Monday 22 December 2014

Victoria Clarke interviews her partner Shane MacGowan about Fairytale of New York


At this time of year, one cannot avoid hearing the song ‘Fairytale of New York’. It is one of the most popular Christmas songs ever written. And while I am delighted and proud for Shane, the song is a constant reminder of how much we have in common with the bag lady and the tramp in the song. It also reminds me of how very lucky we are to still have each other, to have managed to stay together through very good times and very bad ones.
Over the years, I must have heard Shane sing that song thousands of times. And yet, I realised that it isn’t something we ever talk about. And so, when I was asked if I knew the story behind the song, or how long it took to write or how Shane really feels about it, I realised that I did not know any of these things. And when I did investigate, I was surprised by what I discovered...
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The Endlessly Examined Life

Kool DJ Red Alert - Live on KissFM NYC (Dec 1984)

Yan Jun
: Speakers Have A Right To Die

Abbott says his top achievement as Minister for Women was carbon tax repeal...


You CANNOT make this up

Q-Tip's message to Iggy Azalea

HipHop is a artistic and socio-political movement/culture that sprang from the disparate ghettos of NY in the early 70's / Coming off the heels of the CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT and approaching the end of the Vietnam war it was a crossroads 4 America / specially for blacks in the US our neighborhoods were PROLIFERATED w/a rush of HEROINE / our school systems here in NY dungeon traps with light for learning / blk men some of whom didn't return from tours of duty n the ones who did came w/war baggage (agent orange, addiction, ect..) / these men had families but due to these events and throw into the mix the public emasculation... / they proved to be handicapped parents. The surrogate parents? The STREETS / the streets of gangs, crimes, and the hustlers coddled us and swept us up / but! Being a spirited, rhythmic & expressive people music art dance outlined our existence / it proved a way for us to exhault to scream to dance to laugh and find OUR VOICE / we weren't at the same time skilled musicians as kids. We had records, turntables, ideas and INGENUITY / being natural chemist we took from whatever was availed to us and we created something mighty and special / we cut breakbeats back n forth we took a hybrid of Jamaican toasting along w/ radio jock rap( hank Spann, Gary Byrd, ect.) and / we put our rap down.. / it was a neighborhood thing really. Black and Latino kids were carving out their space and it became infectious / eventually Keith Cowboy coined the phrase hiphop. Yrs later the first rap record was recorded and now we r moving / but during these strides this country still had the monster of racism and racial insensitivity breathing and ruling / believe it or not young black n Latino lives specifically weren't acknowledged in mainstream American culture unless Ofcourse.. / the convo was abt gangs , being criminals or uneducated. And hey! Like I stated early our families were rushed our schools / sucked and we were left to put devices to survive / but HIPHOP showed that we had DEPTH, fire, and BRILLIANCE / the music was undeniable! It moved from NY N became national and even GLOBAL / hiphop now was FOR EVERYBODY!! All of those who cld relate to the roots, the spirit, the history, the energy.. It reached YOU / it touched your spirit n took u up. We magnetized you! That's what brilliance DOES / now u are fulfilling your dreams ... BUT! / you have to take into account the HISTORY as you move underneath the banner of hiphop. As I said before / hiphop is fun it's vile it's dance it's traditional it's light hearted but 1 thing it can never detach itself from / is being a SOCIO-Political movement. U may ask why ... Well / once you are born black your existence I believe is joined with socio-political epitaph and philos / based on the tangled and treacherous history SLAVERY alone this is the case / It never leaves our conversation... Ever. WeAther in our universities our dinner tables our studios or jail cells / the effects still resonates with us. It hurts... We get emotional and angry and melancholy / did u know president Clinton was the ONLY PRESIDENT to apologize for it? / did u know that remnants of slavery exist today thru white privilege? When certain "niceties" r extended your way because of / how u look? Isn't that crazy? I say this 2 say u are a hiphop artist who has the right 2 express herself however she wishes / this is not a chastisement this is not admonishment at ALL this is just one artist reaching to another hoping to spark insight / into the field you r in. I say this in the spirit of a hopeful healthy dialogue that maybe one day we can continue / I've been on twitter a long time and this will probably be my last series of tweets pretty much but / I'm Kool with it as long as I got to share w u. Zzzzzzz's up! Peace!
Via

Jane Bown: Samuel Beckett

R.I.P. Jane Bown

Billie Whitelaw R.I.P.

Sunday 21 December 2014

Truth


Lucinda Williams - npr Tiny Desk Concert


James Fitton: London Transport Posters (1948)

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New Riders Of The Purple Sage - Live at Beat Club Bremen (29/5/72)

The Drug-Crazed Majesty of Gram Parsons

It's the 21st of December...(Gravy Day)


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Saturday 20 December 2014

Kate & Anna Mc Garrigle, Lou Reed, Laurie Anderson and Rufus & Martha Wainwright - Blue Christmas


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NORAD's Santa Tracker Began With A Typo And A Good Sport

The race to save Peter Kassig

Interesting maybe?


Friday 19 December 2014

Pharmakon - Body Betrays Itself


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Animal Pharma - Pantomeme


The third album by Lucas Modzelewski AKA Animal Pharma - Pantomeme - was recorded in Pakenham, Melbourne CBD and the Royal Melbourne Hospital - at the expense of my guts

Spot's Gorgeous, Desolate Photos of 1970s LA

John Waters and Santa Claus Baltimore Maryland early 1950’s


HA!


Dear Jesus...


Dean Blunt: Black Metal




Black Metal
Via

New Riders of the Purple Sage with Jerry Garcia & Sandy Rothman - Glendale Train (Winterland SF 12/15/73)


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Mark E. Smith reads a Christmas ghost story

Thursday 18 December 2014

Sony cancels release of North Korea film The Interview

Jerry Garcia Loveletter To Vogue Cover Girl Up For Auction


Digital Mystics: The Strange Story of the 8-Bit Reggae Underground

Isolated No More

Underground Resistance Speaks of Music and Politics

Wednesday 17 December 2014

Rock Scully (1941-2014) R.I.P.

Rock Scully crossed the great divide this morning. I got the call he was passing just as I was about to load up the car for a visit to Monterey to see him. Those of you lucky enough to have known him know that despite his human frailties, he was a loving, gentle, bright (actually brilliant), handsome, witty and especially charming rogue who brought people together, made them laugh and grow, and had a huge, generous heart.
Our fourteen year love affair felt like it was still in full swing when I spoke to him by phone in the hospital this morning. I could hear his labored breathing and his girl friend, Christina, assured me that he was responsive to my words.
His graciousness and generosity can be summed up in the words he said to me on the day back in the summer of ’69 that we knew for sure that we were in love—When I told him I was six weeks pregnant with my then separated husband, his response was, “You will be so beautiful!” Who could resist that statement at such a vulnerable moment.
He took on Spirit (Acacia) as if she were his own, and then gave me Sage, who will be having her second child, a boy, this coming March.
The years I spent with him, and through him, the Grateful Dead, were some of the most exciting times imaginable—from Woodstock to our farm in Forestville (now the California School of Herbal Studies) to Europe and Saturday Night Live, we were part of a weird kind of rock and roll royalty, and loved every moment of it. For six years we were the New Year’s skeletons, dancing on stage at midnight, often after being dropped from the ceiling tossing roses. We measured the success of a concert by how much our cheeks hurt from smiling, and those experiences set a bar that is rarely reached to this day. It was Rock’s ticket that took me to Egypt that first time in 1978.
My dear, beloved Rock, I wish you smooth, sweet travels in the next stage of your soul’s journey.
Nicki Scully

Neil Young & The Santa Monica Flyers - Palace Theatre Manchester UK (3/11/73)

1. Tonight’s the Night
2. Mellow My Mind
3. World On a String
4. Speakin’ Out
5. Albuquerque
6. New Mama
7. Roll Another Number (For the Road)
8. Tired Eyes
9. Tonight’s the Night
10. Flying On the Ground Is Wrong
11. Human Highway
12. Helpless
13. Don’t Be Denied
Info/Download

Happy Birthday Chelsea Manning!



Supporters including Molly Crabapple, Terry Gilliam and Michael Stipe send birthday wishes
HERE

Guy in Santa costume pulls off genius bank heist during SantaCon

South Shields Graffiti

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...in case you are scratching your head

Stop Working For Free

Unpaid internships rig the system. Curb them, now