toy to play with. It sure is large and really reminds me of Capsize. Dinvora Horror is more than Capsize though, being a 4/4 for 6 isn’t really amazing but the fact that blinking it multiple times is ridiculously powerful. This might be a very big piece of the UB control deck already smashing results in the Pauper meta or it could also give rise to UBx control decks in the format. I was definitely not expecting this to show up in the set at common but I’m quite happy it is!

There were a bunch of other cards that were downshifted in rarity too, making the draft environment more exciting and the cards themselves easier to get as well as making them legal in certain formats/cubes. A few of the noteworthy ones include:

Placing Obzedat at Rare is pretty rude though >_<

A score for the set?

Every set needs a rating, I really find it hard to put a fair score on MM17 though. I did enjoy the set very much, the reprints and draft environment were very well designed by R&D team, for this, I feel we have to compare this to...

The Original!

Modern Masters 2013 probably has a special place in everyone’s hearts, the set was just sick. Like literally sick, it was filled with raw power at every level of rarity, the reprints were awesome and the set in today’s standards is brimming, if not overflowing with value~.

Modern Masters 2017 was good, wayyy better than 2015′s and slightly edging over Eternal Masters if I say so myself. It was a very special set with meaningful reprints and strong color support in draft. I would say it’s quite close to the original but not really what the original Modern Masters would bring. Overall, it was a solid set that definitely took many people by surprise. We will never know when we will see cards like these getting reprinted again:

I guess the reprints really speak for the set :D

Conclusion

I do believe that MM17 deserves to be one of the higher, more respected Masters sets in time to come, Wizards really put the ace in the hole on this one, fair credit to them. With the increasing prices of cards, I do believe MM17 is helping the playerbase in one way or another, which is clearly what the community wants. If Wizards could keep such a trend with their upcoming sets, I’m sure much good is sure to come for most formats. Until next time!