Entries by Rayne

Tuesday: En Garde

Looks like it’s going to be a thing this week, covering women in sports. This is a marvelous example of covering a female competitor, this short film profiling U.S. Women’s Individual Foil fencer Nzingha Prescod — it’s about her and her approach to her sport, period. Does she sound like somebody who doesn’t care about […]

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Just Another Misogynist Monday

I’m not watching the Olympics on NBC. I see more than enough of the events in my social media feed that I don’t need to turn on the television. This post is based on the observations and media content shared online, an indicator of just how much content there is about the Olympics, both corporate […]

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Friday: Little Fly

Friday jazz comes to us from vocalist and bassist Esperanza Spalding, one of my personal favorites. She’s the first jazz musician to ever win the Grammy Award for Best New Artist, awarded only a handful of months after this featured performance from 2010. My favorite tune of the three she performs here is Apple Blossom […]

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Thursday: Move

Need something easy on the nerves today, something mellow, and yet something that won’t let a listener off too lightly. Guess for today that’s John Legend’s Tiny Desk Concert. I promised reindeer tales today, haven’t forgotten. From Anthrax to Zombies First outbreak in 75 years forces evacuation of reindeer herders (The Siberian Times) — The […]

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Wednesday: Not the Shape

I know that the spades are the swords of a soldier I know that the clubs are weapons of war I know that diamonds mean money for this art But that’s not the shape of my heart — excerpt, Shape of My Heart by Sting and Dominic Miller, 1993 After reading deeply about so many […]

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Tuesday: Allez Vous F

J’adore Stromae. I’m not in the hip hop demographic, but Stromae — whose real name is Paul Van Haver — pulls me in. This multi-talented artist born to a Rwandan father and a Belgian mother pulls together multiple genres of music laced with compelling au courant lyrics presented with stunning visual effects — how could […]

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Monday: Grey Bull

Hope you have some free time today to enjoy this short film. Grey Bull by Khoby runs 15 minutes long, but worth it. Its pace is slow, but the emotions this short musters are full and richly explored. I look forward to more from filmmaker Khoby. Energy escapades NV ENERGY: Last Friday I posted a […]

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Friday: Possibility

Let’s try a Swedish import today, a little something I can’t really classify by a particular genre. This piece is one of my favorites, one of the most haunting tunes I’ve ever heard. It’s probably dream pop for lack of a better label. Lykke Li’s most popular works tend toward indie and synth-pop, sharing a […]

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Wednesday: Chansons françaises

This Parisian artist is fascinating. Indila is extremely popular in France, mostly because of ballads like this one with multi-generational appeal. Many of her works contain lyrics in more than one language which increases the breadth of her allure. This particular song is indie/dream pop, but she also works in rap and fusion raï — […]

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Tuesday: Tilted

I miss prosthesis and mended souls Trample over beauty while singing their thoughts I match them with my euphoria When they said “Je suis plus folle que toi” — excerpt, Tilted by Christine And The Queens We’ve spent (and will spend) a lot of time looking at Americans this month, given the two major parties’ […]

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