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juniaships · 3 years

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Actiontoongorlz's Top 8 Canon x OC Ships 💖💖

I've been looking at OTP/Couples memes for a while and decided that it's time for me to make my own! For an extra surprise I'm not putting Ben Tennyson x Jora Holiday on this list because I focus too much on them anyways & I want my other OCs & their loves to have the spotlight for a change. The timing couldn't be more perfect as we're close to Valentine's Day!!! If you don't support canon x oc or find my ships displeasing then move along because this is a Happy Place! 😁😁 Again these are couples that I consider my personal OTPs in regards to canon x oc. That and making more content with my ships in general! Be warned the text is long and contains spoilers for certain shows and such!!

Clarify: these are my own ocs so there's not going to be anyone else's oc/canon. I might have to save that for another post in the future! 💚 But yeah these are characters that I came up with :]

Alright I'm done ranting, let's get started!

1. Sonic x Lani: I never quite gave much thought into this pair as I should so I promise to do something with them in the future! I promise! What I appreciate about SonLani is that there's little drama, like everything is super chill because both parties are chill. It's not a big deal and they don't need grand gestures to show how much they care about each other. Unlike Preboot Archie with its carts full of poorly written romance and strangely OOC moments on Sonic's end, SonLani had a lot of time to grow, while keeping his established personality in check. They actually communicate with each other, and stick by each other thick and thin. Lani loves Sonic for who he is & has no plans on changing him. Likewise Sonic has someone he can rely on when things get tough; not to mention he can really be himself around her without going all "iLl sLOw dOWn fOr U." Plus the ship name I gave them is a huge nod to the games ^_^

2. Jason x Vanessa: A recent pair due to Vanessa being a new creation but I'm honestly in love with them right now. In-universe they are regarded as the prime example of 'Opposites Attract' in Odyssey. They didn't get along very well in Jason's first couple of months in town due to his hardheaded self and her aloof demeanor. But through events such as Blackgaard and Novacom they gradually learn to trust one another. They see each other in a different light, Vanessa realising that Jason is a lot more thoughtful than he lets on, and Jason discovering her hidden fun side and kindness. Vanessa provides challenges and a sense of normalcy Jason can enjoy away from spy business. Meanwhile Jason fulfills her thirst of adventure & simultaneous desire for a peaceful life as well as spirituality. They're a equals, regarding each other as such and not to mention the BANTER! Hard to believe a former nun can keep up with a secret agent both physically and trading barbs XD. There's also the Forbidden Love factor of Vanessa being the duaghter of Regis Blackgaard, Jason defending her because he KNOWS she is nothing like her old man. Their friendship and romance overcome so many obstacles. I can honestly say that if Vanessa was canon she'd be the type of person Jason would like to be with especially over Jillian Marshall *gags*

3. Kaysha Wallace x Leo Hamato: Now here's a ship that I want to get more into 😁😁 Honestly I love the idea of this pairing: the serious leadee x bubbly spirit! Kaysha is very perky yet understands Leo's feelings on shouldering so much responsibility (she being the oldest child in her family). She's very willing to support him because she doesn't want to see him get all weary from burden. Likewise Leo can be himself around her, and teach her to be more responsible. He doesn't doubt her potential and sees her as an equal even during those periods where she was not on par with the other ninja. Kaysha shows Leo it's okay to relax and let other people help him out and not shut everyone out. When Leo expresses his ability to give her a safe life she simply laughs it off; the way she sees it him simply there in her life is enough. The most interesting facet is their dynamic varies between shows, so you'd see different scenarios and reactions as well as similarities and differences in their romance subplot.

4. Artie x Rhodanthe: Another couple I seriously need to give more attention to, they're meant to be is the foil to Shrek and Fiona in several ways. Artie and Rho may come from different social classes but they're both searching for a purpose to prove their haters wrong. Artie lacked confidence while Rho was overconfident believing she didn't need help. Together Artie learns to stand up for not only for his kingdom and loved ones hut also for himself; Rho's pride gets tempered by Artie's kindness and willingness to compromise. Another thing I like is that Artie has someone who loves him for him not because he is attractive and of royal blood. Likewise Rho has someone who respects her in spite of her social standing & shares her beliefs in making life easier for the poor & outcasts. While both lacke the physical prowess of Shrek and Fiona they rely on each other's resourcefulness and strategic thinking to get by. Unlike Shrek and Fiona they don't get married at the end of their focus movie, resolving to figure out where to take their relationship next. They still have their own life goals and don't want to rush into a relationship which sends a pretty good message. However they have their disagreements - in fact they got a huge argument that became a plot point in Shrek Forever After - but through it all they rediscover the things that made them fall in true love with each other. I'm really loving the subplot I have planned where they forget their memories and slowly fall back in love again.

5. Finn x Alma: Surprise! Yes8 I have a Cars OC (that was originally a fanon Disney Princess) who is the niece of Tow Mater in my verse and she enters a relationship with Finn McMissile. The thing I love about this pair is that it allows Alma to use her skills to flourish, treating amd healing injured spies. She's also into travel and adventure so she can pretty much keep up with Finn. Likewise Finn realizes she is more than just a pretty face or a one-off fling but someone with the passion to face challenges head on; Finn seems to love a good challenge! But overall they'd make a nice pairing, Finn showing Alma the world and Alma showing Finn some of the more simpler things in life.

6. Alexander Paine & Qiu Jin: Well well well look at what the cat dragged in? If it isn't our first villain pairing? XD Just kidding only one half is a genuine villain. What makes this couple so unique in that their storyline goes way back to before the events of the show, he being a agent and she a mechanic. They loved each other deeply, even to the point of starting a family, but forced apart due to some troubling events. When they do get back together it's not so much a bittersweet reunion as Paine became a full villain and Qiu Jin had spent years in&out mental institution before being released There's visible pain & regret, Alexander desperately wanting a semblance of what they once had. He seeks power not just for himself for to heal her. But Jin refuses to go along with his schemes wanting nothing more than to move on and see their children. Jin is a huge Mortality Pet for him, but his own selfish desires for power is a major obstacle their love can't overcome. It's the more bittersweet of my pairings but an important one nonetheless.

7. Bruce Wayne x Nicola Holden: Ok the Brooding Guy/Gentle Girl trope is a mixed bag these days but I really like this trope in regards to Brucola. Like with Artie/Rho, Bruce and Nicola come from different social classes but has that same compassion and drive to help others. Nicola is someone Bruce can trust but at the same time she lets him know there are boundaries (aka don't use my weaknesses as a contingency plan). I also feel like Bruce needs a sort of normal love interest, while he has canon normal girlfriends most of them were pretty boring. At least with Nicola she has has a life outside being a love interest her own goals and motivations. She also loves Bruce for him, not because of his money and good looks. It's a generally healthy dynamic built on honesty & empathy. Another reason why I find this pair adorable is that it actually matches with the rest of the Trinity; you know, like how Superman is with a journalist and Wondy is with a soldier/agent. Nicola & Bruce having different ways of pursuing justice while still sharing similar moral codes. It helps that Nicola is actually a hero rather than an antihero/villain/straight villain (Bruce dating a villan would only make him look like a hypocrite). Nicola sees all facets of Bruce's life and makes the choice to stay; provides some much needed light not just in his life but also the rest of the Batfam. In turn Bruce has another connection to the normal world that is willing to be in his life and see him genuinely happy. They're mature adults who ground each other and build each other up.

8. Optimus Prime x Malina Lovelace: Okay is it just me or do I think TFA Optimus Prime needs more love? What's funny is that at first Malina didn't like the thought of being outshined by newcomers in her superhero career. Spending time with Optimus makes her realize that there's more to being a superhero than fame. Optimus doesn't look down on her, and is more than willing to work with her and appreciate her work. She becomes touched by his friendliness and aceepts him and the other Bots. At the same time Malina reminds Optimus that it's okay to make mistakes and move on, and that it's okay to cut toxic people out. I even wrote a noncanon ficlet where Malina calls out Sentinel and Blackarachnia for the way they treat Optimus. OptMalina is a romance built on respect despite the obvious differences. Not to mention they have each other's back, and they learn about each other each time. And just like with KayLeo and BatRose there's different continuities which means unique versions of the Optlina pair. The Bayverse *chortle* and Prime versions are a few I'd love to explore in the future!

Miscellaneous

- Chad Charming x Soraya Nedakh: Essentially snobby rich kid who learns to be self sufficient and see past appearances through a positive influence. Soraya helps Chad to understand that being royalty isn't just pretty clothes and parties but actually using that status to help others. And Chad actually has his views challenged: Soraya doesn't back down easily.

- Jetta x Zane: The concept of JettaZane (or A Touch Of Snow/IceMagic) is that the robot teaches the human what it's like to be human. Jetta started out as an extremely cold person and a loner, but her time with Zane - the literal ninja of ice - gradually melts her heart & she becomes more caring and accepting. So the robot programmed to be human helps the human raised to be a cold machine unlearn her toxic traits and reclaim her humanity. Also Pixane is kinda boring imo, like they're only together because they're both robots. Not very compelling if you ask me.

- Brian Crown x Kelly Arbol: The wellmeaning goofball and the beatnik poet are something I rarely see much of, but that pretty much sums up their ship. Brian may be a bit self centered but he has a heart of gold and through Kelly's influence he becomes more confident in being a worthy successor to his dad. Meanwhile Brian respects Kelly in and out costume and teaches her how to have fun. Not to mention Kelly interacts with someone outside her circle, which is a welcome change from the trope of only dating someone within your circle.

- Janus Lee x Lenora Rose: Another pair from the same show as Paine and Qiu Jin, there's not much to say on them other than it's one of the most tragic couples. Lenora died a long time ago due to circumstances beyond her & Mr. Lee's control and it's her death that was the catalyst to his gradual descent into evil. As the show goes on we see glimpses of their life together and realize that Lenora is more than the Ghost, she was someone with her own dreams and motivations. She and Janus were outcasts who found companionship in each other, and were able to build a life together using their hard-earned resources to help others. Even in the last few months of her life she didn't go down without a fight, wanting her legacy to be one of love and hope. It's her memory that may be the key to redeeming Mr. Lee in the future of A.T.O.M.

- Ben Florian x Paige: Again not much else to say but they're the antithesis of Mal x Ben. One thing that bothers me about Mal & Ben is that they are supposed to be equals when it's pretty darn obvious from the scenes they were not. With PaigeBen it's clear that they ARE equals who respect each other. Ben's agency isn't reduced to just love interest, he has someone he has good communication with and wants to see him succeed. Paige has someone who shares her interests and see her more than just that One American Newbie. They LEARN to work together without love potions involved. Plus we haven't had a commoner Disney Princess in a while so Paige fills in as someone who works her way into high status then uses that status to help others with Ben at her side.

That's enough of my Canon x OC OTPs! I hope to explore them more throughout the year :) I work hard to flesh out my OCs and their romantic storylines as if they're real 💚😌

I do have KayLeo week planned for Feb 14 to Feb 21 so don't be shocked when I start posting rottmnt stuff or art of Kaysha! Anyways these are my personal ships that I enjoy despite the lack of content I made of them, so hopefully I have the creative juices flowing to make more stuff! Final note I'm working on a platonic oc x canon meme to show that love doesn't have to be romantic. A

#canon x oc #oc x canon #otp #multifandom #actiontoongorlz #oc meme #oc x canon meme #long text tw

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ursagetalife · 3 years

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7 Comfort Films

@creativefiend19 tagged me in this one and I thought why the fuck not let myself be perceived for a little while. These are very much not in order.

1. Lost Boys

Ohh boy, if I could bottle this film and drink it I would. The vibes are immaculate, the eighties nostalgia, the casual horror setting, the small coastal town. It’s the perfect mix of gothic and classic at the same time.

2. Star Wars: The Last Jedi

I have a lot of good memories associated with this one and I put it on pretty often when I need to decompress. There’s nothing particularly special about it other than getting to witness the connection between Rey and Ben but I’ve got really calming and comforting associations with it.

3. Twilight: New Moon

Really putting myself on blast here but I was in love with Twilight when I was younger and have been adoring the renaissance. I didn’t really have any friends in middle school so I would genuinely come home every single night and just watch Twilight as a comfort media. New Moon remains one of my favourites and calms me almost immediately but this whole series could really go on the list.

4. Gone Girl

I have no good reason I just love, love, love this film. Which is funny because I hated it the first time I watched it but I genuinely think I hated how clever it was. This is one of those films I've seen a thousand times and I will throw it on randomly often. Also, read the book, it makes the movie 20 times better honestly.

5. Dark Crystal

This movie is beautiful and I love it eternally. My mother has loved showing me old 80′s films and this one along with Twilight was a massive comfort to me in middle school. I could also have put Labyrinth on this list but I wanted to limit it to just one Jim Henson film. Also, the new series was stunning and I’m gutted it was cancelled.

6. Silence of the Lambs

Yes, yes I am that girl who is obsessed with serial killers but blame my mother. I’m constantly in awe of this movie and I just keep watching it when I feel like actually paying attention to the film in front of me, I keep noticing new things. And also young Jodie Foster is goals.

7. Pretty in Pink

I based my entire personality of Andie if I’m being perfectly honest. This movie makes me very sad but also very warm at the same time, a stunning classic and go to watch for me.

So in short, it’s all eighties movies, angry women, and no shortage of un healthy romance. Tagging anyone whose interested because honestly this reminded me of some of my favourite cinema.

#tag game #films #eighties #angry women #unhealthy romance #perceive me

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summerspn · 4 years

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Felicity

Tv series (1998-2002)

Spoilers...

I’ve gradually been watching Felicity for the past few months & have completed watching the series. I gotta say it’s charming & oddly addictive.

At the beginning of the series Felicity (Keri Russell) is an extremely shy & introverted character. She’s adorable. We see her proudly graduating high school but also feeling some trepidation about it. Naturally.

She sees her high school crush, Ben Covington, (Scott Speedman) at their high school graduation & decides to just go & talk to him. She regretted not getting to know him before. So she fixes that. Her yearbook had some sort of printing issue so they gave it to her on graduation day. So she asks Ben to sign her yearbook.

Surprisingly he sits down & writes a very thoughtful message to her. It’s sweet & inspiring. She decides to follow him to New York & she gets into NYU.

In tv land one can get into school in just a couple months - ya know completely ignoring the hundreds of people waitlisted lol That made me chuckle when watching. No big deal though.

Felicity gets to school & realizes Ben was just a nice guy & wasn’t in love with her of course. So she gets a bit of a reality check.

She makes a few friends & lives in the biggest dorm room on the history of planet Earth!

My room in my old dorm was ‘big’ and it had 3 feet of space between the beds...much bigger than my sister’s dorm lol

Felicity is likeable because she’s sweet, smart, shy & confused & just trying to figure her life out. All she knew is she didn’t want med school as her parents kept trying to shove it down her throat.

Ben is a nice guy who struggles with feeling stupid sometimes (though is actually really smart). He struggled with some of his classes & lacks a clear path for his major.

Occasionally Ben has these lines & that message in the yearbook which made me stop & go ‘you’re a writer’. I kept thinking he was going to become a writer...then in season four he decides to be a doctor. Okay...it was an alright decision & I like his academic plot lines in season 4 so no real complaints there.

We meet Noel Crane (Scott Foley)who is super dreamy. He’s smart, nice, outspoken but sensitive. A straight laced student & Resident Advisor (RA) who becomes Felicity’s friend & has a crush on her.

Throughout the series that’s the love triangle. It was interesting but there was far too much emphasis on it. Often it overshadowed the more interesting storylines on the show, IMO.

Noel pines for Felicity & loses sight of his life then soon graduates without a plan then later develops depression. I thought that was a great storyline. Noel’s family history of depression was compelling & how the character described it was very well done.

Back then tv shows didn’t talk about mental illness but this was handled delicately.

Noel gets help & gets better. He gets his life back on track, pursuing his dream of graphic design. There’s a line where he gets teased for liking computers...ya know as only ‘nerds’ like that stuff 😂

Felicity’s roommate Meghan Rotundi (Amanda Foreman) is a bit of a goth/Wicca practitioner. Every other character wear clothes I assume that are from The Gap so Meghan looks very different in her black mesh clothes & dark makeup. Nice contrast but I feel like Meghan’s development was overlooked for the most part of the series. She’s very blunt, unapologetic, sometimes mean...but she also cares for others even though she’ll deny it.

In her romantic life there’s growth but not academically. It’s only in the end of the last season does she realize she wants to pursue psychiatry. I think there were some missed opportunities there.

Though I will say I like that her uptight parents accept her for her quirks & clothing choices.

Sean Blumberg (Greg Grunberg) ...I have mixed feelings about his character. He’s an ambitious inventor & sort-of businessman. He owns a loft where Ben sublets /shares with him. Sean’s nice, caring & excitable. He’s also several years older. Around 5 or 6yrs difference I think.

His age difference was brought up several times, as if it were supposed to be important. In my last year of school I lived with a woman who was 15 years older than me. So what? Not a big deal. I’m not sure why the show kept pointing it out.

The only issue with his age is that at one point he’s 27 and STILL has no steady job. None! He’s all-in with his inventions that make no money & his family isn’t rich so how does that work now? He has a loft in New York with zero income? One episode talked of him owing money but come on, get rid of the loft, downsize then get a job, even if part time. *sigh*.

At the start of the series I liked Sean but then they turned him into a pathetic leech who gets mad & throws tantrums easily. He became incredibly annoying.

When I was near the end of the series I started to think that Sean would actually make a good salesman. Imagine him trying to sell cars, just the right amount of pushy. Though they put an episode in that made him look like a buffoon when making a sales pitch. So I feel like the writers were confused or trying to sabotage his character because he still ends up leeching off his buddy Noel & they end up business partners. 🤷‍♀️

Sean & Meghan date & eventually marry. I thought they were cute together at first but not as long term. I feel like Meghan would murder him due to being sick of his shit.

Elena Tyler (Tangi Miller) becomes a good friend to Felicity. All the ladies care for each other a great deal. Elena is very intelligent & a hard worker. She had a few romances & nearly got married. But I’ll be honest I found her boring. Not sure why. I think the most interesting part of her character was that she chose not to marry her fiancé Tracy. I thought it was a very smart move. And I found her background with her mom interesting but they didn’t do much with that.

Richard Coad starts out as an annoying member of the dorm. He & Noel become friends then later gets befriended by the group. Richard is a neurotic, blunt talking mess. He’s somehow still kinda adorable though does have some rough spots. I really liked him up through season 3. Season 4 he was in much less and then the writers turned him into a racist moron. Even if he had those thoughts I feel like his character would be more subtle & not as rude due to his overly developed sense of self preservation. Plus he’s not stupid, just blunt & a bit disconnected.

He did apologize but still it felt just so...wrong. Out of character even.

In any case I think the writers should have made him a little more like Rob Benedict, the actor who played him. Rob’s loveable.

Javier Quintata (Ian Gomez) is the owner at the coffee shop Dean & Deluca. He’s the boss but becomes very close with everyone, especially Felicity. I really liked him at first. Eventually his personal favours become outlandish & his stories started to make my eyes roll.

He & his devoted husband break up over non-issues. Why? It added nothing to the plot. Javier also wants to pursue acting at NYU. He’s really not good so it came off as a dumb idea & all scenes in acting class become annoying. I feel like the writers didn’t know what to do with him. I’d have preferred if he pursued a different dream- one that made sense. Like maybe all the years working with coffee & pastries inspires him to want to be a chef? 🤷‍♀️

Felicity. Throughout the series she’s shy, gradually getting more of a backbone. She admits to loving art & wants to pursue it. Her parents constantly pull her down , try to talk her out if it, even bully & manipulate her. She is for the most part uncompromising. I loved that! She held her ground & from a person like her, who always kept the peace at the expense of her own happiness, that’s amazing.

We see her grow though she spends far too much time angst-ing over Ben & Noel. Often she seems tortured with very few moments of being free & having fun.

I loved how in season 4 she befriends fellow artist Owen. I feel like that was huge. I loved how they went to galleries together & talked about their art & life. It was refreshing. I love that Felicity’s honours art class was so important to her & everything around that plot.

I hated however, how she always put others first.

So...I have to mention Felicity’s haircut from Season 2. I didn’t find it that bad...but apparently Keri Russell got death threats from it. Complete insanity!

Though I do think as it was 1999 back then, people were more uptight with personal style. If she had dyed her hair pink instead people would have flipped out too.

I do think there were better hair styles to choose from though. I think if she had a cut her hair to chin length & straightened it it could look pretty & still have a big impact. Something like that.

But honestly it’s just hair. I had a horrible haircut one year in university but it grew out on a few months & was fine. No big deal....but I wasn’t on tv so no one cared I guess 🤷‍♀️

In the ‘series finale’ , Felicity abruptly chooses medicine. Why??? That uncompromising love for painting just gone....And back to medicine? I wanted her to be an artist!

Every artist has a day job to support them. Felicity was acting like she was going to starve because she couldn’t sell her paintings.

I wish they found her a day job she really liked to support herself. I wanted her to be all-in.

Or they could find her a middle ground. That internship at the architectural firm, she could have realized she wanted to be an architect or something. Something other than medicine.

I really like though that she chose herself finally. Then Ben follows her to school. That was perfect. I just wished she didn’t want to be a doctor. I feel like that goes against everything she wanted.

Overall a great series. I love how they approach mental health - Felicity’s too. She was getting therapy regularly. It was nice to see. Very healthy.

I like JJ Abrams’ work but I (like everyone else) question the last several episodes. Nonsensical & out of place.

Personally I think the show should have put less emphasis on the romantic relationships & drama & more on self discovery by all characters. That’s more interesting...then sprinkle in a few moments here and there. A few episodes on love etc each season. We didn’t need the constant longing looks & drama of Will they won’t they.

I know I’m in a minority when it comes to such things but I feel the media - tv & movies especially focus WAY too much on the romance.

Then of course people like me who are borderline Asexual (except when it comes to fictional characters lol), I find it exhausting to always be bombarded with romance from all angles. However, if Felicity (and other shows) just used it occasionally & not every single episode I wouldn’t mind.

It’s just hard to care about a show if it just feels like it’s only about relationships and not much about life. But that’s just me.

The storylines that had me intensely interested in this show were:

- Ben’s relationship with his dad

- Ben gaining self confidence & realizing he’s actually smart

- Noel’s graphic designs & career

- Noel’s mental health

- Meghan’s rebellious nature & wanting to see what happens when she gets over the need to rebel (though we didn’t see much of it).

- Felicity’s parents’ attitude - I wanted them to see that they were wrong & admit it to her (though they don’t) 😞

- Wanting to see Richard find something he was really interested in & good at (which never happened)

- Wanting Felicity to have fun! Random silliness or parties...they rarely partied or did weird outings to things like paintball or bowling. College is for doing a million things. I wish tv land would do more if this

- Wanting Felicity to stop making decisions because of her love interests

- Wanting Felicity to go on a summer trip or internship to Europe on her own (never happened)

- Wanting Felicity to choose art (also didn’t happen) & support herself with either a job she simply likes (dog waking, tutoring, retail etc) or something in the art field (art therapy, illustrator etc)

To me these should have been the priorities & add romance occasionally...

But overall the series was good. The acting was really good from everyone. Even minor characters had pretty good actors. So well done!

The actors are great in other projects too. Keri Russell was in The Americans, even the Rise of Skywalker. Never saw them but I heard great things. Personally I really liked her in Austenland, August Rush, Mission Impossible 3 (small but great role), and I LOVED her in the movie Waitress.

Definitely give the actors a watch in other projects, even if you have mixed feelings about them in Felicity. They’re all good.

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gingwrites · 5 years

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The Shovel Talk (Dad!Hades)

Combination of two requests: Imagine when Hades meet up with Ben, he acts all natural, but when they're alone, he threatens Ben with a fate worse than hell if he doesn't care for his child (ao3)

and @kryptonim-baska: Like Hades asking pregnant Mal how his grandchild is going

AN: Apparently I’m making a ‘Hades is a Good Dad’ series with all the requests I’ve gotten, so I’ll link the other two stories so far on my masterlist and on ao3!

“Would you slow down for just a minute?” Ben pleaded with his wife. After all, if wouldn’t be healthy for the baby if Mal collapsed from exhaustion.

Mal ignored him, continuing to flutter around the room, restacking the books on the coffee table, even though they had already been in a perfect stack.

Before Mal could continue though, Ben stepped in front of her, stopping her in her tracks when he slipped his arms around her waist.

“Mal,” Ben said gently. “What are you nervous for? He’s seen our house before. He knows you’re pregnant. What are you fretting about?”

Ben lifted a hand to brush a strand of hair out of Mal’s face. Mal sighed, finally stopping to take a breath.

“I honestly don’t know,” Mal replied, sagging into her husband’s chest. “I think it just has to do with hormones with the baby or something. I know I have no reason to be nervous. It’s not like I have any news I need to tell him; he’s just coming over for a visit. Maybe I’m just nervous because I never really had a caring parent for the majority of my life.”

Mal lifted her face, lips pouting. Ben grinned before leaning down and brushing his lips against hers. Ben didn’t have a chance to continue the kiss and keep calming down his wife as a knock sounded at the front door.

“Oh! He’s here already!” Mal jumped out of Ben’s arms and raced to the door. Ben just chuckled and shook his head before following her to the foyer.

“Dad!” Mal greeted Hades when she pulled the door open.

Mal pulled him into a hug, grinning widely. Mal never thought she would be one to like physical affection, but then again, she never thought she would end up marrying a king and having a (good) relationship with her father.

“Hi, Mali,” Hades said, wrapping his arms around his daughter.

Once breaking apart, Mal led Hades into her and Ben’s living room, Mal and Ben taking a seat on the couch and Hades dropping in the armchair across the coffee table.

“So, what’s with the visit today, Dad?” Mal questioned. Hades had called earlier in the day and asked if he could stop by. It had been a month or two since Mal had broken the news that she was pregnant, and she had started showing, but not too much. Mal had gladly agreed, but Hades had never mentioned why he wanted to come over.

It’s not like the father-daughter duo hadn’t seen each other in that time; Mal had still been visiting Hades’s little cottage every Friday for their weekly date.

“No special reason,” Hades said. “I just wanted to come visit. Plus, once you get farther along, you’re not going to come visit me every week.”

Mal looked ready to protest, but Hades quickly cut her off.

“I don’t exactly live super close by, and what if something happened?” Hades reasoned. “I could never forgive myself. Plus, you shouldn’t be traveling a lot or even moving around a lot when your due date approaches.

“But, that doesn’t mean we still can’t visit, I’ll just come visit you instead of the other way around. And, I figured I would start getting used to the travelling by visiting today.”

Mal looked ready to argue again, but Ben quickly cut her off by putting his arm around her shoulders.

“Mal, he’s right,” Ben said, turning to his wife, who looked ready to murder him. “It’s not like anything’s changing! You still get to see him, and now you don’t have to spend any time on the road!”

Mal just huffed before knocking Ben’s arm off her shoulders and slouching on the couch.

“Fine,” Mal growled. “But that means I get to pick what we do!”

Ben laughed while Hades raised his hands in defeat.

“Whatever you want, sweetheart,” Hades laughed. “As long as you and my grandbaby are happy and healthy.”

Mal subconsciously placed a hand on her stomach, rubbing up and down.

“I’m going to go make a cup of tea. You two play nice,” Mal said, pulling herself off the couch while turning to raise an eyebrow at her dad.

After Mal had made her way into the kitchen and the door shut behind her, Hades turned to his son-in-law, who just smiled at him.

“Listen here, beasty boy,” Hades growled, hair igniting. “If you let anything happen to my daughter or grandbaby, no one will ever see you again. Remember, there’s magic on Auradon and I steal souls.”

“I would never, ever do anything to harm Mal or our baby!” Ben replied, shocked. He knew Hades wasn’t the king’s biggest fan, but he figured that over the time that him and Mal had been married, they had seemingly gotten along fine. He had no idea where this came from, though he couldn’t blame the man for wanting the two safe, especially after everything Mal had been through not only on the Isle, but in Auradon as well.

“See that it doesn’t, or I will have your head,” Hades said, leaning back in the chair, satisfied that he had scared the young king.

The two men sat in silence for another moment before approaching footsteps could be heard before the door to the kitchen opened and Mal appeared with a mug in hand.

“It sure is quiet in here,” Mal said suspiciously, glancing between Ben and Hades. “What did I miss?”

Mal sat her mug down on the coffee table and snuggled into Ben’s side.

“Nothing,” Ben answered quickly.

Mal raised an eyebrow, but didn’t push it.

“So, how is the baby? Everything go okay at your last doctor’s appointment?” Hades asked excitedly, leaning forward in his seat. Hades didn’t think he would ever get over the fact that he was going to have a grandchild, though if anyone asked, he wasn’t old enough to have a grandbaby.

Mal smiled, placing her hand on her stomach again.

“Everything’s fine, Dad. Nothing out of the ordinary, though the doctor still isn’t sure about how mixing fairy with being a beast is going to affect the baby, though we’re talking with Fairy Godmother next week to see if she has any insight,” Mal said.

Ben placed his hand on Mal’s knee and squeezed.

“Everything is going to turn out fine,” Ben said gently, leaning over to kiss Mal’s head.

Mal smiled, placing her hand on top of his and squeezing it back.

Hades felt like he was intruding on a private moment. Mal really did love the beast boy, and he would never admit it aloud, but the boy was beginning to grow on him. Hades knew the king would never hurt his daughter, and he couldn’t be happier that Mal had ended up with a guy as great as Ben.

“I’ll take that as my cue to leave,” Hades said, standing up.

Mal was pulled out of her love bubble, standing up to hug her dad before walking him to the door.

“I’ll see you on Friday, Mali,” Hades promised before heading to his motorcycle parking in the royal couple’s driveway.

Mal called out a goodbye before closing the door behind her and making her way back to the living room where the king was still sitting.

Quickly making her way back to the couch, Mal wasted no time in snuggling back into her husband’s side.

Mal had no idea what she had been to nervous and worried about. As long as she had Ben and Hades at her side, she would always be okay.

Rubbing her stomach for probably the millionth time that day, Mal drifted to sleep, a smile on her face.

Let me know what you think! I live for reading comments (and reblog tags). As always, prompts for fics, imagines, and headcanons are open! The link to my ao3 is on my masterlist, where this is also posted.

#bal #descendants #descendants 3 #hades #mal #ben #ging writes

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fuckyeahaldishodge · 5 years

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Press: Aldis Hodge Is A Real-Life Superhero, So Give This Man What He Wants

After years of dramatic roles, the “What Men Want” star wants to make you laugh and fulfill his dreams of being a super-powered badass

BET – Legend has it that Aldis Hodge worked cheap early in his career. Really cheap. Like, McDonald’s Happy Meal cheap. The pre-schooler was tagging along on a photo shoot for Ebony Magazine, where his older brother, Edwin, was working. The producers had a last-minute need for another cute kid and Aldis’ mother convinced him to take the gig in exchange for a coveted Batman toy. Thanks to mom’s quick thinking, Hollywood has been gifted one of its most intense and versatile acting talents.

Hodge has amassed a colorful acting resume that includes stints on shows like A.T.O.M.: Alpha Teens on Machines, Friday Night Lights, Supernatural and Leverage. But it was his moving portrayal of a restless slave named Noah on WGN’s Underground that made viewers sit up at attention and cheer with their fingers across social media. In the same year his appearance in Black Mirror as a somewhat single father named Jack living with his girlfriend’s voice literally in his head, allowed him to blend his piercing stares with subdued comedic timing. But now Hodge gets to go for the full belly laughs in the R-rated comedy What Men Want as the bartending, romantic, very single father named Will, who gets caught up in Taraji P. Henson’s mind-reading male-strom.

During a stop at BET, Hodge is adorned in gold, beads and denim fabrics that accent flawless skin that has benefited from the sun’s full attention. He walks with squared shoulders inherited from his retired Marine parents. His cape is invisible. If not for the disarming laughs cracking his intense looks, you might think he’s one cartoonish horn blare away from taking off through the ceiling to catch a meteor hurtling toward earth. Between bites of his lunch we talk about the comedy of sex, his fascination with controlling time, engineering the perfect date and being a champion for the people.

I didn’t cross reference it until just today. I just recently did an interview where I was like, “Dang, she was inside my head, too! What’s going on?” But it was pretty cool. The synergy was awesome. But with each role, I come at it with a clean slate and figure out where the tones are. I had been out of comedy for a long time, not my choice, but for the past five to seven years my career has been swinging up into the drama area. But most people don’t realize comedy is a big part of my life. I started stand-up when I was 11. When I was 13 I used to host a room at the L.A. Improv and I did that ‘til I was 17 or 18 years old. Then on Leverage we did five seasons of that. It was an action caper show but I still got to flex my comedic muscles. We killed that in 2012, so it’s been a minute. I was happy to reintroduce people to my idea of humor. Will is not inherently the braggadocios funny one. He’s not the big personality in the room. He’s reactionary. He’s gonna have a sense of realism, so his comedic timing is subtle. The tones and notes are a little more subdued, and that’s a different tone to play. But our director, Adam [Shankman], took so many different types of comedians with very different timing and put as all together and kept us on the same note. We were always on the same page. You had Josh Brenner, who most people know from Silicon Valley, Pete Davidson from SNL, Wendi McLendon-Covey from Bridesmaids, Tracy Morgan, obviously. Everybody has a different style that they’ve been hitting for a minute, and he just figured out how to weave together. And there are some people you’re not gonna expect to be funny but are hilarious, i.e. Erykah Badu. She’s hysterical. And then I’m there in the mix. As an actor, I’m always hungry for fresh challenges. I don’t like to feel like I’m sitting in a box, and when this opportunity came up, naturally I was nervous at whether or not I could still be funny, and I was hoping. But I just let Adam take care of me on that one.

Speaking of your comedic side, you pranked Taraji with honey buns on the set of Hidden Figures. Did anything else like that go down on set for What Men Want?

Nah. The prank for us was getting through the sex scenes. We wanted to get through those as fast as possible. It’s tough. It’s always a nervous environment when you’re doing scenes like that. But the biggest thing is, because it’s physical comedy, how do you do that without looking stupid? You want people to laugh with you and not at you. But thank God for Adam and Taraji. It’s easy to keep a straight face when you have nerves. We had fun with it. You let yourself fall into it. And Taraji’s a pro. If you see the movie, I took a couple of those hits for real. Some of them reactions are real!

Is it worse to know she knows your thoughts, or is ignorance bliss?

Better not to know, of course. I would not want to know who knows my thoughts. I wouldn’t want anyone to be in my head like that, but if you did know, imagine how anxious you’d be all day. You’d be like Brandon, Josh Brenner’s character, all day. Just rambling to keep people out of your head.

If you had to disguise your thoughts, what would you think about?

Man, most of my thoughts on a regular basis go to design. As soon as I step into a room I’m taking in the square footage, I’m measuring in distances, everything is art to me. Or I’m putting my engineering cap on to see how it’s built. So I don’t think anyone would want to be in my head, because it’s pretty boring. I’m a nerd, bruh.

Speaking of engineering, horology sounds like something men do after a breakup. How did you get into watch making?

I’ve been doing that since I was 19. I just love building things. I’ve always had a natural inclination to create and build, and it satisfies a necessary art. It got to a point in my career, I think I was 13 or 14, where I didn’t have enough life experience to add gravitas to some of these characters I’m trying to play. I started drafting blueprints for my dream house when I was 12. I always loved designing and building, because that’s where my imagination lives. Art is my language, and acting is just an emotional exposition of my art. So, it’s the same thing to me, just a different conduit. But the other side of me is like building, I love crafting things. Horology satisfies a lot of different things. I wanted to be an architect in school but that would mean I’d have to quit acting, and I’m not gonna do that. I’m gonna die in a director’s chair when I’m 110 years old. But what I found about the intricacy of horology and watch design is that it was architecture and painting and mechanical engineering. It satisfied so many points for me, and I could do it at my own pace.

You rarely hear of men discussing their dream house. What did yours look like?

I like space, I like nature. I like to bring the outside inside. There’s a couple of architects that I really love. I grew up on the work of John Lautner, Frank Lloyd Wright, Frank Gehry. But one of the firms I love now is Olson Kundig, particularly Thomas Kundig’s work. His houses are machines. He’ll cantilever a side or a roof and all you gotta do is crank it and you’re lifting the side of your house off. I can’t afford that in New York, but one of these days I’ll have to partner with him for a house.

Your son, Ben, in the film is adorable. What was it like working with him?

Auston Jon Moore. He’s a fun kid. I’m excited to see what happens with his career. He was five years old when we were doing it. Really spunky, good instincts. We had a good time. I was actor-parent-child wrangler. When we were shooting the rooftop scene, we had all this food out, and he kept eating the food. “We need continuity, baby. You gotta put the food back.” He’d say OK, and then we’d come back and he’d have a mouth full of chips. He was awesome.

He had one of my favorite scenes with the panties. Was your “don’t breathe” line ad-libbed?

Yes, that was ad-libbed. I was like, “The baby! What do you do?’ What would I say?” We had fun with that scene because Adam just let us be free and add as much color to the characters as possible. That was a fun day, trying to get him to put on the underwear. When he realized what it was he was like, “Hold up, fam.” So, I had to put the underwear on my head to show him it was cool.

You pulled a Mars Blackmon?

Yeah, yeah. I sacrificed [laughs].

There are two scenes in What Men Want that you’re not in, the card scene and the wedding. Which would you be in if you could?

I definitely would have loved to have worked with Erykah and have a little Taro reading. She was just pouring herself into that character. That’s her imagination splayed out on camera. But I would have loved to see Will have a session with Sistah.

What about the poker game with the athletes?

I think Will might be a card shark, but I don’t know if he got the chips to sit at that table. That was a very high-stakes game, and he’s too smart to bet his rent money. But if he had the chips, I think because of his bartending skills he could read people really well and take home a nice healthy pot.

You’ve been the subject of a lot of wish-casting, particularly to be Green Lantern. Have you ever thought of playing a superhero?

I’d love to be a superhero. I’ve been trying to be a superhero for 12 years. If that opportunity came that way, I’d eat it up immediately. I got into this business as a kid because I loved Batman. I was trying to get my Batman toys. I grew up on Marvel and DC.

Noah from Underground definitely was a superhero. How do you feel about that role years later and the impact he had?

I took it as a grand opportunity just because of the fact, when the initial idea of the show came to me, I was like, “If this is a series about enslavement, how does it work for five or six seasons? Do we want to see our people in persecution for that long? Where is the gratitude that comes out of this for the audience?” But when I read the pilot I was like, “Oh, it shows us in the situation, but not made of the situation.” It showed people in bondage, not slaves. It gave us dignity. It gave the people who went through that an actual identity. They didn’t bring slaves to America, they brought engineers and doctors, brilliant people. So, for me to be able to expose that they had hopes and dreams and still had the strength to find love in those times was immensely powerful, because we’d never see it in our history books. Our schools failed us in that. So the opportunity to add to the dignity of our people was a high honor. I look at all of those characters as superheroes. They actually added the show to curriculum in schools. This is the effect that you can have as an artist. That’s what I love.

With Valentine’s Day is coming up, how would you engineer the perfect date?

That’s tough, man, because you gotta work off the person. It depends on who she is and what she wants. Some ladies want dinner and flowers and some ladies just want to kick back and watch a movie. My ideal date would start with a little dinner, some champagne, maybe some chocolates. Then we’re gonna go to the movie theater, we’re gonna see What Men Want, I’m not even lying. Get her laughing, feeling good, then probably go dancing. Then if I really feel like I’m on my mack-ness, I’mma be like, “Hey, boo. Real quick though, I just wanted you to know that I got your mom a ticket to the movie, too. I wanna let her know it’s her Valentine’s Day, too.” And that’s my ideal date: Dinner, What Men Want and a little dancing.

What Men Want starring Taraji P. Henson and Aldis Hodge is in theaters now!

Press: Aldis Hodge Is A Real-Life Superhero, So Give This Man What He Wants was originally published on Aldis Hodge Online | Est 2010

#aldis hodge #leverage #underground #WGNUnderground #Underground WGN #WGN Underground #straight outta compton #supernatural #turn

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dustedmagazine · 6 years

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Listening Post: The Fall Singles Box Set

Over nearly four decades, 32 studio albums, around a dozen labels and a dizzying array of line-ups, the Fall has been a source of endless fascination, amusement, irritation, astonishment and enjoyment to a healthy minority of Dusted writers. Centered around the irascible,unpredictable, absolutely inimitable Mark E. Smith, the Fall has been churning out singles since most of us started buying them, and, unlike other youthful obsessions, continues to do so, right up to the current moment. So, when we heard that Cherry Red was putting out a massive seven-disc, 117-track singles collection, we were intrigued. We were also a little daunted. We decided to listen to it together, or at least at the same time, as much as we could, and talk about it in this listening post. As usual, some of us were long-time fans, others were new to the Fall and a couple were, shall we say, not convinced. Contributors included Jennifer Kelly, Bill Meyer, Justin Cober-Lake, Ben Donnelly, Ian Mathers, Mason Jones, Michael Rosenstein and Marc Medwin.

Jennifer Kelly: Hey, so I thought I'd kick this thing off book club style with some discussion questions -- though of course, as in any book club, you are free to ignore the questions and talk about other stuff as long as you don't get too loaded on white wine.

So how are we feeling about the size and scope of the box set? I think for the vast majority of people it will seem like a LOT of Fall, but a couple of die-hards in my circle are mad because things are missing. (One of them owns NINE separate versions of "Hit the North," just to give you an idea of the scope of the thing.)

The first two discs are, in my view, a pretty superb greatest hits collection (with some caveats because some of their great songs weren't A sides or even singles). I knew most of this stuff already, but had never heard the first two ("Bingo Master's Break Out" and "It's the New Thing") and a couple of the others. I guess I'd vote for "Cruisers Creek" as my favorite of the old favorites, how about you guys?

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I'm also struck by how great the Brix years were. How much impact do we think band members besides MES had on the music, and which were the most important?

Bill Meyer: These are excellent questions and I will get to some of them in the next couple days. “Bingo Masters Breakout” is a singalong song in my house, my wife has been fond of that one since we first heard it c. 1983.

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Crain Scanlon's rhythm guitar and Steve Hanley's bass kept the Fall honest through some pretty grim production decisions in the mid1990s. Hell, Scanlon's hacked up guitar — which was the most battered thing I've seen on stage except for Terrie Ex's guitar — was a totem of humility. It was a sad day when Scanlon figured out how to play anonymous, competent lead guitar.

Another notion to consider - Over the evolution of the Fall, there have been hard reactions AGAINST the influence of group members. I think that Brix was an antidote to the influence of Marc Riley. The late 1990s resurgence was a response to the departure of Scanlon and Hanley. And the relative anonymity of early 2000s bands was, I think, all about Smith not letting a band have too much ownership of the sound.

I realize I'm talking about the Fall, not the singles set, but I'll get to that soon

Justin Cober-Lake: Speaking as a casual fan with just a few scattered albums, the size and scope of this box are intimidating and a little perplexing. The Fall have always been prolific and, especially with the lineup changes, it's hard to keep up with them in any sort of knowledgeable way unless you're committed. Getting this many tracks at once is overwhelming. That said, why complain about too much music. This box isn't meant for me (I'd be well served by a two-disc set with a quality essay in the liner notes). But I imagine it's pretty great for the people it's for, unless they have most of this material already.

The ideal listener for this set would be someone who knew just enough about the Fall to decide they wanted to jump in all the way, but didn't want to pick up old albums willy-nilly. What you need is here, covering about 25 years of music. Getting through it all in a way that gets me a better understanding of the band has been a challenge; the ability to listen to lots of Fall without repeating stuff has been a treat. I haven't found my era, my lineup or my 45-minute mix, and I doubt that I will, but that says as much about me as it does about the set.

Bill Meyer: Yeah, this thing is immense. I've been on board the Fall wagon since 1981, and it's still kind of overwhelming, but that is because it is just so big. The Fall has used the single format intensively since about 1978, that's a whole lot of singles. And because they have been around so long, your mileage is likely to vary drastically according to the era.

Jennifer Kelly: And I've run into a couple of people who find this set entirely insufficient.

Hard core Fall people are a special breed.

Justin Cober-Lake: This is maybe starting to shift away from the music, but from a collecting/curating (and marketing) point of view, would this material have benefited from getting, say, three separate boxes, each larger than 1/3 of this one, to get in those various mixes? Would that benefit fans or the sets to be more complete and in chunks, or would that have just served a tiny handful of fans with no real audio benefit. As fun as demos and properly alternate versions are, I've realized I'm seldom interested in hearing the radio edit that's exactly the same but missing three seconds at the end, even for my favorite acts. If this is a set specifically targeting hardcore fans, maybe it's an error not to be truly complete, even if that would have many restructuring how the material was compiled.

Bill Meyer: We definitely want to balance the "why, I was listening to this when I still had my first set of adult teeth!" opinions with some fresh reactions.

Jennifer Kelly: How many sets of teeth have you gone through, Bill?

Ben Donnelly: Mark E Smith has gone through one, at least.

Bill Meyer: That's between me and my dentist. But I did have a conversation recently with a guitarist who has had records on Homestead, Thrill Jockey, and other labels who shared that they are on their second round of implants. And one thing I wrote about in an earlier Fall review - maybe the Peel Sessions box that I covered for Dusted? - is thinking that I heard Smith take advantage of the looseness of the fit of his plate to get a certain kind of slur.

He had enough left, at least until this past year, to hang his plate on. I gather that the health problems that led to the cancellation of American dates this summer and Euro/UK dates this fall started with a tooth removal that led straight into respiratory problems, which are still keeping him off the stage as of November 2017.

Jennifer Kelly: The last few records have definitely upped the spittle factor.

Bill Meyer: Very true.

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Justin Cober-Lake: Maybe as a way to invite new listeners in and to orient our readers, how would some of you more experienced Fall fans recommend approaching this breadth of music? A quick survey of a few tracks of each disc, trying to cover various eras? Put the whole thing on shuffle? Dedicate a few dozen hours to watching the group move through its decades?

Jennifer Kelly: The first two discs are all the A-sides, so that's a pretty good survey of the best and most listened-to material the band's done.

I would pick one or two that you like (or hate) and talk about why.

Bill Meyer: Disc three is A-sides too, beginning in about 1999. I've particularly appreciated it because I stopped getting Fall 7"s a little before the start of disc three, so there are songs or at least mixes that I've never heard. "Theme From Sparta F.C. #2" turns an already punchy song into a proud, rocking anthem. I might never feel that righteous about a football club, but when this song is on I want to.

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The clock restarts with disc four, tracing the history with b-sides. I haven't really digested the more recent stuff, but disc four has songs that stand among their very best. "I'm Into C.B." is masterpiece of building tension with a rumbling groove, shards of guitar, and untouchable lyric about the causes and consequences of mundane obsession. In more recent decades Smith's let himself get away with incomprehensible bluster, but back in the early 80s he was a potent and economical lyricist.

Per Justin's question, I think that there's no perfect way to collect this music, because the perfect form is the original single. So forget about perfection; the sequence of discs one-three makes unassailable sense and charts the band's progress over time quite handily. It's an incomplete story because some of the Fall's greatest songs are pretty long, and some of their albums benefit perversely from fucked-up antics that don't make it onto a-sides very often (although you'll definitely get the idea of what I'm talking about from "Distilled Mug Art (mix 15)."

Ben Donnelly: My hints for cracking The Fall, because they are a bowl of nuts with hard shells and lots of bitter pith that requires some work to crack and enjoy.

Dive in anywhere. The continuities to their sound — twangy garage riffs, glib synthesizer textures — make shuffling through their catalog less jarring than other bands that have passed through these decades. As Justin observes, the material can be scattered, intimidating and perplexing, so popping them out like bingo balls isn't going to violate the intent. One of the cliches about the band that holds up, stated by John Peel: "They are always different; they are always the same."

The lyrics may seem improvised and stream-of-consciousness, but Mark E Smith is adamant about the work he puts into them. The longer you inhabit his world of language, the more the language starts to click. Here's the lyrics for all the singles, as best as fans could transcribe them: http://thefall.org/discography/singles.html

Wire, the other long-running and perpetually creative art-punk band, deconstructs rock — creating mannerist investigations, commenting on commentary. There's a temptation to draw parallels. But The Fall is not a meta-rock band. They are not deconstructing rock, even if they frequently sound like they're coming apart at the seams. They're just a rock band, dedicated to singles alternating with albums, frequent cover versions of old pop, and the commitment to a line up of guitar, bass, drums and keys. Albums have hooky numbers, experimental digressions, and winding epics, like very mangled versions of Sgt. Pepper's, White Light/White Heat or Station to Station.

One of the other cliches about the band, stated by Mark E Smith, is "If it's me and yer granny on bongos, it's The Fall." Which implies it's all about MES, but collaboration is key to how he's kept the operation running. I don't think many of the dozens of Fall members would describe him as a generous collaborator exactly, but his method of creation depends on others. You never get unadulterated Mark E Smith. There's always admixture.

Eric McDowell: As an uninitiated Fall listener, it's pretty great to find myself privy to this discussion. I especially appreciate the permission to simply start listening without overthinking it, since my obsessive completism has definitely had me trapped between wanting to hear the whole Fall discography in order and feeling completely overwhelmed at the prospect of undertaking that project.

To be fair, caving to compulsion, I did start with disc one. So I can only speak to a small part of the collection so far. But what I had somehow underestimated was how damn fun this stuff would be to listen to. Maybe it has more to do with letting go of my usual habits — or the fact that this is a set of singles, without the regulated ups and downs of album arrangement — but to my ears, it's just good listening. Gonna try to keep the baggage at bay while I move on to disc two...

Bill Meyer: The Fall gained respect with good reason; they had great hooks, a bizarrely compelling singer, and a primitive groove that just would not quit from the get go. No need to lug baggage when you can just pick up on the songs.

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Mason Jones: I've never been a particularly big fan of the Fall despite appreciating the band's accomplishments. The approach has been remarkably consistent despite the changes, as others have mentioned, but somehow that hasn't resulted in the band sounding dated, which almost seems like an impossibility. Perhaps the primitivism that Bill mentions is partly responsible: when you start from a compellingly simple (yet so hard to get right) premise, layer on MES's uniqueness, and just run with it, there's no place to go except straight ahead. Yet a lot of bands have tried the idea of "don't mess with a good thing" and wound up left behind as times change. It doesn't feel like that's happened to the Fall, which is a bit mysterious. With all of these singles laid out now, perhaps their path will show itself, but I'm not so sure...

Justin Cober-Lake: Ben's points are very helpful here, and I think the Peel quote is spot-on. Fans and reviewers tend to talk in terms of the changes between albums or lineups, but it's that continuity of central focus that stands out. Listening to everything in order as presented by the box does start to highlight the overarching view. Going from one era of the Fall to another is far less jarring (or even noticeable) than going from, say, The Clash to Sandinista to Combat Rock. The MES Granny Bongos album isn't exactly Elvis Costello genre experimentation (and that's neither criticism nor praise).

May as another way to get into things (and if this is derailing or tangential, feel free to delete/ignore and move on), imagine someone came to you and said, "So, the Fall is your favorite band? What should I listen to to understand why?" Is something like, "the first disc of this set" a reasonable answer? Is this a band that fans fell for instantly or did it take a lengthy of singles and albums for something to cohere?

To be fair, anyone would answer similar questions with, "To get [my favorite band], you need to hear these songs, but don't forget how to this entire album fits in, and you only see what's really going on if you see the late stuff over here...." Some bands can be reasonably well captured by a single-disc "best of". Would that approach reveal the essentials of the Fall?

Jennifer Kelly: I think the first disc is a reasonable answer. However, as Bill mentioned, these are singles and as a result, at least for the Fall, relatively tight, cohesive statements. You don't get into the squirrelly bits as much (though they're there), and there are none of the long hallucinatory cuts that are also very representative of this band. (For an example of this, I'd start with "Hip Priest.")

The things I like about the Fall, more or less in order.

The tight, rhythmic underpinning. Whatever granny was playing on her bongos really moves, bass is almost always awesome, too.

The weird way of incorporating whatever's passing through musically -- punk, post-punk, pop, electro-clash, dance, rockabilly, literally anything, into an aesthetic that is completely recognizable as the Fall.

And in a similar sense, the lyrics, which weave so many cultural references in that listening to these discs is like an oral history, at least of the silly parts of the last 30 or 40 years.

M.E.S.'s spectacular disdain, his ornery-ness, his willingness to bite the hand that feeds him, see "500 Bottle of Wine"

I find myself laughing out loud about once every three tracks, because the Fall is just such a pisser, willing to say and play any god-damn thing, but completely what it is, regardless.

Justin Cober-Lake: Just after I read this note, I laughed at "Marquis Cha Cha," and then realized that's probably a great example of what I like in the Fall, or what I would like if dug deeper and was more familiar. The track has a surprising groove to it, just hinting at a relevant globalism. Smith has some wry lyrics, and at least one moment that's genuinely funny ("You educated kids know what you're on about / You've been oppressed for years"), all of which disguises the song's disturbing elements. It feels particularly Fall-y to me, or at least does the things the Fall does that Jenny describes as the four things she likes about them.

Ben Donnelly: I was going to suggest the one with "Hip Priest" as well, Hex Enduction Hour, in part because they way "Hip Priest" was worked into the end of Silence of the Lambs makes it slightly familiar to most people, making it an example of the oddest aspects of The Fall planted deep in popular culture. But there's a whole bunch of good answers here, and I was content for a long time with owning one album (Bend Sinister) and one singles compilation (458489 A Sides).

My favorite LPs would be Hex, This Nations Saving Grace, The Unutterable, The Real New Fall Album.

Ian Mathers: I haven't had time to get too much into this yet, but I do think the first 1 or 2 (or even 3, if you've got time and patience) discs make for a decent intro, although I might still direct budget conscious listeners to the two-disc 50,000 Fall Fans Can't Be Wrong: 39 Golden Greats compilation, which was the first time anything even approaching wide-ranging/definitive enough came out. But I honestly feel that, unlike most bands I like, nearly anything can be a good intro. To date myself a little, I read about the Fall long before I was able to find any of their work in stores (primitively enough, the only way I would have been able to hear them at the time). And even then, although I'd check every music store I went to for them, there wouldn't even be a title card for the Fall. Then one day one of those dodgy CD resellers that haunts university campuses showed up at my school with exactly one, battered, garish Fall CD in stock: 1992's Code: Selfish, represented here by the great political/dance-rock doggerel of "Free Range", track 13 of disc 2. It is not at all a terribly representative record for the band, but it's all I had to listen to and even though no other opening track of theirs sounds like a bunch of church bells tossed in a bin and chucked down the stairs (love you, "The Birmingham School of Business School") by the time music became more, err, accessible (and I moved to a place with better stores) I still felt prepared for the vast sprawl of their oeuvre. And now, in retrospect, I feel like I could have started from the grottiest, earliest singles here, or the bilious pomp of something like "Hip Priest", and been just as well prepared.

And by prepared I mean both that the Fall's work seems in some way to be holographic - any small chip off the ol' block somehow recapitulates the whole - and that I kind of knew I was going to love pretty much all of it. There are some dodgy/crappy Fall releases out there, but I'm still basically/theoretically on board, or at least would rather listen to that than many other outfits. This box represents a mammoth investment of time, but for me it pays you back immensely - not everyone needs (to take some semi-random examples) "I'm Into C.B.", "No Bulbs", "Blood Outta Stone", or "I Wake Up in the City" in their life but I feel richer for it.

To answer one of the questions Jenny asked earlier, probably my favourite of the old singles on those first discs is actually the first Fall song I ever heard and the only one I had the chance to hear before Code: Selfish, when I stumbled onto the video for "Hit the North" on TV.

youtube

I just love that farty synth bass/horn sound, and all the screaming. Really! And this also ties into the question of collaboration, because as much as I've liked songs from across the length and breadth of their music plenty of the people in the "Hit the North" video (and a few others) make up the core of what I'm always going to (unfairly?) think of as the "real" or "true" Fall, not just MES (a singular figure, and more on that in a minute) but Brix, Steve Hanley, Craig Scanlon, and Paul Hanley. In some ways this idea is a mirage, in multiple senses; not only are there others who contributed to albums during this period (Marc Riley, Simons Rogers and Wolstencroft, Karl Burns, special shout out to Dave Bush, later of Elastica, for his work on my beloved Code: Selfish), and not only is is doubtful how long that group of people actually worked as a functional unit and not only is the current lineup (who all joined in 2006) the longest-serving stable incarnation, the fact still remains that in not just the music but the pictures and videos I was able to find as a younger person getting into the band they're who I think of as the Fall. The "granny on bongos" comment is absolutely true for better and worse, but one of Smith's undeniable talents is in putting together good bands (or else he's just obscenely lucky). Yes, with almost any other vocalist many of these songs would be worse off, and it's the alchemy between MES as a sui generis front man and the music that makes the Fall what they are, but often thinking about the band mostly begins and ends with the front.

With one already-oft-mentioned exception, I'm sure my favorite Fall LPs are pretty conventional within the world of Fall fans (no order):

Code: Selfish, Hex Enduction Hour (remove that pointless racial slur up top and this is basically perfect), The Wonderful and Frightening World Of... (the 16-track North American CD version with all the bonus tracks...), This Nation's Saving Grace ("Paint Work" might secretly be my favorite Fall song), and Bend Sinister.

As for MES: Here's someone who on the one hand is probably one of the best front man of his era/generation, often super compelling when singing. And on the other hand it's impossible not to notice that he seems deeply unpleasant, has been accused of and/or gotten in legal trouble for domestic abuse, bullying, racism, alcholism, assault, etc. and none of its really ever made very much headway (although with him ailing recently, if we are witnessing the end of the era I wonder what kind of dam is going to break in the wake of his passing, whenever that happens). I fell in love with the Fall, and heard album after album, long before I heard of anything worse from Smith than just eccentricities, and while I admit these things are a big part of why I don't think I'd buy a concert ticket or provide other direct financial support in the future, this is a case where I seem to be unwilling to ditch the work (as opposed to my inability to listen to Swans in recent years, my complete lack of interest in revisiting Louis CK's work, etc etc.). You can find recent interviews with, for example, Brix where she doesn't shy away from describing unacceptable, abusive behaviour by Smith to her and others, but she also seems to love the band and her work with the band and doesn't seem to want anyone to stop listening.

It's something I certainly wish wasn't true and something I won't defend, and it definitely has changed how and when I recommend the Fall to others, but ultimately aside from really blatant moments like wincing at "The Classical" it hasn't necessarily stopped me from listening myself.

Bill Meyer: Yeah, MES comes across as deeply unpleasant, and for that reason I have not so far read any of the Fall books. It's interesting to note that people he has mistreated come back and work with him again. Prime example - his ex-wife Brix re-joined the band in the mid-1990s. I saw them then and she wasn't just a hired hand, she brought more energy to the performance of what I consider some of their more problematic material than he did. Smith is like David Thomas, Lou Reed, Charles Mingus, and Miles Davis, to name a few other bandleaders who have treated their collaborators terribly only to have those people come back and play with them again, in this respect: they can know they are being treated badly, and feel very bad about it, but also know that they are part of something singular and great. They come back to be part of that thing, and they make it great by participating. When things fall out of sync (the first album after Marc Riley left, the last album with Brix before the divorce, the last records with Scanlon/Hanley, Reformation post-TLC) you get records that are weaker than the songs that make them up.

Michael Rosenstein: I am just slightly scratching the surface here and find it all disorienting in so many ways. It is just not the way I am used to listening to music and not the music I am used to listening to. Sure I've heard about the Fall, but never, as far as I can remember, consciously listened to anything of theirs. My thoughts are based on a super-cursory listen which is really about all this musters for me. That is absolutely all about me and my musical tastes and not at all about the music. The first disc seems to stick the most with me, but really only because it sounds like what I expected them to sound like. It sounds very much stuck in the late 70s early 80s post-punk music that I have a passing familiarity with (The Slits, Pop Group/Rip Rig and Panic, Gang of Four ("Peel Sessions" or "Entertainment",...) though certainly messier than Wire. It hits all the tropes I would expect and does so with a shambolic energy that is passingly engaging. But by the time they are hitting the late 80s, they've lost me altogether. (The old man in me is starting to think "this all kind of sounds the same") and spot checking the third disc is a bit of a slog.

It has made me think about how singles functioned in the late 1970s/1980s in particular, something that just wasn't on my radar because of what I was listening to at the time. I've been talking to friends who were grabbing these as they came out, searching out singles because that was the only way to get a glimpse of this kind of stuff in the US. That notion of the hard search for music being leaked out in small doses is SO different than how people listen now.

In the end, this is an intriguing listening exercise for me but nothing jumps out enough to entice me to really dig in more deeply. I am absolutely not the audience for this box, and really wouldn't even be the audience for a single-CD very, very, very best of comp. Now back to looking out my window watching the snow and digging very deeply in to John Cage's "Winter Music" which is totally my jam.

Jennifer Kelly: I think it's important that we are able to disagree civilly -- and I do disagree with almost everything in your post -- and I imagine we have some readers who do not like the Fall.

The main risk is that MES reads your post and incorporates it into some sort of a song later, a la "Portugal."

youtube

Mason Jones: I agree, I think if we can dig into more detail, this could be a valuable and interesting inclusion. I think I agree with some of your thoughts, and not others, since I'm not a Fall fan but do enjoy parts of the catalog.

Bill Meyer: I certainly appreciate the inclusion of non-partisan and skeptical perspectives. The point about how people received music in the heyday of indie singles vs how they access music now - and also how the potential consumers of 7 CD archival boxes relate to other dominant modes of music consumption- that's best discussed when I am not typing with a thumb. Maybe later or maybe you can all take it past me.

Michael Rosenstein: I’d be curious to understand the parts you disagree with. My comments are so casually subjective based on a cursory listen to music totally outside my wheelhouse. My guess is that any “disagreement” would be rooted in the fact that I did some lazy listening (which I completely agree with.)

Jennifer Kelly: Well for instance, comparing the Fall to the Slits. The two bands sound completely different. There's a lot of reggae in the Slits, for instance, and next to none in the Fall.

Or the Pop Group, again, completely different thing, lots more chaotic and less rhythmic.

Gang of Four, okay, maybe at the most superficial level, though if you listen to this stuff seriously that would be like saying that blue is sort of like green. To me, they're both primary colors. (Ed note: Jennifer Kelly is apparently not aware that green is NOT a primary color.)

Also yes, the Fall did seem to get looser and more distended as the years went on, but I would never attach the word "shambolic" to something as boxed in and paranoiac and just mental as later fall. Shambolic, to me, means trippy and open-ended and accepting of whatever the path leads to, which is not a quality I would associate with the Fall at all.

Michael Rosenstein: Got it. Yeah. That was incredibly lazy on my part and has everything to do my admittedly limited listening in this area. It is exactly the same as someone with minimal exposure to free jazz piano playing saying that some pianist reminds them of Cecil Taylor and Sun Ra (who have almost nothing, stylistically to do with each other). When I say that this is what I was expecting to hear, I only meant that it fit in the tiny little box that I have for that kind of listening.

These are the concerns I have in having my comments included other than really saying that I took a listen, wasn't won over, and went back to my wheelhouse. Which really just proves my narrow listening habits more than anything else.

Bill Meyer: But the Fall did record in the same or similarly appointed studios, worked with similar gear. Part of the sound we associated with late 70s post-punk has to do with gear and studio technique (or lack there-of), and the early Fall stuff shares the same cheap amps, cheap guitars, and cardboard-y drum sounds as a lot of other inexpensively recorded post-punk. What do you think, Michael, are you hearing that sound rather than genre elements?

Michael Rosenstein: Thanks Bill - That gets to where I was going a lot more clearly. When I said:

The first disc seems to stick the most with me, but really only because it sounds like what I expected them to sound like. It sounds very much stuck in the late 1970s early 1980s post-punk music that I have a passing familiarity with

I was talking much less about stylistic synergies than about an overall sound. This for me is more about setting context than it is about any notion of "this sounds like that." There is a boomy quality and evenness of sonic field (with all of the instruments playing equally within the mix) that jumps out. While the way the groups operate are stylistically distinct, and the densities of sound are very different, listening to the way that the mix operates on something like Rip Rig and Panic's "Knee Deep In Shit" sets me up to hear "Roche Rumble."

I'll stick with this:

But by the time they are hitting the late 1980s, they've lost me altogether. (The old man in me is starting to think "this all kind of sounds the same") and spot checking the third disc is a bit of a slog.

Jenny, it is interesting to hear you talk about them getting "looser and more distended". In thinking it through, maybe a better response to the earlier stuff for me is that I hear a rawness in it that isn't quite there for me in the VERY limited spot checking of the later stuff.

Marc Medwin: OK, I was half thinking of not getting involved at all, OK, more than half, but a toe in the water:

I expected to hate this stuff. I'm only listening to disc 1 now. I'm smiling, grinning actually. For me, the band that comes to mind is the Adverts, maybe it's already been discussed and not really that close at all, I haven't read back through all of these posts yet. I find the keyboard hook on "It's the New Thing" absolutely irresistible!

Just a quick bit of context: So far, my favorite song by the Fall has been “Pat-Trip Dispenser,” which, once I get it in my head, I find myself singing all day long, growling it in the shower, I think the lyrics are pure earthy genius! From what I'm hearing now, I have a hell of a lot of catching up to do!!

youtube

Jennifer Kelly: I've hit the last two discs this week, which admittedly, are not as fun as the first three, but I've been mesmerized by "Hittite Man," lately, and in looking up the lyrics, found this pretty amazing site called The Annotated Fall. http://annotatedfall.doomby.com/

#the fall #listeningpost #dusted magazine #post-punk #singles #mark e. smith #jennifer kelly #bill meyer #justin cober-lake #ben donnelly #ian mathers #mason jones #michael rosenstein #marc medwin #cherry red

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samanthasroberts · 7 years

Text

These Are the BEST Things To Eat In Every State

If theres something that screams, Americana, its a road trip…and food. OK. Maybe its just food.

But lets pretend youre going on a road trip to all 50 states. What are the must eat foods in every state? Im glad you asked, as Business Insider went ahead and found what they determined to be the one thing you have to eat in every state (and Washington D.C.).

The criteria?

They chose the most iconic and famous dishes by taking local recommendations into consideration and picking items you simply can’t get anywhere else.

So pack your bags and your appetite!

Alabama

Fried green tomatoes, anyone? Theiconic Southern side dish consists of unripe tomatoes fried in cornmeal and were made famous by the 1987 novel Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Caf. And, of course, the subsequent movie based on it.

Alaska

Because king crab legs are rare and incredibly dangerous to catch, this makes theman expensive delicacy, but totally worth it.

Arizona

Chimichangas deep-fried and meat-filled tortillas were allegedly invented in Tucson after a burrito was accidentally dropped into a fryer.

Arkansas

Not only are they known for cheese dip, but thestate even hosts the World Cheese Dip Championship and has a cheese-dip trail.

California

Seeing as they’re on the coast and the state prides itself on authentic Mexican cuisine, it’s no surprise you should pick up a flaky fish taco if you hit the Golden State.

Colorado

Don’t be fooled by the name. In case you never saw Funny Farm, Rocky Mountain Oystersthe iconic food of the stateare actually bull testicles.

Connecticut

New Haven-style pizza, also known as “apizza,” put the small town on the map.

Delaware

Vinegar French fries: Potatoesare soaked in vinegar, then refrigerated before beingfried.

If you want the original, they can be found at Thrasher’s on the Rehoboth boardwalk.

Florida

Seeing as it’s thought that Key Lime Pie wasinvented by sponge fishermen in the Keys, who condensed milk, eggs, and lime aboard their boats when traveling for long periods of time(with no access to an oven)it makes sense that you need a slice.

Georgia

It’s the Peach State, so obviously you need to sink your teeth into somecrispy peach pie.

Hawaii

Yes, Spam. Make fun of it all you want, but Hawaiians were introduced to it during WWII. The Japanese in the area startedturning it into Spam musubi, a sushi roll of sorts that is made with grilled Spam, sticky rice, and nori seaweed.

Voila!

Idaho

You know all about Idaho potatoes, so naturally you need some creamy potato chowder with diced bacon on top.

Illinois

Whether you’re on team New York-style or Chicago-style pizza, you have to admit thatdeep-dish pizza, with its thick flour-and-cornmeal crust, deserves to beIllinois’ signature dish.

Indiana

Hoosier pie(made with sugar, heavy cream, vanilla, and cinnamon)is Indiana’s official state pie.

If you want to walk it off, there’s even a Hoosier Pie trail for visitors.

Iowa

The pork to bun ratio is a bit off, butIowa is famous for its pork tenderloin sandwiches, which contain a breaded and fried pork cutlet bigger than your head.

Kansas

It’s the Breadbasket of America, so samplethe homemade, sticky, cinnamon-crusted rolls from Strouds.

Kentucky

It’s Kentucky. Would you expect anything otherthan fried chicken?

Louisiana

Legend has it thatpo’ boyswere invented by two restaurant owners and former streetcar conductors in New Orleans. They created them to feed their colleagues, who were on a strike against the streetcar company in 1929.

I guess it wasn’t a hunger strike.

Maine

When you think Maine, you think lobster. So of course you have to indulge ina lobster roll made with a little tangy mayo and served on a soft hot dog bun.

Maryland

And when you think Maryland, you think crab. So nestle on intoa tender, buttery crab cake lightly spiced with Old Bay seasoning, a Maryland original blend of herbs and spices.

Massachusetts

New England clam chowder, sometimes called Boston chowder, unlike its many impostors, is cream-based and full of potatoes and never, ever tomatoes.

Michigan

The Coney Dog is unique to Michigan. Why? It’s a steamed hot dog on a bun, topped with a meaty, chili-like sauce and diced onions.

Minnesota

The state fish is walleye, so enjoy its soft, flaky texture on crispy bread in a walleye sandwich.

Mississippi

The bewhiskered fish is a popular dish here, usually grilled, blackened, or fried to crispy, flaky perfection, which is no surprise seeing asalmost 60% of the countrys farm-raised catfish comes from Mississippi.

Missouri

Whether you call it fried or toasted, if you breaded and deep fryravioli and serve it with a side of marinara sauce, you really can’t go wrong.

Montana

I’m your huckleberry…pie, that is.

The berries are native to high altitudes, like the high mountains of Montana, and make the perfect filling for apie.

Nebraska

Like Hot Pockets? Then you’ll digRunzas meat-filled bread pockets can be found all throughout Nebraska.

Nevada

While the casinos in Las Vegas often look like a buffet of defeat and sadness, you can feed your feelings atsome of the most over-the-top buffets in the country. Fill your plate with everything you can imagine.

New Hampshire

There are more than30 orchards full offresh apples, so of course you need someapple crisp apples covered in sugar, cinnamon, oats, and butter.

New Jersey

The well-known regional staple of pork roll (or Taylor ham) consists of a processed pork product made with a mix of salt, spices, and sugar cured before being smoked and packaged.

New Mexico

Whenchili peppers are one of thestate vegetables, it’s a given that you’re known for producing fresh, hot chili-based sauces that are poured on everything from eggs to burritos to burgers.

New York

Nope, it isn’t the bagel. It’s the pizza pie, specially NewYork-style characterized by a puffy outer crust that gets thinner and crispier once it hits the middle.

North Carolina

HereBBQ translates to succulent, slow-cooked pork that is chopped or shredded and drowned either in a tangy vinegar sauce or a sweet, ketchup-infused sauce.

North Dakota

Burgers are a staple, but a bison burger is full of lean and juicy bison patties stacked between a bun with crisp lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and other toppings.

Ohio

You can’t go wrong withpeanut-butter-fudge pieces that are partially dipped in chocolate to resemble the nut of the Ohio buckeye tree.

In other words, get your eyes(and your hands)on some buckeyes.

Oklahoma

It’s not chicken, but chicken-fried steak is a breaded piece of thin and tenderized beefsteak that often comes with sides like fried okra and grits, and it’s a staple in Oklahoma.

Oregon

Have you heard ofmarionberries?

Dubbed the “Cabernet of blackberries,” thanks to their complex flavor, they are a popular choice for pie fillings.

Pennsylvania

Was there any doubt? It’s the cheesesteak, which consists of a long, crusty roll stuffed with rib-eye beef and either melted Provolone cheese or Cheese Whiz. Toppings can include fried onions, mushrooms, and peppers.

Rhode Island

Hot Wieners (or New York System wieners) come in veal, pork, or beef varieties and are drenched in mustard, meat sauce, chopped onions, and celery salt before being sandwiched on a bun.

South Carolina

Y’all care for some shrimp served on a bed of simmered milled corn? Mix-ins can include everything from bacon, garlic, and lemon to mushroom and scallions.

South Dakota

Kuchenthe German word for “cake” and the official state dessertcomes in varieties that include pie-like pastries, coffee cakes, cheesecakes, and rolled pastries.

Tennessee

In Memphis, the pork ribs can be ordered wet (with a tomato-based sauce) or dry (with a rub of spices).

Texas

Texas andBBQ go together like brisket coated in a spicy rub and smoked for hours to develop its complex flavors and a giant old plate.

Utah

Thinly sliced pastrami stacked on a charbroiled cheeseburger emerged in the state in the 1980s and has been popular there ever since.

Vermont

Ready to tap that sap? Here they’refamous for making sweet, golden maple syrup enjoyed in everything from maple-syrup ice cream to maple-syrup sauces meant to be poured over pork chops.And, of course, waffles.

Virginia

Virginia ham is a type of country ham a salt-cured variety of the pork product that can either be stuffed between two buttery biscuits, buttery bread, and basically anything else you want to butter or not.

Washington

A favorite dish in the state is cedar-plank salmon, which is smoked and served on the signature wood.

Washington D.C.

And over in D.C. you canorder Ben’s Famous All Meat Chili Dog, a pork hot dog that’s served on a warm steamed bun with mustard, onions, and topped with a healthy portion of the homemade chili sauce that they’re known for.

West Virginia

Pepperoni rolls, found on pretty much every corner, are meat-and-cheese-filled dough rolls that were apopular lunch option among coal miners. And because they’re delicious, they’ve maintained their popularity.

Wisconsin

Eating their curds in whey…or rather, cheesecurds often deep-fried in beer batter and served with a variety of dipping sauces.

Wyoming

Via: Business Insider

When you’re inWyoming, you’re in wildlife country, which gives you plenty of opportunity toexplore the state’s array of game meats, which include tender cuts of venison, elk, and bison.

What food would you nominate your state for?

Source: http://allofbeer.com/2017/08/29/these-are-the-best-things-to-eat-in-every-state/

from All of Beer https://allofbeer.wordpress.com/2017/08/29/these-are-the-best-things-to-eat-in-every-state/

0 notes

adambstingus · 7 years

Text

These Are the BEST Things To Eat In Every State

If theres something that screams, Americana, its a road trip…and food. OK. Maybe its just food.

The criteria?

They chose the most iconic and famous dishes by taking local recommendations into consideration and picking items you simply can’t get anywhere else.

So pack your bags and your appetite!

Alabama

Alaska

Because king crab legs are rare and incredibly dangerous to catch, this makes theman expensive delicacy, but totally worth it.

Arizona

Chimichangas deep-fried and meat-filled tortillas were allegedly invented in Tucson after a burrito was accidentally dropped into a fryer.

Arkansas

Not only are they known for cheese dip, but thestate even hosts the World Cheese Dip Championship and has a cheese-dip trail.

California

Seeing as they’re on the coast and the state prides itself on authentic Mexican cuisine, it’s no surprise you should pick up a flaky fish taco if you hit the Golden State.

Colorado

Don’t be fooled by the name. In case you never saw Funny Farm, Rocky Mountain Oystersthe iconic food of the stateare actually bull testicles.

Connecticut

New Haven-style pizza, also known as “apizza,” put the small town on the map.

Delaware

Vinegar French fries: Potatoesare soaked in vinegar, then refrigerated before beingfried.

If you want the original, they can be found at Thrasher’s on the Rehoboth boardwalk.

Florida

Georgia

It’s the Peach State, so obviously you need to sink your teeth into somecrispy peach pie.

Hawaii

Voila!

Idaho

You know all about Idaho potatoes, so naturally you need some creamy potato chowder with diced bacon on top.

Illinois

Whether you’re on team New York-style or Chicago-style pizza, you have to admit thatdeep-dish pizza, with its thick flour-and-cornmeal crust, deserves to beIllinois’ signature dish.

Indiana

Hoosier pie(made with sugar, heavy cream, vanilla, and cinnamon)is Indiana’s official state pie.

If you want to walk it off, there’s even a Hoosier Pie trail for visitors.

Iowa

The pork to bun ratio is a bit off, butIowa is famous for its pork tenderloin sandwiches, which contain a breaded and fried pork cutlet bigger than your head.

Kansas

It’s the Breadbasket of America, so samplethe homemade, sticky, cinnamon-crusted rolls from Strouds.

Kentucky

It’s Kentucky. Would you expect anything otherthan fried chicken?

Louisiana

I guess it wasn’t a hunger strike.

Maine

When you think Maine, you think lobster. So of course you have to indulge ina lobster roll made with a little tangy mayo and served on a soft hot dog bun.

Maryland

And when you think Maryland, you think crab. So nestle on intoa tender, buttery crab cake lightly spiced with Old Bay seasoning, a Maryland original blend of herbs and spices.

Massachusetts

New England clam chowder, sometimes called Boston chowder, unlike its many impostors, is cream-based and full of potatoes and never, ever tomatoes.

Michigan

The Coney Dog is unique to Michigan. Why? It’s a steamed hot dog on a bun, topped with a meaty, chili-like sauce and diced onions.

Minnesota

The state fish is walleye, so enjoy its soft, flaky texture on crispy bread in a walleye sandwich.

Mississippi

Missouri

Whether you call it fried or toasted, if you breaded and deep fryravioli and serve it with a side of marinara sauce, you really can’t go wrong.

Montana

I’m your huckleberry…pie, that is.

The berries are native to high altitudes, like the high mountains of Montana, and make the perfect filling for apie.

Nebraska

Like Hot Pockets? Then you’ll digRunzas meat-filled bread pockets can be found all throughout Nebraska.

Nevada

New Hampshire

There are more than30 orchards full offresh apples, so of course you need someapple crisp apples covered in sugar, cinnamon, oats, and butter.

New Jersey

The well-known regional staple of pork roll (or Taylor ham) consists of a processed pork product made with a mix of salt, spices, and sugar cured before being smoked and packaged.

New Mexico

Whenchili peppers are one of thestate vegetables, it’s a given that you’re known for producing fresh, hot chili-based sauces that are poured on everything from eggs to burritos to burgers.

New York

Nope, it isn’t the bagel. It’s the pizza pie, specially NewYork-style characterized by a puffy outer crust that gets thinner and crispier once it hits the middle.

North Carolina

HereBBQ translates to succulent, slow-cooked pork that is chopped or shredded and drowned either in a tangy vinegar sauce or a sweet, ketchup-infused sauce.

North Dakota

Burgers are a staple, but a bison burger is full of lean and juicy bison patties stacked between a bun with crisp lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and other toppings.

Ohio

You can’t go wrong withpeanut-butter-fudge pieces that are partially dipped in chocolate to resemble the nut of the Ohio buckeye tree.

In other words, get your eyes(and your hands)on some buckeyes.

Oklahoma

It’s not chicken, but chicken-fried steak is a breaded piece of thin and tenderized beefsteak that often comes with sides like fried okra and grits, and it’s a staple in Oklahoma.

Oregon

Have you heard ofmarionberries?

Dubbed the “Cabernet of blackberries,” thanks to their complex flavor, they are a popular choice for pie fillings.

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

Hot Wieners (or New York System wieners) come in veal, pork, or beef varieties and are drenched in mustard, meat sauce, chopped onions, and celery salt before being sandwiched on a bun.

South Carolina

Y’all care for some shrimp served on a bed of simmered milled corn? Mix-ins can include everything from bacon, garlic, and lemon to mushroom and scallions.

South Dakota

Kuchenthe German word for “cake” and the official state dessertcomes in varieties that include pie-like pastries, coffee cakes, cheesecakes, and rolled pastries.

Tennessee

In Memphis, the pork ribs can be ordered wet (with a tomato-based sauce) or dry (with a rub of spices).

Texas

Texas andBBQ go together like brisket coated in a spicy rub and smoked for hours to develop its complex flavors and a giant old plate.

Utah

Thinly sliced pastrami stacked on a charbroiled cheeseburger emerged in the state in the 1980s and has been popular there ever since.

Vermont

Virginia

Washington

A favorite dish in the state is cedar-plank salmon, which is smoked and served on the signature wood.

Washington D.C.

West Virginia

Wisconsin

Eating their curds in whey…or rather, cheesecurds often deep-fried in beer batter and served with a variety of dipping sauces.

Wyoming

Via: Business Insider

When you’re inWyoming, you’re in wildlife country, which gives you plenty of opportunity toexplore the state’s array of game meats, which include tender cuts of venison, elk, and bison.

What food would you nominate your state for?

from All Of Beer http://allofbeer.com/2017/08/29/these-are-the-best-things-to-eat-in-every-state/ from All of Beer https://allofbeercom.tumblr.com/post/164736469347

0 notes

jimdsmith34 · 7 years

Text

These Are the BEST Things To Eat In Every State

If theres something that screams, Americana, its a road trip…and food. OK. Maybe its just food.

The criteria?

They chose the most iconic and famous dishes by taking local recommendations into consideration and picking items you simply can’t get anywhere else.

So pack your bags and your appetite!

Alabama

Alaska

Because king crab legs are rare and incredibly dangerous to catch, this makes theman expensive delicacy, but totally worth it.

Arizona

Chimichangas deep-fried and meat-filled tortillas were allegedly invented in Tucson after a burrito was accidentally dropped into a fryer.

Arkansas

Not only are they known for cheese dip, but thestate even hosts the World Cheese Dip Championship and has a cheese-dip trail.

California

Seeing as they’re on the coast and the state prides itself on authentic Mexican cuisine, it’s no surprise you should pick up a flaky fish taco if you hit the Golden State.

Colorado

Don’t be fooled by the name. In case you never saw Funny Farm, Rocky Mountain Oystersthe iconic food of the stateare actually bull testicles.

Connecticut

New Haven-style pizza, also known as “apizza,” put the small town on the map.

Delaware

Vinegar French fries: Potatoesare soaked in vinegar, then refrigerated before beingfried.

If you want the original, they can be found at Thrasher’s on the Rehoboth boardwalk.

Florida

Georgia

It’s the Peach State, so obviously you need to sink your teeth into somecrispy peach pie.

Hawaii

Voila!

Idaho

You know all about Idaho potatoes, so naturally you need some creamy potato chowder with diced bacon on top.

Illinois

Whether you’re on team New York-style or Chicago-style pizza, you have to admit thatdeep-dish pizza, with its thick flour-and-cornmeal crust, deserves to beIllinois’ signature dish.

Indiana

Hoosier pie(made with sugar, heavy cream, vanilla, and cinnamon)is Indiana’s official state pie.

If you want to walk it off, there’s even a Hoosier Pie trail for visitors.

Iowa

The pork to bun ratio is a bit off, butIowa is famous for its pork tenderloin sandwiches, which contain a breaded and fried pork cutlet bigger than your head.

Kansas

It’s the Breadbasket of America, so samplethe homemade, sticky, cinnamon-crusted rolls from Strouds.

Kentucky

It’s Kentucky. Would you expect anything otherthan fried chicken?

Louisiana

I guess it wasn’t a hunger strike.

Maine

When you think Maine, you think lobster. So of course you have to indulge ina lobster roll made with a little tangy mayo and served on a soft hot dog bun.

Maryland

And when you think Maryland, you think crab. So nestle on intoa tender, buttery crab cake lightly spiced with Old Bay seasoning, a Maryland original blend of herbs and spices.

Massachusetts

New England clam chowder, sometimes called Boston chowder, unlike its many impostors, is cream-based and full of potatoes and never, ever tomatoes.

Michigan

The Coney Dog is unique to Michigan. Why? It’s a steamed hot dog on a bun, topped with a meaty, chili-like sauce and diced onions.

Minnesota

The state fish is walleye, so enjoy its soft, flaky texture on crispy bread in a walleye sandwich.

Mississippi

Missouri

Whether you call it fried or toasted, if you breaded and deep fryravioli and serve it with a side of marinara sauce, you really can’t go wrong.

Montana

I’m your huckleberry…pie, that is.

The berries are native to high altitudes, like the high mountains of Montana, and make the perfect filling for apie.

Nebraska

Like Hot Pockets? Then you’ll digRunzas meat-filled bread pockets can be found all throughout Nebraska.

Nevada

New Hampshire

There are more than30 orchards full offresh apples, so of course you need someapple crisp apples covered in sugar, cinnamon, oats, and butter.

New Jersey

The well-known regional staple of pork roll (or Taylor ham) consists of a processed pork product made with a mix of salt, spices, and sugar cured before being smoked and packaged.

New Mexico

Whenchili peppers are one of thestate vegetables, it’s a given that you’re known for producing fresh, hot chili-based sauces that are poured on everything from eggs to burritos to burgers.

New York

Nope, it isn’t the bagel. It’s the pizza pie, specially NewYork-style characterized by a puffy outer crust that gets thinner and crispier once it hits the middle.

North Carolina

HereBBQ translates to succulent, slow-cooked pork that is chopped or shredded and drowned either in a tangy vinegar sauce or a sweet, ketchup-infused sauce.

North Dakota

Burgers are a staple, but a bison burger is full of lean and juicy bison patties stacked between a bun with crisp lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and other toppings.

Ohio

You can’t go wrong withpeanut-butter-fudge pieces that are partially dipped in chocolate to resemble the nut of the Ohio buckeye tree.

In other words, get your eyes(and your hands)on some buckeyes.

Oklahoma

It’s not chicken, but chicken-fried steak is a breaded piece of thin and tenderized beefsteak that often comes with sides like fried okra and grits, and it’s a staple in Oklahoma.

Oregon

Have you heard ofmarionberries?

Dubbed the “Cabernet of blackberries,” thanks to their complex flavor, they are a popular choice for pie fillings.

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

Hot Wieners (or New York System wieners) come in veal, pork, or beef varieties and are drenched in mustard, meat sauce, chopped onions, and celery salt before being sandwiched on a bun.

South Carolina

Y’all care for some shrimp served on a bed of simmered milled corn? Mix-ins can include everything from bacon, garlic, and lemon to mushroom and scallions.

South Dakota

Kuchenthe German word for “cake” and the official state dessertcomes in varieties that include pie-like pastries, coffee cakes, cheesecakes, and rolled pastries.

Tennessee

In Memphis, the pork ribs can be ordered wet (with a tomato-based sauce) or dry (with a rub of spices).

Texas

Texas andBBQ go together like brisket coated in a spicy rub and smoked for hours to develop its complex flavors and a giant old plate.

Utah

Thinly sliced pastrami stacked on a charbroiled cheeseburger emerged in the state in the 1980s and has been popular there ever since.

Vermont

Virginia

Washington

A favorite dish in the state is cedar-plank salmon, which is smoked and served on the signature wood.

Washington D.C.

West Virginia

Wisconsin

Eating their curds in whey…or rather, cheesecurds often deep-fried in beer batter and served with a variety of dipping sauces.

Wyoming

Via: Business Insider

When you’re inWyoming, you’re in wildlife country, which gives you plenty of opportunity toexplore the state’s array of game meats, which include tender cuts of venison, elk, and bison.

What food would you nominate your state for?

source http://allofbeer.com/2017/08/29/these-are-the-best-things-to-eat-in-every-state/ from All of Beer http://allofbeer.blogspot.com/2017/08/these-are-best-things-to-eat-in-every.html

0 notes

allofbeercom · 7 years

Text

These Are the BEST Things To Eat In Every State

If theres something that screams, Americana, its a road trip…and food. OK. Maybe its just food.

The criteria?

They chose the most iconic and famous dishes by taking local recommendations into consideration and picking items you simply can’t get anywhere else.

So pack your bags and your appetite!

Alabama

Alaska

Because king crab legs are rare and incredibly dangerous to catch, this makes theman expensive delicacy, but totally worth it.

Arizona

Chimichangas deep-fried and meat-filled tortillas were allegedly invented in Tucson after a burrito was accidentally dropped into a fryer.

Arkansas

Not only are they known for cheese dip, but thestate even hosts the World Cheese Dip Championship and has a cheese-dip trail.

California

Seeing as they’re on the coast and the state prides itself on authentic Mexican cuisine, it’s no surprise you should pick up a flaky fish taco if you hit the Golden State.

Colorado

Don’t be fooled by the name. In case you never saw Funny Farm, Rocky Mountain Oystersthe iconic food of the stateare actually bull testicles.

Connecticut

New Haven-style pizza, also known as “apizza,” put the small town on the map.

Delaware

Vinegar French fries: Potatoesare soaked in vinegar, then refrigerated before beingfried.

If you want the original, they can be found at Thrasher’s on the Rehoboth boardwalk.

Florida

Georgia

It’s the Peach State, so obviously you need to sink your teeth into somecrispy peach pie.

Hawaii

Voila!

Idaho

You know all about Idaho potatoes, so naturally you need some creamy potato chowder with diced bacon on top.

Illinois

Whether you’re on team New York-style or Chicago-style pizza, you have to admit thatdeep-dish pizza, with its thick flour-and-cornmeal crust, deserves to beIllinois’ signature dish.

Indiana

Hoosier pie(made with sugar, heavy cream, vanilla, and cinnamon)is Indiana’s official state pie.

If you want to walk it off, there’s even a Hoosier Pie trail for visitors.

Iowa

The pork to bun ratio is a bit off, butIowa is famous for its pork tenderloin sandwiches, which contain a breaded and fried pork cutlet bigger than your head.

Kansas

It’s the Breadbasket of America, so samplethe homemade, sticky, cinnamon-crusted rolls from Strouds.

Kentucky

It’s Kentucky. Would you expect anything otherthan fried chicken?

Louisiana

I guess it wasn’t a hunger strike.

Maine

When you think Maine, you think lobster. So of course you have to indulge ina lobster roll made with a little tangy mayo and served on a soft hot dog bun.

Maryland

And when you think Maryland, you think crab. So nestle on intoa tender, buttery crab cake lightly spiced with Old Bay seasoning, a Maryland original blend of herbs and spices.

Massachusetts

New England clam chowder, sometimes called Boston chowder, unlike its many impostors, is cream-based and full of potatoes and never, ever tomatoes.

Michigan

The Coney Dog is unique to Michigan. Why? It’s a steamed hot dog on a bun, topped with a meaty, chili-like sauce and diced onions.

Minnesota

The state fish is walleye, so enjoy its soft, flaky texture on crispy bread in a walleye sandwich.

Mississippi

Missouri

Whether you call it fried or toasted, if you breaded and deep fryravioli and serve it with a side of marinara sauce, you really can’t go wrong.

Montana

I’m your huckleberry…pie, that is.

The berries are native to high altitudes, like the high mountains of Montana, and make the perfect filling for apie.

Nebraska

Like Hot Pockets? Then you’ll digRunzas meat-filled bread pockets can be found all throughout Nebraska.

Nevada

New Hampshire

There are more than30 orchards full offresh apples, so of course you need someapple crisp apples covered in sugar, cinnamon, oats, and butter.

New Jersey

The well-known regional staple of pork roll (or Taylor ham) consists of a processed pork product made with a mix of salt, spices, and sugar cured before being smoked and packaged.

New Mexico

Whenchili peppers are one of thestate vegetables, it’s a given that you’re known for producing fresh, hot chili-based sauces that are poured on everything from eggs to burritos to burgers.

New York

Nope, it isn’t the bagel. It’s the pizza pie, specially NewYork-style characterized by a puffy outer crust that gets thinner and crispier once it hits the middle.

North Carolina

HereBBQ translates to succulent, slow-cooked pork that is chopped or shredded and drowned either in a tangy vinegar sauce or a sweet, ketchup-infused sauce.

North Dakota

Burgers are a staple, but a bison burger is full of lean and juicy bison patties stacked between a bun with crisp lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and other toppings.

Ohio

You can’t go wrong withpeanut-butter-fudge pieces that are partially dipped in chocolate to resemble the nut of the Ohio buckeye tree.

In other words, get your eyes(and your hands)on some buckeyes.

Oklahoma

It’s not chicken, but chicken-fried steak is a breaded piece of thin and tenderized beefsteak that often comes with sides like fried okra and grits, and it’s a staple in Oklahoma.

Oregon

Have you heard ofmarionberries?

Dubbed the “Cabernet of blackberries,” thanks to their complex flavor, they are a popular choice for pie fillings.

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

Hot Wieners (or New York System wieners) come in veal, pork, or beef varieties and are drenched in mustard, meat sauce, chopped onions, and celery salt before being sandwiched on a bun.

South Carolina

Y’all care for some shrimp served on a bed of simmered milled corn? Mix-ins can include everything from bacon, garlic, and lemon to mushroom and scallions.

South Dakota

Kuchenthe German word for “cake” and the official state dessertcomes in varieties that include pie-like pastries, coffee cakes, cheesecakes, and rolled pastries.

Tennessee

In Memphis, the pork ribs can be ordered wet (with a tomato-based sauce) or dry (with a rub of spices).

Texas

Texas andBBQ go together like brisket coated in a spicy rub and smoked for hours to develop its complex flavors and a giant old plate.

Utah

Thinly sliced pastrami stacked on a charbroiled cheeseburger emerged in the state in the 1980s and has been popular there ever since.

Vermont

Virginia

Washington

A favorite dish in the state is cedar-plank salmon, which is smoked and served on the signature wood.

Washington D.C.

West Virginia

Wisconsin

Eating their curds in whey…or rather, cheesecurds often deep-fried in beer batter and served with a variety of dipping sauces.

Wyoming

Via: Business Insider

When you’re inWyoming, you’re in wildlife country, which gives you plenty of opportunity toexplore the state’s array of game meats, which include tender cuts of venison, elk, and bison.

What food would you nominate your state for?

from All Of Beer http://allofbeer.com/2017/08/29/these-are-the-best-things-to-eat-in-every-state/

0 notes