Days of Art #54: Photography Inspired by Edward Hopper

Edward Hopper, 1882 – 1967 was an American realist painter, famous for his simple compositions of American life that often featured a single light source, often coming from a window. Perhaps his most famous painting was Nighthawks (1942) below. Maria and I stumbled across this video of photographs inspired by Hopper’s work and thought we’d…

Days of Art # 53: The Smell of Brilliance

I cannot explain the taste of sour brilliance rotting in the sun like fruit the chartreuse color of the number six — but I can smell it when it ripens and I cannot teach you how to feel the bristles of magic against the nape of your existence or how pink smells against sweaty feet…

Ira Glass on Getting Past Disappointing Yourself

Here’s a five-minute video from Ira Glass on getting through the phase that he describes as a gap between your inherent Good Taste (that drew you to creative work) and the disappointment you feel in discovering much of your early work is crap. It’s not just perseverance, it’s recognizing that everyone goes through it, and…

Days of Art – #52: Dee-1

“I said, ‘Homey, that’s my mouth.’ He said, ‘Homey, that’s a pistol.’” A quick shout in your direction about Dee-1, a young rapper from New Orleans who burst onto the scene with the song “Jay, 50 & Weezy” wherein he called out Jay-Z, 50 Cent, and Lil Wayne for their lack of positive influence on…

Days of Art – #51: Favorite Poet

I think all poets have favorite poets, and I’m no exception. What is different, perhaps, is that as my writing style changed, so did my poets. Gone are the Nikki Giovannis and Langston Hugheses from my favorite list, to be replaced by poets I’ve actually known. I’m fortunate to be in love with my favorite…

Days of Art – #50: Black Crowes Songs

This little earworm is brought to you by a discussion between Maria and me wherein I happen to mention that I was going to light a candle. For all those who might have thought “Hard to Handle” is a Black Crowes song, here’s the version I grew up with, the original by Otis Redding. It…

Days of Art – #48: B.B. King

Riley “Blues Boy” King (1925 – 1915). Rest in peace. We know Heaven knows how to sing the Blues. B.B. King performs at Sing Sing Prison in the video above. He later said he thought this was one of his best performances. The entire performance is available on YouTube if you’re interested. Below, he performs…

Days of Art – #47: Stand By Me

Today, 1 May 2015, R&B great Ben E. King, born Benjamin Earl Nelson in North Carolina, died of natural causes in New Jersey. King initially found success as a member of the doo-wop group The Drifters, whose biggest hits were “Save the Last Dance for Me” and “There Goes My Baby,” which he co-wrote. The…

Days of Art #46: Playing for Change

Playing for Change, according to their website “is a movement created to inspire and connect the world through music.” It began in 2002 when its co-founders, Mark Johnson and Whitney Kroenke toured the street of America with a mobile recording studio and cameras looking for “inspiration and the heartbeat of the people.” They found it,…