In Wake of Disputed Election, Russian Middle Class Finding its Voice

TIME Person of the Year - The Protester

Once upon a time, when major news events were chronicled strictly by professionals and printed on paper or transmitted through the air by the few for the masses, protesters were prime makers of history. Back then, when citizen multitudes took to the streets without weapons to declare themselves opposed, it was the very definition of news — vivid, important, often consequential. In the 1960s in America they marched for civil rights and against the Vietnam War; in the '70s, they rose up in Iran and Portugal; in the '80s, they spoke out against nuclear weapons in the U.S. and Europe, against Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, against communist tyranny in Tiananmen Square and Eastern Europe. Protest was the natural continuation of politics by other means. And then came the End of History, summed up by Francis Fukuyama's influential 1989 essay declaring that mankind had arrived at the "end point of ... ideological evolution" in globally triumphant "Western liberalism." The two decades beginning in 1991 witnessed the greatest rise in living standards that the world has ever known. Credit was easy, complacency and apathy were rife, and street protests looked like pointless emotional sideshows — obsolete, quaint, the equivalent of cavalry to mid-20th-century war. The rare large demonstrations in the rich world seemed ineffectual and irrelevant. (See the Battle of Seattle, 1999.) There were a few exceptions, like the protests that, along with sanctions, helped end apartheid in South Africa in 1994. But for young people, radical critiques and protests against the system were mostly confined to pop-culture fantasy: "Fight the Power" was a song on a platinum-selling album, Rage Against the Machine was a platinum-selling band, and the beloved brave rebels fighting the all-encompassing global oppressors were just a bunch of characters in The Matrix. (See pictures of protesters around the world.) "Massive and effective street protest" was a global oxymoron until — suddenly, shockingly — starting exactly a year ago, it became the defining trope of our times. And the protester once again became a maker of history.
Prelude to the Revolutions
It began in Tunisia, where the dictator's power grabbing and high living crossed a line of shamelessness, and a commonplace bit of government callousness against an ordinary citizen — a 26-year-old street vendor named Mohamed Bouazizi — became the final straw. Bouazizi lived in the charmless Tunisian town of Sidi Bouzid, 125 miles south of Tunis. On a Friday morning almost exactly a year ago, he set out for work, selling produce from a cart. Police had hassled Bouazizi routinely for years, his family says, fining him, making him jump through bureaucratic hoops. On Dec. 17, 2010, a cop started giving him grief yet again. She confiscated his scale and allegedly slapped him. He walked straight to the provincial-capital building to complain and got no response. At the gate, he drenched himself in paint thinner and lit a match...

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Kurt Andersen @'TIME'

Project Prokhorov

Examining links between Judaism and the Grateful Dead

First Listen: John Zorn - A Dreamer's Christmas

A Dreamer's Christmas is one of those albums that'll make you smile from the very first notes. Listening on the drive to work, it made me want to be nice to everyone. Those who know me will immediately say, "Yeah, right." But it did, even to the jerk in the Audi tailgaiting me through the park. I got a sweet smile from a young woman in an SUV — hate 'em — whom I let slide in front of me in a traffic jam. 'Tis the season. And this music will definitely put you in the mood.
That may come as a surprise to those of you who associate John Zorn with challenging, even dissonant music; remember Colbert's facile attempt at humor — yes, I chuckled — when Zorn won a MacArthur Genius grant? But keep in mind that he's released hundreds of varied albums on a number of labels, from the electric jazz of his early band Naked City to the haunting Jewish melodies he's composed for diverse Masada ensembles to The Dreamers, whose music Zorn's label Tzadik describes on its website as, "Perfect for the early morning, late at night, at home or in the car..."
It turns out that Zorn has wanted to make a Christmas record for years. The Dreamers is the group he chose to make it: Marc Ribot, guitars; Jamie Saft, keyboards (that's his killer piano solo in "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town"); Kenny Wolleson, vibes, chimes and (what would Christmas music be without a) glockenspiel; Trevor Dunn, basses; Joey Baron, drums; Cyro Baptista, percussion; and guest vocalist Mike Patton (Faith No More, Mr. Bungle) in "The Christmas Song."
One of the highlights of A Dreamer's Christmas is a bittersweet interpretation of Vince Guaraldi's "Christmas Time Is Here." It perfectly captures not only Charlie Brown's holiday angst, but also the mixed feelings a lot of us have around this time of year. John Zorn has given us an album of standards — plus two originals — that we can all enjoy.
Which brings me back to my commute. I got to a green light, and traffic was backed up a few cars through the intersection. I could have slid into the oncoming lane and made an easy left turn. But I was grooving to the holiday sounds, so I was happy to wait. Good thing: Up the oncoming lane cruised a police car. That would have been a hefty ticket. Thanks, John Zorn!
Tom Cole @'npr'

Hear 'A Dreamer's Christmas' In Its Entirety

Iggy Pop and Star Trek

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Swearson Klank - Falling Into Infinity

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Last year DUBLAB.COM invited a diverse spectrum of music makers from around the world to contribute 8-second loops with any ambience, rhythm, tonality or texture they desired. This song was created using the exhibition’s original 8-second audio loops as their sole sound sources. No extra samples, instruments, vocals or sound sources were used in the creation of these songs. Just like the original audio loops included in the exhibition these remixes are offered to the public under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial Copyright License. This means that you are free to legally download, share, and re-re-re-re-remix these songs for noncommercial purposes. There are more remixes posted here: http://tinyurl.com/7y82uq6
Bonus:
Mary Anne Hobbs Mix 2011

Tracklist:
1) Sweatson Klank - Start at The End
2) Sweatson Klank- In Between
3) Sweatson Klank- My Love is Here
4) Sweatson Klank - Oblique
5) Sweatson Klank & Om Unit - Lost At Sea
6) Sweatson Klank- You and The Sky
7) Sweatson Klank - Morning After Pills
8) Sweatson Klank & Afta 1 - Satori

‘Gentlemen, We Shot a Judge’ and Other Tales of Blackwater, DynCorp, and Triple Canopy’s Rampage Through Iraq

jimmycarr Jimmy Carr

Mrs Thatcher has set out in great detail the arrangements for her funeral. Great. Now that's sorted let's get on with it.

Viktor Hertz: Honest Logos

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Viktor Hertz

How far can the resistance to Vladimir Putin go?

The Civil Archipelago

Bvdub - Then (album preview)

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Kevin v the world: reformed pirate sues tech giants for millions

Mark Stewart New Album Details

Mark Stewart w/ St Vincent (QEH 10/11/11)
Photo
The Pop Group frontman Mark Stewart has announced the details of his upcoming new album, entitled The Politics Of Envy. It's due for release on March 26th next year, and finds Stewart teaming up with a host of guest musicians.
We've already run a free download of one of Stewart's newer tracks, 'Nothing Is Sacred', which pairs Stewart's ire with music from Crass's Eve Libertine, Berlin group Slope and Pop Group bassist Dan Catsis. It was released as part of a double A side single which also included his cover of T. Rex's 'Children Of The Revolution' (in collaboration with London dub brutalist The Bug).
The Politics Of Envy finds him working with others artists, including PiL's Keith Levene, Lee 'Scratch' Perry (appropriate, given Stewart's long-term connection with dub), The Raincoats' Gina Birch, The Slits' Tessa Pollitt, Factory Floor, Richard Hell, Massive Attack's Daddy G, Primal Scream, Jesus & Mary Chain's Douglas Hart and upcoming Bristol producer Kahn. The concentrated fury of 'Nothing Is Sacred' and list of track titles on here should give some indication of what to expect, sound-wise.
Opener 'Vanity Kills' features Richard Hell, Kenneth Anger and Kahn; 'Autonomia' features vocals from Bobby Gillespie; London crew Factory Floor join Stewart for 'Gustav Says' and 'Stereotype', and Daddy G on 'Apocalypse Hotel'.

'Vanity Kills'
'Autonomia'
'Gang War'
'Codex'
'Want'
'Gustav Says'
'Baby Bourgeois'
'Method to the Madness'
'Apocalypse Hotel'
'Letter to Hermione'
'Stereotype'
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