April 26, 2016
Prince, The King of France
“Ahhhh, Prince! C’est enorme!” shouted Jean-Baptiste as I handed him a burned copy of the pop god’s most recent release, Musicology. He was a French college student from a small […]
April 5, 2016
The Classic Crates Time Capsule: A Proposal
I play it cool I dig all jive That’s the reason I stay alive My motto as I live and learn Is dig and be dug in return —Langston Hughes, […]
January 12, 2016
No Father to His Style
On the Biz Markie’s smash hit “Just a Friend,” which I remember watching and singing along with on The Box, he sings a pleading, straining chorus over literally perfect music. […]
November 9, 2015
Enough Beauty to Ruin Your Day: From Ella to Dilla
Technically, I don’t understand jazz. Emotionally, I feel the power of Louis Armstrong, Wayne Shorter, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughn, Brian Blade, Miles Davis, and others. I do not […]
October 30, 2015
On Flamenco: Ellison, Lorca, and Me
“Cante Flamenco, or cante hondo [sic] (deep song, as the purer, less florid form is called) is a unique blending of Eastern and Western modes and as such it often […]
February 10, 2013
“Western” and “Modern”
It is interesting to note that among Indian Hindus, the words “Western” and “modern” are well-nigh interchangeable in usage. That is, a “modern” way of dressing, loving and marrying, […]