Skylark Interbang! by Made in Heights
We've been watching the Netflix Original, The Get Down this past week. I am in love with it. Anay and me went dancing last night with a few friends. When we were on the dance floor, I was doing my best to channel some of the amazing dancing on that show! Half the skills, but all of the heart right here;)
I've read reviews and critiques about the show; how much it cost to produce, the messiness of the storyline, the delays in production.
None of that sways me. What captured me is one article that mentioned the magical realism of it all.
Magical Realism: a fiction genre in which magical elements blend to create a realistic atmosphere that accesses a deeper understanding of reality
Magical realism, how I love thee...let me count the ways: Love in the Time of Cholera, Midnight's Children, Like Water for Chocolate, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle...
The Get Down depicts the South Bronx in the 1970s. New York City was on the verge of bankruptcy. The Bronx was literally and figuratively on fire. Poverty and violence was rampant. And yet, an absurdly beautiful and creative magic emerged from the ground to create one of the most influential music genres in history: hip-hop. As Marcus Reeves, a hip hop historian, states, "When you have those conditions and...a group of people...trying to survive...and people getting tired of that , then you begin to have this growing new cultural movement...to counteract the violence." (Swanson, WNYC).
This music transcended the everyday: graffiti, b-boying, dj'ing and lyrics converged together to create a style that influences so many styles today. The characters in this story trying to create this music are dreamers amidst chaos. I find this trait to be incredible. Honestly, how do we dream amidst the chaos? I'm going to be honest, this current political environment has made me want to veer more towards creating and dreaming (writing, singing, composing) in order to think about new worlds we can dream about. This environment we are currently living in...we as humanity are so much more full of love and possibility than all that's surrounding us. Those of us who have figured out how to spread some of that magic throughout history, I have so much respect and admiration for.
I was thinking of this song I have listened to these past few years that presents this hopeful, almost magical tone: Skylark Interbang by Made in Heights (Kelsey Bulkin and Sabzi from Blue Scholars).
Check out the repetitive piano chords, the electronic beats, the echo in Kelsey's voice, the ethereal feel...I don't know, I just feel possibility in what they are trying to do.
The leaves are starting to change, as is a lot in our lives in this upcoming year. And I'm sticking to dreaming about possibility for the next few months instead of getting weighed down by hateful rhetoric and one-sided discourse. Enough of the normalcy of life where we get caught up in the anxieties and fears and more of the magic in life where love and strength can conquer more than we think.
"The spirit of her invincible heart guided her through the shadows."
Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Skylark Interbang
I've read reviews and critiques about the show; how much it cost to produce, the messiness of the storyline, the delays in production.
None of that sways me. What captured me is one article that mentioned the magical realism of it all.
Magical Realism: a fiction genre in which magical elements blend to create a realistic atmosphere that accesses a deeper understanding of reality
Magical realism, how I love thee...let me count the ways: Love in the Time of Cholera, Midnight's Children, Like Water for Chocolate, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle...
The Get Down depicts the South Bronx in the 1970s. New York City was on the verge of bankruptcy. The Bronx was literally and figuratively on fire. Poverty and violence was rampant. And yet, an absurdly beautiful and creative magic emerged from the ground to create one of the most influential music genres in history: hip-hop. As Marcus Reeves, a hip hop historian, states, "When you have those conditions and...a group of people...trying to survive...and people getting tired of that , then you begin to have this growing new cultural movement...to counteract the violence." (Swanson, WNYC).
This music transcended the everyday: graffiti, b-boying, dj'ing and lyrics converged together to create a style that influences so many styles today. The characters in this story trying to create this music are dreamers amidst chaos. I find this trait to be incredible. Honestly, how do we dream amidst the chaos? I'm going to be honest, this current political environment has made me want to veer more towards creating and dreaming (writing, singing, composing) in order to think about new worlds we can dream about. This environment we are currently living in...we as humanity are so much more full of love and possibility than all that's surrounding us. Those of us who have figured out how to spread some of that magic throughout history, I have so much respect and admiration for.
I was thinking of this song I have listened to these past few years that presents this hopeful, almost magical tone: Skylark Interbang by Made in Heights (Kelsey Bulkin and Sabzi from Blue Scholars).
Check out the repetitive piano chords, the electronic beats, the echo in Kelsey's voice, the ethereal feel...I don't know, I just feel possibility in what they are trying to do.
The leaves are starting to change, as is a lot in our lives in this upcoming year. And I'm sticking to dreaming about possibility for the next few months instead of getting weighed down by hateful rhetoric and one-sided discourse. Enough of the normalcy of life where we get caught up in the anxieties and fears and more of the magic in life where love and strength can conquer more than we think.
"The spirit of her invincible heart guided her through the shadows."
Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Comments
Post a Comment