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findasongblog · 4 years

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Still looking for Christmas presents? What about one (or all 😉) of these EPs?

Jericho Noguera - Get It By The Feel

Jericho’s Noguera’s first full band record ‘Get It by the Feel’ has been over a year in the making, the track listing ‘Future Project’, ‘What Do You Really Mean’, ‘High’, ‘The Moon Against the Black Sky’, and ‘The Sun’ll Come Up’ features a unique blend of jazz, soul, and psychedelia. The EP was recorded and produced by Jericho at home in Birmingham.

‘With the new songs on the EP I’d been worrying that they might take some patience to catch. ‘High’ f or example is nearly six minutes long, and builds up slowly over two repeating chords. ‘The Moon Against the Black Sky’ is another one you kind of have to sink into, I think I'm asking the listener to give a lot to the songs, and that’s something I don’t expect everyone to do. I kept things sparse as a result of the limitations I had with recording, most of the songs have full unedited takes on each instrument, so it’s not one hundred percent perfect either. But ultimately I think that’s what’s given the songs their character. As cliche of a realisation as it is, I think it’s the imperfections that have given the songs life. These days people are compressing the shit out of their audio, among other mainstream habits, so I struggled with the idea of sacrificing a competitive mix against one that the songs really need. But I'm over it now, so here’s the record. (press release)

A Kind Of Man - A Kind Of Man

Danish A Kind of Man is Bjørn Rosenquist’s solo project and his self titled debut EP was released November 29th.

A Kind of Man’s first single ‘Teddy Love’ achieved airplay on Danish national radio. Following this Bjørn and his band - A Kind of Band - have played several shows in Denmark, also as supporting act for Australian POND. Shortly after, Bjørn was contacted by renowned director Meeto who created a stunning music video for ‘Teddy Love’. This video was nominated for Best Music Video at The True Award 2019.

In February 2020 another music video by Meeto will be released for the track ‘FLIP’ off the debut EP.

Acclaimed artist Nicolai Bruun has made an animation video for A Kind of Man’s latest single ‘Franceen’. Bjørn stars as “Franceen” - an androgynous figure who represents the offbeat emotions in the song. The singles ‘Teddy Love’ and ‘Franceen’ have both been included in the soundtrack for Kaspar Astrud Scrøders documentary ‘Don’t Give A Fox’ which revolves around a group of urban skater girls.

“Hopefully my music sounds like lightly moisted cotton panties on a woman lying half asleep in the sand on a stinking hot beach.”- A Kind of Man (press release)

Junodream - Isn’t It Lovely (To Be Alone)

While the track’s atmospherics vary dramatically on ‘Isn’t It Lovely (To Be Alone)’, the songs are all thematically linked. They’re a collection of vignettes in the life of an ordinary young man, whose dedication to making the best of his position in life masks the turmoil that lies just under the surface. Think Gregor Samsa from Kafka’s The Metamorphosis dropped into a modern metropolis. The topics that Junodream address are drawn from the band’s personal experiences. But they’re frustrations which are common amongst people in their early twenties: anxiety; the financial demands of debt and rent; lack of fulfillment at work; insecurity in relationships; and an overwhelming lack of control. Junodream like to see the funny side in things, and these themes are injected with a wry sense of humour. It becomes a catch-22 situation: you’re constrained by the very things that you want to escape. Ed explains the meaning behind the EP’s title track ‘Isn’t It Lovely (To Be Alone), “The track is about a failed relationship in free-fall. It’s centred round a sordid night out where things break down, hidden tensions come out the woodwork and you just want to go home”. (press release)

The Hollow Ends - The EP II

St. Louis gypsy-folk act The Hollow Ends announced on October 28 the release of “THE EP II,” a brand-new 5-song album.

The new EP features 5 previously unreleased songs, including the first single “What,” a gypsy folk tune you might hear at a creepy carnival plucked out of the 1930s that you don't feel entirely safe at, which was released on October 30. Kick drum, tambourine, upright bass and gypsy jazz-influenced guitars drive the song forward, and Vaudevillian 3-part harmonies and a Django-style guitar solo add to the circus vibe of this rickety Ferris Wheel tune.

The EP also features “Little Devil,” an indulgent gypsy/folk/rock/punk track from a traveling Tim Burton-on-MDMA circus, and “Annie Pardami,” a twangy alt-folk romp with upright bass and melodica. These, the 2nd and 3rd singles from the record, were released on November 19 and 28, respectively. The record was tracked and produced by Zachary Schwartz, the brains of The Hollow Ends operation. Ben Majchrzak of St. Louis-based Native Sound mixed and mastered the record. (press release)

Chavez Cartel - Confidence Is All I’m Taking Home

Confidence Is All I'm Taking Home is an assertive representation of the Chavez Cartel spirit of self belief and persistence to overcome obstacles, doubts and negativecriticism; pushing themselves beyond their limits to continue evolving as individuals and collectively as a band. Chavez Cartel wear their hearts on their sleeves with this EP,expressing genuine emotion on each track.

Teaming up again with producer Govinda Doyle; the EP comprises of 5 new songs, including the recent single 'Love On The Run'.

The title of the EP derives from lyrics of the first track 'Scum and Fears'; "Confidence is all I'm taking home. Hard earned like ya fathers gold. I'd pay for pain but you bring so much for free." To grow we must accept who we are, flaws and all; embrace every opportunity we're given, make mistakes to learn harsh lessons and become a better version of ourselves.

''Different Underneath' is a battle between doubt and self belief wrestling it out for pole position. Overall it's an encouragement to stop doubting yourself, bite the bullet and pursue your aspirations with confidence. "I know you're weary, I know you're teary. But wipe an eye and have a wonder underneath."

The track 'For Better Or Worse' is a love song about making it through all the ups and downs that come with a romantic relationship and the commitment associated with the vow 'till death do us part'. "Her heart and soul belong to him and his belongs to her. It's written in the stars and in his words. For better or worse." "She's everywhere, he's all around, she's in the air, he's on the ground."

To bring the EP to an end is the live acoustic track 'See You Again'. A dark and gothic take on relationships, focusing on broken promises and empty words. Are you guilty of saying things and failing to follow them through?

Chavez Cartel are proud of their achievement to bridge gaps this year despite the knock-backs. They have proven to themselves that self confidence is paramount to achieve success and to celebrate all wins in the right direction, positive progress is key. (press release)

#music #music blog #indie music #alternative music #EPs #Jericho Noguera #Get it by the Feel #A Kind Of Man #Junodream #Isn't It Lovely (To Be Alone)#The Hollow Ends #The EP II #Chavez Cartel #Confidence Is All I'm Taking Home #indie #alternative #find a song

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vskpop · 6 years

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My 30 favourite songs of 2017

YouTube playlist ⋅ Spotify playlist

30. Don’t Recall – KARD

I’m upset with myself that last year I didn’t put Oh NaNa in my best of 2016 list because, reader, it was: it ended up as my second most played song of 2017. I didn’t listen to the follow-up Don’t Recall quite as much, but it was the song that cemented my love for KARD’s hip-hop/dancehall/pop jumble. Whoever is selecting their songs has such a flair for dance songs with a melancholy vibe, and Don’t Recall is unparalleled so far. It’s still too rare to get proper idol groups that are mixed gender, and it’s almost impossible for them to succeed. I’m so pleased that international success has been enough to keep KARD alive, even though their numbers are still abysmal at home. Live: M Countdown 17/07 – Yu Huiyeol's Sketchbook 30/08 Other songs of note: Rumor – Trust Me

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29. Heaven and Earth – Laboum

I went through a phase in which I found Laboum adorable, and then for some reason I stopped liking them as much (the reason is that ZN gets on my nerves, I’m sorry, I know). I still listened to their album Miss This Kiss for the nostalgia effect – and because lead single Hwi Hwi is damn good – and I just fell in love with 천지차이. As far as I can tell, it was never performed live, or at least not in venues where it was filmed. I hope that this kind of song keeps being given to them, and that eventually it becomes their lead single. They deserve to take a break from the cuteness. Other songs of note: Hwi Hwi

28. Tomorrow, Today – JJ Project

I realise that I already said it when JJ Project made their comeback a few months ago, but Bounce is a modern classic in the trashiest way possible. The styling and sound that Jinyoung and JB went for in 2017 are completely different from their origins, but just as great. Tomorrow, Today is what I love about GOT7’s Fly with a dash of my favourite JYP group, DAY6. They get to show off the vocal skills they developed since we last saw them as a duo and, most of all, their range of wistful looks. Also, I love that for once they didn’t have to sing about love and how right a girl is, but rather about having to face tough decisions as they grow up. Live: M Countdown 17/08 – Genie showcase Other songs of note: Coming Home – On & On

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27. Palette – IU ft. G-Dragon

I don’t know why, I’ve never been a huge fan of IU until I watched Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo and found a sudden connection with her that I had never felt before. Her most recent album has helped bringing together my love for actress IU with singer IU. In an industry where being honest and clever is nobody’s priority, she manages to sound real and in control of what she does without abandoning her pop roots. I’m not sure many artists would manage to make an introspective song sound so pleasant and calm. Live: Inkigayo 23/04 – Music Bank 28/04 Other songs of note: Can’t Love You Anymore ft. Oh Hyuk

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26. Archangels Of The Sephiroth – Stellar

If there had to be a swan song for Stellar, I’m glad it was Archangels Of The Sephiroth. With two members having already left and the other two on the way out, this was 100% the last single they put out with the formation we knew and loved, and we can’t even blame them for leaving. It’s a fact that this doesn’t have anything to do with their previous concepts, but I love the pseudo-satanic, pseudo-mystical vibe and I would have loved for them to keep going on this path. Archangels Of The Sephiroth gets more interesting with every listen, and the video is creepier with each view (bathtub of blood anyone?). As the song says, we really did love them till the end. Live: Inkigayo 09/07 – Music Bank 07/07

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25. Signal – Twice

Signal is by far the best Twice song ever – it’s interesting, kind of weird, and not necessarily super cute. Obviously the majority of the public hated it, and back to Likey we went. I love the bassline pushed right at the front, the dissonant harmonies, the fact that some of the mute members finally got to sing. Of everything they’ve released in 2017 (four comebacks is a lot for anyone) this is the only choice that doesn’t feel safe and completely within their sexy baby wheelhouse. They even get to have a proper storyline in the video, which is a rarity. Live: Show Music Core 03/06 – Inkigayo 21/05 Other songs of note: Knock Knock – 24/7

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24. Wake Me Up – Taeyang

It’s kind of sad to think that this could be the last Taeyang single for years and years. At least it’s a ballad, so we will be able to all cry together when we listen to it after he’s enlisted.This album felt properly his – something that he created and composed, rather than something that was given to him to perform. Not that he’s ever lacked emotion, but Wake Me Up has a depth that is only second to Eyes Nose Lips. Live: Inkigayo 20/08 – Fantastic Duo 03/09 Other songs of note: White Night – So Good

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23. Move – Taemin

This is possibly (definitely) the sexiest song of 2017. Taemin has such an eye for taking trends from the West and making them current for Korean audiences, as well as constantly changing his image while staying true to himself. I can’t get enough of the elegant electropop of Move, with the bass and the voice parts creating one of the sexiest musical combinations of 2017. Taemin carries a song that could have been much less interesting in the hands of an artist with less expressiveness. I don’t know if it’s the thought of the choreography, but this song always makes me blush a little. Live: Seoul Fashion Week – M Countdown 19/10 Other songs of note: – Rise – Day and Night

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22. Untitled 2014 – G-Dragon

If a ballad from Taeyang was expected, it certainly wasn’t from G-Dragon. I’m not sure how much truth there is the gimmick of titling the album with his real name and saying that he was finally stepping away from his persona, but Untitled 2014 feels painfully raw and real. Whatever happens from now on – after all the members of Bigbang enlist and eventually return to music – this album and this song will be a milestone in his career, and the perfect summary of what he’s done in the past eleven years. Live: ACT III M.O.T.T.E in Taipei 08/10 Other songs of note: Bullshit

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21. Change Up – Seventeen

You could take any random combination of Seventeen members and they would be able to put up an incredible show for you. This has been proven over and over by them, but I think that the Change Up subunit – the leaders of the standard subunits – has proven this definitively. I wouldn’t have thought of this song for them in a million years, yet they perform it convincingly and make it the catchiest Seventeen song of this year. Also, who knew that Woozi could have such swagger? Live: Mnet showcase Other songs of note: Don’t Wanna Cry – Clap – Habit – Rocket

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20. Rollin’ – Brave Girls

Every time I say “tropical house”, I add “drink!”. It has been so omnipresent in k-pop this year that it has been impossible to avoid. I skipped over Rollin’ the first few times I stumbled upon it because there were enough marimbas in my life, but I gave into the hype and this ended up being one of the most played songs of my year. As of last year, Brave Girls have an entirely new line-up – and yes, they did deserve a new name – and I hope that they will be the new bastion of sexy concepts now that there is no real mid-point between Laysha and cute concepts. Live: M Countdown 03/09 – Show Champion Ep. 219

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19. Never – Produce 101/Wanna One

This technically doesn’t count as a Wanna One song, but I’m pretty sure that if there is a song that symbolizes Produce 101 and the rise of the nation’s boy group, it’s Never . Written by Hui of Pentagon, another of my favourite groups, this song starts quietly, and slowly adds more elements until it gets to one of the best chorus drops of 2017. It made me wish that they had kept it for the final group instead of using it during the programme, and I wasn’t surprised at all when it was re-recorded by the final formation. Live: Wanna One version at KCON LA Other songs of note: Energetic – Burn It Up

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18. Singing In The Rain – Jinsoul (LOONA)

Looking at the sheer amount of material that pre-debut group Loona have released this year gives me palpitations. A million members and subunits filled each month of 2017, and almost all the releases have been excellent – overall, they probably were the best group of the year. Jinsoul’s Singing In The Rain was my favourite song released – not by far, though, seeing the overall quality. I was especially impressed with how they managed to have Jinsoul sing and rap seamlessly, and how the song manages to be sexy without being inappropriate for a very young girl. And, of course, it’s a banger. Other songs of note: Loona released dozens of songs this year, so this is just a tiny selection of my favourites. Eclipse (Kim Lip) – new (Yves) – Sweet Crazy Love (Odd Eye Circle) – Loonatic (Odd Eye Circle) – Sonatine (1/3)

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17. Body Talk – Red Velvet

To me, this is one of the best songs by Red Velvet ever. Only a company like SM could waste it and have it relegated to the b-sides of their mini albums; it’s a fantastic mid-tempo track that showcases the best vocal skills of the group, and allows them to sound about fifteen years older than title track Rookie. At least, in the arc of their three thousand 2017 comebacks, they managed to go from the childish image that they had patented in 2016 to the sultrier “velvet” image they have abandoned ages ago, even if it’s still paired with a “red” song. Other songs of note: Peek-A-Boo – Red Flavour – You Better Know – Would You – Talk To Me

16. Circle’s Dream – Subin (Dalshabet)

Dalshabet haven’t had the best luck in their career. Subin is yet another amazing soloist that was in a group when she released a song, and has now left the label and disbanded her girl group. Seeing her solo by itself, it’s actually had to imagine her as part of bubbly Dalshabet: she is sensual, allusive, and her music is weird and enthralling. I love her voice and I love the ideas she has for herself – ideas that are far removed from traditional k-pop. The elements of this song are few, but she manages to create such a clever repetitive, circular structure with them, echoing the themes of the lyrics and capturing the listener. Subin is technically a solo artist now, so I am hoping we will get to hear much more of this.

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15. Yes No Maybe – Suzy

What makes me mad about Yes No Maybe is that nobody heard it. I can’t imagine how well it would have done if the now officially defunct Miss A would have released it, instead of Suzy now that her popularity is entirely tied to her acting and advertising career. It’s also true that she has always been my favourite Miss A, so it was delightful to see her come out with a debut album that does something interesting and doesn’t package her as the sexy ingenue character that she’s had since the beginning of time. Yes No Maybe strikes the balance between being Latin, dancey song and a more introspective pop piece. Unlike half of her former group, Suzy has signed a new contract with JYP. Here’s hoping she gets to do more excellent, slightly left-field pop music. Live: &Live

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14. A Girl Like Me – Gugudan

It is still surprising that I don’t find the awkward beeping samples in the song insufferable, but the truth is that I love the weirdness and how it’s amplified by the singing parts. I already knew in February that this would be one of my favourite concepts of the year, and it is: there aren’t enough songs about how great the girls are, as opposed to their love interest. It’s not female empowerment, but I have the feeling we can’t get much closer. I love it even more considering how terrible their following comeback was . Live: Music Bank 03/03 – SBS Korea Music Festival

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13. Island – Winner

It goes without saying that Winner is my favourite group in current k-pop, and they can hardly do any wrong in my eyes. However, this entire year could have been a disaster: they had to come back from losing a member who was the main singer and composer for the group. Island has the tropical (drink!) elements of their 2017 hit Really Really, but it’s a bit less conventional, and the video is delightful and incredibly romantic. Live: Inkigayo 06/08 Other songs of note: Really Really

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12. As If It’s Your Last – BLACKPINK

While I find most complaints against YG idiotic, it is absolutely true that having Blackpink release one single song in an entire year is ridiculous. The only good thing is that the song was brilliant, and I’m still not bored of it after having seen it performed at least fifty times. When it came out I found it really frankensteiny, but at this point the structure seems perfectly reasonable and linear to me (Stockholm syndrome at its best). Live: SBS Gayo Daejun – Show Music Core 01/07 Other songs of note: So Hot (Wonder Girls remix)

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11. Cactus – A.C.E

Every year I end up falling in love with one rookie group that will probably not see their third birthday, and in 2017 it was the turn of kings of thighs A.C.E., who singlehandedly resurrected early 90’s eurodance with their debut single Cactus . It was the one of a kind title of their song that attracted me, the weirdness of the thigh dance that drew me in, and everything else that made me stay. They are great singers, charismatic performers and can stand the most high-intensity dance of 2017 without blinking. I am so attached to A.C.E (and Dreamcatcher, full disclosure) that I broke my promise to never watch a survival show again and I am following Mixnine for them. Live: Music Bank 02/06 – Music Bank 26/05

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10. Dinosaur – AKMU

What I love about AKMU is that when they try different genres, they always put so much of them into the song: nobody else could sing Dinosaur apart from them. It’s so simple, yet so full of detail; it’s true that it has EDM elements, but it’s not even remotely a club song. I’m still shocked every time I hear Suhyun hit those dolphin-high notes. The Stranger-Things-y video is still one of the most beautiful releases of this year. Live: Dingo Music Other songs of note: My Darling – Reality

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9. Beautiful – Monsta X

This is yet another song of a overcrowded production that I am totally in love with. The bleeps and bloops leave plenty of space for the members to show their skill – especially Kihyun, who could sing literally anything to me at this point. Just like All In , Beautiful feels like the refined version of the chaotic, loud concepts Monsta X began with. There are raps and aggressive parts, but they are striving for a higher concept than “street urchins” now, and it’s reflected in their music. Live: 2017 MAMA in Japan – Show Champion Ep. 226 Other songs of note: Dramarama – Now or Never – Shine Forever – I’ll Be There

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8. Runaway – Pentagon

Pentagon have already done a lot for being a group that has debuted just over a year ago. Of all these releases, Runaway is my favourite without any doubt: for me it strikes the right balance between the trendy elements that Hui has been carrying over from his Produce 101 successes, and the rougher concepts that Pentagon had to begin with. I find it hooky without being too in your face, and moody without being full-on tragic. Live: Inkigayo 03/12 – Inkigayo 26/11 Other songs of note: Critical Beauty – Violet – Like This – Get That Drink

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7. Boy – EXID

EXID are my everything. I feel bad for choosing Boy as my favourite song they’ve produced this year, when Night Rather Than Day was such a classy, unusual choice for them and Boy is just another dance song. Unfortunately, it’s just monstrously catchy, and my love for it eclipses (get it?) everything else they’ve released. Live: M Countdown 13/04 – Show Champion ep. 224 Other songs of note: Night Rather Than Day – DDD

6. Chase Me – Dreamcatcher

Dreamcatcher are my rookies of the year. After scrapping the cute concept and adding a couple of members, they spent twelve months delivering a series of metal-inspired, horror-themed comebacks that managed to showcase the members’ talents. While all their singles are amazing, there is something special about Chase Me and its chorus, mixing hammering instrumentals and creepy falsettos. There is no doubt that the only way from here is up, and there is nothing gives me as much joy as a girl group with a non-cute concept being (relatively) successful. Much bigger groups and bigger companies have refrained from embarking on international tours but Dreamcatcher have left survival show Mixnine to go on one. I can’t wait to see what these queens do in 2018. Live: M Countdown 19/01 – Music Bank 03/02 Other songs of note: Fly High – Wake Up – Sleep Walking – Good Night – Lucky Strike (Maroon 5 cover)

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5. Love & Affection – Seohyun

Seohyun’s solo came and went almost unnoticed at the beginning of this year: it was smothered by Taeyeon’s releases and the inevitable run-up to SNSD’s tenth anniversary. It really saddens me to no end that, now that Seohyun has left SM Entertainment, she seems to be going for an acting career, when she is such an amazing vocalist with such unique colours. With even her lead single receiving little attention, there was no hope for her b-sides. But Love & Affection is a masterpiece, with a booming chorus and a surprise ending, and what I hope to see if she ever decides to make more music under her new label.

4. I Would – DAY6

There is only one criticism that I have for JYP and DAY6: there must be something else they want to do that’s not singing about love and heartbreak in pretty conventional ways. For the rest, there are only good things to say about the 25 songs they put out this year. It was hard to pick just one song to put in the list, and to be honest there are two or three other candidates I feel kind of guilty for cutting out. Live: EBS Space 11/05 – Kiss The Radio 04/08 Other songs of note: DAY6 released 25 songs this year, so this is just a tiny selection of my favourites. Goodbye Winter – You Were Beautiful – How Can I Say – I Wait – Lean On Me

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3. Good Thing – NCT 127

Despite the complete chaos that surrounds NCT at all times, I keep loving most of their releases (except Cherry Bomb , which I hated): they were my #1 and #3 most played song on Spotify with Good Thing and Limitless respectively. I love Good Thing in itself, but I also wish that NCT didn’t keep circling around that pseudo hip-hop, trappy, appropriative concept they’ve been given a million times and they did something brighter, poppier, that sets them apart from the three hundred hip-hop concepts that are going around without slipping into Astro territory. Live: M Countdown 05/01 – Show Music Core 07/01 Other songs of note: Limitless – 0 Mile – Back 2 U (AM 01:27)

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2. Tendae – Bobby

In an excruciatingly adorable interview for MTV Japan, Bobby says that with his debut album he wanted to show that he can do more than rap, and reveal his romantic side. I had already become obsessed with Bobby’s sing-rapping a long time ago, so Love And Fall gave be nothing but joy. His lyrics show that he’s capable of putting complex emotions in words, and most of all he is also completely able to translate that in his singing. 텐데 is sweet, heartbreaking, sexy. Bobby is one of the best performers of his generation, if not the best. Other songs of note: Runaway – In Love

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1. Gashina – Sunmi

If there is one thing that Sunmi has taught us this year, it’s that there is a life after girl group disbandments. She came back singing about heartbreak and vengeance with dark humour and double entendres, a super-sexy choreography and a vibe that couldn’t be more far from the current sugary girl group trends. Everything about Gashina is iconic, from the song itself to the lyrics to the costumes to the choreography. Sunmi was without any doubt the queen of 2017. Live: Inkigayo 10/09 aka the iconic genderswapped performance – MAMA 2017 ft Taemin – Inkigayo 27/08

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sunnydaleherald · 4 years

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The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Tuesday, April 14 - Wednesday, April 15

ANGEL: She was bitten. I smelled her blood on him. GUNN: Tonight's the second night of the full moon, which means 2 more nights for her to go all dog-girl. ANGEL: 12 hours till moonrise, and then... If she hurts anyone... GUNN: She won't. We'll find her. ANGEL: We better. She won't even know what's happening to her. GUNN: Well, she'll figure it out soon enough. McManus did. The guy you... killed. I pulled his credit card records, cross-checked 'em with police reports. He left his wife and kids a couple years ago, kept moving, staying in the middle of nowhere most of the time. First year or so, a few mangled bodies showed up here and there, but the last 6 months, guy was leaving corpses like bread crumbs. ANGEL: Probably tried to control it for a while then just gave up. Thought he had to fight it alone, ended up with nothing worth fighting for. But this girl, she's not alone. She's got us.

~~Unleashed (Season 5)~~

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

Disillusioned (Xander/Ms. French, T) by badly_knitted

Slayer and The Vamp (Buffy/Spike, T) by MissLuci

Mutual (Buffy/Spike, G) by EllieRose101

Notice (Spike/Xander, E) by scarecrow_horses

Azure (Spike/Xander, M) by scarecrow_horses

Little Stories (Buffy/Faith, T) by anarchxst

Just One Moment (Unnamed Characters, G) by spikesgirl58

Not the One (Lorne, G, Doctor Who xover) by Unfeathered

Cauchemar (Buffy/Faith, G, French Language) by unepersonnerandom

A Second Chance (Buffy/Spike, E) by ElizabethAnnPratt

The Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship (Buffy, G, SPN xover) by Viwiel

Family Reunion (Buffy, G, SPN xover) by Viwiel

Allies in Strange Places (Buffy, G, White Collar xover) by Viwiel

Rupert Giles' embarrassing afterlife (Giles, G,) by Bacner

Secret (Tara, G) by blog-of-a-multitude-of-fandoms

[Chaptered Fiction]

Walker of Night Part 6 (Xander/Spike, T) by madimpossibledreamer

Sent to the Witch Ch. 1-34 (COMPLETE) (Angel, T, Charmed xover) by Marcus_S_Lazarus

The Love of a Vampire Ch. 1-62 (COMPLETE) (Angel, T, Charmed xover) by Marcus_S_Lazarus

The Sire, the Son and the Future Ch. 1-22/? (Angel, T, Charmed xover) by Marcus_S_Lazarus

From the Middle to the Top to the End Ch. 1-3/? (Buffy, G, The Expendables xover) by Viwiel

The U in Robot, Chapter 3 (Buffy/Spike, E) by Girlytek

There's something about Anne, Chapter 11-14 (Buffy/Spike, E) by Frillyria

These Violent Delights, Chapter 1-2 (Buffy/Spike, E) by Touchstoneaf

Quiet Among the Dead, Chapter 17 (Buffy/Spike, T) by Puppet

Fool me Once, Chapter 1 (Buffy/Spike, E) by Miss Marisol

I Won't Forget You, Chapter 3 (Buffy/Spike, E) by incendie

Death Wish, Chapter 3 (Buffy/Spike, E) by Sigyn

Civilized monster, Chapter 21 (Buffy/Spike, E) by Axell

Always Been Bad , Chapter 4 (Buffy/Spike, E) by DarkEternity96

In Death, That I May Live..., Chapter 28 (Buffy/Spike, E) by Irishrose

Speranta Lumii, Chapter 50 (Buffy/Spike, T) by Irishrose

Meant...to be?, Chapter 3 (Buffy/Spike, T) by Micrindle23, Twinkles

Big Bad Boyfriend, Chapter 22 (Buffy/Spike, E) by bewildered

Something For Me, Chapter 5 (Buffy/Spike, E) by Dorians Kitten

The Darkling, Chapter 67 (Buffy/Spike, E) by OffYourBird

The Blind Date, Chapter 1 (Buffy/Spike, T) by Uninterested5678

Spike and Sensibility, Chapter 1 (Buffy/Spike, E) by Frillyria

Brave and the Bold - Sunnydale Ch. 5 (Xander/Willow/Buffy, DCU xover) by redjacobson

courting habits (Buffy, T, MCU xover) by Ava

The Other Side of the Stars Ch. 10 (Buffy, M, SG1 xover) by jezaeiri

[Images, Audio & Video]

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[Reviews & Recaps]

The wedding episode by yetanotherbuffyblog

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Former Cast & Crew Respond To Questions About New Series. by AlphaFoxtrot

Would Luke from the pliot made a good recurring villian if he survived? by Multiple Authors

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Ok... ripper Giles is honestly kind of scary by PhilipSPeep

Best Acting Performances of Season 2 (or 1) by graveyardhang

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#btvs #ats #buffy the vampire slayer #angel the series #fan fiction #fan art #meta

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whumpetywhump · 3 months

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Till The End Of The Moon - Ep. 28

#till the end of the moon #cdrama #grieving #crying #collapse #falling to knees #blood from the mouth #passing out #bai lu #luo yunxi #whump #cwhump #asian whump

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dippedanddripped · 5 years

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A skinny, gap-toothed kid gesticulates wildly in the parking lot of Mike’s Drive-In in Oregon City. Short dreads stick up on either side of his head, like antennae to some alien planet. His friends, in the deep background, hang out of a silver Honda, goofing on one another. But it’s nearly impossible to take your eyes off the skinny kid, with his awkward dance moves and urgent facial expressions. He commands your attention. He needs it.

This is the video for Aminé’s persistently catchy “Caroline,” a half-sung, half-rapped summer anthem that went viral in 2016—the video has more than 200 million YouTube views, and the kid front and center is the artist himself. It’s Aminé’s best-known song, and for most music fans both within his home city of Portland and beyond, it represented the MC/singer/director’s colorful first impression.

Aminé—born Adam Amine Daniel, son of Ethiopian and Eritrean immigrants to Portland and a graduate of Benson High—had been around awhile before “Caroline” hit. His debut album, Odyssey to Me, appeared in 2014, though it has long been expunged from the commercial internet. It begins with a low-key prophecy: “I’m headed to my next show / I gotta go / Headed to that Madison Square / 25,000 fans in the air.” Then an accented female voice repeats “Adam, wake up.” It’s Aminé’s mother, coaxing him back to Portland obscurity. But it’s too late. The dream has taken root.

Aminé hasn’t played Madison Square Garden just yet, but he has definitely found a bigger stage. In 2017, the hip-hop magazine XXL included him in its influential Freshman Class, which functions as a sort of critical watchlist of stars in the making. Billboard and the New York Times both weighed in favorably, the latter calling his major-label debut, Good for You, “one of this year’s most intriguing hip-hop albums and also a bold statement of left-field pop.” The album sold 13,000 copies in its first week, debuting at no. 34 on Billboard’s US charts. After a set at Lollapalooza, Daniel posed for photographs with his arm around a new fan, Malia Obama.

Through sheer will and a catchy song, a colorful dream world became Aminé’s reality. From the outside, it’s like he came out of nowhere. That’s intentional. To become the next big thing in the music world of the late 2010s, you have to let the world in on the ground floor. That can sometimes mean recalibrating, or even erasing, your pre-fame history. All the way along, Aminé—who, through manager Justin Lehmann, declined to be interviewed for this piece and did not respond to requests for comment on this story—had boosters and collaborators. Some have come along for the ride. Some were left in the dust. This is the years-long story of Aminé’s overnight success.

Born in 1994, Aminé grew up in Northeast Portland. He’s said his biggest aspiration back then was “to be Kobe Bryant,” a dream dashed when he was cut from the Benson basketball team as a freshman. But he also grew up in a musical environment—he’s told interviewers his parents listened to everything from Ethiopian music to John Mayer—and music eventually became an obsession. In his first recorded performance, he told Vice in August, he rapped about girls and rival high schools over Waka Flocka Flame’s “O Let’s Do It.”

Josh Hickman, a thoughtful and soft-spoken 26-year-old, is three years Aminé’s senior. He also went to Benson and both ran track, but the two barely knew each other then. Three years after high school graduation, as Hickman began his senior year at Portland State University, he connected with Daniel, a PSU freshman, who messaged him about music.

“My first impression of Adam was that he seemed older than he was,” says Hickman, who spent his college years composing and producing rap music under the name Jahosh. “There was a determination, or a focus, that resonated with me. It probably goes back to track and field at Benson. We would work out six days a week. It really instilled me with this work ethic and discipline. So when I met Adam, I was just like, ‘Man this is dope. He’s just like me.’”

I was screaming to the moon, ‘Check out Aminé! He’s doing the thing! Are you guys paying attention?’

Daniel loaned Hickman money to buy a microphone and portable vocal booth, and they began writing and recording on a relentless schedule. “He would come over in the morning and he wouldn’t leave till night,” Hickman says. “But it didn’t even feel like work.” Daniel would give Hickman input on the beats; Hickman says he helped with song concepts and even lyrics. Together they created the first DIY Aminé release, a mixtape called Genuine Thoughts.

With help from PSU music students whom the charismatic Daniel had recruited along the way—including multi-instrumentalist Irvin Mejia, who would go on to produce “Caroline” and other songs on Aminé’s major-label debut—Hickman went on to produce the bulk of Odyssey to Mein his windowless recording studio in East Portland in late 2013. The album’s songs run from vulnerable, confessional slow-burners (“My Emotions”) to explicit sex jams (“Feelin’ Like”). It’s ambitious both sonically and conceptually: The cover art adapts the poster from Richard Ayoade’s 2010 cult film Submarine, about a small-town 15-year-old named Oliver looking to lose his virginity. The album echoes the film’s plot in places, and references its protagonist throughout.

By Odyssey to Me’s 2014 release, Aminé had picked up a few key supporters in Portland, including Fahiym Acuay, an MC and writer (under the name Mac Smiff) for the popular regional hip-hop blog We Out Here. Meeting Aminé for a video interview, Acuay remembers a funny, slightly shy kid who seemed unusually driven. “He knew that he was a little bit different,” Acuay says. “He had a really different sound—kind of playful—but he also had these really deep melodies.” Acuay became an evangelist for the young artist: “I was screaming to the moon, ‘Check out Aminé! He’s doing the thing! Are you guys paying attention?’”

IMAGE: COURTESY MARCUS HYDE AND REPUBLIC RECORDS

While local acts like U-Krew, Five Fingers of Funk, Lifesavas, and Cool Nutz have made some waves, Portland has never spawned a true national hip-hop star. Instead, we have a closed rap ecosystem with its own set of references, stylistic tendencies, and small-town kingpins. Portland rap artists tend to be judged more on their lyricism and verbal ability than on their melodic instincts or pop savvy. And on those fronts, Acuay notes, Aminé is no match for local mainstays like Illmaculate and Rasheed Jamal—battle-tested MCs with dense, intricate rhyme delivery. In fact, if Aminé had emerged a decade earlier, there’s a good chance he’d figure in the Portland hip-hop story as an eccentric side character, selling mixtapes out of his trunk at rap shows. But Aminé was born in a new era, where the home-burned CD has been replaced by lightly curated “mixtape” download websites that connect artists directly to a national audience, with no middleman and no local-cred hurdles to clear.

And Daniel knew how to work that system. He spent $1,000 of his student loan money to secure Odyssey to Me a spot in the featured albums section of Datpiff.com, a popular hip-hop mixtape-sharing blog that has served as a bellwether for artists like Drake and Chance the Rapper. By the end of summer 2014, Odyssey had reached 20,000 downloads. Daniel and Hickman found a promoter to take a punt on them—Ibeth Hernandez, who offered them a show at Peter’s Room in the Roseland, opening for critically acclaimed California hip-hop trio Pac Div. “It was so sweet,” Hernandez remembers of Daniel and Hickman. “They got me a thank-you card afterward, and it had, like, a Starbucks gift card inside.”

But the biggest payoffs came from shows Aminé and Jahosh booked for themselves. A few days after Christmas 2013, they threw a show marking Odyssey’s imminent release, hit social media hard, and drew 250. A party the next year drew 400, among them Blazers star Damian Lillard. His presence alone hinted that Daniel and Hickman had sidestepped most Portland hip-hop rites of passage. Not everybody would be happy about it.

But Daniel was making connections outside of Portland, too. In summer 2014, after landing internships with Complex magazine and Def Jam Records, he connected with a young, unestablished New York City manager named Justin Lehmann. To Hickman, something about the new arrangement set off alarm bells.

“I was with Adam from day one,” he says, “thinking, his success is my success and my success is his success.” Though he won’t dive into specifics—and allows for miscommunications—Hickman says he decided to get his handshake deal with Daniel into writing. Daniel refused. Hickman “got even more weirded out.” The partnership slowly unraveled, taking the pair’s friendship with it, and Hickman would later pull Aminé’s first album and the subsequent En Vogue EP from the internet, asking social media outlets and blogs to do the same. “It was my assumption that he would have most likely taken the music down himself, had I not,” says Hickman.

He was building this full package for himself. He didn’t just focus on Portland.

Aminé’s second full-length album—the excellent, world-music-inspired collection Calling Brio—proved that he was capable of making great music without Hickman. That too has been scrubbed from the web post-“Caroline,” along with videos and articles from 2014 and 2015, as has become standard practice for many indie artists who take on a major-label rebrand. Around the same time, Daniel texted Acuay to ask him to remove all the pieces We Out Here had written about Aminé from the site. Acuay reluctantly agreed. Later, when he saw a national piece on Aminé billed as “the first interview” with the young artist behind “Caroline,” Acuay admits, “I was kind of salty for a second. I had the first interview.”

Two years after Josh Hickman and Adam Daniel parted ways, Aminé struck gold with “Caroline.” The single and video led to a deal with Republic Records, a Universal subsidiary home to artists from Ariana Grande to Black Sabbath. While Daniel moved to Los Angeles in 2016, his official label bio still begins with “Now, Portland isn’t traditionally referred to as a hotbed of hip-hop like Brooklyn or Compton is, but Aminé could very well change that perception.”

For a moment, it appeared that Aminé might force the issue. In November 2016 on Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show, Aminé performed a striking and minimal version of “Caroline” with a string section. At the end of the performance, the yellow stage lights switched to red, white, and blue, and he delivered a message to the incoming president elected just days before. “You can never make America great again / All you ever did was make this country hate again.” It was a bold choice, one the Times and other outlets focused on. But Portland music fans noticed something else: two vocalists backing up Aminé were established players in the Portland scene, earthy R&B artist Blossom and inventive MC the Last Artful, Dodgr.

Acuay was watching that night. “It was so very Aminé. ‘I’m not going to do what everyone expects me to do.’ I was really proud of him. I remember thinking, he’s making us look good. He’s really holding it down for Portland right now.”

Publicly, “Go Aminé” is the party line in the Portland hip-hop scene, as well. But there is grumbling behind closed doors. A handful of artists and music scene staples contacted for this story declined to be interviewed about Aminé, or did not respond to requests. One artist formerly associated with Aminé indicated a reluctance to be seen as a hanger-on. A polite decline came from Nikolaus Popp, the prolific Portland director credited as the cinematographer and editor behind the “Caroline” video. Popp sent a somewhat cryptic statement: “Respect is everything in this world and that really goes for any human being. People will try to minimize you, but you always have to know your worth. Money doesn’t pay for respect, no matter the amount. It’s about how you treat people.”

In his first big national profile in the New York Times, Daniel used the phrase “super depressing” to describe his path through the Portland music scene, which the article’s author further characterized as “dead.” Aminé’s lyrical take on Portland has been bittersweet since his earliest songs. And on Good for You, he raps about coming home to find kids who bullied him calling him a hero. In the song “Turf,” he details the city’s gentrification in a mournful chorus: “I look around and I see nothing in my neighborhood / Not satisfied, don’t think I’ll ever wanna stay for good.” Another lyric speaks to those mixed emotions with even more clarity, and perhaps provides an explanation for the artist’s systematic eradication of the old Aminé: “I used to have dreams / Now I dream.”

I asked Vursatyl, one-third of the Portland crew Lifesavas—they released their debut, Spirit in Stone in 2003—if his group experienced a Portland backlash when they surfaced on the national radar. “The difference is we were really trudging it out in the local scene for a long time,” he says. “There were a lot of us trying hard to make it. Some of it was friendly competition, and some wasn’t. But everybody wanted to be the guy to put the city on the map.”

That city—before the gentrification of its North and Northeast quadrants—was a place where the black community was still somewhat centralized, and Aminé’s family home, off NE MLK and Dekum, sat at its heart. “There’s less of a sense of community now,” Vursatyl says. “And I think that, in the long term, Aminé would have benefited from what was the black community still being fully intact. He’s had an awesome journey and he’s doing great, but I feel like there’s a disconnect in terms of local pride in him. And you want that groundswell. You want to play to your base.”

But for Hernandez—who also booked Aminé’s first South by Southwest performance (“The whole showcase fell apart. It was a disaster, actually.”)—the fact that Aminé’s dreams were bigger than his hometown is exactly what made him stand out. “He didn’t make the rounds like other artists, but that’s OK,” she says. “He was building this full package for himself. He didn’t just focus on Portland. A lot of artists put themselves in a box, and that’s cool, but at some point you have to expand. I saw him expand at such an early point, and he’s still expanding.”

Where Aminé is expanding to is an open question. In interviews, he’s low-key and likable—the right mix of confident, humble, and self-deprecating. Critics praised Good for You as “honest” and “carefree.” Its impressive breadth spans from the floaty Frank Ocean-esque Auto-Tune ballad “Hero” to a curious diss track laid out over progressive, minimal electronic music, “STFU.” If anything, the album seems built—albeit on a solid pop-rap foundation—as a showcase for Aminé’s versatility in both sonic approach and personality. He’s a sensitive, brutally honest outcast on the molasses-slow “Sunday,” and a bitter ex-boyfriend on “Wedding Crashers.” Album closer “Beach Boy” spells out the MC’s thoughts on his own mutability: “Who knows what the future holds / I don’t, if the truth be told / They say play it safe, young soul / Fuck that, I’mma take control.”

Two years ago, taking control meant parting ways with Josh Hickman, now studying software development in Los Angeles and making music as a hobby. When he won an $18,000 scholarship for making a tutorial video about sampling, Hickman used a song he built for Aminé as the video’s source material. “I took it as a message from the universe or God that, hey, I got what I needed out of that situation,” he says. He hasn’t spoken to Daniel in years, he says, but he’s not bitter about the experience. “We had all these doubts,” he remembers. “We’d be in the studio just talking, saying, ‘Man, are we crazy?’ And it’s dope to see those doubts were unfounded.”

In October, Aminé posted a new video to YouTube, this time for his playful song “Spice Girl.” It hit one million views in three days. The video features a cameo from a childhood hero, from the first concert he ever attended: the Spice Girls’ Mel B. Like every artifact of Aminé’s newly rebooted career, the video is colorful, cinematic, and dreamlike.

The video also makes obvious what should have been clear all along: Aminé never had Portland dreams. He saw himself, a first-generation American-born citizen living in an unlikely corner of the country, playing Madison Square Garden. He saw himself in the company of stars.

Something familiar about the particular inflection Daniel gave the titular “Caroline” suggests she’s the same character André 3000 sang about 15 years ago, on Outkast’s smash-hit “Roses.” In Aminé’s later song “Veggies,” from his 2017 so-called “debut” album Good for You, he refers to himself as “André’s prodigy.” These tributes to the eccentric vocal genius and fashion icon who got every wedding party in America dancing to “Hey Ya” are rare signposts from an artist who seemed, to most fans, to “come out of nowhere.”

Just one year after he uploaded the “Caroline” video to YouTube, Daniel posted a street-corner selfie to Instagram. On the left, wide-eyed with his mouth forming a stunned “ooh,” is Aminé. On the right, Outkast’s André 3000.

Adam Daniel used to have dreams—now he dreams. And his most compelling characteristic seems to be that he’s living out his fantasies in the public sphere. But dreams, by their nature, are not collaborative. They are personal. One dream lived is always another deferred. It’s been clear from the moment “Caroline” hit YouTube that the skinny, gap-toothed kid in the front was going to stay there. It’s still anybody’s guess whom he’ll take with him.

#amine #music blog #pdxhiphop

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pamphletstoinspire · 7 years

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THE HOLY GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST, - THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES, FROM THE LATIN VULGATE BIBLE

Chapter 2

PREFACE.

St. Luke, who had published his gospel, wrote also a second volume, which, from the first ages, hath been called the Acts of the Apostles. Not that we can look upon this work, as a history of what was done by all the apostles, who were dispersed in different nations; but we have here a short view of the first establishment of the Christian Church, a small part of St. Peter's preaching and actions, set down in the first twelve chapters, and a more particular account of St. Paul's apostolical labours, in the following chapters, for about thirty years, till the year 63, and the 4th year of Nero, where these acts end.

Chapter 2

The disciples receive the Holy Ghost. Peter's sermon to the people. The piety of the first converts.

1 And when the days of the Pentecost were accomplished, they were all together in one place:

Notes & Commentary:

Ver. 1. Altogether in one place. The Greek signifies, were all of one mind. (Witham)

Note:

Ver. 1. Pariter in eodem loco. omothumadon epi to auto, concorditer.

2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a mighty wind coming, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.

Ver. 2. A sound, &c. Perhaps this was a kind of thunder, accompanied with a great wind, which filled with terror and awe the whole company, and disposed them to receive the gift of heaven with humility and fervour. This noise appears to have been heard over a great part of the city, and to have gathered together a great crowd, who came to learn the cause. This noise and wind were symbols of the divinity. It was thus also that formerly on Mount Sinai, thunder and lightning, the dark cloud, the smoking mountain, &c. marked the majesty of God. (Calmet) --- Jesus Christ, our Pasch, to answer perfectly the figure, was offered on the day of the great Jewish passover; so fifty days after, for accomplishing the like figure of the law given on Mount Sinai, He sent down the Holy Ghost on the day of their Pentecost, which meaneth fifty. But our feasts, as St. Augustine remarks, besides the remembrance of benefits past, contain great mysteries also of the life to come. (Ep. cxix. chap. 16.)

3 And there appeared to them cloven tongues, as it were of fire, and it sat upon each of them:

Ver. 3. Tongues ... of fire. The Hebrews use the name tongue, for almost any thing pointed. Thus they say, a tongue of the earth, for a promontory. (Josue xv. 5.[2.?]) A fiery tongue for a flame in shape of a tongue. (Isaias v. 24.) The expression, therefore, in this place, may mean noting more than sparks, or rather flames, which appeared above all who were in the house. --- Sed et Latinis quod extremum et acutum est lingua dicitur, quare scopulos summos & invios linguas dixit Cæsar. (Pastorini) --- By the fiery tongues is signified the efficacy of the apostles' preaching, and the gift of tongues bestowed upon them. (Menochius)

4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they began to speak with divers tongues, according as the Holy Ghost gave them to speak.

Ver. 4. Began to speak divers tongues. Perhaps the apostles spoke only their own tongue, and the miracle consisted in each one's understanding it as if they spoke it in his language. (St. Gregory of Nazianzus, orat. xliv.) --- But St. Augustine and most others, understand the text literally; though the apostles had not this gift on all occasions, nor on all subjects, and therefore sometimes stood in need of interpreters. See St. Augustine, in Psalm xvii.; Expos. 2.; and Serm. 188. --- The same Father observes, that the conversion of all nations to the Church, and their being united in one faith, all having one language or confession, is a perpetuation of the same miracle in the Church.

5 Now there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men out of every nation under heaven.

Ver. 5. No explanation given.

6 And when this voice was made, the multitude came together, and was confounded in mind, because that every one heard them speaking in his own tongue.

Ver. 6. No explanation given.

7 And they were all amazed, and wondered, saying; Behold are not all these, who speak, Galileans?

Ver. 7. No explanation given.

8 And how have we every one heard our own tongue wherein we were born?

Ver. 8. No explanation given.

9 Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea, and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,

Ver. 9. No explanation given.

10 Phrygia, and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Lybia about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome,

Ver. 10. No explanation given.

11 Jews also, and Proselytes, Cretes, and Arabians: we have heard them speak in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.

Ver. 11. No explanation given.

12 And they were all astonished, and wondered, saying one to another; What meaneth this?

Ver. 12. No explanation given.

13 But others mocking, said; These men are full of new wine.

Ver. 13. No explanation given.

14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and spoke to them: Ye men of Judea, and all ye that dwell in Jerusalem, be this known to you, and with your ears receive my words.

Ver. 14. But Peter standing up, &c. A wonderful change which the Holy Ghost, at his coming, in a moment wrought in the apostles, as we see in the person of St. Peter, who before, when questioned by a silly girl, denied his master, now he values not all the Sanhedrim of the Scribes, Pharisees, and magistrates; he boldly and publicly charges them with the murder of Jesus, their Lord, and their Christ. (ver. 36) (Witham) --- As the prince of the apostolic college, and head of the Church, under Jesus Christ, hence Peter speaks in the name of the other apostles also, gives an account of the miracle, and promulgates the evangelical law. (Menochius) --- Newly replenished with all knowledge and fortitude, and full of the holy Spirit, he here maketh his first sermon. (Bristow)

15 For these are not drunk, as you suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day:

Ver. 15. About nine in the morning. On festival days, the Jews did not eat till the morning devotions were finished, about mid-day. (Bible de Vence)

16 But this is that which was spoken of by the prophet, Joel;

Ver. 16. No explanation given.

17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, (saith the Lord) I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.

Ver. 17. In the last days, or the latter days, meaning the time of the Messias, I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, that is, all persons. See Joel ii. 28. (Witham)

18 And upon my servants indeed, and upon my handmaids, will I pour out in those days of my Spirit, and they shall prophesy:

Ver. 18. No explanation given.

19 And I will shew wonders in the heaven above, and signs on the earth beneath: blood and fire, and vapour of smoke.

Ver. 19. I will shew wonders, &c. These prodigies are commonly expounded of those that shall forerun the last day; or of the prognostics of the destruction of Jerusalem, which was a figure of the destruction of the world. (Witham) --- Blood, fire, &c. These prodigies were accomplished at our Saviour's death, or before the destruction of Jerusalem. We must not expect in these prophecies, where the descriptions are so grand, pathetic, and hyperbolical, to find that the accomplishment of them is literal, and precisely according to terms. The sun shall suffer an eclipse, the moon turn red, like blood, &c. (Calmet)

20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and manifest day of the Lord cometh.

Ver. 20. No explanation given.

21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord, shall be saved.

Ver. 21. No explanation given.

22 Ye men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus, of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you, by miracles and wonders, and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as you also know;

23 This same being delivered up by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have crucified and put to death by the hands of wicked men:

Ver. 22-23. Jesus, ... a man, who suffered as man, though he was both God and man. --- Delivered by the determinate decree, or counsel; to wit, by that eternal decree, that the Son of God should become man. He mentions this decree, and foreknowledge of God, to signify that Christ suffered not by chance, nor unwillingly, but what God, and he as God, had decreed. (Witham) --- By the determinate, &c. God delivered up his Son; and his Son delivered up himself, for the love of us, and for the sake of our salvation: and so Christ's being delivered up was holy, and was God's own determination. But they who betrayed and crucified him, did wickedly, following therein their own malice, and the instigation of the devil; not the will and determination of God, who was by no means the author of their wickedness; though he permitted it; because he could, and did draw out of it so great a good, viz. the salvation of man. (Challoner)

24 Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the sorrows of hell, as it was impossible that he should be held by it.

Ver. 24. Having loosed the sorrows of hell, &c. In the ordinary Greek copies, of death. As to the sense of this place, 1. It is certain Christ suffered the pains and pangs of a violent death. 2. That his soul suffered no pains after death, nor in any place called hell. 3. We believe, as in the Apostles' Creed, that his blessed soul descended into hell, that is, to that place in the inferior parts of the earth, (Ephesians iv. 9.) which we commonly call Limbus Patrum [Limbo of the Fathers], not to suffer, but to free the souls of the just from thence. --- As it was impossible he should be held there, either by death, or hell, his soul being always united to the divine person: and his rising again being foretold in the Psalms, in the words here cited. (Witham) --- Having overcome the grievous pains of death, and all the power of hell. (Challoner) --- Not that Jesus suffered any thing after his death; that was impossible. But these pains were loosed in his regard, because he was preserved from them, as the bird is preserved from the nets of the fowlers, which are broken before it is taken in them. (St. Augustine, ep. ad. Olimp. xcv.) --- Moreover he loosed others of those pains. (St. Augustine, lib. xii, chap. 13. de Gen. ad lit.)

Note:

Ver. 24. Solutis doloribus Inferni. lusas tas odinas adou, though in the common Greek copies, thanatou. See St. Chrysostom, hom vi.

25 For David saith concerning him; I foresaw the Lord always before my face: because he is at my right hand, that I may not be moved:

Ver. 25. No explanation given.

26 For this my heart hath been glad, and my tongue hath rejoiced: moreover, my flesh also shall rest in hope:

Ver. 26. No explanation given.

27 Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, nor suffer thy holy one to see corruption.

Ver. 27. Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell. This is also the Protestant translation; and the manner in which Beza translates it, is both very false and ridiculous, thou shalt not leave my carcass in the grave. For allowing that the Latin and Greek word, which is here translated hell, may signify sometimes, the grave; yet no excuse can be made for putting carcass, where the Greek, as well as Latin, signifies the soul. And for the doctrine of Christ's descending into hell, even the learned Dr. Pearson on the Creed, observes with Catholics, that the article of the creed, wherein we say, he descended into hell, cannot be the same as to say, his body descended into the grave, because in the foregoing words we profess that he was dead and buried. (Witham) --- Beza plainly confesseth that he translateth the text thus: Thou shalt not leave my carcass in the grave, against the doctrine of purgatory, and Christ's descending into hell, although he alloweth, that most of the ancient Fathers were in that error. Thus opposing himself to plain Scripture and to the ancient Fathers, perverting the former, and contemning the latter, to overthrow an article of the apostles' creed. (He descended into hell. New Test. in 1556.)

Note:

Ver. 27. My soul in hell. Animam meam in Inferno, ten psuchen mou eis adou.

28 Thou hast made known to me the ways of life: thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance.

Ver. 28. No explanation given.

29 Ye men, brethren, let me freely speak to you of the patriarch, David, that he died, and was buried: and his sepulchre is with us to this present day.

Ver. 29. No explanation given.

30 Whereas, therefore, he was a prophet, and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath, that of the fruit of his loins one should sit upon his throne,

Ver. 30. No explanation given.

31 Foreseeing he spoke of the resurrection of Christ, for neither was he left in hell, neither did his flesh see corruption.

Ver. 31. Foreseeing he (David) spoke of the resurrection of Christ. St. Peter shews them that the prophetical words of the Psalm, agree not to David in person, he being dead, and his body having remained in the grave, without rising from the dead. (Witham)

32 This Jesus hath God raised up again, whereof we are all witnesses.

Ver. 32. No explanation given.

33 Being exalted, therefore, by the right hand of God, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath poured forth this which you see and hear.

Ver. 33. He hath poured forth this, which we see, and hear, by the effects, by the noise, as it were of thunder, by our speaking languages, &c. (Witham) --- It does not appear that the holy Spirit was visible to the multitude, whom St. Peter addressed. But they perceived sensible marks of his presence, in the great noise, which had called them together, and the divers tongues spoken by illiterate men, who had never studied. (Haydock)

34 For David did not ascend into heaven: but he himself said; The Lord said to my Lord, sit thou on my right hand,

Ver. 34. No explanation given.

35 Until I make thy enemies thy footstool.

Ver. 35. No explanation given.

36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know most assuredly, that God hath made this Jesus, whom you have crucified, both Lord and Christ.

Ver. 36. No explanation given.

37 Now when they had heard these things they had compunction in their heart, and they said to Peter and to the rest of the apostles; What shall we do, men, brethren?

Ver. 37. They had compunction in their heart, with sorrow for their sins, especially against their Messias. (Witham)

38 But Peter said to them; Do penance, and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of your sins: and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Ver. 38. Be baptized: believing and making profession to believe, and hope for salvation, by the merits of Jesus Christ. Thus you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, the grace of God, and perhaps those other gifts of speaking with tongues, working miracles, &c. (Witham) --- The gift of the Holy Ghost. That is, justifying grace, which is infused in our hearts by the laver of regeneration. The exterior gifts of the Holy Ghost, the gift of tongues, of miracles, prophecy, &c. were, in the beginning of the Church, more regularly the consequences of confirmation or imposition of hands. (Calmet)

39 For the promise is to you, and to your children and to all that are far off, whomsoever the Lord our God shall call.

Ver. 39. The promise is to you. The good tidings of salvation were first announced to the Jew, then to the Gentile; first to the domestics, then to the strangers, who are far off. It is rather singular, that St. Peter, after here so clearly shewing that the Gentiles are called to the faith, should afterwards have made such objections to go to baptize Cornelius, because he was a Gentile. This can only be reconciled, by supposing, he did not know distinctly the time nor the manner of their vocation. (Calmet)

40 And with a great many other words did he testify and exhort them, saying; Save yourselves from this perverse generation.

Ver. 40. And with a great many other words did he testify and exhort them. St. Luke only gives an abridgment of those exhortations, which St. Peter, and the apostles frequently gave to all the people. St. Peter, as St. Chrysostom observes, and as we see in these Acts, was the mouth of all the rest. And on this first day of Pentecost, about three thousand were converted. (Witham)

41 They therefore that received his word were baptized: and there were added in that day about three thousand souls.

Ver. 41. No explanation given.

42 And they were persevering in the doctrine of the apostles, and in the communication of the breaking of bread, and in prayers.

Ver. 42. In the communication of the breaking of bread, by which some understand their ordinary meals, and eating together; others, of the celestial bread of the holy Sacrament, tou artou, panis illius, scilicet Eucharistiæ. The Eucharist is called both by St. Luke and St. Paul, the breaking of bread. (Menochius, in ver. 42. and 46.) --- In the Syriac, for artou, is a term that means Eucharist, both here and in Acts xx. as the learned Joannes Harlemius remarks in Indice Bibliorum. --- St. Luke also gives here some account of the manner of living of these first Christians. 1. They were together, united in perfect charity. 2. They were frequently in the temple, and praying together. 3. They had all possessions in common. 4. They went from house to house to convert souls, taking the food they found with joy, and simplicity of heart, their number daily increasing. 5. St. Luke says they were in favour, and esteemed by all the people. 6. The apostles did many prodigies and miracles, to confirm their doctrine, which struck others with great terror and horror for their past lives. (Witham)

43 And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles in Jerusalem, and there was great fear in all.

Ver. 43. No explanation given.

44 And all they that believed were together, and had all things common.

Ver. 44. This living in common is not a precept for all Christians, but a life of perfection and counsel, for such as are called to it by heaven. See St. Augustine in Psalm cxii. and ep. cix. the practice of which is a striking proof of the one true Church, which has come down from the apostles.

45 They sold their possessions and goods, and divided them to all, according as every one had need.

Ver. 45. No explanation given.

46 And continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they took their meat with gladness and simplicity of heart:

Ver. 46. In the temple. Although by the death of our Saviour, the ceremonies and sacrifices were abrogated, and the new alliance had succeeded to the old, still it was not in the design of God, that the faithful should separated themselves from the rest of the Jews, or entirely give up the observances of the law. They continued to observe them, as long as the utility of the Church required it, but they observed them not as Jews. Thus they avoided giving scandal to the weak, and driving them from submitting to the doctrines of the Church. They disposed them insensibly to a more pure and spiritual worship. (St. Chrysostom, in Act. hom. vii.) --- This was burying the synagogue with honour.

47 Praising God together, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added daily to their society such as should be saved.

Ver. 47. More and more he added daily to the Church, as it is clearly expressed in the Greek, prosetithei te ekklesia, that we may see the visible propagation and increase of the same. We may here, and throughout the whole book, observe a visible society of men joined in Christ, which visible society may be traced through ecclesiastical history, down to our days, and which will continue, in virtue of Christ's promise, to the end of time, as the point of union, by which the true disciples of Jesus Christ are to be connected together in one body, and one spirit; "one Lord, one faith, one baptism." (Ephesians iv. 5.) This book can shew the true Church ever visible, and ever speaking with authority to all that do not willingly shut their eyes, as plainly as the gospel doth shew the true Christ. "Every where the Church proclaims the truth; she is the candlestick, with the seven lamps (Exodus xxv.); bearing the light of Christ, eptamukos," says St. Irenæus; which light nothing can obscure. Hence St. Chrysostom says, "sooner shall the sun be extinguished, than the Church be obscured;" eukolioteron ton elion sbesthenai, e ten ekklesian aphanisthenai.

#acts of the apostles

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