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flowersandbigteeth · 1 year

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Your firefighter wolf alpha makes you his

General Plot: Ruston explains that you belong to him. There will be a part three to this ^_^

Wolf alpha (Ruston) x female reader

Word Count: 2k

🌶️ NSFW MASTERPOST 🌶️

W: knotting, breeding kink, baby trapping, nsfw wolf monster smut, yandere behavior

You woke up surrounded by the smell of Ruston. You ached between your legs and a little on your neck, but otherwise you felt fine. You’d slept a lot longer than normal, exhausted from the physical and mental trials you’d gone through.

“Mornin’ peach,” the wolf said, holding out a cup of coffee to you.

He smiled down at you, his gold eyes examining the marks he’d left on your skin making you his.

“Good morning,” you said groggily, accepting it.

The problems of the previous day seemed far away in the morning sunlight streaming through the window. You absently rubbed the bite on your neck and winced as it still stung a little bit.

Ruston pulled your hand away and licked the wound again, affectionately.

“Don’t rub it,” he purred, “licking it will heal it properly if you leave it be.”

Your eyes locked with his gold ones.

“Was that…an accident?” you asked, still unsure what it really meant.

He smiled at you.

“Maybe a happy one,” he admitted, “I got a little carried away with myself…but (Y/N) I stand by it, you’re mine now. My bite is on your neck, that means I’ve made you my mate.”

You gasped at him a little, shocked to see he was serious. You’d never expected this out of Ruston, he was a strong, responsible fire chief and pack leader. The idea that he would do something this serious by mistake or on a whim seemed oddly unlikely.

“Yours?” you murmured and he pulled you into his lap, careful of the coffee in your hand.

He brushed your hair out of your eyes and let his hand trail down your cheek and throat.

“I know you’re goin’ through a hard time, right now peach, but let me make it better for you. Be my woman. I can take care of you.”

“B-but you’re a wolf alpha,” you stammered, “isn’t there like a rule against it or something? Aren’t you supposed to find a wolf princess? What about your pack?”

It was a silly thing to say, but you were so caught off guard by Ruston’s declaration you were mumbling the first words that came to mind.

“You are my princess,” he chuckled, “and there’s no rule against it. I’m the pack alpha, I make the rules.”

You frowned at him.

“Is this pity?” you asked, “I don’t need you to…you now…baby me.”

He laughed louder and took your coffee cup out of your hand, placing it on the side table.

“I’m begging you to take pity on me,” he said, pulling your cheeks so you were looking at him, “I’m just a lonely old wolf with responsibilities and you’re a pretty young thing with a vibrant life. I know I’m not as interesting or as fun as those other young guys, but give me a chance. I can make you happy.”

Your eyes wettened at these words and you smiled. He didn’t give you a chance to speak, leaning down and kissing you. You moaned on his flavor, reminded of the day before.

His fingers drifted over your naked skin as he held you in his lap, his tongue exploring your mouth. They drifted between your legs and you found yourself opening them for him, so he could touch your tender parts.

“Let me have you,” he purred, his meaning always double.

Your ground against the thick pads of his fingers, eager for pleasure. Pleased, his other hand toyed with your nipples while you felt his cock grow underneath you. Maybe it was his bite on your neck, but you felt feverish and needy, grinding your hips into his hand more frantically.

“That’s it, peach,” he hummed, slipping two fingers inside of you, while his thumb played with your clit. You didn’t know that his bite made little human females go into a sort of light heat to bond with him, but he did. He reveled in the mess you’d become on his fingers knowing it was chaining you tighter and tighter to him. You moaned on his hand, writhing in his strong arms until you were panting in a swift orgasm. That wasn’t nearly enough.

“P-please,” you begged.

“You can have me anytime you want,” he whispered in your ear, affectionately, licking your neck.

His hand left your cunt just to free his cock from his sweatpants and he worked it inside of you, inch by inch, much more gently than the day before. The mad urge to bond to you had taken his mind, but now he was in control, wanting to give your sore pussy a break. You were more eager, pushing yourself down onto him and rocking him inside of you.

His clawed fingers found your hips and prickled as he helped you moved up and down on top of him. He let you set the pace, supporting your weight as you swirled your hips on him. Groaning, he buried his muzzle in your neck as you tortured him with languid motions.

Finally, his self control snapped and thrust up into you hard, pushing a short scream from your throat. You reached back and dug your hands into his fur as he bucked his hips into you, his growls brushing your ear with his hot breath.

Your scream wouldn’t be held back as he rutted into you, your brain melting with how he was stretching your already well used pussy. Feeling his knot swell, you panicked a little, trying to pull away, but he was too far gone. He clutched your hips, forcing his swelling knot back and forth through your tender entrance, making you whine and cry.

“You need my knot, peach,” he ground out as it grew, finally burying it in your cunt as he pumped you full of cum. The large knot, stretching your tight hole detonated an explosion starting from your clit, spreading through your channel and up your spine, leaving you drooling and limp speared by him.

He watched you carefully, pulling you down on the bed with him to have a nap before he made you breakfast. Your cheeks were flushed and your lips wet and plump from saliva. Practically purring he was filled with deep satisfaction knowing he’d knotted you twice and likely bred you.

When he’d determined you should have some food after all of the exertion he roused you and wrapped you in his blanket, carrying the whole bundle with you in it to his kitchen counter where he deposited you on a stool.

“Hey, Alpha you weren’t answering you- oh!” two of Ruston’s wolves came breezing into the kitchen holding a bunch of grocery bags. One was a male with chestnut fur and the other was a female with a pretty silver pelt.

“Uh…h-hi (Y/N),” the male said a little shyly. The female just frowned at you, sniffing in your direction a bit.

“Have we met?” you asked, not sure you’d formally met either of them before, but they looked vaguely familiar. Blushing, you were aware you were only wearing Ruston’s comforter and your hair was ruffled from sleep and sex, which they probably smelled on you with their sensitive noses.

His cheeks darkened.

“Uh, heh, not really, alpha just talks about you a lot. We all know who you are,” he stammered, his eyes flicking to your shoulder and focusing on the bite on your neck, “oh!”

He looked at Ruston and they widened.

“Uh apologies for my rudeness and good morning, Luna,” he said quickly.

The female’s eyes flared, but she was silent.

You weren’t sure what he meant by that, but before you could ask Ruston spoke.

“What is it, Elliot?” Ruston growled.

He was annoyed he was speaking so loosely around you. Elliot blanched and the female took the bags from his hand and slipped around the counter.

“We brought the groceries you ordered, Ruston,” she purred, piling the bags in front of him on the counter.

“That’s Alpha,” he barked, “address your Luna and tell her good morning.”

“You said I could call you Ruston before,” she growled quietly, glancing at you with venom.

“That was a long time ago, Jill and you’ve since shown me that I shouldn’t have trusted you so easily. Greet your Luna,” he hissed.

Her eyes narrowed but she turned to you stiffly and tipped her head.

“Good morning Luna, is there anything I can get for you?” she asked.

Your eyebrows went up and you shook your head slowly, confused at what was going on.

“Why do you keep calling me that?” you asked, like an idiot, totally befuddled by the weird tension in the room.

“It’s your new title as Ruston’s queen,” Jill growled, stomping away from him and rejoining her packmate, flexing her fists as she went, “you’d think you’d know such an important thing.”

“That’s enough,” Ruston snapped, “prepare for a pack meeting tonight so I can make the announcement.”

You’d never really seen Ruston in pack leader mode. He was a lot more curt and intense than you’d ever known him to be.

The two wolves seemed more than happy to leave the room, taking the air of stress with them. Ruston pulled out some bacon, eggs, and waffles setting himself to making breakfast for you. You watched him toss the entire dozen in one pan and the entire flat of bacon in another before starting the waffle maker. Of those he only made two.

“So what’s this queen business? Am I missing something?” you asked.

He turned to you and looked at you warmly.

“Remember when I asked you to help with the pack, yesterday?” he asked.

You nodded.

“Well, as my mate, you’re the same rank as Alpha, but they call you Luna. My pack defers to you, so…I need your help. It’ll be good havin’ a female around they can talk to. I have a tendency to be curt. You can bring balance.”

“B-but I’m not qualified…or a wolf…” you stammered.

This was all happening so fast. He winked.

“Sure ya are peach,” he said, flipping the bacon, “all you hafta do is keep bein’ your sweet self.”

You weren’t convinced, but he put two waffles drenched in syrup, three slices of crispy bacon, and two eggs, scrambled with cheese in front of you and you honestly would have agreed to anything. Food went a long way with you.

“S-so, I’m your mate?” you asked, quietly as you chewed.

He was eating his own massive pile of eggs and bacon and his fork froze for a moment.

“Was I unclear about that?” he asked.

You shook your head, embarrassed.

“N-no, I guess not. It just…sounds different when you put it like that,” you stammered.

“I know it seems like a lot right now, but we’ll get into a routine and it won’t seem so strange anymore,” he assured you.

You nodded, shoveling more food in your mouth. What was done was done. You’d taken his bite and his knot, impulsive or not and you would have to live with that. It wasn’t like it was a hardship. You literally had nothing and nowhere to be with no job.

This was honestly a bit of a miracle, having a strong, handsome wolf step up to take you in and not some creepy stranger trying to take advantage of you. Ruston had shown you over the years he was trustworthy, reliable, and about as straight-laced and normal as they came. If only you’d known how incredibly inaccurate that assessment was.

#monster x girl #monster oc #monster boyfriend #monster lover #monster romance #human x monster #male yandere #yandere headcanons #monster smut #yandere smut #smut #wolf smut #wolfman #wolf #werewolf

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ohc-and-the-music-tapes-archive · 1 year

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Article about Elephant 6 collective (with a big part regarding the Music Tapes) in Flagpole, 31 March 1999, by John Britt and Melissa Link.

transcript:

ELEPHANT 6: THE MUSE GROWS UP THAT LOOSE GROUP OF TREEHOUSE POP FANTASTICS IS MATURING. ITS CIRCLE IS WIDENING. AND ITS NEW MUSIC IS PRIMED TO INVADE THE ORCHESTRA PIT, THE PROPS CLOSET, AND THE FAR REACHES GF OUTER SPACE. It started as a bedroom daydream, but the dream leaked out into the waking world. Now it’s spreading. The musical collective Elephant 6 — that sprawling, somewhat amorphous umbrella group of young pop bands, the one whose imprimatur ensures a taste of sweet aural psychedelia, the one in all the national magazines, the one that has made Athens, Georgia, its de facto headquarters — was once just a name for the four-track fantasies of four kids messing around in Ruston, Louisianna.

Back in the early 1980s, Rustonians Will Hart, Bill Doss, Robert Schneider and Jeff Mangum invented Elephant 6 as a fictitious label for the tapes they made for each other. The product wasn't necessarily intended to merge with the real wor|d — few imaginative children actually grow up to be cowboys or astronauts — but eventually the four friends amassed enough good material to warrant public consumption. They started getting serious. Schneider moved to Denver and formed the core of The Apples In Stereo. In Athens, Mangum established Neutral Milk Hotel, while Doss and Hart eventually formed The Olivia Tremor Control.

Over the last four or five years these three bands, the heart of Elephant 6, have recorded albums that have drawn worldwide critical acclaim. At the same time, Elephant 6 has expanded to include a difficult-to-count array of friends and compatriots who share in one way or another the original Ruston vision — to put out, as early E6 propaganda put it, “innovative, quality pop music” that hews to a prescribed set of values. “We believe in four-tracks, and beautiful sounds and ideas,” the old motto went. “And most of all we believe in SONGS.”

This spring sees the release of CDs from four Athens-based Elephant 6 groups: the sophomore effort from The Olivia Tremor Control, as well as new albums from Elf Power, Of Montreal, and, in a few weeks, the performance project Music Tapes. This new wave of music shows major strides forward in E6’s thematic, conceptual and sonic evolution, yet much of it remains true to the original vision.

With real record deals, these bands have been able to flesh out the limited lo-fi palette of the first E6 recordings: four-track operating methods are now augmented with digital 16-tracks and studio mixing, and while some of the inspiration still comes from home, much recording now takes place in professional studios. This new freedom has allowed these bands to explore a wider range of composition and arrangement while still remaining true to their aesthetic roots. And while the music style broadens, the E6 gestalt continues to expand beyond music itself: though there's always been a multimedia component to the collective, a group like Julian Koster’s Music Tapes is pushing beyond notebook artwork and into the far teaches of experimental theater.

THE SKY IS A HARPSICHORD CARVAS

As these boundaries expand, the shambling experimental ensemble The Olivia Tremor Control remains at the center of the chaotic Elephant 6 enterprise. The band’s debut album, Dusk at Cubist Castle, toyed with both classically structured pop songs and experimental ambient noise, with fairly distinct lines drawn between order and chaos. The Olivias decided to mesh both halves of their creative instincts into one seamless whole on their latest release, Black Foliage: Animation Music, a 70-minute pop freakout that recalls everything from The Beach Boys to Karlheinz Stockhausen.

Black Foliage is unmistakably in step with everything OTC worked towards years ago. The tweaked out, psychedelic pattern shifts — from melodically grounded pop classics to cacophonous clusters of sounds — harken back to Doss, Hart, and bassist John Fernandes’ early days DJ-ing at the Louisiana Tech college radio station. There, according to Fernandes, the friends would cue up sound-effects albums and play them simultaneously with the records in the station's rotation, then step out to listen to the results on someone else's radio.

“Our idea on the new album was to weave patterns and ask the question ‘What is a pop song?” explains Doss. “We wanted to go beyond things like verse/chorus/verse and do things like bridge/bridge/bridge/bridge/verse/verse/verse, then into some sound excursion or the chorus or a barbershop quartet.”

Looking at some of The Olivia Tremor Control's more blatant influences — most notably the Beatles and the Beach Boys — it’s obvious that the band sees no fault in perfect pop. And in the memorable melodies of Foliage’s “Hideaway” and “A New Day,” it is readily apparent that the band can deliver such goods.

The goal then, it seems, is to create new atmospheres and environments for that music to inhabit. Black Foliage sometimes sounds like a pop record playing through a street-comer boom box while the sounds of the street invade and intermingle. With its nonstop flow of sonic and thematic concepts, Foliage tends to lend itself towards individual visual interpretation, individual fantasy. “Every time I listen to that album, it’s like a series of dreams,” describes Raleigh Hatfield, a peripheral member of a number of Elephant 6 related bands. “But with each listen, it evokes a completely different series of images.”

Hart agrees, citing the album’s subtitle as an important clue to the music within. “All the sounds in there to us are animation. I see pictures for everything in it, and so will our audience, hopefully.”

NEAT LITTLE DOMESTIC LIFE

Whereas The Olivia Tremor Control attempt to create an ambiguous aural fantasy world on Black Foliage, comrades Of Montreal have fashioned a far more specific world on their new album, The Gay Parade. The material on the telease steps away from songwriter Kevin Bames’ earlier, more personal work, and dives headfirst into a purely imaginary environment. The Gay Parade is a pageant of whimsical characters: “The Autobiographical Grandpa,” “The Miniature Philosopher,” and “A Man’s Life Flashing Before His Eyes While He and His Wife Drive Off a Cliff Into the Ocean.”

And while the album‘s concept — especially its Yellow Submarine-cum-grade school cover depicting every single character in the record — seems to express a calculated naiveté, Of Montreal's members insist that there are layers of conceptual complexities beneath the surface.

“It’s much smarter than a children’s book,” contends drummer Derek Almstead. “It's like The Canterbury Tales; it's whimsical, smart, deep and funny. It’s not cutesy-poo.”

“In no way do I want to compare us to Brian Wilson,” adds keyboardist and bassist Dottie Alexander, “but someone could say the same thing about Smile. On the surface it may seem that Brian Wilson is singing about nothing, but if you look deeper into the songs. you find many complex layers, musically.”

Songwriter Barnes’ Tin Pan Alley influences often give The Gay Parade a pre-rock vibe: it feels like it could've been written by someone raised in the age of radio melodramas, rather than a mop-topped guy living some 40-plus years after the birth of rock and roll. At the same time, Barnes’ character sketches — though often steeped in fantasy — owe much to mid-“60s British rock songwriters like the Kinks’ Ray Davies, who was known for penning bourgeois studies like “David Watts.”

“There definitely is a pervasive Kinks influence in everything we do,” agrees Alexander. “It's a slice of life look at this world we have created.”

That world is rendered in fantastic pastels and neons thanks to the CD's highly inventive arrangements — a major sonic step forward for both £6 and indie pop in general. The album is filled with waved-out guitar lines, crystalline piano notes, five-part harmonies, and a variety of novel instrumentation. Nineteen people are credited in the liner notes with everything from penny whistle to “woo-wooing while jumping on the furnace.”

Of Montreal plan to take their characters out of fantasyland and on the road — literally. Kevin Barnes’ brother, David, the group's chief visual artist, is working on a stage representation of the cover art he designed and created.

“There's not much room in our van for even a large suitcase, so the visual aspect will have to be limited,” Almstead says. “But we'll have a backdrop similar to the album cover, and perhaps some cardboard cutouts of the characters on stage with us.”

A DREAM REIFIED

Elf Power's A Dream in Sound is, without a doubt, the most mature offering from the latest batch of Elephant 6 albums. Combining the sonic experimentation of The Olivia Tremor Control with the fantastical storytelling of The Gay Parade, A Dream in Sound is a brief, yet powerful, collection of songs. In a way, it’s that perfect 40-minute pop album that Black Foliage dumps an extra 30 minutes of insanity upon. At once timeless and immediate, it’s Elf Power's most fully realized work, and a major improvement upon the band’s previous outing, When the Red King Comes.

“Our last album was recorded over a six month period,” explains chief songwriter Andrew Rieger. “A Dream in Sound was recorded in two weeks, and I think that had a big effect on the final product.”

The album continues down the path Elf Power has been taking since their first EP, Vainly Clutching at Phantom Limbs. While not as blatantly conceptual as the fantasy novel-like Red King, A Dream in Sound still focuses lyrically on otherworldly characters and confused wishes to live as other life forms. Rieger seems to have permanently turned his back on material such as Vainly Clutching's “Circular Malevolence.” That song was an angry acoustic account of an ego-tripping, status climbing acquaintance: “You can write it all down and just send it in your precious letter/Tell me of all the people you know and which ones you think you like better/You self-righteous motherfucker/You think I give a shit what you had for supper?” Such work has given way to more imaginative and surreal numbers with titles like “Simon (The Bird with the Candy Bar Head).”

“I always kind of regretted the mean-spiritedness of that song,” Rieger says of “Circular Malevolence.” “I wouldn't want to write those kind of hateful songs anymore.”

But don’t those kinds of personal experiences fuel powerful songwriting? “Well, yeah, sure,” Rieger says. “But I think you can do that in more productive ways. You don’t have to be mean about it.”

STATIC, THE TV, IS A KIND OF FRIEND

Flash to the 40 Watt Club: multi-instrumentalist Julian Koster is on stage with his band Music Tapes, sporting headgear he calls “The Mechanized Organ-Playing Helmet.” The helmet has a hand protruding from it, and the hand plays a faux keyboard. Koster stands amid a working seven-foot metronome, a wooden box sprouting a pair of mechanical clapping hands and an animated television set named “Static”.

Static, the television, will sing half of the songs tonight. Koster — augmented by the likes of Elf Power's Laura Carter and Neutral Milk/Gerbils member Scott Spillane — will buoyantly strum a banjo while the blissed-out, pixilated Static disseminates propaganda about the alien race of TV sets who control our world.

The audience at this Music Tapes performance is a cozy mix of friends, fellow musicians, and curious onlookers. Most stand in contemplative awe, while a few people cuddle the stage, clapping and convulsing ecclesiastical joy. This unique stage show is the ultimate in Elephant 6 fantasia: the line between reality and artifice is sufficiently blurred to give the appearance that even if the human performers left the stage, the mechanical ones would continue the show.

Koster’s former outfit, Chocolate USA — which featured Doss, Olivias drummer Eric Harris and others — bowed out of its acclaimed, albeit brief, limelight with a Bar/None CD Smoke Machine — more or less a rock opera about a cow. Music Tapes take Koster’s peculiar vision — not only of music and performance, but of the human condition as well — to rather head-scratching new levels.

“To me it’s like I look at human history: the Tin Man is as real to me as Abraham Lincoln,” Koster says, possibly describing the impetus behind Music Tapes. “The truth is that what I know of the Tin Man, even though he came out of someone's imagination — and Abraham Lincoln really lived — doesn’t make a difference, because I have vivid pictures of both and in the end what I know now of Abraham Lincoln probably came out of somebody's imagination as well.”

Music Tapes’ debut CD is due out soon, and though you'd think that this is a band best experienced live. Koster’s E6 compatriots say the cordings stand on their own. “Julian's stuck in a Dr. Seuss movie,” says the Olivia's Hart. “That's going to be my favorite record when it comes out. I wish I could write more Dr. Seussy stuff like that.”

“Julian is incredible,” John Fernandes adds. “He's a great home recorder. He takes account of the nuances of low fidelity and uses the disadvantages to his advantage. He's been using an old wire recorder and ribbon microphone just like what was used in old radio plays, and he gets a really genuine 78 rpm type sound.”

Koster says Music Tapes were born 10 years ago, when the musician was in his mid-teens. It began as a way to spend time with his friends, as he wasn't able to be with them as often as he would have liked.

“I kind of had to stay in the house a lot,” Koster says. “I started making tapes almost to make little worlds. Whatever I could imagine, I tried to make a sort of little place that I could visit whenever I was making it and then I'd be able to give the tapes to my friends when I saw them at school and they could visit that place. So the time that they spent there was kind of like common time spent together.”

As Koster grew up, Music Tapes became a sort of revenge project against the world, in the way that creativity became the means subtly to upend the powers that be. Julian fully lives up to Rieger's idea that anger can best be focused into positive, creative energy.

“In youth, it’s about being powerless or dependent on those around you,” Koster says. “You feel unable to take control of your world, and all of a sudden you kind of go over this divide and you realize that you are powerful, that you do have power. You begin to take control of your own existence — you can leave a bad thing and you can begin to create things.”

So Koster invented his own world, a deviant musical amalgam of Pee Wee's Playhouse and 2001: A Space Odyssey. The fantasy is farther out than anything previously in the minds of the Elephant 6 collective. It’s one thing to be in a pretend band; it’s another to be in a band with pretend bandmates, especially at the age of 26. When Koster says of his talking TV, “Static the Television is a band member, and a kind of a friend in a lot of ways,” - it is seemingly without a trace of irony.

That overriding Elephant 6 impulse — to create indie rock that’s irony-free — is offering one way out of the rut the genre has found itself in over the last few years. Like it or not, it’s difficult to deny that it’s an escape hatch that works. “A lot of people who think that this music is childish or cute are coming from this whole school of distorted, ‘80s indie rock,” Of Montreal's Derek Almstead says. “And we're not coming from that point at all. We're coming from somewhere else.”

John Britt Staff writer Melissa Link also contributed to story

#articles #1999 #Elephant 6 #the Music Tapes #Of Montreal #Olivia Tremor Control #Elf Power #Julian Koster #John Fernandes #Bill Doss #Derek Almstead #Dottie Alexander #Kevin Barnes #David Barnes #Andrew Rieger

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andiebatts · 2 years

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♡ 𝔞𝔫𝔡𝔦𝔢 𝔟𝔞𝔱𝔱𝔰

#art #kitsch #kitschy #bunny #magician #witch #witch hat #artists on tumblr #pink #aesthetic #vintgae #vintage toys #vintage style #Ruston #my art #digital art #2019

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troyplaysbass · 4 years

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We’ll Grow Stronger Making Room and Sharing Space: 2019 In Review

It’s the end of the year and the end of the decade (more on the latter in this post). It’s the time for me to reflect on the year and think too much about lists. Some things will never change.

Music I Worked On This Year

Jeff Schaller and the Long Way Home - “Younger Years” (guitar, recording, mixing, mastering)

Apocalypse Quest - Paradoxes (mixing, mastering)

Sloth Hands - Vacation’s Over (mastering)

Apocalypse Quest - “Mediocre Boys” (recording, mixing, mastering)

Flora Self - “Didn’t See It Coming” (bass, recording, mixing, mastering)

Pelafina - “Blue and Gold” (guitar)

Apocalypse Quest - “CEO Blood” (recording, mixing, mastering)

Apocalypse Quest - ERBA (recording, mixing, mastering)

My Favorite Albums of 2019

I’ve had a one-sentence review of my number one album, Breakup Season by Future Teens, in my head for a few months: If I had heard this when I was seventeen, I might have been a better person. That sounds hyperbolic, but I haven’t been able to shake the idea. I know I could have used this album as a teenager. It’s so honest and introspective about heartbreak and sadness and dealing with those emotions in healthy ways. I’m so happy that a band like Future Teens exists. I’m jealous of the kid that hears Breakup Season this year and connects to it like I connected to The Upsides. Future Teens will be that kid’s first favorite band, the soundtrack to their formative years, their inspirations and role models. I keep likening this album to The Upsides, probably the single most influential album on my past ten years. It feels like a torch-passing at the end of the decade, and it’s all the more apt because I saw Future Teens open for the Wonder Years in October.

The rest of my list feels as varied as my year, spanning genre and scope from emo debuts to the biggest pop artist in the world. As always, I think there’s a lot to love on this list, so pick something and give it a spin.

Future Teens - Breakup Season

Charly Bliss - Young Enough

Pedro the Lion - Phoenix

The Menzingers - Hello Exile

The Mountain Goats - In League With Dragons

Jimmy Eat World - Surviving

Taylor Swift - Lover

Origami Angel - Somewhere City

The Get Up Kids - Problems

Telethon - Hard Pop

Proper. - I Spent the Winter Writing Songs About Getting Better

Aaron West and the Roaring Twenties - Routine Maintenance

Ceres - We Are a Team

Oso Oso - Basking In the Glow

Better Oblivion Community Center - Better Oblivion Community Center

The Dangerous Summer - Mother Nature

Somos - Prison On a Hill

Dave Hause - Kick

American Football - LP3

Bruce Springsteen - Western Stars

Junius Paul - Ism

The Maine - You Are OK

Nervus - Tough Crowd

Great Grandpa - Four of Arrows

Vampire Weekend - Father of the Bride

My Favorite EPs of 2019

Better Love - All I Ever Wanted Is To Be Where You Are

Mineral - One Day When We Are Young

Ruston Kelly - Dirt Emo, Volume 1

Rat Tally - When You Wake Up

Bosley Jr - No More

My Favorite Songs of 2019

Here’s a playlist on Apple Music and Spotify of songs I loved this year. It’s vaguely in order (at least the top ten or so).

My Favorite Shows of 2019

I went to 63 shows this year, 35 of which I played. Here were my favorites. These were all great, but the John K. Samson show is a contender for my all-time favorite performance. He doesn’t tour much, so make it a priority to see him if you have the chance.

John K. Samson and Christine Fellows - 11/23 at Beat Kitchen

The Wonder Years, Future Teens - 10/20 at Metro

Ruston Kelly - 11/1 at Thalia Hall

Mineral - 1/24 at Lincoln Hall

Pedro the Lion - 5/18 at The Castle Theater

Jacob Sigman, Jetty Bones - 3/29 at Beat Kitchen

The Sidekicks, Adult Mom - 7/7 at Subterranean

Spanish Love Songs - 5/19 at Cobra Lounge

Los Campesinos! - 7/6 at West Fest

We Were Promised Jetpacks - 7/13 at Bottom Lounge

My Favorite Podcasts of 2019

Two Headed Girl is the best new podcast I listened to this year. It’s a chronicle of gender dysphoria, transitioning, and marriage. Hosts Alex and Matthew Cox are unflinching in their honesty with each other about their lives, health, and feelings. It’s kind of amazing that they recorded all of this and are willing to share such a personal journey with the world.

Elsewhere in the podcast world, two of my favorite long-running podcasts hit new highs in 2019. On episode 102 of Reconcilable Differences, “Preparing the Way,” John Siracusa buys a refrigerator. The two-hour chronicle of this harrowing adventure is everything I love about the podcast format. And The Watch, Chris Ryan and Andy Greenwald’s twice weekly talk about movies and TV, transitioned from purely critique to a behind the scenes look at making a TV show as Andy called in from the set and editing room of his upcoming show, Briarpatch.

Finally, I’ll recommend Michael Lewis’s Against the Rules, a meticulously researched exploration of societal rules and the people who make and enforce them. Unlike the long-running conversational shows I typically like, the tight format and high production value make Against the Rules feel more like an audio book.

My Favorite Books of 2019

As usual, I read very few new releases this year, but the few I did read were fantastic: Hanif Abdurraqib’s latest poetry collection, A Fortune For Your Disaster, Mark Z. Danielewski’s children’s book for all ages, The Little Blue Kite, and Mischa Pearlman’s One Day When We Are Young, a retrospective on the emo band Mineral and a companion piece to their first new music in over twenty years.

The best book I read this year, regardless of release date, was The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver.

My Favorite Television of 2019

I started 2019 with the vague goal of “keeping up” with TV, but I quickly realized that’s impossible. There’s just too much great TV. With that in mind, I just want to highlight a few of my favorite shows of the year, all remarkable for very different reasons, which also happen to be short and digestible.

Fleabag - Season 2

A tour de force of emotion and energy, every episode left me thinking that writer / producer / star Phoebe Waller-Bridge might be the most talented person alive.

Watchmen

Every frame of this show is immaculate. I’m a longtime defender of the endings of Lost and The Leftovers so I had confidence in Damon Lindelof and his team to pull this sequel/remix, and my expectations were still far exceeded.

When They See Us

Ava Duvernay’s docu-drama about the Central Park Five is a heart-wrenching examination of injustice. The opening sequence alone is worth the price of a Netflix subscription.

Chernobyl

A different kind of bleak docu-drama, set on the opposite side of the world as When They See Us, Chernobyl is equal parts moving, gruesome, frustrating, and deeply sad.

And I can’t leave the TV section without giving a shout to Baby Yoda on The Mandalorian, constant cause of delighted squeals (both Liesi’s and mine) every time he’s on screen.

My Favorite Movies of 2019

As always, I'm very behind on movies at the end of year, but Knives Out is a masterpiece. 1. Knives Out 2. Marriage Story 3. The Irishman 4. Booksmart 5. Midsommar 6. The Report 7. Toy Story 4 8. Us 9. Dolemite Is My Name 10. High Life

Next Year

I haven’t made a formal new year’s resolution in quite a few years, but I do have some plans for 2020.

Pelafina will be releasing a new EP in the next couple months. More on that very soon.

The Long Way Home are deep in the process of recording our next album. That will hopefully be out later in the spring.

I didn’t make a single blog post this year, and I want to change that. I don’t have a clear structure in mind, but I just want to write more.

I’m going to listen to more jazz.

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adrian-paul-botta · 6 years

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1966 LILLIAN GISH, Edith Head - Warning Shot Wardrobe Preparations

Warning Shot (1967) 18 January 1967 (USA) During a stakeout, an L.A. cop kills a doctor who presumably pulled a gun but the coroner's inquest finds no gun, forcing the cop to look for it to clear his name. Director: Buzz Kulik Writers: Whit Masterson (based on the novel "711--Officer Needs Help" by), Mann Rubin (screenplay by) Stars: David Janssen, Ed Begley, Keenan Wynn, Lillian Gish David Janssen ... Sgt. Tom Valens Ed Begley ... Capt. Roy Klodin Keenan Wynn ... Sgt. Ed Musso Sam Wanamaker ... Frank Sanderman Lillian Gish ... Alice Willows Stefanie Powers ... Liz Thayer Eleanor Parker ... Mrs. Doris Ruston George Grizzard ... Walt Cody George Sanders ... Calvin York Steve Allen ... Perry Knowland Carroll O'Connor ... Paul Jerez Music by Jerry Goldsmith Cinematography by Joseph F. Biroc Film Editing by Archie Marshek Art Direction by Roland Anderson Hal Pereira Set Decoration by Robert R. Benton George R. Nelson Costume Design by Edith Head Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA (studio) A stakeout for a prowler on a fog-shrouded night at a large apartment house goes tragically wrong. Sgt. Tom Valens spies a man walking speedily from the apartment and tells him to stop, but the man flees, is eventually cornered, and pulls a gun on Valens. Valens shoots the man and he dies, but his gun disappears in the darkness, and a search by other police cannot locate it. For Tom Valens, the nightmare is just beginning, for the man he shot is Doctor James Rustin, a respected physician who has won the admiration of much of the city and who has earned international notice for mercy flights to Baja, Mexico. Charged with manslaughter, Valens appears guilty, but Rustin pulled a gun, a gun that somehow disappeared, and with no one else on his side it becomes Valens' mission to unearth the full truth about James Rustin. At every corner Valens is stymied in his investigation of Rustin, but his digging unearths disturbing discrepencies in Doctor Rustin's life. He also incurs the wrath of an ally of Rustin who tries to kill Valens in his house and commits a murder that police believe is the work of Valens. Facing life imprisonment, Valens must betray his former partner as he finds the clue needed to clear his name, but one other factor must be dealt with in, ironically, a cemetery. Warning Shot is a 1967 drama film directed and produced by Buzz Kulik about a police sergeant who kills a man while on a stakeout, then must prove that it was self-defense. The screenplay by Mann Rubin was based on the novel 711 - Officer Needs Help by Whit Masterson. David Janssen stars as the accused officer, with supporting performances from Ed Begley, Keenan Wynn, Joan Collins, Stefanie Powers, Sam Wanamaker, George Grizzard, Carroll O'Connor, Steve Allen, Eleanor Parker, Walter Pidgeon, George Sanders and Lillian Gish. Baseball stars Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale signed to appear in this movie during their 1966 holdout, but never made it onto the screen when both agreed to contracts with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Filming took place between the third and fourth seasons of Janssen's television series The Fugitive. The script was written by Mann Rubin, who had authored the Fugitive episode "A Taste of Tomorrow", while the film was directed by Buzz Kulik with a jazz score by Jerry Goldsmith. It was released by Paramount Pictures. Los Angeles police sergeant Tom Valens is on a stakeout near an upscale apartment complex when he is forced to defend himself from a mysterious figure who aims a gun at him on a foggy night. The trouble is, the dead man turns out to be a prominent physician and pillar of the community, Dr. James Ruston, and there is no gun to be found. Valens is in trouble with his department, specifically Roy Klodin, his captain. It doesn't help that Valens is still carrying the memory of having been shot while on duty nearly a year earlier. He is placed under suspension by the force while Frank Sanderman, a prosecutor with a grudge against trigger-happy cops, files manslaughter charges against this one. Setting out on his own to clear his name, Valens meets resistance from many including Ruston's financial adviser, Calvin York, and the doctor's alcoholic and flirtatious widow, Doris Ruston. Also unwilling to be of help to Valens is the doctor's nurse, Liz Thayer, who knew Ruston only as a humanitarian who made many trips to Mexico to unselfishly aid people in need. The controversial cop's lone defender in public is acerbic television personality Perry Knowland, who turns out to be doing so only to increase his viewership (upon learning this Valens acidly tells Knowland, "Be against me, I'd feel cleaner"). Even the elderly lady whom Dr. Ruston often came to visit, Alice Willows, speaks only with devotion to the doctor, who was very kind to her beloved dog. While trying to find some reason why Ruston would have been skulking in the fog near the apartments and brandishing a gun, Valens meets Alice Willows again after her dog passes away and she has him buried with all of his toys at a nearby pet cemetery. Among the few offering a sympathetic ear are his estranged wife, Joanie, and another apartment resident, Walt Cody, a playboy pilot. Cody volunteers to fly Valens down to Mexico to see first-hand why Dr. Ruston commuted there so often. Complications arise when Liz Thayer is found dead in Ruston's ransacked office, obliging Valens' partner, Sgt. Ed Musso, to try to place his friend under arrest. But upon learning that Ruston's office was ransacked, Valens realizes what has been happening, and also what happened to the gun he knew he saw Rustin brandishing. He overpowers Musso, locks him in his closet, then goes to the pet cemetery where, once again, Valens must decide whether to pull the trigger on someone who is pointing a gun directly at him.

#lillian gish #warning shot #1967

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melaniemartinezconfessions · 7 years

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NAC The "friends" in Mad Hatter, those things that look like dolls dressed as plushies, aren't there some dolls like that in real life? Like I know I've seen them around (I follow a bunch of fairy kei blogs and these would be popular in them), but I don't know what they're called.

Aww they're Ruston dolls! I adore them myself. They're a bit expensive but you can find the toys secondhand, through eBay, depop, and etsy, as well as antiquing or local thrift stores-Admin Emma

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blackheartbuck · 5 years

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Luna loves her toys! (at Ruston, Louisiana) https://www.instagram.com/p/BvAi_z3HVDb/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=v1quvv2maven

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verakohr92 · 7 years

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gsquaredweddings · 4 years

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Early in August, these two amazing women hit the jackpot – not just by marrying each-other, but because they planned their wedding for just two days shy of the latest COVID restrictions on weddings. And boy, are we glad they did – their Woodland Meadow Farm wedding was beautiful!

How did the two of you meet?

We met while working at Target together. We started out as just peers, working at different store locations. We were both in the same field though, so we communicated often regarding different cases we were working on or other things related to our work. Jen later convinced Erica to come work at her store and we became friends. After that, it was all UP hill 🙂

And now, all of the awesome proposal details:

Jen’s Proposal to Erica: Jen planned a night out with Erica’s sisters to one of the Christmas light displays in Seattle. Erica loves everything Christmas, especially Christmas lights! The display included a section that had white icicle lights hanging down that you could walk through; almost like a maze. There were photographers there for the event and they asked to take a picture of all of us. After Erica and her sisters had their picture taken, Jen came to the front of the group and got down on one knee and asked Erica to marry her – in front of Santa himself!

Erica’s Proposal to Jen: Due to a lot of things being closed, and restrictions on where you could go, Erica planned a home proposal. Erica’s sister took Jen out of the house so Erica could prepare. Erica laid out rose petals, tealight candles, and made a heart out of rocks in the living room. The kids kept it a secret and enjoyed being a part of it. Jen came home and Erica was waiting in the middle of the heart.

Is there a special reason you chose Woodland Meadow Farms as your wedding venue?

We both LOVE the outdoors; hiking, camping, etc. Erica especially loves trees! So, after walking through the venue, it just felt right. It has that woodsy feeling, without having to climb to the top of a mountain!

What inspired your wedding clothing choices?

Blue is both of our favorite colors and we went with a palette that would complement the feather bowtie that Jen will be wearing. We also both love movies so Jen and Jacob will be having matching socks – they are green and have the toy soldiers from Toy Story. Jen’s bridal party will also have other Pixar themed socks.

Is there anything special planned?

There will be a unity glass ceremony that involve their kids Ashton and Jacob. We will be pouring 4 different colored glass crystals together. The glass crystals will then be sent off to a glassblowing studio and blown into a one-of-a-kind vase and ring bowl.

What are your most anticipated moments?

The first look and the first introduction at the ceremony as wives (finally!).

If we found you on a day-off or weekend, what would you be doing?

At Point Ruston with the kids. The kids would be riding around on their scooters and everyone enjoying ice cream.

Woodland Meadow Farm Wedding Vendor Team

Venue: Woodland Meadow Farms

DJ: Blyssful Sounds

Officiant: Best Day Ever Officiant

Florist: Pine & Petal Weddings

Decor Rentals: Sweet Buffet Lady

Hair & Makeup: Friends of the Brides

Photography: GSquared Weddings Photography

Woodland Meadow Farm Wedding Vendor Team

Venue: Woodland Meadow Farms

DJ: Blyssful Sounds

Officiant: Best Day Ever Officiant

Florist: Pine & Petal Weddings

Decor Rentals: Sweet Buffet Lady

Hair & Makeup: Friends of the Brides

Photography: GSquared Weddings Photography

August Woodland Meadow Farm Wedding Early in August, these two amazing women hit the jackpot - not just by marrying each-other, but because they planned their wedding for just two days shy of the latest COVID restrictions on weddings.

#covid #farm wedding #lesbian wedding #lgbtq #lgbtq friendly #lgbtq friendly photographer #lgbtq wedding #same sex wedding #succulents #woodland meadow #woodland meadow farms

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oovitus · 6 years

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Podcast 154 | Minimal

By Joshua Fields Millburn & Ryan Nicodemus · Follow: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram

In this episode of The Minimalists Podcast, Joshua & Ryan answer a bunch of questions about minimalism, including:

Which revenue stream should I focus my energy on to ensure my company is profitable?

What project are you focused on to complete within the next year?

Should I spend more money for an apartment with an extra room for a home office?

How does having a child change one’s minimalist practices?

How do I find happiness when I’m stressed?

What can I do to minimize more quickly?

How do you consistently deliver practical and valuable advice?

How do I learn to push through discomfort?

Why do you do what you do?

How do I create a company while remaining true to my minimalist values?

How do I stay true to my minimalist values through a significant financial windfall?

Do minimalist practices remain consistent throughout the world?

Video Stream

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Apple Podcasts · Google Play · Soundcloud · Spotify · MP3

Minimal Maxims

Joshua & Ryan’s pithy, shareable, less-than-140-character responses. Find more quotes from The Minimalists at MinimalMaxims.com.

“Creating is creating, regardless of your location.”

“Happiness is ephemeral, and if you’re always chasing ephemeral things, then you’re always going to feel the pang of discontent.”

“Help people solve problems and the money will follow.”

“Money may be a passenger in the vehicle, but it’s never allowed in the driver’s seat.”

Mentioned in This Episode

Patreon: The Minimalists

Added Value: Dying Star Ruston Kelly

Added Value: Is This Thing Cursed? Alkaline Trio

Added Value: “Jericho” Ruston Kelly

Book: As a Decade Fades

Book: Essential

Book: Everything That Remains

Book: Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook

Book: Minimalism: Live a Meaningful Life

Book: On Writing

Book: Side Hustle

Book: Smart Money, Smart Kids

Book: The Discomfort Zone

Book: The Pale King

Coffee: Bandit Coffee Co.

Contribute: Gem City Market

Essay: Live Like Stan

Essay: Your Five Most Precious Resources

Explore: Values

Instagram: Podcast Shawn

Instagram: Jessica Williams

Listen: Gestalt Spill Canvas

Listen: Sigur Ros

Listen: “Sooner or Later” Mat Kearney

Podcast: 10% Happier Podcast

Podcast: Rob Bell

Podcast: Seth Godin

Podcast: Hobbies

Podcast: Sam Harris

Podcast: Side Hustle School

Podcast: Spouses

Podcast: The Kevin Rose Show

Podcast: Values

Subscribe: The Minimalists

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Watch: How Many Toys Should Your Kids Have?

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This episode was produced by Podcast Shawn. Our theme music was written and performed by Peter Doran. Our podcast is completely free, so if you find value in these episodes, please consider donating a dollar. Your donations help keep this podcast advertisement-free (because advertisements suck).

If you’d like to comment on the podcast, you can leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Not only do we read every review, but positive reviews also help our simple-living message reach more ears.

Questions? Leave a voicemail at 406-219-7839, or send a voice memo to [email protected]. We’ll also answer lightning-round questions from Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

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The post Podcast 154 | Minimal appeared first on The Minimalists.

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junker-town · 7 years

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Is Louisiana Tech football done being overlooked in 2017?

Skip Holtz’s Bulldogs have been the bridesmaids, and now plenty of other programs are getting more attention.

This preview was originally published on March 13 and has since been updated.

Back when I was in junior high, I was in one of those Saturday bowling leagues in my small Oklahoma hometown. I wasn’t amazing, but I was good enough to finish second overall, post the second-best single-game high, and roll the second-highest number of strikes.

My team finished second.

In all, including teams, newcomers, etc., probably about 10 or 12 kids got trophies. I did not get one, as I didn’t finish first in any one category.

I like to pretend I’ve moved on from this disappointment. It would be embarrassing to admit that I’m still a little bit miffed.

I’m not going to say Louisiana Tech head coach Skip Holtz feels my bowling runner-up’s pain, but one has to figure he’s tired of waiting his turn.

In 2014, after a 4-8 debut in Ruston, he and his Bulldogs stormed to nine wins and a C-USA West title. Tech came three points short of a dominant Marshall and settled for a 17-point thwacking of Illinois in the Heart of Dallas Bowl.

In 2015, the Bulldogs' comeback got overpowered by an even bigger comeback when Southern Miss surged to nine wins, and with a knockout in Ruston on Thanksgiving weekend, stole the West title. Tech settled for a 19-point win over Arkansas State in the New Orleans Bowl.

In 2016, the Bulldogs began 1-3 but ripped off seven straight wins to take the division, beating a fantastic Western Kentucky in the process. But they lost at WKU in the C-USA title game and had to settle for a thrilling, 48-45 win over Navy in the Armed Forces Bowl.

WKU's Jeff Brohm got hired away by Purdue, and Southern Miss' Todd Monken left for the NFL. FAU and FIU made headlines by hiring headliners Lane Kiffin and Butch Davis to run their moribund programs. Frank Wilson is making waves at UTSA.

This conference is making impressive hires and grabbing headlines. Meanwhile, Holtz is waiting his turn in the C-USA spotlight despite 27 wins, three bowl titles, and two division titles in three years.

Of course, it would help if he could get both sides of the ball fully functioning at once. The offense has been on a steady ascent, moving from 46th in Off. S&P+ in 2014 to 30th in 2015 and 11th in 2016. Meanwhile, the defense has plummeted. From its No. 35 peak in 2014, it fell to 80th, then 113th.

The offense doesn’t have much more room to rise, and the defense doesn’t have much more room to fall. Which unit regresses (or progresses) to the mean more in 2017?

The time for Holtz and Tech to pounce is now. WKU should still be strong but has a potential reset with a new head coach. MTSU might have the best mid-major one-two punch in the country but has defensive questions. Southern Miss is as volatile as ever. ODU might not have a quarterback. UTSA hasn’t completely risen yet. FAU and FIU are just starting out. Marshall is attempting a rebound.

Conference USA is there for the taking. Can Tech take it?

2016 in review

2016 Louisiana Tech statistical profile.

Louisiana Tech was a well-rounded, dominant force for about half the season and a walking shootout for the other half. That made for plenty of crazy games but also a feeling of missed opportunity.

First four games (1-3) — Avg. score: LT 38, Opp 36 | Avg. percentile performance: 42% (~top 75) | Yards per play: LT 7.2, Opp 6.1

Next seven games (7-0) — Avg. score: LT 50, Opp 27 | Avg. percentile performance: 74% (~top 35) | Yards per play: LT 8.4, Opp 5.0

Last three games (1-2) — Avg. score: Opp 47, LT 39 | Avg. percentile performance: 28% (~top 90) | Yards per play: Opp 7.3, LT 6.1

The national average for yards per play hovered in the 5.8 range, but in only two games did Tech average under 6.4. This was a dynamic, ridiculous, consistent offense that had a high cruising altitude and a stratospheric peak.

The problem was that the defense was more like a supernova. It began with an excellent performance against Arkansas and manhandled middling C-USA offenses. But it also got lit up by any passing game with a pulse. Texas Tech averaged 8.4 yards per play and scored 59 points. MTSU: 7 yards per play and 38 points. WKU in two games: 7.5 yards per play and 110 points.

Despite a decent pass rush and a secondary loaded with upperclassmen, the Tech pass defense was woefully inefficient, and the defense bent too much to be considered a bend-don’t-break unit. And it distracted us from how incredible this offense was.

The offense now replaces a 4,600-yard passer and two NFL-caliber receivers.

Offense

Full advanced stats glossary.

It’s hard to find something Louisiana Tech’s offense wasn’t really damn good at, so let’s start with this: What did Southern Miss and Arkansas do? The Golden Eagles and Razorbacks were the only two defenses to even marginally control the attack. What stood out about those two?

For Arkansas, the answer was easy: avoid Ryan Higgins. Louisiana Tech’s quarterback was arrested on charges of DWI and speeding in early August, and redshirt freshman J’Mar Smith got his first career start in Fayetteville. He wasn’t awful; he threw a pick and took three sacks. But he also completed 19 of 31 passes for 212 yards and rushed six times for 30 yards.

Once Higgins returned the next week, the offense was almost untouchable. But Southern Miss was able to do the other thing that could slow the Bulldogs down: stop the run. The Tech run game was far more efficient than explosive, though that went for the offense as a whole.

Southern Miss held Jarred Craft and Boston Scott to 23 yards on 12 carries, rendering Tech one-dimensional and forcing occasional mistakes from Higgins. He threw for 246 yards but completed three passes to Golden Eagle defenders. USM took a 39-17 lead and cruised.

That only two of 14 opponents could slow Tech down was impressive. But the way those two did it has to be a little disconcerting heading into 2017.

Higgins and star receivers Trent Taylor and Carlos Henderson (combined: 306 targets, 219 catches, 3,354 yards, and 31 touchdowns — yes, this is just from last year, not their entire careers) were absurdly productive, and now they’re gone. That puts a lot of pressure on both Smith and the run game.

Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

Jarred Craft

Of course, if there’s one thing Holtz and Tech have proved, it’s that they can handle turnover on offense. Following 2014’s breakthrough, the Bulldogs had to replace 3,400-yard passer Cody Sokol and an all-conference tackle. They improved.

Following 2015, they had to replace quarterback Jeff Driskel, all-world playmaker Kenneth Dixon, and coordinator Tony Petersen. They improved.

So who’s next, then? Even if there’s a step backward in 2017, we should probably assume that second-year coordinator Todd Fitch will have some toys. Who will that be?

J’Mar Smith wasn’t asked to do much after the season opener, but he did complete 61 percent of his passes in an SEC stadium in his debut, and he is a former star recruit. He might be ready for big-time play. And if he is, that’s great news. After three straight years of starting a senior quarterback, Smith could provide some continuity if he sticks. [Update: He better be, because backups Price Wilson and Jack Abraham have since transferred.]

Boston Scott. I said the Tech game was grounded in efficiency, but that’s senior Craft’s doing. The 213-pounder averaged 5.6 yards per carry but didn’t bring much efficiency. Scott, on the other hand, is electric. Over the last two seasons, the 5’6 mighty mite has rushed 104 times for 790 yards. We don’t know how much of a load he can carry, but the absence of Taylor and Henderson might force Fitch to get creative in getting him the ball more while still feeding Craft.

Teddy Veal and Adrian Hardy. Veal, a former Tulane star recruit from Bridge City (La.), transferred when Curtis Johnson was fired. He caught 88 passes and scored six times in two years for an otherwise destitute Tulane offense, and in terms of athleticism, he’s got all you’re looking for. Hardy signed with Oklahoma and is one of the taller players in an otherwise short-but-speedy receiving corps. Star freshman Jaiden Cole might merit a mention, too.

Alfred Smith, Kam McKnight, and Rhashid Bonnette. This trio of 2016 backups produced when given the opportunity. They combined for 90 targets, 53 catches, 696 yards, and four touchdowns, and they’re all former mid-three-star recruits. At least one will likely produce breakout numbers.

Jaqwis Dancy. Actually, I have no idea what Dancy might contribute this year, but the three-star sophomore kicked cancer’s ass this offseason, and I felt that was worth mentioning.

It’s hard to worry about the skill positions, both because of the obvious potential and because of Louisiana Tech’s recent history. But if something does slow the Bulldogs down more than expected, it might be the line. Two starters return, including mammoth all-conference guard O’Shea Dugas, but two more all-conference guys (tackle Darrell Brown, center Joseph Brunson) are gone.

Of all the names I just mentioned, by the way, only Craft and Scott are seniors. The 2017 offense might take a step back; the 2018 offense should be ridiculous.

Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

Teddy Veal

Defense

The Tech offense has seamlessly replaced star quarterbacks, running backs, receivers, and coaches with equally functional pieces. The defense hasn’t quite had that same luxury. In 2014, new coordinator Manny Diaz inherited an experienced, hungry front seven and utilized it perfectly. Tech improved 74 spots in Def. S&P+ in a single season and exploded after an iffy September.

A 2015 unit that had to replace Diaz, the top three linebackers, and four of the top six linemen struggled. And in 2016, Tech double-dipped. The top two linemen, top three linebackers, and three of four defensive backs again had to be replaced, and the new batch wasn’t ready.

The run defense was decent. Tech was a bit too flexible near the line but gave up only 13 rushes of 20-plus yards (19th in FBS).

The pass defense bombed. The Bulldogs allowed a 65 percent completion rate, and while you can get by with inefficiency if you’re preventing big plays, Tech allowed 58 passes of 20-plus yards; only three teams allowed more.

Granted, the linebacking corps has to reload, having lost three of last year’s top four. But the Bulldog defense boasts more continuity than it has since 2014, and there are experienced playmakers at every level. These playmakers were all a part of last year’s defense, but continuity and experience can be quite the panacea.

As always seems to be the case, Tech is loaded at end. Jaylon Ferguson is maybe the conference’s best pass rusher; he had 14.5 sacks last year and forced four fumbles, and among senior Deldrick Canty, sophomore Eric Kendzior, and redshirt freshman (and former star recruit) Willie Baker, he should always have a scary complement. Meanwhile, though the tackle position isn’t blessed with as much girth as in years past, a trio of juniors (Jordan Bradford, Cedric Johnson, Keonatye Garner) should provide quality.

Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images

Deldrick Canty

At the back, we don’t know about big-play prevention, but we know Tech has a play-maker in senior Secdrick Cooper. He had 6.5 tackles for loss and seven breakups last year. Coordinator Blake Baker seems torn between aggression and bend-don’t-break principles — Tech was better at big-play prevention (at least, with the ground game) than anything else last year, but Tech defensive backs recorded 10 sacks, which is as much as you’ll ever see. Regardless, Cooper’s fun to watch, and senior safety DaMarion King could be ready to a nice step forward in his second post-JUCO season.

Perhaps the most important player: cornerback Ephraim Kitchen. The junior combined 4.5 TFLs with four breakups in just eight games last year, but in two seasons he’s been unable to stay on the field. Most of Tech’s best defensive performances — the Arkansas game, plus the midseason surge of quality — happened with him on the field. Most of the horrendous performances (Texas Tech, MTSU, the WKU games, Navy) took place with him on the sideline.

Sean Pokorny-USA TODAY Sports

Ephraim Kitchen

Special Teams

Kicker Jonathan Barnes was asked to attempt a lot of longer field goals and went 9-for-12 on kicks of 40-plus. The best-case scenario is that he is asked to attempt fewer field goals because the Tech offense is scoring touchdowns; regardless, he appears to have one of the C-USA’s better legs.

With Barnes, Tech’s unit should be decent. But as much as it hurts to lose Trent Taylor and Carlos Henderson from the offense, it hurts almost as much in special teams. Neither were incredibly efficient, but they were all sorts of explosive. Henderson averaged 32 yards per kick return with two scores, and Taylor averaged 10.5 yards per punt return. They set the bar high.

2017 outlook

2017 Schedule & Projection Factors

Date Opponent Proj. S&P+ Rk Proj. Margin Win Probability 2-Sep Northwestern State NR 36.5 98% 9-Sep Mississippi State 30 -11.5 25% 16-Sep at Western Kentucky 51 -12.0 24% 23-Sep at South Carolina 36 -14.7 20% 30-Sep South Alabama 108 8.4 69% 7-Oct at UAB 130 20.3 88% 21-Oct Southern Miss 84 2.8 56% 28-Oct at Rice 120 6.4 64% 4-Nov North Texas 106 8.2 68% 11-Nov Florida Atlantic 99 6.1 64% 18-Nov at UTEP 126 8.9 70% 25-Nov UTSA 91 4.3 60%

Projected S&P+ Rk 82 Proj. Off. / Def. Rk 48 / 114 Projected wins 7.1 Five-Year S&P+ Rk 2.8 (59) 2- and 5-Year Recruiting Rk 89 / 86 2016 TO Margin / Adj. TO Margin* 1 / -3.3 2016 TO Luck/Game +1.5 Returning Production (Off. / Def.) 43% (26%, 59%) 2016 Second-order wins (difference) 9.6 (-0.6)

This season could go in quite a few different directions. It’s easy to assume regression for the offense and progress for the defense, but the amount of each could make the difference between a six-win season and a long-awaited Conference USA title.

I’m optimistic. The defense finally has a little continuity, and if Ephraim Kitchen is able to stay on the field, the secondary should boast stability. And while it will be hard to maintain last year’s offensive pace, I would be surprised if the Tech offense fell out of the Off. S&P+ top 40.

The schedule takes shape like last year’s. With games against Mississippi State and South Carolina sandwiching a trip to WKU, it’s possible that even a strong Tech team begins 1-3. But even while projecting the Bulldogs a pessimistic 82nd overall, S&P+ forecasts them as favorites in each of their final eight games. The top two other C-USA West contenders — Southern Miss (October 21), UTSA (November 25) — have to come to Ruston.

C-USA is getting its act together. If Holtz is going to steal his moment, it might have to come in 2017 or 2018, and I think his odds are solid.

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