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Books
The Holocaust and the Henmaids Tale
By Karen Davis
Lantern Books
In her bold and insightful book, which she dedicated to "all the soft and innocent lives who
are at our mercy," Karen Davis, a longtime animal activist and president of United Poultry Concerns, examines the parallels
between the Holocaust and the current abuse of billions of animals on factory farms that culminates in their cruel murder
in slaughterhouses. She passionately makes a strong case for comparing the two atrocities—different with respect to
the identity of the victims and the purpose of the killings but chillingly similar in so many other ways—the designation
of the victims as expendable, inferior, and unworthy of life; the herding and confinement; the industrialized slaughter; the
complicity of the bystanders; and the pervasive arrogance and indifference that allows it to happen. This compelling book
argues convincingly that we have a mandate to think about, protest against, and learn from these twin atrocities—one
completed in the middle of the last century, the other continuing every day. Not to do so is to condone and support the fascist
mentality that produced them. Davis is also the author of Prisoned Chickens, Poisoned Eggs: An Inside Look at the Modern
Poultry Industry and More Than a Meal: The Turkey in History, Myth, Ritual, and Reality. Her years of hands-on
experience rescuing and providing shelter to the feathered "soft and innocent lives" victimized by the poultry industry gives
her latest book its special urgency and poignancy. Highly recommended. (Review by Charles Patterson)
Soul City
By
Touré
Picador
Chocolate City Magazine sends journalist Cadillac Jackson on the soul train to write a short piece on the mayoral
election in Soul City. Though his assignment is expected to last three days, Cadillac has ambitions that only residents of
the City would have; he plans to write the definitive book on the city with more Mojo than any other in the world. In his
opinion others have tried to explain the heart of Soul City, but all have failed. Cadillac observes the mayoral race in which
the parties serve up their musical platforms, but also sees the undercurrent of antagonism between the rivals in what is the
supposed African-American utopia. He sees, hears and tastes the true culture and feels his heart go into palpitations when
he meets resident Mahogany Sunflower. However, as Cadillac falls in love, he also realizes evil is undercutting the value
of being a black man as thugs, like serpents in Eden, and a billionaire business bogie threaten the well being of the proud
black culture tearing at the soul that makes Soul City dance to its own drummer. Soul City is an exhilarating allegorical
tale that satirizes racial stereotypes through hyperbole. The effervescent well written story line contains an intriguing
comparison of a pure "cornbread" society through the eyes of a white toasted outsider. Ironically, the overstatement jabs
the message into the reader’s face without the swift subtly of "A Modest Proposal," but also hooks the audience with
its strong spirit to embrace difference. (Review by Harriet Klausner)
The Dhammapada
Trans.
by Gil Fronsdal
Shambhala
Gil Fronsdal’s The Dhammapada is an understated and lyrical translation of this eminent anthology of Pail
poetry from the Short Discourses of the Buddha. It is fitting that the job of rendering this text’s monastic
emphasis on renunciation less austere for modern audiences should fall to a long-time Buddhist practitioner. Fronsdal artfully
retains the vigilant, resolute mood of the original, emphasizing the transitory nature of life and the rewards of introspection
and restraint. Extensive notes explain his translation choices and highlight poetic ornamentation. In addition, he provides
philosophical and cultural background and alternate interpretations from various commentarial traditions. His simple and well-documented
verse could be useful as a guide to the text for aspiring Pail students and more generally as a challenge to think and act
deliberately. (Review by Joel Bordeaux)
Captured: A Film/Video History of the Lower East Side
By Clayton Patterson
Seven
Stories Press
In this massive collection of essays, interviews
and other accounts of film-making on the Lower East Side/East Village, with its celebrated connection to the artistic avant
garde, especially in the early 1960s, Carlos Kase contributes a piece celebrating the Anthology Film Archives, a film museum
on the corner of Second Avenue and Second Street, which he calls the "first film museum/movie theater dedicated to the notion
of film as art." This collection is a similar undertaking: an attempt to document the recollections of those who knew Andy
Warhol, Allen Ginsberg, Jack Smith and the legendary figures who used the neighborhood as canvas, as well as those lesser
known artists, for whom, to cite one example, film was a means of encouraging artistic expression in children. Like a particularly
cluttered museum desperate not to exclude any potential artifact or valuable recollection, it tries the patience, as some
of the films it describes deliberately challenged their viewers’ with moments of ennui, cloudiness and circularity.
Like many of those art films, there is no clear narrative thread, no obvious organizational pattern. As visual rhetoric, the
black and white photographs accompanying essays printed in small type combine to exclude only those with the personal investment
or professional interest to search for the nuggets of story-telling which abound amid the clutter. There are tales of merry
pranksters a-plenty, but they are not set out to advantage, but buried in black-and-white overkill. The key to a pleasurable
and informative museum experience is the selection and ordering of detail, and in that respect this remarkable archive falls
short. As raw material, though, for those researching independent filmmaking and avant garde art in New York in the 1960s,
this is a potential treasure trove, and the editors and contributors must be saluted for their perseverance in finding a publishing
venue and their efforts to bring together an apparent cast of thousands for this multifaceted look at the bizarre lives and
visions of artists who coalesced around a small but remarkable piece of geography. (Review by Rick Taylor)
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By Lynn S. Chancer
The University of Chicago Press
Lynn S. Chancer’s High Profile Crimes: When Legal Cases Become Social Causes
is a deep sociological investigation into what particular crime cases of the late 1980s and 1990s reveal about media and legal
practices specifically, and American culture more generally. Relying on interview data and newspaper materials, she reconstructs
journalistic narratives and public reactions to crime cases, such as the "Central Park Jogger" case and the "Bensonhurst"
case, et al., which are grouped into what she classifies as "provoking assaults." She intentionally chooses high-profile cases
which stimulated controversial public debates about race, gender, and class, and in which role reversals between victim and
victimizer were played out. "Provoking assaults" is a deliberately ambiguous term meant to encapsulate all of those traits.
Chancer argues persuasively that these high-profile "provoking assault" cases of the late 1980s and 1990s were a product of
the 1960s civil rights movements and emerged at a time when "identity politics" were on the defensive. Not only did these
cases appear within a context of journalistic precedent, not unlike legal precedent, and provide an opportunity for a public
conversation about the issues of race, class, and gender-based discriminations, but they also engendered discussions about
journalistic "objectivity." Chancer asserts that by its very nature, journalism’s professional imperative to impose
"two-sides" to every story is limiting and by far too simplistic. Indeed, Chancer urges the press to complicate matters, and
practicing journalists to acknowledge their biases and relativism. Though at times her critique of the media’s role
in shaping these stories suggests an air of academic elitism, she does not fault the media entirely for their dualistic frameworks.
It may in fact be the American public’s desire for a neat opposition of hero and villain, or a reflection of the media’s
relationship to the legal system which must find someone innocent or guilty. Traditionally, judges feel that juries should
not be influenced by external media surrounding a case, though Chancer found that lawyers were at their most competent (and
subsequently jurors most receptive) when they were engaging the public discourse beyond the courthouse. Chancer’s account
is complex and compelling. She is at her best when she underscores that "Glen Ridge," the "Central Park Jogger" case, "Bensonhurst,"
and the "Simpson" trial among the other "provoking assaults" are linked by the media’s varying depictions of class.
This observation was not obvious at the time. At the outset of her account, she notes that the savings and loan scandals of
the same era did not garner nearly as much attention in the media as these race and gender based stories. Why class inequities
do not arouse the same kind of heated debates as race and gender is a question Chancer intriguingly raises but doesn’t
quite sufficiently answer in a satisfying way. (Review by Jeanine Plant)
The Secret Histories
By John S. Friedman
Picador
It’s no secret anymore that the twentieth century was full of secrets, some valid some
invalid. John S. Friedman has collected excerpts from books on some of these secrets from World War II through Abu Ghraib.
He includes the original exposes on the My Lai massacre, the use of LSD by the CIA, IBM’s role in the Holocaust, the
FBI’s investigations of Martin Luther King, the tobacco hearings, and Exxon Valdez, among others. So many of these stories
are common knowledge that it’s almost a surprise that, according to the introduction by James Carroll, the government
and media worked to prevent these stories from being received by the general public. And the public still tries to keep secrets
from itself, he claims, citing the smoker who knows cigarettes cause cancer but believes one more puff won’t hurt. Friedman
acknowledges that governments have always had secrets, but only with the modern democracy has the number of secrets increased
dramatically. He quotes a claim that if every newspaper devoted every page to printing all the classified documents the US
government created the day before, there would be no room for other news. But despite the desire for secrecy, journalists
dig to reveal these secrets. Each of these stories was groundbreaking when first told. Some journalists were exiled from their
countries. Some were ignored. But these stories are known now. He begins the book with the relatively uncontroversial story
of the Ultra department of code breakers during World War II. He excerpts a chapter from Edwin Black’s book IBM and
the Holocaust, including the unfortunate statement "I want the full story understood in context. Skipping around in this
book will only lead to flawed and erroneous conclusions. So if you intend to skim, or rely on selected sections, please do
not read the book at all" (21). But the rest of Friedman’s excerpts seem to hold up on their own, and they serve as
introductions into pieces of history, for example the Korean War or the J. Edgar Hoover FBI, that the average reader may know
little about. Hopefully, this collection of excerpts will serve as a springboard into reading the complete books. The topics
are worth it, and Friedman’s introduction is a fascinating read. (Review by Janine Peterson)
Girls Speak Out
By
Andrea Johnson
Celestial Arts
Founded in 1994, The Girls Speak Out Foundation for girls ages 9-15 is the brain-child of Andrea
Johnson and Gloria Steinem. The second edition of Girls Speak Out: Finding Your True Self incorporates the interactive
exercises, vignettes, poems, short stories, etc. brought to you by budding feminists who have participated in the program.
The scheme of this program and of this book is two fold. One objective is to amass stories of soul searching of a group of
girls, while the other is to inspire more girls to magnify their struggles and triumphs in a hetero-normative world. In this
book, girls "speak out" about topics that are traditionally "reserved" for adulthood. These young women exercise their girl
power as they challenge male supremacy and the latent subjugation of women instituted by marriage, motherhood, religion, and
education. The strength of this text is the juxtaposition of its language and subject material—accessible to the targeted
age group but sophisticated and readable enough for women of all ages. This book may not stand out on the shelves without
purposeful exhibition, but hopefully, Girls Speak Out will make its way into the hands of young girls around the globe
with the help of veteran feminists. The content of the book is piecemeal and Johnson and Steinem could stand to use a work
like Our Bodies Our Selves as a paradigmatic design for subsequent editions. In the forward and introduction, Steinem
and Johnson allude to their hopes that mothers, "other mothers," aunts, and older sisters will pick up this book, review it
and pass it along. Girls Speak Out covers a broad range of topics from women’s global history to maintenance
of self-esteem within sexist social systems. Johnson provides a useful annotated bibliography at the back of the book. This
list incorporates a culturally diverse set of authors that some young women may never encounter in public school. Look out
Girl Scout leaders of America! The young women of The Girls Speak Out Foundation have seized the torch of feminism from Johnson
and Steinem. Peddling cookies is not on the agenda. (Review by Aaron Nugua)
Making Stuff & Doing Things
Edited by Kyle Bravo
Microcosm Publishing
Making Stuff & Doing Things is a collection of DIY guides gathered
by Kyle Bravo. Based on Bravo’s How2 Zine and the Tree of Knowledge’s collection of DIY articles, this
book is a meaty volume. A lot of the stuff you expect to find in a DIY guide appears in here, including bookbinding, gardening,
silk screening, sewing, making stencils, wheat pasting, composting, dumpster diving, etc. There are also a load of articles
on topics you wouldn’t expect to find, however, like juggling, fixing toilets, basic electrical wiring, making a quill
pen, DIY lice treatment, and more. There’s definitely something for everyone in this book. For instance, I’m into
natural health care for my cats right now, so two of my favorite pieces were those focusing on making cat food and holistic
treatments for pet ailments. The categories on the table of contents can be a bit confusing when looking for something specific,
but the index in the back of the book makes up for it. And, since the articles are culled and reprinted from various sources,
there is no consistency in style or usefulness of directions, but the variety adds to the overall DIY appeal. There are also
twenty blank pages in the back for notes, so readers can add their own DIY tips or alter directions published within. Definitely
a worthwhile and useful read! (Review by Randie Farmelant)
The Social Economy of Single Motherhood
By Margaret Nelson
Routledge
The Social Economy of Single Motherhood is a study of both facts and perceptions
of single motherhood in rural Vermont in contrast to more general studies done on urban mothers. It details the circumstances
behind every mom interviewed for the study instead of lumping them into the stereotype of single, poor, welfare moms who are
just lazy and promiscuous. Many of these women are divorced and left behind husbands for a variety of reasons including abuse
or negligence. Most of the single moms in the study were very poor, though a few came from middle class backgrounds and weren’t
living in poverty until they had children. The book critiques welfare reform by looking at how it impacts families who aren’t
able to make ends meet or don’t have livable wages. What sets this book apart is its focus on the social economy. The
United States is one of the few countries in the world that does not include or acknowledge domestic work in its economic
analysis even though, as Nelson writes, our society would collapse without it. Nelson approached this subject in terms of
personal exchange and details women who seek friendships with other women of similar circumstances to serve a variety of needs
for one another (babysitting, car rides, small loans, etc) with the understanding that everyone will be reciprocal of time
and energy given or shared. Nelson chronicles some very disheartening exchanges in this arrangement, including sexual favors
for car repairs. The book briefly acknowledges the role that unlivable wages and irresponsible fathers play in these circumstances.
The most effective – unintended perhaps – result of this book is that you can’t deny the need these families
have. A powerful read. (Review by Davina Rhine)
Transnational America: Feminisms, Diasporas, Neoliberalism
By Inderpal
Grewal
Duke Press
While the basis of her argument is that
becoming "American" is evidence of a hegemonic culture, what really brings this argument salience is the expansion she does
of the implications regarding it. This does not only mean that individuals will be given "honorary whiteness" for service
to the white patriarchy in charge of the country, but rather that the system of Americanism is largely out of the hands of
this same captains of industry. The invisible hand of the economy has more to gain from under-paid and under-benefited Indian
workers than trying to keep a certain race in power. Thus, while white male leaders might benefit, this transnationalism necessarily
breaks down any ties of racial solidarity that whites or other races may have. Grewal does an excellent job of pushing that
point through her book, which is written in a clear, formal style that is enriched by the continual ties that she has with
Southeast Asia (specifically India). This is not the mental padding that usually is the key creator of academic inertia, but
rather a completely new line of reasoning that will undoubtedly be the topic of much discussion in the decades to come. Much
like restorative criminology, this new transnationalism is not a single-variant explanation of the world; Grewal destroys
that line of though when she shows this cultural imperialism through the lens of feminism, class study, and much more. (Review
by James McQuiston)
May It Come Quickly
By Carissa Van Den Berk Clark
Yellow City Publications
May It Come Quickly is a good and sometimes disturbing read. Sometimes
I felt as if I were reading a report or affidavit rather than a story. However, I was impressed with Van Den Berk Clark’s
writing because through all the legal/governmental jargon and rhetoric, there was a story. From a creative/production perspective,
I like how each chapter contains a visual element. The beginning of the book contains a federal-like report that discusses
the characters of the book as subjects and also reveals information about the subject’s charges. Scary. I think Van
Den Berk Clark did a great job through her textbook style of writing on educating the reader about anarchism and the present
regulations and laws created by the U.S. government. Many issues like civil rights, discrimination, racism, and rape arise
within the story. There’s nothing entertaining about May It Come Quickly, but if one is interested in civil law,
politics or terrorism, you can’t help but want to conduct your own research by searching the web or going to the library.
I didn’t know about the "red scare" or the "Haymarket Riot" before I read this book; it’s a learning experience.
The book ends sadly with something that I’m against, but I won’t spoil the story by revealing the ending; you’ll
have to purchase the book and read it for yourself. (Review by Jackie Joice)
Cruel and Unusual
By
Mark Crispin Miller
W.W. Norton
Have you ever noticed the gap in the media’s coverage of the war in Iraq and other facets
of the Bush administration? Have you ever wondered whether the media is really doing its job in bringing home the truth of
the country’s current events to American families and American voters, or pandering to Bush and the religious right?
In Cruel and Unusual: Bush/Cheney’s New World Order, Mark Crispin Miller answers these questions and more, attempting
to fill in the gaps left by the media, and exposing the Bush administration and its supporters for their un-American ideals
and actions. Written from the point of view of one who believes wholeheartedly in the legacy our Founding Fathers left us,
Miller first illustrates how our country’s media has betrayed everything America stands for, and then proceeds to paint
a picture of America as it really stands (rather than as "Bush & Co." would like us to see it). Readers will learn the
true story of how the media has slandered and/or buried those who dare to speak out against the Bush administration. Readers
will also learn how the media shamelessly (and falsely) accused Clinton of the same crimes Bush and his supporters have committed
tenfold – and have gotten away with. Miller urges us to recognize "that our rights have been repealed, our national
heritage disgraced, and that we Americans no longer live in a democracy. We do, however, have the right to see that that’s
the case, and the obligation, as Americans, to change it." If you believe in the creed of the Declaration of Independence
– "the Right of the People to alter or to abolish" oppressive government – then reading Cruel and Unusual
is an excellent place to begin the process of political awareness and activism. (Review By Katharine Swan)
Fierce Attachments: A Memoir
By Vivian Gornick
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Few books are so gripping that they change your perception of the world around you.
Even fewer books make you see your intimate relationships in a whole new light. Because of its bold, honest insights about
mothers, daughters and the growing up/growing away process, Fierce Attachments made me re-examine my relationship with
my own mother. Fierce Attachments tells the story of the twists and turns of a loving yet angrily ambivalent mother-daughter
relationship. The book flits back and forth through time; moving from the author’s childhood in a poor ghettoized Jewish
neighborhood in the 1950’s and then coming back to the 1980’s to visit the author’s currently troubled but
successful life. The narrative is structured so that long dramatic stories about the characters and events of the author’s
childhood are punctuated by scenes illustrating the everyday concerns and events of her recent life. Nonetheless, these recent
activities – dinner with her mother, shopping, a mother and daughter stroll down the city streets – all relate
to the lingering feelings the narrator experiences regarding the past. The "current" narrator often tries to clear something
up that troubled her in the past only to be frustrated again and again by her "current" mother’s inability to understand
or face her daughter’s needs. Gornick does such a wonderful job of describing the strange characters of her childhood
that I feel I know the people myself, almost better than I know my own friends. One reason the book is so evocative is because
Gornick fears nothing, and is ruthless in describing the details of her own childhood sexuality and the way it was triggered,
ignored and maligned by adults’ careless treatment of her. Gornick does not hesitate to say that her mother was too
physically needy when she was mourning the death of her husband – Gornick’s father – and that Gornick could
not let another woman touch her, even casually, for years after that experience. Sometimes the characters and tales of this
book seem almost too perfect, too fiction-like for a memoir. In fact, years after the book was written, Vivian Gornick admitted
that some of her memoir had been fictionalized (she was outed by an article on Salon.com). However, fiction or memoir, the
book retains a profound rendering of the human psyche, and especially, the fierce nature of mothers and daughters. After reading
it, you will have Fierce Attachments’ brilliant, burning characters and images seared onto your brain. (Review
by Christine Hamm)
Mahamudra Tantra
By
Geshe Kelsang Gyatso
Tharpa
Although this most recent book, subtitled An Introduction to Meditation on Tantra, by London-based
Geshe Kelsang Gyatso addresses highly esoteric teachings known as Mahamudra, Madamudra Tantra is substantially less
technical than previous efforts in this direction such as Clear Light of Bliss. This might actually read more like
Tantric Grounds and Paths except that, although there are some concise charts detailing various vital energies and
the chakras through which they move, the primary focus seems to be the conceptual understanding of emptiness requisite for
these quasi-physical practices. The philosophical presentation is focused if less than comprehensive, but extras include a
translation of the first and last chapters of the Condensed Heruka Root Tantra and two practices which we are informed
form the "very essence of the New Kadampa Tradition of Mahayana Buddhism" – visualization of one’s guru as the
bodhisattva of wisdom Manjushri in the form of the14th century Tibetan scholar-monk Tsongkhapa and the rather controversial
invocation of the protector deity Dorje Shugden, which could be interesting in historical context. (Review by Joel Bordeaux)
Trading Roles
By
Jane E. Mangan
Duke University Press
Trading Roles is the study of colonial Potosi, located in current day Bolivia.
Mangan examines Potosi during its colonial economic boom that lasted from 1545 to the late 1600’s. For a town found
at 13,000 feet, and with a multicultural population that at one point rivaled London, Paris and Amsterdam, this was no small
achievement. Potosi had a staggering amount of commerce for its location, which is a reflection of the amount of silver that
was mined there. Trading Roles traces the history of Potosi, from the discovery of silver, through its boom times and
into its decline. Mangan has effectively exposed the inner workings of the society in Potosi. There is less focus on the mining
of silver and more on how society operated around it. Mangan follows the intricacies of society, payment for goods, what stores
were set up and how, while examining the system that was used for payment through wills and local records. She explains the
unusual credit system that was used in Potosi, and how each loan to be repaid was stipulated in people’s wills. She
also looks at how internment came in the form of working in bakeries, often in unbearable conditions. Mangan’s core
research focuses on the role of women in the economy and how women could etch out a living despite a lack of social, financial
or marital status. This research is of particular interest in that Mangan examines the role of not only the colonial Spanish
women but also those of Black, Indigenous and Mestiza women. Trading Roles is a well-organized account of life in Potosi
with particular focus on the role of women within the economy and how they managed to forge out an existence. It is an excellent
reference book; Mangan obviously had a ball researching this, and it shows in her impressive research. (Review by Katherine
Boothroyd)
Left Out! How Liberals Helped Reelect George W. Bush
By Joshua Frank
Common Courage Press
Joshua Frank’s analysis of John Kerry’s defeat in the 2004 election
is, at the best of times, a brave and provocative look at the touchiest of issues. By turns, the book invigorates and disappoints
given Frank’s readiness to insert his own backhanded, writerly literary slaps into his analysis. The first half of Left
Out! deals with the dramatic rise and fall of Howard Dean at the hands of the media after his now infamous scream, as
well as the democratic party’s rejection of Dean based on his seeming lack of polish and a number of other factors that
Frank diligently presents. Frank reveals some less-than-flattering history on Dean, from his uninspiring time at Yale to his
lack of strong opposition to George W. Bush’s war in Iraq. Frank appears unafraid to tread on shaky ground in telling
the gory details of Dean’s political career, while likely evoking outrage amongst liberal readers and stirring up renewed
distrust of the political party system. Section two is a collection of writings in which Frank is joined in turn by Sunil
K. Sharma and Merlin Chowkwanyun. The chapters cover an array of hair-raising issues, from Kerry’s vote in favor of
the Patriot Act—in addition to authoring components of it—to environmental decline at the hands of the Bush administration
and the loss of America’s civil liberties. While Frank’s facts and commentary are surely enough to ruffle the
feathers of many a liberal, and perhaps help foster political and social change—or at least inspire some heated conversation—he
loses some much-needed credibility at the hands of a confrontational style of presentation. The nature of the material in
Left Out! is, by its very nature, provocative, therefore eliminating the need for backhanded jabs at the likes of Rush
Limbaugh, or anyone else for that matter. The picture Frank paints of the political system and the left in particular is maddening
and speaks for itself—all seemingly intended goals of Frank’s work. While it’s tempting to label Left
Out! as "superb," Frank’s lack of control over his own inner smartass brings it down to, "very good." (Review by
Andrea Miller)
What Every Radical Should Know About State Repression
By Victor Serge
Ocean
Press
The people at Ocean Press call this "a guide for activists,"
and in a way, that’s probably the most useful way to look at it. Really, though, it’s something quite different.
Serge wrote the book in the twenties, shortly after the Bolshevik triumph, and actually tries to justify soviet state repression—the
good, proletarian kind, as opposed to the bad, capitalist kind. This apology for revolutionary repression, though interesting
from a historical point of view, tends to undermine the author’s credibility. While we might take exception to many
of his points, however, we ought to pay attention to what he has to say about the Czarist intelligence corps. Serge writes:
"An acquaintance with the methods and proceedings of this police force is of immediate practical interest for every revolutionary,
for the defense of capitalism everywhere uses the same tools; and moreover all police forces work together and are similar
to each other." After the Bolsheviks took Petersburg, Serge spent time in the secret archives of the state police. His account
of their methods is fascinating; there are tragic stories of revolutionists turned provocateurs, forced by hunger to
rat on their comrades. Others had few scruples to begin with and made a career of infiltrating dissident groups. The detailed
files on various groups perceived as threats to the state show that the police had a better idea of radical networks that
the radicals themselves! Faced with such an adversary, Serge says that successful dissident groups must be prepared to go
underground. He calls this "the problem of illegality." The law of the capitalist state commands little respect in his view.
The section of the book entitled "Simple Advice to Revolutionaries" conforms more than the others to our idea of a guidebook.
In it, Serge tells you how to avoid being followed, how not to incriminate comrades in correspondence, and how to behave in
the event of arrest. These are truly timeless problems, with undiminished relevance to activists today. These practical guidelines,
along with Serge’s exposure of police methods and the role of the informer, are the most useful aspects of the book.
The rest, though interesting, is really fuel for cynics. Dalia Hashad of the ACLU introduces the book with a brief essay.
In it, she gives a biographical sketch of Serge as a lifelong radical. She also describes the baleful state of American civil
liberties post-Patriot Act and laments the general lack of resistance to "’democratic’ government gone wild with
power." (Review by Rick Green)
Confluences: Postcolonialism, African American Literary Studies, and the
Black Atlantic
John Cullen Gruesser
University of Georgia Press
John
Cullen Gruesser explores a unique intellectual moment that took place within the past quarter-century. In 1985, Henry Louis
Gates Jr. guest-edited a special issue of Critical Inquiry, "’Race,’ Writing, and Difference," which featured
such eminent scholars as Edward Said, Homi Bhabha, Gayatri Spivak, and Jacques Derrida. Many of the essays focused on what
is now known as postcolonialism while a few others on African American studies. Since its publication, both fields have grown
in prominence but diverged. In Confluences, Gruesser modestly proposes that these counter-discursive strategies meet
again to produce richer and more profound readings of texts in concert. Though Gruesser locates similarities in such texts
as Toni Morrison’s Playing in the Dark: Whiteness and the Literary Imagination and Said’s Culture and
Imperialism, he repeatedly disavows that he is attempting to conflate the experiences of "black Americans and those of
colonized or formerly colonized persons." He also claims that African American literature should not be regarded as postcolonial,
but rather that "certain concepts of postcolonial literary theory can usefully be applied to African American literary studies."
Despite their differences, Gruesser draws on postcolonialism’s emphasis on displacement and the African diaspora discussed
in Paul Gilroy’s The Black Atlantic to great effect in readings of works by such authors as Salman Rushdie, Jean
Rhys, V.S. Naipaul, and Walter Mosley. In one of the more interesting readings, Gruesser convincingly demonstrates that V.S.
Naipaul, in A Bend in the River, rewrites Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. But instead of counter-discursively
questioning the text – as Jean Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea does of Jane Eyre – Naipaul "strives
to confirm its validity." Overall, Gruesser’s book is enlightening and well written, but could have benefited from a
concise summation of the intellectual predecessors of postcolonialism and African American literary studies. Tracing their
origins might help produce their confluences. (Review by Jeanine Plant)
Smile of the Buddha
By Jacquelynn Baas
University of California Press
This is a captivating collection of articles spanning from Gauguin and Duchamp to
Yves Klein and Robert Irwin to impressionists and symbolists, abstract expressionists, minimalists and ‘miscellaneous,’
all unified by their interest or involvement in Zen or, less often, Tibetan Buddhism. I was pleased to see Baas scope unconfined
to visual art: beside the obvious inclusion of John Cage, she includes chapters on above-the-radar performance artists Yoko
Ono and Laurie Anderson. Some are admittedly more speculative (Monet) than others (Nam June Paik), but she is well informed
about the history of the spread of Buddhist literature and ideas in Europe and America and generally offers little reason
to suspect that she overplays her interpretive hand in placing the artists’ images alongside their possible Asian inspirations.
Despite the subtitle (Eastern Philosophy and Western Art from Monet to Today) with its easy East/West polarity,
Baas doesn’t shy away from the mediation of Buddhist thought through colonial fascination with Asian art and syncretic
religious movements like Madame Blavatsky’s Theosophical Society. Taken together this makes for a provocative look at
a major site where [typically Buddhist] Asian images and philosophies have influenced Euro-American visual culture, an essential
element in the story of modern art and life. (Review by Joel Bordeaux)
American Fascism + God
By Davidson Loehr
Chelsea Green Publishing
I once knew someone who prided himself on being a communist. He would tell his political
affiliation to everyone, including (if the opportunity presented itself) the guy delivering pizzas. In fact, my ex-friend
really wasn’t so much as a communist as a person who liked to stir up trouble. The way that he would tell people over
and over again of his communist leanings drove me nuts and stuck in my memory. So when I started reading Davidson Loehr’s
American Fascism & God: Sermons from a Heretical Preacher, and when I noticed he kept identifying himself as a
"heretic," I groaned out loud and prepared myself for a long book. I was sure that I was in for a book by a guy who wouldn’t
actually live up to what he proclaimed to be, like my former friend. To my delight, Loehr quits the heretic rhetoric after
his introduction and delivers a book full of various sermons he has given at his Unitarian Universalist church in Austin,
Texas. The book offers reprints on sermons focusing on four topics: God, fascism, America, and honest religion. Perhaps the
most powerful sermon, not surprisingly, is the one that was given immediately after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Loehr starts
the sermon talking about his initial reaction to the 9/11 attacks as one of "kill the bastards," whoever they are! While much
of the rest of the sermon focuses on how to respond to the attack when he later came to see the problem in thinking only of
vengeance. This was the first sermon that I read, and the gut-wrenching honestly made me like Loehr instantly. I appreciated
his honestly. Among the more interesting sermons are the ones that inform us about the soullessness of corporations (comparing
them to the zombies in Invasion of the Body Snatchers), another challenges us to rethink our concept of God, and the
final essay cries out for religion to save itself from its followers, to paraphrase the bumper sticker. (Review by Patti Smith)
Doris: An Anthology 1991-2001
By Cindy Gretchen Ovenrack Crabb
Microcosm Publishing
Doris is a zine by Cindy Crabb. It’s hard to know exactly who
Cindy Crabb is, which is strange because Doris is mostly about her life. However, it’s not presented in chronological
order, as an autobiography would be; the issues in this anthology skip back and forth in time, touching on various incidents,
people and places that have shaped her life. At first the reader may feel like a bit of a detective, trying to piece together
where she has lived and when (Minnesota; Vermont; Portland, Oregon; San Francisco and Asheville, North Carolina). She frequently
mentions her sister, Caty, and many of their adventures together. We learn about her mother, a mentally unstable alcoholic
who was in an abusive marriage with her father, of whom Crabb has both good and bad memories. We also learn that Crabb is
an incest survivor, at the hands of that stepbrother. There are numerous friends whose names keep popping up throughout this
anthology, which includes all but one of the first eighteen issues of Doris. But to read Doris with the aim
of finding out who its author is would be to miss the point. While most of the book relates personal anecdotes, there are
political stories interspersed – such as the history of Jane, a network of women that provided abortions before the
procedure was legalized and MOVE in Philadelphia, whose house was bombed by police in May 1985. Among the myriad of topics
Crabb addresses in Doris are her inability to understand boredom, her determination to work for a better world despite
the obstacles, her adventures as a student at Goddard College in Vermont (where near-anarchy was practiced at the time), trips
driving across the country, the homogenization of American culture, the pressure (particularly on women) to have children,
dealing with depression, and the difficulty committing to life as an artist and forging one’s own community. On the
last topic, she writes, "There’s something powerful about creating a life that looks like a writer’s life…
Where it’s so hard to start because every word is supposed to be something, and endings are supposed to be clear and
dramatic. I can’t think of anything worth writing about, so I write about the stupidest things." It is often in the
"stupid things," however, that we get glimpses of the profound, and Crabb’s collection – which also includes letters
to and from friends, several short stories, and many illustrations and comics – includes many revelations. (Review by
Karen Duda)
Raising the Queen of Heaven
By Glen Knape
Preparation Press
Glen Knapes’ weighty tome, Raising the Queen of Heaven, is a new age tract intended
to explain the intricacies of various historical "spiritual paths" that continue to influence society in the present. Knape
has broken down the spiritual paths into four categories: The Age of Gemini, The Age of Taurus, The Age of Aries, and The
Age of Pisces. He devotes several chapters to each age. His chapters are structured like classroom exercises and lectures.
First there’s an "opening alignment" – a relaxation exercise familiar to anyone who’s taken a yoga class.
This exercise is followed by a dialogue between the "teacher" and "students" written almost like the dramatic dialogue of
theater. Perhaps Knape was hoping to clarify his theories by explicating with a Socratic dialogue, but it tends to interrupt
the flow of the text. The theories Knape puts forth rely extensively on reworking and reinterpreting old myths central to
our culture – such as the creation of Adam and Eve. Using new or alternate sources (there’s a long bibliography
in the back) for understanding the names and language of the myths, the author proposes different meanings. For example, using
Knape’s method, Eve is not just a name, but also a word meaning "instructor". The conclusions Knape arrives at are interesting
and controversial. Unfortunately, because he does not use footnotes or directly attribute the source texts, his ideas can
seem fairly random and unsubstantiated. Moreover, the author’s writing style is awkward and wordy. He relies heavily
on new age jargon, take for example an excerpt of a description of Raising the Queen of Heaven on his site: "that idea
has not yet been precipitated into the lower mental and organized into a precise presentation by the throat center." Although
a reader familiar with the concepts and terms Knape uses may find some good insights in his text, to a general audience the
book is a very difficult and puzzling read without much payoff. (Review by Christine Hamm)
Uncle Tom Mania
By
Sarah Meer
University of Georgia Press
Although Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin is hailed in historical
and literary circles as being the most significant bestseller of all time, and was even credited by President Lincoln as having
instigated the Civil War, history has forgotten the extent of the novel’s popularity. With exceptionally detailed research
and analysis, Sarah Meer revisits the lost fad in her book, Uncle Tom Mania: Slavery, Minstrelsy, & Transatlantic Culture
in the 1850s. Perhaps in response to criticisms of the novel’s stereotypical characters, Meer explores in detail
the blackface minstrelsy roots of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, illustrating their uses in presenting Stowe’s case
against slavery; the effects the novel had on blackface in turn are also discussed, demonstrating the reciprocal relationship
between the novel and the popular entertainment of the day. In logically presented chapters, Meer proceeds to show the range
of the impact Stowe’s novel had on American and British society: the many proslavery songs, blackface performances,
and novels it provoked, the abolitionist works it inspired, the emergence of America as a literary rival to Britain, and,
finally, the publication of The Key to Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Dred, and others: Stowe’s own responses
to the Tom Mania. Uncle Tom Mania is an important companion to Stowe’s novel, a vital link in understanding
the Uncle Tom’s Cabin and its historical context. (Review By Katharine Swan)
An Unreasonable Woman
By Diane Wilson
Chelsea Green
When Diane Wilson, a Texas Gulf Coast shrimper, discovers that an EPA Toxic Release Inventory
names her home county, Calhoun County, as the most toxic in the nation, she takes action. Due to lax regulations, petrochemical
plants in Texas and Louisiana were spewing toxic emissions into the water, polluting Lavaca Bay, where Wilson’s family
had caught shrimp for four generations. For Wilson, this knowledge provides a concrete explanation of changes that had taken
place ever since corporations, such as Alcoa, Union Carbide, and Formosa Plastics, set up shop. Shrimpers had begun to notice
their nets were full of dead shrimp and that the bay’s dolphins were dying. When Wilson decides to fight Formosa Plastics
over its permits for a new facility, she lays bare many social fissures, not only in her hometown of Seadrift, but throughout
the surrounding counties as well. Shrimping, like many other traditional industries, is no longer profitable, making it difficult
to support a family. The availability of jobs at the new petrochemical plants provided a welcome financial supplement for
many families. While the area was full of rumors about the detrimental effects of these corporations, few people were willing
to risk their livelihoods by challenging their employers. Wilson’s intense account of her long, but ultimately successful,
attempt to force Formosa and the other area corporations to implement zero-discharge policies is full of colorful characters.
Throughout her struggle she is helped—as well as hindered—by family, friends, environmental activists, union members,
lawyers, and government officials. In a page-turning ending, Wilson decides to sink her shrimp boat on top of an illegal wastewater
discharge pipe Formosa Plastics has placed in Lavaca Bay. This book suffers from a few problems. For example, the chronology
of events is difficult to follow because Wilson never says what years any of the action takes place, although mentions of
people such as Governor Ann Richards hint at the late 1980s and early 1990s. However, that does not detract from the book’s
powerful and engaging story. Wilson’s tale speaks to today’s political culture. As the Bush administration weakens
environmental protections and gives policies misleading names such as "Clean Skies," Wilson’s experience is an important
reminder that it only takes a few committed people to effect change. Protecting the environment is about much more than preserving
plant and animal habitats. It is also about protecting people, their health, and their livelihoods. (Review by Margaret Foley)
Forge
By Ted
Mathys
Coffee House Press
This first collection is aptly named in several dimensions. Forge—something is made; forge—someone is moving
forward; forge—what is made to appear true, but may not be. Entering poems is about coming into an expansive word and
image factory where blue-collar geography mixes with ordinary religious symbols. The rhythm behind the fabrication of these
verses results in work that is sometimes beautiful, less often understood, but always evocative. The very first poem takes
a common symbol of Christianity and reconstructs the lamb into "a lattice of tissue and remorse." Something is familiar, but
unfamiliar as well. It could be merely word play or image manipulation, or it might be a modern translation of universal dilemmas,
as in "Ash Wednesday." With echoes of T.S. Eliot, Mathys writes: "Our hope is not in the poem precisely, the hope is that
the poem embodies/a hope for which it cannot accomplish..." These are not story poems, per se, but poems propelled by lists,
juxtapositions and the idiosyncratic language the poet tries to craft from poem to poem. Using this language transverses landscapes,
but, ironically, one might feel an observer in a whirlwind journey, not a participant, except in such a poem as "Mekong, Mohican,"
where one does sense a unity of feeling, experiences or grounding with the poet. I will read these poems again for their flights
of language, their mystery, and their meditative value. Maybe I will, as the poet says, "carry it as a talisman." (Review
by Deborah Humphreys)
The Solitude of Self
By Vivian Gornick
Farrar, Straus, and Giroux
"The Solitude of Self" was the title of feminist Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s
last public address in 1892. Now, over 100 years later, it is the title of Vivian Gornick’s latest book, which
pays tribute to the great, early feminist. Stanton, like many women, wore many hats during her lifetime. As a daughter,
wife, mother, public speaker, and author, Stanton’s hat rack was overflowing. Gornick brings to light not only the public
life of Stanton, but also the conflicts in Stanton’s personal life. "Oh my daughter, I wish you were a boy!" were
words from Stanton’s father that weighed heavy on the mind of his daughter. She could not replace the brother
she had lost, but promised her father that she would be everything he would have been. She began to read everything
she could get her hands on, including her father’s law books, when she realized the laws did not have women’s
best interests at heart. She would spend the rest of her life speaking out for women’s rights. Her independence
of mind and clever outbursts that her father once adored turned him against her in her adult years. Gornick points out how
important religion was in Stanton’s thinking. She carries the reader through Stanton’s marriage, illnesses, losses,
and early mental breakdown. Gornick mentions that being an outsider is not an easy task and that change does not
come overnight. After reading Stanton’s last public address, Gornick realized "the power of her prose" and
felt that feminists of the late twentieth century now would begin where Stanton left off. I am grateful for the power of Gornick’s
prose and have been a fan for over twenty years. Anyone attending one of Gornick’s lectures, panel discussions
or book readings knows the power of one voice and the changes it can make. (Review by Linda Kozlowski)
Daring Steps Toward Fearlessness
By Ringu Tulku
Snow Lion Publications
What its opponents have scornfully dubbed "Buddhism Light" has rapidly, and apparently
threateningly, made its way into the college classroom, if recent discussions in The Chronicle of Higher Education
and elsewhere are any indication. We aging and stressed out tenured radicals, bored or frustrated with politics, have found
solace and—dare the words be said—spiritual fulfillment in a variety of meditative practices, including
yoga, that have helped obscure what Ringu Tulku calls "removable stains" that have formed "impediments to enlightenment."
It shouldn’t be surprising, then, that academics have begun using the techniques with which they have found "stillness,"
increased levels of concentration, and relief from anxiety to improve their students’ levels of performance: "Before
we turn to Chaucer, let’s close our eyes and focus our minds on the transition of our breath..." Tulku’s book
is an appealingly homely primer: accessible, anecdotal and pleasingly personal. One wishes its editor were a better practitioner
of the meditation of proofreading: the "Editor’s Ntroduction" [Sic] that begins the volume is mildly alarming
to those of us still bound to conventional orthography. The key to the spiritual path the author illuminates is removal of
the causes of suffering. To do so will result in our enjoying ourselves "completely, all the time, provided we have the necessary
means. . . . [T]here will be the possibility of continuous and uninterrupted happiness." The extravagance of such promises
makes the reader wary, but the book is nonetheless replete with tangible advice, applicable anecdotes, and a humble and compassionate
narrative voice. A striking instance of the author’s homiletic insight will have to serve as representative: "Whenever
we have a strong craving for something negative but do not give it up because we like it or are used to it, we should view
this attachment as being like saltwater. The more you drink, the thirstier you become and eventually you could die of thirst."
Even grouchy old cynics might well be tempted to look past some of the cloying rhetoric of self-help to the genuine substance
here, in a well-formed gateway to some of the principles of Buddhist thought and practice. (Review by Rick Taylor)
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Music
The Drift – Noumena
Temporary Residence
The Drift has been building a slow buzz for themselves over the course of the past year leading to the release of Noumena.
In addition to the inherent interest levels that they might expect to have by including members of the bands Tarentel (Danny
Grody) and Halifax Pier (Rich Douthit), the group also released a really nice 12" single that contained two long doses of
their heady ambient post rock jazz whatever outpourings. On their debut full-length, the group drops six long pieces for almost
an hours worth of music, and for those wanting an even fuller helping, the 2LP release contains two more tracks. The first
time I heard the group, some pretty specific references came to mind, but I’ll hold those for later. With warm guitars,
beats that range from sparse to pummeling, and an upright bass (at least it sounds that way with the twang involved), horns,
and plenty of effects, the group is mainly about creating long washes of sound from which sometimes frenetic workouts arise.
The opening track of "Gardening, Not Architecture" is all clouds, though, as a swirling intro leads into some slightly more
solid moments of beauty before falling back into fog again. "Invisible Cities" starts out more grounded, as a steady bassline
keeps things nailed down while some blurps of guitar and sparse percussion rattle around. Eventually, the whole thing locks
into a groove and moves through passages that range from almost improvisational trip-out to full-on horn-laced stomp. From
there out, the album keeps an agreeable pace, veering back and forth from almost mournfull, horn-laced pieces to moments where
the guitars really ring and the group coalesce into something driving and rocking. The last two tracks on the album are also
the shortest, and they couldn’t be a bigger difference in styles. "Inconsistency Principle" shuffles with a wicked rhythm
section and soft pulses of guitar noise, reverbed horns, and squiggles of electronics drift (pardon me, I had to say it at
least once) in and out of the tight backbone. On the other side of things is "Fractured Then Gathered (Reprise)," which closes
the disc with a cavernous, molasses-slow piece that sounds like Codeine playing in an empty grain silo. The band that I was
going to mention in comparison was Do Make Say Think, but as I’ve spent more time with The Drift, I think that the comparison
is somewhat off. Yes, both groups have lots of horns and guitars bathed in reverb with unique song structures, but The Drift
is much more narcotic and less rock. This is music to put on and get lost in. In short, the group has picked a perfect name
for themselves. (Review by Aaron Coleman) http://www.almostcool.org/mr/
Tom Vek – We Have Sound
Star Time International
Londoner Tom Vek’s stateside debut, We Have Sound, brings to mind Beck, circa 1994-1996.
Vek’s songs were even created in his parents’ garage—similarly to how Beck got his own start. On We Have
Sound listeners will find a plentiful mix of psychedelic garage funk over of (mostly live) crisp beats combined with tight
guitars and loose lo-fi production values. Then there’s Vek’s talking sing-song baritone that at times seems reminiscent
of David Byrne spouting somewhat obtuse lyrics, particularly on "If I Had Changed My Mind." Such a sound might not be as revolutionary
now as ten years ago, but Vek’s rendering still packs quite a punch. Even though "The Lower the Sun" might have been
a lost Odelay track, the song is perfect. Vek’s enjoyable debut features plenty to note—like the bass line
of "If You Want," which packs the sexy heat of tight rock, and roll and the beats of "A Little Word in Your Ear," which summon
up the best in hip-hop. (Review by Kim Newman)
Midival Punditz – Midival Times
Six Degrees
Clever name. Electronic music is what you are supposed to expect from the play on words name they have, but Indian
electronic music is not what I expected. It is quite the same thing that was on the Bend it Like Beckham soundtrack though
not as danceable. It is relaxing in its chants and tones of music that make the whole thing seem holy and important as I find
most of the Indian languages make things. But when you consider the name of the band and its electronic qualities it all comes
across as exactly what it is: a good time for people who really have nothing to do but who want to feel intellectual. The
fact that I liked it, considering these connotations, makes me wonder what I actually am. Of course the whole thing is very
tongue in cheek when you realize what the whole independent music scene has become. It seems to me that this band needs to
find a direction; they either take themselves seriously or they are fun and electric. It is too confusing to analyze a band
like this. Confusing, but not bad. It is more like a party with George Harrison and Mick Jagger rather than Bob Marley and
David Bowie. Mesmerizing and reflective, the Midival Punditz have turned out a project that hopefully will inspire some similar
art in the future. (Review by Whitney Moore)
Dawn Smithson – Safer Here
Kranky
I
listened to this album for the first time in its optimal setting: a late, lonely Saturday night near the end of August with
the wind blowing hard against my windows and no sleep in sight. This release on Kranky Records from Dawn Smithson is made
for nights like these. The tracks are all based on melancholy and loneliness. Smithson’s voice is made for songs like
these: her vocals impart so much emotion, yet at the same time, keep a safe distance from those emotions, as demonstrated
especially on the track "Nowhere Near." The instrumentation is often sparse, usually just Smithson’s voice and a guitar,
but Smithson does bring in instruments, like the accordion on the song "Somewhere Far," for added effect. The extra instruments
make the songs more lush, but also sadder, in a sense. This album isn’t for every day play, but for fans of Julie Doiron
and similar artists, it is a beautiful record for those certain lonely moods. (Review by Dana Reinoos)
Morcheeba – The Antidote
Echo
Bad
news Morcheeba fans: vocalist Skye Edwards is no longer with the group, and is replaced on the new album by the talented if
generic Daisy Martey. The good news, however, is that the Godfrey brothers don’t stray terribly far from the signature
sound that enabled them to sell more than five million records worldwide. The most noticeable change is the absence of programmed
beats in favor of live instrumentation, giving the songs a more organic feel than previous outings; the electronic sheen that
provided the ideal soundtrack to the 90’s has been replaced by a retro-sixties psychedelic swagger. "Living Hell," which
comes midway into the record, is vintage Morcheeba. The rest of the songs don’t leave a lasting impression, save for
the bittersweet tango "Everybody Loves a Loser." This is a transition record, making it less of the antidote and more of a
placebo fooling you into thinking you’re getting the good stuff. Hopefully that shipment will arrive next time. (Review
by Mike Dressel)
Björk – Drawing Restraint 9
One Little Indian
Fans of Björk are used to being surprised by her work, but even they should be forewarned that this disc – music
from the film Drawing Restraint 9 – features her as a writer and producer, limiting the amount of vocal work
from the quirky Icelander. Matthew Barney, best known for his Cremaster Cycle of films, shot Drawing Restraint 9
on a whaling vessel in Nagasaki Bay, giving Björk a chance to write a soundtrack heavily influenced by traditional Japanese
music. As such, there is some beautiful music here utilizing exotic instruments like the glockenspiel, celeste, harp and harpsichord.
On "Pearl," an artist named Tagaq performs throat singing while Mayumi Miyata plays sho, a traditional Oriental instrument.
Leave it to Björk to make ancient ways sound new and innovative! Björk finally utilizes her vocal chords on the sparsely arranged
"Bath," one of only two songs blessed with her singing. The other song is "Storm," and unlike the gentle "Bath," it has Björk
offering a loud and impassioned vocal over a swirling bed of programmed synthesizer. Hard-core Björk fans would probably consider
"Storm" the one indispensable track on the album. Other vocalists to note: Will Oldham turns in a stellar rendition of Björk’s
"Gratitude" and Shonosuke Okura chants sublimely on "Holographic Entrypoint." (Review by Kevin Wierzbicki)
Aluminum Babe – Vit.Ri.Fied
Lucero
Drink in hand,
volume raised high, and sad-attempts to sing along with Aluminum Babe - I quickly found myself rocking out on my table
top to Vit.Ri.Fied. If I could mix all my favorite sounds from my most-adored female bands, this would have to be it!
Not too hard and not too soft, Aluminum Babe knows how to strum that guitar and beat that drum. Anna’s soft but distinctive
voice makes Vit.Ri.Fied an easy-to-listen-to album and a quick favorite. This three-person group had my feet tapping,
my arms swinging and my head bobbing. Not to mention, the biggest urge to get up on my table and dance! My only disappointment
was that they failed to put the lyrics for some of their songs – what made them choose to print some songs and not the
others? Nevertheless, what I love most about the Vit.Ri.Fied album is that the songs don’t sound alike (which
many bands fall victim to). Aluminum Babe is quite catchy and refreshing; aside from their punk rock sound, their touch of
trance and even some swing makes you want to dance. I thought their use of French in some of their songs was original and
made those songs memorable. This band definitely caught my attention in the best way possible – they got my feet moving.
Though I was a bit worried when I saw their album cover, which features a young kid staring outside of an airplane window,
Aluminum Babe left me reaching for the repeat button. Anna, Jorge and Darren make the perfect match for my girl-rock music
needs. (Review by Monica Martin)
Nick Schillace – Box Canyon
American Sketch
The guitarist Nick Schillace knows how to play the strings. With an acoustic guitar, Schillace is able to quiet down
an entire room of chattering. Serene melodies percolate Box Canyon withsoothing effect. His music is both waterfall
and hot spring. Sometimes it is fast, though most times it slows down. It is great medicine for mental stress, and also a
lovely lullaby that puts even adults into sleep at night. There are some repetitive melodic elements in the work, but they
can only impress you more. After a day’s long work, you may find relief from the heavenly sounds of Box Canyon!
So, check it out. (Review by Wendy Ma)
Blackalicious – The Craft
Epitaph
This album embodies a very positive development in hip-hop: the normalization of the MC. The members of Blackalicious
aren’t gangsters, militants, super-men or ghetto prophets; they’re just regular folks, rapping, making music,
living life. Here and there on the album The Craft, though, they might hit a gangsterish note, or a militant one. The
point is, this group refuses to adopt a restrictive self-image. They demand to be heard as people with complex multi-faceted
personalities. They rap about yoga, social protest, world travel, you name it. There’s no posing here, just MCs airing
their minds. And the verbal delivery is as varied as the subject matter— or the music for that matter. Flutes, strings,
reeds and piano all accompany the break beats on this album. My favorite song, ‘Your Move’ has some funky congas
and handclaps thrown into the mix. There’s even a pop song a la "Hey Ya" by Outkast. This is a very mixed bag on many
levels, and therein lies the album’s strength: people with a commitment to their craft and genuine self-expression can
make danceable hip-hop with a little food for thought. (Review by Rick
Green)
Drunk Horse – In Tongues
Tee Pee
When
the first track "Strange Transgressors" began, I thought, "where have I heard this before?" As the CD progressed, I looked
up at my brother’s wall. Seeing his Lynyrd Skynyrd poster, it all fell into place. Drunk Horse sounds like an exact
replica of a 70’s stoner-rock band. With strong guitar rifts that are sure to revive the air guitar movement in addition
to loud lyrics, Drunk Horse draws on influences from Led Zeppelin, Thin Lizzy, ZZ Top, Blue Oyster Cult, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and
a whole host of 70’s garage rock. I felt like I had just raided my dad’s LPs as the CD rocked on. Very loud, a
bit repetitive, but never boring, it’s definitely a band to check out if you want some modern day, Sabbath-bred stoner
rock. I think I’ll pass this one on to my brother. (Review by Nicky Riale)
Sinead O ‘Connor – Throw Down Your Arms
That’s Why There’s Chocolate and Vanilla
Throw down Your Arms is the most powerful album released since Universal Mother. Sinead has widened her musical forte to include
reggae and politics. This homage to people’s struggles and cry against war and racism couldn’t come at a more
needed time. In the song "Marcus Garvey," Sinead gives homage to the beauty of people working together because "there is no
food to eat, no money to spend." "Door Peep" lets us see into a world full of misery and a hope that keeps hymns to the creator
flowing from the lips of those who praise him. It condemns those who would betray the peacekeepers by spying on their meetings
and selling them out. "Down Pressorman" is one of the most powerful songs on the album. It is a righteous song about Judgment
Day for those who exploit the many. "Throw down Your Arms" is a universal call to the end of war and approaches our childlike
sensibilities for love and peace. "Untold Stories" is the working class person’s song. In it, Sinead acknowledges the
struggles of the poor "who earn a nickel while spending a dime." The Earth Goddess Priestess Mother has done it again compelling
us to act by musically taking us along a different path to humanity. This album deserves to be heard by the entire world including
and most notably needed by those who sit in seats of power everywhere. (Review by Davina Rhine)
Paradise Boys – The Young & The Guest List
5 Points
Call it dance punk, electro, or synthpop if you must label the swaggering, damaged party anthems on The Young &
The Guest List, a record that has the excitement of a deliciously naughty one-night stand. San Francisco artists the Paradise
Boys (the brainchild of DJ’s Jeff Fare and Bertie Pearson) concoct a delirious mix of electronic beats, booty-slappin’
bass lines, and cheeky lyrics, at times sharing the vocal duties with an assortment of sultry divas. The title track is a
paean to velvet rope excess that would make even the most somber hipster hit the dance floor. "Summer of Love" is ideal for
a drive up the coast with the top down, and "Pale Yellow Sun" is the requisite down tempo chill-out track. The Paradise Boys
delight in infectious, hooky tunes with a whiff of danger: sleaze and hedonism served on the rocks with a knowing grin. "Did
It Again" is a standout ode to breakup sex. So call it what you will, I’ll go with synth-sational. (Review by Mike Dressel)
Houston Calls – A Collection of Short Stories
Drive Thru
Houston Calls may just be the strongest emo band to come out since Amber Pacific or The Red Hot Valentines.
The infusion of strong vocals with intelligent arrangements and the perfect amount of synthesizer allow the act to shine.
"Little Girl" is brought up even further when one hears the multiple-part harmonies that play a large role during the track.
Trying together The Anniversary with Fall Out Boy, Houston Calls really makes a strong case for radio play with their hard-hitting
"Pen And A Piece of Mind." Allowing the bass to take a more proactive role during this track, Houston Calls continually allows
their sound to shift based on the situation. The story-telling nature of "Bob and Bonnie" is reminiscent of early Starting
Line; the nuanced arrangements played by Houston Calls on this track really make the track full of energy even if the tempo
is slower. The heartfelt, slow-dancing track on A Collection of Short Stories is "Amtrack." Using symphonic atmospheres
along with dreamy arrangements really elicits any common experience to surface in the hearts of listeners. Houston Calls is
at the forefront of their contemporaries in sheer emotional impact, and it should only be a few more months before they get
the praise they deserve. (Review by James McQuiston)
Lawless Element – Soundvision: In Stereo
Babygrande
Top-tier indie rap producers like Madlib and J. Dilla guest on this, Lawless Element’s debut, supplying
ethereal, if sometimes-uninspired-sounding stock material (looped free-jazz piano runs, scrambled r’nb bursts, and the
like). These Detroit MC’s have the type of sharp, scrappy flow suitable for the high-end mixtape circuit, but much of
the album falls short, song-wise. Soundvision: in Stereo hits dancefloor potential with "Love," unfortunately there
isn’t a whole lot going on here, hook or lyric wise. (Review by Rico Cleffi)
Famous Last Words - Underground Acoustic/self-titled
My first impression of this band is that if they had been around in
the late sixties they would have been billed for all three days of the Monterrey Pop Festival. I usually don’t like
most live recordings but I was pleasantly surprised by Underground Acoustic. Although, I did not find anything sexually charged
about any of the songs as the liner notes claimed there should have been. I was further surprised by the fact that Underground
Acoustic and their self-titled album Famous Last Words had only a few songs which were the same where other bands would
have had exactly the same songs on the live album as the studio version. It is to be said here that the method by which this
band’s talent is conveyed lends a spirit of mediocrity that destroys any warrant of elaborating very much further about
their personality. Consistency seems to have been the key in their thinking when they started both these projects. My advice
to anyone listening to either of these recordings for the first time would be to make sure you have a VW van ready with a
CD player installed. (Review by Whitney Moore)
Caroline – Where’s My Love
Temporary Residence
This release is a CD single with three cuts: "Time Swells" and two versions of the title track. Caroline (Caroline
Lufkin) sings here in an extremely delicate timbre; a quality especially suited to the subject matter – unrequited love
– of "Where’s My Love." The accompaniment, very music box like, mimics the fragility of the singer’s heart.
Version two of the song, the "Magical Mix," does away with the vocal track but uses snippets of Caroline’s voice, tweaked
and distorted so it sounds like she has now gone into orbit in search of her paramour. As sort of an Enigma version of the
song, it is cool but virtually unrecognizable from the original. "Time Swells" is similarly relaxing, with Caroline doing
more "oohing" and "aahing" than singing of lyrics. The mix brings the work of Kate Bush to mind. For someone not familiar
with any of Caroline’s past releases, this brief insight into her psyche leaves one wondering what future efforts will
sound like. (Review by Kevin Wierzbicki)
Socratic – Lunch for the Sky
Drive Thru
The sweeping opening strains of Theme from Your Mother’s Garden Party sound like they could have been produced
by Jim Steinman. As soon as the smoke clears, it is not Meatloaf or Celine Dion that emerges from the elaborate stage, but
Socratic from New Jersey. Lunch for the Sky is the band’s second offering and presents an assortment of grand
piano-driven arrangements. Each song is a mini rock opera with emo sensibilities pondering the contemporary American condition.
In that "indie rocker" kind of way, reminiscent of Rivers Cuomo, Ben Folds, et al., vocalist Duane Okun is a crooner and his
melodramatic and somewhat whiny delivery is unfortunately Socratic’s weakest link. Listening to fourteen tracks of his
voice is a bit of a chore and subtracts from some truly smart and sensitive observations about our modern day life—except
when it’s improved by some really neat Beatle-like flourishes ("I am the Doctor," "Spots I’ve Been" and "Gone").
If the music wishes to soar like this, the vocals should not weigh it down. (Review by Anne Johnson)
Decomposure – At Home and Unaffected
Unschooled
At Home and Unaffected starts off
deceptively poppy. "Whose Side Are You On?" could be heard on any Top 40 radio station in the country, if it would only get
rid of those glitchy noises. From the beginning of "At Home Part One," however, the listener gets an idea of what he or she
is really in for – an IDM album with surprising vocals and samples. This album is a mixture of pure pop music and the
noisy style popularized by artists like Aphex Twin and Autechre. While most of the tracks don’t have a hook, or any
recognizable musical structure at all, for that matter, the listener is drawn in by the pure emotion visible in the music.
The album’s best track, "…And Unaffected," is even pretty danceable, which many IDM songs, despite the genre’s
name, are not. This album is a triumph of genre-melding, and makes something new altogether: a genre that is sure to inspire
artists to come. (Review by Dana Reinoos)
Crosstide – Life as a Spectator
Slowdance
Those poor boys in Crosstide… or is that those lucky boys? This Portland, OR quartet’s pleasant but rather
passionless debut full-length album, Life as a Spectator, is sure to catch on what with Coldplay’s ascension
as the great hope of rock. As those British lads continue to christen and ignite the scene of wallpaper rock and roll, it’s
about time the next great bland band in the scene steps up. So welcome Crosstide, whose debut features the same easy to go
down guitars (although they do adopt an almost-post-emo chug) without the hint of combustion. And let’s not forget the
saccharine pop melodies and, most importantly, the pensive and caring falsetto vocals of Crosstide’s front man, Bret
Vogel, who might actually be able to out sincere Chris Martin in a cage match. Indeed, Vogel is the type of innocuous and
haunting singer that makes the girls swoon. (Review by Kim Newman)
Anousheh Khalili – Let the Ground Know Who’s
Standing on Him
Triple Stamp
Wow. Anousheh Khalili’s voice is just as big, brassy, and bold as Sarah
Slean’s, while also angelic like Sarah McLachlan’s. The piano accompanying Khalili sings just as strongly as her
voice, even though it’s not the best breed. But the pair of piano and voice proves to be absolutely unbeatable. Khalili’s
album Let the Ground Know Who’s Standing on Him soars high in the female artist arena, while keeping true to
a simplistic, earthy feel. Her organ performances are genius, stretching the female solo artist genre past its old piano/voice
picture. The sheer strength of her words is enough to satisfy the soul, but then her vocal chords explode at each climax,
enchanting my ears and captivating my other senses. She creates a dreamy state of exploration, where the tunes expose her
being layer by layer. In each track, I learn a little bit more about this artist. What I learn, specifically, I can’t
say with words, but only feel through her art. (Review by Jessica Rossi)
Robert Deeble – This Bar Has No One Left
Fractured Discs
Robert Deeble’s six-song EP is a hypnotic, quiet and meandering twenty minutes. But don’t
think that the disc can be classified as just another pretty and languid slow core album. Nope, it’s more like an acoustic
last call—empty and smoky and just a little oft-kilter. The EP is just as its name suggests; it’s sometime after
4am, and how the hell are you getting home? Each of tracks feature Deeble’s smooth voice over mostly bare yet quite
melodic instrumentation; a soft and restrained viola underneath the guitar adds to the somberness—a peace that is finally
broken on the intense "Clowned." The songs are quite simply lovely, and comparisons to singer/songwriters like Nick Drake
and Elliott Smith wouldn’t be out of place. Leonard Cohen would be more apt. With cerebral stories and in-depth character
studies, Deeble has perfected his own take on flawed characters caught by their trespasses and loneliness. (Review by Kim
Newman)
Without Gravity – Tenderfoot
One Little Indian
The vocals present on "Beautiful Son" really seem more like a mixture between Sarah McLachlan and Tracy Chapman than
anything, recalling the sultry singing of Billie Holiday even as the rest of the band creates a contemporary sound. This means
that the vocals are transcendent of gender and the desires coupled with a binary system; the vocals put forth by Without Gravity
are tremendously fitting and proper for the music (indie-rock fare) that Without Gravity puts forth. On tracks like "Without
Gravity", the band comes forth with a style of music that looks back to the mid-nineties, to the days of Edwyn McCain and
Blessed Union of Souls. However, it is not just the vocals that really make one want to write home; "Blue Bird" uses different
sounding changes in timing to really give the track a staggered feel that imbues a certain sense of humanity to the music.
Thus, Without Gravity play an ultimately radio worthy type of indie rock that really touches an individual’s emotions
as well as put forth a solid musicianship that will be hard to top, either by them or any other band out on the market. Not
quite the brand of rock that comes out of coffee shops and at outdoor events at the frat, Without Gravity are a wonderful
little slice of Americana that everyone should enjoy. (Review by James McQuiston)
Apsci – Thanks for Asking
Quannum
Apsci
are a hip-hop Bonnie & Clyde who jack the claustrophobic, sci-fi racket of the Def Jux label and merge it with the speakeasy
feel of electro weirdos like Moloko. These beats would challenge even the most gifted MC, but that doesn’t give Apsci
license to ruin them with tone-deaf raps, peppered with overblown hooks – a combo that renders excellent tracks like
"Cherubic" unlistenable. Talented guests Tunde, of TV on the Radio, and Mr. Lif are lost in the clutter. Only Pigeon John’s
disembodied sing-rap on "Stompin’" finds the right compliment to this complex minefield of music. As label mates to
some of the left coast’s most dynamic emcees, why Apsci failed to rely on the dexterous lyrical skills of Lyrics Born,
Lateef, or Gift of Gab to turn the pig’s ear into silk purse, is a mystery. Creative as this is, Thanks for Asking,
is thanks but no thanks. (Review by Steven Green)
Charlie Schmidt – Xanthe Terra
Strange Attractors
Folk songs without words, gentle strumming and classical technique are Charlie Schmidt’s tools on Xanthe Terra.
I like the way the guitar strumming falls on the rhythm in the introduction, which soothes the audience as we enter. "Slavic
Mountain" stands out at the end of the album as Schmidt’s appropriation of Edvard Grieg’s "In the Hall of the
Mountain King." This is a favorite piece for a piano player to build suspense for his recital audience. However, Schmidt does
not bring the same tension to it. Instead, "Slavic Mountain" has no apparent structure, and he is just covering Grieg’s
piece simply to do it. Each chord progression does not carry to the next as Schmidt tries to let his audience relax. Unfortunately,
failing to do so, the audience is left bored, anticipating something that never occurs. Charlie Schmidt’s classical
guitar has an audience, but that audience should not be expecting something unique and interesting. (Review by Nancy Wolfe)
The Occasion – Cannery Hours
Say Hey
It’s
shocking to realize that The Occasion hails from New York. Who knew that the city could actually produce a band that isn’t
busy mining an ‘80s new wave sound? Rather, this quintet is busy turning back the clock even further as its members
explore the textures and space of ‘60s psychedelic rock mixed with a softer, acoustic, folk sound. Cannery Hours
is a mess of guitars, tape loops, organs and other electronics. Think of the harmonic guitar-folk of Fairport Convention ("All
Over Idaho" and "Equine") meets the prog misery of Pink Floyd ("So Far"). Like both of these classic rock super groups, lead
and backing vocals often switch between several of The Occasion’s members. Pianist Brent Cordero, guitarist Jordi Wheeler
and drummer Charles Burst distinct vocal stylings each contribute to Cannery Hours’ moodiness, stretching the
atmosphere and dulling any edges in the album’s overall sound. (Review by Kim Newman)
Lydia – This December; It’s One More and I’m
Free
HourZero
When Susan Sontag wrote "The
new serious music hurts one’s ears," she could have been talking about Arizona’s favorite new indie band, Lydia,
and their album This December; It’s One More and I’m Free. She didn’t mean that comment as a disparagement,
and neither do I. Sontag always insisted that if an audience wanted to expand their minds, they had to be prepared for
some psychic discomfort. This December isn’t easy on the ears, and its raw ambient-punk-rock seriousness belies
the youth of the band members, several of whom were still finishing high school while recording the album. Not your typical
teen band, Lydia is little like The Killers stripped of all radio-friendly hooks and sing-able choruses mashed in with a little
Pink Floyd and Ataris. Still, the band has its own addictive rhythm, and I love the mix of boy/girl voiced choruses. On
This December, Lydia lays down the kind of consistent album-length confluence that is rare in today’s music world
obsessed with almighty single. Lydia is a welcome breath of fresh air, and just the thing you’ll need this December
to warm your cockles. (Review by Jacob Anderson-Minshall)
Bellini – Small Stones
Temporary Residence
Former members of Uzeda and Girls Against Boys reassemble Bellini in the wake of the dramatic departure of uber-drummer
Damon Che and cobble together a dissertation on dynamics and discord, cracked blues and dirge rock. But Small Stones is
about ten years too late; its double stops, blasts of sound and nervy chord fragments lack the gasps that made antecedents
like Unwound such treasures. While "Smiling Fear" uncoils unhinged guitar lines that stumble all the way to the nuthouse,
Bellini is best when speaking a primitive vernacular; barbarous hooks like those on "Fuck the Mobile Phone" create swinging,
vertigo-inducing booze rock. As bands like Franz Ferdinand rule the roost with paint-by-numbers licks, the sweaty-browed,
intellectual riffing of Agostino Tilotta can be refreshing, even if searching down roads already illuminated by bigger lights.
It’s something to grab if you’re nostalgic for a time when a guitar was more magic wand than fashion accessory.
(Review by Steven Green)
Men’s Recovery Project – The Very Best Of
5RC
The weird electronic mash that Men’s Recovery Project put forth on this, their "greatest hits," really mixes
together a large number of precursor bands, from Suicide to My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult. When the band drops its pretenses
and comes forth with a purely punk track (such as the very-Husker Du like "Why We Are Lazy"), individuals can really understand
why the band needs a collection like this. "Get Your Dick Out Of My Food" is reminiscent of a classier Anal Cunt; the lo-fi
nature of "Homo?" is held back slightly by a poor recording which relegates all the music and vocals to the far back of the
sound. Forty tracks on this "Best Of" ensures that individuals will get a complete idea of who the musicians of Men’s
Recovery Project were; while they were together for around a decade (93-03), their sound really resonates through all styles
and eras of music, popular and not. The technical brilliance of the prose spoken throughout "The Couch" is not to be paralleled;
what is absurdist fiction is put into an entirely new context by the inclusion of different beats and sounds. Men’s
Recovery Project was one of the most diverse, innovative bands to ever come out and hopefully this compilation will give them
the notoriety and respect that they deserve. (Review by James McQuiston)
Shlshkd – The Reins
Monona
Shlshkd, short for "Shell Shocked," pride themselves on
miscommunication, gross harmonics, and all out chaos. Each track on their album The Reins avoids any sort of climax
or meaning, as the punk rage crushes everything in its path. But their energy and lyrics are amazing; they would totally kick
Rage Against the Machine’s behind if only the lead singers were audible. The electric guitar and drums mesh into a tumbling
boulder that rolls from the beginning of the album through to the bitter end. This self-induced destruction silences their
political disgust with mainstream American society and corporate unaccountability, flattening the very messages the music
is supposed to scream. But what impresses me is the fight raging underneath the boulder’s path. It never wavers or hesitates
for even a fraction of a moment. Despite the sometimes terrible mess the band produces, the confidence and guts of the performers
fight on. Shlshkd doesn’t take the stage looking for fame nor glory - they just want to be heard. Well, they’ve
got my attention. Their energy is utterly intoxicating, but it destroys the soul of their music. (Review by Jessica Rossi)
Diana Berry – Very Berry
What a refreshing record. For the most part, Berry offers smart, fresh dance music.
Some of the hallmarks of her sound include a combination of electronica with bursts of horns and an emphatic vocal that is
at times reminiscent of Debbie Harry, particularly on "Different Love." The opening track, "Super Sensual," starts things
off right with the perfect combination of electronica and instrumentation. "Rudiments" sounds a bit like the B52s, but any
resemblance is more proof that Berry knows her musical history rather than creative theft. "Two Times" provides a change in
tempo. A ballad of sorts, the slower pace finds Berry backed by a guitar, percussion and strings that support her vocal nicely
while giving her plenty of room to emote. "Let’s Run Away" has a laid-back feel to it, lazily strummed guitar and languid
trumpet that weaves in and out of the song; Berry’s warm vocal caresses the lyrics. The instrumentation on the fast-tempo
"Next to You" stands out. It starts off with African-sounding percussion and is soon joined by a strumming guitar, exotic
woodwind instrument and touches of violin. While the slower numbers aren’t as engaging and memorable as the up-tempo
ones, they’re still worth a listen, particularly "Farm Song," an introspective ballad imploring a lover "don’t
break this farm girl in two." The album closes with "Athena," a spoken word piece about the Greek goddess, to the accompaniment
of an acoustic guitar. While spoken word can quite easily turn maudlin or just downright silly, with her sense of fun and
irreverence, Berry pulls it off with aplomb. With danceable grooves and tunes that will stick in your head, Very Berry
is a wonderful addition to any music lover’s collection. (Review by Karen Duda)
Lisa Shaw – Cherry
Naked Music
I
was first enchanted by Lisa Shaw’s "You are Love" by Lovetronic, and have since been chasing after her tracks –
all over the electronic music scene! A rising star, featured on various compilation albums produced by Naked Music, this Toronto-born
singer’s long awaited solo debut album Cherry delivers a soulful atmosphere with an R&B attitude and an electro-pop
twist. With a voice that seems as if it’s flying through a wind tunnel, Shaw exudes an ethereal quality, even as her
lyrics ground the listener with subtle, honest confessions. "Don’t Know What To Do", a multi-layered sing-along song,
is an honorable mention much in line with her previous work. The album takes off with "When I" and "Matter of Time," where
Shaw ventures into more lyrical territory, breaking out of the limited phrasing of electronic dance tracks. I daresay she
sings from the heart on these two, stretching her voice a little beyond the beat and spilling over into sonic sensuality.
This softness could be in deliberate preparation for the chill vibe that follows in "Dim Light" and "Always". Unfortunately,
the experience goes downhill, and fast with 80’s pop-style "Born To Fly," "Stylin’" and "It’s Been Awhile".
The elementary beats and remedial instrumentals are enough to leave a bad aftertaste and inspire one to delete them from a
Lisa Shaw playlist. It would have been smart to lose these three and instead, take it back to the old school and bring back
some of her classics, which is precisely how the album culminates, with "Let It Ride". Rumor has it, Ms Shaw will be riding
along with Miguel Migs on his next tour, no doubt gracing the stage with an effortless flair for riding the rhythm. My dream
is to hear this diva on her own; an acapella excursion would be ideal, just to throw the ravers for a soulful loop! (Review
by Maija Garcia)
Mest – Photographs
Maverick
When
I say "grownup" what comes to mind? Maturity? Longevity? Old people? Well, maybe not the last one, but after a very promising
debut album, "What’s the Dillio," quite a few years back, and two less than lackluster following releases, Mest’s
new album, Photographs, busts out of the blocks with twelve amazingly grownup songs. The disc encompasses all of what
is good in pop punk, emo and rock today. It seems the band has torn out a few pages of the Alkaline Trio’s game plan
in the creation of this record. It contains the classic upbeat Mest sound, but also explores new territory with a darker tone
in many of the songs, and even some minor chords are played! The songs "Cursed," "As His Black Heart Dies," and "Graveyard"
are three of the darker treats on this record with lyrics just as haunting as the chords that are played. The obligatory ballad,
"This Time," is also quite a nice change of pace on the disc, and adds the fullness that this record needs to be complete.
This is not the same Mest that sang "Richard Marxism." This is a Mest of a new breed, and I am happy to say the new record
is extremely good listening for all. Whether it be after a break up, fight, or other heart wrenching episode, or if you just
want to get jacked up and rowdy, get this record and enjoy! (Review by James McQuiston)
Brakes – Give Blood
Rough Trade
This
super group, which features British Sea Power’s Eamon Hamilton on vocals and members of Electric Soft Parade and the
Tenderfoot, recorded Give Blood in five days and mixed in two. This album presents some of the most entertaining moments
this humor-barren musical period has witnessed in some time. Plus, there are also some really legitimately good songs, something
else music has been lacking. As the album is only twenty-nine minutes long and has sixteen tracks, economy of time is vital
and Brakes are notably resourceful. "Cheney," for example, says it all in a mere ten seconds ("Cheney, Cheney, Cheney/ Stop
Being Such a Dick"). Our Vice President is not the only target of derision as obnoxious scenesters also get targeted on "Heard
About Your Band." Brakes overall sound is described as "Cow Punk," although several sounds are explored, and the more serious
songs on Give Blood offer just as many rewards. (Review by Anne Johnson)
The Early November / I Am the Avalanche
Drive Thru
From Drive Thru Records, home of New Found Glory and Something Corporate, comes a split EP featuring
a pair of songs each from The Early November and I Am the Avalanche. Both bands continue Drive Thru’s proud heritage
of emo/alternative/punk music; and while neither are overwhelmingly wonderful, they are indeed fun to listen to. The Early
November sounds like the product of early Weezer and Dashboard Confessional put into a blender and set on puree. "Outside",
a more melodic tune, gives one that nostalgic feeling of familiarity, circa the 1994 music scene. "Ever So Sweet", the band’s
live cut from Philly, shows that The Early November already has a strong fan base. With good harmonics and torturous lyrics,
this emo band should stick around long enough to improve with age. I Am the Avalanche is as punk rock as an emo band can be.
"New Disaster" has strong rifts, and its hooks are catchy enough to make this song a strong single. Their sound is nothing
new; in fact I Am the Avalanche sounds like a lot of other bands out there right now. But, as is with The Early November,
it makes for an enjoyable listen. (Review by Nicky Riale)
Tara Van Flower – My Little Fire-filled Heart
Silber
Tara Van Flower’s album is an exercise in self-indulgence. While it is partially a spoken word record, I couldn’t
make out more than a few words on each song. The most prominent feature is Van Flower’s atonal, often high-pitched vocals,
which are chanted rather than sung. Clanging chimes, echoing and distorted vocals, and muffled yelping and panting can be
found on most tracks. A dissonant guitar chord opens "I Lost the Moon," accompanied by what sounds like heavy breathing, and
the sharp and jarring chords continue to sound throughout the track. Coupled with strange, repeated lyrics ("I can’t
watch you die again"), it makes for a disconcerting number. Clocking in at nearly eleven minutes, "Wren" might win the honor
of strangest track. It opens with the sound of pouring water (presumably mimicking rain) and the melody of "Love Me Tender"
played on a music box. Then Van Flower’s vocal is added, at a totally different tempo than the music box and singing
unexpected lyrics. Eventually the music box and vocal fade out, and we’re left with the steady downpour of water for
practically five minutes. "The Girl from the Green Dimension" opens with the sound of wind chimes and contains some of the
most understandable lyrics on the album. The melody and her voice create a peaceful ambience, making it one of the few easily
listenable tracks. Perhaps Van Flower has something important to say, but it certainly isn’t expressed on this recording,
on which the elements never congeal into a coherent piece of work, and we can’t discern the message from the monotony.
(Review by Karen Duda)
Nicholas D’Amato’s Royal Society – Nullius
in Verba
Buckyball
Nullius in Verba is a
wet dream for any bass guitarist. The bass and electric guitar construct a beauteous balance, neither one stealing the lead
nor drowning the other out. They swerve, dive, soar and explore every mood together while taking turns exploding into space.
The duo converses back and forth, feeling out each other’s strengths and weaknesses in order to breathe life into their
active rhythms. As the album’s sole musical writer, Nicholas D’amato emerges as a modern day, electronically pumped
Mozart. Completely absent of any vocals in the eight track, thirty-nine minute long creation, his album strives for pure compositional
experimentation. He devotes one track to each guitar as a solo spot. Quietly and patiently the bass works its way through
track three, lying low but strong to the melody like a great opera tenor. Track five gives the electric guitar its turn, where
the musician manipulates electronic fuzz into rainbows of sound, each chord ballooning to its peak and then cascading back
to silence. The drum set’s jazzy, funky beat keeps the two guitars in check, uniting their rhythms and leading the dynamic
direction of every track. Co-produced by D’amato and Ernie Fortunato (who also recorded and mixed the album), Nullius
in Verba unearths a widely undiscovered direction for the drum set, guitar, and bass trio. (Review by Jessica Rossi)
I Am the Avalanche – Self-Titled
Drive Thru
I should know better by now. Seeing I Am the Avalanche’s moniker and the thrill of self-disintegration it promises,
I longed for a reproach to that feeling that other bands labeled emo create: the William Burroughs stream-of-consciousness
of At the Drive-In, the intellectual gutter-punk of Fugazi, the dizzying cacophonies of Radiohead. I hoped against hope that
a record label thought to specialize in the next wave of alternative music could offer something slightly interesting. Yet
the Drive Thru label, like usual, doesn’t come through. Because nothing is more predictable and safe than this avalanche:
the same slow-fast "dynamics" that should have been laid to rest with Kurt Cobain, the archetypal "dead girlfriend" song that
more or less dropped off the cliff after Axl Rose got a pop hit out of it, the melding of styles that want to be adventurous
but only end up turgid (mixing slow skank, locker-room chants, and the same old distorted three-chord tune in "Murderous").
There are the same old flip lyrics taken from the playbook of like-minded bands such as Blink 182 and A Simple Plan, lyrics
that mimic the sturm und drang of the singer’s life, seemingly calculated to align he and his bandmates with
some riotous tradition. Different associations altogether come to mind when I listen to him: "I’m ready for the next
train wreck./A new disaster,/‘cause I’m getting good/at falling down/and playing dead." He then goes on to catalogue
a list of other disasters in the whiny voice that the "emo singer" is supposed to have, while the guitars slash melodically
along. Yes, there is a wreck going on here, but it is a lumbering one, not the kind that comes from musical anarchy. I’m
learning now that I’ll find more authentic hardcore attitude by listening to Anton Webern, Thelonious Monk, or Nancy
Sinatra than by giving the newest emo simulation a chance. (Review by Zachary Hanson)
Black Dice – Broken Ear Record
Astralwerks
Black Dice is an art-experimental-dance band based in Brooklyn that has been around long enough to release three full
length CDs and a myriad of singles. The most interesting thing on Broken Ear Record is Black Dice’s use of the
bass sound. If a musical instrument could take drugs, the low end here would be chock full of Quaaludes; if animals could
join bands, Black Dice might very well have the forlorn bellowing of a bull moose replacing the bass player. Struggling to
make its way to you like it’s swimming through a sea of oil, there is an insistent thrumming that you naturally focus
on. So you’re pretty much caught off guard, almost hypnotized, when further into the record you realize there’s
a full-blown Carnival parade marching through with happy, chirping whistles offering a polar opposite to the rumbling. The
industrial take "Snarly Yow" borrows a keyboard effect from the Who’s "Baba O’Reilly," while "Smiling Off" gives
a nod to the Tom Tom Club and is the most danceable cut on Broken Ear Record. Muffled, disembodied voices join an array
of bleeps, whirrs and squonks throughout the record, making for a delightfully off-kilter listen. This is not Hit Parade stuff
to be sure, but the adventurous consumer should find Black Dice worth rolling more than a few times. (Review by Kevin Wierzbicki)
Ennio Morricone – Crime and Dissonance
Ipecac
To have an established composer on Ipecac seems as bizarre as a vegan in a hotdog-eating contest. However, the chilling
and downright-creeping composition that Morricone comes up with may just mesh up with Ipecac’s ideals; including the
female moaning that plays such a large role in a track like "Placcaggio". The atmosphere in "Seuita" is without comparison;
the music that Morricone puts on disc is much more organic than the fuzzy, distorted sound the discs would typically allow
for. Individuals can really get into Morricone if they keep it in mind that Crime and Dissonance’s biggest selling
point is that Morricone’s art imitates life. "Postludio Alla Terza Moglia", while keeping a jazz-influence sound, really
emulates the hustle-bustle of everyday life. The first derivation from this earthy, realistic sound comes in the gothic-tinged
(think Dracula’s coffin opening) style of "L’uccello Dalle Piume"; a skillful rendition that works so near nothingness
without losing any listener base ensures a victory for Morricone. The diversity of tracks on Crime and Dissonance is
impressive. The only thread that can be found here is that of passion; where "Placcaggio" starts this thread, and "Ii Buio"
increases the size and scope by inserting a wonderful metronome in a human’s heartbeat. There are not crashing, raucous
symphonies on this disc, but rest assured Morricone’s Spartan compositions deserve the same attention as do the masters.
(Review by James McQuiston)
Acid House Kings – Sing Along With Acid House Kings
Twentyseven
There’s not a whole lot of "acid" or "house" in the Acid House Kings’ music. In fact, Sing
Along With the Acid House Kings is all but the embodiment of what the depressed kids call "twee." What we have here is
an enviable recreation of Belle and Sebastian’s sound circa 1997-1998. For those of you that despise the newly glossed
sound of that band’s recent recordings, Sing Along With the Acid House Kings may be the place for your ears.
Granted, the Acid House Kings have a sharp and defined production sound, but the strains of rainy day melancholy come through
loud and clear. Things start strong with "That’s Because You Drive Me," and "Do What You Wanna Do." Both of these songs
feature carefully strummed "1968-folk guy" guitars, and one hell of a Stuart Murdoch impression from Niklas Angergard. Unfortunately,
Julia Lannerheim’s vocals are a little too cutesy for my taste on "This Heart Is a Stone," but she turns in plenty of
strong vocals on later tracks such as "London School of Economics," and "Sleeping." For the most part, the Acid House Kings
Scandinavian lineage remains in check, but ABBA-like strings manage to invade "Tonight Is Forever." I’m really not sure
if the band was trying to be cheeky or not. This, however, is the song that makes the most sense on the bonus karaoke CD.
It’s a rather strange inclusion to the package, but I’m sure it’ll set the scene for someone’s evening
of slightly drunken, hep reverie. (Review by Matthew Comegys)
Noam Chomsky –The Imperial Presidency
G7 Welcoming Committee
Did I turn the oven off before I left the house? I wonder how many dollar bills are floating around in
that glass cage down at the car dealership. Am I wearing matching socks? Oh, sorry. I was just trying to listen to this Noam
Chomsky spoken word release and my mind started to wander. Chomsky is a long time student of politics, lecturer and prolific
author, but he is not much of an entertainer. I’m sure no one expects him to come off like Henry Rollins, but the man
drones on in a monotone that very quickly becomes soporific. And it’s not just me, either. In the first few minutes
of this lecture he makes reference to Ronald Reagan and quips that "he probably didn’t know what was going on" and the
crowd chuckles at that ignorance, having a nervous laugh at the late President’s expense. Ten minutes later when Chomsky
says something that is actually humorous, about how our government tends to substitute the word "conflict" for the word "war,"
there is nary a titter from the audience. Chomsky says the government thinks that "conflicts" are merely like "hurricanes"
– all that is needed is a clean-up afterwards. (Chomsky made the hurricane reference a full year before the recent tragic
storms.) He pauses after his analogy, clearly expecting guffaws, but only fifteen minutes into his speech he has put the crowd
into a coma. The Imperial Presidency is basically an attack on the Bush administration with historical facts and observations
about war in general mixed in. There’s nothing wrong with that, but anyone who wants to study this opinion and information
would be far better off sticking with Chomsky’s books. Otherwise, if Chomsky really wanted to change the world, he should
volunteer to mediate the globe’s "conflicts." The world’s leaders would be in such a stupor that there would be
no place for "war." (Review by Kevin Wierzbicki)
Shrift – Lost in the Moment
Six Degrees
If you’re hoping for something to make you forget those images of huddled masses slowly roasting in New Orleans’
Superdome, Shrift’s debut album may be just the opiate you’re looking for. The warm acoustic and electronic experimental
fusions will have you adrift in clear, blue Caribbean waters with keyboard melodies darting below the waves rolling up the
beach. Anglo-Brazilian singer Nina Miranda (a charter member of the group Smoke City, best known for jingle behind a 1997
Levi’s jeans TV commercial) moves effortlessly from English to French to Portuguese. Multi-texturalist producer, Dennis
Wheatley, crafts musical blends so mellow that even Shrift’s own handlers liken them to early Disney soundtracks (as
though that was a selling point). Lost in the Moment promises to lull you into a blissful coma. Would it be cynical
to warn that in your semi-catatonic state you will be most receptive to the advertising claims of whichever product is shilled
next? (Review by Jacob Anderson-Minshall)
Dimension Mix – Various Artists
Eenie Meenie
The most recent Dimension Mix does not stray far from Dimension 5 Records’ stylistic electronic children’s
music. Bruce Haack, the musical genius behind Dimension 5 paved the way for revolutionary children’s music ranging from
topics about meditation to endangered species. This album features songs by influential artists and bands such as Stereolab,
Beck, Apples In Stereo, and Danielson Famile. Each song takes the reasonably well-known artist/band beyond their limits to
a crazed sing-songy opus. The album feels like a songbook that current artists have their own take on, sort of like a morphic,
electronically-charged Magic School Bus meets Schoolhouse Rock! Rocks. This is a quirky mix of artists, interesting
for a listen, but not very lasting. Beck’s track, "Funky Lil’ Song" introduces the listener to the melancholic
children’s songs yet to come. Beck is not really saying anything, and musically it is not compelling. This type of album
is good, but not great. (Review by Nancy Wolfe)
Clue to Kalo – One Way, It’s Everyway
Mush
On One Way, It’s Everyway, Clue to Kalo guide you by the hand through their folk-tronica, past 60s style
key changes and softly modulating melodies, while dodging the raw, barbed edges of an electric guitar solo. A sprouting accordion
and the occasional sax crawl out, all seamlessly sutured on laptop, and Mark Mitchell’s whispering platitudes are so
saccharine they’re reassuring, even if mostly about death or melancholy. Tracks meld together right up to the Derek
& the Dominoes style coda, as if they’re in a hurry to start over again. If One Way, It’s Everyway has
a weakness, it’s Mitchell’s unchanging Iron & Wine style vocals, so restrained and corked up they feel prudish.
If you’re waiting for an emotional breakout or primal scream, it won’t happen here. One Way, It’s Everyway
won’t cut through the malaise or even make you question; it’s a lullaby instead of a wake up call. (Review
by Steven Green)
Levy – Rotten Love
One Little Indian
The sorrow-laden opening (and title) track to Rotten Love shows Levy to have its feet firmly planted in the
synth-pop of the eighties, while simultaneously maintaining a current, Muse-type sound. "Matthew" has front-person James Levy
really move into the impressive vocal tenors of Rufus Wainwright, as the instrumentation backing him up really challenges
the limits of their laid-back style by using different-sounding arrangements. The echoed vocals of "On The Dance Floor" really
provide a vital shot in the arm for Levy, who really continues down the same road (at least stylistically). By the time that
"Rector Sweet" starts up, one realizes that Levy is a good act, but one that has a critical lack of experimentation regarding
their core sound. The dreamy synth-pop works for a certain period, but when the band plays the exact same thing track in and
track out, the album tends to not be as groundbreaking as it could be. Now, if an individual were looking for a solid sounding,
ultimately radio-friendly album, Rotten Love would be perfect for their tastes. If someone wants to see a band evolve
through an album, they should look elsewhere. (Review by James McQuiston)
Cantankerous – Cantankerous
Tommy Boy
In a conscious effort to reject the current star system of the music world, the six members of this hot, new British
band use aliases and don masks and costumes at performances. The lead singer, who goes by the moniker Cantankerous, sprays
rapid-fire lyrics in a rumbling growl as the band shakes a thundering cocktail of punk, ragga, distorted guitar, industrial,
dance and electronic music. That the discordant Cantankerous seems capable of alternately affecting Japanese, Cockney and
Jamaican accents just adds to the strange gumbo that seems equally influenced by ’80s synthesizers, Cajun bluegrass,
punk riot grrrl and old school Black Sabbath. Although the five songs on this appetizer EP carry danceable beats and radio
friendly hooks, Cantankerous is unlikely to fill American airwaves like they should. Their political bent and brash in-your-face
lyrics will keep the censors busy bleeping attacks on capitalism, the Ku Klux Klan and the Christian right. So you’ll
have to buy the album or see the tour to have the privilege of bombarding your eardrums with their incredible sound. The band
sites their influences as including "sick twisted anarchic behavior in the pursuit of a better world where consumerism, display
of wealth and self-interest aren’t the only guiding forces through out the world." Rock on you masked superheroes of
punk-ragga! (Review by Jacob Anderson-Minshall)
Nudge – Cached
Kranky
Portland’s
Nudge, a trio comprised of Honey Owens (Jackie- O Motherfucker), Brian Foote and Paul Dickow (Fontanelle), attempts to bridge
the gap between the organic and the electronic in music. The genre-spanning collection of sounds – jazz, dub, and funk
are all represented on Cached – presents both real time playing and programmed music in order to show the band
in "play" mode as opposed to just presenting their "po-faced ‘work.’" Nudge lives up to their name with their
ability to irritate and tease with electric blips and beeps that fade in and out. A frenzied height is reached on the dark,
almost strangely Depeche Mode-like "My New Youth" that grinds quickly to a halt, as if the needle has fallen off the record.
This abrupt musical tangent is uncharacteristic of the majority of the album which offers soundscapes that repeated listening
will continue to reveal, such as the many layers of sound that comprise and unfold in Nudges "work." (Review by Anne Johnson)
Christopher Bissonnette – Periphery
Kranky
There is much discussion about how, technically, Bissonnette is beyond the curve; modifying samples to make something
completely new. However, the fact is that, on some basic level, it should be the music that sells the CD. The compositions
on Periphery are extended to a tremendous degree, the average track hovering at about 7 minutes. However, the weight
behind the typical Bissonnette track locks listeners into the composition. When the arrangements are splayed out over such
a large time frame, individuals will go to tremendous lengths to ensure that they can hear the entire thing. One should see
Periphery not as an experimental album or a symphony for the new millennium, but as a valid bridge between the Spartan
arrangements of Philip Glass and the industrial epics of artists like Khanate and Aphex Twin. Bissonnette’s music is
like a hit of acid; after starting up, one cannot help but be led around by the medium. The hour-long composition on "Periphery"
is challenging, and Bissonnette is able to create one of the most emotional and intense albums without relying on guitar riffs
or bass lines – all he needs are his hands. (Review by James McQuiston)
Flyleaf – Self-Titled
Octone
"I’m
So Sick" throws me right into the sweaty, heart-pumping, fist-thrusting, guitar-striking and wild head banging world of rock
& roll. Flyleaf succeeded in making me thirsty for more. Starting with their incredibly catchy first song, "I’m
So Sick" on their self-titled release, I was completely hooked. My foot tapped along to the entire album! I simply couldn’t
resist banging my head and playing air-guitar while attempting to sing along. I have no doubt that the only thing better than
blasting this on your stereo is going to be seeing them live. The energy they feed to the listener is nothing short of extraordinary.
Even the slower songs on the album, Flyleaf manages to keep the listener entranced with phenomenal instrumentals and an amazing
voice with quite a range. Flyleaf will throw you back into rock and roll. Close your eyes and you’ll be moshing
at a sold-out concert watching a band that knows exactly how to strike the guitar. (Review by Monica Martin)
Atomic Swindlers – Coming out Electric
The Atomic Swindlers bring it all to the table with Coming out
Electric. When listening to this twelve-song album, you can tell their influences vary from genre to genre and even decade
to decade. I can’t put my finger on it, but this compilation has a touch of everything from jazz to country to rock,
even a touch of the oldies. Their dream-like, hypnotic melodies topped with April Laragy’s vocals over original lyrics
make this off-beat and like nothing I’ve heard before. This album is quite catchy and likeable. This six member band
delivers a rather soft, new-aged quality where you can feel the treble and bass rising. They open strong with their song "Float,"
which happens to be my favorite on the album. Coming out Electric reminded me a bit of a mix between the Grease
soundtrack and Valeze’s promotional CD. Though this might not typically be what you listen to, you’ll find
yourself liking it. The weird, catchy & original vibe makes the Atomic Swindlers a band to check out. (Review by Monica
Martin)
Sleeping People – Self-Titled
Temporary Residence
Sleeping People combines elements of acid jazz with individualistic indie-rock. Though only seven songs long, each
song on their album is self-contained and is forthright extended longer than most acid rock songs. I have not seen them live,
but I do not imagine Sleeping People the type of band to jam onstage. A constantly jamming studio version does not always
translate to a great live performance. At the outset of Sleeping People, you think you dig it, but are unsure of why.
The answer is that it sounds like a mix of different things that are all fine, but have no particular point to them. The guitar
and drums create confusion as different styles are introduced. In "Nachos," one of the more upbeat songs, this theme is added
to the mix. I look forward to a sophomore album to see more development within the band’s sound. (Review by Nancy Wolfe)
Why? - Elephant Eyelash
Anticon
Why? is perhaps
the most diverse act to come out since Eyedea; "Crushed Bones" mixes equal parts indie, rock, rap and punk to provide a funky,
infectious flow. The chaos that opens up "Yo Yo Bye Bye" shows Yoni Wolf at a crossroads, looking at a host of different genres
before deciding on a melodramatic, emotionally driven brand of rock equally influenced by Bright Eyes and Hayden. The slightly
droning backdrop during tracks like "Fall Saddles" quickly moves into a Weezer-like pop format, while a second thread (which
is as noisy as get out) really gives the track a different feel. This dissonance is nearly synced up by the time that "Waterfalls"
begins; the slight delay that the doubled vocals experience really fills the track nicely. The higher energy of "Sanddollars"
moves Yoni back to a rap-like flow at points, while a sunny, mid-nineties indie-rock guitar really make the track almost a
perfect match for popular radio. The move between spoken and sung vocals during the tracks keep individuals interested throughout
a longer length ("Sanddollars" weighs in a little under four minutes). Delightfully scattershot, Why? is a band that
through its eclecticism will unite fans of various hues and tastes. (Review by James McQuiston)
Lichens – The Psychic Nature of Being
Kranky
To describe Lichens’ The Psychic Nature of Being is to fall prey to numerous clichés. Listening to this
album is like watching paint dry. Or maybe this debut is like being stuck in downtown traffic? Suffice it to say, The Psychic
Nature of Being is dull, dreadfully dull. Robert Lowe, known for his work with 90 Day Men and TV on the Radio, must be
trying to create the perfect soundtrack for a day at the spa. How else do you explain this foray into experimental music,
especially if you consider an emulation of whale sounds to be experimental? Indeed, "Kirlian Auras" is like a trip to a natural
history museum but not quite so informative. Alas, this is just pretentious art rock full of loops, vocals, and guitar. The
third track, "You are Excrement if You Can Turn Yourself Into Gold," even stretches for a nearly interminable 20 minutes.
Lowe might actually be onto something—perhaps if you turn it up as loud as possible, it might just help loosen your
bowels. (Review by Kim Newman)
Hiretsukan – End States
G7 Welcoming Committee
I guess I’m thinking about what we should call this genre of female-fronted, occasionally melodic,
socially conscious hardcore. Some catchy words (and definitely not "post-punk") to describe the likes of Anti Product, Submission
Hold, Sak , 1905, Witch Hunt, and Ojo Rojo. Whatever we choose, I’ll spray paint it in big bold letters on my jacket
and apply it to the new album End States from Hiretsukan. Hiretsukan, hailing from steadily-being-gentrified Brooklyn,
New York, isn’t incredibly distinct from 1905 and Witch Hunt (both of which are mentioned in the liner notes). But that’s
fine by me: I live for the screaming female vocals, the poetic commentary, the melodic crescendos, the passion and rage that
reminds why I love hardcore. End States rarely stops to let you catch your breath. The only time Michelle Proffit lets
her adrenaline down enough to sing without screaming is during the first minute of song 8, "19 Year Barrier." The rest of
the album is a steady ride taking on the State ("Click and Repeat"), abuse of women ("Her Article"), and foreign policy ("Hauling
Sharp"). Set your player on repeat – the album in less than 30 minutes – and enjoy. (Review by Jessica Whatcott)
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Scenes from the Silent Revolution
By Jess Rowland
Pax Recordings
The only one who can save us from the extra terrestrial force of
the space librarians is a man, pure of heart, with a beautiful singing voice—the Attorney General John Ashcroft. His
voice will haunt you long after surveying the DVD/CD set brought to you by Jess Rowland. Rowland could not have created the
tour de force, Scenes From The Silent Revolution, at a better time than during our current epoch, as we find that we
have been swimming in the muck of corporate culture for decades. Rowland punctures the shrink-wrap that corporations have
fixed around our daily lives with a CD and DVD that leaves you feeling raw and unsettled. The DVD includes three "scenes:"
"Ashcroft vs. The Space Librarians," "The Barbie Explosion," and "McDonaldland is Changing." The video collages were edited
using two VCRs and a remote control and the product has a spectacular grittiness created by the adjusted tracking on each
visual vignette. The soundtrack is a thing of genius. The background noise that compliments the visual material includes drum
beats, radio samples, and of course, music by John Ashcroft, Barbie and the Rockers, and the kids who love Ronald McDonald.
Just when you might think the last scene will be predictable after viewing the other two, Rowland juxtaposes pornography from
random adult movies with visions of Ronald McDonald in pajamas. The themes of both the DVD and CD are: American nationalism/domination,
American obsession with vanity/perfection, the extraterrestrial, and the paradox of desired homogeneity versus globalization.
The CD that accompanies the DVD is also created and mixed by Rowland. The ten tracks are short but hypnotic and can easily
be slipped into the background of any dinner party. Play Rowland’s CD during a soirée and see if you can sublimate your
friends’ desires to blindly consume corporate propaganda over pasta primavera. John Ashcroft’s song returns during
the last track to implant the "Mighty Eagle Song" in your brain—it will surely nest there for days. Rowland should supply
a disclaimer regarding the persistent nature of this tune. Then again, that’s the point! A subliminal message is unnecessary.
If you buy anything, buy this compilation. (Review by Aaron Nugua)
Password: Women
By Rinske Bosch, Anja van Oostrom, Nicole Batteke, Carla
van der Meijs, Saskia Buren and Julia Grame
Password:
Women is a documentary conveying the usage of technology as a means of connection among women world-wide. With past pacing
services, such as the Internet, illuminating the technological realm, women can now unite to overcome societal justice through
everyday communication. Produced by an all-female staff, the film leads viewers towards an everyday discussion between three
women located in various parts of the globe. Using technological resources, such as the Internet and radio, these women not
only exchange vital information about their current government, but also strategize to obtain new methods for the sake of
women’s rights. What causes viewers to anticipate every scene is the untainted focus of women’s issues being discussed
and elaborated upon within the personal stories. Its rich, vivid colors leave viewers in awe, incorporating themselves into
a world, where communication is vital in discovering a female’s fate in everyday society. Password: Women will
not only leave you satisfied with the vital points the empowered women discussed, but also encourage you into meeting your
next allied via online for feminist rights. (Reviewed by Stephanie Nolasco)
McLibel
Spanner Films
Dave Morris, former postman, and Helen Steel, gardener, both lead quiet lives in London, England before getting involved
in one of the most influential libel suits the world had ever seen. The meetings, pickets, and fliers they created in protest
of the global fast food chain McDonalds worked so well, spies, secret investigations, and even a lawsuit were thrown against
the two activists. The lawsuit, and its appeals, spanned fifteen years, and its effects are still being felt. McLibel
reveals and exposes the extraordinary lengths McDonalds took to silence Dave and Helen, the only two activists out of a small
anti-McDonalds group brave enough to face the fast food giant. After sending spies to report on the group’s bank reports,
agendas, and, most importantly, the personalities of its members, McDonalds felt it had no choice but to silence the activists
for advertising false information about the company to the public at large. And just the thought that a global corporation
could sue a small activist group totaling a dozen people in size is frightening enough. But the real horror, as McLibel
reveals, lies in the corporate spokesmen’s vague sense of fact, overwhelming spirit of manipulation, and damning ability
to sweep over anybody in their way. The group’s accusations: that McDonalds lies about the nutritional benefits of its
food, unfairly targets children in their advertising, supports the destruction of the rainforest, and is a leading cause of
the increasing obesity in society, are now widely accepted public debate. But in the early 1990s, any attempt by the English
mainstream media to discuss these concerns ended with editorial corrections and apologies to the fast food business. The street
style documentary, directed by Fanny Armstrong, perfectly captures the grassroots movement it took to battle the corporate
giant. Volunteers opening letters and sorting donations in bedrooms, legal councils working for nothing, and witnesses flying
over from the United States to testify on their behalf, compose the activists’ defense. Shots of cramped London apartments,
mixed with expert interviews and distorted flashes of McDonalds advertising, give us the full view of what Dave and Helen
were up against: a tower of money. (Reviewed by Jessica Rossi)
Weapons of Mass Deception
Directed by Danny Schechter
Cinema Libre
Distribution
The phrase "liberal bias" is thrown around by many
when describing the media of the United States. After watching Weapons of Mass Deception, however, you will no longer
be questioning the "liberal bias" that exist in American politics, but the bias against true reporting. Danny Schechter, a
man who has worked inside the mainstream media, brings this film to us. In this film, he deconstructs the media, its coverage
on wars of the past and the current Operation Iraqi Freedom and conducts interviews with journalist and producers from FOX,
CNN, ABC, CBS, and NBC. Weapons of Mass Deception is not a slanted film, although it has been claimed as such, but
one that has only one enemy, the big media. This film is highly educational and gives the average individual great insight
into the media, how it works, and nationalism brought into the media during war time. Every person should be required to see
this film. (Review by Amanda Stevens)
Graffiti Artist
Directed by James Bolton
Indie Pictures
In a nocturnal urban landscape, Graffiti Artist takes you on an intimate
journey into the world of an underground artist. Nick (Ruben Bansie-Snellman), a postmodern hero, wanders through the city’s
wasteland asserting an anarchistic agenda on the endless maze of virgin city walls. Nick’s solo graffiti project is
interrupted by a brief friendship with fellow "tagger," Jesse (Pepper Fajans). Their mutual love for graffiti art turns them
onto innumerous collaborations that they leave all over the city. Soon their communication becomes less verbal, but more psychical.
As we dive deeper into their relationship, political, emotional and ethical issues arise causing their relationship to fade
to the point where they both feel alienated from each other. With its compelling themes, sensitive performances, and luscious
visuals, this film emerges you into a subculture that most of us have no idea exists. Although lacking in dialog, the characters’
silence seems to add to the film’s appeal. That combined with a truly outstanding soundtrack by Kid Loco more than makes
up for it. The backdrop was quite impressive and not overwhelming to the viewer. This is a beautiful, surreal movie showcasing
a talented artist who will go to the limit to express himself. Clearly this film’s bottom line is about free speech
and survival. (Review by Beth Hillyard)
Moog
Directed by Hand Fjellestad
Plexifilm
An enlightening documentary on the man who made synthesizers available to those without entire
rooms to dedicate to synthesizers and came up with the brilliant idea of attaching a keyboard to it, thus revolutionizing
music as we know it, garnering adoration from the cerebral DJ Spooky to the noodly Keith Emmerson. Includes some riveting
performances, (Stereolab, The Album Leaf) kitschy commercials and historical anecdotes as well as a demo version of the Mini-Moog
V software (which I haven’t yet had a chance to tinker with, but if it’s anywhere near as fun as its tangible
namesake...). Shot mostly in Ashville, NC and NYC, the style of the documentary is enjoyable if a touch heavy on the talking
heads, the romance of the knobs and sliders never fades from earshot. Although I doubt that this will surprise anyone, Moog
himself comes off as the likeable genius anyone who has ever cared enough to try to pronounce the name properly hoped that
he would be, based on those wonderful inspired and inspiring machines. (Review by Joel Bordeaux)
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