Links & Bits for 8/6/10

Ms. Hill got skills, that's a gift, it's real (Bonita Appleblog)
"The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill was released in 1998. This album is so amazing, I remember where I was the first time I heard it. From the first listen, it was like Lauryn had been around forever. She could do it all – killer flow, great vocals and lyrics that stated huge truths in simple ways. Lauryn was unapologetically woman and a strong and well-spoken one at that. It is such an intensely personal album that speaks to the struggles we all face. I listen to this album on a regular basis."

Hardcorny (mikkipedia)
"Dead Kennedys were THE SHIT for me when I was young, along with Black Flag and some others of course. I would totally pore over the words and be all FUCK REAGAN and think about how I was going to dye my hair black and take drugs and change the world. I chose Berkeley for college solely because East Bary Ray went there and they gave me work study"

The Swish (Tiger Beatdown)
"I knew genderqueer people, but felt like they didn’t understand the infinite regress of my gender. I wanted to create an identity of such HIGH DRAMA and SUSPENSE that I would always be the thing I was playing and also something else. I wanted to be the manly queer, the guy who always wears flannel and never shaves, but who also occasionally wears this GIGANTIC women’s fur coat — I wanted every facet of myself to be a comment on another facet."

Doll Parts: The "Barbie Executioner" Strikes Back (MS Magazine Blog)
"Barbie looms large as a pivotal figure in the lives of young girls. She is the epitome of the mainstream beauty standard, making an impact across race and class: She’s young, thin and, for the most part, white (while Mattel has created “ethnic” Barbie dolls, they sell in lesser quantities and, in the case of Wal-Mart, are sold for less money)."

"Sissy Bounce" Sexually Liberating (Sociological Images)
"I wish I could spend all of my time in New Orleans, my favorite city in the world, so my friends are kind enough to send anything they run across that involves the Crescent City. Two friends forwarded a recent New York Times article on the rise of “sissy bounce,” a new take on bounce — an energetic form of rap/hip hop that originated in New Orleans. ”Sissy bounce” refers to a handful of transgendered/gay rappers, some of whom perform in drag."