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Simon was gifted a book on his first birthday a month ago, What a Wonderful World. It's meant to be sung, which we have gotten rather good at... at least he seems to enjoy it enough to sit patiently in his little elephant chair and listen to us as he sways somewhat rhythymically while we turn the illustrated carboard pages.
The moment I get to this page, I swallow something hard. It's the knowing that the people passing by are not shaking hands, and are only skeptically saying, how do you do? It's difficult knowing that the world he's entering is not as wonderful as the one I wish we were singing about. And at the same time, when this song was first written, things really weren't any "better." My anxious heart is slowed by the verse that follows, "I hear babies cry, I watch them grow. They'll learn much more than I'll ever know." I hold onto believing that with any hope, our chidren will be smarter than we are.
Making this mix has been heartbreaking and humbling. I feel a combination of shame in myself and my country. The history that has allowed me to remain so complacent because I somehow bought the idea that this oppression was not part of "my story." Digging into the music that has charted the movement of the racism iceberg, crying out for change, I feel how much pain has been waiting here... knocking on all of our doors for far too long. Listening to this music, I pledge to stay awake, to keep listening and to teach Simon that his future is far more wonderful than the one we've known thus far IF we keep fighting for all that these songs represent.
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Free / Oh I Wept
Not sure where I heard this song first but I've had it in my queue lately. I don't think I can tire of this song. Feels like my anthem right now.
More Info from Last.FM
Free (Rock Band) Free were an English rock band formed in London in 1968 best known for their 1970 signature song "All Right Now". They disbanded in 1973 and lead singer Paul Rodgers went on to become a frontman of the band Bad Company along with Simon Kirke on drums.[1] Lead guitarist Paul Kossoff formed Back Street Crawler and died from a drug-induced heart failure at the age of 25 in 1976.[2] Bassist Andy Fraser formed Sharks.[3] The band was famed for its sensational live shows and nonstop touring. Read more on Last.fm more...
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Low / Congregation
Discovered this song on the Hulu series "Devs" which is quite disturbing and addicting about the multiple universe theory.
More Info from Last.FM
Low is a slowcore band formed in Duluth, Minnesota, United States in 1993, by Alan Sparhawk (guitar and vocals), Mimi Parker (drums and vocals) and original bassist John Nichols (bass guitar). Zak Sally replaced Nichols after Low's first album and tour. In 2005, Sally quit the band; Matt Livingston replaced him shortly thereafter. In 2008 Steve Garrington took over on bass creating the current lineup of Sparhawk, Parker and Garrington. Their music is commonly described as "slowcore Read more on Last.fm more...
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Sudan Archives / Confessions
Recent discovery... super talented and creative female artist, Brittney Parks.
More Info from Last.FM
Brittney Denise Parks, better known as Sudan Archives, is a California-based violinist and vocalist, who writes, plays, and produces her own music. Drawing inspiration from the Sudanese fiddle, she is self-taught on the violin, and her unique songs also fold in elements of R&B, and experimental electronic music. Parks grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio, US, where she "messed around with instruments in the house" and took up violin in the fourth grade, eventually teaching herself how to play the instrument by ear. Read more on Last.fm more...
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King Princess / If You Think It's Love
Her name has appeared here before. Recently read about her strong activism. Worth a google search.
More Info from Last.FM
American singer/songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist King Princess delivers her soulful vocals over warm, atmospheric synth production inspired by influences like Perfume Genius, Nick Cave, Beyoncé, and Dolly Parton. Born Mikaela Strauss, the Brooklyn-based artist was a young music prodigy, reportedly offered a record deal when she was just 11. She studied at USC before leaving school to pursue a music career. Early songs like "Send Pix" and "Sunburn" featured a more bluesy rock tone Read more on Last.fm more...
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Leon Bridges & Khruangbin / Texas Sun
An unexpected pairing that I'm all about.
More Info from Last.FM
Leon Bridges (born Todd Michael Bridges on July 13, 1989) is an American gospel and soul singer, songwriter and record producer from Fort Worth, Texas. Bridges began performing in and around Fort Worth, Texas and stirred up music industry interest with analog recordings, produced by Justin Block and Austin Jenkins of White Denim, which were uploaded to his SoundCloud page. Signed to major-label Columbia, his first singles -- including a rich ballad Read more on Last.fm more...
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Orville Peck / Dead of Night
I heard someone describe him as "making masks wearing fashionable." He's actually doing much more than that to promote justice.
More Info from Last.FM
Orville Peck is a Canadian country musician. Peck, who released his debut album Pony in 2019, has been widely remarked upon for his tendency to wear a fringed “Lone Ranger” mask. Peck self-produced his debut album, Pony, and released it in 2019 through a collaboration with Sub Pop. In June 2019, Pony was named to the initial longlist for the 2019 Polaris Music Prize. Read more on Last.fm more...
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Amen Dunes / Believe
More Info from Last.FM
Amen Dunes, the solo project of Damon McMahon, began with recordings made in the fall of 2006 in upstate New York. Those tapes were initially put on the shelf as personal recordings he never intended for release, and the following summer, McMahon moved to China and all but stopped making music. He would live in Beijing for the next few years, writing and recording only occasionally. With the release of DIA on Locust Music in 2009, however, he decided to move back to the States and form a band around Amen Dunes. Read more on Last.fm more...
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Gil Scott-Heron / Running
I think Bryn introduced me to Gil Scott-Heron on her first mix!
More Info from Last.FM
Gil Scott-Heron (born April 1, 1949 in Chicago, died May 27, 2011 in New York City) was an American poet and musician, known primarily for his late 1960s and early 1970s work as a spoken word performer, associated with African American militant activists. Heron is perhaps most well known for his poems/songs "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" and "What's the Word - Johannesburg" a movement hit during the 1980's South Africa college and national divestment movement in the United States of America. Read more on Last.fm more...
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Solomon Burke / None of Us Are Free
A reminder of HOW. LONG. THIS. HAS. BEEN. GOING. ON.
More Info from Last.FM
Solomon Burke (born March 21, 1940 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, died October 10, 2010 at Schiphol Airport, The Netherlands) was a soul music pioneer and member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Despite releasing numerous rnb chart hits in the 1960s, he never had a Top 20 hit on the pop charts. Burke's influence, however, has outstripped his mainstream commercial success. He is considered a legend of American music. He began his adult life as a young preacher in Philadelphia, where he hosted a gospel radio show. Read more on Last.fm more...
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Billy Porter / For What It's Worth
A new voice for me... love the proud Broadway delivery.
More Info from Last.FM
Billy Porter (born September 21, 1969 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is a Broadway performer and pop vocalist. He graduated from the Musical Theatre Program at Anderson High School's School of Drama and achieved fame performing on Broadway before going off on a solo career as a singer. He is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University College of Fine Arts with a B.F.A in Drama. He is probably best known for his portrayal of the Teen Angel in the 1994 revival of Grease!. Read more on Last.fm more...
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The Last Poets / When the Revolution Comes
YES!
More Info from Last.FM
The Last Poets are a spoken word/poetry group which formed in 1968 in Harlem, New York City, New York, United States. The Last Poets is a group of poets and musicians who arose from the late 1960s African American civil rights movement's black nationalist thread. Their name is taken from a poem by the South African revolutionary poet Keorapetse Kgositsile, who believed he was in the last era of poetry before guns would take over. The original Last Poets formed on May 19 Read more on Last.fm more...
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Beyonce & Kendrick Lamar / Freedom
More Info from Last.FM
Kendrick Lamar (born Kendrick Lamar Duckworth June 17, 1987) is a rapper from Compton, California. He is also a member of the hip-hop supergroup Black Hippy collective along with members Jay Rock, Ab-Soul and Schoolboy Q. His music is largely influenced by the works of 2Pac, Jay-Z, Nas, DMX, The Notorious B.I.G., Mos Def, Eazy-E and Eminem. He began to gain major recognition in 2010 after his first retail release, Overly Dedicated. The following year, Lamar independently released his first studio album Section. Read more on Last.fm more...
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Leon Bridges / Sweeter
I wasn't sure about this song. It's not really my style. Then I noticed myself humming it and thinking about it well after I'd been listening to it and realized it had gotten me. So much of making this mix has been like this for me... expanding into music I had just sort of put aside. Good lesson and another reason I love being a part of this process.
More Info from Last.FM
Over the last decade few people have put so much time and energy into the culture they love. Beginning his career as a rapper and producer, Terrace Martin has lent his skills to artists such as Snoop Dogg, Busta Rhymes, Lalah Hathaway, Raphael Saadiq, Charlie Wilson, Stevie Wonder, and the legendary Emotions, just to name a few. Martins big break came when he produced a Power 106 radio drop with Snoop Dogg. Shattering the acknowledged rules of hip-hop production Read more on Last.fm more...
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John Legend / Glory
This song breaks.... my.... heart.
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Lonnie Rashid Lynn, Jr. (born March 13, 1972 in Chicago, Illinois), better known by his stage name Common (previously Common Sense), is a Grammy award winning rapper, author and actor known for lyrics that focus on love and spirituality. Signed to Kanye West's G.O.O.D. Music, many people describe him as being a conscious hip hop artist who makes songs that send a message. He debuted in 1992 with the album Can I Borrow a Dollar? and maintained a significant underground following into the late 90s Read more on Last.fm more...
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The Game / Don't Shoot
More Info from Last.FM
The Game is the name of more than one artist: 1) rapper 2) British 60s band 3) French new wave band 1. Jayceon Terrell Taylor (born November 29, 1979 in Compton, California, United States), better known by his stage name Game, formerly known as The Game, is an American Grammy Award winning gangsta rapper signed to Aftermath Entertainment through his own label Black Wall Street Records, with which he founded with his half brother Big Fase 100. He rose to fame in 2005 with the success of his debut album Read more on Last.fm more...
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Jori Costello / Wade in the Water
This version was made by an artist my mom knows to use in her documentary about immigration injustice, a film that just won best of the festival in the Little Rock Film Festival last month. We watched the film air on the digital site for the festival that included a side chat bar where people watching could comment. So many voices sharing support for safe passage and opportunities for immigrants... in ARKANSAS! So proud of my mama.
More Info from Last.FM
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Marvin Gaye / Inner City Blues
I was listening to Marvin Gaye's albums a few months back and realized that my father who introduced me to much of the music I know today, did not introduce me to any of the black music of his generation. I realized that there is a story of racism in our own history of what music we've been taught to listen to by our families. This one gets me every time.
More Info from Last.FM
Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. (2 April 1939 - 1 April 1984) was an American soul and rnb singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist, known as "The Prince of Soul", or "The Prince of Motown." Originally a member of the doo-wop group The Moonglows, he pursued a solo career after the group disbanded and released many successful solo hits including "I Heard It Through the Grapevine", "Let's Get It On" and "What's Going On". His best albums are still held in extremely high regard, and he is often cited as one of the finest singers of his era. Read more on Last.fm more...
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Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes / Wake Up Everybody
More Info from Last.FM
Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes were one of the finest soul groups of the '70s, based in Philadelphia, PA. Led by the great Harold Melvin, they formed as early as 1954, but struggled for many years until they finally broke through in 1972, much thanks to then-new lead singer Teddy Pendergrass, whose powerful, expressive baritone, alternating between singing and screaming, counts as one of the most distinctive voices in soul music. With the addition of Pendergrass Read more on Last.fm more...
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Jon Batiste / What a Wonderful World
More Info from Last.FM
Jon Batiste (born November 11, 1986) is an American musician, bandleader and TV personality. He has recorded and performed with artists in various genres of music (Stevie Wonder, Prince, Willie Nelson, Lenny Kravitz, Ed Sheeran, and Mavis Staples), released recordings consistently since 2005 and performed in more than 40 countries. Batiste regularly tours with his band Stay Human, and appears with them nightly as Bandleader and Musical Director on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Read more on Last.fm more...
