"OK, fellas! Smile for the album cover photo shoot! Your fans love you! Give 'em a smile!" "Well, OK. Just look up. We'll make it work." Our favorite singers and musicians sneered or looked bothered to appear on their own album covers. A look of complete detachment validated their street cred. We idiot kids shelled out our grass cutting money to buy their albums, dreaming of being half as cool as these hedonists we idolized. A funny thing happened on the way to the old folks home (or cemetery). Twitter & Instagram put us in instant contact with people who suddenly became quite human. More of today's artists walk the walk and participate in societal change. Some
Tag: nat king cole
Make me wanna holler with joy
As boomers weep over a few rock star heroes dying, it's a good time to appreciate the ones who are still above ground. I wasn't perceptive enough to know that Marvin Gaye's dad was going to shoot him before I got a chance to tell him that "What's Going On" redirected my life. Once I heard the title track, well, mercy mercy me...inner city blues made me wanna holler, too. This incredible album took me away from my white boy working class neighborhood to places that I hadn't considered. My musical tastes and capacity for empathy grew exponentially. But Marvin was gone long before I had a radio show that could have allowed me to thank him. It's
Baltimore riots and TV misdirection explained
Are America's recent race riots caused by 19th century slavery? Do some people of color -- Jay Z -- use them for personal financial or political gain? Or are people using select police actions to create unchecked mayhem? Will there be backlash or progress? Meanwhile, African Americans keep killing each other in staggering numbers (when compared to other races in percentage of overall population). Noted African American scholar Thomas Sowell: "You cannot exempt people, of any color, from the requirements of civilization — including work, behavioral standards and personal responsibility — without ruinous consequences to them and to society at large." The Rev. Louis Farrakhan preaches about a race war following Ferguson riots over alleged white police abuse toward African Americans.