Jackson Browne Schools John McCain, GOP
What is it with Republican candidates and Democrat musicians? Ever since Ronald Reagan tried to co-opt Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA” for his 1984 election, GOP candidates have been repeatedly bitten for using songs against the wishes of their composers. Yesterday, according to The Associated Press, Jackson Browne settled a lawsuit with the Republican…
Tiny Tim’s Ode To Climate Change
The inimitable Tiny Tim sings “The Other Side” to an audience of little kids in this mildly disturbing clip from a late-sixties Austalian TV special. “The ice caps are melting, the tide is rushing in,” he sings. “All the world is drowning, to wash away the sin.” The tune, prescient for its time, is from…
John ‘Marmaduke’ Dawson 1945-2009
The New Riders of the Purple Sage co-founder died in Mexico, where he’d been living for several years. Dawson wrote “I Don’t Know You,” “Portland Woman,” “Glendale Train,” and everything else on the group’s eponymous 1971 debut album, a dusty gem of post-Summer of Love country-rock with a Bakersfield bent. He also co-wrote “Friend of…
Pink Floyd Flies You To The Moon
On July 20, 1969, Pink Floyd jammed out am atmospheric psychedelic blues as live soundtrack to the first lunar landing. The music was for an episode of the Beeb’s “Omnibus” series titled “But What If It’s Made of Green Cheese?” The program aired before, during, and after coverage of the moon landing itself, and it…
Wal-Mart To Implement Eco Labeling
On July 16, Wal-Mart announced that it will require all of its product suppliers to calculate the environmental impact of their products. Wal-Mart will compile the information into a green rating system to be displayed alongside the product’s price tag. Since Wal-Mart is the world’s largest retailer, this move will certainly set an important example…
Matt Taibbi On Goldman Sachs
If you haven’t been reading Rolling Stone reporter Matt Taibbi on the ubiquitous government presence of the Goldman Sachs investment bank, what are you waiting for? Here’s a teaser from his long, detailed history of the company’s entanglements with a succession of administrations (if reading’s not your thing, you can watch him talk about it…
Interview: Noah Wilderman, Phish-Scene Documentarian
Filmmaker Noah Wilderman’s Maybe So, Maybe Not could be your life. Inspired by Phish’s reunion, Wilderman grabbed his camera and took his production skills into the joyfully reconvened fan community in order to document a scene on the run. Funded through donations and love, Wilderman’s project is a free-ranging, inevitably improvised film capturing a most…
How Republicans Perceive Democrats’ Health Plan
This convoluted (yet colorful!) schematic of House Democrats’ health plan by their Republican colleagues actually suggests a convincing argument for a single-payer solution. For a clearer breakdown of what House Dems are proposing, check out The Washington Post‘s summary here. via What I Learned Today
Animal Collective Snags First Official Grateful Dead Sample
Pitchfork points to a Gorilla vs. Bear post reporting a Tweet by Animal Collective’s management announcing that the Grateful Dead have cleared the group’s use of a piece of “Unbroken Chain” in a new tune, “What Would I Want Sky.” (Whew.) According to the Tweet, “Phil Lesh loved the track please pass this to the…
Interview: Ken Hays, Gathering The Vibes Since 1996
The Gathering of the Vibes has been an East Coast summer institution of Grateful Dead-centric music and hijinks since 1996, when it was founded by Ken Hays as a performance offshoot of Terrapin Tapes, his successful tapers supply source. The Vibes return to Bridgeport, Connecticut’s Seaside Park on July 23-26, with another strong lineup featuring…