One fact that’s widely overlooked during Black History Month is that it’s not only Black History Month in the US. Besides having the stated aim of highlighting the contributions to human history made by the entire black diaspora, BHM is simultaneously observed in Canada. People who've never been to Canada may not believe that black … Continue reading The Great Black North
Music Biographies — The Action
In the 2000s, Amoeba Music enlisted an army of writers and data entry people to work on an ambitious website that was meant to be a sort of combination of Allmusic, Apple Music, Discogs, Wikipedia, and more. Despite investing a tremendous amount of time, labor and money, the site, as envisioned, never got off the ground. In 2020 — without so … Continue reading Music Biographies — The Action
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Cinema of Burkina Faso
Background on Burkina Faso What is now Burkina Faso has been continuously inhabited for at least 14,000 years. The main indigenous population of this Sahelian region were the Yonyonse, who remained for thousands of years until they were displaced by the Mossi people of what is now Ghana only a thousand years ago. The Mossi … Continue reading Cinema of Burkina Faso
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Werewolves in Film, Games and Music
Whilst werewolves have been the subjects of films at least as early as 1913's The Werewolf, werewolf movies has always played second fiddle to vampire movies. Heck, maybe even third fiddle, with zombies probably having overtaken them. Werewolf films are therefore like the Dr. Pepper to Zombies' Pepsi and Vampires' Coke. The Rodney Dangerfield of … Continue reading Werewolves in Film, Games and Music
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The Feast of Stephen
Happy Holidays. Today's the big day -- that one day we eagerly await as soon as the Halloween decorations are taken down -- the Feast of Stephen or Boxing Day or Wren Day. St. Stephen lived in the first century and was stoned to death c. 34 AD by a mob led by Paul (when … Continue reading The Feast of Stephen
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Glam & Glitter Christmas
I'm not sure what it is about Glam Rock and Christmas but I've always appreciated how many contributions to the Christmas song canon have big drums, fuzzy sax and '50s via the '70s Yuletide vibes. My vote for the best Glam Rock Christmas song goes, hands down, to Slade with their never-tiresome-no-matter-how-many-times-you-hear-it classic, … Continue reading Glam & Glitter Christmas
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St. Lucy’s Day
Tomorrow is St. Lucy's Day, a holiday primarily observed in Northern and Central Europe... and the Upper Middle West. If it seems odd for Lutherans to observe a Saint Day, it's because it sort of is. Then again, as with all the best Christian observances, the holiday's roots likely if anythinhave little to do with … Continue reading St. Lucy’s Day
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Happy Krampusnacht!
Last year I posted an entry about St. Nicholas and the rather unsavory company he keeps. Child murderers, demons and hags (oh my). Well, the Krampus proved very popular, earning me another nickname that has stuck around throughout the year. The Krampus is a demon that, with the approval of kindly St. Nick, terrorizes bad … Continue reading Happy Krampusnacht!
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Lil Slim — Hollygrove hard hitter from back in the day
Lil Slim was one of the first artists to be signed to Cash Money Records. After a series of underground classics, he parted ways with the label. A couple of years later, CMR signed a multi-million dollar deal with Universal and the label's star, Juvenile, carried the new roster to success whilst Lil Slim receded … Continue reading Lil Slim — Hollygrove hard hitter from back in the day
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Mimes in music and film
Last year for Halloween I was Bip the Clown, a famous creation of the then recently passed master of mime, Marcel Marceau. I thought it would be good to go an entire day without talking, yet it seemed to arouse violent annoyance in as many people as liked it. I think it made me realize … Continue reading Mimes in music and film
Eric Brightwell 