Addresses the advantages and practicalities involved in the issue of the creative re-use of existing buildings.
#802222 in eBooks 2016-02-05 2016-02-05File Name: B01AA2MLOK
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Danny Alexander is among our finest music writers working todayBy stewart francke llcDanny Alexander is among our finest music writers working today. He takes his principle subject--the musical imperatives put forth by MJBs songs and how she selected and sang them--and paints societal; political and personal meaning deftly across the entire canvas. We the readers are the real winners if we allow Alexander to venture broadly across both subject and theme--he makes Blige not just a dominant and important black artist but a contemporary Everywoman for white and black women; all lovers of RB and Soul music and even those of us concerned with how our artists comment on and shape this country. Real Love; No Drama is just a beautiful and important book; written by a writer who can address Blige and her music with the most subtle academic concern and then turn around with the wild enthusiasm of an unabashed fan. My kind of guy; my kind of singer; and a transcendent book for all of us.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Real Love; No Drama puts Mary JBy CJ JanovyDanny Alexander is a music writer who listens from somewhere out in the crowd; shoulder to shoulder in communion with his sisters and brothers; all of them on their feet and swaying to the music. As a result; Real Love; No Drama puts Mary J. Bligersquo;s music in the heart of whatrsquo;s happening in real peoplersquo;s lives; where the love and drama are inherent; and where Blige so often has provided inspiration; guidance; and sustenance for the journey.Through his own listening and watching; through interviews with Bligersquo;s relatives on a visit to the land of her roots in Georgia (where he ends up at the First African Baptist Church of Savannah; established in 1777 ndash; the oldest black church in North America); through unflinching engagement with Bligersquo;s previously documented telling of her life in the Yonkers projects; Alexander shows how and why she reached generations of people who were like her ndash; as well as the Oklahoma white boy who wrote the book.Alexanderrsquo;s critical biography places Bligersquo;s music in the broad cultural context it deserves; reaching back to her birth at a time of ldquo;one of the most vital moments of politically charged black music;rdquo; when Edwin Starr; the Temptations; Sly and the Family Stone; James Brown; Aretha Franklin and Marvin Gaye were protesting and interpreting what was; in fact; going on. That cultural context continues throughout Bligersquo;s career; perhaps no better captured than in the most moving chapter of the book; which deconstructs her performance of ldquo;Onerdquo; with Bono for a Hurricane Katrina benefit. Alexander recognizes hersquo;s not the only one who understands the power of that performance; quoting a Princeton professor who described it as ldquo;perhaps the most insurgent political work of a black female pop singer since Nina Simonersquo;s lsquo;Four Womenrsquo; and Mississippi Goddamn.rsquo;rdquo;Throughout Real Love No Drama; these striking moments reward even readers who arenrsquo;t close listeners or devoted fans of Blige. Therersquo;s another such moment late in the book when Alexander describes what happened after Blige finished her gospel ldquo;The Living Proofrdquo; during another relief benefit; this one for Hurricane Sandy. Alexander watches as the television camera ldquo;pulled back to show emcees Brian Williams and Jon Stewart looking deferential and moved. Blige hugged them both; long and real.rdquo;That is the effect of Alexanderrsquo;s book; too.0 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy Calvin L Reesei don t have yetbut I surei will love
