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Some short story narrated from the point of view of one of the players in a mediocre jazz band. They're auditioning a replacement player when one guy comes in and begins playing on a whole higher level than they ever could. When he finishes, it's clear to both the guy and the narrator that the band will reject him out of envy. I'm guessing the tale is of 80s vintage.
posted by Lemkin at 3:32 PM - 2 answers

Given my reasoning within, what songs besides Big White Cloud would I like? (Please do not suggest Spotify or just listening to more John Cale - I'm very hit and miss with his work.) [more inside]
posted by Frowner at 9:39 AM - 19 answers

I remember an old British TV comedy where a exasperated character shouts, "for God's sake, they even opposed convoys!". Showing his annoyance at their bureaucracy's stubborn opposition to common sense. Several years later I was stunned to discover that it was literally true! [more inside]
posted by tirutiru at 8:23 AM - 4 answers

Like many people I'll be out with a sign in a United States city this Saturday. What should it say (or picture)? [more inside]
posted by Emmy Rae at 7:14 AM - 11 answers

What's that old-timey Vaudaville-esque song that ends with: "so, let's get on with, let's get on with, let's get on with the show!" [more inside]
posted by run"monty at 5:26 AM - 13 answers

Mr. rekrap and I are in search of our next long TV binges, with snowflakes and criteria inside. [more inside]
posted by rekrap at 11:44 AM - 65 answers

I'm involved with an improv theatre school and we would like to get the word out in our City. We don't have a comms person, also we don't have anyone onboard with FB/Insta/Tiktok/social media expertise. We were thinking of getting a freelancer from say Fiverr but not sure if we'd be able to get someone who has the right improv tone of voice for it. What would you suggest? Btw, also curious as to what a freelancer charges these days. Is it better to pay by task or by the hour?
posted by storybored at 4:26 PM - 6 answers

Many older people in my life (60+) are having their beliefs drastically changed by things they see on social media, so in the last few years, their values have swung far over from where they used to sit. If I suggest new media for them to consume, they'll try it. So, what should I suggest? YouTube channels would probably be the best, but open to other platforms too.
posted by vanilla.extract at 11:44 AM - 12 answers

This will require a fair bit of explanation so I'm going straight to below the cut. [more inside]
posted by Rhedyn at 7:27 AM - 38 answers

I recently watched the Columbo episode with Ruth Gordon, "Try and Catch Me." The murder victim is found with black paint under his fingernail from -- and pardon me for not spoilering a TV show from 1977 -- scratching an arrow in some metal to lead to the clue that reveals who his murderer was. Where else has this been used? [more inside]
posted by The corpse in the library at 8:26 AM - 3 answers

Who wrote a fiction that described teachers being “corrupted by the flow of youth passing between their fingers” - or words to that effect? A cited quote is your quarry, gentlemen. Good hunting.
posted by Lemkin at 5:27 PM - 3 answers

Building a playlist for a mood I’m calling “I hate everything and everyone; I hope the sun devours us all.” This mood is every day all day for me so as many songs as possible please!
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 3:59 PM - 138 answers

Ear worm that I can't figure out. The main part of the chorus sounds like "Waaaaaaaailin'!" or "Raaaaaaay Lynn!" or "Heeeeeeyyyyy Lynn!" That's repeated two or three times and then it's "Never let me down oh no" or something along those lines, repeated a couple times in a more conversational tone. Genre/style is like the Rolling Stones or the Eagles or something along those lines. [more inside]
posted by lapis at 8:06 PM - 19 answers

Losing my mind trying to find an oldish song by a defunct Canadian indie band whose title is some variation on [Woman's name][Couture-related][Negative occurrence] that would be like "Sally's Denim Disaster" or "Mary's Fashion Failure".
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 5:09 PM - 6 answers

I have long had a movie scene in my mind of Steve Buscemi clutching his upper arm in a parking lot before collapsing in a heart attack. [more inside]
posted by ojocaliente at 7:34 AM - 4 answers

The first place I heard How Soon Is Now was a TV commercial that used to play in the US in the early 1990s. It was just the HSIN instrumental track/soundbed with no vocals, and a boom camera panning across what looked like speed skaters in silver jumpsuits on some kind of treadmill-like training device in a large moodily-lit studio. The performers leaned forward and did their skating motions in place while watching moving landscapes projected on giant screens in front of them. Can anyone help me find this commercial, on YouTube or similar? [more inside]
posted by rum-soaked space hobo at 6:13 AM - 4 answers

I remember reading a book from at least 15 years ago about the Roman invasion of the Celtic / Anglo Saxon territories. It was written in an odd dialect (old-English-ish, with a glossary) and was essentially a post-apocalyptic survival tale set 2000 years ago. I cannot for the life of me remember the name or author, and my Google-fu is failing me. Does this ring any bells for anyone? Thanks in advance!
posted by ananci at 12:07 PM - 10 answers

The song “I Come With Mud” off of the new Men I Trust album has this very, very tasty lead guitar solo tone in the back half. I want more songs like that with some specifics inside. [more inside]
posted by glaucon at 6:16 AM - 12 answers

I think it was maybe a month ago, there was some discussion about a movie possibly? Set in the semi-near future, where you could hire pets by the hour via an app (for the busy professional). [more inside]
posted by many-things at 11:56 PM - 3 answers

”I told you I was not a big Renee Zellweger fan” remains in rotation in the Lemkin household. But what is Carmela referring to when she guilt trips Father Phil about Rosalie Aprile?
posted by Lemkin at 8:40 AM - 6 answers