Donald Glover Has Revealed a Lot about his Health Issues and Recovery

Back in October of last year,  Donald Glover canceled a number of tour dates as his musical alter-ego, Childish Gambino, for unspecified health reasons. I wished him a speedy recovery from whatever the issue was, while noting he was under no obligation to share the concerns with us (we all deserve medical privacy). Now, Glover is back to performing and discussed how he suffered a stroke and had a hole in his heart, which was repaired via surgery as well. I am pleased he is doing better and is comfortable telling us fans what happened. When I had my medical event, they actually checked for if I was having a stroke, and that was quite scary. I wish Donald Glover continued good health and continue to eagerly anticipate an eventual, "Community," movie with him involved!

Celebrating Cinco De Mayo in 2025 if You're in the United States/"This is America," Indeed

Today is Cinco De Mayo. Officially, this day celebrates the Mexican army's victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. However, it has morphed over the years into a general celebration of Mexican culture that Mexico's northern neighbor (the United States) has fashioned into something more corporate and made relatively generic. I'm sorry if that sounds cynical, but in 2025 it almost seems ironic for the U.S. to celebrate Cinco De Mayo the way we are treating Mexican, Latino, or any immigrants, frankly.

Seriously, on this very day, the Trump administration said it will pay undocumented migrants $1,000 and purchase their plane ticket if they voluntarily leave. First of all, nobody should accept that offer as I'm pretty sure the chances you're going to ever get that one grand are quite slim. This administration has been horrific in terms of human rights abuses towards anyone who isn't a citizen (and even people who are and desperately work to prove it before being, "Deported," even though they're citizens). This administration is pushing for it to be allowed where ICE can go into your house without a warrant to, "Look," for migrants. Oddly, people who cling closely to the Second Amendment and loudly yell about their rights to fight against Governmental invasions into their privacy are weirdly silent at the idea of the Government bursting into their home without any due process (almost as if their talk of fighting tyranny was always empty hot air). 

Cinco De Mayo is a Mexican holiday that has been co-opted by the United States, and it is funny that for a holiday situated in Mexico, I keep thinking of the Donald Glover/Childish Gambino song, "This is America." Anytime things seem to get worse in our nation, that song pops into my head, and it has been playing on repeat for the last 100-ish days since Donald Trump took office. Happy Cinco De Mayo to everyone celebrating in Mexico. If you're celebrating in the United States of America, there is a whole lot of irony to process as well.

Wishing Donald Glover a Speedy Recovery

Donald Glover is a talented actor/singer/comedian and basically an all-around skilled fellow. He had postponed a number of tour dates as his musical alter-ego Childish Gambino due to an unspecified health issue. Now, those dates have been outright canceled with it disclosed that Glover's unnamed health issue will require surgery. Glover is entitled to medical privacy just like any other human being, but I appreciate his feeling comfortable sharing that, "“My path to recovery is something I need to confront seriously. With that said, we have made the difficult decision to cancel the remainder of the North American tour and the UK and European dates. Tickets will be refunded at point of purchase.” Prioritizing one's health is important and I applaud Glover for doing as such. I wish him a speedy recovery and look forward to him in the, "Community," movie which should eventually come out after delays from script rewrites among other stuff.

That Was a Mess of a Debate Last Night

In the words of Donald Glover AKA Childish Gambino, "This is America."  That song came out in 2018 and just always manages to be relevant one way or another. I watched the debate last night and it was horrific. Two elderly men argued about who was more mentally competent and better at golf. Donald Trump did nothing but lie and Joe Biden seemed feeble and prone to mubling. Trump made up things like, "Post-birth abortions," and dodged questions about the January 6th insurrection he supported and inspired. Joe Biden seemed disconnected and uninterested in the proceedings except for a few moments where he thankfully, "Woke up," and pointed out that he was debating a convicted felon for the highest office in the land. The whole thing was a mess and upsetting. 

A well-meaning but frail old guy is trying to protect the United States from a narcissist and con artist. Donald Trump definitely is unfit for office, but Biden struggled to make it appear like he was particularly ready for another term as well. This is America, may God and the rest of the World have mercy on us all.

I Love this Cover of, "So Into You," by Donald Glover/Childish Gambino

As many of you know, I like hearing interesting covers of songs. I enjoy unique/weird ones a lot and how when they're done well they can just sound snazzy. Lately, I've been really digging one that was recorded some years ago with Donald Glover AKA Childish Gambino. He does the original version of, "So Into You," by Tamia--it later had a remix of sorts by Fabolous which featured her (two versions, actually, with one having Ashanti, it's complicated). You can hear the original song right here and then I've helpfully embedded Glover's cover below:

How did I not know about this until recently? I'm a fan of much of Glover's work (I still need to watch, "Atlanta," but I'm working on it), and this is just plain snazzy.

Donald Glover and Phoebe Waller-Bridges as, "Mr & Mrs. Smith," Works For Me

I will basically watch anything with Donald Glover. That said, I am behind in watching some of the things with Donald Glover. I still need to view, "Atlanta," and that Han Solo movie, for example. Still, Mr. Glover is welcome to star in more great projects that I'll try and watch as soon as possible. With that established, it seems he will be in an upcoming reboot of, "Mr. & Mrs. Smith," that stars him and the talented Phoebe Waller-Bridges. Yeah, that sounds pretty cool. The original, "Mr. & Mrs. Smith," was the movie that introduced Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie to one another and led to their eventual marriage (followed by a divorce some years later). Behind-the-scenes drama of the movie aside, it was a solid flick. 

This new version will not be a movie, but an Amazon Prime television series. That's perfectly okay because just dedicating an hour or so a week (I don't binge stuff usually) to watch a show is easier than sitting for a 2-and-a-half-or-so-hour movie. Even if it were a long movie, however, I'd still most likely check it out, because--as I said--I'll generally watch anything with Donald Glover. It's bound to be as good as or better than, "Mystery Team," after all.

For the First Time in Long While, I Agree with the Grammys About a Lot of Their Awards

I have not made it a secret that I often disagree with the Grammys. Their choices of winners for various categories sometimes makes me shake my head in puzzlement and I don't think I have agreed with their pick for, "Album of the Year," since they awarded it to, "Speakerboxxxx/The Love Below," way back in 2004 for OutKast's 2003 masterpiece (which some argue set an impossible standard for rap albums to win album of the year henceforth due to it being so, well, OutKast-y). However, last night the Grammy's awarded the coveted album of the year to none other than Ms. Kacey Musgraves for her incredible LP, "Golden Hour." I raved about, "Golden Hour," when I first heard it and didn't hesitate to say it was my album of 2018. She also won at the show for best country album, best country song (for, "Space Cowboy,") and best country solo performance (for, "Butterflies), all well-earned accolades.

I am as surprised as anyone that I loved a country album to this degree, especially considering I generally have not listened to the genre much outside of some Garth Brooks and Shania Twain. It truly did break out of the, "Country music bubble," thanks to a unique sound and how Musgraves herself has always defied the country-music stereotypes (she proudly supports LGBTQ rights, cannabis decriminalization, etc.) all to create this incredible music. While I did enjoy the, "Black Panther," soundtrack which was also nominated for best album and had a decent chunk of Kendrick Lamar on it (another musician with amazing work), I thought its mixture of artists resulted in a slightly disjointed overall theme/feeling, even if Lamar and SZA's, "All of the Stars," is a phenomenal song and deserves a win at the Oscars. I'm so happy for Kacey Musgraves and can't wait to see what sonic wonderland she makes for her next album.

Oh, and don't think I forgot that, "This is America," won song of the year, being the first rap song to do so thanks to Childish Gambino's/Donald Glover's exemplary song-writing. He also won record of the year, which is not to be confused with Musgraves album of the year win, as despite the confusing title record of the year honors a single song--hence, "This is America," winning that. He was awarded music video of the year too, so cheers all around for the amazing Mr. Glover. Yeah, it was finally a Grammys I agreed with more than not, for the first time in over a decade--who would have thunk-it?

Film Friday: Spider-Man: Homecoming

That Was a Good Movie! 

It came out a bit ago and last weekend I finally saw it after being pretty good about avoiding spoilers, and I have to say, "Spider-Man: Homecoming," was a really good movie even if it isn't one of the best Marvel movies ever. I suppose the problem is that with so many Marvel flicks now that are at least good it can be hard to be the, "Best," but when you're super-enjoyable like, "Homecoming," that's perfectly fine.  You've probably seen, "Homecoming," by now or don't mind spoilers so know I'm going to throw some out there. How about we break things down by what I liked and what I didn't like that much? Yeah, let's do that!

What I Liked

The acting was superb. Tom Holland makes a pitch-perfect Peter Parker and Spider-Man, Robert Downey Junior as Iron Man continues to be amazing, and Michael Keaton steals the show as he illustrates why he is such an amazing actor. That scene where Peter is driven to Homecoming by Keaton (who is revealed to be his date's dad and we already know by then he is the Vulture) whilst Keaton slowly realizes how Parker is Spider-Man has got to be my favorite scene in the movie. Plus, Marisa Tomei is always welcome.

The street-level view of a world where the Avengers exist is clever. It's a world with heroes which has therefore changed, but still is recognizable. I know the  Marvel Netflix shows kind of do this too (and, "Agents of Shield," if you remember that exists) but this movie really delves into that, which I like. We also answer the question finally of how all that damage to NYC from the first Avenger's movie was cleaned-up.

Thank God we don't get a ton of origin or back-story, because at this point I think watching Uncle Ben die one more time will drive me insane. At one point a spider-bite is mentioned and the movie has a prologue where we see Spider-Man's role in, "Civil War," fleshed-out a bit, but no long drawn-out tale of how he got his powers. Thank you God.

The movie is funny, as most of the Marvel flicks are, but doesn't border on too funny like the, "Guardians of the Galaxy," flicks sometimes get dangerously close to doing, bordering on being more of a comedy. "Homecoming," knows when to crack some jokes and when to give us some serious bits.

What I Didn't Like

I wish we got more Donald Glover. He is so great and clearly they are hinting he could become the Prowler based on his character's name--plus the mention he makes of a nephew hints that Miles Morales exists too!

It's a little nit-picky, but how is Spider-Man getting away with operating in Queens so flagrantly when heroes are supposedly regulated now? The, "Sokovia Accords," even get mentioned when Peter is in a class. Is the fact the Spider-Man mainly sticks to Queens as opposed to going to other countries what keeps him exempt from that sort of regulation? I mean, he isn't exactly under-the-radar as evidenced by when he makes National news saving people at the Washington Monument (which is damaged in manner that is actually mostly his fault, but people don't know that, thankfully for him).

Closing Observations

Nothing else really occurred that I disliked, it all was pretty good, if not utterly amazing. In some ways the lack of much that made me go, "Whoa," outside of that stellar car-scene is a little bit disappointing, but if I can see a movie that is a solid 4 out of 5 stars.

Discussion of Assorted New-ish Albums

Beats, Melodies, Magic!

I love listening to music and have been trying to talk about it more off-and-on with the blog here. There are some albums that have been in my musical-rotation lately that I felt like discussing. Note that these aren't really reviews, because I'm not going to assign my usual star rating. Think of this more as my sharing of some casual thoughts.

"Passion, Pain &Demon Slayin,'" by Kid Cudi

Kid Cudi rarely makes things easy. By that I mean his music generally isn't simple little pop-jams with catchy beats and hooks. No, Cudi likes to make epic, in-depth sonic-experiences, and despite some previous albums struggling to live-up to his earlier works, this latest LP contains some good--if not always amazing--stuff. "XXL," calls it a, "Return to form," for Cudi, and that descriptor fits pretty well. It isn't a masterpiece, but it definitely is listenable and something I enjoyed. Plus, Andre 3000 stops by for a bit at times on the album and that's always a treat for his somewhat-retired genius to spread some love(a number of other talents appear too, from Travis $cott to Willow Smith, of all people). As I stated though, Cudi rarely makes things easy, and this album drags a bit while achieving its 90-ish minutes worth of content.

Cudi could have kept the good stuff like album-opener, "Frequency," or, "Rose Golden," and easily shortened or cut completely some other material like, "Swim in the Light." Cudi arguably doesn't want to make things easy though, so I would imagine he likely doesn't care if his music is at times challenging, or difficult. I mean, there still are a number of wonderful moments inserted within the irritation so maybe he does know what he's doing after all, long run-time or not.

"Blank Face," by Schoolboy Q

I liked, "Blank Face," and how it often had a drugged-out and spacey vibe. A lot of the time tracks seemed to trip-up and spill over one another, with sluggish beats and Q's rhymes working well in Unison. One song that exemplifies this is, "THat Part," which also features Kanye West and over some ominous instrumentals builds up a delicious uncomfortable tension. That said, my favorite track on the album actually breaks-out of the usual motif. "Blank Face," is both also the album's name and incredibly engaging to listen to. Throughout Anderson Paak's guest-appearance full of piano-accompanied crooning we get a surreal mish-mash of the earlier hazy sound as it meets-up with a more organic sonic experience. It's a good album and hearing that a follow-up is being made for release this year gets me excited!

"Awaken, My Love!" by Childish Gambino

If you want to talk about a shift in musical styles I'll tell you to just look at what Childish Gambino AKA Donald Glover has presented us with on, "Awaken my Love!" No longer rapping at all, instead Glover has made a fascinating funk-rock-jazz fusion album that at some points sounds straight-out of the George Clinton-era ("Boogieman") and then swerves into grimy pop-rock ("California"). It's wild to think the man behind a catchy-but-formulaic rap song like, "3005," now has evolved  to give us something as indelible as album-opener, "Me and Your Mama." At times a song will feel like it's dragging a bit ("Zombies," gets old), but then something intriguingly bizarre like, "Redbone," will come on and my attention is fully-grabbed again. With his sound morphing so much lately I'm not sure where exactly Glover is going next musically, but I'm eager to find out.

"Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight," by Travi$ Scott

Besides being a mouthful, that album title is very weird and hard to decipher. I've previously discussed how Travis Scott has the ability to give us songs with surreal sounds that just absorb a listener in. His rapping abilities have been questioned repeatedly, and even if his guest lyricists outshine him often, Scott gives us some quality songs on this LP. I think Scott's best instrument is arguably his voice--not his raps, but his voice itself. With its moans, growls, and hums, Scott creates a sound from his vocal chords that often matches perfectly with the dreamy and/or nightmarish soundscapes his songs cook-up.

Plus, with a guest-list as good as the ones he gets, Scott doesn't even have to try and do too much heavy-lifting lyrically. Just have Andre 3000 stop by ("The Ends), throw Kendrick Lamar on an awesome track ("Goosebumps"), and let Young Thug do his trademark weird sing-song style too ("Pick Up the Phone") and you're guaranteed at least enough ingenious material you can get away with a few less-impressive songs ("Coordinate" feels like it drags on forever). Oh, and just as $cott was on Cudi's latest album, Cudi returns the favor and gives us some magic on, "Through the Late Night." Although, whereas the earlier-discussed Cudi has guests sometimes, Scott really does feel like he's depending on them. Even if with all these amazing guests Scott doesn't have to try too hard lyrically, it is nice to see him keep developing as a rapper--albeit slowly. Still, with his sounds, his vocal instrumentation, and some amazing guests, Scott without question gives us an album worth listening to.

Conclusions

I often seem to complain to friends, family, and anyone who will listen that a lot of today's quote un quote, "New music," isn't as good as stuff from either before I was born or when I was growing up. I know that's a normal thing for people to always think the stuff of, "Today," isn't as good as what we liked in the past, but even if I fall into the mental trap often there clearly is a lot of newer stuff that ain't too bad.