Friday, June 18, 2021

Curate This - Resist, Revolt, Riot



If there weren't already enough curated mixes strewn about the Internet, Dozens Of Donuts is here to add more. Rather than analyze a burgeoning genre, herald the best of a past one, or merely formulate background music for study sessions, road trips, or midday snoozes, Curate This aims to immerse listeners in a niche aesthetic that enraptures and vitalizes. With written accompaniment to provide the expository backdrop, these songs flow - errantly or harmoniously - around particular moods, sensory emotions, and pertinent tones. June finds us fighting for survival. Fighting for those unjustly murdered, be it hung from trees or suffocated under callous knees.

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Southern serenity interrupted by rattles and hums. Chains clinking off rotted flesh and bruised bone. Hardened horse hooves barrel down dirt lanes as steadfast chants cease, supplanted by screams grinding along rubble, heaving with every pothole. Ropes wrapped round branches, as a noose forms, with more swaying in the distance. Some heads hang low, toiling the crop, as others gaze stoically at the tree line; despondent and indignant. Deep down though, a storm brews. A plan lies in wake. Power in numbers. Power in muscle. Power to prevail.

Revolution starts at home. In the hearts of those oppressed. No matter the place or era, for some, equality is a fantasy interminably desired. Suits corrupted by conglomerations spread their venom down the rungs, like vines reclaiming latticed, chainlink fences. The obstinate class divide pits poor against poorer, as the 1% rake in revenue of the bloodsport. Their stack grows in line with others' despair, funding the militarization of local police forces. Tear gas, teflon, and tanks for those meant to protect and serve. Burned eyes, curbed necks, and slashed tires for those seeking justice.

Fire streaks across the night sky, set ablaze by a match and wife-beater. Shielded defenders of the powers that be step forward, as one, for their authoritative regime. Chaos versus order. Anarchy versus the status quo. Black versus white. A chant for a better future against a taciturn tyrant, rifle in hand, atop his trusty steed. Sound familiar? It's history repeating itself. Smoke from launched projectiles separate each side, like a dividing line waiting to be crossed. 

One step forward. Sacrifices for the future, for progress. Bloodshed on the unforgiving concrete. Fists clenched. Some for fury, others unity. Marching behind signs for all those lost unjustly. This movement never ends, as it never has. Silence for those complicit, shouts for those who refuse to sit on the sidelines. Masks up, eyes strained, advancing towards a better tomorrow.
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ACT  I  -  AN INCITING INCIDENT


The Last Poets - Run, Nigger | 1:13
The Last Poets | 1970 | Jazz Poetry

Nina Simone - Strange Fruit | 3:32
Pastel Blues | 1965 | Vocal Jazz

Matana Roberts - Pov Piti | 7:41
Coin Coin Chapter One | 2011 | Avant-Garde Jazz

Max Roach - Driva' Man | 5:18
We Insist! | 1961 | Avant-Garde Jazz

Sons Of Kemet - Field Negus | 3:03
Black To The Future | 2021 | Afro-Jazz
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ACT  II  -  US VS. THEM


Kanye West - New Slaves | 4:16
Yeezus | 2013 | Political Hip-Hop

Gil Scott-Heron - The Revolution Will Not Be Televised | 3:06
Pieces Of A Man | 1971 | Soul

Death - Politicians In My Eyes | 5:51
... For The Whole World To See | 1974 | Proto-Punk

Run The Jewels - walking in the snow | 3:56
Run The Jewels 4 | 2020 | Hardcore Hip-Hop

Yves Tumor - Noid | 3:29
Safe In The Hands Of Love | 2018 | Neo-Psychedelia
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ACT  III  -  STOKING THE FLAMES


Show Me The Body - Badge Grabber | 2:25
Dog Whistle | 2019 | Noise Rock

clipping. - Knees On The Ground | 4:34
Knees On The Ground | 2014 | Political Hip-Hop

Denzel Curry - Hate Government | 1:00
13 | 2017 | Industrial Hip-Hop

Death Grips - I Break Mirrors With My Face In The United States | 2:41
The Powers That B | 2015 | Experimental Hip-Hop

Kendrick Lamar - The Blacker The Berry | 5:29
To Pimp A Butterfly | 2015 | Conscious Hip-Hop
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ACT  IV  -  HEALING THE BLEEDING HEARTS


D'Angelo - The Charade | 3:21
Black Messiah | 2014 | Neo-Soul

Sault - Little Boy | 3:53
Untitled (Rise) | 2020 | Neo-Soul

Moses Sumney - Power? | 1:49
Black In Deep Red, 2014 | 2018 | Art Pop 

Eugene McDaniels - The Parasite (For Buffy) | 9:34
Headless Heroes Of The Apocalypse | 1971 | Psychedelic Soul

Pink Siifu - Run Pig Run. | 1:30
Negro | 2020 | Hardcore Punk
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