Newest comic gem from Tom Gauld.
A new video from the Chicago rock outfit.
These songs hit.the.spot.
An interview with Colorado artist Eldo.
Collaborative zine between two of my favorite creatives.
Whoa Nellie (I had to)
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.
Kid Cudi returns with two strong videos that he directed.
What did you do in the last 96 hours?
Someone give this talent a trophy.
Becca and the Box crafts yet another strong zine.
For the month of October, 23-year-old illustrator Deltizzle crafted one piece every day. Many visual artists grabbed my attention through their Inktober series, but Illinois resident Deltizzle truly impressed.
It's no easy task
to craft
a new piece of art
every single day
that you're okay
with sharing with the public.
Deltizzle started
with a bang,
crafting characters from
an unknown world,
straight from his head
onto the notepad.
Wizards, snakes, archers,
alien slime balls, overlords,
hearts, and everything
in between.
Now that the
Inktober series
is finished,
Deltizzle decided to offer
prints of twelve
of the 30 pieces.
Get 'em while you still can.
is my personal favorite.
The Milwaukee wordsmith is back.
My first attempt at click bait.
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?
Two books from an artistic power couple.
An interview with Darius Airo.
Atmospheric instrumental, coming right up.
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.
Trapo's full length is not to be missed.