Culture Club--Art Show

-Normandy Park Town Hall-

A non comprehensive collection of influencers.

By Heather Pasley

Sampling is an artwork. Not the Coolio kind that lays lyrics over an dated track, fooling a generation into thinking it’s an original thought. I am talking about using some of the greatest riffs, progressions, horn sections, grooves and bars of all time to create a recipe that no one has ever tasted before. The top chefs of sampling, are the hip hop icons of De La Soul. They took sampling to a Michelin level. They were lyrically clever, wildly innovative and downright quirky at times. They used popular and obscure songs like instruments, mixing them into oblivion while honoring them implicitly.

My Dad bought 3 Feet High and Rising and shared it with my sister and I like a gift he was presenting that we would cherish for life. He knew they were important if we wanted to understand what innovation and greatness sounded like. Thank you dad for placing Potholes In My Lawn and introducing me to the D.A.I.S.Y. Age. —Shout out to CK who devoured De La tracks with me like dessert over the years. I’ve got Oodles and Oodles of love for you.

Lazarus Heart is a time machine. It takes no more than four notes to transport me to my younger self. Sting’s second solo record, Nothing Like the Sun, was a staple at my house…wherever it was we were living. It was a perfect record (with the exception of Rock Steady, which always sounded like a High School Jazz Choir number). Fragile continues to be a cautionary anthem that fills the air in my home when war erupts…yet again. They Dance Alone sends me to a room filled with women I love, moving in empathy with protesting Chilean wives and mothers. The Secret Marriage Vow felt a little melodramatic, but still reminds me of my sister and her innate love of romance. Be Still My Beating Heart , Englishman in New York, History Teaches Nothing…each song adjusts my mood and makes me want to wear an apron and sing in the kitchen with my mom and my sister.

Bjork is not of this world. Iceland grew her. My favorite album of her making was Vespertine, but the cover lacks her likeness. Post however, came out my Senior year and marked a watershed moment in my musical life. She stretched her voice and used sounds and phrasing that were unusual, beautiful and at times uncomfortable. Perhaps it is my viking roots and family ties to the Arctic Circle that make everything she does feel a little cold and familiar.

Favorite Bjork inspired memory: Whilst visiting my friends, Chris and Dee, I donned a shockingly believable gorilla costume and carried out an impromptu dance routine to the song Enjoy. Where did I get the Gorilla suit? Good question. Who knows. All that matters is that the iconic primate performance was caught on VHS tape.

That same evening, we used my sister ’s 6 month old baby, James as a prop and put together an interpretive dance to the song Hyper Love Ballad that involved tossing him back and forth rhythmically. I believe he still has a deeply imbedded memory of this experience whether he realizes it or not.

Annie Lennox relied on power over vocal gymnastics, which made me feel like it was okay not to be fancy if you could be strong. That was me in a nutshell; physically, personally and musically. I hated dresses and ruffles, was naturally contrarian and preferred my hair short. Annie Lennox made it pretty clear, there was nothing wrong with that.

There is no other band that makes more appearances on the soundtrack of my life than U2. They comforted me in moments of distress (40), offered courage when it was desperately needed (Bad), pumped me up before school (Unforgettable Fire) , and walked me back down the aisle after Mike and I said I do (Where the Streets Have No Name). I can still feel the swell of the organ and the siren of Edge’s guitar as we were pronounced man and wife almost 24 years ago.

And when I go there, I go there with you…

If you’re wondering, I love Adam and had a crush on Larry through the entirety of my adolescence. I just liked the way my recreation of Edge and Bono turned out better.

Some lesser known favorites that never made it to the radio: Until the End of the World, Drowning Man, Miracle Drug, Ground Beneath her Feet, Miss Sarajevo…

I heard Last Goodbye by Jeff Buckley for the first time with my sister in the car. We pulled over. His voice was unearthly and as my sister put it…sounded blessed and cursed all at once. It would be nearly a year before I bought his debut CD, Grace.

I listened to it for the first time straight through—undivided and in awe. I called my sister immediately to debrief and emote.

Like so many musical icons, he died at 27. His lyrics eerily foreshadowed his fate.

There's the moon asking to stay

Long enough for the clouds to fly me away

Oh, it's my time coming,

I'm not afraid

Afraid to die

He died intoxicated by alcohol and the Mississippi River. He wandered in with all of his clothes on to take a swim and was heard singing A Whole Lotta of Love before being swallowed by the river.

Favorite Tracks: Lover Should’ve Come Over, Last Goodbye, Grace, Mojo Pin, Everybody Here Wants You

I want to be Jack Black. I want to be best friends with KG. They are (one of the) greatest and best bands in the world. This is my tribute.

They are wizards. I am convinced. For several decades now, Radiohead has made nothing short of magic. Their ability to innovate and integrate and grow without ever appearing to hit a creative wall is evidence of their musical sorcery and immortality. Maybe whatever elixir they imbibed that turned them such vibrant colors is the source of their power? Listen to their entire catalogue with headphones on to fully experience the enchantment. Wizards I say!

*You can do Pablo Honey without headphones if you want.

Joni Mitchell was on at my house all the time. But it wasn’t until one rainy afternoon in the church parking lot that my mom turned up Heijra on the Aerostar CD player and asked me to take in each word.

I'm traveling in some vehicle
sitting in some cafe
A defector from the petty wars
That shell shock love away…

I hung on every syllable of the perfectly crafted song. I loved the feel of the fretless bass and the poetry almost as much as the moment with my mom. I could feel her in it. Her youth, her depth and her sacrifices. You should find a parking lot and give Heijra a listen too. In fact go ahead and listen to Shadows and Light all the way through. You’ll be grateful you did.

Chaka…Chaka…Chaka Khan—I Feel For You. I think I love you. Ain’t Nobody Does It Better. You’re Every Woman.

Bonnie Raitt is a giant in her field—a husky, sultry, smokey voice matched by epic slide guitar chops. I once saw her dwarf some of the greatest guitar players of our time like she was toying with them. You thought that was a guitar solo? This is a guitar solo.

Amelie is not a movie. It's a film. It's odd and beautiful--foreign and familiar. The only thing better than the eccentric story telling is the