Culture and Society

2020 Meditations on Sign ‘o the Times and the ’87 vibe

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Prince would build basketball breaks into his marathon 24-hour recording sessions. Photographer Steve Park captured Prince in action. Park’s book Picturing Prince is a must-have for any fan of the maestro or iconic photography.

So glad I chose to browse NYT.com this morning. I found a beautiful surprise: The backstory to one of my favorite Prince songs.

‘Sign o’ the Times’: How Prince Wrote and Recorded a Classic Song https://nyti.ms/2JIOzx3

Of many great interview clips included, this observation from his longtime sound engineer Susan Roger’s stands out: “He had a watchmaker’s knack for understanding how music worked and how to get it to work with the fewest possible parts.”

The bass and other instruments (Prince played them all on the song Sign O’ the Times) were created on a digital super tool called a Fairlight, Rogers explained.

Prince took a cassette of the song’s digital foundation to his car and wrote lyrics and melody. Rogers prepared his mics and left the room so Prince could record his vocals alone.

“You’d hear those soul preacher screams (while waiting for him in the hall) and you’d know: this will be one of those that has me on my knees,” she said.

Then the guitar would enter and echo the vocals in shorter melodies. And voilà: an innovative use of music to engage us in our environment while amplifying the soundtrack of our lives.

The pictures in this book say way more than a thousand words, but in the end the ultimate meaning is simple: Love.

A Hoosier Citizen video update: “Pop up artwork on Kirkwood as Covid-19 rages on” on YouTube – and more!

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Welcome to a Thursday afternoon in the heart of Btown (even though I errantly open my video with a “Happy Wednesday!” I scored some dope artwork, I think. It speaks to a certain mood I’m feeling.

Homeless artist David Ortiz Pino displayed a pop up art gallery on Kirkwood Avenue as Covid continued to rage state and nation-wide.

I purchased the drawing on the left and he gifted the drawing on the right.

Here are so additional scenes from the day…

An artist and his work. July 23, 2020.
Need to feel good for cheap? Landlocked Music can help! Steps from the Courthouse! http://www.landlockedmusic.com
Right on, Dionne! Let’s “Go with love!”
Some spoils of my retail therapy session in support of some of my favorite Downtown Bloomington businesses. Thank you, Landlocked Music and The Book Corner! http://thebookcorneronline.com/
Some sort of eggs incubating at Hash Road.
Rebecca Townsend walking Kirkwood, assessing her hometown scene in Downtown Bloomington, Indiana.
Turtle log is one source of zen reflection on Lake Alison. The Hash Road Hardwood Preserve offers a relaxing break from covid craziness. Need a mudbath or a swim? Need a hike in the woods or a paddleboard? Nature heals. https://www.facebook.com/1541417126106182/

A Hoosier answers the NPR Ahmaud Arbery Poetry callout

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NPR’s resident poet Kwame Alexander and Morning Edition’s Rachel Martin suggested we write poems for Ahmaud Arbery, a black man killed by vigilantes with law enforcement ties in Georgia.

Justice has yet to be served, though progress is being made as the assailants have been arrested and are being held without bail, while the 4th prosecutor to handle the case, a black woman this time, steps to the plate.

USA Today yesterday offered an update on the hottest case in Georgia Justice:

I heard the call out. And I knew it was time to write.

This morning, the flow came longhand.

Then it came in spoken words.

My condolences to Ahmaud Arbery’s family.

I pray for justice — and that we have the courage, patience, creativity and collective support to eradicate the twin‐headed, demon evil virus that embodies racism and violence.

Kwame Alexander plans to take the poems submitted in response to the callout and remix them into a new work. Let’s keep listening!