Ever since Sam left the Observer, I've been remiss in reading the weekly, well, at all. I'd so much rather hit Merritt and Andrea's blogs. Cut to the chase, ya know? So, I spent a little time on my blogreader today, catching up. And, apparently, forming opinions about the writers. Julie, Bible Girl, is my new crush (God, she'd hate that! hee hee) and Jonanna Widner is trying too hard. She's dissing on my homies, man. First she calls Sorta bombastic, disappointing, 70's leftovers (OK, that could be a little out of context), then she says Radiant* has "Coldplay Disease" and she writes it like it's a revelation. Um, Jonanna, we like that about Radiant*. Always have. And then there is this quote: "I'm beginning to think every band in Dallas should be a tribute band."
I'm just sayin', that's all.
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update: OK, she redeemed herself somewhat in my estimation today. (odd... today? no, not possible, really, she had a deadline, she'd been working on that article awhile...) She has been around just a short time, I'm planning to stay caught up on my blogreading now. Paper's so messy. But, damn, I think I just got lumped in as an "offshoot".
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
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1 comment:
love it when a newcomer to the city writes
"we need to get over DeepEllum"
i think we need writers,artists&musicans that are aware of a history..that stretches back longer than 10 or 20 years..try 100 or 200..hell 1000 or 2000 lets get crazy! RW seems to be the only music writer worth reading&absorbing at DO..maybe WE need to get over the hope that DO has anything relevant to offer US.
cheers&HappyHolidays 2 u km..see u soon
The area got its start in 1884 when Robert S. Munger built his first factory, for the Munger Improved Cotton Machine Company, in what is now Deep Ellum. In 1913, Henry Ford opened an assembly plant here to supplement the manufacture of the Ford Model T at the Detroit plant. In 1916, the first building built for and by blacks in Dallas—The Grand Temple of the Black Knights of Pythias—was built in Deep Ellum. [1]
[edit]Jazz and blues
Starting in 1920 and crescendoing into the 1930s, Deep Ellum became distinguished as a prime jazz and blues hotspot in the South. Artists such as Blind Lemon Jefferson, Robert Johnson, Huddie "Leadbelly" Ledbetter, and Bessie Smith played in Deep Ellum clubs like The Harlem and The Palace.
In 1937, a columnist described Deep Ellum as:
“ ...[the] one spot in the city that needs no daylight saving time because there is no bedtime...[It is] the only place recorded on earth where business, religion, hoodooism, gambling and stealing goes on at the same time without friction...Last Saturday a prophet held the best audience in this 'Madison Square Garden' in announcing that Jesus Christ would come to Dallas in person in 1939. At the same time a pickpocket was lifting a week's wages from another guy's pocket, who stood with open mouth to hear the prophecy.[2] ”
At the time, you could find gun and locksmith shops, clothing stores, the Cotton Club, tattoo studios, barber-shops, pawn shops, drugstores, tea rooms, loan offices, domino halls, pool halls, and walk-up hotels. On its sidewalks you could find pigeon droppers, reefer men, craps shooters, card sharps, and sellers of cocaine and marijuana.[2] Sometime around World War I, Leadbelly and Blind Lemon Jefferson got together and began composing folk tunes, with Dallas often in the lyrics. In a song called "Ella Speed":
“ Walked up Ellum an' I come down Main,
Tryin' to bum a nickel jes' to buy cocaine.
Ho, Ho, baby, take a whiff on me.[2] ”
Another song about Deep Ellum, "Deep Ellum Blues," included:
“ When you go down on Deep Ellum,
Put your money in your socks
'Cause them Women on Deep Ellum
Sho' will throw you on the rocks.
(chorus)
Oh, sweet mama, your daddy's got them Deep Ellum Blues.
Oh, sweet mama, your daddy's got them Deep Ellum Blues.[2] ”
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