It’s the Modern World, the End of Times, the Decline of the West, the Revolt of the Masses. It’s the 1920’s. It’s going to be Very Silly.
One poem annoys me terribly, although I have almost grown up with it - its quotes are so familiar to me. The other poem makes me sad and heart-achingly warm. Both were written by men in the early 20th century, living on two different continents, dealing with oppression, dreaming of freedom. Why can I feel [...]
I just can’t help myself. You can find Josephine Baker’s version on redhotjazz.com. I quote only 2 lines because I couldn’t make sense of half what she is saying. If you like the link image, feel free to copy it and use as a banner. Here are two variations…
On the 19th of June in 1865, in Galveston, Texas, the abolition of slavery was announced, and since then the date has been celebrated both within and outside the United States.
From Emerging Pictures, coming autumn: Honeydripper, a movie about a juke joint in 1950’s Alabama. Danny Glover plays owner Ty, desperately trying to keep his business going, haunted by the ancient bluesman Possum’s cunning laugh and mournful guitar-picking.
Found a manga loosely based on the life and works of cult blues guitarist Robert Johnson: Me and the Devil Blues by Akira Hiramoto. It is interesting to view black people’s life in the 1930’s deep south through the eyes of a Japanese mangaka. In spite of the usual cultural collisions, I think it works [...]