an alien in every sense of the word

i'm thinking extra hard about how we've ended up where we are, with trans kids at the center of so much hatred, because children are not seen as people with interiority or an ability to narrate their own experiences. we've decided it's alright to lock children up for horrible diagnoses that psychs throw around like they're nothing, to strip their autonomy completely and force them through humiliation, invasions of privacy, and endless torment by "professionals" whose power over every waking moment of their lives has no end. these things cannot be separated.

go to ikea catalogue, find things that look like theyre the right size/look for your space

copy the name, search it up on facebook marketplace

- O. Children: really amazing goth music, Black lead singer, they aren’t making music anymore but what they’ve put out is amazing

- Overthrust: a death metal band from Botswana (Botswana has a real cool metal and rock culture, just real fun to look into outside of listening to it)

- Jhariah: an amazing Black alternative artist, I love all of their music, I grew up listening to them to be honest

- Sepultura: Brazilian heavy metal band, one of the main singers is Black, their music is epic

- Filth: another amazing metal band, I believe from somewhere in America, one of the singers is Black, and they’ve got a real cool album called “Southern Hostility”

- Loathe: yet another metal band, but they’re actually metalcore band I’m pretty sure, one of the main singers is Black and their music is less headbangy and more smooth and sad

- Zulu: an all Black metal band, their music very cool, I personally like their song “Protest Song ‘68”

- Move BHC: really epic metal, main singer is Black and their music is very political (in a good way) it really helps when the world feels like it sucks to put them on and just feel the anger

- Living Colour: of course! We have to include them, my favorite band of all time, I got to see them live recently actually :D their music is funk metal- just so amazing

- Public Enemy: for people who aren’t as into metal but still are into political and well worded music, their music is great (I’m sure everyone knows since they’re so popular lol but I felt like I needed to include them)

- Mon Rovia: really great folk music that still has a political undertone, I especially like his song “Heavyfoot” it addresses a lot of current issues in a tactful and beautiful way

- This isn’t a specific artist but “Dinner Party: Dessert” is an amazing album that has so many talented Black artists on it, my favorite song is “From My Heart and My Soul”

- Also not a specific artist but the whole Sinners album (both theatrical soundtrack and score)

- Also not an artist but the “Summer of Soul” documentary’s album, just chefs kiss

- Meshell Ndegeochello: AMAZING MUSIC, my favorite album is “The Omnichord Real Book”

- Burna Boy: need I say more? I will, his music is absolutely beautiful and I’d recommend it to anyone who asked

- 24-7 Spyz: funky heavy metal, their music is amazing, I so recommend!!!

- Tyler, the Creator: just an amazing artist! Recommend his music lots!!!!

- Stevie Wonder: obviously! He got so popular for a reason! His music is amazing

- Vieux Farka Touré: Amazing music, my favorite song of his is “Diaraby Magni”

- Soul Glo: an all Black hardcore band from Philadelphia!! My favorite song of theirs is “Gold Chain Punk”

Ok so I may have written way too much I apologize

Hope this helps anyone trying to diversify their music tastes, ESPECIALLY metal fans, there are always Black people in all music forms, stop saying “oh there’s no Black people in metal” YES there is!!! And their music is amazing!

What all five of my examples have in common is that they are minor elements in the text; they are not main ideas. In fact, your usual practice of reading which focuses on main ideas would dismiss them all as marginal or trivial. Another thing they have in common is that, although they are minor, they are nonetheless conspicuous, eye-catching: they are either surprising or repeated, set off from the text or too long. Close reading pays attention to elements in the text which, although marginal, are nonetheless emphatic, prominent—elements in the text which ought to be quietly subordinate to the main idea, but which textually call attention to themselves.

Most of you have been educated to ignore such elements. You have been taught to seek out and identify the main ideas, dismissing the trivial as you go. This has had to be trained into you: read to a young child sometime, you will notice she has the annoying habit of interrupting the flow of the story to draw attention to some minor thing. Close reading resembles the interruptions of that child. It is a method of undoing the training that keeps us to the straight and narrow path of main ideas. It is a way of learning not to disregard those features of the text that attract our attention, but are not principal ideas.