journalism

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We are pleased to announce that our latest film 'LAST NIGHT IN EDINBURGH' has been nominated for 2 BAFTA NEW TALENT awards for Best Drama and Best Actress. Congratulations to the nominees. Please visit our website for more details www.LNEfilm.com

This Song Is Our Song

At first glance it might seem just another innocuous, sanitized link in this year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. An gray-haired Wilford Brimley-looking character singing a pop-ified folk song on a massive float of cornucopias sponsored by Ocean Spray.

Memo to Kanye: No Olive Branch For Dubya

Kanye West has spent the better part of the last year attempting to rehabilitate his image. Ever since the interruption heard round the world at last year’s MTV Video Music Awards, the once-seemingly-untouchable rapper has faced an uphill battle in restoring his cred.

A Fight for an Orchestra's Future test

Detroit. The one-time home of John Lee Hooker, of Berry Gordy, the Supremes and Hitsville USA. The industrial mecca that helped give rise to the MC5, P-Funk and house music. Seminal hip-hop groups like Slum Village have emerged from the city, and Eminem’s continued connections merely cement the link.

A Song Silenced By Hate

By all accounts, Tyler Clementi was a talented musician and a gifted young man. It seems impossible to even Google his name without coming across pictures of him with his violin under his chin, that focused-yet-tranquil look on his face of someone who gains great contentment from his art.

He hadn’t yet declared a major at Rutgers--it was, after all, only his first semester--but his audition for the university’s symphony orchestra had its director, Kynan Johns, wondering why Clementi didn’t simply declare as a music major.

“He played very well, and that qualified him for private lessons,” said Johns. “I informed him of it on the day he apparently did what he did...”

A Chronicler of People's Songs

No two ways about it: if you listen to American music, then your life has been affected by Irwin Silber. He wasn’t a musician or artist. There are few, if any, recordings of “his” songs to be heard. Silber’s place was as a journalist and publisher. But no fewer than two generations of folk musicians knew his name.

The Kanye Controversy One Year On

Imagine, if you will, what it would be like to conduct a survey of musical tastes among members of the Tea Party. Granted, the Tea Party is far from a monolithic organization with registered membership--even with the millions of corporate bucks that keep the “movement” afloat. Still, given what we know of this crowd it would be a safe bet that certain trends would be clear.

A Decent Party

With a combined four decades in the biz and a prolific output on both ends, Tom Morello and Boots Riley must be two of the most seasoned revolutionaries in music today. So it speaks volumes that while their second release as Street Sweeper Social Club isn't their best (as a group or individuals) it's still an engaging piece of work. 

Been Caught Stealing... Our Money and Our Rights

The signs are unmistakable as you walk through downtown.  In fact, the closer you get to the lake, the more they slap you in the face.  The cold, gray chain-link fences, the almost Orwellian jumbo-trons, an absurd police presence--even for Chicago--all underpinned by the giant blue and orange sign reading “Lollapalooza.”

Shut the [expletive] Up

Dear Elton,

First of all, I hope you don’t mind that I refuse to call you “Sir.” Knights swing swords and ride horses. You play a piano.

And nobody can really deny that you play that piano well. You are about as close as one can get to being a living musical legend. “Benny and the Jets.” “Crocodile Rock.” “Levon.” “Rocket Man”. Great stuff.

But I have to say: I only admit that begrudgingly. Over the past few months you have managed to severely piss me off. And I’m not alone. In fact, it’s safe to say that you’ve pissed off thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of people who are engaged in a whole spectrum of movements for justice and equality.

It's Nothing New...

It was 1980. The ‘60s were definitely over. Then-president Jimmy Carter had spent the past few years deregulating everything but the kitchen sink. With Ronald Reagan about to win the White House, the sink was now on notice. An era of unchecked corporate power was on the rise.

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