PHILADELPHIA WEEKLY: The sound is vintage, from when radio was king in Philadelphia. Jocko Henderson, Hy Lit, Georgie Woods, the recently passed George Michael—these DJs were local superstars on stations that defined neighborhoods—WIBBAGE, WDAS, WHAT—with call-letter allegiance determined by race, parish and hip factor. And Blavat ended up the biggest of them all, if not by celebrity, then at least by staying power. “As commercial radio continues to blow, legendary DJs are dying,” says WXPN’s Bruce Warren, who puts the Geator on the air every Saturday night. “There was something about growing up in Philly listening to these guys. There […]
ALBUM REVIEW: Blood Feathers Goodness Gracious
BLOOD FEATHERS Goodness Gracious (Philebrity) Philly-based six-piece the Blood Feathers — featuring the dual lead vocal dream-team of Ben Dickey and Drew Mills — strikes again and more often than not catches the proverbial lightning in a bottle. A bottle of moonshine, to be exact. Released earlier this month, the Philebrity label rockers’ second full length, Goodness Gracious, is a mid winter pick-me-up that arrives not a moment too soon. Kicking things off with a fuzzy throwback to the Exiles-era Stones, Dickey and Mills belt out catchy harmonies atop buzzing guitars that nicely showcases the band’s classic-rock chops and considerable […]
SCRAPPLE TV NEWS: The Week That Was
With your host, A.P. Ticker.
BUMMER: Los Angeles City Council Votes To Shut Down Most Medical Marijuana Dispensaries
ASSOCIATED PRESS: The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday tentatively approved an ordinance to close most of the city’s medical marijuana dispensaries, winding down months of debate on how to limit the rapid spread of such clinics. The ordinance, if passed next week by a simple majority of the 15-member council, would cap the number of dispensaries at 70 and require them to be at least 1,000 feet from “sensitive uses” — schools, parks and other public gathering spots. The local law would put an end to the proliferation of pot dispensaries. As many as 1,000 have cropped up over […]
ARTSY: Nun Shall Pass
[Artwork by RYE BREAD] Shark had it comin’.
THE WALL: Newsday.com Has 35 Paid Subscribers
NEW YORK OBSERVER: In late October, Newsday, the Long Island daily that the Dolans bought for $650 million, put its web site, newsday.com, behind a pay wall. The paper was one of the first non-business newspapers to take the plunge by putting up a pay wall, so in media circles it has been followed with interest. Could its fate be a sign of what others, including The New York Times, might expect? So, three months later, how many people have signed up to pay $5 a week, or $260 a year, to get unfettered access to newsday.com? The answer: 35 […]
BREAKING: ‘Pimp’ From ACORN Sting Videos Arrested By FBI For Wiretapping Senator’s Phone
[Illustration by ALEX FINE] ASSOCIATED PRESS: A conservative activist who posed as a pimp to target the community-organizing group ACORN and the son of a federal prosecutor were among four people arrested by the FBI and accused of trying to interfere with phones at Sen. Mary Landrieu’s office. Activist James O’Keefe, 25, was already in Landrieu’s New Orleans office Monday when Robert Flanagan and Joseph Basel, both 24, showed up claiming to be telephone repairmen, U.S. Attorney Jim Letten’s office said Tuesday. Letten says O’Keefe recorded the two with his cell phone. Flanagan, the son of acting U.S. Attorney Bill […]
Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About The New Drive-By Truckers Album But Were Afraid To Ask
The Drive-By Truckers announced the first part of The Big To-Do tour, screenings of their documentary, The Secret To A Happy Ending and offer free MP3. The Big To-Do is slated for release on March 16, 2010 on ATO Records. DBT and ATO Records are offering up the first single, “This Fucking Job”, from The Big To-Do for free [CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD]. The premiere screening of the DBT documentary, The Secret To A Happy Ending, is scheduled for February 5, 2010 at AFI Silver Theatre in Silver Spring, MD. This is a film about the redemptive power of rock-and-roll; […]
EARLY WORD: The Past Isn’t Dead, It’s Not Even Past
PHILADELPHIA WEEKLY: When Pete Marshall, lead singer/guitarist for the Broken Prayers, intones “I got a little black heart and it’s full of hate” on the first track of 2008’s reverb-laden, lap steel-heavy, banjo-pickin’, very excellent Crow, it’s mostly sorrow and hurt you hear in his voice. Real sorrow. Visions of Dust Bowl-era depression dance through your head. Dogs howl. This is The Grapes of Wrath on tape—Son House’s “Death Letter” levels of pain. But Crow isn’t a complete downer. At times, it’s a full-on rockin’ stomp, a drunkin’ good time. Marshall’s plaintive yawp is just one of a hundred different […]
DOCTOR STRANGELOVE: Evidence From Official Inquiry Into The Mysterious Death Of British Scientist/Iraq War Whistleblower Sealed For 70 Years
[Artwork by STEVE BELL] LONDON EVENING STANDARD: Evidence relating to the death of Government weapons inspector David Kelly is to be kept secret for 70 years, it has been reported. A highly unusual ruling by Lord Hutton, who chaired the inquiry into Dr Kelly’s death, means medical records including the post-mortem report will remain classified until after all those with a direct interest in the case are dead, the Mail on Sunday reported. And a 30-year secrecy order has been placed on written records provided to Lord Hutton’s inquiry which were not produced in evidence. Dr Kelly’s body was found […]
DEEP THOUGHTS: If I Could Turn Back Time
[via the Internet]
LAW AND DISORDER: The Backroom Deal Rise & Tragic Tabloid Fall Of Judge Leslie Fleisher
INQUIRER: Philadelphia Common Pleas Court Judge Leslie Fleisher [not pictured, above] will step down March 15 from the judgeship she has held since 2001, Fleisher’s attorney confirmed today. Talk of Fleisher’s resignation has been widespread around the city’s Criminal Justice Center for several months after lawyer complaints about her courtroom management and judicial temperament. Fleisher has declined comment on her troubles with the legal community – including several lawyer complaints to the state Judicial Conduct Board – described in The Inquirer on Dec. 22. MORE PHILADELPHIA MAGAZINE: Defense lawyer Michael Coard recently had a legal dustup with Judge Leslie Fleisher […]