Monthly Archives: May 2023

You might associate Andy Warhol with soup cans or Studio 54, or maybe your kids know him from a T-shirt they saw on TeePublic. Now you can see the source.

Andy Warhol, who lived from 1928 to 1987, was an American visual artist and leader in the pop art movement.

The College of DuPage presents WARHOL, featuring Andy Warhol Portfolios: A Life in Pop/Works from the Bank of America Collection from June 3 to Sept. 10. The multifaceted exhibit will be housed in the Cleve Carney Museum of Art across nearly 11,000 square-feet of exhibition space.

In addition to the 94 pieces on loan through Bank of Americas Art in our Communities program, a collection of 150 Warhol photographs and original works come from the College of DuPages Permanent Art Collection.

It features original silk screens that range from the 60s through the 80s, which means it covers some of his iconic subject matter like the Soup Cans. Theres a beautiful Marilyn Monroe piece and a really fantastic set of flowers from the 60s as well, said Justin Witte, curator of the museum. Then we also have some portraits from the 70s and 80s and the very recognizable, popular Endangered Species series. Theres also covers from Interview magazine, which he founded, and album covers he designed as well.

[Warhols Marilyn sells for $195 million, shatters record for U.S. artist]

A historical exhibit will highlight key points in Warhols life and career. There will be a Studio 54 experience, a Central Park-inspired outdoor space, Warhols interactive Silver Clouds installation and a Kids Pop Art Print Factory. Transitional spaces will feature official Warhol designed and licensed hand-printed wallpaper, an interactive map of New York featuring key locations in Warhols life and videos containing interviews of and about Warhol.

Witte thinks visitors will enjoy seeing Warhols collaborations with 19802 street pop art icon and social activist Keith Haring.

[Who has the missing sections of CPS's multimillion-dollar Keith Haring mural?]

Warhols work has remained ever-present in pop culture, all the way from when he worked as a fledgling illustrator, Witte said. His works translate well to myriad medias, he said.

I think people have seen (his works) on prints and on merchandise so there is a familiarity, he said. It has such a bold and crisp style that I think people react to. It is so clear and so strong and so bright that I think people really enjoy that engagement with it.

Warhol was also involved in politics, fashion, television and publishing.

All those connections really gave him an idea of the zeitgeist, said Diana Martinez, director of the McAninch Arts Center.

The College of DuPage will also offer additional Warhol-related programming, she added.

Additionally, there are 22 DuPage County communities that will offer Andy Warhol-related content this summer; be it public pop art, special events or business and restaurant specials. Several fire hydrants in Wheaton will be painted in pop art style. Roselles annual Rose Parade will be pop-art themed. Westmont will honor its famous former resident, Muddy Waters, with a Muddy/Warhol art exhibit.

Its very touching and inspiring to see the creativity in each community and how everybody is taking it in their own way, she said.

Andy Warhols 95th Disco Birthday Bash will be Aug. 6 at College of DuPage, complete with disco dancing, a printmaking projects for the kids and an ice cream vendor.

Visiting the WARHOL exhibit this summer is the opportunity of a lifetime, Martinez said.

Youre never going to see this here in DuPage County at this level, at this extent, she said. And all of these exhibits are being created and the historical exhibit, which is so rich in context and information and history on Andy, is just going to be here. And the Studio 54 experience is just going to be here. And our Central Park youre not going to see it anywhere else. I think we offer a really unique opportunity to not only see the art of an artist but to get to know the artist in a really fun and different, accessible way.

The collection is child-friendly and also appropriate for people who arent art savvy, she added.

Its like the greatest hits, she said. You have the Soup Cans, you have the Myths, you have the Endangered Species. It has such a broad appeal. I think this is the perfect summer art show and I think its going to be a lot of fun. Andy used to say, it needs to be fun, cheap and easy. Well it hasnt been cheap or easy, but it will be fun. He was quite brilliant and he taught all of us so much and he had such an impact on the way we see the world and the way things are still presented marketing-wise. I think its a really great opportunity for people.

WARHOL, featuring Andy Warhol Portfolios: A Life in Pop/Works from the Bank of America Collection runs June 3-Sept. 10 at the Cleve Carney Museum of Art in the McAninch Arts Center at the College of DuPage. Tickets are $25-$40. At 425 Fawell Blvd. 630-942-4000; Warhol2023.org.

Here are more events happening in the western suburbs and Fox Valley area this summer.

1.) Cream team

The Cream of Wheaton festival is June 1-4 at Memorial Park in Wheaton. At 225 Karlskoga Ave. 630-690-4880; wheatonparkdistrict.com/events/cream-of-wheaton. Tickets are free.

The annual fest features live music, a business expo an arts and crafts fair, food vendors and a carnival. Theres also a Cosley Zoo Run for the Animals 5K/10K, kids activities and a beer garden. Bands include Karla and the Phat Cats, 7th Heaven, Hi Infidelity and Planet Groove.

2. Summer splash

Raging Waves Waterpark in Yorkville is open June 3-Sept. 4. Tickets are $29.99-$54.99; infants 1 and under free. Standard parking $20; preferred $30. At 4000 N. Bridge St. (Illinois 47). 630-882-6575; ragingwaves.com.

Hours are 11 a.m.-5 p.m. June 3-9 and Aug. 14-18; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. June 10-Aug. 13 and Aug. 19-20 and 26-27; and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Aug. 2-4.

The Outback-themed water park has the Aussie Mat Dash, a six-lane racing slide; the four-person Wonambi raft ride, the Cyclone and the multi-rider Boomerang. Theres also a lazy river, wave pool, twisting slides, a kids area and toddler area. Lockers and cabanas cost extra. Group rates available.

3. Blues on the Fox

Blues on the Fox will be at 7 p.m. June 16 and 3 p.m. June 17 at RiverEdge Park in Aurora. Tickets are $15-$35; children 12 and under free. At 360 N Broadway. 630-896-6666; paramountaurora.com.

The 27th annual Blues on the Fox Festival returns with a fresh lineup of blues legends and rising talent playing live on the banks of the Fox River. Texas guitarist Jimmie Vaughan headlines the first night with the four-time Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Ruthie Foster opening. Grammy award-winner Christone Kingfish Ingram headlines June 17 with Kenny Neal, Mud Morganfield (Muddy Waters son) and Auroras own Joey J. Saye also performing.

Christone "Kingfish" Ingram performs at Bourbon and Beyond Music Festival on Sept. 16, 2022, in Louisville, Kentucky. (Amy Harris/Invision/AP)

4. Celebrating heritage

Genevas Swedish Days is June 21-25 in downtown Geneva. Tickets are free. At 11 S. Third St. 630-232-6060; genevachamber.com/festivals-events/swedish-days.

Swedish Days started more than 70 years ago to celebrate the heritage of Swedish immigrants who settled in the area. Theres a carnival, 5K run/walk, a craft beer tent, a Kids Day, Swedish food and marketplace, Genevas Got Talent contest, bands and a grand parade.

5. Music on the river

The Summer Solstice Festival is June 23-24 at Riverfront Park in Yorkville. Tickets are free; $5 for a wristband to drink alcohol. At 301 E. Hydraulic St. 630-465-0623; solsticemusicfest.com.

Mike and the Moonpies headline both nights of the 10th anniversary of Yorkvilles Summer Solstice Festival. Music starts are 5:45 p.m. June 23 and at 2 p.m. June 24. Food trucks like Freaky Fries will be on-site. Join the two- or four-mile road race at 7 p.m. June 23.

6. The New Normal

Next to Normal, the Pulitzer Prize-winning musical, is performed June 26-Sept. 3 at the Paramounts Copley Theatre in Aurora. Single ticket prices are TBD; subscriptions start at $75. At 8 E. Galena Blvd. 630-896-6666; paramountaurora.com.

The Paramounts BOLD Series kicks off with this musical about a suburban mom suffering from bipolar disorder, which affects the entire family.

7. Summer sippin

The Naperville Ale Fest Summer Edition is from 1-5 p.m. July 8 at the Naper Settlement in Naperville. Tickets are $55-$65. At 523 S. Webster St. napervillealefest.com.

The beer fest will feature more than 150 unique craft beers and several food trucks. Early admission is at 12 p.m. Tickets get you 18 3-ounce samples as well as lawn games and music from a DJ.

8. Batavias bash

Windmill City Fest is July 7-9 in downtown Batavia at the Riverwalk. Tickets are free. At 327 W. Wilson St. 630-879-5235; windmillcityfest.org.

This festival, once known as Batavia Boo Boo Days, offers a pet contest, sidewalk chalk drawing competition, 5K run/walk, food and beer garden, childrens activities and carnival. Bands include Radio Gaga, Modern Day Romeos, Lounge Puppets, Johnny Russler and the Beach Bum Band and Hillbilly Rockstarz.

9. An A-Fair to Remember

The Kane County Fair is July 12-16 at the county fairgrounds in St. Charles. Tickets are $5-$10. At 525 S. Randall Road. 630-584-6926; kanecountyfair.com.

Hours are 3-11 p.m. July 12-13; noon to midnight July 14-15; 12-10 p.m. July 16. Grandstand entertainment includes demolition derbies, truck pulls, rodeos and live music. Midway entertainment includes carnival rides, magic shows, a petting zoo, Kiddy Land, Swifty Swine Racing Pigs and a car show.

10. Rollin on the river

Yorkvilles River Fest is July 14-15 at Bicentennial Riverfront Park in Yorkville. Tickets are free. At 131 E. Hydraulic Ave. 630-553-4357; yorkville.il.us and search the calendar.

This family-friendly fest features food, childrens activities and country music. A craft beer tasting is from 2-6 p.m. June 15.

11. Fresh Flo

Flo Rida, with special guests Ying Yang Twins, perform at 8 p.m. July 21 at RiverEdge Park in Aurora. Tickets are $49. At 360 N. Broadway. 630-896-6666; paramountaurora.com.

The rapper and songwriter is bringing hits like Low, Right Round, Good Feeling, Whistle and Wild Ones to the banks of the Fox River.

12. Fairy world

The World of Faeries Festival is from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Aug. 5 and from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Aug. 6 at Vasa Park in South Elgin. Tickets are $8-$15; children 12 and under are free. At 35W217 Route 31. 815-788-1630; theworldoffaeries.com.

This years festival features The Harp Twins, Camille and Kennerly Kitt, performing heavy metal and more on their electric harps on both days. The festival will also offer a fairy tea time, crafting time, live entertainment, bubble fun, a balloon twister, a mermaid story time and extensive vendor village.

13. Celebrating North Aurora

North Aurora Days is Aug. 4-6 at Riverfront Park. Tickets are free. At 25 E. State St. 630-897-8228; northauroradays.org.

The annual festival includes music, a beer and wine tent, childrens activities and other communitywide events.

14. Art in Aurora

Alley Art Festival is from 12-5 p.m. Aug. 26 at Water Street Mall in Aurora. Tickets are free. At 44 E. Downer Place. alleyartaurora.com.

The grassroots, family-friendly art festival features live music and local artists.

15. Napervilles Last Fling

Last Fling is Sept. 1-4 along Jackson Avenue in Naperville. Tickets are free. At 630-961-4143; lastfling.org.

The annual Labor Day weekend celebration includes family-friendly attractions, food, a carnival and a Labor Day parade. Headlining bands include Hairbangers Ball, Too Hype Crew, 16 Candles and Hi Infidelity. Other acts include the Ron Burgundys, Mix Tape Junkies, Rick Lindy and the Wild Ones and 90s Pop Nation.

Annie Alleman is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.

More:

Andy Warhol exhibition coming to College of DuPage - Chicago Tribune

I wasadmittedlynot immediately hip to Arlo Parks brilliance. But dont get it twisted, I was fully there when her debut LP Collapsed in Sunbeams came out in 2021. And, my goodness, what a treasure that project was to behold. Few debuts in the last decademaybe even this centuryhave been so literary, soulful and paradisiacal. Too Good itself endures as a monumental, sultry soul tune that will outlive us all. In the confines of the music industry, Parks was born in a different millennium than most of her peers; yet, when she wrote Super Sad Generation at the age of 17 on the back of a napkin, something perfect was born in that moment. And ever since, she hasslowly, but rapturouslyheld court at the intersection of indie rock and R&B.

I am often reluctant to embrace my Generation Z identity. Being born in 1998, I cling to the Millennial cuspwhich wasnt made to include me in the first placeas much as possible, lamenting the rigorous 90s Baby prophecy I worked so hard to fill. I played GoldenEye 007 on Nintendo 64; I worshiped American Idiot once upon a time; I filled up on hefty doses of Nickelodeons Golden Age. However, when I tap into Parks work, I become willingand excitedto call myself a Zoomer and unhinge my identity from the jaws of those surfing across their 30s. How could you not be, when someone as gravitational as her is holed up at the frontlines?

The 12 chapters that comprise Collapsed in Sunbeams, from the title track to Portra 400, all combine to make one singular organism: a muscle of heartache, loved and worn-in characters and zeitgeist reference points. Too Good and Black Dog and Eugene are all earworms that have long wedged their ways onto our playlists forever; Caroline even made a cameo performance on the second season of Ted Lasso, only a handful of months after the albums release in January 2021. As one of the first superstars to come out of a world forever-changed by COVID-19, Parks rekindled my own hope in finding a voicenot an answerfor what shape my body was meant to take once lockdowns subsided.

Parks eclectic, familiar range of taste can pull any listener in, but its her deft, uncanny songwriting prowess that keeps you hooked until the last breathing note. To find common ground through watching Twin Peaks and longing for our mothers is only one piece of the puzzle. It is when we watch the echoes of our hearts bend around the curtain call of a relationshipone thats surrender came on the heels of a fear of taking queer intimacy into the public eyethat we are alive in the wake of Parks diaristic, communal grieving and passionate charm.

Collapsed in Sunbeams has endured because the songs are as timeless as they are deep-pocketed. Each time I return to its tracklist, I find a new moment to fall in love with and a new person to meetand thats the purest genesis of a piece of art that transcends eras. When Parks returned to us earlier this year to announce her sophomore album My Soft Machine, I remembered thatper the textbook creative cycle that recording artists must endurethe time had arrived for another entry in her catalog. Though I was still spending as much time with Collapsed in Sunbeams as I was the week it dropped two years ago, I cant lie: I wanted to see where one of the most-brilliant musicians of my generation would go next; how she would begin to live up to the project that had made her a household name barely 700 days prior.

When I get on Zoom with Parks on a rainy weekday, shes in full globetrotter modehaving just done a stint in Los Angeles before jetting off to New York and then back to London and then to Brazil all in a matter of days. The last two years have almost constantly flirted with a similar business for Parks, whoin the last 24 monthshas toured with Clairo, Lorde, Harry Styles and Billie Eilish, been nominated for two Grammys and won the highly coveted Mercury Prize for Best Album. Collapsed in Sunbeamswhich was at the center of it allwas a smash, but its release and widely beloved praise didnt come without whirlwinds of excess and non-stop movement.

Living in the dream and being inside my dream and reckoning with the reality of that and how confusing and incredible and turbulent that time was, for me, it really encouraged me toat any moment I couldretreat into myself and throw myself back into books, into films, into reading scripts and going for walks, Parks says. I had to be really intentional with balancing, having time alone whilst being very much out in the world and having enough energy to give not just to the crowd, but also to myself.

Parks has long coveted and protected a temple of stillness, allowing herself to be in one space with her thoughts, body and energy. This past Christmastime, after finishing My Soft Machine and cancelling shows amidst a case of burnout, she decamped to Mexico with some beloveds from her inner-circle and started writing again. She uses the word intentional more than once, emphasizing just how precious she has to be about her own downtime in the wake of a never-ending tour itinerary, a new album cycle and the dozens of other irons she has in her own fire. Its part of what makes me feel grounded, what makes me feel like myself: making little notes and annotating my books and spending time with my dog, Parks says. I was really intentional about protecting that time, especially going into this year.

Most of My Soft Machine was made in Los Angeles, where Parks spent large chunks of her time lounging by the Pacific Ocean, taking to the beach with her friends, eating fruit and listening to Frank Oceans Blonde on a bluetooth speaker. While many of the stories on My Soft Machine find Parks returning to distinct memories in her own coming-of-age and reflecting and interacting with them in new ways broadened by young adulthood, she often replenishes her mid-album creative energy by taking to the privacy of her own getaways.

A lot of it was just immersing myself in nature and feeling quite small, she adds. I feel like I need to remove myself from my context in order to feel truly still. Listening to a podcast and going on a very long drive up to the Angeles Crest Mountains and then sitting and looking at the city and reading my book, I find a lot of stillness in a mini, healthy escape. Parks is often working on being a vulnerable voice for the people who dont have one. In turn, My Soft Machine was a great source of healing for the 22-year-old as, for the first time in her career, shes being that voice for herself. All of that stems from her own writing process, which has been a restorative exercise and haven for her. She even goes as far as calling it the most-extreme form of meditation.

It was the one space where I could really think aloud and approach feelings that felt quite knotted and really be honest with myself and celebrate the things that have made me joyful and unpack the things that I felt I was really haunted by, Parks says. The process of producing a record, to me, is really therapeuticthe problem-solving aspect of it, that sense of magic. When everything really falls into place and youre like, Finally, we got it, I feel like a scientist, or something. Its beautiful. I think even writing things by-hand in a notebook, your brain is forced to slow down in a way and you have to take your time and be intentional with what youre trying to say.

That intimate processhand-writing your own daydreamsis something that Parks found inspiration in from the poet Ocean Vuong, who wrote his debut novel On Earth Were Briefly Gorgeous by-hand, top-to-bottom, in a tiny New York apartment. That encouraged me to be like: Okay, my notebook is sacred. I need to make sure that Im taking the time with how I note things and that Im more selective with what Im cataloging and the moments that I want to immortalize, she says. To this day, Parks has a letter that Vuong wrote to her and her partner hanging in a bathroom back home. It was so beautiful and so simple: Thank you for the work that you guys are doing for the culture, I hope this note reaches you in time. I look at it every morning, she adds.

Though Vuongs command of poetics remains a huge touchstone for Parks, stepping into one of her songs is most-like stepping into a Frank OHara poem: There will be people living within the language, many of whom youve never met but are convinced youve loved for your entire life. OHara is a poet I am too often inspired by and searching for fragments of in the work of others. Never has that been truer than in Parks language: She does not live in ambiguity; the people in her life whom she grows into and alongside get called out by name. Theres Jodie in Purple Phase, Grady in Puppy and the everlasting you that is either one, two or numerous entities all at once. Before My Soft Machine, Parks dearest arrived in song titles: George, Sophie, Caroline, Eugene; now, she adds her own body into the fold. Her story is just as criticalespecially in how it interacts and intersects with those of everyone else around her.

The title of the album stems from a line in Joanna Hoggs A24 film The Souvenir. In one scene, Anthony (played by Tom Burke) says to Julie (Honor Swinton Byrne): We dont know what the inner machinations of their mind are, or their heart. We dont know. But thats what we want to know when we go and see a film. We dont wanna just see life played out as is. We wanna see life as it is experienced, within this soft machine. Parks watched the film in a hotel room she cant remember the location of, heard that line and knew instantly that it was going to be the name of her album.

It was coming to a point where I really needed to come up with [a title], she says. I had, like, 10-million and I just kept adding and adding to this list and it was becoming more and more crowded. I was watching [The Souvenir] and I was like, That is exactly what this is. And then, I always have this thing where I dont want to tell anyone. Everyones asking me if I have a name and Im just like, No, no, not yet. With something thats supposed to capture the whole essence of a body of work, it has to be exactly right. But I knew immediately in my heart.

Between Collapsed in Sunbeams and My Soft Machine, Parks hosted her own show on BBC Radio One called Dream Fuel. The ethos of the 20-episode show came to her quickly, as she based it on her always having wanted to create an archive that her teenage self could discover and find inspiration in. I remember being a kid and being on YouTube and trying to learn about other peoples journeys, how other people made it and the mythology behind peoples records and who they were as people, Parks says. I wanted to create that resource for younger kids who want to be writers or fashion designers or producers and have these in-conversation moments and get a little musical education as well, having people talk about songs that were meaningful to them.

Parks interviewed everyone from longtime critically acclaimed novelist Zadie Smith to 2022 breakout musical star Ethel Cain to Vuong upon the release of his latest poetry collection Time Is a Mother. However, she cites her conversation with singer/songwriter Sharon Van Etten as one of the most impactful on her own approach to complex, soul-baring songwriting. I always think back to [us] talking about how a specific song encouraged her to leave her partner at the time and start making music and start putting herself first, Parks says. The fact that songs that are vulnerableand maybe make the writer feel overexposed in some wayare the ones that really move people in their lives. That, paired with how her desire for deep-cut and demo-heavy treasure hunting was reignited by curating the work of others for the show, helped her create a patchwork quilt of Parks taste. I was constantly searching for newness, searching for freshness. All the songs were making an imprint on the sounds I was gravitating to as I was making [My Soft Machine], because I was doing both at the same time.

The overexposure Parks spoke about with Van Etten arrives just as My Soft Machine begins, as she endows a proclamation of immense openness to her listeners: I wish I was bruiseless / Almost everyone that I love has been abused / And I am included, Parks sings. From the jump, she makes it clear thatdespite a mammoth touring schedule and the inner-mechanisms of writing and recording songs and albums that well never understandshes been through some shit and shes ready to make sense of it in whatever ways the music allows her to.

In our conversation, she calls My Soft Machine a little terrarium that Ive created, and speaks of letting it breathe. Given that the songs navigate PTSD and trauma and grief and addiction and heartbreak in such palpable waysand that the process of articulating those themes arranging something beautiful beneath them can be exhausting, both mentally and physicallyits easy to wonder whether or not Parks is still caught in a bardo of emotions. The clarity is there, though, and she seems to be at peace with what she worked through on the 12 songs that make up My Soft Machine.

Obviously Im still moving through life. Im still healing, Im still growing. I still have friends who are struggling. Im still struggling, at times. But I do think the beautiful thing about this process is that Ive made something that will provide some peoplewho are feeling the same waywith some kind of relief as we all continue to grow. Its very much a journey. When you take steps back and you take steps forward, it gets confusing. It gets painful. You have epiphanies, you forget yourself. Its all complicated and jumbled, but Im proud of this record, Parks says.

Though My Soft Machine pleaches between numerous sonic criteria, like disco, dream pop, bedroom indie, hip-hop, jazz anddare I say itglam rock-infused funk, the way the album came together wasnt as meticulous as the compositional geography it embodies. Parks made Weightless, Purple Phase and Blades in the same week; Dog Rose came to life in a random Toronto hotel room; Im Sorry and Puppy were made in the same two-day studio session. Throughout, the bedrock of Parks musical archetype holds true: Electronic music and guitar music have been close to my heart for a very long time, so it was always going to be a meshing of those two things, she says. But I didnt really want to sit down and restrict the creative process too much by saying, Hey, were only working synths today. I allowed the songs to reveal themselves to me as they came and just went into itgenuinelywith a blank slate, being like, Okay, we can do anything with this music.

No two songs on the tracklist sound alike and Parks doesnt shy away from taking risks, and the result is a punchier, more-ambitious album than Collapsed in Sunbeamswhich never left the orbit of traditional hip-hop, soul and R&B, three styles she has long mastered. In turn, there is no sophomore slump in sight for Parks, whos truly made something unequivocally pleasing, brilliant and transparent. Devotion is a track that absolutely goes, cascading across rock riffs that dont let up; Dog Rosethe best non-singleis pure dream pop thats a benchmark in Parks universe; Blades plays with glitchy samples and fluid electronica; Pegasus fashions Parks and her longtime good friend Phoebe Bridgers voices into a pop pastoral fit for an early-2010s, chart-topping moment. The most-hypnotic piece of the entire album, Impurities, is sensational R&B down to the bone; a tactile, lyrical oracular fused with wondrous hip-hop percussion.

And while Parks taps into every genre near-and-far to crochet her own singular vision, her springboard has always been hip-hop. She is constantly drawn to how rap is songwriting in its boldest pattern. Its purely about how playful you can be with language, Parks says. Ive always been a writer before being a songwriter or singer. Its always been about the words and the instrumentation elevating what Im saying. When I think about the song WILSHIRE by Tyler, The Creatorwhere the beat is quite simpleit provides a bed for this really vulnerable story. The essence of hip-hop, storytelling and the command of language, are the two things that were very much at the center of [My Soft Machine].

Parks work has often landed at the intersection of hip-hop and indie rock, and she understands how the former is always naturally entangling with other genres. She not only points to how Andre 3000 loves Kate Bush, how Big Boi loves Kate Bush and how Tyler, The Creator loves Portishead, but she also throws out Kendrick Lamars sample of Beach Houses Silver Soul in Money Trees and A Tribe Called Quests sample of Lou Reeds Walk on the Wild Side in Can I Kick It? as the most-vivid example of how the greatest musical minds pull references from everything around them.

A big reference point for Parks has been Frank Ocean. She was at Coachella this year, when he infamously cancelled his second weekend performance after a leg injury and curfew cut his firstalbeit odd and stripped-downset short. Channel Orange was crucial to the storytelling Parks performed on Collapsed in Sunbeams. On My Soft Machine, she cites the life through my eyes perspective as being influenced by Oceans 2017 single Provider. It will be this barrage of images that feel like little glimmers of memory or things that are yet to come, Parks adds. It all feels like this tapestry of subjectivity, this beautiful patchwork of beautiful moments that you can tell mean a lot to him. That also leaves space for the listener to piece together their own vision. Then they experience my work through their eyes and create new meaning. Its that endless repetition of subjectivity.

Dog Rose is the clearest example of that fragmentation, as the song weaves through brief, consecutive images of jumping turnstiles, drinking mezcal in Gowanus, Brooklyn, a lovers brothers birthday, doing dishes with their mom, dancing to Enya and finding a euphoric prettiness in Nicorette patches. Album opener Bruiseless achieves a similar palette of snapshots, transitioning from peonies ripped by dirt bike chains to the narrator being fed cheese to being seven years old and getting flung over the handlebars of a bicycle. Ever the literary purveyor, Parks takes on the role of a novelist and poet on My Soft Machine, coiling lyrical prose into idyllic soundscapes.

Parks music-making dexterity and slick penmanship has only continued to grow since Collapsed in Sunbeams. My Soft Machine is the first time shes ever really written, consistently, from a place of joy. There are a few lines that Vuong wrote in On Earth Were Briefly Gorgeous that I think about often. They go: They say nothing lasts forever but theyre just scared it will last longer than they can love it and Too much joy, I swear, is lost in our desperation to keep it. When I listen to My Soft Machine, those words are not far away, as Parks is very much writing adjascently with Vuong.

There is an undeniable truth in his words, yet, when Parks sings There are sandflies in the champagne / You are closed off, I am so drained / But I sparkle in the rare case that you tell me Im your sunray in Weightless, I consider what it means to write through joy in a way thats unafraid ofand uninterested inlosing it. Parks traverses this on Impurities, when she sings: Dont hide the bruise, I know its hard to be alive sometimes. She is constantly writing towards joy, even in its plainest moments when cruelty endures someplace within it. I found it really hard to write about joy, because I was usually just in it, just floating in the feeling, Parks adds. I could only really be inspired by sad things or difficult things or complicated things. And on this record, with songs like Impurities and Pegasus, I feel like I really unlocked my vocabulary for joy.

Generation Z is continuously finding new ways to analyze the world, as we discover our own vocabularies around mental health, gender, grief and love while becoming more and more open about our struggles within those binaries. At the end of My Soft Machine, Parks is right there with us, moving through life with the people she loves and continuing to unpack the burdens and fascinations that follow themputting trust in the people around her. When Ghost concludes 41 minutes after Bruiseless she sings: Wanna let you in / Wanna let you help me / Wanna let you in / Wanna have transparency / Wanna let you in / Wanna tell you everything / Melt right into you / Let you be the glue.

One of Parks greatest strengths is her ability to perfect a balance between abrasion and softness. Pulling from Oceans refusal to be boxed in and Jai Pauls approach to music, which revels in the imperfection of controlled chaos while maintaining a distinct kind of romance, she was able to find a citation for harmonizing wistful, sensual stories with passages of brutality and intensity. That sense of craftsmanship is alive on My Soft Machine, in its mixture of streamlined grace, delicacy, suffering and hindsight.

Hogg once wrote about filmmaker Roberto Rossellinis Journey to Italy: I strive to create this degree of aliveness. I need to see this film often to understand what it is I am trying to do. That quote resonates with much of what Parks is doing in her own work. Through the attractive shapes and relentless honesty of My Soft Machine, she has crafted her own portrait of aliveness and the intimacy that comes from embracing it through every fault and firework. Parks music has long been cinematic, often contoured into a coming-of-age film or annal of retrospect continuously being added to. My Soft Machine is not just a document of a Zoomer tumbling in-and-out of common, familiar romances; its a testimony and celebration of Black queer love and a person still growing. Each song is theatrical like a core memory; the album, like the ethos echoed in The Souvenir, is Parks approach to seeing life as its experienced versus how its played out.

My Soft Machine is out this Friday via Transgressive Records.

Matt Mitchell is Pastes assistant music editor. He lives in Columbus, Ohio, but you can find him online @yogurtowne.

Continue reading here:

COVER STORY | Arlo Parks Embraces the Intimacy of Aliveness - Paste Magazine

In The Number Ones, Im reviewing every single #1 single in the history of the Billboard Hot 100, starting with the charts beginning, in 1958, and working my way up into the present. Book Bonus Beat: The Number Ones: Twenty Chart-Topping Hits That Reveal the History of Pop Music.

How did this happen? If this column has a point debatable then its that question. How did this song cut through the noise and, however briefly, become the most popular single in America? Thats what Im always trying to figure out. Im reviewing these songs talking about if I think theyre any good or not but the songs story is usually a whole lot more interesting than whatever my opinion might be. I write this column because its fun to trace the social and musical threads that brought all these songs to the top of the mountain. When it comes to the Black Eyed Peas, though, I have no idea. Shit is confusing.

When the Black Eyed Peas reached #1 for the first time, the group had been around for many years. Theyd been fluffy alt-rap also-rans and even-fluffier pop-rap punchlines. Somehow, though, they rose up to absolutely dominate the pop charts, both in America and around the world, for half of the 2009 calendar year. It seemed strange in the moment, and it seems even stranger in retrospect.

Look, I can tell you the story. I can point out the currents that led to that moment. I can tell you how the 2008 economic collapse left millions of young Americans in desperate financial straits and about how those young Americans turned to shiny, frictionless European club sounds for consolation how that sensationalistic inebriation-soundtrack shit hit the zeitgeist. I can tell you how the Black Eyed Peas built a shameless brand over the decade, how the unexpected pop stardom of group member Fergie benefitted the rest of the Peas. I can tell you that will.i.am went to raves as a kid, that he knew the history of intersection moments between rap and dance music. But I cant tell you how Boom Boom Pow, a song with no real structure or chorus or lyrical point, held the top of the Hot 100 for three months straight. Sometimes, things simply dont make rational sense. Maybe the Black Eyed Peas simply got a feeling.

Boom Boom Pow was the culmination of a long, long journey. William Adams Jr., the man who would become will.i.am, grew up in the Estrada Courts housing projects in LAs predominantly Latino Boyle Heights neighborhood. His father wasnt around, but his uncle Lynn Cain played for the Atlanta Falcons. (When Will was born, the Doobie Brothers Black Water was the #1 song in America.) As a kid, Will went to raves and rap club nights. In eighth grade, he met the Filipino-born Allan Pineda Lindo.

In the late 80s, Will Adams and Allan Lindo would go hit LA clubs and battle-rap other kids. They joined up with a couple of other friends and formed a dance crew called Tribal Nation. Adams became known as Will 1X, and Lindo, for reasons that I will never understand, took the name apl.de.ap. In 1991, David Faustino, the kid who played Bud Bundy on Married With Children, opened up a rap club night called Balistyx. (He also released an album with the same title a year later. The early 90s were wild.) One night, Tribal Nation performed at Balistyx, and gangsta rap legend Eazy-E caught their live show. He was impressed enough to sign them to his Ruthless label. (Eazy-Es highest-charting Hot 100 solo hit, 1995s Foe Tha Love Of $, peaked at #41.)

In 2011, will.i.am told Vibe that Eazy-E wanted him to play a very specific role: Dr. Dre had left Eazy, and Ice Cube left Eazy, so he had no one else in the camp to ghostwrite. Eazy signed me to Ruthless to be a ghostwriter. But Eazy also had plans for Tribal Nation. He changed the groups name to Atban Klann. The new name supposedly stood for A Tribe Beyond A Nation, though I dont get why anyone thought it would be a good idea to put the word Klann in a rap groups name. Eazy told them, You guys are going to be the West Coast version of Digable Planets. No one will ever see you coming.

Atban Klann never became the West Coast version of Digable Planets. Really, the West Coast already had a couple of those. Atban Klanns 1994 single Puddles Of H2O sounds like a take on the nerdy, adenoidal rap that California teenagers like the Pharcyde and Souls Of Mischief were making around the same time. (Its not as good as what the Pharcyde and Souls Of Mischief were doing, but thats a high bar to clear.) Puddles Of H2O never made much impact, and Ruthless never released Grass Roots, the album that the group recorded. Eazy-E died of AIDS in 1995, leaving Atban Klann without a label. Eventually, group members Mookie Mook and DJ Motiv8 left, and Will 1X and apl.de.ap went off to form a new group.

Atban Klann did have one weirdly big impact. During one of the groups recording sessions, Will 1X introduced producer Epic Mazur to white rapper Shifty Shellshock. Those two quickly became bandmates, which makes Will indirectly responsible for the existence of Crazy Towns Butterfly. So these Atban Klann guys were out there. They were in the mix. When Atban Klann came to an end, Will 1X and apl.de.ap joined up with their old friend Jaime Gomez, who went by the rap name Taboo, to start a different group. They started out as the Black Eyed Pods, and then they became the Black Eyed Peas. Somewhere in there, Will 1X changed his rap name to will.i.am.

Early on, the Black Eyed Peas took inspiration from casually thoughtful New York groups like De La Soul and from the whole boho-rap movement that was on the rise. They dressed eccentrically, they performed with a live band, and they incorporated their breakdancing background into their stage show and their videos. The Black Eyed Peas signed with Interscope and released their debut single Fallin Up in 1997. A year later, they came out with their Behind The Front album, which didnt set the world on fire but did decent numbers. Their single Joints & Jam popped up on the Bulworth soundtrack.

Unlike most of the groups who inspired them, the Black Eyed Peas werent anarchic, absorbing personalities. They were also pretty average rappers, but they loved to perform. The Black Eyed Peas toured hard, hitting the college circuit running, and they cultivated a fanbase that wasnt really paying attention to mainstream rap. You can hear some of their pop ambition at work on their sophomore album, 2000s Bridging The Gap. Will.i.am was (and is) the groups primary producer, and his tracks got brighter and friendlier. That album gave the Black Eyed Peas their first Hot 100 hit when the Macy Gray collab Request Line reached #63. (Macy Grays highest-charting single, 1999s I Try, peaked at #5. Its a 7.)

Then came Fergie. We already got into this part of the story in the piece on Fergies London Bridge. To recap: The Black Eyed Peas toured and often recorded with a backup singer named Kim Hill, who was never officially part of the group but who went off to go solo. Stacy Ann Ferguson was finishing her time with the mildly successful girl group Wild Orchid, and partly at the behest of Interscope boss Jimmy Iovine, she became a full-time member of the Black Eyed Peas. When Fergie joined up, BEP pivoted hard toward pop-rap, and they immediately became hugely successful. In 2003, they teamed up with Justin Timberlake, someone whos been in this column a bunch of times, on the single Where Is The Love, which blew up around the world and peaked at #8 in the US. (Its a 6.)

The transition was a bit awkward. For a minute, the Black Eyed Peas still had half a foot in the backpack-rap world. Shortly after Where Is The Love, I saw them open for Gang Starr, which made for a weird vibe. But BEPs 2003 album Elephunk went double platinum, and the group never looked back. They went even more shamelessly pop on their next album, 2005s Monkey Business. The singles Dont Phunk With My Heart and My Humps both peaked at #3, and the album went triple platinum. (Dont Phunk With My Heart is a 4, and My Humps is a 3.) By this point, nobody in the rap world took the Black Eyed Peas remotely seriously, but when youre doing numbers like that, you dont have to care.

Fergies 2006 solo album The Dutchess did better than anyone couldve possibly anticipated. It sent three singles, including the will.i.am production Big Girls Dont Cry, to #1. Fergie was now a massive pop star, and she couldve gone off on her own. Instead, she kept her position within the Black Eyed Peas. The group took a bit of a break from recording. They toured the whole planet. Will.i.am played the much-memed voice role of Moto Moto in the 2008 animated film Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, and then he played John Wraith in 2009s wretchedly shitty Wolverine: X-Men Origins. Not even his death scene is cool.

Will.i.am spent a few months in Australia filming that Wolverine movie. While he was over there, he went to a music festival and had his mind blown by a set from Australian blog-house duo the Presets. That kind of blown-out, party-hard dance music had a huge club moment in the late 00s, and will.i.am was into it. He later told Adelaide Now, Their audience it was like the new generation, new fans. These kids are ready. Theyre the future. They are the Jetsons Thats the reason why this record sounds the way it does my three months in Australia.

While he was filming Wolverine, will.i.am also campaigned hard for Barack Obama. He released the campaign song Yes We Can, and he famously did a hologram interview on CNN on election night. It looked stupid. But when Will had the time, he hit up clubs and listened to electro. When the Black Eyed Peas started making their next album, 2009s The E.N.D., he brought that sound with him.

The title of The E.N.D. stands for The Energy Never Dies; this group loves acronyms. The Black Eyed Peas recorded it with a bunch of dance producers, but will.i.am was the main driving force. Lead single Boom Boom Pow draws on the electro-house of the moment, and it connects that stuff to the early 80s electro specifically Afrika Bambaataas Planet Rock that was always part of the rap canon. (Planet Rock peaked at #48 in 1982.) Talking to The New York Times, Will situated The E.N.D. within rap history: The birth of hip-hop wasnt slow. It was dance music. The only place it lived was the clubs The Jungle Brothers were sampling Todd Terry. This record is like that era.

You can hear a few echoes of early-80s electro and late-80s hip-house in Boom Boom Pow, but the track sounds more like Flo Rida trying to make his own version of 808s & Heartbreak, the Auto-Tuned sad-computer album that Kanye West released in 2008. Boom Boom Pow is a weird record. It doesnt really have verses and choruses. Instead, its the Black Eyed Peas describing the effects of their own beat, which will.i.am co-produced with DJ Poet, the Black Eyed Peas touring DJ, and Jean Baptiste, a songwriter whod been working with the group for years. The high-pitched whine on the intro is a sample from Sweet Mercy and Rowettas 1990 house single Reach Out.

Early on in Boom Boom Pow, will.i.am says that hes got that rock n roll, that future flow. The members of the group then spend the rest of the song describing just how futuristic they are, and their reference points make for a funny time capsule: spaceships that zoom, HD flatscreens, the fictional Transformers planet Cybertron. (I suppose that last bit could just as easily be a shoutout to the pioneering Detroit techno duo Cybotron.) Lots of that futuristic stuff soon became painfully mundane. Will says, Here we go, here we go, satellite radio a relic of an era when satellite radio wasnt just the thing that you get in your rental car. Taboo talks about how his competitors are on that Super 8 shit, that lo-fi stupid 8-bit, blissfully unaware of how those aesthetics would soon come back into vogue. Most famously, Fergie asserts that shes so 3008 and that youre so two thousand and late.

In attempting to describe just how advanced they were, the Black Eyed Peas ensured that Boom Boom Pow would instantly be forever dated. Honestly, it seemed dated the moment that the song came out. (Im fairly certain Fergie wouldve talked about being so 2008 if the song had been ready for release a few months earlier. Instead of rewriting the line, she just set the dial forward 999 years.) The rapping on Boom Boom Pow is clumsy and ultimately uninteresting, even as will.i.am slathers glitch effects and Auto-Tune all over everything. The only person on the song who displays any real charisma is Fergie, who rips into her line about people in the place like a classic house diva. Shes the one who sounds like a star. The three guys are mostly just there.

Boom Boom Pow got a lot of hate for being repetitive, but dance songs are supposed to be repetitive. Youre not supposed to focus on the lyrics. To the tracks credit, the beat really moves. Will.i.am keeps switching it up, adding in bleepy synth riffs or jacking the tempo up and down. Planet Rock didnt have great rapping, either. Still, if you werent out clubbing when Boom Boom Pow was huge and I wasnt then the singles success was flummoxing. The constant boom boom boom chanting was downright annoying, and I didnt get much out of apl.de.ap insisting that hes got the beat that beee-ounce. I did like how will.i.am put the echoing deep-voice filter on his voice so he could scream the phrase let the beat rock! That part was fun.

The Boom Boom Pow video looked like pure dogshit. The clip tried to translate the songs retro-futuristic aesthetic, but it mostly just looked like an ugly echo of Tron, a movie that was already 25 years old. (The sequel Tron: Legacy came out a year later, but I dont think anyone much cared about it.) The Boom Boom Pow clip also has a ton of product placement for the Hewlett-Packard TouchSmart, which now looks deeply silly, and I really hate the bald CGI lady who lip-syncs some of Fergies parts. Its that Lawnmower Man thing: Most of the time, when some new visual technology is supposed to blow minds, it comes out looking like pixelated farts. We never learn.

At the time, Fergie said that the Boom Boom Pow video represented the groups rebirth into this music world, into the digital afterlife. Really, the clip was supposed to echo Kraftwerks 1986 video for Musique Non Stop, but that video kind of sucks, and it didnt improve with 2009 aesthetics. (Kraftwerks highest-charting Hot 100 single, 1974s Autobahn, peaked at #25.)

Janky as it may be, Boom Boom Pow had a huge zeitgeist moment. In its first week, the track sold hundreds of thousands of downloads. Will.i.am told Billboard that he wasnt expecting all that: Boom Boom Pow was made for underground clubs. Like, if I wouldve thought that was gonna be a radio song, I wouldve made it different. The Black Eyed Peas still capitalized on the moment, releasing about a million remixes. Tons of people were involved in Boom Boom Pow reworks: Flo Rida, Kid Cudi, David Guetta, LFMAO.

The Boom Boom Pow remix that I heard the most came from German producer Boyz Noize, and it featured verses from 50 Cent, someone whos been in this column a bunch of times, and Gucci Mane, who was in the midst of a huge mixtape run but who wasnt anything like a pop artist at the time. On that remix, Gucci says, Gucci, Black Eyed Peas, thats what people aint thinking. He was right. I was not thinking that. (Gucci Manes two highest-charting lead-artist singles, the 2017 Migos collab I Get The Bag and the 2018 Bruno Mars/Kodak Black collab Wake Up In The Sky, both peaked at #11. As a guest, Gucci will eventually appear in this column.)

Boom Boom Pow held the #1 spot for an unfathomable stretch of time. It was the #1 song in America when my daughter was born, and she is not particularly thrilled about this fact. When Boom Boom Pow finally fell out of the top spot, the Black Eyed Peas had an even bigger hit ready to go. Well see them again in this column very soon.

GRADE: 4/10

Link:

The Number Ones: The Black Eyed Peas' Boom Boom Pow - Stereogum

Retailers know that trade show visits are precious and require a specific plan: making a schedule to reorder from their regular vendors, while setting aside time to walk the floor and see whats new. To help buyers maximize their trek to this years ASTRA Marketplace (June 11-14), we zeroed in on first-time exhibitors and found out what products theyll have on display. And because tapping into marketplace trends is especially important in todays retail environment, we paid close attention to how these companies are keeping current, so you can stay relevant in your own business.

Heres a sampling of who to check out while youre at ASTRA. Be sure to stop by and welcome them to our community!

Buzzy/Dantoy (Booth #1845): Sustainable living has become a popular buzzword in our cultural zeitgeist, including during playtime. This line of recycled, eco-friendly toys, teethers and kid tableware from Denmark speaks to the Toy Associations Be Authentic trend. The Blue Marine Bucket Set is fashioned from repurposed nets, ropes and other maritime gear, while the Garden Mini Greenhouse Set is made from sustainable recycled materials and encourages young children to explore nature through role play.

Crated With Love (Booth #1815): Kidults, which were once deemed a trend, have quickly morphed into their own product category. This companys line of board games speaks to this movement with date night titles designed for ages 18 and up. Mix It Up Date Night Generator lets couples choose from over 100,000 ideas for enhancing dinner and movie suggestions. Out on the Town Date Night Scratch Off Cards, also aimed at ages 18 and up, offer up fun alternatives for together time while on the go.

HyperTile (Booth # 110): Construction sets that saw a resurgence during the pandemic continue to resonate with kids of all ages. To promote family togetherness comes a line of connectible tiles in different shapes that can be linked together. A departure from traditional building sets, these non-linear tiles use special connectors that enable shapes to rotate, offering a creative spin on construction play.

Kiddy Crawler (Booth # 1849): Parents looking for an engaging way to entertain an active baby can check out the Crawligator. This developmental crawling toy in the likeness of an alligator provides tummy time support, while boosting gross motor skills. The lightweight design enables easy transport for vacations or visits to Grandma.

Merk Games (Booth # 1843): Family game night gets a reboot with a crop of new titles that test players knowledge and quick thinking. Among this exhibitors releases are the fast-paced Wise & Witty aimed at ages 17 and up and two editions of Rapid Around (Childrens ages 7 and up and Family age 14 and up). Each party game offers fast-paced play with plenty of opportunities for laughter.

Soft Notes Toy Company (Booth #1855): An eye-catching line of musical-themed decorative pillows is music to retailers and kids ears. The idea for the company came to light when a violinist who couldnt find a violin-shaped pillow for his daughter decided to sew one of his own design. The plush line also includes a guitar, amplifier, grand piano and eighth note, and fits into the Tween Takeover trend of display-worthy toys.

Soothing Snuggler (Booth #1841): With social-emotional learning gaining ground in the classroom and at home, toys that speak to a childs overall well-being are becoming more prevalent. The Soothing Snuggler, a talking plush bear, helps teach self-soothing skills to little ones. Designed by a child psychologist who sought to assist her own young son, this toy guides kids through breathing exercises and relaxation techniques simply by touching his paw.

See Also From GDA:

Go here to see the original:

7 First-time ASTRA Exhibitors You Don't Want to Miss This June - Gifts & Decorative Accessories