A new album appears imminent. You have been warned.
MEDIA: Amy Schumer Is Ready For Her Close-Up
VANITY FAIR: If Hollywood gave out trophies for agents, managers, and publicists, Schumer’s team would have won one last year, too. Trainwreck built on the accolades and viral appeal of Inside Amy Schumer, grossing $110 million in the U.S. upon its release in July. Schumer followed the film with a well-received and decently if not spectacularly rated October appearance hosting Saturday Night Live and, a week after that, the premiere of her first HBO special, Amy Schumer: Live at the Apollo, directed by Chris Rock. Throughout the year Schumer graced multiple magazine covers, looking genuinely sexy for American Glamour, which […]
INCOMING: Speaking For The Trees
“I mean sometimes writers make shit up,” Jarvis Taveniere says somewhat wearily when asked about the perils of being pigeonholed in the press. “But that’s how it starts I guess, right?” Taveniere’s band, Woods, has been tagged with many different genres. Space folk, psych folk — usually something-folk. But Taveniere doesn’t necessarily see it that way. “For me, psychedelia is more about the way the instruments interact,” the Woods guitarist says. “Listening to the first few Leonard Cohen records, they’re mostly just guitar and voice with some light overdubs, but I always think of those records as so psychedelic. […]
NPR 4 THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When U Can’t
FRESH AIR: As a co-founder of the band X, John Doe helped define the punk scene that emerged in Los Angeles in the late 1970s. Doe tells Fresh Air’s Terry Gross that punk was about breaking rules and challenging the norms of the existing music scene. “One of the things that was going on in music at the time is everything was all brainy and white guys. [There was] so much intellectualization and so many notes and so many long songs.” Doe says. “Punk rock [was] saying, ‘Screw all of this. I’m just gonna do something and see what […]
TONIGHT: The Devil & Antonin Scalia
Former law clerks to Justice Scalia reflect on the late Justice and the future of constitutional interpretation 6:30 pm tonight at the National Constitution Center. Speakers include Steven Calabresi of Northwestern University School of Law, Lee Otis of the Federalist Society, Kevin Walsh of the University of Richmond School of Law, and Brianne Gorod of the Constitutional Accountability Center. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates. Admission is free for Members, $7 for students and teachers, and $15 for the public. Registration is recommended for all events. Tickets can be reserved here or by calling 215-409-6700. RELATED: One might wonder how [Scalia] can […]
‘America Has Never Been So Ripe For Tyranny’
NEW YORK MAGAZINE: When a democracy has ripened as fully as this, Plato argues, that a would-be tyrant will often seize his moment. He is usually of the elite but has a nature in tune with the time — given over to random pleasures and whims, feasting on plenty of food and sex, and reveling in the nonjudgment that is democracy’s civil religion. He makes his move by “taking over a particularly obedient mob” and attacking his wealthy peers as corrupt. If not stopped quickly, his appetite for attacking the rich on behalf of the people swells further. He […]
INCOMING: London Calling
The Magnificent Seven, aka Nixon’s Head, cover The Clash. Wolves, Lower cover REM. You know you wanna.
FOODIE: Zen & The Art Of Grilled Cheese Making
BY CHARLIE TAYLOR First you need the following: bread – preferably the honey wheat sesame from Baker’s Street in Chestnut Hill; cheese – not the Kraft singles junk that most likely would survive a nuclear bomb; butter – not margarine (obvious). Also mix in according to emotional relevance – memories of family, friends, and gooey delectableness. You first entered my life when I was young. It was most likely during an afternoon with my grandmother and grandfather. You were carried to my smiling face with a glass of cold chocolate milk. Together, with an episode of Scooby Doo, we […]
NPR 4 THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When U Can’t
Illustration by TORREN THOMAS FRESH AIR: Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, the drummer and leader of The Tonight Show’s house band The Roots, says he’s obsessed with the creative process. His new book, somethingtofoodabout, is a collection of his interviews with chefs about how art and creativity apply to their preparation and presentation of food. Speaking with Fresh Air’s Terry Gross in front of an audience in Philadelphia, Questlove likens some of the meals he’s eaten to ephemeral works of art. “Maybe I did have the equivalent of a Mona Lisa when I went to Jiro’s restaurant in Japan,” he says. “But […]
INCOMING: Oliver Stone’s Snowden
This looks promising. Can’t wait to find out how it ends! In theaters September 16th.
IT’S ALWAYS SUNNY IN DELCO: Talking Bagpipes And Neck Tattoos With Delco Proper‘s Tim Butterly
BY CHARLIE TAYLOR Delco Proper is a web-based Comedy Central sitcom that satirizes the land down under Philadelphia known as Delaware County, aka Delco. It is a magical place full of angry white under-performing males, bearded and beer-filled, bumping heads in the pursuit of tiny dreams forever thwarted — imagine if the 700 level was a working class inner-ring suburb of Philly instead of the drunken fight club at the the upper reaches of long-gone Veteran’s Stadium. In short, it’s Trump country, which of course makes it ripe for satire. The show was created and written by Delco residents […]
ENDORSEMENT: Bernie Sanders For President
It’s very simple, really. You can be part of the problem or you can be part of the solution. But you cannot be both. Bernie Sanders is the only responsible choice for president of the United States.* PREVIOUSLY: Everything We’ve Ever Posted About Bernie Sanders *For a more comprehensive endorsement, scroll through the several hundred Bernie Sanders-related tweets in our Twitter stream.
THE PLAN: This Is What A Revolution Looks Like
RELATED: Gerald Friedman, a respected economist (and Clinton supporter by the way) took a look at Sanders’ proposals, ran the revenue and spending numbers through a standard economic model, and suggested that the very high level of spending would provide a “significant stimulus to an economy that continues to underperform, with national income and employment at levels well below capacity.” This stimulus could lead to several positive economic outcomes, including increasing gross domestic product growth to 5.3 percent a year, cutting unemployment to 3.8 percent and increasing wages by 2.5 percent per year. This, combining with the revenue proposals, […]