What happens now after the Ferguson grand jury decision, what the border sounds like when a composer gets involved, and how the Shazam app has changed the music industry.
Ferguson decision prompts protests across the nation
Demonstrations sprang up across the country after a grand jury declined to bring charges against the police officer who shot and killed 18-year-old Michael Brown.
In Ferguson, Missouri, where the shooting took place, at least 60 people were arrested during a violent evening that left buildings burned and windows shattered.
There were also arrests in nearby St. Louis.
In Oakland, demonstrators shut down a major freeway and some threw rocks and bottles at officers.
And in Southern California, protesters laid down in the street in front of the Beverly Hills Hotel, and gathered outside the downtown headquarters of the LA Police Department.
Another group in South Los Angeles chanted, "Hands up, don't shoot."
KPCC reporter Erica Aguilar was there and spoke to a few of the demonstrators.
How can distrust between police and communities of color be resolved?
The Missouri grand jury's decision not to indict Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Michael Brown sparked anger and violence Monday night in Ferguson. Protesters also gathered in cities across the U.S., including here in L.A., where demonstrations were mostly small and peaceful.
Cheryl Dorsey, a retired LAPD sergeant, community advocate and expert on police culture, joined Take Two to share her perspective on the grand jury's decision.
Grand juries: Their role, process and Ferguson
When a grand jury decided not to indict officer Darren Wilson in the shooting of Michael Brown, it was an outcome that was expected by some. But others found it surprising, based on how grand juries typically work.
To better understand the process Take Two turns to Ben Trachtenberg, associate professor of law at the University of Missouri.
Artists use lost objects to tell the story of US-Mexico border
In recent years, thousands of people have crossed the U.S.-Mexico border and with them, they brought objects: extra shoes, small bracelets, water jugs. Many are left behind during the arduous journey and then forgotten.
But not by two artists: a photographer and a composer.
They've roamed the vast expanse along the border, drawing inspiration from abandoned and lost objects. Their work will show at the San Jose Museum of Art in 2016.
"These things end up being loaded symbols, things that tell us where the country is headed," said photographer Richard Misrach, who has been chronicling the border region for decades.
Composer Guillermo Galindo took the objects and created instruments and musical pieces to go with Misrach's photography. The everyday objects may seem like trash to some, but through Galindo's art, they yield haunting, memorable soundscapes.
"We consider everything that we found very special and very valuable," said Galindo, who drew inspiration from the idea of the objects as powerful relics. "This is a very special project."
More images from the California Sunday Magazine's "Border Signs."
Tuesday Reviewsday: Azealia Banks, Prhyme and more
Music supervisor Morgan Rhodes and Oliver Wang from Soul-Sides.com join A Martinez to talk about their favorite recent releases, including music from Azealia Banks, Prhyme, Pace Cadets and more.
Oliver Wang
Artist: Prhyme
Album: "Prhyme"
Song: "Prhyme"
Notes: This is a bit complicated ,but Prhyme is the new duo featuring Detroit rapper, Royce the 5'9" and Brooklyn's legendary producer DJ Premier but on their debut album, Premier is solely creating beats by sampling from the catalog of Los Angeles's Adrian Younge. I don't know if I've ever quite seen a project based around a collaboration like that and certainly, DJ Premier has never produced an album based around a single artist's catalog, so this should be a rather fascinating project to listen to. Plus, it's just another feather in the cap for Younge who's fresh off doing an an entire album with the Souls of Mischief and he's supposed to have three new albums all finishing up around February.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tv94swj4sjo
Artist: Scott Bradlee and the Postmodern Jukebox
Songs: "Drunk In Love featuring Cristina Gatti," & "Shake It Off"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtyoC7KuBDY
Notes: I first heard this group a few weeks back when I took my bike into the shop at Flying Pigeon in Glassell Park and it was playing over the cashier's computer. Bradley and this band take pop songs and then remake them via any number of older styles: 1960s Motown, 1920s Flapper, in this case, Vintage Big Band/Swing. And if I'm being totally honest, part of me feels like I'm not supposed to like this because it seems too easy to take a hot pop song and then remake it via a different musical approach but most of me really likes what they do because they execute on the concept really well. Not everything necessarily kills - they do a bluegrass version of Nicki Minaj's "Anaconda" that doesn't quite come off - but as I was suggesting, when it works, it works. Like their remake of Taylor Swift's "Shake It Off" - a Motown makeover with Von Smith on vocals.
Artist:
Album: "The Awakening"
Song: "Home (Africa) (feat. Cleveland P. Jones)" & "Captain Capcom"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48OxeDSzcIw
Notes: I have to admit that I should have been up on Crawford years ago - he's an Angelino, born and raised, part of a generation of gifted multi-instrumentalist, arranger, composers who were clearly raised on hip-hop but take their musicality in all kinds of directions. Crawford first rose to fame on the strength of J-Dilla tribute mixtapes and incredible remixes of Jackson 5 songs, but over the last two years, he's also released his own original material, including a jazz album from earlier this year, "The Awakening" which had that song "Home" feat. Cleveland P. Jones on the vocals. And he stays prolific on sites like Soundcloud and Bandcamp, releasing new one-off tracks here and there.
Morgan Rhodes
Artist: Azealia Banks
Album: "Broke With Expensive Taste"
Song: "Soda"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtTjzDTpx8o
Notes: If you're a fan of Azealia Banks, you'll love her new album "Broke with Expensive Taste." The combination of clever word play, house and trap beats, and great vocals are what make this project well worth the wait.
Artist:
Album: "VirginiaUpInYa"
Song: "Jellowstone Room featuring Count Bass D"
Notes: Pace Cadets is a trio of musicians whose debut project "VirginiaUpInYa" mashes R&B, jazz and hip hop. Part of the Virginia based collective Jellowstone Records, the group sounds part Goodie Mobb, part Pharcyde and part Roots-esque.
Artist:
Album: "The Other Day"
Song: "Cloud Cruise"
Notes: After gaining global traction via his one of releases, and a particularly popular Sade remix, HW&W Recordings signee Pomo has released a heavily anticipated new project called "The Other Day," a mashup of disco, electronica and funk.
How Shazam helps music execs find the next big thing
It's one of life's minor annoyances. You hear a song, love it and have no way of figuring out what it is.
Well, that used to be one of life's minor annoyances.
Now, of course, there's an app for that.
Shazam has been identifying earworms since its launch in 2002.
And now it's helping music execs snag the next big thing.
Steve Knopper is a contributing editor for Rolling Stone magazine and author of, "Appetite for Self-Destruction: The spectacular crash of the record industry in the digital age."
Tech workers disappointed by Obama on immigration
Some of the brains powering California's tech hubs may feel like they were served a turkey last week.
President Obama's immigration executive order underwhelmed many who are in this country on the highly skilled worker visa known as the H-1B.
Joe Garofoli, staff writer for the San Francisco Chronicle, explains what Silicon Valley was looking for and their next hope for passing measures that would help their employees.
Griffith Park open land debate: A tale of two parks
Open space is hard to come by in Los Angeles.
But now, the city is debating what to do with 180 acres west of Griffith Park. And some don't like what they're hearing.
Southern California Public Radio's Jed Kim brings us a tale of two parks.
Runyon Canyon now has valet parking. Huh?
No need for a long hike to and from your car to get to Runyon Canyon, anymore. The Hollywood hotspot now has valet service.
It debuted last weekend, and SCPR's Jed Kim was there to explain who runs it, and how not everyone is a fan.
Why turkey on Thanksgiving? A food historian explains
Americans consume around 240 million turkeys every year, and that number continues to go up.
But why is turkey the star of the show on Thanksgiving? Why not a nice fat chicken, or a juicy roast beef?
"The Turkey: An American Story,” explores this question, and author Andrew F. Smith joins Take Two to explain more.
You can learn more about Smith's book on his website.
INTERVIEW HIGHLIGHTS
Is turkey native to America?
The first turkey walked over from Asia to North America. The first archaeological evidence for it is 50,000 years ago. It proliferated in North America and was domesticated in Mexico. The Europeans ran into it in Mexico and introduced it into Europe and by 1550 it was a common Christmas celebration food. The Europeans when they came to colonize America were already familiar with the turkey.
When did Thanksgiving turkey start here? Did it involve the pilgrims?
Wild turkeys were common through all of North America so you had people eating turkeys from the beginning. Domestic turkeys were imported by European colonists and those took off too. The pilgrims ate turkeys but they didn't eat turkey on Thanksgiving so there's no relationship between Thanksgiving days, of which the pilgrims celebrated, but they were religious days they would have spent in church. They wouldn't engage in frivolous activities like making three bean casserole and things like that.
When was the first Thanksgiving?
The first ever Thanksgiving we have is the late 18th century and it doesn't become a national holiday until 1863 when Abraham Lincoln declares it so.
Was a turkey part of those meals?
All of the early evidence for those late 18th century meals [shows] turkey was a part of those. It doesn't become a core part of the Thanksgiving dinner until the late 19th century, so it's not until a little over 150 years ago that the turkey becomes the centerpiece for what we think of as Thanksgiving.
How did preparation of the meal evolve over time?
The turkey was the centerpiece but each region and ethnic group had their own side dish. So you have a wide variety of dishes that are served along with the turkey. In New England, cranberries are common so you would have cranberry sauce. But you don’t have cranberries in the south so they would have had other sauces to go with it. And stuffing, I located about 1000 different stuffing recipes before I just stopped. So whatever you had locally was what you put into the bird to stuff it or dress it.
What dishes make you say 'no, thanks,' at Thanksgiving?
While this weekend is a time to be thankful for what you have, sometimes you look at what's being served and say, "Uh, no thanks!"
Let's face it: there are sometimes real duds on the Thanksgiving dinner table.
"Pecan pie!" says KPCC staffer Ansley Orono. "It's not a pie. It's nuts and sugar. I feel like the standard for pie is higher than that."
There was also a great green bean casserole debate at the station.
"It was THE worst Thanksgiving dish I ever had," says Stephen Hoffman.
"I think it's an abomination not only to Thanksgiving food but to vegetables in general," adds Jessica Hamlin.
But Rita Pardue says, "I cannot believe people would hate green bean casserole!"
KPCC listeners also shared what they'll be politely spitting into a napkin.
Truth! I can't even look at a tray of yams, it makes me sad lol
— DC (@MaestroBunny)
What's the Thanksgiving dish that you pass up when it's passed around? Tweet us or on Facebook
FDA sets new calorie labeling rules for restaurants, movie theaters, other food sellers
Whether you want to or not, you'll soon know exactly how many calories are in the food you buy when you eat out.
The FDA on Tuesday announced new calorie labeling rules that apply to chain restaurants, supermarkets, movie theaters and even amusement parks and vending machines.
Health advocates are happy about the new rules, and some fast food chains are too. But some food industry groups are not so pleased.
Helena Bottemiller Evich, a food and agriculture reporter for Politico, has the dish on the new labeling rules.
Hong Kong protests for democracy continue
A quick update to a story Take Two has covered - the democracy protests in Hong Kong that began in late September.
The authorities there have cleared one of three main pro-democracy camps in the city, tearing down barricades and detaining a number of protesters.
The camp has been occupied by the demonstrators for nearly two months.
They've been protesting rules established by China's leaders that would give them veto power over Hong Kong's first fully democratic election.
For a bit more, Take Two has the BBC's John Sudworth.
Future uncertain for California students in college campus sell-off
The nation's for-profit colleges are reeling from a series of crackdowns by federal and state regulators.
Most of these colleges get almost all their revenue from public funds - loans and grants students use to pay tuition.
Government officials say they make grand promises to students, and then fail to prepare them for real-world jobs.
One of these for-profit schools, Orange County-based Corinthian Colleges, may be close to collapse.
Last week, Corinthian announced a deal to sell off its campuses in other parts of the country.
That leaves an uncertain future for about 20,000 students in California.
Rachael Myrow reports from KQED's Silicon Valley newsdesk.
'100 days in Ferguson': New film documents community after Michael Brown shooting
Take Two returns to Ferguson, Missouri, this time through the lens of a filmmaker.
For 100 days following the shooting of Michael Brown in August, Christopher Phillips spent hours on the streets documenting a community searching for answers.
Ferguson: 100 Days | 100 Seconds from Maverick Media Group on Vimeo.