5/14/2020 0 Comments The Rec League: Underdog TwinWe have a very specific Rec League from Sarah Drew, that kind of stumped us:
Sarah: So, like Jacob Have I Loved with a More Better ending? Maya: SHIT way to take me back to my growing up in Maryland youth. Sarah: Sorry! Maya: No, it’s good, I just have thought about that book in like 25 years. Carrie: I was OBSESSED by it when I was a kid. Sarah: It made me MAD. Maya: Yeah, I don’t think I ever got over her bestie marrying her sister. Carrie: I’m still pissed at that shitty grandma. Sarah: I am pestering my tired brain for underdog twin books. Carrie: Didn’t Sweet Valley High have twins? Maya: All I’ve got is Alanna. ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) Tara: SVH sure did. Sarah: It did but the SVH twins were…well no maybe that fits. Elizabeth was kind of an underdog. And also kind of a doormat, but I don’t think she ever really “won.” Jessica was a sociopath. Tara: #teamelizabeth Sarah: #absolutely #exceptwith60%morespinalresilience Tara: At least. Aarya: I can think of many underdog siblings but not twins. Hmm. Let me browse and come back to this. Naima Simone’s Scoring with the Wrong Twin. Heroine is asked to impersonate her identical twin sister at a model photoshoot. Sophia feels like an underdog compared to her sister, but they share a good/loving relationship (not rivals, but definitely overlooked/underdog). She feels self-conscious because no one pays attention to her once they meet the celebrity sister. I’m not the biggest football fan, but Simone’s football books are excellent and I’d rec the entire trilogy. This book has a MAJOR deception element that doesn’t get resolved for a long time, so YMMV if that’s a dealbreaker. There are tons of recs with rival/underdog siblings (Mia Sosa’s The Worst Best Man ( A | BN | K | AB ) comes to mind) but twins are tricker. Elyse: The only twin books I remember were old skool historicals that were suuuuuper problematic. Real Men Knit ( A | BN | K | AB ) features an underdog brother but not a twin Aarya: Oof. My memory is terrible, but I think there is a sex scene in the Simone book while the deception is still occurring. I remember enjoying the book and it didn’t raise red flags at the time… but yeah, you’re so right about the problematic aspect (I think this occurs A LOT in false/mistaken identity trope). In this book, at least, Sophia’s not deceiving for the intention of sex. Her sister asked her to pretend for a day (the sister committed to two modeling gigs and she can’t back out). So Sophia goes to the photoshoot and runs into the athlete hero. Chemistry, bam, one-night stand, and they part ways until they meet again. I realize how bananas/problematic/ridiculous this premise sounds, but I liked the book! Eek. Okay, so I’d still recommend it with the caveat that deception sex is not okay and might be a dealbreaker. Catherine: Hmm, what about False Colours, by Georgette Heyer? It’s not quite an underdog twin situation, but Kit is the younger son and his brother is the heir who disappears, and so Kit impersonates him so that the betrothal the family is trying to arrange doesn’t fall through. Premise is a bit alarming, but Kit does undertake the deception mostly to save the would-be-fiancée from embarrassment, and I think she cottons to things pretty fast. I haven’t read this book for a few years, and it’s Heyer, so please be aware of the usual caveats about racism/antisemitism in her work and take this recommendation with a grain of salt (I don’t recall anything specific, but it really has been a while)… but all that said, I always liked this one a lot – Kit and Cressy are both kind, pragmatic people with a good sense of humour about themselves, and it’s a very sweet romance. And younger twin winds up with the heiress while the elder twin… well, you’ll see. Aarya: Why on earth do all these twin/sibling books have a deception/impersonation storyline? I’m sensing a theme here. Shana: How about A Lily Among Thorns by Rose Lerner? The hero, Solomon, is a tailor, and his twin is a fabulous spy, so I think this meets the underdog request. There’s some deception from the spy, unsurprisingly, but the heroine isn’t the target. She’s a famous courtesan who runs a hotel, and unassuming Solomon has an uphill battle to melt her ice queen tendencies. This makes me want to reread it, few books makes me as happy as that one does. Claudia: In Mary Balogh’s Indiscreet, the hero has a twin brother and that older-by-seconds twin is the titled man. Not exactly underdog material but some. A major part of the plot is that the heroine confuses the two at first and, thinking the hero is the man she knows, she’s friendly to the newcomer who then thinks she’s “easy.” I love this book and it was one of the first I read that the hero owns up to his initial awfulness and grovels to a good, satisfying extent. And I could swear Stephanie Laurens’ Cynster series has twins ( A | BN | K | G | AB | Au ) Sarah: There’s def twins. Amanda and Amelia? Claudia: Sounds right… Any suggestions that really capture this Rec League request? The post The Rec League: Underdog Twin appeared first on Guaripete Magazine. via Guaripete Magazine https://ift.tt/3fH4QhE
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Don’t want to miss an ebook sale? Sign up for our newsletter, and you’ll get the week’s available deals each Friday. The post Magical Libraries, a Thriller, & More appeared first on Guaripete Magazine. via Guaripete Magazine https://ift.tt/3fL9NpH There was an eight-year gap between Ezra Feinberg‘s final album with the psychedelic-leaning rock band Citay and his debut solo album, Pentimento and Others, in 2018. The time between those records changed Feinberg as a person: he left San Francisco for Brooklyn, started working as a psychiatrist, and lost one of his early mentors to cancer. And, in turn, his approach to music changed. Pentimento and Others was completely unlike anything that Feinberg had written or played on before, an ambient record built around meditative, looping acoustic guitars. It was as intricately designed as a perfect paper airplane, and just as graceful when it took off. ADVERTISEMENT Today Feinberg is announcing his second album, Recumbent Speech — due out on June 26 via Related States — and premiering its first single, “Acquainted with the Night.” Again the song builds from Feinberg’s simple acoustic guitar loops, introducing synths, dizzy guitar lines, and layered flutes courtesy of the acclaimed multi-instrumentalist Robbie Lee. “‘Acquainted with the Night’ is a lament,” Feinberg wrote in an email to The FADER. “Written during one of the many devastating spectacles of injustice under our current regime, it’s about all that we’ve lost. I hope that it is also a balm, with healing properties in sound that might make us feel closer, even at a distance.” ADVERTISEMENT Listen to “Acquainted with the Night” at the top of the page. Thumbnail photo: Alex Phillipe Cohen via Riot Act. The post Ezra Feinberg returns with the graceful “Acquainted with the Night” appeared first on Guaripete Magazine. via Guaripete Magazine https://ift.tt/2LrGwT1 Back in December, Nigerian artist Santi had the first headlining show of his career when he took the stage at Lagos’s Hard Rock Cafe and performed in front of a packed crowd, mostly comprised of fans and peers within the country’s alté scene. He mostly performed fan favorites from his recent Mandy In The Jungle album, but towards the end of the night, the venue’s energy peaked when Santi invited peers from the scene to rage with him. The most memorable non-Santi moment of the night came when fellow alté leader Odunsi The Engine took over the mic for a guest set. The venue’s energy was at a consistently high level until Odunsi invited rapper Maison2500 on stage to perform a previously-unheard track. He instructed the crowd to repeat the words “wicked” and “sexy” after him and soon after, hundreds of people in attendance (including myself) blissfully screamed the two words until the two stopped. ADVERTISEMENT Today, the track is finally available to the wider public as it is featured on Odunsi’s new surprise EP titled Everything You Heard Is True, which arrived late last night. In a conversation with Nigerian music publication The Native, Odunsi said that the project’s title is an acceptance of the chatter that constantly surrounds his career, fashion choices, and ways of expressing himself. And that freedom of thought makes for an extremely enjoyable listen. Throughout the short project, Odunsi builds onto his catalog of dreamy production and harmonies — the type of music that perfectly accompanies a relaxed night under mood lighting, or a peaceful drive that doesn’t have a specific destination. Outside of the Maison2500 feature, Everything You Heard Is True also has appearances from others within the alté scene like Amaarae, Gigi Atlantis, and DETO BLACK. Over a series of voice notes, Odunsi briefly spoke about the thinking that went into the project. The FADER: I was lucky enough to see you perform “Wicked, Sexy!” a couple times in Lagos back in December and have been anticipating its official release. Was that one of those songs that just felt like it’d catch on as soon as you shared it with people? Your last release was 2018’s rare. In the time between that and your new project, how would you say you’ve grown — both as a person and artist? How would you like this project received by fans and people who were previously unfamiliar with your work? The post Listen to Odunsi The Engine’s superb new EP, Everything You Heard Is True appeared first on Guaripete Magazine. via Guaripete Magazine https://ift.tt/2T1J26U The 1975 have shared the latest single from their fourth studio album, Notes on a Conditional Form. Listen to “Guys” at the top of the page. ADVERTISEMENT “It’s really quite earnest. It’s quite real,” Matty Healy told Zane Lowe on Beats 1 earlier today. “I don’t really look back very much either in that regard, like properly sentimentally. So it was nice to do that. It came quite late in the record and it was just quite easy because in its simplicity it was easily executable and it’s quite an obvious emotional quality to it. It came quite easy that song, but I think I just wanted to write a love letter to friendship, as opposed to every love song being about our romantic relationships. I think that our friendships are obviously our most formative relationships. So shout out to the homies.” Notes on a Conditional Form is — barring any further delays — due out next Friday, May 22. The British pop band have already shared a handful of singles from the record, most recently the Phoebe Bridgers-featuring “Jesus Christ 2005 God Bless America” and the sax-heavy, Huey Lewis-esque “If You’re Too Shy (Let Me Know).” Read The 1975’s FADER cover story here, and dive into our Starter Pack on the band here. ADVERTISEMENT Thumbnail photo: Emma McIntyre / Getty Images. The post Hear The 1975’s latest Notes on a Conditional Form single, “Guys” appeared first on Guaripete Magazine. via Guaripete Magazine https://ift.tt/2Z594tA
Open for Business: Bacchus Wine and Spirits KOKH FOX25
The post Open for Business: Bacchus Wine and Spirits – KOKH FOX25 appeared first on Guaripete Magazine. via Guaripete Magazine https://ift.tt/3606Zkg No more than 25 people will be allowed in stores at a time, and all must wear masks. Fifteen Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores in Erie County will reopen Friday in step with Gov. Tom Wolf’s COVID-19 reopening plan. But there will be some changes in place to protect customers and staff from the virus, the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board said Wednesday in announcing the reopenings: • No more than 25 employees and customers will be allowed in most stores at one time; fewer will be allowed in smaller stores. • Customers and employees will be required to wear masks. • Markings and signs will remind customers to keep their distance from others. • The first hour that each store is open daily will be reserved for customers at high risk for COVID-19, including those 65 and older. • Plexiglas has been installed at registers as a barrier between employees and customers. • Store hours will be adjusted to accommodate daily cleaning, sanitizing and restocking. Each store reopening this week has been professionally sanitized. Stores will continue to offer curbside pickup as they are able with limited staff. PLCB will also continue accepting orders at https://ift.tt/MFfO9i. The state-operated liquor stores have been closed since Wolf ordered non-essential businesses closed in March. The Erie County stores that will reopen Friday: • Summit Towne Centre, 7200 Peach St., (814) 866-2636 • 105 W. 18th St., (814) 871-4785 • 2421 Asbury Road, (814) 833-2960 • 10720 West Main Street, North East, (814) 725-4890 • Corry Plaza, 350 W. Columbus Ave., Corry, (814) 663-7281 • Giant Eagle Plaza, 4466 Buffalo Road, (814) 898-4126 • 737 E. 38th St., (814) 825-1211 • 66 N. Main St., Union City, (814) 438-2221 • East Erie Plaza Shopping Center, 828 E. Sixth St., (814) 871-4823 • Yorktown Centre, 2501 W. 12th St., (814) 871-4721 • Commodore Perry Plaza, 2208 Broad St.; (814) 871-4824 • Liberty Plaza Shopping Center, 3702 Liberty St., (814) 866-5793 • 3412 West Lake Road, (814) 833-9068 • Washington Towne Center, 140 Washington Towne Blvd., Edinboro, (814) 734-0509 • Imperial Point Plaza, 9135 Ridge Road, Girard, (814) 774-8938. The post Wine and spirits stores to reopen, with some changes – GoErie.com appeared first on Guaripete Magazine. via Guaripete Magazine https://ift.tt/2WrEHff With one quatrain buried deep into her new album It Was Good Until It Wasn’t, Kehlani Parrish offers what could be a mission statement for her career so far: “I got bodies I’ma take to the grave/ I got girls I wanna give my last name/ No regrets, don’t got no shame/ Playin’ no games, play my way.” Kehlani became one of R&B’s biggest stars by neither taking nor dishing out any bullshit, by being radically vulnerable about her pains and passions. In short, she keeps it real, both on her records and online. It helps that she often does so in the context of R&B songs as appealing as “Serial Lover,” the one that yielded those memorable lyrics. Kehlani seasons these confessionals with style, nuance, and boundless charisma. In this case, that involves using a straightforward midtempo R&B track to subvert pervasive stereotypes about promiscuity and sexuality within the hip-hop mainstream, while also recognizing her own need to slow down and be single for a while. It’s complicated, but with Kehlani intuitively gliding across subtly booming guitar loop, the pleasures are simple. It Was Good Until It Wasn’t is full of songs that rich. Taken together, they are the sound of Kehlani coming into her own, an obvious talent delivering her first masterpiece. This is the artist she’s been growing into for the better part of a decade: an intimate, incisive writer; a conversational singer spinning effortless beauty out of thin air; a curator capable of assembling beats from dozens of cowriters and producers into a coherent, immaculate vibe. In an EW profile published upon the album’s release last week, one of those producers, G. Ry, opined, “She’s our generation’s Aaliyah in some way.” Kehlani was among the many who took issue with the comparison, but with this album, she presents herself as someone with the potential to build such a legacy, an iconic R&B star on the precipice of pop. It wasn’t always clear she’d reach this breakthrough. After splitting from PopLyfe, a teenage covers act that appeared on America’s Got Talent, Kehlani launched a solo career under the guidance of that show’s host, Nick Cannon. Early mixtapes Cloud 19 and You Should Be Here showed flickers of brilliance, but 2017’s official debut album SweetSexySavage was a creative misstep. Despite typically confident performances from Kehlani and a promising connection to her genre’s pop-adjacent ’90s classics, the songs were overly reliant on overblown production that substituted bombast for tight songwriting, as if Atlantic was trying to force a crossover to Top 40 radio. In hindsight, she considers SweetSexySavage “rushed,” which ironically led to an album that seems to drag on forever. Her career has continued to flourish; her abundant guest features have included turns alongside artists as big as Eminem, Cardi B, and Justin Bieber. Yet the years have been personally tumultuous for Kehlani; in 2016, she attempted suicide after being widely shamed when an Instagram post from fellow R&B star PartyNextDoor led the public to believe she was cheating on NBA star Kyrie Irving. (In reality, she and Irving had quietly broken things off.) After causing a minor stir by coming out as pansexual in 2018, she gave birth to a baby girl in 2019 just after releasing the solid stopgap mixtape While We Wait. This past New Year’s Day, her friend and longtime collaborator Lexii Alijai died of an overdose. (Kehlani devoted It Was Good Until It Wasn’t’s final track to a posthumous Lexii verse.) And then there was Kehlani’s relationship with the rapper YG, which looms large throughout the new album. The couple began dating last fall, but — partially due to viral footage of YG cheating on Kehlani — their romance flamed out spectacularly, leading to an exchange of diss tracks between the artists. That soap opera often takes center stage on It Was Good Until It Wasn’t, which takes its title from a sentence Kehlani supposedly uttered while discussing her YG breakup with Drake. Amidst soulful, shadowy production that wouldn’t be out of place on one of the 6 God’s own albums, Kehlani returns to her favored subjects — sexual harmony, romantic discord, the push and pull between independence and longing — telling vivid interpersonal stories that breeze by despite their heavy emotional content. Some of them seem specific to dating YG, who has made his gangland background central to his public persona, particularly the plaintive sigh “Bad News” and the more hopeful Jhené Aiko collab “Change Your Life,” both of which find her pleading with a love interest to consider alternate trajectories beyond the set. “Make you wanna give all that shit up,” she softly emotes. “Make you wanna spend that time on us.” The multi-segmented “Open (Passionate)” wrestles with the unique temptations facing lovers who make their living in show business, often thousands of miles apart: “You’re on tour, in and out them stadiums/ And there’s bitches backstage, tryna upstage me.” Even if you’ve never dated a gangsta rapper, the exquisite, understated production and Kehlani’s easy way with melody act as guideposts into emotional territory anyone can relate to. Elsewhere, It Was Good Until It Wasn’t is broader but no less personal. On “Hate The Club,” a slow-burn highlight speckled with Masego’s jazzy saxophone flourishes, Kehlani works up the liquid courage to turn a crush into a flirtation: “Damn, you know I hate the club/ But I came ’cause I knew you’d show up/ Maybe if I drink enough/ I’ll make my way over to ya.” The astrology-themed seduction “Water” hinges on a characteristically explicit hook: “Damn, I ain’t been this wet in years.” A similar frankness defines the tracks that engage with the fallout from love gone wrong. “Problematic/ You know that dick always been problematic,” she sings on the hypnotically pulsing opener “Toxic,” backed by Ty Dolla $ign, another wildly talented R&B singer who carries himself with a rapper’s swagger. Despite the binary implied by its title, the album thrives within the tensions that can make modern dating so messy, converting painful conflicts into smooth, twilit R&B. The Tory Lanez duet “Can I” portrays the genesis of an illicit relationship, while the Lucky Daye collab “Can You Blame Me” zeroes in on a different obstacle to intimacy: pride. “F&MU” (short for “Fuck & Make Up”) joins the storied canon of songs about sex as a means of conflict resolution. Although “Grieving” initially stands out for the appearance of indie-electronic star James Blake’s unmistakably lush elocution, Kehlani’s internal struggle with regret and relief is what ultimately elevates the song. Blake has often functioned as a special sauce for A-list rap and R&B stars looking to spice up their sound, but few have used him as effectively as Kehlani does. His own particular disaffection becomes a sort of Greek chorus, standing in for a whole world of lovelorn frustrations and then merging with her own impassioned sorrow. It’s just one instance of her artful touch on an album brimming with them. It Was Good Until It Wasn’t is textured but immediate, raw yet refined. An artist who made her reputation on radical vulnerability has delivered a meticulously honed creative statement without giving up her signature transparency. It’s the best version of Kehlani yet and one of the most contagiously listenable albums of the year.
CREDIT: Chris Elise/NBAE via Getty Images
CHART WATCHIt finally happened: A new Drake project debuted and did not automatically debut at #1. Instead, per Billboard, Kenny Chesney’s Here And Now enters the Billboard 200 on top with 233,000 equivalent album units and 222,000 in sales — the third best sales total of the year behind BTS and the Weeknd. Many of those sales were album/ticket bundles, despite the fact that any plans for Chesney to go on tour are extremely up in the air right now. Here And Now is Chesney’s ninth #1 album, tying him with Garth Brooks for most among country artists. On most weeks, 223,000 units would have been more than enough to put Drake’s self-consciously minor Dark Lane Demo Tapes at #1. Instead, he has to settle for #2, the first time one of Drake’s commercially available full-lengths has failed to debut at #1. (His 2009 breakthrough So Far Gone was first a free mixtape then a commercially released EP, and when the full tape finally hit streaming services last year it charted at #5.) Decline of an empire, or just a bump in the road? We’ll see next week, when Dark Lane Demo Tapes will surely continue to be a streaming behemoth. And we’ll really see whenever Drake’s official album drops this summer. After Lil Baby, DaBaby, Lil Uzi Vert, and the Weeknd comes a new #7 peak for Megan Thee Stallion’s Suga, fueled by the surge in popularity for “Savage.” Post Malone is at #8, followed by Doja Cat’s Hot Pink at #9 — also a new peak, this one powered by Doja’s hit “Say So.” Bad Bunny closes out the top 10 at #10. Just as Drake’s streak of #1 albums ends, his Young Money label-mate Nicki Minaj’s search for a #1 single is finally over. Doja Cat’s “Say So” rises to the top of Billboard’s Hot 100 this week, getting its final boost from a new remix featuring Minaj. According to Billboard, “Say So” is Minaj’s 109th Hot 100 hit, the most an artist has recorded before hitting #1. It’s also Doja’s first chart-topper, and it beats out the other big superstar remix of the moment, Megan Thee Stallion and Beyoncé’s “Savage,” in at #2. Even at #2, “Savage” is Megan’s best-charting single by far. It will be interesting to see if it can topple “Say So” before both songs flame out. The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” falls to #3, followed by Drake’s “Toosie Slide” at #4, Roddy Ricch’s “The Box” at #5, and Dua Lipa’s “Don’t Start Now” at #6. Drake and Playboi Carti’s “Pain 1993″ debuts at #7, becoming Drake’s 38th top-10 hit and Carti’s first. (His prior peak was #29 with “Magnolia.”) Rounding out the top 10 are Post Malone’s “Circles,” DaBaby and Roddy Ricch’s “Rockstar,” and Justin Bieber and Quavo’s “Intentions.” POP FIVEAriana Grande & Justin Bieber – “Stuck With U” Lennon Stella – “Summer Feelings” (Feat. Charlie Puth) Breland – “Horse Ride” Yebba – “Distance” NOTD & Astrid S – “I Don’t Know Why” NEWS IN BRIEF
HOLD ON WE’RE GOING HOME
The post Kehlani Was Good, And Now She’s Great appeared first on Guaripete Magazine. via Guaripete Magazine https://ift.tt/35ND6DF Dinosaur Jr. released their last album, Give A Glimpse Of What Yer Not, back in 2016, and they finally have another one ready to go. Lou Barlow did a livestream from his laundry room yesterday and said that producer John Agnello had just finished mixing the next Dino Jr. record remotely. “There’s been a lot of cancelled Dinosaur Jr. stuff, too, but we have a record so we have something to offer this year,” he said. He played a new song that’ll appear on the album — apparently he contributed two songs to it, this being one of them, and had a third that he didn’t finish because of the pandemic. Watch the new song and the full performance below. The post Watch Lou Barlow Play A New Dinosaur Jr. Song In His Laundry Room appeared first on Guaripete Magazine. via Guaripete Magazine https://ift.tt/2LwxSD3 At the end of this week, Moses Sumney is releasing the second half of his new double album, græ. (More on that soon!) The first half of it came out back in February, but so far he’s only shared one track from the album’s backside, “Me In 20 Years.” Today, he’s sharing a music video for the album’s final two songs, “Bless Me” and “Before You Go.” The former is a grandiose, bombastic conclusion, Sumney’s voice soaring high to reach the ears of an angel. “Why would you soil yourself with a monster like me?” he asks. “If the good lord sent you, the good lord can take you back.” “Before You Go” feels more like an epilogue, a wandering guitar line leading to Sumney whispering out lines that underline the themes of his ambitious new album: “What does it mean to be in love? I don’t know.” Check it below. græ is out 5/15 via Jagjaguwar. The post Moses Sumney – “Bless Me” & “Before You Go” appeared first on Guaripete Magazine. via Guaripete Magazine https://ift.tt/2yPTAiv |
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