FRESH AIR: In August 1966, a student and former Marine ascended to the top of the tower that housed the University of Texas’ main library and began shooting at people below. He killed 14 people on the campus and wounded 31 more. Hours earlier, Whitman had killed his wife and mother in their homes. He was eventually shot to death by police. A 15th victim died in 2001, from injuries sustained in the attack. Now the new documentary Tower recreates that 96-minute-long massacre in an original way, using archival film and new interviews with an animated portrayal of the […]
INCOMING: Blonde On Blonde
AEG LIVE: Blondie & Garbage today announced a co-headline North American tour that will kick off on July 5th in Saratoga, CA with a stop in Philadelphia at the Mann on August 2nd before wrapping up on August 12th in Dallas, TX. John Doe & Exene Cervenka will provide support on the first leg of the tour and Deap Vally for the second leg. Tickets for the Rage and Rapture tour go on sale starting Friday, February 17 at 10:00am local time (please check venue websites for most up to date on sale information). Fans can also access a […]
FATHER JOHN MISTY: The Suburbs
PREVIOUSLY: “Pure Comedy” PREVIOUSLY: “Trump’s Private Pilot” PREVIOUSLY: Father John Misty Melts Down @ XPNFest PREVIOUSLY: Father John Misty’s Letter Of Resignation PREVIOUSLY: I Went To Father John Misty’s House And All I Got Was Stoned…And This 7,156 Word Magnum Opus
HOT DOCUMENT: Coretta Scott King’s 1986 Letter To The House Judiciary Committee Condemning Jeff Sessions As A Racist Bully Who Used The Powers Of His Office To Deprive Blacks Of Their Civil Rights
WASHINGTON POST: Coretta Scott King, the widow of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., urged Congress in a letter to block the 1986 nomination of Jeff Sessions for federal judge, saying that allowing him to join the federal bench would “irreparably damage the work of my husband.” The letter, previously unavailable publicly, was obtained on Tuesday by The Washington Post. “Anyone who has used the power of his office as United States Attorney to intimidate and chill the free exercise of the ballot by citizens should not be elevated to our courts,” King wrote in the cover page […]
WORTH REPEATING: And Then They Came For Me
RELATED: Melania Trump said a journalist barraged with anti-Semitic death threats had “provoked” Trump supporters by writing a controversial profile of her. “I don’t control my fans, but I don’t agree with what they’re doing. I understand what you mean, but there are people out there who maybe went too far. She provoked them,” Melania told DuJour magazine. Julia Ioffe filed a police report last month when Donald Trump supporters flooded her with neo-Nazi death threats following the publication of her profile of Melania. Trump backers sent Ioffe, who is Jewish, images showing her face superimposed onto that of […]
The 84 Lumber Superbowl Ad With The Ending That Fox Executives Didn’t Want You To See
ACTION NEWS4 PITTSBURGH: It may be the most controversial commercial to air during Super Bowl LI comes from a western Pennsylvania company, 84 Lumber, and its Pittsburgh-based ad agency, Brunner — but the ending is banned by Fox, and viewers will have to see the end online.That ending apparently touches upon President Donald Trump’s plan to build a wall on the U.S. border with Mexico. At halftime of the game Sunday, a space in Brunner’s downtown office will be used as a “war room” for staffers to monitor social-media response to the message 84 Lumber will be sending.In the TV […]
CINEMA: Black Steel In The Hour Of Chaos
I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO (2016, directed by Raoul Peck, 95 minutes, U.S.) BY DAN BUSKIRK FILM CRITIC It looks like President Trump is going to follow the recent tradition and forgo a State of the Union speech as his first term begins, but with an eerie ambiance of resurrection, Raoul Peck has brought to life the fiery spirit of the late writer/intellectual James Baldwin to deliver the address. Hearing that Baldwin is at the center of the documentary, I Am Not Your Negro might lead you to expect your basic talking heads interviews about the man life and work. […]
How Not To Become A U.S. Supreme Court Justice
DAILY MAIL: Neil Gorsuch, Trump’s Supreme Court, pick founded and led club called ‘Fascism Forever’ at his elite all-boys Washington prep school. MORE SNOPES: However, we contacted Georgetown Preparatory School to verify whether a “Fascism Forever” club operated in or around that school in 1985, and director of communications Patrick Coyle told us that “no such club ever existed” there. MORE RELATED: A curious choice of a quote for his Columbia year book photo, wouldn’t you say?
How To Fail The Commander-In-Chief Test
Photo via SOUTH FRONT NEW YORK TIMES: Through a communications intercept, the commandos knew that the mission had been somehow compromised, but pressed on toward their target roughly five miles from where they had been flown into the area. “They kind of knew they were screwed from the beginning,” one former SEAL Team 6 official said. With the crucial element of surprise lost, the Americans and Emiratis found themselves in a gun battle with Qaeda fighters who took up positions in other houses, a clinic, a school and a mosque, often using women and children as cover, American military officials […]
BEING THERE: Parquet Courts @ Union Transfer
Photo by DYLAN LONG Parquet Courts are a rugged rock n’ roll four piece from New York City with the wind at their backs. Fresh off a performance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and a Grammy nomination for Best Recording Package that stemmed from the personal artwork of co-vocalist Andrew Savage, Parquet Courts were more than ready to keep the ball rolling with a headlining U.S. tour. For their first stop of the tour at Philly’s Union Transfer, the place was near-sold out on a Tuesday night, with the second floor balcony packed shoulder-to-shoulder and the downstairs GA […]
INCOMING: Blessed Are The Noisemakers
At a time when country-wide manifestations of unwavering political dissent are sending powerful shockwaves down the fabric of our nation, there has been arguably no better time in recent history to be a politically charged punk band. Take, for example, Priests. Described by Spin Magazine as “vital post-punk for Trump’s America,” Priests have created an undeniably impactful blend of unabashed empowerment, well-crafted melodies with healthy doses of punk and a track record of influential political activism and inclusivity. The Washington, D.C.-based four-piece consists of Daniele Daniele on drums, Katie Alice Greer on vocals, G.L. Jaguar on guitar and Taylor […]
NPR 4 THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When U Can’t
Illustration by OLIVER STAFFORD FRESH AIR: I’m Terry Gross. My guest is screenwriter and director Jim Jarmusch. His new movie “Paterson” stars Adam Driver as a bus driver and poet named Paterson who lives and works in Paterson, N.J., and is inspired by William Carlos Williams and his epic poem “Paterson.” The poems Paterson writes in the film are inspired by what he observes in the daily routines of his life. Almost all the poems used in the film were actually written by poet Ron Padgett. New Yorker film critic Richard Brody wrote (reading) Jarmusch has made a movie that’s […]