The Pseudoscience of Rock
Last week the number crunchers at Overthinking It produced this chart correlating the production of oil with creativity in rock. According to “The Hubbert Peak Theory of Rock, or, Why We’re All Out of Good Songs,” rock creativity topped out relatively soon after U.S. oil production (at least in the lower 48 states) – at…
DEA Changes Website Under Pressure
Last week the American Medical Association (AMA) announced its support of moving marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule II status. The AMA has refused to budge on this for decades, and opponents of marijuana law reform often cite the organization’s stance as an argument that marijuana should remain illegal. The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), which…
Feds Raid Gibson Guitars For Madagascar Rosewood
Federal agents raided Gibson Guitars‘ Nashville factory yesterday, seizing wood, guitars, computers and files. Sources told the Nashville Post that Gibson is suspected of violating the Lacey Act by helping to illegally import Madagascar rosewood into the U.S. via Germany. Clearcut logging has destroyed thousands of acres of lemur habitat unique to the island, threatening…
Dave Matthews Band Goes Deep In ‘Larger Than Life…In 3D,’ Phish To Follow
I have seen the future of entertainment a few times already this millennium. 1. The Simpsons Ride. Just do it. 2. On August 15, 2004, I watched Phish’s emotionally wrenching Coventry swan song in Manhattan’s Regal Union Square Cinema, where it was simulacast. I’ve seen Metropolitan Opera simulcasts since then at the same theater, but…
Franti the Family Man
Fresh off a hit song and rapidly becoming a household name, Michael Franti is making a television appearance in support of a cause he believes in. No, it’s not ending the war in Iraq, or peace between Israel in Palestine. The ultra-political rocker is lending his talents to “The 11th annual Home For The Holidays,”…
Interview: Nellie McKay’s Animal Objective
Singer-pianist-actor-songwriter Nellie McKay is a kitten with a whip, which she cracks at any sign of cruelty against kittens, cows, donkeys, humans, or any other mammal. Still in her midtwenties, McKay recently released her fourth album, Normal As Blueberry Pie: A Tribute to Doris Day. On this warm and loving shout-out from one fabulous blonde…
Dock Ellis’s LSD No-Hitter Animated
While LSD has a healthy rep for inspiring great art (e.g., R. Crumb, Ken Kesey, the Beatles) and great science (Francis Crick deduced the double-helix structure of DNA while tripping), it’s rarely considered much of a sports enhancer — with one important exception. On June 12, 1970, formidable yet eccentric Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Dock Ellis…
AMA Calls For Marijuana Schedule Review
To the surprise and delight of those who support medical marijuana, the American Medical Association announced Tuesday that it will call for the schedule I status of marijuana to be reviewed: “Our American Medical Association (AMA) urges that marijuana’s status as a federal Schedule I controlled substance be reviewed with the goal of facilitating the conduct…
Nashville’s Ticket Troubles
NewsChannel 5 in Nashville has been airing a sobering investigative report this week on the high cost of tickets to see country music stars such as Keith Urban and Taylor Swift. Ticket scalping is endemic through the concert business, but since when did the “workingman’s blues” cost a second mortgage on the family trailer? Reporter…
Reverb Greens Phish, Dave Matthews, O.A.R., And More
Reverb, the nonprofit dedicated to greening up tours and informing fans about sustainability, has a snazzy new video to launch its refreshed website. Since 2004, when it was founded by Guster’s Adam Gardner and his wife, Lauren Sullivan, Reverb has worked with the Dave Matthews Band, Jack Johnson, O.A.R., Maroon 5, and many other acs…