"People are using it out of context," said Leroy Comrie, a black city councilman who sponsored the unanimously passed measure. "People are also denigrating themselves by using the word, and disrespecting their history."New York's resolution is not binding and merely calls on residents to stop using the slur. Leaders of the nation's largest city also hope to set an example.
Rudis Mata, 21, of New York said it was pointless to ban the word if city had no plans to enforce it, adding that he thinks it's a violation of free speech. {ed. although author's like Randall Kennedy have published books describing it's history and usage}
"I don't necessarily think people should ban the word, but it's a derogatory term and it shouldn't be used," he said. "It's different from other curse words. It has a history."
Other municipalities have already passed similar measures in a debate that rose to a fever pitch late last year after "Seinfeld" actor Michael Richards spewed the word repeatedly at a comedy club in Los Angeles.
At New York's City Hall, supporters cheered passage of the resolution, with many of them wearing pins featuring a single white "N" with a slash through it.
Hip-hop pioneer Kurtis Blow Walker said when the resolution was proposed that blacks needed to stop using the word so "we can elevate our minds to a better future."
Others argue that use of the word by blacks is empowering; that reclaiming a slur and giving it a new meaning takes away its punch. Oscar winner Jamie Foxx, for example, has said that he will not stop using the word and that he does not see anything inappropriate about blacks using it within their own circles.
But in the uproar over Richards' outburst, black leaders including the Rev. Jesse Jackson and California Rep. Maxine Waters said it is impossible to paper over the epithet's origins and ugly history of humiliating blacks. They challenged the public and the entertainment industry to stop using the epithet.
"I forgive those young people who do not know their history, and I blame myself and my generation for not preparing you," Councilman Albert Vann said. "But today we are going to know our history. We are not going to refer to ourselves by anything negative, the way the slave master referred to black people, using the n-word."
New York's action resonated far beyond the city...[READ MORE]
Music
Featured Artist: The Grand Marquee
The Grand Marquee are a rock/psychedelic/new wave band that hails from LA and NY. With a 30 page spread in this month's Italian Vogue, The Grand Marquee are making headlines worldwide.
Here's what a German Music Review had to say about The Grand Marquee:
"The Grand Marquee - Ahead of the hype While the world is fearfull awaiting the new Killers album and one wonders why there are influences of Springsteen and U2 in their songs, while many music fans ponder, why Mando Diao or the Strokes can't come up with anything (good) anymore, shows a duo from New York and California the established (Schnarchbacken -> no close translation) sleepers, how to do it right. The Grand Marquee play fresh and easy going and poach in 30 years of music history - everything between Glamrock, Post-Punk and New Wave is quoted, who want's to have some reference points: Interpol, Editors, Black Rebel M.C. (when they sounded like Jesus & Mary Chain). On their Myspace-page it's saying that they didn't find a Record label so far, why I can't understand, because of the good song qualitiy. Their 6-track-debut-EP which they published themselves is available at CD-Baby or in digital form at iTunes. So come on before all of the hype-guys (no direct translation) notice this band!"
You can stream some of The Grand Marquee at their Myspace site, or download "Tunnel Vision" from their Sunshine.
As a fan of Interpol, I can definitely see the resemblance musically, especially on tracks like "Perfect," my favorite of the ones available for streaming on Myspace. Where a band like She Wants Revenge fails in their new wave tribute, so much so that it spirals into an gothic-industrial wasteland, The Grand Marquee shines.
The Grand Marquee - "Tunnel Vision"
Featured Artist: Swati
Swati means 'birth of a star' in Hindu and on her debut, Small Gods, Swati lives up to her name.
Simultaneously percussive and dreamy, revealing elements of her Indian heritage, Swati uses a twelve string guitar fitted with eight strings, employs open tunings ala Joni Mitchell and sings what she knows. The result is a remarkable debut that resonates with muscle and truth.
“A product of the rough-and-tumble social and musical melee that is New York’s Lower East Side, Swati Sharma wrings textures from her acoustic-electric Alvarez Yairi 12-string … that transition from sweetly chorused chords to nasty blasts of wildly distorted, low-octave - enhanced metallic mayhem.” – Guitar Player
Acoustic guitars must fear Swati…banging out riffs like a punk flamenco player…. a gritty reflection of New York’s Lower East Side.” – Boston Globe
A native New Yorker, Swati was raised on the Lower East Side’s vibrant and eclectic music scene, debuted at Carnegie Hall playing the trombone, recorded a demo with Steve Lillywhite (U2, Dave Matthews Band, Morrissey), and became a stalwart at New York musical haunts like the Living Room and Nightingale’s. The excitement and buzz led to a spot playing on the Lillith Fair tour. And then Swati quietly walked away from it all. Soul searching inevitably led Swati back to music, and she was soon at Allaire Studios in upstate New York, with producer Duke McVinnie (songwriter/guitarist with Shivaree), and producer/engineer Brandon Mason (David Bowie, The Secret Machines) recording the songs that would eventually become Small Gods.
The debut echoes with Swati’s sprawling vocals, honest and gritty in one moment, lost and hushed in the next. Edgy guitar riffs that are distinctly New York and the mellifluous sound of her signature acoustic-electric 12 string emit a powerhouse of sound. Swati’s virtuosity melds effortlessly with her voice that sweetly rips through all the beauty, to tell it like it is.
Don’t miss Swati on tour!
03/06 Hotel Café Hollywood, California
03/13 Indie Fest/Red Room San Antonio, Texas
03/15 Threadgills Austin, Texas
03/16 Cafe Caffeine Austin, Texas
03/17 Iron Cactus Rooftop Austin, Texas
03/23 Schuba's Chicago, Illinois
03/24 The 400 Bar Minneapolis, Minnesota
03/26 Xhedos Cafe Detroit, Michigan
04/17 Joe's Pub New York, NY
“2 O’ Clock in the A.M.”
“Blackjack”
Featured Artist: Field Music
From their Myspace site:
Field Music (songwriting brothers Peter and David Brewis plus keyboard manipulator Andrew Moore) covered a lot of ground in 2006. The trio from Sunderland, England, have performed in Berlin, in Milan and Barcelona, toured France with Architecture in Helsinki and the UK twice on their lonesome, including Reading and Leeds Festival appearances, and the US where they were one of the surprise hits of SXSW. They also found time to invent a dance craze (according to English tabloid newspaper The News of the World), etch one side of a 7" with a list of things you really shouldn't do but probably have, release a cash-in-b-sides album which gave a brief and inaccurate history of a slew of pre-Field Music experiments. In addition the band also found time to record their second album proper.
As with their eponymous debut, Tones of Town was self-produced. Recording took place at their own Eight Music studio in Sunderland between 31st January and 16th May.
Where 'Field Music' was the sound of a group making the record they knew they were capable of; dryly-produced, ambitiously skewed, multilayered pop which gradually revealed its intricacies over repeated listens; Tones of Town sees Field Music pushing and scratching at all of the boundaries implicit in their debut; the sound of a band moving in several directions at once, searching for ways to surprise themselves, taking risks and trying something new...[READ MORE]
3/1707 - Austin, TX @ Beauty Bar, 9pm, Memphis Industries showcase
3/20/07 - Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle*
3/21/07 - Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom*
3/22/07 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Lawrenceville Moose*
3/23/07 - Toronto, ON @ El Macombo*
3/24/07 - Ottawa, ON @ Zaphod Beeblebox *
3/25/07 - Montreal, PQ @ Main Hall*
3/27/06 - Boston, MA @ Great Scott*
3/28/07 - New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom*
3/30/07 - Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda's*
3/31/97 - Washington, DC @ Rock and Roll Hotel*
* w/ Land Of Talk, Menomena
Field Music - "Sit Tight"
Field Music - "You're So Pretty"
Field Music - "Shorter Shorter"
Field Music - "You Can Decide"