NUVO: A Cultural Manifesto

Noble Sissle - redefining cultural importance

Kyle Long — Wed, 22 May 2013 13:11:00 -0400

Last week The Guardian ran a thoughtful editorial about the New Orleans Mother's Day parade shooting. Writer David Dennis questioned why the incident had not been accorded status as a "national tragedy" in the way similar acts of violence in Boston, Newtown and Aurora have.…

Clandestino: Manu Chao's classic resonates in Indy

Kyle Long — Wed, 15 May 2013 12:36:00 -0400

"I come only with my sorrow
and carry only my sentence
running is my destiny
to escape the law

I went North to find work
a ghost in the city
my existence is forbidden
say the authorities

lost in the heart
of the great Babylon
they call me clandestino [undocumented]
because I have no papers"

These lyrics are a rough translation of the title track from Manu Chao's debut solo LP Clandestino. The album is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year.…

A Cultural Manifesto: Mannish Boy

Kyle Long — Wed, 08 May 2013 13:40:00 -0400

You probably haven't heard of Indianapolis based musician Mannish Boy. The Gary, Ind. native has spent most of his life locked away in his bedroom, quietly amassing a huge library of self-produced recordings.…

Made in Bangladesh

Kyle Long — Thu, 02 May 2013 04:47:00 -0400

The independence of Bangladesh in 1971 was ushered in by one of the most spectacular concerts in musical history. George Harrison's Concert for Bangladesh featured a supergroup of rock and roll royalty, including fellow ex-Beatle Ringo Starr, Bob Dylan and Eric Clapton, as well as performances by Indian classical music icons Ravi Shankar and Ali Akhbar Khan.…

On the Boston bombings and musical compassion

Kyle Long — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 04:00:00 -0400

In modern fashion, I first heard about the tragic Boston bombings on Facebook. Hoping to keep up with the situation, I flipped on my car radio as I left home to run my daily errands.…

A Cultural Manifesto: Bobby Sanabria

Kyle Long — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 14:59:00 -0400

Percussion maestro Bobby Sanabria tells me he's "a beneficiary of growing up in tumultuous times." The Bronx native came of age in the rich New York scene of the late 60s/early 70s, experiencing the highs and lows of the civil rights era while absorbing the cities' diverse musical heritage.…

Ai Weiwei and China's underground rock scene

Kyle Long — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 09:22:00 -0400

If you picked up a NUVO last week, you probably know the Ai Weiwei show opened at the Indianapolis Museum of Art on Friday. I had the privilege of spinning for the show's opening night festivities and as I began the process of selecting music for the event, I turned to my collection of underground Chinese rock.…

Indy's Westside: The new Indiana Ave?

Kyle Long — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 01:25:00 -0400

A pair of recent experiences led me to draw connections between two seemingly disparate Indianapolis locations. The first: a meeting at Indiana Avenue's historic Madame Walker Theatre.…

Hawwa is the voice of Syrian Revolution

Kyle Long — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 13:42:00 -0400

Yahya Hawwa is willing to lose his life for his art.

"It's my duty as an artist and as a singer to stand with my people," says Hawwa.…

Baba Salah on musical healing in Mali

Kyle Long — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 11:06:00 -0400

"Even leaders and people who are at the center of conflicts can be touched by the message brought by music," Baba Salah tells me. I was inquiring about whether he believed that musicians could play a role in bringing peace to the tense political situation unfolding in his native Mali in West Africa. Last year a group of Islamic militants took control of three major cities in the country's north region, establishing strict enforcement of Islamic law and issuing a ban on all non-Islamic music - - a huge blow for a nation where music is a major international export.…

In memoriam: Melvin Rhyne

Kyle Long — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 10:36:00 -0400

The death of legendary jazz organist Melvin Rhyne last week really got me thinking: another Indianapolis cultural icon gone with little notice and zero fanfare. As I contemplated Rhyne's vast artistic contribution to the cultural heritage of our state and the relatively disproportionate appreciation he's received in his hometown, sculptor Fred Wilson entered my thoughts.…

Bassel Al-Madani - Midwestern soul, Syrian heart

Kyle Long — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 15:44:00 -0500

Regular readers of this column have probably noticed that I frequently write about the role musicians play in the worldwide struggle for freedom and social justice. There's perhaps no greater struggle in the world today than the brutal conflict currently unfolding in Syria.…

Femi Kuti - the reigning prince of afrobeat

Kyle Long — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 15:10:00 -0500

Femi Kuti visited Chicago's Metro nightclub on a painfully cold winter night. Kuti arrived on stage visibly shivering, but wasted no time heating things up.…