WASHINGTON (AFP) - The former US-led Coalition Provisional Authority headed by American Paul Bremer lost track of nearly nine billion dollars it transferred to Iraqi government ministries to a black hole of fraud, kickbacks and fund misappropriation, according to Time magazine.

In a report to hit US newsstands Monday, Time reports that the CPA left "large portions of the 8.8 billion Iraqi treasury open to fraud, kickbacks and misappropration of funds," citing a US inspector general's audit. The report was written by the inspector general for Iraq reconstruction Stuart Bowen, a high-powered lawyer from Texas, it said.

Time said Bowen's audit cites Bremer's oversight of the CPA with lax accounting and inadequate disclosure.

The report says that on one payroll, for example, only 602 of the 8,206 names could be confirmed, with no paper trail existing for the rest of the cash.

Another cited example of concern said the CPA allowed Iraqi officials to delay reporting the 2.5 billion dollars the interim government received in oil-for-food money last spring.

The report said Bremer -- who recently received the Presidential Medal of Freedom -- issued an "angry eight-page reply" to Bowen's findings, criticizing the audit for misconceptions and inaccuracies.

Bowen's office could not be reached for comment late Sunday.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 03:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Assisted Living

What does it say that the most curious thing to note about this month's releases is the presence not once, but twice, of Cicely Tyson? If you guessed "it's a slow month," give yourself two points.

FEBRUARY 4
BOOGEYMAN

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Kid grows up to face the boogeyman in his closet from years before. Somehow this is not based on a Stephen King novel.

WILL IT SUCK?
This is the second release from Sam Raimi's "Ghost House" shingle. But don't be fooled. Sam doesn't have nearly the track record as a producer that he does as a director. On the other hand, this has Xena.

The director did that miserable "Get Carter" remake with Sly and the main writer (who did story and screenplay) used to write for "Tarzan." But, um, how about that Lucy Lawless, huh? And you know acclaimed actress Zooey Deschanel? No, she's not in this. But her little sister is! That's something, right?

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
It's got no competition this week or the next, but from the previous week "Hide and Seek" and "Alone in the Dark" will be breathing down its neck. Ghost House's previous film, "The Grudge," did very well but that was near Halloween with Sarah Michelle Gellar. This, not so much. $33mil.

THE WEDDING DATE

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
There are three rules for a male escort. Never take a check. Never start a land war in Asia. And never, ever, fall in love. Dermot Mulroney is the escort. Deborah Messing is the chick passing him off as her beau at her sister's wedding. Guess which rule gets broken.

WILL IT SUCK?
From the director of "How to Deal." For some reason that's not mentioned in the toxically generic trailer. Here's hoping that the talented Messing eventually gets a jump-start into movie stardom - I just don't think this is gonna do it.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
It shouldn't do too badly upon opening, but the following week "Hitch" will suck up all the romcom oxygen in the room. $33mil.

RORY O'SHEA WAS HERE

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
No, really he was. He says you owe him money.

Disabled kid moves into home for the disabled and raises hopes of other disabled kids with his irreverent, wacky ways.

WILL IT SUCK?
Pretty unanimous positive buzz here. Nominated for a crapload of Irish Oscars, and won one for screenplay. That's impressive since this is from the screenwriter of "Goldeneye" (and the upcoming Fernando Meirelles movie, for which I'm much more psyched since he's the guy that did "City of God" - but we'll talk about that another time). The director did "East is East," which is also supposed to be good. Trailer's pretty funny.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Should do well upon opening. The following week the field starts to get a little crowded with "Bride and Prejudice" and "Inside Deep Throat." Expect modest success. $5mil.

NOBODY KNOWS

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Kind of like "Party of Five," but in Japanese.

WILL IT SUCK?
Very good buzz on this one, which got an acting award at Cannes and a Palme D'Or nod to boot. It's Japan's submission for Best Foreign Flick Oscar (it didn't make it), so they believe in it. Unlikely to suck.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Without that Foreign Film nod, the indie onslaught of the following week will be even tougher to weather. $900,000.

ASSISTED LIVING

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Stoned-out janitor gets mistaken for nursing home resident's son.

WILL IT SUCK?
Grand Jury winner at Slamdance. Notable for it's mix of real life and fiction elements, it was shot at an actual nursing home with real staff and residents. Buzz is generally positive.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Cowboy Pictures is not a very big name. And this will be up against some heavy hitters the following week. $500,000.

THE NOMI SONG

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Missing musical number from "Showgirls."

Or pseudo-doc about underground New Wave figure Klaus Nomi.

WILL IT SUCK?
Won the Best Doc award at the Berlin Film Festival. Other than that, little is known. Do you like the underground New Wave scene of Greenwich Village in the '80's? I'll bet you do.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Palm Pictures is in the same league as Cowboy Pictures. Repeat "heavy hitters" spiel. Add in the fact that "Assisted Living" will probably have a few more articles written about it. $100,000.

---------------------------------------------

FEBRUARY 11

HITCH

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
"How to Be a Playa…But a Nice, Family-Friendly One" Will Smith pimps Kevin James' mojo.

WILL IT SUCK?
Director Andy Tennant has brought us both "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Ever After," so this could go either way.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
"The Wedding Date's" second frame is going to be a mild drain on the audience for this one, but Will Smith is a little better known than what's-her-face from "Will and Grace." Tennant does well with a star (see Reese Witherspoon's "Alabama" gross). $106mil.

POOH'S HEFFALUMP MOVIE

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
If you can't figure it out from the title, I'm not going to explain it to you.

WILL IT SUCK?
If you can't figure it out from the title… This is from the seasoned Disney sequel writers behind "Piglet's Big Movie," "Lion King 1.5," "Jungle Book 2," and a producer from "The Return of Jafar." So the only surprise here is that this isn't straight-to-DVD.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Well, it faces huge competition from the limited release of "Inside Deep Throat." Other than that, the coast is clear. Actually, "Because of Winn Dixie" looks to be equally sickeningly cute the following week, and "Son of the Mask" might actually skew too young for the target demo here. Still, the Pooh movies have a ceiling. $24mil.

INSIDE DEEP THROAT

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
The story of "Deep Throat." The movie, not the informant.

WILL IT…NEVER MIND
There's a weird continuity between this and directors Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato's last big doc, "The Eyes of Tammy Faye." The line-up looks interesting. John Waters, Gore Vidal, and Norman Mailer all weigh in. I'm curious to see if the issue of star Linda Lovelace's rather contentious relationship with the film, revolving around sexual assault allegations will make the cut, but as the film focuses more on the cultural phenomenon rather than the behind-the-scenes drama, chances are not so much. Either way, should be fascinating.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
It's up against nothing similar and it's got Brian Grazer backing it. Still, it's got an NC-17 rating which is the financial kiss of death. That, however, didn't stop "The Dreamers" from collecting a few papers. $3mil.

BRIDE AND PREJUDICE
(Delayed from December)

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Bollywood adaptation of the Jane Austin classic.

WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is mixed. The musical numbers look great. This is the latest from "Bend it Like Beckham" writer/director Gurinder Chadha, reteamed with her "Beckham" co-writer Paul Mayeda Berges. So expect the same quality here, except that critics are saying the dialogue isn't up to par. Also, keep an eye out for Mike White as a bellboy.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
The odds are a little more in its favor now that it's been moved. It's gotten mild buzz and isn't up against Oscar-contender heavyweights. Still, a better critical buzz would help. $4mil.

---------------------------------------------

FEBRUARY 18

CONSTANTINE

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Keanu Reeves vs. demons.

WILL IT SUCK?
Well, it's from the writers of "The Glimmer Man" and "Suburban Commando," so what could go wrong? Seriously, why are they trying to make it look like "The Matrix Repackaged"? It's not like "Revolutions" got much love. The "Hellblazer" comic upon which this is based got much love, but this probably won't.

Still, ya gotta love Tilda Swinton, Djimon Hounsou and Shia LeBouf slumming it (Rachel Weisz cannot claim to "slum" after having been in the "Mummy" sequels - I liked them and all, but they're not exactly "Orlando" or "Amistad"). I guess it's a little early to claim Shia's slumming, but he was so good in "Holes" that it just feels that way.

And Peter Stormare as Satan? I am so there.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
The second frame of "Hitch" shouldn't be underestimated here, but Keanu still has a huge following and there's nothing remotely like this on the horizon. $91mil.

SON OF THE MASK

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
{Unable to summon the strength to actually write anything in response to that question, the writer simply utters a long, mournful groan.)

WILL IT SUCK?
Two words: CGI Baby. It marked Ally McBeal's shark jump, and that's where this one starts. So, Alan Cumming, I will pay you not to be in this. Too late.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
This is one of those ideas that's just stupid enough to work. However, there's plenty of other stupidity to compete with. "Because of Winn Dixie" looks to be just about as stupid this week, and "Man of the House" brings the wacky the following week. Not good for Jamie Kennedy. $37mil.

BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
"Lassie Come Home…Oh, Wait, There You Are!"

WILL IT SUCK?
Wayne Wang. In ten years, you've gone from "Smoke" to "Maid in Manhattan." And now this. Well, the novel upon which it's based is pretty well-regarded and Dave Matthews is apparently a perfect choice to play a singing pet store owner in this girl-meets-dog tale. But the trailer looks about as cheesy as can be. This will have to work very hard to not suck.

Cicely Tyson: 1 of 2.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
It's kind of a family-friendly-heavy time. You've got "Son of the Mask" and the second frame of "Heffalump" to deal with. This will cut into grosses. And I don't think the Matthews crowd can be counted on for this one. $39mil.

TURTLES CAN FLY

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Family drama set on the Turkey/Iraq border on the eve of invasion. The first film out of Iraq since said invasion.

WILL IT SUCK?
Unlikely. Iranian Writer/Director/Producer Bahman Ghobadi has a decent rep. He won two awards for this film at the San Sebastian Film Festival. Early buzz is very good. And, in spite of the hokey title, just the cache of a Middle-Eastern perspective on things is enticing.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
If IFC can get off their butt and start marketing this as "the first film out of Iraq since the war began" it might do very well. But I haven't heard any of that yet. $800,000.

SCHULTZE GETS THE BLUES

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
A man named Schultze, um, gets the blues. Actually, he develops an interest in Zydeco, but that's kind of the same thing.

WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz says no. This German import has swept up at various festivals and is now coming here, much like the titular character. I said "titular."

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Not much competition, but still, you gotta start hawking the story of a Zydeco enthusiast pretty early in the morning to get people to come, and I haven't seen anything yet. $400,000.

---------------------------------------------

FEBRUARY 25

CURSED

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Feature film version of short-lived series with that guy from "Wings."

Actually, werewolf movie from the "Scream" team.

WILL IT SUCK?
There was a time when it seemed Kevin Williamson could do no wrong. "Scream" was a hit and the first season of "Dawson's Creek" seemed relatively intelligent, if a little whiny. And then came "Teaching Miss Tingle." It was all downhill from there. Now he's back, reteamed with Wes Craven for a werewolf film. Except there were production delays and then a release delay of over a year. Not good signs. And the trailer is sort of "meh." With a really fake-y looking CGI devil dog to boot. Sigh.

However, the cast is stellar and might just make for an interesting boondoggle of a movie. You've got Scott Baio, Craig Kilbourne, and Lance Bass playing themselves (in more ways than one, perhaps, simply by appearing in this). Two, count 'em, two stars from "Arrested Development" (Portia De Rossi and Judy Greer). Christina "I survived 'Prozac Nation'" Ricci, Joshua Jackson, Michael "Lex" Rosenbaum, Robert Forster, Scott Foley…the list goes on an on and…actually, that's about it.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
There's a creepy vibe going already at this point with the second frame of "Constantine." Then the following week "The Jacket" will be giving people goose bumps. The trailer isn't really playing up the humor, but even if it were, there's "Son of the Mask" the week before and "Man of the House" this week. (If they make a sequel to "Man of the House," I really hope they call it "Son of the Man of the House").

It would be pretty cheesy for me to say this film were cursed, so instead I'll call it "blessing challenged." $52mil.

DIARY OF A MAD BLACK WOMAN

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Um, pretty self-explanatory. But what sets the woman in question off is her husband running off with her best friend. Anger and, presumably, journal entries ensue.

WILL IT SUCK?
Hard to say. This is based on a popular stage play of the same name and it has the same writer so, whatever made it so popular is likely to still be there. The cross-dressed grandma is kind of freaking me out, though. Very mannish. (See the trailer).

Cicely Tyson: 2 of 2.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
An interesting (and potentially profitable) subgenre is beginning to emerge. The low-budget, low-profile black adaptation. Last year's "Woman, Thou Art Loosed" very quietly made a tidy profit on a pre-existing popular title - in that case, a self-help book well-known in black circles from a black preacher. This (with the same lead actress, no less) looks to capitalize on that success. It'll be interesting to see if it does. The fact that this is opening wide suggests that Lion's Gate believes that it will. $7mil.

MAN OF THE HOUSE

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
"Mr. Congeniality." FBI agent Tommy Lee Jones babysits cheerleaders/witnesses.

WILL IT SUCK?
First of all, it's Revolution Studios, so abandon all hope ye who enter here. Second of all, it's from the director of "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure" and…wait for it…"Life or Something Like It," "The Mighty Ducks" and, God help us, "Holy Man." He also did "Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead," which, depending on how late it is and how much alcohol/pot/crystal meth you've had, could be a good thing.

The writers have brought us everything from "Intolerable Cruelty" to "Destiny Turns on the Radio" and given the latter I'm gonna guess the better parts of the former came from the Cohen brothers.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Like most Revolution Studios films this will do far better than it deserves until "The Pacifier" comes out the following week to up the stoopid ante. $35mil.

UP AND DOWN

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Interweaving plots include a childless couple, an abandoned immigrant baby, and soccer hooliganism. And a pawnshop. With a den of thieves. Who sell the baby. To the childless couple. It's a rich tapestry.

WILL IT SUCK?
This was the Czech submission to the Academy for Oscar consideration for Best Foreign Film so, at least they liked it (even though the Academy didn't).

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
With the nom, better. $600,000.

Actually some cool stuff to look forward to in March. The sequel to "Shaolin Soccer," a team of crime-fighting lesbians, a sequel to one of the few good horror films of this decade, what happens when Woody Allen directs Will Ferrell, 20th Century Fox's animation wing's follow-up to "Ice Age," and another Elmore Leonard novel with a kick-ass cast.

All of this will be balanced by the release of "Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous." That is not a misprint.

Dave Thomas

http://travelindave.blogspot.com

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 10:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

From Reuters:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. judge dealt a setback to the Bush administration and ruled on Monday that the Guantanamo Bay terrorism suspects can challenge their confinement and the procedures in their military tribunal review process are unconstitutional.

U.S. District Judge Joyce Hens Green said the prisoners at the U.S. military base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba have constitutional protections under U.S. law.

"The court concludes that the petitioners have stated valid claims under the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution and that the procedures implemented by the government to confirm that the petitioners are 'enemy combatants' subject to indefinite detention violate the petitioners' rights to due process of law," Green wrote.

More than 540 suspects are being held at Guantanamo after being detained during the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan and in other operations in the U.S. war on terrorism. They are al Qaeda suspects and accused Taliban fighters. The ruling pertained to only 50 detainees.

Bush administration attorneys argued the prisoners have no constitutional rights and their lawsuits challenging the conditions of their confinement and seeking their release must be dismissed.

The tribunals, formally called a military commission, at the base were authorized by President Bush after the Sept. 11, 2001, hijacked airliner attacks on the United States, but have been criticized by human rights groups as unfair to defendants.

At issue in the ruling was the July 7, 2004, order by Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz creating a military tribunal -- called the Combatant Status Review Tribunal -- to check the status of each Guantanamo detainee as an "enemy combatant."

The procedures used for the tribunals "are unconstitutional for failing to comport with the requirements of due process," Green concluded.

She said the procedures failed to give the detainees access to material evidence and failed to let lawyers help them when the government refused to disclose classified information.

The main part of her ruling held the suspects can challenge their confinement and rejected the government's position that all the cases must be dismissed.

"Of course, it would be far easier for the government to prosecute the war on terrorism if it could imprison all suspected 'enemy combatants' at Guantanamo Bay without having to acknowledge and respect any constitutional rights of detainees," Green said.

"Although this nation unquestionably must take strong action under the leadership of the commander in chief to protect itself against enormous and unprecedented threats, that necessity cannot negate the existence of the most basic fundamental rights for which the people of this country have fought and died for well over two hundred years," Green said.

"In sum, there can be no question that the Fifth Amendment right asserted by the Guantanamo detainees in this litigation -- the right not to be deprived of liberty without due process of law -- is one of the most fundamental rights recognized by the U.S. Constitution," she said.

Green also ruled that some of the suspects have brought valid claims under the Geneva Convention, the international treaty protecting the rights of prisoners of war.

A group of attorneys representing some of the suspects hailed the ruling. "Now it's time for this administration to act," they said in a statement. "Today's decision is a momentous victory for the rule of law, for human rights, and for our democracy."

Green's 75-page opinion was the unclassified version and stemmed from 11 cases involving Guantanamo prisoners.

Her ruling probably will not be the final word on the issue. A different federal judge in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 19 dismissed the cases of seven Guantanamo prisoners on the grounds they had no recognizable constitutional rights and were subject to the military review process.

The cases could be appealed to the U.S. appeals court, and then ultimately to the U.S. Supreme Court. (Additional reporting by Deborah Charles)

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Vietnam

Saturday 01.29.05
At Todd Patrick's New Space In Williamsburg

Vietnam
Blood On The Wall
Psychic Ills
Civil War

NE Corner of Metropolitan & River St - River St door | WLMSBRG, BKLYN
L - Bedford / G - Metropolitan / JM - Marcy | 8pm | all ages + booze | $6

Blood On The Wall open up this New Year with their first show of 2005 with Miggie Littleton back on the drum throne. This trio will have you stomping and swaying with their infectious songs and get you laughing with their between song banter. The Psychic Ills bring their space rock burn which is sure to keep your head swimming. Joining them will be Vice-Records-Rostered Vietnam (Now featuring Ivan Sunshine of Ghost Exits Fame) and local heros Civil War.

The new space is around the corner from the soon-to-be former Mighty Robot Space and is housed in the same building as the soon-to-be newer Mighty Robot Space.

-------------------------------

And don't miss IDIOTAROD on Saturday.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 05:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

From Atrios
"Cheney stood out in a sea of black-coated world leaders because he was wearing an olive drab parka with a fur-trimmed hood. It is embroidered with his name. It reminded one of the way in which children's clothes are inscribed with their names before they are sent away to camp. And indeed, the vice president looked like an awkward boy amid the well-dressed adults.

Like other attendees, the vice president was wearing a hat. But it was not a fedora or a Stetson or a fur hat or any kind of hat that one might wear to a memorial service as the representative of one's country. Instead, it was a knit ski cap, embroidered with the words "Staff 2001." It was the kind of hat a conventioneer might find in a goodie bag.

It is also worth mentioning that Cheney was wearing hiking boots -- thick, brown, lace-up ones. Did he think he was going to have to hike the 44 miles from Krakow -- where he had made remarks earlier in the day -- to Auschwitz?"

by the way -- where the hell was the entire Bush administration during the recent genocide memorial in Rwanda? Oh yeah, almost forgot, the Rwandans aren't white.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 02:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Normally, we'd find it self-indulgent to run a story about our new book, Food Court Druids, Cherohonkees, and other Creatures Unique to the Republic, but this article from a Presbyterian gazette in VA is bizarre and priceless:

Resolving to Reach Out in '05

Asphalt Rangers. Have you every bumped into one? These are people who live in the city, but wear backpacking gear and hiking shoes every day. And how about Stretchibitionists? They are those peculiar gym patrons who never seem to actually work out; instead, they claim a visible spot to do a stretch routine with no apparent aim or reason.

If these descriptions ring a bell, you can thank Robert Lanham, author of the book Food Court Druids, Cherohonkees, and Other Creatures Unique to the Republic. He's "the Margaret Mead of the North American weirdo," according to writer Neal Pollack—able to identify dozens of species of humans who may not even know that they are part of a distinctive social group. (Hank Stuever, "Your Life: Highly Classified, By Robert Lanham," The Washington Post, November 7, 2004, D1)

The mission of our church is to reach out to Asphalt Rangers and Stretchibitionists, as well as every other social group in our community. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus goes out into all the cities and villages, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God, and curing every disease and every sickness (Matthew 9:35). He reaches out to the first-century versions of Asphalt Rangers and Stretchibitionists — members of every idiosyncratic social group that existed in all the cities and villages of Galilee. The point of this passage is that Jesus ventures beyond his own circle of family members and friends and reaches out — he embraces the great crowds of people who are "harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd" (v. 36). Although these crowds of Galileans may have been as odd and amusing as Stretchibitionists, Jesus doesn't laugh at them. Instead, he has compassion for them.

Then Jesus commands his disciples to do the same. "The harvest is plentiful," he says, "but the laborers are few" (v. 37). In other words, "Go on, get going. There are a lot of Asphalt Rangers we need to reach." We can make a New Year’s resolution to reach out in 2005.

The place to begin is always to identify a hunger — to figure out what is missing, what needs to be filled, what is aching for satisfaction. Then, and only then, our job is to take steps to satisfy that hunger with solid spiritual food.

So, how can we reach the Asphalt Rangers? These people who live in backpacking gear and hiking shoes have a hunger for opportunities that are adventurous, challenging, and results-oriented. We can offer overseas mission trips for Rangers who like to work with their hands, local mission projects for men and women who want to improve their communities, and intensive spiritual retreats for people who are willing to be challenged by the rigors of faithful living. Another trip to Honduras will be offered this year by the Midlife Men on a Mission, local mission projects are always being organized by the Mission Outreach Ministry, and the Great Banquet spiritual renewal weekend will return to FPC this spring and fall.

But what about Stretchibitionists? These idiosyncratic gym patrons might appear to be uninterested in religion, but in fact they have a spiritual need that the church is uniquely qualified to meet. As disciples of Christ, we can help them to put body and soul together. The Christian Education Ministry is sponsoring a program on faith and fitness in late January (see details on page 10), and participants in this program may decide to organize some exercise groups. The key to reaching Stretchibitionists is to create new programs that help them to put body and soul together. It's a spiritual need that we can meet, and as we do so we'll be acting as faithful laborers in Christ's harvest.

Meeting people where they are is the key to being a faithful healer and harvester. By finding and meeting their needs, we'll find ways to reach the many idiosyncratic groups all around us that are so in need of the gospel. So let's resolve to reach out in 2005.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 10:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

from the Guardian

Lobby groups funded by the US oil industry are targeting Britain in a bid to play down the threat of climate change and derail action to cut greenhouse gas emissions, leading scientists have warned.
Bob May, president of the Royal Society, says that "a lobby of professional sceptics who opposed action to tackle climate change" is turning its attention to Britain because of its high profile in the debate.

Writing in the Life section of today's Guardian, Professor May says the government's decision to make global warming a focus of its G8 presidency has made it a target. So has the high profile of its chief scientific adviser, David King, who described climate change as a bigger threat than terrorism.

Prof May's warning coincides with a meeting of climate change sceptics today at the Royal Institution in London organised by a British group, the Scientific Alliance, which has links to US oil company ExxonMobil through a collaboration with a US institute.

Last month the Scientific Alliance published a joint report with the George C Marshall Institute in Washington that claimed to "undermine" climate change claims. The Marshall institute received £51,000 from ExxonMobil for its "global climate change programme" in 2003 and an undisclosed sum this month.

Prof May's warning comes as British scientists, in the journal Nature, show that emissions of carbon dioxide could have a more dramatic effect on climate than thought. They say the average temperature could rise 11C, even if atmospheric carbon dioxide were limited to the levels expected in 2050.

David Frame, who coordinated the climate prediction experiment, said: "If the real world response were anywhere near the upper end of our range, even today's levels of greenhouse gases could already be dangerously high."

Emission limits such as those in the Kyoto protocol would hit oil firms because the bulk of greenhouse gases come from burning fossil fuel products.

Prof May writes that during the 1990s, parts of the US oil industry funded sceptics who opposed action to tackle climate change. A Scientific Alliance spokesman said today's meeting was sponsored but funders did not influence policies. ExxonMobil said it was not involved.

One adviser is Sallie Baliunas, an astrophysicist at the Harvard Smithsonian Centre, who is linked to the Marshall Institute. In 1998 Dr Baliunas co-wrote an article that argued for the release of more carbon dioxide. It was mass-mailed to US scientists with a petition asking them to reject Kyoto.

Tony Blair yesterday attempted to urge George Bush to sign a climate change accord. At the World Economic Forum he said climate change was "not universally accepted", but evidence of its danger had been "clearly and persuasively advocated" by a very large number of "independent voices."

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 10:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

For those of you patiently waiting for the new Beck record (out in March), here's something to keep you busy: an exclusive look at the 8-bit collective remix video of "Hell Yes." :

Windows Media
Real Player

Also, here's the latest on the upcoming release and the premature MP3's many have downloaded:

(From MTV.com)
It's arriving a little later than expected, but after a few delays in song selection, Beck now plans to release his new album, Guero, on March 29—or possibly sooner, to minimize the damage of an Internet leak.Initially due in October 2004 the follow-up to 2002's Sea Change forgoes the melancholy of his last breakup record and finds the Los Angeles native in an upbeat mood with a carefree, stripped-down approach. An unmastered and unfinished version of the record, erroneously titled Ubiquitous, has been floating around online for a few days now.

Produced by Odelay and Midnite Vultures collaborators the Dust Brothers, Guero (Mexican slang for a blond-haired, fair-skinned Caucasian) features 13 tracks that loosely act like a Beck mixtape — evoking the beat-driven material on Odelay, the acoustic tracks of 1998's Mutations and even the bluesy junk-shop textures of 1994's Mellow Gold.

While a definite creative and spiritual link to his '90s records is apparent, the major distinction is in the relaxed manner and noticeable maturity. Guero is Odelay minus the over-caffeinated Moogs and ping-ponging video game bedlam of albums past.

The album kicks off with "E-Pro," the album's first single, which features a beat seemingly jacked from a classic Beastie Boys record with a simple, heavy rock riff and marks a return to the Dadaist rhyming absent on the somber Sea Change.

"Girls" also has radio-playability written all over it. A funky up-tempo jam, the sun-drenched track features "oohs" and "aahs," breezy acoustic guitars and Beck's lithe falsetto. "Hell Yes" features more rhyming and a minimal electro groove, robotic voices and females cooing, "Please enjoy," while Beck maintains, "My beat is correct."

"Que Onda Guero" ("What up, whitey?") is a dead-ringer for vintage Cypress Hill in an East-L.A. barrio with its requisite Spanglish and low-rider beats.

The latter half of the record becomes moodier and psychedelic with songs like the sad, celestial ballad "Broken Drum," the down-tempo "Earthquake Weather," the dusty "Farewell Ride" and the almost trip-hop vibe of "Emergency Exit." The White Stripes' Jack White plays bass on the shuffling and sparse "Go It Alone."

A concept video for "E-Pro" has been shot, and an experimental pixilated video for "Black Tambourine," featuring a connect-the-dots dancing Beck, has also been made, but it's undetermined what that video will be used for.

Tracks recorded that didn't make the final cut, possibly destined to be B-sides, include the distortion-heavy "Novacane"-esque "Chain Reaction," "Gospel" and an unnamed track that sports a riff reminiscent of "Devil's Haircut," only funkier.

Guero track list, according to Beck's publicist:
"E-Pro"
"Que Onda Guero"
"Girl"
"Missing"
"Black Tambourine"
"Earthquake Weather"
"Hell Yes"
"Broken Drum"
"Scarecrow"
"Go It Alone"
"Farewell Ride"
"Rental Car"
"Emergency Exit"

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 05:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Sarah Flynn

See some great music and help out someone in need Tuesday at Rothko. spinART Records' Sarah Flynn fell ill in November with a rare disorder known as Wegener's disease. All proceeds from the following show will go towards helping her out with medical expenses:

Tuesday, January 25th @ Rothko

Performances by Ted Leo, Benzos, The Head Set, Apollo Sunshine, Chinese Stars, Countess Zatak featuring The Gill Scott-Heron Band and guest DJ James Murphy (DFA), this show promises to be one for the books.

Tickets are available now through Ticketweb for $15 adv/$20 day of show.

Rotko is located at 116 Suffolk Street (Corner of Rivington), Lower East Side, NYC. For directions and other information, please visit their web site.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 07:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Exhibit A - Abortion(from drudge)
"Proposing new political language about abortion rights for an increasingly skittish Democratic Party, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said Monday that friends and foes on the issue should come together on "common ground" to reduce the number of "unwanted pregnancies" and ultimately abortions, which she called a "sad, even tragic choice to many, many women."

Clinton, in a speech to about 1,000 abortion rights supporters at the state Capitol, firmly restated her support for Roe v. Wade.

But then she offered warm words to opponents of abortion and said that faith and organized religion were the "primary" reasons teenagers abstained from sexual relations.

Exhibit B - Faith Based Initiatives
"There is no contradiction between support for faith-based initiatives and upholding our constitutional principles," said Clinton, a New York Democrat who often is mentioned as a possible presidential candidate in 2008. (read full Boston Globe article)

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 07:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

From Reuters
The Bush administration plans to announce as early as Tuesday that it will seek about $80 billion in new funding for military operations this year in Iraq and Afghanistan, administration and congressional sources said on Monday.

The new supplemental budget request would come on top of the $25 billion in emergency spending already approved for the current fiscal year, and will push total 2005 funding for military operations and equipment close to a record $105 billion, the sources said on Monday.

Up to $650 million is expected to be included in the package to fund humanitarian aid, reconstruction efforts and military operations in Asian countries devastated by last month's tsunami, congressional aides said.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 05:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We made a trip in the snow to The Tainted Lady Lounge last night. It's located in the Southside of Williamsburg, east or Berry Street and between Driggs and Havemeyer—the new haven for the aging hipster crowd. The Tainted Lady Lounge is appropriately mellow and quaint. Every square inch of the joint is adorned with kitschy pin-ups and the bar is among the more relaxing and unassuming in the neighborhood. They have Guinness, Stella, Sierra Nevada, and Brooklyn Lager on tap and a full liquor bar.

What really surprised us was the food, since at first glance Tainted Lady seems like an unlikely place to grab a meal. I had the tofu steak and my friend selected the wild salmon. Both were very tasty and reminded us of an unpretentious home-cooked meal. The garlic mash potatoes were amazing and the service was very friendly. Swing by and check them out. Here's the menu, slightly fucked up by the snow ball fight we had on the way home.

Bar & Restaurant
388 Grand Street @ Havemeyer
Brooklyn, New York
718.302.5514

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 08:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Kasabian are one of the big bands of the past year from England. They have been compared to everyone from Stereolab to Stone Roses to Primal Scream. They had four hit singles, and their first album came out in Fall 2004 and sold over 250,000 copies. Their shows have all been sold out all over England in the past year. The rise of Kasabian has been fast. A year ago they were unknown. Now they have played a sold out show in New York at Bowery Ballroom in November, without having any formal releases.

The group, who will embark on a month-long tour supporting The Music, is set to kick-off mid-February in NYC and end in March at SXSW. They're from Leicester, England and are named after one of the killers involved with the Manson Family. I spoke to lead singer, Tom Meighan, around the beginning of the year, about this phenomenal band. Kasabian is Tom Meighan (vocals), Sergio Pizzorno (lead guitar, keyboards), Chris Edwards (bass) and Christopher Karloff (guitar, keyboards).

**********

AL: When did you record the album?

Tom: We recorded the album about a year ago at the farm. We had to move away from the city to get our heads together. We had to do that to record this beautiful baby of ours. If we would have done in a proper studio in the city we would have been out of it. We had to get our heads together and concentrate.

AL: How long was the recording process?

Tom: It took about eight months altogether. We had skeletons of songs for a long time. We knew what we wanted to do. We had the songs in our minds. We lived like hippies man for two years. It was amazing.

AL: It was like a commune?

Tom: Yeah, it was kinda like that. Not far off it. There was not much health food. It was all rubbish food mate and junk food. We ate boxes of potato chips.

AL: Was there any bin driving?

Tom: There was plenty of that mate.

AL: When you record a song how do you go about it?

Tom: We start to get into an idea and put it down. We start with the computer. We start with the beats. Sometimes we lay down some guitar. Sometimes Sergio writes down some guitar parts and brings that in to the rest of the band. It's much like how you would do a hiphop album.

AL: Most of the members of Kasabian grew up with rave culture and much of that music is computer based. Since you are a rock band you would think that some of these tracks are live takes.

Tom: No, they weren't. We just went in there and played it. Some of it was one take and some of it wasn't. It all depended on how we were feeling and how the mood was. Sometimes we would attack a song in one take or a few takes. We wouldn't take that long there. We were trying to create a vibe. It was quite simple.

AL: How long have you been touring?

Tom: We have been playing nonstop since February 2004. We have played Japan. We have been to New York. We played Bowery Ballroom. We have been to Europe. We have been all over England. We have probably played 130 gigs this past year. It's been pretty tense. The year before we probably only played forty shows altogether. We are just finding our feet live now.

AL: What were the earlier shows like?

Tom: They were alright. We tried some more experimental shit out. It was like a wall of sound. We knew we had to perform more and get better. Sometimes we hit the bull's eyes.

AL: You were on the cover of the NME recently. How do you feel about that?

Tom: It's amazing. We have been waiting seven years for it mate. When it happens to you, you can't believe it. They had to put us on there. There was nothing they could do about it. They had to write about us. It's a wonderful thing. I remember buying an NME when I was sixteen years old. Richard Ashcroft was on the cover. I was thinking to myself wouldn't it be amazing one day if they put us on there. We got on there. We were laughing at the picture. We felt like kids again. It's a proud moment.

AL: So now even people who don't even follow music recognize you?

Tom: It's a bit different from how it used to be mate. Six months ago no one gave a shit. It's changed really fast. You are right. People recognize us. Friends call up and want tickets. When you are in a popular band it is all very flattering. I find it all amazing.

AL: How do you write songs in the band?

Tom: Sergio and Karloff do the music and the tunes. Sergio writes most of the lyrics.

AL: What are your songs about generally?

Tom: I would say that the songs are about a mish mash of the world today. Sometimes there are some jumbled up words that don't really mean anything, but it's all quite positive.

AL: I heard some stuff that you said about Keane. It was like there are rock bands and then there are these student types. Sometimes when you go to a festival you have to sit through all these bands with high voices and who wear sweaters.

Tom: They are alright. There will always be students who want to be in bands. The good thing about Kasabian is that we got the students who want to watch us play as well. We got the cool students. We got the hooligans watching us. We have boyfriend and girlfriend watching us together. There are teenagers. We have all types of people at our gig, which is a great thing.

AL: Sometimes you heard an amazing record by Radiohead or Gomez and then you see them live and they look like a bunch of dicks.

Tom: Yeah. Radiohead are amazing. They are clever. Gomez are a good band. What happened to them?

AL: I think that their label dropped them. They have been playing a lot live in the Unites States. When was your record released?

Tom: It came out three months ago and it's doing really well. It comes out in the USA in March 2005. It should be awesome.

AL: You are coming over for a big tour?

Tom: We are coming over for about three months. It's absolutely thrilling that we are actually coming over to the States and playing.

AL: You already played one show in New York at Bowery Ballroom. What is the show going to be like?

Tom: When we play we are going to be on fire. We are going to be locked and loaded. We are going to be ready to go. We are going to give you our heart and our blood, man. We are going to give you a rock and roll show. We are going to spill our blood. We are not lying to you. You are going to fucking believe it. It's going to be like an electric pole fucking hitting you really hard in the balls. It's going to throw you around. You are going to love it.

AL: Maybe you don't want to be in the front row or you'll get hurt?

Tom: Your head will be bleeding if you are in the front row, I'll tell you that.

AL: If you are an American girl and you are a big fan of Kasabian, where do you line up to get a proper introduction to the band? Is there a hotline?

Tom: No. Just come to the back room at the venue, line them up, one by one.

AL: How are you going to prepare for this tour?

Tom: We are playing a few shows before the American tour. Hopefully we will have some time to go home and eat some turkey and chill out. We will try to detox. But that will never happen. We will be there in March.

AL: Have you played with The Music before?

Tom: No, we haven't. We are friends with them. They are top guys. They are a good band.

AL: Kasabian is mostly from Leicester, England. What is that town known for?

Tom: It's known for nothing. You remember that guy Englebert Humperdinck? He knocked off the Beatles from number one? He's the only guy from Leicester who is known to anybody.

AL: I didn't realize that he is English.

Tom: Well, he pretends to be. I am not sure what he is. Leicester is right in the smack middle of England. We are the only thing that has come from Leicester.

AL: Are there any other bands that you like?

Tom: I like Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. They are cool. I like Mad Action.

AL: What other things do you do with your time besides music?

Tom: I just get stoned mate. I get pissed.

Website: www.kasabian.co.uk

2005 Kasabian Tour
Kasabian appearing with The Music
Thu 02/17/05 New York, NY Irving Plaza
Fri 02/18/05 Washington, DC 9:30 Club
Sat 02/19/05 Philadelphia, PA Theatre Of Living Arts
Tue 02/22/05 Providence, RI The Call
Wed 02/23/05 Boston, MA Paradise Rock Club
Thu 02/24/05 Montreal, QC La Tulipe
Sat 02/26/05 London, ON Centennial Hall
Sun 02/27/05 Detroit, MI St. Andrews Hall
Mon 02/28/05 Covington, KY Jillian's Entertainment Center
Wed 03/02/05 Chicago, IL Metro / Smart Bar
Thu 03/03/05 Saint Louis, MO The Pageant
Mon 03/07/05 Seattle, WA Neumo's
Tue 03/08/05 Vancouver, BC Commodore Ballroom
Wed 03/09/05 Portland, OR Crystal Ballroom
Fri 03/11/05 San Francisco, CA Slim's
Sat 03/12/05 Los Angeles, CA Music Box At The Fonda
Sun 03/13/05 San Diego, CA Canes
Tue 03/15/05 Tempe, AZ Marquee Theatre
Thu 03/17/05 Dallas, TX Gypsy Tea Room
Fri 03/18/05 Houston, TX Meridian
Sat 03/19/05 Houston, TX Meridian

--Alexander Laurence

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 12:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)

First he talks Chloe Sevigny into blowing him. Now, he's been asked to curate the UK's celebrated annual All Tomorrow's Parties music festival. What is the allure of this self-absorbed Jesus-wannabe? Maybe next year they'll ask egomaniac runner-up Colin Farrell to curate.

From the ATP website:

VINCENT GALLO CURATES ATP APRIL 22-24 2005

"Vincent Gallo the actor, director, musician and general talented bastard is curating All Tomorrow's Parties on April 22-24, 2005.

He has probably the biggest and one of the best record collections of anyone I know and I know from what he is planning, this ATP is gonna be fucking great.

The line up for this event is being worked out as I write this and tickets have already started to sell so look out over the coming weeks for new confirmations for the event."

[for the record, Buffalo 66 is a great movie.]

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 12:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (15)

from Pitchfork
Portishead begin work on first LP in eight years

"Along with Massive Attack, Portishead helped shape the hypnotic spaciness of trip-hop in the mid-90s with one of the genre's defining albums, 1994's Dummy. As the Bristol, England-based movement slowly lost its grip on the general public's consciousness, the band also retreated, and despite an underrated 1997 self-titled LP, Portishead has spent most of the ensuing years gathering a healthy coat of dust.

Well, until now. NME reports that founding members Geoff Barrow and Beth Gibbons have come out of their eight-year seclusion and are currently at work on an album of new material in their native UK. The band have been in the studio since late last year prepping what will be their third full-length, and while no word has been given as to a firm release date, number of tracks, or even what the album will sound like, Barrow recently spoke to the BBC about the nature of their extended shore leave. "We've just had our heads down really, we've never actually broken up, or parted, or whatever," he said. "So for us it just seems, even though we haven't played for years, we still see each other and write-- we just haven't released a record for a long time."

And while that doesn't really tell us anything, the as-yet unnamed album is expected in stores before the end of the year, and will mark the duo's first studio collaboration since 1997's sophomore effort, Portishead.

In related news, Portishead have joined in the efforts to raise money for tsunami victims in Indonesia. The band has been confirmed to perform at a special relief concert to be held at the Bristol Carling Academy in Bristol, England on February 19. Also on the bill are Massive Attack, the Coral, and Robert Plant. Tickets are £30 (roughly $55) and all proceeds will aid water and sanitation efforts in the effected areas. For more information, or to make a donation, visit the official website at: http://www.crisisinasia.com"

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 11:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Check out this very generous free download page. Included are several concerts from 2004 and 2001. Some rarities. Covers of Portishead's "Glory Box," Tom Petty's "Free Fallin'," and The Cure's "Boys Don't Cry" are particularly notable.

Speaking of free, you can also download the complete BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE CATALOG HERE

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 11:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell will resign from the agency he has led for four years, sources told CNN.

A senior government official says Powell, a member of the FCC since November 1998 and the chairman since early 2001, will announce his resignation later Friday. His term on the commission runs through 2007.

FCC spokesmen were not immediately available for comment, though one person in the press office said a new release is anticipated.

Powell has been a relatively high-profile chairman of what had generally been a quiet regulatory agency before his tenure. He has pushed for increased fines for obscenity and indecent content by the nation's broadcasters and backed a change in media ownership rules that allowed for greater consolidation by the industry's largest conglomerates.

In September the FCC fined Viacom (Research), which owns CBS, $550,000 for the 2004 Super Bowl half-time show in which Janet Jackson's breast was briefly revealed during a musical number. The media conglomerate is challenging that fine.

Viacom agreed in November to pay a record $3.5 million to settle a number of complaints involving alleged indecent comments on its radio stations, including remarks by its most popular radio personality, Howard Stern.

Partly to get away from FCC oversight, Stern has signed a contract to move to satellite radio provider Sirius (Research) in 2006. On his show Friday, Stern cheered reports that Powell would be leaving.

"Thank God he's gone," he said. "This is a great day in broadcasting."

Powell had pushed for a large increase in the fines that the FCC can levy on broadcasters found guilty of indecent content, saying that the current allowable fines constitute the cost of doing business for the station owners.

Powell was originally appointed to the FCC by President Clinton before being given the lead of the agency by President Bush. The Atlanta Journal Constitution speculated late last year he is interested in a run for governor of Virginia, although he had declined to comment on his plans when questioned by the press several times last year.

In an August 2003 interview with CNN, Powell said he wanted to stay with the agency during this time of technological change.

"I have a lot more that I'd like to do. It's a great agency, it's an amazing time in technology for the country. So I'm going to be here for a little while," he said then. Asked to define "a little while," Powell said, "Well, that I don't know yet, but certainly we're going to at least be here for many, many, many more months to come."

Not all the controversies involving Powell have been on high profile issues such as obscenity and media ownership. He has pushed to shift TV stations from the current analog broadcasting spectrum they've used since the invention of television onto more efficient digital broadcasting.

But station owners have balked at making the investment necessary for the change before many viewers have the televisions that can receive the new signals. Powell conceded in September Congressional testimony that the 2006 deadline is likely to be pushed back to 2009.

Powell is the son of Colin Powell, the retiring Secretary of State. Before joining the FCC, Powell served as chief of staff of the Justice Department's Antitrust Division, and as a policy adviser to Vice President Dick Cheney when Cheney served as Secretary of Defense during the administration of President George H.W. Bush.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 10:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

At FREEwilliamsburg, we're pretty open about our love for DFA and especially LCD Soundsystem. It started with "Losing My Edge" but really kicked into gear with the brilliant "Yeah" single, and we were looking forward to LCD's debut full-length (due out next month) for most of last year. (It's great and people will be talking about it very soon). So needless to say, we were pretty excited to do an email interview with DFA producer and LCD frontman James Murphy. Among other things, Murphy talks about tour plans, DFA's relationship with EMI, his first concert, and "L train nonsense." This interview is also available in its entirety at One Louder. Enjoy.

Q: We're always curious to know people's first concerts. What was yours?

A: It was the Ramones at City Gardens in Trenton, New Jersey. Not sure what year. Maybe '83? It was fucking louuuuuuud. I saw Iggy the same week and thought my head was going to cave in. For some bizarre reason I think Fishbone also played both shows. In fact, I think Fishbone may have played every show in the 80's ever. And sold that shirt, too.

Q: We used to think of LCD Soundsystem as your solo project, but live it's clear that LCD is very much a band. When did that transition happen?

A: There's never been a transition. You'd really have to tell me when the transition happened, as it's largely a transition of perception, which is in your court. I write the music and record most of the instruments, produce, etc. But then we go play, all 5 of us, as some form of, I don't know, LCD tribute band. We're like "The Edge Losers" from New Jersey or something. We're a really good tribute band.

Q: Songs like "Never As Tired..." and "Great Release" sound very different from your first singles - were you trying to make the early songs dancier, or do you think your sound has evolved?

A: I think the earlier songs were "dance" 12"'s, these songs are on an "album." Sort of like when "Give It Up" came out as a 7"... it sounded to me like a 7", not like a 12", so it's on a 7". I wanted to make an album. I think of albums as things with beginnings, middles, sides, last songs. Not as dance compilations. Unless, of course, they're dance compilations ... which, um, this isn't.

Q: We heard there was an earlier version of the album that you weren't happy with - is that true?

A: No, but I like rumors, so print it if you like. Rumors make rock
funny.

Q: Any LCD tour plans for '05?

A: Yes. We're going to Europe and Japan in February, and the UK/Europe in April. I don't know what to do in the US. I have no idea what we ARE here, really. I mean, does anyone want to see us in the States? I really don't know. I want to play in New York again soon. I'm not so into the fact that we don't play here EVER. It's kind of a downer. Gotta fix that.

Q: It seemed like everyone had an MP3 of "Yeah" (and was talking about it) within weeks of it leaking last year - do you think downloading's popularity has helped your band?

A: I don't know. It hasn't made us any money, for sure, but it's not like people were going to buy it anyway. It's a DJ record. It helped to give people another thing to listen to other than "Losing My Edge."

In general, I think downloading is funny. I like the little moral games we do in our heads to justify it. It's neat. I like the fact that people heard the song and talked about it. That's nice. I think it's fine.

Q: How did your relationship with EMI come about?

A: EMI came about because I met a lot of people there when the Rapture blew up and became too big for us. Suddenly there were people knocking on the door and asking to take them from us. EMI, and especially the crew at Parlaphone (who handle Radiohead, et al.) were worlds apart from the rest. They had records that were successful while kind of strange. They had artists on the label whose careers took time to develop. They had a stable GM in Keith Wozencroft who wasn't as obviously expendable like [the people] the other companies had. We tried to put the Rapture there and set up DFA with them, but the band wanted to go to Universal.

I didn't like Universal one bit, and didn't want DFA doing a deal with them, so we separated.

It broke our hearts. We had lost a band, our friends, basically because we weren't stable enough to support them and take care of them when they'd, well, grown up. It pretty much destroyed us for a year, and when we bounced back, I made my record and decided that the best thing to do was to put the record out where I thought the Rapture should have gone, and use myself as a guinea pig, while setting up a simple distribution type deal for the rest of the label. If all went well, then we could get more involved with EMI. If all went badly, well, it's only my record, which I could live with, rather than risking the careers of my friends. I mean, I wasn't planning to have a "career" in rock anyway. I'd settled on being a DJ and producer, and just putting out the occasional 12". So it's like a free shot.

Q: Humor seems to play an important part in your music. Are there any comedians who've inspired you?

A: I think Henry Rollins is pretty funny. But nobody - and I mean
nobody - gets a room going like Ian MacKaye.

Q: We dug your track with Felix Da Housecat. Are there any other artists you'd like to work with?

A: Not really. I don't like collaborations that much. That said, I'll probably do a bunch of them this year. I'm gunning for a duet with Pharrell. If that doesn't pan out, I'll make a track with Tim Goldsworthy. I like his shit.

Q: What's in your stereo these days? Anything new you're looking forward to hearing?

A: Today I listened to Siouxsie's album Kaleidescope, John and Yoko's Double Fantasy and Aphex Twin's The Richard D. James Album. God, I feel like an asshole. New stuff? I like Mu, and Hot Chip, the DFA artists, Animal Collective stuff. You know. L train nonsense.

Q: So is it worth trying to track down anything from your old band Pony?

A: Not really. Go buy the Adam Green record instead. That song "Jessica Simpson" is so good that I wish he made tons of money for it. Go get 2 friends to buy his record, and tell them to get 2 friends, and so on and so on, so that more people will put that song on in their houses at dinner parties in 10 years. It'll make Adam rich, and it will improve the quality of future get-togethers, all at the same time.

Q: Finally, as fellow Daft Punk fans we have to ask -Homework or Discovery?

A: Jeez, that's tough. I hate to be like this, but I think it's Homework. I wish I could vote for the underdog, and I really like Discovery, but Homework is, well, pretty fucking
sweet.

LCD Soundsystem's self-titled debut will be released on February 15.

Interview by Rajeev Muttreja and Jason Bell

Photo credit: Tim Soter

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 05:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

From Artist Michael Paulus' Website:
"A character study of 22 present and past cartoon characters.

Animation was the format of choice for children's television in the 1960s, a decade in which children's programming became almost entirely animated. Growing up in that period, I tended to take for granted the distortions and strange bodies of these entities.

I decided to take a select few of these popular characters and render their skeletal systems as I imagine they might resemble if one truly had eye sockets half the size of its head, or fingerless-hands, or feet comprising 60% of its body mass.

Each character resides on a translucent, hinged panel. When the panel is lifted the character's skeletal structure is revealed giving each a certain validity and glimpse into its origins. Each panel is hand-drawn with archival ink and covered with an acrylic/acetate transparency.

The photos of Hello Kitty on the site give an accurate idea of what the actual, assembled pieces look like---with the hinged translucent cover both closed and open. The rest of the characters shown on the site are approximations of what the transparency overlay looks like since I don't have actual photographs of all of them."

see the full collection here

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 03:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Keane's Blog-Friday Night in Williamsburg
Highest Score: 5 Greenbergs

The neighborhood isn't dead. It's just a little smaller this year. There certainly was a lot of energy Friday night in Williamsburg with a slew of openings from tiny Plus Ultra all the way down to Roebling Hall, who haven't totally abandoned us for their Chelsea space. Anyway, I'll dig some of the dirt off the coffin with two reviews of what I saw through a bourbon glaze. Those evil men at Plus Ultra were offering shots of Jack Daniels and a beer for 3 dollars. Well, they aren't evil but I definitely left the gallery with a bit of vertigo, and it wasn't caused by Thomas Lendvai's space altering installation A Series of 'nows'.

Lendvai's brilliant installation looked like some kind of boring minimalist photography on the invite, but it's anything but that. Part engineering marvel and part embrace the series of wooden beams transform the gallery into an adult playground. At the opening, depending on your position, you might see a floating head here, or a pair of legs there as Lendvai progressively lowers the beams towards the floor. By the middle of the gallery, you have to either hunch down or slip up into the gaps. There was a wonderful sense of closeness between the beams creating an oddly comforting environment to socialize. It wasn't for everyone though, some claustrophobic types wouldn't step into the structure, but it looked striking from the street anyway. While I'm not usually so enthralled with installation art, this worked better as a weird social device than a thing to be looked at anyway. If you're going to see this, bring some friends and hang out for a while. It invites play.