I was able to catch 3 of my favorite local bands in one night at the recent Benefit for Bernie concert being held at Mahalls. While it was a Monday night, you wouldn’t have guessed it by the crowd! It was bustling with activity - at both stages! Overall, it was a phenomenal night of music and activism. Here’s some stuff from Jaite, Muamin Collective, and times10:
I really like this blog to focus solely on music, but being as pervasive as music is, politics will creep in… I had already been planning a "Total Crush" segment to this blog (similar to Guilty Pleasure) and Ezra Furman was going to be my first post - particularly motivated by the video below. Well, then he posted this post-election blog on Tumblr which just put me over the crush edge. I think he's an incredibly smart, dynamic, connected individual who I could just fawn over all day. Oh, and his music is good too. ;-)
Ezra Furman: A Guide for the Perplexed
"I think this election was a crucial step forward in that journey toward the American dream. Obama does not suffer from the terribly persistent Republican delusion that a government that works to improve the lives of its citizenry is somehow un-American. He instead suffers from the hopeful delusion that we could be ‘all in this together.’ As someone who believes in the inescapability of a certain level of delusion, I support our president’s version of madness. It may just be the sort of hopeful madness that can actually get us somewhere real. Wish me luck at my Vienna show tonight. It’s going to be tough to conceal my patriotism and optimism. Actually, I don’t think I’m going try."
(Read the Full Post here… Ezra Furman: A Guide for the Perplexed, It’s morning in Vienna. Interesting things have...)
See him in motion… swoon.
If you've been following me for a while, you'll know I have several artists that I will always stick with, and will get buy everything they put out. Catie Curtis is one of those people, and she's just released a free MP3 from her upcoming album Stretch Limousine on Fire (8/30) to celebrate marriage equality in NY. Get it here. Album Details:
When the singer/songwriter movement boomed in the mid-90s, Catie Curtis was at its forefront. Now a veteran artist with a 15 year career, Curtis has recorded ten critically acclaimed solo albums and has had songs featured in numerous TV shows including Dawson’s Creek, Felicity,Grey’s Anatomy and Alias, as well as in films such as 500 Miles to Graceland and A Slipping Down Life.
Curtis’ new CD, STRETCH LIMOUSINE ON FIRE, is a bold statement of beauty yet simultaneously grittier—a bit more raw—than her past work. Produced by Lorne Entress (Lori McKenna, Ronnie Earl, Mark Erelli, Mighty Sam McLain) and recorded and mixed primarily in Los Angeles by noted engineer Ryan Freeland (Ray LaMontangue, Ingrid Michaelson, The Weepies), the album features guest vocalists Lisa Loeb and Mary Chapin Carpenter along with musicians Jay Bellerose (Drums), Jennifer Condos and Jesse Williams (Bass), Thomas Juliano (electric guitar),Duke Levine (Lap Steel and guitar), David Limina (Organ) and Glenn Patscha and Julie Wolf(keyboards). Standout tracks include the title cut, “Shadowbird”, “Highway del Sol” and “River Wide”. Matthew Curry, a Grammy nominated artist/designer best known for his work with Thievery Corporation, illustrated the cover and designed the CD artwork.
I have to say I barely recognize her in this picture (and don't really like it), but maybe she's trying a little reinvention or something. Whatever, we go too far back for me to care.
Oh OK Go. You're after my heart aren't you... FYI: They're coming to the Grog Shop on Wed. Oct. 13th.
OK Go on net neutrality: A lesson from the music industry
By Damian Kulash Sunday, August 29, 2010On the Internet, when I send my ones and zeros somewhere, they shouldn't have to wait in line behind the ones and zeros of wealthier people or corporations. That's the way the Net was designed, and it's central to a concept called 'net neutrality,' which ensures that Internet service providers can't pick favorites.
Recently, though, big telecommunications companies have argued that their investment in the Net's infrastructure should allow them more control over how it's used. The concerned nerds of the world are up in arms, and there's been a long, loud public debate, during which the Federal Communications Commission appeared to develop a plan to preserve net neutrality."
(Continued... OK Go on net neutrality: A lesson from the music industry)
And of course, if you haven't checked out their videos... do so here: http://www.youtube.com/user/okgo
This looks like a great film... showing at CIA this weekend.
NO ONE KNOWS ABOUT PERSIAN CATS
KASI AS GORBEHAYE IRANI KHABAR NADAREH
Iran, 2009, Bahman Ghobadi
Contemporary Tehran’s underground indie rock scene is the focus of the new film by the Iranian-Kurdish director known for his road movies and music films (A Time for Drunken Horses, Turtles Can Fly, Half Moon). Shot clandestinely without government consent, this defiant, eye-opening movie follows a young female singer and her musician boyfriend as they try to find potential band mates and then a way to leave Iran and tour Europe. Co-written by once-imprisoned Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi (Ghobadi’s fiancée). “An exhilarating examination of a leading Iranian criminal enterprise - music. More than 2,000 bands are said to operate clandestinely in the capital of Tehran, risking prison to play together.” –The Wall Street Journal. Cleveland premiere. Subtitles. 35mm. 106 min. www.ifcfilms.com/films/no-one-knows-about-persian-cats Show Times
| Jul 24 (Sat) - 7:10PM |
| Jul 25 (Sun) - 8:00PM |
