As a creative producer in Chicago, I’ve been curious to learn more about the mayoral candidates’ platforms regarding the creative sector. Thanks to Arts Alliance IL, we can now get a better sense of where they stand as a result of the Chicago Mayoral Candidate Questionnaire. Both candidates acknowledge the…

If you’ve perused any of the numerous tributes to Dave Jolicoeur — better known as Trugoy the Dove — who recently left this world, you’ve likely seen his group De La Soul’s groundbreaking 1989 album “3 Feet High & Rising” hailed as one of the most significant of the past…

Encompassing more than 22 genres hailing from over 22 countries. Music is magic medicine, and this year produced astounding alchemy across a spectrum of sonic styles emanating from everywhere on earth. Here are the 122 best tracks of 2022. Nearly every continent around the globe had a part in producing this year’s marvelous music including the countries of Canada, Chile…

I appreciate Paul Krugman’s “Blockchains, What Are They Good For?” article, but I’m hopeful his answer is wrong. — Krugman’s withering assessment of the state of crypto currency is warranted, but conflating the underlying blockchain technology itself may not be. Is blockchain doomed to the trash heap of tech history, or is it an idea still waiting to find its best use? Krugman asks “what useful thing does it…

For nearly 100 years Black musicians, from Duke Ellington to James Brown to Rebel MC, have used the term jungle to describe their own music. Why is it still so uncomfortable? I was recently asked to submit some music for a holiday compilation. I sent over a track I’d made called “Jungle Bells” to see if it might be up their alley. They loved it, wanted to use it, and even offered me a chunk of change to license it. Exciting!

Risk-taking, failure and resilience can lead to success, but not always. How did the out-sound of acid house become the in-sound of a generation. — Dave Swindell was in London in 1988 at the emergence of rave. As a nightlife photographer for Time Out magazine, he stumbled upon a nascent movement which would come to define a generation. When I read The Guardian’s review of his book of photos from that era, I was reminded…

Kelefa Sanneh’s new book explores rock, r&b, country, punk, hip-hop, dance, and pop, not only as art forms, but as identities that emerged from countercultural movements to become the fabric of popular music. — This book felt like a mind-meld from one music nerd to another. Although at first I disagreed with Sanneh’s emphasis on the importance of genre, I came to appreciate his framework for investigating how music cultures form, rise, and are ultimately defined in retrospect.

Buoyant Beats for the Turbulent Twenties — The article below accompanies a DJ mix of resurgent jungle featuring recent releases (2017 — 2022) in a genre that’s remained largely underground for more than a quarter century. DJ C “Nu Jungle” on Mixcloud When I first heard jungle music nearly 30 years ago it was a transformative experience, combining a number of the genres…

I’ve never used the term “OK, boomer” since I don’t like the idea of shaming elders. I have to admit though, that it’s crossed my mind more than once during your boycott over Spotify’s Joe Rogan show. It’s not that I agree with Rogan’s Covid misinformation, or that I think…