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[don-lichterman]

How Kate Bush is a sign of the times in 2022 » WDET 101.9 FM

How Kate Bush is a sign of the times in 2022 » WDET 101.9 FM

Ryan Patrick Hooper One of the most popular songs in the world right now came out in 1985. “Running Up That Hill” by Kate Bush is heavily featured in the new season of Netflix’s “Stranger Things,” which introduced the song to an entirely new audience and placed it higher on the charts than it ever reached during its initial release. The song’s newfound success contributes to a greater trend of…

[ausetkmt]

WDET: The Metro: New online Kresge exhibit inspired by Detroit disc jockey Electrifying Mojo

Kresge Arts in Detroit will debut a new online exhibition next week featuring the work of its 2023 Kresge Artist Fellows and Gilda Award recipients.

The artists were asked to take inspiration from the legendary Detroit Radio DJ The Electrifying Mojo, whose seminal radio show in the 1970s and ’80s shaped many Detroiters musical tastes at that time.

2023 Kresge Artist Fellow Claire Gasamagera will be among the artists participating in the exhibit, titled “Flash Your Lights.” Gasamagera joined The Metro on Thursday, along with Kristen Gallerneaux, curator of communication and information technology and editor-in-chief of digital curation at Henry Ford Museum, to discuss the exhibition.

While the exhibit is not specifically about Mojo, Gallerneaux says it pays homage and takes inspiration from the themes of his show.

“There was a sort of like idea of like, you know, peace and positivity through sound; he had these amazing monologues that he would deliver on his show, and in addition to all the incredible music that he played,” Gallerneaux said.

Mojo would also ask listeners to flash their headlights to let others around know who was listening to the show. 

“So that is kind of like his phrase, (flash your lights), but it just sort of felt like a bonding sort of moment to think about how do we flash our lights together in the arts community in metro Detroit,” she said. 

To Gasamagera, the phrase “flash your lights” means looking for common ground and connecting to each other.

“When I say common ground, I mean looking for the things that unite us and celebrate our differences,” Gasamagera said. “When we flash our light, the first sound I hear is resilience. So that’s how I use this theme in my writings.”

Each of the 15 contributing artists have created an individual web page that will be interconnected through sound in some way, Gallerneaux said.

The exhibit will debut on Monday, April 8.

[beardedmrbean]

Family and friends mourned the loss of Samantha Woll, the head of a Detroit synagogue board, on Sunday as police continue an investigation into her murder.

The Detroit Police Department found Woll’s body early Saturday morning with multiple stab wounds and a trail of blood leading to her nearby home in Lafayette Park.

U.S. officials cautioned there could be a rise in crimes against Jews and Muslims following the new surge of violence in Israel and the Gaza Strip. DPD says there is no evidence that Woll’s murder was a hate crime.

“No evidence has surfaced suggesting that this crime was motivated by antisemitism,” Detroit Police Chief James White said in a statement. “I again ask the community to remain patient while our investigators and law enforcement partners continue their work. Everything that can be done to bring this matter to closure is being called into service.”

Michigan State Police and the FBI are assisting local law enforcement in the murder investigation.

Woll worked on the campaigns of several Michigan Democrats, including Attorney General Dana Nessel, Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin and State Sen. Stephanie Chang of Detroit.

Woll also helped build bridges of trust between Jews and Muslims in metro Detroit.

In 2015, while promoting an art contest that brought Muslim and Jewish high school students together, Woll told WDET that faith leaders in the region were working to identify crimes targeting racial groups.

“It’s terrible that these antisemitic hate crimes occur…but they are being measured. And so one of the things is that — because the Jewish community is so well-organized — is that we’re able to keep track and to respond,” Woll said at the time.

[merelygifted]

Caseworkers from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services held an informational picket on Wednesday in response to ongoing staffing issues and a growing backlog of cases at the state agency.

The picket took place during workers’ lunch hour outside a MDHHS branch on Conner Avenue in Detroit. Though state employees are prohibited to go on strike according to Michigan law, members of the UAW chapter Local 6000 representing the caseworkers were able to demonstrate during their lunch hours.

Caseworkers and union representatives say it has become difficult for workers to provide quality service to Michigan residents without adequate resources and staffing levels. MDHHS caseworkers in recent months have had a particular influx of cases involving recertification for Medicaid eligibility, the Detroit Free Press reported. Additionally, caseworkers assist residents with other state and federal benefits like food assistance, emergency relief, housing services and more.  ...

...Union officials said the workers at other offices could also hold informational pickets in the coming weeks.  ...

[kickmag]

Alan Oldham Reintroduces JOHNNY GAMBIT For A New Generation (Interview)

Alan Oldham is what society now calls a multi-hyphenate, but in times past, the term was Renaissance man.

For the past three decades plus, he has been an innovative purveyor of electronic music and a comic book writer and artist extraordinaire. Oldham started his trek as an eclectic art fan during the ‘80s in his Detroit hometown. He combined his love of the German Expressionist movement in film, the clean lines of Art Deco-inspired objects and more to start writing the narrative and visuals for his characters. The first major result was his trench coat-laden hero JOHNNY GAMBIT. Oldham hit paydirt and was signed to Hot Comics out of Chicago in 1986. The company folded soon after and the character would have two more issues published in 1987-88 by Detroit’s Eclectic Press.

Oldham did not have any time to think about the next move for JOHNNY GAMBIT because he was busy creating the cover art for the first Detroit Techno releases from childhood friends like Derrick May and Juan Atkins. These same friends also supplied him with music for his influential Fast Forward radio show being broadcast on WDET. This writer remembers listening to Oldham play Detroit Techno, house music and industrial in the early morning hours as listeners would call in and get an education on the new sounds that have laid the foundation for today’s myriad of electronic artists. He also worked as a DJ for Mike Banks’ sci-fi and funk-dipped techno crew Underground Resistance. As the ‘90s moved on Oldham started making his own music and founded the Generator and Pure Sonik labels.

Today, Oldham is just as excited about creating as he was years ago. A current resident of Berlin, he still travels the world as a DJ and has had art exhibitions in several countries. He is having a rebirth of sorts with JOHNNY GAMBIT and a Kickstarter relaunch. The new graphic novel is bringing GAMBIT back with a remastered 2 CD set. I spoke with Oldham last month shortly after his set at the Charivari Music Festival in Detroit. We talked about GAMBIT, the early days of Detroit Techno, and what it is about the city that drove him to greatness among his many other career-defining moments.

“It just motivates you to push further so that’s one thing about Detroit. It’s not an easy place. No one’s going to pat you on the back and tell you good job. If anything, they will shit on you. So, it motivates you to push forward, to push internationally and outside of the city.“

How did you decide to bring Johnny Gambit back now?

I’d been working on the book for almost 15 years now. I started it in 2007 and it’s been kind of in the back of my mind to bring back JOHNNY. We did a run in the ‘80s and I didn’t get a chance to finish the original story because my publisher(s) went out of business and then time went by so I thought I’d just reboot it completely.

What was your original inspiration for the character?

Well, that’s a really good question. JOHNNY GAMBIT is basically the kitchen sink character for everything I liked at the time; Japanese animation, Japanese Manga, “Miami Vice,” “Love & Rockets,” the movie “Metropolis” by Fritz Lang, Art Deco design, prototype cars that were never made, and there was a comic back in the ‘80s called “Mister X” that was a huge influence.

I saw where Marvel later came out with the character in “Uncanny X-Men” #266.

There was a girl, well, woman now, that I met at the old Chicago Con back in ’86, and we became friends. Turns out she worked for Marvel so we stayed in touch. It turned out I was going to New York for my first visit back in ’87 and she invited me up to visit Marvel. That was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me ‘cause you got to see the real Mighty Marvel bullpen with your own two eyes. So I got to NYC, went up there and I had a bunch of my old JOHNNY GAMBIT number ones with me and she introduced me to a few of the editors like Archie Goodwin and Carl Potts, and I was just leaving my comic as a calling card.

Fast forward to 1990, I’m at Todd Johnson’s old comic shop in Ferndale, and I notice a character named Gambit with the hair to one side and a trench coat. But they gave him powers and they changed it enough so where you can’t sue them. You know how it is, they take the idea and add just enough to it so they can say hey, we came up with this on our own. But the resemblance was uncanny, no pun intended. So yeah, there’s nothing you can really do about it. At this point, it’s just an interesting story. Read more.

[don-lichterman]

Writing a life story for our loved ones when we’re gone » WDET 101.9 FM

Writing a life story for our loved ones when we’re gone » WDET 101.9 FM

Detroit Today It is said that there are only two certainties in life: death and taxes. Americans discuss the latter a lot, but they generally don’t pay that much attention to the former topic. Steve Leder is a rabbi who has presided over 1,000 funerals. He has written eulogies and assisted people going through their toughest time, when families and individuals often learn or relearn what is most…

[latest-breaking-news-video]

Watch WDET provides extra native programming, together with new music exhibits - WDET 101.9 FM - Newest Music

[truck-fump]

Detroit Today: Will <b>Trump</b> be disqualified from appearing on Michigan's ballot? - WDET

New Post has been published on https://www.google.com/url?rct=j&sa=t&url=https://wdet.org/2023/11/02/will-trump-be-disqualified-from-appearing-on-michigans-ballot/&ct=ga&cd=CAIyGjUzM2UwMTY5ZmFhZTIwMGQ6Y29tOmVuOlVT&usg=AOvVaw1PisIpBucotRGZ6ssk0zre

Detroit Today: Will Trump be disqualified from appearing on Michigan's ballot? - WDET

Donald Trump filed a complaint Tuesday seeking to stop efforts in the state to disqualify him from the 2024 presidential ballot.

[merelygifted]

Detroit Today: Michigan bill aims to regulate artificial intelligence in political campaigns - WDET 101.9 FM

A new bipartisan bill in the Michigan House would require disclaimers on political ‘deepfakes’ and campaign ads that use artificial intelligence

[reasoningdaily]

WDET: CuriosiD: Why are there so many Coney Islands in Detroit?

[garudabluffs]

What can we learn from the midterms?

We in the media, and political punditry, love a good narrative.

And for the past month, the chosen narrative was that a #Redwave would wash over America last night.

Voters had other ideas.

Democrats did indeed hold the line — though the GOP can still make gains in Congress.

Today, On Point: What are America's voters telling their leaders and the media that neither was able to hear?

LISTEN 47:19 READ MORE https://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2022/11/09/will-disbelief-in-democracy-carry-to-the-polls

Guests

Heather Cox Richardson, professor of American history at Boston College. Author of the Letters from an American newsletter. (@HC_Richardson)

Stephen Henderson, host of "Detroit Today" on WDET since 2015. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who worked for the Detroit Free Press, the Baltimore Sun and the Chicago Tribune. (@SHDetroit)

Tom Bonier, CEO of the Democratic political data services firm TargetSmart. (@tbonier)

Lisa Desjardins, correspondent for PBS NewsHour. (@LisaDNews)

Jack Beatty, On Point news analyst. (@JackBeattyNPR)

Interview Highlights

On the different way Americans are talking about democracy

Letters from an American  HCR  Heather Cox Richardson

November 8, 2022 “I just got a text from a Gen Z voter in Michigan who has been in line to vote for more than an hour and predicts he will be there hours more. He has no intention of leaving. If there is an obvious story from today with results still unknown, it is this: a new generation is…

READ MORE  https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/

[detund]

DU™️ #Repost @rebecca__goldberg ・・・ 🌉 Photos and #Repost via @rsouthen ・・・ The OUR MORNING Flexi Postcard and song is available for purchase through Bandcamp! Check out the collab between @rebecca__goldberg + @jondixon_ Two artists whose immense talents span the straits of Detroit. I’m fortunate they thought enough of my photo to include it :) - https://313acidqueen.bandcamp.com/album/our-morning [Link in Bio] #detroit #detroitlove #detroitartist #detroitart #detroitproud #detroithustlesharder #detroitcity #detroitmichigan #detroitusa #detroitmi #downtowndetroit #detroitvseverybody #actuallydetroit #igersdetroit #motorcity #hellyeahdetroit #motorcityshooters #puremichigan #puredetroit #visitdetroit #wdet #wxyzdetroit #house #techno #acid #jazz #ryansouthen #jondixon #rebeccagoldberg https://www.instagram.com/p/CeXeFVULKAj/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=