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.
I love his enthusiasm. He could make a movie about the lives of McDonalds employees and I’d see it. I seriously doubt he would do that though haha. He seriously makes me appreciate Unbreakable more though. I’ve seen 9 out of the 20 and I’m familiar with most. I’ve had Audition on my never ending list of movies to see for so long! Dazed and Confused(2), Fight Club(6), and Boogie Nights (16)appear on my top 20 list as well. He hit the nail on the head on Dazed, but I can’t imagine going a few years without watching it! I used to watch it once a month!
P.S. It’s FRIDAY Quentin!
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.
As attorney Eric Seitz has said regarding parole, the Peltier case is one of “original jurisdiction”. That classification is the result of a number of factors–including the seriousness of the “offense,” the fact that Mr. Peltier is serving life sentences, and also because this is such a high-profile case.
Procedurally, this means the examiner made a recommendation sometime following the hearing on July 28. The application for parole was then forwarded to the regional commissioner apparently, who also reviewed the case and made a recommendation (the same as a vote, in this instance). The case was then forwarded to the four sitting executive commissioners in Washington (or Chevy Chase, MD, right outside of DC). The parole decision will be made by majority vote.
According to parole guidelines:
“Upon receipt of an original jurisdiction case, the National Commissioners, where feasible, shall process the case within 21 days. Cases shall be voted on sequentially.”
It isn’t known when the National Commissioners received the Peltier application for parole or when the 21-day clock began running. Also, generally, reference by the government of “days” means business days, not calendar days.
It isn’t known how many parole applications were received prior to Peltier’s application or if a backlog exists at the U.S. Parole Commission.
It isn’t known if all four National Commissioners are available for the review and a vote at this time. It’s August and, traditionally, Washington pretty well closes down during the month of August. Members of Congress return to their home districts for the month and they and the President generally vacation during this period. Government bureaucrats often do the same.
Our point: There are many unknowns. But this is something we DO know. There is great potential here for there to be a delay — intentional or not — with regard to the parole decision. The words “where feasible,” tell us so.
That’s why everyone has to keep up the political pressure.
We know you’ve written letters, made calls, sent e-mails. First, thank you. Thank you very much for all you do on Leonard’s behalf.
But now you have to do it again. And again. And again. Please. Do it and keeping doing it until Leonard Peltier is home with his family.
Call the White House Comment Line: 202-456-1111 or 202-456-1112;
The Pop Era
1997: “I’ll Be Missing You,” and “Barbie Girl.”
1998: “Ghetto Supastar” and “Miss America.” 1999: “Mambo No 5” and “Blue” 2000: “The Real Slim Shady” and “Can I Get A” 2001: “In the End” and “Whenever Wherever” 2002: “Lose Yourself” and “Hey Baby”
The Hip-Hop Era/Videogame Era 2003-2006: In sixth grade I started to become pretty obsessed with hip-hop music and culture…but not overly obsessed. I wasn’t listening to anything too far from the mainstream. I sort of took a break from hip hop in late seventh grade and all of eighth grade. I returned to hip hop (more obscure shit this time) in summer and fall 2005 only to lose interest in it a few months later. During this time I became more and more engaged in “alternative” rock and underground/electro-rap thanks to soundtracks on MVP Baseball, Madden NFL, and NBA 2K.
The Modern Age 2006-Now: A lot of credit should be given to Chris as he showed me/got me into a lot of music that I was pretty unfamiliar with. 2007 is when I started to research bands online and explore the unexplored. It’s pretty incredible to think that my top two favorite bands of today (the Black Lips and No Age) were completely unknown to me before 2008. This is true for so so many of my other favorites. My rock tastes haven’t changed that much in as though I still don’t like a lot of the screamo and hardcore punk that I didn’t like before. I remember initially saying something like the Black Lips are something country truck drivers listen to. Obviously I don’t believe that anymore!
I watched the new ABC show Shark Tank tonight. Here’s how it works: there are four greedy sons (and one daughter) of a bitch who are out there to steal away the ideas of prospective businessmen and women. The prospective businessmen and women (contestants) try their best to sell their product and investment offer to the five sharks. The sharks are typically hard to please, unless the products have made a decent profit and great sales. They also demand more than half of the ownership of the contestant’s company or product. The contestants are usually left with two options that look something like this: 1) sell a majority of the equity to the sharks or 2) walk away with no investment. It comes down to this: doing it yourself or having billionaire big business people run the operations for you. For instance, one contestant selling a life saving seat belt attachment rejected the sharks’ offer (which would have given them complete control his patent, his idea) because he would have “sold out” in essentially the same manner that independent rock musicians do when they sign to a major label. That’s really a core aspect of the show: does the contestant want to be completely immersed in something that he created…something that he knows what direction it should go in…OR does the contestant want somebody with more “business knowledge” to take control in the name of greed and “branding”? The first contestant was selling a line of clothing called Crooked Jaw Fashions. The sharks were only interested in the brand awareness/target audience of the clothing line. I’m probably going to keep watching this show even though I despise the sharks. And you might say well aren’t the contestants dumb for coming on to the show? Not really. They are asking for extra funding, like any investor might. When the contestant sacrifices control of the business, the operation, in my opinion, becomes unethical. Another contestant on tonight’s show made a Shakespeare rock disc collection to help students better understand the great English writer. Awesome idea! But he sold it away to the sharks. He’s only going to get 5% in royalties. Seems kind of ridiculous.
Artist: Jay Reatard
Title: Matador Singles ’08
Year: 2008
1) See/Saw– 10- My personal favorite from Jay Reatard. It’s heavy, catchy, funny, surely one to get stuck in your head! To me, it exemplifies everything great about Jay’s music. He creeps me out, but he creeps me in again.
2) Screaming Hand– 9.8- A nice tale about the young Reatard singer and how he was different from everyone else and started his band. I love the “You are my hero” and “oh No No No.” Extremely catchy. I find that SH goes well following See/Saw.
3) Painted Shut– 9.5- Simply Classic Reatard
4) An Ugly Death– 10- I try to avoid giving out more than one 10 on any album, but this definitely deserves it! I think this was the first Jay song I came across and it is very powerful to say the least. I love the epic guitar opener; it just makes my ears anticipate what will happen next. Even after listening to the tune a ludicrous amount of times, I still can’t get over those powerful, yet simple chords. When I’m shuffling songs and AUD pops up on my ipod, I can never muster the will to turn it down. My actual favorite part of the song is the “for you, for me, for all to see” the vocals and guitar are just perfect. I also dig the ominous lyrics meshed with the upbeat music.
5) Always Wanting More– 8.8- One of my least favorites on this compilation, but nonetheless a hooky and genuinely decent tune.
6) You Mean Nothing to Me– 9.0- Typical Reatard. It gets stuck in my dome from time to time. In terms of lyrics, People being meaningless to Jay seems to be a recurring theme.
7) Fluorescent Grey– 9.2- This is a Deerhunter cover. Having never heard the original, I don’t know how it holds up, but I enjoy it very much. Giving the nature of Deerhunter’s music, this one is a bit softer and more experimental than previous Reatard singles/songs, lacking the familiar chainsaw guitars and pop hooks. It works though and foreshadows future Reatard talents.
8) Trapped Here– 9.6- Haha, I always find myself laughing at Jay’s disturbing, malicious lyrics! Violence, particularly one villain torturing his victim and remind them that they can’t escape and that they will soon parish is a frequent theme in the long haired punk’s lyrics. Memorable lyrics include “Relax, Relax, Relax, my little victim” and “You have nowhere to hide and you have everywhere to die.” Haha, the music itself, menacing, perfectly compliments the creepy lyrics.
9) Hiding Hole– 9.4- Another signature Reatard tune. Extremely, catchy, loud, fast guitars, fast, shouted vocals.
10) DOA– 9.8- One of the more popular singles and it’s certainly easy to see why. One of the heavier and yet absolutely endearing songs from this album. It includes perhaps the best example of the classic Reatard technique of slowing down the guitars and drums and simply shouting one line over and over again till its burned into your brain. In this case “It’s No Fun! It’s No Fun! It’s No Fun!” for whoever is dying on arrival haha.
11) No Time– 10- Once again, a rare 10! I love this song so much! Completely Unreatard. One (you’ll see) of the softest Jay songs I have ever heard. When I first heard this I was confused, I thought I may have put on a different artist. In this number, we see a gentle Jay (it sounds so strange) expressing his deepest emotions. “It seems I never have the time to make my mind feel fine,” Jay’s best lyrics and one of the best lines I ever heard period!
12) You Were Sleeping– 9.8- It gets even stranger! I can picture this and the former pissing some Reatard fans off. Especially some serious Blood Visions motherfuckers. Most of the previous statements I made about “No Time” apply here. It’s a sensitive song, I couldn’t even imagine Jay playing live when I saw him.
13) I’m Watching You– 9.7- A fabulous closer to a fabulous record! Softer than most Reatard songs, but heavier than the previous two. Unlike the other two though, it’s an upbeat single, but it’s similar to them in the sense that they all violate the typical Reatard format. I always smirk whenever I hear the line “You see, to me, you always were a cunt.” Haha. This is much better than the Watch Me Fall version in my opinion.
Grade: A:One of the best albums (though it’s technically just a compilation of singles) I’ve ever heard and certainly of the past few years. Probably the best from 2008. Jay and the gang bring their roaring flying Vs with them from Blood Visions and Singles ’06- ’07 and mash them up with more pop and delve into previously unknown or unforeseen territories! Foreshadowing their next effort, Watch Me Fall. There’s a notable progression that is perfectly displayed here.
From AOL News: KUWAIT CITY (Aug. 16) – The fire at a wedding tent in Kuwait that killed 41 women and children consumed the structure in a blazing inferno lasting just three minutes, the fire department chief said Sunday.
“It was a horrific scene with bodies and many shoes stuck to the ground at the only exit, they must have trampled over one another,” said Brig. Gen. Jassem al-Mansouri, the day after the disaster. Kuwaiti officials said 41 women and children died when a fire broke out at a wedding party in Kuwait City on Saturday. The inferno lasted just three minutes. Authorities said 58 injured were still in hospitals, including seven people in serious condition with severe burns. Here, burnt debris litters the area. He said Kuwaiti authorities were running DNA tests to identify the 35 women and six children killed in the fire, which left many victims unrecognizable.
Authorities were investigating the cause and al-Mansouri said it could have been faulty electrical wiring, a problem with the equipment used to keep the wedding food buffet warm or the coals used for burning incense.
He added that the fire in al-Jahra, a tribal area west of the capital, was the worst he has seen in his almost four decades of service in this small oil-rich state and close U.S. ally.
Photographs of the scene show the tent was erected in an urban area. The interior was strewn with blackened debris, including the metal frames of chairs and tables, and burnt out air conditioners, a necessity in this hot country where night temperatures in the summer are often above 100 degrees (40 degrees Celsius).
Wow. Our hearts are with the families of the victims.
Meltdown – (Thomas Woods Jr.)
Kids Like You & Me (KLYAM) 