Yma Sumac - Voice Of The Xtabay (1950) (@256)

Yma Sumac was a Peruvian singer with tremendous vocal abilities ranging four octaves. We read from the cd's booklet:
"It is no exaggeration to say that Yma Sumac possesses the most extraordinary voice of our times. If it were but a vocal instrument it would still be exciting, but this beautiful Incan princess plays her fabulous four-octave range with such a variety of emotional attitudes and tonal color that the result is a unique and spellbinding experience."
Glen Dillard Bunn of the Washington Times-Herald has written for her: "There is no voice like it in the world of music today. It has a greater range than any female voice of concert or opera. It soars into the acoustic stratosphere, or it plumbs sub-contralto depths of pitch with equal ease. Such voices happen only one in a generation."
Sumac passed away on Nov 1, 2008.

album review link: here

download link: here

Odetta - At Carnegie Hall (1960) (@256)

One of the most characteristic voices of the folk revival, a major inspiration for Bob Dylan and an active figure of the civil rights movement left us on Dec. 2. Odetta was to perform in Obama's inauguration on January 20, 2009.

BBC for Odetta

album review link: here

download link: here

Real gone

Many important artists passed away lately. We will remember them in the uploads to come.

Brian Eno/ David Byrne - My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts (1981) (@256)

As Joe Tangari writes in his review for "Everything That Happens Will Happen Today" in pitchforkmedia: "In 1981, Talking Heads frontman David Byrne and producer Brian Eno united for one of the most fruitful partnerships of the post-punk era to release My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, a groundbreaking record that made prominent use of sampled soundbytes and disembodied voices in place of singing. The album, recorded between sessions for the Talking Heads' essential Remain in Light LP, was released with surprisingly little fanfare, yet pioneered and popularized methods that have since become part of our musical lexicon."
This year's collaboration between these two artists does not reach the great heights of their first time, but it is a decent release worth listening to it.

album review link: here

download link: here (mirrorcreator) and here (rapidshare)

Gasmask cherub

source: whatstreetparty

Για τα 2 χρόνια του musictraveler δίνω το live cd ("Live at Shea Stadium") των Clash που το έχω διπλό

OK. Μόνο για τους εν Ελλάδι (μη μας πάνε και ο κούκος αϊδόνι τα ταχυδρομικά...). Στείλτε comment, email ή ταχυδρομικό περιστέρι απαντώντας στην εξής ερώτηση (τα χρόνια σας πολλά για τα δύο κεράκια αυτού του blog επίσης δεκτά). Με πόσα αυγά κάνεις ομελέτα έναν ΜΑΤατζή; Όλες οι απαντήσεις θα θεωρηθούν σωστές. Απαντήσεις δεκτές μέχρι 31/12, 23.59. Η σωστή απάντηση είναι κατατεθειμένη στο συμβολαιογραφικό γραφείο της συμβολαιογράφου που συνέταξε τα συμβόλαια για τη Μονή Βατοπεδίου. Η κλήρωση, αφού ζεσταθούν και χρωματιστούν τα μπαλάκια θα πραγματοποιηθεί στο σπίτι μου, παρουσία της παραπάνω. Ο νικητής θα ειδοποιηθεί με comment σ'αυτό το post την 1/1/09.
Υ.Γ. το cd (προφανώς) δεν είναι copy

No Christmas this year

See the video

Spread the struggle. France and Sweden are next

RESISTANCE

STOP WATCHING, GET OUT ONTO THE STREETS

Greece protestors interrupted the TV news bulletin of the state TV studio to call for continuation of the struggle against the governors' corruption and the police brutality by raising a banner saying "Stop watching, get out onto the streets".

Modern greek pottery

source: studiohajo

Genoa, Paris, Athens... What's Next?

La Haine (Hatred)

Sometimes life imitates art in the most chilling way... The "only" difference is that the 16-year old Greek is dead rather than 'severely beaten'.

P.S. I did not find any "real life" videos that focus on the murder rather than on the riots that followed.

Police murder 16 year old in cold blood!

One more victim of police brutality yesterday night in Athens. The 16 year old victim was shot dead. Read here.

Diamanda Galas - You Must Be Certain Of The Devil (1988) (@256)

Today is the World AIDS Day. Awareness and preventive education is the best weapon against the further spreading of the disease. As for the treatment, while in the western world the medication has developed to offer sustainable living conditions to the victims, the third world and most notably Africa is deliberately kept away from the available elsewhere drugs. We read from Time: "The pharmaceutical firms see local manufacture and so-called parallel imports--where other countries buy the copycat generics instead of the brand name--as a threat they are battling to wipe out. They feel that they alone should not have to pick up the tab for Africa. They want to stanch drug pirates who might make worthless fakes or flood drugs onto the black market. And they fear that making AIDS therapies cheaper for Africans will prompt lucrative Western markets to demand lower prices as well."

This upload offers the third (and most 'accessible') part of Diamanda Galas' "Masque of the Red Death", a trilogy dedicated to the victims of the AIDS/HIV epidemic. We read from the back cover: "I dedicate this album to my brothers and sisters, Persons With Aids, who now live and die in fear". This album is a shocking evidence of an artist so intense, that someone has to be totally impassive not to feel at least uneasy when exposed to it.

Lyrics of "Let's Not Chat About Despair"
You who speak of crowd control, of karma, or the punishment of god
Let's not chat about despair.
Do you fear the cages they are building in
Kentucky, Tennessee and Texas
while they're giving ten to forty years to find a cure?
Let's not chat about despair.
Do you pray each evening out of horror or of fear to the savage God whose bloody hand commands you now to die alone?
Let's not chat about despair.
Do you taste the presence of the living death while the skeleton beneath your open window waits with arms outstretched?
Let's not chat about despair.
Do you spend each night in waiting for the devil's little angels' cries to burn you in your sleep?
Let's not chat about despair.
Do you wait for miracles in small hotels
with Seconal and Compazine
or for a ticket to the house of death in Amsterdam?
Let's not chat about despair.
Do you wait in prison for the dreadful day
the office of the butcher comes to carry you away?
Let's not chat about despair
Do you wait for saviors or the paradise to come in laundry rooms, in toilets, or in Cadillacs?
Let's not chat about despair.
Are you crucified beneath the life machines
with a shank inside your neck
and a head which blossoms like a basketball?
Let's not chat about despair.
Do you tremble at the timid steps
of crying, smiling faces who, in mourning,
now have come to pay their last respects?
Let's not chat about despair.
In Kentucky Harry buys a round of beer
to celebrate the death of Billy Smith, the queer,
whose mother still must hide her face in fear.
Let's not chat about despair.
You who mix the words of torture, suicide, and death with scotch and soda at the bar,
we're all real decent people, aren't we, but there's no time left for talk.
Let's not chat about despair.
PLEASE DON'T TALK AB0UT DESPAIR

album review link: here

download link: here (mirrorcreator) and here (rapidshare)

Various Artists - No More Prisons (1999) (@256)

Relevant to the subject of the last two posts is the US criminal justice policy and the privatisation trend of the US prisons. The latter was first applied in 1984 (another neo-liberal Reaganism), and allowed corporations to build and/or manage prisons. From that point, corrections facilities were not any more institutions aiming to rehabilitate, but branches aiming for profit. Moreover, the B.O.T. contracts between the state and these corrections corporations are such that the latter are paid by the "head" of each prisoner they are housing. Since it is on the state to provide each private prison with "clients" in order their viability to be retainable, the justice policy started to convict less serious offenders, (e.g. for misdemeanor offences). The constant increase of inmates resulted the US to have the highest documented prison population in the world (China ranks second despite having over four times the population of the US). As of 2006, a record 7 million people were behind bars. More than 1 in 100 American adults were incarcerated at the start of 2008; the social implications of such rates are apparent. It should be stressed out that the respective rate for 2006 in Australia was 0.163/100 and in England and Wales 0.139/100.

Check also:
US: America's Private Gulag
Comparative International Rates of Incarceration: An Examination of Causes and Trends Presented to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights
Incarceration in the United States

Further reading: Capitalist Punishment: Prison Privatization and Human Rights by Elizabeth Alexander (read an excerpt here)

In this current upload the hip-hop community raises its voice against the ill-fated US criminal justice policy. Emilie Litzell writes for allmusic: "If hip-hop is supposed to be a voice of the urban masses bringing awareness to the injustices of everyday life, too many albums are released devoid of political messages. With that sentiment in mind, Raptivism Records' 1999 release No More Prisons is a gorgeous answer to a full-blown crisis. Uniting underground MCs from coast to coast, No More Prisons comes complete with 23 tracks of personal insight, reflection, and socio-political commentary on the national prison system and the hypocritical foundation those prisons stand on. (...) Rarely does an album come complete with an actual message, conscious content, above-the-board production values, and mad skills behind the mic. When all of those elements are seamlessly blended into a complete expression of unity, watch out. The bar's been raised."

Tracklisting:
01-DJ Shame (Vinyl Reanimators) - Infomercial (Meet The Press)
02-B.K.N.Y. - Where Ya At
03-Sister Asia feat. Steele & Top Dog - Dedicated
04-Danny Hoch - Criminal
05-Vinia Mojica with add. vocals by The Last Emperor - Evolution
06-Apani B-Fly Emcee feat. L.I.F.E. - Outa Site
07-Hurricane G. - No More Prisons
08-Hedrush, Dead Prez & People's Army - Murda Box
09-Daddy-O - Voices
10-Rubberoom - M.O.V.E.
11-The Coup - Drug Warz
12-Helixx C. Armaggedon & Pri the Honey Dark - Lunchbreak
13-Prof. Cornel West - Inspiration
14-The Reepz - The Plan
15-Dead Prez - Behind Enemy Lines
16-Kool DJ EQ feat. The Last Poets - More Prisons
17-Akbar - Battle Cry
18-El Battalion - Siege
19-Scientifik El-D, God Wize, L Da Headtoucha, K-Slaughta - Hold The Key
20-Chubb Rock, Lil' Dap, Edo G., Paw Duke - Rich Get Rich
21-Grandmaster Caz - Too Much
22-Lyric & Mike Ladd - Let Us Go
23-Yazeed - Underground Railroad

album review link: here

download link (with booklet info etc.): here

Not In Our Name

The greek text in the previous post is about the massive protest taking place in the form of hunger strike by thousands of prisoners in the Greek jails (1, 2). It is their only mean, a voiceless scream, asking for guaranteed basic human rights for all prisoners. They are protesting for the unreasonably high death rates among them, for the overpopulated prisons (there are cases where the ratio is 1 m2/prisoner) with 'medieval' infrastructure, for the totally inadequate health care service, for the terrible meals. A relevant report carried out by the European Committee in 2007, revealed (once more) severe cases of ill- treatment of detained persons by law enforcement officials. Based on similar reports the European Court of Human Right has found in many cases Greece guilty for human right violations of prisoners by law enforcement officials.
The prisoners have started a petition named 'Not In Our Name', that will be handled to the Greek Parliament and to a number of Greek & International Media (you can read the english translation of the greek supporting text here). They are asking for our support by signing the petition.

Όχι στο όνομά μας

Με αφορμή το πρωτόγνωρο κύμα απεργιών πείνας από τους κρατούμενους στις Ελληνικές φυλακές αλλά και την εγκληματική αποσιώπησή του από τα κυρίαρχα ΜΜΕ, για τη Δημοκρατία και την προάσπιση των βασικών ανθρώπινων δικαιωμάτων καλούμε όλους όσους διατηρούν μπλογκς, διαδικτυακά φόρα και όχι μόνο να δημοσιεύσουν ταυτόχρονα και συντονισμένα στις 20 Νοεμβρίου 2008, ημέρα Πέμπτη, το παρακάτω κείμενο και όλους του χρήστες του διαδικτύου να το υπογράψουν.
Όχι στο Όνομά μας
“Είναι απαράδεκτη η κατάσταση στις ελληνικές φυλακές. Είναι κύριο θέμα η ριζική αλλαγή του σωφρονιστικού συστήματος”.
–Κάρολος Παπούλιας, 6/11/08
“Είμαστε άνθρωποι – κρατούμενοι. Άνθρωποι, λέω”
- Βαγγέλης Πάλλης, Κρατούμενος, 9/11/08
Από τις τρεις Νοεμβρίου μία εκκωφαντική κραυγή συνταράσσει τα θεμέλια της Δημοκρατίας μας. Από τις τρεις Νοεμβρίου σύσσωμοι οι κρατούμενοι όλης της χώρας κατεβαίνουν σε απεργία πείνας διεκδικώντας το αυτονόητο : τη χαμένη τους αξιοπρέπεια. Απέναντί τους αντιμετωπίζουν την εκκωφαντική σιωπή των κραταιών ΜΜΕ και την παντελή αδιαφορία της πολιτικής ηγεσίας. Σε αυτές τις πρακτικές όσοι υπογράφουμε αυτό το κείμενο ΔΕ ΣΥΝΑΙΝΟΥΜΕ.
Η κατάσταση στις Ελληνικές φυλακές είναι απερίγραπτη και μπορεί να γίνει κατανοητή μόνο με τη σκληρή γλώσσα των μαθηματικών. Στα κατ’ επίφαση “σωφρονιστικά” ιδρύματα της χώρας έχουν καταγραφεί συνολικά 417 θάνατοι την τελευταία δεκαετία, ενώ ο ρυθμός τους έχει απογειωθεί σε τέτοιο σημείο, ώστε σήμερα να σβήνουν στα χέρια του κράτους τέσσερις άνθρωποι το μήνα. Η πληρότητα αγγίζει το 168% (10.113 κρατούμενοι για 6.019 θέσεις) με την αναλογία χώρου για κάθε άνθρωπο να φτάνει σε περιπτώσεις το 1τμ. Με ημερήσιο κρατικό έξοδο ανά κρατούμενο τα 3,60 Ευρώ τα συσσίτια που παρέχονται είναι άθλια, οι υποδομές θυμίζουν μεσαίωνα και η ιατροφαρμακευτική περίθαλψη είναι ελλιπέστατη. Συγχρόνως, το Ελληνικό δικαστικό σύστημα στέλνει στη φυλακή έναν στους χίλιους κατοίκους της χώρας με τους έγκλειστους χωρίς δίκη (υπό προσωρινή κράτηση) να αγγίζουν το 30% του συνολικού αριθμού των κρατουμένων. Αν η ποιότητα μίας Δημοκρατίας κρίνεται από τις φυλακές της, τότε η Δημοκρατία μας ασθμαίνει. Αν η τιμώρηση παραβατικών συμπεριφορών με εγκλεισμό γίνεται από το κράτος στο όνομα της κοινωνίας, τότε για την κατάσταση στις Ελληνικές φυλακές είμαστε όλοι υπόλογοι, με συντριπτικές όμως ευθύνες να αναλογούν στην κρατική μηχανή. Σε αυτή την πραγματικότητα όσοι υπογράφουμε αυτό το κείμενο απαντούμε ΟΧΙ ΣΤΟ ΟΝΟΜΑ ΜΑΣ.
Τα στοιχεία που αποκαλύπτονται από επίσημους φορείς για τις Ελληνικές φυλακές σκιαγραφούν εικόνα κολαστηρίων. Έκθεση της Ευρωπαϊκής Επιτροπής για την Πρόληψη των Βασανιστηρίων (2007) διαπιστώνει βασανιστήρια, απάνθρωπη μεταχείριση και απειλές κατά της ζωής κρατουμένων, σειρά παραβιάσεων αναφορικά με τις συνθήκες κράτησης, ελλείμματα στη διερεύνηση και τιμωρία των ενόχων, αποσιώπηση περιστατικών βίας με την συμπαιγνία ιατρών και φυλάκων, απαράδεκτες συνθήκες ιατρικής περίθαλψης και ιατρικού ελέγχου στους κρατούμενους κλπ. Το Ευρωπαϊκό Δικαστήριο Δικαιωμάτων του Ανθρώπου έχει εκδώσει σειρά καταδικαστικών για την Ελλάδα αποφάσεων που αφορούν κακομεταχείριση ή/και παραβιάσεις άλλων δικαιωμάτων κρατουμένων από σωφρονιστικές αρχές. Η Εθνική Επιτροπή για τα Δικαιώματα του Ανθρώπου έχει πάρει απόφαση - καταπέλτη για τα κακώς κείμενα στις φυλακές, προτείνοντας άμεσες δράσεις για την επίλυση τους. Ο Συνήγορος του Πολίτη διαμαρτύρεται για την παντελή έλλειψη συνεργασίας των αρμόδιων κρατικών φορεών μαζί του, λόγω της οποίας έχει ουσιαστικά απαγορευτεί η είσοδός του στις φυλακές της χώρας τα τελευταία δύο χρόνια. Οι δικηγορικοί σύλλογοι όλης της χώρας, μη κυβερνητικές οργανώσεις, όπως η Διεθνής Αμνηστία, και πολλοί πολιτικοί/κοινωνικοί φορείς καταγγέλλουν την απαράδεκτη κατάσταση και ζητούν ευρύτερη συνεργασία για το ξεπέρασμα του προβλήματος. Αν ανθρώπινα είναι τα δικαιώματα που πρέπει να απολαμβάνει κάθε ανθρώπινο ον, κάθε στέρησή τους στις Ελληνικές φυλακές αποτελεί ανοιχτή πληγή για την κοινωνία μας. Σε αυτή την κατάσταση όσοι υπογράφουμε αυτό το κείμενο απαντούμε ΝΑ ΣΠΑΣΕΙ ΕΠΙΤΕΛΟΥΣ ΤΟ ΑΒΑΤΟ ΤΩΝ ΦΥΛΑΚΩΝ.
Με την απεργία πείνας οι κρατούμενοι καταφεύγουν στο τελευταίο οχυρό αντίστασης, που τους έχει απομείνει, το σώμα τους. Είχε προηγηθεί έσχατη έκκλησή τους προ μηνός προς τους ιθύνοντες να ενσκήψουν στο πρόβλημα, καθώς δεν πήγαινε άλλο. Για να λύσουν την απεργία πείνας ζητούν την ικανοποίηση αιτημάτων, που αποκαθιστούν την χαμένη τους αξιοπρέπεια και επανακτούν τα βασικά ανθρώπινα δικαιώματά τους, αιτημάτων συγκεκριμένων, αξιοπρεπών και άμεσα υλοποιήσιμων. Απέναντι στις κινητοποιήσεις των κρατουμένων η πολιτική ηγεσία εξαντλεί τη δράση της σε αδιαφορία, υποσχέσεις και καταστολή των κινημάτων τους. Τυχόν αδιαφορία και αναλγησία της πολιτικής ηγεσίας όμως και σε αυτή τη φάση θα σημαίνει νεκρούς απεργούς πείνας. Στη μετωπική λοιπόν σύγκρουση που επιλέγουν οι κρατούμενοι της χώρας για τη διεκδίκηση των ανθρωπίνως αυτονόητων δε μπορούμε να μένουμε απαθείς σταυρώνοντας τα χέρια και περιμένοντας τις ειδήσεις των θανάτων από τις απεργίες πείνας αλλά θα σταθούμε αλληλέγγυοι. Αν η περιφρούρηση της δημοκρατίας και των ανθρωπίνων δικαιωμάτων επιβάλλουν την επαγρύπνιση όλων μας, τώρα είναι λοιπόν η στιγμή να πάρουμε θέση όλοι απέναντι στο πρόβλημα χωρίς αδιαφορίες και υπεκφυγές.
Απέναντι στην τεταμένη κατάσταση στις φυλακές όλης της χώρας όσοι υπογράφουμε αυτό το κείμενο καθιστούμε την πολιτική ηγεσία απολύτως υπεύθυνη για ό,τι συμβεί και απαιτούμε άμεσα την τόσο θεσμική όσο και στην πράξη ΕΓΓΥΗΣΗ ΤΩΝ ΒΑΣΙΚΩΝ ΑΝΘΡΩΠΙΝΩΝ ΔΙΚΑΙΩΜΑΤΩΝ ΤΩΝ ΚΡΑΤΟΥΜΕΝΩΝ ΟΛΗΣ ΤΗΣ ΧΩΡΑΣ.Την 21η Νοεμβρίου το κείμενο αυτό θα σταλεί σε όλα τα μέλη του κοινοβουλίου και σε όσο το δυνατόν περισσότερους φορείς μέσων μαζικής ενημέρωσης με την προτροπή της αναδημοσίευσής του. Το κείμενο προς αποστολή θα φέρει τους υπερσυνδέσμους (URL) από όλες τις ιστοσελίδες, που το υιοθέτησαν.

The Clash - Live in Guildford, UK, 1-5-77

We had a bunch of Clash releases recently; although the dvd and the book do not offer something really new, the cd ("Live at Shea Stadium") is really enjoyable. It was a concert given in 1982, with the Clash being the support act to the Who. As Pat Gilbert writes for Mojo "Musically, the Clash sound impressively and unexpectedly tight and funky, with Joe's reverb-drenched vocals and Mick's echoey guitar effects giving the songs a lively, 3D feel. Throughout, the band plays at such a gallop you get a palpable sense of how terrifying it must have been for them to step out in front of 70,000 potentially hostile fans in a baseball stadium made famous by the Beatles. Yet the undercurrent of fear and derring-do only serves to render the likes of Police On My Back, Guns Of Brixton, Rock The Casbah, Train In Vain and a super-quick The Magnificent Seven (segueing into Armagideon Time) even more electrifying than their studio originals."
On the contrary, today's upload offers a Clash bootleg from their early days. Although the sound quality is not very good, it showcases a vibrant group full of anger and energy. For those interested, mondo-de-muebles and nuzzprowlinwolf, offer many Clash bootlegs; nuzz also offers the Subway Sect's support act of that night in Guildford.

Tracklisting:
01-London's Burning
02-1977
03-I'm So Bored With The U.S.A.
04-Pressure Drop
05-Hate And War
06-Cheat
07-Police And Thieves
08-48 Hours
09-Capital Radio
10-Deny
11-Remote Control
12-Career Opportunities
13-White Riot
14-Janie Jones
15-Garageland

download link: here

A Change Is Gonna Come

Jeff Wayne - Musical Version Of The War Of The Worlds (1978) (@256)

Reading from the book The Complete War of the Worlds - Mars' Invasion of Earth from H.G. Wells to Orson Welles (Brian Holmsten & Alex Lubartozzi): "Perhaps the most terrifying version of The War of the Worlds was Jeff Wayne's London stage musical. Frighteningly representative of 1978, this deadly serious rock opera featured Richard Burton in the role of narra­tor with music written by Jeff Wayne and Gary Osborne. The Moody Blues' Justin Hayward, Phil Lynott of Thin Lizzy, and David Essex, among others, performed songs that sounded like an unholy union of Pink Floyd and ABBA. Wayne, who somehow convinced the likes of Burton and Hayward to take part in this questionable production, remained faithful to the text by Wells. The original cast double album inspired some imaginative Roger Dean-style artwork. Despite its overwhelming campiness, Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds entered the UK album charts and remained there for six years, achieving multi-platinum status with sales in excess of six million double albums. (...) Hearing Thin Lizzy frontman Phil Lynott, as Pastor Nathaniel, rant and sing about the Martian "devils" makes sitting through the rest of it nearly worthwhile."

album review link: here

download link: here

Radio Broadcast - The H. G. Wells' War Of The Worlds by Mercury Theatre feat. Orson Welles, October 30, 1938 (@256)

It's been 70 years from the notorious radio broadcast that dramatised the H. G. Wells' novel "The War Of The Worlds". The broadcast was directed by Orson Welles who he also played the role of professor Pierson. Since most of the part of the broadcast was in the form of news bulletins of developing events that were reporting an invasion of aliens from Mars, many listeners actually believed it to be true.
While the broadcast certainly fulfilled its entertainment intentions, it is also sure that it's been used many times since as a framework for social manipulation through the mass media.

Images scanned from the highly recommended book The Complete War of the Worlds - Mars' Invasion of Earth from H.G. Wells to Orson Welles (Brian Holmsten & Alex Lubartozzi).

download link: here

Various Artists - Brother Can You Spare A Dime: Songs Of The Depression (@256)

It's always the same plot isn't it? The deadly combination of greed with the lack of control by the state always leads to situations similar to what we experience today. The reasons that caused the Great Depression these days back in 1929 are more or less the same with those of the Crisis today. Easy credit, (in 1929 for stocks, in 2008 for houses) led us to the same result. The reasons and the conditions which created our Crisis (or should we better name it "the Great Depression of 2008") were described by a single statement of Nicholas Lazares, a former manager of Lehman Brothers, who had resigned before the Crisis started: "Greed trumped everything (...). They were willing to make a loan to an orangutan." So, for some scumbags' bonuses it's the whole world now that is seriously affected. It seems that we have entered into a downward spiral with no visible end.
It is self-evident that today's (or should we say yesterday's) form of capitalism faces severe function problems. The 'funny' thing is of course that the 'experts' who were asserting that the market always balances by itself and were repulsing any state control, are now in the queue begging the state to finance (with the tax-payers' money) their failure.
History also teaches us that the US finally got over the Great Depression through the war economy of WWII, and also that fascist regimes in Germany and Italy found a very fertile ground through promises of "law and order" to the, horrified by the Depression effects, citizens...

Today's upload is a compilation of some of the songs written during and for the Great Depression. Unfortunately, it looks like we might be hearing a lot of songs like these soon. Some (if not all) of the lyrics depict today's Crisis perfectly; take a look at the lyrics of 1931's song "Cheer Up! Smile! Nertz! (Ballyhoo)".

Sure, business is bunk,
And Wall Street is sunk,
We're all of us broke, and ready to croak.
We've nothing to dunk,
Can't even get drunk,
And all the while, they tell us to smile:

Cheer up, gentle citizens, though you have no shirts,
Happy days are here again. Cheer up, smile, nertz!
All aboard prosperity, giggle 'till it hurts!
No more bread-line charity. Cheer up, smile, nertz!
Cheer up, cheer up, cheer up, cheer up, cheer,
Up, cheer up, cheer up, cheer, better times are here.
Sunny smilers we must be, the optimist asserts,
Let's hang the fat-head to a tree! Cheer up, smile, nertz!

The world's in the red,
We're better off dead,
Depression, they say's in session to stay.
Our judges are queer,
Our banks disappear,
And all the while, they tell us to smile:

Cheer up, gentle citizens, though you have no shirts,
Happy days are here again. Cheer up, smile, nertz!
All aboard prosperity, giggle 'till it hurts,
No more bread-line charity. Cheer up, smile, nertz!

Cheer up, cheer up, cheer up, cheer up, cheer,
Up, cheer up, cheer up, cheer, better times are here.
Sunny smilers we must be, the optimist asserts,
Let's hang the fat-head to a tree! Cheer up, smile, nertz!

Nertz!
The following video gathers some of the staggering Great Depression photos of Dorothea Lange.


download link (with booklet info etc.): here

OST - Mame (1974) (@256)

We read from NME.com: "David Bowie's 1972 album 'The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars' has been voted the gayest album of all time by a panel of "gay experts".
Out.com polled a panel including Boy George, Rufus Wainwright and Cyndi Lauper to determine the 100 most homosexual albums of all time, with Bowie's effort emerging as Number One.
According to the compilers, albums included were "not only records by queer musicians but also any records that have had relevance to those voting".
The Smiths have two albums in the top ten and a total of four in the top40 (while Morrissey has another one in the top100), Madonna has five albums in the top100, Queen and Bowie have from three albums each. To read the whole story go here.
Well, this poll reminded me of a similar list that was compiled by Sirius satellite radio DJ Frank DeCaro in order to determine the gayest song ever. The title went to Jerry Herman 's "Bosom Buddies" as sung by Lucille Ball and Beatrice Arthur for the soundtrack for the 1974 movie version of Mame.

Again, Smiths and Bowie are present, sharing number 10 of the list. To see the respective list go here. As for "Bosom Buddies", I think that the homosexual references are not so apparent, apart from the lyric "I'll always be Alice Toklas, If you'll be Gertrude Stein".

album review link: here

download link: here

Various Artists - Stand Up And Be Counted (@256)

It's been exactly 40 years from possibly the bravest political statement in sports. Tommie Smith and John Carlos at the 200m medal-award ceremony of the Mexican Olympics in 1968, raised their clenched fists in a black power salute as a stand against racial discrimination. As Tommie Smith later explained: "If I win, I am American, not a black American. But if I did something bad, then they would say I am a Negro. We are black and we are proud of being black. Black America will understand what we did tonight". Shouldn't we also forget, that, in support of Smith and Carlos, the second place finisher, the Australian Peter Norman, wore the Human Rights badge. For all three, the consequences of their gesture for their carriers and lives were enduring and devastating. Unfortunately, in today's society athletes are considered entertainers who are not "allowed" to express their beliefs on social matters. It is their popularity and influence they have on young people that make them "dangerous". But, as Smith himself recently said: "Athletes have a responsibility to speak because they are in a position to make a difference and they have a responsibility to make that difference".

Today's upload pays tribute to that historical gesture. "Stand Up And Be Counted" is a fine compilation with its front cover commemorating the salute and packed with powerful gems of the late 60's-early 70's which focus on social and racial issues.

Tracklisting:
A1-The Flames - Stand Up And Be Counted
A2-Gil Scott-Heron - The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
A3-The Impressions - Mighty Mighty (Spade And Whitey)
A4-Billy Paul - East
B1-Mike James Kirkland - Hang On In There
B2-Esther Marrow - Things Ain't Right
B3-James Brown - Say It Loud - I'm Black And I'm Proud ( Parts 1&2)
C1-The Last Poets - When The Revolution Comes
C2-Pace-Setters - Push On Jessie Jackson
C3-Archie Shepp - Blues For Brother George Jackson
C4-Eddie Kendricks - My People... Hold On
D1-The Pharaohs - Freedom Road
D2-Kain - Loose Here
D3-Nina Simone - I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free

album review link: here

download link: here

R.E.M. - Murmur (1983) (@256)

It's been a quarter of a century (sounds more impressive to refer to centuries rather than to years doesn't it) from the release of R.E.M.'s first lp. I guess they could never imagine that from a rather obscure band from Athens, Georgia, they would become at first (during their IRS years) one of the top alternative bands of the 80's, then they would dominate the charts with a rather weak album (Out Of Time) with sparkling singles, they would subsequently release one of the best 90's album (Automatic For The People) and, after 25 years from their first lp release, they would still remain in the limelight with decent albums and massive stadium concerts. One of these concerts we Greeks had the chance to enjoy for free in Kalimarmaro stadium (where the 1896 Olympic games took place) last Sunday; it will be uploaded upon request.

album review link: here

download link: here (link removed due to a DMCA)

Jacques Brel - Quand On N'a Que L'amour (@256)

Just to give you an idea, we are talking here about a composer and lyricist (but also an actor and director) who is often compared with Bob Dylan as for the power of his songs. He has also been a major influence for David Bowie, Leonard Cohen, Scott Walker, Marc Almond, Momus, Divine Comedy, the Tindersticks and for most of the singer-songwriters of this world. Many of his songs have been "translated" in English and performed by Joan Baez, Judy Collins, the Sensational Alex Harvey Band (my favourite pick with "Next"), Dusty Springfield, the Kingston Trio, Shirley Bassey, Dionne Warwick, Nina Simone, Gavin Friday, Nirvana, Walkabouts, Pearls Before Swine and Mitch Ryder to name just a few from the relevant extensive list. Finally, the off-Broadway act "Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris" which was based on his songs translated by Mort Shuman and Eric Blau, resulted in one of the most successful off-Broadway shows ever. Jacques Brel passed away exactly 30 years ago but his music continues to inspire.

This current upload is a brilliant compilation covering in chronological order his carrier up to 1972.

Jacques Brel info: here and here

album review link: here

download link (part 1): here
download link (part 2 with covers, info, credits etc.): here

All work and no play makes alan f a dull boy

Dr. John - Dr. John's Gumbo (1972) (@256)

This is the final upload dedicated to Jerry Wexler. To end the story, if you just sum the diversity of the genres and the quality of the recordings of the uploaded Wexler's productions then you'll have a very good hint of his genius.
As for Gumbo, it's simply a delightful New Orleans r&b (with drops of r'n'r, blues and funk) orgy.




Tracklisting:
A1-Iko Iko
A2-Blow Wind Blow
A3-Big Chief
A4-Somebody Changed The Lock
A5-Mess Around
A6-Let The Good Times Roll
B1-Junko Partner
B2-Stack-A-Lee
B3-Tipitina
B4-Those Lonely Lonely Nights
B5-Huey Smith Medley: High Blood Pressure/ Don't You Just Know It/ Well I'll Be John Brown
B6-Little Liza Jane

album tracks info: here

album review link: here

download link: here  (mirrorcreator) and here (rapidshare)

Doug Sahm - Doug Sahm And Band (1973) (@256)

Another flawless production by Jerry Wexler (and Arif Mardin). An irresistible 'session' band which includes Bob Dylan and Dr. John. A superb selection of tracks that flow gently like brook's water. Well, what else can you ask for?

album review link (allmusic): here

download link: here

Original Cast - The Wiz (1975) (@256)

This is Jerry Wexler's marvellous production for The Wiz, an original cast recording with an all-black cast who retold L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The musical opened on January 1975, it ran for over 1600 performances and won seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Original Score for the music and lyrics of Charlie Smalls.

Tracklisting:
A1-Prologue - (Company)
A2-The Feeling We Once Had - Aunt Em (Tasha Thomas)
A3-Tornado - Instrumental
A4-He's The Wizard - Addaperle (Clarice Taylor) & Company
A5-Soon As I Get Home - Dorothy (Stephanie Mills)
A6-I Was Born On The Day Before Yesterday - Scarecrow (Hinton Battle)
A7-Ease On Down The Road - Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tinman (Tiger Haynes), Lion (Ted Ross)
A8-Slide Some Oil To Me - Tinman
A9-I'm A Mean Ole Lion - Lion
B1-Be A Lion - Dorothy, Lion
B2-So You Wanted To See The Wizard - The Wiz (Andre De Shields)
B3-What Would I Do If I Could Feel - Tinman
B4-Don't Nobody Bring Me No Bad News - Evillene (Mabel King)
B5-Everybody Rejoice - Dorothy & Company
B6-Y'All Got It! - The Wiz & Company
B7-If You Believe - Glinda (Dee Dee Bridgewater)
B8-Home (Finale) - Dorothy

album review link (allmusic): here

download link (with inlet & lyric insert): here