Afrobeat v. Petro-state: Album of the Year

End-of-the-year lists abound. Seun Kuti and Egypt 80, From Africa with Fury: Rise has staked a claim at the top of mine.

Video for the single, "Rise," is absolutely gripping:

We must rise up I say
We must rise up I say
We must rise up against the petroleum companies
We dey use our oil to destroy our land oh ho
We must rise against the diamond companies
Wey dey use our brothers as slave for the stone
We must rise against our African rulers
Wey be black man for face, white man for yansh
We must rise against companies like Mosanto and Halliburton
Wey dey use their food to make my people hungry

we have never been modern

Christ. People, this is not a revolution:

"This is the uprising of the working class. We're redistributing the wealth," said Bryn Phillips, 28, a self-described anarchist, as young people emerged from the store with chocolate bars and ice cream cones.

Also... Indie Labels Hit Hard in London Riots:

Stay safe, Londoners. Illegitimi non carborundum.

CDH Archives (Seasons 1-3) on Spotify

Hello, friends and music aficionados.

I'm excited to let you know that you can now access the CDH show archives online and listen to playlists from Seasons 1-3 on demand via Spotify.

I'll be moving playlists over there in several batches. Currently, there are six published playlists available. These can be heard (with a free Spotify account) 24/7 ON DEMAND. Right now, the playlists include only Xan's material, but I hope to get Joe on board quickly.

World Beat, Afrobeat, Punk Rock, Hip-Hop, Mash-Ups...

It's all there! Download the Spotify player and click the banner below to start listening.

Pieces of Gil: Remnants of the Poet/Philosopher

The way you get to know yourself is by the expressions on other people’s faces.

It's been several days since the news of Gil Scott-Heron's death, but no word yet on the official cause. Not hard to imagine what took down the crack-addicted, HIV-positive blues-ologist, but perhaps it's not fair to speculate.

I've been trawling for items related to GSH for the last few days. Here are a couple of the stronger picks:

"New York is Killing Me" (2010) by Alec Wilson. A long piece which appeared last summer in The New Yorker. GSH reminisces here about how he got his start, what he thinks about his place in hip-hop, and the place of crack-cocaine in his life. Well written and stirring.

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised (2004). A one-hour documentary which appeared on BBC4. Lots of gaps in the story, but also meaningful interviews with collaborators like Brian Jackson, disciples like Chuck D, Sarah Jones, and Mos Def, and long segments with GSH himself. The video popped up on Youtube over the weekend in four segments of roughly 15 minutes each.

Part 1 of 4 below.



Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

R.I.P. Gil Scott-Heron (1949-2011)

No Matter How Far Wrong You've Gone...

...you can always turn around. Rest in peace, Gil Scott-Heron (1949-2011).

On the Road with Black Flag - Documentary (1986)

The sound and the fury. Candy-ass retro bands take note: the 1980s were not what you think. No embed permission, so go ahead and click the link. One hour, one minute, and fifty-one seconds of punk-as-fuck life and art.

Dark Party: Why Hardcore Matters

At 55 years-old, with Black Flag and the Circle Jerks in his rear-view mirror, Keith Morris certainly has nothing left to prove. But, then, that's not really the point with folks like Morris, is it? It isn't about measuring up to some external standard, or seeing yourself in comparison to some other, earlier, version of yourself. That kind of living, it seems to me, can't resonate in any meaningful way with a punk ethos, where every moment is a trial, and you've got to be reborn in each moment (really, give birth to yourself), or you find yourself forcefully sucked down into a prison-house of intellectual and spiritual unfreedom.

Having nothing to prove and making music outside that whole paradigm is part of what makes Morris's latest project, OFF!, so friggin' good. On CDH, I've played multiple tracks from the First Four EPs collection, which came out in November 2010, including "Panic Attack", "Black Thoughts", and (this week) "Crawl". Soundcloud offers links to two others from the album, "Darkness" and "Upsidedown".

These are driving, tightly condensed hurricanes of hardcore virtuosity. It only takes one or two listens, and you're quickly made to see why so much of what passes for punk rock today is ridiculous by comparison.

I offer up these tracks to anyone who feels prematurely old, to the 30-somethings and 40-somethings (like me), who catch themselves complaining too often about their aches and pains and their stupid, insipid weltschemrz. These songs pull listeners into what OFF! guitarist Dimitri Coats has called the band's "dark party", and they remind us (at any age) about what hardcore means and why hardcore matters.

OFF! have live dates this month and hit the road again for more shows in June. You should catch them (if you can).

Paste Magazine interview (03/2011) with Keith Morris

Punknews.org interview with Keith Morris (05/2010)

OFF! lineup: Keith morris (vocals), Dimitri Coats (guitar), Steven McDonald (bass) and Mario Rubalcaba (drums).

Not convinced? Exhibit A-Z:

End to the Lies

Long time, no blog. That's on me. I aim to do better.

There's plenty to tell, actually, just very little time to sit at the computer and compose my thoughts. Here's a couple of morsels, though, to keep you nourished.

I've been poring over old Jane's Addiction videos this morning. It's been more than twenty years since Nothing's Shocking got passed my way (by the cousin of JA drummer, Stephen Perkins), and I find that album as compelling as ever. To see a band from the early alt-rock era firing on all pistons and witness what Henry Rollins once called called "the soul-expanding gift" (in his liner notes to 1997's compilation, Relapse) of a JA live perfromance, check out the video for "Ocean Size" (sorry, no embed available).

If it's new JA you want, you're in luck, bucko. A new album, The Great Escape Artist, is scheduled for release this summer.

Can't wait that long for a taste? Need a sneak peek (er, listen). Here's the first single, "End to the Lies."

Jane's Addiction - End to the Lies by paniko

CDH 3.3 - The Glory of Man

Here at the Civil Disobedience Hour, we are not the biggest fans of masturbatory accolades... however, hats off to Arcade Fire and indie label Merge for landing a top award amongst the usual soulless corporate manure. Similar props to Esperanza Spalding for dashing the hopes of a nation of 13 year old girls and 50 year old perverts.

While it may be upsetting to some, it is good to see some seriously good and creative musicians get some recognition.

We started off today's show with an early version of Arcade Fire's Intervention from an appearance on Morning Becomes Eclectic -- a show that has been running for over 30 years on KCRW, a Southern California public radio institution.

Another of today's tracks was 'Fula Fula' by Congolese group Konono N^o1. We applaud Konono's musicianship and DIY spirit. They appeared on KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic last summer:



Check out the playlist from today's show (2011-02-17)

Bouncing Cats

Something you might like to add to your movie queue...

Bouncing Cats (2010) is the story of one man’s attempt to create a better life for the children of Uganda using the tool of hip-hop with a focus on b-boy culture and breakdance.

From the film's official website:

In 2006, Abraham “Abramz” Tekya, a Ugandan b-boy and A.I.D.S. orphan created Breakdance Project Uganda (B.P.U.). The dream was to establish a free workshop that would empower, rehabilitate and heal the community by teaching youth about b-boy culture. Based in Kampala, Uganda, B.P.U. has recently expanded to include permanent classes in Gulu, Northern Uganda. Abramz teaches classes three times a week to more than 300 kids from all parts of the country. Many of the children are homeless, victims of war and poverty, and few can afford proper schooling yet they walk from miles away to attend the B.P.U. classes. As Abramz says, “This is where many people’s pride is. It’s a skill that no one can take away from us.”

BOUNCING CATS film trailer from nabil elderkin on Vimeo.

www.bouncingcats.com

The Indestructible Beat

Listeners to the show know that I pump a fair bit of Afrobeat into the weekly playlist. No better way to warm up the woofers. If you've tuned in during the past year, you will have heard tracks from Afrobeat stalwarts like Tony Allen, Femi Kuti, and Seun Kuti, and some stellar tracks from American Afrobeat outfits like Antibilas and Kokolo. I'm moved by this music for the same reasons that I'm attracted to punk rock. Both styles revolve tightly around the idea of liberation, and both touch something primal in my brain, either through the pure power of simple chord structures or through complex, poly-rhythmic beats and time signatures.

Readers of this blog may also remember that I recently served up a link to the Fela Kuti documentary, Music is the Weapon. Absolutely riveting stuff.

If you're keen to learn more about the history of Afrobeat, or you're looking for new insight into this style, you'll want to check out Joe Tangari's article from 2005 on "The Indestructible Beat" which Pitchfork wisely re-posted last year at this time. The article is stacked with the names of artists, labels, and websites that offer outstanding coverage of the world of Afrobeat. I'm certain that I'll spend weeks tracking down the leads which Tangari offers here. It's an outstanding window into an extraordinary world of music.

Especially good for web heads is the section of the article on "Surfing Afropop." Tangari has scoured the blogosphere to find a trove of sites which make it easy to sample the sounds of classic Afropop and Afrobeat. Be sure to check out Voice of America's African Beat, which showcases the best in African music from Benga to Juju, Hip Life to Bongo Flava, Afrobeat to Ndombolo, Bubu to Soukous and Makossa to Kwaito.

Don't know what those styles refer to? Click over there and start your education today!

CDH 3.1 - Egyptian Solidarity

The Civil Disobedience Hour hit the ground running and screaming today, leading off the hour with Egyptian hip-hop artist Ramy Donjewan and his song "ضد الحكومة" (Against the Government). The video starts off with footage of Mubarak saying (translated) "You want me to keep track of everything, c'mon - be real" (crowd laughter):



Special thanks to the fantastic blog AFRICA IS A COUNTRY for posting the video and providing an English translation of the lyrics. Show them some love and put their site into your daily rotation.

We stand in solidarity with the Egyptian people and support their acts of civil disobedience.

Check out the playlist from today's show (2011-02-03)

All Transmitters to Boost!

The Civil Disobedience Hour returns to the airwaves and internet for another glorious semester of punk rock and protest music. Same slot (Noon to 1:00 PM). New day (Thursdays)!

In and around the Chenango Valley - 90.1 FM - WRCU - Hamilton, NY (Colgate University).

Streaming live online: http://www.wrcufm.com.

Catch you there/then!

Late to the Party, Last to Know

The internet, of course, has vastly accelerated the news cycles and created a culture of (near-) instantaneous feedback and gratification.

Unfortunately, this hasn't helped me one bit when it comes to staying current on music. (Sign of incipient demise?) Despite the thick flow of choice packets up and down the information superhighway, I have a special way of remaining completely in the dark when it comes to the BIG NEWS on the music and culture front. No matter how many sites I click through, or how compulsive I am about checking the various "feeds" (what am I, livestock?) and blogs which interest me, there's always some golden nugget that eludes me until long after it ceases to be anything new. I'm like the guy who suddenly blurts out at the supermarket, "Hey, look!" Plastic bags!" Everybody knows, and nobody cares.

So anyway, here's a tidbit which completely eluded me from December 2009.

Jawbox, one of the all-time great bands out of Washington, DC, got back together, albeit briefly, for a charged performance on the Jimmy Fallon Show. The one-off gig was undertaken to coincide with the re-release of 1994's For Your Own Special Sweetheart, a transcendental document which I can't recommend strongly enough.

Some videos from the performance:

1. "Savory" (a song I played last fall on the Civil Disobedience Hour)


Jawbox - Savory (Late Night With Jimmy Fallon)
Uploaded by HightowerAndJones. - Music videos, artist interviews, concerts and more.

2. "FF=66"