For scholars, weighing the context of the classic film’s use of blackface is a valuable thought exercise. For a Jew, it is an exorcism.
music
Posted inFilm
Looking Back at the Misbegotten Woodstock ’99 Music Festival
The HBO documentary Woodstock 99: Peace, Love, and Rage views the event not just as one fiasco, but as an allegory for the Y2K era.
Posted inFilm
The Forgotten “Black Woodstock” of 1969
Summer of Soul, Questlove’s directorial debut, seeks to resurrect the memory of the Harlem Cultural Festival, a vital touchstone of Black music.
Posted inFilm
An In-depth Look at the Art-Pop Music Duo Sparks
Edgar Wright’s epic-length documentary The Sparks Brothers preaches to the choir, but the choir will love it.
Posted inBooks
Detroit’s Electronic Music Scene, Seen Through Its Black Creators
Electronic Landscapes takes the reader into the storied record shops and cozy home studios of Detroit’s most important musicians.
Posted inNews
With the Help of Scientists, Artist Tomás Saraceno Makes Music Out of Spider Webs
Listen to the spooky cacophony of spider web sounds.
Posted inNews
Listen to the Sounds of an 18,000-year-old Conch
The noises of a massive conch shell from the Upper Paleolithic Marsoulas cave society were reproduced and published online.
Posted inOpinion
Cuban Musicians and Artists Collaborate on Viral, Political Music Video
The “Patria y Vida” video is spreading like wildfire in Cuba and Miami, a sign of widespread discontent on the island as well as unity among Cubans.
Posted inFilm
Soundcloud Rappers Ride Out the Apocalypse in the Desert
The fact-and-fiction-bending documentary Crestone is an offbeat look at friendship and creativity.
Posted inFilm
When UK Punk Rock Fought White Supremacy
In chronicling the Rock Against Racism movement of the ’70s, White Riot sounds a warning for our own times.
