SOCIAL MEDIA FOR DEFENSE: Just two in five US adults (43%) say they read a daily newspaper – either online or in print – almost every day, while 72% read one at least once a week and 81% read one at least once a month, according to a December 2009 Adweek Media/Harris Poll. The study found that one in ten adults (10%) say they never read a daily newspaper. Daily newspaper readership skews heavily toward the older age groups, the poll found. Almost two-thirds of those ages 55+ (64%) say they still read a daily newspaper almost every day. Younger […]
CINEMA: The Dude Elides*
[Illustration by DAN JOHNSON] CRAZY HEART (2009, directed by Scott Cooper, 111 minutes, U.S.) BY DAN BUSKIRK FILM CRITIC A great country song finds strength in simplicity, you can guess the lyric’s rhymes and sing along with the melody on the very first time you hear it. Crazy Heart, a new character study showcasing Jeff Bridges as an aging musician, is true to the form: it is weary-hearted tale that rolls out plot twists that you can spot from two verses away. Bridges brings his laconic wit to the character of Bad Blake, a once-popular country performer and songwriter (somewhere […]
HAITI: Give Locally, Act Globally
[photo by Gerald Herbert/AP via THE BIG PICTURE] HAITIAN PROFESSIONALS OF PHILADELPHIA: Many of us are still in a state of shock but we have hope that we can assist Haiti’s relief. As an organization that prides itself in keeping the rich culture of Haiti alive in Philadelphia, the Haitian Professionals of Philadelphia (HPP) send our deepest and most sincere condolences to our Haitian family in our area and around the world. From the generous donation of Blue Star Jets, we have secured a private jumbo jet to transport medical professionals and supplies to Haiti. We are in need of DOCTORS, NURSES […]
BOBBY CHARLES: No Use Knockin’
VARIETY: Singer-songwriter Bobby Charles, who authored hits like Fats Domino’s “Walking to New Orleans” and Bill Haley & the Comets’ “See You Later Alligator” and recorded highly personalized swamp-pop in his own right, died Jan. 14 at his home in Abbeville, LA. He was 71. The cause of death was unknown immediately, and a medical examination is pending, according to Charles’ spokeswoman. Born Robert Charles Guidry in Abbeville, he was a white Cajun performer who gravitated to rock ‘n’ roll and R&B as a teen. Signed to the Chicago blues and R&B label Chess, he cut “Later Alligator” in 1955. […]
SEPTAGIRL: From The Dept. Of Civil Affairs
BY PHILLY GRRL Wednesday morning. I stand in front of the Arch Methodist Church on Broad and Arch and wait in vain for the Temple shuttle bus to appear. It does not. So when the C bus rolls to a stop, I hesitate a moment, then join the throng of passengers boarding. I’m not sure if I have a token or even enough change to pay the fare, but it is cold outside and the bus driver has sympathetic eyes so I hurry in before she closes the door. There are a few empty seats towards the front, generally saved […]
SCRAPPLE TV NEWS: The Week That Was
With your host A. P. Ticker.
PAPERBOY: Slow-Jamming The Alt-Weeklies
BY DAVE ALLEN Like time, news waits for no man. Keeping up with the funny papers has always been an all-day job, even in the pre-Internets era. These days, however, it’s a two-man job. That’s right, these days you need someone to do your reading for you, or risk falling hopelessly behind and, as a result, increasing your chances of dying lonely and somewhat bitter. That’s why every week PAPERBOY does your alt-weekly reading for you. We pore over those time-consuming cover stories and give you the takeaway, suss out the cover art, warn you off the ink-wasters and steer […]
WALK, DON’T RUN: Justice Depatment Sues Huntingdon Valley Swim Club For Discrimination
INQUIRER: The U.S. Justice Department has filed a federal discrimination lawsuit against the Huntingdon Valley swim club that last summer asked a group of black and Latino children to leave. In the federal court complaint, the Justice Department asked that the Valley Club be ordered to stop all discrimination, including policies implemented after 56 children from the Creative Steps camp visited the pool June 29. MORE MOCKING BIRDS: The Shame Of A Wired Nation NEWS CLUES: Like A Private Swim Club Of The Truth JIM CROW SWIMS HERE: Valley Swim Club Discrimination Becomes National Embarrassment News Of Post-Racial Era Slow […]
RIP: Teddy Pendergrass Dead At 59
ABC NEWS: Teddy Pendergrass, who became R&B’s reigning sex symbol in the 1970s and ’80s with his forceful, masculine voice and passionate love ballads and later became an inspirational figure after suffering a devastating car accident that left him paralyzed, died Wednesday at age 59. The singer’s son, Teddy Pendergrass II, said his father died at a hospital in suburban Philadelphia. The singer underwent colon cancer surgery eight months ago and had “a difficult recovery,” his son said. “To all his fans who loved his music, thank you,” his son said. “He will live on through his music.” Pendergrass suffered […]
BREAKING: Jay Reatard RIP
SWEET OBLIVION: Jay Reatard, Pitchfork Fest 2008, photo by TIFFANY YOON UPDATE: According to the Fox Memphis, “Memphis Police are searching for a possible suspect in Wednesday’s death of Memphis musician Jay Reatard at his Cooper-Young home. Officers were called to the 900-block of Meda around 3:30am and found 29-year old Jimmy Lindsey, Jr., also known as Jay Reatard, dead on arrival. The Homicide Bureau is handling this as an ongoing investigation.” MORE MATADOR: We are devastated by the death of Jimmy Lee Lindsey Jr., aka Jay Reatard. Jay was as full of life as anyone we’ve ever met, and […]
TONITE: Take The Skinheads Bowling
This is what happens when you have too much time and pot on your hands. Emerging stoned and immaculate in the mid-’80s from the remote boho-hippie-grad-school outpost of Santa Cruz, Calif., CBV was the Pavement of its day: college radio darlings for the smug zine scenesters and heard-it-all-before record store clerks who thought R.E.M. was for tourists. Their debut, Telephone Free Landslide Victory, pushed ska, Tex-Mex, Slavic folk and ’60s psych through the looking glass of their absurdist proto-slacker filter — and the result was a pile of smiles. The toker jokes kept coming on II and III, hanging their […]
NPR FOR THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t
FRESH AIR The singer, songwriter and producer T-Bone Burnett says his approach to making music is simple: “Just listen until it sounds right.” Burnett has been getting it right for a long time, and his latest project is the critically acclaimed film Crazy Heart, for which he wrote several songs for the main character — a broken-down musician played by Jeff Bridges. The film offered Burnett the chance to take audiences back to his Texas roots with a varied score. (Burnett’s collaborator was the late guitar-player and songwriter Stephen Bruton.) The movie recently picked up two Golden Globe nominations — […]