Founded in Philadelphia by Andrew Thiboldeaux and Christopher Ward, Pattern Is Movement and its twelve year history map a vast territory of internal exploration and external output. As the band recorded a series of albums over the past decade — The (Im)possibility of Longing, Stowaway, and All Together — they also shifted in membership and in stylistic focus, eventually solidifying into a powerful duo: Thiboldeaux on Rhodes, synth, bass, and vocals, and Ward on drums. Deeply soulful and natively genre-defying, they toured extensively, joining bands like St. Vincent, The Roots, and Shudder to Think, before delving into their fourth […]

  HUFFINGTON POST: From a glance at his background, one might assume that James F. Slattery would have a difficult time convincing any state in America to entrust him with the supervision of its lawbreaking youth. Over the past quarter century, Slattery’s for-profit prison enterprises have run afoul of the Justice Department and authorities in New York, Florida, Maryland, Nevada and Texas for alleged offenses ranging from condoning abuse of inmates to plying politicians with undisclosed gifts while seeking to secure state contracts. The Huffington Post uploaded and annotated the documents — including court transcripts, police reports, audits and inspection […]

  HUFFINGTON POST: For the first time, more than half of Americans think that marijuana usage should be made legal, according to a Gallup poll released Tuesday. Fifty-eight percent of Americans now back legalizing marijuana. That represents an 8-point increase from the previous record of 50 percent in 2011, and a 10-point increase from November 2012, just after Colorado and Washington voted for legalization. “With Americans’ support for legalization quadrupling since 1969, and localities on the East Coast such as Portland, Maine, considering a symbolic referendum to legalize marijuana, it is clear that interest in this drug and these issues […]

DEAN WAREHAM Love Is Colder Than Death from Dean Wareham on Vimeo. Last week marked the release of Emancipated Hearts EP which is Wareham’s first solo effort.   Rolling Stone said, Dean Wareham is one of the great New York guitar sophisticates, crafting soft, elegant indie rock in Galaxie 500, Luna and his husband-wife duo, Dean and Britta…. (the EP) is characteristically refined and intimate, sung in a hymnlike mumble and steeped in the Velvet Underground , classical string drones, synth-pop and country music” and Pitchfork said, “Even at six tracks, it’s stunning how much life (and death) Wareham spreads over […]

  WASHINGTON POST: In Pakistan, Amnesty International investigated nine suspected U.S. drone strikes that occurred between May 2012 and July 2013 in the territory of North Waziristan. The group said it found strong evidence that more than 30 civilians were killed in four of the attacks. The basic circumstances of each of the drone strikes had been previously reported by local and international news outlets. But the human rights groups said they were able to shed further light on the incidents by interviewing survivors, other witnesses and government officials in both countries. Most drone strikes in Pakistan and Yemen occur […]

FATHER JOHN MISTY: Damien is out of his goddamn mind. This isn’t a recent development, but it’s an important aspect of his work that often goes ignored. In place of this key element is the idea that his music is a sober and in-depth excavation of the American landscape and rural psyche. Well, folks, I’m sorry, but it’s not. In other words: there is no railway station east of Ohio. Abandoned motels, barren highways, magazine killers, Chevrolets backing out of driveways in the middle of the night, wedding photos, intoxicated hands, bleary-eyed circus clowns, barstool salvation, yeah, yeah, yeah, we […]

  Neil Young will release Live At The Cellar Door, the latest in his Archives Performance Series, on November 26th on Reprise Records. The album collects recordings made during Young’s intimate six-show solo stand at The Cellar Door in Washington D.C. between November 30th and December 2nd, 1970, a few months after Reprise released his classic third solo album After The Gold Rush in August. Of the many unique gems found on Live At The Cellar Door, a rare solo version of “Cinnamon Girl” performed on piano rather than guitar is a particular treasure for Neil fans (the full band […]

World Trade Center by Banksy, Tribeca, NYC Tuesday 5:42 pm by JONATHAN VALANIA RELATED: Pug pisses on Banksy’s WTC Memorial RELATED: Meanwhile, the Twin Towers piece in TriBeca has been subject to more attention. Since Tuesday it’s become something of shrine, with flowers placed next to it, as well as a letter asking haters not to touch it. Eventually some plexiglass was placed over it in an effort to preserve it, but last night someone covered it all with black paint MORE RELATED: For those you don’t follow the trends in street art, Banksy is the pseudonym for an England-based […]

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