True Art Lovers

Recently watched Herb & Dorothy, an interesting, quirky documentary. The movie is about New York art collectors Herb and Dorothy Vogel, who amassed one of the most extensive and amazing collections of modern, abstract art in the world over the course of a few decades.

What’s phenomenal about this endearing couple’s story is that they assembled this awesome art collection on the meager salaries of public servants. Herb was a sorting clerk for the post office and Dorothy was a librarian in the Brooklyn Public Library before they retired in 1979 and 1990, respectively.

Herb and Dorothy were both obsessed with art from the beginning and began making friends with up-and-coming artists. They collected works by bartering and making installment payments. Oftentimes, the starving artists were grateful just to have someone interested in supporting their work.

Among the artists whom Herb and Dorothy befriended in the early days were Christo and Jean-Claude, who later went on to international acclaim and designed the world-famous “Gates” installation that ran along 23 miles in Central Park in February 2005. One of the earliest pieces Herb and Dorothy collected was a collage by Christo, which the Vogels acquired in exchange for cat-sitting for the artist.

Herb and Dorothy crammed these brilliant works into every inch of their tiny apartment. Eventually, they began to feel that they should share these works with the world. But instead of accepting lucrative offers to sell the works, they donated them to several museums, including the National Gallery of Art in D.C. and the Akron Art Museum in Ohio.

It would be wonderful if, like Herb and Dorothy, we all had a special someone to not only share our lives with, but our passions as well.        

Black Family Drama 'Of Boys and Men'

Recently watched the movie Of Boys and Men, an independently-produced family drama with Robert Townsend, Angela Bassett and Victoria Rowell.

Townsend plays a working-class father who struggles to keep his family together after his loving wife (Bassett) is killed in a car accident. Bassett essentially has a cameo, appearing in a handful of flashbacks laughing and horsing around with her husband and children. There’s also a scene where she appears apparently as a ghost to reassure her husband that her spirit will always be with him.

Rowell plays the opposite of her scheming character Drucilla on The Young & the Restless. In Of Boys and Men, she plays Townsend’s understanding sister who becomes a surrogate mother and guidance counselor, of sorts, to her niece and nephews.

The story centers around Townsend’s 10-year-old son, who falls in with the wrong crowd and starts acting out and robbing neighbors after his mother dies. The little boy has to decide if he wants to go live with his more stable, financially secure aunt or stay with his harried, overwhelmed father. Young actor Dante Boens does an excellent job of portraying the boy’s emotional conflicts.

Of Boys and Men is a movie worth watching that presents a three-dimensional portrait of an African-American family.

 

 

 

My Favorite 'Bond' Theme Songs

Looking forward to the new James Bond movie "Skyfall." Just heard Adele's theme song, and it's definitely classic 007.

My favorite Bond themes of all time:

"For Your Eyes Only" - Sheena Easton

"Die Another Day" - Madonna

"Goldeneye" - Tina Turner

"A View to a Kill" - Duran Duran

"Nobody Does It Better" - Carly Simon

"Another Way to Die" - Alicia Keys and Jack White

I'd Rather Be 'Courteous' Than 'Polite'

I'd much rather be described as "courteous" than "polite."

"Courteous," to me, means considerate, conscientious of others' feelings, that you think before you speak and act.

"Polite" has a negative connotation - basically that you're considered "nice," i.e., a pushover!

Not Ready to 'Rumble'

I paid $4.95 to watch the so-called "Rumble 2012," a debate between Jon Stewart and Bill O'Reilly.

I'd read a review that said Stewart really laid the smackdown to O'Reilly, but I found the whole event underwhelming - rather than a "rumble," a big yawn.

Neither Stewart nor O'Reilly had a moment where they threw down a zinger that left the other speechless. Each was forceful in arguing their positions. And each got applause at various points from the audience at George Washington University, although the applause did seem to be louder for Stewart.

Rather than shedding light on the issues that divide the nation going into the final days of the presidential election, what the "Rumble" actually did was demonstrate why the nation is so divided. At one point, Stewart and O'Reilly engaged in a "Yes, he did!"/"No, he didn't!" back and forth about something that the president supposedly did or didn't do - very much like two kids squabbling on the playground.

I doubt if during the 90 minutes in which they shared a stage, Stewart or O'Reilly enlightened each other about any of their views.

'Beasts' Is a Quirky Little Movie

Recently saw engaging indie flick Beasts of the Southern Wild with my bud Ramin.

It was oddly coincidental that we happened to venture to the theater to check this flick out just a few days before Hurricane Isaac swept through on the seventh anniversary of Katrina.

Beasts is a quirky, interesting little movie about a young black girl who lives in an area of New Orleans known as "The Bathtub," presumably because of its tendency to flood when hurricanes hit. The movie begins just before Hurricane Katrina descends on the region.

The little girl's father is raising her as a single parent, since her mother ran off without explanation.

The story mainly centers on how the residents of the Bathtub band together after Katrina hits, sharing food and supplies and huddling together in one of the community's ramshackle structures that wasn't badly damaged by the storm. The multiracial group of residents resist the government's efforts to round them up and put them in a shelter.

Seeing that her father is gravely ill, the little girl goes on a quest to pinpoint the source of a blinking light on the horizon that she believes to be some kind of signal from her mother. As they doggypaddle across the Gulf with only a small life preserver to keep them afloat, the girl and some of the other little girls from the Bathtub are picked up by a kindly boat captain who helps them complete their journey.

At a floating bar in the middle of the Gulf, the girl meets a pretty woman who may or may not be her mother. The woman gives her advice about life - that it's rough and to let go of childlike impressions that everything will be fabulous when she grows up - and invites the girl to stay with her. I won't spoil the movie by revealing what the little girl ultimately decides.

Intensifying the plot is that the little girl has visions that enormous wild boars are coming to attack the close-knit community she lives in and destroy the world as she knows it. It's unclear whether these "beasts" that the title refers to are real are just figments of the little girls imagination.

Beasts of the Southern Wild doesn't exactly have a linear plot with a beginning, middle and end - at least not in the traditional Hollywood moviemaking sense. Although it's a small movie made outside the studio system with an independent spirit, it's not free of cliches and stereotypes. Life in New Orleans is depicted in Beasts just like it's been depicted in dozens of other stories - as a multicultural melting pot where people with funny accents drink and party a lot and gobble up loads of crayfish.

Overall, I'd recommend Beasts.  It's a heartfelt, character-driven movie that held my attention, wondering what was going to happen next.    

Jamming With Ambrosia Was 'Nice, Nice, Very Nice'

Earlier this summer, an early birthday treat to myself was getting to see Ambrosia at the Fraze Pavilion in Kettering, a suburb of Dayton, on Friday, July 13. It may have been Friday the 13th, but I felt like one of the luckiest music fans in the world, getting to meet a group whose music I've loved and played nonstop for years and years.

I put Ambrosia's music in the "blue-eyed soul" category, similar to groups who also rose to fame in the '70s like Michael McDonald and the Doobie Brothers, Steely Dan, and Darryl Hall and John Oates. Though these artists’ sound is often classified as "pop," "lite rock" or even "elevator music," it has a strong element of soul and R&B that have won them more than a few African-American fans like myself.

The tickets for Ambrosia were only $5, but fans could pay an extra $35 to gain access to a meet and greet with the band. Needless to say, as a diehard fan, I would have paid much more for this privilege.

To my delight, the guys in the band couldn't have been nicer or more down to earth when I met them. When it was my turn to be ushered in to the dressing room where the guys were greeting fans before the show, I shyly told them, "My name's Chris. I love your music."

They were all very friendly. The current lineup features original members, vocalist/guitarist Joe Puerta, drummer Burleigh Drummond and keyboardist Christopher North and “newbies” Doug Jackson and Rick Cowling.

While taking the photo, the band members told me, "Chris, stand next to Chris," so I wedged myself between Chris and Joe. Burleigh asked if I was a musician, to which I said no (although I've always wished I had learned to play a musical instrument).

The Fraze concert was a wonderful experience all-around -- perfect weather that was sunny and warm yet breezy and not too humid. And the wristband that granted me access to the backstage meet and greet also enabled me to sit in one of the first three rows (I chose to sit in the third row because there was an aisle seat, since my legs are long and I can get claustrophobic at times).

The band performed many of their songs from Anthology, their greatest-hits album that I've listened to over and over throughout the past decade. They opened the show with "Nice, Nice, Very Nice," an upbeat song with lyrics by famed writer Kurt Vonnegut. The number was very appropriate, since the weather was so pleasant and everyone onstage and off seemed happy to be there.

Highlights included an extended, intense version of the ballad "How Much I Feel" and an enthusiastic performance of the feel-good groove "Biggest Part of Me," which got the audience up and dancing, clapping their hands and snapping their fingers. Surprisingly, they performed "You're the Only Woman" early on in the set. One of their biggest hits (and one of my favorite songs of all time), I would have thought they would saved that gem for closer to the end.

After the show, I waited in line to have the guys sign my CD (they didn't sign autographs at the meet and greet before the show to keep things moving as quickly as possible before taking the stage). Once again, Burleigh asked me if I was a musician, to which I replied, "No, I play the radio." Keyboardist Chris pointed out, "If it wasn't for people who play the radio, we wouldn't be where we are today."

The coolest part of the experience was getting to tell the guys how I discovered - or re-discovered their music. As I related to them, in April 2003, I took my grandfather and father figure, whom I called "Daddy Bob," to buy an Easter hat for my grandmother, Pearl. Ambrosia's "You're the Only Woman" was playing on the Muzak at JC Penney in Eastland Mall.

I remembered that song and others by Ambrosia playing on the radio when I was a kid in the '70s. Hearing the soulful, jazzy "You're the Only Woman" on the store's sound system prompted me to go get their greatest hits from the library. I burned a copy of the CD of and proceeded to wear it out over the next few years until I finally broke down and bought an actual copy of the album, knowing it would be money well-spent and a prized possession for many years to come.

That shopping experience with my grandfather was one of my last memories of him, since he died the next year. The fact that I got to meet the band who performed the song that was playing that day in the store with my grandfather, and the fact that they're all so cool and down to earth was one of the most meaningful experiences of my life.  

The only downside to meeting Ambrosia was that original lead singer David Pack, whose soulful voice is featured on "You're the Only Woman," "Biggest Part of Me" and many of the group's biggest hits, no longer tours with the band. Nonetheless, the experience, overall, was nice, nice, very nice.

Don't Judge a Book By Its Cover

Recently stopped in a gas station and paid with cash – something I haven’t done in ages – because I’d just gotten a refund from items I returned to a store.

As I was waiting for the gas station cashier to ring me up, I glanced down at the register and noticed there was an open book beside it.

“What are you reading, if you don’t mind my asking,” I ventured.

As it turns out, this young man was very literate and recommended two interesting books that I plan to check out from the library – a fiction book called “Ishmael” by Daniel Quinn and a nonfiction book called “The Tale of the Shaman’s Apprentice.”

I have to admit, I never would have guessed from initial assessment of this guy, who had tattoos going up his arm, was that he was a very literate person. Just goes to show you can’t judge a book by its cover.

'Boys Town' Was Truly Ahead Of Its Time

Happened upon the classic black-and-white movie “Boys Town” at the library and enjoyed watching it. Spencer Tracy did an excellent job portraying  the real-life Father Edward J. Flanagan, who made it his life’s mission to rescue troubled youths, going so far as to building a city-within-a-city  for them in Omaha, Nebraska.  Mickey Rooney turned in a comical performance as a hard-to-reach teen who, of course, comes around by the end.

The DVD also had the sequel, “Men of Boys Town,” on the flip side. Like a lot of sequels, this one tried a little too hard to capture the magic of the original. For example, the scene with a little boy going in Father Flanagan’s office to hunt for candy was cute in the original but became a bit of a tired gag by the second movie.

Father Flanagan’s trademark philosophy that “there is no bad boy” was truly ahead of its time.

'Royal Pains' Is Enjoyable

Caught a couple of episodes of the USA Network show Royal Pains, about a medical practice in the ritzy Hamptons. I had never heard of the show and was pleasantly surprised by the series, which is well-written, well-cast and well-acted.

It's always a plus to see diversity on television, and Indian actress Reshma Shetty helps check this box as a beautiful, competent physician's assistant.

Rather than focusing on the obscene wealth of the patients that the doctors serve, Royal Pains features relatable storylines about people mistaking certain symptoms for serious illnesses. In one episode, for example, veteran Broadway actress Christine Ebersole plays a woman who swears that she's dying because of back pain that feels like heat shooting up her spine. After the doctors examine her, it turns out that the problem is she was unknowingly driving around with her seat warmers on!

The show balances comedy and drama but has a mostly lighthearted tone. One of the things I like most about Royal Pains is that it's a show for grownups, but it doesn't have a lot of vulgar language and gratuitous sex, which a lot of shows on cable feel they need to resort to in order to attract viewers. I don't consider myself a prude, but it was nice to watch a show while I was visiting good friends and not have to feel embarrassed when their kids came in the room.

My diagnosis for Royal Pains is that it's worth checking out and will hopefully enjoy longevity.

A Must-Have For Writers Who Want To Publish

The Indie Author's Guide to the Universe is a must-have for writers in all genres who are interested in publishing their work. Author Jeff Bennington provides sound, practical advice, helpful hints and trade secrets on everything from the importance of professional editing to cover design to marketing and generating buzz once your beloved masterpiece is finally in print.

The Indie Author's Guide is part how-to book and part self-help book that provides much-needed information and a big morale boost to not only help writers successfully get their work into print, but also to realize their full potential.

Much like the classic How to Get Happily Published by Judith Applebaum, The Indie Author’s Guide is something that every author – especially those who are new and/or independently published – should have as a constant companion as they stake their claim in the cold and often lonely terrain of writing and publishing in the Digital Age.

My Nightmare Experience With Slash, Rob Zombie and Marilyn Manson

As the classic song by the O’Jays goes, “I like music, any old kind of music.” I have universal musical tastes and don’t discriminate, being a fan of everything from smooth jazz to hard rock.

This spring and summer has been an “Ol’ Skool Headbanger’s Ball” of sorts for me – unintentionally. By coincidence, I ended up attending two big rock shows in the past couple months – Rock on the Range at the Crew Stadium in Columbus in May and the “Rock of Ages” tour with Lita Ford, Poison and Def Leppard at the Riverbend amphitheater in Cincy on July 2.

The “Rock of Ages” show was okay, overall. The only person I really wanted to see was Lita Ford, but missed most of her set because the show started right at 7 on the nose and her set ended around 7:30 – which I found odd. Most shows give audience members a 10- or 15-minute grace period to find their seats and get settled before the action starts!

Trying to find my seat, I heard the last strains of “Close Your Eyes Forever” and at least got to see Lita perform “Kiss Me Deadly,” but her set was way too short. At first, I was thinking maybe they gave my girl short shrift because of sexism in the music industry. But if that were the case, they wouldn’t have even had her on the bill in the first place. Still, she’s was definitely under-utilized. It would have been interesting to see her come out and join Brett Michaels and Poison for an acoustic power ballad set of “Close My Eyes Forever” and “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” (which Poison inexplicably didn’t even perform).  

To avoid getting caught in a traffic snarl, I left before headliner Def Leppard performed any of their songs that are familiar to me: “Photograph,” “Hysteria” and “Pour Some Sugar on Me” (although I did see them do "Animal"). 

Despite the somewhat disappointing show, I found Riverbend to be a neat little concert venue surrounded by an amusement park. I’d like to go back and take the kids in my family some time.

This year was my first time attending the Rock on the Range festival, which featured bands old and new, from Slash and Megadeth to Five Finger Death Punch and Incubus. Veteran hip-hop act Cypress Hill even took the stage.

Being in the audience at Rock on the Range was like stepping back into the '70s or '80s, with scores of hardcore rock fans banging their heads and pumping their fists in unison. The festival was very well-organized, with acts taking the stage on time and the large crowd remaining under control (at least when I was there).

The main reason I attended Rock on the Range was to see Slash, former Guns ‘n’ Roses guitarist and now a solo artist with his own band. Earlier this year, I happened upon his autobiography at the library and became absorbed in the juicy page-turner. Among other things, I learned that like me, Slash grew up in an interracial family, with a black mother and a white father (my parents are black, my stepparents are white and I have biracial siblings).

Slash put on a good show, did stuff from his new album Apocalyptic Love and other solo material as well as at least one GNR classic. The crowd sang along with vocalist Myles Kennedy to "Sweet Child o' Mine," very nostalgic.

I also enjoyed seeing Rob Zombie. He's a true showman who uses stage makeup, costumes, sets, video screens and lighting to full effect, like a younger version of Alice Cooper. Before Rob Zombie took the stage, I came in on the last part of Marilyn Manson's set. During the show, a guy came up to me and offered me a free wrist band so that I could get closer to the stage. “Thanks but no thanks,” I told him. Get closer to Marilyn Manson? Not my idea of a good time. He scares me. If I met him, it would be like encountering some kind of creature from a horror movie like Frankenstein - which is probably the image he wants to project.

I enjoyed Rock on the Range, but a nightmare unfolded after the show ended. Concert goers such as myself who chose not to pay $15 to park in the Crew Stadium’s lot took our chances on parking in the lots of the businesses that surround the venue. After the show, I came back to Aldi’s parking lot to find that my car was gone.

It's the worst feeling in the world not to be able to find your car, whether forgetting where you parked in a mall parking lot or, heaven forbid, realizing that your car has been towed or stolen. A car is like an extension of yourself, like a portable version of your house, where far too many of us spend way too much time caught in traffic.

I understand that a private business has the right to tow away cars even after hours, but the towing enforcement at Rock on the Range seemed to be selective. Other cars that parked in the lot where I did, including a monster pickup truck that wasn't exactly inconspicuous, were left untouched.

After I snapped out of denial and finally came to grips with the fact that my car had been towed or stolen, I schlepped all the way back to the stadium and related my plight to a security person and two state highway patrol officers, who all told me that there was nothing they could do to help me. They said since the incident happened off the stadium's property, I was on my own.

When it comes to the highway patrol, how far does this "not my turf" approach to law enforcement - or lack thereof - go? If I had told them that I saw someone taking a trash can and breaking out the store’s window and looting or witnessed a drug deal with hundreds of grams of cocaine going down in Aldi’s lot, would they have shrugged and told me it was none of their business?

Eventually, I called Columbus police on my cell and was able to find out that my car had been towed to a lot way down on the other side of town off Greenlawn Avenue. After what seemed like an eternity trying to flag down a cab that takes credit cards (Yellow Cab is apparently the only company in Columbus that does), I finally made it to the impound lot - only to discover that the impound lot doesn’t take credit cards! Go figure! The nice guy at the lot, a young black man, drove me to a nearby gas station where I was able to withdraw money at the ATM and finally spring my beloved vehicle from bondage.

I believe in personal responsibility and I learned a lot from this experience. Number one, I'll use better judgment in where I park from now on. As the saying goes, the cheap comes out expensive. I saved money by not paying to park, but cutting corners ultimately cost me a hell of a whole lot more! I'll also make sure to always carry cash in the event that I get stranded or some other kind of emergency arises.

But I also believe that venues like the Crew Stadium that depend on people patronizing their establishments would do well to have some kind of plan in place to accommodate patrons who run into emergencies. If someone loses their keys and doesn't have a cell phone - or misplaced their phone or the battery went dead or any number of other scenarios - it would be nice if they had a courtesy phone that could be used to call for assistance. At the very least, they should be able to call the police if you tell them that your car has been stolen or you’ve been the victim of some other crime.

What if I had been a reporter for Spin, Rolling Stone or USA Today who was working on a story about the summer music festival circuit and flew in to Columbus to write a story about Rock on the Range? Or, I could have been a reporter for Vibe, XXL or another national hip-hop magazine who flew in to do an interview with Cypress Hill. If I was an out-of-town journalist from a big city like New York or L.A., I don't think my impression of Columbus and Ohio, in general, would have been very positive. My impression would have been that the city and state are inhospitable and the “authorities” aren’t very helpful to people in distress.

The whole experience was like that movie “Judgment Night” where one wrong turn ends up turning what should be an enjoyable experience into a disaster. Although it actually only took me a couple of hours to get my car back (the show let out around 11 p.m. and I got home around 1 in the morning), it was an ordeal – the night that would never end!

A Very 'Funky' Theatrical Experience

When I recently saw  "Memphis the Musical," I went by myself, which I don't mind doing. Ever since I was a kid, I've known how to enjoy my own company.

When I first arrived at the Ohio Theatre, the seat next to me was empty. But shortly after the show began, two nice-looking women came and sat next to me. One of the women, a pretty, petite blond was trailed by a cloud of funk - and I ain't talkin' about the soulful melodies going down onstage.

I almost didn't share this story because I thought it might be impolite for a man to describe a woman with bad breath, but after telling several female friends, they laughed about it and gave me the go-ahead.

Well, this woman didn't just have bad breath, she smelled as though she had swallowed  a whole clove of garlic at dinner and it was emanating from her pores. Every time she would laugh or open her mouth in any way, an overpowering stench of garlic would waft over to me. I tried to discreetly cover my nose and shift in the other direction in my seat, but the smell still overwhelmed me.

Eventually, I got up and moved to a different row at intermission. I hope I didn't hurt the lady's feelings by moving. But it was so bad that I went home and washed up because I felt like I had a garlic film all over me. I took it as a "teachable moment": to be careful about eating spicy, odorous food when you're going to be in close quarters with people.

Maybe the lady had just finished watching one of theTwilight movies or HBO's True Blood before she came to the theater - because she ingested so much garlic it was like she was trying to ward off vampires!

'Memphis the Musical' Hits The Right Notes

The following is my review of "Memphis the Musical" from the June 6 edition of the Call and Post Newspaper:

“Memphis the Musical,” which played the Ohio Theatre in Columbus May 29-June 3, delivers a foot-tapping good time while exploring racial issues and measuring how far the nation has come since the civil rights movement.

Set in Memphis in the segregated 1950s, “Memphis the Musical” tells the story of Felicia (played by Felicia Boswell), a talented African-American singer who performs in a local nightclub and has hopes of scoring a recording contract and becoming a star. Huey (Bryan Fenkart), a White music fan, turns up one night at the all-Black nightclub where Felicia performs because of his love of soul music. There is an immediate attraction between Felicia and Huey, but they both know that interracial relationships are forbidden. 

Felicia and the nightclub patrons are wary of Huey breaking the city’s long-held segregation laws by venturing to the Black side of town, but they soon come to see that he’s genuine in his desire to support R&B music. Huey channels his passion for so-called “race records” into a deejay job at a Memphis radio station. With his irreverent, flamboyant personality, Huey quickly becomes the most popular local deejay on the airwaves.

As Huey’s star rises, he is determined to help Felicia realize her dreams. Despite the dangers of race mixing, Felicia and Huey begin a secret affair. Huey wants to bring their relationship out in the open, but Felicia tries to make him understand how they could literally be risking their lives by expressing affection in public.

The plot thickens when Huey makes the leap from radio to television, starting a Memphis version of “American Bandstand.” But unlike “Bandstand,” Huey’s show features only R&B artists and African-American background dancers. Just as Huey’s star is rising, Felicia’s career starts to take off and she gets an offer from a big recording company in New York.

Felicia and Huey find themselves at a crossroads. A national television network expresses interest in picking up Huey’s show, but the catch is that he would be required to replace the African-American dancers with White ones in order to appease conservative advertisers and appeal to a “mainstream” audience. Huey flat-out refuses to segregate his show, but Felicia tries to persuade him that he might want to reconsider the offer so that they can get out of Memphis.

Felicia tries in vain to convince Huey that the only way they can truly be together, bring their relationship out in the open, get married and start a family is to move North. Felicia is eager to start over in New York City, where the record company that offered her a contract is based. Huey insists that the only place he belongs is his beloved hometown, which the cast conveys in the moving number “Memphis Lives in Me.”

Determined not to be held back by Jim Crow, Felicia makes a tough choice to leave Huey behind and set off for New York. A few years later, she returns to Memphis as a star and brings her concert tour to a local theater. Huey has not been as fortunate, having been relegated to a small radio station that hardly anyone listens to. Felicia and Huey reunite, not romantically, but become friends when he joins her onstage at her concert to announce her triumphant return.

“Memphis” doesn’t exactly have a happy ending, but a satisfying one nonetheless. Boswell and Fenkart have chemistry and are convincing as lovers. Boswell, Fenkart and the other cast members are top-notch singers and dancers, and the show’s music, sets and costumes capture the feel of the 1950s.

“Memphis” sheds light on the complexity of race and issues that are still relevant today. When Huey criticizes Felicia for being timid about challenging society’s close-minded attitudes about their interracial relationship, she tells him that he’s speaking from a place of White privilege: “You have choices. You get to be White whenever you choose.” 

“Memphis” also portrays how early pop music often “borrowed” the creativity of Black artists without giving them credit. When a record executive asks Felicia if she can sing rock and roll, she replies, “Of course. Rock music is nothing but Negro blues sped up.”

“Memphis the Musical” was an interesting show to see in an era when the nation has its first Black president -- something that many who were alive during the show’s 1950s setting thought they would never see. “Memphis” is currently on a national tour and is scheduled to return to Ohio in early 2013 when it plays the Cincinnati’s Aronoff Center beginning Jan. 22. For more information, visit Memphisthemusical.com.  

Don't Hate The Player - Hate The Game

I was in Miami (Florida) last weekend visiting good friends who are like family. It rained the whole time I was down there and I just missed the tropical storm that was brewing in the Gulf on my way back to Ohio, but caught the aftermath in Columbus with the storms that hit on Friday and Sunday.

While I was in Miami,  the topic of the Heat’s recent big win and LeBron James’ MVP trophy came up.  My friends used to live in Columbus while attending Ohio State, and we agree that the overwhelmingly negative reaction to LeBron’s leaving the Cavs and moving to the Heat was over the top.

Being a native Ohioan, I understand people’s anger over the way he made the announcement. But I don’t understand why people were so upset that he chose to leave. I mean, everyone deserves an opportunity to branch out and grow – especially a young man in the prime of his career.

I thought it was lame that some people were acting like Cleveland’s entire economy was based on one man. Admittedly, I don’t follow the NBA closely, but I know that LeBron was a big draw and a big boost to the Cavs and Cleveland in general and that his departure left a void. But nobody should feel like an indentured servant – that they owe their whole lives to a team, a corporation or a city.

Instead of writing a public nasty letter to "King LeBron," Cavs owner Dan Gilbert should have said something to the effect of, "Ohio breeds world-class talent. We thank LeBron for his years of service, for all he's done for the team and for the city and state and we wish him the best." Isn't it better to maintain goodwill than burn the bridge and potentially turn such a talented individual into an enemy?

As my friends pointed out, NBA owners trade players all the time without any regard to the inconvenience and sacrifices that the players will have to make in relocating their families, etc. If LeBron had not been performing at his peak and the Cavs had chosen to trade him, would anybody have been crying for him?

Like show business, professional sports is a cutthroat business where you have a very narrow window to make your mark. Don’t hate the player, hate the game.

A Rare Treat - New Music From Wendy & Lisa

If you're a Prince and/or Wendy and Lisa fan, I highly recommend picking up the dynamic female duo's new album, "Snapshots."

Unfortunately, Wendy and Lisa's new joint is not a full-length album but rather an EP with just six songs. For those of us who are longtime fans of the duo who became famous as members of the Revolution, Prince's Purple Rain-era backup band, and hunger for more musical product, we have to be satisfied to feast on scraps. The upside is that the "Snapshots" EP comes with a photo book with some interesting candid shots, makes a nice coffee table book.

"Snapshots" is mostly an instrumental mood album, with relaxing, New Age-sounding music - Enya meets smooth jazz. There is one hard-rocking jam, "Perfect Stranger," on which Wendy delivers gruff, powerful lead vocals. With its edgy rock beat, it's easy to imagine "Perfect Stranger" being recorded by an all-girl rock band like The Donnas or Veruca Salt  - or even The Runaways back in the day.

Like W&L fans around the world, I wish the girls would record and tour more. It would be great to see them hook up for a tour of small venues with another indie rock group with a similarly devoted, if relatively small, following like Cincinnati's Over the Rhine. It would be really cool to be able to drive 15 minutes from my house and see Wendy and Lisa perform at the Southern Theatre or the LC Pavilion in downtown Columbus or the Newport Music Hall on campus.

I think Wendy and Lisa are two of the most multitalented yet extremely underrated, under-promoted and under-appreciated women in music. A lot of it has to do with the fact that neither they themselves nor their eclectic music fit into an easily-defined niche or category, and the narrow-minded suits at record labels and radio stations don't know how to market them - Are they pop? R&B? Funk? Indie rock? Or something in between? Their music is a combination of all of the above, with a whole lot of other complex, subtle textures and layers mixed in.

It's cool that W&L do television and film scoring for shows like Showtime's "Nurse Jackie" (for which they won an Emmy), the rom-com "Just Wright" with Queen Latifah and Common and the new Fox drama "Touch" starring Kiefer Sutherland. But they've only released a handful of studio albums. Many of their songs, like "If I Were Brave" from 1998's "Girl Bros.," are very upbeat and radio-friendly and deserve more promotion and airplay.

W&L's 1987 self-titled debut album, with melancholy songs like "The Life" and "Song About," got me through my brooding, awkward teen years. One of the most memorable moments of my life was meeting them several years ago at an event in L.A. and getting to tell them, "Your music made me feel less alone in the world," to which Lisa replied with a heartfelt, "Thank you for saying that."

It's hard to believe, but the 30th anniversary of "Purple Rain" is coming up in less than two years. Will Prince give us diehard fans what we crave and reunite with the Revolution - Wendy and Lisa included - for a world tour? Anything's possible... Miracles do happen.

As a 'Townie,' I Enjoyed Reading This Book

Recently finished listening to author Andre Dubus III's very engaging memoir "Townie" on CD. This was one of those audiobooks that I found hard to get into at first, but had me riveted once I got past the first CD.

Dubus very eloquently tells the story of growing up in the '70s in a nondescript New England college town. The title “Townie” refers to the insulting term that college kids have for lifelong residents of the town like Dubus – something I can relate to as someone who was born and raised in Columbus, home of the Buckeyes.

After his parents divorced when he was young, Dubus and his four siblings and their single mother struggled to make ends meet, moving frequently and surviving on cheap canned food.

Being short and scrawny as a kid, Dubus was bullied by neighborhood tough guys. At some point as a teen, he has an epiphany and decides he's had enough of being pushed around and starts working out. As he bulks up, Dubus transforms from a timid kid who was an easy target to an amateur boxer who goes looking for fights, taking his frustrations out on the very bullies who used to use him as a punching bag.

I don't usually condone violence, but there are parts of the book when you root for Dubus to beat up some coward who smacks around his girlfriend, or another jerk who had been wreaking havoc in the neighborhood and terrorizing innocent people.

Eventually, Dubus has another epiphany and realizes he can't go around solving all of his problems with his fists, that he's either going to end up killing someone or wind up dead himself. He becomes a sort of "thug whisperer," developing a knack for calming down guys who pick fights and learning to talk his way out of conflicts.

Instead of fighting, Dubus starts channeling his pent-up emotions into writing, finding almost immediate success selling short stories to magazines and later as a novelist of best-sellers like “House of Sand and Fog.” Dubus has writing in his blood, since his father, Andre Dubus II, was also a celebrated writer.

In his 20s, Dubus reestablished a relationship with his father, who was often distant during his childhood, by becoming drinking buddies with his old man. Later in life, Dubus selflessly helped his father recover from a tragic car accident that left him paralyzed.

Although it was hard to get into at first, by the time I came to the end of "Townie," I was sorry it was over.

Donna Summer's Legacy Lives On

So sad to hear about Donna Summer's passing. She could do it all: disco, pop, rock, R&B, even opera. Some of my favorite songs of hers are lesser-known hits such as the Quincy Jones-produced funky dance song "Love Is In Control" and the inspirational "All Systems Go."

I read her autobiography a few years ago and she overcame her fair share of tragedy. Her music and her legacy will never die..

An Unexpected 'We Are the World' Experience

I was recently up north in the Worthington/Delaware area - not exactly a hotbed of diversity.

Craving pancakes and wielding a gift certificate I got for Christmas, I decided to stop into the Bob Evans at 270 and North High. Despite my rumbling stomach, I got second thoughts as I pulled into the parking lot. I thought maybe I ought to go to a restaurant closer to where I live on the east side, where there are more people who "look like me."

But my hunger won out and when I went in, I was pleasantly surprised to find that this Bob Evans was, in fact, a hotbed of diversity - at least it was on this particular sunny Saturday. Much of the wait staff and many of the patrons were either African American or Hispanic. In fact, a couple of the waiters were chatting in Spanish to a Hispanic family sitting at the counter.

A multicultural, "We Are the World" experience at Bob Evans - who woulda guessed!

Reflections on Pink Floyd's 'The Wall'

After reading a recent article about Pink Floyd in Rolling Stone, I got their albums "The Wall" and "Dark Side of the Moon" from the library.

Not really my cup of tea, haven't become a Pink Floyd fan, although there are maybe two or three songs total from both albums that I'd listen to again. Listening to "The Wall" and "Dark Side of the Moon," you can definitely hear the influence on modern-day indie rock.

Revisiting Whitney's Movie Debut

In light of Whitney Houston's recent passing, I just re-watched "The Bodyguard," which I hadn't seen since going to see it at a movie theatre when it was released 20 years ago.

At the time, I loved the music but was underwhelmed by the movie itself and couldn't figure out why it was such a runaway hit.

With the perspective of time, it's clear that the star power of Whitney and Kevin Costner is what made "The Bodyguard" a worldwide blockbuster.

Christiane's Welcome Return to ABC's 'ThisWeek'

It was good to see Christiane Amanpour return to ABC's "ThisWeek" on March 4 for the roundtable discussion.

I thought Christiane made an excellent host of the show. She asked tough questions of movers and shakers but was also pleasant and friendly.

As Christiane's replacement, George Stephanaopoulis does a decent job, as he did in his previous stint as host. But I thought Christiane brought a much-needed dose of diversity and, as someone who grew up outside the U.S., an valuable objective persepctive on U.S. politics.

Had Fun Going 'Into the Night'

Enjoyed watching '85 flick "Into the Night" on YouTube recently. This romantic comedy/caper with the unlikely pairing of Michelle Pfeifer and Jeff Goldblum was often on cable when I was a kid, and it still holds up today. Great acting, a tense plot that keeps you on the edge of your seat rooting for Jeff and Michelle's characters to get away from the bad guys, interesting cameros by Dan Akroyd, director John Landis, filmmaker/actor Paul Mazurksy and others and a catchy theme song by the one and only B.B. King.

Oscar Highlights

I taped the Oscars Sunday night and have been watching bits and pieces throughout the week. Highlights for me were musical ones: Sheila E. and Pharell from the Neptunes leading the band and Esperanza Spalding's graceful, understated version of "What a Wonderful World" during the tribute to those who passed away in the last year.

I thought Billy Crystal did a great job as host, as usual, really brought back that nostalgic feeling about the greatness of movies.

Ray Parker Jr.'s 'Unsung'

Recently watched the "Unsung" episode on Ray Parker Jr. Learned stuff about him I never knew, such as that he played guitar for Stevie Wonder, Chaka Khan and other artists before starting his solo career. Also didn't know he had a group called Raydio before he went solo. I only knew him as a solo artist growing up.

Funny that one commentator described Ray Parker Jr. as being like "your cool uncle." He's always reminded me of my Uncle Dennis - they look just alike and are around the same age.

Kareem Abdul Jabbar's An Author - Who Knew!

Just listened to Kareem Abdul Jabbar's book "On the Shoulders of Giants: My Journey Through the Harlem Renaissance" on CD, came across it in the library. Very entertaining book with Kareem talking about growing up in Harlem, with guest appearances by the likes of Maya Angelou, actor Avery Brooks and even Billy Crystal talking about the area's rich cultural heritage. A great "read" for Black History Month

Remembering Whitney

Really saddened by Whitney's death.

Some of her favorite songs of mine are lesser-known singles such as "Miracle" from the "I'm Your Baby Tonight" album, "Step By Step" from "The Preacher's Wife" soundtrack and "Try It On My Own" from "Just Whitney."

I thought LL Cool J's opening prayer in her honor at the Grammys and comments about music having the power to heal were classy and on-point. Jennifer Hudson's performance of "I Will Always Love You" was raw and moving.

I thought Whitney was such a fighter that she'd always be around, maybe not topping the charts like she used to but pulling it together enough to have a long career and continue to perform live, make television appearances here and there, maybe even go back to her gospel roots. May she rest in peace.