Would You Rather: Live in the present world, or a wolrld without slavery but also no chairs?

Yesterday I stumbled upon a National Geographic from January 1998. The cover article was about making sense of the closing millennium. Remember how cool it was to think, "in two years it's gonna be the year 2000, man!" The article was so intriguing that I swiped it from the waiting room. One of the sentences from the following excerpt about what human culture was like 1,000 years ago stayed with me for the rest of the day. See if you can guess which:

"Circa AD 1000: While far from creating a world culture, trade increasingly moves ideas. Scandinavians carry notions of a popular assembly to present-day Russia. It does not last. The chair becomes commonplace in China. Bean cultivation spreads in North America. The slave trade flourishes; Slavs and Africans are major sources. Ten percent of England's people are slaves, mostly from Europe. Economic hardship prompts many families to sell children"

The accompanying article in the "Human Culture" section of this "Making Sense of The Millennium" article is about modern day child slavery. But it was the sentence about the chair that I kept thinking about as the day went on. I hope that don't sound heartless. It's just never occurred to me how much I take chairs for granted. For all our luxuries, the chair is the one I can't live without. And to think, it's only one thousand years old. How far we've advanced.

But then I was listening to Coast to Coast (Yes, I'm a cool guy. Thanks for noticing.) later that night, and had to reconsider this view that we're living in an extraordinarily advanced culture. George Norry's guest was talking about how primitive our civilization is because we're not part of an inter-galactic government, a la Star Wars. There were also lots of Carl Sagen and Star Trek references in this discussion. So, which is it? Are we incredibly advanced, incredibly primitive?

The point is, the chair thing really put things in perspective for me. I'm damn glad I live in a time where chairs are available. But then there's also children being sold into slavery. How do I wrap my head around it all?

Well, one thing I do is listen to music.

I posted this review on HaveYouHeard.net last week. The band is Part Bear, the album is Par Bear. I gave it a favorable review and did enjoy listening to it, but I haven't listened to it since finishing up the review. So do I really like it? Only time will tell.

Did you know Limp Bizket is reuniting? For a band that I can't listen to, I've always appreciated Limp Bizkit. I was a camp counselor for 12 year old boys at the height of their popularity. The way the cool/nice kids who weren't popular held on to bands, specifically Korn, Blink 182, and Limp Bizket, astounded me. These were important bands to kids who were going through their coming of age years. This music spoke to them when they most needed someone to speak to them and them and say: you're not alone. Sure, the message may have been, "I also like the break stuff and pretend I'm a hip-hop/rock star," but it was a connection nonetheless. Slate.com posted an article in defense of Limp Bizkit in anticipation for what may be their second act.

Paul Shirley, the ex-NBA 12th man, wrote a similar defense of Nickleback last week.

Here's a video that was put up on HaveYouHeard.net this week. It's from the Hold Steady's keyboard player. I listened to the whole album earlier this week. My response after one listen: I happy with having the single on line, no need to listen to the whole thing again.


Ready to have your mind blown? Here's the caption from the picture at the start of this post, from the same Nat Geo:

"In pre-Columbian times, Native Americans etched the Mojave Desert with images of their creator, Mastamho, and his spirit helper, a mountain lion. Tire tracks from recreational vehicles add the scrawls of modernity."

A New Take On Race and Rock and Roll from SFJ's Archives, DOOM, Phish, and P.O.S.

It's been a while since I've updated this blog, so here are a few links, with one of my own hidden in there. Oh, and that picture? Just two bears kickin' it in Russia. I snagged it from Nat Geo's website.

I was actually inspired to post something today after randomly coming across this year-and-a-half old Sasha Frere-Jones New Yorker article about race and 20th century music. It starts with an observation at an Arcade Fire show. It's not the article you might expect. It zigs when you expect it to zag. There's plenty to take umbrage with, but this man knows his music history. It's a unique point of view. For example, he doesn't chastise Elvis for stealing black music, but praises him for not discriminating when selecting his influences. It's also the first SFJ article I've read where he gets personal and talks about his experience in a band. I highly recommend spending 15 minutes or so to read up on this link. If you like reading about music, this is perfect.

I ended up at that article after a google expedition set off by an email from my editor at Flagpole asking if I wanted to review a book titled The Real Hiphop. I said yes.

I bought the new MF DOOM CD last week after reading this headline. So far, I'm not as impressed. But I'm not ready to give up yet.

Someone over at some obscure website reviewed the bootleg from Phish's first show back. Although it may have been an April Fools joke.

It's been hip-hop heavy lately since I decided to check out that MF DOOM CD. Next week my review of RZA's latest production should be in Flagpole and I'm soaking in a new one from a new to me rapper/producer named P.O.S. It's one of the more engaging albums I've heard in a long time. Here's a link to his cover of Pearl Jam's "Why Go." Or just watch it below:

South By Southwest (SXSW) Extraveganza!

Last week I spent five days in Austin, TX for SXSW. On day four I met Craig Finn and Tad Kubler from The Hold Steady. That's the photo above. Unfortunately, I only got to hear The Hold Steady speak and didn't make it out to one of their shows.

Bands I did see: Okkervil River, Manchester Orchestra, M. Ward, The Avett Brothers, The Decemberists, The Uglysuit, Blitzen Trapper, Lonnie Walker, Jessica Lee Mayfield, Tori Amos, Vetiver, Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears, Gringo Star, Explosions In The Sky, Heartless Bastards, The Bridges, Eleisha Eagle, CLP, and Ben Harper

I wrote about my daily experience for HaveYouHeard.net. I also stopped by Big Ralph Studios for a podcast yesterday.

1. Day One
   
2. Day Two
3. Day Three
4. Day Four
5. Podcast

No other links. Recuperation time.

Phish, Illinoize, Ryan Adams, Ishues, SXSW, and, of course, Newspapers

They did it. Phish finally got back together. You can download their three Hampton concerts from their website, which, unfortunately, are no longer free. I've been listening to the first show for about a week now. Solid stuff.

If you're more into hip-hop and indie rock, then this should make your head explode. I found it on Paste magazine's website. It's remixed version of Sufjan Steven's Illinoise, appropriately titled, Illinoize.

I wrote a review of a recent Ryan Adams concert for Creative Loafing's Crib Notes. Stay tuned to see if I respond to commenter Elizabeth. The review is a follow up to my article on his October concert. You can link to that article in the begining of this review.

I also wrote a story about Athens rapper, Ishues, who went to Zimbabwe earlier this year. This is my favorite thing I've written in this short career.

I'm heading to South By Southwest (SXSW) in two days. I'm not sure what to expect, but am excited to hear music in Austin, TX for four straight days. I know who I'd like to hear, but who knows what I'll make it to. And although I have no expectations, I will be elated if I finally get to see the Avett Brothers and a reunited Reflection Eternal.

I'm prepping for the festival/convention with a heavy dose of All Songs Considered. I recommend the latest podcast as well as the streaming Austin 100. It looks like you won't find better coverage anywhere else.

Nonetheless, stay tuned for blog postings on HaveYouHeard.net as well as an appearance on the next live cast. I'll be calling them later today to work out the details.

Finally, if you've been following this blog, you know I've kept a keen eye on the the fate of newspapers. Last week, David Carr of the New York Times wrote a call to arms and lists step by step what the papers need to do to survive. Step 1: No More Free Content. As of today, March 16, 2009, you can read this article for free.

What Mardi Gras Isn't, Crocs, Moon Landing, Blitzen Trapper, New AV Club Feature, God, and Ryan Adams

1) A follow up to two posts ago: I ended up driving back home for Mardi Gras and had a great time. I forgot that it's my favorite holiday. It's reputation is nothing like the reality. I find that when people ask me how it was, I need to explain that it wasn't a Girls Gone Wild video.

2) Another follow up: the picture above is something of a follow up to the horse fetus photo from last month. Both are from National Geographic and remind me of the bizarreness of conception, and life in general. Here's the caption from the mag:

"Thailand - In a race to emerge at the Sriracha Tiger Zoo, one eight-Siamese crocodile wins by a head. Few such crocs exist in the wild, yet 20,000 are born each year during the zoo's May-to-August hatching festival."

You can find more photos like that here.

3) I had two articles published last week. One on an album by a band called We Landed On The Moon! The other was a feature on Blitzen Trapper, possibly my new favorite band. Not that it was an easy interview. Hopefully I keep writing stories like this, cause I think I could get better.

4) Another great feature on the AV Club. The last one I fell in love with was Popless, where the writer, Noel Murray, decided not to listen to new music for a year and instead revisit his lifetime collection in alphabetical order. In this one, a hip-hop loving writer, Nathan Rabin, decides to dive into the world of Country music and see what all the fuss is about. I love a few things about this initial essay on the ordeal, especially this paragraph were we find out an intense tidbit of personal information about the author which leads to a greater truth about the appeal of hip-hop:

"It was a natural fit. Hip-hop was the music that spoke most directly to me. It was the music I’d run home to listen to on Yo! MTV Raps and The Box after a long day of playing hooky. It was the music we gravitated toward in the group home where I grew up, the culture that spoke angrily and provocatively toward our collective anxieties, fantasies, and desires. It was the soundtrack of my tortured adolescence and marginally less tortured adulthood."

5) Lastly, a link to an article from Slate, "Good Book: What I learned from reading the bible." I'm tempted to cut and paste his second to last paragraph here because it come very close to summing up my own view on religion. Instead, I'll leave it as a link and highly recomend the reader follow up on it. I'll also print it out for my father. I think this is what he was trying to teach me during all those Friday night Shabbat discussions.

6) One more thing: I'm going to an accoustic Ryan Adams show tonight. I'm cautiously excited for this, as I am for most things in life, becuase last time I saw him he walked off stage 30 minutes in and I thought his last album was a complete dud.

Thoughts and Links On: Newspapers on the Internet, the Future of Radio, Late Night TV, Israel, Bono, and Wilco.

A follow up to last weeks observation that all my links were to content you would have to pay for if you were not using the internet. Slate examines exactly what information people are willing to pay for online. The answer: Porn and Consumer Reports.

Also from Slate, a proposed business strategy for Sirius XM to embrace the internet, specifically podcasting. The article explains that the most convenient and satisfying ways to listen to music and talk shows is no longer radio. It started with Napster and the ipod, and now applications for the iphone are taking it to the next level. The piece also includes the nice tidbit that the man who first started Sirius (Martin Rothblatt) is now a woman (Martine).

Speaking of changes, for some reason I'm fascinated by the upcoming changes in late night talk shows even though I rarely watch them. This article from the New York Times explains why late night network TV is so resistant to change. This article anticipates Jimmy Falon's takeover of Late Night starting this Monday. I especially liked the part where he recognizes that every Will Ferral fan hates him because he was giggling the whole way through his "Best of SNL" DVD.

Also, and I forget which article this was in, but it's funny that on his last show, Conan gave a heartfelt monologue about what a huge comedic inspiration Letterman was, and then simply thanked Leno for being a nice guy. Here's a Rolling Stone interview with Dave Letterman from earlier this year (and one from 1993, and one from 1985). Good insight into a man who seems completely comfortable with being number 2. Who knew somenone who has nice things to say about everyone could be so interesting. And while we're here, here's Jimmy Kimmel's New York Times magazine feature from right before he started his show. He completely dismisses Jay Leno.

Moving on to the Middle East, an article a friend from Israel sent me this week that sums up my frustration on getting the straight story and forming what I want to be an objective opinion on the subject. It's another New York Times link that's online for free. If you wanted to read the print version, the Sunday Times would cost you $5. So are you a sucker if you buy the print version. Seems like it. But you're also contributing to killing off writers getting paid for pieces like this. And by "you", I mean "me."

Links about music:

Another free article from the Times, this one about U2 and thier new album out next week, No Line On The Horizon. I always find Bono fasinating. Here's a glimpse:

Bono added: “I feel as an artist that my job is to try and understand the forces that are shaping the world that our songs occupy. And maybe, if you get a chance, try to shape it."

What? You think he's arrogant? Or is just willing to talk about himself as an artist and not just a dude, which would come off a much cooler, but possibly less honest.

And finally, I learned on Pitchforkmedia.com that Wilco has a new album coming in June. This news item has a very funny response to the Rolling Stone reaction after hearing a few songs.

To Go, Or Not To Go

To Mardi Gras, that is. Today I decide if a last minute drive to New Orleans is in my future. Here in Atlanta, my brother is having a child. But the question is: how much can an uncle really do? At the hospital this afternoon, I'll ask Ben if he needs my help this weekend. If he says no, besides two 7 hour drives, nothing is holding me back. If I go, I get to go to my favorite concert of the year, every year: The Wild Magnolia Indians at Le Bon Ton after Toth.

Here's a small link explaining these wild dudes.

On to more links that kept me interested this week:

Michael Lewis wrote his "Moneyball" for Basketball article for the New York Times Magazine last Sunday. It's caused quite a stir on the sports blogasphere. I first linked to it from The Big Lead. Then Deadspin wrote a defense of it. I didn't even know it was under attack. And my favorite podcast, Bill Simmons' The BS Report discussed it (it's the one where he interviews John Hollinger). Basically, the idea behind the article is that Basketball stats are useless in evaluating a players value to the team. Well, not completely useless, but you get the idea. And Michael Lewis is always a joy to read.

Did you know he went to my high school? Yes, his name is also Michael and he also went to Newman. But he went on write for the New York Times and marry MTV News harlot Tabitha Soren. Living the dream.

Another writer, and friend this time (at least on facebook), who went to Newman and writes for a national publication is Adam Kushner. He's rising in the ranks over at Newsweek and this week published an interesting interview with Mustafa Barghouthi. Who is Barghouthis? As the preamble for the interview says, he 's a "Palestinian cardiologist-cum-reformist legislator, would be a lonely man, having abandoned both Fatah and Hamas to form his own party." Lots of insight into the state of cardiology in the middle east here. Kidding, of course. This guy is is supposedly the only Palestinians talking with both Fatah and Hamas. The article sheds some light into what this possibly level headed Palestinian insider forecasts for the future. Surprise, it's gonna be rough.

But the most interesting link of the week is from The Atlantic magazine. First, I heard of Ta-Mehisi Coates when Terry Gross interviewed him on Fresh Air this week. Intrigued, I followed the link to read his article about Michelle Obama. Intrigued even more, I clicked play on the video I posted below. It's his father grilling him about the first line in the article: "The First Time I saw Michelle Obama in the flesh, I almost took her for white."




Isn't it interesting how the three above articles appear in publication that, supposedly, you have to pay for, but here they are for free. And you wonder why print Journalism is dying. It's because of people like us! Here's an article from The Huffington Post about it. And to make things full circle, it links to an article by Michael Lewis as well an article by another Newman alum, Walter Isaacson.

Interestingly enough, this 'death of newspaper' thing effected me personally this week. My article about Georgia rapper, Ishues, didn't get published in Flagpole this week because they cut the newspaper down 4 pages cause of lack of ads. Maybe it'll run next week. If not, my Blitzen Trapper article will run for sure. I feel like I'm in high school again, telling my parents that this week I'll actually get some playing time in the JV football game. Hopefully we don't get the same outcome.