In January, President Barack Obama made his singing debut on the stage of Harlem’s Apollo Theater. During a campaign fundraising speech, he leaned into the microphone, gently slid his State of the Union baritone up to a whispery falsetto, and nailed the opening line from “Let’s Stay Together,” the Al Green soul classic that has melted hearts and warmed sheets since its release in 1971. “I-I-I-I, I’m so in love with you,” Obama cooed. The video of his impromptu performance has logged more than four million views, and the song has become an unofficial re-election theme. Obama’s rendition is available as a ringtone; inevitably, Green showed up to sing it at an event in February.
Judging when to use tabloid stories as teaching moments on issues regarding race, gender, and class isn’t always easy. Sometimes the connection is clear, as when bloggers and activists used the Chris Brown/Rihanna blowup to raise awareness about domestic violence. Other times, a point can’t be found, no matter how hard one may try. The scandal surrounding Jay-Z and Beyoncé’s baby, recently born at at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, is a classic example of this sort of overreach.
The above video, found viaJezebel is what they rightly call one of the more disturbing videos to come from the now years-long remaking of Beyonce's hit Single Ladies. But the changes are minor: instead of singing about an engagement ring, she's singing about a purity ring, a promise not to have sex, until marriage. It wouldn't have been so easy if the original song hadn't been so conservative in the first place.
Barack and Michelle Obama joined Mexican President Felipe Calderón and his wife Margarita Zavala on a trolley ride to the State Dinner reception, held Wednesday. Beyoncé performed, sans Gaga.
