In a new feature of the Friday section, aptly titled The Lists, writers and contributors share lists of music and podcasts they’re listening to, books they’re reading, sites they’re trawling and other wonderful content worth sharing.
The Play List
Anonhi: The singer from Anthony and the Johnsons has a masterpiece of a new album in Hopelessness. Drone Bomb Me and Crisis deserve two extra deep breaths in this breathtaking musical offering. (MB)
James Blake: The Colour In Anything, Blake’s third studio album, is an emotional body of work with songs about unrequited love. It’s his best work yet. (KM)
Majozi: Fire. In his first full-length catchy, indie-rock-folk album, Majozi is pretty impressive. (KM)
White Boiz: Neighbourhood Wonderful. The album marries the future funk of Sa-Ra’s Shafiq Husayn with Krondon’s elastic, cool rhymes. This is psychedelic hip-hop at its finest. (KS)
Call your girlfriend: If you can block the often insufferable accents of long distance American BFF’s Ann Friedman and Aminatou Sow, you’re in for really good conversations between two smart women in this podcast about contemporary culture and society. (MB)
The Reading List
Nwelezelanga: The Star Child: Writer and sangoma Unathi Magubeni’s debut novel is going to be an important book. I’m only a third of the book in but the story of 13-year-old Nwelezelanga, a spiritually gifted girl with albinism, is wrapped up in a beautifully written litany on spirituality, philosophy and fantasy. (MB)
Boy on the Wire: Alastair Bruce tells a story of how the death of John Hyde’s brother rocked his family and altered their relationship forever. I can’t tell if it’s any good yet. I haven’t got that far. (KM)
Call it a Difficult Night: The literary debut of Mishka Hoosen is a befuddling, cerebral novel that deals with mental illness. Hoosen frustrates pacing and form with erudite and poetic prose. (KS)
VerySmartBrothas.com: A virtual land of hilarity, pettiness and sharpshooting political, social and cultural commentary. It’s the perfect place to go for interpretations of various pop culture phenomena, from Skai Jackson’s Twitter takedown of Azaelia Banks to why African-Americans love potato salad so much. (MB)