Cool, New Music Playlist: November 2022

 

                                    Willie Chambers (of The Chambers Brothers) & Barbara Dane

ALBUMS

BEST NEW ALBUM (TIE) Weyes Blood. And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow

BEST NEW ALBUM (TIE) Robyn Hitchcock. Shufflemania!

PJ Harvey And Tim Phillips. Bad Sisters. (EP, soundtrack) feat a cover of Leonard Cohen's "Who By Fire"

PJ Harvey. B-Sides, Demos & Rarities.

Sharon Van Etten. We've Been Going About This All Wrong [Deluxe Edition]

Panda Bear / Sonic Boom. Reset. (Expanded Edition)

Laura Veirs. Found Light. (Expanded Edition)

Bernard Butler. Live at Rough Trade East. (EP, Live)

Seth Avett. Seth Avett Sings Greg Brown.

STS9. Wakaan Mixtape.

Mdou Moctar. Niger EP Vol. 1 & Niger EP Vol. 2.

Paul Weller. Will Of The People.

Bright Eyes. Companion albums re-doing songs from three more early Bright Eyes albums: Digital Ash In A Digital Urn: A Companion, I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning: A Companion, and Lifted Or The Story Is In The Soil, Keep Your Ear To The Ground: A Companion.

M.I.A. MATA. We hate this album. And we really hate M.I.A. as a conspiracy theory-spewing Born Again Christian. Having performed and recorded and knowing all the hard work that goes into making something creative happen, we are very reluctant to criticize an artist's live performances or recordings. We hate the negative focus of many, especially online. We prefer to focus on the artists and the art that we *do* like, of which there is plenty. And M.I.A. was a favorite at one time. But she missed the train and is standing at the wrong platform, babbling. There is a lot of mediocre music out there, and others that is just not our cup of tea. You can't listen to everything, you've got to make choices, We choose not to listen, or pay much attention, to the mediocre pop of Taylor Swift, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Megan Thee Stallion, and the like, and focus on truly creative artists who still take chances and make it happen. I think there are other places where they like that mediocre stuff and talk about it and you should go there if that's what you're into.

Arctic Monkeys. The Car. I hate this album too. See above. Arctic Monkeys, another old favorite of ours, used to do several different genres, now they basically do one genre - One-way ticket to Croonerville. Not a bad place to be, but we like going other places too. This group has TWO guitarists... how about using at least ONE of them more often.. and a little less strings and a little less keyboards. And better songwriting.

Dave Davies. Living on a Thin Line. Nice, representative collection of songs by The Kinks guitarist to accompany a forthcoming book.

Sleater-Kinney. Dig Me In: A Dig Me Out Covers Album. Feat. St. Vincent, Wilco, Courtney Barnett. The Linda Lindas, Low. Friends of the band offer their fresh take on the 1997 classic.

Dry Cleaning. Stumpwork. Their second album. Laconic observations and such.

Arthur Brown. Monster's Ball. This 80 year-old is releasing his second album of 2022. So what's your excuse now? Check out the remake of Arthur's classic "Fire" feat James Williamson (the guitarist on Iggy Pop's Raw Power), Brian Auger & Carmine Appice

Hugh Cornwell. Moments of Madness. Cool, new solo album from former The Stranglers guitarist.

                                                                  Holly Near & Barbara Dane

SINGLES

Hamilton, Joe Frank, & Reynolds. "Don't Pull Your Love"

Andrew Bird. "I Felt a Funeral, In My Brain" (feat Phoebe Bridgers, based on an Emily Dickinson poem)

Phoebe Bridgers. "So Much Wine" (feat Andrew Bird)

Children of Trostyanets. "War Is Your Name" (Ukraine)

Titus Andronicus. "Drummer Boy" (Mash-Up with Billy Joel's "Piano Man").

Fiona Apple. "Where the Shadows Lie". from "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" 

The Everly Brothers. "The Price Of Love"

ARCHIVAL

The Beatles. Revolver (Super Deluxe).

David Bowie. Live In Berlin (1978)

Malvina Reynolds. Little Boxes And Other Handmade Songs.

Sonny Boy Williamson II. One Way Out.

The Libertines. Up the Bracket: Demos, Radio Sessions, B-Sides & Live. Their debut album.

The Chambers Brothers. The Time Has Come. Feat their smash hit "Time Has Come Today"

Fleetwood Mac. Tokyo 1977 (Live)

Hazel Dickens & Alice Gerrard. Pioneering Women of Bluegrass: The Definitive Edition

Nina Simone. Hoboken 1968 (Live)

Tinariwen. Kel Tinariwen (release from the 90s reissued)

Barbra Streisand. Live At The Bon Soir (1962, Remastered). 

Warren Zevon. Innocent Bystander (Live). Live 1976 & 1978.

Chicago. Kentucky Derby 1974 (Live)

Kim Fowley. Frankenstein And The All Star Monster Band

Little Stevie Wonder / The Marvelettes / The Miracles. Don't You Know.

Simon & Garfunkel. BBC Archives Sixties (Live)

Joe Strummer. Live at Acton Town Hall (Joe's last show).

Gene Clark & The Fyrebirds. Live At The Rocking Horse Saloon, 1-13-85, Hartford, CT. The Byrds co-founder solo live.

Ride. 4 EPs.

Los Destellos. Los Destellos Sicodélicos. 1968 Peru, psychedelic cumbia

                              CHECK OUT BARBARA DANE'S NEW BOOK!

           Barbara Dane: "This Bell Still Rings: My Life Of Defiance And Song"

READ: Barbara Dane live in Berkeley, October 17, 2022: Book Launch feat Willie Chambers, Holly Near, Family and Friends

BOOKS

Barbara Dane. "This Bell Still Rings: My Life of Defiance and Song"

Bob Dylan. "The Philosophy of Modern Song"

Anne Applebaum. "Red Famine: Stalin's War on Ukraine"

Serhii Plokhy. "The Gates of Europe: A History of Ukraine"

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Cool, New Music Playlist October 2022

Cool, New Music Playlist September 2022

Barbara Dane live in Berkeley, October 17, 2022: Book Launch feat Willie Chambers, Holly Near, Family and Friends

 

Family and Friends, like Willie Chambers (of The Chambers Brothers) and Holly Near, joined singer/activist Barbara Dane (age 95), in Berkeley this week to celebrate the launch of Barbara's great new book "This Bell Still Rings: My Life Of Defiance And Song".

Beginning in the 1940s, Barbara Dane performed jazz, blues, folk, and standards with artists such as Bob Dylan and Louis Armstrong, emphasizing songs that advocated peace and social justice.

Great to see such a great reception in Berkeley. Barbara got a heart-warming standing ovation the moment she arrived on the stage at The Freight And Salvage. Nice to see Barbara surrounded by old friends and family such as her daughter Nina and son Pablo (who came from Cuba), both musicians themselves, who were a vital part of the presentation. Barbara and Holly Near both were in strong voice and had the crowd in the palm of their hands right from the start. Willie Chambers, age 84, of The Chambers Brothers, brought a very welcome energy to the proceedings. The book is great and Barbara's whole life is such an inspiration. The fact that she is active and vibrant at age 95 invalidates many of our excuses and encourages us to dream and reach for the stars and the things we love.

Willie Chambers: "I Was Born To Sing The Blues"

"Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around" Barbara Dane, Willie Chambers, Family, and Friends

At the Berkeley show we saw a trailer for the forthcoming documentary: 

                                             The Nine Lives of Barbara Dane:

Excellent New York Times profile of Barbara: 

               Barbara Dane’s Life of Defiance and Song (Feb. 10, 2021)

Barbara's book talks about the anti-war coffeehouses they put on during Vietnam near military bases and the subsequent FTA! tour with Jane Fonda. Barbara and Holly (who was also involved) discussed it at length at the book launch as well.

The FTA! Documentary feat Jane Fonda available now on Netflix: FTA!

Here's Barbara's 1966 masterpiece with The Chambers Brothers:

The Chambers Brothers "Time Has Come Today"

The Case Against Putin

February 24, 2022. Russian President Vladimir Putin launches an invasion of neighboring Ukraine.

In this war, the world witnessed in real time war crimes such as Russia's targeting of Ukrainian civilians. People denounced the war as imperialist and illegal. 

But Putin has a long legacy of wrong-doing, including war crimes, murder, thievery, and egregious violations of basic human rights in Russia, Chechnya, Syria, Ukraine, and beyond.

Here is a brief overview of his career:

July 25, 1998: President Boris Yeltsin names Putin as the new head of the FSB (today's KGB).

August 24, 1998: Journalist Anatoly Levin-Utkin beaten the death after researching Putin's previous corruption as an official in St. Petersburg

August 7, 1999: The Second Russo-Chechen War begins

August 9, 1999 Putin appointed Acting Prime Minister by President Boris Yeltsin

September 4, 1999 Apartment Bombing, many military families, 62 dead. Four more bombings over the next two weeks kill a total of 350. Muslim radicals blamed. Possible "False Flag" that Putin exploits to solidify power and expand the war in Chechnya (in 2022: "Pipeline" & "Dirty Bomb" theories floated as possible False Flags Putin can exploit to solidify power and expand the war in Ukraine)

December 31, 1999 Putin replaces Yeltsin as President

                                                                                         Anna Politkovskaya

October 7, 2006 Anna Politkovskaya, journalist, shot to death, had reported on Putin's corruption and atrocities in Chechnya, some say her killing was a birthday gift to Putin.

                                                                                 Alexander Litvinenko

November 23, 2006 Alexander Litvinenko, Putin critic, died in London after being poisoned with polonium.

August 1, 2008 The Russo-Georgian War begins. Russia crushes many of the democratic independent hopes and dreams of the Rose Revolutions (2003-2004). Georgia has been afraid to incur Russia's wrath ever since, establishing Russia's objectives without having to maintain a full-scale war or occupation. Russia encouraged "separatists" in Georgia, as we've also seen in Moldova and Ukraine. Divide and conquer? Russia doesn't call the war in Georgia a war, they say it's a "peace enforcement", recalling their 2022 declaration that the war in Ukraine was a "special military operation" and calling it a "war" in Russia could lead to your arrest. 

April 16, 2009 Finally! The end of the Second Russo-Chechen War which began in 1999.

                                                             Sergei Magnitsky's Grave

November 16, 2009 Sergei Magnitsky, attorney in Bill Browder's fraud case involving the police and officials, beaten to death in police custody. The case highlights the lengths (or depths) Putin and his cronies will go to cover up their massive looting of the Russian public, most notably through the rigged "privatization" process where Soviet-owned (that is, owned by the government on behalf of the public) industries were illegally sold to insiders at a fraction of their true value. This is the source of most of the illicit wealth of Putin and his oligarchs, as well as their continued exploitation of gas and oil and other resources.

March 3, 2012 Two members of the feminist activist punk group Pussy Riot arrested for an anti-Putin protest at Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Savior. A third member was later arrested. One was freed after an appeal, but the other two spent nearly two years in jail, where it's been reported they were often mistreated.

June 30, 2013 Putin signs a severe anti-gay measure into Russian federal law called "For the Purpose of Protecting Children from Information Advocating a Denial of Traditional Family Values". It criminalizes "promoting" (or even discussing) LGBTQ issues with youth. Putin's rhetoric increasingly uses tropes that are anti-queer and anti-trans, in order to portray himself as the defender of "traditional values", Russian ethno-nationalism, and Orthodox Christian extremism; not as the enemy of The West, but rather the natural ally of the Western far-right against Liberals, Woke gender nonconformists, immigrants, and "Elite Globalists".

2014 Russia arms separatists in Donbas (Eastern Ukraine), illegally annexes Crimea.

July 17, 2014 Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, a civilian commercial flight, shot down by pro-Russian forces in Donbas, killing all 298 people on-board.

                                                                    Boris Nemtsov

February 27, 2015 Boris Nemtsov, dissident, shot to death, hours after calling for a march to protest Russia's war in Ukraine

September 2015 Russian intervention in the Syrian Civil War. Russia props up the dictator Assad. Civilian deaths. White phosphorus. Assad attacks civilians with chemical weapons under Russian protection.

2015 - 2016 Russian government intelligence attempts to interfere with the 2016 U.S. presidential elections. Amongst other projects: Provide Wikileaks with embarrassing private stolen/hacked emails from officials in the Democratic Party. The emails are weaponized to anger Bernie Sanders supporters, lessen support for long-term Putin enemy Hillary Clinton, and increase support for outlier Donald Trump. Ultimately these emails and others from John Podesta were used as the foundation for Pizzagate and Qanon. Russia and Wikileak's Julian Assange tried to blame Seth Rich for the theft and implied he was murdered by agents of Hillary Clinton when he tried to sell the emails. In fact, Assange and Wikileaks received the stolen Democratic data from Russian intelligence.

March 4, 2018 Sergei Skripal, former spy, and his daughter Yulia are poisoned with Novichok in Salisbury, England. They survive but many others were potentially exposed to the poison and there was major damage done to UK-Russian relations as a result of this plan gone awry.

                                                                          Alexei Navalny

August 20, 2020 Alexei Navalny, dissident and major Putin critic, poisoned with Novichok. He survives after being treated in Germany but is arrested again when he returns to Russia and he remains in custody.

February 2022 Russia invades Ukraine. War crimes. Attacks on civilians.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

thissmallplanet · "Putin Has Pissed Himself!" Pussy Riot

Imperialism

Putin's invasion of Ukraine is an example of imperialism and imperialism is always bad.

Imperialism is related to Colonialism and Neo-colonialism. A king has a kingdom and an emperor has an empire. One country, often with a perceived economic military advantage attempts to dominate one or more countries, either neighboring or far-off, and builds an empire.

Although the colonizing force often emphasizes the benefits they bring to their "colonies", it is often understood that the dominated countries is typically exploited by the invading forces.

In the 15th century, the modern age of European imperialism began as European countries such as England, Sweden, and Denmark sought to dominate markets and nations in the Americas, Africa, and Asia.

England with its powerful navy sailed around the world to open markets, ports and colonies for the throne. They colonized neighboring Ireland but imperialism was by no means an exclusively European enterprise.

TO BE CONTINUED....

UK, French, Belgian, Dutch, US imperialism. German, Russian neioghborhood imperialism

Arab Persian Chinese Tibet Turkey Japan

WWI Battle of Empires UK, Russia, Prussia/Germany, Austro-Hungary, Ottoman

whataboutism

Russian, Chinese imperialism. 

Myanmar, Sri Lanka

Peter The Great

Stalin, Holodomor, Pact With Hitler.

Chechnya, Tuva, Tatar, Georgia, Ukraine

Human rights, kleptocracy, democracy

Cool, New Music Playlist October 2022

 

Waxahatchee at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, October 1, 2022 

COOL NEW BOOK ABOUT MUSIC: 

"This Bell Still Rings: My Life of Defiance and Song" by Barbara Dane.

Barbara Dane, singer/activist, age 95, has written her memoirs and it's a great read. I'm just getting started and have already enjoyed spending time with Barbara and friends such as Studs Terkel, Kenneth Rexroth, Jesse Fuller, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee , Woody Guthrie, and Malvina Reynolds who wrote "Magic Penny". We see her organizing a benefit for The Rosenbergs and participating in every musical and political fluctuation of the day. She hasn't met Louis Armstrong or Bob Dylan yet. But she will! Barbara Dane is a national treasure... better make that an international treasure... Barbara Dane and the Chambers Brothers, her 1966 Folkways collaboration with The Chambers Brothers, is an absolute classic:

ALBUMS

Dropkick Murphys. This Machine Still Kills Fascists. Their first acoustic album, with archival Woody Guthrie lyrics. Powerful.

Titus Andronicus. The Will To Live. Love these guys. Punkish indie rock with a heart of solid gold.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Cool It Down. Worth a listen.

Pixies. Doggerel. Sounds like classic Pixies.

Vieux Farka Touré & Khruangbin. Ali. Doing his dad's classic songs with Khruangbin. Good.

Paul Weller. Whoosh. (EP). Always good.

Buddy Guy. The Blues Don't Lie. One of the last of the old school blues guy, still got it!

OFF! Free LSD. Classic Keith Morris (Circle Jerks, Black Flag) punk rock .

Jesse Malin. Glitter In The Gutter. Pretty good.

Bill Callahan. YTILAER (Reality)

Elysian Fields. Once Beautiful, Twice Removed.

The Snuts. Burn The Empire.

The 1975. Being Funny In A Foreign Language.

Black Lips. Apocalypse Love.

Todd Rundgren. Space Force. 

Plains. I Walked With You A Ways. Collaboration of Kate of Waxahatchee & Jess Williamson

Iceage. Shake the Feeling: Outtakes & Rarities 2015–2021. Known as a metal band, here they do a Bob Dylan cover and more.

Jake Blount. The New Faith. And his debut album Spider Tales too. Saw him on a livestream from the Hardly Strictly Festival and was impressed.

Tyler Childers. Can I Take My Hounds To Heaven? Still don't know what to make of this album and this artist...but it is interesting! Country and then some.

Karen Elson. Green. Nice album.

SINGLES

Gene Vincent. "The Day The Earth Turned Blue"

Courtney Barnett. "Words and Guitar" (Sleater-Kinney cover)

Barbara Dane. "I'm On My Way"

King Gizzard. Laminated Denim: "The Land Before Timeland"/"Hypertension"

Stephen McCarthy & Carla Olson. "Night Comes Falling":

                                Jackson Browne & Billy Strings live, "Running On Empty"

ARCHIVAL

Wilco. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (Super Deluxe Edition)

Faces. London '71 (live) & Strawberry Mountain Fair, Vancouver, 1970 (live)

Lou Reed. Words & Music, May 1965.

The Who. BBC Radio 1965 - 1966.

Gene Clark. Ebbet's Field Club '75 (live). The Byrds co-founder solo show from 1975.

Ten Years After. Seattle 1969. Featuring Alvin Lee.

Can. Live In Cuxhaven 1976.

John Lee Hooker. Festival International De Jazz (Antibes Live 1969)

Leonard Cohen. A Poet In Germany (live)

Original Photos by Michael Donnelly for ThisSmallPlanet of Waxahatchee at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, October 1, 2022 and People's Park, Berkeley, September 2022.

You may also be interested in: Cool, New Music Playlist September 2022

and

Bonnie "Prince" Billy live in Santa Cruz, September 16, 2022