2006-01 Vital Source Mag – January 2006
Madonna
By Jon M. Gilbertson When music industry observers can refer to an album that �only� went platinum as a serious failure, then it�s clear they�re talking about an artist who�s redefined the concept of success. In the last 25 years, that could only be Madonna, whose 2003 work, American Life, sold over a million copies without one Top Ten single. Hence Confessions on a Dance Floor, which revisits the clubs that first played her. Musically, it�s clearly a throwback; the tracks run together like the set of a particularly adroit DJ who knows her listeners don�t want to hear a single moment of silence to break their absorbed movement. Although �Future Lovers� touches upon the multiple harmonies of psychedelic-era Beatles, and �Hung Up� leads off the album as a genuine single, this is less a pop album to be heard than an extended mix of beats to feel as the lights flash and the drugs and alcohol do their things internally, and the sweat and sexual energy do their things externally. Lyrically, Confessions is mostly as empty as Madonna�s bank account is not, although that doesn�t prevent one or two musings, notably �Let It Will Be,� on the price of fame. Yet the combination of self-importance and everyday cliché�plus the use of the word �dork� as a rhyming lynchpin in the East Coast solipsism of �I Love New York��are in this context as beside the point as Esther, her Kabbalah name. The album is all about rhythm and motion, even if both point to the past rather than to the future, where Madonna supposedly was once leading the rest of us. VS
Jan 1st, 2006 by Vital Archives
This moment
By Lucky Tomaszek When our babies are small, and so incredibly needy, it’s easy to say, “When she’s bigger, it’ll be easier.” And as our children get older, more independent and likely much mouthier, it’s easy to say, “I wish you were still small enough to fit into the crook of my arm. It was easier then.” The truth is that for some things, it’s easier to have a tiny baby who can’t get into any trouble. For other things, it’s easier to have an older child who can help you remember your grocery list and play outside in the afternoon. There are wonderful moments with children of all ages. The key is to find those moments and live in them. Not looking forwardThis past autumn, my son Jeffrey suffered an eye injury. The kids were playing school in the bedroom and using the fold-up music stand as a desk. It fell and poked him right in the eye. I heard him scream from my bedroom and went running. The girls were already surrounding him, trying to get a peek at the damage. “He hurt his eye, Mama.”When I bent down to look, I expected a bump, a bruise, maybe some swelling. What I saw was blood tears running down his sweet five-year-old face. I had a moment of panic as I realized that the injury was worse than I had envisioned. He couldn’t open the injured eye and was in a lot of pain. Immediately, I flashed on the image of him permanently blind and perhaps patched for the rest of his life. I could hear the stories from future Thanksgiving dinners, “Yeah, Uncle Jeff had perfect vision until he was five…” Pushing these thoughts out of my head, I picked him up and headed out to the ER. A thorough exam showed that he had sustained two injuries, one inside his eyelid and the other across his cornea, costing him about 95�f his vision in that eye. The doctors said it would get better. Eyes heal very quickly and they were pretty confident that his vision would restore itself as the wound closed. We dosed him up with ibuprophen and brought him home.As he lay across my lap on the sofa, finally sleeping after his ordeal, I was grateful for the peace around us. His breathing slowed to match mine and his sweet, sweaty little body was pushed in close to me. Relieved by the news from the doctor, I remembered my earlier worry that he would be permanently blind after the accident. If it had happened, we would have all adjusted. Jeffrey is a good-natured kid, and he would have come through it just fine. But our lives would have changed in a very real way. Remembering my promiseIn that moment, I renewed the vow I made to myself years ago. I was going to try harder to recognize the importance of every day I spend with my kids. This is so important to me, as a […]
Jan 1st, 2006 by Lucky Tomaszek
The Reigning Sound
By It�s a cold November night when Greg Cartwright and his group The Reigning Sound take the Mad Planet stage. Cartwright clears his throat and apologizes for his hoarseness. But that�s not a problem, he sounds somewhere between Bobby �Blue� Bland and Paul Westerberg. In that perfect parallel universe, Cartwright�s songs are hits and writers don�t drop obscure references. A white artist hasn�t exhibited this much soul since Charlie Rich exited the planet, and as a young man Cartwright should have plenty of years ahead. With The Oblivions and later The Compulsive Gamblers, Cartwright helped pilot Memphis projects of chaos, blues, punk and Gospel. The Reigning Sound albums took a decided turn toward melody, featuring Alex Greene�s proto-soul keyboards and slowed tempos. While still wholeheartedly a mix of garage and R&B, lyrically Cartwright wears his heart on his sleeve and backs the whole thing up with hooks that refuse to leave your head. Outtakes, different arrangements, an odds & sods compilation: call Home For Orphans what you will, but this band�s crumbs are better than most groups� top-shelf material. �Funny Thing,� as close to a perfect song as you might hear, adds uncredited pedal steel to notch the melancholy factor. Much like Roy Orbison, �What Could I Do� frames what could be a short novel or black and white movie based around the interactions of three people, and leaves the listener intensely curious about the outcome. Chicago�s Green and vintage Brian Wilson come to mind throughout the album as The Reigning Sound work from solid, tried and true song structures, guitar or Hammond organ solos that build off the tune�s melody, and la-la-la vocal choruses. Nothing you haven�t heard before, but rare to hear it done so well in this day and age. And just when you fear it�s getting a bit introspective, the album�s finale is a live blast through �Don�t Send Me No Flowers I Ain�t Dead Yet.� Maxwell�s is a blurred snapshot. Recorded on a weeknight at the legendary New Jersey club, The Reigning Sound blast through a set that includes covers of Sam Cooke and Sam & Dave as well as a blitz through �Stormy Weather.� Not entirely breakneck, but when Cartwright asks the audience to bear with his guitar playing, �I�m down to three strings,� you know these guys will stop at nothing to get the music across. VS
Jan 1st, 2006 by Vital Archives
Casablanca
By Catherine McGarry Miller + photos by Kevin C. Groen Christmas carols aside, Jerusalem is not currently known for its harmony. But for Jesse Musa, chef and owner of Casablanca, it was a place that lived up to its Hebraic name: �yerusha shalem,� or heritage of peace. Musa recalls his hometown as a pleasant, beautiful city where he and his family enjoyed a comfortable lifestyle. �My family was Muslim. We went to public school with Christians and Muslims together. There was no difficulty,� he recalls, �because everyone grew up together in the same neighborhood. We didn�t see any difference between Muslims and Christians. We all believed in God. I didn�t see the differences until I came here [to the United States].� Musa avoids the conflict by viewing the news like a dieter looks at dessert: a monthly indulgence at best. Musa�s father and grandfather owned a restaurant and pastry shop. From the age of 10, Musa helped his father after school. �It [cooking] was something secure that I could make a living on and I love it. I�m happy with my job � it�s lots of hours but I enjoy it.� In 1971, at the age of 20, Musa came to the United States with his father and worked for several years at the Syrian Bakery in Chicago before moving to Milwaukee where several of his older brothers had already settled. Musa ran a couple of neighborhood groceries before opening the Sahara Inn on Mitchell Street in 1987, which he later renamed Casablanca. Musa built his menu on the rich tradition of Middle Eastern recipes perfected by his father and grandfather. Lunchtimes, Musa served a large vegetarian buffet with lentil soup, falafel, a dozen salads, five or six hot entrees and baklava for dessert. I generally don�t recommend buffets, which too often rely on mass quantities of mediocre food, but Musa�s cornucopia of fresh and flavorful delights has always been an exception for me. Throughout his years in business, Musa maintained consistently high quality food at reasonable prices. His lamb and chicken dishes are excellent. Once a friend of mine and I each enjoyed his Lamb Kifta Kabob so much, we ordered a third one to share. �I am very patient with food,� Musa muses. �I give it the time it needs to be cooked, I don�t rush my food. Maybe it takes more time, but it has to be right.� And it is. In 1993, Musa moved to Oakland Avenue in Shorewood, but by 1996, he was back in his original location on Mitchell Street. His customers happily followed his peripatetic business. Three years ago, Musa retired and closed his much-loved restaurant. That might have been the happy ending to a success story if it were not for his children. Musa�s son Alla said, �I tried Middle Eastern [food] everywhere while father was closed but found nothing like my father�s cooking. Maybe I�m prejudiced, but � we grew up in the restaurant business. Dad had a great reputation and […]
Jan 1st, 2006 by Cate Miller
John Cale
By Eric Lewin Postmodern music sure is ironic. �Progressive� bands such as Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Warlocks and the rest of the MySpace-endorsed shoegazers generally make their way by rethreading Velvet Underground�s effects and hypnotic hum, some pulling it off more ably than others. Even more ironic is that John Cale, Velvets� second-in-command behind Lou Reed, refuses to overtly borrow from his old band. Black Acetate has its influences, to be sure, but none of them hung out with Andy Warhol. Acetate plays like a Frank Zappa record in that it relies heavily on eerie effects, creepy voices and funked-out Mothers of Invention-style bass lines. A well-lit room is recommended during the spooky �Brotherman;� when Cale groans that he writes �reams of this shit every day� in a Leonard Cohen grunt, it�s downright terrifying. For better or worse, Acetate doesn�t dwell in the horrific for too long. Hell, it doesn�t dwell anywhere for too long. Cuts like �Gravel Drive� and �Satisfied� are undeniably beautiful, not to mention flavorful, when positioned next to rockers �Sold-Motel� and �Perfect,� which border on danceable. Trying to outrun a monster legacy like Velvet Underground at all costs is an impossible task that Cale doesn�t attempt. While Acetate contains minimal elements of White Light/White Heat, it comes filtered through Velvet-inspired records such as Love and Rockets� Earth Sun Moon. A musician being influenced by musicians that he himself influenced? All this post-modernity is confusing, but it sure is fun. VS
Jan 1st, 2006 by Vital Archives
Forgotten Milwaukee
By Frizell Bailey In the December 2005 issue of Vital Source, the “Forgotten Milwaukee” series began to examine school choice. School choice has been controversial politically, with white Democrats largely opposing the policy and Republicans among the staunchest supporters. This does not hold true among black Democrats. Black parents overwhelmingly support school vouchers. According to the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, 60 percent of African Americans support school vouchers and only 35 percent oppose them. This is almost the same margin of support as Republicans hold for the voucher program. But that “choice” is somewhat limited. The Wisconsin program only allows 15 percent of public school students in MPS to choose a charter or voucher school. There’s also the problem of transportation. More than half of choice schools offer either limited or no transport for students, and the program itself doesn’t provide any transportation guidelines or requirements. Income affects outcomesI do not question the conventional wisdom that public schools have failed students. However, a simple fact often gets lost in the debate over not leaving children behind: teaching is really hard. And teaching at-risk students is even harder. I found this out firsthand as a middle and high school teacher in the Mississippi Delta. Like many new, young teachers I thought I’d march in like Sidney Poitier in To Sir, With Love. Instead, I found the job to be far more difficult than I had imagined. Here’s the problem. What I didn’t understand at the time was that when poverty is extreme, people loose hope. It’s difficult to see the value of education when the only people around you that have educations are teachers or people who don’t look like you. I spoke with two local educators to explore this idea within Milwaukee Public Schools. Dr. Aquine Jackson is the chief academic officer for the district. Kathy Williams leads the Division of Teaching and Learning for MPS. Both agree that income plays a role in the success or failure of students. The key issue, according to both, is one of preparedness. Students whose parents don’t have the time and resources to provide educational experiences to complement what happens in the classroom are at a disadvantage. This doesn’t change the reality that schools have a responsibility to educate such students, but it does make it more difficult to close the achievement gap. It is widely believed that a socially, economically and ethnically diverse student body benefits students, especially poor students. Just as is true for concentrations of poverty in housing, having a student body that is comprised primarily of students from disadvantaged backgrounds adversely affects their academic success. “There has been research that supports the idea that when there is economic diversity in schools, students make more rapid gains than when they are all in the lower income bracket,” William says. “There is not as great a concentration of needs and students learn from each other.” Williams believes that the problem is one of overtaxing the system. […]
Jan 1st, 2006 by Frizell Bailey
