Historic collaboration to be broadcast live at rethink-music.com
Ben Folds, Damian Kulash (OK Go), Amanda Palmer (Dresden Dolls, solo), and author Neil Gaiman will write and record eight songs in eight hours (4 p.m. to midnight) at Berklee College of Music, Monday, April 25, and release them 10 hours later during Rethink Music, in Boston. Like Radiohead did recently, this group will show how record companies are becoming superfluous to building buzz and distributing music.

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Maya Pictured Here in her Youth.  Courtesy of The Slim Diva

The Renaissance Woman of the Civil Rights Movement
Royce Hall – Santa Monica, CA
3/16/11

Best-selling author and American cultural icon Dr. Maya Angelou appears at Royce Hall Wednesday March 16 as part of UCLA Live’s 2010-11 spoken word series. Next month, Dr. Angelou will be awarded the highest civilian honor—the Presidential Medal of Freedom—at a White House ceremony. Patrons with tickets to her previously scheduled February  UCLA Live event may exchange them for the new date or request a full refund at the point of purchase. →

It was 1964. Lagos, Nigeria was a densely populated metropolis, giving birth to a wide range of African music. This was before the civil war, when the city was experiencing an influx of new residents who introduced music that differed in style and purpose. As various cultural groups gathered, an environment marked by new instruments, patterns of movement and cadences melded together. Externally, African music varies in ideological and social perspective, as well as in harmony and instrumentation. →

This excerpt from Peter Rodis’ mini-documentary on Nina Simone sums up the spirit of Martin Luther King Holiday and delves into the elusive, philosophical nature of freedom.  Diagnosed with bipolar, schizophrenia and multiple personality disorder, Simone prevailed against all odds to become the most unique and insiring singer in the canon of jazz history.  Although she passed away almost eight years ago at the age of 70, she managed to record over 40 albums and upheld a long history of civil rights activism. Her shining legacy is a beacon for people of color and the downtrodden.

Happy Martin Luther King Day from the EM Staff! →

Over 20 Years of “Fake News” and Biting Social Criticism
Royce Hall – West Los Angeles, CA
2/1/11

UCLA Live presents a biting discussion on the state of media, politics and pop culture from the purveyors of America’s leading source of news satire, The Onion, live at Royce Hall Thursday February 10.

Current Onion editor Joe Randazzo and fellow staffers offer insight behind the creation of the influential media entity’s culture-skewering stories and hilarious headlines in an interactive (and irreverent) multimedia presentation. →

An interview with John O’Connor
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John Blek and the Rats are brought up on a healthy dose of country ballads and American folk roots mixed with the deep Irish countryside.  The Irish four piece is showing Europe that not all new bands have to be skinny jeans, ray-bans and haircuts. With tracks that sound way past their years and arrangements far more interesting than a lot of what’s currently on offer in Europe, it will be exciting to see how the future unfolds for them.  →

Filmmaker Guy Jacobson attended the DC premiere of “Redlight” at American University last night. The screening of the film was followed by a Q&A session to discuss the documentary, a seven-year project that he started after visiting Cambodia in 2003.

“Redlight” shines light on victims of child human trafficking in Cambodia featuring two extraordinary women fighting the front line of the country’s redlight district located in Phnom Penh. Some have referred to Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, as “ground zero” for Southeast Asia’s sex trade →

Cerulean is L.A. based recording artist Baths’ debut album, whose depth, ambience and smoothness seem to come from someone older than just 21. But Will Wiesenfeld has been at music since he was 4, began recording his own tracks at 13 , and has already put out 4 albums under the guise of [Post-Foetus]. As a part of the respectable label Anticon, Baths represents a new step ahead for Wiesenfeld. →

A feature on Tricia Rose
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In a society where creativity and criticism coexist, it almost seems contradicting that there remains little space for discourse. One category that helms much debate is the state of hip hop. Its reputation is slated as a cultural phenomenon, and although its origin was conceived nearly twenty years ago, the complexities that surround its emergence still remain. Prevailing issues that incestuously relate to hip hop, some of which include racism, poverty and misogyny →

Design in the Blood
Design Opinion

This week I had the great fortune to attend the CUSP Conference in Chicago. Following in the footsteps of the TED Talks the conference was about “the design of everything”, which is obviously a broad subject. Though I had no idea what to expect I am still in awe of how unexpected it turned out to be. →