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Blipster.info is an experiment in capturing a cultural shift.

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[...] But 40 years after black musicians laid down the foundations of rock, then largely left the genre to white artists and fans, some blacks are again looking to reconnect with the rock music scene. The Internet has made it easier for black fans to find one another, some are adopting rock clothing styles, and a handful of bands with black members have growing followings in colleges and on the alternative or indie radio station circuit. It is not the first time there has been a black presence in modern rock. But some fans and musicians say they feel that a multiethnic rock scene is gathering momentum. [...] Jessica Pressler, "Truly Indie Fans"

[...] Do you have any people you're excited about seeing this year?

I'm not sure. I really haven't seen who all is playing, but I'm really hoping that Jack White is going to be somewhere in Austin. That would be good to see. I heard that the Verve were getting back together but I'm not sure they're going to be playing there. I just heard the new Gnarls Barkley single. I'm trying to convince Cee-Lo to do a surprise gig, but I'm not sure if him and Danger Mouse are that ready yet. I like a lot of the guitarists, so I'm really hoping that Jack White is going to be playing. [...]

That's part of what Bun B had to say to David A. Herron in the March 2008 issue of Texas Monthly.

Pictures of Bun B by adifferentryan and of Jack White by SRM used under Creative Commons license

February 29, 2008 4:12 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

"If you look beyond indie rock there have always been [western] people interested in African music but it tends to be in a new agey way, as if it confers on them some kind of higher spirituality. We're interested in the modernity of African music. They use electric guitars. It's not some mythical land before time."

Ezra Koenig, in Sam Richards' Guardian UK interview with Vampire Weekend "Blood, Soweto and Tears"

Photo of Vampire Weekend by KingDaveRa under Creative Commons license

February 11, 2008 12:09 PM | | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

[...] A debate has long raged as to whether music that resembles the work that has gone before it should be characterised as homage or theft. No one ever accused Madonna of sounding original; Led Zeppelin were roundly criticized in their early days for appropriating licks from the great blues men; and Jack White could be chided today for ceaselessly dipping into the Led Zeppelin songbook. Even before Jimmy Page's and Robert Plant's blatant acts of cultural pilferage, Elvis Presley had enriched himself in a genre that did not originate with his ethnic group. The Rolling Stones made a career out of sounding black, and Stevie Winwood and Joe Cocker made careers out of sounding even more black. (How come black singers never try to sound white? Why is there no African-American vocalist who sounds like the guy from Weezer?) [...]

That's part of Joe Queenan's Vinal Word column "Rehab is one great song" in the Guardian UK.

February 10, 2008 12:44 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

December 22, 2007 2:08 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The uneasy, and sometimes inappropriate, borrowings and imitations that set rock and roll in motion gave popular music a heat and an intensity that can't be duplicated today, and the loss isn't just musical; it's also about risk.

Rock and roll was never a synonym for a polite handshake. If you've forgotten where the term came from, look it up.


There's a reason the lights were off.

Go read Sasha Frere-Jones' New Yorker article "A Paler Shade of White: How Indie Rock Lost Its Soul" and, after you listen to him, try on ABX's "I'm a Flirt (Shoreline) at the Hood Internet. I'll be over here, wondering how I missed Dragons of Zynth's record-release party last week. (Spin.com's got a review and an MP3. Again, I ask: why are you here?)

October 15, 2007 2:30 AM | | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

After watching Spooner's (cathartic) doxy Afro-Punk: The Rock n Roll Nigger Experience (available through Google Video), I started thinking about who might be the original afro-punk. Sure, people can go back as George Clinton, and I'll even concede the point. But I want to go back, back, b(l)ack to my roots and make the argument that Screamin' Jay Hawkins is the godfather of black punk rock.

Need evidence? See below:

September 18, 2007 4:32 PM | | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

A random trip by Hyphen Magazine (OK, not so random since -- full disclosure -- I work in a completely different capacity with the magazine's interim editor in chief Harry Mok) turns up yesterday's "Black Kids: Darlings of the Music Blog World" about the Jacksonville, Florida-based band. The Yellow Stereo has a post about the band with MP3s. Skatterbrain likes' 'em. Kathryn Holliss has a few pictures from their gig earlier this month. And hey, somebody tell Urban Jacksonville if that missing yeti ever turned up?

August 30, 2007 3:13 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Kanye West

Kanye West Kanye West Kanye West

[...] "I love TV on the Radio's production," he said, referencing the critically acclaimed Brooklyn indie-rockers, "but man, at the end of the day, Keane and the Killers have bigger hooks." Mr. West stops, considers, then laughs. "The last thing I need now in my quest to be cool is for somebody to think I dissed TV on the Radio." [...]

New York Times: Jon Caramanica's "The Education of Kanye West"

August 24, 2007 4:09 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

[...] Pitchfork: Have you ever wondered if your career would have gone differently if you were black?

DH: I don't know. I mean, that's a weird question. What I do isn't black music, it's just my music. It's music that I grew up with. It's my music as much as any black person's music. It was the music I heard when I was a kid. I don't know. If you're African American, you are forced into making different choices, in a lot of cases, than you are as a white person. However, I have had my kicks in the butt in the same direction as a lot of black musicians have. That may sound patronizing, but I understand what it's like to be a black musician in a white world.

Pitchfork: Because you were singing soul--

DH: Because of reverse racism, yeah, and people trying to label me, and trying to say, "Why is this white guy singing black?" and "What are you doing, what is this music you do?" You know, it's a funny thing with the rock canon, if you're a white guy, and you sing the blues, you're Mick Jagger. You're Eric Clapton. And if you're a white guy and you sing soul, you're a freak. But it's the same thing. There's no difference. [...]

| Chris Dahlen's Pitchforkmedia interview with Daryl Hall

August 21, 2007 4:31 PM | | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

BoldasL!VE

[...] What's kept me out of the blogosphere is that I'm launching a Black rock music series here in Brooklyn. Called BoldasLIVE, it's a new live event platform for Black rock. I call it a platform because I envision the output of BoldasLIVE taking many forms: innovative discussion forums, panels and, yes, even full-on shows. The goal is to provide an experience that will create a richer context for some of the discussions taking place on this and other blogs.

The first offering is a Sunday afternoon series that starts on July 22. These will have the following format: artist sits for a 30 or so minute interview with a music journalist or cultural critic followed by a 20-30 minute acoustic/electro-acoustic set. The artist returns for a few more questions from the interviewer and Q&A with the audience. [...]

Bold As Love: "New live event platform for Black rock launches!"

July 18, 2007 10:19 AM | | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)