Monday, November 3 2008
Electoral Relaxation: The Myth of the Hip-Hop Achilles Heel
Either Obama's "hip-hop candidacy" makes him appeal to a heretofore disaffected and/or untapped voting bloc, thereby legitimizing his claim as a candidate of hope and change; or this unwelcome connection to a controversial art is a liability.
Tuesday, October 28 2008
Murder, My Sweet
They might kick me out of the feminist club for this, but I love murder ballads, even the ones in which women get killed—though, to be fair, I am an equal opportunity advocate when it comes to a good killing narrative.
Thursday, October 23 2008
Songs in the Key of Rap
The relationship between singing and rapping has had a transforming effect on hip-hoppers and singers alike.
Tuesday, October 21 2008
Parents Just Don’t Understand
For every tween who raids his parents' record collection, there are 30 more who can't get in the family car without headphones plugged in to their own tunes.
Monday, October 20 2008
Countrypolitik: What’s Right and What’s Left About Country Music
At a first glance, country music seems traditionally allied with the sort of down-home, small-town ethics and values touted by the Republicans. But the politics of country music has never been a simple red or blue.
Thursday, October 9 2008
Selling the Melody
From the lips of Melody Gardot -- heard in her swinging Cole Porter for an automobile -- there's another tentacle of jazz pushing forward, finding its way into our ears.
Monday, September 29 2008
We Don’t Die, We Multiply: Heartbeat Props
The Digital Underground party has apparently come to an end. If so, we must acknowledge the group for more reasons than popularizing "The Humpty Dance".
Monday, September 22 2008
Fela! Here Comes the Black President
Great art such as Fela! inspires us to make the choices we need to make, and not give up our responsibilities because it is easier to allow someone else to make decisions for us.
Tuesday, September 16 2008
Workingman’s Death
All That Remains' Phil Labonte talks about exercising restraint in creativity, recording the band's new album, 'Overcome', and not taking metal too seriously.
Tuesday, September 2 2008
Event Etiquette
Enthusiasm at sporting events and concerts is great. But when your spirited dancing turns into a one-man mosh pit, it's a damned annoying distraction.
Thursday, August 28 2008
The Dusty Foot Philosopher Kicks Up America
K'Naan stood on stage, drum in hand, focused on the two instruments that comprise and compose the totality of African storytelling: the voice and the drum.
Monday, August 25 2008
He’s Lost Control
The kids who grew up in the '90s had the haunted Kurt Cobain; my generation had the tormented Ian Curtis.
Thursday, August 21 2008
Looking Back at Brubeck
Dave Brubeck has been incredibly popular, neither simplistic nor crass, yet critics have never much liked his music. What if you listen to him -- to his long career -- with fresh ears?
Wednesday, August 20 2008
We Don’t Die, We Multiply: Hip-Hop Groups
Group identification creates interesting scenarios within hip-hop culture, from the formation and maintenance of group identity to the difficulties of promoting the lyrical skills of a group's various members.
Monday, August 18 2008
Triumph Over Tragedy
Into Eternity's Tim Roth talks about the tragic year that informed his band's new album, life in the Candadian prairies, and what it means to be a "hybrid band".
Monday, August 11 2008
Back in the Day
Heat and beats make for a good combination. No surprise then that most of my memorable experiences related to hip-hop happened during the summer.
Monday, August 4 2008
A Walk Through the Medina
It's fascinating to think that a culture that produces such deep and soulful bass music could also contact its spirits via the shrieking, grating sounds of this flute, yet such is the nature of Moroccan music.
Monday, July 28 2008
Gone Festin’
Yes, communing with thousands of music fans at summer festivals is fun...for a while. But then it becomes a group of people whom you really didn't plan on spending your weekend with, unless you typically hang out with stoned 16-year olds.
Thursday, July 24 2008
Vinyl: Got to Get You Into My Life
Maybe it's because current methods of listening aren't cutting it that I've started buying more vinyl. Not because it sounds better or evokes nostalgia, but because listening to vinyl is a more structured and formal experience.
Thursday, July 17 2008
Double Standards
What does it say about our time and place that our two boldest -- maybe best -- jazz singers, Patricia Barber and Cassandra Wilson, are returning to singing standards again?
