Last time, we looked at Janelle Monae’s self description as “the random minor note you hear in major songs” and hinted that was somehow related to the artificiality of the even-tempered Western European scale. But[…]
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That Random Minor Note, Part I: Janelle Monae
In her excellent new song, “I Like That,” multi-talented singer and former android Janelle Monae refers to herself as the random minor note you hear in major songs. A commentator on Genius interpreted this as[…]
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Wokepedia: Mozart in the Jungle, Missy Mazzoli
Second in my “Wokepedia” series of case studies of consciousness-raising Wikipedia edits. Mozart in the Jungle This Netflix show about a hard-living group of classical musicians is a current favorite of mine, and stars Latino[…]
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Wokepedia: This is Us, Dudley Randall
The idea of Wokepedia is that ordinary people, working with intent, can make lasting changes to Wikipedia that will lead in more equable and less biased coverage of topics of minority interest, and promote a[…]
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I’m Not There: Film Review
Repost I knew even before the house lights went down that I needed to approach this film in the right frame of mind. I knew not to expect a rational or linear plotline, that my[…]
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Reconstructivist Art: Mona Lisa
Repost: Wyclef Jean’s Mona Lisa as an example of Reconstructivist Art Mona Lisa was a little noted deep-album cut from hip-hop impresario Wyclef Jean’s multiplatinum album The Carnival (1997). A radical reinvention of the remixed[…]
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This is my Church
This is a wonderful profile that was recently filmed about the ministries of what has been my church home for well over a decade, the United Methodist Church for All People in Columbus Ohio. Started[…]
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Django Jane’s African Beat
Perhaps to showcase her many sides, the incomparable Janelle Monae released two very different songs/videos in advance of her hotly anticipated new album, Dirty Computer. A few weeks ago I showcased her funky, bubbly, sex-drenched[…]
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7 Best Dylan Covers
I’ve always been fascinated by cover songs. The vast majority of them just make you long for the original. But every once in a while, someone does one that brings the song a whole new[…]
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Seven Nation Army
It can be tough sometimes to separate the greatness of a song from the greatness of a particular performance of that song. And in the case where a great songwriter is also an amazing performer[…]
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