From Then 'Til Now, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom and Little Weirds.
Featuring a podcast with Big Up Menace X.
Welcome to the thirty-sixth installation of The Q : your one-stop weekly newsletter of culture recommendations.
BEFORE YOU CONTINUE….As The Q expands, we are looking for more people to join our wonderful team! If you are interested, please check out the slide deck below detailing the various roles and experiences open for applications.
Album
From Then ‘til Now by Haich Ber Na
Haich Ber Na’s newest project, From Then ‘til Now, begins with a metallic clanging of synths and drums before gliding into a groovy beat as Haich Ber Na’s vocals envelop the track. The song then proceeds to take you all over the musical spectrum, introducing you to lush synths, passages of drumless bliss, and the singer’s haunting voice.
Film
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom directed by George C. Wolfe
As someone who grew up with a playwright as a father, I’ve become quite fond of the unique form that theatre writing takes on in comparison to other dialogue-dependent mediums. My father is very opinionated as well — I have often been told that theatre and film should remain independent. In the end, he has taught me that the ultimate differentiation between the art of film and theatre is the actors’ proximity to their audience. George C. Wolfe, director of Netflix’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, acknowledges this separation between film and theatre, and in his on-screen adaptation of August Wilson’s 1982 play of the same name, attempts to condense these two mediums into one.
Book
Little Weirds by Jenny Slate
All due credit to Little Weirds’ cover artist: every promise made by the strange garden adorning its facade was kept—not to mention George Saunders’ glowing review with his name printed in fuchsia. Little Weirds is a construction project begun by a woman in heartbreak. Slate, who I won’t stop referring to as Jenny, (only a few moments of her Netflix comedy special will prove her surname disserves her vibrancy) crafts in these fifty short sections something like magic.
Playlist
Sarah’s “hmmmm“ features Mereba, D’Angelo, and Erykah Badu
Sarah’s favorite track:“Time’s A Wastin“ by Erykah Badu
Description: This is an ideal playlist for being high, fucking, or going on a stroll. It just puts you in a good mood.
Podcast
Episode #36: Hot Green Tea and an Interview with Big Up Menace X
In this week's episode, Sam and Teresa interview Big Up Menace X over a cup of hot green tea. Big Up Menace X is an experimental film maker, composer, producer, pianist, vocalist, and skateboarder from Detroit, Michigan. According to the artist, his sounds capture the image of a majestic deteriorating purgatory non-chalantly while incorporating rare sample sources to create an auditory and visual world. Big Up Menace X talks to Teresa and Sam about his newest release, Artificial Emotions and Coping with Cybernetic Love TELEPATHIC GOTHIKA ISSUE #4, navigating through different genres, and finding sonic and spiritual balance between light and darkness.
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