NEW NEW NEW!!!!

Starting a music 'zine. You can read the first official blog here: http://bluelacenola.blogspot.com.

Comments and criticism welcome!

-d

Plottin', schemin', and 'zine-ing?

I know I've taken quite a hiatus on the blog, but it's given me a lot of time to reflect on things in my life as a writer. As of now, I am a senior at the University of New Orleans persuing an undergraduate degree in English, with no idea what the fuck I'm going to do, or where fuck I'm going to go afterwards and it's so FUCKING scary. The only thing I am certain about is writing about music. No matter how many times I try to imagine something else for my future, it doesn't feel right. It really is the only thing that's interested me since the age of 16. It's crazy because I know I'm not going to make any money, and that finding a job is going to be extremely difficult –if not impossible to find-- in this economy. However, I'm still stuck on the dream of being a rock critic.

Fuck me, right?

Lately, graduate school has been looking like more, and more of an option to consider But that's another ordeal in itself. I'm pretty certain I want to go, but pre-graduation jitters have me worried about getting into the proper school and degree program. Not to mention the cost...but we're not going to talk about that right now. For now, my plan is (with the 29 hours I have left to complete my B.A.) is to go to school 12 hours in the fall and spring, and finish up in the summer of 2010. (I'm spacing it out so that I can bring up my cumulative GPA, which is now a 2.5). Then I plant to work for a year on my portfolio, apply to different programs, and consequently start grad school in 2011. But with at least 3 semesters left in school, a lackluster GPA, a fuckton of student loans, and absolutely no money...the graduate school thing has been looking more and more dismal.

And then, it hit me. Or, rather my roommate did.

I figured that graduate school is worth a shot. Although my GPA may be questionable, I still have a year to bring it up and continue working on my portfolio. I've been lucky enough to have been published in a few location publications and various websites, and I've also completed a writing internship (and I'm working on securing another). My hope is that my writing work can supplement for some of my weaker grades, (Anyone with advice/experience on this, please contact me! dminor@uno.edu) and what better way than to start my own 'zine? It's been an idea I've toyed around with in the past, but put it to bed when school became too stressful last year. However, this morning my roommate Angelina –whom is an aspring musicologist in her senior year at UNO-- came up the idea of starting a newsletter/'zine that focuses on music writing from a female perspective. It's possibly one of the scariest –yet most amazing-- thing I have attempted to do in my 22 years on this planet.

Once we get the first newsletter put together (the title is tentative at this time), we will also launch an interactive blog of the content –which I will link to my blog. I'm not sure what's going to become of this, but our aim is to prove to our future colleague, colleges, and musicians that we are dedicated music writers...and more importantly that we are two bad-ass bitches who are going to turn the male-dominated world of music crit on its head. No pun intended, of course.

God must have spent a little more time on you.

Nsync - God Must Have Spent A Little More Time On You

It's almost 3:30 in the morning as I sit here, taking a break from cleaning my incredibly messy room. Final exams are looming, so I'm using cleaning as a vehicle to decompress.

Going well so far...

I started off the cleaning session with Radiohead's Hail to the Thief. Everybody makes such a big deal about Okay Computer and In Rainbows (although, I'm not disputing either album's artistic value); however, my personal favorite has always been Hail to the Thief and Kid A. And I'd definitely say Kid A > Hail to the Thief.

Whatever.

Critics are often wrong. And I should know because I'm one of them.

Next, I played 'Nsync's self-titled album. I went through an intense phase with 'Nsync during my adolescent years --to an extent which I will not describe for fear of embarrassment. However, what's probably even more embarrassing is what I'm about to say:

In a world of auto-tuned, over-sexed radio pop, I find "God Must Have Spent A Little More Time On You" as being deeply sweet and touching. It reminds of a time when every fucking song on the radio wasn't about drinking, asses, clubbing, sexing, or drinking and sexing --or, all of the above.

Anyway, I'm off to finish cleaning. Or, sleep. Whichever happens first.

Holy Shit.

Maybe it's just because I'm still awake and it's 4 a.m., but this video just blew my mind. Misogyny without a penis??!



And this video and song, I just plain like it:


They're actually a Christian band if you can believe it.

Born to Rock.

***Author's Note: I had to get this off of my chest, so I'm sure I'll cringe at the errors my dyslexic ass has made in retrospect. Trust me, editing will happen.

Recently, I've been seriously questioning my taste and scope of music. For most people this would be something that is absolutely inane and unimportant to their everyday existence, but for me it is unsettling. I consequently sent this e-mail to a friend:

Currently, I have about 14 GBs of music --some of which I have been replacing since Hurricane Katrina. I've got about 30 more albums to go. I know that I'm severely lacking in size and variety. On the upside I read a ton about music, so if I don't own an album, I've probably read about it. I also have a lot of alt-rock (and its many offshoots), pop, experimental, and indie. In addition to this, I have an uncanny knowledge of contemporary Christian music. Right now, I'm acquiring a lot of older music because I am currently frustrated with the current state of modern rock. And I have really mixed feelings about the few indie bands that I like. Plus, I'm only 22. I've a got a lot of music to catch up with! My catalog is small, but generally speaking, I have the most diverse selection of all my friends. Here's how it breaks down:

(Editor'sNote: this is not my entire library)

*Classic Rock: Led Zeppelin, Bad Company, The Beatles, Heart, Bob Dylan, Love, The Association, Strawberry Alarm Clock, The Doors, AC/DC, Frank Zappa, Captain Beefheart, SRV, Yardbirds, The Animals, Cream, Derek & The Dominoes, Queen, The Rolling Stones, Van Halen, Def Leppard, Donovan, Ted Nugent, Beach Boys, Jimi Hendrix, Bowie, KISS, Pink Floyd, Syd Barret, Thin Lizzy, Televison, The Who, Yes, The Police, Living Colour, R.E.M., Talking Heads, Nico, J.J. Cale

Old School Punk/New Wave: Dead Kennedys, Devo, BlondieSex Pistols, The Clash, Carpettes, Wire, Bad Brains, Ramones, Fear, The Stooges, The Damned, Fishbone

Boogie/Funk: Dr. John, The Meters, Parliament Funkadelic (They'd take away my citizenship in New Orleans if I didn't listen to them)

Blues: Robert Johnson, Harlem Handfats

Jazz: Miles Davis, Nina Simone, Billie Holiday

Soul: Marvin Gaye

Country: I don't suppose Wilco counts?

Metal: Slayer, (old school) Metallica, (old school) DragonForce, Between the Buried and Me, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Testament, Lita Ford

Dance/Techno: LCD Soundsystem, Daft Punk, Fedde La Grande, MIA

Classical: Chopin

Rap: Lil' Wayne, Rhymefest, MURS, GZA, De La Soul, Beastie Boys, Eminem, Jay-Z, Tribe Called Quest, Boogiemonsters, Nas, Lupe Fiasco, Public Enemy, Soulja Slim, Tupac, Dizee Rascal

* Technically, some of these artists fall under different sub-genres and subcategories.

What do you think?

His response was that my "black music is sorely lacking." So, being the over-analytical person I am, I started examining exactly why this is. Here's what I came up with:

* * *

My musical taste is odd for a black woman. But I suspect that is due to my weird upbringing I grew up in a mostly black middle-class area, and I attended a VERY small religious school (grades pre-k through 12th). When I was in the car with my mom when as a child, I listened to what she listened to: contemporary Christian radio. For most religious black families in south, this was a rarity because my mother, who grew up in rural Mississippi, did not listen to a lot of gospel. Consequently, I've never acquired a taste for it. Outside of contemporary Christian stuff, my mom also listened to Nat King Cole and Classical. I loved it when she would play "Four Seasons."

Growing up in a with a single-parent income I also didn't have cable, and didn't get much exposure to movies. This probably also explains my total lack of knowledge about film. Music was always free, and therefore, always within my reach.

Aside from my mother, any other exposure I got from music before I was in middle school was through my brother (whom is 13 years my senior). He was really into Boyz II Men and underground hip-hop. We spent a lot of time together as he would babysit me while my mom was at work. I remember sitting on floor with him in front of the stereo system that sat in our living room. I must have been about 5-years-old. We were both sitting Indian-styled and he was teaching me how to whistle and snap my fingers --both of which were unsuccessful on my many attempts. When I finally learned to snap; it was to a Boyz II Men song. It's still to day one of my favorite memories of my brother and I.

As I got a little older, I started poking around my brother's CDs. It was almost like that scene from Almost Famous when William was thumbing his way through his older sister's vinyl and for him it was like seeing the face of God. For me, it wasn't quite this way, but it was a powerful connection. Some of the album covers are still burned in my memory: Nas, "Illmatic"; Dead Prez, "Let's Get Free"; Jurassic 5 "Quality Control"; Boogiemonsters, "Riders of the Storm"; Jamiroquai, "Return of the Space Cowboy"[1]; and a Jimi Hendrix album whose name I cannot recall. I also distinctly remember finding the back cover of the Hendrix album extremely weird and interesting, because I had never seen a black man with a guitar. I knew I had to listen it.

When I was 11-years-old, I went through an intense phase with Nsync (yes, Nsync. I still cringe at the fact that I still remember every word to their first two studio albums.) Around this time, I started listening a lot of Top 40 radio and I began noticing my fascination with learning about artists and reading music press. (Although, this was stuff like J-14, Seventeen, and Tiger Beat.) Throughout the duration of my middle and high school years, I developed a deeper passion for reading about and learning all that I could pertaining to music. At this time I was singing Classical music in my school choir (until eighth grade). A turning point took place when my best friend at the time, Janette, gave me a copy of “Now 3.” It's pretty laughable when I think back on it, but at 11 it was like seeing the face of God. It was the first time I listened to Blink 182 (I loved the "All The Small Things" video), Garbage, Oleander, or Limp Bizkit. I gobbled it up like a fat kid gorging on box of Twinkies, because deep down I desired to embrace the rock videos I saw. However, I felt discouraged because it wasn't what the cool kids were listening to and I did not want to get labeled as listening to "white music" --something that I was constantly teased for because I haven't always had really good diction. If you're from the North this might be harder understand. Yet, I digress. Owning “Now 3” fueled my burgeoning passion for rock-n-roll. It was the devil's music and I liked it.

Luckily, I found companionship with another black classmate, Joshua Connelly. We both liked Limp Bizkit, and we would sing their songs together our classroom. We talked a lot about how he was learning drums and bass. It was a important relationship because at this time everyone in our class was breaking off into their respective social circles. I wasn't popular, and I stopped trying to be. I may have not gotten invited to many sleepovers, but I always had my rock-n-roll. to comfort myself. I also suspect this had something to do with not being a rich kid, and my physical appearance was going through some weird phases. I was always the darkest-skinned girl black in the class, and all the boys --black and white-- flocked to more attractive light-skinned girls with less afrocentric features. Rap could never quell the sadness I felt for not accepted by my more popular peers, and I believe it is percisely why rock worked so well for me. It was abrasive. It was dark. It was different, and it fit me perfectly because I never made an emotional connection with rap. And although it was no of interest to my peers, or any other black person I knew, when painted my nails black and started stabbing safety pins through the strap of my messenger bag I felt connected to something that bigger than myself.

Upon entering eight grade my mother passed away and writing became an integral part of my life. For quite some time, following her death, I become more withdrawn and I turned to writing as an escape. I also developed a penchant for sharing my thoughts about music (almost a primitive form of reviewing album, if you will). I constantly suggested albums to my classmates and made cassette tapes of mixed music. As a few years went on my passion for rock music grew and became inspired to start playing guitar after listening to the Nirvana. The words of lead singer Kurt Cobain inspired me to try my hand at being a musician.

During this time, I read a biography of Cobain called Heavier Than Heaven, which to this day is one of my favorite books about music. I remember reading it and feeling like someone was inside my brain reflecting on paper all the feelings I always had about music. This fueled my curiosity of becoming a writer. As I read more about music, I inherently identified with each one of my favorite literary pieces dealing with music. I recognized that writing about the experience I have with music was something I desired. I became deeply interested in the concept of music used in a way to understand life, like in the way a song or guitar riff can articulate your feelings in ways you, at times, cannot verbally express.

Over time, I realized that what I wanted to write do was about music. When I was a sophomore, I wrote my first research paper about music. It was about the development of MTV and the affect it had on modern culture. Little did that I know this research paper would became a trend throughout the rest of my high school years. During my senior year, my English teacher allowed me to write about rock music in 1980s as my final English project (which was my fourth consecutive high school research paper on music). After graduating, I enrolled at the University of New Orleans (UNO). During my first semester, the fall of 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. The storm devastated the entire city and forced me to move to Birmingham, Alabama for five months before moving back home. After moving I wrestled with the idea of pursuing my dream as a writer. I loved writing, but I never believed it was something I could actually do.

Many nights I would lie in bed, and thoughts about the future filled my head. During those fleeting moments, before I drifted off to sleep I thought back to my days in junior high school when I saw my first music documentary, which was Behind the Music. I remember thinking I wanted to be like them. Of course, at the time, I did not know exactly what the profession entailed. Nonetheless, what I did understand was that when those journalists were on television they talked about music with the same love and passion that I always felt for music.

Finally, after encouragement from a friend, I found the nerve to make the decision that would change my life. In February 2006, I returned to New Orleans with the passion and determination of becoming a music journalist. I re-enrolled at UNO, switched my major to English, and began work on a writing portfolio. I also became a staff writer for the campus newspaper. And as I ventured further into music writing, it became important to me to discover what makes a good music writer and why music is such a huge part of my life: I realized the re-occurring, but powerful, affect of music and important moments of my life.

I guess I'm just a born rock-n-roller.

* * *

[1] In 6th grade I was assigned to give a presentation on England which including bringing in a traditional dish and sample of British music. I brought Shepard's Pie --which my mother made-- and Jamiroqaui's "Space Cowboy." No one ate it because Shepard's Pie was weird (read: non-American), and I remember feeling embarrassed --especially when the popular kids in the class snubbed it :(