#the mcguire sisters

[hit-song-showdown]

Year-End Poll #6: 1955

The sound of a decade does not change the minute the ball drops on New Year's Eve. With the benefit of hindsight, it's easier to form these cultural shifts into a narrative, even when said shifts aren't always obvious. 1955 offers us the music we've grown accustomed to over the course of this decade: traditional pop, vocal quartets, jazz standards. However, this year also gives me an opportunity to highlight some different genres that will come to shape the decade in the years to come.

The post-war 1950s saw a boom in popularity when it came to music from South and Central America. We saw this before with the inclusion of other Spanish language songs reaching the Top 30, but artists like Pérez Prado and later Ritchie Valens helped to popularize Latin music in the States. Pérez Prado is, of course, known for popularizing mambo, a Cuban genre of dance music, by incorporating big band influence. The Prado song featured on this poll is not mambo, but rather one of its descendants, cha-cha.

In 1955 year-end chart, we're seeing the first traces of a genre of music that will help define the decade's sound: rock and roll. With the inclusion of Bill Haley's Rock Around the Clock, we're seeing the first rock and roll song to top the Billboard charts. Obviously, rock and roll has existed long before Bill Haley and Pat Boone reached the top 10. Unfortunately, like many other historically Black genres, white faces typically sold better with mainstream audiences. Is this the last we'll see of record executives using white performers to market Black music to white audiences?

Foreshadowing is a literary device--

More information about this blog here

#billboard music #billboard poll #1950s music #music poll #perez prado #bill haley #mitch miller #roger williams #les baxter #bill hayes #the four aces #the mcguire sisters #pat boone #georgia gibbs

[vintage-every-day]

The McGuire Sisters - Sugartime

#vintage #music #the mcguire sisters

[adsin1960smusicmagazines]

The McGuire Sisters (1961)

#The McGuire Sisters #1961 #coral records #1960s #1960s Advertising #1960s music #magazine ad #music magazine #Vintage Magazine Ad #music ad #advertising #vintage #vintage music ad #sixties

[oldshowbiz]

The sad and poorly done holdovers of Phyllis McGuire

#phyllis mcguire #the mcguire sisters #bad reviews #Dean Martin

[ifuckinghatemusic]

#the mcguire sisters

[unicornery]

if the 5 Neat Guys from SCTV were girls, they could sing this fun song by the McGuire sisters

#the McGuire sisters #'50s music

[ixmile]

#Sincerely #The Mcguire Sisters #Spotify

[whetstonefires]

Do you have any opinions on Scholomance?

I do! I like it a lot. I really enjoyed all three books, blitzed through them easily and was much more excited to see how the plots unfolded than I'm used to these days, as a jaded adult, and I also really appreciated them as works of craft.

Especially the first one, I spent the whole time being all 'wow!' at how simple it was. So easy to read, but no waste. You really need to know what you're doing, to get that kind of pared-down elegance of form to work and still fit so much content in.

Like these are dense, there's a fantastic stylistic minimalism that allows El's character all the space it needs to breathe by making absolutely every other thing and person in the whole novel also do character work for her, which is exactly where the first person voice shines.

Also great use of character perspective to make the pacing feel really natural, so the fact that the first book takes three weeks, the second book takes one year, and the third book is like. Five or so incredibly stressful days spread out over the course of a few weeks? Doesn't feel imbalanced.

I actually got distracted from the story a few times by noticing the strength of Novik's technique. 😂 This is a me problem, in itself it's the opposite of distracting. Very low-profile.

I think the Scholomance is a great example of how far you can go in specfic when you aren't cringing from the label 'derivative,' because the Scholomance books feel very fresh ad clean specifically because nothing in them is concerned with standing out as 'original,' whatever that's supposed to mean, only with being well-executed and suitable to its task.

Hm, maybe that's where Liesel was born, the intersection of the efficient narrative style and the vast proportion of the story that concerns the maximization of utility and the instrumentalization of persons by themselves and others, and the forces that incentivize these behaviors. Or maybe she's just the narrative counterweight to Orion 'Head Empty' Lake lmao. How's that for a principle of balance, Galadriel?

I really did enjoy how beautifully it was laid out, over and over, in dozens of shades of humanity, how no matter where you go in an exploitative system almost everyone is being driven by the same survival instincts.

Because I don't think I've ever seen made so cleanly clear why you just can't expect any person or small group of people, no matter their level of goodwill or status, to unmake one of these systems from the inside; how it's not a matter of people being bad but of every single person being very...small.

And then not retreating into the idea of a person who is Big coming and breaking the cruel system from the outside as some kind of panacea, because 1) that is terrible, even if it's necessary and done in the best way possible and 2) that's not a sustainable answer to anything. Getting a balance between the protagonist being able to effect change and not subscribing to the great man theory of history can be really tricky!

Also did I mention, I love El, and I love most of the cast, even the dreadful ones. How am I going around with this many feelings about Li Shanfeng who doesn't appear until the actual climax?

The romance murdered me a bit, but it took up no more space than it absolutely needed to do its job, and I respect that. Also I appreciated Orion as a love interest; Novik has a slight record at this point of a version of that style of male love interest who's like a caricature of Mr. Darcy but old, which was shaping up to be my least favorite thing about her body of work.

...Orion is kind of like if you took the human king from Spinning Silver and gave him an alignment flip come to think of it, so he's not coming out of nowhere. Lmao.

Which reminds me (re: romance character typing) I've heard Novik didn't want it to be known she was astolat, which this series has renewed my sympathies if so. Because if I were a published novelist I wouldn't want people going 'you know, that resolution was really emotionally satisfying! reminds me of that fic she wrote where optimus prime and megatron get stuck in a hole underground and hatefuck about it.'

I don't even like Transformers. That fic almost made me cry. Actually I suspect it reads better if you don't like Transformers because I'm sure it does not give a shit about canon.

Anyway, whoever pointed out that one of the things El has going on is she's Enoby (and we're going to sit down and explore what the true reason to put your middle finger up at preps is, and what are some constructive ways to channel that socioeconomic wrath, and what it means that there is no ethical consumption under capitalism) was right and I'm not entirely over that either.

Fucking love El's mom as a character. Spectacular level of parent relevance and usefulness. A+.

Aadhya and Liu are also characters who fucking delivered.

Re: minimalism though, I laughed at the start of The Golden Enclaves when I realized that none of the enclaver characters who'd gotten development in the the first two books were from London, the enclave El was theoretically shooting for when we met her.

#ask #hoc est meum #Anonymous #scholomance #my sister's biphobia made an appearance when i was reading the second book and tried to tell her about this thing i was enjoying #still mad at her about it #anyway though #good! #wish i could ask novik what she was thinking by making a single-cell abortion work as human sacrifice #like is it just because magic works on intent so if you think the newly fertilized egg #that you couldn't know about without magic #is 'your baby which you are killing' #then it is? #for purposes of hole in reality making? #or does this story have a spot where its politics sharply reverse and human life begins at conception #spoilers #scholomance spoilers #especially in the reblog #lakjfaldkfs seanan mcguire has granted this rambled Circulation oh dear

[mandalorian-chiara]

What am I supposed to do now that I have officially finished Derry Girls?

How am I supposed to go on with my week I love them all so much

#derry girls #erin quinn #orla mccool #derry girls season 4 when? #also orla supremacy #sister michael #james mcguire #claire devlin #michelle mallon #also sister Michael slays and she knows it

[aliteraryprincess]

March 2024 Wrap Up

March was a pretty great month. I presented at a conference in Boston, which went well and was a fun romantic weekend for me and my husband. Not sure how I feel about the year going by this quickly though...

Books Read: 8

And the biggest reason March was great is all these 5 star reads!!! Sister Novelists was my favorite of the month and my new top book of the year. And I was pleasantly surprised by my reread of Middlemarch. I actually really liked it and can no longer call it my Nemesis. And there was no least favorite!

Dear Committee Members by Julie Schumacher - 5 stars

Middlemarch by George Eliot - 4 stars ®

We Ride Upon Sticks by Quan Barry - 5 stars

Sister Novelists: The Trailblazing Porter Sisters, Who Paved the Way for Austen and the Brontës by Devoney Looser - 5 stars

Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher - 4 stars

Here, The World Entire by Anwen Hayward - 3.5 stars

The Perpetual Curate by Margaret Oliphant - 4 stars

Mislaid In Parts Half-Known by Seanan McGuire - 5 stars

On Tumblr:

Look at all these photos! Let's see if I can keep it up for the rest of the year...

February 2024 Wrap Up

Book Photography: Before Midnight by Cameron Dokey

Book Photography: Golden by Cameron Dokey

Book Photography: Slipper by Hester Velmans

Book Photography: Beauty Sleep by Cameron Dokey

Victorian Novels Connections

On YouTube:

And there's plenty of fun stuff here, of course!

February Wrap Up | 6 books for #FebRegency, #WeLoveJenny, & more!

I'm So Annoyed BookTube Tag

Currently Reading 3/15/24

What I Read for My PhD in English Literature | Victorian Women Novelists Independent Study

Mammoths Read & To Read | the longest books I own!

April TBR/Pile of Possibilities | Picture This & TBR Clear Out Readathon!

#booklr #book photography #monthly wrap up #march wrap up #books #wrap up #middlemarch #george eliot #we ride upon sticks #quan barry #dear committee members #julie schumacher #thornhedge #t kingfisher #mislaid in parts half known #seanan mcguire #sister novelists #devoney looser

[dozydawn]

Phyllis McGuire at the Plaza Hotel, 1990. Photographed by Ron Galella.

#1990 #1990s #phyllis mcguire #(of the mcguire sisters) #ron galella #fur #sleeves

[tinismarties]

IM A DERRY GIRL!!!!!!!

(you’re a fucking prick that’s what you are)

LMAO I DIED I LOVE THIS SHOW

#derry girls #netflix #erin quinn #orla mccool #sister michael #james mcguire #claire devlin

[shelbgrey]

- Robin Hood dating Hooks' sister Mood board

#Robin hood #Ouat robin hood #Sean Mcguire #Once upon a time #Aesthetic #Mood board #Killian Jones #Captain Hook #Killian Jones x sister!reader #Colin O'Donoghue

[kanerallels]

Oh hey just realized you guys don't know how INSANE I am about this scene yet FUN FACT I AM

#okay listen #galen. he's standing at saville's back #he's defending her from the crowd and giving her and will space for just a moment #he's protecting her. and she's always had to protect herself #all this and he DOESN'T EVEN KNOW HER SECRET YET #i'm about to make a parallel that's gonna make my sister either give me a 'dude really that piece of media?' look #or a 'daaaang unfortunately you're right' look #but it reminds me so much of how demelza and ross first meet in poldark #valiant sarah mcguire #reading and liveblogging with hazel

[loupettes]

Say buonasera to my new American friend, Lizzie McGuire!

The Lizzie McGuire Movie (2003)

#lizzie mcguire #lizziemcguireedit #movieedits #moviegifs #disneyedits #disney #Hilary duff #and Hilary duffs twin sister isabella #loup.gif #loup.lizzie

[shsenhaji]

📚 September and October Reading Round-Up 📚

November is here - what happened to summer?

I wasn't able to post my September reading round-up, so here are the books I read these past two months.

I was able to read some really great and emotional books! I embarked on a re-read of one of my favourite series, the Protector of the Small quartet by Tamora Pierce, and read some new favourites as well.

In September, I read:

- Heaven Official's Blessing Volume 2 by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu (amazing! spectacular! heartwrenching and bittersweet, my first time reading the official English translation of this part of the story)

- Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh (very good, listened to the amazing audiobook, was very immersed in the story and engaged in trying to figure out what would happen next, kept thinking about the story even when I wasn't listening to it, very emotional throughout - especially the ending)

- Gallant by VE Schwab (First VE Schawb book but not the last, beautiful writing and engaging themes, wrote a book review)

- An Artificial Night by Seanan McGuire (enjoyed it a lot more than the two previous books, especially loved the ending, some really good themes and great character growth)

- Sisters of the Vast Black by Lina Rather (really liked it, was very invested in the story by the second chapter, loved the themes, the characters, and the reveals, did want a bit more of slice-of-life with "regular" humanitarian missions, lovely prose)

- The Remarkable Retirement of Edna Fisher by E.M Anderson (very good, wasn't sure if the premise would live up to itself at first but was immediately compelled by the story and writing, a lot of heart, not really a deconstruction of the Chosen One trope, figured out one of the main twists a chapter earlier and was very excited to be proven right, didn't love denouement as much but the ending was still heartfelt, some of the themes surrounding the squires gave parallels to my subsequent Protector of the Small quarted re-read)

In October, I read:

- A House With Good Bones by T. Kingfisher (the audiobook was amazing and I loved the narration, a very good story, interesting ending, loved the characters and the themes, liked the slow build-up of tension and the fact that it wasn't too scary for my tastes)

- Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert (great, funny, definitely cried during the last part of the book, lovely characters and relationships and themes)

- First Test and Page by Tamora Pierce (listened to the audiobooks this time, found the narrator okay, definitely teared up at a lot of parts, kind of depressing to listen to this book while knowing that certain things in the real world which the themes reference have gotten worse since the book was published, felt that Page wasn't as impactful when listening to it, but still an overall good experience)

- Squire by Tamora Pierce (very good, nice and enjoyable re-read, not as heart-wrenching as First Test and Page in some ways, loved seeing Kel's growth)

- Batman: Wayne Family Adventures Volume 2 by CRC Payne and StarBite (lovely, heartwarming, funny, a great read, loved having the physical copy to hold in my hands)

- Bleach Vol. 1 by Tite Kubo (funny, fast read, found it a bit hard to follow the actions sometimes, funny character interactions, some deep and important themes about grief and souls)

- The Game of Courts by Victoria Goddard (loved it, so fun having Conju's perspective on certain events as well as getting to know him better, loved the tale of friendship and finding purpose after grief and the end of the world as you knew it)

- The Stars Change by Mary Anne Mohanraj (very good and gripping, absolutely loved the audiobook, hopeful and heart-wrenching with a lovely ending, wrote a book review)

- Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco (very good, second time trying to read the book and ended up re-reading the beginning, enjoyed the story and the characters and the themes a lot, that ending!)

#mine #reading round-up #heaven official's blessing #tgcf #mxtx #some desperate glory #emily tesh #gallant #ve schwab #october daye #an artificial night #seanan mcguire #sisters of the vast black #the remarkable retirement of edna fisher #em anderson #a house with good bones #t kingfisher #get a life chloe brown #talia hibbert #protector of the small #tamora pierce #bleach #victoria goddard #the stars change #mary anne mohanraj #kingdom of the wicked #kerri maniscalco #batman wayne family adventures