First things first. Ani DiFranco has a new studio album, Reprieve, ready and it will be released on August 8th. You can listen to "Hypnotized" here and you can see video for "Half-Assed" here.
If this were in a review at The Common Ills or in a discussion at The Third Estate Sunday Review, I would feel that's all I needed to say but I'm not sure how much I've covered Ani here.
If you're not familiar with the name, here are some of the lyrics to a song that you hear and think: "Great song!"; then a year or so later, you think: "Amazing song." It's called "Both Hands:"
i am writing
graffiti on your body
i am drawing the story
of how hard we tried
i am watching your chest rise and fall
like the tides of my life
and the rest of it all
your bones have been my bed frame
and your flesh has been my pillow
i've been waiting for sleep
to offer up the deep with both hands
On KPFA, today at one p.m., the latest Guns and Butter aired their latest program. Bonnie interviewed Percy Schmeiser (this was part one, part two airs next Wednesday) about his battles with Monsanto, the copyright abuses (my term) of big corporations and more. Schmeiser is the former mayor of Bruno (a town in Canada) where he has a farm. He grew crops there. You'd think no problem, right? Along comes Monsanto.
They say that his plants/seeds contain their copyrighted genetics. Big, long court case.
Percy didn't purchase Monsanto seeds. He also didn't go looking for them. (Something Monsanto can't claim since it apparently regularly trolls around private property in hopes of discovering some.) Blown in by the wind or falling off a truck, it ended up in a ditch on Percy's property. You should listen to the interview and if you missed it today and don't have time to visit the archives at , what I've told you should be enough to get you ready for part II next week.
Here's C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot" for today:
Violence and chaos continue. Monday on KPFA's Flashpoints, Dahr Jamail told Nora Barrows-Friedman, "It really is horrible to try to keep in context the level of violence . . . Here we are doing it again with no end in sight and I wonder just how long we'll continue doing it? . . . Things are not just staying the same in Iraq, it's getting exponentially worse."
How long before the mainstream press admits that?
In kidnapping news, Raad al-Harith and his body guards have been released. al-Harith is the deputy electricity minister in Iraq who was kidnapped Tuesday. The AFP reports that, "after being held for 10 hour," the bodyguards and al-Hareth were released but that is not the case with regards to Taiseer Najeh Awad al-Mashhadni who was kidnapped Saturday. al-Mashhadani's kidnappers, the AFP reports, "issued demands including special protection for Shiite places" and "called for the release of detainees in US custody and a timetable for the withdrawal of US troops".
Both al-Harith and al-Mashhadni were kidnapped in Baghdad. Remember Baghdad? The "crackdown"? The press seems to have largely forgotten it. As the AFP notes regarding the continued bombings in Baghdad: "The series of blasts come despite an ongoing security plan that has put some 50,000 Iraqi soldiers and police, backed by US forces on the streets."
Basra, which was also placed under a state of emergency also appears largely forgotten. Nancy A. Youssef (McClatchy Newspapers) reports: "The state of emergency ended Saturday, but residents said that little had changed: Shiite militias and tribes still control the city's streets, political factions still fight for control of the city, and Shiite Muslim militias still threaten Sunni Muslims with death. Morgue officials report that the number of people killed in sectarian violence remains unchanged."
Bombings?
Baghdad? The BBC reports that a car bomb near a mosque resulted in at least six dead and at least 17 wounded. AFP notes a bomb "outside a restaurant . . . noteworthy for the massive banners praising Shiite martyrs it displayed" that killed at least one and wounded at least seven as well as another bomb that went off in a market and wounded at least ten peopole. Reuters notes a car bomb in Kirkuk that left three wounded and a roadside bomb that left two wounded. In Mosul, AFP reports, a police officer and a civilian lost their lives when a car bomb exploded (at least four other people were wounded).
Corpses?
Near Kirkuk, AFP reports, "a headless male corpse" was discovered. Reuters reports the discovery of two corpses in Kerbala. AP notes the discovery of a corpse ("shot in the head) in Baghdad.
Shooting deaths?
AFP reports a Kurd was killed while driving his car in Kirkuk. In Mosul, Reuters counts four dead from gun shots. In Baghdad, AP reports that a drive by targeted a Shi-ite family, "killing a 12-year-old boy and wounding his brother and two other relatives."
Reuters reports that the central morgue in Baghdad places the body count for June at 1,595. Abdul Razzaq al-Obaidi states: "June is the highest month in terms of receiving cases of violence since" the Februrary 22nd bombing of the Golden Mosque.
To underscore, the waves of Operation Happy Talk that the peace plan/scam was a 'turning point,' that the death of Zarqawi/"Zarqawi" was a 'turning point,' go down the list -- there has been no 'turning point.'
On Tuesday, Iraq's justice minister Hashim Abdul-Rahman al-Shebli made a call for an independent investigation into the alleged rape of an under-age Iraqi female as well as her alleged murder and that of three of her family members. Today, the Associated Press reports, Nouri al-Maliki (Iraq prime minister and puppet of the illegal occupation) is following al-Shebi's call for an independent investigation. Canada's CBC notes that today was the first time he spoke publicly on the matter . This despite the fact that Green was arrested Friday (news broke on Monday) and the US announced the investigation on Friday. Though various reports mention the alleged involvement of others, thus far only Steven D. Green has been charged. Today on KPFA's The Morning Show, Sandra Lupien noted that the military has gone from referring to Green having an alleged "personality disorder" to his having an "anti-social personality disorder." Lebanon's The Daily Star reports that Safiyya al-Suhail and Ayda al-Sharif (both serve in Iraq's parliament, both are women) are asserting that al-Maliki needs to appear before parliament "to give assurances the US troops would be punished."
democracy now
iraq
kpfa
the morning show
sandra lupien
nora barrows-friedman
dahr jamail
flashpoints
Saw this on Yahoo:
Press Release
Source: Columbia Records/Legacy Recordings
Carly Simon Sings Modern Classics - From Cat Stevens to Antonio Carlos Jobim - On New Album, 'Into White'
Wednesday July 5, 5:00 am ET
Grammy & Oscar Winning Performer Releases New Collection of Best-Loved Songs & Lullabies for All Ages
'Into White' In Stores Tuesday, October 24
NEW YORK, July 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Columbia Records announces the release of Into White, a new collection of beloved pop standards and touching traditional lullabies performed by the Academy Award, Golden Globe and Grammy winning singer and composer Carly Simon.
The quintessential performer follows up Moonlight Serenade, her 2005 best-selling collection of pop music standards, with Into White, a soothing return to her primary musical roots, a pure and evocative showcase of best-loved songs, old and new, performed in the trademark dusky vocal style that's unmistakably Carly.
Taking its title from a wistful Cat Stevens song from the legendary 70's singer/songwriter's Tea For The Tillerman album, Into White conjures a series of dreamy gentle moods in a collection of unforgettable tunes drawn from a variety of sources including Cat Stevens ("Into White"), Judy Garland ("Over The Rainbow"), the Everly Brothers ("All I Have To Do Is Dream"/"Devoted To You"), The Beatles ("Blackbird"), Harry Belafonte ("Jamaica Farewell"), James Taylor ("You Can Close Your Eyes"), Stephen Foster, the 19th century father of American song ("Oh! Susanna"), and Gaelic traditional folk airs ("Hush Little Baby"/"My Bonnie," "I Gave My Love a Cherry [The Riddle Song]," "Scarborough Fair").
Carly rounds out the album with a pair of new self-penned compositions: "Love of My Life," and "Quiet Evening."
Produced by Carly Simon & Jimmy Parr (who worked on Carly's seasonal collection, Christmas Is Almost Here), the songs on Into White are performed by a small intimate ensemble including Teese Gohl (who also arranged strings on the album) on keyboards, synths, kalimba and flute; Peter Calo on guitar and dobro; Jan Hyer on cello; David Saw on guitar; and Jimmy Parr on percussion, kalimba and heartbeat.
Sally Taylor and Ben Taylor (each an accomplished songwriter and performer in her/his own right) join their mother on a familial rendition of James Taylor's "You Can Close Your Eyes," from 1971's Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon. Ben Taylor contributes vocals to several other songs on Into White including an enchanting new version of "Devoted To You," the Everly Brothers classic Carly first covered in 1978 with then-husband and frequent singing partner James Taylor on her best-selling Boys In The Trees album.
In addition to her legendary status as one of America's definitive female singer/songwriters -- having penned such classic pop songs as "You're So Vain," "Anticipation," and "Let The River Run" -- Carly has also authored several award-winning children's books beginning with the best-seller "Amy The Dancing Bear" in 1989 and including "The Boy of the Bells" (1990), "The Fisherman's Song" (1990), "Nighttime Chauffeur" (1993), and "Midnight Farm" (1997).
From her sly version of "Itsy Bitsy Spider" in the soundtrack to Nora Ephron's "Heartburn" (1987) to her songs in the Disney Winnie the Pooh films, "Piglet's Big Movie" (2003) and "Pooh's Heffalump Movie" (2005), Carly Simon has shown an uncanny ability to connect with audiences of all ages.
Into White is executive produced by Jay Landers, who first worked with Carly on "Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out To Dry"/"In The Wee Small Hours of the Morning," her duet with Frank Sinatra on Ol' Blue Eyes' 1993 Grammy winning Duets album. Landers -- who has supervised records with Barbra Streisand, Bette Midler, Celine Dion and many others -- provided musical supervision for numerous original cast recordings and soundtracks including "Miss Saigon," "Carousel," "A League of Our Own," "Remember the Titans" and others. He has also worked on a number of children's recordings including Disney's Lullaby Album and the Grammy winning "Woody's Roundup" from Disney/Pixar's "Toy Story 2."
Carly Simon - "Into White" - track listing
Oh! Susanna (written by Stephen Foster)
All I Have To Do Is Dream/Devoted To You (written by Felice & Boudleaux Bryant)
Into White (written by Cat Stevens)
Over The Rainbow (written by Harold Arlen & E.Y. Harburg)
Hush Little Baby/My Bonnie (traditional, arranged by Carly Simon)
I Gave My Love a Cherry (The Riddle Song) (traditional, arranged by Carly Simon)
Blackbird (written by John Lennon & Paul McCartney)
You Can Close Your Eyes (written by James Taylor)
Jamaica Farewell/You Are My Sunshine (written by Lord Burgess/written by Jimmie Davis & Charles Mitchell)
Manha de Carnaval (from Black Orpheus) (written by Luiz Bonfa & Antonio Maria)
Scarborough Fair (traditional, arranged by Carly Simon)
Love of My Life (written by Carly Simon)
Quiet Evening (written by Carly Simon & David Saw)
Source: Columbia Records/Legacy Recordings
