Black Keys singer-guitarist to release solo debut, Keep It Hid, Feb. 10

By Blurt Staff

Don’t call it a breakup—'cause we've heard diddly (and squat!) about the Black Keys breaking up, but when one guy of a two-man band goes solo, it does activate that paranoid section of the brain. ‘Specially ‘cause The Black Keys are one of the last bands we at Blurt wanna lose. Even if it means Dan Auerbach will still make solo records. You know, like Keep It Hid, which is something we did hear about. It’s comin’ atcha February 10, 2009. In true solo fashion, he produced and engineered the record his own se’f. And he’ll go on tour starting February 28 in Washington, D.C. at the 9:30 Club. Here are more dates. And a Black Keys video.  

Dan Auerbach tour dates:

02-28 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club

03-01 Boston, MA - Paradise Club

03-02 Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg

03-03 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom

03-05 Cleveland, OH - Beachland Ballroom

03-06 Chicago, IL - Metro

03-07 Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue

03-10 Seattle, WA - The Showbox

03-11 Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom

03-13 San Francisco, CA - Bimbo’s 365 Club

03-14 Los Angeles, CA - El Rey Theatre

The Mars Volta's guitarist serves up another solo helping.

By Blurt Staff

Yesterday Stones Throw Records digitally released Mars Volta guitarist Omar Rodriguez Lopez's solo album, Old Money. Although it is his umpteenth solo release, it's the first for the label. Omar has intimated that the album may have been intended as The Mars Volta's follow-up to 2006's Amputechture until he veered in another musical direction. More details, ripped from the press release: 

The addictive melodies and passionate execution of each performance render Old Money perhaps the most accessible of his non-Volta recordings, and the perfect entry point to anyone not yet familiar with what this prolific artist has to offer.

The album fits comfortably between the guitarist's monumental work with The Mars Volta, and his prior rock-based solo releases such as 2007's The Apocalypse Inside Of An Orange. Loosely based on the concept of exploitative industrialists and, well, their old money, the album presents a 10-track collection of concise rock compositions, which range from progressive to psychedelic to downright funky. Many of these sounds could easily be at home on a Volta record proper had they meshed with Cedric Bixler-Zavala's vocals; Rodriguez Lopez has hinted that this record was a potential follow up to the 2006 Volta release Amputechture until he changed his musical direction.

Through the assistance of many of the players familiar to any fan of his "day gig", Rodriguez Lopez goes straight for the jugular with an unrelenting trio of opening tracks: the lead-in "The Power of Myth," the haunting, Middle Eastern-psych flavored "How to Bill the Bilderberg Group," and the blistering "Population Council's Wet Dream." The results are formidable and easily rank among the most exciting moments of Rodriguez Lopez's solo output. The remainder of the album is equally as memorable and certainly the product of acute inspiration on behalf of its creator. Though clear influences of popular ensembles such as Pink Floyd and Santana can be discerned, a deeper study reveals the cross-continental influence of Israeli garage psych heroes The Churchills, French proggers Ame Son and Magma and Turkish guitar-god Erkin Koray - amongst others.

THE OMAR RODRIGUEZ-LOPEZ GROUP (w/CEDRIC BIXLER) AT THE FUJI ROCK FESTIVAL 2007:

Guitarist stricken with unknown ailment, has been in London hospital since Nov. 3. Tour will continue.

By Blurt Staff

Mastodon guitarist Bill Kelliher is in a London hospital, reports the band’s label, Warner Brothers. No details were provided, except to say that the Atlanta-based band will continue their European Unholy Alliance Chapter 3 package tour with Slayer, Trivium and Amon Amarth. Doctors will continue to monitor Kelliher’s condition which, according to the press release, “is improving at press time. Doctors and Bill are hopeful that he will rejoin his bandmates in time for their headlining tour of Europe which begins Nov. 30, in Utrecht, Holland and will end on Dec 7, at the All Tomorrow’s Parties Festival in Somerset, England. More details to follow as they develop.”

"MOTHER PUNCHER" Video:

"Ring Me Out," from the eponymous debut EP (on Ares Records) of San Diego's The Feelings Mutual.

On the eve of her release from an eating disorders treatment center, Juliana Hatfield shares.

By Blurt Staff

Music fans obsess over the minutiae behind their favorite songs, and often get a generic “I like to leave them open to interpretation” answer. If not that, then a longwinded, anticlimactic and unsatisfying, sometimes even pompous, explanation. Only rarely does a songwriter share something worthwhile. Last night, Juliana Hatfield laid down 1300 words of pure candor about “Universal Heartbeat” from her 1995 album Only Everything.

“What a trip; I'm better for it,” Hatfield says, starting the post with a quote from her song. “That will be me, when I get through this thing I am going through. This song is all about depression. When we make it to the other side we can feel triumphant (“landing on a crowded shore, high-fiving”) and so grateful for having survived. Also we can't help but develop an empathy for the suffering of others after going through something so painful.”

She wrote Sunday night from an eating disorders treatment center she checked into after “unraveling” and hitting a personal low weight of 100 pounds. “I wasn't fully conscious of it,” she wrote. “Others around me noticed it before I did. A good friend forced me to confront the fact that I was in serious trouble. ‘You need to get well’ were his words.”

Hatfield explains that anxiety led her to restrict food as a coping mechanism. “Sometimes I feel like a human pincushion. Every painful emotion hits me with ridiculously exaggerated force. And the anxiety feels like hands inside of me, squeezing my guts really hard.” She went to such extremes as limiting herself to a Clif Bar for breakfast or a handful of trail mix for lunch.

Much more if revealed in the post, which you can read below and, despite its subject, has a confident tone. Looking forward to her release today, Nov. 10, Hatfield declares, “I refuse to succumb; to accept that I can't fix this. I want desperately to be a better, happier, healthier, saner person and companion. My will to endure is, so far, unkillable.”

“I need to believe this. I need to try and manifest this, and to live it. If nothing else, I've already gotten some kickass songs out of this latest experience.”

Way to go.

Entire post:

UNIVERSAL HEARTBEAT

Sunday, November 9th, 2008

What a trip; I'm better for it": that will be me, when I get through this thing I am going through.

This song is all about depression. When we make it to the other side we can feel triumphant ("landing on a crowded shore, high-fiving") and so grateful for having survived. Also we can't help but develop an empathy for the suffering of others after going through something so painful.

Maybe those of us who feel and think deeply, who suffer a lot inside, who are kind of mental are not to be pitied for our frequent aches, but should be patted on the back for sticking it out when it hurts so much. We who don't ever give up and who continue to believe that things can -- that WE can -- be better. We are alive, we are not numb. We fight on and on and on. We fight our self-destructive urges. We refuse to close up our hearts and become bitter and dead inside in order not to experience the frequent hurts of an ultra-sensitive soul/mind/heart.

Sometimes I feel like a human pincushion. Every painful emotion hits me with ridiculously exaggerated force. And the anxiety feels like hands inside of me, squeezing my guts really hard.

For the most part I have not ever been inclined to escape with drugs and alcohol. In the drugs-and-alcohol sense I am and have always been very straight. My coping mechanism -- or one of them; the one that kicked into high gear again most recently -- has been restricting food.

We swim through the deep dark oceans to reach the crowded shore; lots of people have made it through the same sort of experiences. We are not alone. It just feels like we are when we are in the thick of it. And after one of us endures one of these things, she may be transformed into a more humble and compassionate person, "high-fiving" all the other freaks and mental defectives and addicts who have continued to survive and to try.

I am having to come to terms with the fact that at age 41, I found myself unraveling. Or, rather, I unraveled. I wasn't fully conscious of it. Others around me noticed it before I did. A good friend forced me to confront the fact that I was in serious trouble. "You need to get well" were his words.

He was there when I woke up in the middle of the night drenched in sweat -- pajamas soaked, hair wet, sheets wet, even the pillow with a head-sized wet spot on it (where my head was). He witnessed my fatigue; my falling asleep every time he put on a movie for us at night; I tried so hard to stay awake with him to watch "Sunshine" and "Network" (for about the fifth time -- I love that one. I never get sick of it) and "The Strangers" and the DVD with Robert Thurman talking with the Dalai Lama, but they are all blurry in my mind.

I was dehydrated and anemic -- anemia caused by malnutrition -- and I didn't even know it; I didn't realize the seriousness of my problem until I had already entered dangerous territory. My anxiety was so great and all-consuming (funny choice of words considering I was "consuming" so little) that at some point I lost my appetite completely and it was no more about restricting food but became an almost inability to eat. My weight went as low as it has ever been in my adult lifetime.

They tell me here at the E.D. treatment center that people have been hospitalized for being as low (at my height) as I was when I came here. (I found that kind of alarmist and hard to believe -- I was still skeptical and in a little bit of denial, like everyone is when they first come in for treatment for anything anywhere -- but it scared me anyway.) In this environment they shorten "eating disorders" -- the name of our problem -- to "E.D.," and say it like a man's name ("Ed"), like he is a bad man; an evil man whom we need to cast out of our lives, our psyches.

Before computers you never would have found me blabbing (blogging [blogging is blabbing]) so openly like this about this. This is me being modern. Damn these computers and this Interweb and the pressure on us musicians to update constantly and to communicate. It encourages, inspires oversharing. It's so easy to say too much and to feel safe giving away one's private secrets. But screw it. I have nothing to hide. I've been embarrassing myself publicly for over twenty years. Why should I stop now? A heart that hurts is a heart that works. I will shout it from the rooftop (as I contemplating jumping but then ultimately don't [jump, that is], and walk back indoors). I am not dead inside. I still care about right and wrong. I refuse to succumb; to accept that I can't fix this. I want desperately to be a better, happier, healthier, saner person and companion. My will to endure is, so far, unkillable.

They make us eat six times a day. Three meals and three snacks. We all sit in the kitchen together and there is a monitor at the head of the table making sure we eat everything on our plates and drink everything in our cups. This is called the refeeding process. It must be done slowly and steadily, with more food added on as time progresses so we don't shock our systems. So we are not in danger of ending up like Karen Carpenter -- she gained too much weight too fast after starving for a long time, and her heart couldn't take it.

The bathroom doors are locked so the bulimics can't go in and puke. (I myself have never been a purger.) When you need to go, you must ask a monitor to unlock the door for you and after she lets you in she stands just outside the door and then you must either count while you are on the toilet, loud enough so that she can hear you, right up until the moment you exit, or you must let her flush for you after you are done -- so that there is proof that you didn't vomit your food into the toilet.

Every morning they wake us up at seven and we all put on hospital johnnies, first thing, and go and have our vitals (temperature, blood pressure) checked and have ourselves weighed. I have gained five pounds so far. I'm doing well. I'm a model patient, weight gaining-wise. My mental/emo health is another story -- a longer story, a work in progress.

All I want is to be well and to have energy and to get back on track and to have my quiet little life back. It was a lonely and solitary life, but it was mine. And I was basically healthy-ish. And I was free, in a sense.

I'm going to be released on the 10th, maybe before you read this.

I will play all my currently scheduled gigs, barring unforeseen acts of God.

"When the damage is done, you're damaged goods." I am damaged goods. Truly. But I don't want to complain. I am what I am. Others have it worse than I do. In fact, "it could be worse" is my motto and my mantra.

"Dark and repulsive though it is, suffering has been revealed to us as a supremely active principle for the humanization and the divinization of the universe."

- Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

I need to believe this. I need to try and manifest this, and to live it. If nothing else, I've already gotten some kickass songs out of this latest experience.

The Angry Young Man's autobiographical song resonates post-election.

By Randy Harward

Graham Parker wasn't thinking of Barack Obama when he wrote "I Discovered America" from his 2007 album Don't Tell Columbus (Bloodshot Records), but the song sure suits how I felt last night when Obama won the presidency.

I was one of the politically apathetic guys energized by George W. Bush and the Republicans' theft of the 2000 election and subsequent squandering of the post-9/11 international goodwill in the form of a war for oil. I bitched about Bush and evangelized about Kerry, then voted, and watched a majority of the country vote for another Bush term. Then came Katrina, and the Iraq War lingered. The country had gone batshit. 

But finally, the tide began to turn when the Dems kicked some booty in the 2006 election--and proceeded to accomplish nothing. Hope, as I knew it, was lost.

But last night, that was magical. If I sound like an erstwhile virgin in love, it's because I am. The United States of America, having elected Barack Obama, appears to be back on her meds and looking forward to four years of badly needed change. Last night, I feel like I rediscovered America. Parker's song---in which flat-earthers tell him to quit, but he still finds hope and fends off a "milquetoast rearguard" of Christian soldiers selling ice cream, and feels that the "might chains of darkness" have lifted---has been running through my head since 11 p.m. EST last night.

I have a feeling it'll be on repeat for a while.

"I Discovered America" - Graham Parker

Lyrics:

THERE WAS SMOKE UP TO MY EYEBALLS

POISON BURNED MY THROAT

BUT I SAID I'D KEEP ON GOING

WHEN EVERYONE SAID DON'T

WITH MY BONY-CHESTED T-SHIRT

SOME STOLEN GUITAR LICKS

NAVIGATING BY DEAD RECKONING

IN 1976

AND WHEN THE MIGHTY CHAINS OF DARKNESS

HAD ME ON THE ROPES

EVERYONE SAID QUIT NOW

THAT'S WHEN I FOUND HOPE

SO PLEASE DON'T TELL COLUMBUS

DON'T TELL HIS QUEEN FOR SURE

THAT I HAD THE ACCURATE COMPASS

AND I DISCOVERED AMERICA

WELL THE GUY IN THE FIVE AND DIME STORE

SAID IT AIN'T ANYWHERE AROUND HERE

TAKE YOUR BUSINESS ELSEWHERE

ALONG WITH YOUR MAD IDEA

SO I LOOKED INSIDE YOUR CLOSET

AND YOUR BROKEN TV SET

YOU SAID THAT YOU WERE BORN HERE

BUT YOU HADN'T FOUND IT YET

WELL I KNEW ONE DAY SHE'D LET ME IN

I KNEW I'D GET THE GIRL

AND LIVE IN A TOWN CALLED VETERAN

PORK CAPITOL OF THE WORLD

WELL THEY'VE DAMMED THE YANGTSE RIVER DAMN IT

THERE'LL BE HELL TO PAY

BUT I GUESS THAT'S WHAT YOU DO

WHEN THE YANGTSE RIVER GETS IN YOUR WAY

BUT I HAD THAT POSITIVE FEELING

I KNEW I WAS ON THE RIGHT TRACK

WHEN A FLAT EARTH SOCIETY MEMBER

TOLD ME I MUST TURN BACK

HE SAID I'D REACH THE ABYSS

AND KEEP ON GOING DOWN

SO I GAVE HIM MY LAST PENCIL

AND I FLATTENED HIM TO THE GROUND

THEN AN ARMY OF CHRISTIAN SOLDIERS

BROKE THROUGH THE RANKS AND CHARGED

WITH THEIR ICE CREAM VENDOR BUDDIES

AND THEIR MILQUETOAST REARGUARD

THEY HAD WHEELBARROWS FULL OF ELASTIC

AND PAPER MACHE HEARTS

AND THINGS I DID NOT RECOGNIZE

IMPALED UPON THEIR DARTS

AND WHEN THE MIGHTY CHAINS OF DARKNESS

HAD ME ON THE ROPES

EVERYONE SAID QUIT NOW

THAT'S WHEN I FOUND HOPE

YEAH THAT'S WHEN I FOUND HOPE

“Bona fide hustler” releases How Many Votes Fix Mix EP, watches “Paper Planes” hit #5, opens school, starts label, launches clothing line.

By Blurt Staff

M.I.A., that pop culture terrorist, is blowing up. First, her 2007 album Kala is sticky with the critical drool, and her “Paper Planes” single has entered the Top Five on Billboard’s Hot 100 Singles chart—and T.I., with Kanye West, Jay-Z and Lil Wayne, uses a sample of the tune on “Swagga Like Us,” from his # album Paper Trail. Now M.I.A.’s opening a school, starting her own label, launching a clothing line (which, yeah, is kind of old news), and dropping the How Many Votes Fix Mix EP, which features two new tracks and a remix of “Boyz” featuring Jay-Z. The gory details, straight from the press release:

Reenergized, re-recognized, and reverberating worldwide, M.I.A. will release the How Many Votes Fix Mix on iTunes October 28th (and everywhere else November 4th.) The Digital EP will feature a remix Boyz featuring Jay-Z as well as two unreleased tracks: “Shells” and “Far Far.”

And as the world takes to Kala, M.I.A. takes on the world—literally. This past August, Maya Arulpragasam (aka, M.I.A.) partnered with non-profit organization Youth Action International and opened the rebuilt and renovated Becky Primary School in Liberia. New additions include more classrooms, a library, computer labs, and a new playground. Plus, free tuition for its 625 students. She also launched her own clothing line, featuring T-shirts, jackets, and hoodies of her own design.

M.I.A. started her own label, N.E.E.T., which stands for Not in Education, Employment, or Training. Her first signing is Baltimore’s own Rye Rye, whose debut album is due early next year.

GET INVOLVED: www.youthactioninternational.org/yai

GET DRESSED: http://shop.miauk.com/category/13409-okley-run

GET DOWN: http://www.myspace.com/mia

Fabchannel.com streaming entire performance from Amsterdamn’s Paradiso.

By Blurt Staff

Looking for something to take your mind off today’s election? Check out this free full Calexico show on FabChannel.com. It’s from the Tucson band’s sold-out show at the Paradiso in Amsterdam earlier this Fall. Calexico starts a U.S. tour this Friday at Antone’s in Austin, TX. Complete dates below.

Tour Dates:
Friday November 7 - Austin, TX - Antone's * TICKETS
Saturday November 8 - Dallas, TX - Granada Theater * TICKETS
Sunday November 9 - St. Louis, MO - The Duck Room * TICKETS
Monday November 10 - Nashville, TN - Mercy Lounge * TICKETS
Wednesday November 12 - Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle * TICKETS
Thursday November 13 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club * TICKETS
Friday November 14 - Philadelphia, PA - Theater of Living Arts * TICKETS
Saturday November 15 - Tarrytown, NY - Tarrytown Music Hall * TICKETS
Sunday November 16 - Somerville, MA - Somerville Theater * TICKETS
Monday November 17 - Montreal, QC - Le National + TICKETS
Tuesday November 18 - Toronto, ON - Phoenix Concert Theatre + TICKETS
Thursday November 20 - Pontiac, MI - The Crofoot Ballroom * TICKETS
Friday November 21 - Chicago, IL - Metro * TICKETS
Saturday November 22 - Minneapolis, MN - Fine Line Music Cafe * TICKETS
Sunday November 23 - Omaha, NE - Slowdown ^ TICKETS
Monday November 24 - Denver, CO - Gothic Theatre # TICKETS
Tuesday November 25 - Albuquerque, NM - Sunshine Theatre % TICKETS

* with The Acorn
+ with Cuff the Duke
^ with Mal Madrigal
# with Gregory Alan Isakov
% with the Handsome Family

Brooklyn garage-pop band picked to open Kinks singer's 12-date U.S. tour-and back him up, too.

By Blurt Staff

Brooklyn's Locksley, a band that bears many similarities to the Kinks, has been tapped to open Kinks singer Ray Davies' 12-city U.S. tour in November and December. In must be a deliriously good turn of events for the baby band, but there's more to it: They get to back Davies up, too.

Locksley (visit them on MySpace) is currently headlining MTV's national Choose or Lose tour, which wraps tonight in Vienna, VA. After an in-store performance Nov. 8 at Vintage Vinyl in Woodbridge, NJ, Locksley will take a few weeks off before joining Davies in Tampa, FLA on Nov. 28. Tour dates are below.

TOUR DATES

Nov-28 Tampa FL - Tampa Theatre

Nov-29 Miami FL - The Fillmore Miami Beach at Jackie

Gleason Theater

Nov-30 Orlando, FL - Hard Rock Live

Dec-02 Atlanta GA - Variety Playhouse

Dec-03 Nashville TN - Wildhorse Saloon

Dec-05 Atlantic City NJ - Borgata Music Box

Dec-06 Poughkeepsie, NY - Bardavon 1869 Opera House

Dec-08 Washington DC - 9:30 Cub

Dec-10 Providence RI - Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel

Dec-11 Burlington, VT - Higher Ground

Dec-12 New York NY - Hammerstein Ballroom

Dec-13 Asbury Park, NJ - Paramount Theatre

Blackie Lawless declares national emergency, compares Obama to Hitler, barfs up debunked claims, endorses McCain. Oh, and he's not a racist.

By Randy Harward

For reasons ranging from insubstantial-yet-cool to somewhat noteworthy-throwing raw meat at their fans, covering The Who without sucking, releasing at least three classic metal albums, bucking censorship lynch mob the PMRC, just plain rocking balls-W.A.S.P. rules. But band founder and frontman (and erstwhile New York Doll) Blackie Lawless, is a stone cold, mouth-breathing, egomaniacal, pseudo-intellectual jackass.

Today he had his publicist send out a letter titled, "Read in Case of National Emergency." The title alone is ridiculous, but with each line it gets-one would think, impossibly-more retarded.

One needs not expend the energy to ignore the fact that, in an actual national emergency, the last guy we'd turn to is the singer of a shock-rock band that peaked early and exists now as an ego boost to its increasingly unreliable and unhinged sole original member. That much is forgotten one or two paragraphs into the idiotic epistle. By the end, the jaw of any sentient being with at least a GED will scrape the toes of their shoes.

Lawless declares his love for the country and Constitution, and that he's not a John McCain supporter-he's an equal opportunity government-hater, suspicious of Democrats and Republicans alike.

"I grew up and lived with the ideals and philosophy of the ‘counterculture' generation," writes Lawless. ‘Peace and Love', ‘Flower Power', ‘Stop the War', ‘Never Trust Anybody Over 30'. ‘Stop the War' was absolutely correct! Vietnam was a disaster and more than 50,000 U. S. soldiers died for that mistake. But the rest was a load of naïve, idealist, ‘we can change the world' CRAP! Not that some of those sentiments weren't a good idea. It's just that this generation of self-serving, selfish, spoiled brats has now come of age."

Lawless henceforth blames these "brats" for perpetuating "the greed and the lies of the Wall Street bailout and a laundry list of other political atrocities too numerous to mention [emphasis added]." He also says they probably think the founding fathers are "some new rap group," calling that "an indictment on their parents" for not teaching them "the values and history of this nation."

He then bemoans Americans' gluttonous, vain, financially irresponsible lifestyles, and how the people who touted the "Woodstock/Marxist scream-dream"-who he refers to as "yuppies" (weren't they largely Reaganites?)-are the ones in charge of the extremely biased liberal media that has "conspired to deceive, manipulate, suppress the truth, promote their candidate at all costs and bury any story that does not put a halo around the head of that candidate." You know the candidate of which he speaks, but Blackie spells it out for us. "It is with this that the American People are brought Barak [sic] Obama."

To support his Obama paranoia, Lawless proceeds to fall back on debunked, or at least satisfactorily addressed, theories including but not limited to how Obama's "redistribution of wealth" comments ("he is a Marxist in Socialist clothing"), and has supposed terrorist ties. ACORN, Rev. Wright/America-hating, tax increases, etc.

"This man is a product of that extreme leftist-Marxist movement that has been building in this country for over 40 years. He is a product of the Harvard far left. He is the face and mouthpiece of a movement that is hell-bent on breaking up the U. S. Constitution and reassembling it to conform to their vision. He is a lawyer, the Democratic Johnnie Cochran, in which every time he speaks gives a closing argument. He is the embodiment of the New Democratic Machine...

"Never in the history of the United States has any presidential candidate had a shroud of controversy surround them as has Obama. If someone would have told me two years ago that anybody with these associations could get nominated for their party, or even dog catcher, much less President of the United States, I would have said your [sic] insane."

Speaking of! Lawless explains that the reason he started this letter with the first seven words of the Constitution is "to reference a radio interview Obama did in which he says the U. S. Supreme Court did not go far enough in attempting to provide reparations to African-Americans and that the Earl Warren edition of the Supreme Court was not liberal enough. That Court was probably the most liberal in U.S. history." Lawless says that "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" is "not a guarantee of wealth or any form of happiness, but the chance to raise one-self up" and "this government never has, nor ever will, nor ever should provide for anything more than this.

"It is ironic that Obama's supporters so often refer to him as a new John F. Kennedy. Senator Obama should be reminded that it was JFK... that said ‘Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for you country.' That is the true American spirit!

"[Obama supporters'] belief is win... at any cost... the Constitution be Dammed [sic]! If that's not prejudice, I don't know what is. If it is true that ‘What is past, is prologue' then we need look no further than Obama's books. His blueprint is there in black and white. Literally and figuratively."

Uh...wow. But it gets better. Or worse:

"The books Obama has written about himself are very clear as to his true ambitions concerning his leftist, Marxist views but the average person will not take the time to read them. In the 1920s while in prison, a young Adolf Hitler wrote Mein Kampf... which outlined his entire plan for world domination and the extermination of the Jewish race. No one would read it, and then when they did it was too late... any book that was not approved by the Nazi Party was burned. The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx at one time was required reading in our schools. This book is Obama's ‘how-to' guide with his ideal of the ‘redistribution of wealth'... Somewhere Karl Marx with his godless, utopian vision is laughing in delight."

It's not like we expect Blackie Lawless to be a fountain of wisdom. It's just that the hubris, the undiluted delusion of this letter, is astonishing. Lawless-who plays a guitar adorned with the Confederate flag, just like many other "undecided" voters, is simply justifying his latent racism. It can't be because he's made an informed decision based on both candidates' stances or qualifications ‘cause all he has to say about McCain is:

"I will vote for McCain, not because I believe in all he stands for, but as a mandate against Obama, to keep him from becoming president."

[You can read the entire letter below. Wouldn't want him to be able to say we took him out of context.]

"Read in Case of National Emergency"

by Blackie  Lawless


"We the people of the United States'. These are the first 7 words of the Constitution of the United States of America. As I stood in the reception area of the Pentagon in Washington D.C. early this year, a large recreation of that Constitution was posted on the wall. It's the first thing you see as you enter the building. "We the People of the United States", I stared at it and said: "I'd die for that idea"!

I've written in the past, I love my country, but I'm scared to death of its government. That idea for me has taken a new twist in this coming election.

I'd first like to point out that I am not a John McCain supporter. I have been critical of the U. S. Government for years, and I, like most of my fellow Americans am angry and frustrated with the lying, manipulation and partisanship of the elected officials, both local and national, Democrat and Republican, of this country. 

The Founding Fathers of this Country wrote this Constitution, with all it's Amendments, as THE Cornerstone that this country would be governed by.  We Americans now find ourselves on the eve of, without a doubt, THE most important election of our lifetime.  In a time of World uncertainty, the volatility of the global financial Markets, the Middle East at war, Russia invading Georgia, Iran and North Korea attempting to develop nuclear weapons and with that Iran threatening to "Wipe Israel Off the Map", the entire world is at a dangerous point in history.

I grew up and lived with the ideals and philosophy of the "Counter Culture" Generation.  "Peace and Love", " Flower Power", "Stop the War", Never Trust anybody Over 30".  "Stop the War" was absolutely correct!  Vietnam was a disaster and more than 50,000 U. S. Soldiers died for that mistake.
But the rest was a load of naïve, idealist, "we can change the world", CRAP!

Not that some of those sentiments weren't a good idea. It's just that this generation of self-serving, selfish, spoiled brats has now come of age. They are the ones that now have perpetuated the greed and the lies of the Wall Street Bailout and a laundry list of other political atrocities too numerous to mention. The weakness of true conviction to teach their children about the values and history of this Nation. Their children know nothing of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Washington, Lincoln or the understanding that this Great Nation was built on the Dreams, the Tears, the back breaking Labor, the unending sacrifice and the Blood spilled by the generations before them that sacrificed their all, including the men and women that gave their lives, and the ones that will give their lives in defense of this "Great Experiment", this Great American Dream.  If you don't think so, go up to most any of their kids on the street and ask them about the Founding Fathers. More than likely they'll think its some new rap group. It's not just a glimpse into poor enlightenment. It's an indictment on their parents.

The generation that was going to change the world certainly did. Their gluttony for botox, living on credit cards, busy being fabulous and its all about me, me, me cause I'm better than you. "All You Need is Love".. I'm sorry pal, you missed the boat, all you really need is some guts and character. I'm disgusted and ashamed to be part of it.  Instead, that generation with their 'Woodstock / Marxist"  Scream - Dream are the ones which now control the majority of the mainstream media in this country. That includes almost all Television and almost all Newspapers. They are the ones that now bring the extreme liberal, radical 60's utopian vision of their world to the American people. The extreme liberal bias of the mainstream American Media which are now controlled by these "Yuppies" have conspired to deceive, manipulate, suppress the truth, promote their candidate at all costs and bury any story that does not put a halo around the head of that candidate.  It is with this that the American People are brought Barak Obama.

This man is a product of that Extreme Leftist - Marxist movement that has been building in this country for over 40 years. He is a product of the Harvard far left. He is the face and mouthpiece of a movement that is Hell Bent on breaking up the U. S. Constitution and reassembling it to conform to their vision. He is a lawyer, the Democratic Johnny Cochran, in which every time he speaks gives a closing argument. He is the embodiment of the New Democratic Machine.

When I was a kid everyone I knew were Democrats, but these are not your fathers Democrats anymore. They are part of some liberal elite that looks down on the ideals that made this Country great.  This Leftist Machine has hidden the truth from the American People (and the World) and continues to deceive at any cost.

Right now, as I write, the L. A. Times Newspaper has a videotape, which it refuses to release to the American Public, which shows Obama at a farewell dinner celebration for the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) Spokesman Rashid Khalidi. He was also a spokesman for Yassir Arafat. In this tape are the recorded verbal attacks on Israel and the Israeli People and reference to Israel as a terrorist state.

Reportedly, the Domestic terrorist Bill Ayres, who as part of the "Weather Underground" terrorist organization bombed several U. S. targets including the Pentagon and the home of a U. S. Judge and killing 2 policemen in the process, was also at this dinner.  Obama has been close friends with Khalidi and Ayers for many years. The oath of President requires that the President will "protect the United States against all enemies, both Foreign AND Domestic".  Guess he didn't read that part!

Now, what should be of utmost concern to the American People are the repeated denials by Obama, that he has no ties to any of these people. If he has nothing to hide why not be truthful with the American Public and request the L. A. Times to release this videotape for us all to see. If it turns out to be nothing then at least the truth will be served.  From Obama's 20 year association with the Reverend Jeremiah Wright who has repeatedly said: "It's not God Bless America, No, No, No, It's God Damn America!

Obama sat in Wrights church and listened to this Treason for 20 years.
Wright also performed Obama's marriage and Baptized both of his children. Obama was an organizer for Acorn, the group now accused of massive voter registration fraud. Some working for Acorn have already been jailed for this. Obama was also Acorns lawyer for a time. Obama recently donated over $800,000 to Acorn.  He accuses Americans for "clinging to their guns and religion".  Never in the history of the United States has any Presidential candidate had a shroud of controversy surround them as has Obama. If someone would have told me 2 years ago that anybody with these associations could get nominated for their party, or even dog catcher, much less President of the United States, I would have said your insane.

My reasons for starting this letter with the first line of the Constitution is to reference a radio interview Obama did in which he says the U. S. Supreme Court did not go far enough in attempting to provide reparations to African- Americans and that the Earl Warren edition of the Supreme Court was not liberal enough. That Court was probably the most liberal in U.S. history.

It is not the job of the Supreme Court to be liberal or conservative. It is to interpret the Constitution. period. It is not to legislate from the bench based on the "general consensus of the people" as stated in a recent Supreme Court ruling, but rather to make its rulings based on the precise wording of the Constitution. If at some point "the people" wish to have any new amendment to the Constitution based on their modern day ideals, then all 50 states must ratify it..period.  This is the Obama quote from that interview with radio station WBEZ.FM in Chicago. This is not taken out of context. It is the entire quote:

"The Supreme Court never ventured into the issues of redistribution of wealth, and of more basic issues such as political and economic justice in society. To that extent, as radical as I think people try to characterize the Warren Court, it wasn't that radical. It didn't break free from the essential constraints that were placed by the founding fathers in the Constitution, at least as its been interpreted and Warren Court interpreted in the same way, that generally the Constitution is a charter of negative liberties. Says what the states can't do to you. Says what the Federal government can't do to you, but doesn't say what the Federal government or State government must do on your behalf, and that hasn't shifted and one of the, I think, tragedies of the civil rights movement was, um, because the civil rights movement became so court focused I think there was a tendancy to lose track of the political and community organizing and activities on the ground that are able to put together the actual coalition of powers through which you bring about redistributive change. In some ways we still suffer from that".

These are things he would NEVER say in front of a national audience. He only says and does these things when he thinks his base group is listening. In this interview he is making it clear that if elected, he would nominate Supreme Court Justices that will put forth his agenda's, "redistribution of wealth", his idea of "economic justice" and "redistributive change" which are other words for reparations for slavery and a Marxist redistribution of wealth which is no more than welfare.
Thomas Jefferson wrote in The Declaration of Independence about 'Life, Liberty and the PURSUIT of Happiness. This PURSUIT is not a guarantee of wealth or any form of happiness, but the chance to raise one-self up. This government never has, nor ever will, nor ever should provide for anything more than this.
It is ironic that Obama's supporters so often refer to him as a new John F. Kennedy.

Senator Obama should be reminded that it was JFK in his inaugural address that said "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for you country".  That is the TRUE American Spirit!

On the issue of taxes, in effort to "spread the wealth around" he first defined the rich as making $300,000 then he said it was $250,000 then he said $200,000, then a few days ago Joe Biden said it would be $150,000. So, what's the real number?  This is more about him not being truthful with the public.

Will all of his tax schemes of taxing anyone who makes over $250,000  (or whatever it is) a year destroy our economy, yeah, just like Jimmy Carter did in the 70's and Herbert Hoover before him. It's not the individual that makes that much money that's the issue. If this were only about individuals then that could be argued.  But what he doesn't tell you is what it does to businesses. Most any business that creates that much revenue MUST employ a number of people. If the business is taxed upwards of 30% or more then those jobs are gone.its that simple.

There have been a lot of charges about racism in this election from the Obama side. I personally have never been a racist. Any of you that know me, know I've said many times that after my Father, Muhammad Ali has been the biggest influence in my life.  But there definitely is racism in this election.  96 to 97% of African-Americans polled in this election say they will vote for Obama. Never in the history of this country has ANY candidate ever had such overwhelming numbers from any group. White, Black, Hispanic, Asian or other. The traveling Political,  Racist, Circus called Acorn, which Obama worked with for years, is creating and sponsoring voter fraud across the country by registering illegal immigrants, the Dallas Cowboys and Mickey Mouse. This is no joke. Acorn has actually done this and much, much more. Their belief is win .. at any cost.. the Constitution be Dammed!

If that's not prejudice, I don't know what is.

The books Obama has written about himself are very clear as to his true ambitions concerning his Leftist, Marxist views but the average person will not take the time to read them,  In the 1920's while in prison, a young Adolf Hitler wrote "Mein Kampf" (My Struggle) which outlined his entire plan for World Domination and the extermination of the Jewish race. No one would read it, and then when they did it was too late.. any book that was not approved by the Nazi Party was burned. The "Communist Manifesto" by Karl Marx at one time, was required reading in our schools. This book is Obama's "How To" guide with his ideal of the "Redistribution of Wealth". If you don't think so, go back and look at the above radio interview. Somewhere Karl Marx with his Godless, Utopian vision is laughing in delight.

If it is true that "What is Past, is Prologue" then we need look no further than Obama's books. His blueprint is there in black and white. Literally and figuratively.

I will vote for McCain, not because I believe in all he stands for, but as a mandate against Obama, to keep him from becoming President.  Yes, I will cling to my guns and my religion, and continue to believe in the Constitution, the Cornerstone of our society and trust that this is STILL a "Government of the People, By the People, For the People".

The point of all this is, that no matter whatever any of us encounter in life, look for the truth. The truth can and will stand up to anything. If that truth cannot stand up to scrutiny then you must see it and call it for what it truly is.  If any would be Messiah comes along and he looks like it, acts like it and smells like it then you call him what he truly is. a Marxist, in Socialist clothing!

I challenge all Americans to go back and READ the Constitution of the United States, READ the Declaration of Independence.

Decide for Yourself

God Help Us. . God Bless America

I encourage anyone who understands this letter and is moved to action, to send this letter in an email to everyone you know, to all who will listen!

- Blackie  Lawless

Joe the Plumber is ready to rock with Aaron Tippin. And why not invite Jeff Guckert-Gannon to the party?

By Randy Harward

We know that a country star has to have three names, but Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher? Sure, Joe the Plumber, as Wurzelbacher is known, has that Larry the Cable Guy ring, but this blue collar fraud/fame-grabbing douchebag now thinks he has what it takes to be a shitkickin' country star. Just like Aaron Tippin, the ostensibly straight-proclaiming, gay-appearing "patriotic" country star and part of the braintrust, along with booker-manager Bobby Roberts and publicity firm The Press Office, that signed Joe the Plumber to a deal that may include a contract with a major record label.

Can you believe this shit? Check out what The Press Office told Politico.com about JTP's musical credentials:

Among the requests: a possible record deal with a major label, personal appearances and corporate sponsorships. A longtime country music fan, Wurzelbacher can sing and "knocks around on guitar" but is not an accomplished musician or songwriter, according to The Press Office's Jim Della Croce. "He's a complicated guy with a very dynamic personality," Della Croce told Politico. "He can sing and obviously has a strong political point of view."

Well, maybe it's not so surprising. Joe the Plumber doesn't have a license to plumb, and probably only sings in the shower. Sarah Palin didn't have a passport until 2006, but wants to be Assistant to the Regional Manager of the United States of America. The Bush Administration let a gay rent boy join the White House Press Corps. To say nothing of the fact that our current president is an all-around dingleberry who lucked into the family business and stole the highest elected office out from under our noses.

You know what? Joe the Plumber looks a lot like that rent boy, Jeff Guckert (or Jeff Gannon, whatever). And check out Tippin's 'stache and come-hither leer. Maybe there's something there, and we can expect a series of DVDs (License to Plumb, Knockaround Guys: The Reaming, Working Class Ass, NASCAR Nights/Fire Island Days) to hit adult bookstores--in the super-secret hypocrites-only room.

The Last Pale Light in the West mini-LP due Jan. 20, Lucero’s Universal debut scheduled for summer.

By Blurt Staff

Lucero vocalist-guitarist Ben Nichols will release his solo debut, a mini-LP called The Last Pale Light in the West, on Jan. 20 on the Liberty & Lament/The Rebel Group label. The news came simultaneously with the announcement that Lucero has signed to Universal Records, with a studio album scheduled for summer 2009.

The Last Pale Light in the West was recorded in August with Rick Steff (Cat Power, Lucero) and Todd Beane (Glossary), and features seven songs inspired by author Cormac McCarthy’s novel Blood Meridian. The record “displays Nichols’ signature gravelly voice accompanied by his acoustic guitar and complimented by Steff’s perfectly placed piano and accordion parts, as well as Beane’s subtle pedal steel guitar.” Nichols’ has been performing tracks from the album, along with Lucero favorites, on the Revival Tour with Chuck Ragan (Hot Water Music) and Tim Barry (AVAIL), as well as Tom Gabel (Against Me!).

More Nichols news, from the press release:

…2008 has been a busy year for Nichols, which has found him exploring and pursuing different artistic endeavors.  He started it out by contributing vocals to The Hold Steady’s most recent album, Stay Positive, and was featured on the first single, “Sequestered in Memphis” as well as the tracks “Constructive Summer” and “Magazines.”  Nichols starred in a leading role for MTV New Media’s upcoming and groundbreaking, online serial-music drama, $5 Cover.  Created by filmmaker Craig Brewer (Hustle & Flow, Black Snake Moan), the series is dedicated to the historic music scene of Memphis, Tennessee—Nichols’ current hometown—and the lives of young modern-day artists working to put their twist on the storied musical landscape created by legendary musicians before them.

“Nichols also did a song for All Aboard: A Tribute to Johnny Cash where he contributed his take on “Delia’s Gone” to the compilation CD (out now on Anchorless Records).  All profits from sales go to the Syrentha Savio Endowment (SSE), a non-profit organization that provides financial assistance to underprivileged women who cannot afford the expense of fighting breast cancer.”

Tour dates are below.

Ben Nichols "New Song" video:

Ben Nichols tour dates:

Ben Nichols (Acoustic) Tour Dates

For the most current tour dates, check out www.luceromusic.com or www.myspace.com/lucero.

Damn Right Rebel Proud debuts at #2 on Billboard country and #18 on Top 200. Hail Satan!

By Randy Harward

There’s something special about the news that Hank III hittin’ number two on the Billboard country chart and #18 on the publication’s Top 200 with album number four, Damn Right Rebel Proud. This is a guy whose on-bus inner sanctum contains a mason jar half-full of weed—which he gladly shared with Blurt while speaking of his distaste for cops, a trade paperback copy of The Satanic Bible, rusty dumbbells and scores of heavy metal CDs in stacks and scattered on the floor. And he says in the album’s EPK (see it below) that “One song’s written and dedicated for the outlaw scumfuck G.G. Allin…”

If he’s bubbling under country fluff like current #1 shitkicker Kenny Chesney, and beats out other vanilla-scented twangers like Carrie Underwood (#7), Sugarland (#3), Faith Hill (#10), Taylor Swift (#6) and erstwhile Hootie, Darius Rucker (#5—that’s right, vanilla), that’s one big billboard sayin’ we may one day take country back from the poseurs. Damn right, rebel proud!

Go get ‘em, III. Punch ‘em in the taint!

p.s. Don’t forget to go to www.reinstatehank.org and join III’s fight to get his grandfather, Hank Sr., reinstated to the Grand Ole’ Opry. Stay tuned for tour dates in 2009.

Damn Right Rebel Proud EPK:

The Flaming Lips are known for giving the people more than they expect—but alas, not all we want.

By Randy Harward

You’ve already read about (or watched Wayne Coyne's video explaining--it's below) the exciting, completely expected, mega-deluxe edition of the Flaming Lips’ Christmas on Mars DVD that comes out on 11/11. You may even be justifying the expense to your wife or mother. Or just rolling up the sleeve for another plasma donation. Anything to get your hands on a movie, T-shirt, popcorn box “with real Flaming Lips popcorn,” fake (replica) tickets, Lips trading cards, “Eat Your Own Spaceship” bumper sticker and—maybe, just maybe—one of ten golden tickets that will land you in the audience at the Lips’ New Years’ Eve show in Oklahoma. So is the Blurt staff.

Well, what would you do if the mega-deluxe edition contained more and better stuff? What if everything discussed in the initial meetings actually made it to the final product? What would you do then? Knowing ourselves as we do, we shudder to think of the drastic, desperate actions we’d take to procure the items on this list, anonymously provided to Blurt in the wee hours of today.

-         A lock of Drozd’s hair

-         A lock of Santa’s back hair

-         Fred Armisen voicemail greetings, including “Cosmic reality is a motherfucker!”

-         Wax lips painted black with flames a la Big Daddy Roth, then dipped in mescaline

-         Five golden things

-         Miniature jar of mint petroleum jelly with a portion of the skinned baby lamb from Eraserhead.

-         Rolling papers made from band members’ sloughed off skin cells

-         Some of what they’re smoking

-         1/8-ounce vial of Wayne Coyne’s cerebrospinal fluid on Boondoggle lanyard made by Jesus (or Jeebus)

-         X-ray Spex (real)

-         Download code for new Hinder album

-         Make-your-own-swirly-colored-vinyl kit

-         Michael Ivins Chia Pet

-         Flaming Lips fleece throw and hot cocoa mug and lost John Grisham novel from his “caffeine days.”

-         Clips from assorted Flaming Lips TV appearances, including Dr. Phil, The View, Oprah, Crossing Over with John Edward, Scare Tactics, Family Feud, and Band vs. Wild

Alas, we’ll never lay our greedy little hands on such treasures. Unless, Blurt readers, you’d entertain a scavenger hunt? If anyone can provide all of the things on the list, you’ll be rewarded handsomely.

Annual concert benefits fight against Parkinson’s Disease

By Blurt Staff

Jesse Malin, Marah, Willie Nile, Joe Grushecky & the Houserockers,  and Goo Goo Doll John Rzeznik will play the two-day Light of Day concert in Asbury Park, NJ during the weekend of Nov. 1 and 2. [UPDATE: An earlier version of this story indicated John Easdale of Dramarama would appear. He will not play after all.] The shows benefit the fight against Parkinson’s Disease, a degenerative neurological disorder whose most famous sufferer is Michael J. Fox who, incidentally, starred in the 1987 film Light of Day, about a Cleveland band that sounds a lot like the Asbury Park pub rockers on this very bill.

From the press release:

The first eight years of Light of Day ventures have raised over $750,000 for the fight against Parkinson's disease and related illnesses. Past performers include Joe Grushecky, Jesse Malin, Gary US Bonds, La Bamba, Max Weinberg, Soozie Tyrell, Southside Johnny, John Eddie, Pat Dinizio, Jakob Dylan, Lucinda Williams and many others. Grushecky, who has performed at every Light of Day concert, has been joined onstage by Bruce Springsteen for six of eight years' Light of Day events. At 2003's Light of Day concert, the pair was joined by organizer Bob Benjamin and film star Michael J. Fox for a raucous finale of "Light of Day," the Springsteen-penned anthem from which the event's name is taken.

The Saturday show will be at the newly refurbished Paramount Theatre, a fixture on the Asbury Park Boardwalk since 1930. The Sunday show will be held at the world-famous Stone Pony, the oceanfront night club where Light of Day was launched nine years ago. Lineups:

Saturday, November 1

The Paramount Theater

Asbury Park, New Jersey

Performers include: Joe Grushecky & the Houserockers, Marah,

Jesse Malin, Willie Nile, Joe D'Urso & Stone Caravan

Sunday, November 2

The Stone Pony

Asbury Park, New Jersey

Performers include: John Easdale, Boccigalupe and the Badboys, Jobonanno & the Godsons of Soul, Exit 105 and Tom Vella & the Wayside

Any remaining tickets are available at Ticketmaster outlets, Ticketmaster Charge By Phone, Ticketmaster Online (www.ticketmaster.com), (www.livenation.com), (www.stoneponyonline.com) and the Stone Pony box office.

For more information, please visit www.lightofday.org                                                                   

In the second edition of the Spinto Band's tour diarty, Jon Eaton checks in from Toronto en route home to the U.S.

We are gathered in Toronto on the first snow day of the season now.  Again, Spiral Beach and Frightened Rabbit have kindly joined us, the only difference is tonite they are all wrapped in scarves... As are we. Well for the most part. I think I packed a little light for this weather.

Enough about weather. We are young, alive, and refuse to kick Father Winter while he's down. He needs an October snow day. He needs people to talk about something besides melting ice caps and he needs us to see more signs like this one. [read more...]

The Spinto Band's Jon Eaton checks in with tales of Legos, frightened rabbits, spiral beaches and national eyes.

By Blurt Staff

Check out the first entry of Blurt's exclusive tour diary from The Spinto Band. In this edition, Jon Eaton tells about a Lego building contest between TSP and tour mates Frightened Rabbit, National Eye and Spiral Beach. TSP won Most Imaginative which, says Eaton, "is kind of bullshit."

Plexifilm and Warhol Museum releasing 13 Most Beautiful… Songs for Andy Warhol’s Screen Tests w/ Dean & Britta soundtrack.

By Blurt Staff

Plexifilm and The Andy Warhol Museum will release 13 Most Beautiful... Songs for Andy Warhol's Screen Tests, a collection of featuring 13 of Warhol's “classic silent film portraits” of pop culture figures shot between 1964 and 1966 at Warhol’s Factory in NYC. Among the subjects including Nico, Lou Reed, Edie Sedgwick, Mary Woronov, Billy Name, Dennis Hopper and more. Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips have created new soundtracks for the films, comprised of original music and cover songs. (The trailer is embedded at the end of this post.)

The studio will release two versions of 13 Most Beautiful: a limited-edition of 1,300 in a deluxe gatefold LP-style package with an exclusive poster and booklet. In addition, one frame from each of the 13 Screen Tests will be hand-printed as an archival gelatin-silver photograph in an edition of 100, with one print in each limited-edition package. Plexifilm is taking pre-orders for the limited edition ($250 a pop) at www.plexifilm.com in advance of the January 17 street date. The retail edition ($34.99) is due February 17 and is presented in a hardcover book with slipcover.

Bonus features on both editions include a behind-the-scenes documentary and a video interview with Dean & Britta about Warhol, the music, and the project. The booklet features brief biographies of each Screen Test subject as well as liner notes from the Warhol Museum's Thomas Sokolowski, Geralyn Huxley, and Ben Harrison. Wareham supplies notes on the music.

More details from the press release:

Between 1964 and 1966, Andy Warhol shot nearly 500 Screen Tests, beautiful and revealing portraits of hundreds of different individuals, from the famous to the anonymous, all visitors to his studio, the Factory. Subjects were captured in stark relief by a strong keylight, and filmed by Warhol with his stationary 16mm Bolex camera on silent, black and white, 100-foot rolls of film. The resulting two-and-a-half-minute film reels were then screened in slow motion, resulting in a fascinating collection of four-minute masterpieces that startle and entrance, mesmerizing in the purest sense of the word.

The 13 Screen Tests included are Paul America, Susan Bottomly, Ann Buchanan, Freddy Herko, Jane Holzer (Toothbrush), Dennis Hopper, Billy Name, Nico, Richard Rheem, Lou Reed (Coke), Edie Sedgwick, Ingrid Superstar and Mary Woronov.

Songwriters Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips, formerly of the band Luna and currently recording as Dean & Britta, created new soundtracks for the 13 films, incorporating original compositions as well as cover songs. The musical sensibilities of Dean & Britta, as well as their keen interest in cinema and their experience with scoring films, including Noah Baumbach's acclaimed feature The Squid & the Whale, make them a perfect match for this project.

13 Most Beautiful…Songs for Andy Warhol's Screen Tests with Dean & Britta is also being presented by The Andy Warhol Museum as a series of live multi-media performances. The original project was jointly commissioned by The Andy Warhol Museum and the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust for the Pittsburgh International Festival of Firsts 2008 and will have its world premiere at The Byham Theater in Pittsburgh on Friday, October 24th. It will travel to contemporary arts centers, museums and festivals throughout the U.S. including the Wexner Center for the Arts in Columbus, Ohio on November 20, 2008; Lincoln Center (American Song Book Series), New York, NY on January 17, 2009; Vancouver, PuSH Festival, January 30, 2009; Seattle Art Museum on February 6, 2009; Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, MN on February 28, 2009; MCA Chicago on March 7, 2009; and Mass MoCA, North Adams, MA on March 28, 2009. Additional US dates and European performances will be announced soon.

DVD COVER:

13 MOST BEAUTIFUL… TRAILER:

Vinyl box set due Nov. 25, more tour dates, video contest winner announced

By Blurt Staff

On Nov. 25, Barsuk Records will release a numbered, limited edition vinyl box set containing all five Nada Surf albums and assorted goodies. Augmenting the NYC band’s five studio recordings will be a repressing of their first 7” single, a full-color 23-page lyric and photo book, and download codes for all The Proximity Effect, Let Go, The Weight Is a Gift, Lucky, plus a collection of rare and out-of-print bonus tracks and b-sides.

Nada Surf has also announced that Richard Card and Austin Trotter are the winners of their YouTube video contest. Card and Trotter will receive $3,000 from Barsuk for their video for “Weightless,” which “focuses on transitions and dream-like experiences, both ordinary and surreal.” Runner-up Sean P. Rogan and third place winner Sam Kuhn will be awarded copies of the Nada Surf vinyl box set, an assortment of Nada Surf t-shirts and CDs, plus stuff from www.dakine.com. Winning entries are viewable at: www.barsuk.com/nadasurfcontestwinners

The band will continue its tour supporting Lucky this Fall.

NADA SURF ON TOUR:

November:

9 New York, NY - The Living Room (Kidrockers event - Matthew +Ira acoustic)

19 Mexico City, Mexico - The Vive Cuervo Salon

21 Denton, TX - Hailey's #%

22 Austin, TX - Emo's #%

24 Oklahoma City, OK - Bricktown Ballroom #%

25 Little Rock, AR - Juanita's #%

28 Minneapolis, MN - Fine Line Music Café #%

29 Chicago, IL - Metro #%

December:

2 Boston, MA - Paradise Rock Club #%

4 Philadelphia, PA - Trocadero#%

5 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club #%

6 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom #&

7 New York, NY - Webster Hall#*

8 Hoboken, NJ - Maxwell's %$

# w/ Delta Spirit

% w/ The Jealous Girlfriends

& w/ Gramercy Arms

* w/ Bear Hands

$ w/ Mary Kate O’Neil

R.I.P. Rudy Ray Moore

All sound and fury, signifying monkey.

By Randy Harward

Today the world is down one bad motherfucker. Actor, comedian, and singer Rudy Ray Moore—more popularly known as the swashbuckling blaxploitation hero Dolemite—passed away yesterday after “a long bout with diabetes and obscurity,” according to his MySpace page.

Moore was a pioneer in the field of raunchy comedy, releasing outrageous party records in the 1960s-70s that pushed the boundaries of good taste and paved the way for countless pottymouthed comics and rappers to come. His onscreen persona, the fuckin’, fightin’ Dolemite, is an icon of American popular culture, especially the blaxploitation film genre along with Shaft, Super Fly, Blacula, Coffy, and Welcome Home Brother Charles. Stereotypical, and deliberately pandering to black audiences, these films portrayed black men as ass-kickin’ lovermen—usually with a grudge against Whitey. Moore’s films were the genre’s B- and even C-level, with Dolemite’s trademark bad acting and fighting, but regarded as classics nonetheless because few blaxploitation stars—Pam Grier, Richard Roundtree, Jim Brown, Fred Williamson—could match the verve and humor Moore displayed in Dolemite, its sequel The Human Tornado, and Petey Wheatstraw, The Devil’s Son-in-Law.

Rest in peace, Dole.

Full announcement, from the Rudy Ray Moore MySpace page:

Legendary actor, filmmaker, comedian, singer, Godfather of Rap and King of the Party Records, Rudolph Frank Moore better known as Rudy Ray Moore or Dolemite has left this earthly plane.

A 60 + year veteran of the stage, the first x rated comedian, one of the first African American filmmakers and the third most sampled man in the world, his self made comedy records and films have inspired and influenced generations from a thousand walks of life and a hundred nations.

He had recently finished work on "The Dolemite Explosion" with longtime friend and costar Jimmy Lynch (his first self-made film in 30 years), an album of soul ballads called "Let Me Sing To You Before I Drift Away" with his daughter Rusty, and had been Highlighted by Hadjii in an episode of "Somebodies" and was looking forward to a resurgence and a country album.

After a long battle with diabetes and obscurity, he passed peacefully on Sunday at the age of 81.

He was a good God fearing man who loved his friends and family.

Human Giant and Flight of the Conchords star embarks on stand-up tour.

By Blurt Staff

While we await the third season of Human Giant and more news about his The Office spinoff, Aziz Ansari is taking his sweet act to us. The 16-date (so far) “Glow in the Dark” tour starts Saturday, Oct. 25 in Saratoga Springs, NY and will hit NYC, Seattle, San Francisco, Austin and other U.S. cities through Jan. 24. More dates to be announced.

Check out Aziz's interview with M.I.A. as well as Jeff Miller's Aziz profile and A.D. Amorosi's Human Giant feature--all done pre-Blurt for the dearly deparated Harp magazine.

Aziz Ansari ComedyCentral.com "Clip Joint":

Aziz Ansari's “Glow in the Dark” tour dates:

10.25.08 - Saratoga Springs, NY - Skidmore College - More Info
10.26.08 - Ithaca, NY - Ithaca College - Buy Tickets
11.08.08 - Notre Dame, ID - Notre Dame (Legends) - More Info
11.13.08 - Seattle, WA - Triple Door - Buy Tickets
11.20.08 - Chicago, IL - Lakeshore Theatre - Buy Tickets
12.10.08 - Atlanta, GA - Punchline - Buy Tickets
12.11.08 - Athens, GA - 40 Watt - Buy Tickets
12.12.08 - Charleston, SC - 99 Theatre - Buy Tickets
12.13.08 - Charleston, SC - 99 Theatre - Buy Tickets
12.19.08 - Austin, TX - Emo's - Buy Tickets
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(Photo: Randy Harward)

Chile-based German DJ/producer’s new album features Latin electronic and cha cha cha tributes to Daft Punk, Prince, the Eurythmics.

By Blurt Staff

On Nov. 18, Nacional Records will release Around the World, the new album by Chile-based German producer Señor Coconut (Uwe Schmidt), and reissue Coconut’s debut album, El Baile Alemán.

Around the World will apply a Latin touch to “classic club hits by… Daft Punk ("Around the World"), Prince ("Kiss"), Laid Back ("White Horse"), and the Eurythmics ("Sweet Dreams).” Track-by-track notes from Señor Coconut follow this post.

El Baile Alemán, Coconut’s Latin tribute to Kraftwerk, will be reissued on CD (with bonus tracks)—and for the first time, via download.

Track list:

1. Around the World (Intro)

2. Sweet Dreams

3. Da Da Da Ich Leib Dich Nicht du Liebst Mich

4. Kiss

5. Corcovado (Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars)           

6. Around the World (Interlude)           

7. Que Rico El Mambo                       

8. Pinball Chacha                       

9. White Horse                       

10. La Vida Es Llena de Cables           

11. Moscow Discow

12. Around the World (Outro)

13. Dreams Are My

14. Voodoo Dreams [Atom Remix]

Track-by-track:

AROUND THE WORLD - "With my Señor Coconut project, I receive a whole lot of ideas from friends, fans, and other musicians. My friend and valued colleague, Original Hamster, once mentioned 'Around the World' by the French group Daft Punk and since then this track had been stuck in my head. But in parallel with this, Thomas Baxter, son of the legendary exotica musician and composer Les Baxter, asked me whether I would be interested in remixing one of his father's tracks ('Voodoo Dreams' is included on this album as a bonus track). While I was getting absorbed in Les Baxter and listening to him closely, I discovered an album of his entitled 'Round the World with Les Baxter'.

The theme of 'Around the World' began to take hold of me. It can certainly be said that 'Around the World' - whether interpreted by Les Baxter, Señor Coconut, or anyone else - always reflects only a subjective view of the world. The world of Les Baxter is just as incomplete as that of Señor Coconut, defined by the time and place of our respective existences. After the title of the Señor Coconut album had been decided on, it was of course clear that Daft Punk's 'Around the World' would have to be the leitmotif. The track therefore appears three times on the album: as introduction, interlude and finale."

SWEET DREAMS - "Once 'Around the World' had been established as theme and motto of the album, the first prerequisite was that every track had to come from a different country. One track that had been in my thoughts for years for a Señor Coconut production was 'Sweet Dreams' by the British band Eurythmics. It is simply rhythmically and melodically a perfect cha-cha-cha. The ultimate criterion with Señor Coconut is always purely musical: 'Does that give me any interesting ideas?' Suddenly I heard very clearly its lyrics which provide a curious cross-reference to 'Around the World': 'I travelled the world and the seven seas... Everybody's looking for something.'"

DA DA DA - "A few years ago I had the pleasure of doing a remix for Stephan Remmler, so we were already in contact. Stephan likes Señor Coconut and my work on the remix reminded me of 'Da Da Da'. I realized that 'Da Da Da' was virtually crying out to be done as a cha-cha-cha. Rhythmically and melodically, it was clear where the musical journey should go. I asked Stephan if he would be interested in singing and he agreed immediately. I think that hardly any other German track from the 80s was as emblematic or as German as 'Da Da Da.' In my opinion, the brilliant simplicity of the song makes it THE German representative on 'Around the World.""

KISS - "Again, it was Original Hamster who brought 'Kiss' to my attention. Together with Argenis Brito, I translated the lyrics into Spanish and the decision was made to include this song on the album. The real fascination of this song is that the original has no bass line and that its charm lies in its simplicity (and that was the connection to 'Da Da Da'). At the musical level, the challenge was to convey these two aspects in Señor Coconut style."

QUE RICO EL MAMBO - "The original by Perez Prado is quite simply THE Mambo track par excellence. It was also high time to have Perez Prado appear on a Señor Coconut album, not just as a guiding spirit but directly. There are Prado references on all the Señor Coconut albums and he is probably my most important source of inspiration. It is interesting that Perez Prado is in no way a representative of Latin American "standards" but is characterized much more by having continually rejected these standards (apart from those which he himself created). Perez Prado compositions are remarkable not only for their unconventional arrangements and playing styles but also for their wit and simplicity."

PINBALL CHACHA - "Just as on 'El Baile Alemán' and 'Yellow Fever!', an originally electronic track is re-interpreted acoustically. This song is by the Swiss band Yello and was always a cha-cha-cha. This is already enough to explain why it ended up on the album. Produced by Yello at the beginning of the 80s using one of the first samplers, the original version plays with elements which are typical of "exotica" such as sampled bird calls and forest sounds."

WHITE HORSE - "Argenis Brito turned me on to the track. When I found myself short of up-tempo tracks, and it occurred to me that the original 'White Horse' track by the Danish combo Laid Back would be perfect as a merengue song, I knew that I simply HAD to cover it. 'White Horse' is in fact a reference to cocaine ('If you wanna ride, don't ride the white horse...'), a substance which is very popular in the merengue scene and is without doubt responsible for the nervousness of this rhythm."

Let Sleeping Corpses Lie compiles studio and live recordings, video and “hidden gems” spanning 1985-1996.

By Blurt Staff

On Nov. 25, Geffen/UME will exhume White Zombie for the box set Let Sleeping Corpses Lie. The four-CD, one-DVD set will feature all 64 original studio recordings released by the band during its 1985-1996 career. The DVD will include nine music videos, 10 live performances, and some “hidden gems.” Among these latter items will be tracks from rare early EPs Gods on Voodoo Moon (only 300 of those were pressed), Pig Heaven (ltd. edition of 1,000), and Psycho-Head Blowout.

Main man Rob Zombie writes of the set on MySpace blog: “All I can say is boy the early shit is wacked. I haven't heard some of these songs in over twenty years. I don't know what the hell we were thinking.

“Everything is including on this set. Over 4 and 1/2 hours of music plus tons of never before seen videos. 5 discs in all.”

Meatier details:

Disc One… includes all of the tracks released on the New York City band’s own Silent Explosion label--the four songs on the 1985 Gods On Voodoo Moon EP, of which only 300 copies were pressed; the two songs on the 1986 Pig Heaven EP, which had only 1,000 made; and the seven on 1987’s Psycho-Head Blowout EP, which Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain called one of his favorite albums.

Disc Two encompasses White Zombie’s first two full-length albums, 1987’s Soul-Crusher, which began on Silent Explosion but was re-released by Caroline Records the following year, and 1989’s Make Them Die Slowly.