This Is Your Brain On The Franklin Institute

Your Brain! One of Four Epic Exhibits in a Whole New Wing from Ben Franklin on Vimeo. The new giant walk-thru brain exhibit — a belated sequel to the iconic enlarged walk-thru heart exhibit — at the Franklin Institute done up like one of those “In A World…” summer blockbuster movie trailers. The irony is that it’s sponsored by Teva Pharmaceuticals, which makes billions doping your brain. Which is sorta like Coca Cola sponsoring a giant walk-thru pancreas exhibit. Maybe next year?

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NPR 4 THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t

  FRESH AIR The New Yorker’s Dexter Filkins Discusses Isis THE NEW YORKER: As dramatic as the insurgents’ approach has been, it is not terribly surprising. They have fed on the deep discontent that prevails across the Sunni heartland, provoked and sustained by Maliki. Since the last American forces departed, he has embarked on a stridently sectarian project aimed at marginalizing the Sunni minority. He has presided over the arrest of his Sunni political opponents, jailed thousands of Sunni men, and excluded the Sunni population from any meaningful role in government. The Sunni Finance Minister, Rafe al-Essawi, fled the capital; […]

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WORTH REPEATING: You’re A Rich Girl

Illustration by ALEX FINE BUSINESS INSIDER: Hillary Clinton’s multimillion dollar fortune has caused some negative headlines during the media tour for the release of her new book “Hard Choices,” which is widely seen as a prelude to a potential 2016 presidential campaign. Clinton responded to criticism of her wealth in an interview with the Guardian newspaper published Saturday night by suggesting Americans won’t be concerned about the more than $100 million her family has reportedly earned in recent years because they’re not “truly well off.” “They don’t see me as part of the problem,” Clinton said of Americans who are […]

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STRAND OF OAKS: Shut In

This week, Philly homeboy Strand of Oaks released his Dead Oceans debut, HEAL, and the critics HATED it: “Epic.” – NPR “Glorious…matches Springsteen’s phrasing with the Replacements’ wounded alt-rock.” – SPIN “Moving…stark and at times emotionally harrowing.” – Pitchfork “A hell of a record.” – Stereogum “Rock ?n? roll masterpiece.” – AV Club, A rating Oh well, better luck next time. They play The Mercury Lounge in NYC tomorrow night.

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BOOKS: Q&A With Joel Selvin, Author Of HERE COMES THE NIGHT: The Dark Soul Of Bert Berns & The Dirty Business Of Rhythm & Blues

  BY JONATHAN VALANIA Bert Berns, the greatest songwriter/producer you never heard of, was not long for this world. Born with a congenital heart defect, he was told he would not live to see 21, and though he defied prevailing medical opinion, he was dead before he turned 39. Berns [PICTURED, ABOVE RIGHT didn’t start working in the music business until he was 30, but over the course of the next eight years he wrote and/or produced some of the greatest singles of all time: The Isley Brothers’ “Twist And Shout,” The Drifters’ “Under The Boardwalk,” Solomon Burke [PICTURED, ABOVE […]

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IN THE WEEDS: The Behind The Scenes Story Of How Philadelphia Got Its Decriminalization On

Painting by ZENON MATIAS JIMENEZ BY N.A. POE If you get involved in activism work to chalk up victories, you’re getting into the wrong business. It’s mostly unappreciated grunt work done on a shoestring budget, and the pay is virtually nonexistent. Career activists and volunteers face a constant uphill battle against a system designed to distract, disengage and confuse the average citizen. But now and again, something happens that makes all the bullshit worthwhile, as it did on Thursday, right here in Philadelphia, when City Council voted to decriminalize possession of up to an ounce of marijuana. In late 2012, […]

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DEPT. OF INJUSTICE: Egyptian Court Sentences 3 Al-Jazeera Journalists To 7-10 Years For The Crime Of Committing Journalism In The Line Of Duty

  NPR: Three journalists who work for the Al-Jazeera news network have been sentenced to prison terms — two lasting seven years and a third lasting 10 — by an Egyptian court. The three were accused of aiding terrorists, a term that in this case applies to the banned Muslim Brotherhood. From Egypt’s Ahram Online: Three Al Jazeera journalists who have been held in Egypt since December have been sentenced to seven years in jail, according to Ahram Online’s reporter at the courthouse. The three defendants are Australian Peter Greste, Egyptian-Canadian Mohamed Fahmy and producer Baher Mohamed. They have been […]

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BEER THOUSAND: Dogfish Head Making GBV Brew

DRINK PHILLY: Delaware’s Dogfish Head Craft Brewery has yet another limited release cued up for its ongoing Music Series collection of beers. This one, perhaps the most deserving, celebrates always thirsty indie rock stalwarts Guided By Voices (GBV) and the 20th anniversary of its melodic, lo-fi magnum opus, Bee Thousand. […] Inspired by the thousands of cans of lager the band threw back while recording Bee Thousand in their homes, backyard sheds and garages in the early nineties, Dogfish Head brewed a hefty, 10 percent ABV Imperial Lager with 10 grains and 10 hop varieties. That’s 10x10x10, which equals 1,000. […]

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SHABAZZ PALACES: #Cake

_____________________ Shabazz Palaces’ “#CAKE,” is the latest offering from the group’s forthcoming 7-suite, 18-track Lese Majesty, available worldwide on CD / 2xLP / DL July 28th & 29th via Sub Pop. The “not the video” stream features GIF artwork from Christian Petersen of I Want You Magazine (See Pitchfork news story June 23rd). Shabazz Palaces’ Lese Majesty, the follow up to the groups universally acclaimed label debut Black Up, is a sonic mythmap of new black wave and psychedelia, featuring highlights “They Come In Gold”, “Dawn In Luxor,” “#CAKE,” “Ishmael” and “Forerunner Foray.” Please find a complete tracklisting below. Lese […]

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RIGHT ABOUT NOW: Lee Fields, Funk Soul Brother

  BY JONATHAN VALANIA Lee Fields may well be the slowest-rising star in show business — he’s certainly among the sweetest. At 63, an age when most artists of his style and stature have long since been put out to pasture, Fields’ career is just now catching fire, after decades of fits and starts — and even a premature retirement in the 80s — stretching back to his first recording in 1969. Which works out well because everybody knows that happy endings in show biz come to those who see it as a marathon, not a sprint. And by anyone’s […]

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