During an interview with Donald Glover, also known as Childish Gambino, the creator of This is America, he is asked to “explain what’s happening during the video.” Gambino simply replies with, “No, I feel like it’s not my place to say that,” leaving the video up for interpretation. He implies that defining the meaning of the song would defeat its purpose, as the true value and theme of the song is derived from the variation in interpretations and what viewers choose to focus on. This is America, an artistic masterpiece released in 2018, used film and lyrics to portray a hard-hitting message about the frightening reality of the black experience in America and how it’s masked by the media’s portrayal of black Americans. Throughout his career, Gambino has been known for his symbolism in complex discography and visual genius, making this one of his hit singles, considering its dire message and ability to spark a national conversation.…
Pacifica is the fourth album by Washington, DC singer/songwriter Peter Maybarduk. Peter’s introspective songs include post-punk and symphonettes, sometimes bridging classical and rock music. He writes about transience, justice, dignity and meaning, and he arranges field recordings into his music. The Mid-Atlantic Song Contest (1300 entries) has just recognized Pacifica‘s third track, “Discontents” (Honorable Mention in the “Open” category). Pacifica features stellar musicians of the Washington, DC scene (Shawna Potter of War On Women, Kate Rears of Ladygod, Sriram Gopal of The Fourth Stream), with J. Robbins producing. You can find lyrics to the songs below here.
Peter Maybarduk – “Where is Your Heart?” Peter Maybarduk – “Failed States” Peter Maybarduk – “All of Whom I Love”
Jessy Randall’s 2018 poetry release How to Tell If You Are Human contains 29
black-and-white, grayscale, or full-color diagram poems, encompassing a
dizzying range of personal experiences. By calmly exploring and analyzing mental
illness, isolation, and multiple facets of human relationships, Randall’s
speaker helps to raise our understanding of the bewildering set of interactions
a person must navigate on a daily basis to function in American society.
Commendably, she accomplishes these observations, all the while touching upon
the spirit of the iconic 1990s Nirvana album Nevermind. In a brief 78 pages of verse, observations, and
illustrations, the reader is left with a humming sense of his own disconnected
state, coupled with the realization that this unique predicament is universal
and, in fact, entirely disconcerting.…
Award-winning vocalist, performer, and composer Morgan Minsk taught herself piano in kindergarten and composed her first song at age 7. Soon after, she discovered her innate musical talent as a vocalist and multi-instrumentalist and later added saxophone, guitar, clarinet, bass, and percussion to her repertoire. At her high school graduation, she was awarded a full tuition scholarship to Berklee College of Music (where she received several awards, including the Voice Department’s Outstanding Performer Award). She left her hometown of Springfield, IL in 2011 and later graduated magna cum laude in 2015 with a B.A. in Music Therapy and a minor in Psychology.
Now a board-certified Music Therapist (MT-BC) and Certified Neurologic Music Therapist (NMT) by the Robert F. Unkefer Academy for Neurologic Music, Minsk’s work as a music therapist includes work with Ugandan child soldiers (Musicians for World Harmony).…
Author’s Note: “Behemoth” is a synthesis of the different styles of music I have studied over the years; as such, it borrows from many genres but belongs exclusively to no single one. I’ve never really cared much for the tendency to rigidly categorize music by [sub]genre—doing so leads less to diversity than it does to rigid compositions and performances that are written according to a template. Music is structured, and music is rule-based. Probably more than any other art form, music is mathematically driven. Of course, the visual arts are governed by ratios and the rules of visual perception (particularly in the case of naturalistic art), but I would argue that mathematics runs thicker through the veins of music than it does any other art form.…
