The Slits - The Peel Sessions
26 minutes ago
Sunday 28 August 2011
Adrianchen Adrian Chen
"Have you seen 'The Road'?" Mayor Bloomberg said at a press conference. "Things will probably be like that for a while."
Jay-Z's Hegemony in the Age of Kanye
Watch the Throne by Jay-Z and Kanye West may not prove to be the enduring hip hop classic that many people expected when news of the project leaked. But the album itself is hardly the point. Watch the Throne represents a fascinating gambit in the consolidation and extension of Jay-Z's hegemony over the hip hop world, and in Kanye's rehabilitation of his image following a catastrophic collapse in his global standing. How they did it offers important lessons for how the United States can handle its own changing position within a turbulent world."I seen people abuse power, use power, misuse and then lose power/Power to the people at last, it’s a new hour/Now we all ain’t gon’ be American Idols/But you can least grab a camera, shoot a viral/Huh? Take the power in your own hands."
--- Kanye West, evaluating (presumably) the Egyptian revolution in the Power remix
Two years ago, I wrote a series of essays using Jay-Z as a window into international relations theory. They ended up provoking an astonishing outpour of debate, dissent, and commentary across the blogosphere. I recorded what remains to this day my all-time favorite radio appearance. And it landed me in an unforgettable, if short-lived, rap beef with Game himself. My basic argument was that Jay-Z handled his hegemonic position by exercising restraint, declining to engage in most provocations in order to avoid being trapped in endless, pointless battles. Jay-Z battling the Game would have risked being dragged down into combatting an endless and costly insurgency with little real upside. Better for the hegemon to show restraint, be self-confident, and to carefully nurture a resilient alliance structure to underpin leadership.
Blueprint 3, released shortly afterwards, largely vindicated that analysis. The opening track pointedly dismissed his beefs ("I ain't talking about gossip, ain't talking about Game") in favor of addressing "real" issues ("let's talk about the future, we've just seen the dream as predicted by Martin Luther, you could choose ta sit in front of your computer posing with guns, shooting YouTube up, or you could come with me to the White House"). "Run This Town" asked everyone to "pledge allegiance" to his label Roc Nation. "Already Home," breezily dismissed all of his would-be challengers as not in his league and "only excited when they mentioning Shawn" and taking them to task for not carrying their share of the burden ("I taught 'em about fish scale they want me to fish for them/They want me to catch clean, then cook up a dish for them"). D.O.A. did take the rising generation to task for singing too much with Autotune and generally being soft, and took a few shots at competing power centers ("send this one to the mixtape Weezy"). But overall, the album was a self-confident, knowing blueprint for hegemonic restraint...
Continue reading
Marc Lynch @'FP'
ioerror Jacob Appelbaum
If you ever wondered about the British surveillance state this is a cable worth reading about London's CCTV: wikileaks.org/cable/2007/10/…
Dub FX Short Documentary
DUB FX is a worldwide street performer and studio recording artist from St Kilda, Melbourne, Australia. His trademark is creating rich live music using only his voice aided by Live looping and effect pedals. Dub’s music really gained momentum when Bristol film maker BD filmed “Love Someone” on the street and posted it on his Youtube account. 9 million views later Dub has travelled to all far reaches off the globe to perform with his fiancée Flower Fairy.
Dub has several releases out, “Live in the Street” a collection of street performances from his travels busking through Europe in his Van, A remastered double album “Everythinks A Ripple / RMX” which combines his first studio album repackaged with a Remix album showcasing various producers. Dub is also heavily into production and teamed up with long time friend SIRIUS to release “A Crossworlds” a very mature Dubstep Album & Flower Fairy’s album “Nursery Gryme”.
Via
Dub has several releases out, “Live in the Street” a collection of street performances from his travels busking through Europe in his Van, A remastered double album “Everythinks A Ripple / RMX” which combines his first studio album repackaged with a Remix album showcasing various producers. Dub is also heavily into production and teamed up with long time friend SIRIUS to release “A Crossworlds” a very mature Dubstep Album & Flower Fairy’s album “Nursery Gryme”.
Via
Kevin Isaacs & Tallawah Live in Haarlem Patronaat June 2011
Kevin Isaacs (son of Gregory Isaacs) Live in Holland June 2011 with his backing band Tallawah, June 2011
Lead vocal: Kevin Isaacs
Backing vocals: Joany Ramdat & Benji Dankerlui
Guitar: Bas Claassen aka Biteman
Keyboards: Aniel Bihari
Bass: Olivia Ramdat
Drums: Earl Ramdat
Percussions: Mikey Tremor
Soundengineer: Patrick Ramdat
Bookinginfo:bassculture42@hotmail.com
One hour 4 minutes
The Hurricane Irene News Coverage Cycle: CNN vs Fox News
On CNN:
Field reporter stands in a windy swirl of debris and rain and reports that conditions are too dangerous for people to be in.
Network weather person reports on current state of the storm: its wind speed, track, etc. and repeatedly insists it’s a coming apocalypse, even though the storm is weakening.
Sound bites from the National Hurricane Center followed by video footage from their hurricane hunter airplane.
Government official pleads with his/her constituency to follow evacuation orders in a timely and calm manner followed by interview with some idiot who chooses to “ride it out.”
REPEAT...
On Fox News:
Field reporter stands in a windy swirl of debris and rain and reports that conditions are too dangerous for people to be in followed by Mike Huckabee PAC attack ad calling for the repeal of “Obamacare.”
Network weather person reports on current state of the storm: its wind speed, track, etc. and repeatedly insists it’s a coming apocalypse, even though the storm is weakening.
Fox news reporter interviews representative from the Property Casualty Insurers group who assures us the insurance companies have an “army” of claims adjusters at hand, ready to help their customers get their lives back together.
Sound bites from the National Hurricane Center and video footage from their hurricane hunter airplane followed up by Fox News reporter expressing concern that this government function will likely have to fall victim to necessary government budget cuts.
Fox News babe in NYC reports there are still New Yorkers in the city citing the large group of New Yorkers standing behind her camera who she says have no rain gear. She has the camera turn around and there are seven people standing there, five of them have umbrellas.
Government official pleads with his/her constituency to follow evacuation orders in a timely and calm manner followed by interview with some idiot who chooses to “ride it out.” At the same time, the news ticker reads, “Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nv) says a business leader (unnamed) told him Obama’s economic policies are a wet blanket on our economy.”
REPEAT...
Fox News babe in NYC reports there are still New Yorkers in the city citing the large group of New Yorkers standing behind her camera who she says have no rain gear. She has the camera turn around and there are seven people standing there, five of them have umbrellas.
Government official pleads with his/her constituency to follow evacuation orders in a timely and calm manner followed by interview with some idiot who chooses to “ride it out.” At the same time, the news ticker reads, “Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nv) says a business leader (unnamed) told him Obama’s economic policies are a wet blanket on our economy.”
REPEAT...
Rikers Island Prisoners Left Behind to Face Irene
"We are not evacuating Rikers Island," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in a news conference Friday. Bloomberg annouced a host of extreme measures being taken by New York City in preparation for the arrival of Hurricane Irene, including a shutdown of the public transit system and the unprecedented mandatory evacuation of some 250,000 people from low-lying areas. But in response to a reporter's question, the mayor stated in no uncertain terms (and with a hint of annoyance) that one group of New Yorkers on vulnerable ground will be staying put.
New York City is surrounded by small islands and barrier beaches, and a glance at the city's evacuation map reveals all of them to be in Zone A (already under a mandatory evacuation order) or Zone B–all, that is, save one. Rikers Island, which lies in the waters between Queens and the Bronx, is not highlighted at all, meaning it is not to be evacuated under any circumstances.
According to the New York City Department of Correction's website, more than three-quarters of Rikers Island's 400 acres are built on landfill–which is generally thought to be more vulnerable to natural disasters. Its 10 jails have a capacity of close to 17,000 inmates, and normally house at least 12,000, including juveniles and large numbers of prisoners with mental illness—not to mention pretrial detainees who have yet to be convicted of any crime. There are also hundreds of corrections officers at work on the island.
We were not able to reach anyone at the DOC for comment, but the New York Times's City Room blog reported: "According to the city's Department of Correction, no hypothetical evacuation plan for the roughly 12,000 inmates that the facility may house on a given day even exists. Contingencies do exist for smaller-scale relocations from one facility to another."
Irene is forecast to weaken considerably by the time it hits New York. But for a warning of what can happen to prisoners during a hurricane, we need only look back at Katrina and the horrific conditions endured by inmates at Orleans Parish Prison in New Orleans. According to a report produced by the ACLU:
New York City is surrounded by small islands and barrier beaches, and a glance at the city's evacuation map reveals all of them to be in Zone A (already under a mandatory evacuation order) or Zone B–all, that is, save one. Rikers Island, which lies in the waters between Queens and the Bronx, is not highlighted at all, meaning it is not to be evacuated under any circumstances.
According to the New York City Department of Correction's website, more than three-quarters of Rikers Island's 400 acres are built on landfill–which is generally thought to be more vulnerable to natural disasters. Its 10 jails have a capacity of close to 17,000 inmates, and normally house at least 12,000, including juveniles and large numbers of prisoners with mental illness—not to mention pretrial detainees who have yet to be convicted of any crime. There are also hundreds of corrections officers at work on the island.
We were not able to reach anyone at the DOC for comment, but the New York Times's City Room blog reported: "According to the city's Department of Correction, no hypothetical evacuation plan for the roughly 12,000 inmates that the facility may house on a given day even exists. Contingencies do exist for smaller-scale relocations from one facility to another."
Irene is forecast to weaken considerably by the time it hits New York. But for a warning of what can happen to prisoners during a hurricane, we need only look back at Katrina and the horrific conditions endured by inmates at Orleans Parish Prison in New Orleans. According to a report produced by the ACLU:
[A] culture of neglect was evident in the days before Katrina, when the sheriff declared that the prisoners would remain "where they belong," despite the mayor's decision to declare the city's first-ever mandatory evacuation. OPP even accepted prisoners, including juveniles as young as 10, from other facilities to ride out the storm.James Ridgeway @'Mother Jones'
As floodwaters rose in the OPP buildings, power was lost, and entire buildings were plunged into darkness. Deputies left their posts wholesale, leaving behind prisoners in locked cells, some standing in sewage-tainted water up to their chests …
Prisoners went days without food, water and ventilation, and deputies admit that they received no emergency training and were entirely unaware of any evacuation plan. Even some prison guards were left locked in at their posts to fend for themselves, unable to provide assistance to prisoners in need.
Saturday 27 August 2011
bvdub presents Deep Space Mix 21
No tracklist, which kills me, but that seems to be the ongoing bvdub style… lull you into a heightened sensory experience only to leave you questioning what the hell just happened. Fine by me.
Download, or see the original post on the Auxiliary site.
You can find links to all of ASC’s previous Deep Space mixes on the ASIP mixes page
Via
(Thanx Martin!)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
