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Beth Orton recommended Five Leaves Left by Nick Drake in Music (curated)

 
Five Leaves Left by Nick Drake
Five Leaves Left by Nick Drake
1969 | Rock
8.5 (2 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"I picked this, but it's virtually impossible to pick one [Drake record] and not another. There is no inconsistency in Nick Drake as far as I'm concerned, he's just extraordinary. I picked this one because I had to pick an album, I had to put him in there and I could't choose all the albums. I think I did this very honestly - that was the first record I heard by him, and I thought I'll be honest and I'll be loyal to that! 'Time Has Told Me', 'River Man' - it just has so many fucking great songs on it! 'Cello Song', 'Fruit Tree'; it's kind of the classic songs. I don't know what to say about Nick Drake - it's like trying to talk about air or your arm, or just something that's so much a part of your life and has been for so long now. If you want an introduction to Nick Drake, just start there; it's a great place to start. I've never tried to deliberately replicate him, but there's a song on my new album that's a complete rip-off of a guitar intro to one of his songs! It wasn't until Tom [Rowlands of the Chemical Brothers] walked in and went ""ah yeah, Nick Drake, great"" and I was like ""really?!"" And it was right under my nose - I think he's just become such a part of my... everything, I'd never even noticed that I'd gone ahead and done that."

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Butch Vig recommended Who's Next by The Who in Music (curated)

 
Who's Next by The Who
Who's Next by The Who
1971 | Rock
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"When I think of classic rock, to me this album defines what that is. This album influenced me at an early age. I recall my parents were watching the Smothers Brothers TV show and The Who were on performing 'My Generation' I think, I can't quite remember, but the drums blew up at the end and I was like 'Holy Shit, this is amazing.' This album veered me away from the pop music that my mother would purchase or I'd hear on top 40 radio. There was a record store in town, a stoner shop, you could go in there and buy pipes and stuff, but they also carried all The Who's albums in there. I would always pop in, hang out and look at the jackets, which is sadly missing from these days. This album is so ambitious, the performances are spot on and the songwriting is incredible. It was somewhat experimental the way Pete Townsend used the harp, the sequencing and the keyboards - it was a big texture of the music which was different than what he had done before. The album is full of rock anthems; 'Baba O'Riley', 'Bargain', 'My Wife', and 'I Won't Get Fooled Again' which is one of the greatest rock songs ever. That scream at the end, it's just one of those moments where the hair on the back of my neck goes up every time I hear it."

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The Original Wild Style Breakbeats Album by Wild Style
(0 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"When Wild Style came out, nobody knew about the New York City underground. This record and the film became how you found out about shit that was going on at that time because nobody was really documenting it. This movie became so big and it spread the message of hip hop in a way that hadn't really been done on that scale previously. When you look at the total global domination hip hop culture has now, you can see its roots in this film, in this soundtrack. It was mad fucking powerful. This film is written so intelligently and the story is so compelling. I like the 'Double Trouble' scene where there is acapella rapping and the scene with 'The Cold Crush Brothers'. The scene in the amphitheatre at night where they're killing it is another incredible moment. The music was just so dope throughout and it undoubtedly paved the way for things like Hamilton. I saw Hamilton this year and I'm looking around and looking at all these different people – all different ages, races and genders – and I was like here now you can see the real global domination that hip-hop and rap culture has – I saw it at the start with things like Wild Style and I see it now with Hamilton and its some mad fucking shit to see how far it has come. It's like we took over the world."

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The Inheritance Games
The Inheritance Games
Jennifer Lynn Barnes | 2020 | Fiction & Poetry, Mystery, Young Adult (YA)
10
8.8 (5 Ratings)
Book Rating
Every game of cluedo you've ever played, with a twist!
Contains spoilers, click to show
This book was fantastic. I finished it in a matter of hours because I simply couldn't put it down. I wouldn't.

I love games. Puzzles. Riddles. I'm good at them. Maybe not Avery or Hawthorne good at them but I can hold my own. I also love guessing the endings of books and movies. I'm not always right but maybe 90% of the time I am. This book reminded me of every game of cluedo I've ever played. Every riddle I've ever read. And Knives Out the movie, one of my favourites. I love the small subtle romance, its not in your face like most books. I loved the sister bond despite their lack of parents. I love the idea that even though the brothers are so handsome and rich, they aren't desirable because of a few rumours. And I love the idea that Avery isn't a random girl whose birthday held some meaning. This puzzling was fantastic! I was continually guessing who Avery was, who shot her in the woods, who Toby was to her.
Now I have to say that I'm suprised I got the big twist in the first few chapters. Toby Hawthorne II is Harry her chess partner? Called it. Obviously.
But the rest was just masterful. As good as my imagination is, I wish it was a movie so I could see the puzzles and riddles in motion.
  
A is for Aftercare (The Alphabet of Desire #1)
A is for Aftercare (The Alphabet of Desire #1)
Colette Davison | 2021 | Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Romance
8
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
focuses more on the care a Daddy gives
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarain, I was gifted my copy of this book.

Archie gets a job as PA for his favourite author and finds himself wanting to do so much than manage his diary. Hamish is is a grumpy so and so, but the young Archie becomes his muse very quickly. When one of Archie's brothers gets an invite to an adult party, both Archie and Hamish see the other in a different way.

I really really enjoyed this! It focuses more on the CARE a Daddy gives, in all ways, rather than the sex part, and I loved that I found it equally warm and fuzzies/too stinking cute and smexy!

It's not especially taxing on the brain, no complicated plot line or too much trauma to either of them, and I appreciated that right about now.

I loved that Archie and Hamish get on well together, as boss/employee, as friends, and then as Daddy/boy. They really are perfect for each other, they fit so well together. I loved Hamish's friends, and seeing how they might fit into future books. I loved the ABC triplets and I really look forward to reading Blake and Corey's tales!

It says 230 odd pages, but I didn't think it was that long. I really got sucked in with these two and time flew.

4 good solid stars

**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
  
Unforgotten (Forgiven #2)
Unforgotten (Forgiven #2)
Garrett Leigh | 2021 | Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Romance
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
UNFORGOTTEN is the second book in the Forgiven series, and this time, the focus is on the brothers - Luke's brother, Billy, and Mia's brother, Gus. They both had a moment in the past, and neither of them has forgotten about it. So what will happen when they start sharing a house and working together?

This is what I would call a high-angst book. There is not a page where there isn't some form of trouble, whether it's between Luke and Billy, Gus and Mia, Luke and Mia, or Billy and Gus! And, oh, for the love of god, will someone please explain how a conversation works to these people?

As with book one, I found this to be brilliantly written, but I was just unable to connect with the characters as I wanted to. Mia still annoys me. I can feel my teeth grinding whenever she is in a scene. I think there was only one where she behaved in a more compassionate way.

I feel this book was better than book one, but I still prefer other books by this author. If you are after a contemporary romance with high angst, then I can definitely recommend this book.

* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
  
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Colin Hanks recommended The Big Lebowski (1998) in Movies (curated)

 
The Big Lebowski (1998)
The Big Lebowski (1998)
1998 | Comedy

"Let’s start with The Big Lebowski. I remember seeing this film. I was studying in Germany at the time, and I remember loving Fargo so much — that was my first introduction to the Coen brothers — and I was so excited that they had a new movie out. So I went to some German cinema to go see The Big Lebowski. It was in English, but with German subtitles. I remember watching the movie and just being incredibly disappointed. I really did not like the movie. Probably about four years later, I rewatched it and I instantly said, “I’ve never been so wrong in my entire life.This is one of the funniest films I’ve ever seen.” It’s incredibly well-written, the characters are hilarious, the performances are so nuanced and so deep it’s almost mind-boggling. A lot of the times you do scenes and you just sort of come up with these happy accidents and it just seems like almost everything in there could not have been a happy accident; surely it must have been thought out. I just think it is such an original, fun film and it is quite honestly one of the most quotable films of the last fifty years in my opinion. I think there are so many quotes in there that I realized how foolish I was that first time. I think maybe I was just so excited that I was drinking a beer in a movie theater; maybe that’s why."

Source
  
DW
8
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
3.5 stars.

Hmm…This is my first book by the author and though I have her “My Favourite Mistake” on my amazon wishlist I haven’t got around to buying it yet.

For me, this started good. We understood her animosity to the brothers and everything and we could see for ourselves how much of an arse Zach was while Zan was a man of few words and dark, bottomless eyes. I just didn’t quite seem to catch the bit where her feelings changed. Yeah, we as the reader knew that Zan wasn’t so bad and he may have done stupid things in the past but he’s changed now, but when did Lottie figure it out because she never really gave him a chance to talk to her?

That being said, I did like the characters (though there are quite a few by the end and I got confused a bit between Audrey and Trish). On the other hand, Lottie and her twin brother Will’s “twindar” was very impressive. If that really happens when you have a twin, I am impressed and wish I had one. I really liked Stryker too, he seemed like a chilled out kind of guy who could talk a lot of sense, I wish I had a friend like him. Looking forward to his and Katie’s story when it’s released.

It was quite a sweet story when they finally got together and the bad guy got his comeuppance in the end.