Another World is Possible
Conversations in a Time of Terror
Jee Kim, et al editors www.newmouthfromthedirtysouth.com Cautionary
Statement: If all you care about is skating and you'd rather
be blissfully ignorant of the world at large, STOP READING THIS
RIGHT NOW. If you want to be more informed about the world around
us, read on.
I would venture a guess that I'm not alone in having mixed feelings
towards the current state of global affairs. On the one hand,
I'm thankful and grateful that the feelings of depression I
had that followed September 11th and the anthrax scare have
taken a back seat as our rather large corner of the world has
settled back into a blissfully protected ignorance. I didn't
vote for George W. Bush, but in some ways I think he has handled
himself, and by extension, our country, well in the last three
months. I would agree with most that Osama Bin Laden is an extremist
who needs to be stopped, but then I wonder how he became who
he is. And while, I'm thankful that the threat of the Al Qaeda
has been at least temporarily reduced, I question the cost in
terms of lives lost and families destroyed in Afghanistan. Is
my peace of mind worth the cost? In the weeks following Sept.
11th, the news media reported that America is done with triviality,
but I look around me and I think that many of us are doing our
best to "get back to normal," including our fascination
with trivial (and materialistic) pursuits. When I hear news
reports saying that 70-80% of the country supports Bush and
his war against the "evildoers," I wonder who those
people are when most of the people I talk to don't seem so sure
of themselves, as I don't. And most of all, I question the media-the
newspapers, CNN, and just about every mainstream news source.
Am I really getting the whole story, or am I getting only what
the government wants us to hear? How far will we go in securing
our safety? Will we trample the human rights of others as well
as our own civil rights?
More than anything else I've read, Another World presents an
authoritative and (as much as I can tell that any media source
is) well-researched alternative point of view.
Hastily, but thoroughly, put together by eight energetic and
motivated twenty-somethings in less than six weeks and published
by William "Upski" Wimsatt (Bomb The Suburbs and No
More Prisons) this is required reading for anybody who's not
sure of how they feel about our involvement and actions in the
global community. I believe in the freedoms and privileges of
the USA, and the principles and morals this country was founded
on, but I question Bush's statement "If you're not with
us, you're with them." Blind faith is not healthy, and
this country was founded on the principle of the people governed
by the people and holding their elected leaders up to the light.
Once I started reading this book, I couldn't put it down. The
collection of 53 interviews, essays and previously published
articles is grouped into six chapters. The first, Not In My
Name, includes a letter that two parents wrote to President
Bush about their son who was killed in the WTC. They ask that
he not use their son's death as an excuse for war. "It
makes us feel that our government is using our son's memory
as a justification to cause suffering for other sons and parents
in other lands," they wrote. One of the book's editors
lost his father in the WTC but is committed to a peaceful resolution
of conflicts. In the next chapter, Some That Matter, is an interview
with US Rep. Barbara Lee who cast the only opposing vote to
Bush's war resolution. The Blowback chapter includes a piece
on Ten Things to Know About U.S. Policy in the Middle East.
Some of the quotes from our past elected leaders are chilling
to say the least, and sadly offer me little comfort in thinking
this war on terrorism will be over in my lifetime or even the
next 50 years. Citing the many "small" skirmishes
the US has been involved in, but not counting Desert Storm or
Vietnam, Larry Mosqueda Ph.D. claims the US has killed 3 million
people since WWII. If this is true, it would help to explain
why there's a lot of anti-USA sentiment in the rest of the world.
In the Unnecessary Evils chapter our dependence on foreign oil
is questioned as the chapter opens with the quote from a recent
US President, "I will never apologize for the USA-I don't
care what the facts are." Who? Get the book and find out.
In the Collateral Damages chapter, John Conyers Jr., a ranking
member of the House Judiciary Committee asks for balance and
prudence in bringing the persons and parties responsible for
the WTC in his essay Liberty At Risk. If we trample our own
constitutional rights he argues that we'll slowly accomplish
what the terrorists could not by subversively destroying the
foundation of our democracy. He quotes Benjamin Franklin, ""They
that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
Finally in the last chapter, Where Do We Go From Here, the editors
assemble some voices calling for things anyone can do, both
big and small, to try and move towards a vision of another,
more peaceful world.
If anything I've said about this book has piqued your interest
or given you pause, please buy and read this book. It's $12.00
but if you buy 10 or more copies (to give your friends) they're
$6.00 each direct from the publisher at www.newmouthfromthedirtysouth.com.
-JB
Our Band Could Be Your Life Scenes from the American Indie Underground 1981-1991
By Michael Azerrad
Little-Brown At
first glance, I thought this book was a re-hash of Gina Arnold's
excellent book Route 666: On The Road To Nirvana which Azerrad
quotes in the first sentence of his book. A glance at the table
of contents which simply lists the 13 bands (Black Flag, The
Minutemen, Mission of Burma, Minor Threat, Hüsker Dü,
The Replacements, Sonic Youth, Butthole Surfers, Big Black,
Dinosaur Jr., Fugazi, Mudhoney and Beat Happening) led me to
think that these were just fleshed out magazine articles that
Azerrad had previously written, which is how Arnold's book was
mostly put together. This was a mistake however; although both
books chronicle the same time frame and pretty much the same
bands, Azerrad's is clearly more definitive, well-researched
and has more continuity, reading more like a book. Although
it seems a bit scholarly at times and lacks some of the passion
and enthusiasm that Arnold has, it is a fascinating read and
peek into an exciting and definitive time for music. The 13
bands are carefully chosen for not only being independent (which
is why bands like R.E.M. and Nirvana were excluded) but for
how they helped to shape and influence the American independent
music scene from it's beginnings with Black Flag when there
was no scene to speak of. Right up front, Azerrad claims that
he isn't going to talk about the music, only the people involved
but the nice bonus is that he does talk about the music in a
clear and succinct way that will make you want to go out and
find most of the music you're missing from these bands. Even
if you think you know a lot about these bands and time period
(I did), this book will school you and has tons of interesting
revelations. For instance, did you know that Raymond Pettibon
was Greg Ginn's brother or that Steve Albini used to write a
column for the zine Matter? Maybe you did or maybe you don't
even care, but if you're interested in why the music scene seems
so crappy right now or why you still like a bunch of your older
CDs from these bands, you should read this book. -JB
Best Music Writing 2001
Edited by Nick Hornby
Da Capo If
you feel that the general level of music writing has dropped
a bit from the glory days of Lester Bangs and Richard Meltzer
with most mags focusing on who Kid Rock's sleeping with (That'd
be Pamela Anderson if you care) then you should check this book
out. Editor Hornby (High Fidelity) wrote the introduction and
selected the 27 pieces included in the book which range from
Greil Marcus writing about Sleater-Kinney in the New York Times
to Francine Davis on Billie Holiday in the Atlantic Monthly.
The book opens with the funny Rock Snobs Dictionary from Vanity
Fair, Richard Meltzer calls Cameron Crowe a Spud and compares
Almost Famous to a bad episode of Happy Days, while N.R. Kleinfield's
excellent Guarding the Borders of the Hip-Hop Nation asks the
question of how hip-hop will retain it's roots and street-level
credibility as it's co-opted by the mainstream. Eminem is featured
in a piece as are Neil Young, the Go Betweens, Johnny Cash,
Django Reinhardt and Napster. I also picked up the 2000 edition
at a used book store and it's equally good. The sources vary
from mainstream (Spin, Rolling Stone) to alternative (Punk Planet,
No Depression) to authoritative (NY Times, Oxford American).
If you like good music and good writing about music, you'll
love this book and this series. -JB
100 Essential CDs Series
The Rough Guides So
you're just getting into jazz but you don't know what CDs to
checkout? Then get this little book. Each book in the series
reviews 100 essential CDs in each genre as well as making additional
suggestions and pointers. They're only $5.00 each so it'll probably
save you that real quick in avoiding bunk discs. My only minor
complaint is that the 100 CDs are listed in alphabetical order.
I would have liked to see them rated (albeit almost an impossible
job) in terms of how essential each CD is. Surely Miles' Kind
Of Blue is more essential than say Weather Report's Heavy Weather,
but is Blue number one? Or, would that go to a disc by Louie
Armstrong, Duke Ellington or Coltrane. Maybe I've been watching
too many VH-1 countdowns after all. The series also has books
on Country, Rock, Blues, Classical, Latin, Opera, Reggae, Soul
and World. -JB
Cautionary
Statement: If all you care about is skating and you'd rather
be blissfully ignorant of the world at large, STOP READING THIS
RIGHT NOW. If you want to be more informed about the world around
us, read on. 
At
first glance, I thought this book was a re-hash of Gina Arnold's
excellent book Route 666: On The Road To Nirvana which Azerrad
quotes in the first sentence of his book. A glance at the table
of contents which simply lists the 13 bands (Black Flag, The
Minutemen, Mission of Burma, Minor Threat, Hüsker Dü,
The Replacements, Sonic Youth, Butthole Surfers, Big Black,
Dinosaur Jr., Fugazi, Mudhoney and Beat Happening) led me to
think that these were just fleshed out magazine articles that
Azerrad had previously written, which is how Arnold's book was
mostly put together. This was a mistake however; although both
books chronicle the same time frame and pretty much the same
bands, Azerrad's is clearly more definitive, well-researched
and has more continuity, reading more like a book. Although
it seems a bit scholarly at times and lacks some of the passion
and enthusiasm that Arnold has, it is a fascinating read and
peek into an exciting and definitive time for music. The 13
bands are carefully chosen for not only being independent (which
is why bands like R.E.M. and Nirvana were excluded) but for
how they helped to shape and influence the American independent
music scene from it's beginnings with Black Flag when there
was no scene to speak of. Right up front, Azerrad claims that
he isn't going to talk about the music, only the people involved
but the nice bonus is that he does talk about the music in a
clear and succinct way that will make you want to go out and
find most of the music you're missing from these bands. Even
if you think you know a lot about these bands and time period
(I did), this book will school you and has tons of interesting
revelations. For instance, did you know that Raymond Pettibon
was Greg Ginn's brother or that Steve Albini used to write a
column for the zine Matter? Maybe you did or maybe you don't
even care, but if you're interested in why the music scene seems
so crappy right now or why you still like a bunch of your older
CDs from these bands, you should read this book. -JB
If
you feel that the general level of music writing has dropped
a bit from the glory days of Lester Bangs and Richard Meltzer
with most mags focusing on who Kid Rock's sleeping with (That'd
be Pamela Anderson if you care) then you should check this book
out. Editor Hornby (High Fidelity) wrote the introduction and
selected the 27 pieces included in the book which range from
Greil Marcus writing about Sleater-Kinney in the New York Times
to Francine Davis on Billie Holiday in the Atlantic Monthly.
The book opens with the funny Rock Snobs Dictionary from Vanity
Fair, Richard Meltzer calls Cameron Crowe a Spud and compares
Almost Famous to a bad episode of Happy Days, while N.R. Kleinfield's
excellent Guarding the Borders of the Hip-Hop Nation asks the
question of how hip-hop will retain it's roots and street-level
credibility as it's co-opted by the mainstream. Eminem is featured
in a piece as are Neil Young, the Go Betweens, Johnny Cash,
Django Reinhardt and Napster. I also picked up the 2000 edition
at a used book store and it's equally good. The sources vary
from mainstream (Spin, Rolling Stone) to alternative (Punk Planet,
No Depression) to authoritative (NY Times, Oxford American).
If you like good music and good writing about music, you'll
love this book and this series. -JB
So
you're just getting into jazz but you don't know what CDs to
checkout? Then get this little book. Each book in the series
reviews 100 essential CDs in each genre as well as making additional
suggestions and pointers. They're only $5.00 each so it'll probably
save you that real quick in avoiding bunk discs. My only minor
complaint is that the 100 CDs are listed in alphabetical order.
I would have liked to see them rated (albeit almost an impossible
job) in terms of how essential each CD is. Surely Miles' Kind
Of Blue is more essential than say Weather Report's Heavy Weather,
but is Blue number one? Or, would that go to a disc by Louie
Armstrong, Duke Ellington or Coltrane. Maybe I've been watching
too many VH-1 countdowns after all. The series also has books
on Country, Rock, Blues, Classical, Latin, Opera, Reggae, Soul
and World. -JB