#ian mathers

[dustedmagazine]

Listening Post: Kim Gordon

Kim Gordon has long been one of rock’s female icons, one of a tiny handful of women to get much play in Michael Azzerad’s underground-defining Our Band Could Be Your Life and a mainstay in the noise-rock monolith Sonic Youth. It’s hard to imagine that quintessential dude rock band without Gordon in front, dwarfed by her bass or spitting tranced out, pissed off verses over the storm of feedback.

Yet Gordon’s trajectory has been, if anything, even more fascinating since Sonic Youth’s demise in 2011. A visual artist first — she studied art at the Otis College of Art and Design before joining the band — she continues to paint and sculpt and create. She’s had solo art shows at established galleries in London and New York, most recently at the 303 Gallery in New York City. A veteran of indie films including Gus van Zant’s Last Days and Todd Haynes I’m Not There, she has also continued to act sporadically, appearing in the HBO series Girls and on an episode of Portlandia. Her memoir, Girl in a Band, came out in 2015.

But Gordon has remained surprisingly entrenched in indie music over the last decade. Many critics, including a few at Dusted, consider her Body Head, collaboration with Bill Nace the best of the post-Sonic Youth musical projects. The ensemble has now produced two EPs and three full-lengths. Gordon has also released two solo albums, which push her iconic voice into noisier, more hip hop influenced directions. We’re centering this listening post around The Collective, Gordon’s second and more recent solo effort, which comes out on Matador on March 8th, but we’ll likely also be talking about her other projects as well.

Intro by Jennifer Kelly

Jennifer Kelly: I missed No Home in 2019, so I was somewhat surprised by The Collective’s abrasive, beat-driven sound though I guess you could make connections to Sonic Youth’s Cypress Hill collaboration?

The more I listen to it, though, the more it makes sense to me. I’ve always liked the way Gordon plays with gender stereotypes, and “I’m a Man” certainly follows that trajectory. What are you guys hearing in The Collective?

Jonathan Shaw: I have only listened through the entire record once, but I am also struck by its intensities. Sort of silly to be surprised by that, given so many of the places she has taken us in the past: noisy, dangerous, dark. But there's an undercurrent of violence to these sounds that couples onto the more confrontational invocations and dramatizations of sex. It's a strong set of gestures. I like the record quite a bit.

Bill Meyer: I'm one of those who hold Body/Head to be the best effort of the post-Sonic Youth projects, but I'll also say that it's very much a band that creates a context for Gordon to do something great, not a solo effort. I was not so taken with No Home, which I played halfway through once upon its release and did not return to until we agreed to have this discussion. I've played both albums through once now, and my first impression is that No Home feels scattered in a classic post-band-breakup project fashion — “let's do a bit of this and that and see what sticks.” The Collective feels much more cohesive sonically, in a purposeful, “I'm going to do THIS” kind of way.

Jonathan Shaw: RE Jennifer's comment about “I'm a Man”: Agreed. The sonics are very noise-adjacent, reminding me of what the Body has been up to lately, or deeper underground acts like 8 Hour Animal or Kontravoid's less dancy stuff. Those acts skew masculine (though the Body has taken pains recently to problematize the semiotics of those photos of them with lots of guns and big dogs...). Gordon's voice and lyrics make things so much more explicit without ever tipping over into the didactic. And somehow her energy is in tune with the abrasive textures of the music, but still activates an ironic distance from it. In the next song, “Trophies,” I love it when she asks, “Will you go bowling with me?” The sexed-up antics that follow are simultaneously compelling and sort of funny. Rarely has bowling felt so eroticized.

Jennifer Kelly: I got interested in the beats and did a YouTube dive on some of the other music that Justin Raisen has been involved with. He's in an interesting place, working for hip hop artists (Lil Yachty, Drake), pop stars (Charli XCX) and punk or at least punk adjacent artists (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Viagra Boys), but nothing I've found is as raw and walloping as these cuts.

“The Candy House” is apparently inspired by Jennifer Egan's The Candy House, which is about a technology that enables people to share memories... Gordon is pretty interested in phones and communications tech and how that's changing art and human interaction.

Andrew Forell: My immediate reaction to the beats was oh, The Bug and JK Flesh, in particular the MachineEPs by the former and Sewer Bait by the latter. Unsurprisingly, as Jonathan says, she sounds right at home within that kind of dirty noise but is never subsumed by it

Jennifer Kelly: I don't have a deep reference pool in electronics, but it reminded me of Shackleton and some of the first wave dub steppers. Also, a certain kind of late 1990s/early aughts underground hip hop like Cannibal Ox and Dalek.

Bryon Hayes: Yeah, I hear some Dalek in there, too. Also, the first Death Grips mixtape, Ex-Military.

It's funny, I saw the track title “I'm a Man,” and my mind immediately went to Bo Diddley for some reason, I should have known that Kim would flip the script, and do it in such a humorous way. I love how she sends up both the macho country-lovin’ bros and the sensitive metrosexual guys. It's brilliant!

This has me thinking about “Kool Thing”, and how Chuck D acts as the ‘hype man’ to Kim Gordon in that song. I'm pretty sure that was unusual for hip hop at the time. Kim's got a long history of messing with gender stereotypes.

Bill Meyer: Gordon did a couple videos for this record, and she starred her daughter Coco in both of them. The one for “I'm A Man” teases out elements of gender fluidity, how that might be expressed through clothing, and different kinds of watching. I found the video for “Bye Bye” more interesting. All the merchandise that's listed in the video turns out to be a survival kit, one that I imagine that Gordon would know that she has to have to get by. The protagonist of the video doesn't know that, and their unspoken moment in a car before Coco runs again was poignant in a way that I don't associate with her work. And of messing with hip hop!

Tim Clarke: “Bye Bye” feels like a companion to The Fall’s “Dr Buck’s Letter.”

Bill Meyer: From The Unutterable? I'll have to a-b them.

Tim Clarke: That’s the one.

Jonathan Shaw: All of these comments make me think of the record’s title, and the repeated line in “The Candy House”: “I want to join the collective.” Which one? The phone on the record’s cover nods toward our various digital collectives — spaces for communication and expression, and spaces for commerce, all of which seem to be harder and harder to tell apart. A candy house, indeed. Why is it pink? Does she have a feminine collective in mind? A feminine collective unconscious? The various voices and lyric modes on the record suggest that's a possibility. For certain women, and for certain men working hard to understand women, Gordon has been a key member of that collective for decades.

Jennifer Kelly: The title is also the title of a painting from her last show in New York.

The holes are cell phone sized.

You can read about the show here, but here's a representative quote: “The iPhone promises freedom, and control over communication,” she says. “It’s an outlet of self-expression, and an escape and a distraction from the bigger picture of what’s going on in the world. It’s also useful for making paintings.”

Gordon is a woman, and a woman over 70 at that — by any measure an underrepresented perspective in popular culture. However, I’d caution against reading The Collective solely as a feminist statement. “I'm a Man,” for instance, is told from the perspective of an incel male, an act of storytelling and empathy not propaganda. My sense is that Gordon is pretty sick of being asked, “What's it like to be a girl in a band?” (per “Sacred Trickster”) and would like, maybe, to be considered as an artist.

It's partly a generational thing. I'm a little younger than she is, but we both grew up in the patriarchy and mostly encountered gender as an external restriction.

As an aside, one of my proudest moments was when Lucas Jensen interviewed me about what it was like to be a freelance music writer, anonymously, and Robert Christgau wrote an elaborate critique of the piece that absolutely assumed I was a guy. If you're not on a date or getting married or booking reproductive care, whose business is it what gender you are?

There, that's a can of worms, isn't it?

Jonathan Shaw: Feminine isn't feminist. I haven't listened nearly closely enough to the record to hazard an opinion about that. More important, it seems to me the masculine must be in the feminine unconsciousness, and the other way around, too. Precisely because femininity has been used as a political weapon, it needs imagining in artistic spaces. Guess I also think those terms more discursively than otherwise: there are male authors who have demonstrated enormous facility with representing femininity. James, Joyce, Kleist, and so on. Gordon has always spoken and sung in ways that transcend a second-wave sort of feminine essence. “Shaking Hell,” “PCH,” the way she sings “I Wanna Be Your Dog.”

Jennifer Kelly: Sure, she has always been shape-shifter artistically.

The lyrics are super interesting, but almost obliterated by noise. I’m seeing a connection to our hyperconnected digital society where everything is said but it’s hard to listen and focus.

Bill Meyer: Concrete guy that I am, I’ve found myself wishing I had a lyric sheet even though her voice is typically the loudest instrument in the mix.

Andrew Forell: Yes, that sense of being subsumed in the white noise of (dis)information and opinion feels like the utopian ideal of democratizing access has become a cause and conduit of alienation in which the notion of authentic voices has been rendered moot. It feels integral to the album as a metaphor

Christian Carey: How much of the blurring of vocals (good lyrics — mind you) might involve Kim’s personal biography, I wonder? From her memoirs, we know how much she wished for a deflection of a number of things, most having to do with Thurston and the disbandment of SY.

Thurston was interviewed recently and said that he felt SY would regroup and be able to be professional about things. He remarked that it better be soon: SY at eighty wouldn’t be a good look!

Andrew Forell: And therein lies something essential about why that could never happen

Ian Mathers: I know I’m far in the minority here (and elsewhere) because I’ve just never found Sonic Youth that compelling, despite several attempts over the years to give them another chance. And for specifically finding Thurston Moore to be an annoying vocal presence (long before I knew anything about his personal life, for what it's worth). So, I’m in no hurry to see them reunite, although I do think it would be both funny and good if everyone except Moore got back together.

Having not kept up with Gordon much post-SY beyond reading and enjoying her book, I wasn’t sure what to expect from this record. After a couple of listens, I’m almost surprised how much I like it. Even though I’m lukewarm on SY’s music, she’s always been a commanding vocal presence and lyricist and that hasn’t changed here (I can echo all the praise for “I’m a Man,” and also “I was supposed to save you/but you got a job” is so bathetically funny) and I like the noisier, thornier backing she has here. I also think the parts where the record gets a bit more sparse (“Shelf Warmer”) or diffuse (“Psychic Orgasm”) still work. I've enjoyed seeing all the comparisons here, none of which I thought of myself and all of which makes sense to me. But the record that popped into my head as I listened was Dead Rider’s Chills on Glass. Similar beat focus, “thick”/distorted/noisy/smeared production, declamatory vocals. I like that record a lot, so it's not too surprising I'm digging this one.

Jennifer Kelly: I loved Sonic Youth but have zero appetite for the kind of nostalgia trip, just the hits reunion tour that getting back together would entail.

Jonathan Shaw: Yeah, no thanks to that.

RE Christian's comment: Not sure I see deflection so much as the impossibility of integration. We are all many, many selves, always have been. Digital communications interfaces and social media have just lifted it to another level of experience. Gordon sez, “I don't miss my mind.” Not so much a question of missing it in the emotional/longing sense, more so acknowledging that phrases like “my mind” have always been meaningless. Now we partition experience and identity into all of these different places, and we sign those pieces of ourselves over, to Zuck and the algorithms. We know it. We do it anyways, because it's the candy house, full of sweets and pleasures that aren't so good for us, but are really hard to resist. “Come on, sweets, take my hand...”

Bill Meyer: I would not mind hearing all of those SY songs I like again, can’t lie, although I don’t think that I’d spend Love Earth Tour prices to hear them. But given the water that has passed under the bridge personally, and the length of time since anyone in the band has collaborated creatively (as opposed to managing the ongoing business of Sonic Youth, which seems to be going pretty well), a SY reunion could only be a professionally presented piece of entertainment made by people who have agreed to put aside their personal differences and pause their artistic advancement in order to make some coin. There may be good reasons to prioritize finances. Maybe Thurston and/or Kim wants to make sure that they don’t show up on Coco’s front door, demanding to move their record or art collection into her basement, in their dotage. And Lee’s a man in his late 60s with progeny who are of an age to likely have substantial student loan debt. But The Community is just the kind of thing they’d have to pause. It feels like the work of someone who is still curious, questioning, commenting. It's not just trying to do the right commercial thing.

Justin Cober-Lake: I’m finding this one to be a sort of statement album. I’d stop short of calling it a concept album, but there seems to be a thematic center. I think a key element of the album is the way that it looks for... if not signal and noise, at least a sense of order and comprehensibility in a chaotic world. Gordon isn’t even passing judgment on the world — phones are bad, phones are good, phones make art, etc. But there’s a sense that our world is increasingly brutal, and we hear that not just in the guitars, but in the beats, and the production. “BYE BYE” really introduces the concept. Gordon’s leaving (and we can imagine this is autobiographical), but she’s organizing everything she needs for a new life. “Cigarettes for Keller” is a heartbreaking line, but she moves on, everything that makes up a life neatly ordered next to each other, iBook and medications in the same line. It reminds me of a Hemingway character locking into the moment to find some semblance of control in the chaos.

Getting back to gender, there’s a funny line at the end: one of the last things she packs is a vibrator. I'm not sure if we're to read this as a joke, a comment on the necessity of sexuality in a life full of transitory moments, as a foreshadowing of the concepts we’ve discussed, or something else. The next item (if it’s something different) is a teaser, which could be a hair care product or something sexual (playing off — or with — the vibrator). Everything's called into question: the seriousness of the track, the gender/sexuality ideas, what really matters in life. Modern gadgets, life-sustaining medicines, and sex toys all get equal rank. That tension really adds force to the song.

Coming out of “BYE BYE,” it's easy to see a disordered world that sounds extremely noisy, but still has elements we can comprehend within the noise. I don’t want to read the album reductively and I don't think it's all about this idea, but it's something that, early on in my listening, I find to be a compelling aspect of it.

#dusted magazine #listeningpost #kim gordon #the collective #jennifer kelly #jonathan shaw #bill meyer #andrew forell #bryon hayes #tim clarke #christian carey #ian mathers #justin cober-lake

[dd-the-man-without-fear]

Neurotically Yours/Foamy The Squirrel: Support

by iLL WiLL PrEss/JiMathers [Jonathan Ian Mathers]

#Neurotically Yours #Foamy the Squirrel #Foamy #Germaine #Germaine Endez #iLL WiLL PrEss #illwillpress #JiMathers #Jonathan Ian Mathers #webcomic #webcomics

[mikurulucky]

I forget what Foamy rant this was from, but to this day, one of the funniest insults I know comes from it: "Fuck yourself in the eye socket with an overturned tractor-trailor" XDD

#creative insults #foamy the squirrel #neurotically yours #jonathan ian mathers #j i mathers

[letters2fiction]

Welcome to Letters2fiction!

The concept here is to send in a question or a letter request, and you’ll get a response from your fictional character of choice, from the list below. Please stick to the list I’ve made, but of course, you can ask if there’s some other characters I write for, I don’t always remember all the shows, movies or books I’ve consumed over the years and I’m sure I’m missing a lot 😅

Status: New Characters added - Thursday March 21st, 2024

TV SERIES

A Discovery of Witches:

Matthew Clairmont

Baldwin Montclair

Gallowglass de Clermont

Marcus Whitmore

Philippe de Clermont

Jack Blackfriars

Sarah Bishop

Emily Mather

Diana Bishop

Ysabeau de Clermont

Miriam Shepard

Phoebe Taylor

Gerbert D’Aurillac

Peter Knox

Father Andrew Hubbard

Benjamin Fuchs

Satu Järvinen

Meridiana

Law and Order:

Rafael Barba

Sonny Carisi

Joe Velasco

Mike Duarte

Terry Bruno

Peter Stone

Hasim Khaldun

Nick Amaro NEW!

Mike Dodds

Grace Muncy

Kat Tamin

Toni Churlish

Amanda Rollins

Olivia Benson

Rita Calhoun

Casey Novak

Melinda Warner

George Huang

Sam Maroun

Nolan Price

Jamie Whelan

Bobby Reyes

Jet Slootmaekers

Ayanna Bell

Jack McCoy

Elliot Stabler

One Chicago:

Jay Halstead (Could also be Will if you want)

Antonio Dawson

Adam Ruzek

Greg "Mouse" Gerwitz

Dante Torres

Vanessa Rojas

Kevin Atwater

Sean Roman

Matt Casey

Kelly Severide

Joe Cruz

Sylvie Brett

Blake Gallo

Christopher Hermann

"Mouch"

Otis

Violet Mikami

Evan Hawkins

Mayans MC:

Angel Reyes

Miguel

Bishop

Coco

Nestor

911 verse:

Athena Grant

Bobby Nash

Henrietta "Hen" Wilson

Evan "Buck" Buckley

Eddie Diaz

Howie "Chimney" Han

Ravi Panikkar

T.K. Strand

Owen Strand

Carlos Reyes

Marjan Marwani

Paul Strickland

Tommy Vega

Judson "Judd" Ryder

Grace Ryder

Nancy Gillian

Mateo Chavez

The Rookie:

Lucy Chen

Tim Bradford

Celina Juarez

Aaron Thorsen

Nyla Harper

Angela Lopez

Wesley Evers

BBC Sherlock:

Greg Lestrade

Mycroft Holmes

Sherlock Holmes

Moriarty

Molly

Bridgerton:

Anthony Bridgerton

Benedict Bridgerton

Simon Basset

Daphne Bridgerton

Eloise Bridgerton

Kate Sharma

Edwina Sharma

Marina Thompson/Crane

Outlander:

Jamie Fraser

Claire Beauchamp Randall Fraser

Frank Randall

Black Jack Randall

Brianna Fraser

Roger MacKenzie

Fergus Fraser

Marsali Fraser

Jenny Fraser Murray

Ian Murray Sr.

Ian Fraser Murray

Murtagh Mackenzie

Call The Midwife:

Shelagh Turner / Sister Bernadette

Dr. Patrick Turner

Nurse Trixie Franklin

Nurse Phyllis Crane

Lucille Anderson

Nurse Barbara Gilbert

Chummy

Sister Hilda

Miss Higgins

PC Peter Noakes

Reverend Tom Hereward NEW!

Narcos:

Horacio Carrillo

Peaky Blinders:

Tommy Shelby

Downton Abbey:

Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham

Cora Crawley, Countess of Grantham

Lady Mary Crawley

Lady Edith Crawley

Lady Sybil Crawley

Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham

Isobel Crawley

Matthew Crawley

Lady Rose MacClare

Lady Rosamund Painswick

Henry Talbot

Tom Branson

Mr. Charles Carson

Mrs. Hughes / Elsie May Carson

John Bates

Anna Bates

Daisy Mason

Thomas Barrow

Joseph Molesley

Land Girl:

Connie Carter

Reverend Henry Jameson (Gwilym Lee's version)

Midsomer Murder:

DCI Tom Barnaby

Joyce Barnaby

Dr. George Bullard

DCI John Barnaby

Sarah Barnaby

DS Ben Jones

DS Jamie Winter

Sgt. Gavin Troy

Fleur Perkins

WPC Gail Stephens

Kate Wilding

DS Charlie Nelson

Sergeant Dan Scott

NEW! Once Upon A Time

Regina / The Evil Queen

Mary Margaret Blanchard / Snow White

David Nolan / Prince Charming

Emma Swan

Killian Jones / Captain Hook

Mr. Gold / Rumplestiltskin

Neal Cassidy / Baelfire

Peter Pan

Sheriff Graham Humbert / The Huntsman

Jefferson / The Mad Hatter

Belle

Robin of Locksley / Robin Hood

Will Scarlet

Zelena / Wicked Witch

Alice (Once in Wonderland)

Cyrus (Once in Wonderland)

Jafar (Once in Wonderland)

Gideon

Tiger Lily

Naveen

Tiana

Granny

Ariel

Prince Eric

Aladdin

Jasmine

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Hercules

Megara

Tinker Bell

Merida

Red Riding Hood

Mulan

Aurora / Sleeping Beauty

Prince Phillip

Cinderella

Prince Thomas

NEW! The Vampire Diaries / The Originals

Stefan Salvatore

Damon Salvatore

Caroline Forbes

Elena Gilbert

Bonnie Bennett

Enzo St. John

Niklaus Mikaelson

Elijah Mikaelson

Kol Mikaelson

Rebekah Mikaelson

Freya Mikaelson

Finn Mikaelson

Mikael

Esther

Marcel Gerard

Davina Claire

MOVIES

The Pirates of the Caribbean:

Captain Jack Sparrow

Barbossa

Will Turner

Elizabeth Swann

James Norrington

Kingsman:

Merlin

Harry Hart

Eggsy Unwin

James Spencer / Lancelot

Alastair / Percival

Roxy Morton / Lancelot

Maximillian Morton / The Shepherd

Orlando Oxford

Jack Daniels / Whiskey

Gin

BOOKS

Dreamland Billionaire series - Lauren Asher:

Declan

Callahan

Rowan

Iris

Alana

Zahra

Dirty Air series - Lauren Asher:

Noah

Liam

Jax

Santiago

Maya

Sophie

Elena

Chloe

Ladies in Stem - Ali Hazelwood books:

Olive

Adam

Bee

Levi

Elsie

Jack

Mara

Liam

Sadie

Erik

Hannah

Ian

Fourth Wing - Rebecca Yarros:

Xaden Riorson

Dain Aetos

Jack Barlowe

Rhiannan Matthias

Violet Sorrengail

Mira Sorrengail

Lillith Sorrengail

Bodhi Durran

Liam Mairi

#a discovery of witches #law and order svu #law and order #law and order oc #chicago pd #chicago fire #mayans mc #911 abc #911 lone star #the rookie #bbc sherlock #sherlock #bridgerton #outlander #call the midwife #narcos #downton abbey #peaky blinders #land girls #midsomer murders #once upon a time #the vampire diaries #the originals #the pirates of the caribbean #kingsman #dreamland billionaires #dirty air series #love hypothesis #love theoretically #loathe to love you

[thesinglesjukebox]

SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR - "MURDER ON THE DANCEFLOOR" (2001) (2024)

23 years on and this groove's still got some life in it...

[7.11]

Thomas Inskeep: Sophie Ellis-Bextor should've been the next Kylie — and for a couple years, almost was. Her 2001 debut album Read My Lips spun off a trio of top 3 singles in the UK, including this one, which has over time become her true classic. Dua Lipa's entire career was birthed in this single, the dictionary definition of ebullient dance-pop. (It's fitting that Lipa's "Houdini" is currently the most-played song on UK radio as this single is re-ascendant.) SEB has never gone anywhere: she's still making music, touring (based on her 2022 Sophie Ellis-Bextor's Kitchen Disco (Live at the London Palladium), she still sounds great), and is now a DJ on BBC Radio 2. She just didn't become the massive pop star she deserved to be. Now, thanks to its placement in a climactic scene in Saltburn, her greatest single is getting its flowers, climbing back up to #2 in the UK (so far — my fingers are crossed it can make it that final notch higher). "Dancefloor" still sounds fresh, certainly fresher than the glut of '90s-sampling dance-pop dominating the UK charts. This single sparkles, SEB giving a knowing wink as she sings, especially on the line "gonna burn this goddamn house right down." She knows what she's doing here: making magic.   [10]

Edward Okulicz: I bought this on single back in 2002, which tells you something (other than that I am old): it was an irresistible bit of sparkly disco radio pop back in the day. Move it forward or backwards a few years and it might have been an indie rock song for someone else, a filter house record, or (gulp) a Ronan Keating record. Fortunately that never occurred, and it's a delight to see a classic gain new fans from age groups and territories that didn't get it on saturation rotation. Part of it's the solid song by Gregg Alexander, who at his best was a master craftsman of a much-maligned form. Another part of it's the much nimbler, slinky production compared to the rest of his soft-rock oeuvre. And a very, very large part of it is the Debbie-Harry-but-English pose of Ellis-Bextor, too cool to do anything but be filmed dancing from the waist up while she stomps her heel into your eardrums. "Murder" really has everything — a catchy chorus, the tinniest guitar solo ever, hooks that fall as much off the words as the melody — and so is perfect for every occasion, even a movie I am never, ever going to see.  [10]

Alfred Soto: Like the Pet Shop Boys' "Rent," waaayyyy too good for Saltburn — perhaps Emerald Fennell thought their incandescence would rub off on her as if it were glitter. Part of a vanished climate of French house-inspired crossover pop like Kylie Minogue's "Love at First Sight," Sophie Ellis-Bextor presages Katy B's regular-person anonymity: she surveys the strings and rhythm guitar licks like a party hostess keeping an eye on the band while sipping her prosecco. [8]

Alex Clifton: I haven't seen Saltburn and frankly have no interest in it, but this film has led to the Sophie Ellis-Bextor renaissance which is a net good for society. "Murder on the Dancefloor" is just brilliantly composed and produced; it feels as fresh today as it did twenty years ago. There are so many thrilling little moments from Ellis-Bextor's vocal delivery: the way her voice curves into "about your kiiiiiind," the little rasp in "there may be others," the little trill of "dancefloor" in the bridge. I feel so biased writing this review because I've literally been listening to this song since I was a kid, but I'm so jazzed about "Murder" finally receiving the love it deserves.  [10]

Ian Mathers: How can you not love pop music when it'll randomly do things like this, suddenly giving us a song to review from before the earliest days of the Jukebox, that is here purely because of its use in a movie that I have not seen but am informed was probably picked on the basis of Ellis-Bextor's plot arc in the music video. And if I'm not willing to go to bat for it quite as hard as I would for "Running Up That Hill," I did love "Murder on the Dancefloor" in 2001 and it still sounds great now. I don't find myself having any reaction more complicated than happiness at hearing it again and that particular joy of people liking something you like. [8]

Nortey Dowuona: If you told me this came out in 2021 and Emerald Fennell asked Sophie to use it in her movie set in 2001 because it was just that on point in depicting the time, I would agree. Then after taking out my phone, I'd be punched in the face and meekly give up my phone. Then, after watching you sprint into a nightclub, I'd immediately thank goodness you didn't ask for the passcode and run like hell for the closest subway. I am three stops from home before I remember this did not actually come out in 2021; there are other Sophie Ellis-Bextor songs and jailbreaking is a thing now. [10]

Leah Isobel: RIP Mark Fisher. You would've written a hell of a blog post about Saltburn. [7]

Mark Sinker: Necessary digression 1: heraldry as a science in Europe is roughly 900 years old, a bright and stylised easy-read guide, highly rule-bound and policed, to class and land and title — which is to say to material history (its jargon-field is still mostly words not otherwise used in the UK since the 14th century; even property law is less lousy with extinct Norman French terms). And like many very aged things, it has necessarily also passed through phases and fashions, as technologies of display arrive and depart. In fact the first inkling I had that I wasn’t going to get on with Saltburn was the typeface chosen for the title on-screen at the outset. It’s a font with a fairly specific ill-set ungainliness to it: it wants to have the weight of "pleasingly and weirdly old; not how we do things now," but it might just as well be some off-the-peg super-modern studio confection — or even (though I slightly doubt this) something custom-fashioned purely for the film. There’s no discernible care to the choice. Necessary digression 2: back in the late '70s when Peter Saville was busily and insouciantly borrowing from this or that actual-real document or design, of such-and-such era, part of the point was the severity of the decontextualisation — except there was a rigour to the carelessness. The item was being supplied with an iconicity (the very word) pulling you in towards whatever the item was that Factory Records was then placing on the market. The surface glamour of the original was to be funneled through in such a way that its weight amplified only the new relationship. In fact (in its stylised easy-read way) Saville’s work was ruthlessly the opposite of heraldry, so very good at managing the ambient melancholy that suffuses the wider Factory moment; all the blocks and counterspells necessary to conjure here beyond the end of creative time as the context for the music to have presence. Anyway, long story short (lol) Saltburn – which would love to believe it has accessed the aura, for example, of the cover of New Order’s Technique — is attempting to juggle the same double burden. It wants to conjure a play between the decontextualised pull of 24-hour-party-people hedonism and the real ineluctable unremovable weight of actual history and actual class and actual land and actual title. Except for its story to work it needs both dimensions (hedonism and weight; heraldry and careless scribble) to register, as Saville absolutely didn’t. No block, no counterspells, nothing to dampen the disturbances — so when poor old Sophie EB’s voice and poise are scalpeled out of their 20-year-old chart context and abruptly c/p-ed into whichever late-stage scene it is, well, here they are, as a clumsy synopsis (calculation, side-eye, dancing, death) the structure really shouldn’t require, in a role the song is the wrong mood (a faintly gauche trifle, a chirpy hustle) to deliver. The movie never works out where it gets its deep reveal from, or what shape its politics are (if politics is even a useful word here). Ill-set ungainliness all over again: the carelessness floods back into the borrowed adornment, and breaks it in pieces. I don’t even love this song that much but I hate how it gets what value it has so gracelessly driven out of it.  [2]

Jacob Satter: At the risk of killing the groove, this is a pretty boring choice for a manufactured revival track. Call me back when the kids discover "It's In Our Hands." [4]

Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: I'm glad everyone's having fun here but the more I try to enjoy this — either on its own terms or as an icon of nostalgia — I get nothing. Unremarkable in any year. [4]

Lauren Gilbert: It was a [10] in 2001, it's still a [10] now. [10]

Katherine St. Asaph: The thing about it being 2024 is that in the intervening 20-plus years since "Murder on the Dancefloor" came out, approximately ninety million more disco-revival tracks came out. Some of them are by Sophie Ellis-Bextor, even. And so many of those tracks are smooth where this is stiff, magisterial where this is timid (and not in a winsome Katy B kind of way; Katy got better arrangements), charged where this is inert and just generally unmurderous. It's actually startling how inessential this sounds by comparison. [3]

Oliver Maier: Even as a youth, before my brain was burdened with indulgent critical vocabulary, I felt like this song just didn't work. I can't pin down whether "Murder" is knowingly a little chintzy (dare I say camp?) or if it's just cheap tat trying sincerely to sound boutique. Benefit of the doubt granted or not, Ellis-Bextor sounds like she's doing karaoke off the sofa. [4]

Michael Hong: When Ellis-Bextor pauses, it's easy, like a quick and graceful end to a conversation rather than the expectant response to her more spirited word choice. She's committed to this casualness, easily slipping away at the hint of a faux pas, which makes the occasional lingering word more charming. "About your kind," she sings, as if looking you up and down, wondering if she's got it wrong this time; the word "others" is trailed as if she's daring you to eliminate the competition. In that way, "you better not kill the groove," delivered with such nonchalance, becomes a fervid instruction. [7]

Will Adams: It's cute, Sophie is ever-charming, but there's real problem when you've got songs in your catalog with titles like "Bittersweet" and "Heartbreak Make Me a Dancer" that offer way more palpable drama than the one with the word "Murder." [5]

Joshua Minsoo Kim: Every other line is threatening here. “Stay another song,” “Don’t think you’ll get away,” “You better not kill the groove.” Sophie Ellis-Bextor isn’t demanding fear, though. That’s what makes “Murder on the Dancefloor” so irresistible: she sounds like a friend, albeit one who’s deathly serious about having a good time. When you hear her, you believe it can be this good for you too. [8]

Taylor Alatorre: Wow. They were allowed to make these slick disco-pop reimaginings with actual guitar solos back then? We must retvrn. [8]

Tara Hillegeist: It feels like a time capsule from another era in pop music entirely, because it is. There was a time when Ellis-Bextor's stately, imperial, nigh-inhuman precision of a delivery felt like nothing so much as the edifice within which pop star royalty could be crowned, particularly in the world of UK pop; it's still hard, even now, to deny the simple pleasures of someone who knows what her job is and then executes it flawlessly. But it's been over two decades since this song originally bowed, and it must be said that it was the impact of songs like, yes, "Murder" itself that raised pop music's skill floor high enough that such icy professionalism now feels like the most tiresome part of it — Dua Lipa does this regularly, after all, and with equal anonymity. No, what saves it, and ensures the song remains nothing so much as a delightful diversion (conditions of its resurgence be damned, I say), are the sampled whoops that come in beneath the guitar solo; notwithstanding that such a slice of controlled disco can credit itself with having a guitar solo to begin with, but the canned hype is such a stupendously goofy touch. It humanizes the song instantly, stripping the archness of its artifice aside to reveal the awkward smile underneath. The moment passes, of course. But the smile lingers. [7]

Anna Katrina Lockwood: I've been waiting 20+ years for an opportunity to issue a dissertation on the songwriting genius of Gregg Alexander and by god am I ready. Though it's hard to imagine it in a different form, "Murder on the Dancefloor" was apparently a cast-off single for Alexander's New Radicals debut, replaced by the equally glorious "You Get What You Give" — like, imagine being such a talented songwriter that you can just cast off a song like this, knowing you've got an equally great one to replace it with! "Murder on the Dancefloor" is just perfection in Ellis-Bextor's hands, with a galaxy of terrific choices in its production to go along with the amazing melodic structure. I still can't help but burst out laughing at the initial vocal hit in the intro on occasion, a perfect, delicately harmonized coo of "Murder!," cutting through the disco instrumental setup occurring all around. It's as great a moment of pop songwriting as I'm aware of — setting the expectation of the song's vibe from the outset. Ellis-Bextor's lyrics are outstanding, cleverly arch but not too shiny, in the thick of it yet also gliding past suavely. The song is incredibly detailed, a carefully calibrated piece — it lopes by with a relaxed stride rather than a reckless dash, a well-tailored Savile Row suit as opposed to an H&M tunic, cut to the millimeter. Yet it's also very clearly of the disco, built for singing along, difficult to avoid dancing to when it comes on. It turns on its heel at moments' notice, with layers of melody playing off each other throughout. Matt Rowe's efforts in production also deserve notice — this song sounds great, so distinctive that it is still eminently listenable 23 years on. I honestly have not a single thing to criticize about "Murder on the Dancefloor," and it's been a long time that I've considered it to be one of the truly great pop songs of my lifetime. It feels like incredibly just desserts to see it garnering so much praise now.  [10]

[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox ]

#sophie ellis-bextor #saltburn #music #pop #pop music #music writing #music reviews #music criticism #the singles jukebox #Youtube

[femmefataleart]

Skye Mathers by Ian MacDonald

#skye #ian macdonald

[open-hearth-rpg]

Open Hearth Video Roundup - April 12, 2024

Welcome to the weekly Open Hearth Gaming video roundup!

These recorded sessions represent only a portion of the games we play every week, and anyone is welcome to join the fun! If you'd like to play in games like these, join our Playabl community and click on the "Calendar" tab to sign up for upcoming games. To browse our entire library of session videos, please visit our YouTube Playlists page.

Open Hearth Gaming Calendar

Orbital (Session 3 of 3) Donogh runs for Mark and Puckett Cash Only rushes to get those star-crossed lovers out of their hunter's crosshairs. Rye calls up one of her regulars to spirit them away, thanks to the best smuggler in the sector! Meanwhile Hemlock sits down with Calla to come to an arrangement. But every scheme is sidelined by the awakening in the depths of the station, something in motion thanks to that surprise nuke...

Eotenweard: The Old North (Session 4) Alun R. runs for Dom, Dominik M., and Pawel S. Amid the smoking aftermath of the Ogre's rampage our Heroes agree the solution to the ills that beset Stenholm (and a missing hawk) must lie within the nearby Treacherous Forest. There's evidence that someone got there before them, a grisly dismemberment, and a revelation of who is to blame. Then...the Heroes discover they have been misled; must identify the real villain; and confront that embodiment of the Darkness...

Trail of Cthulhu: Fearful Symmetries: Arc Two (Session 6) Lowell Francis runs for Alun R., Paul Rivers, Sherri, and Will H The characters arrive at Mathers Hall in Norfolk and Willford discovers the geography has changed in the two weeks since he last visited. They meet some of the guests-- a strange mix of folks deep in the secrets of magic, as well as staff who may be invested as well. The doctor receives a ride from Verity Dyse and becomes wary. Dinner and after reveals more secrets...and then a missing guest!

Trail of Cthulhu: Fearful Symmetries: Arc Two (Session 7) Lowell Francis runs for Alun R., Paul Rivers, Sherri, and Will H The morning of the shoot at Mathers Hall opens with a missing guest that few comment on. Paired up with fellow guests, the magicians learn more about their personalities and agendas. Richard skips the hunt, instead learning more about the origin of the mysterious Pascale Dumont. The investigation continues, with the good Doctor turning the tables on their host by admitting in private to the murder of Lord Bradbury. But then Lord Portmore's associate vanishes and there's an attempt on Verity Dyce's life which goes awry.

Dreams and Machines: Red King's Slumbers (Session 1) Lowell Francis runs for Eliot, José Feito, Kevin M, and Vince Session Zero and inciting incident for a short series of Dreams and Machines, a new setting inspired by Horizon: Zero Dawn and other sci-fi post-apocalyptic games. We create our characters, build bonds, and start things out so the players can begin to get used to the mechanics of this version of 2d20.

Dreams and Machines: Red King's Slumbers (Session 2) Lowell Francis runs for Eliot, José Feito, Kevin M, and Vince In the wake of their battle against the Thralls, our heroes discover an ancient cache containing a potentially dangerous technology, but decide to bring them along. They reach New Mossgrove and find out that recent attacks have changed the balance of power within the town...

Girl by Moonlight: On a Sea of Stars (Session 1 of 5) Donogh runs for Ian, Matthew Doughty, and Sabine V. Having awoken vengeful Gods with their meddling in time travel - a last branch of humanity hurtles through space in an interstellar ziggurat, hunted by the Leviathans. Our group of Pilots, chosen by their congregation to be doomed martyrs, is the only thing that can protect them - but it it only out there on a sea of stars that the pilots and their Engines feel whole, with an intimate bond and control over their own fate that the rest of humanity can barely imagine...

Girl by Moonlight: On a Sea of Stars (Session 2 of 5) Donogh runs for Ian and Sabine V. We are introduced to two of our pilots: Jet/Apogee the Outsider goes outside the Ziggurat to do some post asteroid-strike repairs, but returns to polish the Engine Shamash to its full glory. Cordelia the Enigma, living a double life as a maintenance worker who as Red Shift sneaks into the hangar bay to take the Engine Tezcatlipoca out on an unscheduled foray.

Godbound: Sundered Cycles (Session 32 of 33) Lowell Francis runs for Dan Brown, Ethan Harvey, Patrick Knowles, Sherri, and Tyler Lominack Interacting with the new pantheon our gods joined to their own, they work to learn more about the looming Draconic and Elemental Evil threats. Threadless builds her dragon, though there remains a flaw at the heart of it. Random speaks with his bride about their future. Tasos considers expanding his nightmare realm. Darius finds both a kindred spirit and a solution. And Ordevi takes his leave from the pantheon, heading out to spread word of the new gods via a knowledge aqueduct.

Godbound: Sundered Cycles (Session 33 of 33) Lowell Francis runs for Ethan Harvey, Patrick Knowles, Sherri, and Tyler Lominack The final session of the campaign.

Damn the Man, Save the Music! Donogh runs for Casey T, David Adrian Randall, and Thomas Manuel The employees of Revolution Records are (not) prepping for the imminent arrival of Mr Maestro! Jake J the local rockstar is desperately seeking a band, Brags the space case is trying to find the lost cat, Apple the overachieving temp is looking to reconnect with a cute skater boy! And they're wondering what Yu's beef is with the big shot and what exactly Purple means on the DEFCON scale...

Star Wars Saturday

Fellowship Rich Rogers runs for Cody Eastlick, Greg G., Kae, Steven Watkins, and Tyler Lominack The Fellowship of the Dilligent Spark travel to Dathomir to discover the sinister plot of Taron Malicos, then rush to face him and his Nightbrother band.

Stars in the Dark: Stars in the Dark II (Session 6) Anders runs for Marc Majcher, Mark (they/them), Rich Rogers, and Steven Watkins KABOOOM!

Off-Calendar Highlights

The Between: Stars and Suns, Season Two (Session 9) Madelancholy runs for Jack, Mike, Sarah W., and Steph "Coming and Going" - In an attempt to find out more about the Slugger, Ernest gets more involved in Bout Club, to his dismay. Sir Atticus listens to La Hortencia's story after fending off interference from a familiar acquaintance. Dame Georgie allows himself to be a temporary vessel to the Abbey's demonic presence, only to be betrayed more than once. Liat makes several tempting offers.

Trophy Gold: Hissing Darkness: In the Wake of Secrets (Session 1) Madelancholy runs for Dom, James, Jazy, and Mike Ferdinando The first of two concurrent series of this Rooted in Trophy (Gold) incursion, the characters wake too early in a Ship warped by perfect darkness…survival a priority.

Trophy Gold: Hissing Darkness: Whispers in Exile (Session 1) Madelancholy runs for Amanda/iamatrex, B, Jonn, and Marc Majcher The second group to find themselves in the strange eerie darkness of the Ship, the survivors make their way out of Cold-Sleep, finding terrible things in the next Set...

Trophy Gold: Hissing Darkness: In the Wake of Secrets (Session 2) Madelancholy runs for Dom, James, Jazy, and Mike Ferdinando The survivors manage to battle their way out of the Cold-Sleep Warrens...but now they find themselves in the twisted, warped halls and vents of The Maze, stalked by something deadly, even as the Dark calls out to them: Reunion. Rebirth. Remake. And one of their number does, succumbing to their urge to consume and be consumed...

Trophy Gold: Hissing Darkness: Whispers in Exile (Session 2) Madelancholy runs for Amanda/iamatrex, B, Jonn, and Marc Majcher Deep within The Maze, the survivors encounter the strange warping of the Ship and more signs of that which hunts them. Memories come unbidden and are made real, and calls from the Dark tempt further connection...

Paranormal Inc (Session 9) Madelancholy runs for Brent and Michael D. Down by the Haunted Riverside - What could go wrong on a day-long cruise of teambuilding/employee party fun-time? Rumours abound as strange occurrences plague their trip - is it the boat, the river, or the Very Good Boat Cruise Company themselves?

#ttrpg #rpg #rpg actual play #open hearth gaming

[doubleattitude]

Radix Dance Convention Nationals, Las Vegas 2022: RESULTS

Protege:

Cash Prizes:

Winners: $1000

Runners-up: $500

Mini

Top 31:

Tayah Klimuck Peyton Nowacki Helena Olaerts Greta Wagner Alexis Kathol Addyson Paul Khloe Kwon Aria Du Sara Von Rotz Taehgan Vue Piper Perusse Natalie Gerami Josh Lundy Isabella Piedrahita Zoe Flores Chase Castle

Top 15:

Dylan Custodio Lucia Piedrahita Neo Del Corral Skyla Lucena Devyn Scherff Emily Polis Karyna Majeroni Isabella Kouznetsova Everleigh Soutas

Top 6:

Regan Gerena Diana Kouznetsova Roxie Onellion Camila Giraldo Ellary Day Szyndlar

Winner:

Skylar Wong (Woodbury Dance Center)

Junior

Top 31:

Brooklyn Ladia Hailey Panchame Madison Carmody Bella Ray D’Armas Ariela Ephraim Alexcia Roloff-Hafenbreadl Avery Maycunich Kylie Carter Elie Rabin Riley Zeitler Zachary Gibson Elizabeth Bilecki Claire Avonne Kingston Jackson Jue

Top 17:

Campbell Clark Victoria Martinez Anya Inger Georgia Beth Peters Sophia Schiano Failenn Daley Kya Massimino Leila Winker Paislyn Schroeder Santiago Sosa Esme Chou Angelina Elliott

Top 5:

Haiden Neuville Kylee Casares Alexis Mayer Kaili Kester

Winner:

Aaliyah Dixon (Summit Dance Shoppe)

Teen:

Top 31:

Giselle Gandarilla Emmy Claire Kaiden Ronnie Lewis Kenzie Jones Cooper Macalalad Natalia Wazio Keoni Guerrero Rachel Loiselle Ava Raucci Mia Ibach Kendyl Fay Nicholas Bustos Ayla Rodriguez Rylee Young

Top 17:

Brianna Hicks Addison Middleton Ian Stegeman Kaitlyn Tom Trent Grappe Kylee Ngo Sophie Garcia Carly Thinfen Izzy Howard Gracyn French Colin Bendziewicz

Top 6:

Luke Barrett Avery Cashen Keagan Capps Kira Chan Sabine Nehls

Winner:

Dyllan Blackburn (Project 21)

Senior

Top 33:

Mia Tassani Angelina Flores Kaitlyn Allen Tyra Polke Edon Hartzy Perris Amento Eliazar Jimenez Maddie Thanos Sophie Grabau Madison Burkhart Jessica Babich Minda Li Marissa Brunner Kaitlyn Babich Peyton Martineau Louise Hindsbo Nina Sawaya Kai Javier

Top 15:

Ava La France Cayla Bennish Devin Mar Bella Tagle Destanye Diaz Kayla Pereira Jordyn Green Anthony Ciaccio Forest Myers

Top 6:

Sarah Moore Jackson Roloff-Hafenbreadl Emma Mather Sam Fine Emily Madden

Winner:

Easton Magliarditi (The Rock Center for Dance)

Finals:

High Scores by Age:

Cash Prizes:

1st: $200

2nd: $100

3rd: $50

Rookie Solo

Top 7

4th: Preslie Ball- ‘Boots’

4th: Margaret Mason- ‘Over the Rainbow’

5th: Caydence Zuehlke- ‘Tea’

6th: Nola Molter- ‘Look At Me’

7th: Zoey Brooke- ‘End of Time’

7th: Emery Bourne- ‘Footwurkin’

7th: Colette Stutzman- ‘My Girl’

7th: Elory Otto- ‘Speaking French’

7th: Rue Willis- ‘Woman’

8th: Sienna Bastler- ‘Please Mr Postman’

9th: Shale Herrera- ‘La Vie En Rose’

10th: Giselle Pilorin- ‘My Boyfriend’s Back’

10th: Emma Acosta- ‘Sweet Dreams’

2nd runner-up ($250)

James Iwamoto- ‘Lost’ (Pave School of the Arts)

1st runner-up ($350)

Hadley Morse- ‘Into the Great’ (Summit Dance Shoppe)

Top Soloist ($500)

Cece Chung- ‘I’m Going Bananas’ (Project 21)

Mini Solo

Top 7

4th: Regan Gerena- ‘Cinema Italiano’

5th: Emily Polis- ‘House of Keta’

6th: Tova Thompson- ‘Pulse’

6th: Anita Rodriguez- ‘The Garden’

6th: Zoe Flores- ‘Transitions’

7th: Karyna Majeroni- ‘La Rouge’

8th: Alexis Kathol- ‘The Author’

9th: Dylan Custodio- ‘Derive’

9th: Ella Dobler- ‘Did I Stutter?’

9th: Neo Del Corral- ‘Hold Me’

9th: Delilah Hewitt- ‘Lament’

9th: Addison Price- ‘Sarajevo’

10th: Lucia Piedrahita- ‘Camera’s Rolling’

10th: Greta Wagner- ‘If You Were Here’

2nd runner-up ($250)

Diana Kouznetsova- ‘Rinse + Repeat’ (Project 21)

1st runner-up ($350)

Skylar Wong- ‘Best of My Love’ (Woodbury Dance Center)

Top Soloist ($500)

Isabella Kouznetsova- ‘Wake Up’ (Project 21)

Junior Solo

Top 7

4th: Zoe Zielinski- ‘Girl From Ipanema’

4th: Angelina Elliott- ‘Look What Your Love Has Done To Me’

5th: Emily Joy Core- ‘Alpha’

5th: Kya Massimino- ‘Arena’

5th: Avery Maycunich- ‘With You’

6th: Anya Inger- ‘Attitude’

6th: Victoria Johnson- ‘Insensible’

6th: Payton Gourely- ‘Mad World’

7th: Victoria Martinez- ‘Music Is the Answer’

7th: Claire Avonne Kingston- ‘State of Awareness’

8th: Tiara Sherman- ‘Belly of the Beast’

9th: Avery Lee- ‘Arches’

9th: Bella Rey D’Armas- ‘Dimensions’

9th: Sasha Milstein- ‘Nature Boy’

10th: Leighton Werner- ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love’

10th: Alexcia Roloff-Hafenbreadl- ‘Far From Home’

10th: Esme Chou- ‘Withheld’

3rd runner-up ($250)

Teagan Chavez- ‘That’s Life’ (AVANTI Dance Company)

2nd runner-up ($250)

Alexis Mayer- ‘Winter Morning II’ (The Rock Center for Dance)

1st runner-up ($350)

Kylee Casares- ‘Home With You’ (Stars Dance Studio)

Top Soloist ($500)

Aaliyah Dixon- ‘Silence’ (Summit Dance Shoppe)

Teen Solo

Top 7:

4th: Sophie Garcia- ‘Evermore’

5th: Giselle Gandarilla- ‘La Vie’

6th: Keoni Guerrero- ‘Blackjack’

6th: Colin Bendziewicz- ‘Don’t Worry’

7th: Sarah Laskowski- ‘Good Evening, Welcome’

7th: Kenzie Jones- ‘The Bottom Line’

8th: Addison Middleton- ‘Closing’

8th: Bella Saferstein- ‘Dangerous’

8th: Kennie Shen- ‘Man’s World’

8th: June Hurley- ‘Mr Sandman’

9th: Kylie Vandeest- ‘Awoo’

10th: Gracyn French- ‘I Did It All Over Again’

10th: Amelia Duncan- ‘My Way’

2nd runner-up ($250)

Ian Stegeman- ‘Aria’ (Woodbury Dance Center)

1st runner-up ($350)

Izzy Howard- ‘Adveniat’ (The Rock Center for Dance)

Top Soloist ($500)

Dyllan Blackburn- ‘A Pale’ (Project 21)

Senior Solo

Top 7

4th: Jackson Roloff-Hafenbreadl- ‘Moon’

5th: Sophie Grabau- ‘Women’

6th: Sophia Cobo- ‘Funny Girl’

7th: Emily Madden- ‘Concerto In F Minor’

8th: Forest Myers- ‘Parameters’

9th: Emma Mather- ‘Dancing’

9th: Rachel Leon- ‘Die For You’

9th: Levi Sherman- ‘I Know It’s Over’

10th: Edon Hartzy- ‘Solitude’

10th: Erica Vannucci- ‘Step Off the Train’

3rd runner-up ($250)

Easton Magliarditi- ‘Jealous’ (The Rock Center for Dance)

2nd runner-up ($250)

Sam Fine- ‘To Multiply’ (Stars Dance Studio)

1st runner-up ($350)

Destanye Diaz- ‘Unhurt’ (Stars Dance Studio)

Top Soloist ($500)

Selena Hamilton- ‘Supermodel’ (Project 21)

Rookie Duet/Trio

1st: The Movement Dance Academy- ‘One’

2nd: Studio X- ‘Turn to Stone’

3rd: Studio X- ‘Human’

4th: Summit Dance Shoppe- ‘Remember Me’ 

4th: Summit Dance Shoppe- ‘Mr Big Stuff’

5th: AVANTI Dance Company- ‘Dream’

Mini Duet/Trio

1st: Project 21- ‘The Blue or Red Pill’

2nd: New Level Dance Company- ‘Complex Notion’

3rd: Summit Dance Shoppe- ‘The Meadow’

3rd: Studio X- ‘Ready or Npt’

4th: Danceplex- ‘Evening Rise’

5th: Studio 19 Dance Complex- ‘Sophisticated’

Junior Duet/Trio

1st: Woodbury Dance Center- ‘Only the Bravest’

2nd: Mather Dance Company- ‘Memories’

3rd: The Difference Dance Company- ‘Together’

4th: The Difference Dance Company- ‘The Pure’

5th: Summit Dance Shoppe- ‘Dreamgirls’

Teen Duet/Trio

1st: Stars Dance Studio- ‘Mine’

2nd: The Rock Center for Dance- ‘Surrender’

3rd: The Difference Dance Company- ‘Still’

4th: AVANTI Dance Company- ‘Love Lockdown’

5th: Woodbury Dance Center- ‘You and I Both’

Senior Duet/Trio

1st: Project 21- ‘Shaping’

2nd: Stars Dance Studio- ‘Power vs Passion’

3rd: CanDance Studios- ‘Backseat’

4th: The Difference Dance Company- ‘Fire My Heart’

5th: The Difference Dance Company- ‘Voice Like’

Rookie Group

1st: Project 21- ‘It’s Raining Men’

2nd: Pave School of the Arts- ‘You Make Me Feel So Young’

3rd: The Movement Dance Academy- ‘What About Us’

4th: Impact Dance- ‘Like A Prayer’

5th: AVANTI Dance Company- ‘Boogie Shoes’

Mini Group

1st: Evoke Dance Movement- ‘Bangalore Whispers’

2nd: Project 21- ‘1+1=2′

3rd: Stars Dance Studio- ‘Colors’

4th: Mather Dance Company- ‘Click Clack’

5th: Project 21- ‘That’s Amore’

Junior Group

1st: Woodbury Dance Center- ‘Don’t Forget Me’

2nd: Project 21- ‘My Pumps’

2nd: Woodbury Dance Center- ‘Never Going Back Again’

3rd: Summit Dance Shoppe- ‘Vogue’

4th: Cypress Dance Project- ‘What Is Love?’

4th: Evoke Dance Movement- ‘Supermarket Woman’

4th: Project 21- ‘Something Bad Is About to Happen’

5th: Summit Dance Shoppe- ‘Up Against the Wind’

5th: The Difference Dance Company- ‘Dance Me’

Teen Group

1st: Impact Dance Studio- ‘Bang Bang’

2nd: Woodbury Dance Center- ‘Sound & Color’

3rd: Mather Dance Company- ‘Blower’s Daughter’

3rd: CanDance Studios- ‘Glitter’

4th: The Difference Dance Company- ‘Home’

4th: Stars Dance Studio- ‘The Letting Go’

5th: The Difference Dance Company- ‘So Broken’

5th: Evoke Dance Movement- ‘The Ride’

Senior Group

1st: Mather Dance Company- ‘Crime For Crime’

1st: Distinction Dance Company- ‘Do You’

2nd: AVANTI Dance Company- ‘These Days’

3rd: Project 21- ‘Destination’

4th: The Rock Center for Dance- ‘Bloodline’

4th: Mather Dance Company- ‘To Be Loved’

5th: The Difference Dance Company- ‘Night’

5th: Stars Dance Studio- ‘Ode to a Love Lost’

5th: Mather Dance Company- ‘Stayaway’

Rookie Line

1st: The Movement Dance Academy- ‘Last Dance’

2nd: Studio X- ‘Drumline’

3rd: Pave School of the Arts- ‘Looking Good and Feeling Gorgeous’

4th: AVANTI Dance Company- ‘Party People’

Mini Line

1st: Impact Dance Studio- ‘What About Us’

2nd: Impact Dance Studio- ‘Don’t Mean A Thing’

2nd: Mather Dance Company- ‘Tens’

3rd: Mather Dance Company- ‘Via Dolorosa’

4th: Project 21- ‘Fashionista’

4th: Impact Dance Studio- ‘River Deep’

5th: Project 21- ‘Dawn’

Junior Line

1st: Impact Dance Studio- ‘When Doves Cry’

2nd: Summit Dance Shoppe- ‘9 to 5′

3rd: The Rock Center for Dance- ‘Tribal Beauties’

4th: Stars Dance Studio- ‘Applause’

4th: Pave School of the Arts- ‘I Feel Pretty’

5th: Impact Dance Studio- ‘It’s All Coming Back’

Teen Line

1st: The Rock Center for Dance- ‘Welcome to the Internet’

2nd: The Rock Center for Dance- ‘Cinema (Act II)

3rd: Mather Dance Company- ‘Crazy Love’

4th: Stars Dance Studio- ‘Wasteland’

5th: Stars Dance Studio- ‘Against Me’

5th: Stars Dance Studio- ‘Call Waiting’

5th: Project 21- ‘Dangerous’

5th: Haja Dance Company- ‘Everything Must Change’

5th: Project 21- ‘Malevolence’

5th: Stars Dance Studio- ‘Traditions’

Senior Line

1st: Mather Dance Company- ‘Gravity’

2nd: The Difference Dance Company- ‘Ric Flair Drip’

3rd: Woodbury Dance Center- ‘Young & Free’

4th: Evoke Dance Movement- ‘Now Boarding’

5th: CanDance Studios- ‘M.I.R’

Rookie Extended Line

1st: Woodbury Dance Center- ‘Do Your Thing’

2nd: Woodbury Dance Center- ‘Rockin’ Robin’

3rd: Impact Dance- ‘When You Believe’

4th: Artistic Motion Dance- ‘Cool Rider’

4th: Woodbury Dance Center- ‘You Are Enough’

5th: Impact Dance- ‘Wash That Man’

Mini Extended Line

1st: The Rock Center for Dance- ‘Cinema (Act 1)’

2nd: Woodbury Dance Center- ‘Goodbye Yellow Brick Road’

3rd: Impact Dance- ‘Hernandos Hideaway’

3rd: CanDance Studios- ‘Lip Gloss’

4th: Woodbury Dance Center- ‘Shake My Hand’

5th: Woodbury Dance Center- ‘Pink Cadillac’

5th: Pave School of the Arts- ‘Shoeless Joe’

Junior Extended Line

1st: Woodbury Dance Center- ‘My Way’

2nd: Evoke Dance Movement- ‘Collateral Damage’

3rd: Evoke Dance Movement- ‘I Want You’

4th: Woodbury Dance Center- ‘You Make Me Feel’

5th: Project 21- ‘Hey, Hi, Hello’

Teen Extended Line

1st: Impact Dance Studio- ‘Sing’

2nd: Evoke Dance Movement- ‘No Time To Stand and Stare’

3rd: AVANTI Dance Company- ‘Slip n Slide(s)’

4th: Stars Dance Studio- ‘Runaway’

5th: CanDance Studios- ‘Sound of Awakening’

Senior Extended Line

1st: Stars Dance Studio- ‘Out For Blood’

2nd: Evoke Dance Movement- ‘All Dessen Mud’

2nd: AVANTI Dance Company- ‘Check It Out’

3rd: Project 21- ‘Cell Block Tango’

4th: Stars Dance Studio- ‘Love Game’

5th: Summit Dance Shoppe- ‘Fallout’

Mini Production

1st: Impact Dance Studio- ‘Pump It Up’

2nd: Impact Dance- ‘Low’

3rd: CanDance Studios- ‘National Pastime’

3rd: Impact Dance- ‘The One’

Junior Production

1st: Summit Dance Shoppe- ‘Back to the Swing’

1st: The Movement Dance Academy- ‘Love Shack’

2nd: CanDance Studios- ‘Unite’

3rd: Impact Dance- ‘Yala’

4th: Artistic Motion Dance- ‘Money’

Teen Production

1st: Stars Dance Studio- ‘Por Mi Alma’

2nd: Project 21- ‘Love Letter to Ari’

3rd: CanDance Studios- ‘Eat’

4th: Summit Dance Shoppe- ‘Funk & Soul’

5th: Summit Dance Shoppe- ‘Mr. Bojangles’

Senior Production

1st: Summit Dance Shoppe- ‘We Run This’

High Score by Performance Division:

Voucher Prizes:

1st: $200

2nd: $100

3rd: $50

Rookie Jazz

1st: Project 21- ‘It’s Raining Men’

2nd: The Movement Dance Academy- ‘Last Dance’

3rd: Summit Dance Shoppe- ‘Forever Your Girl’

4th: Mather Dance Company- ‘We Love Freddy’

4th: Woodbury Dance Center- ‘Rockin’ Robin’

5th: CanDance Studios- ‘Love Shack’

5th: Impact Dance- ‘Ladies Room’

Rookie Hip-Hop

1st: Artistic Motion Dance- ‘Lose Control’

2nd: Studio X- ‘Drumline’

3rd: Impact Dance- ‘Going Back to Cali’

4th: AVANTI Dance Company- ‘Nursery Rhymes’

5th: Woodbury Dance Center- ‘Beggin’

Rookie Tap

1st: AVANTI Dance Company- ‘Boogie Shoes’

2nd: Woodbury Dance Center- ‘Do Your Thing’

3rd: Artistic Motion Dance- ‘Build Me Up Buttercup’

4th: Mather Dance Company- ‘These Boots’

Rookie Lyrical

1st: The Movement Dance Academy- ‘What About Us’

2nd: Impact Dance- ‘Like A Prayer’

3rd: Impact Dance- ‘When You Believe’

4th: Artistic Motion Dance- ‘Keep You Safe’

5th: Woodbury Dance Center- ‘You Are Enough’

Rookie Musical Theatre

1st: Pave School of the Arts- ‘Hernando’s Hideaway’

2nd: Dance Studio C- ‘This Little Piggy’

Rookie Specialty

Pave School of the Arts- ‘You Make Me Feel So Young’

Mini Jazz

1st: Mather Dance Company- ‘Tens’

2nd: Project 21- ‘1+1=2′

3rd: Project 21- ‘Fashionista’

3rd: Impact Dance Studio- ‘River Deep’

4th: Mather Dance Company- ‘Click Clack’

5th: Mather Dance Company- ‘Hush Hush’

Mini Ballet

1st: Summit Dance Shoppe- ‘Swan Lake Waltz’

2nd: Woodbury Dance Center- ‘Saute Sonata’

3rd: Summit Dance Shoppe- ‘Simple Symphony’

3rd: Summit Dance Shoppe- ‘Spanish Dance’

4th: Summit Dance Shoppe- ‘Flute Concerto No 2′

Mini Hip-Hop

1st: Impact Dance Studio- ‘Pump It Up’

2nd: CanDance Studios- ‘Lip Gloss’

3rd: Impact Dance- ‘Low’

4th: AVANTI Dance Company- ‘Oh Okay’

5th: Heat Dance Studio- ‘Lil Funk’

Mini Tap

1st: Woodbury Dance Center- ‘Shake My Hand’

2nd: Studio 19 Dance Complex- ‘Dr Bones’

3rd: Summit Dance Shoppe- ‘For The Navy’

4th: Artistic Motion Dance- ‘PYT’

4th: Summit Dance Shoppe- ‘Dance With Me Tonight’

5th: Summit Dance Shoppe- ‘Think’

Mini Lyrical

1st: Impact Dance Studio- ‘What About Us’

2nd: Mather Dance Company- ‘Via Dolorosa’

3rd: Woodbury Dance Center- ‘Imagine’

4th: Woodbury Dance Center- ‘Goodbye Yellow Brick Road’

5th: Mather Dance Company- ‘Hold On To Me’

Mini Musical Theatre

1st: Impact Dance Studio- ‘Don’t Mean A Thing’

2nd: The Rock Center for Dance- ‘Cinema (Act 1)’

3rd: Stars Dance Studio- ‘Thankful’

4th: Impact Dance- ‘Hernandos Hideaway’

5th: Pave School of the Arts- ‘Shoeless Joe’

Mini Contemporary

1st: Stars Dance Studio- ‘Colors’

2nd: Project 21- ‘Dawn’

3rd: Project 21- ‘Big Spender’

4th: The Rock Center for Dance- ‘Escape Artist’

5th: Studio X- ‘Green Light’

Mini Specialty

1st: Evoke Dance Movement- ‘Bangalore Whispers’

2nd: Project 21- ‘That’s Amore’

3rd: Mather Dance Company- ‘Orange Colored Sky’

4th: Pave School of the Arts- ‘Higher’

5th: Pave School of the Arts- ‘Footloose’

Junior Jazz

1st: Impact Dance Studio- ‘When Doves Cry’

2nd: Pave School of the Arts- ‘I Feel Pretty’

2nd: Project 21- ‘My Pumps’

2nd: Stars Dance Studio- ‘Applause’

3rd: Evoke Dance Movement- ‘I Want You’

4th: Summit Dance Shoppe- ‘Vogue’

5th: Project 21- ‘Purse First’

Junior Ballet

1st: The Rock Center for Dance- ‘Tribal Beauties’

2nd: Woodbury Dance Center- ‘Ninety-Five Five’

3rd: Woodbury Dance Center- ‘Atlas’

4th: Summit Dance Shoppe- ‘After Bach’

5th: Summit Dance Shoppe- ‘Anitra’s Dance’

Junior Hip-Hop

1st: CanDance Studios- ‘Stacked’

2nd: Evoke Dance Movement- ‘Playground’

3rd: Artistic Motion Dance- ‘In Your Dreams’

4th: AVANTI Dance Company- ‘Love You Different’

5th: Summit Dance Shoppe- ‘We Will Rock You’

Junior Tap

1st: Woodbury Dance Center- ‘Never Going Back Again’

2nd: Woodbury Dance Center- ‘You Make Me Feel’

3rd: Summit Dance Shoppe- ‘Back to the Swing’

4th: Artistic Motion Dance- ‘All About That Bass’

5th: Summit Dance Shoppe- ‘Mayhem’

Junior Lyrical

1st: Impact Dance Studio-  ‘It’s All Coming Back’

2nd: Impact Dance Studio- ‘Read All About It’

3rd: Summit Dance Shoppe- ‘Up Against the Wind’

4th: Mather Dance Company- ‘Permanent’

5th: The Movement Dance Academy- ‘Out of Hiding’

5th: Woodbury Dance Center- ‘Me In 20 Years’

5th: Stars Dance Studio- ‘Color Me In’

Junior Musical Theatre

1st: Evoke Dance Movement- ‘Going Down’

2nd: Stars Dance Studio- ‘Neighbors’

3rd: AVANTI Dance Company- ‘Bend and Snap’

4th: Impact Dance- ‘Mein Herr’

5th: Artistic Motion Dance- ‘Money’

Junior Contemporary

1st: Woodbury Dance Center- ‘My Way’

2nd: Woodbury Dance Center- ‘Don’t Forget Me’

3rd: Evoke Dance Movement- ‘Collateral Damage’

4th: Summit Dance Shoppe- ‘9 to 5′

5th: Project 21- ‘Something Bad Is About To Happen’

5th: Stars Dance Studio- ‘The Dance’

Junior Ballroom

1st: Project 21- ‘Hey, Hi, Hello’

2nd: CanDance Studios- ‘Pusher Love’

Junior Specialty

1st: Evoke Dance Movement- ‘Supermarket Woman’

2nd: The Difference Dance Company- ‘Do You’

2nd: CanDance Studios- ‘Unite’

3rd: The Studio Project- ‘Visual Distortion’

4th: Dance Studio C- ‘Hey Mr DJ’

5th: AVANTI Dance Company- ‘The Birds’

Teen Group

Teen Jazz

1st: Distinction Dance Company- ‘Clap Clap’

2nd: Dance Studio C- ‘Last Night’

3rd: Orange County Performing Arts Academy- ‘London Bridge’

4th: Summit Dance Shoppe- ‘Maniac’

5th: Visionary Dancer- ‘La Vita Nuova’

Teen Hip-Hop

1st: Dancers’ Pointe- ‘Club 229′

Teen Tap

1st: Woodbury Dance Center- ‘Sound & Color’

2nd: Evoke Dance Movement- ‘Escape’

3rd: Summit Dance Shoppe- ‘Because the Night’

4th: Gotta Dance- ‘My Boo’

5th: Summit Dance Shoppe- ‘We Built This City’

Teen Lyrical

1st: Mather Dance Company- ‘Blower’s Daughter’

2nd: Haja Dance Company- ‘Lost’

3rd: Dance Studio C- ‘Slow It Down’

4th: Summit Dance Shoppe- ‘I Surrender’

5th: Heat Dance Studio- ‘Beautiful’

Teen Musical Theatre

1st: The Difference Dance Company- ‘Mein Herr’

2nd: Impact Dance- ‘Be Italian’

3rd: Summit Dance Shoppe- ‘Six’

Teen Contemporary

1st: CanDance Studios- ‘Glitter’

2nd: The Difference Dance Company- ‘Home’

2nd: Stars Dance Studio- ‘The Letting Go’

3rd: The Difference Dance Company- ‘So Broken’

3rd: Evoke Dance Movement- ‘The Ride’

4th: The Difference Dance Company- ‘Mary’

4th: The Difference Dance Company- ‘Daylight’

4th: CanDance Studios- ‘Not Your Honey’

4th: Artistic Motion Dance- ‘Dangerous’

5th: Dance Studio C- ‘Somebody Else’

Teen Ballroom

1st: The Colony- ‘Fade’

Teen Specialty

1st: Impact Dance Studio- ‘Bang Bang’

2nd: Impact Dance- ‘My Immortal

3rd: Dance Studio C- ‘Used To Know’

3rd: Dance Studio C- ‘Get Your Freak On’

4th: The Studio Project- ‘When Going Through It, Count To Four’

5th: Impact Dance- ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’

Teen Line, Extended Line, Production

Teen Jazz

1st: Project 21- ‘Love Letter to Ari’

2nd: Project 21- ‘Dangerous’

2nd: Summit Dance Shoppe- ‘Funk & Soul’

3rd: Haja Dance Company- ‘A Ni Ni’

3rd: Evoke Dance Movement- ‘Mr Roboto’

3rd: Woodbury Dance Center- ‘Future Nostalgia’

4th: Woodbury Dance Center- ‘Fly Away’

5th: Haja Dance Company- ‘Doves’

5th: Stars Dance Studio- ‘Eating The Runway’

Teen Hip-Hop

1st: CanDance Studios- ‘Hijacked’

2nd: AVANTI Dance Company- ‘Tokyo Drift’

3rd: Project 21- ‘Pop’

4th: Evoke Dance Movement- ‘Underground’

5th: Woodbury Dance Center- ‘Don’t Go Yet’

Teen Tap

1st: Woodbury Dance Center- ‘Scoop’

2nd: Artistic Motion Dance- ‘Baltimore’s Fireflies’

3rd: Summit Dance Shoppe- ‘No Matter Where You Are’

4th: Summit Dance Shoppe- ‘Take On Me’

Teen Lyrical

1st: Stars Dance Studio- ‘Here is to Life’

2nd: Haja Dance Company- ‘You’re Gonna Love Me’

3rd: Visionary Dancer- ‘Swim Good’

4th: Artistic Motion Dance- ‘2 Steps Away’

5th: Impact Dance- ‘Something Like This’

Teen Musical Theatre

1st: Impact Dance Studio- ‘Sing’

2nd: The Rock Center for Dance- ‘Welcome to the Internet’

3rd: Summit Dance Shoppe- ‘Mr. Bojangles’

4th: Stars Dance Studio- ‘Cupid’

5th: Artistic Motion Dance- ‘Whipped Into Shape’

Teen Contemporary

1st: Stars Dance Studio- ‘Por Mi Alma’

2nd: Evoke Dance Movement- ‘No Time To Stand and Stare’

3rd: The Rock Center for Dance- ‘Cinema (Act II)

4th: Stars Dance Studio- ‘Runaway’

5th: CanDance Studios- ‘Sound of Awakening’

5th: Stars Dance Studio- ‘Wasteland’

Teen Ballroom

1st: Stars Dance Studio- ‘Salome’

2nd: CanDance Studios- ‘Rooooooooosendo and His Ladies’

Teen Specialty

1st: AVANTI Dance Company- ‘Slip n Slide(s)’

1st: Mather Dance Company- ‘Crazy Love’

2nd: CanDance Studios- ‘Eat’

3rd: Stars Dance Studio- ‘Call Waiting’

4th: Distinction Dance Company- ‘Don’t Jealous Me’

5th: CanDance Studios- ‘Format It’

Senior Jazz

1st: AVANTI Dance Company- ‘Check It Out’

2nd: Stars Dance Studio- ‘Love Game’

3rd: Haja Dance Company- ‘Check It Out’

4th: AVANTI Dance Company- ‘The Chain’

5th: Summit Dance Shoppe- ‘Fallout’

Senior Ballet

1st: Woodbury Dance Center- ‘Circular Concerto’

Senior Hip-Hop

1st: CanDance Studios- ‘M.I.R’

2nd: Distinction Dance Company- ‘Icon’

3rd: Impact Dance- ‘Rake It Up’

4th: The Haus Dance Agency- ‘Role Modelz’

5th: Gotta Dance- ‘Do You?’

Senior Tap

1st: Woodbury Dance Center- ‘The Way’

2nd: Summit Dance Shoppe- ‘We Run This’

Senior Lyrical

1st: Mather Dance Company- ‘Gravity’

2nd: Mather Dance Company- ‘To Be Loved’

3rd: Stars Dance Studio- ‘Ode to a Love Lost’

4th: Impact Dance- ‘Come On Love’

5th: Impact Dance- ‘Used To Be Mine’

Senior Musical Theatre

1st: Evoke Dance Movement- ‘Now Boarding’

2nd: Project 21- ‘Cell Block Tango’

3rd: Gotta Dance- ‘She Works Hard For the Money’

Senior Contemporary

1st: Stars Dance Studio- ‘Out For Blood’

2nd: AVANTI Dance Company- ‘These Days’

3rd: Project 21- ‘Destination’

3rd: Woodbury Dance Center- ‘Young & Free’

4th: The Rock Center for Dance- ‘Bloodline’

5th: The Difference Dance Company- ‘Night’

5th: Mather Dance Company- ‘Stayaway’

Senior Specialty

1st: Distinction Dance Company- ‘Do You’

1st: The Difference Dance Company- ‘Ric Flair Drip’

1st: Mather Dance Company- ‘Crime For Crime’

2nd: Evoke Dance Movement- ‘All Dessen Mud’

3rd: Summit Dance Shoppe- ‘Forever’

4th: Impact Dance- ‘Power’

5th: Mather Dance Company- ‘Detonate’

Best of Radix:

Cash Prizes:

Winner: $1000

1st runner-up: $500

2nd runner-up: $250

Runners-up: $150

Rookie

Winner:

Project 21- ‘It’s Raining Men’

Mini

Winner: Mather Dance Company- ‘Tens’

1st runner-up: Evoke Dance Movement- ‘Bangalore Whispers’

2nd runner-up: Impact Dance Studio- ‘What About Us’

3rd runner-up: Stars Dance Studio- ‘Colors’

4th runner-up: Project 21- ‘1+1=2′

5th runner-up: The Rock Center for Dance- ‘Cinema (Act 1)’

Junior

Winner: Woodbury Dance Center- ‘My Way’

1st runner-up: The Rock Center for Dance- ‘Tribal Beauties’

2nd runner-up: Impact Dance Studio- ‘When Doves Cry’

3rd runner-up: Evoke Dance Movement- ‘Collateral Damage’

4th runner-up: Summit Dance Shoppe- ‘9 to 5′

5th runner-up: Pave School of the Arts- ‘I Feel Pretty’

6th runner-up: Stars Dance Studio- ‘Applause’

7th runner-up: Project 21- ‘My Pumps’

Teen Group

Winner: CanDance Studios- ‘Glitter’

1st runner-up: Impact Dance Studio- ‘Bang Bang’

2nd runner-up: Mather Dance Company- ‘Blower’s Daughter’

3rd runner-up: Stars Dance Studio- ‘The Letting Go’

4th runner-up: Woodbury Dance Center- ‘Sound & Color’

5th runner-up: The Difference Dance Company- ‘Home’

Teen Line, Extended Line, Production

Winner: Impact Dance Studio- ‘Sing’

1st runner-up: Evoke Dance Movement- ‘No Time To Stand and Stare’

2nd runner-up: The Rock Center for Dance- ‘Welcome to the Internet’

3rd runner-up: Stars Dance Studio- ‘Por Mi Alma’

4th runner-up: Project 21- ‘Love Letter to Ari’

Senior

Winner: Mather Dance Company- ‘Gravity’

1st runner-up: Stars Dance Studio- ‘Out For Blood’

2nd runner-up: Distinction Dance Company- ‘Do You’

3rd runner-up: AVANTI Dance Company- ‘These Days’

4th runner-up: The Difference Dance Company- ‘Ric Flair Drip’

Best in Show ($10,000)

Winner

Impact Dance Studio- ‘Sing’

[cyarsk52-20]

Here Are All the Winners From the 2023 Oscars: Complete List

The 95th annual Academy Awards are hosted by Jimmy Kimmel.

The 95th Academy Awards take place on Sunday (March 12) at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood and air live on ABC, with Jimmy Kimmel returning as Oscars host for the third time. 

Related 

Jimmy Kimmel Jokes About Nick Cannon’s Kids, the Will Smith Slap in 2023 Oscars… 

03/12/2023

Everything Everywhere All At Once, which earned 11 nods, is the most-nominated film this year. One of those 11 nominations is for best original song (David Byrne, Ryan Lott and Mitski’s “This Is A Life”). They’re competing against Lady Gaga and BloodPop for “Hold My Hand” (Top Gun: Maverick), Tems, Rihanna, Ryan Coogler and Ludwig Goransson for “Lift Me Up (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever), Diane Warren for “Applause” (Tell It Like a Woman) and M.M. Keeravaani and Chandrabose for “Naatu Naatu” (RRR). This is Warren’s 14th nomination, with no wins so far. Gaga previously won this category for co-writing “Shallow” from A Star Is Born. 

Baz Luhrmann’s biopic on 20thcentury icon Elvis Presley, Elvis, was nominated for eight Oscars, including best picture; it also earned a best actor nomination for Austin Butler, who portrayed the King of Rock & Roll.

Check out the complete winners list below, updating live throughout the show. 

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Angela Bassett in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” Hong Chau in “The Whale” Kerry Condon in “The Banshees of Inisherin” Jamie Lee Curtis in “Everything Everywhere All at Once” — WINNER Stephanie Hsu in “Everything Everywhere All at Once”

Best Costume Design

“Babylon” Mary Zophres “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” Ruth Carter — WINNER “Elvis” Catherine Martin “Everything Everywhere All at Once” Shirley Kurata “Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris” Jenny Beavan

Best Sound

“All Quiet on the Western Front” Viktor Prášil, Frank Kruse, Markus Stemler, Lars Ginzel and Stefan Korte “Avatar: The Way of Water” Julian Howarth, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Dick Bernstein, Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers and Michael Hedges “The Batman” Stuart Wilson, William Files, Douglas Murray and Andy Nelson “Elvis” David Lee, Wayne Pashley, Andy Nelson and Michael Keller “Top Gun: Maverick” Mark Weingarten, James H. Mather, Al Nelson, Chris Burdon and Mark Taylor — WINNER

Best Original Score

“All Quiet on the Western Front” Volker Bertelmann — WINNER “Babylon” Justin Hurwitz “The Banshees of Inisherin” Carter Burwell “Everything Everywhere All at Once” Son Lux “The Fabelmans” John Williams

Best Adapted Screenplay

“All Quiet on the Western Front” Screenplay by Edward Berger, Lesley Paterson & Ian Stokell “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” Written by Rian Johnson “Living” Written by Kazuo Ishiguro “Top Gun: Maverick” Screenplay by Ehren Kruger and Eric Warren Singer and Christopher McQuarrie; Story by Peter Craig and Justin Marks “Women Talking” Screenplay by Sarah Polley — WINNER

Best Original Screenplay

“The Banshees of Inisherin” Written by Martin McDonagh “Everything Everywhere All at Once” Written by Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert — WINNER “The Fabelmans” Written by Steven Spielberg & Tony Kushner “Tár” Written by Todd Field “Triangle of Sadness” Written by Ruben Östlund

Best Live-Action Short Film

“An Irish Goodbye” Tom Berkeley and Ross White — WINNER “Ivalu” Anders Walter and Rebecca Pruzan “Le Pupille” Alice Rohrwacher and Alfonso Cuarón “Night Ride” Eirik Tveiten and Gaute Lid Larssen “The Red Suitcase” Cyrus Neshvad

Best Animated Short Film

“The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse” Charlie Mackesy and Matthew Freud — WINNER “The Flying Sailor” Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby “Ice Merchants” João Gonzalez and Bruno Caetano “My Year of Dicks” Sara Gunnarsdóttir and Pamela Ribon “An Ostrich Told Me the World Is Fake and I Think I Believe It” Lachlan Pendragon

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

Brendan Gleeson in “The Banshees of Inisherin” Brian Tyree Henry in “Causeway” Judd Hirsch in “The Fabelmans” Barry Keoghan in “The Banshees of Inisherin” Ke Huy Quan in “Everything Everywhere All at Once” — WINNER

Best Animated Film

“Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” Guillermo del Toro, Mark Gustafson, Gary Ungar and Alex Bulkley — WINNER “Marcel the Shell with Shoes On” Dean Fleischer Camp, Elisabeth Holm, Andrew Goldman, Caroline Kaplan and Paul Mezey “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” Joel Crawford and Mark Swift “The Sea Beast” Chris Williams and Jed Schlanger “Turning Red” Domee Shi and Lindsey Collins

Best Original Song

“Applause” from “Tell It like a Woman”; Music and Lyric by Diane Warren “Hold My Hand” from “Top Gun: Maverick”; Music and Lyric by Lady Gaga and BloodPop “Lift Me Up” from “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”; Music by Tems, Rihanna, Ryan Coogler and Ludwig Goransson; Lyric by Tems and Ryan Coogler “Naatu Naatu” from “RRR”; Music by M.M. Keeravaani; Lyric by Chandrabose — WINNER “This Is A Life” from “Everything Everywhere All at Once”; Music by Ryan Lott, David Byrne and Mitski; Lyric by Ryan Lott and David Byrne

Best International Feature Film

“All Quiet on the Western Front” Germany — WINNER “Argentina, 1985” Argentina “Close” Belgium “EO” Poland “The Quiet Girl” Ireland

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

“All Quiet on the Western Front” Heike Merker and Linda Eisenhamerová “The Batman” Naomi Donne, Mike Marino and Mike Fontaine “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” Camille Friend and Joel Harlow “Elvis” Mark Coulier, Jason Baird and Aldo Signoretti “The Whale” Adrien Morot, Judy Chin and Anne Marie Bradley — WINNER

Best Production Design

“All Quiet on the Western Front” Production Design: Christian M. Goldbeck; Set Decoration: Ernestine Hipper — WINNER “Avatar: The Way of Water” Production Design: Dylan Cole and Ben Procter; Set Decoration: Vanessa Cole “Babylon” Production Design: Florencia Martin; Set Decoration: Anthony Carlino “Elvis” Production Design: Catherine Martin and Karen Murphy; Set Decoration: Bev Dunn “The Fabelmans” Production Design: Rick Carter; Set Decoration: Karen O’Hara

Best Cinematography

“All Quiet on the Western Front” James Friend — WINNER “Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths” Darius Khondji “Elvis” Mandy Walker “Empire of Light” Roger Deakins “Tár” Florian Hoffmeister

Best Visual Effects

“All Quiet on the Western Front” Frank Petzold, Viktor Müller, Markus Frank and Kamil Jafar “Avatar: The Way of Water” Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon and Daniel Barrett — WINNER “The Batman” Dan Lemmon, Russell Earl, Anders Langlands and Dominic Tuohy “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” Geoffrey Baumann, Craig Hammack, R. Christopher White and Dan Sudick “Top Gun: Maverick” Ryan Tudhope, Seth Hill, Bryan Litson and Scott R. Fisher

Best Film Editing

“The Banshees of Inisherin” Mikkel E.G. Nielsen “Elvis” Matt Villa and Jonathan Redmond “Everything Everywhere All at Once” Paul Rogers — WINNER “Tár” Monika Willi “Top Gun: Maverick” Eddie Hamilton

Best Documentary Feature

“All That Breathes” Shaunak Sen, Aman Mann and Teddy Leifer “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed” Laura Poitras, Howard Gertler, John Lyons, Nan Goldin and Yoni Golijov “Fire of Love” Sara Dosa, Shane Boris and Ina Fichman “A House Made of Splinters” Simon Lereng Wilmont and Monica Hellström “Navalny” Daniel Roher, Odessa Rae, Diane Becker, Melanie Miller and Shane Boris — WINNER

Best Documentary Short Subject

“The Elephant Whisperers” Kartiki Gonsalves and Guneet Monga — WINNER “Haulout” Evgenia Arbugaeva and Maxim Arbugaev “How Do You Measure a Year?” Jay Rosenblatt “The Martha Mitchell Effect” Anne Alvergue and Beth Levison “Stranger at the Gate” Joshua Seftel and Conall Jones

Best Actor in a Leading Role

Austin Butler in “Elvis” Colin Farrell in “The Banshees of Inisherin” Brendan Fraser in “The Whale” — WINNER Paul Mescal in “Aftersun” Bill Nighy in “Living”

Best Actress in a Leading Role

Cate Blanchett in “Tár” Ana de Armas in “Blonde” Andrea Riseborough in “To Leslie” Michelle Williams in “The Fabelmans” Michelle Yeoh in “Everything Everywhere All at Once” — WINNER

Best Directing

“The Banshees of Inisherin” Martin McDonagh “Everything Everywhere All at Once” Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert — WINNER “The Fabelmans” Steven Spielberg “Tár” Todd Field “Triangle of Sadness” Ruben Östlund

Best Picture

“All Quiet on the Western Front” Malte Grunert, Producer “Avatar: The Way of Water” James Cameron and Jon Landau, Producers “The Banshees of Inisherin” Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin and Martin McDonagh, Producers “Elvis” Baz Luhrmann, Catherine Martin, Gail Berman, Patrick McCormick and Schuyler Weiss, Producers “Everything Everywhere All at Once” Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert and Jonathan Wang, Producers — WINNER “The Fabelmans” Kristie Macosko Krieger, Steven Spielberg and Tony Kushner, Producers “Tá”r Todd Field, Alexandra Milchan and Scott Lambert, Producers “Top Gun: Maverick” Tom Cruise, Christopher McQuarrie, David Ellison and Jerry Bruckheimer, Producers “Triangle of Sadness” Erik Hemmendorff and Philippe Bober, Producers “Women Talking” Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner and Frances McDormand, Producers

Billboard

Daily newsletters straight to your inboxHere Are All the Winners From the 2023 Oscars: Complete List The 95th annual Academy Awards are hosted by Jimmy Kimmel.

Read in Billboard: https://apple.news/AHKFOmlU5QtqosjZ_09EbPg

Shared from Apple News

Sent from my iPhone

[co-mixed]

A Horrible End or Never-ending Horror (but in Buffyverse)

A Buffyverse essay inspired by other Buffyverse essays.

(I’m using the most appropriate gifs and I thank all the creators in advance: @bscgirl99, @charmedslayer, @haydenpanettieres​)

Before I begin this long dig through heroism in both shows, I want to make it clear that it’s the shortcomings that make these characters relatable. So with all the criticism, I understand exactly where they are coming from.

If anything This isn’t a scientific work, this is an attempt to understand the characters even more. 

Also, this essay is heavily inspired by both “The Strength and Conviction to Lose so Relentlessly”: Heroism in Angel (by Ian Mathers) and The Three Faces of Anne: Identity Formation in BTVS and Angel (by Don Tresca) essays. The former originally made me want to contradict several points, but the more I thought, the more I wanted to contradistinguish both idealistic looks at what it means to be a Hero. This idea is the red thread in BTVS and Angel and no one really illustrates the conflict of a hero better than Buffy and Angel, since they both have to live this “heroic” life, and at different times choose different paths.

Heroism is a vast term and the quickest way to kickstart the conversation in regards to the Buffyverse is to recall Lindsey’s quote “Every day you sit behind your desk and you learn a little more how to accept the world the way it is. Well, here's the rub. Heroes don't do that. Heroes don't accept the world the way it is. They fight it.”

And this quote, while defining a hero (in Lindsey’s opinion though), immediately raises questions.

The Definition of Heroism for Buffy

The way I see it, Buffy’s understanding of heroism comes from several elements of her life. First, she is human. Her life is finite and she knows that. Even before coming face to face with her own mortality, she understands that one day her life will inevitably come to an end.

When she is first called, her place in the world is still undecided. She has no thorough plans or vision of her life as an adult, so in a way, it is simpler for her to rearrange her life and the image of the world to fit in the suddenly revealed supernatural side of it.

Despite that, she only fully encounters her own mortality by the end of s.1 (“Prophecy Girl”) and fully accepts her role as the slayer in “Anne” (s.3). To study that better, you might want to read “The Three Faces of Anne”. Don Tresca compares Anne’s Identities throughout her appearances and studies them according to works on Identity search.

So by the time episode “Amends” comes around, we have a Buffy who knows what her life is going to be like, and is ready to define her own understanding of heroism. She will fight every day, until one day she dies and a new slayer takes her place to fight the same fight. Despite Lindsey’s claim, she doesn’t fight the world, she, in fact, accepts it and her role in it. And she follows this role up to season 5 when she dies. Had “The Gift” been the last episode in the series, this definition would’ve certainly stuck.

Her transformation after being resurrected is what likely urges her to become the “hero” by Lindsey’s standard when she chooses to change the world instead of keeping up the fight.

Yet changing the world does not necessarily equal winning or even pushing the opponent far enough. With approx. 2000 newly called slayers there is still no guarantee that the world will become safer.

In fact, we get to see several outcomes here: In the episode “Damage” (Angel), where a traumatized slayer wreaks havoc, in the comics with pirate slayers and sired slayers (don’t make me use that word), and in In Every Generation, where in fact, changes do make the world safer although ultimately causing a restart of the slayer line.

But that’s a different Buffy, by all means, she’s been through a real death, a real afterlife, and a painful resurrection followed by depression. In the s.6 finale, Buffy was still prepared to fight an army day by day if it came to this. She wasn’t looking for an out which may be why she got one. This kind of reward may be a fictional concept but it teaches you a lesson nonetheless.

The Definition of Heroism for Angel

Angel has had a longer life, thus he presents a more complex view of heroism. At the same time, it is very different for him.

Throughout his life, Angel has high as well as low points, and each time he redefines what it means to be heroic, even if he doesn’t consider it so.

From the very beginning of his afterlife (when he was already a fully formed adult), he had a prospect of eternal life ahead of him. At some point, every experience and every choice had to be viewed through the lens of eternity. Darla was forever, the Whirlwind was forever, murdering and maiming, and torturing – all that was forever. And after he was already ensouled, his repentance was meant to be forever.

Angel’s point of view is that of a sympathetic villain with a soul rather than a hero: there is so much suffering in the world, it’s easier to let it all burn. It’s similar to what we saw from Dark Willow and it’s as far as creators usually allow their heroes when taking them to the dark side.

After getting his soul, Angel doesn’t abandon his pov. This is opposite to the way heroes in fiction generally look at the world, searching for hope and kindness.

And that’s easy to explain, let’s once again take Buffy, who lives in both worlds, thus sees both good and bad and gains a vantage point.

Angel, no matter how he tries to insert himself into real life, remains primarily in the supernatural domain and encounters the world at its worst. For him, Buffy was that first image of everything good in the world. This doesn’t make sense to the viewers now and doesn’t have to, but it’s most akin to a Petrarchan obsession. But at that moment being a hero for Angel was strongly tied to protecting this “goodness”. While this is also about redemption, it is still heroism.

Everything good in the world sends Angel to hell, so he is taken down a notch. He tried to fight as she does and he failed.

The episode “Amends” takes it further, offering us Buffy’s definition of heroism, the one she herself applies: “Strong is fighting. It's hard and it's painful and it's every day. It's what we have to do.”

Angel accepts her words, but by the end of the season still chooses what may be a hard and necessary thing but not necessarily heroic. Not by Buffy’s understanding anyway.

He comes back to that same conflict later when Darla awakens yet another identity crisis in him. It’s a question of how he has to fight. While preparing for one big and final takedown of Wolfram and Hart, he is informed by none other than Holland Manners about the ongoing Apocalypse and his place in it. He is a thorn in the side of one party and a soldier in another. He isn’t it, despite the prophecy and all the efforts Wolfram and Hart are putting into destroying him personally. This same notion comes back and hits him harder when Spike returns to challenge his place as a unique vampire with a soul.

All this comes back to Angel’s ego that constantly stands in the way of him becoming a true hero by the first, Buffy’s definition as well as by his own in season 2 (“Epiphany”).

“Angel: Well, I guess I kinda worked it out. If there's no great glorious end to all this, if nothing we do matters... , then all that matters is what we do. 'Cause that's all there is. What we do. Now. Today. I fought for so long, for redemption, for a reward, and finally just to beat the other guy, but I never got it. Kate Lockley: And now you do? Angel: Not all of it. All I wanna do is help. I wanna help because, I don't think people should suffer as they do. Because, if there's no bigger meaning, then the smallest act of kindness is the greatest thing in the world.”

This all is thrown away before the final battle.

Hero’s last stand: Buffy vs Angel

The duality of a hero’s depiction is shown in both finales and the episodes leading up to them. While Buffy is prepared to face yet another apocalypse and lay down the lives of her companions and her own, she expects to win. It’s almost as if she doesn’t accept defeat. Even if she dies, she is thinking further ahead, of a second front even, of fulfilling her mission as the protector from the dark forces. This is easier for her also because she knows her role (not just as “pivotal”) and has a higher calling as opposed to Angel, who is just said to be called to action by higher beings. Buffy has a full understanding of who she is, what, and why she does what she does. In a way, she comes to her show’s finale as a more mature hero. She goes into the fight with the knowledge that she will win, and it only reminds us how brighter the colors are in her world.

Angel, goes on a suicide mission and drags his teammates along with him. The difference here is, they are all weathered, they have luggage of massive losses, a battle that seems to have no end in sight, and plain being tired. They might all be 20-something but it certainly feels like a 30-year-old’s choice. This isn’t that surprising, considering how old at least three of them are.  And for them in particular it’s either a horrible end or never-ending horror.  (Meanwhile, Gunn’s been fighting the good fight since childhood, and Wes has nothing to live for.)

They make a relatable albeit ultimately useless choice. They mobilize all their power and resources to fight those who… provide them with said power and resources. They give their all to hurt their enemy just a little. In the process, they might have kickstarted the Apocalypse, signing everyone in the world (or at least in LA) up for their battle.

These are the actions of a passionary without support. In fact, Buffy has done that same thing during the infamous Sunnydale High Graduation, only in her case, she had consent from everyone who was prepared to fight.  Angel only asks his teammates.

Even as Angelus, Angel is used to winning. He is either superior on any battlefield or does not encounter the enemy at all. He always wants to fight the big bad himself instead of relinquishing his power or sharing it. Even in the final battle, he goes for the biggest thing - the dragon.

An eternal fight full of losses, the fight for which he already gave up so much (Buffy, his friends, his son) terrifies him. And this fight is painted as conformism.

If you look closer, this last stand feels more like overcompensating for the choice to take over Wolfram & Hart. Paying with your life for the mistake you’ve made. Is it heroism?

It comes back to the overused trope of choosing the ultimate sacrifice over a long path of redemption, despite the whole show surrounding this topic. It’s shown as a path to the much desired heroic status, while sometimes being a hero is just hard and maybe invisible work every day for the rest of your life, be it eternal or finite.

That said, “Not Fade Away” is still my favorite finale on TV.

#buffyverse #buffy the vampire slayer #btvs #angel btvs #ats #angel the series #long reads #hero #heroes and heroism #tv show thoughts

[dustedmagazine]

Brìghde Chaimbeul — Carry Them With Us (tak:til)

First of all, for any interested non-Gaelic speakers, the young Scottish piper’s name is (per her own site) pronounced “Bree-chu CHaym-bul.” And secondly, while the music found on this, her third album, sounds like what most would identify as bagpipes, it’s… well it is and it isn’t. To the extent that bagpipes are known to the wider world it’s something like the great Highland bagpipe (musician blowing into a reed, pipes extending over shoulder). Chaimbeul can certainly play that too, but she specializes more in the Scottish smallpipes, a bellow-driven instrument of more recent vintage (the 80s!) albeit from a lineage going back hundreds of years. The details are worth noting up front, because the music on Carry Them With Us is so viscerally enchanting it might be hard to keep track of them once you’re mid-listen.

Both varieties of bagpipe share some seemingly contradictory qualities. Drone instruments that (due to the various chanters used and other aspects of their design) can handle complex, fast-moving melodies; intensely analogue devices that, due to their precision and lack of sonic decay, can feel almost electronic in nature. Capable of simultaneously evoking melancholy and spritely joy, one on its own, played well, can fill a whole room with sound almost to the point of oppression. Unsurprisingly for a musician who’s been winning awards since she was a teen, Chaimbeul is an exceptional player of the smallpipes and from the opening blast of “Pililiù: The Call of the Redshank” these 35 minutes practically put on a clinic on why any listener might want to get to know them.

Not that Chaimbeul is strictly solo; after Canadian saxophone dynamo Colin Stetson reached out to her about a documentary soundtrack, the two of them wound of working together on six of the nine tracks here. If you’ve never previously considered the way sax and bagpipe might sound like each other, or take on similar roles, or complement each other, their completely natural fit here might take you aback. Stetson fans are well aware of the head of steam he can build up, but Chaimbeul’s no slouch either; a track like “Tha Fonn Gun Bhi Trom: I Am Disposed of Mirth” already feels delirious before you notice Stetson’s whirling flutters unspooling in the background. Even when their roles diverge more, like the impossible to miss saxophone tessellations towards the end of “’S Mi Gabhail an Rathaid: I Take the Road,” they feel like kindred spirits.

The most notable element aside from Chaimbeul’s pipes and Stetson’s sax is her voice, singing in Gaelic. It only shows up a few times but it’s an arresting presence whenever it does. Maybe if you speak the language it turns out she’s singing about something more mundane, but based on the song titles here and the incantatory, almost vatic feeling those passages bring to the rest of the music it’s hard not to feel like there’s something of deep significance being passed on. Like the rest of Carry Them With Us, it's intensely striking.

Ian Mathers

#Brìghde Chaimbeul #Carry Them With Us #tak:til #ian mathers #albumreview #dusted magazine #smallpipes #drone #folk #saxophone #colin stetson #gaelic

[dd-the-man-without-fear]

Neurotically Yours/Foamy The Squirrel by iLL WiLL PrEss/JiMathers

#Neurotically Yours #Foamy #Foamy the Squirrel #Germaine #Germaine Endez #iLL WiLL PrEss #illwillpress #JiMathers #Jonathan Ian Mathers #webcomic #webcomics #my favorite #my fave

[artisticlegshake]

RADIX NATIONALS RESULTS 2022 - PROTEGE TOP 15s

MINI PROTEGE TOP 15:

Diana Kouznetsova - P21

Skyla Lucena - STARS

Karyna Majeroni - THE ROCK

Neo Del Corral - STARS

Regan Gerena - P21

Lucia Piedrahita - DANCEPLEX

Camila Giraldo - STARS

Devyn Scherff - STUDIO 19

Ellary Day Szyndlar - CLUB

Skylar Wong - WOODBURY

Dylan Custodio - STARS

Everleigh Soutas - PAVE

Emily Polis - THE VISION

Isabella Kouznetsova - P21

Roxie Onellion - THE BASE

JUNIOR PROTEGE TOP 17:

Leila Winker - MDC NASHVILLE

Angelina Elliot - SUMMIT

Santiago Sosa - STARS

Sophia Schiano - AMD

Victoria Martinez - EVOKE

Anya Inger - P21

Failenn Daley - THE COLONY

Esme Chou - P21

Kya Massimino - STARS

Georgia Beth Peters - JBP

Paislyn Schroeder - CYPRESS

Alexis Mayer - THE ROCK

Aaliyah Dixon - SUMMIT

Campbell Clark - NEXT STEP

Haiden Neuville - DISTINCTION

Kylee Casares - STARS

Kaili Kester - AVANTI

TEEN PROTEGE TOP 17:

Carly Thinfen - NOR CAL

Sabine Nehls - THE ROCK

Keagan Capps - THE POINTE

Sophie Garcia - STARS

Addison Middleton - THE ROCK

Luke Barrett - DANCE ATTACK!

Gracyn French - P21

Izzy Howard - THE ROCK

Avery Cashen - DISTINCTION

Kylee Ngo - MELODIC REMEDY 

Kira Chan - ELEMENTS

Ian Stegeman - WOODBURY

Brianna Hicks - HAJA

Colin Bendziewicz - STARS

Trent Grappe - DANCEZONE

Dyllan Blackburn - P21

Kaitlyn Tom - NOR CAL

SENIOR PROTEGE TOP 15:

Emma Mather - MATHER

Jordan Green - HEAT

Destanye Diaz - STARS

Jackson Roloff-Hafenbreadl - STARS

Cayla Bennish - THE ROCK

Kayla Pereira - NJ DANCE FUSION

Anthony Ciaccio - THE BASEMENT

Forest Myers - VISIONARY

Easton Magliarditi - THE ROCK

Sam Fine - STARS

Ava La France - NOR CAL

Bella Tagle - STARS

Sarah Moore - THE DANCE CENTRE

Devin Mar - AMD

Emily Madden - MATHER

[pas-de-bouryas]

Radix Protege Predictions 2022

I can’t believe it’s already time for this... this was so hard, especially with how confusing all the new rules are lol

Mini

Top 15:

Diana Kouznetsova, Emily Polis, Zoe Flores, Delilah Hewitt, Tova Thompson, Aria Du, Peyton Nowacki, Regan Gerena, Ella Dobler, Isabella Piedrahita, Addison Price

 Top 5:

Ellary Day Szyndlar, Isabella Kouznetsova, Roxie Onellion, Skylar Wong, Karyna Majeroni

Junior

 Top 15:

Santiago Sosa, Victoria Martinez, Madison Carmody, Kaili Kester, Alexcia Roloff-Hafenbreadl, Anya Inger, Faileen Daley, Kylee Casares, Tiara Sherman, Esme Chou, Cali Cassidy

 Top 5:

Aaliyah Dixon, Angelina Elliot, Alexis Mayer, Fiona Wu, Kya Massimino

Teen

 Top 15:

Carly Thinfen, Andres Jimenez, Kenzie Jones, Charlotte Cogan, Rachel Loiselle, Daniela SanGiacomo, Cooper Macalalad, Kylee Ngo, Kira Chan, Nicholas Bustos, Sabine Nehls

 Top 5:

Keagan Capps, Gracyn French, Dyllan Blackburn, Izzy Howard, Ian Stegeman

Senior

Top 15:

Ava La France, Sophie Grabau, Louis Sloot, Anthony Ciaccio, Sophia Cobo, John Mays, Jessica Babich, AJ Storey, Destanye Diaz, Makenna Taylor

 Top 5:

Sarah Moore, Jackson Roloff Hafenbreadl, Sam Fine, Easton Magliarditi, Emma Mather

[thesinglesjukebox]

BEN PLATT - "ANDREW"

"Andrew! Andrew! Andrew! You're gonna love meeeeeeeeee..."

[6.36]

Jeffrey Brister: Platt’s an incredibly talented vocalist, there’s no doubt there, and a good performance can do a lot to elevate average material -- like, say, a pleasant but unremarkable folky song about being sad and gay. His delicate falsetto dancing over top of the guitar, how the chorus blooms with yearning in a name, staying away from theatre kid pyrotechnics -- it’s a laundry list of good choices, and I’m just bowled over by its simple and straightforward beauty and earnestness. [8]

Alfred Soto: Depending on my diet that day I can embrace this unmitigated schmaltz or vomit at the sight of it. Neither the falsetto nor the lyrics have heard of subtlety. I am past the age when unrequited lust wears the drag of lachrymosity, but I hope I'm not callous enough to understand when young adults need it. [6]

Hannah Jocelyn: A friend and I made a list of songs about unrequited queer love, specifically when it comes to incompatible orientations. This is Ben Platt’s entry in the canon, and it’s the best song I’ve heard from him, the first that doesn't sound like rejected tracks from either Dear Evan Hansen or Blue Neighborhood -- it starts off very Simon & Garfunkel, but the more ambient Sufjan Stevens territory on the chorus fits him shockingly well. One problem: the Melodyne detracts from how sincere and pure the writing is (isn't Dave Cobb known for his authenticity?), to the point where Platt sings "if I can't get closer then I am destroyed" and sounds like a Dalek. Normally that would be a dealbreaker, and maybe I would dismiss this if I hadn't, in fact, had an Andrew or five. Cobb's production is gentle and tender enough that I can just lie back and think of all the pretty girls. [7]

Isabel Cole: I do appreciate the concept of this aching little ditty about the specific wrenching futility of crushing on a straight guy, and the idea of “wasting heartbreak” on someone who would never even be able to grant you the dignity of being rejected for your actual self is poignant. I can imagine the teen for whom this hits at exactly the right time, and that’s not nothing. But the first-love adolescent yearning of the lyrics fits oddly with the meandering melody and the folky arrangement (it’s giving Harry Styles Presents VH1’s I Love The 60s), and Platt… listen, whatever you think of  Dear Evan Hansen, no one’s ever denied that the guy can sing. Here, it’s hard to shake the sense that he’s deliberately trying to differentiate his solo work from his Broadway past by avoiding sounding too musical theater, choosing instead to flatten his clear, resonant tone into a dull, nasal drone that feels like he’s playing Barefoot Guy With Guitar in a mockumentary about hippies. It doesn’t really work -- his falsetto sounds grating, and like a lot of stage singers trying to branch out, there’s a certain mannered quality he can’t quite shake -- and the few more vibrant lines towards the end make me wish I could hear a version of this aiming for the cheap seats. [4]

Ian Mathers: As someone who has disliked Ben Platt in everything I've seen or heard him in, I was absolutely prepared to reject this song from its Cat Stevens-ass opening, but then I kept listening and... I don't know, I keep thinking about that classic tumblr post that ends with "I am cringe, but I am free." I listened a few more times and... it's kind of lovely? Something about it reminds me of Gordon Lightfoot? I remember how much songs that seemed to speak to my particular romantic torments meant to me as a teen and I can absolutely imagine the kid who is going to play this on a loop like I did Sloan's "Deeper Than Beauty" or whatever? Don't make me regret this, Platt. [8]

Nortey Dowuona: The frustrating parts of this song have nothing to do with Ben Platt's voice. Whatever his faults in Dear Evan Hansen, Ben has a mellifluous tenor that comfortably floats in the higher parts of his range, allowing certain lines that feel clunky ("what a time-wastin', sweet happiness-takin', self-esteem, mess-making, heart-breakin' shame") to float past so pleasantly that when your own voice begins to sing them, they jumble together in your throat until they all flow out with the delivery of "Andrew." Producer Dave Cobb's helium guitar chords are also not the problem -- they lift Platt's voice and remain so close to it that when they lean back and let him take center stage, they allow Platt to send his melody up and catch it comfortably. The frustrating thing is the drums; they are so thin and yet so rigid that when they enter, the song loses the butterfly subtlety it needed to soar. Derrek Phillips, who has played with Vanessa Williams and Rahsaan Barber, somehow had to anchor the song in a way that would give it heft and keep its light, breezy charm, but instead he reinforces the dull structure of a second-verse drum groove, and all the hard work done by Platt and Alex Hope is squandered. A bolder choice by Platt or Cobb would've been to lean into the acoustic guitar arrangement by adding the bass and keyboards, and maybe the percussion (also done by Phillips) would act as the anchoring factor. Instead, the rigid structure kills probably the second-best thing Ben Platt has done. [7]

Jackie Powell: Ben Platt has had difficulty translating his vocal talents from film soundtrack music (the Pitch Perfect trilogy) and show tunes (The Book of Mormon and Dear Evan Hansen) into pop music. On songs like “Grow as We Go” and “Rain,” he sounded like slightly more adult versions of the characters he played. He’s leaned into motivational songs without any sort of foundation. “Andrew” works better than his previous pop offerings because of the story he paints of falling for a straight (or maybe not) friend who has led him on. A lot of these stories are coming out of the woodwork as of late with tracks such as Reneé Rapp’s “Pretty Girls” and Fletcher’s “Two Things Can Be True."  These stories need to be told and provide a certain type of respite for queer people who too have felt a similar level of pain. Platt calls the situation a “cruel joke” and self-deprecates in a witty but incredibly depressing bridge. He’s not questioning whether falling for “Andrew” wastes his time but rather declares the infatuation as a time vampire that robs more than it gives. What’s less than desired, however, is the Simon & Garfunkel cosplay he attempts in the verses. The Auto-Tune that helps layer his vocals isn’t needed. The folksiness in “Andrew” is a step in the right direction for Platt in his journey to translating better into pop. I just wish he could have paid homage to Simon & Garfunkel in a way that didn’t come across as just another Broadway character he’s playing.  [7]

Taylor Alatorre: I feel the exact same way listening to this as I do when reading the Urban Dictionary definition of any relatively common male first name. [3]

Katherine St. Asaph: What is it about guys named Andrew that inspires plaintive folk songs? Having no longings for any Andrews, I can only connect to these songs through my nostalgia, and thus Platt's is my favorite because it navigates those channels best -- which is to say it sounds exactly like Simon & Garfunkel. [6]

Mark Sinker: Not sure I remember a song where the jump from chest voice to head voice for the high notes feels so extremely foregrounded as a DECISION NOW BEING TAKEN. AND IT'S DONE! I can imagine arrangement where this works with the content: except here’s it’s like literally everything else about the song is funneling your attention to this choice instead, and I don’t think it’s what I’m meant to be thinking about? You have a nice voice mate, sorry your crush didn’t work out, that sucks.  [5]

Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: Every time I've tried to write this blurb it's come out too ironic -- couching my appreciation for it in my disbelief that Dear himself could make such a perfect rendering of the version of Sufjan Stevens' music that exists only in the minds of 2014 Tumblr users, things of that nature. But let me meet sincerity with sincerity and say that "Andrew" wrecks my shit completely every time I listen to it, every achingly beautiful guitar arpeggio and breathy note from Platt activating all of my sentimental impulses. Most of all I admire the commitment here -- there's never a moment of performance from Platt or his producers that shies away from the full teenage gay melodrama of the lyrics. Weaker souls would have tried to subvert the maudlin stuff here. I'm glad they didn't. [9]

[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox]

#ben platt #music #pop #music writing #music reviews #music criticism #the singles jukebox #Youtube

[femmefataleart]

Skye Mathers by Ian MacDonald

#skye #ian macdonald