As we all try to make sense of this constantly fluid global pandemic, I have been wrestling with my definition of control. As a writer, I take solace in working alone in my own environment and over the last two weeks our Raleigh apartment has doubled as a co-working space, as my husband has … Continue reading Dispatches from Quarantine, March 2020
Today’s post combines math, data visualization, and mysticism all within a single song. Yesterday while I writing, I was listening to some jazz and John Coltrane’s 11383 (Take 1) randomly played. About three-quarters of the way through the song, a bass solo by Jimmy Garrison suddenly reminded me of a hip hop sample that was … Continue reading Artist a Day: John Coltrane
It’s not all about art reviews over here, and today I decided to share some music with you all. I simply cannot overstate how important music is in my life, and for that I am forever grateful to my dad for bringing me up around an eclectic array of musical artists. For those of you … Continue reading Playlist-30 Day Music Challenge
I have this mythologized view of New York that I have created entirely from the city’s nightclub scene between 1973 and 1987. The Loft, the Gallery, the Paradise Garage and the Roxy sit at the center of this utopia, with the music in these venues acting as the heartbeat of the city. Notice I didn’t mention Studio 54, because in my … Continue reading Artist a Day Challenge (24): Mark Bradford’s Homage to the Roxy
The Kenzo team snuck around and dropped off this video, tip toeing away like it was a secret gift. It’s a visual stunner which comes as no surprise with Kahlil Joseph as director. Music is My Mistress is a short film featuring Jesse Williams as an Easy Rawlins style private eye who’s tracking down a man and his mistress for Tracee Ellis Ross; Kelsey Lu and … Continue reading Artist a Day Challenge (21): Kahlil Joseph, Shabazz Palaces and Kelsey Lu present, “Music is My Mistress”
Many years ago I took up the practice of Yoga during three important periods of my life. When I first moved away from home for college, when I moved to Los Angeles 2001 and when I moved out of west L.A. in 2006. The benefits of yoga and meditation were important keys to me adjusting … Continue reading Artist a Day Challenge (17): Mindfulness and Modernism with Jennie C. Jones
“In between that one-fifteenth of a second there is a thickness.” Roy DeCarava Roy DeCarava’s photos of jazz musicians are some of my favorites in his body of work. Photographers who are also musicians in their own right, capture what the rest of us don’t see in the moment. “Jazz I think approaches the visual experience … Continue reading Artist a Day Challenge (12): DeCarava and Jazz
In San Francisco in the 1990’s, the club scene fell into one of two camps: the heavily promoted, large scale parties at Club Townsend and the Sound Factory or the smaller word-of-mouth underground parties like Informal Nation, the Beer Cellar and Sophies, (Raves rested somewhere between the two). My world revolved around the underground. You wouldn’t hear about … Continue reading In Memoriam: The Legacy of David Mancuso
….and Disco begat breaks… While Larry Levan didn’t make this track, he made it known. TGIF! Go get your life. Continue reading Stand on the Word: TGIF Edition
The 2015 Netflix trailer for the Get Down gave us a glimpse of 1970’s New York and the birth of hip hop with the fire and drama you would expect from a Baz Luhrmann production. When the show launched August 12, they managed to deliver on lush cinematography, stunning style and familiar hip hop samples, but well after an … Continue reading The Let Down: Netflix’s Ambitious Take on the Birth of Hip Hop Falls Flat
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