My 25 favorite songs of 2016.
Viewing entries in
Feature
My favorite animated music videos of 2016.
A feature/interview with San Soma about his debut album.
An interview with Chicago's own Nehemiah.
An interview with designer/illustrator Felicia Chiao.
An in-depth look at the history of trio Hurt Everybody.
A list of five courtesy of photographer Evan Brown.
A visual rundown of artist Molly Mendoza.
A feature on a living legend.
A Q+A with the Chicago producer Harris Cole.
Artwork by Moses Chisale
Today we offer
you the premiere
of "Purple Circles",
a song featuring singer
Drea Smith
as well as producers
Banks the Genius,
Noah Sims,
and I.B.C.L.A.S.S.I.C.
This is truly
a Chicago collaborative
affair, with Vibe Dealer
Drea Smith
handling a drowsy
yet hypnotic flow
over the atmospheric
and bass heavy
instrumentation.
It reminds me
of something
Zero 7
and Portishead
might have released
a decade ago.
It reminds me
a futuristic
radio broadcast
found out
in the nothingness
of space.
What a Thursday.
Enjoy the premiere
up above and
check the playlist
of the four artists
that helped
with this track
below.
I haven't seen many
(any?)
animated miniseries
but Over the Garden Wall
takes the cake.
All of the cakes.
Originally airing in November
of 2014
over the course of five
consecutive nights,
the show spotlights
a journey with half brothers
Wirt and Greg
as they try their best
to get back home.
Emotional, poetic, vivid,
and with some of the best
original music I've heard
in an animated series.
I honestly have no criticisms
with this show. It's one
for you to watch
by the fireside, as the outdoors
grow colder and kindling
is necessary.
Over the Garden Wall
is a coming of age
tale that covers
imagination, heroism,
love, communication,
and plenty of odd creatures
and lovable beasts along the way.
If you don't shed a tear
during the final episode,
then someone took your soul
a long time ago.
If you need more
from creator Patrick McHale,
check out his limited
Etsy book release
Bags.
I just ordered mine.
Lastly, if you feel
like listening to the music
from the miniseries,
you can enjoy a few tracks
below. For real fans,
the vinyl to the soundtrack
is on eBay for $100.
It's the only thing
on my Christmas list.
Please.
A back and forth with artist Kyle by Kyle.
An interview with Colorado artist Eldo.
Vagabond Maurice. The name brought me in years ago, and the music kept me around. Last year's album, The Dragon Who Devoured the Moon, still makes the rounds in my iTunes catalog. In preparation for Maurice's upcoming album, Watching Icarus Fly (Nov. 24) and with two singles already available, I spoke with the Chicago MC about movies, books, Bossa Nova, Liberia, and everything else under the star that Icarus tried to reach.
“further melding cosmic imagery through the often-melancholic spirit of autumn, the two arrive with a more energetic sound to the season. ”
Hey, how’s it going? Can you describe your surroundings right now?
At the moment I’m sitting at a desk, or at least the furthest corner of a desk, that is cluttered in music equipment, speakers, monitor and a keyboard. The first issue of the Black Panther comic book is settled on top of one of the speakers, and I’m drinking some black tea while listening to jazz music (Yusef Lateef as I type this, doing some music research and such).
For anyone unfamiliar reading this, explain yourself in a few sentences. Icebreaker shit.
Um, I’m an unapologetic Black Nerd who is literary like a motherfucker – to put it in the least amount of words.
What's a normal week look like for you?
It’s probably reminiscent of the Spike Spiegel/Cowboy Bebop scenario in the sense that there used to be a lot of freelance work and teaching I used to do. Now it’s composed of figuring out the next steps to making the music and writing life sustainable, so my days vary from creative to the practical.
Everyone has a story to tell. What’s your story? You can answer this as precisely or as abstractly as you like.
I don’t think I even get to mention this as often as I’d like to, but I’m the first generation born here in America. My parents are from Liberia. Funny story, they just retired earlier this year and moved back to Africa. Last thing my Pops and Mom said to me was, “Good luck” concerning the election. It’s also dope to have family out of the country, because my Pops always sends me articles about the US to read, so I sort of always have an outside outlook of our country too.
What’s the rest of the year looking like for you?
I’m bout to travel to the West Coast for the first time! Going to LA in December to hang out with Chinsaku and create. A brotha trying to stay up out the cold weather of the Midwest. Although I know it’ll be sort of cold in Cali (I mean, but really, what is even considered cold in Cali?) I know I’ll be good. Midwest tough skin, and all that jazz.
What have you been listening to recently?
A lot of Bossa Nova and Latin Jazz, and just jazz from different countries – a brotha just building up his chops is all.
Quick survey: favorite movie / favorite book / favorite video game.
Goddamn this a hard question. I’d have to narrow it down to Cowboy Bebop: Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door, Black Boy by Richard Wright and Chrono Trigger.
Do you have any advice for artists working on their craft?
Research, analyze and then practice your form, forreal. And make working on your craft a habit. Getting better at what you do is definitely work (that you may enjoy) but don’t forget it’s work. Clock in overtime for them ten thousand hours.
Do you have any final words/thoughts/shout-outs?
“Jesus was black, Ronald Reagan was the devil, and the government is lying about 9-11.”—A rather stellar quote by Huey Freeman, of the The Boondocks.
It's a solstice celebration
brought to you by
Medicine Woman.
Along with performances
from Via Rosa, Jean Deaux,
Drea Smith, and Kaina
& Burn Twins,
you will get to hear
DJ sets from
nosidam. and Jaro.
Via will also be
selling mini apple pie
cheesecakes.
Bring your favorite holiday
movie and we will have
a raffle to play the selected
film on the big screen
during the show.
Arrive early,
stay late.
Did I mention it's free?
An interview with Darius Airo.
It's hard to say whether or not I'm knowledgeable about cartoons. I've been watching them my entire life, but their appearances in my life always arrive in sporadic increments. I might not be the voice of reason for a cartoon show, especially since I haven't seen some might claim to be “essentials” like The Fairly Odd Parents, Invader Zim, Ed, Edd, and Eddy. The list goes on.
That being said, I recently saw vocalist/producer theMIND tweet about the cartoon show Gravity Falls. I read the Wikipedia page, downloaded the first season, digested the first season, downloaded the second season, digested the second season, and here we are. Unfortunately only two seasons exist of this show. I usually lose interest in television shows, but I want nothing more than more episodes of Gravity Falls. Or maybe I don't. It ends as a series should end; with epic, climactic closure. Not only is the show a breath of fresh air for the Disney Channel, but this is a delightful and sharp show. I have no idea what the age group is here, as there are plenty of jokes on impending mortality, existentialism, depression, and more, all the while covering situations like first kiss, puberty, and pet pigs.
To keep it brief: twin siblings (one boy, one girl) stay with their great uncle Stan over the summer. Strange situations begin to unfold. At first, the show hosted standalone episodes, allowing the audience to understand their heroes. Then, the stories begin to connect, mysteries and questions form, and you fall deeper and deeper into a hilarious and witty mystery cartoon. There's also quite a bit of voice actor overlap with Rick and Morty. Some even argue that the two dimensions are connected (WARNING: may contain spoilers). Fascinating, really.
“A 68-hour marathon aired on Disney XD from February 12, 2016, up until the finale on February 15, 2016, with the entire series airing in order. Due to only having 39 episodes before its airing, the show was looped four times to fill the 68-hour slot.”
I wouldn't be able to compare Gravity Falls directly to any particular television show (which is a good thing), but plenty of elements of other shows come to mind: Hey Arnold!, Rocko's Modern Life, The Angry Beavers. The humor actually reminds me quite a bit of the humor found inside A Goofy Movie. More than just a tale for kids. But also, a tale for kids.
So if you're trying to be youthful again and laugh at childish things like bottomless pit story time, video game sidekicks, bathing garden gnomes, a person-swapping electric rug, and handfuls of glitter, then dive right in. 40 episodes over two seasons. Find me 40 more enjoyable and cohesive cartoon episodes.
Grab the episodes on Hulu here.
Over at the Chicago-based music (and news) site TheseDays, I developed a radio segment known as Neon Nightlights. Over the course of twenty two broadcasts, I became better at crafting succinct episodes, improving not only on my GarageBand editing skills but also on my own voice. While this newest development (known simply now as Neon Broadcast) is very similar to my previous efforts (which you can find here), this marks new territory for my broadcast efforts. For now, Neon Broadcast will be a monthly segment, but I might pick it up (or slow it down) depending on where this new website takes me. I'm really pleased with the eclectic yet relaxed tracklisting for this debut segment. As you will come to learn, I always feature artist Alicks (or a l e x) as my background music while I talk. Enjoy the first edition down below.
01. Nellie McKay - "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying"
[TALK]
02. CocoRosie - "Sunshine"
03. Mulherin - "Leagues"
04. Electric Wire Hustle - "The Border"
[TALK]
05. Moon Man & Benjamin - "Grace"
06. bleeklino w/ Pryka - "Empty" [Prod. Joey Pecoraro]
07. Tobias w/ bleeklino - "S. Paulina St."
[TALK]
08. Damon Albarn - "On Melancholy Hill" (Gorillaz Acoustic)
09. Labi Siffre - "Bless the Telephone" [Hot Sugar Edit]
10. david & alex - "Pluviophile" [Instrumental]
11. Greaf - "The Silence That Lives in Houses" [Instrumental]
[TALK]
12. Qari - "Pants From Japan" [Snippet] [Prod. Mulatto]
13. Jasper MacRae w/ elton aura - "Currently Speaking"
14. Leaf Set w/ Catherine Poulos, MDMC, Blake Davis - "Go to the Sea"