Quincy Jones: The Musical Legend

On November 3, 2024, the world lost an extraordinary talent and visionary, Quincy Delight Jones Jr., at the age of 91. Jones, an American record producer, songwriter, composer, and film and television producer, left an indelible mark on the music industry and beyond, shaping the soundscape of multiple genres over a career that spanned more than 70 years.

Born on March 14, 1933, Jones’s journey in music began in the 1950s as a jazz arranger and conductor. He quickly rose to prominence and became known for his versatility, seamlessly moving between jazz, pop, and film scoring. His remarkable ability to transcend genres led to iconic collaborations, including producing pop hits for Lesley Gore, arranging for legends like Frank Sinatra and Count Basie, and ultimately partnering with the King of Pop, Michael Jackson. The trio of albums they created—Off the Wall (1979), Thriller (1982), and Bad (1987)—remains monumental in music history, with Thriller still holding the title of the best-selling album of all time.

Jones broke numerous barriers throughout his career. In 1968, he became the first African American nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song for “The Eyes of Love.” His groundbreaking achievements continued as he became the first African American musical director and conductor of the Academy Awards in 1971 and received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 1995. With 28 Grammy Awards out of 80 nominations, Jones’s accolades are a testament to his exceptional talent and influence.

Beyond music, Jones was a multifaceted entrepreneur, establishing a media empire that included Qwest Records, QDE Entertainment, and the acclaimed Black music magazine, Vibe. His ability to foster talent extended to the realms of film and television, where he played a pivotal role in launching the careers of icons like Oprah Winfrey and Will Smith.

Jones’s legacy is characterized not only by his remarkable achievements but also by his unique approach to music production. Described by his longtime sound engineer Bruce Swedien as someone who often used food-related metaphors in the studio, Jones had a distinctive way of cultivating creativity. He believed in the power of “divine intervention” and was known for his willingness to experiment, an attitude that kept him at the forefront of musical innovation. His embrace of synthesizers and blending of funk with jazz were revolutionary, influencing countless artists across generations.

Throughout his life, Jones collected stories and experiences that would intrigue anyone. From his encounters with historical figures like Leni Riefenstahl to iconic musicians like Tupac Shakur, his narratives were as rich and diverse as his music.

Quincy Jones’s passing marks the end of an era, but his influence will continue to resonate through the countless artists he inspired and the music he crafted. As we remember this musical innovator, we celebrate a life dedicated to breaking barriers and creating a legacy that transcends time and genre. His contributions have forever altered the landscape of music, and his spirit will undoubtedly continue to inspire future generations of musicians and dreamers.

Rest in peace, Quincy Jones—a true maestro, a visionary, and an enduring symbol of artistic excellence.

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Related Link from the Associated Press:

https://apnews.com/video/quincy-jones-grammy-awards-music-los-angeles-dionne-warwick-f2a701337195411ebcd610557f96aea2?utm_source=copy&utm_medium=share

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Molly Yanity, University of Rhode Island

The “Caitlin Clark effect,” or the impact on women’s basketball from a ponytailed rookie phenomenon from America’s heartland, is real: The 2024 WNBA season shattered viewership, attendance and merchandise sales records.

Clark, however, didn’t get a chance to compete for a league title.

The Connecticut Sun eliminated Clark’s team, the Indiana Fever, in the first round of the playoffs with a two-game sweep, ending her record rookie-of-the-year campaign.

And it may be just the latest chapter in a complicated saga steeped in race.

During the first game of the series, the fingers of Sun guard DiJonai Carrington hit Clark in the eye as Carrington followed through on a block attempt of a Clark shot.

During the next day’s media availability, USA Today columnist Christine Brennan recorded and posted an exchange between herself and Carrington.

In the brief clip, the veteran sports writer asks Carrington, who is Black, if she purposely hit Clark in the eye during the previous night’s game. Though Carrington insisted she didn’t intentionally hit Clark, Brennan persisted, asking the guard if she and a teammate had laughed about the incident. The questions sparked social media outrage, statements from the players union and the league, media personalities weighing in and more.

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Hit the pause button here.

As a longtime sports writer who has covered the WNBA – and as a journalism scholar who studies women’s sports and fandom – I’ll concede that Brennan’s line of questioning seems, on its face, like business as usual in sports journalism.

After all, haven’t most baseball fans seen a scribe ask a pitcher if he intentionally beaned a batter?

But Brennan’s questions were not asked in a vacuum. The emergence of a young, white superstar from the heartland has caused many new WNBA fans to pick sides that fall along racial lines. Brennan’s critics claim she was pushing a line of questioning that has dogged Black athletes for decades: that they are aggressive and undisciplined.

Because of that, her defense of her questions – and her unwillingness to acknowledge the complexities – has left this professor disappointed in one of her journalistic heroes.

Brennan and much of the mainstream sports media, particularly those who cover professional women’s basketball, still seem to have a racial blind spot.

The emergence of a Black, queer league

When the WNBA launched in 1997 in the wake of the success of the 1996 Olympic gold-medal-winning U.S. women’s basketball team, it did so under the watch of the NBA.

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The NBA set out to market its new product, in part, to a white, heterosexual fan base.

The plan didn’t take hold.

While the league experienced fits and starts in attendance and TV ratings over its lifetime, the demographic makeup of its players is undeniable: The WNBA is, by and large, a Black, queer league.

In 2020, the Women’s National Basketball Players Association reported that 83% of its members were people of color, with 67% self-reporting as “Black/African-American.” While gender and sexual identity hasn’t been officially reported, a “substantial proportion,” the WNBPA reported, identify as LBGTQ+.

In 2020, the league’s diversity was celebrated as players competed in a “bubble” in Bradenton, Florida, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They protested racial injustice, helped unseat a U.S. senator who also owned Atlanta’s WNBA franchise, and urged voters to oust former President Donald Trump from the White House.

Racial tensions bubble to the surface

In the middle of it all, the WNBA has more eyeballs on it than ever before. And, without mincing words, the fan base has “gotten whiter” since Clark’s debut this past summer, as The Wall Street Journal pointed out in July. Those white viewers of college women’s basketball have emphatically turned their attention to the pro game, in large part due to Clark’s popularity at the University of Iowa.

Money is also pouring into the league through a lucrative media rights deal and new sponsorship partners.

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While the rising tide following Clark’s transition to the WNBA is certainly lifting all boats, it is also bringing detritus to the surface in the form of racist jeers from the stands and on social media.

After the Sun dispatched the Fever, All-WNBA forward Alyssa Thomas, who seldom speaks beyond soundbites, said in a postgame news conference: “I think in my 11-year career I’ve never experienced the racial comments from the Indiana Fever fan base. … I’ve never been called the things that I’ve been called on social media, and there’s no place for it.”

Echoes of Bird and Magic

In “Manufacturing Consent,” a seminal work about the U.S. news business, Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky argued that media in capitalist environments do not exist to impartially report the news, but to reinforce dominant narratives of the time, even if they are false. Most journalists, they theorized, work to support the status quo.

In sports, you sometimes see that come to light through what media scholars call “the stereotypical narrative” – a style of reporting and writing that relies on old tropes.

Scholars who study sports media have found that reporters routinely fall back on racial stereotypes. For example, coverage of Black quarterbacks in the NFL as less intelligent and more innately gifted would go on to hinder the progress of Black quarterbacks.

In Brennan’s coverage of the Carrington-Clark incident, there appear to be echoes of the way the media covered Los Angeles Lakers point guard Magic Johnson and Boston Celtics forward Larry Bird in the 1980s.

The battles between two of the sport’s greatest players – one Black, the other white – was a windfall for the NBA, lifting the league into financial sustainability.

But to many reporters who leaned on the dominant narrative of the time, the two stars also served as stand-ins for the racial tensions of the post-civil rights era. During the 1980s, Bird and Magic didn’t simply hoop; they were the “embodiments of their races and living symbols of how blacks and whites lived in America,” as scholars Patrick Ferrucci and Earnest Perry wrote.

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The media gatekeepers of the Magic-Bird era often relied on racial stereotypes that ultimately distorted both athletes.

For example, early in their careers, Bird and Johnson received different journalistic treatment. In Ferrucci and Perry’s article, they explain how coverage of Bird “fit the dominant narrative of the time perfectly … exhibiting a hardworking and intelligent game that succeeded despite a lack of athletic prowess.” When the “flashy” Lakers and Johnson won, they wrote, it was because of “superior skill.”

When they lost to Bird’s Celtics, they were “outworked.”

Framing matters

Let’s go back to Brennan.

Few have done more for young women in the sports media industry than Brennan. In time, energy and money, she has mentored and supported young women trying to break into the field. She has used her platform to expand the coverage of women’s sports.

Brennan defended herself in a lengthy interview on the podcast “Good Game with Sarah Spain”:

“I think [critics are] missing the fact of what I’m trying to do, what I am doing, what I understand clearly as a journalist, asking questions and putting things out there so that athletes can then have an opportunity to answer issues that are being discussed or out there.”

I don’t think Brennan asking Carrington about the foul was problematic. Persisting with the narrative was.

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Leaning into racial stereotypes is not simply about the language used anymore. Brennan’s video of her persistent line of questioning pitted Carrington against Clark. It could be argued that it used the stereotype of the overly physical, aggressive Black athlete, as well.

At best, Brennan has a blind spot to the strain racism is putting on Black athletes today – particularly in the WNBA. At worst, she is digging in on that tired trope.

A blind spot can be addressed and seen. An unacknowledged racist narrative, however, will persist.

Molly Yanity, Professor and Director of Sports media and Communication, University of Rhode Island

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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Scott Malia, College of the Holy Cross

It’s scary movie season, a time when many people watch films about zombies, serial killers, werewolves, magic and mysterious monsters who are impossible to kill.

However, as far as I know, there’s only one film that features all of those elements – and you’ve probably never seen it.

Made in 2007, “Trick ‛r Treat” consists of four interconnected horror stories, each about 15 to 20 minutes long, that all take place on a single Halloween night.

While characters from one story sometimes appear in other segments, the unifying force in the film is Sam, a mysterious creature wearing a burlap mask. He takes umbrage whenever a character disrespects a Halloween tradition, whether it’s by scaring away trick-or-treaters or blowing out a jack-o’-lantern before Halloween is over. Each meets a gruesome end.

Horror buffs eventually discovered the film. Today, it’s hailed as a modern classic. https://www.youtube.com/embed/NJ66Htmmq4M?wmode=transparent&start=0 ‘Trick ‛r Treat’ ended up forgoing a theatrical run.

What went wrong?

“Trick ‛r Treat” was produced by a major studio, Warner Bros. It featured A-list stars, such as Brian Cox and Oscar-winner Anna Paquin. It was produced by Bryan Singer, who was known for churning out hits such as “X-Men” and “The Usual Suspects.” And though its director, Mike Dougherty, was making his directorial debut, he had worked as a screenwriter on films such as “X2: X-Men United” and “Superman Returns.”

Despite all of these credentials, the film’s theatrical release was delayed from fall 2007 to 2008. Then a theater run was canceled altogether, with Warner Bros. finally releasing it on video in 2009.

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The studio never gave an official reason for pulling the theatrical release; however, some critics have speculated that the box office success of the “Saw” franchise and Rob Zombie’s “Halloween” remake were factors.

Other reports suggest that the film’s anthology format, its mixture of horror and comedy, and a plot featuring murdered children made it too hard a sell.

Given the cost of marketing and promoting “Trick ‛r Treat” to a nationwide audience, perhaps the risk wasn’t worth it for a film with a relatively small US$5 million budget. Dougherty himself said these hang-ups constituted a “perfect storm,” suggesting that no one development sealed the film’s fate.

Bypassing the box office

As recently as a decade ago, films released directly to DVD were viewed as flops or cash grabs. In fact, there’s an entire subgenre called “mockbusters” – low-budget rip-offs of studio films, such as “Transmorphers,” which tried to piggyback the success of the “Transformers” franchise, and “Atlantic Rim,” which attempted to do the same for the 2013 blockbuster “Pacific Rim.”

Then there are direct-to-video sequels meant to capitalize off hits. Disney made a lot of money in the late 1990s and early 2000s producing widely panned, direct-to-video animated features such as “The Return of Jafar” and “Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World.”

But second lives for films that were initially snubbed or ignored are nothing new.

“The Boondock Saints” was briefly screened in a handful of theaters for a single week in 1999 before being dumped into the video market. Only then did viewers find it, and it became a cult favorite that eventually begat a sequel.

The stigma of direct-to-video release has diminished over the past decade thanks to the rise of streaming, in which content made directly for home viewing can receive critical acclaim and attract subscribers.

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Actor Nicolas Cage has made a cottage industry of this format. While some have attributed his massive output in the past decade to his financial difficulties, Cage’s films “Joe” (2013), “Mandy” (2018) and “Pig” (2021) have all received critical acclaim, despite sometimes only running in a handful of theaters for a week before their release into streaming markets and video on demand.

It’s this sort of tradition that led to the rediscovery of “Trick ‛r Treat.”

Hipster horror

The appeal of “Trick ‛r Treat” is rooted in its subversion of horror tropes.

For example, women and children, who’ve historically served as victims in the genre, have a lot more agency in Dougherty’s Halloween tale. In fact, the mysterious Sam was played by Quinn Lord, who was only 8 years old when the film was shot. In the film, the character’s origin, age and gender remain undefined since Sam is masked or covered in prosthetics for the entire film, blurring the line between human and monster.

In addition, the film’s complex structure, which some speculated might have hurt its chances for commercial success, helped fuel the film’s critical praise. Dougherty called it “‘Pulp Fiction’ meets ‘Halloween,’” a nod to the interlocking structure of Quentin Tarantino’s breakout film and the setting of John Carpenter’s horror staple, which also unfolds over one Halloween night.

It has become somewhat of a cliché to say that esteemed art, initially overlooked, was “ahead of its time.”

Still, it would be fair to say that “Trick ‘r Treat” arrived on the cusp of what has been called a “horror renaissance” in the past 15 years. Directors like Jordan Peele, Ari Aster, Robert Eggers and Mike Flanagan have found critical and commercial success by branding themselves as horror auteurs.

In addition, Peele and directors like Nia Dacosta, who helmed 2021’s “Candyman,” have opened up a brand of horror that deals with social issues and identity. Dougherty’s film also anticipated a trend of horror films with a darkly humorous streak, including Peele’s “Get Out” and David Gordon Green’s reimagined “Halloween” sequels.

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Despite the film’s rocky beginnings, “Trick ‛r Treat” received a belated theatrical release in 2022, which has spurred talk of a potential sequel.

Dougherty even acknowledges that the film may owe its current popularity to its botched release. While some mainstream films disappear quickly, “Trick ‛r Treat” – currently streaming on Max – reappears every Halloween. Just like Sam.

Scott Malia, Associate Professor of Theatre, College of the Holy Cross

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Looking for an entertainment experience that transcends the ordinary? Look no further than STM Daily News Blog’s vibrant Entertainment section. Immerse yourself in the captivating world of indie films, streaming and podcasts, movie reviews, music, expos, venues, and theme and amusement parks. Discover hidden cinematic gems, binge-worthy series and addictive podcasts, gain insights into the latest releases with our movie reviews, explore the latest trends in music, dive into the vibrant atmosphere of expos, and embark on thrilling adventures in breathtaking venues and theme parks. Join us at STM Entertainment and let your entertainment journey begin! https://stmdailynews.com/category/entertainment/

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