Even though there were three digital cameras filming the event, WHAM goes the cell phone; snap! Here are some shots I got from the first half of last night’s wonderful evening event at the Brontean abode in Media, Pennsylvania.
Toshi Makihara–one
Toshi Makihara–two
Toshi Makihara–three
I spent a lovely evening at the Tritone (on South Street) last night. Check out the following local acts who were part of the festivities:
On July 30th, a few friends and I saw Dan Bejar (the man behind Destroyer, also in New Pornographers) perform live at the First Unitarian Church in Philadelphia. It was a great evening. Iran opened, and the Destroyer set was strict acoustic. I didn’t record the whole show because I noticed a young woman recording lo-fi on the other side of the pews. You might be able to find her vids on Youtube as well. The ones I recorded came out pretty well and I encourage you to watch them, share them, promote them. Destroyer is amazing . . . there were a few songs I didn’t get hear that I wish I had (including “Shooting Rockets” and “Rubies”) but the Swan Lake cover that Dan performed, and some new material, was well worth it. http://www.youtube.com/user/gbem1 for the rest of the videos.
From the Philly Activists list-serv.
Why the U.S. anti-war movement should stand firmly against any military attack, sanctions or demonization of Iran.
U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden’s new public threat against Iran underlines the dangers of a new war in the Middle East and the desperate need for political clarity within the anti-war movement concerning Iran.
With his June 6 comments on ABC’s This Week, Biden opened the door to a military attack when he said that the U.S. would not stand in the way of an Israeli strike against Iranian nuclear facilities, calling such an attack is Israel’s “sovereign right.” Israel, he said, was “free to do what it needed to do.”
The Geneva Conventions call it a war crime even to threaten to attack another state. This is not just rhetoric. Only with U.S. satellite, radar and the use of air space over U.S.-occupied Iraq could the Israeli bombing raid take place. Biden should be denounced as a war criminal for making such a reckless and dangerous encouragement of unprovoked war against Iran.
A U.S.-funded Israeli attack would immediately unleash a wider war. It would have catastrophic results for the whole Middle East and the Iranian people, even beyond what has already been done to the people of Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Palestine.
Biden’s new threat comes during a full corporate media offensive against Iran. Its timing should serve as an alert to the entire progressive and anti-war movement. U.S. aircraft carriers, destroyers, nuclear submarines, jet aircraft and drones clog the seas that wash up on Iranian shores.
Subversion, media lies target Tehran
In this dangerous war climate the entire U.S. and Western corporate media is again demonizing the Iranian government. It is using the media and well-funded, subversive organizations in a massive effort of destabilization and sabotage. Too often in the past this same combination of phony “human rights” organizations, who are given endless coverage in a corporate media frenzy, have helped to create a war climate through demonization, frauds and fabricated charges. This has happened before every U.S. attack or invasion, along with a concerted campaign of psychological warfare and internal destabilization in the target country.
One such organization leading this effort is the newly formed “United 4 Iran,” a fraudulent “left cover” for organizations funded by the U.S. government and big corporations. It is designed to use “human rights” and “democracy” to justify U.S. threats to attack Iran. This group has called phony “human rights” internationally coordinated protests for July 25.
United 4 Iran is a front for organizations awash in money from the National Endowment for Democracy, a CIA cover organization for intervention, subversion, covert action in countries around the world. These same groups are supported by funds from Rockefeller, Soros, and Mellon foundations.
It is telling that United 4 Iran makes NO mention of the U.S. wars currently ripping apart the entire region. Hundreds of thousands of U.S. troops along with an army of private military contractors and mercenaries have created havoc in Iraq, Afghanistan and now Pakistan. U.S. funds and equipment have supported Israeli occupation and war on Palestine, Lebanon and Syria. Nor does this group mention the decades of U.S. military encirclement, sanctions, sabotage, attempted and actual coups against the people of Iran.
If these organizations were genuinely concerned with democracy, human rights and respect for elections why have they not called emergency actions in defense and support of the democratic elections in Gaza? In Gaza there was a democratic election overseen by Western international monitors. Hamas won overwhelmingly. The U.S. funded Israeli response was blockade and starvation against an entire people. Thousands of Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli bombardment.
Why the movement must reject anti-Iran provocations
How we respond to these actions is a crucial question for the movement. Are we for another brutal U.S. war or against it?
It is profoundly disturbing that United for Peace and Justice UFPJ and other anti-war organizations have chosen to add their endorsement to these actions targeting the Iranian government. These anti-war groups should be in the forefront of opposing current U.S. wars and threats of wider war.
Stop War On Iran urges them and other honest anti-war forces to reconsider their endorsement of the anti-Iran actions.
Anti-war activists in the United States, while demanding an end to the occupations of Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine, have an additional responsibility to oppose any military moves by the Pentagon or its allies against Iran and to oppose any moves by the former colonial powers to weaken Iran’s sovereignty.
Why U.S. imperialism targets Iran
The U.S. imperialist wars through out the region are an effort by U.S. corporations to gain strategic domination of the vast oil and energy resources.
Since its 1979 revolution, Iran’s independence has been a thorn in the side of corporate billionaires in the U.S. and Britain and of the U.S.-funded Israeli settler state. When the Iranian people overthrew the brutal U.S.-backed shah dictatorship they finally regained control of their rich oil and gas resources. In 30 years time Iran developed industrially and vastly improved the educational and health level of the entire population.
Any intervention by the imperialist powers in Iran and any weakening of Iranian sovereignty will only diminish the rights of women, workers, and the access to democratic institutions there, just as it has happened in the rest of the region. Any intervention by the imperialists in Iran’s internal struggles is aimed either at aiding the side the imperialists see as more conciliatory to their plans, or to exacerbate the internal conflict in order to compromise and weaken the Iranian government.
U.S. wars don’t bring democracy
U.S. wars and occupations from Vietnam to Iraq and Afghanistan have never brought democracy or human rights. They have brought only oppressive military dictatorships, massive refugee crises, torture and millions of deaths.
Also, we cannot forget that it is U.S. troops, military equipment, and bases that keep corrupt feudal anti-woman monarchies in power in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, and Jordan, as well as the brutal dictatorship in Egypt.
The hypocrisy of U.S. politicians is staggering, as they condemn the actions of the Iranian government while sweeping their own crimes under the rug. Iran’s elections and disputes are an internal matter, to be resolved by the Iranian people and not the governments of imperialist countries with agendas of dominating Iran and a track record of using internal issues to justify military invasion.
Money for jobs and benefits, not for more war
In this time of global capitalist crisis, when millions are unemployed and millions more facing evictions and foreclosures, we must demand that the hundreds of billions of dollars spent on current U.S. wars and the trillions that would criminally wasted in a new war be spent for jobs, health care and housing for poor and working people in the U.S. and around the world.
We urge your endorsement and support of these simple demands.
1. We oppose military aggression by the U.S., Britain, or Israel against Iran.
2. We oppose economic, diplomatic or other sanctions against Iran whatever their excuse.
3. We demand an end to subversion, de-stabilization, covert actions instigated by the U.S. and its military or spy agencies directed at Iran.
<I endorse these 3 demands> LINK
We urge you NOT to march in the anti-Iran event, which is designed to give humanitarian cover to U.S. threats of war against Iran. Instead, come out AGAINST current U.S. wars and the threats of a new war on the following week in a National Day of Coordinated Actions on Saturday, August 1.
Contact Stop War On Iran if you are interested in organizing or supporting an action opposing U.S. threats on Iran on Saturday, August 1.
<LINK>
In NYC join us at Times Square, 42nd & 7th Ave at 1pm, August 1 for a march to the Israeli Mission.
STOP WAR ON IRAN
55 W. 17th St. 5th Fl., NY NY 10011
www.StopWarOnIran.org 212.633.6646
“I never take a break.” And it’s bound to be true, now, as before the first month of January is over, Lil Wayne releases another outstanding, estranged mixtape (The Leak 6). Using a vocoder to distort your wheeze: genius. A rapper who mentioned Machiavelli: genius. It’s almost scary how prolific Lil Wayne is–though of a different generation altogether, he may go on to, for better or for worse, exceed some of the most renowned hip hop artists. And he’s having fun behind the scenes–he’s doing everything he wants to do on his mixtapes that doesn’t seep through onto his mainstream albums. This includes lyrical capability, backing beats–everything. Be careful though–it’s an addictive activity, listening to this guy.
Update: Track thirteen, aptly or unfortunately named “Hot Revolve,” is the introduction to Lil Wayne’s future rock musician career. This track may indeed every word mentioned in the original post.
Seeing Mt. Eerie the other night at Building 16 in Providence was a bit surreal. Had I been drinking, it may have been me fading in and out of consciousness, but the sobriety kept me at the least zoned-in to those lovely acoustic currents. Earlier in the evening, before Phil and the members of Calm Down, It’s Monday started setting up all the candles and started turning off the electric lighting, I was able to take a few videos of the other performers. I probably should have asked for the permission of the artists, and I probably should have tried not to look so creepy sitting next to Rachel in the corner with the camera in my hand, but all in all the vibes were pretty good.
Diego Perez is a pretty well-known acoustic singer-songwriter out of Providence, describably a mix of Conor Oberst, the Moldy Peaches, and Matty Popchart. His songs are lovingly short, too, which kept the audience in line. He appears to have a fan club too. I chose to record the videos at random, and while there were a couple songs that were played I would have preferred, the ones I caught give a pretty good idea on what this Providence musician sounds like.
The second performer was Jelen, another Providence musician who fit the bill right-on with her adorable antics and liquid-poetic lyric. It was a pleasant surprise to witness the transition from Diego’s summertime friendship experiences to the nostalgically sorrowful beauty in Jelen’s verse. Though I missed recording my two favorite tunes by this reserved musician, including a laptopped recording of bongs featuring a singing breakout session, the videos I randomly took again captured her work well.
The third and fourth act was a duo who called themselves Calm Down, It’s Monday as well as Julie Doiron. I assume the name of the female of the group, who played drums and sung at first (while the guy played guitar and sung), and played guitar and sung after a break (while the guy played drums) is Julie, and judging from her website, this is the case. These two, hailing from New Brunswick, let the swing and swang out of their guitar, blending it with a harder alternative edge. But the music lit the place up and, whether a good or bad thing, brought the environment up to its peak in energy, before cascading off into Mt. Eerie’s elemental world. Unfortunately I was too far away to get a good shot of their performances, but the recording turned out well enough.
Getting to see a show of such intimate proportions was a blast that I never would have associated with Building 16. I suppose going to see Dan Deacon there last spring (was it that long ago, or even longer?) really put things into the wrong perspective (crazy dance party warehouse environment) what with an altercation with the police, a crowd the size of an ocean, and more near-naked males jumping up and down near me than I could ever imagine in my wildest dreams (or nightmares). This time the crowd was obviously hip, though there were some older people in the audience (probably family?), and a couple young kids too. It was strange to see waves of people coming in (the place probably was 50 or 60 strong at the largest point), and then experiencing only half the crowd for the Mt. Eerie set. They must’ve all been expecting the noise and cacophonous balance of the Microphones or something.
To check out my Youtube video page, click here. I should have all the videos up soon enough.
Earlier this summer I wrote a music update for Teddy’s alternative press at Roger Williams University (the Bird Cage). Since he has returned to school, he has asked me to write a similar update concerning fall. Well, seeing how it isn’t fall yet, and seeing how the deadline was last night, I wrote about the end of summer. Even though I do listen to leaked music, even the greatest leaks aren’t more than a month ahead of the release date–well, with exceptions, the infamous leaking of Radiohead’s Hail to the Thief, which leaked in a pre-finished form about a year ahead of its official release.
After visiting the Bird Cage website, it’s pretty clear that the site’s quality is not that visually appealing. Yes, the site looks like it was designed in the middle of the 1990s using the Geocities page builder, and yes there are some pretty noticeable typos throughout the site, including on the main page, but the site isn’t exactly being worked on by a bunch of professionals. Teddy took the time last spring (during my final semester) to learn how to use Dreamweaver, and designed the site from the bottom up, “from scratch” you might say. In addition to that, regardless of the few (or is it just two?) additional writers he has helping him out with content, he does all the writing himself. That said, I take pride in writing for this work in progress, and I also take pride in writing for a college audience, as I know I would have looked to greater powers when I was an undergrad learning about all the music being created out there.
The End of Summer Music Update
With the season for love, romance, and reproduction pretty much moving into the backs of our minds (for all you kids who don’t see keep track of these things, it’s called summer, and it’s a time for revealing fashion trends, aromatic plant scents, and densely-populated music festivals), even though we try our hardest for the season to stick around as long as possible, there’s a strange amount of upbeat albums still to be released this year. Actually, there is a nice diverse pampering coming our way in the next few months. August sees the release New Kids on the Block’s and Goo Goo Dolls’s Greatest Hits (I don’t think I’ll be going anywhere near the former one), a single by the Cure (yes, they’re still around, and with a remix album hitting shelves in September, Robert Smith’s hopeful new masterpiece can’t be far away), our family-film pal Ice Cube’s Raw Footage, You & Me by alt-indie rockers the Walkmen (which is currently waiting in line to be heard on my computer—if it’s anything like their last few albums, it will be worthy of more than one listen), Chemical Chords by Stereolab, and Protools by Gza (the Genius).
That list leaves a few out. For all you vinyl connoisseurs out there, Trent Reznor’s Nine Inch Nails CD from earlier this year, the Slip, will be available for the turntables. For fans of superbly crafted, artsy indie-pop, check out the Swedish musician Lykke Li’s Youth Novels that calls forth those extra-special summer moments of youthful passion, flowers, and wildly positive emotional kicks. The first track is a more feminine approach to something out of Dark Side of the Moon. Later in the month (i. e. NOW) is spiced up with That Lucky Old Son by Brian Wilson (wait, that guy is still alive?) both on CD and vinyl, the negatively-received Oceans Will Rise by the Stills (make your own decision), the live disk by indie-rock extraordinaire group the Fiery Furnaces (called Remember so that you don’t forget), and something by some guy called Keith Urban.
While you’re getting over the fact that people actually like Keith Urban and find his albums explosively innovative, heart-warming, and revolutionary (don’t quote me on any of that), you can finish up your eighth month of the year with the fourth album by recently-returned that nine-piece hard rock group Slipknot (oh my, where did all those painful memories of high school come from?), unoriginally entitled All Hope is Gone. The band’s fourth effort is being described by some as sounding like Alice in Chains, and many say that the metal influence is dwindling on most of the tracks. Well, we’re streaming it here at the state government office, and it sounds pretty hard . . . but my place for Slipknot will always be the bottom, repressed area of my heart. To keep it fare, B. B. King’s One Kind Favor comes out this week too, and watch out 50 Cent fans! The Game’s Lax hits shelves, and chances are there will be a low-blow in there somewhere! If you want even more hating, pick up the deluxe edition for a few more bucks.
Speaking of deluxe editions, transition your lives into the shorter days of September with that New Kids on the Block’s The Block album in deluxe form, next week. That’s right, it’s like a cultural comeback of your favorite teenage boy band from nearly twenty years ago—hooray! There’s a lot of stuff coming out in September that you actually should check out, though. The most anticipated album of the year (in my book) is Skeletal Lampings by indie psych-poppers Of Montreal, the follow-up to the album from last year that I played more than any other, Hissing Fauna Are You the Destroyer? I’ve already acquired the album and, after listening to its 60-minute-long-entirety two times in a row last night, I’ve already found myself oddly hooked. Why oddly? You’ll have to read my review of it when you get a chance (and/or when it’s available).
One of my favorite contemporary rappers/club rappers/crunk rappers is Young Jeezy and his Recession hits in a couple weeks. Who doesn’t love a rapper whose samples himself backing his lyrics in his own songs? And who doesn’t love a rapper who raps about having sex in the club with string-wash electronica music in the background? I don’t know much about the limited edition cut of Radiohead’s OK Computer and Kid A, but based around everything that’s gone on with them recently, they probably don’t even know those are being released. Same goes for that Morrissey DVD that came out this month, so steer clear. Instead, give Metallica another chance (any direction from St. Anger is going up) with Death Magnetic (the first single’s already on the radio-waves, and is getting positive attention, though most fans are waiting for the album release). Another album that’s available, though currently unreleased (give it a couple weeks) is Okkervil River’s follow-up to last year’s amazing album the Stage Names. Part two in the two-album series is the Stand-Ins, and it’s more somber, country-rock influenced, with richer verses, more simplistic melodies, and an equal entertainment value. In the “what happened to them” category, we’ve got releases from LL Cool J and Calexico.
If all that doesn’t fill you up for the next few weeks, send me an email and I’ll hook you up with some noise rock, an African Scream disk, an Icelandic pianist who is being thrown into the indie-rock boat, a Korean cellist that isn’t, and some Minimalist Electronica that will make you jump up and say “we’re going to Detroit” (which I hope you don’t actually go through with).
I don’t usually care about informing everyone about indie rock album releases, but seeing that this one’s the much-anticipated follow-up to one of my “albums I’ve listened to the most times in the past three years,” there’s really no other option. I haven’t been this excited since The Stand-Ins and Strawberry Jam and Heretic Pride and 13 Blues for Thirteen Moons, new albums from all my favorite artists. Unfortunately I won’t be able to actually hear Skeletal Lamping for another three hours, due to the remainder of this light and fluffy state government work shift, and an early-week drug counseling session in East Providence. I forgot to post some stuff I wrote reflecting on last week’s “group session” (where I got to learn about GHB abuse with ACI Inmates, intelligent characters who all knew how to abuse their ankle bracelet tracking devices). Will do that sometimes soon, if I don’t get distracted by Philly opportunities and prospects, and gigantic poetry projects.
Oh yeah–click the picture for a link to the album. If it’s as nihilistic an album as Hissing Fauna, I just might have to do a formal review . . .
1. Nonpareil of Favor
2. Wicked Wisdom
3. For Our Elegant Caste
4. Touched Something’s Hollow
5. An Eluardian Instance
6. Gallery Piece
7. Women’s Studies Victims
8. St.Exquisite’s Confessions
9. Triphallus, to Punctuate!
10. And I’ve Seen a Bloody Shadow
11. Plastis Wafers
12. Death Is Not a Parallel Move
13. Beware Our Nubile Miscreants
14. Mingusings
15. Id Engager
gbem1