Mark Anthony Neal's Blog, page 13

Big Think: The Mind-blowing Virality of Music

'Do humans have something like an instinct for music? The musicologist Michael Spitzer thinks so. As he points out, every person is born with an innate ability to recognize rhythm, beat in time to it, and recognize and recall melody. Music-related abilities may be universal, but musical preferences and styles can differ greatly from culture to culture. In this Big Think video, Spitzer explores why cultures interpret music differently, and also whether the internet will have a homogenizing effect on music.'

MamaRay: A Panel on the Anthropocene and Afro-Futurism

'The John Hope Franklin Humanities Institute at Duke presents a roundtable discussion around Wangechi Mutu's MamaRay, the first sculpture commissioned by the Nasher Museum of Art. The event brings together several Duke faculty members, including Co-Director of the Amazon Humanities Lab, Dr. Gustavo Furtado; Professor in the Department of African and African American Studies, Dr. Michaeline Crichlow; the Anne-Marie Bryan Chair in French and Francophone Studies, Prof. Felwine Sarr, the R. Florence Brinkley Distinguished Professor of English, Dr. Priscilla Wald; and the John Spencer Bassett Distinguished Professor of Art and Art History, Dr. Richard J. Powell, who along with Nasher Museum Director, Trevor Schoonmaker, offer responses to MamaRay as a starting point of critical reflection and provide a context for its interpretation.'

"Is the Archive Blue"?: Mark Anthony Neal in Conversation with Sasha Ann Panaram and I. Augustus Durham

As part of the IASPM-US series "Popular Music Books in Process", Mark Anthony Neal was joined by Sasha Ann Panaram and I. Augustus Durham for a discussion about Neal's most recent book, Black Ephemera: The Crisis and Challenge of the Musical Archive (NYU Press).

A Long Way from the Block with Anthony Thomas | John Coltrane—a Tribute to the Man and the Music

'In this episode of A Long Way from the Block, host Anthony Thomas discusses legendary saxophonist John Coltrane with talented historians, writers, and, of course, musicians. One of those musicians, Charles McPherson, knew Coltrane personally. Coltrane's signature album A Love Supreme and his groundbreaking song "Giant Steps" are singled out for attention, and they talk about his classic quartet with Elvin Jones, McCoy Tyner, and Jimmy Garrison, as well as some of his other great bandmates, including Eric Dolphy, Pharoah Sanders, Rashied Ali, and Alice Coltrane. Coltrane's spirituality, its influence on his sound, and his passion and dedication to the horn permeate the interviews.'

Fresh Air | How Stokely Carmichael and the Black Panthers Changed the Civil Rights Movement

'Journalist Mark Whitaker says that much of what's happening in American race relations today traces back to 1966, the year when the Black Panthers were founded and the Black Power movement took full form. It's also the year when when Stokely Carmichael replaced John Lewis as chair of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and challenged the tactic of non-violence. Whitaker examines the pivotal year in his new book, Saying It Loud: 1966 — The Year Black Power Challenged the Civil Rights Movement. Whitaker notes that for years the rallying cry of the civil rights movement had been "Freedom now!" But, he says, on June 16, 1966, Carmichael ushered in a new call to arms — "Black Power!" — during a rally in Greenwood, Miss.'

dj lynnee denise: Roberta Flack Tribute Vol. One

'Roberta Cleopatra Flack is an Aquarius from the Black South. North Carolina to be exact. Flack recently announced her retirement from a 50 plus year career in music making, having been diagnosed with a rare (ALS) disease.  dj lynnee denise shares the first of a two part series and tribute to Flack's incomparable body of work.'

dj lynnee denise · Roberta Flack Tribute Vol. One

This Is Hell! | Suppression of the Black Vote Fuels Fascism with Clarence Lusane

'Dr. Clarence Lusane joins This is Hell! to discuss his series of Tom Dispatch articles, explaining how MAGA fascists found inspiration in suppressing the black vote to storm the US Capitol on Jan. 6th 2021. Dr. Lusane is a full Professor, former Chairman of Howard University’s Department of Political Science, and current Director of the International Affairs program. He is an author, activist, scholar, lecturer, and journalist.'

This Is Hell! · Suppression of the Black Vote Fuels Fascism / Clarence Lusane

Millennials Are Killing Capitalism | “In the Presence of Agape, Battles for Life Ensue”: Joy James & K. Kim Holder, In Pursuit of Revolutionary Love

'Joy James returns Millennials Are Killing Capitalism and is joined by K. Kim Holder.  Holder was a member of the Harlem Chapter of the Black Panther Party and his dissertation The Black Panther Party 1966-1972: a curriculum tool for Afrikan-American studies was the second dissertation written by a veteran of the Black Panther Party.  Joy James is the Ebenezer Fitch Professor of the Humanities at Williams College. Whether as an author or editor, her books include Transcending the Talented Tenth: Black Leaders and American Intellectuals, Shadowboxing, Imprisoned Intellectuals, The New Abolitionists, Resisting State Violence, the Angela Y. Davis Reader and others. The book that occasions this conversation is her latest work In Pursuit of Revolutionary Love: Precarity, Power, Communities.'

Amplify With Lara Downes | Jazz singer Samara Joy Embraces the Past While Making Music for the Future

'Watch Lara Downes' conversation with Samara Joy the 23-year-old, Grammy-nominated sensation about balancing the demands of a surging career and the women artists who paved the way.'

Here & Now | The Evolution of Black American English

'Black American English is constantly changing. Why? Here & Now's Ciku Theuri explains where it came from and the forces at play in its continuous evolution.'