Artwork by SCOTT RHODES NEW YORK TIMES: The Supreme Court ruled unanimously (9-0) on Thursday. The decision is likely to reduce the cost of genetic testing for some health risks, and it may discourage investment in some forms of genetic research. The case concerned patents held by Myriad Genetics, a Utah company, on genes that correlate with an increased risk of hereditary breast and ovarian cancer. The patents were challenged by scientists and doctors who said their research and ability to help patients had been frustrated. After the ruling, at least three companies and two university labs said that they […]
CONTEST: Win Tix To See The Postal Service
Artwork by SEAN LEWIS If you’ve just thawed out from the deep freeze of a cryogenic pod, having spent the last eon rocketing to the far reaches of Alpha Centuri, welcome back spaceboy. Let us get you up to speed. Really all you need to know about the last 10 years is that Ben Gibbard from Death Cab For Cutie teamed up with producer Jimmy Tamborello on an electro side project called The Postal Service. The resulting album, Give Up, is the biggest selling Sub Pop album since Nirvana’s Bleach. (NOTE: Nirvana was a very popular boy band with great […]
WORTH REPEATING: The Man Who Knew Too Much
THE GUARDIAN: I was there at the very nascent stages, when the government – wilfully and in deepest secrecy – subverted the constitution. All you need to know about so-called oversight is that the NSA was already in violation of the Patriot Act by the time it was signed into law. When I was in the US air force, flying an RC-135 in the latter years of the cold war, I was a German-Russian crypto-linguist. We called ourselves the “vacuum-cleaner of the sky” because our capability to gather information was enormous at the time. But it was always outward-facing; […]
VILLAGERS: The Bell
They play the Free At Noon concert tomorrow at World Cafe Live in support of the just-out Awayland, which is currently triggering rock snob boners amongst critics, to wit: “A stunning sophomore release” – NPR “All Songs Considered” “A captivating work that gets better with every listen.” – Rolling Stone “On his sophomore set… O’Brien demonstrates why he may in fact be the future of Rock, a musician capable of creating lush and often times bewildering arrangements while using them to fashion spectacular soundscapes.” – No Depression “The most interesting album I’ve heard in 2013.” – The Big Takeover “A […]
LET IT BE: The Gospel According To Paul
EDITOR’S NOTE: Last night it was announced that The Replacements will be reuniting for a series of live dates. SPIN: Even during their ’80s heyday, the Replacements were an unpredictable live entity. And though footage exists of the group at their explosive peak, that was 30 years ago. Still, the Paul Westerberg-led indie-punk icons are “reuniting” as the headliner for Riot Fest 2013. The three-city engagement marks the ‘Mats’ first billed performance in 22 years; they last performed in Chicago’s Grant Park on July 4, 1991. In a statement, founding bassist Tommy Stinson contended that the band never broke up despite […]
NPR FOR THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t
FRESH AIR The documentary 20 Feet From Stardom, which explores the world of rock ‘n’ roll’s backup singers, opens to the soundtrack of Lou Reed’s “Walk on the Wild Side.” Reed sings half the refrain — “And the colored girls go, doo do doo do doo” — until a chorus of backup singers pick up the “Do doo” line. At first these women sound far away, but as the chorus progresses, their voices get louder, less produced and polished, more real and intimate. Director Morgan Neville tells Fresh Air’s Terry Gross that he opened with the song because “that’s kind […]
ARTSY: The Unbearable Lightness Of Being Groovin’ Gary
In 1979 Utah filmmaker Trent Harris met and filmed a young Olivia Newton John impersonator named Groovin’ Gary — all feathered hair, Boogie Nights wardrobe and a disarming, ‘aw shucks’ naivete — who he filmed performing at a Salt Lake City talent show. In 1981, Harris decided to remake his documentary with a then-unknown Sean Penn in full-on Spicoli mode portraying Groovin’ Gary. For reasons unclear, he re-told the story of Groovin’ Gary a third time in 1985 with a then-unkown Crispin Glover (Back To The Future would come out later that year) as Groovin’ Gary. Combined, the three films […]
NO AGE: C’mon Stimmung
New album, An Object, drops August 20th on Sub Pop. Massive tour to follow, including PhilaMOCA on September 7th. Complete tour dates after the jump.
HOT DOC: ACLU Sues White House To Unplug PRISM
DOCUMENT: ACLU Lawsuit Against Obama Administration Spying On American Citizens SLATE: After the Guardian’s revelation that the National Security Agency is mining the data of Verizon customers on Thursday, some of my colleagues told me to settle down. Some volunteered to be spied on in exchange for reduced rates. I figured that the level of outrage would rise only if people thought the government had access to the actual content of their communications. But apparently I was wrong. The second shock wave about PRISM—the NSA’s program for vacuuming up online content including “emails, file transfers, photos, videos, chats, and […]
WORTH REPEATING: Let It Bleed
Excerpted from Cypherpunks: Freedom and the Future of the Internet, by Julian Assange with Jacob Appelbaum, Andy Müller-Maguhn and Jérémie Zimmermann. OR Books, New York, 2012, 186 pages, Paper. Buy online. Cryptome review of the book. Pages 1-7. INTRODUCTION: A CALL TO CRYPTOGRAPHIC ARMS This book is not a manifesto. There is not time for that. This book is a warning. The world is not sliding, but galloping into a new transnational dystopia. This development has not been properly recognized outside of national security circles. It has been hidden by secrecy, complexity and scale. The internet, our greatest tool of […]
JD MCPHERSON: Scratching Circles
The mighty JD McPherson rocks World Cafe Live on July 12th. Don’t be stupid. PREVIOUSLY: I have seen the future of the past, and his name is J.D. McPherson, a thirtysomething cuffed-denim Okie with lacquered hair, iron lungs and, goodness gracious, great balls of fire. McPherson and his gifted retro-rock posse recently released Signs & Signifiers, a bracing collection of tailfin rockabilly, rawboned R&B and sultry moonstruck balladeering. It is hands-down the feel-good record of the year. MORE PREVIOUSLY: Sign & Signifiers was hands down 2012’s PARTY ALBUM OF THE YEAR. Enjoy this Q&A we did with Mr. McPherson last […]
WORTH REPEATING: Jeffrey Toobin’s Rush To Judgement
JEFFREY TOOBIN: Edward Snowden, a twenty-nine-year-old former C.I.A. employee and current government contractor, has leaked news of National Security Agency programs that collect vast amounts of information about the telephone calls made by millions of Americans, as well as e-mails and other files of foreign targets and their American connections. For this, some, including my colleague John Cassidy, are hailing him as a hero and a whistle-blower. He is neither. He is, rather, a grandiose narcissist who deserves to be in prison. MORE BUZZ FEED: There are too many unknowns in this story. How is it possible for a […]