ayanacontreras
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Cult Movie of the Week: the spook who sat by the door.
Goodness. I am reviving the “Cult Movie of the Week” category for a minute based strictly on this film. I am also seeking out the book it’s based on, as well as the soundtrack. I was sucker-punched by Herbie Hancock’s future funk interpretation of a Spy/Espionage movie score. I was in love when I heard…
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Sophia Tareen’s Chicago Soul Food Sign-of-the-Times
photo by Southern Foodways Alliance. Sophia Tareen’s article published on various platforms this month, entitled “Chicago Soul Food Disappearing as Blacks Leave, (excerpted below) brings up a number of over-arching issues as to why these community institutions have had some hard times, but leaves out any solutions, leaving us with sort of a hollow ‘sign-of-the-times’…
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Alfresco Dining at Harold’s Chicken
During these last strains of summer, I find myself seeking out ways to absorb the outdoor life. Generally speaking, there aren’t a whole lot of opportunities for alfresco dining on the South Side of Chicago. Imagine my surprise when I passed by this Harold’s Chicken (a Chicago tradition) at 64th and Cottage Grove. Get it…
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Imaginations: good stuff!
The Imaginations were a mid-seventies Chicago-based vocal group that rose out of the ashes of Brighter Side of Darkness (best known for “Love Jones”, their story can be found here). In 1974-1975 they put out a flurry of singles and one album, “Good Stuff”. I originally bought the album because I had to hear “Love…
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Disco Nights at the Cabrini Green Summer Fest, 1979
Jamming and juggling on a warm summer’s afternoon in the days when Jane Byrne was mayor… and Disco was king. Two years later, Jane Byrne moved into Cabrini Green in part as a publicity stunt. Below, a bit more footage: an unnamed local group can be heard (but not seen) performing a version of Teddy…
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The Ones: SDYL
I catch Khari Lemuel (pictured below) and Yaw (top, right) all over the place (the Library, 75th street, Red Kiva), and recently, I heard them performing at the Brown Sugar Bakery to celebrate owner Stephanie Hart’s birthday. I dug them both separately, but as a duo (calling themselves “The Ones”), they are beyond belief. Both…
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Betty Everett: there’ll come a time
It was last summer. I was privileged enough to hear the iconic (and prolific) arranger Tom Tom Washington play a few chords of the tune “There’ll Come a Time” on a piano stationed at a Recording Studio on 80th and Stony Island, where in the vacant lot next door they grew cabbage. It was electric,…
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Ebony is Back…. and fly!
Oh. Goodness. To be clear, Ebony never left us, but it did sort of lose influence in the Black Community. But, wow, have they stepped up. And, I’m prouder than ever to pass by their headquarters here in Chicago (on South Michigan Avenue). To give a little background, Ebony (launched in the 1940s by the…
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