TATANKA

Music Reviews (Sacred Bones) PSA: It would be easy to write this album off as simply an album of covers, but that would be a mistake. In an age when the phrase “Taylor’s Version” boasts cultural currency and reboots of film series are as ubiquitous as air and water, the public is well-accustomed to the idea of an artist reconsidering an already released work or generational touchstone. For SPELLLING, which is the sobriquet of multi-instrumentalist and art pop futurist Chrystia Cabral, the malleability and potential deepening of her work had evidently manifested via performances with her live band, leading to songs from her prior albums—2017’s Pantheon Of Me, 2019’s Mazy Fly, and 2021’s The Turning Wheel—to enjoy further attention and subsequent rework.  Having visited the original versions of the songs Cabral selected for SPELLLING & The Mystery School, it’s worth noting that her efforts remain faithful to the originals while enhancing their best...

Who and what we think we are can deeply impact what we consider possible, what we actually do with our creative talents and passions, and how much we express our unique voice. Sometimes that voice is our literal one, such as being an actor, singer, speaker, spoken word artist, author giving a presentation and more. Like other forms of “voice” our audible speech can be affected by our self-esteem, beliefs, and other issues. But it is our inner voice or critic that may most encourage or inhibit how much we authentically express ourselves through our creative work. ~~~~ Photographer  Annie Leibovitz  has talked about some of her self-limiting fears: “I am finally doing pictures for myself… “I realized that I am my own worst enemy. “I’m the one, who by doing what I think other people want from me, has held myself back… haven’t let myself grow or listened enough to my own voice. “It’s so important to listen to your own voice.” From my post  How Can We Create More Confidently? [Photo is from...

Charlize Theron admires her mother as a role model, and a woman with strong individuality. “It was the greatest thing she has given me. I don’t think she knows that. I don’t even think she set out to teach me that. “That’s just how she lived her life and what she encouraged me to do. She was a great mother but at the same time she was very much an individual. She ran a business. “I always say to my friends who are so torn between having a job and leaving kids behind to go to work that their kids will thank them one day. “That will be the thing that will inspire them, because I remember watching my mom put her suit and high heels on and go into a board meeting with eight guys. “She was running the show and I was like, I want to be like that. She always encouraged me to be an individual, to have my own philosophy.” Continued in my article She Is Running The Show . In addition to her powerful and acclaimed acting, Theron has worked on a number of her films as producer or executive produc...

What can creative expression do for us spiritually and emotionally? How can it be healing? Creative expression as a refuge, even a force for healing, is an experience of many people. One of my favorite quotes on that topic is by author Kurt Vonnegut : “The practice of any art isn’t to make a living, it’s to make your soul grow.” Quoted in several articles, including  Missing or Abandoning Our Creative Fulfillment (Part 2) . Others talk about art as healing: “Art opens the closets, airs out the cellars and attics. It brings healing.” – Julia Cameron “At the deepest level, the creative process and the healing process arise from a single source. When you are an artist, you are a healer; a wordless trust of the same mystery is the foundation of your work and its integrity.” – Rachel Naomi Remen , MD From Art & Healing Quotes page on the Arts & Healing Network site. ~~~~~ Kristin Bauer portrayed the deliciously imperious and sarcastic vampire Pam on the HBO series “True Blood.” In...