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ANYWAY,
ANYWHERE...
BMG has finally planned a reissue of Elvis' first RCA album as a two-disc edition with the second disc containing multiple takes of various songs. FINALLY, you can hear what collectors have long been secretly [for fear of being pursued by the RIAA] sharing - how Elvis earned his title as the King of Rock 'n' Roll. Elvis put in blood, sweat and tears into each take and was fussier than anybody's grandmother. He was a workaholic and perfectionist who would do numerous takes until he was absolutely certain he'd got the song just right. Disc one has the original album, the singles from the album and outtakes. Disc two collects just three songs. Multiple takes of 'Shake Rattle & Roll', 'Lawdy Miss Clawdy', 'I Want You, I Need You, I Love You'. Due in early July. This is a must-have, whether you are a collector or not. We hope all Elvis albums will be reissued in this manner. The entire
tracklist is here: Music to music fans ears that Apple may begin offering lossless music on iTunes. In a private release of iTunes Producer 1.4 last week, Apple said the software "now encodes music in Apple Lossless format, which produces larger audio files and will increase upload time." iTunes Producer
is distributed to record labels by Apple as a tool for prepping and submitting
their content for inclusion on the iTunes Music Store. The iTunes service
currently serves up tracks in only the Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) format.
This was reported on June 22 at appleinsider.com.
Someone posted this on wikipedia about a new coating called Durabis invented by Japan's TDK Corporation. "One of its principal applications at first will be for scratch-resistance in Blu-ray and other optical discs. It is claimed to be tough enough to resist screwdriver damage and make scratched optical discs (CD and DVDs) a thing of the past." The report
said TDK plans to target the DVD market for now, because scratches are
so common on DVDs that in the rental market, they may only last about
12 to 13 rentals on average. However, please note that an indestructible
disc is quite different from the ravages of "CD-rot". On June 22, Thailand's Election Commission finally said Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's Thais Love Thais Party was guilty of breaking election laws in April's general election. If the finding is legally recognised, then the Thais Love Thais Party must be dissolved and all its key leaders banned from politics for five years. Thaksin will then not be eligible to contest the fresh elections in October. The Wall Street Journal explained the background of Mr Thaksin's slip thusly: "Mr Thaksin's meteoric rise began to falter this year... when his family sold his telecom empire to the investment arm [Temasek Holdings] of the $ingapore government for US$1.9 billion. Angered by the way the transaction was legally arranged to avoid paying capital-gains tax, tens of thousands of protestors took to the streets of Bangkok to demand Mr Thaksin's resignation. "To ease the pressure, Mr Thaksin called April's snap election, hoping his strong support in rural areas would reaffirm his mandate. But that move backfired amid the opposition boycott, creating a constitutional crisis." On June 21, it was reported that the Thai government is threatening to impose fines of US$1.99 billion on Shin Corp's television subsidiary. Shin Corp now belongs to $ingapore's Temasek Holdings. Then on June 27, the Thai attorney-general declared that five of the Thai parties, including the main ruling party and opposition party, will be disbanded for breaking election laws. This move echoes a similar constitutional crisis in Malaysia in 1987 when the ruling party, UMNO, was declared by the courts to be an unlawful society after a general election. As in the Malaysian case, the Thai situation will be resolved by the Supremes. After that, it remains to be seen whether the courts will remain indie. The full
story of the UMNO crisis can be read here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1988_Malaysian_constitutional_crisis July 7-9:
Sarawak,
West Malaysia: The Rainforest Music Festival with Tengir Too from Kyrgyzstan,
Les Yeux Noirs from France, Calle Sur from Panama/ Colombia and many more.
This is a showcase of world music set in a rainforest. Its formula of
afternoon informative workshops, ethno-musical lectures, jamming sessions
and mini concerts, followed by evening performances on the main stage
has proven to be a hit with the audience, who come from near and far. July 11: Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia: Ken Stringfellow of the Posies with Beezewax [Norway], Muck, Free Love, Shizuka, The Televators, Portia and Odie Audio at Indie-Rock Nite @ Ipoh at Bar Kita Suka [Hotel Excelsior] 6pm onwards. RM10 only. Presented by Bodysurf Music. The Ipoh boys are not kidding! This is Ken Stringfellow's first appearance in Malaysia and it's going to be in Ipoh! At a small pub for a measly RM10! Whoaaa! What? There's no reason to get excited? Well, I guess not, unless you're a big fan of examplary American power-pop bands such as The Posies and the legendary Big Star (the reformed line-up featured Stringfellow). In the states, Ken Stringfellow is like one of those indie-rock demi-gods, and for a man of such stature agreeing to play at a small pub with a bunch of local indie rockers for practically no money, whoaa, I have to give him a standing tabik kental! - Joe Kidd EDITOR - Ipoh is hip city lah. July 16: Hongkong: The Black Eyed Peas, AsiaWorld Arena, show starts at 8 pm. Tix HK$380 to HK$780. www.hkticketing.com Aug 19-20: Bali, Indonesia: The Annual Bali Jazz Festival 2006 This year's lineup, Yellowjackets, Eero Koivistoinen Trio (Finland), Rudresh Mahanthappa MSG (USA, Netherlands, Ireland), Jan de Haas (Belgium), David Sills (USA), Ron Davis Quartet (Canada), Jack Lee Group (Korea) among others. Indonesia's maestro pianist Bubi Chen Quintet will come with giant Oele Pattiselanno, Jeffrey Tahalele, Jacky Pattiselanno, Benny Likumahua plus Pra Budi Dharma & Indra Lesmana & Gilang Ramadhan, Krakatau, SimakDialog, Gilang Ramadhan and some fresh young talented musicians from Yogyakarta Jurasik Big Band, Imam Pras Quartet, Zefa (Bandung) and many more. Hard Rock Hotel and Hard Rock Cafe in Kuta, Bali, will be the official venues. Sept 30: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: The Michael Wong Concert - Live in Malaysia 2006, at the Putra Indoor Stadium at Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur. Ticketing details will be announced later. LATEST
FROM THE MUDDLED EAST
"Bring 'em on." US SOLDIERS RESISTING WAR IN IRAQ Acts of resistance, big and small, recognized nationally or never heard of by most, by military and civilians are all important elements of ending the illegal War, the War crime, committed by the Bush administration.
People of conscience all over America are refusing to be silent and are
taking courageous steps to end the illegal War on Iraq. After weighing the evidence, he came to the conclusion that he could no longer be silent while atrocities were committed in the name of democracy. He could no longer be a tool of an administration that used deception and lies to make the case for pre-emptive war. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article13756.htm AMERICANS WANT WITHDRAWAL PLAN FOR IRAQ A majority
of Americans say Congress should pass a resolution that outlines a plan
for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq, according to a USA TODAY/ Gallup
Poll taken Friday through Sunday. Half of those surveyed would like all
U.S. forces out within 12 months. =
= = = = = KOREA RECOGNISES NEW SEX OF SEX-CHANGE PERSON South Korea's Supreme Court has decided June 22 that a person who has a sex-change operation should be allowed to legally become a member of his or her new sex. In recent years, there has been more awareness of transgenders since a popular model, Harisu, won her petition to legally change her gender from male to female. "If it is obvious that a person has acquired the physical characteristics of the opposite sex, not the sex at birth, through a sex change operation... it is proper to recognize (his or her) changed sex," the court said in the ruling, endorsed by eight of the ten justices. The Supreme
Court estimated there are about 1,000 South Koreans who do not identify
themselves with their sex at birth. But activists estimate there are at
least 4,000 such South Koreans. Reader and musician Peter Brown sent us this info about a new club where indie bands are welcome. "Giggers is a restaurant with delicious food which is on the ground floor of the same building that houses Paul's Place, which incidentally has changed it's name to 'Solar Power Training Place'. "INDEPENDENT MUSIC will be happening there from now on, while in the day time Exhibitions, Art, Demonstrations, Drum Clinics, Guitar Clinics, Workshops, and goodness knows what else will be taking place in this adventuresome venue. "How to get to Giggers: coming from PJ along Old Klang Road: opposite the Pearl Hotel on your right there is a left hand turn off, and you go down a narrow road past a gerai makan on your left. Turn left again and it's no 8.
Details about the gigs at Giggers. Shows start at 7 pm. Saturday July 1: Broken Scar(to confirm), Eye of Shamayin, Peter Brown, Lanh, Evert Sunday July
2: Warve (to confirm), Milla This is an
update to our Green Zone downloads (which are no longer available): Green
Zone is bassist Kato Hideki's band. He composed all the material and invited
his friend Otomo Yoshihide to play guitar. Kato Hideki's Green Zone was
officially released on DoubtMusic in October 2005: http://www.doubtmusic.com/dmf-106_e.html.
This CD is available from the following distributors: http://www.rermegacorp.com,
http://www.metamkine.com and http://www.metacompany.jp/artist/k/kato.html.
For more, visit Kato Hideki's website at http://www.katohideki.com. Sleater-Kinney,
the all-girl rock trio, announced June 27 that after 11 years as a band,
they will go on "indefinite hiatus" after completing their upcoming summer
concerts. That's the code for breaking up. Virgin Records
in France has lost its fight to sell Madonna downloads. The company was
fined for illegally selling Madonna downloads. The Virgin site had ignored
an exclusive given to a competitor by downloading Madonna's "Hung Up"
single and re-selling it on its own site. Virginmega is to pay a fine
of 600,000 euros. Crime doesn't pay, boys and girls. Back on school
holidays, Aaron Horn was in the garden playing with his air rifle when
he accidentally shot his mother in the neck. Jill Sinclair, co-founder
of ZTT Records with husband Trevor Horn, is now in intensive care in a
Reading hospital. One of ZTT's biggest hits was Frankie Goes To Hollywood's
Relax. Scientists at Utrecht University are working on growing artificial pork meat out of pig stem cells. They hope to grow a form of minced meat suitable for burgers, sausages and pizza toppings within the next few years. Currently involved in identifying the type of stem cells that will multiply the most to create larger quantities of meat within a bioreactor, the team hopes to have concrete results by 2009. The 2 million euro ($2.5 million) Dutch-government-funded project began in April 2005. A single
cell could theoretically produce enough meat to feed the world's population
for a year. But the challenge lies in figuring out how to grow it on a
large scale and at a low cost. But feeding the multitude is not the goal.
It's making the money. We start an occasional column to inform you of new DVD releases across the Causeway at your favorite DVD shops. The following DVDs were released June 23, 2006. Buy at your own risk:
Cars (cartoon)
What kind of Church are you running? NEW POPE MOBILE
Pope Benedict XVI has a new car. It's a Volvo XC90 sports utility vehicle. It comes "fully loaded, top-of-the-line, [with] eight-cylinder" for that vroom factor. At the end of his weekly people's meeting on June 28, Volvo reps handed him the keys to his new car. The dark blue SUV with taupe interior boasts a six-speed automatic transmission and 311-horsepower engine plus all the state-of-the-art safety features. What we especially liked was the eight-speaker CD system built into the car's ergonomic interior. The car is also equipped with 12-volt power outlets and 12 beverage holders for when His Holiness is thirsty. But in Italy
where gas prices reach US$6 a gallon, the pope's new SUV does not have
the best gas mileage: 15 miles per gallon for city driving and 21 mpg
for highway driving. More donations will help pay for it. Before he got his new car, Pope Benedict was conducting his weekly people's meeting. He said faith in Christ "must come to fruition in one's life, above all in one's love for the other and in particular in caring for the poor". He told his
audience that just calling oneself a believer was not enough, a Christian
must live out the Gospel [the good news of Jesus] through concrete acts
of charity especially to the poor. This is new. In a twist to favor forgiveness, not justice, a Catholic theologian has said forgiveness brings about "repentance and reconciliation". Pope John Paul II always said the lack of justice was at the root of violence. Boston College theologian Roberto Goizueta said this in a Catholic Common Ground Initiative lecture June 24 at The Catholic University of America. Before the lecture, Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk of Cincinnati presented Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory of Atlanta with the initiative's 2006 Cardinal Bernardin Award. The award recognized the Atlanta archbishop's efforts to bring healing to the U.S. church in the wake of the 2002 crisis over clergy sexual abuse of minors. The Roman Catholic Church in America has been defending its position since news broke that some members of the clergy had molested youths. The church has been savaged by huge fines to pay for the sins of some clergy men. Jesus always practiced "turning the other cheek" to His enemies. +
+ + + + + NEW iPOD TO BE TOUCHLESS? Rumours are
floating on the net following a comment by one of the largest electronics
manufacturers that the next generation of iPods, will be using a "none-touch"
concept. Fans of iPod just can't figure how that can be. The online
music site opened by the billion-dollar Coca-Cola Co will close July 31
after fighting a losing battle for market share against Apple Computer's
iTunes. Mycokemusic launched in Britain in January 2004 quickly became
the biggest online music download service there in brand recognition and
sales. But it was overtaken later in the year by iTunes, which launched
a dedicated U.K. site in June 2004. If Coke can't beat Apple, who can? A report
in the trade newspaper Variety recently said Apple is in negotiations
with "most" major motion picture studios to offer downloads of full-length
movies on iTunes. Steve Jobs is allegedly pushing for an across-the-board
price of US$9.99 per film, but the studios aren't biting.
Bolivian
President Evo Morales' leftist government says it will fight poverty,
hunger and homelessness in South America's poorest nation by investing
US$6.8 billion through 2010, much of it with ambitious public works projects. On June 19,
the excellent comics journalism site Ninth Art stopped offering new comments
and criticisms on graphic storytelling. It will continue to operate only
as an archive of all their writings. The site's founders explained that
"after five years we believe we've said enough. The decision to close
the site wasn't taken quickly or lightly, but it was taken so that we
could turn our time and attention to other pursuits". Ninth Art raised
the bar on quality comics criticism. All their articles were published
as Ideological Freeware and could be shared with everyone. They will be
sorely missed. Go here to visit their archives: http://www.ninthart.com/
June 24-25: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Wrong & Rights - A Fair. Click on the poster for details. June 24: Kuala Kangsar, Perak, Malaysia: Breaking Ground Fest II, Dewan Persatuan India. Featuring Street Boundaries, Missrule, Twoweeks, Mistik, Blame On Me, The Chain, Strong Supporter, L.P.O., Akta Angkasa, Scandel 26, Infinite Delay, Portia and Undead. Tickets at RM15. June 24: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Stan Brakhage Film Screening at studio in cheras, KL, No 75, Tingkat 3, Amber Business Plaza, Jalan Jelawat 1, Cheras 56100 (right next to Star LRT, Cheras Station). Some films to be shown include: Dog Star Man (Prelude); Window Water Baby Moving, Brakhage on Brakhage I, Brakhage on Brakhage II and more. Introduction by Au Sow Yee. Starts 8 pm. Pay a donation to enter. July 7-9: Sarawak, West Malaysia: The Rainforest Music Festival with Tengir Too from Kyrgyzstan, Les Yeux Noirs from France, Calle Sur from Panama/ Colombia and many more. This is a showcase of world music set in a rainforest. Its formula of afternoon informative workshops, ethno-musical lectures, jamming sessions and mini concerts, followed by evening performances on the main stage has proven to be a hit with the audience, who come from near and far. Aug 19-20: Bali, Indonesia: The Annual Bali Jazz Festival 2006 This year's lineup, Yellowjackets, Eero Koivistoinen Trio (Finland), Rudresh Mahanthappa MSG (USA, Netherlands, Ireland), Jan de Haas (Belgium), David Sills (USA), Ron Davis Quartet (Canada), Jack Lee Group (Korea) among others. Indonesia's maestro pianist Bubi Chen Quintet will come with giant Oele Pattiselanno, Jeffrey Tahalele, Jacky Pattiselanno, Benny Likumahua plus Pra Budi Dharma & Indra Lesmana & Gilang Ramadhan, Krakatau, SimakDialog, Gilang Ramadhan and some fresh young talented musicians from Yogyakarta Jurasik Big Band, Imam Pras Quartet, Zefa (Bandung) and many more. Hard Rock Hotel and Hard Rock Cafe in Kuta, Bali, will be the official venues. Sept 30:
Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia: The Michael Wong Concert - Live in Malaysia 2006, at the Putra
Indoor Stadium at Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur. Ticketing details will be
announced later.
"Bring 'em on." BUSH'S MANUFACTURED CONSENT
You should
read the Wall Street Journal's genuflections. But here's Mike Whitney's
essay: More than
6,000 men and women have deserted from the US army since the invasion
of Iraq in March 2003. In the British forces, the figure stands at around
1,000. The soldiers are leaving because they are sickened by the bloodshed
in Iraq; because they believe the war is illegal; because they are on
the verge of nervous breakdown: Washington
carried out 340 airstrikes in that time frame, "more than twice the 160
carried out in the much higher-profile war in Iraq", the report said Helicopters
flew over the Iraqi town of Ramadi and warplanes could be heard overhead The first heavy attack on Ramadi by the American and Iraqi forces was launched last Friday, the 9th of June. Ramadi is the capital of the Anbar province and is situated about 100 km west of Baghdad, on the Euphrates. http://www.brusselstribunal.org/SosRamadi.htm
= = = = = GIVE MAXIMUM ROCK 'N' ROLL HELP A regular contributor of longtime fanzine Maximum Rock 'N' Roll has sent out an appeal for funds, we read at the ricecooker site. George Tabb, who wrote for the longest serving indie fanzine, is now ill with a mystery illness that he believes is caused by all the pollution that came about as a result of the attack on the Twin Towers on 9/11. Tabb lived in the vicinity of the late Twin Towers and has so far "had over a foot of my large intestines removed, two more surgeries on that area, and now, a raging infection that seems to be very 'mysterious'." At his site, Tabb wrote: "My doctor tells me I need all these expensive tests to find out what's going on before I die, and when I turned to our own government, all I have faced is red-tape, and the sorry excuse that 'there just isn't funding available for this sort of thing'." "It makes me want to break things." If you've ever believed in the indie spirit, take some time to read Tabb's appeal at http://www.georgetabb.com/helpgeorgetabb.html And hopefully,
donate. Rock Unite is a brand new Malaysian TV show that debuted June 19 on Ntv7. Every Saturday night, Malaysian rock bands brave the stage to play their songs with the hope of winning the top band prize of RM100,000 and a GUARANTEED recording contract with management support from Rock Unite. The show's producer Shahrum Shah has explained what he wants from Rock Unite. "We want to make people change their opinion about what rock music is all about. It's never been recognised as an honourable vocation or an alternative career choice. Playing rock music is not just a night time job," he said to The Star newspaper. One of the unique elements of Rock Unite is that it allows for almost all forms of rock music [Death & Black Metal excepted] to be played. Altogether they list 75 styles from classic rock, pop, alternative to fusion. Shahrum hopes to promote the winning bands regionally especially to Indonesia. If you live
on the i$land you can still follow the contest by going to www.rockunite.tv
and watch the free streams. This show is "endorsed" by the Malaysian Ministry
of Youth & Sports. Presumably they are footing the bill on this "indie"
effort. The BBC has
announced that after 42 years of showcasing the best of British rock,
the Top Of The Pops program will be cancelled this summer. In a statement,
the BBC said the weekly programme could no longer compete with 24-hour
music channels. Top of the Pops was first broadcast in 1964, from a converted
church in Manchester. The final edition will be shown on 30 July. As far
as we know, not a single Asian band has ever played on this British show. Though many consumers blame high pump prices on oil companies greedy for profits, the oil company chiefs blame global competition for supplies. "If we didn't have this level of profitability, I don't think we could get the supplies to where they need to get to," said the president of Shell Oil Co., John Hofmeister on NBC's Meet The Press. In the oil men's view, the real reason for high prices is consumer's unsatiable demand. Said the chairman of ConocoPhillips Co., James J. Mulva. "This is a global business, and it's not only that we need to add to supply, but we need to reduce demand," if the public wanted to see oil prices fall at the pump. If the public
could reduce demand, will oil companies follow suit to reduce supply?
Then it will be back to the same "high price at the pump". After all,
the oil men are in this to make money. The notion of fair prices and service
to the community is not in their agenda. A senior British professor of psychology claims to have identified the world's funniest joke reports The Guardian. The winner, it turns out, is an old Goon Show classic by Spike Milligan. Dr Richard Wiseman, of the University of Hertfordshire, asked people from more than 60 countries to submit their favourite jokes and then rate the funniness of jokes submitted by others. Over a period of nearly a year, around 40,000 gags were assessed. One gag stood out from all the rest: "Two hunters are out in the woods when one of them collapses. He doesn't seem to be breathing and his eyes are glazed. The other guy whips out his phone and calls the emergency services. He gasps: 'My friend is dead! What can I do?' The operator says: 'Calm down, I can help. First, let's make sure he's dead.' There is a silence, then a shot is heard. Back on the phone, the guy says: 'OK, now what'?" Can anyone
confirm handphones were in service during the Goon Shows?
LARGE SCREEN iGLASSES MicroOptical
seems to have retooled the old Sony widescreen spectacles to be used to
watch videos from your iPod. The eyewear's cable connects to the iPod's
headphone port. It works by delivering the image from two tiny liquid
crystal displays that are smaller than a pinky fingernail through a series
of lenses directly to the eyes. The hefty price of US$269 will probably
put many users off. Norway's
consumer group have appealed to the country's independent Consumer Ombudsman
that Apple's strict digital rights management technology is illegal according
to Norwegian laws as it prevents the copying of digital downloads. Consumers
in Norway enjoy the right to freely use material they've purchased. In
this case, they are prevented from recopying to other devices the music
downloaded from Apple's iTunes. Apple can expect to pay fines if they
do not open up their DRM. Norway's consumer groups have both bark and
bite and a really nice "pair". Keith Richards
is recuperating from brain surgery. Ron Wood has checked himself into
a rehabilitation clinic to "dry out". The Rolling Stones announced, despite
the setbacks, their European "Big Bang Tour" is ready to roll in Milan
on July 11. Just who is being "banged"? We start an occasional column to inform you of new DVD releases across the Causeway at your favorite DVD shops. The following DVDs were released June 18, 2006. Buy at your own risk:
What kind of Church are you running? POLISH CARDINAL CONFESSES: SOME PRIESTS WERE SPIES On June 15, 2006, Polish Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz of Krakow formally apologized for Polish Roman Catholic priests who were informers for the communist secret police and promised to "uncover the whole truth" about clergy collaboration. "The church is holy because Christ, its head, is a lamb without blemishes. But the church is made up of sinful people," said the Polish cardinal, who was the personal secretary to Pope John Paul II, who was a Pole. Earlier in the month, a Krakow archdiocesan commission urged local priests to atone publicly if they had been communist informers. Last week, we reported that the head of the Polish church's sports commission, Auxiliary Bishop Marian Florczyk of Kielce, had met and prayed with the Polish team and given players his blessing before they left for Germany in the hope that Poland could win the World Cup. After their game against Germany on June 14, the Polish team lost two out of three matches and are out of the World Cup despite the team's, the Polish people and their bishops' and priests' prayers. +
+ + + +  ONLY 5 COUNTRIES HOLD MONOPOLY ON WORLD CUP TELECASTS According to fifaworldcup.com there are only FIVE countries in the world that have a single World Cup 2006 broadcaster on a PAY TV channel. They are [in no particular order]: 1. $ingapore 2. Sao Tome and Principe 3. Liechtenstein 4. Luxembourg 5. Central African Republic of Congo The irate poster of this info on the net also said "they are the only countries in the world with a single World Cup broadcaster that is on PAY TV, i.e. having no other alternatives of national free-to-air broadcasters screening the matches, live or delayed telecast." Throughout
Asia, soccer fans in Afghanistan, Bahrain, Myanmar and elsewhere can watch
the matches for free on their national TV networks. Big news that the record industry is gunning to close digital download site AllofMP3.com has helped the website push up its visitor numbers. According to traffic tracker Alexa, total page views and unique user levels skyrocketed earlier this month, pushing the overall site ranking to nearly 300, from about 1,000 earlier. AllofMP3 is based in Russia and offers the cheapest music downloads anywhere with a huge selection and music files available in all formats. There is also no DRM to stop the re-copying of your downloads. One executive close to the publishing side noted that neither ASCAP nor BMI have an issue with the company, as mechanical licenses are being handled properly through Russian agency ROMS. "The real issue is with the record labels," the executive said. Record companies
recently tried to pressure the Apple iTunes site to raise the price of
a digital download from US 99 cents. On average the price of a song on
AllofMP3 is about 5 cents. The popularity of AllofMP3.com shows what music
fans want - a well-stocked site, easy to operate and at an affordable
price.
DOCTORS TO FIGHT COKE, PEPSI, McDONALD'S, BURGER KING Doctors will
this week declare war on America's soft drinks industry by calling for
a 'fat tax' to combat the nation's obesity epidemic, reports the Daily
Mail. Delegates at the American Medical Association's annual conference
will demand a levy on the sweeteners put in sugary drinks to pay for a
massive public health education campaign. They will also call for the
amount of salt added to burgers and processed foods to be halved. The
moves come as U.S. doctors, like their British counterparts, are becoming
increasingly alarmed at the growing number of deaths linked to obesity.
The resolution will put doctors on a collision course with Coca-Cola and
Pepsi, plus the likes of McDonald's and Burger King. Who do you think
will win? The head
of Marvel Comics money-spinning division, Avi Arad, has jumped ship to
start his own production company to produce films. Arad headed the comics
company's most successful unit to produce films like Spider-Man and X-Men.
Marvel stock lost 5 per cent on news of his move. Marvel last year announced
they were going to produce their own movies instead of licensing them.
But without Arad at the helm, look for a "to be continued" story. June 17: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: World Music Day Festival featuring La Casa, Jayalakshmi Sekhar, The Abo Nation, Jeep Latino, Ning Baizura, Y2K, Xcited Screamers, Triple 6 Poser, Sei Hon, Broken Scar, Dragon Red, Imam, 2 Sides of the Story, Brainhead, Peter Brown and others on three stages. The venue is at Alliance Francaise 15, Jalan Gurney, left off Jalan Semarak which is left off Jalan Tun Razak (coming from the North). Starts 11 am to 11 pm. Free admission. June17: Sick Society/ Blood On Wedding Dress Indonesian Tour 2006. The two Malaysian bands will play Bali [June 7]; Malang [June 9]; Surabaya [June 11]; Yogyakarta [June 13]; Bandung [June 15] and Jakarta [June 17]. Please check their website www.symphonicblast.net to see if there are changes. June 18-20: Seoul, Korea: Violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter plays Mozart sonatas at Seoul Arts Centre on June 17, at the Shanghai Oriental in China on June 19 and the Hong Kong Cultural Centre on June 20. Ticket prices vary. June 24: Kuala Kangsar, Perak, Malaysia: Breaking Ground Fest II, Dewan Persatuan India. Featuring Street Boundaries, Missrule, Twoweeks, Mistik, Blame On Me, The Chain, Strong Supporter, L.P.O., Akta Angkasa, Scandel 26, Infinite Delay, Portia and Undead. Tickets at RM15. June 24: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Stan Brakhage Film Screening at studio in cheras, KL, No 75, Tingkat 3, Amber Business Plaza, Jalan Jelawat 1, Cheras 56100 (right next to Star LRT, Cheras Station). Some films to be shown include: Dog Star Man (Prelude); Window Water Baby Moving, Brakhage on Brakhage I, Brakhage on Brakhage II and more. Introduction by Au Sow Yee. Starts 8 pm. Pay a donation to enter. July 7-9: Sarawak, West Malaysia: The Rainforest Music Festival with Tengir Too from Kyrgyzstan, Les Yeux Noirs from France, Calle Sur from Panama/ Colombia and many more. This is a showcase of world music set in a rainforest. Its formula of afternoon informative workshops, ethno-musical lectures, jamming sessions and mini concerts, followed by evening performances on the main stage has proven to be a hit with the audience, who come from near and far. Aug 19-20: Bali, Indonesia: The Annual Bali Jazz Festival 2006 This year's lineup, Yellowjackets, Eero Koivistoinen Trio (Finland), Rudresh Mahanthappa MSG (USA, Netherlands, Ireland), Jan de Haas (Belgium), David Sills (USA), Ron Davis Quartet (Canada), Jack Lee Group (Korea) among others. Indonesia's maestro pianist Bubi Chen Quintet will come with giant Oele Pattiselanno, Jeffrey Tahalele, Jacky Pattiselanno, Benny Likumahua plus Pra Budi Dharma & Indra Lesmana & Gilang Ramadhan, Krakatau, SimakDialog, Gilang Ramadhan and some fresh young talented musicians from Yogyakarta Jurasik Big Band, Imam Pras Quartet, Zefa (Bandung) and many more. Hard Rock Hotel and Hard Rock Cafe in Kuta, Bali, will be the official venues. Sept 30:
Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia: The Michael Wong Concert - Live in Malaysia 2006, at the Putra
Indoor Stadium at Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur. Ticketing details will be
announced later.
"Bring 'em on." 2,500 AMERICAN SOLDIERS HAVE DIED SINCE THE IRAQ WAR STARTED 2003 Pentagon
says U.S. military deaths in Iraq hit 2,500. In addition, the Pentagon
said 18,490 U.S. troops have been wounded in the war, which began in March
2003 with a U.S.-led invasion to topple President Saddam Hussein. Tens
of thousands of Iraqis have been killed.
With the
iCarta, you can now take your iPod to the "throne".
HAVING A POINT OF VIEW IS HEALTHY She's not apathetic at all. The Asian Sex Gazette, June 6, had the following interview with this brave Indonesian. "I'm not (involved in) pornography -- I've never done that. I feel hurt at people's stupidity. So many want to interfere in the lives of others. "I'm a Muslim, serious about my faith. I'm not a 'KTP Muslim' (one in name only). I regret the things that MUI are saying. Why are they bothering with anti-pornography measures? That's not constructive. Why are they always talking about women? The priorities in this country should be getting people jobs and a better education. "I'm doing what I can for the economy -- I have a staff of 750 and seven karaoke lounges. I've had to work hard. "I believe in Pancasila (the five basic principles of the Republic). I'm a pluralist. In my extended family we have Muslims, Protestants, Catholics and Buddhists -- we're always having festivals! "I've been approached to get involved in politics, but I've refused. It's too corrupt. I draw my strength from my family and life experience. I return to Gempol whenever I can to be near my parents and the people I grew up with. Here I can forget I'm Inul Daratista. "Despite all the problems I intend to remain cheerful. I'm an optimist." Spoken by
someone who loves her freedom, Inul Daratista started the new wave of
Dangdut in Indonesia where the jangling, mystic mix of Indian, Arab and
Malay music harmonised with her wriggling hips and fabulous butt cheeks.
Please don't try this on the i$land. Having a real point of view that
is.
MALAYSIA, TRULY ASIA Malaysia was the location for a swimsuit documentary produced by Hong Kong-based actress Maggie Q. The Love Asia show was finally broadcast on cable TV in Hong Kong in June. Altogether 10 models were chosen to pose for the swimsuit special modelled along the lines of American Sports Illustrated Swimsuit editions. "When we
were shooting in Chinatown (in Petaling Street, Kuala Lumpur) in front
of the shops, none of the shop owners said 'No'. Most of the local people
I've come in contact with in Malaysia are those working in my crew, and
they've been really co-operative. That's partly why we chose to come to
Malaysia. You have no idea how hard it can be in some countries," said
Maggie. The film was lensed by $ingaporean Leslie Kee. Modern Times
will be the title of the next Bob Dylan album due August 28. So far, selected
journalists have been given private previews of the new work. All have
signed legal undertakings not to talk about the music. Mrs Steve
Earle nee Allison Moorer has shifted from her Americana roots to make
a new album of rock music. Getting Somewhere is produced by her second
husband, Steve Earle. This shift reminds us of her sister Shelby Lynne
who dropped her country sound to style herself as a pop diva. That attempt
failed miserably. Is fate calling?
DR SUZY'S GETTING BETTER Here's the
latest about adult star and activist Dr Susan Block who was in ICU a week
ago. According to her team at the website, her "condition has improved
dramatically after her second operation on Monday, so much so that the
first thing she talked about when she awoke was hosting the show this
coming Saturday." The note left out more than it revealed especially that
Dr Block was "brought... back from the brink of death" by the hospital
staff. She has now moved out of ICU and is on the road to recovery. If
you would like to send a card you can send it to: Dr. Susan Block, 8306
Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1047, Beverly Hills, California 90211. Please don't
send flowers, she'd much rather you make even a small donation for her
beloved Bonobo chimps. We start an occasional column to inform you of new DVD releases across the Causeway at your favorite DVD shops. The following DVDs were released June 12, 2006. Buy at your own risk:
What kind of Church are you running? VOTE FOR CHRISTIAN SOCCER STAR OF WORLD CUP 2006 A group of Dutch Roman Catholics and Protestants have started an online poll to see who is the greatest Christian soccer player at World Cup 2006. Gristelijk, a group of Dutch Catholic and Protestant teachers and lecturers, published a list of 11 leading Christian soccer stars on its Web site, www.gristelijk.nl. Visitors can vote for their favorite in the site's right column. A spokesman for the Dutch bishops' conference said he noticed that many footballers at the World Cup would make the sign of the cross "when they step onto the pitch or score goals. Any personal feedback, explaining the gesture -- why they want to thank God at such a moment -- would be helpful." Right, and there are just as many World Cup footballers who utter expletives about their opponent's mothers that we really don't want to know about.
You can do it, God. GOD HAS HIS HANDS FULL WITH WORLD CUP 2006 PETITIONS There are just too many petitions from his flock. In England, a Catholic priest set up a World Cup chapel in the Nottingham cathedral. In Austria, two Vienna Catholic churches showed the opening game between Germany and Costa Rica on big screens in front of the building. Another church showed the Ecuador-Poland match in the community hall as part of a program on the church's links to an Ecuadorean parish. Eight Argentine missionaries traveled to Germany hoping to unfurl a 165-pound light blue and white flag measuring 164 feet by 72 feet. La Nacion newspaper reported that the missionaries had one problem: They did not have tickets to the Argentine match. In Mexico, Catholics dressed church statues in national team uniforms, and in Poland a bishop blessed the national team players before they left for the World Cup. All of God's believers want Him to make their team the winning team at World Cup 2006. Here's some more examples of what can only be described as religious "fan-atism". One child, an England supporter, asked God to heal England's key striker, Wayne Rooney, a Catholic, who broke his foot in a game in April. The Manchester United player passed a physical June 7 and could play in some games if England advances. Some fans at the World Cup had a giant flag in Argentina's pale blue and white colors inscribed with the message: "The pope is German, but God is Argentine." But one thing's for sure. God was not behind the Polish team for their first match despite the best efforts of the head of the Polish church's sports commission, Auxiliary Bishop Marian Florczyk of Kielce, who said he had met and prayed with the Polish team and given players his blessing before they left for Germany. Poland lost 0-2 to unfancied Ecuador. Polish players also "used their free Sunday" June 11 to attend Mass and light candles at a Polish church in Germany. The German paper Bild said, "But they'll need God's help to win the match with the Germans" June 14. Poland lost 0-1 to Germany. The former pope was Polish. 'Nuff said. + + + + + BARBRA STREISAND'S MUSIC FOR GOOD The original
diva, Barbra Streisand will play 20 concerts in October and November to
raise money for charitable causes. She said, "The increasingly urgent
need for private citizen support to combat dangerous climate change, along
with education and health issues was the prime reason I decided to tour
again." Streisand supports human rights, breast cancer support and public
policy studies. For the record, the last time Streisand put in a "farewell"
stand at New York's Madison Square Garden in 2000, she grossed US$14.4
million in two nights. A survey
of U.S. college students by Student Monitor found for the second time
in the survey's history that undergrads preferred iPods to beer. On the
only other occasion, the internet won over drinking beer as students favourite
pastime. Of the 1,200 students surveyed, 73 per cent said iPods were "in,"
compared to 59 per cent a year ago. The survey has been running for 18
years. Football
fans in $ingapore are complaining on local internet sites and forum pages
that Starhub is blocking transmission of Malaysian channel RTM1 (Starhub
Channel 39) - the free-to-air channel that is showing live World Cup games.
The reception is not clear and the picture is jittery. A crawl on Channel
39 says: "Please do not adjust your television set. Signal quality is
inherent in the programme feed received by Starhub. We apologise for the
inconvenienced caused." Between them, the Malaysian channels RTM1 and
RTM2 will be showing 43 games (both live and delayed) for free. RTM2 is
not available on Starhub. When contacted, Starhub Customer Care Consultant
Gladys said Starhub is not blocking Channel 39. Prior to June 9, transmission
on Channel 39 was clear. If you cannot
watch the World Cup matches on TV, perhaps you might want to try logging
into the RTM website. Visit http://www.rtm.net.my/english/web/users/login.php
and sign up to watch RTM programmes on the net for free. The site carries
live streaming of RTM1 and RTM2 programmes. You will need Windows Media
Player to watch the programmes. The quality is quite good with a 4 x 3
inch screen size. From the SH Forum: A member, Jeff Wong sent this on June 6. "There's a bill coming up that could change how we use the Internet and will impact our use of music and images on our computers. According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), 'every digital copy made in the transmission of digital media-including cached copies on servers or on your hard drive, and even temporary copies in RAM' could require licenses from the copyright holders. https://secure.eff.org/site/Advocacy?alertId=225&pg=
THE PIRATE BAY FIRES BROADSIDE The Swedish bittorrent site that was forced to close after pressure from the MPAA, IFPI etc has been seen in action again. This time they are based in the Netherlands. "After not much hard work, everything that was up before the incident last Wednesday is back up again," declared Fredrik Neij in front of a crowd of several hundred in Stockholm. Looks like the MPAA, IFPI etc will have to ask the U.S. government to have a talk with their Dutch counterparts. Pirate Bay had to close in Sweden May 31, when police took away their servers to look for evidence of copyright breaches. Pirate Bay then said it had been assured that the take-down notice was 'normal' and it could get compensation for the time that the servers are down in Sweden. Pirate Bay may actually make a tidy profit from this affair. Meanwhile,
Swedish authorities are now grappling with a fiery backlash that includes
the widespread hacking of government websites. The official websites of
both the Swedish government and police force were both hacked following
the Pirate Bay attack. Apple has recently filed another countersuit against Creative Technologies, part of an aggressive game of legal hardball. Originally, Creative initiated a patent lawsuit against Apple over its device interface, alleging misuse of the "Zen Patent". But that strategy, reports Digital Music News, may have underestimated the ferocity of the Apple response. The latest countersuit was filed with a district court in Texarkana, Texas, where Apple has initiated three separate patent claims. That follows an earlier countersuit filed in Wisconsin, which claimed infringement on four patents. Meanwhile, $ingapore-based Creative has remained quiet on the matter, though shares of the company took a 6 percent dip following the latest development. You'd think
Adam's lesson - about the foibles of taking a bite of the apple - had
been learnt? Duh. The UK's music industry trade group, the BPI, is now consulting lawyers on how to sue the Russian-based popular music download site AllofMP3.com. This seems to be in reaction to recent reports that place the Russian site second only to iTunes in the UK. The BPI are claiming that the site flouts copyright laws. Actually the site is very popular because it charges about one-tenth of the cost of a download on other sites, has a wide selection and is able to supply the downloads in a variety of formats and is easy to use. Just the way the IDEAL music website should be. Finally,
after a long silence, AllofMP3 issued a statement defending the site on
June 6. We reproduce the statement in full below. Please take note of
point 5 where behind-the-scene negotiations are obviously taking place. The U.S. government officials and politicians have been demanding lately that the Russian authorities shut down allofmp3.com, alleging the site is pirate. Otherwise, they threaten Russia with sanctions, including blocking its entry to WTO [World Trade Organisation]. In this regard we would like to make a statement: 1. The site AllOfMP3.com belongs to a Russian company and for 6 years it has operated within the country, in full compliance with all Russian laws. Throughout this period the various government offices have scrutinized site's legality and have not found any breach of the law. So far there has been no decision by any Russian court contesting the site's legality. 2. The Russian site AllOfMP3.com is not operating or advertising its business on the territory of other countries. 3. The site AllOfMP3.com does regularly transfer substantial amounts of royalties to the Russian organizations for collective management of rights such as ROMS and FAIR, which have granted the site licenses to legally deliver music through the Internet. 4. The site AllofMP3.com reserves the right to take all steps necessary to protect its business reputation. We call upon everyone to take a thorough and unbiased view of the site's legality. 5. On September 1, 2006 the changes to the Russian copyright legislation will come into force. Since January 2006 the site has been making direct agreements with rightholders and authors at the same time increasing the price of the music compositions and transferring the royalties directly to the artists and record companies. The aim of AllofMP3.com is to agree with all rightholders on the prices and royalties amounts by September 1, 2006. 6. We believe in the long term and civilized business based on respecting the law, considering the customers' demands as well as the interests of both national and international rightholders. The AllofMP3.com
Administration
"Bring 'em on." Another day another manufactured news item. It seems the death of the Iraqi "resistance leader" Al Zarqawi is just more hype and spin. Notice the war of resistance goes on.
The timing
is extremely suspicious: just when people were getting really fed up with
the useless Iraqi government, Zarqawi is killed and Maliki is hailed the
victorious leader of the occupied world! (And no - Iraqis aren't celebrating
in the streets - worries over electricity, water, death squads, tests,
corpses and extremists in high places prevail right now.) Taken from Baghdad
Burning: Iraqi Girl Blog: http://tinyurl.com/hwc7q Over the
weekend, 83 bodies were delivered to the Baghdad morgue. The figure is
high even by the grim standards of a venue that has seen thousands of
corpses this year. "The Zarqawi
PSYOP program is the most successful information campaign to date," Brig.
Gen. Mark Kimmitt, the U.S. military's chief spokesman. Read William Bowles
essay here: Contrary
to erroneous reports promoted by the US government, Zarqawi's so-called
"Al Qaeda in Iraq" was not really a part of Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda
movement, and he was not the leader of the anti-US resistance in Iraq.
Eric S. Margolis writes: A car bomb
killed six people and wounded 42 others in Baghdad's central Karrada district,
police said. Insurgents
set a fire in a vegetable market to lure British soldiers into a gunbattle
Sunday that left five civilians dead and more than a dozen hurt by the
crossfire, Iraqi police said. Insurgents
signaled the fight is still on after Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's death, posting
an Internet video Saturday showing the beheading of three alleged Shiite
death squad members in revenge for killing Sunnis. A roadside
bomb killed a U.S. soldier and wounded another in northern Iraq, the U.S.
military said Saturday. Military commanders in the field in Iraq admit in private reports to the Pentagon the war "is lost" and that the U.S. military is unable to stem the mounting violence killing 1,000 Iraqi civilians a month, reports Doug Thompson at capitolhillblue.com. Even worse, they report the massacre of Iraqi civilians at Haditha is "just the tip of the iceberg" with overstressed, out-of-control American soldiers pushed beyond the breaking point both physically and mentally. "We are in trouble in Iraq," says retired army general Barry McCaffrey. "Our forces can't sustain this pace, and I'm afraid the American people are walking away from this war." Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has clamped a tight security lid on the increasingly pessimistic reports coming out of field commanders in Iraq, threatening swift action against any military personnel who leak details to the press or public. Read the full Jun 5, 2006, report here: http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_8790.shtml =
= = = = The Who are
returning to Leeds University to recreate their historic three-hour concert
in 1970 that became one of rock's best known live concert albums, Live
At Leeds. The Guardian reported June 7, that The Who have officially set
the date for June 17 at the 2,000-seater venue on university grounds.
The concert will be recorded for a possible 2006 Live at Leeds album.
The tickets will be sold at the university's student union June 9, from
9am.
MYSTERY TRAIN Wanna ride
the train across Canada from Toronto to Vancouver with the Cowboy Junkies
and friends? Just plonk down US$2,600 or Euro 2,000 and you can be taken
for a special ride with the Cowboy Junkies. The price includes all meals
on board, accommodations on the train and 24-hour access to the Performance
Car. There will be concerts and shows every afternoon and evening in the
Performance Car, replete with open mics. Call Charlie Hunter toll free
at 866-484-3669 (or 802-463-3669. 802-463-3677 fax) or email flyradar@sover.net.
There are only 80 seats available. Train rolls out on November 10 to 14. If you are
uploading videos on Youtube or Google Video, beware. The RIAA are now
monitoring both sites for the uploading of unauthorised music videos.
That is any music video you recorded with your TiVo or DVD recorders and
are uploading on the two sites. A majority of the music video's posted
on Youtube seem to come from MTV broadcasts and are then uploaded to Youtube.
The RIAA has previously issued cease-and-desist letters to Youtube users
for uploading videos' that are against copyright laws. In such cases,
Youtube puts up a notice saying "This video has been removed at the request
of copyright owner the RIAA because its content was used without permission."
Both Youtube and Google Video rely on content supplied by its visitors. The new U2
Special Edition iPod is back and is a slight modification of the fifth
generation iPod. Once again all of the band members' autographs are engraved
on the back and the new price has fallen to US$329, just US$30 more than
a normal iPod with the same specifications. Plus at this price, Apple
offers a free download of a 30-min U2 video.
APPLE AND CORGI TEAM UP WITH iPOD British die
cast model maker Corgi has announced the release of the iCar. The iCar
is a speaker system for your iPod that features a die cast vehicle that
rocks along to the beat when music is playing. The iCar comes with either
a Cadillac Escalade or Nissan 240SX. Billy Preston
who has been in a coma for the past eight months, died of kidney failure
June 6 at the age of 59. In the last year of the Beatles, George Harrison
invited a young Billy to jam with the band. He appears in the famous rooftop
scene of the group performing "Get Back." He is also on their "Abbey Road"
album, George Harrison's "All Things Must Pass" album and was a keyboardist
for George's Concert for Bangla Desh, John Lennon's "Plastic Ono Band"
album and the single "Oh My My" on Ringo Starr's "Ringo" album. He was
affectionately known as the "Fifth Beatle", a claim he never boasted of.
Both Mick Jagger and Eric Clapton visited him before his passing. One
of Billy's biggest hits was That's The Way God Planned It. We start an occasional column to inform you of new DVD releases across the Causeway at your favorite DVD shops. The following DVDs were released June 6, 2006. Buy at your own risk:
+ + + + + The UK Herald reported two weeks ago ("US spells out plan to bomb Iran", Ian Bruce) that "the US is updating contingency plans for a strike to cripple Iran’s atomic weapon program if international diplomacy fails... The plan calls for a rolling, five-day bombing campaign against 400 key targets, including 24 nuclear-related sites, 14 military airfields and radar installations, and Revolutionary Guard headquarters." If there is an invasion it will probably be limited to securing the region of Khuzestan which is adjacent to Iraq’s southern flank and contains 90% of Iran’s oil wealth as well as much of its natural gas. This could be achieved with as little as 15-20,000 combat troops, plus a backup of Special Forces. The rest could be accomplished by aerial bombardments of military installations, radar, artillery placements, missile silos, nuclear sites and Republican Guard facilities. Needless to say, there are not "400 nuclear targets" in Iran. The Herald article implies that the Pentagon is anticipating a "Serbia-type" attack which disrupts major industry, oil production and civilian infrastructure. This strategy has been described in great detail by author John Pilger in his article "Calling the Kosovo Humanitarians to Account" Pilger states: "NATO's civilian targets included public transport, hospitals, schools, museums, churches... bombing bridges on Sunday afternoons and market places." Citing the goal of opening the region to a "free-market economy", Pilger notes how NATO intentionally targeted state owned businesses to bring Kosovo into the global economic paradigm and remove any stain of its socialist past. Pilger says: |
FINALLY, ELVIS PRESLEY RETURNS
KATO HIDEKI'S GREEN ZONE
MYCOKE
IS DEAD
MONEY FOR GOOD: BOLIVIA TO SPEND US$ 6.8 BILLION TO FIGHT POVERTY
MALAYSIA'S ROCK UNITE REALITY SHOW
U.S. STUDENTS SAY iPODS BETTER THAN BEER
RTM WORLD CUP LIVE ON THE NET
APPLE HAS NEW U2 iPOD
