Humanizing Billie Holiday in ‘The United States Vs. Billie Holiday’
Lee Daniels/Courtesy
In highlighting Billie Holiday’s personal life, her vices and her interpersonal relationships, we are brought into a more intimate space with her.
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More than a professor: The enduring impact of Leon Litwack
Leon Litwack, historian emeritus at UC Berkeley, became a cult figure on campus by bringing his leftist intellectual fire to American history.
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Lee Daniels brings Lady Day to court, to screen in ‘The United States vs. Billie Holiday’
From the opening credits, Daniels’ film demands a diegetic performance of the standard, a vocalization of the unusual bond between singer and song that drives the entire narrative forward. And Day delivers.
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Kind of Blue
Kind of chaos
Perhaps the truth is, that for once in my life, there isn’t any chaos lurking behind the projector — it’s just me making shadow puppets with my hands.
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Our song
Kind of chaos
There is a tune that I would have described as “our song” while we were together, but it is entirely inappropriate for a wedding.
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Hozier’s ‘Nina Cried Power’ addresses cultural appropriation and spirit of protest
Hozier’s appreciation for the work of Black musicians shapes the entire track, including the lyrics, the gospel-inspired chorus and, most importantly, the involvement of a prominent civil rights singer, Mavis Staples, who sings alongside him.
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Don’t over-intellectualize this
Lost in Confusion
After two years of telling my best friend that I would go on one of his glorious campus tours and then continuously putting it off like any good homedawg would, I finally went the other day. It was filled with bright-eyed juniors and seniors in high school trying to determine
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