TIME: Even after three decades, Gennady Tseuma remembers the wavering call to prayer that went up clear over the hillside village. It floated out over the fields and river and pierced the early morning hush on the Bangi Bridge. Tseuma, then a Soviet soldier assigned to a small force guarding the river crossing in northern Afghanistan’s Kunduz province, recalls a feeling of dread when he heard the sound. Like many of the conscripts serving in the Red Army in Afghanistan, Tseuma was bored and undisciplined, and after 10 months of service, curiosity finally got the best of him. The […]
CONTEST: Win Tix To See Sean Rowe @ WCL
With a dulcet baritone perched somewhere between the subwoofer-shaking pipes of Mark Lanegan and Leonard Cohen , Sean Rowe commands the kind of gravitas usually associated with fiery-eyed Old Testament prophets or mud-caked Delta bluesmen whenever he opens his mouth. An avowed naturalist who has done monsths-long survivalist stints in the wilderness living off nothing but his wits and fortitude and the fat of the land, Rowe also vibes a certain Thoreau-ian mien that only serves to reinforce his cred as a rough-hewn, antiquarian folkie that can reduce noisy bars to pin-drop silence with nothing more than an acoustic […]
WORD: The Boy Who Kicked The Hornets’ Nest
BY JONATHAN VALANIA FOR MAGNET The NoMad Hotel is one of those swanky bubbles boutique hotels that bejewel the tonier provinces of lower Manhattan. It is here, in this New Gilded Age outpost situated in the fragrant heart of the Perfume District, that The Hives have decamped for a four day charm offensive on Gotham’s media elite, fresh off a triumphant return to the stage-and-screen with a headlining slot at Coachella and a riotous studio lot performance for the Jimmy Kimmel Show. Inside the library lounge, suitably bedecked with gorgeously illuminated two story dark wood book shelves lined with sumptuously-appointed […]
INCOMING: Q&A With Artist Robert Shetterly, American Who Tells The Truth, The Whole Truth
Artwork by ROBERT SHETTERLY “As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of democracy.” — ABRAHAM LINCOLN ROBERT SHETTERLY: The second strong feeling — the first being horror — I had on September 11 was hope, hope that the United States would use the shock of this tragedy to reassess our economic, environmental, and military strategies in relation to the other countries and peoples of the world. Many people hoped for the same thing — not to validate terrorism, but to admit that the arrogance and appetite of the U.S., […]
FIRST LISTEN: Frank Ocean Channel Orange
NME: Frank Ocean has brought forward the release of his debut album ‘Channel Orange’ by a week, meaning it is available to buy now. The album follows last year’s ‘Nostalgia, Ultra’ mixtape and was due for release on Monday (July 16), however, during an appearance on US talk show Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, Ocean announced that he was bringing the record’s release forward by a week. You can hear the album, which features contributions from Outkast‘s Andre 3000, his Odd Future bandmate Earl Sweatshirt and John Mayer, by visiting Ocean’s tumblr Frankocean.tumblr.com. Last week, Ocean opened up about […]
THERE WILL BE BLOOD: $5,000 Reward Offered For Information Leading To The Conviction Of The Person That Is Setting Dogs On Fire In North Philly
HUNTERDON COUNTY DEMOCRAT: While Hercules, a 4-month-old puppy, recovers in Clinton Township from burns sustained in Philadelphia, the Pennsylvania SPCA is trying to figure out who deliberately burned him and another dog named Chloe. Chloe, a pit bull, died last week after someone set her on fire. A $5,000 reward is being offered for information leading to a conviction in these cases. For more information, visit pspca.org. The Pennsylvania SPCA is planning a rally called “Justice for Chloe, A Rally Against Animal Abuse” on July 12 at 7 p.m. at the Pennsylvania SPCA Headquarters. MORE PREVIOUSLY: A little more […]
SIN FANG: Fall Down Slow
Sin Fang is an Icelandic musician who makes dreamy art-pop for now people. He operates inside Sigur Ros’ circle of trust. Sublime stuff.
SIDEWALKING: Here’s Mud In Your Eye
Frank Rizzo mural, Italian Market, Sunday 9:42 AM yesterday by JONATHAN VALANIA
THE FLAMING LIPS: Do You Realize
The Flaming Lips perform at The Firefly Music Festival on July 22nd in Dover.
CHINESE DEMOCRACY: New GOP-Sponsored Voter ID Law Could Disenfranchise 758,000 PA Voters
INQUIRER: More than 758,000 registered voters in Pennsylvania do not have photo identification cards from the state Transportation Department, putting their voting rights at risk in the November election, according to data released Tuesday by state election officials. The figures – representing 9.2 percent of the state’s 8.2 million voters – are significantly higher than prior estimates by the Corbett administration. Secretary of the Commonwealth Carol Aichele has repeatedly said that 99 percent of Pennsylvania’s voters already had the photo ID they will need at the polls in November. The new numbers, based on a comparison of voter registration […]
THE DIRTY PROJECTORS: Hi Custodian
The trailer for “Hi Custodian”, a Dirty Projectors film by David Longstreth featuring music from the band’s upcoming album Swing Lo Magellan, out today on Domino.
ROMNEYCARE 2012: Sick People Deserve The Best Medical Care Their Money Can Buy, And No More
Click to enlarge BY WILLIAM C. HENRY This just in: Realizing that their Presidential candidate in fact championed government mandated health insurance during a previous incarnation, and recognizing that they have no worthwhile ideas of their own regarding national healthcare policy, the Republican party has decided to declare a moratorium on illness. In fact, so sure are they of the long term benefits and effectiveness of such a moratorium, they are now setting their sites on dismantling all vestiges of ObamaCare and anything else for that matter that smacks of non-preferential access to healthcare. Too cynical? Too sarcastic? I think […]
In 18 Years You Could Be In NYC In 37 Minutes
Artwork by ROBERT LADUKE INQUIRER: Amtrak’s updated plan for high-speed train travel on the East Coast envisions 37-minute trips between Philadelphia and New York, after a $151 billion redevelopment of the entire Northeast Corridor. Faster service would be phased in gradually, as Amtrak improves existing tracks, signals, bridges, and power lines and then builds a separate high-speed corridor between Washington and Boston to accommodate trains traveling at 220 m.p.h. In a report released Monday, Amtrak revised its projections for costs, ridership, and the alignment of its proposed new 438-mile high-speed corridor. The high-speed segment between New York and Washington would […]