Here at groupbool, every thursday is tritone thursday where we pick three songs that share a common theme and write a short description about the overarching narrative.
We’re looking for more authors. If you have any suggestions or want to write a tritone for groupbool, please reach out to us at requests@groupbool.xyz
The novel coronavirus has brought upon an unexpected shift to our way of life. The squad hasn’t even met in close to six months. We’ve all been fortunate enough to continue working from home however the lack of boundaries had made me feel more like a corporate drone lately. Day in and day out, it’s almost like we’re living a groundhog day scenario. This pandemic isn’t so much to blame but it has managed to compound my absurdist outlook. continue…
Netflix released Avatar: The Last Airbender onto their streaming platform last month, and it couldn’t have come at a better time—providing the perfect quarantine escape and touching on social plagues that have spanned generations. Finishing the series last weekend with my fellow boolers left me with every emotion, including the desire to bend elements. While water, earth, fire, and air bending are obviously not achievable in our physical world, they have plenty of familiar roots that can be tapped into. continue…
Amiri Baraka said it best: “One of the most baffling things about America is that despite its essentially vile profile, so much beauty continues to exist here. Perhaps it’s as so many thinkers have said, that it is because of the vileness, or call it adversity, that such beauty does exist. (As balance?)”. American music is black music. Listen, feel, and understand.
The power of an artist is to feel the ailments of society and diagnose it before we even realize what’s going on. With all that’s going on in the world, Su Lee is the sonic physician we all need right now. Her song “I’ll Just Dance” was a viral hit on YouTube partly because of her dancing in her bedroom studio, but also because she was able to put to words the vibes of this crazy year and make us feel okay with it for once. continue…
One of the oldest motifs in hip hop is Hennessy—ubiquitous in tracks from its inception through today. Rappers laud Hennessy as an aphrodisiac, the fuel for a wild night, a staple in daily life. The golden hue and bottle emulate luxury yet Henny touts an accessibility to listeners and rappers alike. Hennessy accumulated an intense loyalty early on from the hip hop community because it was one of the only companies to hire black executives, and I’ll drink to that 🥂
In these frantic times, you might walk through your drug store aisles, looking for Tylenol or Advil. You’ll walk by bare shelves and realize that everyone else cleared out the stock in a panic. Now there’s no reason to be upset—hidden away in the bottom shelf, you’ll find Acetaminophen and Ibuprofen. They’re generic versions of those medications, but they’re just as effective. They might not have the eye catching marketing or the superior effectiveness we’ve been placebo’d into believing. continue…
In a “Fair and Lovely” world where virtually every skincare product in the East is sold with lighteners, the dark skinned people of the world apply those creams, rinses, and even bleaches trying to be “beautiful”; while in parallel their coveted light skinned counterparts slow roast themselves in tanning beds or under the sun with the same goal in mind… the grass always seems to be greener. This tritone celebrates the beauty of that darker skin — as a chubby preteen with the darkest skin of all the girls in my family, self esteem was never really in abundance; an experience I regrettably share with countless kids around the world. continue…
Shakespeare is revered for the universality of his themes that break geographic and class barriers. Even after 400 years, high schoolers everywhere can’t seem to shake his presence. His works are avidly studied and his themes manage to show up in the most unexpected places. The bard’s 16th century writing might seem like the furthest thing away from hip-hop but lately I’ve been hearing references to complex Shakespearean characters in very clever ways. continue…
On the coast of West Africa lies Nigeria, one of the populous countries in the world. It is an economic powerhouse with an emerging market that is on track to become a global super power. On top of this, Nigeria also has an incredible music scene with a cultural lineage that goes way back; from being at the forefront of early highlife to playing a major role in the development of afrobeat with the likes of the legendary Fela Kuti. continue…
Different people measure time in different ways. Birthdays, milestones, relationships, jobs etc. For me, over the past several years, time is measured by Spotify playlists. Each playlist of mine is a time capsule that holds memories stirred by each song that comes on shuffle when I revisit it months, or even years later. Music is beautiful and powerful in that way. Below are three songs, each from a different playlist, that bring back only the happiest memories. continue…
