BLOG: Finding treasures from the inventor of rock, to ‘Watchmen’s’ Doomsday Clock and TikTok

Here are some things across the internet that I found or recently rediscovered that are really freaking cool and interesting.

Music:

“Motivation” by Normani – Something I find myself struggling with classes now being online is motivation. With #noshade, here is the only solo single that Normani’s record label has released since her departure from Fifth Harmony in 2018. “Waves” featuring 6LACK, “Love Lies” with Khalid and even the recent drop of “Diamonds” featuring Megan Thee Stallion are all great songs, but nothing brings more joy than her solo song and all of its early 2000s homage in the music video. 

“Gaslighter” by The Dixie Chicks – Over the last few years, thanks to fellow Signal editor Emily Wolfe and content creators like Polyphonic and Lindsay Ellis, I have found myself a fan of the Dixie Chicks – without hearing an actual song from start to finish. That is until their recently released single ”Gaslighter.” Even though I can only name that one song, after a few hours of the Dixie Chicks on shuffle, I can say I’m a fan and will add them to the list of country musicians I really enjoy. That list now totals three people.

“Saint Titus EP” by Daniel J. Watts and Titus Burgess – If you are a fan of Tina Fey’s work, then chances are, you have met the fantastic Titus Burgess. I knew the man had chops, pizzazz and had been on broadway, but not to the level of releasing music. In fact, I have been thoroughly obsessed with his tracks “Peeno Noir” and his “Hold Up” parody – both from the Netflix show “The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.”

The first time hearing the chorus of the track “45” featuring Daniel J. Watts, I knew this EP was something special. Even if you do not usually enjoy music that makes an overt political statement, this song is where it is at and the rest of the album, like much of popular art, is more thematically toned down.

Must Watch:

“Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn” – Now that this is available for home viewing, it can make this list! The film features hilarious and colorful, yet John-Wick-esque action scenes, and of course an extremely talented cast made up of multiple women of color and canonically LGBTQ+ characters being badass. Also, the film was directed by a woman of color, Kathy Yan. One of the best things is that when they finally have their “we’re gonna have to work together” moment, it is not the undeserved moment we had in “Avengers: Endgame.” This film easily makes my top five superhero (or superhero-ish) films of all time.

“The Watchmen” (HBO) – The teaser images showed very little, but the moment I saw the flood of high praise for “The Watchmen” and the subject of the Massacre on Black Wall Street in the pilot, I knew I needed to watch this.

Taking place 34 years after the original 10 issue “Watchmen” story by wizard Alan Moore, this show mostly follows ex-cop and current vigilante Angela, played by the Regina King. Angela begins unraveling the mystery as to why the law enforcement in her town are being murdered. Like the source material, this show tackles very complicated political topics, from what reparations could look like to what it means to be a vigilante, in a way that leaves everyone pretty exasperated and on the edge of their seats the whole time. Something very clear from the show was its authenticity and ability to build new multi-dimensional characters and expand on the complicated nature of the original characters and plots.

Must Reads:

“An American Marriage Story” by Tayari Jones – This story was recommended by nearly every reader I follow on YouTube and GoodReads, so I finally gave it a chance and – it hurt. The novel focuses on a middle-class black family whose lives change forever when the husband is convicted of a rape he didn’t commit. This novel, unlike another recent book, is an Oprah Book Club pick that is told by a black woman about a black woman. I have never been a person who loved narratives that heavily use letters in stories (even though some of my favorite books employ it). However, this book does it so well. 

“Dread Nation” and “Deathless Divide” by Justina Ireland – Look familiar? This is because “Dread Nation” was featured on my blog several months ago. I wanted to highlight yet again because  I am rereading it for the third time and just finished the sequel. So far, I have convinced two people to read it and they like it, so it isn’t just me.

“Brisingr” by Christopher Paolini – The Inheritance Cycle was my third favorite book series growing up. Because of various circumstances, I was never able to get to the last book. Late last year I started rereading them and coming back to “Brisingr” was one of my favorite experiences rereading a book. It was just fun, stressful and adventurous for the first time because I remembered next to nothing. I wanted to add it to the blog because I have heard very mixed things about the last book. Thus, this is my time to bring up how much I love this series (so far).

“The Poet X” by Elizabeth Acevedo – “The Poet X” tells the story of a young Dominican girl in Harlem dealing with the pressures of many things including a very Catholic mother, a changing body, first major crush and all of it is told through narrative poetry. If you like poetry, then read it as you wish. However, if you are like me and it is something you like to hear performed only, then read this as an audiobook – which by the way is narrated by Acevedo.

More Ya Know:

“The Original Renegade” (The New York Times) – Dubbed by many as “the TikTok Dance,” this dance aided Charli D’Amelio’s skyrocket to fame and features a multi-step dance routine to a section of Atlanta rapper, K Camp’s, “Lottery.” Like most aspects of popular culture, this viral trend was colonized, leaving the then 13-year-old creator Jalaiah Harmon without credit until this New York Times article brought her to the forefront. 

In a recent video discussing this article, the homogenization of “the youths” in the internet age, and access to resources in the world of TikTok, Jouelzy – founder of SmartBrownGirl.com – summed it up perfectly as “proximity to blackness is profitable. Being black, not so much.”

“The Woman who invented Rock’n Roll” – Following that thread of an under-recognized black woman, there is another more influential one by the name of Sister Rosetta Tharpe. With people like Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley naming her direct inspirations, you know something is special about her. This well-crafted video by music history channel Polyphonic tells her story and the birth of rock’n roll.