Reese's Ear Candy: August 2010

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Earworm: Cee-lo's F*ck You!

Damn Cee-lo for creating such a catchy song that requires me to say F*ck You! 16 times! I have had this song stuck in my head since last week and already have all the lyrics memorized! Cee-lo never ceases to make me love him (oh, Geminis)!

Monday, August 23, 2010

Click-It Concert Tribute: Abbey Lincoln

On August 14th, 2010, we lost another one of the greats, Abbey Lincoln (original name was Anna Marie Wooldridge and later Aminata Moseka). I found out about Ms. Lincoln last year while looking for famous people born in August (her birthdate is one day before mine). Literally, I just stumbled upon her and decided to give her a listen. The first songs I heard from her was from her collaboration with Max Roach 5 on the Freedom Now Suite and I instantly fell in love with her. Besides her music career, when I found out about her as a songwriter, as an actress and as an activist, I was so much more impressed with her. She was a true freedom fighter for black people all over the world and as several people have said that is what made her dangerous (even to the point she exiled herself from the US for a few years for her political beliefs). I am saddened by the thought that I will never see Abbey Lincoln in person, but I am happy that we have her music and life story still with us. Here's a quote from Abbey that speaks to me about the importance of art:

”How can you have a career and never say anything? To experience it all and not say a word, you're supposed to stand up and speak your mind in the music. Some people like to hear some reality. I'm not trying to save or fix the world. I'm just singing about my experiences. My songs are observations.”

People in Me

Freedom Day

Freedom Now Suite: Driva-Man & Tears for Johannessburg/Prayer & Peace/All Africa/Freedom Day

When I'm Called Home

Afro-Blue

Africa

And It's Suppose to Be Love

Spread the Word (From The Girl Can't Help It)

You Came a Long Way from St. Louis

Throw It Away

"You Can Never Lose a Thing If It Belongs to You"

RIP Abbey

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

The Art of Music: Where Music and Art Collide

This special post will combine art from Dawn Okoro and some of my favorite songs that I think the art goes with:

Some Information on Dawn from her website:

Dawn Okoro's work is informed by the composition techniques used in fashion photography. Using oil, acrylic and pencil, she incorporates photography, collage, and ideas from popular culture. Her artwork embodies space, movement, pattern, design, texture, and color; as well as lived experiences and self-reflexivity. Self-reflexivity is a process by which she critically examines the experiences (exterior and interior) that shape her everyday life and those that surround her.

Dawn Okoro holds a Bachelor's degree from the University of Texas at Austin and a Juris Doctor from Texas Southern University. Her work has been exhibited at RFA Gallery in Harlem, Texas Southern University Museum, Rice University, and the Texas Biennial.

1) Shine