We were beyond saddened to hear of the death of blues legend Etta James this week. We grew up with her indomitable voice and blues standards, and her passing is certainly a tragedy for American music. To celebrate her legacy, we’ve put together an essential blues playlist for the uninitiated, interested, or even any of you experts out there who might need some reminding. Click through to check out our picks, or stream the whole playlist here. And of course, since there are far more than fifteen blues songs you should listen to (a possibly infinite number, in fact), make sure to chime in with your own favorite standard if we’ve neglected it here.
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Today is World Vegetarian Day, the official kickoff of the North American Vegetarian Society’s annual Vegetarian Awareness Month. In honor of the unofficial holiday, we decided to seek out some of the more surprising famous meat shunners. Maybe these unlikely herbivores will help convince you that anyone can do it. Or maybe they’ll just make you want to go eat a burger. Either way, enjoy!
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We’re back with your daily reminder of cool events happening tonight across the Flavorpillaverse. So now you have no excuse for staying in tonight. If you’d rather have this information delivered straight to your inbox each Tuesday, sign up for our Flavorpill City Guides.
If you’re in New York: Film Forum reminds New York cineastes why Nick Ray merited that famed bouquet from Godard (“le cinéma, c’est Nicholas Ray”) with 14 films over the next two weeks.
If you’re in LA: Head down to Pershing Square and check out Lights on LA, an exhibition of light bulbs decorated by various artists to help remind us all why we need art. Bonus: the exhibit has been timed to coincide with the summer outdoor concert series.
If you’re in San Francisco: Take a gander at Fernando Eimbcke’s Lake Tahoe, playing this week at Sundance Kabuki Cinema. Anything that’s earned a comparison to Jarmush is definitely worth the price of admission.
If you’re in Chicago: Performed in tribute to Barbara Tiao, the late founder of the Chinese Fine Arts Society In Tribute: A Chinese Voyage features contributions from Chicago violinist (and member of thrash-metal band Earthen Grave) Rachel Barton Pine, longtime CSO clarinetist John Bruce Yeh, erhu artist Betti Xiang and percussion ensemble Cheng Da Drumming Team.
On October 30th, 1974, Muhammad Ali touched gloves with George Foreman in Kinshasa, Zaire. After eight epic rounds, Ali put the mighty Foreman, and the demons of his late career achievements, down to the mat. The Oscar-winning doc When We Were Kings told the story of The Rumble in the Jungle and captured Ali’s magical verbal sparring, along with the feeling generated by American pop and confidence merging with tribal rhythms and homecoming warmth. But that was only half the story. Read More »
