NOVEMBER 16, 2014

Song of the Day: Rapper's Delight is credited to Sylvia Robinson, Big Bank Hank, Wonder Mike, Master Gee, Bernard Edwards, Nile Rodgers, Grandmaster Caz, and Alan Hawkshaw. Big Bank Hank, aka Henry Jackson, who passed away on November 11, 2014 after a long battle with cancer, was a member of the Sugarhill Gang, which recorded this utter classic of American popular hip hop music, riffing on the infectious bass line of Chic's "Good Times" composed by Edwards and Rodgers. It also sampled from the disco hit "Here Comes that Sound Again" by Love De-luxe. In 1979, perhaps my favorite year of Disco Music [YouTube WKTU medley, though it ends prematurely], at 19 years old, there wasn't a dance club I went to that didn't feature the great 14-plus minute 12" recording of this track [YouTube link], which, in 2011, was made part of the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress, among those culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant recordings of the twentieth century. We (my friends and I) could practically rap along with every word of the hilarious lyrics. "Ho-tel Mo-tel, Holiday Innnnn..."Jimmy Fallon's "Tonight Show" gave us an equally hilarious take on this rap hit: a superb editing and splicing of footage from newsman Brian Williams (with a little help from Lester Holt and Kathy Lee Gifford). Check that out on YouTube (and check out Fallon's comedic interview with Brian Williams, Part One and Part Two and Brian doing "Baby Got Back" [YouTube links]).

NOVEMBER 11, 2014

I was interviewed by Maureen O'Connor for New York Magazine, and the resulting piece, "Ayn Rand, Girl-Power Icon," is an interesting read. My dear friend and colleague, Mimi Reisel Gladstein, with whom I co-edited Feminist Interpretations of Ayn Rand, was also interviewed for the essay.

The article provides us with a lesson on how certain ideas penetrate our culture and enter popular consciousness.

Check out the piece here.