I can’t get “Window Seat” out of my head. Nor can I separate the song from the image of Erykah Badu walking through Dallas’ Dealey Plaza while disrobing. The song’s appeal, like the video’s, is raw desire: desire for freedom, to love, and to be. That element of desire sums up New Amerykah Part Two, [...]
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REVIEW: Nneka — "Concrete Jungle" (Epic)
I got a chance to see Nigerian-German singer Nneka (neck-a) at SOB’s earlier this month. She was cool. That is, I like what I saw, but I wasn’t blown away. She’s good, not great. The band is competent. Since then, though, I’ve been wondering why I can’t muster more excitement about this album and this [...]
REVIEW: Sade – “Soldier of Love”
Like most people, I’m quick to say, “I love Sade!” Thing is, I’ve never thought of the music this band creates as romantic. They’re beautiful creations, yes. But what’s appealed to me is the core of melancholy that informs the music. Within the beauty you’re forced to wrestle with many emotions: Loss. Regret. Connections missed. [...]
REVIEW: Corinne Bailey Rae’s "The Sea": Mourning Becomes Beauty
Corinne Bailey Rae’s much anticipated sophomore album The Sea premieres today in the U.S. four years after her self-titled debut captured fans on both sides of the pond with “Like a Star” and almost two years since the much publicized death of her husband, Jason Rae. Though loss permeates the album, which Bailey Rae describes [...]
Lil Wayne's "Rebirth", black rock, and modern music
by Marcus Dowling If he could, Chuck Berry would slap DeWayne Carter in the face with his dingaling for this one. It "leaked." And it damn sure doesn't make me think of Lenny Kravitz. Or Jimi Hendrix. Or Rick James. Maybe it made me think of Eddie Murphy. But "Party All the Time" even laps [...]
A Trace of Grace
Saturday, fans of Grace Jones gathered at the Brooklyn Museum on a crisp sunny afternoon to listen to two up-and-coming bands pay tribute to the legendary diva. The Black Rock Coalition presented “A Strange Case of Grace” in conjunction with the BMA’s ongoing exhibition Who Shot Rock and Roll. The exhibition sets a small room [...]
REVIEW: Leila Adu — "Dark Joan" (Frizz Records, 2009)
I first met Leila Adu at this year’s URB Alt Festival and was immediately struck by her bold approach to song structure. It’s not that she throws out pop song structure, but that she’s not neccesarily constrained by it. In the course of my thinking about this album, I came across this review that URB [...]
LISTENING POST: Rain Machine—“Smiling Black Faces”
Rain Machine's Heidi Ferrell (l) and Kyp Malone Kyp Malone has an unusual voice. It’s unusual in that most black male singers are going for mellifluousness, and I don’t think anyone would describe Kyp’s voice that way. But that’s not to say his voice isn’t affecting, because it is. One reviewer described his voice as [...]
REVIEW: Living Colour—“The Chair In The Doorway”
Vital, vibrant and burning, Living Colour return with a thrilling fifth studio album. For some of us, it’s hard to believe that it’s been over 21 years since Living Colour kicked in the doors to mainstream consciousness with their debut album, Vivid (May, 1988), which yielded three singles, including their Grammy-winning signature song, “Cult of [...]
REVIEW: Analogue Transit — "Gearheart" (Worldsound)
Analogue Transit: Kwaku Aning (l) and Jeff Shreiner Can analog and digital techniques co-exist? For Analogue Transit – vocalist-guitarist Kwaku Aning and keyboardist-production wiz Jeff Shreiner – the answer is not only a resounding yes, but it's a necessary pairing. Gearheart is a nine song collection in which baby grand pianos clash with 21st Century [...]
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