Hello, Babar

Contemplating 'Clef

Posted 11/29/2007 at 10:43 AM  |  Comment?

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Once Fugee Wyclef Jean has been doing a lot of press in support of his new solo album, The Carnival II: Memoirs of an Immigrant, to be released Tuesday December 4th. Here are my thoughts on the the forthcoming album and Clef's junketeering as someone who is fully aware of the immense breadth of Clef's pop sensibilities the finite limitations to his creativity. Clef's music is derivative at best, mimetic, at worst but fun and appealing and presented live with dexterity and extraordinary aplomb. I'm not a hater just not quite convinced his enduring success is a product of artistic greatness.

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Funk Forum: Princeton University Toasts the Godfather of Soul

Posted 11/28/2007 at 2:06 PM  |  Comment?

As we come up on the anniversary of the Godfather of Soul's death, Princeton University posthumously fêtes the late bandleader with Ain't That a Groove: The Genius of James Brown, a two-day symposium considering his work and influence. This Thursday and Friday, Fred Wesley, Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson and a host of music critics including über scholar and VIBE blogger Mark Anthony Neal, symposium organizer Daphne A. Brooks whose Bodies in Dissent is a must read for those interested in American performance and the ever insightful rock critic Kandia Crazy Horse will engage James Brown's catalog from a variety of perspectives. This event is not to be missed so skip out on work or class Friday. If nothing else, NJ transit it to Princeton for the Friday night conversation between Fred Wesley, Pee Wee Ellis and ?uestlove. The full schedule is after the jump.

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Christmastime is Here: Songs of the Season

Posted 11/26/2007 at 1:44 PM  |  Comment?

So Thanksgiving came and went, my poinsettias 'been bought, and my balcony--bedazzled in non-LED lights (I'm sorry Al but I couldn't find them at Target)--is visible from at least half a mile away. What but the run up to Christmas: the most wonderful time of the year. I'm ready for my annual dose of Claymation specials, reruns of silly holiday flicks (e.g., Jingle All The Way), Soy Nog and Charlie Brown. And I've compiled a list of a ten songs that represent what Christmas sounds like to me after the jump.

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Be Of Good Cheer: A Playlist for Moments of Loss and Loathing

Posted 11/13/2007 at 1:03 PM  |  Comment?

My friend Courtney texted me Sunday night about the passing of Kanye West's mother Dr. Donda West. Sad news indeed. God rest her soul and God comfort her family members and friends. A retired distinguished academe, most of us knew Dr. West as an indefatigable champion of her child. I always appreciated Dr. West's steadfastness in that regard. When you have great ambition, you need great self-confidence, which doubting or downpressing friends and family stunt. I have long had a village (in the old Negro tradition, I was raised by many) co-signing my worth and gold-starring my future. From my childhood in Seattle, teen sojourn abroad and college years in Atlanta, I had people tending to my psychic well being, pronouncing me a leader, smart and, of course, special, and, when necessary, offering occasional correction. I didn't appreciate their impact on my success until I moved to New York and was without a healthy support network. I still did fairly well in my pursuits but seldom heard a good word from many of the folk in my new environment and it certainly took its toll. A public speaker since my single digits, I started to stutter and experienced occasional panic attacks. I held it together on the outside but was falling apart emotionally. My distant networks left their fair share of concerned voicemails and sent uplifting e-missives to which I seldom responded. Self-doubt is a bitch to banish.

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