Said the Shotgun to the Head
Wednesday, July 23, 2008 : 3:49 PM : 0 comments
As a long time admirer and fan of Saul Williams' work, I was delighted to come across his piece titled "An Open Letter to Oprah Winfrey." In it, he provides his answer to a question she posed: "Are all rappers poets?" Excerpted below."Because of the competitive stance that all emcees are prone to take, they, like soldiers begin to believe that they can show no sign of vulnerability. Thus, the most popular emcees of our age are often those that claim to be heartless or show no feelings or signs of emotion.And below is a short piece from one of Saul's poetry books. He's gotten some attention recently for having one of his music tracks used in a Nike commercial. I was amazed to hear his work coming through my television attached to a sneaker ad but the song's energy was powerful, just like his is.
The poet, on the other hand, is the one who realizes that their vulnerability is their power. Like you, unafraid to shed tears on countless shows, the poet finds strength in exposing their humanity, their vulnerability, thus making it possible for us to find connection and strength through their work. Many emcees have been poets. But, no, Ms. Winfrey, not all emcees are poets. Many choose gangsterism and business over the emotional terrain through which true artistry will lead. But they are not to blame."
-Saul Williams-
"our relationship
seemingly
falling apart
at the seams
but our grandmothers
were both seamstresses
for a reason"
-Saul Williams, She-
Years ago, my friend Babbs gave Presidential Candidate Al Gore a copy of Mos Def's Black on Both Sides during a taped MTV appearance at Ann Arbor. He urged him to listen to it and to open his mind to the idea of hip hop as a form of social statement. Unfortunately, the full text of the e-mails is no longer online but you can read about what happened here."I wanted Gore to recognize people through hip-hop. Hip-hop to me isn't just an 'art form.' It's so much more than that. Hip-hop is experience. ... I think Black on Both Sides is extremely representative of the universal message of hip-hop ...and hip-hop as a proactive response to social injustice ...'Mr. N---a' and 'Mathematics' are two tracks he could learn a great deal from, to see why racism is still a very salient issue."
-Brian Babb-
Labels: Music
Light My Candle
Saturday, July 19, 2008 : 10:03 PM : 1 comments
My love for musicals is well documented. I went (and am still going) through an obsessed with Wicked period. Recently though I've been listening to a lot of Les Mis and fiending to watch that and Phantom again. Actually, someone I met said that Les Miserables was her favorite book of all time so I should check that out first. Victor Hugo is way underrated.The thing with musicals is that it's sometimes seen as a semi-highbrow, somewhat feminine form of entertainment. Which is ridiculous because musicals are designed for everyone. It's not exactly a cultural experience like the ballet or the opera might (perceived to) be. It's just pure entertainment. Everybody loves to sing -- even if secretly -- and the pleasure you receive from obsessing over a musical's soundtrack is something that all fans can relate to. I used to insist on listening to the soundtrack beforehand so that I could have an idea of the lyrics before I saw the actual show.
But that can detract from the experience sometimes. For first time viewers of Wicked, for example, I think it's so much better to just go into it without having heard anything. My difficulty in going in blind has been an inability to properly process the words and plot of the musical at the same time. I always feel like I just missed something. That's been resolved a bit as I'm more capable of paying attention to both the action and the lyrics. Practice and experience I guess.
I wish I'd seen more musicals. I've seen most of the big Broadway-ish hits. In chronological order it's been Phantom, Cats, Les Mis, Miss Saigon, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Starlight Express, Tommy, Rent, Chicago, Lion King, Wicked. I really couldn't get into Miss Saigon or Chicago (even though I really enjoyed the movie) and I lean toward the Andrew Lloyd Webber classics because to me that's what a classic musical is all about.
Fave Five Musical SongsDid you know there's a Spider-Man musical in the works? Julie Taymor of Lion King fame will be directing it. The first reading just happened recently, with Evan Rachel Wood and Jim Sturgess as Mary Jane and Spidey respectively. So basically it's Across the Universe 2.
For Good (Wicked)
Think of Me (Phantom)
A Little Fall of Rain (Les Mis)
Defying Gravity (Wicked)
One Song Glory (Rent)
I think I need to go rent the Phantom and Les Mis film adaptations. For some reason, I can't really get into movie musicals. Moulin Rouge didn't strike a chord with me. Rent as a movie was semi-awful except for the fact that most of the original leads were involved. You would think that having easy access to a musical would be a dream come true. That's proven to be not usually the case. I do have to plug the movie Once here though, since it's sort of a movie musical and really endearing and sweet -- adjectives that I'd never be described with.
Labels: Music
The Ghost Whisperer
Tuesday, July 8, 2008 : 4:49 AM : 0 comments
While I can't say it's been a highly anticipated album, I have been waiting for Scarlett Johansson to get her much hyped (and vilified) album out. The big question was "Can she sing?" Well, if you've seen Lost in Translation, there's hints that she can give a charming vocally on-and-off performance -- but that's with her on-screen. Then her version of a jazz classic, Summertime, seemed to indicate that she could translate her awesome raspy talking voice into something special (or at least interesting) musically.Her album has been out for awhile now and after taking a few listens I have no idea what to think. The original advance song had me all confused until James explained to me what Tom Waits was all about. If you're going into this thinking it's a traditional "singing" album then you're going to be mighty disappointed. Since I don't get Waits at all, I can't really give much of a review. The critics seem to like it though. Some of it just sounds to me like tepid karaoke.
The better question might be "Can she act?" Sure, she's been nominated a few times for Golden Globes (Girl with a Pearl Earring, Lost in Translation, Match Point) but awards mean nothing. How many movies has she been in that made you think "Damn, she was really great in this!" Even if she is one of my esteemed Top Ten, it's hard not to cringe when watching her sometimes. It seems like she's much better in period pieces and hard to stomach when given regular girl roles (In Good Company). I wish she'd do something like Ghost World again, where she could be a little sarcastic and caustic, where she had actual character.
Here's a song I'm obsessing over: Jay Brannan's Soda Shop. It's on the Shortbus soundtrack and while the film may not quite be for everyone (read a review to see what I mean), the soundtrack is pretty damn good. Plus the Manhattan-themed intro to the film is just incredibly beautiful and well done.
Labels: Music
Soul Food
Sunday, March 23, 2008 : 9:43 PM : 0 comments
It's hard finding new music to listen to right? I'm still on Pandora's jock but it's nice to look elsewhere right? Apple commercials only come out every few months, after all. Enter Aurgasm, or rather, it's been around since 2004 but I just found out about it."Aurgasm specializes in everything not under the American rock umbrella -- music such as: downtempo, folk, nu jazz, chanson, scandinavian, jazz, cuban, brazilian, electro, soul, jump blues, bluegrass, film score, and electronica."The site's founder, Paul Irish, is out to share "the best music you've never heard." Paul debuted a new embedded mp3 player on the site recently and it's pretty awesome. The playlist functionality makes it really easy to hop around to different songs. I also don't know how Paul makes the page load more posts when you scroll to the bottom, but I sure like it.
In just a few minutes of browsing, I already love Justine Electra, Club des Belugas, Kat Flint, Daphne, Asa, Kira Neris, and a whole bunch more. Ridiculous. I feel like Willy Wonka just invited me in for a tour.
Labels: Music
