Category Archives: Books

Art, Books, Culture Jamming, Drugs, economics, Entertainment, Femmes, Films, Lists, Music, Politics, religion

AK Press!

1 Comment

http://www.akpress.org/2005/topics/Anarchism

CHECK IT OUT! Perhaps the greatest source for Anarchism and related subversion/dissidence. You can find just about anything, from Chomsky to Punk Rock. They have the Rage Against the Machine endorsement. Do iT!

…. I wish they didn’t charge money for incendiary material. That’s for the companies to do, while the artists merely accept money as a means of survival, but through their social commentary they fight Capitalism within Capitalism….. I guess.

Chris

Books, Crime, Drugs, Entertainment, Femmes, Films, Lists, Politics

My ABSOLUTE Film Favorites!

Leave a comment


I say ABSOLUTE because I’m only listing the top 101, which does not encompass all my favorites, but these are the ones I really, really love! Note: no documentaries or films that claim to be.

101) Lik Wong aka The Story of Riki-Oh (Ngai Kai Lam) 1991
100) Show Your Love (Edward J. Bruno)- 1983
99) A Christmas Story (Bob Clark)- 1983
98) Animal House (John Landis)- 1978
97) Vacation (Harold Ramis)- 1983
96) Ocean’s 11 (Steven Soderburgh)- 2001
95) Happiness (Todd Solantz)- 1998
94) Sixteen Candles (John Hughes)-1984
93) South Park Bigger, Longer, and Uncut (Trey Parker)- 1999
92) Slacker (Richard Linklater)- 1991
91) Pink Flamingos (John Waters)- 1972)
90) Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas (Terry Gilliam)- 1998
89) Batman (Tim Burton)- 1989
88) Office Space (Mike Judge)- 1999
87) Dogma (Kevin Smith)- 1999
86) Mallrats (Kevin Smith)- 1995)
85) American Graffiti (George Lucas)- 1973)
84) One Hour Photo (Mark Romanek)- 2002
83) Butterfly Effect (Eric Bress and J. Mackye Grubber)- 2004
82) Fast Times At Ridgemont High (Amy Heckerling)- 1982
81) Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (John Hughes)- 1986
80) The Shawshank Redemption (Frank Darabont)- 1994
79) Star Wars Episode XI: Return of the Jedi (Richard Marquand)- 1983
78) The Exorcist (William Friedkin)- 1973
77) Halloween (John Carpenter)- 1978
76) Carrie (Brian De Palma)- 1976
75) Rocky (John G. Avildsen)- 1976
74) Big Fish (Tim Burton)- 2003
73) Pee Wee’s Big Adventure (Tim Burton)- 1985
72) Raiders of the Lost Ark (Steven Spielberg)- 1981
71) Memento (Christopher Nolan)- 2000
70) The Wrestler (Darren Aronofsky)- 2008
69) Milk (Gus Van Sant)- 2008
68) Rock and Roll High School (Allan Arkush)- 1979
67) The Sixth Sense (M. Night Shamylan)- 1999
66) Toy Story (John Lasseter)- 1995
65) High Fidelity (Stephen Frears)- 2000
64) The Breakfast Club (John Hughes)- 1985
63) JFK (Oliver Stone)- 1991
62) Malcolm X (Spike Lee)- 1992
61) Bonnie and Clyde (Arthur Penn)- 1967
60) 12 Angry Men (Sidney Lumet)- 1957
59) Thank You For Smoking (Jason Reitman)- 2005
58) Sin City (Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez)- 2005
57) Blue Velvet (David Lynch)- 1986
56) Se7en (David Fincher)- 1995
55) Born On the Fourth of July (Oliver Stone)- 1989
54) Mystic River (Clint Eastwood)- 2003
53) The Shining (Stanley Kubrick)-1980
52) The Royal Tenenbaums (Wes Anderson)- 2001
51) The Godfather Part II (Francis Ford Coppola)- 1974
50) Kids (Larry Clark)- 1995
49) Walk the Line (James Mangold)- 2005
48) American Psycho (Mary Harron)- 2000
47) The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan)- 2008
46) Jaws (Steven Spielberg)- 1975
45) Edward Scissorhands (Tim Burton)- 1990
44) The Doors (Oliver Stone)- 1991
43) Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry)- 2004
42) The Terminator (James Cameron)- 1984
41) Terminator 2: Judgment Day (James Cameron)- 1991
40) Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino)- 2009
39) Kill Bill Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 (Quentin Tarantino)- 2003 and 2004
38) Requiem For a Dream (Darren Aronofsky)- 2000
37) Detroit Rock City (Adam Rifkin)- 1999
36) The Silence of the Lambs (Jonathan Demme)- 1991
35) Chasing Amy (Kevin Smith)- 1997
34) Clerks II (Kevin Smith)- 2006
33) Natural Born Killers (Oliver Stone)- 1994
32) The Graduate (Mike Nichols)- 1967
31) American Beauty (Sam Mendes)- 1999
30) The Wizard of Oz (Victor Fleming)- 1939
29) Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (Mel Stuart)- 1971
28) Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (Irvin Kirshner)- 1980
27) Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock)- 1960
26) Forrest Gump (Robert Zemeckis)- 1994
25) Stand By Me (Rob Reiner)- 1986
24) A Clockwork Orange (Stanley Kubrick)- 1971
23) It’s A Wonderful Life (Frank Capra)- 1946
22) Do the Right Thing (Spike Lee)- 1989
21) Donnie Darko (Richard Kelly)- 2001
20) Almost Famous (Cameron Crowe)- 2000
19) Juno (Jason Reitman)- 2007
18) Good Will Hunting (Gus Van Sant)- 1997
17) (500) Days of Summer (Marc Webb)- 2009
16) Boogie Nights (Paul Thomas Anderson)- 1997
15) Back to the Future (Robert Zemeckis)- 1985
14) E.T. (Steven Spielberg)- 1982
13) Star Wars (George Lucas)- 1977
12) Trainspotting (Danny Boyle)-1996
11) Goodfellas (Martin Scorcesse)- 1990
10) Taxi Driver (Martin Scorcesse)- 1876
9) One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Milos Forman)- 1975
8) Garden State (Zach Braff)- 2004
7) American History X (Tony Kaye)- 1998
6) Fight Club (David Fincher)- 1999
5) The Godfather (Francis Ford Coppola)- 1972
4) Reservoir Dogs (Quentin Tarantino)- 1992
3) Clerks (Kevin Smith)- 1993
2) Dazed and Confused (Richard Linklater)- 1993
1) Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino)- 1994!!!!

Chris

Books, Culture Jamming, Entertainment, Femmes, Films, Politics, rant, reviews, Uncategorized

Book Club Review: Catcher

1 Comment

Title: The Catcher in the Rye
Author: J.D. Salinger
Year: 1951
Pages: 214

Review:”If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you’ll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don’t feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth.” Arguably the greatest opening line to any novel. Well, Holden, if you do want to know the truth, we DO want to hear about it! In fact, for nearly 60 years our grandparents, parents, older siblings, and us have adored it. Why? What makes this novel so special? Well, Salinger masterfully captures an adolescent’s concern, fears, desires and instead of coming off as an adult attempting to represent this mentality of a teenager, he literally writes in the damn lingo of a buzzcock. Goddamit! As far as I’m concerned Salinger ain’t telling the story, it’s Holden who’s’ running the show. It’s his book entirely. Holden has become the Pied Piper for a whole slew of lonesome cowboys: Taxi Driver’s Travis Bickle, The Perks of Being a Wallflower’s Charlie, and that cute radical nerd fellow from Kids Like You & Me. In short, he’s a middle finger to the establishment or a haphazard, misanthropic messiah, trying to save everyone only if he can save himself… and all.

Why Subversive?: Catcher has the unfortunate privilege (how’s that for an oxymoron?!) of already being subversive before you even read one word. It’s subversive simply for it’s reputation of consistently being a victim of Banned Books Lists and Censorship Nazis. Apparently heavy drinking and cussing some naughty words is worse than trying to commit suicide, murder your father, and fuck your mother as we witness with Shakespeare. Also, since some weirdos decide to assassinate (or attempt) public figures (John Lennon and Ronald Reagan) after or while reading the book, doesn’t mean shit! Look at the millions that didn’t grab their guns! Why focus on the select few? Not that Reagan would have been a great loss, but Hinckley’s motives were hardly in the vein of Leon Czolgosz: impressing Jodie Foster. Really?! haha. And you can calm down I’m not advocating political assassination, I just think Leon had much better, humane reasons. Anyway, I’ve digressed into this tornado of off topic subjects. Simply, Catcher challenges the reader to question authority and reject social norms.

Questions to Ponder (or leave a comment to!): What will become of Holden Caulfield? or What became of him?
What ever happened to Jane Gallagher? Is she in any way related to the awful comedian of the same name?
Why was Holden placed in a mental institution? How did this ALL transpire?
Any others?

Grade: A+ My all time favorite!

Chris

Books

Meltdown Book Review

5 Comments

Meltdown – (Thomas Woods Jr.)
A pretty damn good analysis of why we are in the shitter. It’s ‘cuz of regulation, duh! What’s not to see?! Woods Jr.’s standpoint is of the laissez faire Austrian economics variety, a view which always had me subconsciously thinking laissez faire is a gateway to consumer capitalism. But hold on…Woods Jr. instead makes a valid point in saying that we can’t spend our way out of a recession. He encourages saving. His argument, though quite repetitive, must be evaluated by everyone who thinks they know what is going on. Fed Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke needs to read this book! Woods Jr. got me shouting “End the Fed” at various points throughout. The book also acts as a nice little lesson in Austrian economics.

Grade: 9.0 out of 10

Books

Radiohead and Philosophy Book Review

4 Comments

Radiohead and Philosophy
If you want to read a work of literature from people who live and breathe Radiohead this book is for you. If you are looking for a thinking-lite read…this book is not for you. The main theme behind Radiohead’s music, at least according to a majority of the passages in this book, is alienation. As a fan, you probably already know this. You might also know the “meaning” behind the lyrics of all Radiohead’s songs. What the authors of the various essays in this book do is take the entire Radiohead/Thom Yorke catalog and assess the philosophy behind it. They try their best to really knock down what Radiohead is trying to get at while also leaving open the possibility for alternative meanings. For example, the members of Radiohead themselves have often shied away from explaining their music. And then there’s the last major point argued: the band has embraced technology, despite lyrically warning listeners of its dangers in a post-modern society. A lot of the essays are hard to argue with, because they are so grounded in philosophy. Looking at Radiohead’s lyrics discussion on songmeanings.com , people disagree with each other constantly. Rather than just relying on what this book has to offer, I think Radiohead fans should all agree that you can’t just listen to their music passively. There’s something behind it. Sometimes quite obvious…sometimes not.

Grade: 8.0 out of 10

Books, Drugs, economics, Entertainment, Femmes, Films, Food, Lists, Music, Politics, religion, Soccer

My Favorite Directors Sucka!

4 Comments

1) Quentin Tarantino- Reservoir Dogs (1992), Pulp Fiction (1994), Jackie Brown (1997), Kill Bill Vol.1 (2003), Kill Bill Vol.2 (2004), and Death Proof (2007)

2) Steven Spielberg- Jaws (1975), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), E.T. (1982), Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), Hook (1991), Jurassic Park (1993), Schindler’s List (1993), Saving Private Ryan (1998)

3) Stanley Kubrick- 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), A Clockwork Orange (1971), The Shining (1980), Full Metal Jacket (1987)

4) David Lynch- Eraser (1977), Blue Velvet (1986)

5) Martin Scorsese- Taxi Driver (1976), The Last Waltz (1978), Raging Bull (1980), Goodfellas (1990), Casino (1995), Gangs of New York (2002), No Direction Home (2005)

6) Francis Ford Coppola- The Godfather (1972), The Godfather Part II (1974), Apocalypse Now (1979)

7) Richard Linklater- Slacker (1991), Dazed and Confused (1993), The School of Rock (2003),

8) Kevin Smith- Clerks (1994), Mallrats (1995), Chasing Amy (1997), Dogma (1999), Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001), Clerks II (2006), Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008)

9) Spike Lee- Do The Right Thing (1989), Malcolm X (1992)

10) David Fincher- Se7en (1995), Fight Club (1999)

11) Danny Boyle- Trainspotting (1996), 28 Days Later (2002), Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

12) Gus Van Sant- Good Will Hunting (1997), Elephant (2003), Milk (2008)

13) Christopher Nolan- Memento (2000), Batman Begins (2005), The Dark Knight (2008)

14) John Waters- Pink Flamingos (1972), Serial Mom (1995)

15) Cameron Crowe- Almost Famous (2000)

16) Frank Capra- It’s A Wonderful Life (1946)

17) Alfred Hitchcock- Psycho (1960)

18) Brian De Palma- Carrie (1976), Scarface (1983)

19) Oliver Stone- Platoon (1986), Born On the Fourth of July (1989), JFK (1991), The Doors (1991), Natural Born Killers (1994)

20) Paul Thomas Anderson- Boogie Nights (1997)

21) The Coen Brothers- Raising Arizona (1987), Miller’s Crossing (1990), Fargo (1996), The Big Lebowski (1998), O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)

22) Darren Aronofsky- Pi (1997), Requiem For A Dream (2000), The Wrestler (2008)

23) Jason Reitman- Thank You For Smoking (2005), Juno (2007)

24) Sam Raimi- Evil Dead (1981), Evil Dead II (1987), Army of Darkness (1993), Spiderman (2002, Spiderman 2 (2004), Spiderman 3 (2007)

25) Robert Zemeckis- Back To the Future (1985), Back to the Future Part II (1989), Back to the Future Part III (1990), Forrest Gump (1994), Cast Away (2000)

26) Mark Romanek- One Hour Photo (2002)

27) Rob Reiner- This Is Spinal Tap (1984), Stand By Me (1986), The Princess Bride (1987), Misery (1990)

28) Milos Forman- One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975), Amadeus (1984), The People vs, Larry Flynt (1996), Man On the Moon (1999)

29) John Hughes- Sixteen Candles (1984), The Breakfast Club (1985), Weird Science (1985) Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986), Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (1987), Uncle Buck (1989)

30) George Lucas- American Graffiti (1973), Star Wars (1977), Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005)

31) Sidney Lumet- 12 Angry Men (1957)

32) Mike Nichols- The Graduate (1967)

33) Sam Mendes- American Beauty (1999)

34) John Carpenter- Halloween (1978), The Thing (1982)

35) James Mangold- Girl, Interrupted (1999), Walk the Line (2005)

36) Steven Soderbergh- Erin Brockovich (2000), Ocean’s 11 (2001),

37) Bryan Singer- The Usual Suspects (1995), X-Men (2000), X2 (2003)

38) Judd Apatow- The 40 Year Old Virgin (2005), Knocked Up (2007), Funny People (2009)

39) Todd Phillips- Hated (1994), Road Trip (2000), Old School (2002)

40) Michael Moore- Roger and Me (1989), Bowling For Columbine (2002), Sicko (2007)

41) Michel Gondry- Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

42) Wes Anderson- The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)

43) James Cameron- Terminator (1984), Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

44) Tony Kaye- American History X (1998)

45) Zach Braff- Garden State (2004)

46) Robert Rodriguez- Desperado (1995), Sin City (2005), Planet Terror (2007)

47) Tim Burton- Pee Wee’s Big Adventure (1985), Beetle Juice (1989), Batman (1989), Edward Scissorhands (1990), Big Fish (2003)

48) Amy Heckerling- Fast Times At Ridgemont High (1982)

49) Larry Clark- Kids (1995)

50) Mary Harron- American Psycho (1998)

51) Richard Kelly- Donnie Darko (2001)

52) M. Night Shamylan- The Sixth Sense (1999), Signs (2002)

53) Kevin Booth- American Drug War (2007)

Eh, probably others lol.

Chris

Books, Culture Jamming, Drugs, economics, Entertainment, Food, Lists, Music, Politics

The Oprah Book Club Minus Oprah!

3 Comments

This is a new set of weekly posts inspired by some facebook chat with our very own Ben “The BBT” Tan. Every week we’ll discuss one subversive book, from the obvious to the obscure, doesn’t matter. Don’t panic there will be dick jokes!!! and Hicks jokes and Chomsky and all sorts of incendiary material just waiting to explode!!! This week we will begin with a book I have already reviewed from nearly two years ago on the Etudiant. Next week, it will be Catcher in the Rye or A People’s History, I haven’t decided yet. Enjoy!


Musicians, Read this Book!

Title: Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground 1981-1991
Author: Michael Azerrad
Year: 2001
Pages: 522

Review: OBCBYL is a study of 13 independent, underground rock bands that stampeded the music industry during the Reagan Conservative decade we call the 80’s. These are the bands that grew right under the nose of mainstream America; these self- made musicians took the musical influence of their punk predecessors and said “Fuck It! I’m not playing New Wave, Who cares if we never make any money or appear on MTV, let’s just Jam!” And so they hopped in the van with their companions and toured the nation non stop, founded their own independent labels, and began issuing fanzines. This was music run by kids (teens- early twenties), played by kids, and for kids; existing entirely outside the music industry. DIY (Do It Yourself) at its finest!
First off, this book details some of the greatest artists in the history of music. Despite the fact that few of these bands broke into the mainstream, their influence is immense. Without Sonic Youth there’s no Nirvana, without Black Flag there’s no hardcore, and so on. Okay, here’s the bands:

Black Flag
Minutemen
Mission of Burma
Minor Threat
Husker DU
The Replacements
Sonic Youth
Butthole Surfers
Big Black
Dinosaur Jr
Fugazi
Mudhoney
Beat Happening

Of these bands, Sonic Youth is definitely my favorite, with Fugazi being a close second. If I were you I would go out and buy a SY album immediately! I highly recommend Goo (1990). If you don’t feel like spending dough, then download their shit, they have a huge, plethora of works. For those of you Étudiant Radio listeners, which should be all of you! you will hear at some point or another all of these artists, in fact Glen and I already played Fugazi and Beat Happening.

Warning!: If you plan to read this book (Do It Now, it’s at Newbury Comics, Barnes and Noble, hell you can order it online, you won’t even have to get off your ass!) please do not read this criticism section and rather go into the novel with an open mind, you will discover an insightful analysis of underground culture and possibly the greatest chronicle of music in history.

Though this book is amazing, it is not 100% free of foibles. My main criticism is its lack of numerous, other, troubadours from that era, chief amongst these artists are: The Pixies, Bad Brains, Dead Kennedys, Misfits, Daniel Johnston, Descendants, Melvins, Meat Puppets, Bad Religion, Social Distortion, and who could forget The Smiths? Now of course the biggest flaw in my complaint is the fact that if Azerrad had included all these artists it would have been over a thousand pages (I would read em’!) and also it’s most likely he tried to contact these artists, but they wanted nothing to do with the novel. Who Knows? Maybe we’ll see a Volume 2, hopefully! Another criticism is the author’s gratuitous use of the word “indie.” I showed one chapter to Glen and he pointed this out, without even my mention of it. A final criticism is the way the author leaves out certain info or uses his opinion as if it is fact to build a story, for example in the Mudhoney chapter, he makes it sound like “Touch Me I’m Sick” was the only great song the band recorded… my favorite album of theirs is My Brother The Cow (1995) , where the song does not appear, and in fact there is no mention of this album or any other album by them on Reprise (major label) records. Sorry Azerrad.
My Rating: 4 and a half out of 5 stars. A must for those who think punk stopped in 1978 and then resurfaced with Nirvana in 1991.

Here are some (but certainly not all) other works I recommend you check out if you like this novel:

American Hardcore: A Tribal History by Steven Blush
Get In The Van by Henry Rollins
American Hardcore (film, 2006)
We Jam Econo: The Story of the Minutemen (film, 2005)

P.S. that was not a knock at Nirvana above.

Comment it up and let’s start the discussion now!

Chris

Books, Culture Jamming, Drugs, economics, Entertainment, Food, Lists, Music, Politics, religion

My Favorite Writers

Leave a comment

1) Noam Chomsky- Manufacturing Consent:The Political Economy of the Mass Media (1988) with Edward S. Herman, Failed States: The Abuse of Power and the Assault on Democracy (2006), Chomsky On Anarchism (2005), Media Control: The Spectacular Achievements of Propaganda (2002)

2) Howard Zinn- A People’s History of the United States: 1492-Present (1980)

3) Hunter S. Thompson- Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream (1971), Kingdom of Fear: Loathsome Secrets of a Star Crossed Child in the Final Days of the American Century (2003)

4) J.D. Salinger- The Catcher in the Rye (1951)

5) Michael Azerrad- Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground 1981-1991 (2001)

6) Lester Bangs- “Let Us Now Praise Famous Death Dwarves,” (1975) “The Greatest Album Ever Made,” (1975)

7) Chuck Klosterman- Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs (2003)

8) Charles R. Cross- Heavier Than Heaven (2002)

9) Chuck Palahniuk- Fight Club (1996)

10) Abbie Hoffman- Soon to Be a Major Motion Picture (1979), Steal This Book (1972)

11) Jerry Rubin- Do iT!: Scenarios of the Revolution (1970)

12) David Dellinger- From Yale to Jail: The Autobiography of a Moral Dissenter (1993)

13) Mumia Abu-Jamal- Live From Death Row (1995)

14) James W. Lowren- Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong (1995)

15) Gary Webb- Dark Alliance: The CIA, The Contras, and The Crack Cocaine Explosion (1996)

16) Stephen King- The Shining (1977), Carrie (1974), The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon (1999)

17) Roald Dahl- Charlie and The Chocolate Factory (1964), The Twits (1980) The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More (1977)

18) George Orwell- 1984 (1949), Animal Farm (1945)

19) Jack Kerouac- On The Road (1957)

20) Ken Kesey- One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1962)

21) William Shakespeare- Macbeth (1611), Hamlet (1601), Romeo and Juliet (?), Julius Caesar (1599)

22) Richard Wright- Black Boy (1945)

23) Bill Hicks- Love All the People: The Essential Bill Hicks (2004)

24) Judge James P. Gray- Why Our Drug Laws Have Failed and What We Can Do About It (2001)

25) John Steinbeck- Of Mice and Men (1937), The Grapes of Wrath (1939), The Pearl (1947)

26) F. Scott Fitzgerald- The Great Gatsby (1925)

27) Ernesto “Che” Guevara- The Motorcycle Diaries (1993 published, written in 1952), Guerrilla Warfare (1961)

28) Ralph Nader- Crashing the Party (2002), Cutting Corporate Welfare (2000)

29) Susanna Kaysen- Girl, Interrupted (1993)

30) Michael Cart- My Father’s Scar (1998)

31) Walter Dean Meyers- Monster (2001)

32) Markus Zusak- I Am the Messenger (2002)

33) Robert Cormier- The Chocolate War (1974)

34) Stephen Chobosky- The Perks of Being a Wallflower (1999)

35) Harper Lee- To Kill A Mockingbird (1960)

36) William Golding- Lord of the Flies (1954)

37) John Knowles- A Separate Peace (1959)

38) S.E. Hinton- The Outsiders (1967)

39) Emma Goldman- Anarchism and Other Essays (1910), My Disillusionment in Russia (1923)

40) Alexander Berkman- Now and After: The ABC of Communist Anarchism aka What Is Anarchism? (1929)

41) Bill Ayers- Fugitive Days (2001)

42) Anthony Burgess- A Clockwork Orange (1962)

43) Henry Rollins- Get In the Van: On the Road With Black Flag (1994)

44) Timothy Leary- Flashbacks (1983)

45) Carl Jung- Two Essays on Analytical Psychology (1966)

46) Sigmund Freud- The Ego and the Id (1923)

47) Friedrich Nietzsche- The Antichrist (1888)

48) Bobby Seale- Black Panthers Speak (1971)

49) Huey P. Newton- Black Panthers Speak (1971)

50) Eldridge Cleaver- Black Panthers Speak (1971)

51) Martin Luther King Jr- “Letter From Birmingham Jail” (1963)

52) Malcolm X- The Autobiography of Malcolm X (1965),
Malcolm X Speaks: Selected Speeches and Statements (1965)

53) Alex Haley- The Autobiography of Malcolm X (1965),
(1965)

54) Thomas Jefferson- “The Declaration of Independence” (1776)

Chris

Books, Drugs, Entertainment, Music, Politics, religion

Book Review: Love All The People

Leave a comment


Full Title: Love All The People: The Essential Bill Hicks aka Letters, Lyrics, Routines
Author: Bill Hicks
Year: 2004
Foreword “The Goat Boy Rises” By: John Lahr
Being one of the biggest Bill Hicks fans in the world it was a must that I read this work of incendiary material. With that being said if any of you, fellow readers aren’t little Goat Boy children aka Die Hard Hicks fanatics, I would not recommend reading it. Most of the book consists of word for word transcripts of his classic stand up routines, including, but not limited to: Dangerous CD, One Night Stand HBO Special, Relentless CD, “The Worst Show Ever”aka The Flying Saucer Tour Volume One CD, Revelations Channel 4 UK Special, Arizona Bay CD, and the Rant in E-Minor CD. Interviews, lyrics to Hicks penned tunes, poems, rants or brief manifestos, short stories, letters and response letters to David Letterman, Jay Leno, offended audience members (including priests), amongst other rare gems. I really enjoyed the short stories because they showcased even more of my hero’s talent. In some of these stories Bill appeared and then in others it was completely fiction. I particularly enjoyed a story in which he documents the day-to-day lives of writers for an underground newspaper known as, The Observer. The overall, recurring theme of the book is Bill’s humanistic, though misanthropic at times, approach to comedy and especially to life. Bill takes us on a journey through his mind in which he opines his deepest feelings on the evils of the world: Dogmatic, fear inducing religions (particularly Christianity), corrupt, War profiteering, Governments, Corporate shilling, Coke hawking, pop sell outs, and ignorant, flag waving, conforming Americans. It is rare in entertainment and even rarer in the comedy world, to see someone that threatens the status quo with a message and mission outside of making money and gaining some cheap chuckles. Honestly, how many comedians can you name whose mission is to evolve the human race? Maybe a few others. In conclusion,I, as most do, prefer comedy routines and Hicks in particular on videos (especially!) or on CDs, rather then in print, but I always enjoy learning more about Hicks and his philosophies and laughing my ass off simultaneously.
Grade: B+

P.S. There is one intriguing essay in which he proposes gun control, as Hicks fans should know he completely championed. Being, against gun control myself, I always wanted him to elaborate more on his stance rather then a few jabs about American violence and the NRA, which were hilarious of course. So, anyway, Hicks makes the point that if guns weren’t as easily available as they are there would be less violence in America. Well, whether that is true or not to me doesn’t matter because it violates a basic concept of freedom, it evens violates Hicksian logic! Ok, if you apply Hicks’ logic on drugs, which I completely agree with: people should be able to put whatever they want in their bodies as long as they don’t harm anyone else. So, if drugs were available to the public, there is a good chance that there would be in an increase in drug use (initially) and if you took his logic on guns and applied it here by banning drugs then there wouldn’t be as many people on drugs or dying from drugs. Now, even a novice in drug war knowledge could tell you that’s ludicrous.

Chris

Books, Culture Jamming, Drugs, Entertainment, Food, Music, Politics

Book Review: DO iT!

Leave a comment

Book: DO iT! Scenarios of the Revolution
Author: Jerry Rubin
Year: 1970

This is easily the greatest and most inspiring manifesto ever written. Even before you begin this delicious work of incendiary material, just gazing at the back cover clues you in that your in for one hell of a ride! It reads in giant letters: “DANGER! This book will become a Molotov Cocktail in your very hands.” To the left of this summary is a photo of author Jerry Rubin being escorted out of the halls of Congress by the “pigs,” while dressed up like an American Revolutionary soldier: bare chested (with lots of hair!), covered in war paint, reeking of stench from weeks of not bathing, a head full of acid, and well armed ( a toy gun! albeit very real looking!).
As we open up the subversive memoir we are commanded to “READ THIS BOOK STONED,” a theme that is prevalent throughout the book.
Next, we experience one of the finest introductions by Eldridge Cleaver, the Minister of Information of the Black Panther Party For Self-Defense. Cleaver explains how “if everybody carried out Jerry’s program- there would be immediate peace in the world. Amerika, in particular would cease to bleed.” So, what exactly was Jerry’s programs? Well, his program is very simple: Go out in the streets and be a revolutionary, your own legislator. He shouts, “All you have to do to be a yippie is be a yippie.” Transform your ideas into actions. Fuck Ideologies. Fuck Rules. Fuck Religion. Fuck Everything…in the streets and bring some dope and dynamite with you! Destroy the Schools. Burn the Prisons down. Kill Your Parents. Drop out of society. Burn Money. Actions speak louder than words, so cut out long boring speeches on what your goals or demands are. Instead, use Yippie (Youth International Party) tactics to highlight your agenda. The Yippies nominated an actual pig named Pigasus as their presidential candidate, illustrating the point that all the other candidates were equally filthy pigs. And after all, don’t most politicians like to roll around in their own shit anyway?! If all of this sounds irrational to you, then it should. Our menacing Yippie informs us, “Yippies know we’re sane and everyone else is crazy, so we call ourselves “the crazies.” Jerry Rubin was indeed “crazy,” he was a dedicated revolutionary and a relentless outlaw in the true sense of the word. You know you often hear badass musicians, actors, or comedians like Bill Hicks, referred to as “outlaws.” But, they weren’t constantly in trouble with the law. Jerry, on the other hand was. In fact, at the time of this book’s publication, he and seven other defendants (Abbie Hoffman, Dave Dellinger, Bobby Seale, Tom Hayden, Rennie Davis, Lee Weiner, and John Froines) were on trial for conspiracy to incite a riot while crossing state lines at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

Grade: A 9.5/10- One of the most subversive books I’ve ever read!

Chris