#tommy romero

[baseballjerseynumbers]

Spring Training:

Donovan Walton assigned 16

Yoshi Tsutsugo assigned 34

Tommy Romero assigned 46

Spencer Howard assigned 47

Jakson Reetz assigned 50

Daulton Jefferies assigned 56

Cody Stashak assigned 60

Thomas Szapucki assigned 61

Yusniel Díaz assigned 84

[elianaball244]

City of Witches Novel: Unveiling the Enchanting Chaos

City of Witches novel is a literary gem that skillfully merges the adrenaline-pumping excitement of a thriller with the mystical allure of Hispanic traditions. Penned by author Gary Nei, City of Witches novel introduces readers to Tommy Romero, a former NASCAR driver who finds himself thrust into the role of Laredo, Texas’ mayor.

Little does he know that his tenure as mayor will lead to a harrowing showdown with a ruthless Mexican drug cartel, masterminded by Estaban Ruis Flores, who fancies himself an invincible wizard. Unbeknownst to Tommy, a mysterious protector in the form of La Bruja Blanca – The White Witch – is watching over him.

Read More https://learnloftblog.com/entertainment/city-of-witches-novel/

[classichorrorblog]

Dawn Of The Dead (1978)

[josefksays]

[sisiofthemultifandom]

A Small Rant/Vent on Power Ranger’s Dimensions In Danger

Hi everyone, I had a small question and pondering thought I’d like to ask you all about concerning the 25th anniversary episode of Super Ninja Steel. 

Am I the only one who thought that whole better than Legendary Battle and Clash of the Red rangers, Dimensions in Danger was still a bit underwhelming?

Like it’s cool that we got to see past rangers such as TJ, Katherine, Trent, Wes, Jemma, etc. BUT, Tommy is the only one that gets much of anything to do as they’re just there for the sake of it being the 25th anniversary of Power Rangers. TJ and Trent being two of my personal favorite male rangers only getting like 1 or 2 lines of dialogue. It’s also weirdly framed to where the characters that directly talk to Tommy are people who if I remember correctly don’t or haven’t on-screen had any relationship with him.

And on a last note, when and how did Tommy make the master morpher?

[matthewliberatore]

august 10th stl cards vs tampa bay rays

MATTHEW LIBERATORE.

8 innings. 7 strikeouts. no walks. 2 hits. no runs.

KNIZNER 2 RUN HOMER

BURLESON RBI DOUBLE

motter scoring on the error.. i love when stupid things happen to the other team

EDMAN HOMER

jojo giving up 2 runs in the 9th tho... i was doubting you but we pulled it off

[azurezfiction]

Power Rangers ship list

Because everyone seems to be doing it; here is my ship list!

Everything under the read more because it's a ton:

MMPRS1-Turbo 1: Tommy x Kimberly Zack x Trini Billy x Trini Jason x Tommy Billy x Skull (because of augment-techs) Stone Canyon Trio Rocky x Adam Aisha x Shawna Bulk x Connie David Truehart x Trey Tanya x Kat Tanya x Adam Tanya x Zack Aisha x Zack Turbo II - Lost Galaxy: Ashley x Cassie Andros x Ashley Zhane x Andros Zhane x Astronema/Karone Karone x Maya Mike Corbett x Carlos Vallerte Kai x Damon Leo x Andros TJ x Damon Lightspeed Rescue - Wild Force Joel x Miss Fairweather Kelsey Winslow x Nancy Thompson Carter x Ryan Dana x Taylor Taylor x Alyssa Merrick x Cole Eric x Wes Wes x Jen x Eric Katie x Trip Eric x Trip Danny x Max

Ninja Storm - SPD Dustin x Hunter Tori x Blake Blake x Trent Tori x Kira Dustin x Conner x Hunter Ethan x Cassidy

Mystic Force - RPM Nick x Xander Chip x Vida Udonna x Leanbow Leelee x Phineas Claire x Xander RJ x Casey Lilly x Theo Jarrod x Camilla Casey x Jarrod (x RJ) Ziggy x Dillion Flynn x Gemma

Samurai - Dino Charge Antonio x Jayden Lauren x Mia Troy x Jordan Noah x Orion Gia x Emma One-sided Jake x Noah (Jake crushing on Noah). Tyler x Shelby Tyler x Ivan Ivan x Tyler x Matt Koda x Phillip

Ninja Steel - Cosmic Fury Brody x Preston Calvin x Preston Calvin x Men. Sarah x Hayley Devon x Blaze Ravi x Roxy Ollie x Javi Amelia x Javi Izzy x Fern Zayto x Aiyon Zayto x Javi

Comics: Ace x Gent* Trek x Ace* Violet x Zack Ellarien x Remi Nikolai x Daniel Grace x Jamie x Terona Grace x Terona Matt Cook x Billy Cranston Crossover ships: Andrew Hartford x Mr Kelman (1995 Movie) x Dane Romero Fred Kelman x Justin Stewart Cam x Kimberly Conner McKnight x muscular guys Merrick x RJ Chad x Danny Chad x Aurico Delphine x Hayley Ziktor

*I have so many headcanons about these two ships and how it connects to canon, I'm really hoping to get it out soon!

[augment-techs]

PR UNFAVORITE CHARACTER RANT! GO!!!

Okay, let's start with the live action and work our way into the comics:

MMPR--Turbo: I'm sorry Jason, you are so boring and basic, I wasn't that sorry to see you go. At least Rocky had half a personality.

Dulcea; because there was no reason for her to wear that wardrobe and I kind of hate her for being a little creepy with the teenage boys. Mr. Stewart; I never once saw him in canon, which really just makes me hate him more for not surrendering his parental rights so Justin could be legally emancipated and move in with literally any of the older Rangers.

Jerome Stone: FUCK YOU FOR NOT NOTICING BULK AND SKULL WERE MISSING AND SHOWED MORE FEELING FOR THE CHIMPS THAN FOR THE YOUNG ADULTS!! Alpha 6:--tell me I'm not the only one that wanted to shoot him in the head each time he spoke.

Professor Phenomenus...Why is he here.

In Space: ...Andros before Zhane came alive. The whole time he was a prick, but at least Zhane offset that behavior.

Lost Galaxy: Trakeena's dad is disgusting for forcing the transformation on his daughter. And all the rest, but especially that.

Lightspeed Rescue: Jinxer, Vypra, Loki--why are any of you here?

Time Force: Mr. Collins throughout 90% of the season can go fuck himself. Also Alex in the second half of the season. Also...can I count the entire civilization of the 31st Century? Like, this is kind of fucked up.

Wild Force: I hate you Animus, I hate you Shayla, I hate you Master Org.

Ninja Storm: ......................Unfavorite is a biiiiit of the stretch, but I can I give you a total lack of feeling for Hunter and Blake and call it a day? Also Choobo, but that's just because he's kind of irritating.

Dino Thunder: ...Wow, this is gonna make me look bad, but for the sake of answering the question as truthfully as possible...Dr. Oliver. I'm sorry, but Tommy here was purely for filler and his haircut fills me with boiling rage. Especially during the Frozen in Place and Invisible to the camera episodes. Fuck right off, please.

SPD: ....Birdy was meaningless. But I also dislike Doggie when he's such a fucking self-important prick that needs to be kicked in the dick by Kat. So...59% of the time.

Mystic Force: Please don't kill me, but...Udonna IMMEDIATELY after she found out Nick was her son. Like, I get it, she got her child back, her husband is still under mind control and out in the world, she's on cloud nine. But this makes her look really, really, really insensitive. And presumptuous. Every time she called him Bowen I felt a little bit violent.

Operation Overdrive: Andrew Hartford can take a red hot poker up his entire ass. I haven't finished the season yet, but ideally, Spencer would get a divorce from him and full custody of Mack.

Jungle Fury: ...Dom is a perfectly nice guy, but he is so very boring that half of the people that watched this season forget he exists. And I am one of them. I also hate that they hooked him up with Fran. NO.

RPM: Colonel Truman. Especially when he pulled a gun on Dr. K. Who is a CHILD. He lost ALLLLLLLLLL respect at that moment.

Samurai: *picks up a rifle and sets it up in a sniper's nest* Mentor Ji. Not an actual mentor. Just someone who maintains the status quo for the sake of "honor" and "tradition" and all those other terrible terrible things that basically guarantee no Red Ranger ever made it to forty.

Dino Charge: James Navarro is a fucking deadbeat. I don't care if he stopped aging and was tasked with great power, he's a fucking dickhead.

Ninja Steel: I don't care for Redbot. He's a sweetie, but I do not care about him in any meaningful capacity. Also Dane Romero is kind of a waste of...any meaningful screen time.

Beast Morphers: Steel Silva is wonderful as a robot, but I failed to see the point of turning him into a human. Also, can I register the Heteronormative Romance EVERYTHING to do with Zoey and Nate as an Unfavorite Character? It seems tangible enough that it's its own entity.

Dino Fury/Cosmic Fury: Santaura's monster form was awesome, but I very very squicked when I found out she was heavily pregnant in Cosmic Fury--like, how? Also Zayto is a little bit too much in one season and a little too little in another. Ollie is oddly safer from me when he's a single entity or evil or unlocked from evil--or right next to Aiyon and nowhere near Amelia. This could be your fault. Boom! Comics: HAAAAAAAAAAA, we are in for a wild ride.

Drakkon from being broken out of his prison dimension and all the way up to being shot in the chest by Ranger Slayer. He was great in Shattered Grid and the early comics, but very little else. I am sorry, but the minute he got that haircut, he became extremely annoying.

I know we are supposed to be sympathetic to Kiya's plight. We are supposed to be aware that she has been fucked over every which way. But the second she turned to murder and made everything worse because she couldn't control herself or seek help for her PTSD? Buh-bye.

Marleau Eskin is the supreme bitch that doesn't realize she's in an action adventure series and while I hate her, I kind of wish she'd come back and give the Rangers more things to deal with as actual teenagers.

Dayne was interesting for a moment, but I really don't see why they keep bringing him back. I get he makes an excellent excuse for lore dump, but...

Dark Specter is the most boring cosmic entity that has ever graced these pages and he also was the one that turned Coinless Zack and Skull into Lava Zombies. And worse than that, he used Skull as a his own personal Viewing Globe before assigning him the task of letting the other zombies into the Coinless base before he got decked by Bulk. Also he steals children to use them as vessels. Also he apparently is the reason Rito Revulto is a walking skeleton and an idiot.

Last but certainly not least: Finster. An actual, factual murderer who killed his wife and ritually resurrects her only to kill her again when she shows fear of him every single time. That's not getting into the shit he pulls experimenting to create new monsters and what he probably helped Drakkon do to Goldar, Baboo, and Squatt. Of all the characters on this list, I hate him most of all.

[guentzel]

Lay those man-kissin' Cardinals on me

Here is my totally unserious serious tier list

(Names Under the Cut in Order of Appearance)

Has Kissed a Man and Liked it:

Matthew Liberatore, Brandon Crawford, Lars Nootbaar, Brendan Donovan, Nolan Arenado, Paul Goldschmidt

Has Kissed A Man

Nolan Gorman, Willson Contreras, Michael Siani, Sonny Gray, Tommy Edman, Andrew Kittredge

Hasn’t Kissed a Man but Would Given the Opportunity

Jordan Walker, Alec Burleson, Ryan Helsley, Zack Thompson, Dylan Carlson, Masyn Winn, Victor Scott II, Kyle Gibson, Ivan Herrera

Has Never Kissed a Man

Lance Lynn, Jojo Romero, Matt Carpenter, Ryan Fernandez, Steven Matz, Andre Pallante, Ryan Tepera

Homophobe

Giovanny Gallegos, Miles Mikolas

Married

Adam Wainwright, Yadier Molina

[jemgirl86]

Want to hear my hottest cartoon take while I’m just talking about cartoons for a minute lol… I hate the original Proud Family. Hate it. I think it’s hot garbage. I was just a little too old to care about it when it originally dropped, even though I was still watching some cartoons, I just never watched anything past the theme song when it came to The Proud Family.

HOWEVER, I had the displeasure of watching a good chunk of it a while back, and omg. It’s offensive to me. The Gross Sisters clearly being Blue Black (that’s why they’re drawn like that - not because they’re ashy, and anyone over a certain age would be able to clock that, especially Tommy Davidson). But anyway, being drawn blue-black with a running joke of them being ashy bullies in the most stereotypical ways possible is just too much. Then you have Penny’s best friend Dijonay, with a thousand siblings. She’s overweight in too small clothes and portrayed as “fast,” because I guess the writers just didn’t know which stereotype to run with, so they chose multiple ones… Then the neighbor Lacienega Boulevardez - why is that her name? Why are any of these names anyone’s name. I have a cousin named DeJanay, and it’s spelled like I just spelled it, not like the damn mustard. But back to Lacienega - why is her grandpa, Papi, literally drawn to look like Cesar Romero’s joker??? No, nothings wrong with Cesar Romero, but something feels just a little weird about the choice to clearly make the grandpa him being the Joker, not just him, but again, him being the Joker. It’s actually kinda sad, because I’d probably just think it was an homage to Romero, if literally everything else on this show wasn’t suspect.

Also. Penny is a brat and the worst friend on the planet, which wouldn’t be so bad, if the show didn’t somehow show the audience her being the worst friend on the planet while simultaneously telling us she’s not. Don’t even get me started on The Chang Triplets…

You know, none of this would be so bad, if I was talking about a show I was watching on OG Cartoon Network (lol), instead of a show that came out in the early 2000s. Literally every character is offensive. In fact, I guess if I had to say one positive thing, I guess it would be that the writing was offensive to everyone instead of singling one group out 🤪

But jeez even if I took away all the stereotypes showcased due to colorism and racism, I’d still hate it because Penny is terrible.

Look, I know it’s weird to rant about a cartoon from over 20 years ago (again), but I was genuinely surprised at how bad that show is. I just - watching 6 episodes in a row had me discombobulated. Gotdamn.

This isn’t even me looking at things threw an adult lens. The stuff on this show is as obvious as the way the 2 sisters are written in Coming to America (a movie I like, but come on now 🤨), and I could pick out what was wrong with that as a kid 🤷🏾‍♀️

ETA: I guess the thing is, I expect to see some old wild shit when I watch Jonny Quest, but I was not expecting that from The Proud Family lmao just sayin’

[baseballjerseynumbers]

Spring Training:

Michael Chavis assigned 6

Lucius Fox assigned 13

Matt Adams assigned 18

Erick Mejia assigned 26

Travis Blankenhorn assigned 27

Yadiel Hernández assigned 29

Derek Hill assigned 34

Wily Peralta assigned 38

Anthony Castro assigned 41

Alex Colomé assigned 49

Anthony Banda assigned 50

Chad Kuhl assigned 52

Andrés Machado assigned 57

Evan Lee assigned 59

Alberto Baldonado assigned 62

Francisco Pérez assigned 65

Tommy Romero assigned 78

[deadcactuswalking]

REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 04/05/2024 (Taylor Swift, Tommy Richman, Kendrick Lamar's "euphoria")

Just a week after her album’s impact, Taylor’s been dethroned by… Sabrina Carpenter! She grabs her first #1 on the UK Singles Chart with the smash hit “Espresso” and welcome back to REVIEWING THE CHARTS!

content warning: language, Yeat praise

Rundown

As always, let’s start with the notable dropouts, which are songs exiting the UK Top 75 - that’s what I cover - after five weeks in the region or a peak in the top 40. Now this week, we bid adieu to: “The Tortured Poets Department” by Taylor Swift (it got three-song-ruled and dropped out from #3, more on that later), “act II: date @ 8” by 4batz featuring a remix by Drake (not his best week, more on that later), “Von dutch” by Charli XCX, “Kitchen Stove” by Pozer, “Whatever” by Kygo and Ava Max, “Murder on the Dancefloor” by Sophie Ellis-Bextor and FINALLY, “Lovin’ on Me” by Jack Harlow.

As for our gains, we see healthy boosts for “Pedro” by Jaxomy, Agatino Romero and the late Raffaella Carrá at #60, “Outside of Love” by Becky Hill at #54, “Evergreen” by Richy Mitch & the Coal Miners at #46, “The Sound of Silence” by Disturbed at #42 (yeesh), “These Words” by Badger and Natasha Bedingfield at #22, “I Don’t Wanna Wait” by David Guetta and OneRepublic at #20 - I guess obvious covers and remixes have a good week - then finally, a song hitting the top 10 I’m personally very happy with: “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” by Shaboozey at #6. #1 incoming? Please?

We also continue to see the rise or, rather, resurgence of Amy Winehouse’s catalogue due to the biopic, with “Valerie” with Mark Ronson at #38, “Back to Black” at #39, and a re-entry for “Tears Dry on Their Own” at #49, which peaked at #16 when Ye’s “Stronger” was #1 in 2007. On that same album, he says he hates Nazis, look how far we’ve come. Anyways, “Tears Dry” contains a sample of “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”, made famous by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, which didn’t chart in its original form for the longest time here. It peaked at #6 in 1970 but only in the form of a cover by Diana Ross, whose version charted whilst Freda Payne’s “Band of Gold” was #1 - just shows that we don’t really remember the bigger hits of the time. The Boys Town Gang reached #46 with their cover in 1981, Whitehouse and Jocelyn Brown both charted with covers coincidentally in August of 1998 - they peaked at #60 and #35 respectively - and finally, the original first charted at #80 in 2013, amazingly still its peak, and briefly re-entered earlier this year. “Tears Dry” itself was sampled the last time Amy made the top 40 in 2023, with Skepta’s #28-peaking tribute “Can’t Play Myself”.

As for our top five this week, we start in the dregs with “i like the way you kiss me” by Artemas at #5, “Beautiful Things” by Benedict Cumberbatch at #4, “Too Sweet” by Hozier at #3, then of course Taylor Swift’s “Fortnight” featuring Post Malone at #2 and “Espresso” at #1. It’s an interesting one today, folks, with a lot of unique and frankly, fantastic stuff to cover, so let’s start with… Kygo?

New Entries

#75 - “For Life” - Kygo and Zak Abel featuring Nile Rodgers

Produced by Kygo, Nile Rodgers, Ollie Green and Franklin

I’m honestly a bit surprised Kygo is still notching chart hits, especially without a big name attached this time. Sure, Nile Rodgers is a legend, but he’s doing so much dance-pop garbage in his later years that I don’t think many people check specifically for his collaborations, so there’s got to be something in this that’s unique, right? Aaaaaaand it’s a sample. It’s a nostalgia bait sample of a 2000s EDM track because of course it is. French house act Modjo debuted with “Lady - Hear Me Tonight”, which spent two weeks at #1 in 2000 and is an absolute classic I still return to today, even if Modjo were basically a one-hit wonder. “Lady” of course is built on a sample of “Soup for One” by Rodgers’ own band CHIC, which comes from a 1982 soundtrack album, never charted and kind of been eclipsed by “Lady”, largely because the original is honestly pretty bad, uninteresting and surprisingly stiff for an 80s funk track, with some of the weakest and most slap-dash implementation of synths. “Lady” really took the best parts of that song - its undeniable guitar melody, that isn’t even put to great use in the original - and constructed an entirely new, incredible song out of it. So I can’t tell if it’s pathetic and desperate for Rodgers to try and reclaim it, or something that speaks to the power of musical transformation. Oh, what am I kidding? It’s Kygo, it’s just kind of boring. It’s a rote piano house track that goes for the same tropical atmosphere Kygo has been doing for years - a lot of the same festival synths are there, it’s all full of bubbly swooshing that actively sound like pastel colours. The only real hook of the song is taken from Modjo and re-sang by Zak Abel, with slight lyric modifications taken from the “I’m Good (Blue)” department of refusing to allow for fun in your dance songs, and even that just feels desperate. What did Nile Rodgers even do here, man? Sign a legal document saying you can use the hook? It’s not even his Goddamn hook.

#69 - “Solo” - Myles Smith

Produced by Peter Fenn

Myles Smith is a singer-songwriter I hadn’t heard of until today but has been active since at least last year and is making at least some consistent buzz so I was interested to see what his first slow-burning chart hit here has to offer and… are we just, IN, 2012, 2013 now? We had festival house with the last song, the next song is heavily Yeezus-inspired, and this is a full-on Aloe Blacc stomp-rock song. It isn’t bad either - I actually had to get used to hearing his richer voice on this kind of scattered clap-stomp-holler folk track, and whilst this is nothing unique given the solemn pianos, spattering of strings and of course, that jingling indie folk rolick, that doesn’t feel particularly organic on this one, it still is far from bad. The lyrics are somewhat generic but not in an awful way, and the “so low”/”solo” double meaning is somewhat clever or at least, would be if in the context of the song, they actually meant separate things. It’s a bit annoying that it’s the main conceit because both have negative connotations for Mr. Smith here, so it just feels like he’s repeating himself rather than elaborating on his feelings or presenting a dichotomy. I imagine it’ll be a lost on a few people due to botched execution, which bothers me because it was an active attempt at clever songwriting that gets kind of lost in sonic translation. This sounds like I’m picking apart the song’s flaws but it is really just a fine little woodlands jams with a great singer, infectious hook and by the end, a damn fine melodramatic string section. I can see it growing on me, especially due to its gorgeous outro, but for right now, I’m somewhat lukewarm, not going to raise a fuss if it ends up smashing though and in a Noah Kahan world, I suppose it’s quite likely.

#64 - “If We Being Real” - Yeat

Produced by Synthetic, Radiate, Fendii, LRBG, Perdu and Dreamr

So terrible news: I like Yeat now. I’m still not granting him his silly little umaluts, and I won’t go too in-depth here, mostly because there’s another song worthy of in-depth analysis, and every piece Yeat’s put out fits into the jigsaw of the album’s narrative as a whole… it would require a lot more time and space, and frankly words, that I’m willing to give #64. No track feels unnecessary on 2093, the atmosphere is consistent across all 24 tracks, and lyrically, it’s a concept album, which I would have never expected from Yeat and he pulls it off brilliantly both sonically and thematically without straining himself to areas he probably couldn’t reach like trying to be super lyrical or stepping away from rage pads. Given the album’s experimentation and length, I wasn’t surprised by the lukewarm commercial reception, but I did at least expect maybe the songs with Future, Wayne or Drake on the deluxe, to have charted by now, when this hasn’t even happened in the US. So when the penultimate track on an album that’s over an hour in its standard issue becomes his first solo hit in the top 75, I have to assume TikTok virality is involved.

Regardless, I’m glad it’s here because it’s brilliant. Sonically as a separate track, it’s one extended verse over a corrupted industrial beat that cracks in right after a mystical intro full of textured but meandering strings, that get swooshed out of existence by a cinematic, malfunctioning clunker incorporating Yeat’s inhuman ad-libs, manipulated behind vocal recognition, into infectious loops within the beat. This is one of few songs - another’s coming later - where I can understand the sheer amount of producers. Lyrically, the title refers to Yeat or more accurately, his psychopathic billionaire character, attempting to shed some of his CEO veneer and ultimately failing, adopting a lot of the violent, power-hungry rhetoric the rest of the album relies on, making it a pretty ironic and depressing title, especially when considering its place in the rest of the album, coming right before the… actually honest and heartbreaking closer, “1093”. In the backhalf of this album, Yeat’s bragging sounds increasingly monotone and routine, and him rapping in and out of distorted filters or going up and down from his traditional murmur to a choking yell, exemplifies how sick and tired he is of the lyfestyle he curated for himself. This song in particular ends with him barely on beat for a beat that doesn’t even really have a beat, becoming a factorial ambiance more so than anything coherently rhythmic. I have no idea why this song in particular is going viral - it doesn’t have a chorus or even really some of the catchier, more potent lyrics on the album, and its beat barely functions as such for the vast majority of the song - Hell, it’s not even one of the album’s integral moments like the opener, “Bought the Earth”, “ILUV”, “Shade”, “Riot & Set it off”, or really countless others, but I’m not complaining because the sound design, the care placed into thematic and narrative consistency, it’s all still here. This is a 10/10 album, and if this song gets more people to check it out, I really can’t be upset with that.

#58 - “Love Me JeJe” - Tems

Produced by Guilty Beatz and Spax

So what’s “Love Me JeJe” actually mean? Well, in Nigerian Pidgin, it means “gentle” or “tender”, and the use of a more regional term rather than the English actually contributes greatly to why I think this song works: Tems’ buttery voice has always been able to display both coldness and a sensual warmth, often at the same time, but on some of the bubbliest guitars I’ve heard over an Afrobeats rhythm since the genre started charting consistently, she’s fully in that second category. Hell, most of the lyrics are pretty basic here, especially the practically meaningless chorus, but that’s to its benefit because thinking too much about this song defeats its purpose: to be gentle. It’s a frankly adorable expression of love and care at its most optimistic extent possible. Despite the clean, tropical percussion, it still feels cute and homegrown. Hell, the second verse, after a nice back-and-forth choir vocal, even references the Nigerian electricity provider that’s apparently nationally infamous for its power outages, with the lyric comparing the love she feels with her partner to the feeling when electricity comes back on in the village and all her neighbours inform the locals. Combine that with how breezy this is, the easy-flowing bridge into an outro full of murmuring, chatter and reverb-drenched laughing, it just makes for a really cute, likeable song. Not necessarily what I expected out of a lead single from Tems, but a delightful surprise. Now to balance that with pure hatred.

#50 - “euphoria” - Kendrick Lamar

Produced by Cardo, Kyuro, Sounwave, Johnny Juliano, Yung Exclusive and Matthew “MTech” Bernard

There’s part of me that finds it quite funny that Drake gets into serious beef with an incredibly analytical and perfectionist rapper like Kendrick right after putting out his own exposé of himself. For All the Dogs is as much of a dissection of Aubrey Drake Graham, albeit perhaps unintentionally, as Kendrick or really anyone could perform, as long as you’re paying attention. It’s been like that (no pun intended) for a while, but his latest is the most obvious and desperate attempt at clinging to status and image that it places his insecurities fully on display. You could recite lyrics from that album on a jazz beat and call it a diss track, so the fact that Kendrick went back to back with damn near dissections of Drake’s paranoia - especially on the Instagram follow-up track he made that is chilling - as well as a myriad of different issues he has with Drake, simply because… well, he doesn’t fuck with Drake. One could argue that this feud is complex and storied, with so many different  beligerents… but the motives behind it are genuinely a lot simpler than most rap feuds, and the diss tracks that are made from it are way more straightforward. They just outline the reasons they dislike each other, almost systematically, it’s genuinely refreshing, or at least a lot more than what’s going on with Quavo and Chris Brown, yeesh.

This track in particular is as calculated as can be, acting as a dissertation on why K-Dot doesn’t really like Drake too much. It’s condescending, damn near academic, with its smooth jazz intro and categorical shoot down of each possible avenue you could hit Drake from. We have sextuple entendres on this thing, a total of three beats, two of which are cheap-sounding but absolutely murderous drill bangers, and Genius annotations that rival War and Peace when combined. I’m not a lyrical expert, and there’s so much in here that I didn’t get until I was pointed towards that direction by Genius annotations, Reddit, X, or, embarrassingly, YouTube Shorts. You don’t need to research or analyse for this to hit hard though, there are plenty of lines that aren’t going over anyone’s heads… until you look into the exact way the bars are constructed and suddenly they have 20 double meanings and hidden easter eggs. This is really sheer venom, filled with so many layers that I wouldn’t be surprised if he genuinely wins a GRAMMY for it - and it would be in character considering Drake doesn’t even nominate his songs anymore. It’s already having an effect too, that 4batz album came out today, and he’s not signed to OVO as rumoured. Ye’s on the record… but not the already existing and heavily-streamed Drake remix. Already, he may be losing some of that prestige.

As far as it is sonically, it’s six minutes of murder, and Kendrick’s delivery is energised, violent, damn near deranged at times, to perfectly balance how, somewhat subtly through his meta commentary about his own bars and albums, the lyrics are basically an essay. It has an introduction, a conclusion, a hypothesis, written examples, he even presents counter-arguments and weaves them into his own analysis. By the time he was going extremely in-depth about his experiences as a father, and just repeating that Drake knows nothing about that, it almost felt like overkill. My personal favourite lines and ideas presented here are the concise slow dagger of the intro verse, the “Demun”/”throwaway” scheme, the voice and character he puts on between “Cutthroat business” and “I’ll explain that phrase” - he’s like a disappointed teaching assistant, obviously the YNW Melly line and its set-up, the incredible Daft Punk line that got a cackle out of me on first listen, then followed up by a mocking interpolation of one of Drake’s most revered songs, the straightforward rant about everything he hates that references an iconic moment of DMX’s trademark honesty (rest in peace), the “record” scheme in verse three, and when he started the fake Canadian accent, I just lost it. Drake’s biggest weakness here is that when he’s funny, I’m laughing at him, but when Kendrick’s funny, I’m laughing with him, and much louder. If he does respond, unless the man tells us that Kendrick’s whole life and career has been a farce, or he brings, like, the actual former President Obama on the track or something, I can’t see how it tops this. This is one of the best diss tracks ever in terms of sheer detail, and might honestly be one of the greatest throwaway rap singles period. It’ll be tough to beat.

#31 - “MILLION DOLLAR BABY” - Tommy Richman

Produced by Max Vossberg, Jonah Roy, Mannyvelli, Sparkheem and Kavi

This is the sudden breakout hit for Virginia rapper-turned-singer Tommy Richman, which actually comes in two versions on Spotify, the original and a more distorted “VHS” version. Also, this is brilliant. Sure, Richman just sounds like Brent Faiyaz, but a trend I haven’t been able to talk about on here necessarily but has been very exciting for me is the return of grittier, groovier synth funk and hyphy beats into underground hip hop and R&B, with this representing the more melodic end of that sound, which is typically restricted to Midwest and Dirty South rappers. The sound design on this one is actually even unique to that sound, starting with a bizarrely British-sounding Memphis rap vocal loop which I think isn’t a sample and is just him doing a bad impression, filtered below an infectious beat that actually took me by surprise. It even has cowbells and the type of punchy jabbing drums that I love from classic southern rap, but instead of the smooth-talking rappers you usually expect over this, we get a Brent Faiyaz impression that didn’t click with me until hearing this song. I never really got his appeal until I hear it over this and I start to realise the very distinct new jack swing element to his vocals, as he pretty seamlessly transitions from soulful double-tracked harmonies to much more rhythmic, half-rap flows. Now this ISN’T Brent Faiyaz… and I still don’t really like Brent Faiyaz, but hearing his wannabes I think helped me gather what was distinct about him, and the literal Richman North of Richmond here pitting his filtered splatter of vocal ideas and riffs over the beat in a very Devil-may-care fashion exemplifies the elements I do like about him, just with an instrumental that I personally like a lot more. Also, the VHS version is labelled as such but is really just like a bass-boosted version of the song that sounds like it was done in 10 seconds in Audacity, though the vocal mixing sounds a bit different too. I would love for someone to explain why that was the version I ended up adding to my playlist, because I couldn’t tell you.

#8 - “I Can Do It with a Broken Heart” - Taylor Swift

Produced by Jack Antonoff and Taylor Swift

I know I wrote my whole Taylor spiel last week, but I’m not bothered about this one at all, and I really did expect it to be a fan favourite, mostly because, as the one track I actually enjoy on the standard version, she’s having fun! The lyrics are actively vapid, which doesn’t feel like the intention when she’s singing over soppy adult contemporary but very much feeds into the almost childish character she plays here over synthpop with an actual pulse. The synths here sound like a theme park she’s taking the boy to, especially with the backing vocals and chatter samples implemented into the ambiance and classic Antonoff wonky synths - though some of this doesn’t even sound like it’s in his ballpark. Like were Marian Hill or Sofi Tukker ghost-producing this? Some of these loop choices and flashy sound effects are frankly ridiculous, in the best way of course because the song is camp and fun. Sure, some of Taylor’s lyrics still come off a bit awkward, mostly because of her choice of slower melodies sometimes clashing with the fast-paced patter of the synthscape, but that’s a nitpick. I do love this song, I think it’s fun, Hell, I think it’s funny which is something Taylor has always kind of failed to translate to me in the past, so that is something. I just don’t think we have the same sense of humour. Does she like Norm Macdonald? I don’t feel like she does. Correct me if I’m wrong, Swifties.

Conclusion

It should be incredibly obvious who gets Best of the Week, it’s Kenny, easily, with “euphoria”, and I’m sorry, Swifties, but Yeat better. “If We Being Real” takes away with the Honourable Mention pretty easily as well, though really, strong competition and strong week all around - Tems was close too. There can’t be a Dishonourable Mention in this climate so, Worst of the Week goes to Kygo and Zak Abel for “For Life” that “features” Nile Rodgers, it genuinely just is a lazy template of a song. As for what’s on the horizon, I’m not sure. Dua’ll have some impact, but outside of that, time may have to tell. For now, thank you for reading, long live Cola Boyy, and I’ll see you next week!

[giveamadeuschohisownmovie]

Pitch for a Dark Pictures Anthology game:

* The title is “NEW WORLD ORDER”

* Prologue plot: In 1878, the red herring protagonists John and Karen attend the first ever meeting of the Bohemian Club. While there, they are sacrificed by the group to appease their god, Moloch.

* General plot: In present day, a group of “contestants” win a contest to enter Bohemian Grove. This is because the Bohemian Club, for some reason, wants to start allowing women and the lower classes into their summer retreats. Unbeknownst to them, they are only being allowed into the secret society to be sacrificed to Moloch, the society’s god. It’s up to the players to guide them out…or doom them to their fate.

* Real-world inspiration: The Bohemian Grove (look it up, it’s real creepy)

* Type of horror: Cults / secret societies

* Main Cast

1) Edgar Romero (MODEST, LOYAL): A Latino-American plumber whose name was entered into the contest by his family. Because of this, he is the only contest winner who didn’t want to attend the event. Edgar is portrayed by the celebrity guest star, Gabriel Luna, who you might recognize as Tommy Miller in “The Last of Us” or Robbie Reyes in “Agents of SHIELD”.

2) Ray Kim (INQUISITIVE, INTOLERANT): An elderly Korean-American grocery store owner who developed racist views based on his experiences in the 1992 LA riots. He entered the contest hoping to get connections with the elite.

3) Grace Feinstein (FOOLHARDY, ADVENTUROUS): A Jewish-American YouTuber/Twitch streamer who won the contest after one of her subscribers convinced her to submit her name. She is the youngest of the main protagonists.

4) Thuy Nguyen (ANXIOUS, INNOCENT): A Vietnamese immigrant who was living in America under a green card. She entered the contest to actually find her father, who she suspects is a member of the Bohemian Club. It’s revealed later on that her father is a club member and is a major antagonist that needs to be defeated.

5) Jackson Parker (ARROGANT, ABRASIVE): An African-American man who works as the CEO of one of America’s most powerful corporations. He only recently gotten his Bohemian Club membership. However, after witnessing the group’s horrifying actions, he decides to help the other contestants escape at the risk of his own life. Jackson fulfills the role of the member who is separate from the other 4 protagonists (like Fliss, John, Salim, and Charlie).

[merrock]

PLAY SOME VOLLEYBALL!

The teams for the volleyball game that will be held on Saturday, August 26th are as follows:

TEAM BARRACUDA

Landon Nor, Benedict Hartman, Joshua Lane, Kenney Warren, Jamie Mariadaga-Evans, Iris Xanthe, Choi Jaesung, Tommy Maddox, Spender Lawrence, Joella Suh, Jason Browning, Jayla Hopkins, Kellan Newman, Elise Quinn, Harley Hua, Rian Rivera, Darrius Powell, Vincent Matthews

TEAM STINGRAY

Izzy Romero, Miranda Hartman, Rafael Bardales, Valentina Diaz, Amina Zaidi, Espie Tamayo, Reyna Delgadillo, Nari Gim, Olivia Hartman, Trey Wright, Corrine Khang, Libby Stewart, Cordelia Browning, Garrick Velour, Chloe Nwokobia, Bryan Lawrence, Emeline Newman

Be at the volleyball net by 3PM EST on Saturday to be sure to get your head in the game! We'll be announcing winners that day, as well!

[dippedanddripped]

CELEBRATING 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF HIP HOP, THE MUSEUM AT FIT PRESENTS FRESH, FLY, AND FABULOUS: FIFTY YEARS OF HIP HOP STYLE

The Museum at FIT (MFIT) presents Fresh, Fly, and Fabulous: Fifty Years of Hip Hop Style, in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the birth of hip hop. The largest and most comprehensive exhibition to explore this revolutionary and influential style, this also marks the first time that the museum examines fashion exclusively through one musical genre. Over 100 garments and accessories capture the pivotal moments in hip hop fashion’s evolution, ranging from Kangol hats to custom Dapper Dan jackets and the Manolo Blahnik Okla Alta booties inspired by Timberland work boots. The exhibition is curated by Elena Romero, journalist and assistant chair of Marketing Communications at FIT, and Elizabeth Way, associate curator of costume at MFIT. Romero is the author of “Freestylin’: How Hip Hop Changed the Fashion Industry (2012).”

“It was important for The Museum at FIT to organize this exhibition, because hip hop—the most influential music genre of our era—has had such a profound impact on the world of fashion,” notes Dr. Valerie Steele, director and chief curator, MFIT. “Furthermore, hip hop fashion and music are cultural expressions of the African and Hispanic cultural diasporas, which MFIT seeks to amplify as part of our goal to expand the understanding of fashion.”

Visitors will see looks worn and made popular by artists Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, LL Cool J, Chuck D, Missy Elliot, Aaliyah, Khaled, and Cardi B, to name just a few. Fresh, Fly and Fabulous will also feature designs by 5001 Flavors, April Walker, Misa Hylton, Cross Colours, Karl Kani, Shirt King Phade of the Shirt Kings, FUBU, Rocawear, Wu Wear, Mecca USA, Baby Phat, Pelle Pelle, and Sean John, as well as Lee, Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and Versace, among many others.

A digital guide for Fresh, Fly and Fabulous: 50 Years of Hip Hop Style can be found at Bloomberg Connects, the free arts and cultural app created by Bloomberg Philanthropies. The Bloomberg Connects app, available for download from Google Play or the App Store, makes The Museum at FIT accessible for either onsite or offsite visits through photo, audio, and video features offering insights into the world of fashion and design. The digital guide goes behind the scenes of the museum with exclusive multimedia content about designers, exhibitions, programs, and conservation. Visitors can plan their visit, access helpful insights on site, and dive deeper into favorite works at home—anytime, anywhere. Guide highlights include interviews with hip hop experts, designer spotlights, and details about works from our collection, with new content added regularly.  

The exhibition is accompanied by a book, Fresh, Fly, and Fabulous: 50 Years of Hip Hop Style, published by Rizzoli with a foreword written by Slick Rick, and a symposium on February 24 that will be free and open to the public.  

Fresh, Fly, and Fabulous: Fifty Years of Hip Hop Style has been made possible thanks to the generosity of the Couture Council of The Museum at FIT and The Coby Foundation. Special thanks to Barrett Barrera Projects.The museum is open Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from noon to 8 pm, and Saturdays and Sundays from 10 am to 5 pm. Admission is free. All visitors are requested to review the latest safety guidelines and protocols. For more information and the latest MFIT updates, visit fitnyc.edu/museum; register for the MFIT newsletter; and follow the museum on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

[matthewliberatore]

august 12th st cards vs kc royals

edman 2 run homer!!

ARENADO RBI DOUBLE

matz allows a homer its ok we can get out of this

CONTRERAS STAYING HOT WE LOVE TO SEE IT

TOMMY 2 HOMER DAY 🗣🗣

that 9th inning misplay by arenado... i almost died

romero has been questionable as of late but we still pull it off