Iceland’s Suffering Animals
No, the Eyjafjallajökull volcanic eruption isn’t only about inconvenienced airline passengers or the canceled premiere of Iron Man 2. Iceland’s animals are in danger of fluoride poisoning and other maladies as a result of inhaling the volcano’s toxic ash. Hundreds of farms were evacuated after the eruption. Afterward, many farmers had trouble even locating their…
Depth Perceptions: ‘Phish 3D’
Brooklyn’s Pavilion Cinema stunk like a skunk farm during last night’s premiere of Phish 3D. Even the friendly ushers were complaining. Didn’t they realize it was 4/20, our national day of marijuana abuse? (Tell it to the nitrous dealers defiling my local park across the street.) And if you thought you could avoid the annoyance…
What Are You Doing For Earth Day? (VIDEO)
Earth Day celebrates its 40th Anniversary tomorrow, and plenty of folks have suggestions on how to celebrate. The New York Times ran a column called “For Earth Day, 7 New Rules to Live By” suggesting that the new green movement add a shade of “blue-sky open mindedness” to its repertoire (“New Nukes” is the new…
Widespread Panic Raising Funds and Awareness for Musician Health
Widespread Panic may be one of the ultimate American party bands, but they haven’t forgotten the dark reality that many musicians struggle with health and personal issues. With that in mind, they’re throwing their support behind Nuçi’s Space a nonprofit from their hometown of Athens, Georgia that serves the musician community with suicide prevention programs and…
Sting, Weir, Roots To Play Climate Rally In DC
Sting, John Legend, the Roots, Jimmy Cliff, Passion Pit, Bob Weir, Willie Colón, Joss Stone, Robert Randolph, Patrick Stump, Mavis Staples, and Booker T will help celebrate Earth Day’s 40th birthday this Sunday during a possibly massive Climate Rally on the National Mall. Scheduled speakers at the 11 a.m. event include the Rev. Jesse Jackson,…
Polatik’s Tea Party Rap
If this doesn’t kill rap to death, nothing will. Polatik, a “26 year old Texan who has gone from convict to community leader in three short years,” lays out the movement’s tenets behind some ponderous beats. Meanwhile, the video concentrate’s on the Party’s dozen or so black members. And as Polatik reassures us, “it’s not…
Robbie Conal, Political Animal
Robbie Conal is to protest art what Bob Dylan used to be to protest music – an eviscerating force to be reckoned with. The son of a pair of Marxist-Leninist union organizers (he recalls “dinnertime quizzes about use value”), Conal was raised in New York City during the fifties as your typical “red diaper baby,”…
HeadCount Food & Farm Policy Issue Update: The Unsettling Truth About Food & Advertising
It’s about time! The media has turned some serious attention on the marketing practices behind so-called “organic” food products. The limited and often inaccurate information available to consumers regarding food makes it difficult to know whether our dollars are supporting the type of industry we can believe in. The biggest shocker came last week when Mother Jones…
Happy Record Store Day
Tomorrow, April 17, is Record Store Day – a day to celebrate and support your favorite local independent record store. More than 700 independently owned record stores across the U.S., and hundreds of international stores, will take part in this event. The goal is to bring customers into shops who now have to compete with…
How Little Do Musicians Earn Online?
Well, this is depressing – especially for working musicians who think they can still make a living wage from selling those anachronistic items known as “albums,” or even “downloads.” Responding to self-serving organizations that claim to protect musicians’ digital rights, David McCandless has come up with this nifty chart at his Information Is Beautiful blog…