P.O.S. has saved hip hop.
I haven’t been this excited and energized about a hip-hop album since Shadows On The Sun by Brother Ali came out in 2003.
P.O.S.: Never Better — The Best Hip-Hop Album of 2009
Weekly Burlesque: Elvira, Mistress of the Dark
The 20-year anniversary of the movie Elvira: Mistress of the Dark was just celebrated in Los Angeles with host Peaches Christ, who also hosted at Tease-O-Rama last year.
Punk: No One Is Innocent
Punk: No One Is Innocent
by Thomas Mießgang, Wolfgang Müller, Glenn O’Brien and Jon Savage
(Verlag fur moderne Kunst Nurnberg), Paperback, 250 pages, $60
Published in conjunction with last year’s exhibition at Kunsthalle Wien (read a review of the exhibition here), Punk: No One Is Innocent focuses on the 1970s punk scene in New York, London, and Berlin and its influence on the art scene.
This book joins the ranks of countless other art exhibitions / expensive catalogs organized in the last twenty years that discuss the exact same subject yet adds insult to injury by using a Sex Pistols song title as its name. Oh, you’re so fucking clever.
Enough already.
The 10 Worst Musical Moments of Super Bowl XLIII
Every year, we’re treated to fossils of rock and roll providing halftime entertainment that appeals to the most common denominator. Naturally, most of it is excruciating to independent music fans. Here’s a list of awful moments from this year’s big game (in chronological order).
Weekly Music News Roundup
Announcements are made for new albums from Irepress, Karl Sanders, Black Moth Super Rainbow, and Staff Benda Bilili — a group of paraplegic Congolese street musicians.
Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey releases its new studio album for free; Secret Chiefs 3 announces a concert DVD; Les Claypool announces an outstanding mini festival that will be in a town near you. This and more after the jump.
DIY Venue Spotlight: Universe City
Universe City is Norman, Oklahoma’s progressive oasis, offering an art studio stocked with supplies, bi-monthly open mic nights, and poetry readings for anyone needing to express him/herself.
There is also a library, free school, and an art gallery open to anyone wanting to learn or be inspired. There is no cover for shows, but donations are welcome and are given to the bands.
What We’re Seeing Saturday: The Quin Kirchner Group
Featuring members of NOMO, Silences (Sumire), Zing! and Eastern Blok, this newly formed improvisational outfit features four young standouts in Chicago’s jazz, rock, and electronic scenes, relying less on freeform contrast and more on repeated melodies and apparent sections.
What We’re Seeing Friday: Patti Smith: Dream of Life, The Alaya Conscious
Our plans for Friday involve the impressionistic Patti Smith documentary, Patti Smith: Dream of Life, which includes an after-film conversation with Smith, director Steven Sebring, and Chicago Sun-Times pop critic Jim DeRogatis.
Later in the night, progressive-metal power trio The Alaya Conscious prepares for a new EP with a show at Chicago’s Elbo Room.
What We’re Seeing Thursday: Naomi Klein
A veteran journalist for The New York Times, The Guardian, Harper’s Magazine, and The Nation, Naomi Klein has long been a critic of globalization. We’re especially excited to see her speak Thursday evening about her latest book, The Shock Doctrine, at Chicago’s Loyola University.
Weekly Burlesque: No Strings Attached
This week, see ALARM columnist Jo Weldon in Lisa Whitmer‘s playful look into the world of burlesque in her documentary No Strings Attached, featuring Weldon’s glove-and-stocking-peel class.
ALARM’s Top 10 Albums of 2008
Our list of favorites from last year includes devastating dub metal, organ-fueled psychedelic grind, a re-released classic-rock gem from nearly four decades ago, an international assemblage of punk-infused field recordings, and an Indian/surf/metal take on John Zorn‘s Masada material.
Graffiti Japan by Remo Camerota
by Remo Camerota
128 pages, Hardcover, $27.95, MBP
Australian photographer and graffiti enthusiast Remo Camerota made friends with the Japanese graffiti scene via the Internet before traveling there to document its work.