- Telegraphing the Tension Through the Title (10/17/2005) - The tension between solo work and band work is sometimes palpable, as is the resentment of the post-breakup competition. Sometimes it's laid right out in the album title. Here are my five favorite pissed-off, post (or pre)-breakup album titles. Or at least, the first five that occurred to me while writing this. 5. Bach's Bottom by Alex Chilton. The mercurial lead singer of Big Star has had some pretty confounding output as a solo artist.… …
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- Extra! Extra! The Socialist Is Online! (10/9/2005) - After much ado, the complete September-October issue of "The Socialist" is finally available online. The United States Postal Service has apparently revamped its bulk mail rules which has resulted in an extremely disappointing delay in this issue getting our readers' hands all ink-stained and sloppy. When this issue went to press, back in late August, articles like B. Guise's expose of Bush's ExxonMobil connection and Barbara Garson's skewering of Paul Wolfowitz were poppin fresh and… …
- Sell Out! (10/5/2005) - I miss the days of "selling out" in rock and roll. It's hard to fathom the purist fury that fans once generated over "plugging in" or signing to a major label. These days, not only does the clearest act of selling out - licensing music for teevee commercials and even performing in such commercials - not generate controversy, it is rewarded by higher sales! The once-underground techno star Moby became famous by licensing all of… …
- More Turkeys (10/4/2005) - I got a check for $400 from Mike Bloomberg yesterday. He's so thoughtful! It came right in the nick of time, too: all those start of the month bills were piling up. What timing. What timing, indeed. The general election is one month away, and it's not like that good-for-nothing Freedy Ferrer can afford to cut a check that fat for every voter. However, unlike last year's property tax rebate, this check wasn't signed by… …
- Happy New Year (10/3/2005) - I was standing outside a "seaside resort" in Long Beach this morning. I don't believe that it's actually a resort anymore; just a home for seniors. And so I stood outside in the early morning hours, doing what I do. A nice old lady came out and proceeded to the red bus stop bench in front, but stopped when she large puddles of heavy morning condensation all over the bench. "I have a rag in… …
- Citizen Roe (10/2/2005) - In another lifetime, Norma McCorvey was the anonymous Jane Roe who allowed herself to be used by the pro-choice movement as the plaintiff in the case that established the constitutional right to privacy and abortion, Roe vs. Wade. In the intervening years, the radical right violated her right to privacy, tracked Ms. McCorvey down and exploited her own ambivalence over her personal tragedy and its use in national policy debate. They turned Jane Roe into… …
- An Observation About Rockville Centre (10/1/2005) - Rockville Centre is, I believe, one of the "Five Towns" on Long Island. I'm not exactly sure what the other four towns are, except that one is Valley Stream, and that they all focus around shopping malls, the Long Island Rail Road and a shitty college. Actually, I'm pretty sure at this point that Rockville Centre is not a town at all, but an incorporated village. Nassau county has lots of incorporated villages. I'm not… …
- Twenty Days Left to Make History in Brooklyn (10/1/2005) - A message from Gloria Mattera, Green Party candidate for Brooklyn Borough President. With just 5 weeks to go before election day on November 8, our campaign is having a real impact. We've brought Cindy Sheehan to Brooklyn and had her speak in front of 500 cheering supporters; today (Oct. 1) we protested outside Chuck E. Cheese's on Flatbush Avenue for its showing of Department of Defense videotape to small children, and last week I had… …
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- New Wal-Mart No Way TV Commercial (9/26/2005) - Wal-Mart No Way's ad is now on the air. The ad, "The Real Costs of Wal-Mart," is airing on NY1, but you can view it here. And be sure to call Mayor Mike at 311 to say Wal-Mart No Way! …
- The Whole World Should Be Watching (9/25/2005) - Over a quarter of a million people filled the streets of Washington yesterday to protest the war in Iraq and the Bush regime, but our nation's corporate media has given the event scant coverage. The demonstration itself, with a large turnout from labor, was broad and impressive. There is much debate in the anti-war movement about the value of these large mobilizations. The side that I am on argues that these are the most visible… …