Music

Pixies, Upcoming Concert Calendar

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From Rolling Stone:
Last month, the Pixies confirmed an 12-date U.K. and European tour to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Doolittle, at which they’ll perform the 1989 LP in its entirety. Now Frank Black, Kim Deal, Joey Santiago and David Lovering have confirmed they’ll be bringing the same show Stateside in November. This morning the band announced a nine-city, 14-date Doolittle birthday run that kicks off November 4th at Los Angeles’ Palladium, includes two nights in Oakland, two in Seattle, two in Chicago and three New York dates (full list after the jump). Tickets go on sale starting August 1st. As in Europe, the shows will feature all of Doolittle’s 15 tracks and related B sides, a list that includes “Weird at My School,” “Dancing the Manta Ray” and “Bailey’s Walk.” The album itself includes Pixies classics “Debaser,” “Gouge Away,” “Monkey Gone to Heaven,” “Wave of Mutilation” and “Here Comes Your Man.” A press release indicates the band is dreaming up “Doolittle-related surprises” for the shows.

Awesome! This ends an amazing three month stretch of great shows. Let me give you a brief overview of some of my personal choices for shows coming up:

On August 3, the Arctic Monkeys are coming to the Paradise. The show is sold out, but I’m still really really hoping that I will be able to buy slightly reasonable tickets. The neo-psychedelia of the Warlocks will be coming to the Great Scott on August 12. They will be backed by the impressionable slow-core  Morning After Girls. On September 5, the Pains of Being Pure at Heart, whose self-titled album was awarded a 9.6 by KLYAM, will hit the Middle East Downstairs. The Walkmen, always one of my favorite bands, will also be at the Middle East not just for one night, but for two on September 18 and 19. Normally, I wouldn’t go to two straight shows, but this is one hell of an exception. Wavves, the surf-rock group that canceled their European tour because of singer Nathan Williams’ drug bug-out, has actually produced from amazing material in the past couple of years. As long as Williams is fine, I’m sure the show should go just fine. It’s on September 27 at Great Scott. Alternative hip-hop band Why? will be at the Middle East Downstairs a week later on October 2. The next night at the same venue is another two-nights-in-a-row…this one coming from ear-damaging Dinosaur Jr. (Note: even I, a fan of noisy concerts and a lover of standing front row, will probably be at the back.)

Culture Jamming, Politics

Peltier Update!!!

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“The parole hearing was held today. In spite of scorching temps and humidity, there were several hundred people who attended and waited for several hours until attorney Eric Seitz came out and addressed the crowd. He said the FBI did not have anything new to say but that he was able to present some additional evidence on Leonard’s behalf to the board. Leonard spoke with the board and answered questions for 1-1/2 hours. The hearing officer said he would look over his documentation and make a recommendation within 24-48 hours, at which the parole board has up to 3 weeks to make a final determination. Leonard has expressed his thanks for all of the efforts made on his behalf today. Eric Seitz said he feels “optimistic.”“- from Billie Fidlin, Chair of LPDOC and from my facebook updates

Chris

News, Politics, Soccer

Palin Steps Down As Alaska Governor

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By Ben Tan — July 27, 2009

Sarah Palin resigned as Alaska governor yesterday, in front of thousands of cheering supporters.

Palin pledged to continue fighting for independence from Washington and for Americans’ personal freedoms “as that grizzly guards her cubs.”

The attendees vowed to keep Palin’s feisty, down-home political legacy alive.  The hand-over to Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell at a family-style picnic marked an unexpected end to a brief but notable governorship.  The 45-year-old hockey mom shook the Republican Party and propelled Alaska’s frontier-style, moose-meat-picnic politics into the national spotlight.

She famously described herself as a “pit bull with lipstick” last year, when she accepted the Republican vice presidential nomination.

“Let’s not start believing that government is the answer,” said Palin before a crowd of about 5,000 at Pioneer Park.

“It can’t help make you healthy or wealthy or wise. What can? It is the wisdom of the people. . . . It is God’s grace, helping those who help themselves.”

Palin, Alaska’s first female governor, stood at the podium in a conservative black pantsuit, joined by husband Todd and two of their daughters, Piper and Willow.

Palin chastised those who question why she stepped down 18 months before her term ends, showing no sadness or second thoughts.

“It should be so obvious to you,” she said.

“It is because I love Alaska this much, sir, that I feel that it is my duty to avoid the unproductive, typical politics-as-usual lame-duck session in one’s last year in office. . . . I will be able to fight even harder for you, for what is right. And I have never felt that you need a title to do that.”

She took an opportunity to criticize the media, which she claims distorted her statements and fueled controversies surrounding her.

“You represent what could and should be a respected and honest profession,” she said, “that could and should be a cornerstone of our democracy.”

“Democracy depends on you, and that is why our troops are willing to die for you. So how about in honor of the American soldier you quit making things up?

These moments of the speech drew the loudest applause.

“Our new governor has a very nice family too,” she added, “so leave his kids alone.”

economics, News, Politics

Bernanke Holds Town Hall-Style Forum

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By Ben Tan — July 27, 2009

Ben S. Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve, participated in a town hall-style forum in Kansas City, Mo. yesterday.  The forum was organized and moderated by Jim Lehrer of “The NewsHour” on PBS.  It is the latest stop in a publicity campaign with a message: the central bank is here to help, and is not as mysterious or menacing as people may think.  Bernanke took questions from local residents and disputed charges that the Fed was conspiring with big banks or stifling free-market capitalism.  

A small-business owner asked Bernanke why the Fed helped rescue big banks while “short-changing” small companies.

Bernanke replied that he had decided to “hold my nose” because he feared the entire financial system would collapse.

“I’m as disgusted by it as you are,” said Bernanke before an audience of 190.

“Nothing made me more angry than having to intervene, particularly in a few cases where companies took wild bets.”

The forum resembled that of a political candidate, and indeed Bernanke’s four-year term expires in January.  Bernanke has put himself in the public spotlight to an extent far beyond that of his predecessors, departing from the bank’s tradition as an aloof, secretive temple of economic policy.  The bank has already become more open in the decade before Bernanke took charge, and his predecessor Alan Greenspan achieved fame during his long tenure.  But Fed officials still distanced themselves from partisan politics and day-to-day business life.  

Bernanke, on the other hand, has given a television interview to “60 Minutes” on CBS, including a tour of his hometown, Dillon, S.C.  He held essentially a televised news conference and has written newspaper commentaries to explain the Fed’s efforts to fight the financial crisis.  Last week Bernanke published a lengthy commentary in “The Wall Street Journal” and testified before three separate Congressional committees.

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

Book Review: DO iT!

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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

Boston based shows/fests – DIY, punk, noise