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September 29, 2005

Folk and Blues History

If you watched "No Direction Home" earlier this week, you'll notice some great clips from a folk movie called "Festival!" by Murray Lerner, compiling films of the Newport Folk Festival in the 60s. After being entangled in legal issues, it turns out that it's going to be released on DVD on October 18th.

Posted by timothompson at 09:57 PM

September 26, 2005

More

Just reposting items from the SJBB message boards and newsletters again. The latest rumor mills below:

• The Uni-Quarterly State of the Jews Address
• Drag City: "You see, Silver Jews are a tradition to the young and semi-young of our global village — they quote David Berman’s lyrics, incorporating them as catch-phrases into their impressionable lives, fashion their lifestyles after what they imagine Silver Jews’ albums to be espousing and burn their favorite songs onto mix-CDs that they seek to influence others with, the cheap bitches! Ah, what we wouldn’t do for this fandom…it seems like the least we could do (literally) to release an album every four years or so from one of Drag City’s most celebrated of bands."
• Drag City on Silver Palace: "Hey, American friend — wanna buy a really rare record? If you’re near a fine Drag City direct retailer, you’ll have a chance to buy one on October 18th. See, that’s the day Drag City’s little sister label Sea Note issues a mystery single so strange and mysterious…let's see, so strange and mysterious, we can’t tell you a single thing about this single! Well, perhaps just one little note — this record is related to our big October 18th release and a rumor that’s spread for some years over a collaboration with this band and another band on Drag City. That’s all we’re telling you — put together the pieces and five dollar bills and be the first in line — and you too might have this rarest of items!"
• Anonymous tour rumor: silver palace is happening and the shows are currently being booked. it looks like paul's going to come along and we'll have chasnny on guitar. we're going to ease dave into touring. i'd say more but i'm fairly drunk and have said too much. expect a decent amount of both our catalogs. malk might do a couple of shows.

Posted by timothompson at 05:12 PM

September 21, 2005

John Strohm Interview

Formerly of the Blake Babies and Lemonheads. Now a lawyer (guess this coincides with yesterday's Stereogum post). He'll also be covering Jackson Browne on the upcoming indie all-star "High School Reunion" album.

Posted by timothompson at 11:43 AM

September 16, 2005

Joos Touring or Lack Thereof

According to someone on the Silver Jews board who seems like they know what they're talking about, Silver Palace (David Berman and Will Oldham) will be releasing something next year. The same post mentions small to no tour for Tanglewood #s, but a possibility of a large tour for the Silver Palace project. I also found a few anecdotes on this site about Berman and another interview here.

Posted by timothompson at 08:14 PM

September 15, 2005

"Bring Us His Head on a Platter!"

Not really, but my favorite congressman Lloyd Doggett is calling for an independent Hurricane Katrina inquiry:

Calling this partisan Republican scheme "bipartisan" reminds me of those tinhorn dictators who attempt to mask their authoritarian regimes by calling their countries "Democratic."

We need an independent citizens' commission, like the 9-11 Commission, to explore the failures of every level and every branch of government.

The Administration and its House Republican cohorts oppose this independent citizen commission just as they opposed the 9-11 Commission where the Administration erected roadblocks to that Commission's work at every turn. I say to them, "Save the stonewall for rebuilding the levees."

With thousands stranded, this Administration would not lead, but now it wants its buddies here in the Congress to lead the cover-up.

As with the formation of the 9-11 Commission, if enough informed Americans demand a genuine independent investigation, then we can end this Republican charade.

Our safety demands real accountability. What reason is there to believe that what we witnessed might not happen in our own backyard? That the fate of those we saw in New Orleans would not be the fate of others, such as poor folks in the Rio Grande Valley from hurricane flooding or other disasters – be it a human-caused, natural disasters, or both?

Without knowing, objectively, what, why, and how the rescue mission failed, there is no way to ensure that this horror would not be repeated in our communities.

There is nothing to prevent the House Republicans from having all the Congressional investigations and all the budget hearings that they want to have. What we are asking for here today is that you not have a sham "bi-partisan" commission. You should bring in citizens from around the country and have the kind of independent inquiries that led to a best-selling book exploring 9-11 -- the 9-11 Commission Report.

We owe it to the dead, to the displaced, and to all who could become the next victims of a catastrophe to support a true and genuine independent inquiry.

Sincerely,
Lloyd

U.S. Representative Lloyd Doggett
201 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
(202) 225-4865, (956) 687-5921, (512) 916-5921
http://www.house.gov/doggett

Posted by timothompson at 04:00 PM

Recommended Blog for Austin Music Fans

Ian at Austin360blogs.com.

Posted by timothompson at 12:25 PM

September 14, 2005

Soi Disantra: Tangled Up in Jews: The Genius of the Silver Jews' Tanglewood Numbers, Part 1

Here.

Posted by timothompson at 10:14 AM

September 10, 2005

Ice Cream Man

At ArthurFest.

Posted by timothompson at 03:23 PM

September 07, 2005

The Kinks' Ray Davies on New Orleans and Katrina

From The (London) Times: "I have been astonished by the reactions and apparent shame of some of the U.S. television reporters who seemed overwhelmed to discover that there actually is poverty in America," Davies writes. "They made me want to grab my television and shout 'Hello, dear reporter, yes, America actually does have poor and underprivileged people as well. Hello, yes, the president might well be slow to react but at times like this, that's all that an over-burdened, out-of-touch president can be."

He's placed some photos of his New Orleans visits on his site.

Posted by timothompson at 08:09 PM

Volunteer Computer Assistance for Katrina in Austin

If you are an experienced web user, you can help out Katrina evacuees in Austin. Here's instructions on how to sign up. [via]

Posted by timothompson at 11:42 AM

September 05, 2005

Links to Some Austin RSS Feeds

I posted this on LiveJournal, but will post it here as well for non-LJers:

• Austin Business Journal
• KXAN
• The Daily Texan
• Austin Bloggers Metablog
• Austinist
• Metroblogging Austin (Disclaimer: I post here.)
• About Austin
• Austin Stories
• Food Austin

If you don't know what I'm talking about, check out Bloglines for more info on RSS.

Posted by timothompson at 02:22 PM

September 04, 2005

Poster Auctions to Benefit Refugees

Mark Pedini is auctioning posters on eBay for the Katrina relief effort. Other poster artists are listing their auctions on Gigposters.com message board.

Posted by timothompson at 02:34 PM

Austin Helping New Orleans

A site has been set up to aggregate news and information. More info at Metroblogging Austin.

Posted by timothompson at 06:55 AM

September 03, 2005

Thank You

[via]

Posted by timothompson at 12:52 PM

September 02, 2005

Won't Soul Music Change Now That Our Souls Have Turned Strange?

I started thinking about Michael Ventura's recent article in the Austin Chronicle on America ("$4 A Gallon") today. Apparently, a few others have as well.

Posted by timothompson at 05:21 PM

This is America?

Wonkette has a transcript N.O. Mayor Ray Nagin's interview on CNN:

And one of the things people -- nobody's talked about this. Drugs flowed in and out of New Orleans and the surrounding metropolitan area so freely it was scary to me, and that's why we were having the escalation in murders. People don't want to talk about this, but I'm going to talk about it.

You have drug addicts that are now walking around this city looking for a fix, and that's that reason why they were breaking in hospitals and drug stores. They're looking for something to take the edge off of their jones, if you will.

And right now, they don't have anything to take the edge off. And they've probably found guns. So what you're seeing is drug- starving crazy addicts, drug addicts, that are wrecking havoc. And we don't have the manpower to adequately deal with it. We can only target certain sections of the city and form a perimeter around them and hope to God that we're not overrun.

(Cue U2's "Bullet the Blue Sky.")

Posted by timothompson at 01:37 PM

September 01, 2005

R.L. Burnside: 1926 - 2005

From Fat Possum:

We at Fat Possum are sad to announce that R.L. Burnside died today at his hospital room in Memphis.

Blues artist R.L. Burnside, who redefined the blues genre by incorporating indie rock acts and hip-hop production, died September 1, 2005, at St. Francis Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. Burnside was born November 21, 1926, in Harmontown, Mississippi, and spent most of his life in the north Mississippi hill country, where he worked as a sharecropper and a commercial fisherman and played guitar at weekend house parties. In 1968, noted folklorist George Mitchell recorded Burnside for the first time. In 1991 Burnside was the first artist signed to then-fledgling Fat Possum Records in Oxford, Mississippi. His debut, "Too Bad Jim," was produced by former New York Times pop critic Robert Palmer. Along with his friend, neighbor, and label-mate Junior Kimbrough, Burnside was one of the most popular and important blues musicians to emerge in the last two decades. He recorded the crossover collaboration "A Ass Pocket of Whiskey" with the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion in 1996 and became a cult hero. In 1998, music from "Come On In" was featured in several movies and television shows, including The Sopranos. Burnside sold hundreds of thousands of records in his lifetime. He is survived by his wife Alice Mae, twelve children, and numerous grandchildren.

Those wishing to help should send donations to:

Freeland & Freeland Trust Account
Burnside Memorial
P. O. Box 269
Oxford, MS 38655
(662)234-3414
All proceeds will go directly to RL's widow, Alice Mae.

Posted by timothompson at 09:29 PM

Gambit Weekly: A Disaster Waiting to Happen

It happened ("As FEMA weathers Bush administration policy changes, some insiders fear that concerns over terrorism are trumping protection from hurricanes and other natural hazards"). [via]

Posted by timothompson at 04:03 PM