"With no time to do anything but say 'Oh, my God!' Coetzee was gone, hauled beneath the green water never to be seen again."
"Apple's foray into the social media music scene seemed to fall on deaf ears. The biggest fail? Ping doesn't actually let you see what your friends are listening to, which is largely the point of social media. As some critics put it, Ping could easily have been considered a marketing ploy gone wrong."
The Thanksgiving Filter - Acoustic - Go-Go Boots - Drive-By Truckers from Drive-By Truckers on Vimeo.
A Fool's Christmas by Glossary from Joey Kneiser on Vimeo.
"Little noticed but extremely important to progressives, on Saturday afternoon Congress also passed the Local Community Radio Act.
This legislation opens up radio spectrum to hundreds, if not thousands, of local independent radio stations (also known as LPFM).
Its passing will bring new choices and voices on the radio dial nationwide, but is especially relevant to a broadcast area reaching 160 million people who lived in areas where these stations had previously been barred from local airwaves.
Anyone tracking the rise of radio personalities like Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh and Michael Savage understands the primary political significance of gaining access to spectrum."
"The DBTs have a new album coming out on February 15th: Go-Go Boots. Once again they are breaking out the old video camera, but this time they are taking a slightly different, more personal approach. They have already posted their first video of the series. In it, Patterson Hood tells the what, why and how how they will go about creating videos for the album launch. He is not so much marketing as he is being transparent about how they want to connect with fans and tell the story of the album. I think it is brilliant and I am looking forward to it."
"If the Drive-By Truckers were a barfly's usual order, they'd be a Boilermaker -- can of beer, shot of whiskey. No grenadine, no lime wedges or muddled sugar, no paper umbrellas. 'Birthday Boy' ain't destined to replace 'Happy Birthday' anytime soon -- it's written from the perspective of a jaded working girl. 'I ain't got all night,' she says. We'll make some time."
"The Americana Music Association announced its year end Top 100 Albums of the Year. The Top 100 albums are based on those records reported to the Americana Airplay Chart during the period of November 17, 2009 through November 15, 2010.
"34 - Drive-By Truckers - The Big To-Do
Character studies are fine and all, but they’re much more interesting if they rock. Case in point: “The Fourth Night of My Drinking”, funny and pretty when played on the piano, also sounds like an immense cloud of longing and dread when subjected to the Truckers’ triple-guitar attack. Their song subjects are ripped from the headlines, sure—a working stiff is worse off than his daddy, a preacher’s wife goes on trial for murdering her depraved husband, the local music scene dies. But you keep listening because the rhythm section’s a powerhouse, their chord progressions are unique, and the guitarists have a penchant for noisy squall like nobody this side of Sonic Youth. Though the second half’s got some filler, it’s in the grand tradition of filler that sounds pretty good whenever you put it on. And put it on you should, because for sheer beautiful guitar tones, nobody can touch this band. Josh Langhoff"
"#9 Glossary
Feral Fire (The Rebel Group) It's always a good year when there's a new Glossary record on the stereo, and 2010 is no different. Well, except that this time they had their buddies in Lucero releasing the album — which is the rockin'-est conglomeration of Dinosaur Jr. and Thin Lizzy we've heard in ages — and spent more time on the road supporting it than they ever have before. And if that weren't hot enough, they also spiced things up with the debut of Saussary, their tour-only homemade hot sauce, and solo records from Joey and Kelly Kneiser that were chock-full of Murfreesboro's finest players and songwriters. —Sean L. Maloney"
"If the last two years have taught us anything, it's this: never put your faith in a politician. The only way for citizens to find their power in our present corrupt governing system is to band together outside the corrupt party apparatus and demand change from without. When even Al Franken goes along to get along, there seems no other choice."
"WASHINGTON - The tax cut deal that President Obama struck with congressional Republicans contains a provision that could ultimately be the undoing of Social Security, say Senate Democrats and backers of the old-age and disability program."
"However, after further thought and conversations with people around Washington (first and foremost, Nancy Altman, the co-director of Social Security Works), I have become convinced that this deal would be a disaster. Paul Krugman does a nice job laying out the limited benefits of the stimulus, but my greater concern is what happens to Social Security in this story. Effectively, this deal would give us a permanent two-percentage point reduction in the payroll tax in a Washington climate very hostile to Social Security."
"But as I wrote yesterday, there's a problem: the payroll tax holiday won't be temporary. Sure, it's supposed to be for just one year, but if you think Republicans are going to miss an opportunity to demand permanent extension of a tax cut -- especially one that covers the cost of Social Security -- then you haven't been living in the same country as the rest of us. In fact, I can already hear Republicans saying that it must be extended, because now is not the time to raise taxes on the American public. And I can hear them now, laughing privately about the fiscal crisis that such an extension will cause for Social Security."
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
There's a reason for this, there's a reason education sucks, and it's the same reason it will never ever ever be fixed. It's never going to get any better. Don't look for it. Be happy with what you've got... because the owners of this country don’t want that. I'm talking about the real owners now... the real owners. The big wealthy business interests that control things and make all the important decisions. Forget the politicians. The politicians are put there to give you the idea that you have freedom of choice. You don’t. You have no choice. You have owners. They own you. They own everything. They own all the important land. They own and control the corporations. They’ve long since bought and paid for the Senate, the Congress, the state houses, the city halls. They got the judges in their back pockets and they own all the big media companies, so they control just about all of the news and information you get to hear. They got you by the balls. They spend billions of dollars every year lobbying. Lobbying to get what they want. Well, we know what they want. They want more for themselves and less for everybody else, but I’ll tell you what they don’t want. They don’t want a population of citizens capable of critical thinking. They don’t want well-informed, well-educated people capable of critical thinking. They’re not interested in that. That doesn’t help them. That’s against their interests. That’s right. They don’t want people who are smart enough to sit around a kitchen table and think about how badly they’re getting fucked by a system that threw them overboard 30 fuckin’ years ago. They don’t want that. You know what they want? They want obedient workers. Obedient workers, people who are just smart enough to run the machines and do the paperwork. And just dumb enough to passively accept all these increasingly shittier jobs with the lower pay, the longer hours, the reduced benefits, the end of overtime and vanishing pension that disappears the minute you go to collect it. And now they’re coming for your Social Security money. They want your fuckin' retirement money. They want it back so they can give it to their criminal friends on Wall Street. And you know something? They’ll get it. They’ll get it all from you sooner or later 'cause they own this fuckin' place. It’s a big club and you ain't in it. You and I are not in the big club. By the way, it’s the same big club they use to beat you over the head with all day long when they tell you what to believe. All day long beating you over the head with their media telling you what to believe, what to think and what to buy. The table is tilted, folks. The game is rigged and nobody seems to notice. Nobody seems to care. Good, honest, hard-working people: white collar, blue collar, it doesn’t matter what color shirt you have on. Good, honest, hard-working people continue — these are people of modest means — continue to elect these rich cocksuckers who don’t give a fuck about them. They don’t give a fuck about you. They don’t give a fuck about you. They don’t care about you at all! At all! At all! And nobody seems to notice. Nobody seems to care. That’s what the owners count on. The fact that Americans will probably remain willfully ignorant of the big red, white and blue dick that’s being jammed up their assholes every day, because the owners of this country know the truth. It’s called the American Dream, 'cause you have to be asleep to believe it.
"US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave a public speech in January 2010 championing Internet freedom as a vital tool to open governments and promote transparency, while criticizing 'dictatorships' who seek to target those who use technology to expose their transgressions.
'In many respects, information has never been so free,' Clinton said at the Washington, D.C. Newseum. 'There are more ways to spread more ideas to more people than at any moment in history. Even in authoritarian countries, information networks are helping people discover new facts and making governments more accountable.'
'This challenge may be new, but our responsibility to help ensure the free exchange of ideas goes back to the birth of our republic,' she added, invoking the First Amendment to the US Constitution, which guarantees freedom of speech."
"Iraqi-American Bilal, an assistant professor at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, has implanted a titanium plate into the back of his skull for the sake of his art. The plate allows Bilal to attach and remove a camera to the back of his head magnetically, for his project which is called 'The 3rd I.'"
"Jeana Brown, Obama 2008 Field Organizer in Georgia:
I personally am saddened. It is clear to me that we have not seen the 'change we can believe in.' Extending the Bush tax cuts will kill volunteer recruitment and retainment.
Daniel Roche, Obama 2008 Deputy Field Organizer in Nevada -- a key swing state Obama won:
If he capitulates on this, there really is no point in voting for him in 2012. The difference between voting for a Republican and voting for someone whose default negotiation strategy is rolling over and dying whenever the Republican Party says mean things is marginal. This should be a ridiculously easy fight to win.
Matthew Donoghue, Communications Staffer for 2008 Ohio Campaign for Change
'I want the President to adhere to his campaign promise. I didn't go to Ohio eleven weeks after completing chemoradiotherapy to have him uphold the reckless Bush/GOP 'spare the wealthy' tax scheme.'"
"It is not easy to consider challenging the first African-American to be elected as President of the United States. But, regrettably, I believe that the time has come to do this.
It is time for Progressives to stop 'whining' and arguing among themselves about whether President Obama will or will not do this or that. Obama is no different than any other President, nominated by his national party. He was elected with the hard work and 24/7 commitment of persons who believed and enlisted in his campaign for 'Hope' and 'Change.'
You don't have to be a rocket scientist nor have a PhD in political science and sociology to see clearly that Obama has abandoned much of the base that elected him. He has done this because he no longer respects, fears or believes those persons who elected him have any alternative, but to accept what he does, whether they like it or not.
It is time for those persons who constituted the 'Movement' that enabled Senator Barack Obama to be elected to 'break their silence'; to indicate that they no longer will sit on their hands, and only let off verbal steam and ineffective sound and fury, and 'hope' for the best.
The answer is blowin' in the wind"
"Well, as a black man, all have have to say is...let's hope Barack Obama never comes up with an 'initiative' to advance the interests of black people. By the time he's halfway through his pre-compromise phase, the question up for debate would be, 'To exactly what extent should Jim Crow be reinstated?'...LOL!"Oh well....
"“In a free society we're supposed to know the truth,” Paul insisted. “In a society where truth becomes treason, then we're in big trouble. And now, people who are revealing the truth are getting into trouble for it."
"'It numbs your tongue, then burns all the way down,' he told the paper. 'It can last an hour, and you just don't want to talk to anyone or do anything. But it's a marvelous endorphin rush. It makes you feel great.'"
"All pre-orders will receive a complementary high quality digital download of the album on release date (February 15th, 2011) via email.
As a special pre-order GRAND PRIZE bonus, everyone who pre-orders Go-Go Boots from drivebytruckers.com will be entered in a drawing to win a pair of tickets to EVERY Drive-By Truckers show in 2011 (starting after February 15th, 2011)."
"The Drive-by Truckers 'The Deeper In'
Oh my sweet dark Jesus by the lamp, this song. It's about sibling incest and it ends so abruptly that you are stunned. It damns and it forgives and it damns. This is the kind of storytelling any other writer could spend years attempting. In Daddy's, the story 'Let' is my attempt."
"Que los Truckers son muy buenos, es un hecho. Que imparten lecciones magistrales de rock en el siglo XXI desde ayer, para un servidor tambi�n. Lecci�n de rock en may�sculas, sure�o de procedencia, y universal de contenido, contundente y sin fecha de caducidad. Muchos artistas deber�an envidiar el flequillo de Mike Cooley y los rizos de Patterson Hood. La barba infinita de Brad Morgan y la sensual timidez Shonna Tucker. A ella le grit� “Marry Me” esperando que Cooley nos regalara la canci�n y con ella obsequiaron mediado el concierto a una parroquia rendida."
The Truckers are very good, it's a fact. That taught master classes in the twenty-first century rock from yesterday, for a server too. Rock lesson in capital letters, southern provenance, universal content, blunt and no expiration date. Many artists would envy the fringe of Mike Cooley and Patterson Hood curls. The beard infinite Brad Morgan and Shonna Tucker sensual shyness. She screamed "Marry Me" waiting for Cooley gives us the song and it flattered the middle of the concert to a parish rendered.
"At the bottom of the page you will Patterson Hood’s live tribute to Darkness On The Edge Of Town recorded in 2007, by Sloan Simpson, at the 40 Watt club in Athens, GA. Last week, on the eve of the Darkness reissue, The Promise, I asked Patterson to share his thoughts on the original LP. He did just that. Below is his transmission from the Netherlands, thinking about Darkness, while touring with Drive-By Truckers. Look for the new DBT record, Go-Go Boots, out February 2011."
"A strong Southern accent imbues Muscle Shouls musician Doc Dailey’s voice and music. His songs continue a rich Southern storytelling tradition, filled with characters struggling with the hands that they’ve been dealt. In album opener “Prove Me Wrong” Dailey strives to make a relationship work, only to confess “if a pictures worth a thousand words, how come I keep burnin’ hers.” The musical accompaniment – acoustic guitar, mandolin, banjo and fiddle – only adds to the melancholy feel."
"the offense carries a minimum sentence of 180 days in jail and a maximum sentence of two years plus a $10,000 fine."Kurtis Blow got a $100 misdemeanor ticket as if his car was parked illegally.
"Paul Grushkin, author of music bibles The Art of Rock and the Art of Modern Rock, explains the appeal. 'It's our way of remembering what it was like to go to these wonderful shows. 'Oh my God I was there!' That's what it's all about in any generation.' Though Grushkin's own collection includes some of the first Jefferson Airplane Fillmore posters, he doesn't turn his nose at newer music. 'The hardest thing for anyone involved in Rock n' Roll merchandising is not to look down at somebody else's music. It's very easy to say 'it was better in my youth.' But you can't tell a 13-year-old who's just discovering music that the music of his generation will never be as good as mine. That's a pretty shitty message to transmit. It's all about the attitude. It doesn't matter when you got on the bus, it's that you got on the bus.'”"
"Sam Johnson was a Populist at heart, even twenty years after the Populist party was dead and buried. And Johnson and a handful of men in the statehouse knew that they fought losing battle after losing battle, eating beans on their paltry salaries while other legislators ate steak and drank whiskey on the dime of lobbyists.
One time a frustrated compatriot of Johnson's half-jokingly asked why the Hell they didn't just surrender. And Sam Johnson responded that the things worth fighting for are worth fighting for in their own right. Win or lose.
That was 100 years ago. And I wonder now, as I look to my own party, where the Sam E. Johnsons are. Where are the men who will stand up and say, 'No, it's not right that the burden of sacrifice should fall to those least able to bear it while those who enjoy the greatest privilege sacrifice so little.'"
"More often than not, I've attempted to give the Obama administration the benefit of the doubt, both in terms of policy and politics. That's not to say I've embraced every idea -- I most certainly haven't. But even when I've vocally disagreed with a policy position, I've attempted to see the wisdom and pragmatism behind the president's choices.
But this week I have no blessed clue what the hell he's up to. I've tried to look at this from every angle and each one leads me back to weak, weak, weak.
He's following rules that no longer exist, pandering to voter attitudes that will have zero consequence in terms of both his approval numbers and his reelection chances. He's completely off the rails -- well beyond any notion of post-partisanship. In fact, if his intention has been to 'change the way Washington does business,' he's currently and epically failing because I simply can't believe that the new and improved way is this way."
---------
"You'd never know it, though, because whenever a Democrat -- say, Bernie Sanders or Anthony Weiner or the outgoing Alan Grayson, for example -- steps up and forcefully tells the truth, they're assaulted by political hipsters who harrumph and bitch about 'both sides' acting insane and shrill and why can't we all just be nice! You know, nice like the glorious olden days when there weren't witch hunts or duels or beatings or civil wars. Meanwhile, the Republicans line up in lockstep on television and repeat the same lines over and over and over. The media repeats and validates during Sunday morning 'smackdown' often featuring John McCain. The Democrats concede. And the Republicans win the debate -- usually by grinding it into the ground with nonstop crazy and by filibustering everything."
"Washington (CNN) -- President Barack Obama told GOP leaders behind closed doors Tuesday that he had failed to reach across party lines enough during his first two years in office, a senior administration official told CNN.
He promised to do a better job of bipartisan outreach in the days ahead, the official added.
'The president said he had to do better, and the president is ready to do his part,' the official said."
"In the name of job creation and clean energy, the Obama administration has doled out about $2 billion in stimulus money to some of the nation's biggest polluters while granting them exemptions from a basic form of environmental oversight, a Center for Public Integrity investigation has found."
