He plays Union Transfer on October 25th with Friendly Fires. WIKIPEDIA: London was born on the island Trinidad, on February 23 of 1987 and was raised in Brooklyn[2] briefly, then moved to the suburbs of the Poconos. His debut EP Lovers Holiday, released on Warner Bros. Records on February 7, 2011, features TV on the Radio‘s Dave Sitek, Sara Quin from Tegan and Sara, Glasser, and Solange Knowles.[1] His full-length debut album Timez are Weird These Days, mixed by noted producer Dan Carey, was released by Warner Brothers on July 19, 2011. According to critics, London’s “genre-bending approach draws from […]
SMUS: Who Died And Made Grover Norquist Elvis?
BY WILLIAM C. HENRY Given our national penchant for Idols, Survivors, and less than three men, I think it’s safe to say that 99 out of 100 Americans would tell you they’ve never even heard of Grover Norquist. Yet, he continues to function as the most powerful and influential Republican party puppet master inside and outside of Washington today. Whenever Grover’s around, the poor and the middle class brace for the worst, while the wealthy and powerful reach for their wallets and beg for his favor. With Grover, conning the American people isn’t just a calling, it’s an essential component of his tax-cuts-’till-the-cows-come-home brand […]
WORTH REPEATING: Sec. Def. Vs. The Tea Party
Lost in the media’s shameless car wreck rubbernecking of Kim Delaney’s meltdown at the Liberty Medal Award ceremony last week was the fact that the recipient of said medal, Robert Gates, the outgoing Secretary of Defense and former Director of the CIA under Bush The Father, and Deputy Director of the CIA under Ronald Reagan, had some very alarming things to say about perilous state of the Republic. He speaks in non-partisan terms, but read between the lines and he is clearly talking about the Tea Party and the ruthless goon squad they sent to Congress. Which is not to […]
THE EARLY WORD: Ryan’s Hope
RYAN ADAMS BRINGS TOUR TO PHILADELPHIA FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2 ACADEMY OF MUSIC WITH SPECIAL GUEST JESSICA LEA MAYFIELD TICKETS GO ON SALE THIS FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30 AT 10AM! NEW ALBUM ASHES & FIRE OUT OCTOBER 11 NPR FIRST LISTEN LIVE HERE With his forthcoming Ashes & Fire (out October 11 on PAX-AM/Capitol) already generating arguably the best critical notices of his career to date, Ryan Adams has confirmed another leg of North American dates including a stop in Philadelphia on Friday, December 2 at the Academy of Music. Tickets go on sale this Friday, […]
STRANGER THAN FICTION: The Beautiful Suicide
LIFE: On May 1st, 1947, just after leaving her fiancé, 23-year-old Evelyn McHale wrote a note. ‘He is much better off without me … I wouldn’t make a good wife for anybody,’ … Then she crossed it out. She went to the observation platform of the Empire State Building. Through the mist she gazed at the street, 86 floors below. Then she jumped. In her desperate determination she leaped clear of the setbacks and hit a United Nations limousine parked at the curb. Across the street photography student Robert Wiles heard an explosive crash. Just four minutes after Evelyn McHale’s […]
ARTSY: The Photojournalism Of Stanley Kubrick
Before gaining his reknown as one of the greatest directors in the history of cinema, Stanley Kubrick worked as a photographer for Look magazine. In 1949, a 21-year-old Kurbrick was sent to Chicago for an assignment: “Chicago, City of Contrasts.” MORE RELATED: At the age of 13, his father bought him a stills camera and he soon became fascinated by photography. He soon became an excellent amateur photographer, selling his pictures to magazines whilst still at high school. Later when he was looking for a job, Helen O’Brien, a picture editor at “Look” magazine, whom Kubrick had befriended, asked him […]
Anonymous Pwned The Syrian Gov Computer Network
It’s times like this, we think the feds should be hiring Anonymous instead of arresting them. In a brilliant stroke of hacktavism, they appear to have taken control of all the official government web sites in the major cities of Syria and replaced their respective home pages with this interactive map of Syria comprised of all 2,316 martyrs that have been slaughtered by the Assad government since March. If true, this is a huge cyber blow against the bloody tyranny of the Assad regime, which has barred all foreign reporters from entering the country and continues to claim that “armed […]
CINEMA: Over Drive
DRIVE (2011, directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, 100 minutes, U.S.) BELLFLOWER (2011, directed by Evan Glodell, 106 minutes, U.S.) BY DAN BUSKIRK FILM CRITIC After the breathtaking car chase that kicks off director Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive, the soundtrack plays some very 80s retro synth pop as the opening credits glide by in hot pink. The shade of pink brings to mind cotton candy as the summer fades, and like the fluorescent, feathery confection, Drive hits the sweet spot with a sugary rush, a dazzling mask disguising the fact that its nutritional value is near zero. But what kind of […]
CONTEST: Win The Dark Side Of The Moon Reissue
It was roughly 44 years ago today that Sgt Pepper taught the other bands to play like they were Picassos with guitars, and after that songs became statements — grandiose, interconnected, deeply ruminative — and albums were no longer mere collections, but high concepts. Arguably, Pink Floyd’s Dark Side Of The Moon is the highwater mark of rock’s evolution from low pop to high art. Some 44 years after its immaculate conception, the album remains a definitive statement on life, death and all the beautiful madness in between — and at any given minute on any given day, somebody somewhere […]
DUCK & COVER: Satellites Keep Falling On My Head
BBC: Fragments from a satellite falling to Earth are expected to land on Friday. So is it possible to take evasive action? A six-tonne satellite is expected to crash land in the next 24 hours, scattering debris over an area of the planet’s surface up to 500km (310 miles) wide. NASA, which owns the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS), estimates it will break into about 26 parts, the heaviest weighing about 158kg, which is equivalent to a very large person. The debris will include three batteries, four wheel rims and four fuel tanks, and their speed when they hit the […]
REVIEW: Union Transfer’s Grand Opening
[Photo by Swollen Fox via Flickr] BY COLONEL TOM SHEEHY In the year 2011, there are more talent buyers putting more musical acts on live stages in Philadelphia than any time in recent memory. Last night, yet another venue opened. It’s called Union Transfer and located at 1026 Spring Garden Street, the high-ceiling-ed space formerly occupied by the dubiously-named Spaghetti Warehouse. The band Clap Your Hands Say Yeah were the headlining act, but the real star of the show was the venue itself. Everything about this new locale is exquisite. From the beautiful wooden bar with its carvings and etchings […]
ROCK TAWK: Q&A With Sharon Van Etten
[Photo by DUSDEN CONDREN] BY PELLE GUNTHER Sharon Van Etten is the latest sad-eyed folkstress to set the twilight reeling in indie-town. With her shattered-glass songs and that tiny wind chime of a voice, Van Etten has captivated a growing legion of sympathetic sad-sacks and garnered pretty much across the board critical acclaim. Her latest album, epic, turned up on quite a few Best Of 2010 lists, including NPR’s, and for good reason. Although she easily falls in with other singer songwriter sorceress types, like Cat Power or Jenny Owens Young, Van Etten’s emotion-steeped delivery and beautiful, haunted melodies are […]
The End Of REM As We Know It And I Feel Fine
THE FINEST HOUR: R.E.M., The Mann, 6/18/08 [Photos by JONATHAN VALANIA] REM: “To our Fans and Friends: As R.E.M., and as lifelong friends and co-conspirators, we have decided to call it a day as a band. We walk away with a great sense of gratitude, of finality, and of astonishment at all we have accomplished. To anyone who ever felt touched by our music, our deepest thanks for listening.” *** BY JONATHAN VALANIA First time I heard “Wolves, Lower” live was at the Beacon Theater in New York City, and The Dream Syndicate opened. It was 1984 and Michael Stipe […]