D’Angelo and The Vanguard: Black Messiah

Fourteen years since his last record, D’Angelo has finally released his incredible new album, Black Messiah. Not only is it a beautiful, thoughtful and soulful album (as always expected from the singer/songwriter/instrumentalist), it’s also poignantly timely—appearing mere days after thousands of people across America protested police brutality against black and brown communities. D’Angelo’s voice is still immediately recognizable; disarmingly powerful and yet unforced—especially in “Prayer,” …

Dent May: I’ll Be Stoned For Christmas

“Tis the season to be high / So fill my cup to top / Light me up till I’m hot.” A true indie alternative to the Mariah Carey, Wham and Frank Sinatra that takes over department store PA systems during the holiday season is Mississippi-based Dent May’s “I’ll Be Stoned For Christmas.” Insanely catchy, with relatable lyrics for any smoker headed back home for the …

Maira Kalman Selects at the Cooper Hewitt

After a three-year closure, the design museum celebrates its reopening with a poetic exhibit of the writer and illustrator's favorite things

After a $91 million, three-year renovation, the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum is finally reopening its doors to the public today, 12 December 2014. Inside the former Fifth Avenue mansion of Andrew Carnegie, where the museum is housed, expect to encounter 10 new exhibitions that not only show off the range of the Cooper Hewitt’s collection but its new expanded spaces and technology upgrades. CH …