Inspired by lychee <3
It's... FALL? I decided to make an exception and go to starbucks to get a PSL to note the changing of the seasons (a good Two Door Cinema Club song btw)
I love that song and I LOVE pumpkin. Squash season is almost here, and you know that means I am ready to change my entire aesthetic to fit Christian Girl Autumn.
Also, for the record, some of the songs we talk about below have been added to the AAPI themed Spotify playlist. Listen here:
Love,
Jamie & Melinda
News
🐰 🐿️ Arthur - forever the progressive show (tbt to the gay rat wedding) - is getting a Sikh character! His name is Samir, and he is friends with Buster :').
🏊♂️ Look at all these amazing AAPI athletes competing at the Paralympics!
⚖️ A couple of months ago, we wrote a little on the California lawsuit against Cisco on the basis of caste discrimination. It was a really interesting case that shed light on how caste still plays a role in the workplace among immigrant populations. Well, a small but meaningful update - the CA Democratic Party just added caste as a protected category. As the largest state political party in the country, this move creates legal protection against caste discrimination and helps in the fight for civil rights and worker equality.
🐉 Shang-Chi (starring Simu Liu) is coming to theaters on Sept. 3 (Friday!) There's been a lot of hubbub around it :)
💢 TW: Death, Violence. Prosecutors in the case against the Atlanta Spa shootings that killed 8 people have sought out the death penalty against the shooter. I want the killer to get the justice they deserve, but I personally do not support the death penalty and am at odds with this decision.
🏝️ I've heard about a lot of people going to Hawaii on vacation over the pandemic, and with the tourists comes an increase in COVID cases. Prompted by the most recent outbreaks, there are calls by Native Hawaiian activists for sovereignty (in a similar setup to Indigenous tribal independence). The history of the US and Hawaii has long been a source of contention, and Native Hawaiians have long been left out of state programs and subject to displacement.
💜 In light of the Texas abortion bill passing the legislature, access to safe abortions is increasingly being restricted in the US. I don't think abortion is something that is often talked about in AAPI communities (or at least not in my experience). Today, I read Rep. Pramilla Jayapal's story about her abortion. It's her first time speaking publicly about it, and I would recommend you give it a read.
Chef's Specials
🎤 This interview with Olivia Rodrigo: "I sometimes get DMs from little girls being like, 'I’ve never seen someone who looked like me in your position,'" she shared. "And I’m literally going to cry, like just thinking about it. I feel like I grew up never seeing that. Also, it was always like, 'Pop star,' that’s a white girl."
this actually makes me quite curious because she doesn't speak often about her identity or background as an Asian American (or at least not to my knowledge)
🪑 We haven't watched it yet, but Netflix's The Chair looks so good. Who doesn't love Greys Anatomy alum Sandra Oh? True icon. Read this review of the show. Also, one thing I might add - I follow a couple of people on Academia Twitter and they were like "I got three episodes in and had to stop because it was too real" so take that as you will 👀
👓 A long look back in history: America Was Eager for Chinese Immigrants. What Happened? (The New Yorker)
📚 Now that hot beach read summer is over, it's time to switch over to reading-books-in-a-coffee-shop-wearing-a-light-cardigan-and-sipping-tea weather. Check out these books on API food and culture.
TIL... Asian American rock artists? 👩🏽🎤👨🏼🎤
So I'm really guilty of listening to a lot of rock music by white men. I truly do like rock music (modern/indie/garage/alt rock)—the kind of energy it gives me is just different from when I listen to anything else—and unfortunately the popular artists are just bands of white men from the U.S. or the U.K. lol. Only recently have I been more intentional about finding the non-white artists in rock.
Last year, I learned that (honestly, to no surprise) rock music originated from Black people. Sister Rosetta Tharpe is credited with creating the classic rock 'n roll sound and most definitely influenced artists like Elvis Presley. I'm absolutely no expert at this history, but soon, in the latter half of the 1900s, rock music became very increasingly white. Here's a whole academic paper on this!!
This made me wonder... where are the Asian American/British rock artists?? I've come across playlists on Spotify of, for example, Japanese indie rock (and of course there's the anime opening rock songs haha). Riz Ahmed starred in the movie Sound of Metal as a drummer in a rock band... and here and there I've discovered Asian rock bands. And yes, from one of our earliest newsletters I talked about how the lead singer of Young the Giant is Indian American! And recently we saw The Linda Lindas become known for their punk rock...
So below are just some of my findings on Asian American/British rock artists. Honestly the visuals just make me happy b/c you don't often see Asian people as rock stars!
Source: Steve Jennings / WireImage file
From this AMAZING blog post I learned... (time period - 1950s-1980s)
Freddie Mercury was born to a Parsi family, grew up in India, and moved to England when he was 17
There were Asian rock stars that made it aside from Freddie Mercury did! Mainly dudes. Some include...
Cliff Richard - apparently Britain's first Asian rock star. He was born in India in 1940, was of partial Indian and Spanish descent, and grew up in England.
Dick Dale - partially of Lebanese descent, he was born in Boston and moved to CA. He was best known for "surf rock"
Ravi Shankar gave sitar lessons to the Beatles, and many Beatles songs have the sitar! Including...
Larry Ramos, of Filipino descent, was a singer in the band The Association
Peter Sarstedt (born in India but raised in the UK)
"Bands such as The Smashing Pumpkins (James Iha – Japanese American), Dream Theater (John Myung – Korean American), Soundgarden (Kim Thayil – Indian American), Journey (Arnel Pineda – Filipino), and Metallica (Kirk Hammett – part Filipino) have Asian band members."
Anyhow, I didn't know about any of these people, and this blog writer wrote about a TON more people than I included^ but it's reassuring to know that Asian people were most definitely involved in rock :)
Source (Japanese Breakfast)
From this playlist, I was reminded of these modern AAPI rock-inspired artists, including
Mitski (Japanese American)
Japanese Breakfast (Michelle Zauner! Of Korean descent, she's the author of Crying in H-Mart - I'm actually going to see her in concert soon)
Young the Giant (Sameer Gadhia)
Run River North (Korean American rock band)
Jay Som (Melina Duterte, Filipina American)
Toro y Moi (Filipino/African American)
Some other artists include...
Beabadoobee - Philippines-born British singer/songwriter
Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park!
Alisa Xayalith - lead singer of the band The Naked and Famous who's Laotian
From the Tumblr "poc in rock" I found some intense hardcore rock/punk rock haha. One band was called KrimeWatch - although I don't listen to hardcore punk rock, this band started recently in Brooklyn, NY and looks cool
Anyhow, a lot of artists on this page rock artists from Asia vs. Asian American/British rock artists but hey they look super badass 🤩 After watching this girl play this electric guitar so well I realize I should get back to practicing my bass...
Anyhow, my takeaway atm is that there have been Asian American/British artists incorporating rock into their work (which makes me happy), but I hope they get more visibility in main rock circles, esp since so many of the Spotify indie/alt/modern rock playlists I follow still seem to be very white! Although yay there’s at least a playlist of Black artists in rock. If you share similar music tastes to me, please lmk!! Even for non-rock fans, hopefully this was somewhat interesting lol.
Small Feelings
I got promoted at work :D which is nice b/c I did try a lot my first year on the job. I guess it goes along with my effort to "get the most" out of working at a big tech company (before I inevitably do something less lucrative).
YAY CONGRATS! <3
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AAPI Artists Spotify Playlist (it's collaborative again!) :
Came across your substack and it is great. This is awesome.