like the moon
In October, I spoke to Rolling Stone (always wanted to say that!) about how, in their words, “reggaeton, dancehall, baile funk, afrobeats and other diasporic styles are mixing faster than ever — without much help from the U.S. music industry.” The topic has been a sustained thesis on this blog and in my work, of […]
Read More →Today is the final meeting of my last class at Harvard this year — and possibly my final class as a college-level instructor, but we’ll save that discussion for another day. For now, I’ll leave you with a few playlists I created in order to have some examples a click on during class. In short, […]
Read More →Next week I begin teaching my second course at MIT. It’s a new syllabus, though it draws on certain materials I’ve used before. In contrast to previous offerings, however, this will be the first time I teach a class with a primary focus on reggae outside of Jamaica — on what I’m calling here “global […]
Read More →Since I’m in a syllabus sharing mood, I figured I should finally get around to posting the one I put together in Spring 2008 for a course on “Global Hip-hop.” A series of case studies examining how hip-hop travels outside the US, what it carries with it, and how people adapt its forms to their […]
Read More →This "Paper Planes" Thing is Way Out Of Control | RapidShare | Blogs | Vibe.com all of a sudden, it seems, "paper planes" has gone downright viral :: whattaya know? (tags: remix hip-hop MIA audio blogpost) The Jamaica Star :: Entertainment :: Overseas party link :: March 19, 2008 "While the major summer events are […]
Read More →Topical Ointment: WAR FEARY “…the juxtaposition of this [GW Bush action figure] kind of mimesis with Hamas children’s TV propaganda and its anti-semitism seemed an unconvincing ideological symmetry…” (tags: critique academic theory language mimesis war blogpost) Hakim Bey and Ontological Anarchy archive of bey’s writings (h/t katie h) (tags: theory philosophy culture politics art activism […]
Read More →Zizek brings to N.Y. its infectious Buenos Aires cumbia beats carolina gonzalez hypes the zzk tour’s NYC stop :: my favorite, perplexing bit — “You don’t hear this music mix anywhere in New York,” said Héctor Arce Espasa, 25, a visual arts student and Zizek fan. “It’s super globalized.” (tags: cumbia argentina buenosaires newyork latin […]
Read More →For any readers whose curiosity was piqued by the conga videos in last night’s del.icio.us dump, allow me to provide a little more context via Lani Milstein, a NY-based ethnomusicubanist, who brought them to my attention — Just a shout out to say thanks for being such an eloquent writer on reggaetón. I’m working on […]
Read More →Message from the Commander in Chief :: Castro Resigns “My only wish is to fight as a soldier in the battle of ideas. I shall continue to write under the heading of ‘Reflections by comrade Fidel.’ It will be just another weapon you can count on. Perhaps my voice will be heard. I shall be […]
Read More →When the NYT prints something like this — Hamas, a radical Islamic movement that is considered a terrorist group by Israel and the West, , , , it tends to remind me of, The Harvard Lampoon, a semi-secret Sorrento Square social organization that used to occasionally publish a so-called humor magazine, , , , & […]
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