No, I am not speaking of smoke-able herbal remedies. Check out
these hard facts and educate yo’self FOOL!
1 ton is the amount of coal needed to provide 1 U.S.
house with electricity for two months.
46% of the world’s coal is produced by China, the leading source.
There are 3,594 square miles of federal land awaiting
permits for solar energy development.
These items (and lots more) are made using oil based
polymers: air mattress, antiseptic, baby blanket, cell phone, detergent, dish
scrubber, compact disk, hand lotion, lipstick, hearing aids, wallpaper,
whistle, and yarn. Makes me wonder why cancer dependence is so wide spread.
2 coal power plants are opened in China
each week since as of early 2008.
Kuwait burns the most home emissions from electricity (annual CO2 emissions) than any other country, at 6,000KG plus .
So there you have it gang, some information to think about, challenge and pass along. Do your part.
Even though I can't understand a thing the two vocalists from
Swedish punk band Masshysteri are
singing, their fuzzy well-placed male-female
harmonies make Var Del Av Stan a very addicting record. Masshysteri's
vocal style reminds me of the 1980’s polish band Post Regiment and the guitar melodies are reminiscent of the Wipers.
If you’re in Finland tomorrow I would really suggest seeing them with Annihilation
Time and The Black Lips.
The Galapagos Islands, an ecological treasure off the coast of Ecuador, are suffering from problems with animal conservation. The Islands are home to a number of species which can be found nowhere else in the world. Illegal fisherman currently threaten this plentiful and unique ecological environment. They primarily look for sharks and sea cucumbers which can be sold for their medicinal value. Locals are also inclined to fish off of the Galapagos because, as a nature preserve, the waters are teeming with marine life.
The volcanic island chain is home to brittle plants and equatorial desert shrubbery. Aside from the epic Tortoise, very few animals can sustain themselves solely from the land; most species look to the abundant sea for food. Penguins, Sharks, Iguanas, Flamingos, and the Blue-Footed Booby, among others, live off what they find in the ocean.
The extremely delicate ecosystem in the Galapagos could be easily disrupted by unregulated fishing activities. Other issues, including an increasing human population and a growth in tourism, also threaten the Island chain. Several groups, however, including the Charles Darwin Foundation and the Galapagos Conservation Trust, are working to address these problems as well as many others.
We caught up with Uproot Andy last night at his gig with BLKJKS and he hipped us to his newest Amadou and Miriam refix. Full story on The FADER. Bmore + Bamako via BK streaming below.
Mexico and the United States have had some escalating issues in the last couple months. Reports on the drug war, gun control, and the absurdly over-analyzed swine flu situation have been particularly noticeable in every source of news. In April, the amount of money sent home by Mexicans fell by almost one-fifth. Instead of stoking the chaotic relationship between Mexico and the US, this statistic, which made its way to me through a compact article in the New York Times, deserves some thought. If Mexican immigrants, both legal and illegal, are sending less money home, then the obvious conclusion is that they are losing their jobs or taking pay cuts. The lack of work in the US would then, hypothetically, stall immigration into the US; without the promise of a payoff at the end, Mexicans would be less inclined to go through the arduous process of getting to the US. This lack of drive to work in the United States could eventually prove detrimental to the economies of places that rely heavily on Mexican immigrants like California and Arizona. This development could add a whole new layer to the complicated mess currently festering in the desert.
The falling economy and subsequent rise in gold prices has spawned a tragic situation in the mines of South Africa. Unused gold mines, some still rich with mineral deposits, are occasionally sealed up and secured for later use. The potential for profit lingering in these idle mines has snapped up the attention of local organized crime. Commissioning both unemployed South Africans and illegal immigrants, crime operations harvest unused mines because they are relatively easy to access and also because rising gold prices have made the endeavor economically worthwhile.
A fire which has raged for days in the Eland mine shaft, in the central Free State, has claimed the lives of at least 61 of these miners. The bodies were brought to the surface by fellow miners. The Harmony Gold Mining Co.,which owns the mine, said that the situation is extremely dangerous and that they would not send any of their own people in. Harmony also said that, in the future, they will secure their mines more thoroughly. These measures will, hopefully, prevent another tragedy like this from occurring. Harmony said that, as of Monday, 294 illegal miners had surfaced, and that all of them will be prosecuted.
This tragedy is an example of how the ever-slouching world economy can exact costly and devastating tolls in seemingly disconnected places. The unemployment levels in Africa fuel a desperation that can be utilized and exploited by criminal organizations. In a hunt for profit, these syndicates draw on the negligence of mining companies and push inexperienced workers into deadly situations.
I think the 'owl' in Green Owl and the 'owl' in Owl City are cousins or lovers. The emerging artist, Adam Young, hails from Owotonna, Minnesota. He's here to grace us with his gentle lyrics and catchy melodies. Owl City's sound is something between electro-pop and quirky, softly-spoken lyrics that remind me of childhood, love and sunshine. NO REALLY, Owl City's myspace pictures are of balloons, flowers, the sky etc. Check out Owl City and drift into a sweet daydream of sugar kisses, warm arms and cute, furry animal friends. Just don't do anything drastic when your done with the album and realize the world is over. Anyway, Owl City will make a great tween gift, OMG!
As recently reported by Green Owl, Fela's Shrine -- a landmark for culture and Afrobeat in Lagos -- was shut down last week by the Nigerian police. But low and behold (as if by magic!!), the Shrine is now slated to re-open this weekend. It's good news, yeah; but it's not magic. This closing-opening thing exemplifies the whimsical state of affairs in Nigeria. Just listen to Fela's sons, Femi and Seun; they both use Afrobeat to address political and social umm... "whims."
And keep an eye out for petitions circling this summer on Femi's US tour that urge the Nigerian goverment to accept Fela Kuti as the cultural and political hero that he was. Depsite being perhaps the most important African musician of the 20th century, Fela is still marginalized (by some) as a symbol of anti-goverment resistance. Hmm... those people must have missed the Bill T show, Fela, last year.
In the name of dub: Sometimes the beats thump so deep, the riddim
sways so easy and the echo hits so thick, beers will drop right from
your hands. And this is exactly what happened on Monday at during the Dub Defender’s set at The Press Club: duo Steven Jess Borth II and Young Aundee’s sounds were so heavy, they made palms sweat, revelers beers crashing to the floor. Twice.
If you’re around Atlanta in the next month, check out Carbonas, an energetic five-piece punk band reminiscent of the Germs (before Shane West) and G.G. Allin and the Jabbers. With extraordinarily catchy riffs and snotty vocals, these Georgia natives have what it takes to be new punk icons. They don't need clever alter egos; they're simply a bunch of dudes making killer, fast, catchy punk rock
Check it gang, some facilities are building or renovating to
meet LEED standards. 139 arenas have applied for LEED certification and college
campuses are getting hip to green their stadiums as well. Some facilities have made green
additions to their existing structures, including American Airlines Arena which
has reflective roofing materials, drought-resistant plans and efficient
"micro" irrigation. The green stadium finalists are Nationals Park in Washington,
DC, and Penn State University’s Medlar Field at Lubrano. Its a good thing athletes don't get paid too much or else one might think it'd be appropriate to ask for their support in making their "work environment" better.
But the picture on the ground is not as pretty. This week, sources in both governments are lifting the curtain on the war in Sri Lanka, exposing to the world some of what we've been missing. What's being revealed is something that human rights groups have long understood -- the nature by which the Indian government has supported the war against the Tamils. “We were complicit in this last phase of the offensive when a great number of civilians were killed,” General Mehta (former commander of Indian peacekeeping forces in Sri Lanka) told The Times last week. Despite information-suppression efforts by Sri Lanka, we're learning more about how Sri Lankan conflict was also eschewed by the UN -- even as the Red Cross called it an “unimaginable
humanitarian catastrophe." Read more in The Times here.
Michael Jordan (james, alex, kyle, mike, ian) are in the spotlight for this week's Mugshot Monday.
Top 3 non-art, non-music
influences Coors
Original. Dutch Masters. Trains.
Tell us about your process
for writing lyrics. Do they change over time? I guess there is a divide
among lyricists, between those who make lyrics that are ear candy and those who
write lyrics with more meaning. I hope I’m the latter but really, it’s up to
however people take it. My favorite lyrics were always the ones with multiple
meanings and no real concrete interpretations. For me, overly accessible lyrics
feel like spoon-feeding the listener your opinions. And that’s fucking
obnoxious, especially when you’re playing in front of the same fifteen people
at Death By Audio every week.
Your favorite thing to be
doing while writing a new song. We mostly yell at each
other, argue, debate breaking up, debate inserting more nu-metal parts, and
take cigarette breaks. Have you ever seen Hustle and Flow? Remember when
Anthony Anderson and Terrence Howard write the song “Woop That Trick” with the
gangly dude from Road Trip? It’s sort of like that.
Tell us a story about one of your shows. This one time we played a
show at Alpha Beta; it was a benefit show with free Colt 45. We tend to like malt liquor and we were all pretty trashed by the time we were set to play. I
don’t really remember too much of that set except that we played a song
(Gutless Gut) that we never play because of its cheesy late-90s dance beat.
Also, that I lost my hoodie. And that, although I had promised the band that I
would no longer run through our drums at the end of our sets, I piled through
them like a freight train. Some guy came up to us at the end of the night and
told us that the set “was just so human”. It was the first time I had realized
that.
The songs Mudslinger and
Title make fuzzy and warm. Why is that? Some playwright coined the
term “the rough and the holy”, and I guess it’s like that. The ugly wouldn’t be
ugly if there was anything to juxtapose it to. I write pop songs but if we
weren’t trying to make the harshest thing we could make, all of it would seem
pretty insincere.
How do you stay
screaming? I think about my dead cat.
And capitalism… Honestly, I’ve been asked this question before and really, have
no answer. If you see us live, I tend to keel over a lot. So, I guess the only
advice I have to screamers is to keel over.
Your favorite, shortest
song, please... Ian – Nazi Punks Fuck Off
by Dead Kennedys, James – Skate For God by Charles Bronson, Mike – No Song by
Youth Brigade. The other two guys only listen to post-hardcore, so the question
is irrelevant.
What reminds you of music
that isn't music? Again, trains. Ball
bearings. Bonzo beads. Anamaniguchi. Terminal 5.
Who's your favorite
scientist and why? Not Charles Dawkins. Buckminster Fuller, Thomas Edison, E Town Concrete, Ken Wilber, Paul Langerhans, James’s neighbor, Gerry.
What's the best reason to
change your mind? To this question, James immediately
yelled, “Never change your mind.” To which I would add, if your mind is set,
you probably are gonna have some problems dude.
If Michael Jordan was a
snackfood... Swine flu-ood. Maybe Beef
Jerky. Or uncooked Tomato Soup.
Have a favorite piece of
bathroom graffiti? When we were taking a Greyhound back to Manhattan from Austin, a piece of graffiti at a truck stop in
Ohio said, “Juggalo 4 lyfe, faygo nation.”
Did you see Lebron hit
the 3? Did you see me hit Lebron?
Did you see the Charles Barkley sex tape?
If Michael Jordan were in
a video for Michael Jordan, could you tell us how the story line might work? The band would be in court
and the real Michael Jordan would be the judge as well as the defending attorney,
the bailiff, the court reporter, the crazy bus driver, and the mysterious le
femme fatale. At the end of the video we would be thrown in jail and he would
punch all of our dads in the stomach.
Upcoming Shows: 6/2 – don pedros w/
turbosleaze and waxeater 6/4 – market hotel w/ le rug 6/5 – hillstock festival w/ the screaming females, the eskalators & a shit-ton more 6/9 - the charleston w/ pygmy shrews, passive aggressor and vaz 6/10 – the glass door w/ decades and swallowed up 6/12 – the silent barn w/
broccoli destroyer, teengirl fantasy, blondes and rainbow party
The third annual No Way Fest is commencing on June 19th, DIY-style in Richmond, VA. 80’s legends, Zero Boys are headlining the last two days! The first day of the festival, a Grave Mistake Records showcase, will be held at The Czar, and the last two days will be at ALLKATZ, a pizza shop / theater hybrid. The 3-day pass is a bit steep, $52.20, but it’s definitely worth it. Not only are hometown heros, Government Warning releasing their 2nd full length LP exclusively at the festival, the Atlanta garage rockers Carbonas will also be playing their last show. Check these other rad bands playing the No Way Fest:
Fela's Africa Shrine was shut down last week by the Nigerian Government for “noise nuisance,
illegal street trading, indiscriminate parking, blocking of access
roads and obstruction of traffic.” Throughout the late 70s and 80s, the Shrine was Fela's pulpit from which he protested government corruption and performed Afrobeat - a hybrid music that referenced ancient Yoruba tradition and the Black Power funk of late 60s James Brown.
Under the co-management of Fela's son, Femi, the Shrine had continued to seethe as a hotbed for Lagos music until last week's closing. Femi tours the US this summer (a few dates with BLK JKS, too), where you can expect to hear his thoughts on the closing of the Shrine, his inherited Nigeria stomping grounds. Full story here from the AFP.
