Goodbye Campaign Finance Reform
If you were already concerned that big business had its hands in politicians’ pockets, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet. The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 Thursday to allow corporations and unions to spend as much money as they want to support or attack congressional and presidential candidates. Many, including President Obama, worry about the almighty dollar…
Thomas Friedman Nails It
Although most of “More (Steve) Jobs, Jobs, Jobs, Jobs” is devoted to National Lab Day and the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship, New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman led off today with something I suspect we’ll be hearing more of as the November elections loom larger. (Even considering the source.) The most striking feature of Barack…
New York City Civic Corps, At Your Service
Everyone knows New York City is a special place. Residents also know that New York has real problems: homelessness, joblessness, working poor, and a struggling education system are but a few of them. Last year as the global economy sank into a brutal recession, Mayor Mike Bloomberg used stimulus funding from President Obama’s American Recovery…
Dave Matthews, Peter Gabriel On Haiti Benefit Comp
Music for Relief, a nonprofit founded by Linkin Park to provide disaster relief and reverse climate change, has assembled a timely compilation you can download in exchange for a donation to assist Haiti earthquake victims. It’s a fairly poptastic assortment. Peter Gabriel’s “Heroes” is from his cleverly titled upcoming album of cover versions, Scratch My…
Interview: Thievery Corporation’s Rob Garza On D.C. Do’s And Don’ts
What reflects Washington D.C.’s vibe better than ethereal electronica with a political subtext? The recipe has been working for Thievery Corporation – producer-DJs Rob Garza and Eric Hilton – since the 1996 release of their first twelve-inch single, “2001: A Spliff Odyssey.” Pleasure and politics mingle in Thievery’s music, especially on their most recent album,…
In Defense Of Wyclef Jean
Wyclef Jean spent part of last week in Haiti, aiding in the earthquake relief process. But after raising more than $2 million through an SMS texting campaign, Jean’s Yéle Haiti foundation has come under scrutiny for poor financial management, and some question whether it’s the best organization to donate your money to. “It seems clear…
Help Us Donate To Haiti Relief
While HeadCount is usually the recipient of donations from generous supporters – right now the victims of the Haiti earthquake are in much greater need. To contribute, HeadCount will be donating 100% of the funds we collect at concerts (via raffles and donations) to Haiti relief and other natural disaster-related efforts through March 1, 2010….
Gov’t Mule, Betty Lavette, Others To Salute Who For Music Education? Oh, That Who
Michael Dorf has already raised $350,000 for music education via tribute concerts honoring Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Elton John, and R.E.M. On March 2 the New York concert promoter hopes to up the ante with an eclectic lineup saluting the Who. (Surviving members Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend are pictured at left with…
Wyclef Jean Urges Aid to Haiti
Wyclef Jean is raising for rescue efforts following the 7.0-magnitude earthquake and aftershocks that hit Haiti yesterday, leaving the country devastated and in chaos. Hundreds of thousands of mostly poor people may have died in the worst earthquake to hit the area in 200 years, and resources are desperately needed to provide the most basic…
Interview: Dengue Fever’s Zac Holtzman On ‘Electric Cambodia’
Los Angeles’s Dengue Fever has been reviving, remixing, and retransmitting the otherworldly sounds of Cambodian pop music since 2001. During its 1960s and ’70s golden age, “Khmer rock” split the difference between traditional Southeast Asian vocal styles and the blues-rock Cambodians were heard over the airwaves during the otherwise reprehensible Vietnam War. The rock was…