When Mildred and Richard Loving were married in 1958, they became criminals. She was black and he was white, and so their union violated Virginia’s Racial Integrity Act of 1924. On July 14 in 1958, they were arrested: “They came one night and they knocked a couple times,” remembers Mildred. “I heard ‘em, and before I could get up, you know, they just broke the door open and came on in. When we got up they were standing by the bed, with flashlights.” The sheriff asked who she was, and she answered: “I said, ‘I’m his wife, and the sheriff said, ‘Not here, you’re not.’”

Lana Del Rey

Born to Die

(Interscope)

Amazon

iTunes

Review [3.Feb.2012]

Let’s hope that the audacious insults hurled at Lana Del Rey for coming from a privileged background and having the audacity to change her name and take a second chance at a music career (because god knows you only get one shot) have ceased. Because quite frankly, Born to Die is a pretty spectacular album, misunderstood most by those who have absolutely no clue what making a record entails. English-major critics abound at her dark pop sensibilities, but it’s the lurid love affairs and ‘60s-style torch song crack addict delivery that really elevates Born to Die above it’s shiny pop veneer. There’s something dark and undercutting in Born to Die’s best tracks. “National Anthem”, “This is What Makes Us Girls” and the title track are unsettling bits of storytelling from a vivid and mesmerizing performer who manages to create little films with each and every track. Lines like “He said to be cool but, I’m already coolest / I said to get real / ‘Don’t you know who you’re dealing with?’ / ‘Umm, do you think you’ll buy me lots of diamonds?’” from the superb “National Anthem” are delivered with all the irony that we fault others for not having. It’s refreshing to see someone push racial and sexual boundaries in such a interesting way, and I, for one, can’t wait to see what she’s going to do next.—Enio Chiola 

From the triumphant dream pop of Grimes and the boundary-pushing R&B of Frank Ocean to the tough, frantic British hip-hop of Plan B and the chart-topping country pop of Taylor Swift, PopMatters counts down 2012’s 75 best songs.

Indie electropop band YACHT released a new stand-alone single and video for “Second Summer” yesterday. It was almost exactly one year ago that PopMatters covered their show in New York City, a non-stop dance party hosted by Jona Bechtoit and Clare L. Evans. It included detailed instructions for audience participation: 1) preparation, 2) initation and 3) enlightenment. Of course, all of this would never work if the music wasn’t instantly infectious.