Month: December 2017

One of the world’s rarest records has resurfaced — several vinyl copies of Prince’s “Black Album,” which the eccentric pop legend had demanded destroyed 30 years ago.

Recordmecca, a collector’s site owned by a former executive on Prince’s Warner Brothers label, on Wednesday was selling a coveted sealed vinyl copy of the album for $15,000.

The Purple Rain star, then at the height of his fame, in December 1987 sought to release music like no one had attempted before — sending it to stores completely secretly, without his name or any art on it.

Warner, with which he had legendary feuds, discouraged Prince but eventually relented and ordered the pressing of the vinyl — which has no actual title but was informally called the “Black Album” for its blank, dark cover.

But Prince soon afterward declared that he had a spiritual revelation that the album was “evil” and demanded the destruction of all copies.

Warner largely succeeded in seizing and destroying the more than 500,000 copies at their factories. But Recordmecca owner Jeff Gold, who worked with Prince at Warner, said he was recently contacted by a fellow former executive who came upon five copies.

Gold said that the executive, who requested anonymity, had been sending records to his own daughter, who had bought a first turntable amid vinyl’s rebirth.

Sifting through his collection, the executive discovered two envelopes distributed within Warner. Inside were five copies of the “Black Album.”

“For 30 years, the two mailers had sat unopened among their other boxed-up vinyl,” Gold wrote.

The former executive decided to sell three copies. Gold was offering one copy online, saying he already sold another one directly and would list the third one later.

Gold said he would attach certificates of authenticity.

Prince in late 1994 finally released the “Black Album” on limited-edition CDs and cassettes but not vinyl, making the record a holy grail for record collectors.

Prince resented Warner’s constraints and in the 1990s changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol in hopes of getting out of contractual conditions.

He finally made peace with Warner in 2014 in a deal that gave him control over his classic albums. He died two years later at his Paisley Park estate in Minnesota from an accidental overdose of painkillers.
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There was a time — in this northwest corner of Montana — when glaciers ruled the land.

Crown of the Continent

The abundance of the massive rivers of ice — and their runoff — created “a land of striking scenery.” That’s how American anthropologist, historian, naturalist and writer George Bird Grinnell described Glacier National Park, nine years before the land was set aside as a national park on May 11, 1910.

Today, there are far fewer icy behemoths. And they’re all shrinking.

“There are currently 26 glaciers in Glacier National Park,” says national parks traveler Mikah Meyer.  “I can’t remember the exact number that there were when it was founded but it was vastly higher,” he added. “The glaciers are melting and the snowfall is not restoring their size in the way that they have in past years.”

Melting glaciers

But the glaciers – both those long gone and those that still remain — have left their mark. As they started melting 10,000 years ago, they carved out majestic mountains, lush valleys, and pristine lakes.

Glacial waters are the headwaters for streams that flow west to the Pacific Ocean, south to the Gulf of Mexico, and east across the continent to Hudson’s Bay, according to the National Park Service. It emphasizes that that runoff “affects waters in a huge section of North America.”

With more than 760 lakes and nearly half a million hectares of parkland, it’s easy to see why Mikah has returned.

“Five years ago I stood on this exact same spot; at the end of the dock on Lake McDonald in Glacier National Park,” he said as he stood in front of a landscape so serene, it could have passed as a painting.

“It was one of my first experiences with the National Park Service site and I was hooked,” he admitted.

Waters from those melting glaciers also feed Iceberg Lake — another popular attraction in the park. “It is very cold and very windy and lots of little icebergs floating back there by the snow,” Mikah said as he braved the winds to capture the scene with his camera.

But despite the cold, nearby wildflowers were in full bloom, creating a pastoral setting. As Mikah walked through a field of bear grass, he said he felt like he was “in some fairytale land.”

The elegant white blossoms are a common wildflower in Glacier National Park, which this year grew in prolific numbers. They provided a perfect environment to view the local wildlife, including deer, moose, marmots and mountain goats.

Generous tour companies

Mikah got lucky when several tour companies offered him a chance to explore the park from a variety of perspectives. With Red Bus Tours, Mikah got a nice overview of the park from their vintage 1930s buses.

“It’s a massive park — it takes an hour and a half just to cross it,” he noted. “So it’s a guided tour that allows you to focus on looking at the beauty of the park instead of having to stay on these tiny mountain roads.”

Swan Mountain Outfitters donated a horseback tour for an eight-hour trek to Cracker Lake, an eye-popping turquoise body of water which is also fed by melting glacial waters.

Mikah described the scene: “You crest over this hill on the horses and you’re in the middle, surrounded by bear grass and trees and flowers and these large gray mountains in the background, and it just pops like nothing else.”

And thanks to Montana Whitewater Rafting, Mikah got to experience those glacial waters up close during a rafting tour on the Middle Fork River — a 150-kilometer river in western Montana that forms the southwestern boundary of the park.

“It was a very clear river,” Mikah said, since the water was a combination of glacier melt and snow runoff. “So you could see down through the water to the bottom, see the rocks, and the fish, so very pure, very clear water.”

Mikah was pleased to have experienced the park from the depths of the water as well as from the top of a ski lift where he could see “where it all started.”

Mikah, who’s on a mission to visit all 417 national parks in the U.S., says he hopes to come back again one day, even if the glaciers are gone.

“Even if the physical glaciers don’t still exist because they melted away, it can still be Glacier National Park because that’s what created this amazing landscape.”

Mikah invites you to follow him on his epic journey by visiting him on his website MikahMeyer.com, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.
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How many places are there in the U.S. where visitors get to see nature in all its abundance within a single setting? National parks traveler Mikah Meyer thinks Glacier National Park, in northern Montana on the border with Canada, comes pretty darn close. He shared highlights of his experiences with VOA’s Julie Taboh.
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Actor Bambadjan Bamba may be on the verge of stardom because of his role in the upcoming comic book superhero film Black Panther. But lately, he has been making headlines by revealing a secret he has kept for many years.

“I’m a black immigrant … and I’m undocumented,” said Bamba who plays a military leader in Black Panther. 

Bamba who has film and TV credits under his belt, said he was a recipient of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. An administrative program set up during the administration of former President Barack Obama, DACA gives undocumented immigrants who entered the United States as children temporary protection from deportation and lets them legally live and work in the country. But even with DACA protection, navigating Hollywood has been sometimes frustrating for Bamba.

“There were really a lot of opportunities missed because sometimes I get scripts and offers from outside the country, and I can’t go. Sometimes there are movies that are shooting in Canada, and I can’t even audition,” he said.

Even when an acting job comes his way, Bamba has found much of Hollywood to be unfamiliar with DACA. 

“They’re like, ‘What is DACA?’ ” Then I tell them what DACA is. They’re like, ‘You know what, do you have a green card? Where is your passport?’ I’m like, I don’t have any of that. All I have is what the government requires for me to work legally,” Bamba said. 

The decision to make his immigration status public comes with professional risks, but Bamba said not speaking out might be worse. 

“I decided honestly to share my story when the [Trump] administration decided that they wanted to end DACA. I just knew that there were no other options for me — so either go out fighting or go out in fear.”

Bamba’s story

When Bamba was 10, his parents left their home in Ivory Coast in West Africa. The times were turbulent.

“When the first president passed away, the situation in Ivory Coast became very unpredictable, became a little crazy.” Bamba said. “The country was divided for a long time. There was a civil war. Thousands of people died. I had friends that died. I had family that died.”

The Bamba family moved to the South Bronx in New York City. He learned English by listening to hip-hop and watching television. He was a popular teenager in high school, known for his acting skills. His immigration status did not become an issue until it was time for college.

“So I started applying to different schools, and that’s when I found out that my financial aid didn’t get approved or doesn’t work out. So that’s when I had the conversation with my parents, and they kind of told me,” he said.

Bamba worked his way through college as a cabdriver in New York City, and eventually found work in Hollywood. 

Trump, DACA and Hollywood 

“You have some absolutely incredible kids, I would say, mostly,” President Donald Trump said in February in reference to DACA recipients, known informally as “Dreamers.” “They were brought here in such a way — it’s a very, very tough subject. We’re going to deal with DACA with heart.” 

But in September, the president rescinded the DACA program and gave Congress until March to produce a legislative solution.

“Mr. President, you made a promise to the Dreamers. You told us that you will find a solution for us. So, we just want to hold you accountable to do that,”  Bamba said. 

A petition through the organization Define American asks Hollywood to support undocumented immigrants such as Bamba. 

“I think Hollywood could do so much more just because of the power that we have in the media to shift the conversation.” Bamba continued, “[It is] the studios and the big production companies that I’m trying to encourage to have more skin in the game. You hire so many immigrants.”
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Iconic singer Nina Simone and New Jersey rockers Bon Jovi lead the 2018 class of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees, which includes four first-time nominees.

The Cars, as well as first-time contenders Dire Straits, The Moody Blues and Sister Rosetta Tharpe, also are part of the 2018 class announced Wednesday. They will be inducted on April 14, in Cleveland, Ohio.

The six inductees were chosen from a group of 19 nominees, including Radiohead, who were expected to enter in the Rock Hall in their first year of eligibility, but didn’t make it.

Tharpe, a pioneering guitarist who performed gospel music and was known to some as “the godmother of rock ‘n’ roll,” will be inducted with the “Award for Early Influence.” She died in 1973. The other five acts will be inducted as performers.

The jazzy and soulful Simone, also a first-time nominee, was a leader in pushing for civil rights and influenced the likes of Alicia Keys and Aretha Franklin before her death in 2003.

The Cars, founded in Boston in 1976, combined New Wave and classic rock sounds. This year marked the band’s third nomination.

Bon Jovi, first nominated in 2011 and again this year, have sold more than 120 million albums and launched No. 1 hits with “Livin’ on a Prayer,” ”You Give Love a Bad Name,” ”Bad Medicine” and “I’ll Be There for You.”

Rock Hall voters have recently opened their hearts to progressive rockers, which benefited “Nights in White Satin” singers The Moody Blues. English rockers Dire Straits, which includes brothers Mark and David Knopfler, blended blues into their music.

Each year, between five and seven acts usually make it into the Rock Hall following a vote by 1,000 people, including performers, music historians and industry experts. Fans also were able to vote on the Rock Hall’s website. All of the inductees had to have released their first recording no later than 1992 to be eligible.

The 33rd annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will be held at Public Auditorium. Tickets will go on sale in January and the event will later air on HBO and be heard on SiriusXM Radio.
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