Film and Television
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Wattstax (1973) Cult Movie of the Week
Movie trailer for the 1973 black documentary, Wattstax. Perhaps the closet thing to “BLACKstock” we’ll ever see. Great performances from Memphis’ Stax Recording artists of the time and an indelible message of unity, self-determination, and respect (and fly fashion). I can’t be 100% certain, but I’m pretty sure that the chemical pink ensemble (complete with white,…
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On Vacation, so I’ll leave this in the fridge for you…
Courtesy of okayplayer, it’s the video for New Jack Hustle’s “Lionel” feat. Ohmega Watts Check out how the album covers coincide with the lyrics. Bananas. Absolutely Bananas. Be back in two weeks. Jive on.
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Cult Movie of the Week: Sparkle
Not unlike many movies that are labeled as “Blaxploitation”, the soundtrack to Sparkle (1976) is often regarded more highly than the film itself. A Curtis Mayfield-produced gem sung by Aretha Franklin, the soundtrack to the movie is glorious… but laden with its share of controversy. What’s controversial? First, the film is a pre-Dreamgirls rags-to-riches story…
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Dream Big.
It’s easy to feel disheartened in these staunch economic times, but consider a chair with a dozen layers of paint. It’s full potential is only evident once that paint is stripped away, allowing pure possibility. That said, one of my favorite television shows right now is nextTV, a local program produced by the Chicago Urban…
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The Five Stairsteps… in a World of Fantasy
Produced by Curtis Mayfield, the Burke brood had a number of hits years before the Jacksons hit the scene. Have a listen to an early television appearance… Chicago’s own….I dare you to step to this underage smoothness… more about “The Five Stairsteps“, posted with vodpod
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Daykeeper by Foreign Exchange: Black and Blue
A couple of color-coordinated music videos for you… enjoy. First up, out of North Carolina, it’s Foreign Exchange. You just don’t see such beautiful videos on the tube anymore (great track, as well)… When I saw the above lusciousness, I was reminded of this one. Black and blue, Black and Blue. Still a visual stunner,…
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Hi-Fi White: Foodstamps, Bulldogs, and Hollywood
Wilbur White was a nightclub singer on the South Side of Chicago whose bluesy growl wielded so much power that he was nicknamed Hi-Fi. He’d been in the clubs since the 1950s, and although I hear he put on a knockout of a show, that never translated into record sales. Speaking of knockouts, he…
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Jive on Icon: Daphne Maxwell-Reid
Here’s the original caption that accompanied the above shot: 25 Oct 1967, Evanston, Illinois, USA — Northwestern Homecoming Queen…Daphne Maxwell, 19, of New York, has good reason to flash that bright smile; she was named Northwestern University’s Homecoming Queen October 20th. Daphne, a sophomore who is studying design, is the first Negro ever to be…
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Ain’t No Love Lost…a lost Curtis Mayfield gem
The year was 1972. The Year of his “Superfly” soundtrack (arguably, one of the best albums ever to come out of Chicago), and Curtis Mayfield could do no wrong…including this record, produced by Mayfield (and arranged by Rich Tufo). A sixteen year old Nashvillian named Patti Jo says to some Cassanova, “ain’t no love lost“. …
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Blackness…Finally Forgivable?
from the Stop Smiling Blog…. A Pugilist’s Pardon, Once Unforgivable Posted on: April 1, 2009 at 1:48 pm // MARGINALIA It’s Jack Johnson, 1 — Scooter Libby, zero. Senator John McCain delivers some straight talk we can believe in with the announcement this week that he is seeking a presidential pardon for the late Jack…
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