Beyoncé and Lemonade: What's Going On

Really blown away by Beyoncé and the truly remarkable work she's created with the film and music of Lemonade. Such a feeling of power, of powerlessness overcome, such a beautifully introspective work, yet joyous and celebratory. I'm a white boy but it makes me feel more connected with a long line of strong black women and at least some understanding of the history of oppression and suffering they endured (still extant: the mothers with the photographs of their dead sons provide a chilling and respectful moment) than pretty much anything I've seen or heard. Beyoncé has grown so massively as an artist. This is such a strong use of her abundant talents, her power from celebrity, of what can be done with music and media. This may be her What's Going On, and I don't mean to diminish her work by comparing it to a man, simply that she captures something universal and true and urgent in the same way that Marvin Gaye did. Beyoncé is totally her own woman but just to put her in context, she's on a par with Nina Simone, Aretha Franklin, Billie Holiday...the GREATS

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The High Tower Apartments and The Long Goodbye

Photograph by Dwayne Moser. This beautiful apartment complex in Los Angeles is called the Hightower or High Tower Complex (the High Tower name refers to the central elevator, I believe), and was designed in 1935-1936 by architect Carl Kay - and made famous in 1973 by my favorite film, Robert Altman's The Long Goodbye (see Why I Love Robert Altman's The Long Goodbye ). Although Altman used the building as Philip Marlowe's apartment in his somewhat post-modern Long Goodbye (the film plays with references to Old Hollywood and opens and closes with the song, Hooray For Hollywood ), the building has another direct connection to Raymond Chandler. It was apparently the inspiration for Chandler in his book, The High Window (the first Chandler novel I ever read), in which Chandler describes the residence of Philip Marlowe as being on the cliffs above High Tower Drive in a building with a fancy elevator tower. (Thanks to the Society of Architectural Historians Southern

Andrew Hale and Sade

Sade in concert in San Jose. All concert photos Copyright © 2011 Alexander Chow-Stuart. On Thursday evening, we saw our longtime friend Andrew Hale perform with Sade at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, in one of the most beautifully conceived and produced concert performances I have ever seen. Sade is a rare musician, in that she and the band only write, record and tour every eight to ten years, so that in a very real sense you can measure your life by her. The band's music is always fresh and always newly conceived - for their previous album, Lovers Rock , they stripped everything down musically to a minimalist sound and banished the saxophone that had been so much a part of Sade's heavily soul- and jazz-influenced style. The latest album, Soldier of Love , released in 2010, is one of the most tender, moving collections of songs yet, from the astonishingly beautiful Morning Bird , which features exquisite keyboards from Andrew, to the soulful, retro, return-

A favorite place for peace and reflection

Lyons Lake dam a couple of days back. One of our family's favorite places. (Photo: Alexander Chow-Stuart)

Alexander Stuart

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