@ 'Outlaw Press' here. (For those who don't know, Scurvy was the 'best' man at my wedding back in 1983. Now I've got to wondering, "what WAS in that brown paper bag that appears in ALL the photos?")
Basic Channel is a dubtechno production team and record label, composed of Moritz Von Oswald and Mark Ernestus, that originated in Berlin, Germany in 1993. The duo released a number of vinyl-only tracks under various aliases, each of which employed their signature brand of dissonant dubtechno. The nine original releases were each primarily identified as Basic Channel productions by their catalogue numbers, as the Basic Channel logo on the label became more distorted and unreadable with each subsequent release. The duo set up a studio in Berlin on Paul-Lincke-Ufer, in a building which was eventually to house Mark Ernestus’ distributing company and shop Hard Wax, and the label's mastering studio Dubplates & Mastering, set up to ensure a desired dynamic quality for the vinyl. The Basic Channel imprint ceased business in 1995 (apart from two releases almost a decade later that were originally issued on Carl Craig's Planet E label), but were followed by a string of similar labels. Among the most important were Chain Reaction, which released non-Von Oswald/Ernestus productions and helped launch the careers of dub-influenced minimal techno producers such as Monolake and Porter Ricks; Basic Replay, which specialises in reggae and dancehall re-issues; Main Street, for house-related releases; and Burial Mix and Rhythm & Sound, which saw the duo's sound move away from the Detroit blueprint and closer to vocal-lead dub and reggae. Their With The Artists album, released as Rhythm & Sound and featuring celebrated reggae and dancehall vocalists such as Sugar Minott, featured in the top 50 records of the year for 2003 in The Wire magazine. @ 'Wiki'
"Moritz von Oswald meanwhile embarks on yet another ground-breaking journey, bound to connect the long divided continents of electronic and classical music. The autumn of 2008 sees in short succession the release of 'Auricle / Bio / On', a collaboration with Luxembourg-born piano wizard Franceso Tristano with von Oswald responsible for mastering and sound design, and what is possibly his highest-profile work to date: Reworkings of music by Maurice Ravel and Modest Mussorgsky, 'ReComposed' by von Oswald and Detroit techno legend Carl Craig, based on original master tapes recorded between 1985 and 1987 by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra under Herbert von Karajan. Von Oswald's fascination with classical music might come as a surprise to the casual observer, but can be seen as a musical career come full circle, once Moritz von Oswald explains his personal connection to classical music in general and legendary conductor Herbert von Karajan in particular. A classically trained drummer, von Oswald was not only a member of influential German new wave band Palais Schaumburg (together with Thomas Fehlmann among others), but also used to sit in as a drummer for recording sessions and performances with the Berlin Philharmonic, precisely the orchestra which Herbert von Karajan led to worldwide acclaim for well over three decades. While he regrets that he never had the chance to personally work with Karajan as a conductor, he had been highly impressed by seeing the aged maestro perform at the famous Salzburg Festival, just around the time the source material for 'ReComposed' was recorded. 'ReComposed' meticulously dissects the original single track recordings and reduces the composition to their core elements (dubbed 'Movements'), creating tension through repetition and subtle variation rather than drastic shifts. Released on Germany's most famous classical music label Deutsche Grammophon, the project becomes a widely noted success: Instead of imposing their point of view on the source material, von Oswald and Craig develop a musical language that works within the framework of both classical and electronic music - a musical lingua franca as a counter-thesis to many such projects' cultural imperialism."
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has sacked one of his ministers, a day after he was forced to cancel the appointment of his vice-president. No reason was given for the sacking of Intelligence Minister Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejeie. Meanwhile, the culture minister quit, saying the government was weakened. Full story @ 'BBC' here.
Bing Hitler @ The Last Laugh, Melbourne 1988. (c) ABC
I was actually at this gig and recorded it. Unfortunately I was laughing SO much that that is all you hear on the tape...Oh well! "I went tae join the explorer's club. I couldnae find it!"
I would like to think that we shall not see you again, but we both know that when you have perfected 'the *rort', you will be back!
*Rort (Learnt today that a lot of you Americans don't know that word. The educational 'Exile' at work!)
Palin's next step still a mystery! Sarah Palin will enter uncharted political waters when she leaves the Alaska stage Sunday. Now the question is whether she will go on to become a viable presidential candidate in 2012, after having quit her governor's job with 18 months left in her term.
The commercial’s tagline, “what, after all, do we all want? To have a little fun,” only serves to make this terrible, horrible, no good, very bad idea even worse. Back to the drawing board with you, Cellcom. And no more associating the word “fun” with the plight of millions. @ 'Daily Dish'
The row over a controversial advert for an Israeli mobile phone operator, which shows Israel Defense Forces soldiers playing soccer with Palestinians on both sides of the security barrier, continues.
In the Cellcom advert, IDF soldiers on patrol along the fence stop their jeep when it is hit by a soccer ball from the Palestinian side of the fence. The ball soon bounces back to the Israeli side, at which point the soldiers decide to hold an impromptu game with the Palestinians, cheered on by female soldiers.
The advert has been extensively criticized for making light of the Palestinian suffering inflicted by the West Bank barrier.
A video recently posted on YouTube has tried to reenact the game in reality, and found that the result could not be further removed from the situation on the ground: when the Palestinians kick the ball to the other side of the fence, what they get in return is a salvo of tear gas grenades.
Outraged Internet users have also vented their dismay on Twitter, blogs and other social networks. A Facebook group called "The new Cellcom advert makes me sick too" said on their home page: "You can go on forever about messages and media framings oozing with racism, but if you're here you think it's unnecessary. The unknown copywriter at McCann Erickson [the advertising firm behind the ad] displayed an unbelievably distasteful attitude, which does not deserve additional discussion. One thing the members of this group have in common is the shame we feel when an established Israeli company stands by such a repugnant advert, which brings us to call: remove it now!" @ 'Haaretz'
Bush Administration Debated Using Military in Terrorism Arrests
Top Bush administration officials in 2002 debated testing the Constitution by sending American troops into the suburbs of Buffalo to arrest a group of men suspected of plotting with Al Qaeda, according to former administration officials.
Some of the advisers to President George W. Bush, includingVice President Dick Cheney, argued that a president had the power to use the military on domestic soil to sweep up the terrorism suspects, who came to be known as the Lackawanna Six, and declare them enemy combatants. Mr. Bush ultimately decided against the proposal to use military force.
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs mentioned casually to CNN today that Twitter is blocked on official White House computers. Gibbs clearly doesn't appreciate the value that can be derived from the innovative social network; he jokes about it is a tool for personal exhibitionism. Many readers here will no doubt recognize that there's a whole lot more that can be done with the service than that. This is from the same administration that won't let its employees at the State Department use Firefox, though, so perhaps nothing is surprising. The Twitter admission by Gibbs was excerpted in a video embedded above, originally reported by Andrew Malcolm of the LA Times.
Also if you have not heard the Jaydiohead (Jay Z VS Radiohead mash-ups), produced by Max Tannone/Minty FreshBeats then check them out. They are brilliant! They are free to distribute/burn/rip/share & enjoy!
Available legally as direct downloads or as torrents HERE.
SHANGHAI — Family planning officials in Shanghai are making home visits and slipping leaflets under doorways to encourage certain residents to have a second child in a bid to balance the city's expanding senior population. A statement about the new campaign posted Thursday on the Web site of the Shanghai Population and Family Planning Commission was quick to emphasize that it didn't signal any change in China's one-child rule and was only an attempt to let people know about the policy's many exceptions. About 3 million, or 21 percent, of Shanghai's nearly 13.7 million registered residents are now aged 60 or older, the statement said. Xie Lingli, the commission's director, was quoted as saying authorities will go door to door to try to encourage couples to have a second child if both grew up as only children. The commission also plans to offer emotional and financial counseling for interested couples, the statement said. Divorced parents in Shanghai may also have a second child with a new spouse, it said. The campaign is aimed at reducing the ratio of elderly people and preventing future labor shortages, it said. A spokeswoman for the commission who would only give her surname, Zong, said officials in charge of the campaign were not immediately available for comment. A report issued this year by a U.S.-based group said China's current ratio of 16 elderly people per 100 workers is set to double by 2025, then double again to 61 by 2050, due partly to the country's strict family planning limits. Without a universal pension system to cover all the elderly, millions of older Chinese could fall into poverty, triggering social and political unrest, the Global Aging Initiative at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies said in the April report. China introduced strict family planning limits in the late 1970s, allowing most couples to have just one child. The policy was designed to control the country's exploding population and ensure better education and health care. The law includes exceptions for ethnic groups, rural families and families in which both parents are only children. @ 'HuffPo'
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) -- FBI agents are sweeping across northern New Jersey Thursday, making arrests in what reportedly is described as a major corruption probe.
WNBC-TV in New York reported and showed images of the mayors of Hoboken and Secaucus being taken into FBI headquarters in Newark. The station also showed rabbis being taken into custody. Radio station New Jersey 101.5 FM reports the sweeps are taking place in Hudson, Bergen, Monmouth and Ocean counties. The stations say the probe centers on money-laundering and political bid rigging. FBI spokeswoman Myrna Williams tells The Associated Press the arrests will go on till noon. She would not provide any more information. Corruption has permeated New Jersey politics for years. Former U.S. Attorney Chris Christie takes credit for 130 convictions of elected and appointed officials on corruption charges. Christie is the Republican candidate for governor.
44 Charged by U.S. in New Jersey Corruption Sweep A two-year corruption and international money-laundering investigation stretching from the Jersey Shore to Brooklyn to Israel and Switzerland culminated in charges against 44 people on Thursday, including three New Jersey mayors, two state assemblymen and five rabbis, the authorities said. @ 'NY Times'
Update: Prosecutors in Nuremberg have decided not to take action against an artist who created a series of gnomes giving the Nazi salute, despite German laws which apparently prohibit even garden ornaments giving it a bit of the old Seig Heil. here.
Modern classical composer John Cage and jazz maverick Sun Ra performed together in 1986 at Coney Island, New York. The result was recorded and released on this long out-of-print album. We are fortunate that Ubuweb is able to make this fascinating record available again.
Sun Ra begins with improvisations on the Yamaha DX7 synthesizer. John Cage performs his vocal work, Empty Words (Part IV), and each alternates performances. Cage’s performance is wonderfully trance-like with long silences as is typical of him. Sun Ra’s playing is other-worldly with little of the jazz quality that one hears in his Arkestra works. As a combined effort this “meeting” may not be very convincing. However if you consider each individual’s artistry, especially Sun Ra’s incredible sojourn at the synthesizer, you will find this a very rewarding experience.
...and it's called "I Gotta Feeling". Mixing Yiddish phrases with autotune skanks is something only the fabulous Black Eyed Peas could attempt. You know - just like rhyming 'up' with 'up' and 'cup' with 'mazel tov'.
The fight between music bloggers and record labels reached its most visible point when a guy who uploaded a leaked copy of the latest Guns N' Roses album to his site got arrested by the FBI. But many music bloggers are now fighting a much more invisible menace, with posts they've written suddenly disappearing from their sites (via Tyler Hellard) hosted on Google's Blogger platform. An RIAA source says that the group sends Google a list of URLs it doesn't like, and Google "then deals with the problem." Google says that it notifies bloggers after their posts have been taken down, in accordance with the DMCA. But it should hardly be surprising that many of those affected say they've gotten no such notice, nor that the offending material was either legally posted and/or supplied by the labels themselves. So two possibilities emerge: the RIAA is filing false DMCA takedowns, and/or its legal right hand doesn't know what the labels' promotional left hands are doing. The upshot of this is that lots of music bloggers say the threat of landing in legal trouble -- particularly for posting music supplied to them by labels and artists -- is having a chilling effect on them, and could eventually stop them from blogging, shutting down a valuable promotional tool for the labels. That sort of shooting itself in the foot, though, seems to be the record industry's specialty. From 'Techdirt'
Do also check out the Moritz Von Oswald Trio 'Vertical Ascent' album recently released on Honest Jon's which also features Sasu Ripatti (Vladislav Delay/Luomo) andMax Loderbauer (Sun Electric) .
(Moritz Von Oswald Trio)
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has sacked one of his ministers, a day after he was forced to cancel the appointment of his vice-president.
Bing Hitler @ The Last Laugh, Melbourne 1988.
I would like to think that we shall not see you again, but we both know that when you have perfected 'the *rort', you will be back!
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) -- FBI agents are sweeping across northern New Jersey Thursday, making arrests in what reportedly is described as a major corruption probe.
Modern classical composer John Cage and jazz maverick Sun Ra performed together in 1986 at Coney Island, New York. The result was recorded and released on this long out-of-print album. We are fortunate that Ubuweb is able to make this fascinating record available again. 
