THE WOLF SURVIVES: Los Lobos/Taj Mahal, The Keswick, Thur. Night [FLICKR] BY JONATHAN VALANIA FOR THE INQUIRER Taj Mahal doesn’t work too hard these days. Perched beneath a big ol’ floppy straw hat and a generously-sized Hawaiian shirt, he sits down when he plays guitar and lets a chorus pedal do all the heavy lifting. These days his voice sounds like he swallowed an alligator and washed it down with gasoline. Which was just fine with the capacity crowd of middle-aged Boomers who have turned to his music as soulful comfort food ever since his incendiary performance on the Rolling […]
SHOCKER: Patriot Act Misused! Constitution Abused! Private Lives Of 143,074 In The Homeland Spied Upon!
WASHINGTON, March 9 — The F.B.I. has improperly used provisions of the USA Patriot Act to obtain thousands of telephone, business and financial records without prior judicial approval, the Justice Department’s inspector general said today in a report that embarrassed the F.B.I. and ignited outrage on Capitol Hill.The report found that the bureau lacked sufficient controls to make sure that its agents were acting properly when they obtained records using administrative subpoenas [AKA, National Security Letters, or NSLs], which do not require a judge’s prior approval. And the report found that the bureau does not follow some of the rules […]
LIVE AID: These Are The CAPITOL YEARS Of Our Lives
BY AMY Z. QUINN You could call the Capitol Years’ show tomorrow at Johnny Brenda’s a comeback, as they haven’t played in town since November. You could call it the kickoff to the Philly contingent’s triumphant march toward Austin and next week’s South By Southwest Music Conference. “Or you could call it our fund raiser to pay for the trip to SXSW and back,” frontman Shai “Son of Eli” Halperin told me. The band’s most recent album, Dance Away the Terror [NOW PLAYING ON PHAWKER RADIO] is only a few months old, its first single “Mirage People” — inspired by […]
Fox News Is Afraid Of Obama, VERY AFRAID
Not so much a news as an incredible simulation.
Cover Wars: Whose Artfag Kung-Fu Is Stronger?
These are the cover stories that try the souls of alternative weekly art directors: A legendary newspaper columnist with a face for radio and an It Boy mixmaster with a radio for a face. I’ve seen this before: usually the AD in question will break down sobbing in the 11th hour before deadline, kicking and pounding the floor, IT CAN’T BE DONE! IT JUST CAN’T! they’ll scream. By this point the publisher will usually rush in, grab her by the arms, shake her, maybe slap her across the face once or twice until she snaps out of it (this sometimes […]
NPR FOR THE DEF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t
FRESH AIR ON WHYY Singer and poet Patti Smith will be inducted into the Rock and roll Hall of Fame on March 12. Smith got her start in the punk movement of the 1970s with the album Horses. Smith’s upcoming album, Twelve, is a collection of covers of classic rock tunes, including “Gimme Shelter,” “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and “Are You Experienced?” Twelve will be released on April 12. Smith will go on tour in Europe this spring. Originally broadcast on June 24, 1996. ALSO, R.E.M will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 12. […]
HIZZONER ’07: Did Brady Fumble At The Goal Line?
BY DAVE DAVIES/DAILY NEWS You can lose an election at the ballot box, and sometimes you can lose one with the slip of a pen. Mayoral candidate U.S. Rep. Bob Brady failed to list his city pension on the financial-interests statement he filed with his nominating petitions Tuesday, leaving him open to a challenge that could potentially end his campaign. “It may well be an error,” Brady campaign spokeswoman Kate Philips said late yesterday, “but it was not a purposeful omission. We plan to file an amendment.” But that may not be enough if another candidate challenges Brady’s candidacy in […]
MAILBAG: ‘I Was A Commie, Pinko, Fagot, Bastard’
—-Original Message Follows—- To: Dan Buskirk Subject: Re: Milkshake Date: Thu, 8 Mar 2007 23:07:27 -0800 (PST) Dan, Thanks for the great review. It still amazes me the reaction we get from audiences after all these years. And it’s particularly gratifying to hear that you get it. I still get my kicks sitting in the audience and listening to the reactions that occur in all the right places. It is interesting that people make comments that the dialog or attitude of the characters seem cliched, when in fact Captain was made in 1969 when most people acted and said what […]
TODAY I SAW…
BY JEFF DEENEY “Today I saw…” is a series of nonfiction shorts based on my experiences as a caseworker serving formerly homeless families now living in North and West Philadelphia. I decided not long after starting the job that I was seeing so many fascinating and disturbing things in the city’s poorest neighborhoods that I needed to start cataloging them. I hope this bi-weekly column serves as a record of a side of the city that many Philadelphians don’t come in contact with on a daily basis. I want to capture moments not frequently covered by the local media, which […]
NPR FOR THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t
RADIO TIMES WITH MARTY MOSS-COANE Hour 1 Meet ISHMAEL BEAH. He was a child soldier fighting in Sierra Leone’s civil war. He lives in the United States and has written a memoir “A Long Way Gone.” Hour 2 After being lost for nearly 1,700 years, the Gospel of Judas was recently restored, authenticated, and translated. What does the newly discovered text tell us about early Christianity and Jesus’ death? KAREN KING is the author of a new book, “Reading Judas: The Gospels of Judas and the Shaping of Christianity.” THE WORLD CAFE With full beards, long hair and headbands, the […]
JUNK SCIENCE: The SKINNY On Your FAT Ass
BY ELIZABETH FIEND All the Homer Simpsons of the world — you know who you are — are in a tizzy because The Government is banning their beloved trans fat. Believe me, it’s going to be fine. Anyone who’s against the banning of trans fatty acids doesn’t understand what trans fat is all about. Number one, it’s NOT about flavor. Have you had an Oreo cookie lately? Some Wendy’s French fries? Taste good? Okay! See, you didn’t even notice that the trans fat was removed. Trans fatty acids, most often found in hydrogenated oils, do not taste better than other […]