This pissed me off so much, that it brought me out of blogging hibernation.

“There are times when an abortion is necessary. I know that. When you have a black and a white. Or a rape.”

– Our 37th President, Richard Milhous Nixon in tapes released very recently. It’s not that he’s basically not pro-choice, it’s the whole black/white babies are equally horrible as being raped. horrific.

Dear Lil Rounds

Firstly, I don’t want to admit to the world that I actually devote hours each week to watching American Idol, but you leave me no choice. I was duped — my boyfriend loves it, and I love skill-based reality television, so I tolerate it.

When you auditioned, and with your first few weeks, I instantly fell in love. You sound like some of my favorite singers, Mary J. Blige and Alicia Keys. I love them, and I love your voice, when you sing those songs. And your family is just freaking adorable.

However, in order to do well on Idol for the past couple of years, it takes more than just being a decent Karaoke singer. As odd-judge-out Kara DioGuardi has said, especially to you, you should have shown that on top of your singing chops, you have to exhibit artistry.

Translation: You shouldn’t have sang songs from black artists. Or Celine Dion, because she’s lame and boring. Everyone expects you to do that.

So, like Adam Lambert, and Allison Iraheta, and some of those other people I don’t really care about, you should have done something out of the ordinary. But you really didn’t.

And honestly, as a fellow lady of blackness, I felt for you, and I know you should just be out there, singing whatever you want to sing. Whatever suits you, just go freaking sing it and be happy. But I understand the flip side — and I appreciate singers who have a greater realm of artistry than just what they appear they’re good at.

I don’t know your life story. Perhaps you’ve had no formal musical training, so you might not be fully aware of how to actually change the full arrangement of a song, as opposed to singing a few notes differently. For example, let’s take songs from the year you and I were both born, 1984. A wonderful year. You sang “What’s Love Got To Do With It” by Tina Turner. While I love that song, and I love Tina, here’s a bunch of songs you could have twisted into your own style, that were the tops in 1984:

1. When Doves Cry, Prince
5. Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now), Phil Collins
13. Let’s Hear It For The Boy, Deniece Williams
15. Girls Just Want To Have Fun, Cyndi Lauper
17. Time After Time, Cyndi Lauper
23. Hold Me Now, Thompson Twins
33. I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues, Elton John
35. Borderline, Madonna
38. Here Comes The Rain Again, Eurythmics
39. Uptown Girl, Billy Joel
57. Love Is A Battlefield, Pat Benatar
64. If This Is It, Huey Lewis and The News

You couldda made those your own, Lil! You couldda!

Anyway, good luck in your career. And also, your butt is fabulous, despite your Vote for the Worst caricature.

Love,

Michelle

I am glad that Chris Rock’s documentary Good Hair made such a splash at Sundance. I had never heard about it until this morning, but it sounds pretty neat. The story on how the documentary, which revolved a little bit about the Bonner Bros. International Hair Show in Atlanta, came to be:

According to the story that comedian Chris Rock tells at the beginning of Good Hair, the documentary he produced, co-wrote and narrates that premiered here this week, his young daughter Lola came inside from playing one day and asked him, “Daddy, why don’t I have good hair?” That question launched Rock and director Jeff Stilson on a nearly global inquiry into the meaning and history — not to mention the prodigious financial significance — of hair in the African-American community.

Pretty heavy. Reminds me of a conversation I had with my dad when I was about Lola’s age. My dad’s half Puerto Rican, and he has great hair (which he now shaves down because he can’t deal with going gray haha).

Without any precursor, I asked him “Dad, why do you have the good hair?” He looked so sad that I asked him that. I don’t think I asked him in a remorseful, jealous way, but I’m sure that many black parents have heard that question, and felt heartbroken. They probably think their kids feel like damaged goods. In some cases, those feelings may be real.

My dad told me my hair was different than his, but beautiful nonetheless.

Well, years later, here we are spending tons and tons of money on hair (well, OK, not me. I get my hair braided quarterly, and that’s if it’s a good economic year…); fake hair, chemicals, real hair that’s been chopped off of other people so that you may wear it. And Chris Rock comes out with at documentary, the reasoning behind it being the impetus behind many good docs:

It is such a big deal in their lives that no one has ever asked [black women] about. Their hair costs more than anything they wear, they spend more money on their hair … maybe their rent is more. You know what I mean? It’s like the No. 2, 3 expense of their whole life. And no one has ever even bothered to ask them about it. It’s almost like they have a kid and no one ever said, “What’s this kid like?”

I have a few personal theories as to why no one is asking black women about their hair and their lives…looks like we have to do a better job at making our own media.

Has anyone seen this yet? Thoughts…?

Photo by Tanjila

Well timed with the death of Mildred Loving, Latoya of Racialicious is talking about the “hate stare” experienced when one dates someone else outside of their race. Atlasien wrote this comment on hardships & misconceptions of interracial relationships:

1) people in interracial relationships have a special responsibility to “think through” every aspect of their relationship, and if they’re not smart enough or educated enough, they shouldn’t be in one.
2) all interracial relationships are based on sexual fetishes, and intraracial relationships aren’t
3) upper-class people are involved in interracial relationships more than working-class people.
4) all people get into interracial relationships because they’re confused about their own identity and hate themselves
5) all people get into interracial relationships because they want to rebel against their parents
6) being in an interracial relationships means that every single potential same-race partner “isn’t good enough”.