A Visit To Planet Paprika
“Some say that I come from Russia, some think that I come from Africa. But I’m so exotic, I’m so erotic, ’cause I come from the Planet Paprika.” I’m not quite sure why I love this track as much as I do. Turned on to Shantel thanks to Richard Goldstein’s smart take on the French…
Hey Vegetarians, Can I Interest You In a Little Neurotoxin?
Think you’re making the healthy choice by eschewing meat? If you’re opting for a non-organic veggie burger made by Boca Burger, Garden Burger or Morningstar (among others) you may be in for a surprise. Earlier this week Mother Jones’ Kiera Butler cited a Cornucopia Foundation study finding the majority of veggie burgers on the market…
Simon Posford: Electronic Music On The Live Circuit
Simon Posford, has become almost as well known in the U.S. as he is in his native England, after a series of collaborations with the Disco Biscuits and other festival circuit staples. His various incarnations include Hallucinogen, Schpongle and Younger Brother, the latter of which includes DJ Benji Vaughan and, when performing as a full…
Interview: Bob Weir Part 4 – At Home In The White House
“These days when I go to D.C. I go to the White House and I do business….I feel like I belong there. I think we all belong there.” Those are the words of HeadCount board member Bob Weir, who has been a semi-frequent guest at the White House along with other members of the Grateful…
Sting Calls For End To War On (Some) Drugs
Sting has released an open letter calling for an end to America’s war on drugs. He claims the failed effort is both a violation of personal liberty and of human rights. How so? In 2009, after Mexican President Felipe Calderon announced he would escalate the country’s drug war, drug-related murders exceeded 7,000. Today that number…
The Life And Times Of ‘Plastic Bag’
Drop whatever you’re doing and take 18 minutes to watch Plastic Bag, an amazing film by Ramin Bahrani that chronicles the life cycle of a random plastic bag. German director Hans Werner Herzog (Grizzly Man, etc.) is the voice of the ubiquitous disposable, which comes to existence in the supermarket before enjoying a robust relationship…
Roger Waters Taking ‘The Wall’ On The Road
The Wall, Pink Floyd’s 1979 double-album mega-ode to teenage sturm und drang, was in large part a Roger Waters solo effort – with ambitious art design to match the Floyd founding member’s arena-ready ego. In 1980-81 the band toured the world, embellishing their music with amazing Gerald Scarfe illustrations, projected onto a 40-foot cardboard wall…
Eric Massa Caught In Riptide of Auto-Tuning
My favorite part of the latest/greatest episode of “Auto-Tune the News” is when Katie Couric sings about wanting to “surf the web without getting caught up in a rip-riptide of lies.” Also: Tickle-happy former congressman Eric Massa describes his fiftieth birthday festivities to Glenn Beck and special Joel Madden appearance!
Eatings With Remarkable Musicians
Released in 1971, the Hampton Grease Band’s Music to Eat is a minor masterpiece of Southern freak-blues. At the time, however, it acquired a probably untrue reputation as Columbia Records’ worst selling album (next to a Maharishi Mahesh Yogi yoga instructional record). The Hampton Grease Band was fronted by Col. Bruce Hampton, who went on…
Marines Fight Taliban With Metallica, Thin Lizzy, Offspring
Everyone knows how much the Taliban hates music – with some exceptions. As I wrote in the Village Voice way back in November 2001: Afghan pop and musiqui (secular instrumental music…have become so proscribed that wary drivers took to jamming tapes of Taliban chants recounting the jihadic victories of Islamist martyrs into tape decks as…