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Free Morrissey, Os Mutantes Songs to Promote Latino Census Participation
[Via Future of Music Coalition]
By the year 2050, it is projected that the Latino population in the US will triple, and represent nearly 30% of the entire US population. Already Latinos are the largest minority in the US, playing a major role in virtually every aspect of American life, and yet despite the Bill Richardsons, Oscar de la Rentas, J-Los and Hector Tobars of this world, they are continually underestimated, misunderstood and marginalized.
Part of this problem stems from a deep-seated mutual distrust between Latino immigrant families and the US government. Whether as an individual undocumented immigrant or an American-born member of a family in which other members — one’s parent’s, perhaps — are undocumented, there’s a real fear that participation with any agency or organization, public or private, that asks for background information, could result in deportation. Recent surveys indicate that a majority of Latinos share this fear, which only makes it harder for both the immigrant and US-born Latino communities to receive the vital services they require. And with information gathered by workplaces, medical facilities, even high schools actually resulting in deportations, who can they trust?
Voto Latino, that’s who! Voto Latino is a non-profit, non-partisan organization founded by actress Rosario Dawson (above, in case you happened not to have glanced that way already) dedicated to overcoming these fears, and to increasing voter turnout and political involvement particularly among American Latino youth, which is the fastest growing minority youth group in the US. (According to the Pew Hispanic Center, one in five schoolchildren, and one in four newborns, is Hispanic.) Voto Latino has launched the “Be Counted, Represent!” Census Initiative, offering 25 free songs to anyone (but hopefully Latino youth) who pledges to participate in the 2010 census…
Slayer Cancels World Tour, and Other News
It’s hell getting old, ain’t it? The massive international tour that Slayer had been planning to kickstart in Seattle on January 18, has been canceled due to singer/bassist Tom Araya’s back problems. Slayer, who was supposed to share a bill with Megadeth and Testament, instead has to lend their soldier to back surgery at the end of the month. No fun. Fans are asked to hold up and await information about rescheduled tour dates. Wishing you a speedy recovery, Tom. (Spin)
Neat collaboration: Solange Knowles (Beyonce’s sister) and Janelle Monae will be recording with Of Montreal. (Clash Music)
Jim James has launched a record label, Removador Recordings and Solutions, with his cousin and collaborator, Johnny Quaid. (Spinner)
Chris Cornell is pissed at Craigslist (and he has creepy facial hair). (Daily Swarm)
Bruce Lundvall steps down as CEO at Blue Note but will continue to do A&R for the label. (Daily Swarm)
Liars are releasing a bonus disc for their forthcoming Sisterworld that will feature remixes of their songs by Thom Yorke, Bradford Cox, Suicide, Melvins, and more. (Pitchfork)
Kings of Leon are launching a “hipster clothing collection.” (Stereogum)
Shooter Jennings is featuring Stephen King (yup, the writer) on his upcoming concept album, Black Ribbons. (Billboard)
The perpetually active Jack White is now planning a solo record. (Paste Magazine)
Read more news after the jump.
Top Five Things We Could Do With More of in 2010
2009 was a whirlwind of new ideas, emerging musicians, and revelations in how we access our media, but there are a few things that rose to the top of our radar that we’d like to see more of in 2010.
Jesus Lizard
The reunion stuff is getting just a little out of hand, but the comeback of Jesus Lizard in 2009 was nothing short of divine. We think 2010 would be better for having them around, because who better to usher us into a new decade than a noise band with a frontman that sings like he’s speaking in tongues?
Lady Gaga
No brainer, really. We’ll take interesting over beautiful any day of the week. We need more pop stars like Lady Gaga into 2010 and beyond… end of story.
Morrissey
Morrissey’s late-in-life random antics are endlessly entertaining, even when he’s storming off stage or canceling gigs. He’s getting more crotchety with each passing month, and somehow it makes sense from the dude who drove the Smiths.
Puerto Rico Flowers
There’s only been one song released so far by Puerto Rico Flowers, the new band from John Sharkey of Clockcleaner and Michael Berdan of Drunkdriver, but it’s already got us excited: “Let’s Make Friends”, which you can hear at Fan Death Records’ MySpace, is the kind of synthy, doomed goth that we need right now!
Kurt Vile
Admittedly, we got plenty of Kurt Vile in 2009, but that doesn’t mean we don’t want lots and lots of him in 2010 too. He’s a real nice dude, has already mastered folk-rock and heavy psychedelia, and seems to have plenty of tunes to spare. Keep ‘em comin, KV!
Morrissey by Jessica Gentile
Morrissey
Hammerstein Ballroom, New York, NY
October 2007
By Jessica Gentile
I really love the framing of this photo, as all eyes are literally on Morrissey. From the stare of the looming backdrop portrait to the outstretched arms of thousands of disciple-like fans, he’s enveloped with rabid adoration. Plus that’s a pretty impressive backbend for a man, then on the verge of 50.
Check out Jessica Gentile at her blog.
Tom Waits in the Hobbit?, the Launch of Vevo, and Other News
Tom Waits is no stranger to the big screen. He’s appeared in dozens of films over the years. But rumors are now circulating that he may have a role in Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit. Keeps your ears peeled for more on this one in the coming days. (Guardian)
So, Universal Music, Sony Music Entertainment, and the Abu Dhabi Media Company co-own Vevo, a site for music videos, which is launching this evening, in fact. EMI just signed on as a provider. YouTube will stream the videos and Google owns the site. Vevo is intended to “restore the premium luster around music video inventory,” as stated by Vevo’s chief executive. (New York Times)
A fantastic charity compilation is being offered by Merge Records to celebrate Chris Knox, the renowned New Zealand musician who suffered a stroke this past June. Contributors include Jay Reatard, Jeff Magnum, Stephin Merritt, and many other amazing artists. Buy it now. (Merge Records)
Starting next week, Universal Music will be sending off trucks all around LA offering music for sale, much like a taco truck or Korean Barbeque truck. (LA Times)
Help Animal Collective get to Africa! (Clash Music)
Steve McQueen is writing and directing a biopic on Afrobeat legend Feli Kuti. (Guardian)
Steve Albini’s charitable intentions to reach poor residents in Chicago are being threatened by the US Postal Service. (Clash Music)
Read more news after the jump.
The Flaming Lips to Cover Dark Side of the Moon, and Other News
Plans for New Year’s Eve yet? Can you make it to Oklahoma City? If you can, then wait no longer to buy your ticket for the Flaming Lips New Year’s extravaganza. The Lips are throwing down in their home town, performing at the Cox Center, and they are going to play Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, ringing into the opening notes of “Speak To Me” just as the first moments of the next decade dawn. That is sure to be a killer show—Wayne Coyne never disappoints! (Pitchfork)
Just the other day I made mention of the fact that Brits want Abba to reform more than any other band, so it’s only appropriate to let you know that an Abbaworld interactive exhibition is set to open in London. (BBC)
Morrissey broods, that we know. But he recently disclosed that he’d considered suicide, finding self-destruction honorable. Yikes. (Daily Swarm)
This past weekend, Phish surprised their crowd, and the ensuing blogs that posted about it, by covering TV on the Radio. (Stereogum)
Trent Reznor and his NIN cohorts are putting the band fully to rest after their “last ever show” this past September, and are auctioning tour equipment on eBay. (Strange Glue)
The M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel collaboration known as She and Him have announced details of their second album, which is already finished and will be released in the spring. (Pitchfork)
Read more news after the jump.
Superstars Record with Preservation Jazz Hall Band, and Other News
Quite a worthy collaboration between the 48-year old Preservation Jazz Hall Band and some notable artists, including Tom Waits, Andrew Bird, Dr. John, Jim James, Merle Haggard, and more. This benefit album will be due in February on RED records, and is one that you should be sure to pick up. (Pitchfork)
New York’s Jelly Pool Parties, which have gained notoriety for being, well, awesome, are in trouble. The concert series, having moved from Brooklyn to the East River State Park last year, may not have a venue for next summer. You can pledge your support to New York Senator Charles Schumer, who’s leading the fight to save the bashes. (CMJ)
Nick Cave has won a Booker Prize for this year’s Bad Sex in Fiction award, which honors “redundant passages of sexual description.” (Daily Swarm)
Morrissey, oh my god… He told an audience member to fuck himself and had him thrown out of his show in Hamburg the other night. I mean, the dude in the audience had it coming, but Morrissey’s fall tour seems ill-fated, does it not? (NME)
I know we haven’t even gotten to (let alone through) the holidays yet, but the summer festivals will literally be here before you know it. Bonnaroo and Monolith Festivals have some updates for the summer of ’10. (Stereogum)
Read more news after the jump. read more
Steven Tyler Ditches Aerosmith, and Other News
After 30 years together, Steven Tyler has reportedly announced that he is leaving Aerosmith. This news is shocking, even after recent random events like Tyler falling off stages and falling out with his bandmates, because Aerosmith has been around forever. Joe Perry spilled the beans, referencing Tyler’s estrangement with the rest of the band. Who knows if this’ll stick though, so stay tuned. (Paste)
Tragic news. Jerry Fuchs, drummer of !!! and Maserati, passed away this weekend after falling down an elevator shaft in Brooklyn. Our sincerest condolences to friends, family, and fans. (Punk News)
Pavement, already planning their summer tour circuit of 2010, have announced plans to headline the Sasquatch Festival at the Gorge. Consider us there. (Strange Glue)
Lady Gaga is the first artist since the “inception of monitored airplay” to hit number one on the charts with four different singles from the same album. Sounds like one for the record books. (Mog)
Morrissey just isn’t having it these days. He got hit in the head with a plastic bottle at his show in Liverpool the other night and stormed off stage during the second song, never to return. Yikes. (Strange Glue)
Read more news after the jump.
Your Handy Guide to the Month in Music
Wow, you guys, it’s already the time of year when people start saying things like, “Omigod, can you believe it’s already November?!?! This year has just flown by!” I never say things like that because I simply cannot fucking believe how time just crawls and crawls and crawls, but whatever. At least we have a new Vampire Weekend single, right? Happy Thanksgiving.
This Month’s Most Notable News Stories
Kanye West and Lady Gaga Cancel “Fame Kills” Tour
Just a couple weeks after pulling his most idiotic stunt yet, interrupting Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech for Best Female Video at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards to point out that, actually, Beyoncé probably should have won the award, and losing a pretty substantial number of the fans he still had left, word came that Kanye West and Lady Gaga had cancelled the “Fame Kills” tour that was planned to run from November through January. No official reason was ever given, but it seems unlikely that it wasn’t a direct result of the VMAs incident. I even like to think Lady Gaga pulled the plug on it herself, out of fear that public association with Kanye would be detrimental to her career (it would), which has been exploding of late. This has nothing to do with anything, but you guys should really watch her performance from Saturday Night Live a few weeks ago. Shit was bananas, and it’s becoming impossible not to like her.
Morrissey Grants Classic Song to Help Tortured Rabbits
by: Howard Wyman
[Via TwentyFourBit} The Moz is at it again, doing everything he can to help the most helpless among us. His latest gesture comes in the form of granting one of his earliest and best loved solo singles, “Every Day is Like Sunday,” to score a video by international animal welfare organization Four Paws. The video is a cute little cartoon message that seeks to raise awareness of the suffering of rabbits in factory farms, which is pretty nightmarish, and which is scarcely described in the cute cartoon itself. The reality (which Four Paws has documented in other videos and research) is that, while battery cages for chickens have been banned in many countries (and a couple US states), the same practice in rabbit meat factories has gone ignored. As a result, 900 million cute little furry creatures are house so tightly together that they develop bone disorders, hurt themselves by chewing on the cages, occasionally turn to cannibalism and are driven otherwise insane by life under such circumstances. To top it off, their feces accumulate in mounds just beneath the cages, creating an atmosphere of gaseous, acidic ammonia that causes their eyes to swell and bleed. Mm, mm!
read more
by: Howard Wyman
published: February 25, 2010
in column: The Smoke-Filled Room, What Goes On
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