Featuring Beyoncé
Directed by Mikhail Mutskyi
Blonde, on Boys Don’t Cry Records
Stories of Almost Everyone at the Hammer Museum
at the Hammer Museum (Through May 6, 2018)
Reviewed by Emily Nimptsch
Let’s be honest—contemporary art, especially anything of the minimalist or conceptual variety, can be elusive and sometimes even downright mystifying to the general public. While those with Art History degrees or a passion for the subject may appreciate these artistic movements due to an understanding of their respective historical contexts and goals, those without may be left feeling perplexed and perturbed. Indeed, these styles can look a bit stark and do feature highly unusual presentations of everyday objects. In response, the casual viewer may begin to claim that they could have made something similar or joke that one of the museum’s fire exit signs was particularly thought-provoking. In the Hammer Museum’s current headline-grabbing exhibition, Stories of Almost Everyone, we see this collegiate institution leaning into the joke while simultaneously addressing critical issues of artistic interpretation. [Read more…]
Cage Music From Los Wilds: “No me toques mamá”
on Ataque Records
Craig Mack, Rapper Who Penned Decade Defining Anthem, Dead At 47
“Flava In Ya Ear”
“Craig is hip-hop’s George Clinton” — Sean Combs
New Work From The Breeders: “Wait In The Car”
From All Nerve (2018)
Kim Deal Self-released
The John Coltrane Quartet, 1963: “Afro Blue”
For the sheer pleasure of watching Mcoy Tyner’s fingers work magic and soulful wonder on the keys.
John Coltrane, Mcoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison and Elvin Jones
Sand, Sun And Song: The Triangular Sounds Of LA Priest
“Oino,” from the Inji release.
On Domino Record Co, UK
Spacious New Work From Khruangbin: “Friday Morning”
From Con Todo El Mundo
On Dead Oceans, Austin TX
The Walls Speak: Art And The Revolution In May ’68
The streets have always been where the masses bring their voices and grievances. It is a practice as old as Ancient Rome. It is when the city rises and a sense of social war penetrates the air that even art itself cannot help but be transformed. This year marks a half century since the great convulsions of 1968, when art itself became the vehicle of capturing and giving voice to the emerging, clashing ideals of that heroic generation. The tail-end of the sixties featured much of the imagery, cultural shifts and pop evolution that define the decade in the world consciousness. Acid rock was in, fashion was taking leaps so colorful and free that trends were established which have not gone out of style. But an aesthetic not readily discussed in the mainstream is the aesthetic of revolution. [Read more…]
A Song To “Mama Africa,” Miriam Makeba, From Jain
“Makeba,” from the Zanaka release:
New Work From Gorillaz: “Ascension”
Feminism Borne Of A Tangerine’s Skin
Louise Bourgeois demonstrates the peeling of a party tangerine, which no less becomes a commentary on her father’s “detestable” humor and a likely point of awakening of her lifelong feminism:
South African Statesman, Anti-Apartheid Activist, Trumpeter Hugh Masekela Dead At 78
Hugh Masekela
RIP
1939 | 2018
The founder of South African Jazz, an anti-apartheid activist and, as a result, a man decades in exile, Hugh Masekela pushed on into deeper waters. May the winds catch his every sail.
“Witch Doctor,” one of the greats in any genre, is below, as is “Grazing in the Grass,” “Stimela (Coal Train),” and “Mandela (Bring Him Back Home).”
Witch Doctor (2003)
Pachanga Boys: “Power”
Mbongwana Star: “Malukayi”
54 Years Later, Ms. Oprah Winfrey
Graven Image: The Fraught And Fucked History Of Stone Mountain
Using over 100 years of archival footage, director Sierra Pettengill explores the history of the largest Confederate monument, Georgia’s Stone Mountain.
New Work From Hurray For Riff Raff: “Living In The City”
Kurt Vonnegut On The Shapes of Stories
Rejected as a master’s thesis in Anthropology, Kurt Vonnegut went on to detail the Shapes of Stories in his book, A Man Without A Country, which is highlighted in abbreviated form in the lecture below:
The graphic below, designed by Maya Eilam, is drawn from Vonnegut’s book A Man Without A Country: