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Monday, December 2, 2013
Monday, October 7, 2013
Halloween WARdrobe 2013
Time to start thinking about Halloween costumes again.
Rhetro Zenberg's pick for best Halloween costume for 2013 is this awesome WARbama ensemble.
One might wonder why depicting President Obama as a WARmonger is an appropriate costume for Halloween. Here are a few good reasons why this is the scariest WARdrobe for not only Halloween, but every day since Obama's reign of terror began.
1 Obama has deployed over 30,000 troops to WAR zones.
4 His personal drone WAR has already resulted in the deaths of over 2,400 innocent men, women and children in Pakistan alone, (the Guardian). The US isn't even at WAR with Pakistan.
5 His administration provided guns to Mexican drug cartels that resulted in the violent deaths of hundreds if not thousands of Mexican citizens, (Fast and Furious Scandal).
6 He re-authorized the Patriot Act and signed the National Defense Authorization Act, (NDAA), declaring WAR on American citizens.
WAR is Peace
Happy Halloween!
Have a nice WAR... or three or four!
Friday, September 13, 2013
Tree Demons on the Mainland
Earlier this month, the postman delivered two very different, new releases from a couple of musical artists who both grew up in Santa Cruz, California. In fact, they both attended the same high school, at the same time, although neither have ever collaborated.
Demons is a follow-up to Splitting Branches, released in 2012; a full-length internet only album that features friends from Santa Cruz including his long-time girlfriend, Kirsten Artemecia Rosenberg. Tree's fresh approach to music doesn't fit into any particular genre and is therefore free of presupposed assumptions or discrimination. To Oliver Tree, the world around him is music, and he has mastered the art of morphing found sound into complex arrangements that edify the listening experience in a profoundly holistic way.
The three tracks on Demons are mesmerizing and transcend pretty much everything happening in the music industry today. In addition to two original compositions, the record features a splendid cover of Radiohead's Karma Police that is complimentary to the original version while broadening the spectrum of the popular piece.
We'll no doubt be hearing more form Tree.
Cheque out more Tree for free on Soundcloud and purchase Demons here.
Jordy Topf first gained notoriety with the Vox Jaguars whose popular song, Swagger, was named among the 20 Best Indie Songs of 2009 and has been played regularly on XM Radio, featured on the big screen, as well as international and prime-time TV.
In 2010, Toph left the promising Vox Jaguars and moved to New York City where he formed, Mainland, a hipster/indie band that has received notoriety in the Big Apple. Mainland just released their first EP, Girls Unknown, which, so far, hasn't received as much attention at his former band, but nevertheless, exhibits some exceptionally promising material that will no doubt please listeners of all ages.
The first track, Wasted, is probably the most addicting song I have ever heard and now it plays in my head almost constantly. Wasted may be the most catchy song on the CD, however, my preferred track is Twin Cities, a Beatlesque song that features what has become my favorite guitar solo of 2013. Corey Mullee's straight-forward technique is crisp clean and honest - like a George Harrison riff from an early Beatles song.
Other members of Mainland include Alex Pitta on bass and Dylan Longstreet on drums. Girls Unknown was produced by long time friend of Topf, Luke David, who also performed production duties for the Vox Jaguars' first CD, Out of Luck.
Mainland is currently in Austin, Texas, recording a full-length CD.
Purchase Girls Unknown here and listen free on Spotify.
Demons by TREE
Giving roots to a new genre, on September 3, Oliver Tree Nickell, an artist who goes by the moniker Tree, teamed up with Beat Culture and released his first vinyl EP. Demons was released on the Apollo Records label, and is already receiving rave reviews in the UK and US.
Demons is a follow-up to Splitting Branches, released in 2012; a full-length internet only album that features friends from Santa Cruz including his long-time girlfriend, Kirsten Artemecia Rosenberg. Tree's fresh approach to music doesn't fit into any particular genre and is therefore free of presupposed assumptions or discrimination. To Oliver Tree, the world around him is music, and he has mastered the art of morphing found sound into complex arrangements that edify the listening experience in a profoundly holistic way.
The three tracks on Demons are mesmerizing and transcend pretty much everything happening in the music industry today. In addition to two original compositions, the record features a splendid cover of Radiohead's Karma Police that is complimentary to the original version while broadening the spectrum of the popular piece.
We'll no doubt be hearing more form Tree.
Cheque out more Tree for free on Soundcloud and purchase Demons here.
Girls Unknown by MAINLAND
Jordy Topf first gained notoriety with the Vox Jaguars whose popular song, Swagger, was named among the 20 Best Indie Songs of 2009 and has been played regularly on XM Radio, featured on the big screen, as well as international and prime-time TV.
In 2010, Toph left the promising Vox Jaguars and moved to New York City where he formed, Mainland, a hipster/indie band that has received notoriety in the Big Apple. Mainland just released their first EP, Girls Unknown, which, so far, hasn't received as much attention at his former band, but nevertheless, exhibits some exceptionally promising material that will no doubt please listeners of all ages.
The first track, Wasted, is probably the most addicting song I have ever heard and now it plays in my head almost constantly. Wasted may be the most catchy song on the CD, however, my preferred track is Twin Cities, a Beatlesque song that features what has become my favorite guitar solo of 2013. Corey Mullee's straight-forward technique is crisp clean and honest - like a George Harrison riff from an early Beatles song.
Other members of Mainland include Alex Pitta on bass and Dylan Longstreet on drums. Girls Unknown was produced by long time friend of Topf, Luke David, who also performed production duties for the Vox Jaguars' first CD, Out of Luck.
Mainland is currently in Austin, Texas, recording a full-length CD.
Purchase Girls Unknown here and listen free on Spotify.
Friday, July 5, 2013
Three Dog Night Live in Tooele - That Ain't the Way to Have Fun... Son!
Three Dog Night played in Tooele tonight.
They were no doubt the biggest and best band to ever play in the city famous for chemical and bio weapons stockpile and development.
The old-school rockers sounded great and pulled off quite a show.
They played all of their hits and even some new material that they said would be released by 2030.
The Oquirrh Mountains were a beautiful backdrop for the show.
The ugly and intrusive power lines installed to to operate the new NSA spy center, along with their resulting permanent scars on the mountain sides, were visible from every angle.
The crowd enthusiastically held up index fingers as the band played an old favorite, and one of Three Dog Night's biggest hits. One of my earliest memories of playing records on the old family console stereo is the Three Dog Night 45" single, One, (the loneliest number). The record belonged to my sister and I clearly remember watching it spin on the turntable. I recall that the song was credited to have been written by Nilsson, my first introduction to a composer/performer who is numbered among my favorites. I love Harry Nilsson and prefer his original version of One over Three Dog Night's cover. Both are good though.
When I was in fourth grade, I performed* the popular Three Dog Night song, Joy to the World, in the West Elementary Talent Show. It wasn't the first time I had performed publicly, but it was certainly the best received performance and gained me respect from my peers. Joy to you and me.
One of the most entertaining songs Three Dog Night played tonight is their popular cover of the Randy Newman song, Mama Told Me. Newman originally wrote the song for Eric Burdon** in 1966, but it was made famous by Three Dog Night in 1970. Tonight's version lasted about ten minutes and featured disco and rap variations of the familiar tune.
The show ended with a spectacular lightning storm accompanied by rain... lots of rain.
Three Dog Night has never been one of my favorite bands, but they are certainly featured prominently on the soundtrack of my life.
*I sang the song whilst playing my baritone ukulele. The following year, I performed Obla Di Obla Da. In sixth grade, I performed with my first band, Deep Six. I played my 1964 Dakota Red Fender Musicmaster.
**Ecic Burdon of the Animals - first solo album
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