Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/andrewsullivan/rApM/~3/YsQvH6feKug/from-the-annals-of-rumsfeld.html
Brittany Murphy Britney Spears Amanda Swisten Scarlett Chorvat Kim Smith
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
From The Annals Of Rumsfeld
According to a newly released audit: The U.S. Department of Defense was unable to account properly for $8.7 billion of Iraqi oil and gas money meant for humanitarian needs and reconstruction after the 2003 invasion... . The figure is nearly...
Secretary Kerry
by Zack Beauchamp James Traub has an excellent profile of John Kerry's role in the White House's foreign policy. A lot of the piece is positive but, to Traub's credit, he doesn't spare Kerry when he thinks the Senator (and,...
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/andrewsullivan/rApM/~3/8c_8KB6ySks/secretary-kerry.html
Lokelani McMichael Freida Pinto Eva Longoria Susan Ward Emmy Rossum
Monday, July 18, 2011
Chart Of The Day
Catherine Rampell checks in on grade inflation: As we have written before, private colleges and universities are by far the biggest offenders on grade inflation, even when you compare private schools to equally selective public schools. Thoreau's two cents: My...
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/andrewsullivan/rApM/~3/jJzFJmXK-rw/chart-of-the-day-7.html
Jordana Brewster Laetitia Casta Claudette Ortiz Julia Stiles Marisa Miller
Oscar Grant's Best Friend, Johntue Caldwell, Found Dead
Filed under: News
From Colorlines:
The tight circle of family and friends still reeling from the loss of Oscar Grant has been dealt another tragic loss. On Friday evening Johntue Caldwell, Oscar Grant's best friend and the godfather of his daughter, was found dead inside his car in Hayward, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
Caldwell, who was 25, was found inside a Cadillac parked at a Union 76 gas station, the paper reported. According to the police, the shooter walked up to Caldwell and shot through the windshield. Police are still searching for a motive for the shooting, and believe that Caldwell was not the victim of a random incident.
Read more here.
Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
Source: http://www.bvblackspin.com/2011/07/18/oscar-grants-best-friend-johntue-caldwell-found-dead/
Desiree Dymond Teri Polo Summer Altice Rose McGowan Bar Refaeli
Holiday Music
Year after year, we are consistently blown away by the popularity of Holiday music on Pandora. This year we thought it would be fun to survey some of our users to get their perspective on Holiday music and we found that just as we suspected, they certainly do have a sense of humor!
Check out the questions and results, below. We are sure you will be feeling full of good cheer (and maybe even "Eggnoggy") by the time you're finished reading...
Happy Holidays and Happy Listening!
The Pandora Crew
Where do you most like hearing holiday music?
At home in front of a fire - 53%
In the car - 17%
In the mall - 14%
Outside, Christmas tree shopping - 12%
While shopping for gifts online - 4%
What holiday song are you most likely to sing along to?
It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas - 39%
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer - 25%
Silver Bells - 20%
Hells Bells by AC/DC - 11%
Frosty the Snowman - 5%
Overall, holiday music makes you feel:
Full of Good Cheer - 38%
Cozy - 24%
Merry - 17%
Eggnoggy - 14%
Jolly - 7%
What song is most likely to make you book tickets home for Christmas?
I'll Be Home for Christmas - 65%
It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year - 22%
Orinoco Flow (Enya) - 8%
Wonderful Christmastime - 5%
What song would you most like to hear while being kissed under Mistletoe?
All I Want for Christmas is You - 45%
Santa Baby - 35%
I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus - 11%
A Holly Jolly Christmas - 9%
What song would send you running out of the mall store the quickest?
All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth - 42%
Anything sung by a Chipmunk - 40%
Anything sung by a Muppet - 18%
Source: http://blog.pandora.com/pandora/archives/2010/12/holiday-music.html
Leila Arcieri Kate Mara Izabella Scorupco Carla Campbell Penélope Cruz
July's best new music from across the MAP
Around the world in 32 tracks with new music suggestions from the Music Alliance Pact
Each month, the Music Alliance Pact ? a group of 32 music blogs from around the world, including this one ? simultaneously post tracks chosen by each blog.
To download all 32 songs in one file click here
ENGLAND
The Guardian Music Blog
Gross Magic ? We're Awake Tonight
Sam McGarrigle is Gross Magic, a one-man band from Brighton who comes across like a UK Ariel Pink, all static-drenched pop with echoes of everything from glam to grunge, delivered in a fabulously fey, high, camp voice. We're Awake Tonight manages to condense 35 years of rock and pop into three glorious minutes. T Rex's iridescent boogie, ELO's Mr Blue Sky ? it's all here. As a recent Guardian New band of the day column put it, "it's really hard to find actual precedents for the sound blend he's achieved here: ELO meets glam, then fed through a hypnagogic filter. Not so much shock of the new as shock of the 'ooh!'."
ARGENTINA
Laika is a soft-rock band featuring Leticia Monge (vocals, guitar), Micaela Hattori (guitar), Leonardo Fucci (bass) and Roberto Fighetti (drums). They've just released their self-titled debut album and we think it's great, with really funny lyrics written in an almost scientific poetry. Coraz�n is one of our favourite songs and it was included in the soundtrack of Plan V, a web sitcom about the lesbian scene of Buenos Aires that we also recommend.
AUSTRALIA
Who the Bloody Hell Are They?
Guerre ? Millenium Blues
Guerre is the best thing to happen to music down under since the Australian cast recording of Jesus Christ Superstar. If you've not heard his ghostly take on lo-fi R&B then now is the perfect time to get into it because his official debut EP, Darker My Love, and a remix companion are available for free on his label's Bandcamp page. A good point of comparison would be blog sensation How to Dress Well, although there's enough uniqueness and authenticity here to keep you hitting repeat (plus I actually heard of Guerre first, so points for that). Highly recommended.
BRAZIL
Criolo is a rapper who released an acclaimed album this year, N� Na Orelha. In this song he pushes African beats above his rhymes and shows why he's part of a new scene of creative MCs in Brazil, including Emicida, Renegado and RAPadura.
CANADA
I(Heart)Music
Patrick Canning and the Suffering Mothers ? The Howl
The first influences listed on Patrick Canning's MySpace are Johnny Cash, Leonard Cohen and Nick Cave, so it should come as no surprise that his music is dark and gloomy. Still, as a song like The Howl shows, just like his influences Canning has a way of making even dark and gloomy sound surprisingly engaging.
CHILE
Hailing from completely different backgrounds, ranging from experimental folk music to visual arts, the three members of MKRNI (pronounced "makaroni") come together to produce a distinctive sound that combines Latin American rhythms and post-punk influences, whose roots can be traced back to bands like ESG. Formed in 2008, the trio released an album through independent label Madhaus Records and are currently touring America, Europe and Brazil. Their latest single, Humedad, is a sample of their forthcoming and long-awaited second album.
CHINA
Fan Shiqi is a talented emerging singer-songwriter. Professionally trained in classical piano and influenced by jazz, Fan exhibits the peaceful urban scene with her refreshing voice and showcases the delicacy and confidence of this modern woman with her smooth lyrics. Her debut album Dreamland, released on the Peaceful Music label, is a collection of jazz-flavoured songs spanning four years.
DENMARK
All Scandinavian
Highway Child ? Love Love Love (I'm Gonna Take It Out On You)
Fuelled by a combo of Fernet Branca and a profound love for rock as it was cut 40-50 years ago, Highway Child have been personal favourites since I first caught one of their always awesome live performances a few years back. Three albums in, they keep impressing with their ability to make the musical heritage their own instead of just robbing the historical treasure mound. Their 2011 album Highway Child, from which this track is taken, expertly fuses their classic hard rock debut On the Old Kings Road (2008) and 60s psychedelia sophomore effort Sanctuary Come (2009).
ESTONIA
Popop
Laulan Sinule ? Masina Sees
Laulan Sinule is a tongue-in-cheek project by Taavi Tulev, who here leaves behind his usual deep electronics and makes pure Estonian electropop with analogue synths. For months he managed to stay anonymous with this new project, but is now gigging around Estonia; in concerts his music comes alive even more.
FINLAND
Glue
Astrid Swan ? Box Elder (Pavement cover)
Astrid Swan was meant to be the princess of Finnish pop but she always seemed to be too stubborn to accept the impositions of the music biz. With her third album, Better Than Wages, she fully embraced the indie sounds with a full roster of straightforward guitar-pop. Astrid has taken another turn in her career and in August will release a Pavement covers album with the attractive title of Hits (Pavement for Girls).
FRANCE
Yet You're Fired
Hold Your Horses! ? We Dear Are a Desert
Hold Your Horses! come from Paris and, like many others acts from the capital, they're into acoustic folk-pop. They may already be known to you thanks to an original video in which they reinterpret the history of art. Their first EP, Sorry! Household (an anagram of Hold Your Horses!), released in May, can be bought on iTunes.
GERMANY
Blogpartei
soft.nerd ? Always the Good Times
soft.nerd really are into analogue synths. In their 80s-driven tracks and remixes it's the driving force that makes room for the guitar sounds and Christian Bachmann's catchy vocals to float free in subtropical spheres. After rebuilding as a three-piece, soft.nerd recently released the album Sound Sound Sound, available via Bandcamp, from which Always the Good Times is taken.
GREECE
Mouxlaloulouda
A Victim of Society ? You're Gonna Hate Me
A Victim of Society delves into the darker side of human nature and delivers eerie, uncannily alluring melodies with raspy vocals buried beneath noise and distortion-drenched filters. His music is a plaintive, lo-fi mixture of nostalgia wrapped up in deeply ingrained noir sensibilities. You're Gonna Hate Me's rough and tumble groove, coated in sheets of echo and shadow, will leave you bewildered and enthralled in equal measures.
ICELAND
Icelandic Music Maffia
Valdimar - Undraland
Valdimar is a fresh force within the Icelandic music scene. The band's music spans the whole emotional spectrum, from intimate ballads to powerful, energetic rock. Valdimar colours its music with heavy brass, guitar and keyboard textures. They were nominated in the brightest hope category at the Icelandic Music Awards. Undraland is the title track of their debut album, released at the end of 2010 on the Geimsteinn label.
INDONESIA
Deathrockstar
Burgerkill - House Of Greed
Burgerkill are one of the biggest and longest running metal bands in Indonesia. They have just released a new album, Venomous, which is heavy as hell.
IRELAND
Nialler9
Little Green Cars - My Love Took Me Down To The River (To Silence Me)
Having first been impressed by Little Green Cars in 2008, it's with great pleasure that a mere three years later, the band consisting of 18-year olds have come good on that spark of promise they initially showed. Now a tight, talented and focused unit, their sound falls between Local Natives-style folk and Arcade Fire-style rock. Their debut single The John Wayne is out this month through UK label Young And Lost Club, and this separate new track showcases another impressive side to them.
ISRAEL
Metal Israel
Hammercult - Stealer Of Souls
Hammercult is an extreme thrash metal band formed in late 2010 by alumni of Israel's finest metal bands. Following their debut show in December, Hammercult stormed stages all across Israel, smashing into the local scene and garnering a tremendous amount of fans in a minimal amount of time. They also won the right to represent Israel in the 2011 international Wacken Metal Battle competition to be held this August in Germany. Late July will mark the release of their debut EP, Rise Of The Hammer, and their first full-length release is in the works.
ITALY
Polaroid
Giorgio Tuma - New Fabled Stories
Sometimes, in the middle of the summer, a sweet melody that brings back memories of Brian Wilson, Stereolab and flamboyant Italian soundtracks from the 60s (think Piccioni, Rota, Umiliani) is really all you need. Add a touch of bossa nova and a smoke of jazz and you'll have In The Morning We'll Meet, the brilliant new album by Giorgio Tuma, out now on the legendary Spanish label Elefant Records.
MEXICO
Red Bull PanameriKa
Candy - El Entierro
Coffin kids, you know them. Gloomy faces, an obscure way to dress and a strange glow of life that strains to endure all their gray and decaying surroundings. But wait a minute? Are we describing a slow and pitiful goth band? Maybe this approach to Mexico City's Candy is erroneous and stereotypical. Candy have all the bittersweetness, frenzy and pomp that a power-goth trio could ask for. Produced by the experienced Joselo Rangel (from Mexican super-band Caf� Tacvba), El Entierro ("The Burial") is the ravenous radio-friendly single that heralds a great sophomore album for Candy.
NETHERLANDS
Unfold Amsterdam
The Black Atlantic - Walked On Wood
The Black Atlantic is a folk-pop band based in Groningen, but they undeniably have international ambitions - no wonder given how easily their heavily melodic and lulling acoustic tracks fit in alongside the new Bon Iver and Fleet Foxes albums. The core of the project is singer-songwriter Geert van der Velde, who formed the band back in 2008 to record debut album Reverence For Fallen Trees. It has been freely available online for the past two years, although this spring it was also given a physical release in more European territories with added bonus tracks, one of which you can hear here. The band rarely takes itself off the road long enough to record new material, but a new single then EP are on the way.
NEW ZEALAND
Einstein Music Journal
Sleepy Age - D�cor
In 2009, Christchurch's Sleepy Age began their life as a guitar band, reworking the finer points of Britpop and 90s American indie rock. But in 2011, they've completely upended their sound, releasing the synth-heavy, European disco-inspired single D�cor (see video). It's a bold move, and at a time when they would be excused for making gloomy rock music, Sleepy Age has turned misery into delicious synth-pop. The band is currently escaping a string of crippling earthquakes in their home town and touring Europe and the UK - dates are available on their website.
PERU
Jos� Arbul�, a member of the well-known band Cementerio Club and considered by many people in his native country to be one of its most talented contemporary composers, returns to the music scene with his new solo production, Salta: Esp�ritu Azul, the first of a trilogy of records called SALTA. In this new stage, Arbul� tries to capture thoughts and feelings about all that happens to us and affects us in our tired routine of life.
PORTUGAL
Posso Ouvir Um Disco?
You Can't Win, Charlie Brown - Over The Sun, Under The Water
They are six, most of them from Lisbon, who have/had other projects, such as David Santos (Noiserv), a previous MAP pick. Their debut album, Chromatic, released in May, prompted influential French magazine Les Inrocks to call their music "sublime". If you are a fan of Fleet Foxes and Animal Collective, you will love You Can't Win, Charlie Brown too.
ROMANIA
Algebra come from Bucharest and just released their first album - a mix of post-rock, post-punk, noise and influences from several other genres translated into short instrumental tracks. You can find their entire album as a free download on Bandcamp.
RUSSIA
Big Echo
The Patience - Space Farewell
Novosibirsk-based trio The Patience have been searching for their proper sound since 2007. They released debut EP Sun Is Always Pt.1 this year, offering a massive wall of sound based on traditions of shoegaze and pop music. Space Farewell mixes the energy of live performance with the lead singer's beautiful voice to make it one of the best Russian tracks you'll hear these days.
SCOTLAND
The Pop Cop
The Barents Sea - O' Brother Of Mine
Every once in a while you come across a band like The Barents Sea who have an indefinable essence that makes your ears prick up. One spin of O' Brother Of Mine will confirm how capable the Perth band are when it comes to constructing punch-the-air, epic guitar riffs... but you'll probably play it over and over again just to make sure. Feel free to discover how they sounded before they developed into a harmonious blend of indie and post-rock by downloading their charming bedroom-recorded 2009 mini-album Bear Island for free here.
SINGAPORE
I'm Waking Up To...
In Each Hand A Cutlass - A Universe Made Of Strings
Outlaws, stargazers and free riders - that's the sense of freedom apparent in the debut album of In Each Hand A Cutlass. The masterpiece is called A Universe Made Of Strings, and while allusions to string theory and parallel dimensions are in order, no-one can deny the sprawling ambition that the group have laboured to achieve. Swirling with different time signatures, musical styles and rapturous energy, In Each Hand A Cutlass prove that genres are for the common man and that genius lies in the outliers.
SOUTH KOREA
Indieful ROK
SiwaRainbow - We Are All Alone
Siwa is a female singer-songwriter, Rainbow99 is a guitarist and electronica producer. Together they have formed the unit SiwaRainbow, creating a mellow sound where Rainbow99 provides the atmosphere and Siwa adds melody and lyrics. The duo's second album, We Are All Alone, was released in June. The title track opens with an epic synth-heavy intro that extends into total bliss.
SPAIN
Edred�N is a five-piece formed in the working class district of Carabanchel, Madrid. Their unique sound can be described as a cosmic mixture of psychedelia and several other genres not so easily found in Spanish indie music, such as Kraut, ambient, house or pop noir. Bizarre as it seems, this risky blend is present throughout their self-titled debut album released in 2010. Bautismo, with lyrics in French, is their particular approach to Serge Gainsbourg's �l�gance.
SWITZERLAND
78s
Dead Bunny - I Don't Know You
Dead Bunny don't invent the wheel anew, but from time to time that's bracing news, with hipster bands popping up all over the place. They play sweaty rock 'n' roll right from the heart, without frills and straight to the point.
UNITED STATES
I Guess I'm Floating
CSLSX - Keep Shining On
This band, by way of Philadelphia, are plenty young with plenty of talent. CSLSX have released a handful of tracks in the past few months, slowly showcasing their music abilities. Keep Shining On is the best yet, a perfect summer jam with stunning production value.
VENEZUELA
M�sica y M�s
Vel France - Galaxia
Vel France is one of the newest talents to come out of eastern Venezuela, a region characterized by alternative rock bands, but this time bringing a more melodious voice than has been heard in recent years. Since debuting at a festival called VirgenFest, Vel France has captivated audiences with syrupy lyrics and nice guitar riffs. Galaxia, her first single, contains a lot of that and has been played on radio nationwide.
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/jul/18/july-new-music-map
Lucy Liu LeAnn Rimes Adrianne Curry Jennifer Gimenez Katie Cassidy
First Lady's Hamburger Sends Right-Wing Sites Into a Tizzy
Filed under: News
For some reason, Michelle Obama's recent trip to Shake Shack warranted a story in the Washington Post, and a poll about whether or not the First Lady, an advocate for healthy eating, was a hypocrite.
Ta-Nehisi Coates at the Atlantic called it "the dumbest story ever written in all of human history." But Salon's Alex Pareene sees something darker both in the choice to run the story and the reaction it received in the right-wing blogosphere.
"The Post probably just ran the stupid story to begin with because they know Obama's anti-childhood obesity campaign is catnip for the right wing," he writes. "Matt Drudge is obsessed with Michelle Obama and his weird fantasy idea of her as a threatening, angry, anti-white black woman (who is also a liberal nanny-state tyrant). "
Added Pareene, "the tone of the Michelle Obama coverage, and the commentary it generates, is pretty unmistakably racially tinged. (In addition, obviously, to being usually blatantly sexist.)"
Presidential wives have come in for criticism when they waded (or were thought to have waded) too far into shaping policy. (Think Eleanor Roosevelt and Hillary Clinton.) Laura Bush focused on childhood literacy, which is pretty innocuous and the kind of pet cause that's hard to politicize. Who's for illiteracy, anyway?
One might think that fighting childhood obesity would be the same kind of cause. Apparently it isn't.
One might think that fighting childhood obesity would be the same kind of cause. Apparently it isn't.
Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
Source: http://www.bvblackspin.com/2011/07/13/first-ladys-hamburger-sends-right-wings-sites-into-a-tizzy/
Nicollette Sheridan Amber Heard Veronica Kay Mýa Natalie Imbruglia
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)