#Lane Beckstrom
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Live Picks: 4/25
Billy Bragg
BY JORDAN MAINZER
Young talents and old legends.
Boogie, Reggie’s
For the most part, Everythings for Sale, the debut album from Compton rapper Anthony Dixson, aka Boogie, is one of the better first major label efforts in recent memory. Short, concise, cohesive, and brimming with ideas, Boogie dexterously plays off downtempo instrumentation and beats to share his anxieties about leaving a legacy and being in a relationship. Ultimately, it paints a realistic picture because he never truly leaves his darkness.
From the start, Boogie is stuck in a rut and wants to die. Experiences like those on “Silent Ride” don’t help much, as he recalls the story of passing out drunk, his girlfriend giving him a ride home and looking at his phone for directions but ultimately going through his phone and uncovering dark secrets. She’s mad about what she saw, and he’s mad she violated his privacy, and he expertly details their silent tension over appropriately awkward flutes and beats. That the source of their conflict comes from a betrayal and lack of communication is the inherent problem behind “Lolsmh”, too. The title may be a cheap reference to overused text abbreviations, but Boogie has a point about how non face-to-face interactions cheapen emotions. “No, my skin ain’t thick, it’s thin, it prolly bleeds soon as you touch me/I love if you hate me, I hate that you fuckin’ love me,” he confesses, still wanting everything to be alright even through his crisis of confidence. And “Whose Fault” starts with a skit of fighting parents, Boogie in a spiral of self-awareness about his faults as a parent and stereotypes of black fathers: “I'm too pissed I say ‘no bitch, go tell your nigga do it’ uh / Another stereotype that I couldn't prove wrong.” Horns from none other than contemporary master Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah add emotional weight to the song.
The best songs are when Boogie takes the leap, moving forward even when he’s in a bad place. “Swap Meet” is a slow jam that doesn’t see him commodify a woman but comparing his lack of traditional currency--money--and plentiful emotional support to a bargain. He wants to “change your view on a bad day,” and you can’t ask for much more. So on “Skydive”, over gorgeous acoustic guitar, he laments our generation’s insecurity over commitment, comparing it to the title, a thrilling experience your average adult (born in a generation where marriage occurred much earlier in life and plane technology was worse) would consider scary. “Live 95″ provides a bed of calming smooth jazz over which Boogie is able to “find bliss in the abyss.”
What prevents Everythings For Sale from being a great album is a mixture of filler and misfires. The JID-featuring “Soho” is nothing more than a nervous sounding banger. “Self Destruction” is another radio ready track that’s both a thematic outlier and kind of pointless, Boogie wavering between appropriating mumble rap/ignorance and harping on it. The worst is “Rainy Days”. Boogie’s signed to Shady Records, Eminem’s label, which is easily ignorable save for Eminem’s awful guest appearance on the song. (I cannot unhear Em’s nadir, “I left my legacy hurt? Fuckin' absurd / Like a shepherd havin' sex with his sheep, fuck what you heard.”) Thankfully, though, Boogie admits his faults on brief closer “Time”, featuring a gorgeous guest vocal spot from Snoh Aalegra, wherein he declares that he just can’t help himself, whether it comes to sexual escapades, the desire for self-harm, or even just making the occasional bad song. At least he’s honest.
7.5/10
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Rappers KB. Devaughn, Bobby Sessions, & R I L E Y open.
Billy Bragg, Lincoln Hall
Folk punk singer-songwriter and activist Billy Bragg’s currently on the One Step Forward, Two Steps Back tour during which he delivers a set spanning his entire career. Expect to hear mostly his solo material, though perhaps a song or two from his beloved collaborations with Wilco as well as plenty of covers.
Eels, Thalia Hall
We previewed Eels’ set at Thalia Hall last year:
Mark Oliver Everett, E, MC Honky–those are all names currently or at once ironically adopted by the only consistent member behind depressed rock band Eels. Their new album The Deconstruction provides the exact sort of sad-sack music you’re used to from this band. While it doesn’t reach the same epic levels as an album like 2005′s Blinking Lights and Other Revelations or doesn’t have anything nearly as catchy as classics 'Novocaine For The Soul' and 'Mr. E’s Beautiful Blues', it’s another solid entry in an ever-expanding catalog.
Rock band The Inspector Cluzo opens.
Makaya McCraven, Empty Bottle
Jazz drummer Makaya McCraven takes Universal Beings back to Chicago tonight. When we saw him at Big Ears Festival last month, we wrote:
“Makaya McCraven, whose Universal Beings was a relatively global album (despite what he says) offered a blissful, nimble set of slow-burning grooves from that record and Highly Rare, with a band that included bassist Junius Paul and guitarist Jeff Parker of Tortoise.”
Who he plays with and what he plays may be different tonight, but the qualities should remain the same.
Chicago collective Resavoir opens.
#live picks#album review#boogie#reggie's#christian scott atunde adjuah#r i l e y#KB. Devaughn#bobby sessions#billy bragg#lincoln hall#eels#thalia hall#the inspector cluzo#makaya mccraven#empty bottle#resavoir#will miller#akenya seymour#irvin pierce#lane beckstrom#peter manheim#jeremy cunningham#everythings for sale#anthony dixson#j.i.d#shady records#eminem#snoh aalegra#one step forward two steps back#wilco
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Radix Dance Convention, Provo, UT: RESULTS
High Scores by Age:
Rookie Solo
1st: Stella Brinkerhoff-’Fly’
2nd: Audrina Mossembekker-’Once Upon Another Time’
3rd: Melina Blitz-’The Poet Creature’
4th: Soleil Lynch-’Titanium’
5th: Ellie Duke-’Birthday Boss’
6th: Brecca Garcia-’Day-O’
7th: Quinn Hatch-’I Don’t Know You Yet’
7th: June Circuit-’Move’
7th: Addalyn Daley-’Smallest Light’
8th: Haddie Kendrick-’Call On Me’
Mini Solo
1st: Lyric Okrusch-’Bonjour’
2nd: Tiara Sherman-’And The Things That Remain’
2nd: Karyna Majeroni-’Pistolette’
3rd: Esprit Frank-’Grains’
4th: Addison Price-’We Will Not Give In’
5th: Tessa Ohran-’Knock 1-2-3′
6th: Anistyn Larsen-’Desire’
6th: Tessa Johnson-’You’ll Never Know’
7th: Monroe Miner-’Dreamer’
8th: Shirlee Schwemin-’Do Your Thing’
8th: Sophia Baca-’Time Keeper’
9th: Ella King-’Like A River’
9th: Brenna Cummins-’Look What You Made Me Do’
10th: Grace Williams-’I Found’
10th: Londyn Long-’Somebody’
10th: Ivie Buckland-’To Build A Home’
10th: Harper Jones-’Wild Horses’
Junior Solo
1st: Crystal Huang-’Moonlight Sonata’
2nd: Mya Tuaileva-’Can’t Unhear’
2nd: Victoria Johnson-’Genius’
2nd: Alexis Mayer-’Vivid’
3rd: Kamri Peterson-’Crawl When You Can’t Walk’
3rd: Stella Condie-’Instruction’
3rd: Halle Hunt-’Uh Huh’
4th: Maely Weaver-’Staggered In A Configuration’
5th: Blakely Bell-’Shifted’
6th: Mia Olson-’Marionette Mischief’
6th: Taytum Ruckle-’Ultraviolet’
7th: Bryden Wagner-’Feat by Feet’
7th: Lena Hirsch-’Forsaken’
7th: Charlotte Webster-’The Light’
8th: Aida Nielsen-’Heart of Glass’
8th: Taryn Miner-’Make You Feel My Love’
9th: Carson Borst-’Goodbye’
9th: Anna Hendershot-’Human’
9th: Stella Paxton-’Punching In A Dream’
10th: Mackenzie Mueller-’Particles’
10th: Ava Magalei-’Red Dust’
10th: Marlee Hatch-’Where’s The Catch’
Teen Solo
1st: Izzy Howard-’Labryinth’
1st: Kiarra Waidelich-’My Mind’
2nd: Oana Barber-’Tenderness’
3rd: Rachel Loiselle-’Brass Tracks’
3rd: Mia Ibach-’Koladi Ola’
3rd: Sabine Nehls-’Shout’
3rd: Jaylynn Lindley-’Wisdom Cries’
4th: Sami Sonder-’Fever’
4th: Cydney Heard-’I’m Going In’
4th: Cami Massicotte-’Uncertainty’
5th: Zoe Ridge-’A Thousand Eyes’
5th: Ireland Jones-’Plans We Made’
5th: London Ludwig-’Work’
6th: Addison Middleton-’Error’
7th: Riley Hackbarth-’Mixed Tape’
7th: Isabella Lynch-’Residue’
8th: Ivie Lewis-’Fragment’
8th: Jordynn Christianson-’Sideshow’
8th: Carson Willey-’Talisman’
9th: Addison Ihler-’Boyfriend’
9th: Ashley Larson-’Cry For Home’
9th: Addison Taylor-’Darkest Hour’
9th: Emersyn Dickson-’Hunger For the Pine’
10th: Devree Rowley-’I’m Not Perfect’
10th: Olivia Pinon-’Les Mots Bleus’
10th: Sofia Andrus-’Numb’
10th: Tanley McCurdy-’Self’
Senior Solo
1st: Carter Williams-’20 Years’
1st: Brooklin Hunsaker-’Godspeed’
1st: Taylor Tebbs-’Inertia’
2nd: Vanessa Valenzuela-’Poem About Death’
3rd: Kadynce Ross-’Findings’
3rd: Kelsey Tippetts-’Never Grow Old’
4th: Jenna Beckstrom-’You Are The Reason’
5th: Emily Marsh-’Destination’
6th: Mya LeFevre-’I’m There Too’
6th: Maddie Thanos-’This Feeling’
7th: Kim Vu-’Second Choice’
8th: Christina Laude-’Black Ships’
8th: Brighten Bills-’Falling’
8th: Ally Smith-’In Memory of You’
8th: Delaney Vaughan-’Porcelain’
9th: Galilee Nelson-’Everything I Wanted’
9th: Gracie Gregory-’Gooey’
9th: Remy Wright-’Moments Passed’
9th: Chloe Baddley-’Volcanic’
10th: Teigyn Holt-’L J’
10th: Lilia McArthur-’Something’
Mini Duo/Trio
1st: Center Stage Performing Arts Studio-’Blue Skies’
2nd: Las Vegas Danceworks-’Maniac’
3rd: The Winner School-’So Long Dearie’
Junior Duo/Trio
1st: Center Stage Performing Arts Studio-’Size’
2nd: The Winner School-’Energia’
2nd: The Winner School-’Million Dollar Secret’
3rd: Alliance Academy of Dance-’Bones’
3rd: Empower Dance-’Daughter’s’
3rd: To The Pointe Dance Centre-’Fallen’
3rd: Studio C-’Praise You’
3rd: The Pointe Academy-’The Dance’
3rd: Center Stage Performing Arts Studio-’Turning In’
Teen Duo/Trio
1st: The Rock Center for Dance-’Last Light’
1st: The Rock Center for Dance-’Make Me High’
2nd: Empower Dance-’All My Friends’
3rd: Alliance Academy of Dance-’You Mean the World to Me’
Senior Duo/Trio
1st: Studio C-’The Raid’
2nd: Las Vegas Danceworkz-’No Ordinary’
3rd: Empower Dance-’Lose Somebody’
3rd: The Pointe Academy-’Two by Two’
Rookie Group
1st: Echo School of Dance-’It’s My Party’
2nd: Echo School of Dance-’Tonight Belongs To You’
Mini Group
1st: Echo School of Dance-’Don’t Hustle Me’
1st: Devotion Dance Academy-’Show Off’
1st: The Pointe Academy-’Smile’
2nd: Studio C-’Ease on Down’
3rd: The Winner School-’Dance Bug’
3rd: Studio C-’I’m In Love With A Monster’
3rd: The Winner School-’Stand By Me’
Junior Group
1st: The Winner School-’Icon’
2nd: The Winner School-’Searching Together’
3rd: The Winner School-’At My Best’
Teen Group
1st: The Winner School-’Free Hand’
2nd: The Rock Center for Dance-’Shadow Work’
3rd: Empower Dance-’Don’t Take The Money’
3rd: Empower Dance-’Lying Down’
Senior Group
1st: Echo School of Dance-’No Choir’
2nd: Alliance Academy of Dance-’Breathe’
3rd: Studio C-’Cello Ascends’
Rookie Line
1st: The Rock Center for Dance-’Innana’
2nd: The Rock Center for Dance-’Suite Tea’
Mini Line
1st: The Rock Center for Dance-’6 Out of Six’
2nd: The Rock Center for Dance-’Salient’
3rd: The Rock Center for Dance-’The Invitation’
Junior Line
1st: The Rock Center for Dance-’All Good People’
2nd: Creative Arts Academy-’Hey’
3rd: Creative Arts Academy-’Mr. Pitiful’
Teen Line
1st: The Rock Center for Dance-’Hey!’
2nd: The Rock Center for Dance-’Dark Winter’
3rd: The Rock Center for Dance-’Beautiful Truth’
3rd: The Rock Center for Dance-’Cadance’
Senior Line
1st: Echo School of Dance-’I Lost A Friend’
2nd: Alliance Academy of Dance-’End of Love’
3rd: Alliance Academy of Dance-’Build It Up’
Mini Extended Line
1st: The Rock Center for Dance-’Settle Down’
2nd: The Rock Center for Dance-’Jump!....Jump!’
Junior Extended Line
1st: Studio C-’Missy’
2nd: Heart n Soul Dance-’End As We Know It’
3rd: Heart n Soul Dance-’Swingin’
Teen Extended Line
1st: The Rock Center for Dance-’Movimento’
2nd: Alliance Academy of Dance-’Vogue’
3rd: The Pointe Academy-’Miss Otis’
Senior Extended Line
1st: Alliance Academy of Dance-’Come My Way’
Mini Production
1st: The Rock Center for Dance-’Mambo Baby’
High Scores by Performance Division:
Rookie Jazz
Echo School of Dance-’Tonight Belongs To You’
Rookie Ballet
The Rock Center for Dance-’Suite Tea’
Rookie Hip-Hop
Echo School of Dance-’It’s My Party’
Rookie Contemporary
The Rock Center for Dance-’Inanna’
Mini Jazz
Devotion Dance Academy-’Show Off’
Echo School of Dance-’Don’t Hustle Me’
Mini Ballet
The Rock Center for Dance-’The Invitation’
Mini Lyrical
The Winner School-’Stand By Me’
Mini Hip-Hop
The Rock Center for Dance-’Jump!....Jump!’
Mini Ballroom
The Rock Center for Dance-’Mambo Baby’
Mini Specialty
The Rock Center for Dance-’Settle Down’
Mini Contemporary
The Rock Center for Dance-’6 Out of Six’
Mini Musical Theatre
Studio C-’Ease on Down’
Junior Jazz
The Winner School-’Icon’
Junior Ballet
Studio C-’Penny Lane’
Junior Hip-Hop
Creative Arts Academy-’Watch The Throne’
Junior Contemporary
The Rock Center for Dance-’All Good People’
Junior Lyrical
The Winner School-’At My Best’
Junior Musical Theatre
Empower Dance-’I Won’t Say’
Junior Ballroom
Creative Arts Academy-’Mambo Italiano’
Junior Specialty
Heart n Soul Dance-’End As We Know It’
Teen Jazz
The Rock Center for Dance-’Shadow Work’
Teen Ballet
The Rock Center for Dance-’Dark Winter’
Teen Hip-Hop
Empower Dance-’Dior Mix’
Teen Contemporary
The Rock Center for Dance-’Hey!’
Teen Lyrical
The Winner School-’Moving On’
Teen Ballroom
The Rock Center for Dance-’Movimento’
Teen Specialty
The Rock Center for Dance-’Cadance’
Senior Jazz
Alliance Academy of Dance-’Come My Way’
Senior Ballet
Studio C-’Cello Ascends’
Senior Hip-Hop
Elevated Dance Project-’Are You That Somebody’
Senior Contemporary
Echo School of Dance-’No Choir’
Senior Lyrical
Elevated Dance Project-’Humbled By Breaking Down’
Senior Specialty
Elevated Dance Project-’Familial Division’
Best of Radix:
Rookie
Echo School of Dance-’It’s My Party’
The Rock Center for Dance-’Innana’
Mini
Studio C-’Ease on Down’
Devotion Dance Academy-’Show Off’
Echo School of Dance-’Don’t Hustle Me’
The Pointe Academy-’Smile’
The Rock Center for Dance-’6 Out of Six’
Junior
Empower Dance-’EveryHeart’
Alliance Academy of Dance-’Money’
Creative Arts Academy-’Hey’
The Winner School-’Icon’
The Rock Center for Dance-’All Good People’
Studio C-’Dangerous’
Teen
Studio C-’Station’
Echo School of Dance-’Fantastic Wreck’
The Winner School-’Free Hand’
The Rock Center for Dance-’Hey!’
Alliance Academy of Dance-’Vogue’
Empower Dance-’Don’t Take The Money’
Senior
Alliance Academy of Dance-’Come My Way’
Studio C-’Cello Ascends’
Echo School of Dance-’No Choir’
Elevated Dance Project-’Familial Division’
Studio Standout:
The Winner School-’Free Hand’
The Rock Center for Dance-’Hey!’
The Pointe Academy-’Miss Otis’
Studio C-’Station’
Las Vegas Danceworkz-’Derailed’
Heart n Soul Dance-’Gladiator’
Empower Dance-’Don’t Take The Money’
Echo School of Dance-’No Choir’
Alliance Academy of Dance-’Come My Way’
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Resavoir - s/t LP - light and joyous jazz fusion from Chicago (and Bandcamp’s Album of the Day)
Riding the ripples of their debut single “Escalator” (which BBC’s Gilles Peterson called “a winner,” and Supreme Standards’ Tina Edwards likened to “Radiohead on a Jazz trip”), Chicago collective Resavoir return with their first full length effort. The self-titled album presents a juicy suite of elegantly-orchestrated lo-fi jazz instrumentals germinated from home recording experiments by the group’s producer/arranger Will Miller.
Applying a compositional approach attributable to his experience producing hip-hop beats as much as his studies at Oberlin Conservatory, Miller built melodic sketches on foundations of samples & loops before bringing pieces to the group for collective development. After integrating recordings of the full band into his home-produced impressions (not unlike IARC predecessors Jeff Parker and Makaya McCraven), he over-dubbed another dozen friends into the mix (including Brandee Younger, Sen Morimoto, Carter Lang, Knox Fortune and Macie Stewart) before finalizing the arrangements.
In Miller’s modest editing room, Resavoir grew from experiment into epic opus recalling the lush, psychedelic soul jazz orchestrations of David Axelrod & Charles Stepney… but in the sampled-laden style of Yesterday’s New Quintet, Broadcast, or Thundercat, with a lyrical affinity for minimalism & texturalism, like trumpeter/composers Jon Hassell & Justin Walter.
Written, Arranged, and Produced by Will Miller.
featuring (in order of appearance):
Akenya Seymour – voice, piano, wurlitzer, sampler,
Will Miller – sampler, trumpets, synth, piano, wurlitzer, B3 organ
Macie Stewart – violins
Lane Beckstrom – bass
Colin Croom – synth
J.P. Floyd – trombone
Mira Magrill – flute, bamboo flutes
Peter Manheim – drums, percussion
Zoe Miller – violin
Irvin Pierce – tenor saxophone
Brian Sanborn – guitar
Brandee Younger – harp
Jeremy Cunningham – drums, electronic drums
Wills McKenna – flute
Luke Sangerman – electronic drums
Knox Fortune – drum programming
Sen Morimoto – voice, saxophone
Carter Lang – wurlitzer drum machine, additional production
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Nico Segal & The JuJu Exchange • 'The Exchange'
For as long as I can remember knowign Nico Segal, the kid has seemingly always had two or three projects finished and ready to release. While only a handful of those have made it to the public in the time since, Segal hasn't stopped hoarding new music he creates and unleashed the latest edition of that in the newly-imagined band, The JuJu Exchange that dropped its debut project, The Exchange Friday.
The project is a continuance of the essence that has driven the Chicago Renaissance in recent years. Comprised of a cross-section of CPS students in fellow Whitney Young graduates Julian and Everett Reid and Lane Tech alumni Lane Beckstrom, the group has set out to build on the tenants of jazz and hip-hop that were the catalyst for their individual rises through music and continue to drive the backdrop of production and instrumentality of their compostions today. The result is a sort of new blueprint, a resource for fans and artists alike to enjoy, explore and ultimately mine for new content of their own. Debuted on Windy City Live Thursday where the group performed "MorningOf" the project is now available on all the major outlets. Read my full story on the creation via Billboard here.
#Nico Segal#Donnie Trumpet#The JuJu#The JuJu Exchange#The Exchange#Windy City Live#Chicago#Chicago Music#Chicago Renaissance#Album#jazz#fusion#new music#collaboration#lane beckstrom#julian reid#everett reid#producer#SURF
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The JuJu – EXCHANGE
“ With one foot in Jazz and the other foot in everything else, The JuJu is a musical partnership of childhood friends who came up through Chicago Public School music programs. Nico Segal, Julian & Everett Reid and Lane Beckstrom use The JuJu as a way to build off of their past experiences in order to make a genre-bending style of music that looks to the future while dealing with the problems of the present.
All Music by The Juju (except where noted)
Additional Production by Nate Fox
Recording & Mixing by Nate Fox & Nico Segal
Mastering by Brian Bozzi at Bernie Grundman Mastering
Cover Art by Shin Maeng ”
( album also available for download on iTunes )
#the juju#juju#the juju exchange#exchange#jazz#thejujuexchange#thejuju#chicago#chicago public schools#merit music#nico segal#julian reid#everett reid#lane beckstrom#good music#nate fox#shin maeng#cover art#art#music#soundcloud#audio#good vibes
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5 Lesser-Known Series From Popular Authors
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Many authors get famous for a specific series. We're looking beyond some of our favorite writers' lesser-known worlds.
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Authors launching the second book in a series have a great advantage over their first installment in a new world: by book two, a good chunk of world building has already been done. But series writing comes with a disadvantage, too. Ilona Andrews, whose well-known “Kate Daniels” series wrapped a year ago, discussed the problems of revisiting a setting over and over in a blog post: “We’ve described Unicorn Lane over ten times. At this point it’s like chewing old gum.”
Readers may be accustomed to following a single series or world or may pay more attention to the characters than to the authors. But when those authors move on, sometimes the new world they build is just as fun—or even better—than the world they left behind. Sometimes the authors run several series at the same time, delving into different worlds (or even making them part of the same cosmology, such as Brandon Sanderson’s overarching Cosmere). Here are five fictional worlds from authors known primarily for other series that you definitely should not miss...
Ilona Andrews’s “Hidden Legacy”
Best known for: Kate Daniels series
Along with the “Kate Daniels” series, Ilona Andrews has dabbled in a number of worlds, including science fiction and fantasy romance. The “Hidden Legacy” series launched in 2014 with a trilogy centering around Nevada Baylor, a Prime magic user (the highest power level in the world) who can sense the truth—or rip it from a person’s mind.
A conspiracy gets Nevada embroiled with Connor “Mad” Rogan, another Prime, whose reputation for destruction makes him a dangerous ally, but an even more dangerous enemy. The initial trilogy opens a contemporary world where magic and technology run side by side, alliances and secret wars among powerful magical Houses shape politics and corporations, and a private investigator like Nevada can found her own House, making an attempt at running with the big leagues.
While Nevada and Kate have plenty of similarities as narrators, the Andrews team establishes a unique voice for each of them, and as the “Hidden Legacy” progresses into its newest volume, Sapphire Flames, the narrator shifts to Nevada’s younger sister, Catalina, who is now head of the recently-formed House Baylor. Catalina is a Prime Siren: all who encounter her love her and despair—until she incites them into a frenzy that could lead them to tear her apart.
Catalina’s voice is strikingly different from the narrators the Andrews team has previously created, with none of their brash confidence in her voice. She’s unsure of herself, uncertain of her own powers (which she doesn’t trust), and doing her best to navigate the world despite this, hiding those worries so deeply that the outside world will never scent them as weaknesses. As one might suspect from a Prime Siren, she’s an utter delight to follow, perhaps because of those very insecurities, and because of her determination to do what is right, no matter what the odds.
read more: Pumpkinheads — An Interview With Rainbow Rowell & Faith Erin Hicks
The fact that the newest novel throws her into a chaotic, over-her-head situation with her teen crush, Alessandro Sagredo, a fellow Prime, whom she once rejected because she was so afraid her power would force him to love her. The chemistry between them is as strong as it ever was, despite the fact that Alessandro’s playboy image may be hiding the fact that he’s actually an assassin.
Introducing Catalina as a new narrator gives new readers an easy launch point into the series, which may inspire them to go back and reread the earlier trilogy—and a bridging novella—despite the misleading, romance-appearing covers. While there is plenty of romance to enjoy in the series, these are plot-based urban fantasy, where the underdogs are constantly at odds with—and triumphing over—more powerful forces.
It’s a joy to return a world that mashes up Instagram, Twitter, and celebrity magic families, especially with Catalina’s fresh new voice as a narrator. Readers who have enjoyed previous books by the Andrews team—and plenty of readers who’ve never read one of their novels—will find a world here well worth falling into for however many volumes this series holds.
Yoon Ha Lee’s Dragon Pearl
Best known for: Machineries of Empire series
While Lee is best known for his “Machineries of Empire” science fiction series for adults, beginning with the novel Ninefox Gambit, he’s also been involved with a fantastic serial, The Vela, and is the author of a middle grade novel, Dragon Pearl. Younger readers, as well as adult readers who appreciate middle grade fiction, will side with me in hoping that the novel isn’t a stand-alone.
The story follows Min, a fox spirit, as she tries to clear her brother’s name. Jun, a member of the Space Forces, supposedly deserted, but Min doesn’t believe it. Using her Charm abilities to take the shape of other people, she talks her way off-planet and impersonates a Cadet in the Space Forces until she can come to the bottom of the mystery.
read more: An Introduction to Yoon Ha Lee's Fiction
Lee introduces readers to a world steeped in Korean mythology, where tigers and dragons and dokkaebi (goblins) encounter ghosts, and have to manage the flow of energy in starships to avoid bad luck. The Thousand Worlds are rife with political organizations that seek to control terraforming, leaving planets like Min’s native Jinju half-formed and practically toxic to the settlers who live there.
The setting is so rich, it’s hard to believe the book might be a stand-alone novel; there’s plenty of room here for more stories, and Min’s own story leaves with enough potential for a sequel that readers should be keeping an eye out for an announcement that more stories are coming in the future.
Devon Monk’s “West Hell Magic”
Best known for: Allie Beckstrom series
Monk introduced readers to a setting full of hidden magicians in her well-received “Allie Beckstrom” urban fantasy series, a world that continued on in the "Broken Magic" and "Shame and Terric" books, that centered around some of Allie’s friends. She’s also written some really fantastic weird-west in her “Age of Steam” books, a strange futuristic trilogy possibly inspired by Frankenstein’s monster in the “House Immortal” books, and a really clever urban fantasy series about vacationing gods in “Ordinary Magic.” But for my money, the books of Monks you absolutely should not miss are the “West Hell Magic” books, which mesh werewolves and wizards with… professional hockey.
read more: The Tenth Girl Exclusive Trailer Reveal and Author Interview
In Hazard, the first installment, Random Hazard (who knows he has a stupid name, thank you) is kicked out of the NHL when they discover, to spectacular effect, that he’s a wizard. He’s left with no options to play professionally, unless he joins the freak league, where werewolves and other shifters play alongside tough-as-nails humans and magical sensitives. There’s never been a wizard in the West Hell league before, but Hazard will be the first. The second book swaps narrators (in a deft handling of shifting narrative voice, keeping the tone of the series consistent but creating a unique point of view) to Duncan Spark, Hazard’s werewolf foster brother, as he joins a rival team.
The way that Monk seamlessly blends magic with hockey is delightful; there’s enough hockey to please sports fans, enough of the weird that urban fantasy readers will feel at home, and such a good dose of humor that the series never takes itself too seriously. It’s one of the wackiest genre mashups I’ve ever read, and it’s such incredible fun that I can’t wait until the next (promised) installment comes out.
Nalini Singh’s “Guild Hunters”
Best known for: Psy/Changeling series
Paranormal romance writer Singh is best known for her really excellent "Psy/Changeling" series, a multi-year, world-spanning narrative of the shifting dynamics between Psy (a psionic, emotionless race), Changelings (who can shapeshift to different animal forms), and Humans.
The series has now spanned over so many books, the newest titles are being released as the "Psy/Changeling Trinity" series, so that new readers won’t feel intimidated by the number of books that have come before. But despite the number of books Singh has penned in that world, she’s got her fingers in several other pots. Along with several contemporary romance novels and a thriller, she’s also the author of a very healthy secondary series now spanning nineteen books on its own.
read more: Who is Ms. Marvel? Explaining the MCU's Next Star
The “Guild Hunters” series introduces readers to a world of angels, vampires, and hunters. Guild Hunters work for the Angels, who rule over the other groups, tracking down rogue vampires and bringing them to justice. Beginning with Angel’s Blood, the series centers on Elena Devereaux, a hunter, who rises to become a major power in the world, and Raphael, the dangerous Archangel ruler of North America.
As the series progresses, Raphael becomes more human due to his relationship with Elena, who becomes his consort. Because the series is from a third-person narration, Elena and Raphael aren’t the central characters in every novel, but their development, and their relationship, drive the action in many of the books. While the series has plenty of Singh’s signature romance, the format and ongoing relationships allow for a more urban-fantasy style. Readers who aren’t sure they can fully commit to a paranormal romance series (even one as good as Psy/Changeling) will be right at home among the angels and vampires of the “Guild Hunters.”
Nnedi Okorafor, Shuri
Best known for: Binti series
Okorafor has won awards for almost everything she’s written, but her two most prominent series are her “Akata” series for young adults, and the gorgeous “Binti” trilogy of space novellas.
Prose readers may have missed that Okorafor also made a jump over to Marvel comics, along with such well known SFF writers as Saladin Ahmed (Magnificent Ms. Marvel), Seanan McGuire (Spider-Gwen: Ghost Spider), and Alyssa Wong (Aero), as well as literary luminaries Ta-Nehisi Coates (Captain America) and Eve Ewing (Ironheart).
While Okorafor certainly didn’t create the Wakanda setting of her ongoing comic, Shuri, she’s taken the long-time Marvel setting, riffed on the comic and MCU versions of the world and her titular character, and made the series her own. (In one of the early issues, she borrows from the Guardians of the Galaxy and has Shuri astrally project into Groot for a memorable “I am Shuri” conversation with Rocket Raccoon.)
read more: Binti & The Wonders of Nnedi Okorafor
While there may not be a huge overlap between Okorafor’s prose readers and readers who gravitate to the Marvel universe, any of her readers who make the jump are sure to be entertained—and see some of Okorafor’s familiar themes about identity and understanding make an appearance. Okorafor’s Shuri is happier in the laboratory than in the political sphere, and she has no desire to take up the mantle of Black Panther while her brother is off planet, but when faced with choices that must be made, she doesn’t shy away from making them.
Add a few giant, music-loving space bugs that could destroy the universe with wormholes, and you get an idea of the scale of Okorafor’s comic run (which, hopefully, will continue on for several more collected volumes).
Runners up
We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention the huge shift J. K. Rowling made when she took on the identity of Robert Galbraith to write the Cormoran Strike mystery novels, the first four of which have been published, with plans for another ten. It would also be a shame not to mention Jennifer Estep’s truly excellent epic fantasy “Crown of Shards” series, a departure from her urban-fantasy, YA myth, and superhero romances.
What are your favorite secondary worlds? Let us know in the comments!
Alana Joli Abbott writes about books for Den of Geek. Read more of her work here.
Read and download the Den of Geek SDCC 2019 Special Edition Magazine right here!
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Feature Alana Joli Abbott
Aug 28, 2019
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Historical Research/Analysis Paper - sample
Lane Beckstrom
HST 390
Dr. Lisa Z. Sigel
1 June 2017
Tools of the Tongue: Slang in the Victorian Era 1830-1893
Abstract
Slang achieved unprecedented proliferation and popularity by the end of the Victorian era. By examining sociological investigations, slang dictionaries and newspaper articles from 1830-1893, this paper will explore issues of identity and class imbedded within the use of slang. Previous scholarship has extensively studied issues of class contained within human language. However, this paper will emphasize how slang was not only a marker of class, but also a tool for identity assertion, a vehicle for agency and a source of pride. Furthermore, through slang, this paper will strive to help contribute to our understanding of language change and development.
During the Victorian Era, slang words and phrases reached an unprecedented level of popularity. This new slang craze caused some confusion as many people adjusted to the newfound omnipresence of slang. In 1853, a newspaper writer in Berkshire, England had to ask, “Does tea dance? Can it dance?” Referring to the slang phrase, thė dansante (a French-appropriated word meaning “tea party”)[1], similar questions became common in the Victorian era when slang moved from the underbelly of London and into popular culture, theater and literature. However, slang’s entrance into mainstream culture did not come without negative reactions. Furthermore, the “slippery” nature of the English language made slang extremely hard to tame. Eventually, the general public, and more importantly philologists, accepted the proliferation of slang.
Why exactly was slang so potent? Why did it go from being a fixture of the lower classes to a fixture of the entirety of the social ladder? This paper will attempt to answer these questions by pointing to the “relentlessly slippery flexibility” of the English language.[2] The flexibility of slang made it so that slang words eventually lost their “low” origins and were taken for granted as standard. Furthermore, slang is a product of the “live” aspect of language. Languages, such as English, can adapt and bend to the needs of the people speaking them. In many cases, slang served to speed up communication for Victorians as the pace of their lives quickened.
Slang’s impact in the Victorian era is even more pronounced when one takes a look at the various bureaucratic attempts to sequester it from English. Like in France and Italy, many in Victorian England wanted an official language committee to set the rules and regulations for the English language. This would inevitably leave out the sneakier words heard on the streets of London. Furthermore, the inception of the Oxford English Dictionary as well as the Education Act of 1870 brought more attention to education and the English language than ever before.
The slang words heard on the streets of London were more than just words. The idiomatic Back Slang dialect of London costermongers was more than just a secret code used for fun. It was a source of pride for one of London’s lowest classes. It was also used as a tool for police evasion—a way to facilitate and locate illegal street gambling games.
As slang became a cultural commodity in the Victorian era it also became a marker of class divide. Using John C. Hotten’s Slang Dictionary and Henry Mayhew’s London Labour and the London Poor, this paper will explore the ways in which slang was an expression of class and how it was characterized by those who studied slang.
The unprecedented scrutiny focused upon the English language during the Victorian era made the proliferation of slang even more profound. But, slang’s rise to mainstream popularity did not come without negative reactions. Slang phrases became a pragmatic linguistic device for Victorians but the acceptance of slang was not universal. However, for many in the lower class, slang was more than just a way to speed up communication. This paper will emphasize how slang was a vehicle of agency and a source of identity for many London commoners.
[1] “Modern Slang,” The Berkshire Chronicle, Saturday, October 1st, 1853, British Newspaper Archive: http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk
[2] Simon Winchester, The Meaning of Everything (New York: Oxford University Press Inc., New York 2003), 29.
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Nico Segal (fka Donnie Trumpet) Releases New Album <i>Exchange</i> With New Band the JuJu: Listen
Spoil me - I'm a DJ and I'm cute!
Nico Segal (the Chance collaborator formerly known as Donnie Trumpet) has a new band and a new album. The group is a four-piece jazz ensemble called the JuJu. In addition to Segal, it features pianist Julian Reid, bassist Lane Beckstrom, and drummer Everett Beckstrom (as Noisey notes). Their debut record is called Exchange. It features Jamila Woods (on “We Good”), as well as additional production from fellow Chance collaborator Nate Fox; it was also recorded and mixed by Fox and Segal. Listen to the seven-song effort below; scroll down for the JuJu’s performance of “Morning Of” on “Windy City Live.”
Exchange follows Surf, Segal’s 2015 collaboration with the Social Experiment. Last year, he and Fox joined Paul Simon on the track “Stranger.”
Jamila Woods is performing at this year’s Pitchfork Music Festival. Get tickets to her Sunday performance here.
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IN MY Dreams
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#NowPlaying: "Lane Beckstrom "I Wouldn't Say No"" by Fresh Selects
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Nico Segal (fka Donnie Trumpet) Releases New Album <i>Exchange</i> With New Band the JuJu: Listen
Nico Segal (the Chance collaborator formerly known as Donnie Trumpet) has a new band and a new album. The group is a four-piece jazz ensemble called the JuJu. In addition to Segal, it features pianist Julian Reid, bassist Lane Beckstrom, and drummer Everett Beckstrom (as Noisey notes). Their debut record is called Exchange. It features Jamila Woods (on “We Good”), as well as additional production from fellow Chance collaborator Nate Fox; it was also recorded and mixed by Fox and Segal. Listen to the seven-song effort below; scroll down for the JuJu’s performance of “Morning Of” on “Windy City Live.”
Exchange follows Surf, Segal’s 2015 collaboration with the Social Experiment. Last year, he and Fox joined Paul Simon on the track “Stranger.”
Jamila Woods is performing at this year’s Pitchfork Music Festival. Get tickets to her Sunday performance here.
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ALBUM REVIEW: Marrow - Marrow on Audiotree Live
Chicago-born and bred, Marrow has been busy since the release of their debut album, The Gold Standard. Social Experiment associates and former Kids These Days members Lane Beckstrom, Macie Stewart, and Liam Cunningham, as well as drummer Matt Carroll, make up the rock quartet that have recently blown up through the Chicago garage rock scene. While they have been touring around quite a bit (they hit DC9 just this past weekend!), they seemed to have enough time to grace us with the short live album. Marrow on Audiotree Live consists of hits from the freshman effort such as the title track, “Mother of Maladies,” and my personal favorite, “Ocean of Glory.”
The sound is borderline cinematic. Bassist Beckstrom and Carroll use the rhythm to drift in between different scenes, allowing Stewart and Cunningham to both provide melodies through guitar and keys and howl some harmonies every now and then. Speaking of harmonies, the chorus of “Mother of Maladies” gets me and will get you every time. I’ve listened to the song probably over 100 times in the past few months and still manage to quiver every time Stewart and Cunningham sing “Every night I am with you, I feel it. Every night’s not every night enough.” The haunting harmony, as well as the rest of the song, is translated perfectly passionately through the live recording without missing a beat.
All in all, Marrow is AWESOME. Check them out!
-Shelby Bretschger
#Album Review#New Music#Marrow#Marrow on Audiotree Live#Lane Beckstrom#Macie Stewart#Liam Cunningham#Matt Carroll#Mother of Maladies#Ocean of Glory#Shelby Bretschger
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Review of Morrow's The Gold Standard
Review of Morrow’s The Gold Standard
The eleven songs on Marrow’sdebut album, The Gold Standard, take up the jazz and rock ends of the spectrum, freewheeling between the two from song to song or even within them. Opener ‘She Chose You’ is pure rock bliss, harkening to the ethos of 90s indie rock. Sung by Liam Kazar, it has a driving electric rhythm and lighthearted piano that transforms into a boisterous chorus supported by…
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#Chicago#Lane Beckstrom#liam kazar#Los Angeles#macie stewart#morrow#Nashville#New York#seattle#the gold standard
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Exchange by The JuJu
With one foot in Jazz and the other foot in everything else, The JuJu is a musical partnership of childhood friends who came up through Chicago Public School music programs. Nico Segal, Julian & Everett Reid and Lane Beckstrom use The JuJu as a way to build off of their past experiences in order to make a genre-bending style of music that looks to the future while dealing with the problems of the present.
All Music by The Juju (except where noted)
Additional Production by Nate Fox
Recording & Mixing by Nate Fox & Nico Segal
Mastering by Brian Bozzi at Bernie Grundman Mastering
Cover Art by Shin Maeng
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Nico Segal Debuts New Band, The JuJu Exchange on Windy City Live
Nico Segal is seemingly never without a project. For as long as any of us can remember, dude has had at least three projects spinning in his peripheral and in the wake of a Grammy win last year, sought to reconnect with his roots for his next endeavor. Debuting on ABC's 'Windy City Live' Thursday afternoon, Segal and a cross-section of friends from high school showed the world his latest chapter: The JuJu Exchange, who performed their first single "MorningOf" live on local TV.
The performance was accompanied by news of an album dropping over the weekend, paired with a show Saturday night at Park West. It's the sort of sudden tidal wave of content and events that have come to pace the last five years or so following the larger contingent that has grown around the nationally-recognized named like Chance and co. A fully-realized jazz project from the ground up, the group's upcoming project, The Exchange seeks to set a new foundation from which fellow producers can mine for sounds and new aesthetics. Get a feel for it in the video above.
#Nico Segal#The JuJu#New#News#Music#Trumpet#Sox#Social Experiment#Lane Beckstrom#Julian Reid#Everette Reid#Jazz#Fusion#Windy City Live#Chicago Music#The Exchange#The JuJu Exchange
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Original Soundtrack for "Extinguished", a Ludum Dare game entry by Jacob White.
The game: http://www.ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-28/comment-page-3/?action=preview&uid=5267
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Historical Research/Analysis Paper - sample
Lane Beckstrom
Professor Lisa Z. Sigel
HST 299
16 November 2016
Imperfect Democracy:
Fourth of July Articles in Japanese Internment Camp Newspapers
After the devastating Japanese military attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, it only took about two and a half months before Japanese-American citizens were ordered by the U.S. government to leave their homes and begin living in isolated “relocation” centers. Life would change drastically for these Japanese-Americans as many moved to facilities frequently referred to as “concentration camps”. However, some amenities from their previous lives would be provided by the War Relocation Authority which was the government agency responsible for the relocation centers. For example, the WRA allowed the Japanese-Americans to create and publish their own newspapers within the camps. Through the analysis of Fourth of July articles from those newspapers, this paper will explore the irony and the paradox of Japanese-American journalists writing from within the internment camps. It will also explore how the articles required introspection from the journalists. In an Independence Day article from 1942, one writer could not help but reflect on this: “In our presence here, we are unhappily aware of the imperfections in this democracy, remembering a group of men, who in a room in Philadelphia on July 4, 1776, put their signatures to an idealistic document called the Declaration of Independence.” [1]
Much of this paradox and irony comes from the fact that the journalists were taking part in what the WRA called a “free press” when in fact the WRA censored the newspapers to varying degrees.[2] But, interestingly, because the WRA did not equally censor all the newspapers, some writers were able to write in more personal and meaningful ways than others. This paper will show how some Japanese-American journalists were still able to express themselves as directly as they could despite the WRA censorship. Some journalists were able to show disdain for the U.S. government, but not without praise for that same government. They spoke of their loss of civil liberty because of the U.S. government. But, not without also saying that the U.S. government was a pillar of that same civil liberty.
The Fourth of July articles show how Japanese-Americans with ambivalent feelings for the United States had to write about a national holiday that celebrated that same country. Furthermore, some Fourth of July articles show the writers recognizing the irony of their situation. Many articles express the feeling of profoundly understanding the intended meaning behind Independence Day due to observing the holiday from within an internment camp.
Lastly, the circumstances demanded some introspection on the part of the Japanese-American journalists. The Fourth of July articles show some Japanese-Americans negotiating how they would feel about themselves in relation to American society moving forward. Japanese-American’s uncertain future in U.S. society was an emotional issue, one they grappled with.
[1] "Poston's Second July 4th," Poston Chronicle [Parker, AZ] 4 July 1943: n. pag. Microfilm. DePaul University: Japanese Relocation and Assembly Center Newspapers 5 (n.d.): n. pag.
[2] Takeya Mizuno, "Newspspers in Camp," Densho Encyclopedia, http://encyclopedia.densho.org/Newspapers_in_camp/.
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