The Nearly Lost World of American Folk Music
If not for two eccentrics, Harry Smith and Moses Asch, American popular music wouldn’t have so many roots in folk music and we’d all be the poorer for it.
american history
Ken Burns on the Heartbreak and Hope of ‘The American Buffalo’
Ken Burns talks about his forthcoming PBS documentary The American Buffalo, the near extinction of the majestic beasts, and their respectful return to their rightful homeland.
W.E.B. Du Bois’ Prescient Masterpiece ‘The Souls of Black Folk: A Graphic Interpretation’
Rutgers University Press’ engaging, accomplished interpretation of ‘The Souls of Black Folk’ confirms it as W.E.B. DuBois’ most prescient and indelible work.
The Excellent ‘Little Richard: I Am Everything’ Captures Just About Everything
Little Richard brought a sheer exhilaration that was sexual, spiritual, and joyous and put it to music like no other. Lisa Cortés excellent documentary does the man justice.
Vince McMahon and the Damaging Impact of Failing Upward
WWE’s Vincent McMahon has brazenly failed upward over and over again, profoundly impacting (and damaging) American culture along the way, argues Abraham Riesman in the biography Ringmaster.
Why Disney’s Splash Mountain Has Finally Gone South
The Disney Theme Parks are dismantling the decades-long ride Splash Mountain. It will be resurrected as Tiana’s Bijour Adventure. Why has the Song of the South-inspired ride finally gone South?
The High Price of Gay Life in Washington, D.C.
James Kirchick’s riveting history of gay life in Washington, D.C. is a Cold War epic of hypocrisy, surveillance, and survival.
Kishi Bashi and Justin Taylor Smith Discuss Their Uplifting ‘Song Film’ Documentary ‘Omoiyari’
“Omoiyari” was the guiding light for Kishi Bashi and Justin Taylor Smith in creating their documentary about Executive Order 9066 and Asian American identity.
Sundance 2022: ‘Descendant’ and the Americans Who Refuse to Be Forgotten
Descendant films the stories from the progeny of the slaves of the Clotilda. The result is a testament to the spirit of a community that refuses to disappear.
Questlove Drums Circles Around Music History
Circles are central to Questlove. He loves a circular connection and a sidelong glance. Circles overlap and connect in his artful book, Music Is History.
1980s Pop Music and the Atomic Pleasure Dome
Saturated in apocalyptic fears of the atomic bomb, 1980s music was also danceable and transporting. How can something that was so horrible also be so much fun?
AIDS Activism and Sarah Schulman’s Joyous Anger
Schulman’s Let the Record Show argues that AIDS continues to kill queer, drug-addicted, brown, black, undocumented, and uninsured people.