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Digital wolves in warm, fuzzy sheep’s clothing
I know a lot of the Darkjive faithful are also among the analog faithful (some, if only in spirit). The clicks and pops old records afford make our hearts skip a beat (even recreated on digitized copies). Well, get ready for a digital wolf in warm, somewhat fuzzy sheep’s clothing: 45iPodcases.com. Their tagline even heralds “Digital meets…
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Natural Four: Soul, if only for a moment
By way of the Bay Area, it’s Chicago’s own Natural Four. They signed to Curtis Mayfield’s Curtom Records in 1972, after five years without a hit, and within a year they gave us this blue light basement classic: “Can This Be Real.” Inexplicably, the Natural Four never reached the success they deserved, dissolving in 1976. Robert…
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Arise Up!
Picture world renowned photographers flown into Nigeria, photo shoots featuring African supermodels all over the world. I’m not talking about the now fabled All-Black Italian Vogue. “Arise” is that magazine: published in London by THISDAY, it’s a survey of Contemporary African Fashion & Pop Culture. A window into a world we don’t see in full color,…
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Brave New Voices 2009: Spoken Word Freshness
This weekend is the culmination of the Brave New Voices Youth Poetry Slam Festival. Mindblowing, bone-chilling work from youth that’ll renew your faith in “these kids today”. Check out the Finals tonight at the Chicago Theater, hosted by Chinaka Hodge, and emceed by Chicago Spoken Word legend Kevin Coval: 175 North State Chicago, IL 7pm-10pm general…
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Constant Surprises… Little Dragon in Chicago!
The Swedish electro-soul combo Little Dragon is here in Chicago (for the first time), performing at the famed Kinetic Playground. Yukimi Nagano, by way of Swell Session and Koop, provides bouyant, yet keen lead vocals in this group that worships glitch as fervently as groove. Above, the video for one of my favorite songs from their self-titled debut,…
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Curumin: like summer on record
Japan Pop Show (Quannum, 2008) was an album I first really heard in winter. A smart blend of samba and turntablism, with a smattering of funk and soulful hooks, I realized then that Curumin’s sound was built for summer. According to the New York Daily News: “It’s to Curumin’s credit that he kneaded this thick sonic dough into something not just…
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Stay in My Corner…for a long, long time
The Mighty Mighty Dells are by far the most enduring music group to ever come out of Chicago (Harvey, to be precise), performing with their original line-up since 1952. “Stay in My Corner”, their 1968 pop and R&B smash, was one the longest singles ever released at the time, breaking the 3 1/2 minute barrier established by…
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The Color of Water
[ Near Philadelphia, kids of color were allegedly turned away from a private club’s swimming pool (even though they’d ponied up the nearly $2000 entry fee). Upon arrival, the kids’ presence allegedly made the regular pool crowd uncomfortable. Now the blogosphere is abuzz. “Racism!” “It’s 2009!!!” What does that even mean? All I know is that racists are better…
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Another Beautiful Struggle
“We took comfort in the rebel music that was pumped into the city from up North. Hip-Hop was the rumble of our generation, unveiling all our wants, fears, and disaffections. But as the fabled year of ’88 came upon us, we saw something more in the music, a deeper thing that interrogated our random lives…
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Cult Movie of the Week: Stray Dog (1949)
A work of Japanese Noir from iconic Japanese director Kurosawa, “Stray Dog” (1949) gets by on good looks, swagger, and heart. Featuring a slinking pace, the film’s cadence is ultimately trumped by its ability to be beautifully gritty and enveloping, just like summer. Set in the depths of summer in Post-World War II Tokyo, the film follows detective Murakami as he seeks to…
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