Monday, September 30, 2019

New, Cool Tribute To The Late, Great David Berman (Silver Jews): "All My Happiness Is Gone" by Woods (Backing Band On Berman's "Purple Mountains")



They were the saddest of times; they were the happiest of times.

They were the times. They were our times.

One of the happiest things that happened this year was the release of Purple Mountains, David Berman (of The Silver Jews) first album in several years. And it was good.

But then, because it is Now, something tragic had to happen, and right after we heard this brilliant album we lost David to depression and suicide.

I felt strongly at the time that we the living had to keep singing these songs.

I wanted his friends to show up at the dates on his cancelled 2019 tour and sing his songs.

Well, this is a step in that direction:

Pitchfork: Kevin Morby and Woods Cover Purple Mountains’ “All My Happiness Is Gone”: Watch They performed the tribute to the late David Berman Saturday at the Woodsist festival

from Pitchfork:


Kevin Morby and Woods covered Purple Mountains’ “All My Happiness Is Gone” at this weekend’s Woodsist festival in honor of David Berman. Singer-songwriter Anna St. Louis and Little Wings frontman Kyle Field joined them in their tribute, and you can watch a video of it via Brooklyn Vegan below.
The members of Woods worked closely with Berman to make Purple Mountains, his final album before his death in early August. They were Berman’s backing band on the record, and Woods members Jarvis Taveniere and Jeremy Earl worked as producers on the album. St. Louis also sang on Purple Mountains. They join Stephen MalkmusBill Callahan, and First Aid Kit as artists who have covered Berman’s work in the weeks after his death.
P.S. If you're thinking about killing yourself, please don't.

WE NEED YOU!!!


Three songs from Berman's last album Purple Mountains:



Little Wings covering "All My Happiness Is Gone":


David Berman & Stephen Malkmus (Pavement): "Advice To The Graduate" (1994)


Stephen Malkmus does two Silver Jews songs in tribute to his late friend:



Friday, September 27, 2019

New, Cool Music: Indie Playlist October 2019



Singles

Bonnie "Prince" Billy "At The Back Of The Pit" (first single now on You Tube from new forthcoming album I Made A Place out Nov. 15)

Leonard Cohen "The Goal" (first single from forthcoming posthumous album Thanks For The Dance out Nov. 22)

Phoebe Bridgers "Peek-A-Boo" (Daniel Johnston RIP cover)(YouTube)


Albums

Mark Lanegan Band Somebody's Knocking
Sheer Mag A Distant Call
Kim Gordon No Home Record
Devendra Banhart Ma (first single "Taking A Page")
Vivian Girls Memory
Sam Fender Hypnotic Missiles
Jesse Malin Sunset Kids
Liam Gallagher Why Me? Why Not
Brittany Howard Jaime (Solo debut from Alabama Shakes singer/guitarist)
Y La Bamba Entre Los Dos
The White Stripes The Final Concert: The Snowden Grove Amphitheater (Southaven, Mississippi)

Trump's "Misspelling" of Liddle is His Way to Accuse Schiff of Ritual Child Abuse; A Signal To Trigger Wacky QAnon Conspiracy Theory Nuts To Attack A Congressman




There have been numerous tweets by Donald Trump targeting House Intelligence Chair Adam Schiff, a Democrat representing Los Angeles in the U.S. Congress.

Several of them attempt to give Schiff one of Trump's famous derogatory nicknames, calling him "Little" or "Liddle" Adam Schiff; although Schiff is actually 5'11".

More than one anti-Trump pundit has pointed out Trump frequently misspells words and mangles grammar, often stating this is proof Trump is suffering from a type of dementia. In this case; however, the "misspelling" is quite deliberate, has been done repeatedly (thus can't just be a one-time spelling error); meant to link Schiff to untold tales of depravity and child abuse.... and unleash the unhinged crazies on the fringe who believe these wild, unfounded conspiracy theories and will attack Schiff as a Jew, a liberal, a child-abusing Cabal member, and a traitor.

An organization called "Liddle Kidz" and has been targeted by Qanon for being part of the Cabal's child abuse ring. You can find it all over the Internet, for example here... They imply that "Liddle Kidz" and Schiff are working together and that's why Trump is spelling "Little" as "Liddle".

This article says "several" Liddle Kidz workshops have been hosted in Schiff's district (the Liddle Kidz website mentions a main office in Vancouver, Washington):

From a QAnon site:

They also frequently mention The Standard Hotel. Again, the only known connection is that it is located in Schiff's Congressional district (as if he were knowledgable about & responsible for everyone & everything happening in one of the busiest areas in Los Angeles or indeed anywhere in the U.S.). Some online "experts" have implied that the extreme exploitation of children, including satanic rituals and even snuff films, takes place at the hotel on a regular basis. (I was at The Standard Hotel recently and noticed nothing out of the ordinary.)

A small but troubling group of far-right extremists, gathered under the QAnon umbrella, have alleged that a "Cabal" of elites from the worlds of politics, business, and entertainment have secretly held rituals involving the kidnapping, rape, torture, and abuse of children. Some of them even allege that goes as far as mass murder, cannibalism, the drinking of blood, and the harvesting of "adrenochrome" from the victims. Adrenochrome was apparently made up by Hunter S. Thompson in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. It is posited by Qanon that scared children produce extra-special life-giving adrenochrome, which Qanon say helps keep these sick elitists alive through the centuries.

The "playing card"-type meme (above) featuring Schiff comes from the site Roger Stone harvested a similar illustration of Stone's judge with target crosshairs above her head: Roger Stone Used Crosshairs Logo From Pro-Trump, Pro-Russian Conspiracy Site Which Also Threatened Hillary, Judges, and a Mueller Prosecutor

Some QAnon people apparently believe that not only The Elite (led by Hillary, Obama, George Soros, etc.) are bad and evil, but also that they are demons, aliens, or undead, and need adrenochrome and/or blood to keep their centuries-old bodies going.

It would be laughable; of course, except that some people believe this nonsense and have even killed people for it.

Needless to say, it is horrible to make these kinds of accusations especially when there is no evidence of mass child abductions/disappearances. The fact is, most of these people know these allegations are false but make them anyway to score points against political opponents.

To make accusations of child abuse and even murder against political opponents without any evidence, just making things up out of thin air... clearly these are threats to democracy we must confront now or regret later. They are also reflect the desperation of the far-right.

They know they are losing and their Orange King is about to Fall...

Friday, September 20, 2019

"The Goal": New, Cool Song From The Late, Great Leonard Cohen




Leonard Cohen's son Adam collected the songs Leonard was working on at the time of his death, added some of Leonard's favorite musicians (such as Jorge Mas the Spanish laud player who performed with Leonard for his final eight years touring), and the result is Thanks For The Dance, Leonard Cohen's final album.

You can pre-order Thanks For The Dance here. You'll receive an immediate download of the first single "The Goal" and the rest of the album when it is released on November 22, 2019.


THE GOAL by Leonard Cohen (1934 - 2016)

I can't leave my house
Or answer the phone
I'm going down again
But I'm not alone

Settling at last
Accounts of the soul
This for the trash
That paid in full

As for the fall, it
Began long ago
Can't stop the rain
Can't stop the snow

I sit in my chair

I look at the street
The neighbor returns
My smile of defeat

I move with the leaves
I shine with the chrome
I'm almost alive
I'm almost at home

No one to follow
And nothing to teach
Except that the goal
Falls short of the reach

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

Fall 2019: Cool Upcoming Indie Music Releases

Mark Lanegan Band Somebody's Knocking (October 18, Heavenly Recordings)
Bonnie "Prince" Billy I Made A Place (November 15, Drag City)
Kim Gordan No Home Record (October 11, Matador)
Vivian Girls Memory (September 20, Polyvinyl)



Mark Lanegan Band Somebody's Knocking




Bonnie "Prince" Billy I Made A Place (November 15, Drag City).
Single out now: "At The Back Of The Pit"




Kim Gordan No Home Record




Vivian Girls Memory First album since 2011. Well worth a listen...






Daniel Johnston, Rest In Peace



Kurt Cobain, with Flea, wears a Daniel Johnston T-shirt at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards

Phoebe Bridgers and M. Ward cover Daniel Johnston...



Tuesday, September 10, 2019

Cool, New Song by Bonnie "Prince" Billy: "At The Back Of The Pit" (Video)




Bonnie "Prince" Billy is one of America's finest singer/songwriters. He's currently on a creative roll which has included several recent releases, including four volumes of "mixtapes", available at Bandcamp, containing wonderful live recordings, demos, outtakes, covers, rarities, and such.

Billy's got a new album I Made A Place out November 15, 2019 on Drag City.

You can pre-order it here.

 The first single "At The Back Of The Pit" is on Bandcamp now.

Monday, September 9, 2019

Bob Dylan Announces U.S. Tour Dates for Fall 2019


10-11 Irvine, CA - UC Irvine, Bren Events Center
10-12 Santa Barbara, CA - Santa Barbara Bowl
10-14 Palo Alto, CA - Stanford University Frost Amphitheatre
10-17 Denver, CO - The Mission Ballroom
10-19 Lincoln, NE - Pinnacle Bank Arena
10-20 Kansas City, MO - Arvest Bank Theatre at the Midland
10-22 St. Louis, MO - Stifel Theatre
10-23 Ames, IA - Iowa State University C.Y. Stephens Auditorium
10-24 Mankato, MN - Mankato Civic Center
10-26 Milwaukee, WI - Eagles Ballroom
10-27 Bloomington, IN - Indiana University Auditorium
10-29 Normal, IL - Illinois State University Braden Auditorium
10-30 Chicago, IL - Credit Union 1 Arena at UIC
11-01 South Bend, IN - Morris Performing Arts Center
11-02 Muncie, IN - Ball State University Emens Auditorium
11-04 Columbus, OH - Ohio State University Mershon Auditorium
11-05 East Lansing, MI - MSU 
Performing Arts Wharton Center
11-06 Ann Arbor, MI - University of Michigan Hill Auditorium
11-08 Highland Heights, KY - NKU BB&T Arena
11-09 Akron, OH - U of A EJ Thomas Performing Arts Hall
11-10 Moon Township, PA - UPMC Events Center
11-12 Baltimore, MD - UMBC Event Center
11-13 Petersburg, VA - Virginia State University Multi-Purpose Center
11-15 University Park, PA - PSU Eisenhower Auditorium
11-17 Ithaca, NY - Ithaca College Athletics and Events Center
11-19 Lowell, MA - University of Massachussetts Tsongas Arena
11-20 Providence, RI - Providence Performing Arts Center
11-21 Philadelphia, PA - The Met Philadelphia

Thursday, September 5, 2019

September 2019 Indie Music Playlist: What The Cool Kids Are Listening To


BRAND NEW:

Ezra Furman Twelve Nudes
Iggy Pop Free
Pixies Beneath The Eyrie


BLAST FROM THE PAST

Blind Willie Walker (1896 - 1933) "South Carolina Rag"/"Dupree Blues". Walker is said to have influenced the guitar style of Reverend Gary Davis. He only recorded 4 sides (only two of which were released) before dying in his mid-30s.


Ezra Furman



Iggy Pop



Pixies

                                                                     Blind Willie Walker

Wednesday, September 4, 2019

Pro-Trump, Homophobic Falun Gong Cult Faces Boycotts Of Their "Epoch Times" & "Shen Yun" Performance Troupe

The Falun Gong is a religious cult (based on qigong and Daoist traditions), whose members have suffered discrimination in China, and who often appear in public in the U.S. and Europe to protest Chinese government policies against them.


Many people who advocate for democracy in China (and places currently dominated by China), such as supporters of the Tibetans and the (Muslim) Uighurs are quite familiar with the Falun Gong. While we may have thought they were unusual, we still supported their right to practice their belief in China without harassment.


Falun Gong founder Li Hongzhi, who now lives in New York, has decided to throw the considerable weight of his movement to support U.S. President Trump (who he apparently sees as essentially a divine agent of change, who will thwart the will of Chinese Communist government, leading to increased power for the Falun Gong movement).

Supporting Trump was a huge tactical and moral mistake.

That's why activists are calling for a boycott against The Epoch Times and Shen Yun (the Chinese performance troupe), both owned and controlled by the Falun Gong.

You may have noticed dozens of YouTube ads recently for The Epoch Times, formerly known as a free newspaper of little consequence, now a full-on MAGA Pro-Trump internet-based "news" outlet, promoting even the bizarre QAnon conspiracy. I have taken to blocking the many annoying Epoch Times ads on YouTube. The Epoch Times spent over $1.5 million on these ads. Facebook banned The Epoch Times from advertising on their platform after numerous examples of deceptive practices.

"Li has been open about his beliefs that evolution is fraudulent, that people of different races will be separated in Heaven, and that homosexuality and promiscuity are unnatural. He told Time that aliens were attempting to control humans by making us dependent on modern science..." (New Yorker)




One of Falun Gong's biggest Western outreach is the Shen Yun performance troupe, which tries to mask its links to the cult.

Activists have called for a boycott against the Falun Gong's Epoch Times and Shen Yun to protest their support for Mr. Trump. I support that call 100%.

Related articles:

Trump, QAnon and an impending judgment day: Behind the Facebook-fueled rise of The Epoch Times

Facebook bans ads from The Epoch Times after huge pro-Trump buy

New Yorker: Stepping Into the Uncanny, Unsettling World of Shen Yun

UPDATE: October 2019, Steve Bannon Teams Up For Film With Falun Gong, a Chinese Group That Thinks Trump Will Bring on End-Times



What will be less clear to OANN’s viewers is that the movie’s funder, digital video company New Tang Dynasty, is closely tied to a spiritual movement that reportedly believes Donald Trump, Bannon’s former boss, will help usher in the end times.
New Tang Dynasty is part of the Epoch Media Group, a collection of far-right media outlets linked to Falun Gong, a Chinese spiritual movement that has been repressed by the Chinese government. The group’s members apparently now see Trump’s presidency and Chinese trade war as a fateful moment.