On March 3, 1972, Stevie Wonder released the album “Music of My Mind” which began an unexpected and unprecedented critical and commercial five-album run (“Music of My Mind”, “Innervisions”, “Talking Book”, “Fulfillingness First Finale”, and the double LP magnum opus, “Songs in the Key of Life”) that shaped the course of popular music and redefined the image of artistic genius for a generation of Black artists.
Chicago’s Corbett vs. Dempsey Gallery Highlights the Poetry of The Father of Afrofuturism, March 26 – April 24, 2021
Sun Ra (1914-1993) is known as one of the great visionary musical figures of the 20th century, but the scope of his project goes much further than jazz and stage performance. Source: https://www.corbettvsdempsey.com
It has been 21 years since Le Sony’r Ra (born Herman Poole Blount) has left our physical plane (he did not like to discuss dates of birth of death, according to Ra Biographer, John Szwed), but the breadth of his prolific output and the depth of his influence is still being unearthed and measured.
This particular exhibition examines the visionary musician’s poetry as an integral part of his creative ethos and artistic identity.
Mounted on the occasion of Corbett vs. Dempsey’s release of four facsimile editions of Ra’s poetry books the show gathers original copies of these ultra-rare objects, as well as working materials used in their production. Source: https://www.corbettvsdempsey.com
According to the gallery’s press release, “He [Sun Ra] was fascinated by what he called “the multi-self words,” summoning language’s power to conjure the paradoxical, succinctly suggesting: “The idea that words/Can form themselves into the impossible/Then the way to the impossible/Is through the words.”
A timely concept from a Man who was always ahead of his time.
“I’m gonna say it’s all right to dream, but work at it — make it come to reality”…”It took 62 years for somebody to find me, but I thank God. Some people never get found.”
—Charles Bradley
Charles Edward Bradley: November 5th, 1948—September 23rd, 2017.
On Saturday, September 23rd, 2017 the living embodiment of Soul and aural force of nature Charles Edward Bradley passed from this existence onto another spiritual plane (for a have no doubt of his transition amongst the Angels) after a long, private struggle with Cancer.
Bradley served as a link in the long, long chain of famous and unknown individuals expressing the African experience in America through song: from field songs to Gospel to Jazz to Blues to Rock n’ Roll to Soul music.
Watch him transform Black Sabbath’s Changes into a soul masterpiece and a fitting epitaph for a great artist who channeled his great pain into something beautiful.
The world is a little darker today, yet Heaven is a little brighter because of Brother Charles. He was, and is, one of the best and he will be missed.
Gifted with the benefit of hindsight, we are aware of Bowie’s terminal illness during the conceptualization and execution of his final album Blackstarwith the Donny McCaslin Quartet so it is surprising that hours before what would have been David Bowie’s 70th birthday (and several days before the anniversary of his passing) a Tom Hingston-directed video for the ironically titled “No Plan” has been released online.
Even from beyond, Bowie remains a beautifully enigmatic and otherworldly creative presence with the ability the stimulate our intellect and touch our hearts.
We are all the richer for his efforts: Peace, Blessings, and Godspeed David.
CODA: Explore the world of the album’s title track:
You’re angry, confused, and more than a little fearful as this tumultuous year draws to a close.
I feel your pain.
But no matter what the future holds for us, NOW is the time to rest our bodies, broaden our knowledge, and rejuvenate our souls to make our families, communities, and country a better place.
The Avalanches’ storm back to relevance with the release of “Wildflower”.
16 years ago, a group of Australian proto-punk, alternative artists turned deejays unleashed Since I Left You : a sprawling, sumptuous fin de siecle album upon an unsuspecting world.
As the 90’s drew to a close, we were witnessing the swift transformation of the music industry from guitars to turntables, record stores to Napster, analog recording to digital assembly; and the Avalanches threw themselves headlong into this brave new postmodern world inhabited by likes of Massive Attack, Portishead, Moby, Air, Thievery Corporation, and DJ Shadow.
Like DJ Shadow’s 1997 magnum opus Endtroducing, the album Since I Left You painstakingly constructed a digital valentine to the quickly vanishing analog era. A lot has happened in since the early aughts and Wildflower quickly picks up and expands upon where the previous album left off. Assisted by a stellar roster of cameos, Wildflower is a collision of hard, urban beats and soft, psychedelic melodies expertly sequenced as only a collective of seasoned DJs can.
This was my album of the summer, but may be one of the most pleasurable listens of the year.
Prince’s ambiguity created a legion of diverse fans.
Ever since music avatar and popular culture icon Prince Rogers Nelson died on April 21, 2016 there have been many tributes and testaments to his staggering talent but I think his most lasting legacy may be his comfort with non-conformity.
Prince KNEW he was different and that was his strength. He didn’t look, sing, play, or write like anyone else. Make no mistake, he had internalized the personas of Little Richard, James Brown, Jimi Hendrix, and Sly Stone but through the prism of his own contradictory and ambiguous worldview.
Blurring the likes between black and white, straight and gay, sinner or saint, rock and R&B, was an anathema to the culturally rigid society of the 80’s. A world of cold-war paranoia, apartheid, and homophobia. Through his music and performances, he pushed the boundaries of what was considered to be socially acceptable.
As a Generation X black kid growing up in Milwaukee I knew my experience wasn’t much different from Prince’s Minneapolis and I saw him as a hero. Championing the underground and the counterculture and not allowing himself to be defined by his environment. The rebel, the hippie, the punk, the freak, and the queer were all equally attracted to his persona.
I never imagined that his vision would become the mainstream and that he would be embraced as an elder statesman by the cultural elite.
But, then again I never saw him dying at middle age either. Rest in peace, Prince there will never be another one like you.
Coda: 5 of Todd’s Favorite Prince Songs (in no particular order)
“Dirty Mind”—Beautifully stark in its new-wave minimalism and some of Prince’s finest drum and synth programming.
“I Wanna Be Your Lover”(Album Version)—At first blush this 1979 single sounds very much like post-disco Sylvester, but at 2:28 mark the track transforms into a hypnotic, proto-house electrojam.
“Controversy”—This is Prince’s Declaration of Independence as he fully embraces his bad boy persona and his mastery of the recording studio.
“Lady Cab Driver”—A magnum opus in storytelling and cinematic in production, Prince seamlessly merges his funk, rock, and pop influences into ONE song.
“She Always in My Hair”—The greatest of his impressive body of B-Sides, Prince lays down one of his most infectious guitar riffs to great effect.
A cultural institution and champion of independent music has closed. For 20 years, New York City’s Other Music has served as an invaluable resource for obscure, alternative, and forgotten music.
As a music collector, DJ, and former indie record store manager, I remember when every major city had an Other Music—small, indie stores that doubled as communal spaces serving poseurs, affectionados, students, and fanatics alike. Nowadays, places like Other Music are a rare exception—a reminder of an era long past and another lost opportunity for us as human beings to connect on an interpersonal level.
I still remember ordering by mail or friends making trips to New York to secure the latest electronic and club music imports from Other Music. These strange and obscure pieces opened our minds, formed the foundation of our DJ sets, and helped us spread the electronic gospel to the uninitiated and unconverted.
NYC’s Other Music was a refuge and repository for independent music for 20 years.
The New York Times’ Manjula Varghese’s touching video tribute to Other Music reminds us that places for self expression and artistic pursuit still matter.
Other Music is dead, long live Other Music.
Coda: Check out Other Music’s Top 10 Spins Video:
These are 10 essential albums that define the Other Music sound.
90 years since his birth on this day and almost 25 years since his passing into immortality; the shadow of Miles Dewey Davis still looms large on the cultural horizon.
Polygraph’s The Universe of Miles Davis quantifies the jazz avatar’s wide ranging influence through his 2,452 Wikipedia mentions (English).
It’s Miles’ World and we’re just living in it.
Through this visually striking interactive site we descend down a digital rabbit hole of recordings, people, and places that traces a through line of Miles’ relevance from the early twentieth-century to today.
“Knowledge is freedom and ignorance is slavery”
—Miles Davis
If Mr. Davis were alive today we are certain he would approve. Happy Birthday Miles!
Avant Garde photography and clever online animation turns feature article into a user experience art piece.
Kudos to the staff of Complex Magazine for its approach to the feature article on Pop and R&B Art Futurist FKA Twigs.
Part artist profile, part interactive art exhibit, and part user experience multimedia experiment; it boldly shows a glimpse into the possible future of entertainment content delivery.
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