You Are Quite Unnecessary, Young Man!

Antonin Artaud
"The English translation of Roberto Bolaño’s excellent final novella, A Little Lumpen Novelita, is out this month. The book opens with an epigraph by Antonin Artaud, who was born today in 1896: 'All writing is garbage. People who come out of nowhere to try to put into words any part of what goes on in their minds are pigs.' Since I read it about a month ago, I’ve thought of this quotation every day, often as I’m writing—you can imagine the rat-a-tat of my keyboard punctuated with an occasional 'All writing is garbage.' It’s a bracing sentiment, taunting and misanthropic, and a truer one than most of us would care to admit."
The Paris Review

2009 November: Antonin Artaud, 2011 August: La Coquille et le Clergyman - 1926, Germaine Dulac.

UR New York

"Our mission as a collective is to create an urban industrial esthetic to our art by combining mediums such as photography, silk-screening, graphic design, and graffiti,using elements of our everyday lives we create surreal environments which individuals can relate to in one way or another. Each piece tells the story of our lives, our struggles, and our environments. We want to inspire creativity amongst people specifically the youth so they can pick up where we leave off."
UR New York (Video)

Fela Kuti - Alagbon Close (1975)

"Fela wrote Alagabon Close to lampoon the police after he was detained at the police station — which, not coincidentally, is located in a cul de sac of the same name. In this deeply anti-establishment song, Fela describes the harsh tactics that the police employ to control society, detailing their favoritism of the wealthy elite and their mistreatment of the poor. In Alagbon Close, Fela tells us, you can be detained indefinitely, you will be brutalized, you will be treated as an animal — the police have no respect for human beings. The song represents one of the first times anyone had directly taken on the Nigerian authorities in such a overt, brash manner. 'I No Get Eye For Back', a song emanating from a lyric in 'Alagbon Close', is a more melodic, instrumentally focused piece."
Fela Kuti
sputnik music
YouTube: Alagbon Close, I No Get Eye For Back

Cobra Records

Wikipedia - "Cobra Records (together with its Artistic subsidiary) was an independent record label that operated from 1956–1959. The label was important for launching the recording careers of Chicago blues artists Otis Rush, Magic Sam and Buddy Guy and 'signaled the arrival of a new generation of [blues] artists and a new sound ... to be called the West Side Sound.' Cobra Records was started on Chicago's West Side in 1956 by Eli Toscano (a record store and television-repair shop owner), with help from promoter Howard Bedno. When his previous record label, Abco Records, failed to generate much interest, Toscano approached Willie Dixon about working for Cobra. Dissatisfied with his arrangement with Chess Records, Dixon joined Cobra."
Wikipedia
Grooveshark : The Cobra Records Story (Video)

"Waterfront--Brooklyn" ca. 1934 - Harry Shokler

"This image shows a busy Brooklyn harbor with a view of Manhattan in the distance. Many artists during the 1930s focused on laborers and industrial scenes to emphasize the value of hard work in pulling the country out of the Depression. The smoking chimneys, groups of workers, and tracks in the snow evoke a sense of activity and perseverance in the face of hardship. To Americans in the 1930s, the skyscrapers of New York symbolized the city’s achievements and sustained the hope that the country’s economy would recover."
Smithsonian American Art Museum

A Little Chaos: A Short Crime Film by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Enfant Terrible of New German Cinema

"If you ever want to feel like you have been wasting your life, look to the short but spectacularly productive life of Rainer Werner Fassbinder. Within fifteen years – the span of his professional career –Fassbinder cranked out 40, count ‘em 40, feature films. That’s roughly 3 movies a year. But that’s not all. He acted in 36 movies, some his own, some directed by others. He also wrote and directed 24 stage plays, did two TV series and a handful of radio plays. The man was motivated. Of course, he also died of a drug overdose at the age of 37 and his personal life was so notoriously self destructive that it was the subject of at least one documentary. Make of that what you will."
Open Culture (vimeo)

2014 May: Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 2014 June: Effi Briest (1974), 2014 July: Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (1974).

Afropunk Before Afropunk

"Last week, for the first time in years, I missed the Afropunk festival. The musical movement began as an extension of a 2003 documentary of the same name, a wonderful film conceived and directed by James Spooner. The festival has grown considerably since the days it was held on a small street across from the Brooklyn Academy of Music. While Spooner himself has been long gone from the scene, Afropunk continues to grow under the watchful eye of music industry vets Matthew Morgan and Jocelyn Cooper. Although the two have gotten flack from some who think that most of the acts included lately aren’t punk enough, criticism hasn’t stopped the festival from becoming one of the most popular NYC summer events, attracting crowds from across the world."
Ebony (Video)
AfroPunk
49 Photos: Hot Style, Slammin' Music At Afropunk Fest In Brooklyn (Video)
W - Afro-Punk: The Rock
Bright Lights
YouTube: Afro-Punk - Trailer
YouTube: Afro-Punk: The Rock [FULL-LENGTH] 1:06:52

Back to the World - Curtis Mayfield (1973)

"Back to the World, the first album Curtis Mayfield recorded and released after hitting number one with the intense inner-city vignette Superfly, returned him to a steady balance of optimism for the future and direct social commentary regarding the problems of his people. The lead single, 'Future Shock,' was inspired by Alvin Toffler's 1970 book of the same name, which warned readers that industrial society was changing so radically that environmental and social problems could be endemic for decades. ..."
allmusic
W - Back to the World
Rolling Stone
Back to Living: Curtis Mayfield and the Making of 'New World Order'
YouTube: Pusherman, Back to the world, New World Order, Right On For The Darkness

2013 June: Roots (1971), 2014 May: Super Fly (1972), 2014 July: There's No Place Like America Today (1975).

Stefanie Klavens

"Stefanie Klavens has a love for 20th century pop culture and Americana. In her articulate photographic series, titled 'Vanishing Drive-Ins,' Klavens documents the disintegration of the American drive-in. Once a popular social and entertainment aspect, it has been slowly disappearing from the United States. As Klavens explains, 'The drive-in has suffered the same fate as the single screen theater. Before World War II the drive-in was a modest trend, but after the war the craze began in earnest, peaking in popularity in the late 1950s and early 1960’s. Drive-ins were ideal for the modern family, everyone jumped into the car, no babysitter needed.'"
The Art Of Disappearing: Stefanie Klavens Documents Vanishing Drive-Ins
Stefanie Klavens
‘Celluloid Dreams’: A Photographers Quest to Preserve the Memory of Historic Theaters Across America

2010 July: Drive-in theater

Brian Eno - Making Space

"Released in 2006 in collaboration with the Lumen London Gallery exhibit of 77 Million paintings, this is a compilation of previously recorded but unreleased tracks, some co-written by Leo Abrahams. All form a smooth, easy and quite spacey entity. Never officially released. Truly a stand-out compilation in the Eno canon, one of his best albums... all the more so for the surprise factor; this had been a very hard one to find."
YouTube: Making Space
New Yorker: Ambient Genius. The working life of Brian Eno.

The Pre-Raphaelite Legacy - British Art and Design

"The Pre-Raphaelites galvanized the British art world in the second half of the nineteenth century with a creative vision that resonates to this day. Rejecting contemporary academic practice as vacuous and stifling, they sought to produce work that was vivid, sincere, and uplifting. Their name affirms their initial sources of inspiration: medieval and early Renaissance art from before the era of Raphael. Originally championed by a small, secret brotherhood, the movement swiftly gained adherents, who introduced new approaches and ambitions."
MetMuseum
MetMuseum: Selected Exhibition Objects
NY Times: Pining for a Burnished Time, Long Ago and Far Away

A Road Through Shore Pine - Robert Adams

"... A Road Through Shore Pine focuses on a series of 18 never-before-seen photographs made in Nehalem Bay State Park, Oregon, in the fall of 2013. ... In A Road Through Shore Pine, [Robert] Adams traces a contemplative journey, first by automobile, then by foot, along an isolated, tree-bordered road to the sea. As presented through Adams’s 11 × 14-inch prints, the passage takes on the quality of metaphor, suggestive of life’s most meaningful journeys, especially its final ones. For this group of photographs, all of which were printed by Adams himself, the artist returned to the use of a medium-format camera, allowing the depiction of an intense amount of detail."
Fraenkel Gallery
amazon
Google

Franny and Zooey - J. D. Salinger

Wikipedia - "Franny and Zooey is a book by American author J. D. Salinger which comprises his short story "Franny" and novella Zooey /ˈzoʊ.iː/.  The two works were published together as a book in 1961, having originally appeared in The New Yorker in 1955 and 1957, respectively. Franny and Zooey, both in their twenties, are the two youngest members of the Glass family, which was a frequent focus of Salinger's writings."
Wikipedia
NY Times: Review by JOHN UPDIKE, September 17, 1961
NYBook: Justice to J.D. Salinger
J. D. Salinger: Seeing the Glass Family (Franny and Zooey)

2010 January: J. D. Salinger, 2012 July: The Catcher in the Rye, 2012 October: Nine Stories.

Woody Guthrie - "The Ranger's Command", "To Hear Your Banjo Play", "Greenback Dollar", "John Henry"

"Come all of you cowboys all over this land,
I'll teach you the law of the Ranger's Command:
To hold a six shooter, and never to run
As long as there's bullets in both of your guns.

I met a fair maiden whose name I don't know;
I asked her to the roundup with me would she go;
She said she'd go with me to the cold roundup,
And drink that hard liquor from the cold, bitter cup.

We started for the canyon in the fall of the year
Expecting to get there with a herd of fat steer;
And the rustlers broke on us in the dead hours of night;
She 'rose from her warm bed, a battle to fight.

She 'rose from her warm bed with a gun in each hand,
Said: Come all of you cowboys and fight for your land,
Come all of you cowboys and don't ever run
As long as there's bullets in both of your guns."
YouTube: "The Ranger's Command", (Ranger's Command), "To Hear Your Banjo Play", "Greenback Dollar" and "John Henry", Pete Seeger talks about Woody Guthrie

Passing Stranger :: The East Vilage Poetry Walk

"Passing Stranger is a sound-rich chronicle of poets and poetry associated with the East Village. Narrated by filmmaker Jim Jarmusch, it contains site-specific poetry, interviews with poets, archival recordings and music by John Zorn. Click on the blue dots to explore the virtual version or download the walking tour and go to the East Village for the ultimate experience."
Passing Stranger :: The East Vilage Poetry Walk (Video)
NY Times: Chasing Ghosts of Poets Past
Passing Stranger: Poetry in NYC's East Village (Video)

Anarchism in America (1983)

Wikipedia - "Anarchism in America is a 1983 documentary, directed by Steven Fischler and Joel Sucher, and produced by Pacific Street Films. ... The film includes interviews with influential anarchists Murray Bookchin, Paul Avrich, Jello Biafra, Mollie Steimer and Karl Hess, and with poet Kenneth Rexroth. It also discusses the Spanish Civil War, the Russian Revolution, the influence of Emma Goldman and the case of executed anarchists Sacco and Vanzetti. The film labels anarchism as the only ideology that is staunchly anti-authoritarian, and discusses how anarchist ideals align with the revolutionary, independent spirit of America from rural communities to urban zones."
Wikipedia
NY Times: Anarchy in the U.S.A. - ‘Sasha and Emma,’ by Paul Avrich and Karen Avrich
Anarchist films (Video)
Anarchism and Film (Video)
YouTube: Anarchism in America Documentary (Part 1 of 8)

House of Cards

Wikipedia - "House of Cards is an American political drama television series, developed and produced by Beau Willimon. It is an adaptation of a previous BBC mini-series of the same name and is based on the novel by Michael Dobbs. ... Set in present-day Washington, D.C., House of Cards is the story of Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey), a Democrat from South Carolina's 5th congressional district and House majority whip who, after being passed over for appointment as Secretary of State, initiates an elaborate plan to get himself into a position of power. His loyal wife, Claire Underwood (Robin Wright), assists him in this endeavor. The series is primarily about ruthless pragmatism, manipulation, power and doing bad things for the greater good."
Wikipedia
Salon: How Netflix is turning viewers into puppets
NY Times: Giving Viewers What They Want
YouTube: Original Series House of Cards - Trailer, Season 2 - Official Trailer, Genius Quotes of Frank Underwood, House of Cards (7min)

Sonny Clark - Cool Struttin' (1958)

"Recorded in 1958, this legendary date with the still-undersung Sonny Clark in the leader's chair also featured a young Jackie McLean on alto (playing with a smoother tone than he had before or ever did again), trumpeter Art Farmer, and the legendary rhythm section of bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Philly Joe Jones, both from the Miles Davis band. The set begins with one of the preeminent 'swinging medium blues' pieces in jazz history: the title track with its leveraged fours and eights shoved smoothly up against the walking bass of Chambers and the backbeat shuffle of Jones. Clark's solo, with its grouped fifths and sevenths, is a wonder of both understatement and groove, while Chambers' arco solo turns the blues in on itself. ..."
allmusic
W - Cool Struttin'
100 Greatest Jazz Albums
YouTube: Cool Struttin' 53:38

The Man who Invented Rock & Roll - Sam Phillips

"The Sun Sound began when Sam Phillips launched his record company in February of 1952. He named it Sun Records as a sign of his perpetual optimism: a new day and a new beginning. Sam rented a small space at 706 Union Avenue for his own all-purpose studio. The label was launched amid a growing number of independent labels. In a short while Sun gained the reputation throughout Memphis as a label that treated local artists with respect and honesty. Sam provided a non-critical, spontaneous environment that invited creativity and vision."
Sun Records: About
W - Sam Phillips
W - Sun Records
SOS - Sam Phillips: Sun Records
[PDF] Sam Phillips, Elvis, & Rock N’ Roll: A Cultural Revolution
YouTube: The Man who Invented Rock & Roll (PART 1), (PART 2)

Solus

"Dublin artist Solus. Solus has travelled a long and twisted road to find his way to being the man he is today... a path consisting of a troubled past, personal tragedy, pain, and ultimately triumphs. Now a major player in the Irish art scene Solus not only works on large outdoor murals but additionally has become a successful gallery artist, producing works on canvas and limited edition prints. Solus has gained notoriety not only for his work in Ireland, but also New York, Miami, Canada, London, South Korea and Berlin to name but a few."
Solus (Video)

Doughnut

Wikipedia - "A doughnut or donut (/ˈdoʊnət/ or /ˈdoʊnʌt/; see spelling differences) is a type of fried dough confectionery or dessert food. The doughnut is popular in many countries and prepared in various forms as a sweet snack that can be homemade or purchased in bakeries, supermarkets, food stalls, and franchised specialty outlets. They are usually deep-fried from a flour dough, and typically either ring-shaped or without a hole and often filled. Other types of batters can also be used, and various toppings and flavorings are used for different types, such as sugar, chocolate, or maple glazing."
Wikipedia
NY Times: In Greenpoint, a Situation Ripe for a Doughnut War
NY Times: Till the Last Doughnut and Drumstick
America's Best Donuts
Guardian: My obsession with a New York cup of coffee and a doughnut
Smithsonian: The History of the Doughnut

This Year's Model - Elvis Costello (1978)

"Where My Aim Is True implied punk rock with its lyrics and stripped-down production, This Year's Model sounds like punk. Not that Elvis Costello's songwriting has changed -- This Year's Model is comprised largely of leftovers from My Aim Is True and songs written on the road. It's the music that changed. ... It's nervous, amphetamine-fueled, nearly paranoid music -- the group sounds like they're spinning out of control as soon as they crash in on the brief opener, 'No Action,' and they never get completely back on track, even on the slower numbers. ..."
allmusic
W - This Year's Model
Pitchfork
Counterbalance No. 79: Elvis Costello's 'This Year’s Model' (Video)
YouTube: No Action, Lipstick Vogue, The Beat, Pump it up - You Belong To Me, (I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea, Night Rally, This Year's Girl, Little Triggers, Hand In Hand, Living in Paradise

2011 August: Get Happy!!, 2011 November: "Watching the Detectives" (1978), 2011 December: "Radio Radio" (1978)

Culture’s Keeper

"Mickey McGowan’s reverence for cultural relics is contagious. It awakens a desire to daydream and play. Mickey is best known as the man behind the Unknown Museum, a pop-culture repository he opened in Mill Valley, California, in the 1970s. The museum, famous for its tableau vivant exhibits cluttered with twentieth century toys, knick knacks and curios, became a favorite stop for media outlets and tourists alike. When the museum closed its doors in the late ’80s, much of its contents ultimately wound up in Mickey’s San Rafael 'Culture Cave.' The day before our photo shoot with Mickey, we had some concerns. The location he was sending us to sounded more like a warehouse than a home. We wondered if he didn’t have any records at his house, explaining that our goal was to feature collectors in their record rooms."
Dust and Grooves
Mickey McGowan

Theresa Bernstein: A Century in Art

“Reading the War News” (1915)
"A celebrated raconteur and art activist, the long-lived Theresa Bernstein may be the only artist to have made and exhibited work in every decade of the twentieth century. Exhibiting during the 1910s, Bernstein witnessed critics compare her work to that of Robert Henri and his circle for its forceful brushwork and realist approach. ... The exhibition will communicate many dimensions of the complex urban metropolis that is New York as well as the life of Gloucester, MA, the small seacoast town and artist colony, where Bernstein and her husband worked during the summers. Themes include Bernstein’s observations of political activism such as woman’s suffrage; economic hardship as shown by out-of-work women at an employment office; spiritual life as exemplified by people in the congregation of a Polish immigrant church; and cultural pursuits by artists from visual to musical performers."
Theresa Bernstein: A Century in Art (Video)
W - Theresa Bernstein
NY Times: A Long Life Lived in the Shadow of Others
Why Theresa Bernstein Was the Jewish Artist of the Century (Video)
YouTube: Gail Levin Explains the Origins and Inspiration for "Theresa Bernstein: A Century in Art", Theresa Bernstein: A Century in Art Gallery Exhibit

"Subterranean Homesick Blues" - Bob Dylan (1965)

Wikipedia - "'Subterranean Homesick Blues' is a song by Bob Dylan, originally released in 1965 as a single on Columbia Records, catalogue 43242. It appeared 19 days later as the lead track to the album Bringing It All Back Home. ... The song's first line is a reference to codeine distillation and politics of the time: 'Johnny's in the basement mixing up the medicine / I'm on the pavement thinkin' about the Government'. The song also depicts some of the growing conflicts between 'straight' or 'square' (40-hour workers) and the emerging 1960s counterculture. The widespread use of recreational drugs, and turmoil surrounding the Vietnam War were both starting to take hold of the nation, and Dylan's hyperkinetic lyrics were dense with up-to-the-minute allusions to important emerging elements in the 1960s youth culture."
Wikipedia
allmusic
"Subterranean Homesick Blues" - Bob Dylan (1965)
Subterranean Homesick Blue, Filming Location - London, England
YouTube: Subterranean Homesick Blue

Teresita Fernández: As Above So Below

"Demonstrating the artist’s remarkable ability to transform materials and their surrounding architecture into an enveloping perceptual experience, Teresita Fernández: As Above So Below combines graphite and gold to create a series of immersive, interconnected installations whose scale shifts from intimate to vast, from miniature to panoramic. Fernández's largest solo exhibition to date, As Above So Below is made up entirely of new works."
MASS MoMA (Video)
Inhale
Cuban Art News
YouTube: Teresita Fernández: As Above So Below

Chris Stain

"Chris Stain grew up writing Graffiti in Baltimore, MD in the mid 1980’s. Through printmaking in high school he adapted stenciling techniques, which later lead to his work in street stencils and urban contemporary art. Compared at times to the American Social Realist movement of the 1930’s and ‘40’s, Chris’s work echoes his upbringing and the people who helped shape his mental and physical landscape. His work illustrates the struggles of the unrecognized and underrepresented individuals of society. Chris currently teaches art in New York City and is pursuing a BA in Art Education."
Chris Stain
Justseeds: Chris Stain
NYC: Speaking with Chris Stain
vimeo: Mural // Chris Stain
YouTube: Sheboygan City Hall Garage time-lapse painting , Scion Installation LA: Rooms // Chris Stain Interview (Scion AV)

"My Blakean Year" - Patti Smith (2004)

"In my Blakean year
I was so disposed
Toward a mission yet unclear
Advancing pole by pole

Fortune breathed into my ear
Mouthed a simple ode
One road is paved in gold
One road is just a road
YouTube: "My Blakean Year", LIVE from the NYPL

"Monterey" - Eric Burdon & The Animals (1967)

Wikipedia - "'Monterey' is a 1967 song by Eric Burdon & The Animals. The music and lyrics were composed by the group's members, Eric Burdon, John Weider, Vic Briggs, Danny McCulloch, and Barry Jenkins. In 1968, two different video clips of the song were aired. ... The song 'Monterey' was subsequently written in tribute to the group's experiences at the festival, and proved to be one of the new band's biggest hits. The lyrics describe the atmosphere of the festival and some of the notable musicians who played, including The Byrds, Jefferson Airplane, Ravi Shankar, The Who, Hugh Masekela, The Grateful Dead, and Jimi Hendrix, as 'young gods' with music 'born of love' and 'religion was being born'."
Wikipedia
YouTube: "Monterey", Eric Burdon, Eric Burdon - The Animals - Monterey 1967

Some YoYo Stuff: An observation of the observations of Don Van Vliet by Anton Corbijn (1993)

"...this short black-&-white film made in 1993 is an unique opportunity to see & hear Don van Vliet, alias 'Captain Beefheart', one of the most influential, misunderstood, talked about, admired, copied, treasured, loved & quoted musicians & yet he is still an obscure & mysterious artist. The film is approximately 13 minutes long, directed & photographed in black & white..."
t.tex's hexes
captain beefheart electricity: F A N Z I N E S
captain beefheart electricity: SUCTION PRINTS
Discogs: Some YoYo Stuff - An Observation Of The Observations Of Don Van Vliet
YouTube: Some YoYo Stuff

2009 October: Captain Beefheart, 2010 December: Captain Beefheart, Art-Rock Visionary, Dead At 69, 2011 October: Interview with Captain Beefheart, 2013 August: This Is The Day (1974-Old Grey Whistle Test), 2014 July: Safe as Milk (1967).

New Wilderness Letter, 1977-84 (ed. Jerome Rothenberg)

"Jerome Rothenberg’s impressive twelve-issue magazine New Wilderness Letter picks up precisely where Alcheringa left off, with a decisive change: 'the present work will be more open – more coarse and broad in Whitman’s vision for poetry & consciousness – than the previous one.' Having departed from the ethnopoetics focus of Alcheringa in 1976, Rothenberg delivered an expansive notion of poesis in his new magazine. ... Indeed, continuing the expansive synthetic impulse that guided the anthologies Technicians of the Sacred, Shaking the Pumpkin, and America a Prophesy, Rothenberg gathers an impressive and unlikely set of writings, drawings, and images over the course of the magazine’s seven years in publication."
Jacket2

Gail Albert Halaban: Paris Views

"Gail Albert Halaban: Paris Views is a continuation of Halaban’s 2012 series Out My Window. In this new set of images, Halaban shifts her focus from New York to Paris—while continuing to steady her gaze through the windows of her neighbors and others in the community. The photographs, taken between 2012 and 2013, feature cinematic atmospheres and intimate domestic stills. Through Halaban’s lens, the viewer is welcomed into the private worlds of ordinary people. The photographs in Gail Albert Halaban: Paris Views explore the conventions and tensions of urban lifestyles, the blurring between reality and fantasy, feelings of isolation in the city, and the intimacies of home and daily life."
aperture
Exclusive First Look: Gail Albert Halaban: Paris Views
Gail Albert Halaban

Stickball

Willie Mays playing stickball in NYC
Wikipedia - "Stickball is a street game related to baseball, usually formed as a pick-up game played in large cities in the Northeastern United States, especially New York City and Philadelphia. The equipment consists of a broom handle and a rubber ball, typically a spaldeen, pensy pinky, high bouncer or tennis ball. The rules come from baseball and are modified to fit the situation, for example, a manhole cover may be used as a base, or buildings for foul lines. The game is a variation of stick and ball games dating back to at least the 1750s. This game was widely popular among youths growing up from the 20th century until the 1980s."
Wikipedia
World Series Stickball of Fame
Streetplay - Introduction, Streetplay
East Harlem storefront celebrates city's stickball history with shrine to spaldeens and three-sewer smashes
Stickball in New York is a vanishing game
YouTube: New Yorkers Prove Stickball Isn't a Dying Sport - New York Post, Stickball, Robinson Cano takes to the streets of NYC for stickball

2010 July: Stoop ball, 2013 May: Spalding.

Muddy Waters - "Got My Mojo Working" (1957)

"My magic charm is working. Origin: In the early 20th century mojo meant voodoo or magical power, specifically one which gave the mojo's male possessor a sexual power over women. More recently, this has been extended to mean power or influence of any kind. The term was widely used in the US black communities at that time. In 1926, Newbell Niles Puckett published this definition in his Folk Beliefs of the Southern Negro: 'The term mojo is often used by the Mississippi Negroes to mean 'charms, amulets, or tricks', as 'to work mojo' on a person or 'to carry a mojo'.' McKinley Morganfield, a.k.a. Muddy Waters, would have heard work mojo as he was growing up in Mississippi. ..."
The Phrase Finder
allmusic
Wikipedia
YouTube: Got My Mojo Workin'

NYC ²

"Alix A.K.A L’intrépide had the opportunity to visit New York for two weeks. So he took his camera and shot barely everything. This is the result. And this is absolutely great! Don’t miss this video full of lifestyle and inspiration! Camera : Canon 7D, Image & Post-production : Alix Bossard."
vimeo: NYC ²