Archive for May, 2008
repetition
I heard this song the other day and got to thinking about it today on the heels of my past two days of somewhat repetitive posts. I won’t attempt to defend my choices, but I will admit that repetition kills if not used wisely and sparingly… although the mortality rate is still way lower than that of a war (okay, okay… I’ll stop). Enjoy this forthcoming release by the Black Ghosts and the happy dance (an homage to the dance in Jean-Luc Godard’s ‘Band à part‘, I understand), and all the other smiles that come with it, and do have a fresh rest of the day.
While we’re at it with the Black Ghosts, here’s another fun pairing of song and video that makes me wanna do the happy dance. It’s called “I Want Nothing”. Now if I could only want for nothing (but the love of…). An interesting concept to contemplate, yes?
Lastly, while we’re at it with the Black Ghosts and repetition, I’ll sparingly use some more of each come June 18. You’ll understand.
black cat
Here’s something from the recently released new cd by Ladytron, Velocifero. This electroni-cat purrs in French. May it fire you up for a luck and fun filled weekend.
I’ll spare you too much info on the political buzz of the week, former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan’s memoir “What Happened“. If you’ve not yet heard about it you either live under a rock or more likely you’re totally over the political banterings of all the pundits out there and simply stopped listening (which is probably way better for the blood pressure). Anyhoo, although I’ve not yet read it, it seems that there’s quite a stir brewing at the Bush digs (not to mention Fox News); scathing! scandalous! disgruntled! Ha! More like blowing a whistle on a runaway train, and a long time coming. Hear his very believable and very unsurprising story first hand, at least pieces of it, here.
On another note but closely related to both my previous entry earlier in the week and also “What Happened” above, if you’re home this Friday night you may want to tune into Bill Moyer’s Journal on PBS:
Bill Moyers fantastic one hour special on Body of War will be
re-broadcast on PBS nationwide tomorrow, May 30th.
Check your local listings for broadcast time.
* * * * *
Check Nationwide Theatrical Openings at
Tomas Young, a 26-year-old veteran, was shot and paralyzed after serving 5 days in Iraq. His story is told in the critically acclaimed antiwar feature documentary Body of War, produced and directed by legendary talk show host Phil Donahue and award-winning filmmaker Ellen Spiro. The film features two original songs by Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam.
Body of War is an intimate human drama wrapped in a political documentary — full of emotion, humor and hope. As the paralyzed veteran Tomas deals with his disability, he evolves into a new person, finding his own passionate voice against the war. Body of War also captures the historic debate in the Congress in the fall of 2002 authorizing the war and celebrates those that stood up against the rush to invade.
Body of War was voted “Best Documentary of the Year” by the National Board of Review, nominated for “Best Documentary” by the Producers Guild of America, and received multiple audience awards at film festivals from Toronto to Palm Springs. It’s been acclaimed in the media and by the public. Everyone who has seen the film says that everyone should see it.
A companion double-CD compilation “Body of War: Songs that Inspired an Iraq War Veteran” is available from Sire Records.
war
Hello everyone and happy summer. It’s been awhile since I’ve posted anything but I’ve been stockpiling some new music (no Death Cab or Coldplay here; their new releases are great but I’m sure you’ll be hearing them everywhere else in the world until you don’t want to hear them again for awhile, so I’ll leave that to your professional mainstream dj), and yes, finally going to print soon with those new designs I’ve been promising so thanks for continuing to check in and know that some product updates are in the works.
I thought I’d dive in again on this Memorial Day with something old and somethings new. The older one is unfortunately timeless, especially given the state of the world and this nation in particular - again. An impressive and extensive history of the song War is available by clicking on the link. In brief, the Temptations were the first to record it. It was included on their 1970 album “Psychedelic Shack”. Motown had no intention of releasing it as a single, but many people protesting the Vietnam War made it clear that it would be a big hit if they did. Since Motown head Berry Gordy had other plans for The Temptations, he had Edwin Starr record it and his version was released as a single. It was #1 on the charts for three weeks and Starr won a Grammy for Best R&B Male Vocal. This is a classic, and war is nothing but a heartbreak, good for absolutely nothing. Go ahead, say it again:
The other one is much newer. “Light Up Ya Lighter” was originally on Michael Franti’s “Yell Fire” in 2006 and more recently found amongst the music of many other artists on the soundtrack of a Phil Donahue/Ellen Spiro film in very limited release called “Body of War“. I guess I’d feel remiss if I didn’t point out that in as much as we tend to associate Memorial Day with the fun-filled onset of the summer season, its about our soldiers, active and veteran, dead and alive. We are at war and they are there, not on a sandy beach or a sunny slope in their homeland but over there, fighting for their lives and God only knows what else or why at this point 5 years and 2+ months later. Do enjoy your day, and do enjoy your summer, and do pray for those who cannot.
Click here to view a trailer of “Body of War” and go see it if you have the opportunity, and say (or sing) it too: NO MORE… Written by Eddie Vedder for Tomas Young, the 25-year-old Iraqi War veteran featured in the film, who joined the service after 9/11 to fight in Afghanistan and find bin Laden but was deployed to Iraq instead, and was paralyzed one week into his tour by a bullet to his spine.
One of the current Green Tee causes directly addresses the plight of war veterans and their families. Read more about the Disabled American Veterans Charitable Service Trust here. Buy a tee or send something directly. Light up ya lighter for the troops. Make peace.
Other “Body of War” Links
Phil Donahue: Body of War - In his own words
“Donahue Tackles Iraq” from Wired Magazine
buildings and mountains
Today was a strange and wonderful day in the Green Tee hometown of San Diego. Wonderful in that in a volunteer effort for another organization I’m affiliated with, some friends and I went to research and photograph some urban, mixed-use projects reflective of “smart growth principles“. In a region that doesn’t seem to take a breather from growing, we should attempt to do so intelligently, yes? Anyway, the road took us to places none of us had been before, areas that were mixed (ethnically) and used (every square inch) and ever so vibrant. It was a great adventure.
The strange was the amount of wait lists, people, traffic, accidents, sirens and just about everything else going on on that aforementioned road. Mountains of everything (see where I’m going with this?). We knew about the Red Bull Air Show going on, and the much buzzed about opening of the new Children’s Museum. Then there was the much unanticipated pipe bomb explosion in the San Diego Federal Building (an itsy-bitsy bomb(!) that went off in the middle of the night - causing no injuries but an understandable traffic glitch still at 11:00am). Did I mention the (street closing) stick ball tournament? A hectic pace at best. Getting through it all was a little like (you guessed it) climbing a mountain. I’ve come home now, and battened down the hatches.
Hope you enjoy this Sunday song by Republic Tigers. Have a wonderful, peaceful week, and may all of your missions be truly accomplished.
A revisit to the old faithful You Tube today…
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Tee of the Month
