In my ear (March, April, May)

I keep thinking I’ll write an “in my ear” entry once a month, but I guess I’m too busy listening to all the new music and don’t have time to write. Anyway, here’s the scope on what’s in my various CD players, ipods, computers.

Acquired in:

MARCH

1980.jpgGetting Ready… by Freddie King
Great little blues album, released in 1996 that includes versions of two my favorite Freddie King blues: “I’m Tore Down” and “Going Down”, plus covers of Jimmy Reed’s “Walking By Myself” and Elmore James’ “Dust My Broom.”

1968.jpgMy Name Is Buddy by Ry Cooder

Cooder follows up his brilliant Chavez Ravine—a musical study of the mid-20th century transformation of the L.A. neighborhood that is now the site of Dodger Stadium—album with the allegorical My Name Is Buddy, “a phantasmagorical rendering in music, words and pictures of the travels of three unlikely cohorts – Buddy Red Cat, Lefty Mouse and Reverend Tom Toad – as they meander through the west ‘in the days of labor, big bosses, farm failures, strikes, company cops, sundown towns, hobos and trains…the America of yesteryear.'”

1972.jpgSecurity by Antibalas
“loosebooty grooves, intelligent sounds, and committed lyrics” from Brooklyn.

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Neon Bible by Arcade Fire
“the intentional murkiness of these pleasantly anthemic New Wave dirges makes it sound as if the music has already reverberated through a crowded cement stadium.” Sounds like it was recorded in a church…and it was. Pretty good, this one has gotten lots of time in the player.

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The Good, the Bad & the Queen by The Good the Bad & The Queen
“To open this oddball supergroup’s debut, Paul Simonon hints at “Guns of Brixton,” and when Tony Allen’s flex rhythms come in, there’s a shadow of Fela Kuti, too. Then Damon Albarn’s slow grit of a voice enters–framed by Simon Tong’s flecked guitar. And collectively, The Good, the Bad, & the Queen is quickly “sui generis”, adamantly different than anything you think you’ve heard.”

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West by Lucinda Williams
Some say her best yet, more adventurous that past albums and just as satisfying.

1973.jpgDestroyed Room: B-Sides and Rarities by Sonic Youth
Focuses on tracks previously available only on vinyl, limited-release compilations, or as b-sides to international singles—very cool.

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Living With the Living by Ted Leo and The Pharmacists
Anthemic rock with a political edge. The best rock album I’ve heard in a while.

APRIL

1982.jpg Farewell to the World by Crowded House

Two-disc set of their “final” concert…but their back now, which is good if you like Beatles-inspired pop.

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Live at the Fillmore East by Neil Young and Crazy Horse
Required purchase for all Canadians.

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Stax 50th Anniversary Celebration by Various Artists
Great two-disc set, with deluxe liner notes from Soulsville USA. If you don’t have the three volumes of Complete Stax/Volt! Singles, this is a good place to start. You’ll likely end up with the Complete Stax/Volt! anyway.

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Race to the Blackout by Clouds Forming Crowns
A GbV-related project…from the Tobias Brothers.

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Wowee Zowee: Sordid Sentinels Edition by Pavement
Listen, remember, join the cult.

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The Wham of That Memphis Man! by Lonnie Mack
Classic blues/R&B played on the Gibson “Flying V.”

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The Story by Brandi Carlile
This is an outstanding album, which Perry sent my way via Pando. Produced by T Bone Burnett. When trying to describe her voice here are the folks that are frequently name checked: Patsy Cline, Jeff Buckley, kd lang, Beth Orton, Linda Ronstadt, and Aimee Mann…pretty darn good company and the songwriting is superior too.

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Traffic and Weather by Fountains of Wayne
I love these guys. This is my most played album of the year, so far. Robert Christgau gave it a 4-star review in Rolling Stone, deservedly so.

MAY

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Country Ghetto by JJ Grey & Mofro
Best album of the year, so far (have I said that about another CD yet?). “Grey is influenced by the sexually charged blues of Howlin’ Wolf, the country soul of George Jones and the hard funk of James Brown, as well as local personalities like street preachers and old time radio DJs.”

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Peace, Love and Anarchy by Todd Snider
The odds and sods are as good as his “finished” work. Love “Comb Over Blues” and “East Nashville Skyline.” Through in some haiku and you’ve got a keeper.

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Recollection by Assembly of Dust
Signed up for eMusic and downloaded this album for free, but it’s so good I’d even pay money for it.

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23 by Blonde Redhead
Kinda like Sonic Youth, but not at all.

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The Wheel Man by Watermelon Slim and the Workers
Watermelon Slim follows up his Handy Award winning 2006 release with an album that is even better. Chicago’s Magic Slim stops by to help out. This is the best blues album of 2006…guaranteed.

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Los Valientes del Mundo Nuevo by Black Lips
Atlanta garage rockers live in a Tijuana dive. If you’re in the right mood it’s great.

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Cake Or Death by Lee Hazlewood
Appealingly weird album from the writer of “These Boots Are Made for Walking.”

2001.jpgLive from Austin Texas by Guided by Voices Hey kids, the “kings of lo-fi” from Dayton, Ohion—”not a bad place to visit…not a good place to stay”—wrap up their 21-year reign in fine style. Most of this wasn’t (and probably couldn’t) be aired on Austin City Limits, but it’s great listening. You don’t have to see the DVD to know that there were tubs of beer on the stage as GBV swung through Texas on their final tour. Listen to Robert Pollard philosophize on rock ‘n’ roll during “Secret Star” (after a quite a few Budweisers and sounding a bit like Homestar Runner). “We are advocates of fun rock…serious rock is good, but fun rock is better.”

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The Reminder by Feist
Vaguely jazz and disco-influenced lo-fi, indie electronica. Play this instead of Norah Jones at your next dinner party, which I mean as a complement. I really like this album, especially the track “My Moon.”

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Twelve by Patti Smith
Patti has always down great covers (including, “Gloria”… the best ever cover?) here’s an album’s worth, including a a great cover of “Smells Like Teen Spirit.”

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Because of the Times by Kings of Leon
Three Pentecostal minister’s sons playing grungy blues-rock. Can’t go wrong.

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One by Gran Torino
Funk and acid jazz from Knoxville, TN? Yes, and it’s good too. (Thanks Kris!)

I’m already on to my June CDs…but I’ll hold off for a few weeks before cataloging those.

Jewel boxes to JewelSleeves

P1010052.JPGI’m running out room for my CDs and in an effort to save space and make my CDs more easily accessible I’ve ditched the jewel boxes and transfered my CDs to JewelSleeves.

The photo shows 100 jewel boxes on the left. On the right are 100 JewelSleeves holding all the content from the jewel boxes.

Perry, my main man on all things gadget related, tipped me off to the JewelSleeve alternative and I love ’em, especially since I’ve just finished the tedious task of unstuffing and restuffing the CDs and the art.

What’s really cool about the JewelSleeve is that it holds the CD, booklet, and the tray insert, so you can still enjoy the album artwork. And, the JewelSleeves take up about one-quarter of the space of the jewelboxes…

Here’s a video of how the JewelSleeve works.

Bribes for Tests Scores

Sandra Mathison critiqued the “bribes for tests” strategies in US schools a couple of years back in Z Magazine where she wrote:

It remains common nonsense that extrinsic rewards lead to internal motivation. Indeed much research has demonstrated the deleterious effects of extrinsic rewards on motivation. Over the years, psychologists Edward Deci and Richard Ryan have repeatedly demonstrated this and recently their work points to the likelihood that using state tests for motivational purposes will likely lead to poorer education overall.

Now, unfortunately, it looks like the bribes for test strategy is gaining some serious traction in New York City as the Mayor Bloomberg and the school chancellor Joel Klein are considering a plan that would pay students cash for high scores on standardized tests.

Child abuse by teachers in US schools

TEACHERS CAN SAY NO TO STUDENT BATHROOM BREAKS
Two attempts this spring to limit students’ bathroom breaks have led to shame and controversy, reports G. Jeffrey MacDonald in USA TODAY.

In late April, a sixth-grader in Ohio wet his pants during a standardized test after a teacher refused to let him use the bathroom. In early May, a California eighth-grader said he urinated into a Gatorade bottle in a classroom corner because his teacher had refused to dismiss him. Such cases, though perhaps extreme, highlight a daily challenge for teachers. They must balance classroom control with a duty to accommodate the varied and hard-to-predict biological needs of their students. In seeking that balance, should they ever say no when a student asks permission to use the bathroom? That’s a matter of debate among teachers, administrators and medical professionals.

“Students make requests frequently to use the restroom when they really have intentions to do other things,” says Peter Reed, associate director of professional development services at the National Association of Secondary School Principals. “The real key is for every student to expect, when he or she is in (a teacher’s) class, that the full amount of time needs to be devoted to the learning activities for that day. You don’t have time for anything else.” But some urologists worry about the consequences of waiting too long between trips to the bathroom. ”

Responding to your body’s need to urinate or defecate is a basic human right, or even one step below that, it’s a basic animal right,” Dr. Christopher Cooper says. “I don’t think we would (restrict) animals, yet we do restrict the kids.” Complicating matters is the reality that some students avoid bathrooms because they’re dirty, smelly havens for bullies.

White supremacy is not color blind

Via the PEN Newsletter: WHITE SUPREMACY IS NOT COLOR BLIND

A Supreme Court ruling this summer on voluntary integration plans of Louisville and Seattle schools could sound the death knell for Brown v. Board of Education, warn the editors of Rethinking Schools in their spring issue. If the U.S. Supreme Court refuses to uphold voluntary integration plans in these two cities, it would wipe out the last vestiges of the 1954 Brown decision still in place. Over the years, the court has so chipped away at Brown that it is a mere shell of a decision, honored in speeches every Martin Luther King Jr. holiday but ignored in practice 365 days of the year. While conservatives argue that race-conscious policies are no longer necessary because the United States is becoming a multiracial, multiethnic society, Theodore Shaw of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund points out that “This country has always been a multiracial, multiethnic society. The problem has never been mere race consciousness. It has been white supremacy.” The editors challenge teachers to find new ways to struggle against our increasingly resegregated schools.

Media Landscape Redefined By 24-Second News Cycle

Media Landscape Redefined By 24-Second News Cycle

The Onion

Media Landscape Redefined By 24-Second News Cycle

ATLANTA, GA—Media critics have argued that segments lasting less than four seconds are missing out on some of the nuance and context the old 45-second pieces provided.

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How to write consistently boring scientific literature

youtoocanmakewine.JPG“Hell – is sitting on a hot stone reading your own scientific publications”
Erik Ursin, fish biologist

Here’s a great resource for all you aspiring scientists out there that is sure you help you along your way to gaining tenure. “How to write consistently boring scientific literature” by Kaj Sand-Jensen, an academic at the University of Copenhagen.

Sand-Jensen says that “although scientists typically insist that their research is very exciting and adventurous when they talk to laymen and prospective students, the allure of this enthusiasm is too often lost in the predictable, stilted structure and language of their scientific publications.”

In his article, published last month in the journal Oikos: Synthesising Ecology, Sand-Jensen presents a top-10 list of recommendations for how to write consistently boring scientific publications. And then discusses how scientists could make these contributions more accessible and exciting.

Here’s how to turn a gifted writer into a dull scientist (works for natural and social scientists, by the way):

1. Avoid focus
2. Avoid originality and personality
3. Write long contributions
4. Remove most implications and every speculation
5. Leave out illustrations, particularly good ones
6. Omit necessary steps of reasoning
7. Use many abbreviations and technical terms
8. Supress humor and flowery language
9. Degrade species and biology to statistical elements
10. Quote numerous papers for self-evident statements

Rouge Forum Update

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Dear Friends,

At the Rouge Forum Conference in Detroit, we collected a sizeable amount of money to be passed along to our friends engaged in the struggle in Oaxaca. That money has now been received and hearty thanks returned. The news from Oaxaca is, in sum, the struggle continues. The debates that persist in the US (like the need for a centralized organization to confront the government, vs the desire for some personal autonomy, or the role of voting vs direct action, the nature of government as either contested terrain or a mode class rule) continue there, though under much greater pressure. Government repression stepped up, and the resistance movement has grown more sophisticated. Keep an eye on news from Oaxaca. There is a lot to learn. We hope to have a full report from our Oaxaca travelers in June.

The Rouge Forum web page is updated here.

This week, however, we want to draw attention to other work available online.

Workplace journal has a special issue on the long NYU strike which should contain lessons for all in education.

The Radical Unit for Political Economy in India did outstanding work with great insight in regard to the US oil war on Iraq, and this piece on military affairs is equally Cassandra-like.

The Power and Interest Report is carrying a challenging article on the role of Russia in the Caspian Sea region.

Our action in regard to the San Diego City Schools surge to press children and educators into support for the empire’s wars, via a series of “support the troops,” rallies, ice cream parties, and similar contests was fairly successful. We collected more than one thousand of the postcards (complete with war eagle) that were to be sent to troops, but misplaced by activist teachers, and more importantly, we sparked a national debate inside NEA and AFT locals as to just what educators should do, when put on the line ourselves.

Be sure to set aside time (and money) to come to the National Council for the Social Studies conference in San Diego in late November. We will be leading several presentations, workshops, and a clinic that features a nation/class tour of San Diego’s borders.

Thanks to Gil, Sherry W, Candace, Eva, Lila, Ann S, Michael P., Holly, Sharon A., David, Geoff, Garth, John Miller, Paul Schreer, Chuck Ream, Don A, Peter M, Carlson, TC, Amber, Doug S, and Wayne. Congratulations to Ofira’s family on the birth of a beautiful rebel girl.