100 Issues for 100 Days: #84

#84: Smooth Like Chocolate

Rounding out my weekend of concerts was the Carolina Chocolate Drops, a Black bluegrass band. Much like Halloween, the image of bluegrass music has strayed far from its roots. Although most people think of rednecks and backwoods when they hear the banjo play, the truth is that the banjo is an African-American instrument that has many names across the African diaspora.

What makes the Chocolate Drops so dazzling is their ability to not only play a ridiculous amount of instruments but also their reverence for the history of bluegrass and it's African/African-American roots. Even the titles of their albums (Heritage, Colored Aristocracy) show their dedication to reclaiming bluegrass music for the Black community. At one point they took a bluegrass rhythm cut the meter in half to get a Charleston beat and cut that in half to get an R&B vibe going. How better to illustrate that bluegrass is part of the continuum that is Black music?

The show I saw was a family matinee and the performers were completely engaging as well as great educators. They taught the audience rhythms, rhymes, dances and the basics of all the instruments. During the Q&A, all one kid could say was "It was just fun!". It was a completely sweet moment.

I really enjoyed myself this weekend but this show was definitely the best way to cap off the performances I saw. I felt like this opened my eyes to something completely new. I've always loved ountry and bluegrass music but it seemed like an anomaly. In actuality, I was just being true to my roots. In my heart, I'm a Carolina girl and the Chocolate Drops definitely struck a chord with me.

100 Issues for 100 Days: #37

#37: Music & Lyrics

Today's a slow day for returning shows so I thought I'd honor all of my favorite television/music moments. Growing up, music was always a part of television. Theme songs and special guest stars always highlighted the musical moments of the shows but it wasn't until my teens when shows started to use television to launch new and emerging artists in a really significant way. So I just wanted to countdown my top 5 tv/music moments.

#5: Fisher - I Will Love You (Roswell)


I was a huge fan of the Max/Tess pairing on Roswell and their love scene was perfectly punctuated by Fisher's song. The love story of two characters separated by time and death was illustrated by the lyrics "Til my body is dust and my soul is no more/I will love you, love you"


#4: James Taylor - Fire & Rain (Dawson's Creek)

A classic song set to a memorable scene. After Dawson's father dies he all but burns everyone around him and ends up crying alone in his car while James Taylor plays in the background.



#3: The Sundays - Wild Horses (Buffy, The Vampire Slayer)



The best thing about this scene was that it was what every girl dreams of, dancing at her prom with her boyfriend, but it was set off by the knowledge that the moment was fleeting and more than likely the last time Buffy and Angel would be together. Bittersweet.


#2: Melissa McLelland - Rooftop (Degrassi)

Degrassi made a ground-breaking episode about a school shooting and besides the sound of gunshots, Melissa McLelland's song, Rooftop, haunted me or days after the show aired.



Honorable Mention: One Tree Hill. I have to give this show honorable mention because it consistently has amazing music and has introduced me to tons of artists. I actually could have done this entire list with just selections from this show.

#1: Kate Havnevik - Grace (Grey's Anatomy)



This moment tops the list because it has to do with two of my favorite television couples. In this scene Meredith and Derek succumb to lust and love after a season apart and a hopeful Izzie prepares to see the love of her life Denny Duquette as we watch him die. Beautiful, sensual, sad and life-changing. I don't think I've ever cried so much over a television show.

The Balance

So here I am on the other side of 25, the side that's tipping
a bit closer to 30. And that's how everything feels. Like it's all tipping a bit to the wrong side. To be quite honest, the only thing in my life that feels right is my friends. For the most part, friends tend to be my constant (not that my family isn't but they have their own issues on any given day).

If you check out my new iPod tunes you'll notice that it skews towards the 90's. It's because in the 90's, I had balance. I knew EXACTLY where I was going and what I was doing, and who I wanted to be. I wanted to be Julie Delpy in Before Sunrise traveling on a train from Vienna to Paris. I still want to be that girl.

The 90's made a kind of sense. The country wasn't completely steeped in sex and vacuous lifestyles. It was an age of pop-y boy band tunes and Britney before ... well, you know. Movies were quirky, the word "quirky" was still in vogue, Madonna was voguing. I know I'm still a bit young to be über-nostalgic but there was an energy in the 90's I just don't feel anymore.

Anyway, as I search for balance, I promise to update this week with some issues that have been rattling around in my brain: feminism, dreams, war, love, summer t.v. (lots to cover there), and fashion. Hopefully along the way, someone will offer me a job or a kiss and maybe I'll find some balance too.

Later days.