AlterPolitics » Arts & Entertainment

Music VIDEO: Throwing Muses Perform ‘Not Too Soon’ Live In Dusseldorf

Stan — Fri, 18 May 2012 04:40:20 +0000

From the 1991 album The Real Ramona, the song ‘Not Too Soon’ was penned by singer/songwriter Tanya Donelly. She left Throwing Muses shortly thereafter, taking bass player Fred Abong with her, to form the 2-time Grammy nominee band, Belly. Belly’s debut album, Star, featured the huge radio/Mtv hit ‘Feed the Tree‘.

After Tanya’s departure, Kristin Hersh, the other half of the Throwing Muses singer/songwriter duo, continued onward with Muses drummer David Narcizo, releasing three albums over the proceeding four years, spawning memorable songs like ‘Bright Yellow Gun‘.

Donelly would eventually rejoin with Hersh for Throwing Muses reunion shows, and she contributed backup vocals to songs on Throwing Muses’ 2003 self-titled album.

Here are Throwing Muses, just before Tanya’s 1991 departure, performing their oft-overlooked gem, ‘Not Too Soon’ live:

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70s Disco Icon Donna Summers Dead At 63, After Battle With Cancer

Stan — Thu, 17 May 2012 16:59:36 +0000

TMZ is reporting that five-time Grammy Award winning singer Donna Summers has died after a battle with lung cancer.

Love to Love You Baby (1975):

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On The Radio (1979):

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Music VIDEO: Ian Brown – F.E.A.R.

Stan — Sat, 05 May 2012 04:36:56 +0000

I adored the Stone Roses when they released their self-titled album on Silvertone Records in the late 80s, and was fortunate enough to finally see them perform live, in support of their second album, Second Coming, at Webster Hall in NYC (May 22, 1995).

The Roses split shortly after that tour, and lead singer Ian Brown set out, solo, in a fresh new direction, assembling crafty electronic dance rhythms with soulful memorable melodies.

Over the course of fifteen years and eight albums, he has put together a rather impressive catalog of amazing songs. Here is one from his third LP, Music of the Spheres, called “F.E.A.R.” Inspired by The Autobiography of Malcolm X, each verse of the song forms the acrostic F.E.A.R.

LYRICS:

For each a road
For everyman a religion
Find everybody and rule
For everything and rumble
Forget everything and remember
For everything a reason
Forgive everybody and remember

For each a road
For everyman a religion
Face everybody and rule
For everything and rumble
Forget everything and remember
For everything a reason

You got the fear
F.E.A.R. (You got the fear)

Final eternity arouses reactions
Freeing excellence affects reality
Fallen empires are ruling
Find earth and reap

Fantastic expectations
Amazing revelations
Final execution and resurrection
Free expression as revolution
Finding everything and realizing

The F.E.A.R. video was shot on the streets of Soho and Chinatown, in London, England, on what was rumored to be a $300 budget.

ENJOY!

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R.I.P. Adam Yauch (1964 – 2012) Of The Beastie Boys

Stan — Fri, 04 May 2012 19:37:27 +0000

: Photo by Phil Andelman

From the website of Beastie Boys’ publicist, Nasty Little Man:

It is with great sadness that we confirm that musician, rapper, activist and director Adam “MCA” Yauch, founding member of Beastie Boys and also of the Milarepa Foundation that produced the Tibetan Freedom Concert benefits, and film production and distribution company Oscilloscope Laboratories, passed away in his native New York City this morning after a near-three-year battle with cancer. He was 47 years old.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Yauch taught himself to play bass in high school, forming a band for his 17th birthday party that would later become known the world over as Beastie Boys.

With fellow members Michael “Mike D” Diamond and Adam “Adrock” Horovitz, Beastie Boys would go on to sell over 40 million records, release four #1 albums–including the first hip hop album ever to top the Billboard 200, the band’s 1986 debut full length, Licensed To Ill–win three Grammys, and the MTV Video Vanguard Lifetime Achievement award. Last month Beastie Boys were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, with Diamond and Horovitz reading an acceptance speech on behalf of Yauch, who was unable to attend.

In addition to his hand in creating such historic Beastie Boys albums as Paul’s Boutique, Check Your Head, Ill Communication, Hello Nasty and more, Yauch was a founder of the Milarepa Fund, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting awareness and activism regarding the injustices perpetrated on native Tibetans by Chinese occupational government and military forces. In 1996, Milarepa produced the first Tibetan Freedom Concert in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, which was attended by 100,000 people, making it the biggest benefit concert on U.S. soil since 1985’s Live Aid. The Tibetan Freedom Concert series would continue to stage some of the most significant benefit shows in the world for nearly a decade following in New York City, Washington DC, Tokyo, Sydney, Amsterdam, Taipei and other cities.

In the wake of September 11, 2001, Milarepa organized New Yorkers Against Violence, a benefit headlined by Beastie Boys at New York’s Hammerstein Ballroom, with net proceeds disbursed to the New York Women’s Foundation Disaster Relief Fund and the New York Association for New Americans (NYANA) September 11th Fund for New Americans–each chosen for their efforts on behalf of 9/11 victims least likely to receive help from other sources.

Under the alias of Nathanial Hörnblowér, Yauch directed iconic Beastie Boys videos including ”So Whatcha Want,” ”Intergalactic,” “Body Movin” and “Ch-Check It Out.” Under his own name, Yauch directed last year’s Fight For Your Right Revisited, an extended video for “Make Some Noise” from Beastie Boys’ Hot Sauce Committee Part Two, starring Elijah Wood, Danny McBride and Seth Rogen as the 1986 Beastie Boys, making their way through a half hour of cameo-studded misadventures before squaring off against Jack Black, Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly as Beastie Boys of the future.

Yauch’s passion and talent for filmmaking led to his founding of Oscilloscope Laboratories, which in 2008 released his directorial film debut, the basketball documentary Gunnin’ For That #1 Spot and has since become a major force in independent video distribution, amassing a catalogue of such acclaimed titles as Kelly Reichardt’s Wendy and Lucy, Oren Moverman’s The Messenger, Banksy’s Exit Through The Gift Shop, Lance Bangs and Spike Jonze’s Tell Them Anything You Want: A Portrait Of Maurice Sendak, and many more.

Yauch is survived by his wife Dechen and his daughter Tenzin Losel, as well as his parents Frances and Noel Yauch.

WATCH “So Watcha Want:”

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Music Video: The Clash Perform “Charlie Don’t Surf”

Stan — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 02:51:45 +0000

Here’s a video of an amazing Clash song, “Charlie Don’t Surf,” from the Sandinista album.

The footage of the video was apparently pulled from a 1982 live performance in Tokyo, Japan, laced w/ scenes from Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now, which had been the inspiration for the song.

In the movie, Robert Duvall’s character, Lieutenant Colonel Kilgore, justifies his orders to reclaim a dangerous beach from the Vietcong so his men could do some surfing, with the phrase “Charlie Don’t Surf.” (Charlie, of course, was the American troops’ slang for the Vietcong).

The chorus:

Charlie don’t surf, and we think he should
Charlie don’t surf, and you know that it ain’t no good
Charlie don’t surf for his hamburger momma
Charlie’s gonna be a napalm star

My interpretation of this, though others may disagree, goes to how the U.S. forces western consumerism down the world’s throats. And for those who dare to resist its Capitalist imperatives, it is napalm for you.

ENJOY!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Music VIDEO: General Public Performs ‘Rainy Days’

Stan — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 19:58:52 +0000

When The English Beat disbanded in 1983, the group’s singer/songwriter Dave Wakeling and toaster Ranking Roger continued to work together, but as a new entity: General Public.

Their first album, …All The Rage (which featured The Clash’s Mick Jones, The Specials’ Horace Panter, and Dexy’s Midnight Runners members Mickey Billingham and Stoker) enjoyed critical acclaim, climbing the charts in both the U.S. and the U.K.

The second single from that album — and one of the most well-recognized songs of the 80s — “Tenderness,” rose to #27 in the U.S. charts and was featured in films: Sixteen Candles (1984), Weird Science (1985), and Clueless (1995). Other well-received singles from the album, included “Never You Done That” and “Hot You’re Cool.”

Off the success of …All The Rage, the band won the prestigious Juno award in Canada for 1984′s Best New Artist.

The band split-up shortly after their second album, Hand to Mouth, which spawned two memorable singles, but proved to be far less successful than their debut LP.

In 1995, while Dave was working for Greenpeace, long-time fan and friend Elvis Costello gave Dave Wakeling an earful in front of 18 other Greenpeacers, telling him: “All this Greenpeace stuff, and this anti-Apartheid stuff, that’s all well and good, but you know your place is on the stage, and you know that!” Costello’s words apparently had some affect, because two weeks later Dave rejoined with Roger as General Public to begin work on their third, and arguably strongest, album-to-date, Rub It Better.

For the new album, Wakeling and Roger brought in their old English Beat comrade Saxa (on Saxophone), as well as Birmingham reggae singer and toaster Pato Banton (who’d worked previously w/ the English Beat on Special Beat Service). Other guests included Mick Jones, Chris Spedding, and ex-General Public members Horace Panter and Stoker. Produced by Talking Heads keyboardist Jerry Harrison, the album is a perfect blend of soul, ska, dancehall, pop, and contemporary rock.

Despite receiving a 5-star rating from Rolling Stone Magazine and becoming an instant Beat/GP-fan favorite, Epic Records somehow dropped the ball on promoting this amazing album, resulting in lackluster sales. Roger eventually grew tired of traveling back and forth between England and America (where Wakeling had earlier relocated) and the band, once again, called it quits.

Dave Wakeling is now touring the world as The English Beat, with plans to go into the studio to record two new albums. Ranking Roger can also be seen touring the U.K. as The Beat.

I have had the pleasure of seeing Dave Wakeling’s The English Beat on several occasions, which go down as some of my all-time favorite live performances (and I have seen A LOT over the years). His set includes many of the fabulous songs from both The English Beat and General Public. He is truly one of the most gifted (and underrated) songwriters/singers/guitarists/performers of our time.

From General Public’s Rub It Better, here is the effervescent “Rainy Days,” with Roger at the mic:

ENJOY!

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VIDEO: John Lennon – How?

Stan — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 06:19:41 +0000

A great song by one of the world’s best songwriters:

How?

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VIDEO: Lily Allen And Keane Perform ‘Everybody’s Changing’ Live At War Child

Stan — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 17:20:26 +0000

In 2007, Lily Allen and Keane performed a few songs together at a benefit concert for War Child. I had never heard “Everybody’s Changing” until last night, when I stumbled across this video, and instantly fell in love with it. (h/t to Kelly Canfield at firedoglake for the discovery)

Enjoy:

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VIDEO: The Kinks – Waterloo Sunset

Stan — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 04:47:09 +0000

One of my all-time favorite Kinks songs. And what amazing video quality for such early footage!

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Ray Charles Performs ‘Georgia On My Mind’ Live in 1965

Stan — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 03:56:25 +0000

I was thrilled to find this high-definition quality video of Ray Charles performing one of his greatest songs, Georgia On My Mind, in 1965:

ENJOY!

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