Ryan Bingham

"the legitimate heir to the hard traveling deep knowing likes of Woody Guthrie and Hank Williams"
-Terry Allen on Ryan Bingham

Living on his own since his mid-teens, Ryan Bingham decided to hang up his bull-riding life on the rodeo circuit for a career in music. The result is a rising star who won an Oscar this year for his song "The Weary Kind" from the film Crazy Heart.

Bingham's third major label release Junky Star was released today on Lost Highway Records. While I haven't heard the album in its entirety, I did happen to catch Bingham last night on David Letterman singing a song from the new album and it is absolutely amazing. I love this guy!

Wavves

It's one thing to make a great low-budget video, but it's quite another when the song for that particular video is really good and gets stuck in your head. The band Wavves have achieved a coup with their song/video entitled "Post Acid."

Pat Tillman

Pat Tillman was a professional football player for the Arizona Cardinals when the World Trade Center Towers fell on 9/11. Profoundly affected by the events of that day, Tillman finished out the season and enlisted in the Army in May of 2002, thus walking away from his $3.6 million contract to enlist in the Army. He would become the most well-known active soldier in the military and the Bush administration often invoked his name to promote the war on terror.

Two years later, Tillman was killed in Afghanistan as the result of friendly fire, but that information was withheld in order to spin a more heroic tale for the media to latch on to. As that story began to unravel and the Tillman family's demand for answers grew louder, a disturbing cover-up would come to light with many unanswered questions that have yet to be resolved to this day.

Yet the cover-up is only one facet of this whole story; the second one being Pat Tillman himself. In Jon Krakauer's excellent book Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey Of Pat Tillman, Krakauer describes, in the wake of Tillman's death, the misguided attempts to define who he really was:

Unencumbered by biographical insight, people felt emboldened to invent all manner of personae for Tillman after his passing. Most of these renderings were based on little more than rumor and fantasy. The right-wing harridan Ann Coulter claimed him as an exlemplar of Republican political values. The left-wing editorial cartoonist Ted Rall denigrated him in a four-panel comic strip as an "idiot" who joined the Army to "kill Arabs."

A documentary film about the Tillman affair -The Tillman Story- was released last week will be released this coming Friday, September 3; and where government misconduct shouldn't be a surprise to anyone, to those unfamiliar with Pat Tillman, his extraordinary life certainly will be.

Soul Train

I know it's hard to think about Christmas in the midst of another brutal summer, but it is right around the corner and if you really want to get that music geek in your life a special gift, look no further than the August 31 release of "The Best of Soul Train" 3-DVD boxed set.

Soul Train ran from 1971 to 2006 and it was, in my opinion, the greatest musical television show in history. When I was a kid, at the conclusion of my Saturday morning buffet of cartoons, I would stare at the tv transfixed by this show, hosted by the smooth baritone-voice of Don Cornelius, that showcased some of the best musical artists of the time as well as dance moves that were beyond compare. Occasionally, there were even attempts by yours truly to mimic the dance moves with about as much success as a whale has in the desert.

If you are otherwise unfamiliar with Soul Train, indulge yourself with a ride on the "hippest trip in America."

Francis Bean Cobain

Francis Bean Cobain(aka Fiddle Tim) recently had a showing of her art at La Luz de Jesus Gallery in Los Angeles entitled "Scumfuck." When Interview asked what her mother thinks of her art, Cobain replied "That's like me asking, 'What does your mom think of your interview questions.' It's irrelevant to the work." Being that this is the first time I've heard her opinions or viewed her creative output, I must say that I am very impressed on both counts.

Greg Mortenson

I spend a great deal of time criticizing President Obama for turning his back on the reconciliation towards the Muslim world that was such a big part of his platform while he was still a candidate running for office. His support of the controversial mosque two blocks away from Ground Zero, however, is deserving of praise given that a recent poll shows that 71% of Americans are against it. He could have jumped on the bandwagon and exploited it for political gain the way so many other politicians are doing, yet he chose to rise above the madness that is gripping our country on this issue.

And while so many people continue to lump Islam and terrorism in the same category, the biggest threat for most Muslims continues to be terrorism by a small minority of Muslims who pervert the religion for their own gain.

Greg Mortenson is an American humanitarian who builds schools for girls in Afghanistan and Pakistan often in very dangerous areas. There's a lot to be learned from Mortenson in regards to moderate Islam and the more fanatical elements. His work is very important and if anyone is deserving of the Nobel Peace Prize, it's this guy.

I try to write and post videos based on my short attention span - the shorter the better, I say. The video below, however, is pretty long, but I highly recommend it if this topic interests you in any way.

Restrepo

Restrepo is not an anti-war film or a pro-war film, nor does it have liberal or conservative leanings. It is simply a documentary about what life is like, day in and day out, for a group of U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan. Directed by Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger, Restrepo is about as close up as close up can be and, at times, every bit as intense as Saving Private Ryan.

Curren$y

There's very little in the rap world that really impresses me these days. I unfairly compare all rappers to 2Pac so, in my mind, they all pretty much fall short of my expectations. There's a rapper, however, out of New Orleans by the name of Curren$y whose latest album Pilot Talk is pretty amazing. The background music and beats create a very smooth and breezy atmosphere that works really well with Curren$y's flow.

The Mosque

"The Ground Zero mosque is all about conquest and thus an assertion of Islamist triumphalism which we should not tolerate. It is simply grotesque to erect a mosque at the site of the most visible and powerful symbol of the horrible consequences of radical Islamist ideology."
-Newt Gingrich

The proposed building of a mosque two blocks away from ground zero in New York City is creating a controversy that highlights the paranoia that many in this country refuse to let go of. There are approximately 1 billion muslims in the world today and the group responsible for these attacks - al-qaida - represents way less than 1% of the total muslim population. It's the equivalent of refusing the construction of catholic churches around the site of the Oklahoma City federal building that was bombed in 1995 because the perpetrator - Timothy McVeigh - was a catholic. There are 800,000 muslims living in New York City. How many of those have carried out attacks on New York so far? Would it kill anyone to educate themselves about topics that affect our world rather than cave-in to this anti-muslim paranoia witch hunt that is suffocating civil debate?

Blaze Foley

With the likes of Roky Erickson, Willie Nelson, Daniel Johnston, Townes Van Zandt, etc., I doubt that there is a city with more per capita "oddballs" strewn out across its musical highway than Austin, Texas. And, yet, one of this town's biggest oddballs - Blaze Foley - is also, oddly enough, its most obscure one.

Perpetually homeless, sometimes sleeping under pool tables in bars, Foley was shot and killed in Austin in 1989 while allegedly trying to defend his friend Concho January from Concho's own son.

His songs have been covered by Merle Haggard and John Prine while Lucinda Williams and Townes Van Zandt have each written songs about him.

Earlier this month, Fat Possum Records released Blaze Foley: The Dawg Years and it is an excellent compilation of Foley's unique folk blues.

The Fog of Racial Paranoia

"From now on, the Republicans are never going to get more than 10 to 20 percent of the Negro vote and they don't need any more than that. The more Negroes who register as Democrats in the South, the sooner the Negrophobe whites will quit the Democrats and become Republicans. That's where the votes are."
-Kevin Phillips(political strategist to Richard Nixon)

The above quote came from a 1970 interview in the New York Times and, yet, 40 years later, the far right wing elements of the Republican Party are still utilizing this tactic in its attempt to paint President Obama and anyone associated with him as a racist to discredit his presidency.

Their latest target is Agricultural Department official, Shirley Sherrod, who is being reviled as a racist after this video was posted by the conservative website biggovernment.com -


What the video failed to mention was that she was recounting a story that took place some 24 years ago regarding a moral crossroads she had come to in regards to her own racial views. Instead, the video was edited to make it look like this was an official from the Obama administration who wasn't going to help out "whitey" when in fact, the white farmer in question, Roger Spooner, came out today in defense of Sherrod and said that he would have lost his farm without her help.

The repeated charges of racism against Obama are laughable. Look at this guy's Cabinet for chrissakes:


racism |ˈrāˌsizəm|
noun
the belief that all members of each race possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, esp. so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races.

As ridiculous as the racism charges are against Obama, it's even more ridiculous considering that these charges are often coming from the most racially insensitive people you have ever seen(Rush Limbaugh, Fox News, etc.). It's absolutely comical. And I'm not saying the Republican Party as a whole is racist, but it is absolutely, 100% guilty of pandering to racist elements in order to win elections.

And, yet, the worse thing to come out of this nonsense is the fact that Sherrod was fired and Obama claims he had nothing to do with it. Whether you believe him or not, and I don't, he has all the power in the world to not only reinstate her, but to issue her an apology for rushing to judgement.

Inception

Director Christopher Nolan's Inception is a frustratingly brilliant film. At a length of 2 hours and 40 minutes, it surprisingly held my attention which is nothing short of miraculous considering my attention span. This film, however, is like a puzzle with a million pieces. I know it works. I'm just not sure I'm going to figure out exactly how it works after a second viewing and I'm quite sure I don't have the patience for a go at it after that. Having said that, I still highly encourage you to go see this film. I'm absolutely confident that there are many of you out there who will be far better at sifting through the many, many layers of this film than I was.

Merle Haggard

One of the most important country music recordings in history is Johnny Cash's live performance at San Quentin prison entitled At San Quentin. The recording was one of many shows he did there. Several years after a 1959 concert performed at San Quentin, country music legend, Merle Haggard, told Cash that he enjoyed that particular show. When Cash replied that he didn't remember him being on the lineup that day, Merle responded simply that he was in the audience as a prisoner that day.

While Johnny Cash was romanticizing the outlaw lifestyle in his songs, Merle Haggard was living it. And while Hollywood was tripping over itself to bring Cash's life story to the big screen, Haggard's is a far more complex and compelling tale and one that should be told. Hopefully, Merle will get his due someday.

For the time being, though, PBS will premiere: Merle Haggard: Learning to Live with Myself this Wednesday, July 21 at 8pm(CST). For those of you who are otherwise unfamiliar with Haggard, and even those who consider themselves fans, I highly recommend you watch this documentary on Wednesday.

Lightning Bolt

Last weekend, I finally got to see one of my favorite bands - Lightning Bolt - thoroughly redeeming myself from their last stop in Austin.

Three years ago, they played at Emo's. It was a ticketless show. I had to make a sudden trip to Louisiana and returned the night of the show, speeding like a mad man in hopes of making it on time, which I did, but to a sold out show. I was utterly deflated, which led me to Plan B - I tried to sneak in through a gate in the back and was instantly thrown out by a really large man who wasn't in the best of moods.

Looking back on it now, I realize that it just wasn't meant to be for me to see Lightning Bolt that night. In addition to the misguided ticketless show idea, they also performed a stageless show(which they are known for) in the middle of the crowd. This is a good idea for a house party, but not the best of ideas for a concert venue as the only people who can really see the show are those who are in the immediate circle surrounding the band.

Last Saturday night's show at Mohawks was far different. I had a ticket in hand and the band finally decided to utilize a stage much to my delight. Lightning Bolt's sound can be best described as an all-out sonic assault to the ears fueled by bassist Brian Gibson and my absolute favorite drummer in the world - Brain Chippendale. Excellent show!

Books and Foals

The Books are an experimental two-piece band formed in New York City in 1999. Their sound is basically strings, often distorted, mixed with random audio clips. Nothing else really sounds like them. Their debut album Thought for Food was released in 2002, but the first album I heard was its 2003 follow up The Lemon of Pink and it still remains one of my favorite albums to this day. The Books sound, however, doesn't really differ from one album to the next with the exception of their latest album The Way Out which is funkier and more upbeat and their best album since The Lemon of Pink.

Another album that has really been growing on me lately is Total Life Forever by the English 5-piece band Foals. I can't put my finger on who or what they sound like, but I like it nonetheless.

The Rolling Stone Bombshell

What many may see as a stupid move on General Stanley McChrystal's part regarding his comments to Rolling Stone magazine in which he degrades the Obama administration, I see as a calculated attempt to get the hell out of a dead end situation in Afghanistan. McChrystal can't possibly be so misguided as to think that hanging out with a Rolling Stone reporter for a lengthy period of time while talking shit about his boss - the President of the United States - will be "off the record." Not surprisingly, McChrystal was fired today and I can't help but think that he has to be relieved.

The timeline that Obama has set for leaving Afghanistan is July of 2011. We are not currently winning this war and things are not going to drastically change for the better in the span of a year. This timeline is foolish. McChrystal knows this timeline is foolish. General David Petraeus, who has replaced McChrystal, certainly has to believe that this timeline is foolish. When outrage ensued over Afghan president Hamid Karzai's threat to join the Taliban, you need to realize that Afghanis won't have much choice once U.S. troops pull out. If you are trying to win the "hearts and minds" of the Afghan population, this timeline is not only a noose around their loyalties to American forces, but a death sentence as well.

The silver lining in all of this is that Petraeus is Obama's last realistic option in Afghanistan which will hopefully give him leverage. Petraeus understands Afghanistan and Middle East issues just as well if not better, in my opinion, than McChrystal. In March, Patraeus said that the perception of U.S. favoritism towards Israel was becoming a liability for the advancement of our interests abroad. An obvious statement, but one that is rarely uttered from such a high ranking military official. Needless to say, I like Petraeus.

I don't blame McChrystal for saying the things he said about Obama given the situation in Afghanistan. Hopefully, this will be a wakeup call for an administration that is quickly unraveling while justifiably being perceived by the public as disengaged and elitist.

Baby Snakes and Bruce Bickford

Baby Snakes is a film documenting Frank Zappa's 1977 Halloween concert at New York City's Palladium Theater. I saw it for the first time the other night and, even though I like Zappa, this documentary clocked in at just under 3 hours which made me want to punch my television set. It was way too long and I could care less about backstage hijinks. It did, however, make me realize two things that I'm very thankful for: 1)Frank Zappa is an amazing guitarist, which is even more frustrating considering he plays it all of ten minutes throughout the entire film; and 2)the most wonderful thing about this whole documentary is, hands down, the spotlight it shines on artist Bruce Bickford. My anger at the length of this film was tempered by the need to find out more about Bickford, which led me to a 2004 documentary film about his life entitled Monster Road.

Egos are quite a pet peeve of mine and there couldn't be a bigger gulf in egos as there is between watching Zappa's in Baby Snakes and Bickford's lack of one in Monster Road. I would argue that Bickford is one of the most important visual artists of our lifetime and yet, as the film points out, the guy can't find work. You would think that some current musical artist would seek him out to do a video but, then again, what else should you expect? The non-egotistical of the world don't exactly market themselves very well because, well, they don't have an ego.

Russell Brand

"My life is a series of embarrassing incidents strung together by telling people about those embarrassing incidents."
-Russell Brand

I've never seen Forgetting Sarah Marshall nor have I seen Russell Brand's latest movie Get Him To The Greek. I bought Russell Brand In New York City on dvd and was a bit disappointed, yet every time I see this guy as a guest on late night talk shows, he absolutely shines. The guy intrigues me so much that I purchased his latest book "My Booky Wook: A Memoir of Sex, Drugs, and Stand-Up."

If you're looking for high comedy, this isn't the book for you. Reading "My Booky Wook" is what I imagine a priest feels like in a confessional booth upon hearing the most lurid tales of debauchery he has come across. Russell Brand is a man of many vices, and while most people would bristle at the thought of airing their own personal dirty laundry, Brand not only airs his, but he dissects it as well in a very impressive manner. Jail; drug rehab; sex addiction rehab; mental issues - Mr. Brand has his demons and, yet, he makes light of them at his own expense while holding a mirror to society's own hypocrisies.

Russell Brand has all the potential in the world to become the next Lenny Bruce. Whether he will or not remains to be seen, but I really like this guy and I highly recommend this book.

Ariel Pink

Ariel Pink's latest album Before Today has been getting great reviews which is completely confusing to me because his previous work pretty much got overlooked. Pitchfork.com gave Before Today a 9.0 rating while giving his far better 2004 album The Doldrums a 5.0 rating.

And that's the trouble with The Doldrums, and the reasoning behind this conflicted rating. The album is not so much Ariel Pink's creation as it is Ariel Pink himself, a real-time observation of his brain synapses at work. His nerves are either firing at Einstein levels or misfiring like harlequin babies, and in fairness, I'm hardly the staff brain surgeon.

-Nick Sylvester, October 25, 2004

This isn't a knock against Ariel Pink so much as it is a knock against critics who find his latest album more appealing. Before Today is The Doldrums lite. I'm happy for Ariel Pink in that critics are finally giving him his due, but if you fell in love with The Doldrums first, I can't imagine that you are blown away by this album because I'm not. Anyone who thinks this new album is his best, I must challenge you to a duel.

The Terrorist State of Israel

The flotilla of ships carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza that is being talked about in the above video didn't make it to its intended destination because the Israeli Navy attacked the ships this morning killing 19 people.* We're not talking about nineteen combatants in war or terrorists - the Israeli military killed nineteen humanitarian aid workers in international waters, no less. World condemnation of Israel has been swift. Of course, President Obama's response has been predictably cautious. Yet when it comes to the defense of Israel, Obama is anything but cautious as he successfully lobbied Congress recently to give Israel 205 million dollars to build a missile defense system. We're not talking about a poor country here. Israel is a developed nation - let them build their own fucking defense system. Meanwhile, Obama can't issue one word in support of humanitarian aid for Palestinians who are desperately poor??? What a fucking joke this administration is.
*Right now, the death toll is at 10. I've seen various figures on the casualties. Nineteen, however, is not a definitive number yet.