#tony bennett greatest hits | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

weaversweek · 11 months

Text

"Bad romance" and "Royals"

We're nearing the end of the #FearOfMu21c project, crowdsourcing the greatest singles of the 21st century. Here’s an index post.

Bad romance - Lady Gaga

Which Lady Gaga song to pick? And do we consider the video when making the decision: if so, then "Telephone" is going to be a very strong contender, even though the song is far from her best. Gaga's songs fall into three camps - in-yer-face statements like "Born this way", powerhouse vocals like "Shallow", and artpop.

We wouldn't know Gaga if she hadn't done artpop, and the best example is "Bad romance". Released in late 2009, Gaga was adventurous, playful, and had a strong message to sell. Like the rest of "The Fame" album, it's a commentary on the aughts decade: obsessed with popularity and celebrity, hedonistic and flashing a lot of skin.

And, yes, we're influenced by the video. Alexander McQueen sent in the costumes worn by Gaga and her dancers, not the sort of thing you'll see on sale at Primark on Wednesday week. Full of white latex, orbiting rings, a chandelier top, the clip shows Gaga as a pawn for sale, an amusement for rich men.

Shorn of the video, "Bad romance" still works. It's a throwback to early 90s eurodance, all hooks and a soaring chorus. The "woah-oh-oh-oh" at the front was how Gaga started work on the song, finished with producer RedOne. There are little musical mutations throughout, cadences rise and fall on their own accord, and the home key (A-flat minor) is rarely visited. And that's just one reason "Bad romance" still sounds awesome.

In the years since, Gaga swore her love for queers on "Born This Way", made "Artpop", worked with Tony Bennett on "Cheek to cheek", and acted in "American Horror Story" and "A Star is Born". For the last of these, Gaga won an Oscar for "Shallow" - and that very nearly made my 50.

youtube

Royals - Lorde

Writing from the heart, Lorde penned "Royals" in less than an hour. The song reads like a teenage diary, frustrated and irritated and aspiring for her better world. The song contrasts Lorde's humdrum suburban life to those of the stars and celebrities.

"What really got me is this ridiculous, unrelatable, unattainable opulence. Lana Del Rey is always singing about being in the Hamptons or driving her Bugatti Veyron or whatever, and at the time, me and my friends were at some house party worrying how to get home because we couldn't afford a cab. This is our reality! If I write songs about anything else then I'm not writing anything that's real."

"Royals" has a sense of place, it comes from being on the fringes of the dominant culture. It's a song from Aotearoa, it could be a song from Newfoundland or Derry. We see the materialist stuff, we're exposed to celebrity, and - through an accident of geography - we can never join it. Lorde advances the conversation started by Lady Gaga.

Lorde has proven more than this one hit, releasing the album "Melodrama" and pro-Antarctic book "Going South". I seriously considered "Solar Power"'s single "Secrets from a girl (who's seen it all)" for the Top 50, losing out for variety.

youtube

#lady gaga #bad romance #art #artpop #modern art #lorde #royals #cultural reflection #isolation #fear of missing out #2009 #2013 #fear of mu21c #fear of music #FearOfMu21c #fearofmu21c #pop music #21st century

1 note · View note

onenakedfarmer · 1 year

Text

Currently Playing

AMERICA'S GREATEST HITS Volume 2 - 1951

Various Artists including Mario Lanza, Les Paul & Mary Ford, Nat King Cole, Rosemary Clooney, Tony Bennett, Eddy Howard, Johnnie Ray, Weavers, Jo Stafford, Les Paul & Mary Ford, Carleton Carpenter & Debbie Reynolds, Frankie Laine with Mitch Millers' Orchestra, Vaughan Monroe & His Orchestra, Patti Page, Del Wood, Perry Como with The Fontane Sisters, April Stevens w/ Henri Rene's Orchestra, Guy Mitchell, Frank Sinatra with The Harry James Orchestra

#currently playing

0 notes

digitaltariq · 4 years

Text

Tony Bennett – More Tony’s Greatest Hits (2020) » download by NewAlbumReleases.net

[ad_1]

Artist: Tony Bennett Album: More Tony’s Greatest Hits Released: 2020 Style: Jazz

Format: MP3 320Kbps

Size: 72 Mb

Tracklist: 01 – Smile (Remastered 2020) 02 – You’ll Never Get Away From Me (Remastered 2020) 03 – I Am (Remastered 2020) 04 – Put On A Happy Face (Remastered 2020) 05 – Love Look Away (Remastered 2020) 06 – I’ll Bring You A Rainbow (Remastered 2020) 07 – Ask Anyone In Love (Remastered…

View On WordPress

#Bennett #download #greatest #hits #NewAlbumReleasesnet #Tony #Tony Bennett &8211; More Tony&8217;s Greatest Hits (2020)#Tonys

0 notes

gvfrry · 2 years

Text

Vinyl Collection Masterpost

inspo from @mamavanheat :) this is such a cool idea thank you kat!! find kat’s collection here my collection on discogs my vinyl collection playlist (incomplete because not everything is available on spotify)

my turntable model

vinyl collecting is one of my biggest passions, my collection is one of my greatest achievements and quite literally my prized possession, so I'd love to share it with you :) I've been collecting for about six years now, and have inherited a lot from my grandparents (hence the random spiritual and children's records.) below is an alphabetical list of my collection. I have also included a list of the LPs I'm currently searching for at the end! I'll update as it grows!! <3

my favorites are in bold

anything in parentheses denotes additional information on special colored pressings or other details

newly added vinyls are in purple

The Gregg Allman Band - Playin' Up A Storm

America - America

Arctic Monkeys - AM B

Babe Ruth - First Base

Bad Company - Desolation Angels

John Baldry - It Ain't Easy

Bastille - Bad Blood

Bastille - Doom Days

Bastille - Give Me The Future (Orange, Transparent)

Terry Baxter His Orchestra & Chorus - The Best Of '72

The Beatles - Abbey Road

Tony Bennett - Tony!

Jade Bird - Jade Bird

Boston - Boston

Bread - On The Waters

Savoy Brown - Hellbound Train C

Glen Campbell - Galveston

The Charlie Daniels Band - Fire On The Mountain

The Charlie Daniels Band - Full Moon

Chicago - Chicago

Chubby Checker - For Twisters Only

Eric Clapton - Backless

Commodores - Midnight Magic

Perry Como With Mitchell Ayres And His Orchestra - Rollin' Stone / With All My Heart And Soul (Shellac, 10")

Earl Thomas Conley - Treadin' Water

Alice Cooper - Killer

Creedence Clearwater Revival - Greatest Hits

Crosby, Stills & Nash - Daylight Again

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - So Far D

Mac Demarco - 2

John Denver - John Denver's Greatest Hits

John Denver - Whose Garden Was This

Neil Diamond - Stones

Neil Diamond - The Jazz Singer (Original Songs From The Motion Picture)

The Disneyland Children's Sing-Along Chorus - Disney's Children's Favorites Volume II

Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein - Stranger Things, Vol. I (Red and Blue Starburst)

Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein - Stranger Things, Vol. II (Red and Blue Starburst)

Placido Domingo With John Denver - Perhaps Love

Doris Day and Buddy Clark - I'll String Along With You / Powder Your Face With Sunshine (Shellac, 10") E

Billie Eilish - Happier Than Ever (Pale Blue)

Billie Eilish - When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? (Yellow)

Eurythmics - Revenge F

Fabian - The Fabulous Fabian

Fleetwood Mac - Mirage

Fleetwood Mac - Rumours

Fleetwood Mac - Tusk

Fleetwood Mac - Vintage Years

Dan Fogelberg - Phoenix

Peter Frampton - I'm In You

Peter, Paul And Mary - In The Wind G

Larry Gatlin & The Gatlin Brothers Band - Greatest Hits Vol. II

Larry Gatlin & The Gatlin Brothers Band - Help Yourself

Go-Go's - Beauty And The Beat

Greta Van Fleet - Black Smoke Rising EP

Greta Van Fleet - Anthem Of The Peaceful Army

Greta Van Fleet - The Battle At Garden's Gate

Greta Van Fleet - The Battle At Garden's Gate (White)

Larry Groce And The Disneyland Children's Sing-Along Chorus - Disney's Children's Favorites Vol. I H

Halsey - Hopeless Fountain Kingdom (Clear With Teal Splatter)

George Harrison - All Things Must Pass (50th Anniversary Box Set)

Niall Horan - Flicker I

nothing here yet :) J

Michael Jackson - Thriller

Jay And The Americans - Sands Of Time

Billy Joel - Glass Houses

Elton John - Don't Shoot Me, I'm Only The Piano Player

Elton John - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

Elton John - Madman Across The Water

Janis Joplin - Pearl

Khalid - American Teen

Kid's Praise! - Kid's Praise 2 A Joy Fuliest Noise

The Knack - Get The Knack L

The Lads - The Lads In Concert

Lake - Lake

Steve Lawrence - Winners!

Le Roux - Louisiana's Le Roux

Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti

Lee Greenwood - Somebody's Gonna Love You

Lee Greenwood - You've Got A Good Love Comin'

The Lettermen - I Have Dreamed

The Liverpool Kids - Beattle Mash

Living Strings - Music From Fiddler On The Roof

Living Voices - Sing Irish Songs

The Longines Symphonette - The Best Songs Of 1969

The Longines Symphonette - The Best Songs Of 1970

The Longines Symphonette - The Best Songs Of 1973

The Lumineers - The Lumineers

The Lumineers - Cleopatra

The Lumineers - III (Gold Translucent Gold Foil)

The Lumineers - Brightside (Sunbleached, Artist Signed) M

Post Malone - Beerbongs & Bentleys (Clear)

Chuck Mangione - Fun And Games

Paul Mauriat And His Orchestra - Blooming Hits

Paul McCartney - Tug Of War

Meat Loaf - Bat Out Of Hell

Medical Mission Sisters - Joy Is Like The Rain

Shawn Mendes - Wonder (Silver)

Mickey Mouse Club - Mousekedances And Other Mouseketeer Favorites

Steve Miller Band - Fly Like An Eagle

The Mistletoe Disco Band - Christmas Disco

Anne Murray - Anne Murray Sings For The Sesame Street Generation N

Nazareth - Hair Of The Dog

Olivia Newton-John - Physical

Olivia Newton-John / Electric Light Orchestra - Xanadu (From The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) O

One Direction - Made In The AM

Orleans - Walking And Dreaming P

Panic At The Disco - Pretty. Odd.

Panic! At The Disco - Vices & Virtues

Panic! At The Disco - Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die!

Panic! At The Disco - Death Of A Bachelor

Panic! At The Disco - All My Friends We're Glorious: Death Of A Bachelor Tour Live

Christopher Parkening - Parkening Plays Bach

Poco - Legend

Elvis Presley - A Legendary Performer Vol. 3 (Picture Disc)

Elvis Presley - Elvis In Hollywood

Elvis Presley - Moody Blue Q

Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody (The Original Soundtrack) R

Olivia Rodrigo - Sour

Linda Ronstadt - A Retrospective S

Carlos Santana & Buddy Miles - Carlos Santana & Buddy Miles! Live!

Bob Segar & The Silver Bullet Band - Live Bullet

Richard M. Sherman & Robert B. Sherman - Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

Shooting Star - Hang On For Your Life

Nancy Sinatra - Boots

Roy Smeck and His Paradise Serenaders - South Seas Serenade

The Smothers Brothers - Curb Your Tongue, Knave!

Southern Pacific - Southern Pacific

Johnny Standley With Horace Heidt And His Musical Knights - It's In The Book Part 1 / It's In The Book Part 2 (Shellac, 10")

James Lee Stanley - Live

Steely Dan - Can't Buy A Thrill

Stephen Stills - Stephen Stills 2

Stephen Stills / Mike Bloomfield / Al Kooper - Super Session

Strawberry Shortcake - The World Of Strawberry Shortcake: Original TV Sound Track

Harry Styles - Harry Styles

Harry Styles - Fine Line

Harry Styles - Watermelon Sugar Single (Red, 7")

Styx - Cornerstone

Survivor - Eye Of The Tiger

Taylor Swift - Speak Now

Taylor Swift - Fearless (Taylor’s Version) (Red Opaque)

Taylor Swift - Red

Taylor Swift - Red (Taylor's Version)

Taylor Swift - Folklore (Pink "Clandestine Meetings")

Taylor Swift - Evermore (Green) T

Toots And The Maytals - Reggae Got Soul

The Turtles - Happy Together U

nothing here yet :) V

Jerry Vale - More Jerry Vale's Greatest Hits

Various Artists - Dear Evan Hansen: Original Broadway Cast Recording

Various - Grand Old Country (Box Set)

Various - In The Mood: Greatest Hits Of The Big Band Era

Various - Magnavox Let Us Entertain You

Various - Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (The Movie Soundtrack Featuring The Songs Of ABBA)

Various - Mickey Mouse Disco

Various - Super Hits Of The '70s

Various - Take Me Home Country Roads (Box Set)

Various - The 50's Greatest Love Songs / The 50's Golden Hits To Remember

Various - The Million Dollar Themes

Various - The Music Man - Original Soundtrack

Various - The Original Hit Performances! The Late Fifties

Various - The Sound Of Music (An Original Soundtrack Recording)

Various - Walt Disney's Sleeping Beauty

Various - Wonderful World Of Children's Christmas

Various Featuring Peggy Lee - Walt Disney's "Lady And The Tramp" - Including Songs From The Motion Picture

Virtuoso Symphony Of London- On The Night Before Christmas - Nutcracker Suite W

Joe Walsh - "But Seriously, Folks..."

Waylon - Greatest Hits

Wet Willie - The Wetter The Better

The Who - The Kids Are Alright

Roger Williams - Roger Williams

Wings- Back To The Egg X

nothing here yet :) Y

Neil Young - Harvest Z

nothing here yet :)

current vinyl hunting:

Taylor Swift - Lover (it's currently being shipped)

The Velveteers - Nightmare Daydream

Bastille - Wild World

Phoebe Bridgers - Punisher

Phoebe Bridgers - Stranger In The Alps

Greta Van Fleet - From The Fires

Fleetwood Mac- Fleetwood Mac

Fleetwood Mac - Tango In The Night

Carole King - Tapestry

Joni Mitchell - Blue

Crosby, Stills & Nash - Self Titled

Hozier - Hozier

Hozier - Wasteland Baby

Mother Mother - O My Heart

Dominic Fike - What Could Possibly Go Wrong

Frank Ocean - channel ORANGE

Frank Ocean - Blond

One Direction - Four

Cat Stevens - Tea For The Tillerman

Eagles - Eagles

Euphoria Soundtrack

#zee shares #vinyl #vinylrecords #vinylcollector #vinyl collection #record collection #<3 #records #greta van fleet

27 notes · View notes

obtusemedia · 3 years

Text

Ranking Lady Gaga's albums, from worst to best

Being a Lady Gaga fan can be an exercise in frustration.

Gaga is far more ambitious than most popstars — I doubt we’ll ever see Ariana Grande or Ed Sheeran make an album as left-field as Born This Way or ARTPOP. But she's also far less consistent, with numerous misbegotten projects.

Gaga's undeniably successful, with five #1 hits, an Oscar and multiple iconic music videos to her name. But her messy album rollouts and tradition of underperforming lead singles make her feel like an underdog compared to the more polished, precise careers of her contemporaries like Taylor Swift, Beyoncé or Bruno Mars.

Gaga is kind of a mess. But she's our mess. This album ranking will cover some records I can't stand — albums that make me constantly hit the fast-forward button, or albums I ignore altogether. But there isn't a single record on here that wasn't a bold move. Even the "back to basics" albums made strong aesthetic choices.

So let's dive into the career of the most fascinating Millennial popstar.

#8: Cheek To Cheek (2014)

This really shouldn't count. It's a Lady Gaga album in name only. But, technically it's a Gaga album, so here we are.

I've got nothing against Gaga having fun playing Rat Pack-era dress-up with Tony Bennett. She's a theatre kid at heart, and I'm sure every theatre kid would kill to make a Great American Songbook covers record like this. It sounds like she and Tony enjoyed themselves, so I'm happy for them!

...but I'm sorry. I can't be objective about Cheek To Cheek, it's the opposite of my taste. There's only so many bland lounge ballads I can take.

BEST SONGS: I have to pick one? "Anything Goes" is cute, I guess.

WORST SONG: "Sophisticated Lady"

#7: A Star Is Born (2018)

Let me first make this clear — A Star Is Born, the movie starring Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga? It's a masterpiece. It's electrifying and tragic and I'm still upset it didn't sweep the Oscars that year. There's even a cute dog! You won't hear me say a bad word about it.

But A Star Is Born, the accompanying soundtrack? It's extremely hit-and-miss.

Yes, it includes arguably Gaga's best-ever song and one of the greatest movie hits ever written, "Shallow." And there's plenty of other great tunes in the tracklist too — "Always Remember Us This Way," "I'll Never Love Again," the "La Vie En Rose" cover.

Even the country-rock songs from Bradley Cooper (who, reminder, is not a professional singer) are mostly good! "Black Eyes" RIPS, and "Maybe It's Time" feels like a long-lost classic.

But sadly, there are so many mediocre filler tracks on this thing. The second half of A Star Is Born's hour-plus runtime (Gaga's longest!) is padded with generic songs like "Look What I've Found," "Heal Me" and "I Don't Know What Love Is." The only good one out of the bunch is the silly, intentionally-bad "Why Did You Do That?"

In the movie, these filler tracks serve a point – they're meant to show Gaga's character selling out. They work in the movie when you hear them for a few seconds and see Cooper make a drunkly disappointed scowl. But I don't want to listen to them, and sadly, they make up half the album.

In other words — A Star Is Born would've made an incredible six or seven-song EP. But as an 63-minute-long record? It's a slog.

BEST SONGS: "Shallow", "Always Remember Us This Way," "Maybe It's Time"

WORST SONG: "Heal Me"

#6: Joanne (2016)

After Born This Way and ARTPOP, I get why Gaga needed to make a more lowkey, back-to-basics album. I also understand that many of these songs have extremely personal lyrics for her.

But is a down-to-earth album what I really want from our most outré popstar? Not really.

Luckily, Joanne is better than that description suggests. Yes, there are some bland acoustic ballads and awkward hippie-era throwbacks (two styles that are really not in Gaga's wheelhouse), but there's also some Springsteen-style heartland rockers! And those go hard in the paint.

Joanne works best when Gaga works the record's dusty aesthetics into her brand of weirdo pop, like on the sizzling "John Wayne," the winking "A-YO" or the delightfully extra Florence Welch duet "Hey Girl."

The record also has "Perfect Illusion" — a glorious red herring of a lead single that sounds nothing like anything else on Joanne. It's a roided-up mixture of woozy Tame Impala production and hair metal histrionics, and it rules. It might be Gaga's best-ever lead single! (at the very least, it's her most underrated.)

And there is one slow tune that's unambiguously great: "Million Reasons," another solid Gaga lighters-in-the-air power ballad pastiche.

Despite what some Little Monsters may tell you, Joanne isn't a disaster. There's some great stuff in there, and even the worst songs are just forgettable. But it's still far from her best.

BEST SONGS: "Perfect Illusion," "Diamond Heart," "Million Reasons"

WORST SONG: "Come To Mama"

#5: Chromatica (2020)

When Chromatica was released near the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, it had been seven years since Gaga had released music in her classic gonzo-synthpop vein. I can easily picture the record serving as an "ugh fine, I'll give you what you want" response to the many Little Monsters annoyed with Gaga's half-decade of folksy ballads and Julie Andrews cosplay.

I'll say this about Chromatica — outside of The Fame Monster, it's her most consistent record. There's not a single track that's a glaring mistake. And the three singles — "Stupid Love," "911" and the triumphant Ariana Grande duet "Rain On Me" — easily stand among her best tracks.

But although "all bangers, no ballads" album sounds rad in theory, it doesn't really succeed in practice. Chromatica is solid, but it's also a very same-y record. It feels like Gaga had one really great idea for the album ('90s club music with super-depressing lyrics) and repeated it over and over and over again to diminishing results.

There are some songs that are able to separate themselves: the three singles, of course, as well as the goofy "Babylon" and "Sine From Above," the Elton John duet that's the closest Chromatica gets to a ballad. But by the end of the album, you feel more worn out than electrified.

Also — and this is probably unfair, but still — Chromatica came out just a couple months after another retro-dance blockbuster pop album: Dua Lipa's magnum opus, Future Nostalgia. That's not a flattering comparison.

BEST SONGS: "Rain On Me," "Stupid Love," "911"

WORST SONG: "1000 Doves"

#4: The Fame (2008)

Out of all of Gaga's records, The Fame is most like a time capsule. It REEKS of late '00s/early '10s pop — which isn't an entirely fair criticism, seeing as Gaga popularized that era's sleazy, synthy aesthetic. It's also not a bad thing! I don't mind a little nostalgia!

As you already know, The Fame's singles are masterworks. "Just Dance," "Poker Face," "Paparazzi" — these tracks have titanic legacies for good reason. And although it's probably the least-beloved of this album's hits, despite being a total banger, "LoveGame" should still be commended for having arguably the most Gaga lyric ever (you know, the "disco stick" line).

And even though those tracks are front-loaded on The Fame, there are some gems deeper in the tracklist. "Summerboy" is basically Gwen Stefani covering The Strokes (so obviously, it's great). "Eh, Eh" is adorable. "Starstruck" is the most 2008 song ever recorded, with aggressive Auto-Tune and Flo Rida showing up to make Starbucks jokes.

Sadly, The Fame still feels like Gaga before she became fully-formed at certain points. The back half has a number of songs that feel like generic club tracks forced by the label, and "Paper Gangsta" is one of the clunkiest songs in Gaga's catalogue.

But at the very least, the bad songs on The Fame at least serve as little nostalgia bombs for that era of pop. And the best songs are untouchable classics.

BEST SONGS: "Paparazzi," "Just Dance," "Summerboy"

WORST SONG: "Paper Gangsta"

#3: ARTPOP (2013)

For much of Gaga's career, she's been ahead of the curve. She tries something, and a year or a few years later, other popstars try something similar to diminishing results.

That doesn't just apply to the successful stuff, like Gaga's extravagant music videos inspiring many copycats from 2010-2013. It also applies to the mid-late '10s trend of legacy popstars making a controversial record with risky aesthetic or lyrical choices that backfired: reputation. Witness. Man of The Woods.

Gaga did this first, with ARTPOP — arguably the most abrasive, and bizzare major label album released by a major modern popstar. And she did it better, because unlike Swift, Perry and Timberlake, Gaga's weirdness was for real. And it was in service of some prime, hyper-aggressive bangers.

ARTPOP isn't Gaga's best work — some of her experiments on it are major misfires, from the obnoxious "Mary Jane Holland" to the bland Born This Way leftover (and Romani slur-utilizing) "Gypsy."

But when ARTPOP is on, it's ON. The opening stretch in particular, from "Aura" to "Venus" to "G.U.Y." to "Sexxx Dreams," is chaotic synthpop at its finest. Those songs took Gaga's classic sound to an apocalyptic, demented extreme, and they're fantastic.

"MANiCURE" is a great glam-rock banger, "Dope" is another classic Gaga piano ballad, the title track is some sikly-smooth dreampop; even the misguided, clunky trap anthem "Jewels N' Drugs" is bad in a hilarious, charming way!

Trust me: ARTPOP will go down in history not as a flop, but as a gutsy, underrated record from a legend. Less Witness, more In Utero.

BEST SONGS: "G.U.Y.," "Venus," "Sexxx Dreams"

WORST SONG: "Gypsy"

#2: The Fame Monster (2009)

Objectively speaking, this is probably the best Gaga album.

It's her one record with no fluff, no filler — only 34 minutes and 8 tracks, all of them stellar.

It's the record that took Gaga from "wow, this new woman is a fresh new face in pop!" to "this woman IS pop."

It's the record with her signature track, "Bad Romance," which was accompanied by arguably the greatest music video of the 21st Century. (It also has my absolute favorite Gaga track, the relentlessly catchy "Telephone.")

I don't think I need to explain what makes mega-smashes "Bad Romance" and "Telephone" and "Alejandro" great, nor the accompanying legendary deep cuts "Speechless" and "Dance In The Dark." They speak for themselves.

However — the sleek, calculated perfection of The Fame Monster, while incredible, isn't something I return to often. It's just not the side of Gaga that's my favorite. That honor would have to go to...

BEST SONGS: "Telephone," "Dance In The Dark," "Bad Romance"

WORST SONG: "So Happy I Could Die" (but it's still pretty solid)

#1: Born This Way (2011)

One of my favorite podcasts is Blank Check. The concept of the show is to analyze each movie by a famous director — in particular, those who had big success early on and then got a blank check to make whatever crazy passion project they wanted. Here's a great example: because Batman was a massive hit, Tim Burton got to make whatever Hot Topic-core movies he wanted to for decades, from Edward Scissorhands to a creepy Willy Wonka remake.

That long-winded tangent is just to say: Born This Way was Lady Gaga's blank check. By early 2011, she had conquered the pop universe, notching hit after hit after hit. Every other pop star was copying her quirky music videos. So the label let Gaga do whatever she wanted — and she didn't waste that opportunity.

Born This Way is wildly overproduced. It's both extremely trend-chasing (those synths were cutting edge at the time but charmingly dated now), but also deeply uncaring about what the teens want (I don't think Springsteen and Queen homages were big at the time). And I love every messy, overblown second of it.

From the hair-metal/synthpop hybrid opener "Marry The Night" to the majestic '80s power ballad "The Edge of Glory," Born This Way starts at an 11. And Gaga never takes her foot off the pedal for the album's entire hour-plus run time. Clanging electric guitars, thunderous synths and Clarence Clemons (!!!) sax solos collide into each other as Gaga champions every misfit and loser in the world. It's gloriously corny in the best way possible.

Born This Way is also the perfect middle ground of pop-savvy Gaga and gonzo Gaga. It doesn't go quite as hard as ARTPOP, but the hooks are stronger. And the oddball moments are tons of fun, from the sci-fi biker anthem "Highway Unicorn" to the goofy presidential-sex banger "Government Hooker" ("Put your hands on me/John F. Kennedy" might be the greatest line in pop history).

Born This Way will always be my favorite Gaga album. It's armed with nuclear-grade hooks, slamming beats, and soaring anthems. Although it's not as untouchably pristine as the Mt. Rushmore of '10s pop classics (for the record, that's 1989, EMOTION, Lemonade and, of course, Melodrama), Gaga isn't best served by meticulousness. She's proudly tacky and histrionic, and so that's what makes Born This Way an utter joy.

BEST SONGS: "The Edge of Glory," "You and I," "Marry The Night"

WORST SONG: "Bloody Mary"

9 notes · View notes

unbreakabletrust · 3 years

Text

Men of a Certain Age: 50 States of Denial

https://www.mixcloud.com/epicharmus/men-of-a-certain-age-50-states-of-denial/

1971 Astor Piazzolla (born in 1921) y Su Quinteto “Primavera porteña (nueva versión)” From Concierto para quinteto (RCA Victor) Released in 1971

1972 Ravi Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan (born in 1922) "Raga Sindhi Bhairavi" (excerpt) From In Concert 1972 (Apple) Recorded live in 1972; released in 1973

1973 The Modern Jazz Quartet (feat. Milt Jackson, born in 1923) "Regret?" From Blues on Bach (Atlantic) Recorded in 1973; released in 1974

1974 Chet Atkins (born in 1924) and Merle Travis "Boogie for Cecil" From The Atkins-Travis Traveling Show (RCA Victor) Recorded and released in 1974

1975 B. B. King (born in 1925) "Lucille Talks Back (Copulation)" From Lucille Talks Back (ABC) Released in 1975

1976 Tony Bennett (born in 1926) and Bill Evans "A Child is Born" From Together Again (Improv) Recorded in 1976; released in 1977

1977 Ralph Stanley (born in 1927) and the Clinch Mountain Boys "Oh Death" From Clinch Mountain Gospel (Rebel) Recorded and released in 1977

1978 Serge Gainsbourg (born in 1928) "Sea, Sex, and Sun" 7" single A side (Philips) Released in 1978

1979 Chet Baker (born in 1929) and Wolfgang Lackerschmid "Five Years Ago" From Ballads for Two (Sandra Music Productions) Recorded and released in 1979

1980 Ray Charles (born in 1930) “Compared To What” From Brother Ray Is at It Again (Atlantic) Released in 1980

1981 George Jones (born in 1931) "You Can't Get The Hell Out Of Texas" From Still the Same Ole Me (Epic) Released in 1981

1982 Johnny Cash (born in 1932) "We Must Believe in Magic" From The Adventures of Johnny Cash (Columbia) Album recorded in 1981-1982; released in 1982

1983 James Brown (born in 1933) "Bring It On...Bring It On" From Bring It On! (Augusta Sound) Recorded and released in 1983

1984 Charley Pride (born in 1934) "Stagger Lee" From Power of Love (RCA Victor) Released in 1984

1985 Jerry Lee Lewis (born in 1935) "Keep My Motor Running" From Class of '55: Memphis Rock & Roll Homecoming (America) Recorded in 1985; released in 1986

1986 Kris Kristofferson (born in 1936) and the Borderlords "They Killed Him" From Repossessed (Mercury) Released in 1986

1987 Merle Haggard (born in 1937) "Twinkle, Twinkle Lucky Star" From Chill Factor (Epic) Released in 1987

1988 Fela Kuti (born in 1938) and Egypt 80 "O.D.O.O. (Overtake Don Overtake Overtake)" (excerpt) Recorded live at Lagos Sunsplash in 1988; never officially released

1989 Dion (born in 1939) "Written On The Subway Wall / Little Star" From Yo Frankie (Arista) Released in 1989

1990 The Pharaoh Sanders Quartet (feat. Pharaoh Sanders, born in 1940) "Polka Dots and Moonbeams" From Welcome to Love (Timeless) Recorded in 1990; released in 1991

1991 Harry Nilsson (born in 1941) "How About You" From The Fisher King Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (MCA) Released in 1991

1992 Lou Reed (born in 1942) "What's Good (The Thesis)" From Magic and Loss (Sire) Recorded in 1991; released in 1992

1993 Lucio Dalla (born in 1943) and Tosca "Rispondimi" From Henna (Pressing) Released in 1993

1994 Barry White (born in 1944) "Come On" From The Icon Is Love (A&M) Album recorded in 1993–1994; released in 1994

1995 Neil Young (born in 1945) Untitled Track #9 From the Dead Man soundtrack (Vapor) Recorded and released on movie soundtrack in 1995; officially released on record in 1996

1996 Donovan (born in 1946) "Deep Peace" From Sutras (American Recordings) Album recorded 1995-1996; released in 1996

1997 Buckwheat Zydeco (born in 1947) "Allons a Boucherie" From Trouble (Mesa) Released in 1997

1998 Jimmy Page and Robert Plant (born in 1948) "Most High" From Walking into Clarksdale (Atlantic) Released in 1998

1999 Papa Wemba (born in 1949) "O'Koningana" From M’Zée Fula-Ngenge (Suave) Released in 1999

2000 David Johansen (born in 1950) and the Harry Smiths "Delia" From David Johansen and the Harry Smiths (Chesky) Recorded in 1999; released in 2000

2001 Keb' Mo' (born in 1951) "America the Beautiful" From Big Wide Grin (Sony Wonder) Released in 2001

2002 Alva Noto and Ryuichi Sakamoto (born in 1952) "Duoon" From Vrioon (Raster-Noton) Released in 2002

2003 Robert Cray (born in 1953) "Time Makes Two" From Time Will Tell (Sanctuary) Released in 2003

2004 Elvis Costello (born in 1954) and The Imposters "Button My Lip" From The Delivery Man (Lost Highway) Released in 2004

2005 Gang Of Four (feat. Jon King, born in 1955) "Ether" From Return the Gift (V2) Released in 2005

2006 Easy Star All-Stars feat. Sugar Minott (born in 1956) "Exit Music (For a Film)" From Radiodread (Easy Star) Released in 2006

2007 Robert Pollard (born in 1957) "Rud Fins" From Coast to Coast Carpet of Love (Merge) Released in 2007

2008 Grandmaster Flash (born in 1958) "Good Times (playing around at home) 2008" Recorded in 2008; released on YouTube in 2021

2009 Youssou N'Dour (born in 1959) and Le Super Etoile "Ndakarou" From Spécial Fin D'Année 2009 (Xippi) Released in 2009

2010 Public Enemy (feat. Chuck D, born in 1960) "Say It Like It Really Is" From Bring The Noise (The Hits, Vids And Doc Box - Greatest Sites And Sounds (Chapter 2 1999-2009)) (Slam Jamz) Released in 2010

2011 Toby Keith (born in 1961) "Made in America" From Clancy's Tavern (Show Dog-Universal) Recorded in 2011; released in 2011

2012 Bill Orcutt (born in 1962) "The Star Spangled Banner I" 7" single A side (Palilalia) Released in 2012

2013 My Bloody Valentine (feat. Kevin Shields, born in 1963) "Wonder 2" From m b v (m b v) Album recorded in 1996–1997 and 2006–2012; released in 2013

2014 Koshi Inaba (born in 1964) "念書" ["Written Pledge"] From Singing Bird (Vermillion) Released in 2014

2015 Dr. Dre (born in 1965) feat. Kendrick Lamar, Marsha Ambrosius, and Candice Pillay "Genocide" From Compton (Aftermath) Released in 2015

2016 Anthony Joseph (born in 1966) "Caribbean Roots" From Caribbean Roots (Heavenly Sweetness) Recorded and released in 2016

2017 The Mountain Goats (feat. John Darnielle, born in 1967) "Wear Black" From Goths (Merge) Recorded and released in 2017

2018 Kenny Chesney (born in 1968) feat. Mindy Smith "Better Boat" From Songs for the Saints (Blue Chair) Released in 2018

2019 Beyoncé, Jay-Z (born in 1969), and Childish Gambino feat. Oumou Sangaré "Mood 4 Eva" From The Lion King: The Gift (Parkwood) Recorded and released in 2019

2020 Brad Mehldau (born in 1970) "Suite: April 2020: XII. lullaby" From Suite: April 2020 (Nonesuch) Recorded and released in 2020

2021 Snoop Dogg (born in 1971) feat. Mozzy "Gang Signs" From From tha Streets 2 tha Suites (Doggy Style) Album recorded in 2020–21; released in 2021

1 note · View note

grapevynerendezvous · 4 years

Photo

Jefferson Airplane -Surrealistic Pillow

The release of Surrealistic Pillow, Jefferson Airplane’s second album, coincided with so many new things going on in the world of music, and the world in general. It brought national attention to the psychedelic music scene flourishing in a drug-infused counterculture of Summer of Love San Francisco that had its’ roots in the ‘50s beat scene. The record came out two months before the release of the band’s first hit single, Somebody to Love (b/w She Has Funny Cars, and nearly two months before the next one, White Rabbit (b/w Plastic Fantastic Lover. The actual first single RCA chose to issue from the album was My Best Friend written by Skip Spence (b/w How Do You Feel). It failed to break into the Billboard Hot 100, cresting at No.103. Both Spence and former lead female singer Signe Anderson had departed in 1966 and veteran drummer Spencer Dryden had come aboard along with Grace Slick, formerly of another San Francisco band The Great Society, several months later. Slick brought along the two songs that became huge hits for The Airplane. Somebody To Love, written by her brother-in-law at the time, Darby Slick, had been performed and recorded by The Great Society as Someone To Love. Slick was the composer of White Rabbit early on in the Great Society’s existence. In August 1966, a few months prior to Grace Slick joining Jefferson Airplane, the band fired manager Matthew Katz. A protracted precedent-setting artist-management legal battle ensued over the terms of their contracts, which lasted two decades. Marty Balin’s roommate and friend, Bill Thompson, was their road manager and filled in as band manager for awhile. As Surrealistic Pillow was about to be released, Jefferson Airplane became managed by Bill Graham which lead to their first time on the East Coast. Along with the Grateful Dead and Quicksilver Messenger Service they co-headlined the Human Be-In at Golden Gate Park on January 14, 1967.

The recording of the album took place November 1966 at RCA studios in Los Angeles, not long after Grace had joined the band. The span of dates actually goes from Oct. 31 to Nov. 22, but the band spent less than two weeks in the studio total. There are various takes on how the process went with RCA staff producer Rick Jarrard, but suffice it to say that the band members were not overly happy working with him despite the results or perhaps, in their minds, because of the results. It is noted on the liner notes on the album that Jerry Garcia was the Musical and Spiritual Adviser. There is disparity as to what influence he may have had over the recording. Producer Rick Jarrard denied that Jerry had any presence on any of the tracks. This has been countered by band members, and Jerry himself said in a 1967 interview that he played guitar on three tracks, the high lead on Today, and also Comin’ Back to You and Plastic Fantastic Lover, plus he rearranged Somebody to Love. In his book, Been So Long: My Life and Music, Jorma Kaukonen wrote, "I used to think about him as co-producer, but now that I really know what a producer is, the producer of that record was Rick Jarrard. Jerry was a combination arranger, musician, and sage counsel.” Reportedly Garcia was also the inspiration of the album name with his comment, “as surrealistic as a pillow is soft”, according to two sources, Light into Ashes-Grateful Dead Guide: Jerry Garcia & Surrealistic Pillow, and JGMF-Jerry Garcia’s Middle Finger: Jerry on Jefferson Airplane, Surrealistic Pillow.

Released February 1, 1967, the album went as high as No.3 on the Billboard Top 200 while being on the chart for over a year. It was awarded a Gold Record for over a million sold (eventually certified Platinum) and is ranked 146 on the Rolling Stone list of 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Somebody to Love hit No..5 and White Rabbit No.8 on the Billboard Hot 100. Both songs are in Rolling Stones list of 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, Somebody to Love at 274 and White Rabbit at 478. The B-side of White Rabbit, Plastic Fantastic Lover, received extensive airplay in the San Francisco Bay Area and perhaps other markets as well. Jorma Kaukonen’s guitar instrumental, Embryonic Journey, also got some airplay in the Bay Area and was performed on at least one network television show. The Airplane also benefited from being on TV shows such as The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, The Ed Sullivan Show, and The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. Jefferson Airplane became a national and international phenomenon, thanks in part to the influence of music critic Ralph J. Gleason, The Airplane was invited to play at the first major rock festival, Monterey Pop in June 1967, just prior to the White Rabbit release. Surrealistic Pillow was, as Allmusic reviewer Bruce Eder put it, “…a groundbreaking piece of folk-rock-based psychedelia, and it hit like a shot heard round the world”. It was considered original for its; time, and the band’s fusion of folk rock and psychedelia lined up with pioneering musical directions of The Byrds, The Beatles, The Yardbirds, Bob Dylan, and The Mamas and the Papas.

The songwriting for the album was spread out amonst five of the band members, the result of which was, as Bruce Eder puts it, “resplendent in a happy balance of all of these creative elements”. She Has Funny Cars, written by Marty Balin and Jorma Kaukonen, starts with a rhythm and blues based Bo Diddley Beat, and goes on to highlight the new harmony magic of Marty and Grace Slick. The song expresses the materialism in American Society, but the title has been attributed to Spencer Dryden’s girlfriend’s “funny car(s)”. The next two songs on the album were written by other local musicians that the band had been associated with. Somebody To Love was written by Darby Slick, Grace’s brother-in-was at the time, and it was released as a single by their band The Great Society, under the name Someone To Love. With Grace’s decision to join Jefferson Airplane at Jack Casady’s suggestion, The Great Society band came to an end. While Grace’s presentation of Somebody (Someone) To Love with them was more subdued, in the Jefferson Airplane version “she sounds far more accusatory and menacing”, per SongFacts. My Best Friend was a nod to the Airplane’s folk rock beginnings, and in some ways had the type of harmonies reminiscent of The Mamas and Papas, and before that, Peter, Paul and Mary. It was composed by former drummer Skip Spence, who had left to form Moby Grape. The two tracks that close out side one are ballads written by by Marty Balin with Jack Kantner co-writing the first one, Today. Balin said that he was inspired to write Today while being in a recording studio next to one where Tony Bennett was recording. He had thought to write the song for Tony in hopes that he might meet him and give it to him. This never happened and it ended up being one of the Airplane’s most beautiful songs. Another lovely song, Comin’ Back to Me, which features Grace Slick on recorder, was written by Balin in one sitting, afterwards going right to the studio to record it with any available musicians. It has been included on soundtracks of several American feature films. 3/5 of Mile in Ten Seconds is a psychedelic blues-rocker that sheds light on the vibrant, drug-drenched San Francisco scene of 1966 while “there is a sense of reflection in some of the lines”, per Matthew Greenwald’s Allmusic song review. D.C.B.A.-25. The title is pretty simple, the letters are for chords in the song, and -25 comes from LSD-25. Paul Kantner composed it. A true sign of the times. The next song is the only one on the album written by someone not connected to the band in some way. Tom Mastin is the composer of How Do You Feel, which is similar to My Best Friend in that it is a folk-rock number with shades of The Mamas and The Papas in the vocalization. Like Comin’ Back to You, it also features Grace Slick on recorder in addition to her vocal harmonies. Little is known about Tom Mastin. Grace Slick had merely said that he was a friend of the band according to Barbara Rowes' biography of Slick. There is some light shed on him in a biography on the Brewer and Shipley website. Michael Brewer met Tom Mastin in Kent, Ohio in 1964, playing in a local club together, and they decided to check the scene out in San Francisco. Perhaps this is when he met up with local musicians at a time when bands like Jefferson Airplane and The Great Society were forming. After a brief stay Mastin and Brewer headed for Los Angeles to meet up with some friends. They ended up recording a three-song demo produced by Barry Friedman (later known as Mohawk Frazier), and Columbia Records offered a contract for them to record as Mastin & Brewer. As they, and two other band members added to the group, were preparing to record, Mastin walked away from the band. He is said to have suffered severe bouts of depression and eventually committed suicide in the ‘90s. The single was actually completed when Brewer recruited his brother Keith to perform Mastin’s vocals and Columbia released the Brewer & Brewer record, which attracted little attention. As already noted, Grace Slick had already written White Rabbit, but the first studio recording of it occurred shortly after she joined Jefferson Airplane. The thinly disguised references to psychedelic drugs meant it was banned in some markets, but it still managed a high position on the charts. It was not included on the U.K. version of the album and the released single there only reached No.94 on the UK Singles Chart. Marty Balin wrote the final cut on the album, Plastic Fantastic Lover, after spending time in a Los Angeles hotel watching television. It is his somewhat sarcastic viewpoint about how much people watch the medium, all done in a blues-rock style with the influence of James Brown/funk.

This one finally hit close to home for me. It was my first San Francisco "sound", Summer of Love record. It is also one of my all-time favorite records, as I’m sure it is with many other folks. It wasn't too hard to be attracted to The Airplane's music, what with first one big hit, and then another, riding the airwaves. They weren't new songs to the SF music scene, but soon the whole world was paying attention. Somebody To Love and White Rabbit were and still are catchy tunes that spoke to a generation. New generations are still tuning in. A young singer songwriter I know, Lisa Azzolino, covers White Rabbit. It is undoubtedly the most remarkable version I've heard since Grace Slick held forth with it back in the day. I remember being struck by some of the song titles and the band’s appearance. It was pretty foreign to me and quite fascinating. The album itself was likely something I might have bought even if I hadn’t heard Somebody To Love. I even went so far as to buy the 45rpm of White Rabbit and Plastic Fantastic Lover. I’m pretty sure I got it because it was played so early in the Bay Area and hadn’t risen to hit status as yet. As time went by, Bay Area Top 40 stations were playing not only the two huge hits, but Plastic Fantastic Lover (which was on the single), Today, and even Embryonic Journey as well. The one song on the album that didn’t do much for me was My Best Friend. Perhaps it was too “folksy” for me, or seemed a bit “country”, but as time went on it started sticking in my head more and more. I even realized that it would just pop into my personal play list and I would be singing it to myself, probably as much or more as Somebody To Love, or Today. I never heard the single version on the radio though.

As I was researching information for this the name Matthew Katz stood out to me immediately. I’ve been familiar with it for a long time. primarily because of his likewise unscrupulous management associations with Moby Grape and It’s A Beautiful Day. I have friends involved in both bands and have heard some horror stories directly from them which include, among other things, “legal” control of publishing, and even the names of the bands. He refused to let go of these things and took advantage of them as much as he could without ever considering renegotiation. The fact that his legal wranglings with Jefferson Airplane has had a major impact on how artist-management arrangements are being handled since those days is gratifying to say the least.

I never got to see Jefferson Airplane in person, but I have seen Starship and a later version of Jefferson Starship. I saw the latter at Marin County Center one night. I recall that Paul Kantner was there on rhythm guitar, and Marty Balin sang a handful of his great songs, including some Jefferson Airplane favorites. It was special that Signe Anderson came out and sang a few songs which included her joining with Marty on Its No Secret. I had an opportunity to go to Monterey Pop because I had just spent a week in Pacific Grove that year and a friend who lived there invited me down for this festival that was happening a week or two after I was there. The problem was I didn’t have a way down and I didn’t really know how to approach such a thing with my parents. Ah well, nothing too much happened there, right? And the Bay Area connection was special in more ways than one. Grace Slick nee Wing attended my alma mater Palo Alto High School, but switched to the private all-girls Castilleja High School, also in Palo Alto. I estimate she started Paly 14 or 15 years before I did, which meant I hadn’t arrived in town yet. Paul Kantner, born in San Francisco, was sent to a catholic military boarding school by his father after his mother died when he was eight years old. He graduated from St. Mary’s College High School in Berkeley in 1959, also before I moved to California, but ten years before I graduated from Paly High. To think, a religious military school. Paul puts it best in regard to his experience of being forced to be at St. Joseph’s Military Academy in Belmont CA: “I was an abandoned little child. The school was out of necessity, (his 61-year old salesman father couldn’t raise him on his own) but still rather drastic. Nuns and guns. As a result, I now fear nothing.”

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/jefferson-airplane-mn0000840102/biography

https://www.allmusic.com/album/surrealistic-pillow-mw0000591676

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/surrealistic-pillow-251704/

https://books.google.com/books?id=TKyYNB0pGIoC&pg=PA15&lpg=PA15&dq=paul+kantner+saint+mary%27s+college+high+school+graduate&source=bl&ots=qa5ymlMsuE&sig=ACfU3U2fe1iOMB1NLVQgq0h-HTapXX4Ukw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwizipu0yqrpAhUHKKwKHZPdAYwQ6AEwAnoECAoQAQ#v=onepage&q=paul%20kantner%20saint%20mary's%20college%20high%20school%20graduate&f=false

Somebody to Love http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=1251

https://www.amazon.com/best-friend-how-feel-single/dp/B007A6SAGI

https://www.allmusic.com/song/3-5-of-a-mile-in-10-seconds-mt0056876477

How Do You Feel composer https://www.allmusic.com/artist/tom-mastin-mn0001774142 http://www.brewerandshipley.com/Bios&Liners/Mastin&Brewer.htm

Surrealistic Pillow https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzEG2f9QAl8OaEk6_Mz2gG3DXBImWofzm

LP18

2 notes · View notes

emcon-ocs · 4 years

Photo

oc drawing was done by the wonderful @anti-solidcoffee!!

MARVEL OC

Willow Wren is a survivor of the Panoptes Foundation who escapes to NYC. She possesses bat wings, as well as enhanced hearing and wind manipulation, and her abilities eventually put her on both the radar of SHIELD and the Avengers.

URL: @aka-willow // TAG // PLAYLIST // PINTEREST

Name: Willow Wren Faceclaim: Esme Creed-Miles, Alexa Swinton (younger) Nicknames/Aliases: Nikita “Nina” McFly, Subject 10, October, Batty, The Manhattan Angel, Bat Kid, Rock and Roll All Nite, HYDRA River Tam, Jailbreak, Willow Nikita Bennett Gender: Female Birthday: October 10, 2002 Age: 15 Affiliation: The Panoptes Foundation (formerly), HYDRA (formerly), The Lab Rats, The Avengers Occupation: Student Sexuality: Bisexual Location: New York Powers: Flight, enhanced hearing, regenerative healing, wind manipulation (eventually) Appearance: 5′4″, black hair and blue eyes, fairly pale with dark circles often under her eyes. Left eyebrow is crooked due to an injury that caused part of it to not grow back. Often disheveled looking, wearing baggy clothes to hide her wings and her long hair rarely brushed. Hobbies: helping Jessica Jones with her PI business, listening to music, Academic Decathlon, robotics club, drama club tech crew, hanging out with friends, playing with her pet rats, Nedward and Boxer Joe Likes: 70s and 80s music, the movie Dumbo, sleeping under tons of blankets with the windows open, flying around on a cool night, Dunkin’ Donuts, trashy reality TV + Trish Talk, an open sky, rats, root beer, Dominos pizza, having her headphones in, Twilight, watching Glee with her friends Dislikes: overprotectiveness, having to sit still, bullies (esp. of the political type..), being talked down to, being left out of the loop, early mornings, loud environments, doctors Canon Character Relationships:

Jessica Jones: friend and mentor

Peter Parker: close friend and ally

Ned Leeds: close friend from school

Wanda Maximoff: mentor, like an older sister, friend

Natasha Romanoff: mentor, handler while with the Avengers, friend

Trish Walker: friend and mentor

Steve Rogers: friend, team leader

Sam Wilson: friend, like the cool cousin

Malcolm Ducasse: acquaintance, friendly ally

Jeri Hogarth: Lawyer, ally

Vision: tutor, often at odds with

James Rhodes: acquaintance

Tony Stark: acquaintance, definite distrust, adversary

Daisy Johnson: acquaintance

Leo Fitz: acquaintance

Jemma Simmons: acquaintance

Phil Coulson: has met briefly, has his contact info

Melinda May: has met briefly

Bobbi Morse: has met briefly

Lance Hunter: has met briefly

Grant Ward: was stabbed by

Kilgrave: enemy

Daniel Whitehall: enemy, was experimented on by

Personality:

Willow’s personality has been described on more than one occasion as that of a feral cat. Her generally disheveled appearance and awkward nature set her apart from her classmates, and her misunderstanding of social cues often leave them feeling uncomfortable. Her general distrust towards new people doesn’t help the situation. Due to her upbringing, Willow is fairly socially stunted, looking to her friends for social cues and mimicking their actions. She’s often found repeating dialogue from movies and TV and relating situations to often the same few movies or television shows, as these are her greatest frame of reference for how “the real world” plays out.

Willow is often found awake at all hours of the night, usually because she struggles to sleep, and is constantly hoping someone will be up to hang out with her, though she would never ask. She’s often found sleeping during the day, when others are around and when she feels safer.

Once Willow warms up to someone, she’s more bubbly and talkative, still awkward, but in a slightly more endearing way. She’s eager to lend a helping hand, spontaneous, and full of energy (many have tried to cut her off from caffeine and failed) until she hits a crash and ends up passed out in some odd spot. Thoughtful and encouraging, Willow also cares deeply for her friends and her love language is easily acts of service.

Willow clashes with authority often, usually only trusting an authority figure, like Natasha, with time (and food. she’s really motivated by food). Once she finds an adult she can trust, she latches onto them for guidance and is eager to please them (re: Jessica Jones, Natasha Romanoff, Detective Bennett).

In dire situations, Willow is a wildcard, often falling back on her more feral nature (she’s well known for biting in fights). Her stubbornness and naivety often lands her in situations where she ends up in over her head, and she often prioritizes a victory over her own wellbeing.

More than anything, Willow hopes for some semblance of a normal life despite her circumstances and relishes in doing “normal people things”. She also hopes to prevent the types of experiments she went though, and fights to protect the rights of other enhanced individuals, as well as their autonomy.

Biography:

Willow Wren (formerly Nikita “Nina” McFly) was born on premature on October 10, 2002, at the University of Vermont Medical Center. Born wrapped in her then-tiny batwings, her birth was an oddity, and kept hushed among the staff of the medical center. Her mother was Antonia Farago, a young woman who worked as a custodian for SHIELD and died shortly after Willow’s birth. Her father, Vasyl Zakharov, a former first responder at Chernobyl, was out of the picture and passed away only a few years later due to cancer.

Willow spent the first few weeks of her life in the NICU before the Panoptes Foundation caught wind of the mutant baby and attempted to apprehend her. This attempt was thwarted by the quick-thinking of the staff, who passed Willow off to a medical student. Willow was dropped off at the fire station downtown, and later taken in by firefighter Jackson McFly and his partner David, a graduate student at the University of Vermont. The couple named her Nikita, after the Elton John song, and nicknamed her Nina.

For the first few years of her life, Willow was brought up by the McFlys who found her and hid her from prying government agencies, though she was eventually located and taken by The Panoptes Foundation. Her abilities narrowly saved her from execution, the fate suffered by other taken kids. Willow was brought to the Clinic, a research site where the Foundation studied those with abilities, hoping to identify how to find and eliminate mutants. The Clinic also collected data for HYDRA, who sponsored the Foundation under the direction of Daniel Whitehall.

At the Clinic, Willow met two other children (Dew and Fanisimo) born with strange abilities or traits. The Lab Rats (as they eventually called themselves) were kept under the Foundation’s control through the Faustus Method. As Willow’s abilities further developed, she was eventually brainwashed as a weapon to be deployed. The Clinic was led by Doctor Dawn Turner, whom Willow grew to despise, and who “put down” mutants when the Clinic’s research on them was finished.

At some point in late 2014, Willow found that HYDRA would be taking custody of her permanently, despite the wishes of the Foundation, and sending her to Hydra Laboratories in Dover, Delaware.

Willow escaped the Clinic in November of 2014, and fled to New York City, where she received assistance from a homeless woman who put her into contact with Jeffrey Fields, an underground advocate for people with abilities. Willow met Jessica Jones during the Kilgrave fiasco, and later helped out around the detective agency after school. She also became friends with Peter Parker and Ned Leeds that year in the eighth grade, along with paranormal fanatic Kate Gray, and the son of Jeffrey Fields, Marty Fields.

Though she had no memory of her past before escaping, Willow’s encounter with Kilgrave began unlocking some buried memories, eventually leading to the realization that she had been experimented on and brainwashed. Her summer of 2015 was spent investigating her past back with The Panoptes Foundation, eventually meeting up with another the Lab Rats at the old Clinic, which had been abandoned in the past year. In the fall of 2015, Willow began tracking down old HYDRA associates and doxxing them, though Willow began to take it a little too far, putting her on the radar of SHIELD and eventually the Avengers.

A case of mistaken identity also led Willow to accidentally target Werner von Strucker, son of Wolfgang von Strucker. During this incident, Willow was stabbed by Grant Ward, and put back onto HYDRA’s radar as well.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Willow, her now-best-friend Marty was also investigating HYDRA for her, realizing the connection between it and The Panoptes Foundation, which led to his murder in December of 2015. Willow became homeless shortly after this and cut off communication with many of her old friends, continuing to go to school but finding and eventually killing old Panoptes associates by night.

She was eventually tracked down by SHIELD and confronted at school. Barely managing to escape, Willow set herself on a final mission to find Doctor Dawn Turner. This led to her capture by The Panoptes Foundation, but not before tipping off SHIELD to the location of the base. After being held by The Panoptes Foundation, and by extension, HYDRA, for a week, she was broken out by SHIELD forces. She was given the option to stay in the custody of SHIELD, or into the custody of the Avengers, whom Phil Coulson and Daisy Johnson felt could better understand and contain her powers. Tests run by SHIELD confirmed their beliefs that she had been exposed to something similar to the Mind Stone, perhaps even in utero.

Willow chose to go with the Avengers and stayed with them through the spring of 2016, finishing her school year remotely, training, and becoming close friends with Wanda, as well as developing a mentorship relationship with Natasha. She also was given access to recently found documents about her past, giving her answers as to where she came from. In June of 2016, however, Willow sided with Captain America in the Avengers Civil War after sneaking out of the Avengers Compound to find out what the Winter Soldier’s reemergence had to do with HYDRA. She was imprisoned at the Raft before being broken out by Steve Rogers and was encouraged by the newly formed Secret Avengers to return to New York City and negotiate a deal with the government through SHIELD. Willow resolved to turn herself in, but not before traveling to reunite with her dads in Burlington, VT, and meeting her adopted siblings.

Back in New York City, Willow lived at the SHIELD Cocoon facility and returned to high school. In the fall of 2016, Willow also rekindled her friendship with Peter Parker and Ned Leeds, as well as made enemies with her old friend Kate. However, following Kate’s untimely Terragenesis, Kate’s friends reached out to Willow for help, and the girl helped Kate escape government surveillance and go into hiding.

In the winter of 2017, Marty’s father reconnected with Willow, asking for her help in further assisting those with abilities in the New York area, and helping a few escape the surveillance of SHIELD. This new responsibility puts her in constant conflict with the law and dangerously close to violating her terms of her freedom. Detective Bennett, who Willow had come to know after Marty’s murder, grew worried about her as the girl continued to show up to the precinct, and eventually offered to take the girl in.

Over time, Willow and Detective Bennett realized that Detective Bennett had also been a victim of the Panoptes Foundation as a teenager back in the 90s, and the two of them team up with Jeffrey Fields, Fanisimo, Dew, and Kate Gray to take down the Foundation once and for all.

After the attack on New York, Willow headed to the Avengers Compound, meeting up with the others before heading to Wakanda and participating in the Battle of Wakanda, getting gravely injured while trying to protect Wanda and Vision from Thanos. Though she survives and is left behind in the Snap, she suffers from long-term brain damage, which concerns Natasha, who she moves back in with after the Snap.

Willow was a participate in the Time Heist, going with the New York team, and was devastated when she returned and learned of Natasha’s death. She fought with the Avengers in the Battle of Earth, surviving to fight another day, though dealing with the consequences of the immense losses she suffered, and struggling to help her friends, Peter and Wanda, still alive after the war.

After the Battle of Earth, Willow sticks around with the Avengers for a few days before returning to live with Detective Bennett. However, something strange calls Willow to Westview, NJ, where she accidentally flies into the Hex. Willow appears in 1960s Westview, stripped of her powers and with no memory of her past. However, due to her previous experience with mind control, the illusion breaks down quicker for Willow and by the 90s, she’s moved in with the Wandavision household as Wanda tried to keep her in the new reality and quell Willow’s distress, though Willow eventually regains control and helps to fight off SWORD.

After the Battle of Westview, Willow stays in touch with Wanda, being her point of contact and stopping by weekly with groceries and news from the world outside Wanda’s cabin. Willow has continued her work in hiding mutants and Inhumans from government surveillance and does the same for Wanda. She often splits time between the city and her fathers’ home in Burlington.

In the fall of 2024, this work extends to helping Peter as well, who is grappling with the leak of his secret identity as Spider-Man. She puts him into contact with lawyer Matt Murdock and helps shield him from some of the press, but later loses contact with him when Strange’s spell erases Peter from the world’s memory. However this loss only lasts for a few months.

Willow regains her memories of Peter when Strange returns to her for help, asking Willow to give up the location of Wanda, Willow being one of the only people who knows it. Willow refuses, and only relents when Strange lets her remember Peter again, helping Willow understand the gravity of the situation involving the multiverse.

#willow wren #bat out of hell

14 notes · View notes

notyetneedcoffee · 5 years

Text

The Old Fashion Way

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Reader

Warnings: This chapter is pretty PG - it WILL get smutty later

CHAPTER ONE

Something in the atmosphere changed whenever Steve Rogers stepped on to the floor. The crowd at the copier got a little heavier. The voices of the ladies pitched just a bit higher. A friendlier chatter echoed between the cubicles. Female giggles chimed across the floor. You found it endlessly amusing because he remained complete oblivious to it.

You pulled up his profile on your computer, and just before he turned into your office you greeted him with a pleasant, “Good morning, Cap.”

“How do you do that?” He chuckled, lowering into the seat on the other side of your desk.

“We’ve been over this.” You took the file folder from him. “The staff gets all hot and bothered when you’re around.”

The slightest touch of pink tinted his perfect skin. Steve chose to ignore your statement and shifted his oversized frame in the chair. You peeked over the top of the file, noting the effect the movement had on the already tight blue tee shirt. No denying the man defined gorgeous.

“You sure you don’t mind me doing this the old-fashioned way?” He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “I don’t want to be a bother.”

“It’s not that big of a deal, Steve.” You smiled. “I’d much rather you turn in clean paper work via hardcopy, than force me to run down missing pieces and incomplete forms electronically like Bruce does.”

“Banner? Really?”

“Mm-hmm.” You continued to read through his report. “He may be genius, but he’s as absent minded as they come. Steve, you’re still not claiming everything that you can. These can’t be all your expenses.”

“Y/N,” He sighed, “I’m just not comfortable with all that stuff you mentioned. If I’m going to have a cup of coffee or take a cab, that’s my choice. I’ll pay for it.”

“I get it. I do. Just don’t forget those perks are there, okay?” You tossed his file on your desk. “So, did you watch them?”

Steve picked at the seam on his jeans, smiling with an adorable shyness. “Yeah.”

“I knew you’d love them.” The mischievous giggle escaped despite your best effort.

“If the guys knew I spent my Saturday night watching Disney movies…”

As soon as Steve spotted the Snow White pin on your ID lanyard a few weeks ago, you’d fallen into a long conversation about what it was like for him to see it at the movies when it first came out in 1938. The detail in which he described the artistry of the animation confirmed your notion that the Captain possessed a creative side. Listening to him, you were able to imagine the wonder at seeing a full color animated movie for the first time.

You may have teased him about crying in front of a date at the movies while watching Bambi, but Steve quickly explained he usually went to the movies alone. He confessed he enjoyed watching Disney movies by himself because they allowed him to completely escape who he was for just a little while. He could be happy for a bit.

With that little confession, he broke your heart. Not painfully, because instead of leaving you bleeding he just crawled inside and warmed your soul. Steve didn’t even know he did it.

So, you pulled out a pen and held out your hand for his ever-present notebook. You stared your very own page. You jotted down all your favorites in no particular order, but upon reflection, put stars next to Cinderella, The Jungle Book, The Little Mermaid, Robin Hood and The Lion King. Steve promised to watch your recommendations, giving you a bright smile.

“I can be our little secret.” You smiled.

Steve beamed back. “Sounds good, so long as I can keep from humming the songs on the elevator.” He grinned at your laughed. Long fingers began picking at the seam of his jeans again. “So listen, Y/N, I was wondering…” His phone buzzed.

He glanced at the screen, a frown clouding his face. “I have to go.”

“It’s okay.” You smiled. “You know where to find me.”

Steve got up, still reading the text message. At the door he paused with a heavy sigh. You wondered what brought the worry to his face, knowing he couldn’t say. He gnawed at the corner of his lower lip before locking gazes with you again. “It might be a while, but I do want to finish this conversation.”

You gave him a what you hoped was a nonchalant smile, but inside you we’re fighting the urge to jump up and wrap your arms around him. “I’ll be here.”

“Okay.”

“Steve,” He paused and looked back. “Be safe.”

His mouth opened as if to say something else, but instead just nodded with sad smile before walking away.

**********

You took a sip of the perfectly prepared latte and thanked the waitress. Being early on a Sunday, few people occupied the little coffee shop on M Street in the Georgetown neighborhood. Later in the day you planned to look for a new apartment. For now, though, all you wanted to focus on was a good cup of coffee and your book.

Only four pages into your chapter, someone stepped into your personal space, their shadow cutting off the warmth of the sun. You glanced up, eyes roaming over powerful thighs, trim waist and tight abs, to hugely broad shoulders, finally meeting amused bright blue eyes.

Rogers wore running pants and a tee shirt that looked painted on. His breath came a little faster than normal. His smile, though, was just for you. Setting your book aside, it took all of your will power not to stand up and hug him. It’d been three weeks since he’d left your office that day.

“What are you doing here?” He smiled, hands on his hips.

“Rebuilding an engine.” You deadpanned. His head dropped to one side and he rolled his eyes. “Just having coffee. Pull up a seat.”

You kicked the empty chair out a couple inches. Steve sat down and leaned a little closer. “I’m sorry I haven’t come by. We just got back yesterday afternoon.”

“Don’t worry about it.” You smiled, surprisingly pleased it was the first thing to come to his mind. “My desk is still there. What are you doing here this morning?”

“Oh, I just went for a run around the National Mall a few times.” He gave you a shy smile.

The Mall was maybe three miles away. The loop was four or five miles, you couldn’t remember. A few times around, plus there and back. He was a machine. “You run a marathon every Sunday morning?”

He just shrugged, smile a little wider. “Only when I don’t have anything better to occupy my time. I didn’t know you lived in my neighborhood.”

“I don’t.” You took a drink of your coffee. “I’m apartment hunting. My building is being sold and we’ve been given notice. They’re giving us lots of time, though, so I can be picky. There’s a couple places I’m going to look at later this afternoon.”

He slouched back in the chair a little, looking up and down the near empty street. “So, you plan on just sitting around until this afternoon?”

You grinned at his attempt to be nonchalant. “I’ve got my book, was going to meander around the shops, see what’s within easy walking distance, maybe find something good to eat. It’s important to get the feel for the lay of the land before making a move.”

“Have you, ah, had breakfast yet?” Steve bit his lip.

“No. Have any suggestions?” Damn, he was adorable.

“Yeah. There’s a diner not too far away that serves a really good breakfast. I could show you.”

“That’d be great.”

“Do you mind, um,” he glanced down at himself. “Do you mind if we swing by my place so I can clean up really quick? It’s only a couple blocks up.”

The image of Steve in the shower danced across your mind, and you had to mentally shake yourself. “Sure.”

Steve’s place reflected what you knew of the man. Uncluttered and masculine, the living room felt like someplace to relax and read. It lacked the normal collections of sentimental items, but a small pile of LPs leaned against a record player and a copy of ‘All the President’s Men’ lay on the coffee table with the place marked with a take-out menu. He dropped his keys onto a shelf and looked uncomfortable.

“I’ll, ah, just be a minute. I’ve never really had anyone over, but, um, make yourself at home.” He disappeared into the bedroom.

You sunk into what appeared to be his favorite chair, fighting the urge to poke around. Even if you’d wasted an exorbitant amount of time wondering about Steve’s private life, you respected him too much to take advantage of the situation. Besides, something about him inspired a stronger sense of propriety.

The sound of the water running drew your attention. Images of Steve in the shower flooded more than your mind. Shifting in the seat, you tried not to think about him soaping up and washing that amazing body under the hot water.

Ugh. You forced yourself to just stop it before you embarrassed yourself. Running hands over your face, feeling the warmth, you chided yourself. Steve could have any young woman he wanted. Being confident did not mean you weren’t a realist. There were prettier and younger women to be had.

Trying to shake the image of a naked Steve in the other room, you instead got up and examined his record collection. At first glance, they seemed to be in order by decade. Tommy Dorsey sat along side Bing Crosby and Sammy Kaye. Nat King Cole was followed by Tony Bennett and Elvis. Fewer represented later dates, a few Beatles albums, a Stevie Wonder greatest hits and a Led Zeppelin collection.

“See anything you like?”

You turned and you bit your lip against the first answer that popped into your head. Steve stood in blue jeans and a gray tee shirt. Shower fresh, hair still wet and combed back, he smelled amazing. Standing from the crouched position, you nodded.

“Yeah? What would that be?” Steve grinned, head tilted slightly, eye mischievous.

Damn it. He was flirting. You’d never known Steve Rogers to flirt. Your smile widened. “All of it.”

“Really? Even the hard stuff? It’s not all oldies.”

“Sure.” You buried your hands in the back pockets of your jeans and rocked on your toes. “Hard stuff is good. Oldies too. I even like the sappy, romantic licks.”

Steve’s tongue slipped out and moistened his full lip. “Y/N, that thing I was, ah, wondering about...” He took half a step forward. You had to tilt your head up to look into his eyes. “Do you think there’s any chance you might consider, um...” He took a deep breath before shaking his head and laughing lightly at himself. “I don’t know how this stuff is done anymore. I’m sorry.”

“Steve.” You placed a casual hand on his waist, but pulled it back right away. “Say what you want to say however you want to say it.”

He captured your hand in his own, inching even a little closer. “Be my girl?”

Your fingers entwined with his. “Me? You want to date me?”

The warm fingers of his other hand stroked your face, thumb ghosting over your lip. “Yeah. Very much.”

“Why?”

Steve’s eyes transitioned from surprise to confusion. “What do you mean ‘why’? You’re a smart, beautiful woman. You’re kind, even though I know life hasn’t always been kind to you. You make me laugh.” He sighed. “I don’t feel quite as lost when I’m around you.”

“Wow.” You breathed.

“Is that a ‘yes’?” He grinned.

In answer, you nodded and rocked up on your toes. His hand cradled your face as his lip touched yours. It began as gentle, chaste kiss. His other hand left your and pulled you closer. Your hands moved along his strong chest. A little moan escaped your throat. Steve deepened the kiss, tongues sliding and dancing against each other.

His forehead rested against yours, a giddy smile on his face. “I have wanted to do that for months.”

“Me too.”

A/N: More to come!

#steve rogers #steve rogers x reader #steve rogers fanfiction #captain america #captain america fic

453 notes · View notes

bryanpayton · 4 years

Photo

DAVE stars Dave Burd and is loosely based on his real life. The show depicts Burd as a white 20-something rapper from the suburbs who aspires to be the greatest rapper of all time. The difficult part is convincing others to take him seriously. Burd’s rapper name is Lil’ Dicky both in show and real life, which is a self-deprecating joke in itself. I can’t help but think about 2 Chainz changing his name from Tity Boi, which only helped his career.

Strange rapper names aside, Burd’s rap skills are legit. While I’m not a fan of his 2015 album Professional Rapper, his freestyles are some of the most entertaining I’ve heard. DAVE is more indicative of his freestyles and real-life personality - it’s witty, spontaneous, funny, raunchy (sometimes, unnecessarily so), and surprisingly thoughtful and heartfelt at times. Burd’s team consists of co-stars Taylor Misiak who plays his girlfriend, Taco Bennett as his producer, hype man Gata, Andrew Santino, and Christine Ko. The Directors, Greg Mottola (Superbad), Ben Sinclair, Andrew DeYoung, and Tony Yacenda pieced together an opening season worthy of critical acclaim, but it is not void of missteps.

The show is strongly centered around Burd, sometimes annoyingly so. I found him to be an equally endearing and cringe-worthy character. He’s the guy you invite to the party because he’s funny, but you’re cautious because he has no filter and struggles to read the room. One minute you’re laughing about something funny you saw on Instagram, and the next you’re cringing as he tells a dick joke to a group of your friends. Burd’s stubbornness is laugh-out-loud funny, but also a bit unbelievable at times. This tends to make some of the writing seem forced.

Burd’s team on DAVE are interesting and diverse individually and I’d be willing to watch a show about the five of them together, but his relationship with each of them doesn’t quite hit as hard as I’d like. I’m more interested in how they all plan to navigate the demands of the music business and the drama that comes with that. Burd's personality clashing with the tolerance of his record label along with the potential storylines of his team is enough for me in one opening season.

What stuck with me about DAVE were were the serious moments. It was the way they tackled mental health midseason. Also, the emotion of the moments dealing with love, loss, and insecurity sneak up on you.

At its core, DAVE is about chasing a dream. The story of that dream and how it’s packaged always varies. In this case, it’s a delightfully flawed, silly, and entertaining one that both frustrated me and kept me wanting more.

#TV Shows #Dave Burd #Lil Dicky #Greg Mottola #Ben Sinclair #Andrew DeYoung #Tony Yacenda #Taylor Misiak #Taco Bennett #Gata #Andrew Santino #Christine Ko #Hip-Hop #Rap #Music

6 notes · View notes

onenakedfarmer · 1 year

Text

Currently Playing

AMERICA'S GREATEST HITS Volume 5 - 1954

Various Artists including Eddie Fisher, Tony Bennett, Dean Martin, Patti Page, Kay Starr, Doris Day, Jo Stafford, Eartha Kitt, Frank Sinatra, McGuire Sisters, The Four Aces, The Gaylords, Les Baxter, Vaughn Monroe, Les Paul and Mary Ford, Nat King Cole

0 notes

grantmkemp · 5 years

Photo

Born 84 years ago today, 9th December 1934, Dame Judith Olivia Dench. In Britain, Dench has developed a reputation as one of the greatest actresses of the post-war period, primarily through her work in theatre, which has been her forté throughout her career. She has more than once been named number one in polls for Britain's best actor. My colourised picture from a black, and white promotional still shows Dench in the 1959 TV series "Hilda Lessways" (adapted from the Clayhanger family novels by Arnold Bennett), and according to "Lost U.K. TV Shows Search Engine", this series is believed to be lost. Dench was aged just 25, and this was her first television appearance.

Through her parents, Dench had regular contact with the theatre. Her father, a physician, was also the GP for the York theatre, and her mother was its wardrobe mistress. Actors often stayed in the Dench household. During these years, Judi Dench was involved on a non-professional basis in the first three productions of the modern revival of the York Mystery Plays in 1951, 1954 and 1957. In the third production she played the role of the Virgin Mary, performed on a fixed stage in the Museum Gardens. Though she initially trained as a set designer, she became interested in drama school as her brother Jeff attended the Central School of Speech and Drama. She applied and was accepted by the School, then based at the Royal Albert Hall, London, where she was a classmate of Vanessa Redgrave, graduating and being awarded four acting prizes, including the Gold Medal as Outstanding Student.

In September 1957, she made her first professional stage appearance with the Old Vic Company, at the Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool, as Ophelia in Hamlet.

She remained a member of the company for four seasons, 1957–1961

The 1966 BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles was made to Dench for her performance in Four in the Morning and this was followed in 1968 by a BAFTA Television Best Actress Award for her role in John Hopkins' 1966 BBC drama Talking to a Stranger.

Dench made her debut as a director in 1988 with the Renaissance Theatre Company's touring season, Renaissance Shakespeare on the Road, co-produced with the Birmingham Rep, and ending with a three-month repertory programme at the Phoenix Theatre in London. Dench's contribution was a staging of Much Ado About Nothing, set in the Napoleonic era, which starred Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson as Benedick and Beatrice.

She has acted with the National Theatre in London where she played an unforgettable Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra (1987). In September 1995, she played Desiree Armfeldt in a major revival of Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music, for which she won an Olivier Award.

After the long period between James Bond films Licence to Kill (1989) and GoldenEye (1995), the producers brought in Dench to take over as the role of M, James Bond's boss. The character was reportedly modeled on Dame Stella Rimington, the real-life head of MI5 between 1992 and 1996; Dench became the first woman to portray M, succeeding Robert Brown.

In 1997, Dench appeared in her first starring film role as Queen Victoria in John Madden's teleplay Mrs Brown, which depicts Victoria's relationship with her personal servant and favourite John Brown, played by Billy Connolly

In 1999, Dench won the Tony Award for her 1999 Broadway performance in the role of Esme Allen in Sir David Hare's Amy's View.

In January 2001, Dench's husband Michael Williams died of lung cancer. Dench went to Nova Scotia, Canada, almost immediately after Williams's funeral to begin production on Lasse Hallström's drama film The Shipping News, a therapy she later credited as her rescue.

A major hit for Dench came with Joe Wright's Pride & Prejudice, a 2005 adaptation of the novel by Jane Austen, starring Keira Knightley and Donald Sutherland.

In April 2006, Dench returned to the West End stage in Hay Fever alongside Peter Bowles and Belinda Lang.

Dench appeared opposite Cate Blanchett as a London teacher with a dedicated fondness for vulnerable women in Richard Eyre's 2006 drama film Notes on a Scandal, an adaption from the 2003 novel of the same name by Zoë Heller. A fan of Heller's book, Dench "was thrilled to be asked to ... play that woman, to try to find a humanity in that dreadful person".

Dench returned to the West End in mid-2009, playing Madame de Montreuil in Yukio Mishima's play Madame de Sade.

In 2011, Dench starred in Jane Eyre, My Week with Marilyn and J. Edgar

In 2013, Dench starred as the title character in the Stephen Frears-directed film, Philomena, a film inspired by true events of a woman looking for the son which the Catholic Church took from her a half-century before.

In 2016, Dench made Olivier Award history when she won Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her role in The Winter's Tale, breaking her own record with her eighth win as a performer

In July 2019 Judi presented a 2-part nature documentary series for ITV called Judi Dench's Wild Borneo Adventure in which she and her partner travelled across the island, looking at its remarkable wildlife and efforts by conservationists to preserve it for future generations.

Dench was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1970 Birthday Honours and Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 1988 New Year Honours. She was appointed Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour (CH) in the 2005 Birthday Honours. In June 2011, she became a fellow of the British Film Institute (BFI).

This is my colourised version of a black, and white promotional still from "Hilda Lessways", broadcast in 1959

Restoring Your Past … Website Restoring Your Past … on Facebook

#Dame #OBE #Actor #theatre #film #director #007 #James Bond #M #notes on a scandal #history #colourised #colorized #photo colourisation #photo colorization

2 notes · View notes