Last night I was flipping channels and happened upon a documentary about Juanita Bynum. I had never heard of her before, and maybe you haven't either: She is a wildly popular Prophetess and Minister and she often speaks particularly to women's issues. She's apparently a huge figure in the Christian scene, and has even got her own magazine!Watch a portion of her No More Sheets Sermon, which vaulted her to fame.
I just have not seen intensity like hers in a loooooooong time. It's interesting to me, this evangelism. I can see why people find strength in her sermons and at the same time I am not a religious person AT ALL, and cannot say I agree with her views. She has a very powerful presence though and it's exciting to watch her careen through the riled audience while they jump up and down and scream with their arms raised:
I don't know why exactly, but the documentary I saw piqued my interest. I might even be slightly
obsessed with Juanita now. Maybe it's because her life is so different from mine. Maybe it's because the amount of confidence and strength it takes to get up in front of people and go off like that is way beyond me. Maybe it's because to me, she seems a little nuts. I just can't get enough of Dr. Juanita right now! Watching someone preach is pretty foreign to me, and, as someone who reads an awful lot of media, it's interesting to realize that there's people out there who are famous to millions of people who I have never even heard of.
which is a really excellent in-depth preview of the event & interview with Crime's Hank Rank and Johnny Strike. Strike incidentally was also signing copies of his new book A Loud Humming Sound Came From Above (Rudos and Rubes). 
I can't really believe that it is already October! The great and fantastic 
and bands that followed her. She just turned 50 years old this year and she still is as relevant and talented today as the day she started. The new album is "Mantaray." It is actually her first solo album. The last Siouxsie & the Banshees album, "Rapture," was released over ten years ago in 1995. Siouxsie and Budgie have been performing as The Creatures for the last decade or so. The last Creatures album "Hai!" came out in 2003. She has since parted ways with Budgie and is now recording and performing as just Siouxsie. 
really compare to the brilliance of Siouxsie. But with such an amazing history and catalog of albums, it is really hard to put out a new album that can compare to her old ones. Her albums and songs with the Banshees are such a part of my musical upbringing and history that it really makes it even harder to compete with those memories. How do you put out an album that can even compare? Siouxsie has really done it. She has not tried to capture the brilliance of her albums with the Banshees. She also could have tried to create some super modern trendy album. But instead she creates something all her own. She has never been one to just simply fit into one simple genre. She may have helped to define what became goth music. But the Banshees were never simply a goth band. Her music has always been a combination of punk, glam, goth, new wave, experimental, electronica, world music, and art rock. The first single off the album is "Into A Swan." It is a fantastic little song with a great little video to go along with it. But there is so much else that is great on this album. I can't wait to hear these songs live when she performs them out on the next tour. I could not be more proud and excited that Siouxsie has not let us down. She is still very much the Siouxsie we all grew up with and fell in love with.
