DAILY NEWS: COULD NORTH PHILLY be the homeland of OZ? Of course we’re not talking about the Wonderful Wizard from the movie classic. We’re talking about “OZ,” the prolific and pesky graffiti vandal who has scrawled his “tag” on structures all over Philadelphia for more than 20 years, costing the city thousands of dollars to clean up. So who is OZ — this person who prowls the city at night armed with an arsenal of aerosol cans? OZ, much like the movie character, might turn out to be just an ordinary man. Like, say, a 37-year-old who works at a […]
TONITE: Military Industrial Complexion
RADIO TIMES: JEREMY SCAHILL has been a critic of Blackwater Worldwide, a private security contractor that has participated in military operations in Iraq and New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Scahill continues to write about Blackwater and the company’s plans for further operations. His most recent article is “Blackwater’s Private Spies” published in the June 23rd edition of The Nation. LISTEN USA TODAY: Today, at 38, [Erik] Prince, chief of Blackwater USA, has a real army or at least the makings of one, with weapons, aircraft, armored vehicles and a thousand or more battle-hardened security personnel…Prince landed an internship in the […]
RADIO ON: Who’s Laughing Now?
CNN MONEY: Satellite radio subscriber growth is flat, the likely victim of a slowing U.S. economy and waning interest in the once-novel medium. Meanwhile cash is running dry. Last month, citing heavy debt costs, a tightening credit market and sluggish car sales, Goldman Sachs analyst Mark Wienkes slashed his stock price targets for Sirius and XM, raising the prospects that there may be a financial black hole ahead for the combined company. If so, analysts expect Sirius-XM to take a hard look at programming costs, either by waiting until existing contracts expire or using the onset of a financial crisis […]
KILLADELPHIA: One More Dead Since U Went To Bed
INQUIRER: A North Philadelphia man was killed in a hail of gunfire late last night in the city’s Crescentville section, police said. Ari Weston, 19, was shot multiple times in the chest about 11:15 p.m. near Tacony Creek Park. Police found Weston’s bullet-ridden body at the intersection of Rising Sun and Olney Avenues. Weston was taken to Einstein University Hospital where he was pronounced dead just before midnight. Police have made no arrests and the motive for the shooting is unknown.
TODAY I SAW: Hope In The Ruins
BY JEFF DEENEY Chester is the archetypal once-thriving small American city left to die in the post-industrial flux of globalization. The steel industry, ship building and other manufacturing that used to fuel the local economy have long since evaporated, the city’s population halved since its 1950s heyday. Chester today is largely black and extremely poor. Its economic decline is readily apparent to even the casual surveyor of its housing stock; boarded up, abandoned buildings and vacant store fronts with faded marquees dot the downtown streets. Some homes were neglected for so long that their roofs eventually caved in, causing the […]
PHAWKER EXCLUSIVE: The Man Who Howled Wolf
BY JON MICHALS The reason for my weekend trip to Columbus, Ohio was twofold; one to give Ohio a purple nurple for its role in recent elections, two to see Tom Waits. Both missions accomplished. Boo Ya! I made the 7 hour drive out with my friend Mike and this little Chihuahua named Carlos who had some sort of skin disease (don’t ask). Tom came into Columbus, Ohio and literally took over the town for the night. Every bar you went to was playing Tom songs. Every dude in town was a bearded thirty something that you knew was […]
COMING UP: The Man Who Howled Wolf
We sent photographer Michael T. Regan out to Columbus, Ohio, to shoot a concert by our old pal Tom Waits. Sadly, Columbus was the closest the tour comes to Philadelphia. Lucky for you, we will have a complete report and a killer slide show, please standby…
We Know It’s Only Rock N’ Roll But We Like It
JOCKO HOMO: Devo, Festival Pier, Last Night 1. Prophets are easily mistaken for jesters or fools, or worse. Understood by a precious few in their day, and largely dismissed as a novelty act by the general public, even by many who bought their records, Devo’s core message was in fact deadly serious: It’s the end of the world as we know it. And we laughed. Thirty years later, Al Gore said the same thing and they gave him the Nobel Peace Prize. 2. Waiting for Devo to come on Saturday night, a friend asked why they were on tour now, […]
TRAGIC: Suicidal Supermodel Plunges To Death
AFP: A fashion model from Kazakhstan has fallen from her New York City balcony and plunged nine stories to her death in what police called an apparent suicide, New York newspapers said. Ruslana Korshunova, who was to turn 21 on July 2, was known for her long chestnut locks and a “fairytale” face which graced the covers of Russian Vogue and French Elle magazines. “I turned around just as she was about three feet (one metre) off the ground and then, boom, she hit,” witness Ahmed Saad, 22, who was manning a nearby halal food cart, told the New York […]
THE HOLD STEADY: The Swish
FYI: They go on at 6 PM at the Festival Pier today; Devo goes on at 9:30
We Know It’s Only Rock N’ Roll But We Like It
FINE PRINT: Times New Viking, JB’s Last Night [Photo by TIFFANY YOON] BY SIMONE SECCI FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT I have to admit that I was suckered at this one. Fooled as many people by a fake press release, that displayed Times New Viking as a supergroup including former Pavement bass player Mark Ibold, I went to Johnny Brenda’s thinking that I would find a bunch of aged indie rockers in front of me. Instead I found this heterogeneous trio of twenty somethings from Columbus, Ohio. But Let’s start from the beginning: First on stage Fnu Ronnies local band I believe, devoted […]
NPR FOR THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t
FRESH AIR The American Film Institute recently listed its picks for the Top 10 American films in 10 popular genres. From unforgettable sci-fi to classic Westerns, the lists include some of the most influential works in American cinema. Fresh Air continues a series reflecting on some of those great films.Today, archival interviews with an actor, a director, a writer and a producer whose work is among the best of the best: Director Martin Scorsese received two nods on the AFI’s lists. Scorsese has been nominated for seven Academy Awards and won the Oscar in 2007 for The Departed. His 1980 […]
EARLY WORD: Pretty On The Inside
Due to health issues, Public Record has canceled. Doors and DJ’s at 9, Novenas on at 11, Rarebirds on at 11:45. Cover is now just $5.