Arthur Magazine

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http://arthurnights.imeem.com

Hello darlings,

1. ARTHUR NIGHTS IS TRULY UPON US.

We are consumed in preparations for next week’s four-day Arthur Nights festival in downtown Los Angeles at the old Palace Theatre. There will be music in the main hall and on the 5th floor, and the sets will be slightly staggered so that you should be able to see a part of every band’s set should you so desire. There are 1100 seats in the main auditorium so you don’t have to stand the whole night, and, because this is an old vaudeville theater, no seat is more than 80 feet from the stage. Mmm, old school production values.

There will be ins-and-outs throughout the festival which will allow everybody to check out the food in the area. May we recommend that you vist Clifton’s Cafeteria, which is just a few doors down and features affordable American comfort food and a decor that’s may remind you of Disney’s Bear Country Jamboree on uncut acid. They’re staying open later than normal — til 9pm each night — to serve Arthur Nights folks.

Tickets are $24 per night plus some charges that brings it up to $27 or so.You can buy tickets online via ticketweb.com, or ar the four area stores (Amoeba of Hollywood, Benway of Venice, Fingerprints of Long Beach, Sea Level of Echo Park), or at the venue on the day of the show. Of course we recommend that you buy tickets in advance, for obvious ‘better safe than sorry’ reasons; also, you won’t get stuck waiting in line on the day of the show while everyone else is going inside. $80/four-day passes are available ONLY via ticketweb.com

We’ve added a bunch of artists, a couple artists cancelled, and a few artists have had to change dates, so be sure to check out the updated night-by-night lineup below. We are proud to announce that guitarist-singer KYP MALONE of TV ON THE RADIO, owner of the greatest beard in current rock, will be flying in from the end of the current TVOTR tour to give a rare solo performance on the closing Arthur Night, Sunday, October 22. Get ready.

Getting to and from Arthur Nights is really easy. You can drive and park on the street or at Pershing Square Garage for 5 bucks. (Obviously street parking on Saturday and Sunday afternoons is going to be hard to get, but at night you can do pretty well.) There are these security dudes called the Purple People who patrol this area of downtown at night, so you should feel safe leaving your car there and walking to and from the venue at 630 South Broadway, between 6th and 7th. Another way to get there is to take the subway to the Pershing Square stop. Trains stop running at 12:17am, though, so be aware of that. Or, of course, you can take the buses, which run 24/7. All of this info — with maps, schedules and links — is available at ….

2. THE OFFICIAL ARTHUR NIGHTS WEBSITE/COMMUNITY SITE

Arthur Magazine invites YOU to join the Official Arthur Nights community

Arthur Nights is on the web at

Extend your experience online:

· Check out MP3s, pictures, and videos from the bands that will be playing

· Share your own photos and experiences from the show by uploading content to the site

· Check out imeem exclusive photos and video after the show

· See who else is in the community and hook up with friends for the show

· Link to buy tickets

3. AND HERE IS THE ARTHUR NIGHTS NIGHT-BY-NIGHT LINE-UP….

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Thurs. Oct. 19, 6pm

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DEVENDRA BANHART

a special performance to close the current cycle

BERT JANSCH

first US visit in 8 years from the ex-Pentangle musician–a guitar hero to Neil Young, Jimmy Page, Johnny Marr and countless others–his new album just got 5 stars from Mojo magazine

ESPERS

gorgeous psychedelic folk-rock from Philly co-ed ensemble

JACKIE BEAT

singing spirit guide to Silver Lake scene queens

BELONG

ambient post-My Bloody Valentine fog-throb duo from New Orleans, spotlit in Arthur 23

BUFFALO KILLERS

lumbering, melodic rock ‘n’ roll from Cincinnati bros featuring former members of Thee Shams

YELLOW SWANS

psychedelic Bay Area agitnoise peacegrunt duo

GROUPER

Bay Area neo-ambient noiselady — ‘some of the most ethereal and powerfully heavy-lidden sounds this side of Brian Eno and Arvo Part’ says Mojo

AXOLOTL

San Francisco drone/noisefella

PLUS:

DJ sets by Dublab rats, Brian Turner (WFMU) and The Numero Group

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Friday, October 20, 6pm – presented by Imeem.com

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TAV FALCO & THE UNAPPROACHABLE PANTHER BURNS

The ‘Dorian Gray of Rock ‘n’ Roll’ from Memphis in his first L.A. appearance in a decade! Tav promises “A white shellacked candelabra-lit, deep-shadow pagent of languorous trance-figurations & psychotropic skulk fugues.” More info here…

BORIS

Co-ed Japanese doom/rock/blissout superpower trio in performance ahead of the Halloween release of Altar , their new album-length collaboration with Southern Lord labelmates/dronekings Sunn0)))

BE YOUR OWN PET

Nashville teenage action-punk quartet led by firecracker vocalist Jemina Pearl

HEARTLESS BASTARDS

walloping Ohio rock trio led by wailer/guitarist Erika Wennerstrom–new album just out on Fat Possum

THE HOWLING HEX

featuring ex-Royal Trux guitarist/genius Neil Hagerty in free prog-jazz-rock-whatsit flight

CHARALAMBIDES

beyond-rare L.A. perf by co-ed twin-guitar psych/dream duo on the Kranky label

AWESOME COLOR

awesome garage-mantra rock in a Stooges/Spacemen 3 ancestor worship mode

TALL FIRS

mellowside Ecstatic Peace recording artists

FORTUNE’S FLESH

features ex-Starvations members; “Cockroach’s larvae stage of death doo-wop”

And, from the “Imaginational Anthem Vol. 2 Tour”:

CHRISTINA CARTER

Texan matriarch of the current avant-folk scene/member of Charlambides in solo set

SHAWN DAVID MCMILLEN

“Soporific, glazed” (sez ‘The Wire’) Texas psych

SEAN SMITH

Berkeley-based acoustic guitarist in the Fahey-Basho tradition

PLUS:

DJ sets by Dublab rats, Brian Turner (WFMU) and The Numero Group

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Sat., October 21, 3pm – presented by Urge.com and DubLab.com

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SUN RA ARKESTRA

11-piece Arkestra still going deep, now led by the great Marshall Allen

return of Bay Area metal trance/mind expander duo–see Arthur 22–who laid peacewaste at this spring’s ArthurBall

WHITE MAGIC

long-awaited return of Mira Bilotte’s NYC-based syncretic-folk band, on the eve of the release of their spectacular new album

MONEY MARK

always imaginative keyboardist/music man–best known for co-writing work with Beastie Boys

WATTS PROPHETS

righteous word jazz elders

SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE

apocalyptic free-mind guitar & voice from Ben Chasny

MICHAEL HURLEY

legendary mellow bard with a hint of wry

JOSEPHINE FOSTER

“She’s a genius” – Joanna Newsom

FUTURE PIGEON

galactic dance-dub heroism from local ensemble

RUTHANN FRIEDMAN

She wrote “Windy” and so much more–now returning to live performance at age 62!–she lived the ’60s and she remembers it

LIVING SISTERS

joyous acoustic trio featuring Inara George, Eleni Mandell & Becky Stark (Lavender Diamond)

MIA DOI TODD

dreamy Pacific Rim singer/instrumentalist

RESIDUAL ECHOES

Stomping West Coast rock attack unit

NVH

Comets on Fire echoplexist/drummer Noel Von Harmonson’s noize proj, with special guest Ben Chasny

WOODEN WAND

mercurial, provocative, prolific folk-rock dude in a solo turn

Plus: “Misplaced soul/funk hits” dance party DJed by the 20th-cnetury archaelogists of THE NUMERO GROUP label from Chicago… They’ll be spinning throughout the day, with special sets before and following the Sun Ra Arkestra….

PLUS:

DJ sets by Dublab rats and Brian Turner (WFMU)

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Sun., Oct. 22, 3pm

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COMETS ON FIRE

Quite possibly Earth’s greatest living rock ‘n’ roll band — see present issue of Arthur for more details

THE FIERY FURNACES

justly acclaimed thrill-a-minute brother-and-sister-led clever combo, gifted with pop sense, improvisational chops and conceptual ambition

KYP MALONE

extremely rare solo set from the TV on the Radio singer-guitarist — he’s flying in especially to do this show — get ready for something special

THE SHARP EASE

Paloma Parfrey-led liberation rockers featured in current Arthur

ARCHIE BRONSON OUTFIT

sharp minded rock music from England

THE NICE BOYS

grade-AAA glam rock from Birdman recording artists, featuring former member of Exploding Hearts

OCRILIM

solo electric guitar hotwork from prog-metal-avant maestro Mick Barr

SSM

rawk n roll from Deeetroit on the Alive label, debut record features guest turn from Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach

THE COLOSSAL YES

Comets on Fire’s Utrillo’s brilliant piano pop proj

CHUCK DUKOWSKI SEXTET

feat. Lora Norton – Vocals, Chuck Dukowski – Bass (ex-Black Flag, etc.), Lynn Johnston- Horns, Milo Gonzalez – Guitar, Tony Tornay – Drums (Fatso Jetson, etc.)

EFFI BRIEST

all-female experimental/noise combo

C.B. BRAND

local cosmic California country rock

PLUS:

DJ sets by Dublab rats, Brian Turner (WFMU) and The Numero Group

4. ARTHUR NIGHTS ON THE RADIO.

Arthur editor Jay Babcock will be appearing on DeadAir at 8pm on Sunday night October 15 on Indie 103.1; on Eric J Lawrence’s KCRW 89.9 show on very late Monday night October 16 (I guess technically it’s the 17th?) and on Daisy’s morning show at 7:30am on KXLU 88.9 on Wed October 18.

5. OTHER NON-MUSIC DOINGS AT ARTHUR NIGHTS…

..are in the works and will be announced in coming days. It’s going to be awesome.

Thank you for reading.

Arthur Dream Team

Philly – Atwater – Bushwick

ARTHUR EMAIL BULLETIN No. 0054

“COMMAND PERFORMANCE”

The Arthur Magazine Email Bulletin

No. 0054

September 29, 2006

Website:

Comments:

The main hall in the historic Palace, founded in 1911, which will be the site of Arthur Nights.

Wata of BORIS, who will be performing Friday, October 20 at Arthur Nights.

$24/night, or $80 for a four-night pass

Buy tickets at Amoeba, Benway, Fingerprints and Sea Level, or online at

Ticketweb.com

Save your tabs,

Heads of Arthur

Philadelphia – Brooklyn – Los Angeles

ARTHUR EMAIL BULLETIN No. 0053

“COMMAND PERFORMANCE”

The Arthur Magazine Email BulletinNo. 0053September 26, 2006Website:http://www.arthurmag.comComments:editor@arthurmag.comThank you,1. ARTHUR NO. 24 (OCT 06) IS OUT NOW…featuring…* How Comets on Fire and Howlin’ Rain singer-guitarist ETHAN MILLER got his cosmic California yawp. By Trinie Dalton, with photography by Eden Batki.* DOUGLAS RUSHKOFF ON FASCISM, AMERICAN-STYLEThe propaganda state attempted in 1930s Europe has finally reached fruition here in the US.A. Now what do we do? Read this column online now:http://www.arthurmag.com/magpie/?p=1451* Making clothes for fall from new BUILT BY WENDY patterns. Photography by Glynnis McDaris, modeling by Nicole Lombardi.* LET ‘EM IN: An appreciation of ALL-AGES SHOWPart 1: A chat with MC5 manager/scholar/poet John Sinclair.By Jay Babcock, with artwork by Geoff McFetridge.* Chris Ziegler meets Los Angeles’ fabulous liberation rockers SHARP EASE, with photography by Molly Frances.* DAVE REEVES: Getting into it with Iran will be twice as fun as the party in Iraq! Just ask the British.* Scenes from a 1967 LOVE-IN AT LOS ANGELES’ GRIFFITH PARKPhotographed by the late Seymour Rosen. Text by Kristine McKenna.* COMICS: “Mulberry Season” by John Hankiewicz and “Strings” (now in full color) by Pshaw.* The Center for Tactical Magic on CELL PHONES, BLUETOOTHS AND MAGIC SPELLS.* New Herbalist Molly Frances goes cuckoo for the ultimate natural brain food: NUTS* Byron Coley & Thurston Moore on dozens of new excitements from the planetary underground, including work by Upset the Rhythm, Leopard Leg, T.I.T.S., Marcia Bassett & Matthew Bower, Michael Bowman, Hello Trudi, Garry Davis, Dinosaurs, Baseball & Hopscotch, Glen or Glenda, Kapital Ink, Dumb Angel, Dream, Genders, the Mall, Sonic Transmission: Television, Tom Verlaine, Richard Hell, Astral Blessing, Vanishing Voice, Outlaw Con Bandana, Eric Amling, Trash Ritual, Government Alpha, Genius Females, Circuit Wound, Emily Maguire, Impractical Cockpit, Fat Worm of Error, Ian Svenonius, Chris Kraus, Suicide, New York Dolls, Patter, Robert Amft, C.M. von Hasswolff, Aritoma Nishihara, Galaxie 500, Damon & Naomi, Lifespan, The Devil’s Sword, So Wrong They’re Right, Sonic Outlaws, Golden Digest and Trash Talking.* C & D think as hard as they can about records by Akron/Family, Beach House, Mick Barr & Zach Hill, The Horrors, Primal Scream, The USA Is a Monster, Wolf Eyes, The Thermals, Trainwreck Riders, The Black Keys, Buffalo Killers and Graham Coxon, as well as a new Blind Faith dvd, a new Byrds box set, the Numero Group’s “Good God!: A Gospel Funk Hymnal” compilation and of course “Ed Rosenthal’s Big Buds 2007 Calendar.”Read this column online now:http://www.arthurmag.com/magpie/?p=1454Can’t find a copy? Can’t afford to mail-order a copy from us?Feel free to download the complete issue in PDF format in two parts:Part 1 (8.6mb)http://www.arthurmag.com/pdfs/Arthur24part1of2.pdfPart 2 (X.X mb)http://www.arthurmag.com/pdfs/Arthur24part2of2.pdfMore info:http://www.arthurmag.com2. COR! STOP THE PRESSES AND BUY YOUR PLANE TICKETS: ARTHUR NIGHTS UPGRADES ITS LOCATION TO HISTORIC PALACE THEATRE IN DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES. **HOUDINI** PERFORMED THERE FOR CRISSAKES!All of Arthur Nights is happening October 19-22, 2006 at the Palace Theatre (630 South Broadway).“The Downtown Palace Theatre, at 630 S Broadway, was built in 1911 as the third Los Angeles home of the Orpheum Vaudeville circuit. It was originally know as the “Orpheum” and is the oldest remaining Orpheum theatre in the country. Renamed the Palace Theatre in 1926, it became a silent movie house and later added sound. “The intimate scale of the Palace Theatre in concert with its elegant French details compares to a 17th-century European opera house. With garland-draped columns, a color scheme of pale pastels, wall murals depicting pastoral scenes, and ceiling murals of whimsical girls, the Palace offers an unusually charming and graceful setting. As an early vaudeville house, built without amplified sound, it is designed so that no seat is further than 80 feet from the stage. While the interior is French, the exterior is loosely styled after a Florentine Renaissance palazzo, with multicolored terra cotta swags, flowers, fairies and theatrical masks illustrating the spirit of entertainment. “From its beginning in the late 1800s, the Orpheum Vaudeville circuit ruled the west coast. The most popular singers, dancers and comediennes played the circuit which extended from the Midwest through the West to the Pacific. The crowning stop for the most elite was to play in Los Angeles. The first Orpheum Theatre was built in Los Angeles in the 1880s. “When the second L.A. Orpheum Theatre burned down, another larger more ornate palace was built. Opening in 1911 our theatre was originally named the Orpheum. It is the oldest of the remaining Orpheum theaters in the United States. “Every major vaudeville star on the Orpheum circuit performed in this theatre. The names in light included: the Marx Brothers, W.C. Fields, Sarah Bernhardt, Bob Hope, Al Jolson and Will Rogers. When Harry Houdini performed his stage magic and death-defying escapes, an ambulance was kept parked on the curb in case of emergency. “The principal architect was G Albert Landsburg, who later also designed the new Orpheum Theatre down the block. He was a principal theatre designer in the west between 1909 and 1930. His local work includes the Warner Bros. Theatre Building in Hollywood, and the interiors of the Wiltern and El Capitan theatres. “While the interior is French, the exterior is loosely styled after a Florentine Renaissance palazzo, with multicolored terra cotta swags, flowers, fairies and theatrical masks illustrating the spirit of entertainment. The façade includes four panels depicting the muses of Song, Dance, Music and Drama (sculpted by Domingo Mora, a Spaniard whose work also decorated New York’s old Metropolitan Opera House.) “G Albert Landsburg built the theatre with fire safety in mind. In 1906 there was a devastating fire in a Chicago theater during a children’s matinee show. Because of the poor standard of fire-safety codes such as exit doors that only opened inwards–the patrons were trapped inside and all perished. As a direct response to new fire concerns and codes, the Palace was built with 22 fire escape exits and has one of the first sprinkler systems built in the city. “This specific style of decor is indicative of G Albert Landsburg’s work. He loved to use recessed lighting that can be seen in the three mural domes in the ceiling. Reflectors were built around the bulbs to give a kind of “holy glow”. As you look at the borders of the balcony you can see bare bulbs; this was not a cheap decorative technique. It was actually very exciting for a theater to have electricity at the turn of the century, so they showed them off. “In 1911, the theater could house 2,200 people on the orchestra and two balconies, the mezzanine and the gallery. The gallery was designed for “Negroes Only,” in a rare artifact of the generally tolerant Los Angeles. There is some controversy whether it was used as a minority balcony for people who were not white or if it was a “third class” balcony for the poor with cheaper seating. Either way, the gallery had a separate entrance from the alley and separate restrooms. The gallery was closed in the forties when the theatre was renovated to be movie theatre. Today the theater utilizes 1050 seats in the orchestra and mezzanine only. “The theater was built with beautiful box seating along the sides of the auditorium. When the primary entertainment shifted to film, the box seats were removed because they had ridiculously bad sightlines for movie viewing. They were replaced with two beautiful murals done by Anthony Hiemsburgen, a famous Los Angeles muralist. Later, these murals were covered with red velvet. They were uncovered five years ago. “One interesting feature is the Women’s Lounge. It has glass doors that overlook the theatre entrance. In 1911 women were not permitted by custom to go to the theater unescorted. Women were also not permitted to travel with a young man without a chaperone. This room protects against these social pitfalls. The windows looking into the foyer were designed to help women watch for their dates. “After a long history as a first run movie theatre, the history of the theatre declined with the decline of Broadway and its once flourishing entertainment district. The theatre continued with second run films and Spanish language films until it closed in the mid nineties. The theatre has continued as a featured location for films and television. In the coming year the Palace Theatre will reopen as a live performance venue, once again serving all of Los Angeles….”Thurs. Oct. 19, 6pmDEVENDRA BANHART (special performance!), BERT JANSCH (ex-Pentangle guitarist! hero to Neil Young and Jimmy Page! new album just got 5 stars in Mojo!), ESPERS (now nearing height of their powers!), WATTS PROPHETS (legendary!), JACKIE BEAT (outrageously great!), BELONG (ambient post-My Bloody Valentine fog-throb from New Orleans), YELLOW SWANS (psychedelic agitnoise from Bay Area!), BUFFALO KILLERS (lumbering brother rock n roll a la Mountain, the Beatles and Screaming Trees!) and GROUPERFriday, October 20, 6pmTAV FALCO & THE UNAPPROACHABLE PANTHER BURNS (legendary! see Arthur No. 21 for details!), BORIS (new collabo album with Sunno))) out on Halloween!), BE YOUR OWN PET (l.a. debut of new teenage drummer!), HEARTLESS BASTARDS, THE HOWLING HEX (feat legendary Neil Hagerty [ex-Royal Trux]), CHARALAMBIDES (beyond-rare L.A. perf), AWESOME COLOR (Stooges/Spacemen 3 ancestor worship!), TALL FIRS and “Imaginational Anthem Tour” acoustic guitar superstars CHRISTINA CARTER, SHAWN DAVID MCMILLEN and SEAN SMITHSat., October 21, 3pmSUN RA ARKESTRA (featuring 11 musicians, many of whom played in the Arkestra under Sun Ra, the Arkestra is now led by Marshall Allen!), OM (metal trance/mind expanders who laid peacewaste at ArthurBall), WHITE MAGIC (new album out in November!), MONEY MARK (whoa), SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE, MICHAEL HURLEY (legendary!), JOSEPHINE FOSTER, FUTURE PIGEON, RUTHANN FRIEDMAN (legendary!), LIVING SISTERS feat. Inara George, Eleni Mandell & Becky Stark (Lavender Diamond), MIA DOI TODD, WOODEN WAND, RESIDUAL ECHOES and NVH (Comets on Fire’s Noel Von Harmonson noize proj, with special guest Ben Chasny). Plus: Closing “misplaced soul/funk hits” dance party DJed by THE NUMERO GROUPSun., Oct. 22, 3pmCOMETS ON FIRE, THE FIERY FURNACES (now featuring Jason Lowenstein on drums!), UNANNOUNCEABLE GUEST (WHO HAS RAMBLED NEAR AND FAR FOR DECADES), THE SHARP EASE (6 out of 7 songs on new EP are HITS!), ARCHIE BRONSON OUTFIT (from England), SSM (rawk n roll from Deeetroit), THE COLOSSAL YES (Comets on Fire’s Utrillo’s brilliant piano pop proj), THE NICE BOYS (glamorous rock), EFFI BRIEST and C.B. BRAND (local cosmic California country rock)* Festival will feature between-band DJ sets by Brian Turner (wfmu) and dublab DJs and many more TBA…* LOTS of surprise stuff yet to be announced.* All artists will perform full sets.* Tickets are $24/night, or $80 for a four-night pass.* ALL AGES are welcome. (Ask about our senior discount!)Buttloads of info on Arthur Nights at murdochSpace:http://www.myspace.com/arthurnights Visit the official site at http://arthurnights.imeem.com3. A MESSAGE FROM SIR PLASTIC CRIMEWAVE, FRIEND OF ARTHUR.”greetings friendz!just wanted to offer up a subscription for my lil mix-tape club, which is about to go into it’s second year. The deal is this: You get 6 audio cassette tapes a year, delivered to your home– one every other month of all sorts of rare and psychedelical delights–past themes have been heavy rock, floaty acid folk, psych-pop, spacey jams, and super-scarce live/unreleased stuff…each features exclusive artwork, and ya get like a membership card/decree and some random shit.this time around plans for themes like biker rock, obscure shoegazer stuff, rare krautrock, communal freak-outs, satanic rock, and some more random pastiches…needless to say some personal recordings and totally unreleased stuff from my own collection makes it in there….at present the tape club has about 30 members, in 6 countries, and the feedback has been enthusiastic–everyone from midwest farmers to SF lesbians, music nerds (big surprise) from all over seem to dig it.so rates are$35 a year for USA$50 for overseasi am open to negotiation for trades or blank tape providing discounts……you can paypal me at plasticcw@hotmail.comor send a check or money order to:1061 n.western avechicago Il 60622thanks!! please reply before November 1, when the next year of tapes begins……………………”4. A MESSAGE FROM SIR ERIK DAVIS, FRIEND OF ARTHUR AND AUTHOR OF THE ESSENTIAL NEW BOOK, “THE VISIONARY STATE: A JOURNEY THROUGH CALIFORNIA’S SPIRITUAL LANDSCAPE” WITH PHOTOGRAPHER MICHAEL RAUNER…* This Saturday, Sep 30, 2006:Visionary California in FilmIn this talk, I’ll focus on the desertscapes in the California imagination, as reflected in the book _The Visionary State_. I’ll show slides of Michael Rauner’s photos and some clips of cosmic Mojave films. Followed by Aron Ranen’s flick, “LSD in the 60s.”ATA, 992 Valencia Street, San Francisco8:30pm; $5* Monday Oct 2, 2006 Lecture: “The Visionary State”Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar Street, Berkeley7:30 pm* Thursday, Oct 5, 2006Reading: “The Visionary State”Gateways Books, 1126 Soquel Avenue, Santa Cruz7pm5. ARTHUR COLUMNIST DOUGLAS RUSHKOFF & FORMER ARTHUR COLUMNIST DANIEL PINCHBECK DIALOGUE IN NYC THIS THURSDAY — FREEArthur columnist Douglas Rushkoff writes:”I’ll be making a rare NYC public appearance this week (they’ve become rare because of the duties of fatherhood), engaging in a conversation with author Daniel Pinchbeck, who was recently contextualized as something of a Burning Man apocalyptic guru in a Rolling Stone. “Emails from friends and readers (who know my bias against guruhood and fundamentalist prophecy of all kind) have been pouring in asking if I’m going to “square off” against him. All I can say is that while our views on the role and reality level of prophecy and psychedelic experiences may differ, I’m not the combative type, and see less value in dialectic or fiery rhetoric than in the honest quest for common ground and shared objectives. “So while our methods of investigation and idea dissemination might not be compatible, many of our views on what needs to be done to fix civilization’s messes are the same. I expect nothing more and nothing less than conversation aimed at determining the appropriate application of prophecy in our times, however it may have been dislodged from the noosphere. “Here are the details. My next scheduled NYC appearance will be at Barnes and Noble Astor Place, at the end of February, when the second collected edition of my comic book, Testament, is released.”September 28, 2006, 7 p.m.McNally Robinson Booksellers50 Prince StreetNew York City, NY10012-3325Phone 212-274-1160“Post-Modern Prophecy: Urgent Myths for Urgent Times?”A dialogue between authors Daniel Pinchbeck and Douglas RushkoffDaniel Pinchbeck is the author of “Breaking Open the Head” (Broadway Books), and “2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl” (Tarcher/Penguin). His articles and essays have appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Wired, The Village Voice, Arthur, and many other publications. His “Here and Now” column ran in Arthur magazine from No. 9 (Mar 2004) to 18 (Sept 2005).Douglas Rushkoff’s titles include Cyberia, Media Virus, Nothing Sacred: The Truth about Judaism, Coercion (winner of the Marshall Mcluhan Award), and “Get Back in the Box.” The first collection of his Bible-based comic book, “Testament,” was published this year by DC/Vertigo. He has been a columnist for Arthur since No. 15 (Mar 2005) .6. FROM SIR R.A. PLEUGER, FRIEND OF ARTHUR:”Check JA Caesar and the ecsasy of “Jashumon”.It was rewarding for me.Scroll down to the third record and you can downloadthis beautiful music for a ghostly theatre play:”http://citiesonflamewithrockandroll.blogspot.com/2006_07_01_citiesonflamewithrockandroll_archive.htmlHypereducation is our only hope,Arthur Peace VigilantesBrooklyn – Philadelphia – Los Angeles

ARTHUR EMAIL BULLETIN No. 0052

“COMMAND PERFORMANCE”

The Arthur Magazine Email Bulletin

No. 0052

September 14, 2006

Website:

Comments:

http://www.skylightbooks.com/NASApp/store/IndexJsp?s=storeevents&eventId=329504

Events, presentations, gatherings, performances, happenings and shindigs across the continent….

1. ARTHUR PRESENTS TONIGHT’S FREE GETDOWN AT LITTLE JOY IN ECHO PARK

Arthur Magazine presents

THE ECHO PARK SOCIAL(IST) & PLEASURE CLUB

tonight (Sept. 14, 2006) and every Thursday night

9:55pm-close

Little Joy

1477 Sunset Blvd in Echo Park

tonight’s topic (held over from last week!):

“Idiocracy”

tonight’s bartender:

Arthur “Do the Math” columnist Dave Reeves

SPECIAL TIP OF THE GOBLET TO LAST WEEK’S ROYAL DJs…

Allen ‘Charmin’ Larman, Arthur contributors Richard A. Pleuger, Daniel Chamberlin and Peter Alberts

2. ARTHUR PRESENTS FREE COMIC POETRY THIS FRIDAY IN LOS FELIZ

Join us at Skylight Books this Friday, September 15, 2006 at 7:30 PM as

Arthur Magazine and the Nightjar Review Present…

“They’re Coming To Take You Away: The Poetry of Alex Mitchell, John Tottenham, and Peter Relic”

Three Los Angeles poets bring their work to Skylight for a evening of laughter, languor and imagistic transgressions.

* ALEX MITCHELL has been called both “a rock’n’roll addicted sweetly emotional fellow traveler” and “a bruiser with a bruised heart” in the pages of Arthur Magazine. Mitchell is the author of Life Is A Phantom K-Mart Horse Starting Up In The Middle Of The Night (Yahara Design Press), a book of prose-poems about both his misspent Florida boyhood and his hard-knock years in Hollywood. He is not afraid to show off his Miami Dolphins tattoo.

* JOHN TOTTENHAM is the author of The Inertia Variations (Kerosene Bomb Publishing), a masterful poetic tome on the art of getting nothing done. In his eight-line poems, Tottenham succeeds in “discharging himself of will, while subtly sublimating his own state of stagnation” (Arthur Magazine). The Inertia Variations are currently being adapted into song form by Matt Johnson of The The.

* PETER RELIC is the recipient of the 2006 Da Capo Best American Music Writing Award. He he has written for publications including Rolling Stone, MOJO, and the Los Angeles Times. His poems (as published in the Nightjar Review) prompted betablog to write: “Utilizing the Malaysian stanza form known as the pantoum (Victor Hugo, Baudelaire, and John Ashberry all used it), Relic toggles between being trenchant and ludicrous, all rendered with a definite sense of craft.”

THE EVENT IS FREE AND ALL AGES ARE WELCOME.

Skylight Books

1818 N. Vermont Avenue

Los Angeles, CA 90027

Tel: (323) 660-1175

More info:

3. BACKYARD THEATER IN BROOKLYN, THIS THURS-SAT…

“SADDLE UP! The Ballad of the Red Hill Mine”

an original musical play about cowboys

from the creators of BLOW ME DOWN!

starring

Lauren Allison

Steve Burns

Jeremy Carr

Bill Coelius

Henry Darst

Francis Kerrigan

Michael Ringled

Gabe Soria

Ben Schneider

written by St. John Frizell

directed by David Teague

with original music and songs

by Nick Delgado and the Westward Ho’s

Thursday, September 14 — 8pm – SOLD OUT

Friday, September 15 – 8pm – SOLD OUT

Saturday, September 16 – 8pm – SOLD OUT

Saturday, September 16 – 1030pm – JUST ADDED

The Coffey Street Playhouse (in the backyard)

132 Coffey Street (Van Brunt/Conover)

Red Hook, Brooklyn, NY

$10

Seating is limited.

Tickets are available for sale at Red Hook Bait & Tackle, 320 Van Brunt Street.

To reserve seats or for more information, e-mail

RadioFreeRedHook@gmail.com.

F/A/C to Jay St./Borough Hall

B61 bus to Van Brunt and Coffey

***a RADIO FREE RED HOOK production***

4. SEPT 23 IN LOS ANGLES: DUBLAB PARTY

SATURDAY, September 23rd

dublab.com & ArtDontSleep present…

THE DUBLAB 7 YEAR ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION & JOHN COLTRANE TRIBUTE

CONCERT

On the Autumnal Equinox we celebrate John Coltrane’s birth and

dublab’s creative light through an elevated evening of music and art

featuring…

+ THE DUBLAB SOUNDSYSTEM & VERY SPECIAL GUESTS

Hoseh

Kutmah

Morpho

Derelict

Nobody

Daedelus

Ale (Languis)

Devendra Banhart

Allen (Plug Research)

frosty (Adventure Time)

Carlos Niño (Ammoncontact/Life Force Trio)

Jimmy Tamborello (Dntel/Postal Service/Figurine)

megAfarmer D (All Night Radio/Beachwood Sparks)

+ JOHN COLTRANE TRIBUTE PERFORMANCES:

the John Coltrane Tribute Cooperative: Dwight Trible, Derf Reklaw,

Phil Ranelin,Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, Ralph “Buzzy” Jones,Nick Rosen,

Dexter Story and more

Mia Doi Todd featuring Andres Renteria

djs: J.Rocc, Mark Maxwell, Carlos Nino

+ THE DEBUT OF “THE DREAM SCENE” ART EXHIBITION

Images from imaginary happenings. Fantasy concert posters by a

posse of awesome artists.

+ LIVE SCREENPRINTING BY THE HIT + RUN:

in the moment t-shirt creation featuring original dublab inspired

designs by elevated artists.

+ MOTION GRAPHICS FROM INSPIRED VISIONARIES

Animal Charm

Dore Burry

Carolina Chavez and Ben Lois

MC This

the Labrat Matinee

+ MOCHILLA MAGIC PHOTO BOOTH

Have your photos snapped in front of a dublab graphic backdrop.

All proceeds from the evening to benefit dublab’s positive music

mission.

Advance tickets $7 (paypal to -> info@dublab.com), $12 at the door.

This happening will shake from 7pm-2am at a super secret location in

downtown LA. RSVP required for directions: rsvp@dublab.com

More info >

http://www.dublab.com

supported by: Arthur Magazine, Coke Zero, Flavorpill.net, Guitar

Center, Plug Research, RE:UP, Sealevel Records, 2K Shirts

5. SEPT. 28 IN NYC: ACTUAL JOURNALISM ABOUT WHAT’S GOING ON IN U.S.-OCCUPIED IRAQ.

www.impactfestival.org<<<<<<<

Iraq: Speaking Of War

Created by Karen Malpede;

original music by Milos Raickovich; Iraqi Maqam & santur by Amir ElSaffar;

percussion: Johnny Farraj; harp: Nina Kellman;

featuring: George Bartenieff, Dalia Basiouny, Kathleen Chalfant,

Peter Francis James, Judith Malina, Hanon Reznikov,

Najla Said, Amneh Taye, Maysoon Zayid, Waleed Zuaiter,

Sep. 28th – 7:00 PM – Shinbone Alley @ 45 Below

The Culture Project, 45 Bleecker St., NY, NY

A cast of political theater pioneers and luminaries who have won

awards in landmark productions from “The Brig” (1963) to

“Stuff Happens” (2006) will perform the ritual

docu-drama with original and traditional Iraqi music “Iraq: Speaking

of War,” created and directed by Karen Malpede, at the Culture Project,

Thursday, Sept. 28, at 7 p.m. as part of the IMPACT Festival.

“Litany,” with the voice of Dalia Basiouny, and “B-A-G-D-A-D,”

both composed by Milos Raickovich, will be played on harp by Nina

Kellman. The music of Amir ElSaffar, traditional Iraqi Maqam singer

and santur player, and percussionist Johnny Farraj will be featured

throughout the piece.

The cast, which includes founders of The Living Theater, Theater for

the New City, the Arab-American Comedy Festival, and Nibras

(Arab-American Theater Collective) has won dozens of OBIES

and other awards world-wide for their political theater work.

The actors will tell the untold story of the first two years of the

Iraq war in the words of Iraqi civilians, American soldiers and

independent journalists. Amneh Taye and Dalia Basiouny will speak

the names of Iraqi children murdered by the war.

Greek historian Thucydides provides commentary.

$20, tickets available at

http://www.ovationtix.com/trs/pr/1915/

6. OCT 5 IN MONTREAL: ARTHUR PRESENTS JOANNA NEWSOM

Thurs. Oct 5th

http://www.popmontreal.com/

Pop Montreal, Arthur Magazine and BSTB Present:

JOANNA NEWSOM + Under Byen and Joe Grass

Ukrainian Federation

5213 Hutchison, Montréal, Québec

www.admission.com

7. YES IT’S *THAT* TAV FALCO & THE UNAPPROACHABLE PANTHER BURNS PLAYING FRIDAY OCTOBER 20 AT ARTHUR NIGHTS IN L.A.

Here’s what Tav has to say in advance of his first USA performance in years:

“PANTHER BURNS Invocation for ArthurNIGHTS

Enter the realm of Luxus Lubricity

Come to the land of Shadows awhile

Where everlasting flowers in Beauty smile ~

Join our evening of Psychotropic splendor

and skulking Duplicity.”

More info on Tav Falco & Panther Burns:

http://www.myspace.com/pantherburns

Issue of Arthur featuring gigantic Tav Falco & Panther Burns feature by Richard A. Pleuger:

http://www.arthurmag.com/store/index.php?ID=27

More info on Arthur Nights four-night festival of amazingness:

http://www.arthurmag.com/news/index.php

8. OUR SPACE IS YOURS.

http://www.myspace.com/arthurmag

A little bit of grace never hurt,

Thee Arthurs

Brooklyn-Philadelphia-Los Angeles

ARTHUR EMAIL BULLETIN No. 0051

“COMMAND PERFORMANCE”

The Arthur Magazine Email Bulletin

No. 0051

September 7, 2006

Website:

Comments:

Easy does it,

1. ARTHUR PRESENTS VASHTI BUNYAN AT THE ECHO IN LOS ANGELES THIS SATURDAY.

Sat. Sept. 9 at The Echo in Los Angeles

Doors 8pm

Dj Nobody and the Mystic Chords of Memory 9pm

VASHTI BUNYAN 10pm

Dub Lab djs spin before, after, throughout the night.

$17 adv, $20 day of show

* all ages welcome *

Three pairs are free to the first 3 respondents to editor@arthurmag.com

All the info you need:

http://www.attheecho.com

2. TONIGHT AT LITTLE JOY TONIGHT

Arthur Magazine presents

THE ECHO PARK SOCIAL(IST) & PLEASURE CLUB

tonight (August 24, 2006) and every Thursday night

9:55pm-close

Little Joy

1477 Sunset Blvd in Echo Park

tonight’s topic:

“Idiocracy” of course

tonight’s bartender:

Arthur “Do the Math” columnist Dave Reeves

tonight’s DJs:

we’ll let you know who they were next week

SPECIAL TIP OF THE GOBLET TO LAST WEEK’S ROYAL DJs…

Chris Ziegler (LARecord), Arthur contributor Richard A. Pleuger

AND R.A. PLEUGER PLAYED…

Bohren & The Club Of Gore – On Demon Wings

Xu Xu Fang – Good Times

Mountain – Theme for An Imaginary Western

Ennio Morricone – Citta Violenta

Kammerflimmer Kollektief – Lichterloh

Notwist – Pilot

PJ Harvey – The Dancer

Radio Birdman – Transmaniacon MC (Live)

PJ Harvey – Long Snake Moan

Radio Birdman – Found Dead

Birthday Party – King Ink

Tomorrow – Why?

Tomorrow – Revolution

Captain Beyond – Armworth

Captain Beyond – Myopic Void

Alice Cooper – No More Mr. Nice Guy

Electric Prunes – I Had Too Much To Dream (Live Stockholm ’67)

David Bowie – After All

HAL – I Sat Down

Tom Verlaine – Blue Light

Blue Bob – Pink Western Range

Blue Bob – Mountains Falling

St. Vitus – Born Too Late

Xu Xu Fang – Seven Days

50 Cent – In Da Club

Monster Magnet – Nod Scene

Monster Magnet – Medicine

Slayer – Supremist

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Opium Tez

3. YES, IT’S *THAT* BERT JANSCH.

People have been asking us, Is the Bert Jansch that’s playing Thursday, October 19 at Arthur Nights, THEE Bert Jansch? The English guitarist that Neil Young and Jimmy Page got all gassed over? Yes the same. The 63-year-old guitarist, best known for his work in folk-rock band Pentangle in the late ’60s and early ’70s, can reportedly still wowie zowie, and we’ve cleverly booked his only USA gig this go-round for the same night as Espers and Devendra Banhart, who feature on Jansch’s forthcoming comeback album. More info on the whole Arthur Nights affair at

all of our love,

The Arthur Sweeties

Brooklyn-Philadelphia-Los Angeles

ARTHUR EMAIL BULLETIN No. 0050

“COMMAND PERFORMANCE”

The Arthur Magazine Email Bulletin

No. 0050

September 4, 2006

Website:

Comments:

Whoa,

ESSENTIAL, TERRIFYING YET STRANGELY OPTIMISTIC VIEWING: MIKE JUDGE’S VINTAGE ’50s/’60s MAD MAGAZINE-ESQUE MASTERPIECE FILM “IDIOCRACY”

(Not showing in NYC or SF. Go speculate.)

“Idiocracy”

Logline: The most average man in the US military is cryogenically frozen in an experiment which accidentally lasts 500 years, awakening to discover society has become so dumbed down he is the smartest man on the planet

Featuring: Maya Rudolph, Luke Wilson

Director: Mike Judge (Beavis & Butthead, King of the Hill, Office Space)

Writer: Mike Judge and Etan Cohen, story by Mike Judge

Distributor: idiots at Twentieth Century Fox

Bizarre Opening Week Release Pattern: Opens at the Atlantic Palace 10 in Alhambra CA, the Allen 16 in Allex TX, the Mansell Crossing 14 in Alpharetta GA, the Atlantic Station Stadium 16, the Parkway Point 15 and the Phipps Plaza 14 in Atlanta, the Austell 22 in Austell GA, the Barton Creek Square 14, the Gateway 16 and the Tinseltown 17 in Austin, the Brea West Stadium Cinemas in Brea CA, the Buena Park Metroplex 18 in Buena Park CA, the Mall of Georgia 20 in Buford GA, the Burbank 16 in Burbank, the Riverstone 15 in Canton GA, the Lakeline Mall Cinemas in Cedar Park TX, the Century City 15 in Century City, the Hollywood 24 in Chamblee GA, the Winnetka All Stadium 21 in Chatsworth CA, the City North 14 in Chicago, the Chicago Heights 15 in Chicago Heights IL, the Conyers Crossroads 16 in Conyers GA, the Covina 30 in Covina CA, the Country Club Hills 16 in Country Club Hills IL, the Crestwood 18 in Crestwood IL, the Showplace 16 in Crystal Lake IL, the Culver Plaza 6 in Culver

City, the Dallas 17 and the Keystone Park 16 in Dallas, the North Dekalb Mall 16 in Decauter GA, the Arbor Place 18 in Douglasville GA, the Medlock Crossing 18 in Duluth GA, the Tinseltown 17 in Grapevine TX, the Gurnee Cinemas in Gurnee IL, the ArcLight 15 in Hollywood, the Greenway Palace Stadium 24, the Gulf Pointe 30, the Marq*E Stadium 23, the Studio 30, the Tinseltown USA 290, the Tinseltown Westchase 17, the Willowbrook 24 and the Yorktown 15 in Houston, the Deerbrook 24 in Humble TX, the Irvine 21 in Irvine CA, the MacArthur Marketplace 16 in Irving TX, the Tinseltown 17 in Jacinto City TX, the Katy 19 and the Katy Mills 20 in Katy TX, the Town 16 in Kennesaw GA, the Lakewood Center Stadium 16 in Lakewood CA, the Discover Mills 18 in Lawrenceville GA, the Lincolnshire Stadium 20 in Lincolnshire IL, the Stonecrest 16 in Lithonia GA, the Long Beach 26 and the Pine Square 16 in Long Beach, the Beverly Center 13 and the Bridge cinema de lux in Los Angeles, the Southlake!

24 in Morrow GA, the Naperville 16 in Naperville IL, the Norwalk 20 in Norwalk CA, the Block 30 and the Stadium 25 in Orange, the Paseo Stadium 14 in Pasadena CA, the Hollywood Movies 20 in Pasadena TX, the Tinseltown USA Cinemas in Pflugerville TX, the Legacy Cinemas and the Tinseltown USA Cinemas in Plano TX, the Puente Hills 20 in Puente Hills CA, the Round Lake Beach 18 in Round Lake Beach IL, the Criterion 6 in Santa Monica, the Streets of Woodfield 20 in Schaumberg IL, the Schererville 16 in Schererville IL, the Sherman Oaks 5 in Sherman Oaks CA, the Simi Valley Plaza 10 in Simi Valley CA, the Village Crossing 18 in Skokie IL, the Snellville 12 in Snellville GA, the South Gate 20 in South Gate CA, the Southlake Town Center 14 in Southlake TX, the First Colony 24 in Sugarland TX, the Rolling Hills 20 in Torrance CA, the Universal City 18 in Unviersal City CA, the Webster 18 in Webster TX, the Avco Cinema Center in Westwood, the Promenade 16 in Woodland Hills, the Tins!

eltown 17 in Woodlands TX and the Seven Bridges Cinemas in Woo!

dridge I

L (86 locations total) on September 1

MPAA Rating: R for language and sex-related humor

Running Time: 84 minutes

Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

Sound Format: Dolby Digital, DTS

‘Idiocracy’

Are things bad now? `Idiocracy’ imagines a future in which people are, well, take a guess. Its satire is spot-on.

By Carina Chocano, Los Angeles Times – September 4, 2006

What does Mike Judge have to do to get a movie released and marketed? He could stop making satires as merciless and spot-on as this one, for one thing. His second film in seven years, “Idiocracy,” was completed nearly two years ago and dumped on Friday, reviewless and unmarketed, in six markets not including New York and San Francisco. (Because who could possibly be interested in the long-awaited movie by the director of “Office Space” there?) It’s this sort of vote of no-confidence that gets people wondering — just how bad could it be? Which raises the issue of what “bad” means to the studio that unleashed “Date Movie” and “Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties” on an unsuspecting populace.

Judge has a gift for delivering brutal satire in the trappings of low comedy and for making heroes out of ordinary people whose humanity makes them suspect in a world where every inch of space, including mental, is mediated. The movie would be worth seeing for its skewering of the health system alone — in the future, hospitals will resemble a cross between a chain auto-diagnostic center and a Carl’s Jr., powered by Help Me technology — even if its opening thesis on the moment in history (roughly now) that evolution tipped into devolution weren’t so clear-eyed.

“Idiocracy” is Judge’s pitch-black, bleakly hilarious vision of an American future so bespoiled by rapacious corporations and so dumbed-down by junk culture that the president of the United States is a three-time “Smackdown!” champion and former super porn-star. The movie begins with a comparison of two family trees. A high-IQ couple waits for the perfect time to have a child, a decision they don’t take lightly, while elsewhere, in the trailer park, the dim bulbs breed like rabbits. The high-IQ couple waits too long, the husband dies of stress during fertility treatments, and their line stops there. Meanwhile, the moron population explodes.

Joe Bowers (Luke Wilson), however, is not actually a moron. He’s an average, unambitious, essentially lazy guy biding his time in the Army until he can collect his pension. It’s his perfect averageness (that and his dead parents and no siblings or wife) that make him the perfect candidate for an Army experiment in cryogenics. The idea is to freeze the best soldiers for thawing at a later date, when they’re really needed. Joe is chosen as the guinea pig, and because the Army can’t find a servicewoman to meet the same criteria, they freeze a hooker named Rita (Maya Rudolph) alongside him.

The experiment is meant to last a year, but in that time the base shuts down, is replaced by a Fuddruckers, and Joe and Rita are forgotten for more than 500 years. Meanwhile, humanity devolves to the point where it can’t take care of its basic needs, like dealing with garbage or growing crops, and when Joe and Rita find themselves unearthed during the great garbage avalanche of 2505, they discover to their great surprise that they are the smartest people on Earth.

An IQ and aptitude test he takes in prison (non-payment of his hospital bill) gets Joe taken to the White House, where President Camacho (Terry Alan Crews) makes him secretary of the Interior and entrusts him to fix all the problems. But Joe is focused on getting home and enlists his incompetent lawyer and stupid friend, Frito Lexus (Dax Shepard), with leading him, and Rita, to a time machine.

The plot, naturally, is silly and not exactly bound by logic. But it’s Judge’s gimlet-eyed knack for nightmarish extrapolation that makes “Idiocracy” a cathartic delight.

In the future, Fuddruckers will become Buckrudders — and then finally just come and say what it’s been longing to say for years. (It will remain, however, a popular destination for children’s birthday parties.) Carl’s Jr. will adopt as its motto, “Fuck you, I’m eating.” The phone company will have merged with several media companies, the U.S. government and, of course, Carl’s Jr. Costco will house one of the nation’s top law schools. (It will also have warehouses roughly the size of Connecticut.) The streets will resemble Universal CityWalk in bad decline.

And the No. 1 movie in America will be called [“Ass.”]

Sixteen thumbs up,

Arthur & Arthur

Los Angeles, California

ARTHUR EMAIL BULLETIN No. 0049

“COMMAND PERFORMANCE”

The Arthur Magazine Email Bulletin

No. 0049

August 31, 2006

Website:

Comments:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/27/movies/27gadd.html

1. TONIGHT AT LITTLE JOY TONIGHT

Arthur Magazine and The Journal of Aesthetics and Politics

present

THE ECHO PARK SOCIAL(IST) & PLEASURE CLUB

tonight (August 24, 2006) and every Thursday night

9:55pm-close

Little Joy

1477 Sunset Blvd in Echo Park

tonight’s topic:

nudism

tonight’s bartender:

Arthur “Do the Math” columnist Dave Reeves

tonight’s DJs:

it’s a mystery, charlie brown

SPECIAL TIP OF THE GOBLET TO LAST WEEK’S ROYAL DJs…

Arthur contributor Daniel Chamberlin, Tiffany Anders and Lucas Nothislastname

WHO PLAYED MUSIC BY ARTISTS INCLUDING…

Lole y Manuel

FJ McMahon

Magma

Arthur Verocai

Novac

Cilla and the blacks

Nelson Angelo and Joyce

Brian Eno

Wipers

Kyuss

Gun Club

Kate Bush

Beau Brummels

Mamas and the Papas

Sandy Denny

music from various Sublime Frequencies compilations

2. THE SUNDAY NEW YORK TIMES ON ARTHUR’S NEW “INVASION OF THE THUNDERBOLT PAGODA” DVD…

“Long, Strange Trip for a Hypnotic Film”

By JAMES GADDY

IT took 38 years, but Ira Cohen’s cult film, “The Invasion of

Thunderbolt Pagoda,” which was first screened in 1968 at the high

point of the psychedelic hippie head rush, is now commercially

available. Given the close calls, the long absences and his chaotic

archival system, Mr. Cohen, 71, is a little surprised himself.

“It didn’t really involve patience,” he said in his apartment on West

106th Street in Manhattan, surrounded by books stacked waist high. “It

was just reality.”

In 1961 Mr. Cohen built a room in his New York loft lined with large

panels of Mylar plastic, a sort of bendable mirror that causes images

to crackle and swirl in hypnotic, sometimes beautiful patterns. After

a few years experimenting with the technique in photographs, he

invited his friends from the downtown scene — like Beverly Grant, Vali

Myers and Tony Conrad — to make a film.

The finished product sets languid images of opium smokers (in

fantastic makeup and costumes) against a droning, chanting,

tabla-beating soundtrack by Angus MacLise, the original drummer of the

Velvet Underground. Xavier Garcia Bardon, film curator at the Palais

des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, said the film is an important artifact of

the era.

“It’s like going on an ecstatic journey to another planet, full of

magical beings, animals and plants,” he said. “It’s a hallucinatory,

almost trance-inducing experience.”

Mr. Cohen left New York in 1969, shortly after the film’s first

screening, for art- and drug-filled travels in India, Ethiopia and

Nepal. He roamed through the 1970’s and 80’s. While he was away, the

film’s legend grew, even as the original few copies slowly

disappeared.

Mr. Cohen said he dropped off the original print at DuArt Film

Laboratories before he left; the staff reached him in Kathmandu in

1978, asking for $300 in storage fees. He asked the lab to send the

print to the Museum of Modern Art, but the museum has no record of

receiving it.

“If you have money, you can store it any way you want,” he said

ruefully. “But for some people, $280, $300 changes the way things turn

out.”

It wasn’t until a compilation of Mr. MacLise’s music came out in 1999,

20 years after his death, that interest in distributing the film

began. Jay Babcock, editor of the underground magazine Arthur, and

Will Swofford, a composer who was then studying at Wesleyan

University, independently tracked Mr. Cohen down.

Mr. Babcock said he was curious to see how Mr. Cohen’s early Mylar

photographs would look like in a film. “I had dreamed for years what

it would look like,” Mr. Babcock said. He began pressing for

distribution rights.

Meanwhile Mr. Swofford had persuaded Mr. Cohen, whose health has been

failing (he’s had two strokes in the last year), to let him operate as

an archivist and agent. Mr. Swofford eventually found 40 cans of

unused outtakes in a green trunk, buried beneath books, papers, slides

and assorted creative runoff.

“No one had touched the film for 25 years,” Mr. Swofford said.

Because the original version lasts only 22 minutes, he began beefing

up the content for the DVD age. Mr. Cohen wanted to use part of the

found film, an eight-minute section in which he is buried in mud, as a

prelude; Mr. Swofford used the nearly four hours of outtakes to

fashion “Brain Damage,” a 30-minute coda. The DVD also features a

slide show of Mr. Cohen’s photographs, audio recitations of his poetry

and two alternate soundtracks to the film.

One of these versions was by the band Acid Mothers Temple, which had

recorded a live soundtrack to the film at the music festival Kill Your

Timid Notion, in Dundee, Scotland, in 2003.

“I had no idea what a DVD could be,” Mr. Cohen said. “I would have

just put the film on there.”

The film was released last month, the result of a collaboration

between Bastet, Arthur magazine’s music and video label, and

Saturnalia, Mr. Swofford’s label, with distribution limited to the

magazine’s Web site (www.arthurmag.com) and a few independent music

retailers. Thanks to labor donated by both parties, the initial

1,000-copy print run cost about $8,000.

But $8,000 is still a lot of money for a magazine like Arthur, a

break-even labor-of-love venture. “It’s shameful, with the hundreds of

millions of dollars spent on movies every year in Hollywood, it’s left

to a penniless publication to put this out,” Mr. Babcock said.

Yet he remains optimistic. The film received positive reviews when

screened at the 2006 Whitney Biennial. Next month Mr. Bardon will hold

a screening with live music in Brussels, and Tony Conrad, now a

professor in the department of media studies at the University of

Buffalo, will screen the film in Atlanta.

Mr. Babcock is already making plans to release Mr. Cohen’s two other

films if Arthur can recoup the investment on this one. “We hope this

is just the beginning,” he says.

“Invasion” is available from retailers and from Arthur directly:

www.arthurmag.com

3. JUST IN TIME FOR THE SCHOOL YEAR: ARTHUR MAGAZINE LAUNCHES NEW ALBUM, CURATED BY JOSEPHINE FOSTER, TO BENEFIT COUNTER-MILITARY RECRUITING CAMPAIGNS AND PROGRAMS

With wars raging across the Middle East and prospects for peace dimming, the youth of America have wised up and are starting to stay away from military recruiters in droves. Said recruiters have retaliated with aggressive–and often criminal–tactics.

An eye-opening study issued this August by the Government Accountability Office reported that “allegations and service-identified incidents of recruiter wrongdoing” increased almost 50 percent between 2004 and 2005. Criminal violations more than doubled over the same period of time. Increasingly common tactics used by the nation’s 20,000 military recruiters range from lying about the financial benefits of service to threatening high school students with arrest if they back out of an enlistment process already underway. Military recruiters have also been assisting recruits in the falsification of documents to cover up conditions like autism, mental illness and serious drug problems that would bar them from service if reported. [See Endnotes below for more information.]

Musician Josephine Foster is joining forces with Bastet, our publishing imprint, to help give America’s kids and parents the tools they need to protect them from the depredations of the nation’s many unscrupulous military recruiters.

On August 29, we released So Much Fire to Roast Human Flesh, an 18-track, multi-artist compilation CD curated by Foster featuring exclusive contributions from some of the more outspoken members of the nation’s burgeoning psychedelic folk scene, including Devendra Banhart, Feathers, David Pajo and members of Espers and Spires That in the Sunset Rise. Musicians from earlier generations of the underground, such as Michael Hurley, Kath Bloom and Angels of Light, are also present.

All profits from sales of So Much Fire… will be distributed to specific counter-military recruitment and pacifist organizations and programs who effectively advise high school students and other Americans at risk of being taken advantage of by the military’s recruiters and omnipresent big-budget marketing campaigns.

“All of the musicians represented on So Much Fire… are American citizens,” said Josephine Foster. “Our voices join with many others across this land that freely question and openly oppose war. Hopefully we will raise a good sum of money to help fund the educational pacifist tasks these organizations do. They are dedicated to creating a positive counter to the rising tides of the war being waged. We hope to assist them in their efforts promoting peace and non-militarism in the United States.”

“I am deeply grateful to everyone involved in this gesture; from every musician, to Fred Tomaselli for use of his incredible painting as the cover art, to Laris Kreslins at Arthur. In the end, all of the labor was donated, including the manufacturing.”

The album’s title is taken from a line by the poet Apollinaire, who died from wounds he sustained while serving in World War I.

So Much Fire… is available for order from Arthurmag.com and, starting August 29, from record stores across North America.

Track listing:

THE CHERRY BLOSSOMS – “Dragonfly” (live)

FEATHERS – “Dust”

MICHAEL HURLEY – “A Little Bit of Love for You”

MEG BAIRD – “Western Red Lily (Nunavut Diamond Dream)”

ANDREW BAR – “Don’t Trust That Man”

GOATGIRL – “President Combed His Hair”

DEVENDRA BANHART – “I Know Some Souls” (demo)

KATH BLOOM – “Baby Let It Come Down On Me”

CHARLIE NOTHING – “Fuck You and Your Stupid Wars”

DIANE CLUCK – “A Phoenix and Doves”

JOHN ALLINGHAM & ANN TILEY – “Big War”

JOSEPHINE FOSTER – “Would You Pave the Road?”

ANGELS OF LIGHT – “Destroyer”

RACHEL MASON – “The War Clerk’s Lament”

PAJO – “War Is Dead”

MVEE – “Powderfinger”

KATHLEEN BAIRD – “Prayer for Silence”

LAY ALL OVER IT – “A Place”

ENDNOTES

Read the GAO report, “Military Recruiting: DOD and Services Need Better Data to Enhance Visibility over Recruiter Irregularities” here:

http://www.gao.gov/docdblite/summary.php?rptno=GAO-06-846&accno=A58199

High school students, their parents and friends can learn more about their rights when confronted by recruiters at

http://afsc.org/youthmil/militarism-in-schools/High-school-students-rights.htm

4. SUN RA AKRESTRA, MORE ADDED TO ARTHUR NIGHTS FESTIVAL – OCT. 19-22 IN LOS ANGELES.

ARTHUR NIGHTS

at The Echo, The Ex_Plx and Rec Center Studio in Los Angeles

Oct 19-22, 2006

Presented by Arthur Magazine and The Echo Presents in association with Spaceland Productions

****All artists will perform full sets****

Thurs. Oct. 19, 6pm – ALL AGES WELCOME – $24

Devendra Banhart

Bert Jansch

Espers

Watts Prophets

Jackie Beat

Belong

Yellow Swans

Buffalo Killers

Grouper

plus more TBA

Friday, October 20, 6pm – ALL AGES WELCOME – $24

Tav Falco & the Unapproachable Panther Burns

Boris

Heartless Bastards

The Hidden Hand

Be Your Own Pet

Awesome Color

The Howling Hex

Charalambides

Tall Firs

plus more TBA

Sat., October 21, 3pm – ALL AGES WELCOME – $24

Sun Ra Arkestra

Money Mark

White Magic

Six Organs of Admittance

Ruthann Friedman

Mia Doi Todd

Living Sisters (Inara George, Eleni Mandell & Becky Stark)

Josephine Foster

Residual Echoes

Future Pigeon

Noel Von Harmonson

plus a dance party DJed by The Numero Group

Sun., Oct. 22, 3pm – ALL AGES WELCOME – $24

Comets on Fire

The Fiery Furnaces

The Sharp Ease

Michael Hurley

Archie Bronson Outfit

The Nice Boys

SSM

The Colossal Yes

plus many many more TBA

Tickets are now online at

ticketweb.com

type in “arthurnights” in the “Keyword” window in the Search box

Or use the link to the specific Ticketweb page available at

http://www.thephoenix.com/article_ektid20235.aspx

5. 3. ARTHUR MAGAZINE IN THE AUG. 15 BOSTON PHOENIX

The New New Age

The movement pulls away from the mainstream and gets apocalyptic

By: JAMES PARKER

..What most viscerally separates the New New Agers from the old is their crisp and eager apprehension of imminent system crash — what our inheritors, stumping for food in the poisoned mud flats, may well call The Great Unraveling. Take, for example, the words of eco-philosopher Derrick Jensen, author of Endgame, in a recent interview. Asked if he truly wants civilization as we know it to fall, Jensen responds: “If civilization had come down 200 years ago, the people who live here would still be able to support themselves. But if it comes down in another 30 years, 50 years, 60 years

So even from the purely selfish human perspective, yeah, it would be good for civilization to end. The sooner this civilization goes, the better, because there’ll be MORE LEFT.”

Jensen gave this interview to Arthur magazine, a lavishly appointed free bimonthly out of LA whose columnists include Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore and media theorist Douglas Rushkoff. Since October 2002, Arthur’s editing/publishing team of Jay Babcock and Laris Kreslins has been busy streaming the revelations and imperatives of the New New Age into pop culture, where the kids can get at it. Arthur, called “the American counterculture’s answer to the New Yorker” by the London Guardian, has become the place where the ideas meet the music; where Jensen’s freefall apocalyptics can sit with total aptness beside a piece on nouveau hippie swooners Brightblack Morninglight. The same issue begins with a column about mint tea and ends with a list of “sensitive weapons” (e.g., shotgun shells taped to the end of a BB-gun barrel) for use when the grid collapses and Devendra Banhart fans are called upon to defend their homes and woolly hats.

Arthur has saturated itself in the ’60s, via features on the Weather Underground, the MC5, the 1967 March on the Pentagon, and also in the post-psychedelic slant of the music coverage. But there’s nothing regressive here. From the freaky folkers to the acid rockers, Arthur bands have their eyes on the advancing historical horizon: the same rumble of tribal disturbance is heard beneath the dragon-groan of SunnO))) and the fey, brilliant stylings of harpist/singer Joanna Newsom. A tastemaker and an advocate, Babcock has probably done more to promote and consolidate this intangible consensus than anybody else. He calls it [after Devendra Banhart] “naturalismo”.

Daniel Pinchbeck used to write for Arthur, as (full disclosure) did I. I stopped because I could no longer afford to write for free; he — rather more nobly — was fired, after submitting a post-Katrina column in which various apocalyptic scenarios of military clampdown were hypothesized.

Babcock smelled “Art Bell–style” paranoia (referring to the conspiracy-mongering host of radio’s Coast to Coast AM), and wouldn’t print it; Pinchbeck recoiled, hurt. “I think Jay’s aiming more at the mainstream,” he says. “He wants his magazine to be the new Rolling Stone.”

What is beyond dispute is Babcock’s commitment to reaching “every generation of bohemian currently living.” “When we run a piece about the MC5,” he says by phone from LA, “it’s not just to educate the youth or to remind ourselves of something. It’s also to say to the original people: your work wasn’t forgotten, and maybe you should pay attention to the kids who are interested in what you did. I think they’re going to start to come back, the ones that went back to the land and just disconnected from contemporary culture for the last twenty years — and they’re gonna find that they have more in common with these kids in their teens and twenties than they do with their fellow retirees at this point. And I don’t even KNOW where that could lead.”

Babcock’s most recent and widely-broadcast prank was an interview showdown with Sully Erna, over the use of Godsmack music in Army-recruitment ads. Unimpressed with his own generation’s efforts at protest, he is trusting to demographics to get the job done: “By 2010 we’ll have a youth bubble, a huge population under 25. And they’ll be stronger, more willing to take risks, to cope with transformation — even to demand it. Who will be their leaders? What kind of culture are they going to inherit? So that’s part of what we’re doing — to try and preserve, elevate, incubate if you like, these ideas.”

The imminent crisis, the next initiatory level — Pinchbeck’s “prepared containers” and Babcock’s wised-up and transformation-ready youngsters. What the New New Agers all agree on is that change is not over there, but here: vast, cruelly accelerated, streaming with possibility. “I’m trying to define this transformative process,” says Pinchbeck, “but it’s already under way.” “Right now,” says Babcock, “we’re like the Beatniks of the Fifties — a little isolated, a little dispersed, driven a little crazy by the culture.

“But different, too. Because unlike the Beats, we have the benefit of knowing that the hippies are coming.”

Please join us if you can,

The Usual Gang of Arthur Idiots

Los Angeles, California

ARTHUR EMAIL BULLETIN No. 0048

“COMMAND PERFORMANCE”

The Arthur Magazine Email Bulletin

No. 0048

August 24, 2006

Website:

Comments:

http://www.ihousephilly.org/programs-music-at-IHouse.htm

Merrily merrily merrily,

1. TONIGHT AT LITTLE JOY TONIGHT

Arthur Magazine and The Journal of Aesthetics and Politics

present

THE ECHO PARK SOCIAL(IST) & PLEASURE CLUB

tonight (August 24, 2006) and every Thursday night

9:55pm-close

Little Joy

1477 Sunset Blvd in Echo Park

tonight’s topic:

figuring out how to take it easier

tonight’s bartender:

Arthur “Do the Math” columnist Dave Reeves

tonight’s DJs

sorry charlie, we are no longer pre-announcing djs — just show up and enjoy each other’s company

SPECIAL PAT ON THE BACK TO ALL OF LAST WEEK’S DJS:

R.A. Pleuger, Chris Robinson, Chad Brown, Devendra Banhart, Zach Cowie

SELECTIONS SPUN LAST WEEK BY ARTHUR CONTRIBUTOR R.A. PLEUGER:

Vashti Bunyan – Lately

Notwist – Neon Golden

West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band – Shifting Sands

Beach Boys – Good Vibrations (alt. take never released in US)

Beau Brummels – Gentle Wandering Ways

Can – Half Past One

Radio Birdman – Die Like April

Radio Birdman – Heyday

Tav Falco & Panther Burns – Bourgeois Blues

Monster Magnet – Spine of God

Monster Magnet – Zodiac Lung

Xu Xu Fang – Good Times

2. THIS SATURDAY — AUGUST 26 — IN CENTENNIAL, WYOMING

7th Annual Upland Breakdown

Presented by Laramie Beverage and Arthur Magazine

Beartree Tavern (ph 307.742.2410)

Outdoors, all ages, kids free (weather permitting; if indoors, 21+)

$10

Set times:

2:30 – 2:50 KELLY TRUJILLO & JOHN MARTZ

3:00 – 3:30 GARY SISCO

3:40 – 4:20 SPOT

4:30 – 5:15 MICHAEL HURWITZ & THE AIMLESS DRIFTERS

5:30 – 6:15 STOP & LISTEN BOYS

6:30 – 7:30 MICHAEL HURLEY

7:45 – 8:30 THE PLACES

Here’s the latest bulletin from organizer Joe Carducci:

“Dave and I will be on Don Woods KUWR FM Thursday 10:30 am.

And Michael Hurwitz will be playing live on KUWR Friday,

also at 10:30am I think. There maybe some play on the

Saturday bluegrass show, and the Country station Y95 as

well. Spot and The Places may also appear on the Friday

afternoon KRFC show. Both KRFC and KUWR are streamed live.

See you soon.”

3. FRIDAY, SEPT. 8 IN PHILADELPHIA

“VALERIE AND HER WEEK OF WONDERS”

A film by Jaromil Jires

Czech, 1970, 16mm, 72 minutes

Live soundtrack by members of Espers, Fern Knight, Fursaxa and Grass

(also featuring Mary Lattimore, Charles Cohen and Jesse Sparhawk)

Opening act: Marissa Nadler

Friday, September 8, 2006

Doors 7 PM

General admission: $15

Advance tickets will be sold

Philadelphia International House

3701 Chestnut St.

Philadelphia, PA 19104

Tel: 215-387-5125 • Fax: 215-895-6535

http://www.GregWeeks.net/TheValerieProject

From Joseph A. Gervasi:

“On Sept. 8, members of the Philly psychedelic folk (or “acid folk”) band Espers (including Greg Weeks, who co-conceived the idea with me, and Brooke) and folks from the bands Fern Knight, Fursaxa and Grass (along with Mary Lattimore, Charles Cohen and Jesse Sparhawk), are going to be performing a live soundtrack to the film VALERIE AND HER WEEK OF WONDERS. Valerie… is a 1970 Czech hallucinogenic dark fantasy/vampire film from New Wave director Jaromil Jires. We’ll be running my 16mm print of the film at the International House in Philadelphia, where I screen films on a monthly basis with my repertory cinema group Exhumed Films. The band has been composing this music for the last couple months and is now perfecting it for the live performance. Several of the band’s members don’t live in this state, so they’ve had to work on their parts from home until the week before the show. It will be 72 minutes of new music that will interpret the events depicted in the film, which is

subtitled so one may still follow the (admittedly non-linear/image rather than narrative driven) film while the band performs. They are to have two full-sized harps in the band, a flute and some strings (including a cello) as well as the customary rock instruments. The music will be performed by 8-10 people. The opening act will be acclaimed dark folk goddess Marissa Nadler.

“This will be a one-time performance in Philadelphia and will be a part of the Fringe Festival. Scrumptious vegan food will be provided by Zinnia Piotrowski and drinks and snacks by Bull and the Mariposa Food Co-op of West Philadelphia. A wide variety of DVDs will be sold in the lobby by Philly’s own Diabolik DVD. Right now a documentary is being shot about the production and there will be a multi-camera shoot of the live performance. All of this should appear on a DVD to be released by Drag City Records, home of Espers and many other bands. The hope is that the DVD release will feature the film from a 35mm source (unlike the current Facets DVD) with multiple sound options, the live performance, documentary, amazing cover art by Tracy Nakayama, etc. The band may take the performance on the road for a few other gigs in non-traditional music venues (like movie theatres). For now, however, the Philly show is the only confirmed gig.”

4. BE THE BOSS OF WORMS: A MESSAGE FROM MOLLY FRANCES, AKA “THE NEW HERBALIST”

“if you have a backyard in Los Angeles or you know someone who does, tell them about this!

turn your food scraps into a gold mine

nature’s gold….fertile and luxurious dirt

http://www.lacity.org/san/bc-binsaleflyer060811.htm

for only 20 dollars you too can have a compost bin!

you have to bring a dwp bill and 20 bucks

and the city gives you your very own composter

worth upwards of 70 dollars on the open market

then you’re in business

make all the dirt you need for your garden

if not for the garden

do it for the worms in your garden

unlimited growth potential

work from home

be your own boss

the boss of worms”

5. OCT 19-22 IN LOS ANGELES: ARTHUR NIGHTS…

Tickets are now on sale for this event at Ticketweb.com

There’s a link to the specific Ticketweb page at

Here’s the latest on the lineups… remember all shows are ALL-AGES!!!… all artists will play FULL SETS… 3 venues in short walking distance in the beautiful Echo Park area of Los Angeles…only $24/night… more stuff to be announced…

Thurs. Oct. 19, 6pm

Devendra Banhart

Bert Jansch

Espers

Watts Prophets

Jackie Beat

Belong

Yellow Swans

Buffalo Killers

Grouper

* plus more TBA

Friday, Oct 20, 6pm

Tav Falco & the Unapproachable Panther Burns

Boris

Heartless Bastards

The Hidden Hand

Be Your Own Pet

Awesome Color

Wooden Wand

The Howling Hex

Charalambides

Tall Firs

* plus more TBA

Sat., Oct 21, 3pm

* headliner TBA

Money Mark

White Magic

Six Organs of Admittance

Ruthann Friedman

Mia Doi Todd

Living Sisters (Inara George, Eleni Mandell & Becky Stark)

Josephine Foster

Residual Echoes

Future Pigeon

Noel Von Harmonson

* plus more TBA

Sun., Oct. 22, 3pm – ALL AGES WELCOME – $24

Comets on Fire

The Fiery Furnaces

The Sharp Ease

Archie Bronson Outfit

The Nice Boys

SSM

The Colossal Yes

* plus many more TBA

Arthur Nights will also feature DJ sets by

The Numero Group

Brian Turner (wfmu)

Dub Club djs

dublab DJs

* and many more TBA…

Tickets are now on sale for this event at Ticketweb.com

There’s a link to the specific Ticketweb page at

That’s just great,

Happy Arthur Campers

Los Angeles, California

ARTHUR EMAIL BULLETIN No. 0047

“COMMAND PERFORMANCE”

The Arthur Magazine Email Bulletin

No. 0047

August 17, 2006

Website:

Comments:

http://www.arthurmag.com/magpie/?p=1407

1. WE’RE GETTING IT HAPPENING.

Now announcing…

A R T H U R N I G H T S

Oct 19-22, 2006

Presented by Arthur Magazine and The Echo

at The Echo, The Ex_Plx and Jensen’s Rec Center in Los Angeles

Thurs. Oct. 19, 6pm: ALL AGES WELCOME

Devendra Banhart

Bert Jansch

Espers

Watts Prophets

Jackie Beat

Belong

Yellow Swans

Buffalo Killers

Grouper

plus more TBA

Friday, Oct 20, 6pm: ALL AGES WELCOME

Tav Falco & the Unapproachable Panther Burns

Boris

The Hidden Hand

Be Your Own Pet

Awesome Color

The Howling Hex

Charalambides

Tall Firs

plus more TBA

Sat., Oct 21, 3pm: ALL AGES WELCOME

White Magic

Money Mark

Six Organs of Admittance

Ruthann Friedman

Mia Doi Todd

Living Sisters (Inara George, Eleni Mandell & Becky Stark)

Josephine Foster

Residual Echoes

Future Pigeon

Noel Von Harmonson

plus more TBA, including a major headliner

Sun., Oct. 22, 3pm: ALL AGES WELCOME

Comets on Fire

The Fiery Furnaces

The Sharp Ease

Archie Bronson Outfit

The Nice Boys

SSM

The Colossal Yes

plus many more TBA

Purchase tickets online via the link to Ticketweb at

2. PEACE-IN AT LITTLE JOY TONIGHT

Arthur Magazine and The Journal of Aesthetics and Politics

present THE ECHO PARK SOCIAL(IST) & PLEASURE CLUB

Thursday night

August 17, 2006

9:55pm-close

Little Joy

1477 Sunset Blvd in Echo Park

tonight’s topic:

peace between the people thru music, dance and general conviviality

tonight’s bartender:

Arthur “Do the Math” columnist Dave Reeves

tonight’s DJs:

10pm [Arthur contributor Richard Pleuger]

11pm-1am [Zach Cowie & Devendra Banhart]

1am [surprise]

tonight’s star:

you

SELECTIONS SPUN LAST WEEK BY ARTHUR CONTRIBUTOR RICHARD PLEUGER:

Mirrors – Shirley

Stalk Forrest Group – Quicksand

Stalk Forrest Group – Im On The Lamb

Love – Maybe The People Would Be The Times (Or, Between Clark And Hilldale)

Benjamin Biolay – Los Angeles

Panther Burns – High School Baby

Kraftwerk/Neu! – Heavy Metal Kids

Hawkwind – Lord Of Light

Awesome Color – Unknown

20/20s – Shoot Your Gun

White Stripes – Girl You Have No

AC/DC – Kicked In The Teeth Again (Live 1977)

Dogntank – Long Time Dead

Hawkwind – Urban Guerilla

Saints – Story Of Love

Saints – Demolition Girl

Saints – Nights In Venice

Radio Birdman – Man With Golden Helmet

Pink Floyd – Lucifer Sam

Tim Buckley – It Happens Every Time

HAL – Worry About The Wind

Richard Hawley – Coles Corner

Benjamin Biolay – Rose Kennedy

Pink Floyd – Astronomy Domine

Awesome Color – Grown

Roky Erickson – Bloody Hammer (Live 1979)

AC/DC – Hell Aint A Bad Place To Be (Live 1977)

Slayer – Cult

Slayer – Supremist

Slayer – Catatonic

The Sonics – The Witch

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Sheep May Safely Graze

3. NORTH INDIAN MUSIC CLASS OFFERED IN PORTLAND FROM PANDIT PRAN NATH DISCIPLE

(North Indian vocalist Pandit Pran Nath and his legacy were the subject of an article in Arthur earlier this year.)

“Awakening Through Music: The Music of North India”

Introductory music class in raga (melody) and tala (rhythm), including beginning table and raga singing. (instruments & booklet provided in class)

Topics will include tabla, raga singing with tambura, history of Indian music, about the instruments, tabla bols (words) and thekas (rhytmic cycles), explanation of raga, sargam Isolfeggio), Guru-Shishya-Parampara and the spiritual aspects of the music.

Sept. 6 – Oct. 13, 2006

Please choose day for seven-hour-long lessons:

Mornings – Wednesday 10:30am or Thursday 10:30am

-or-

Evenings Thursday 7:30pm or Friday 6:00pm

(for other times & days please inquire)

Tuition: $35 per class or $210 for the series of seven classes (one class free!)

Location of classes: SW Portland

Classes taught by multi-instrumentalist Rose Okada, disciple of Pandit Pran Nath and Ustad Hafizullah Khan. Rose has a Bachelor of Music degree with over 25 years’ teaching and performing experience, and has also studied with Ustad Zakir Hussain.

To sign up for the classes or information, please email or call:

kiranawest@comcast.net

503.296.9650

www.kiranawest.com

Toodles,

Sri Sri Arthur

West Hollywood, California

The Arthur Magazine Email Bulletin No. 0046

“COMMAND PERFORMANCE”

The Arthur Magazine Email Bulletin

No. 0046

August 13, 2006

Website:

Comments:

Glad tidings,

1. “US ARMY SEEN REACHING RECRUITING GOAL DESPITE WAR”

Thursday Aug 10, 2006

(Reuters)

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Army, which fell short in recruiting last year, made its 14th straight monthly goal in July and is expected to hit its 2006 target despite the Iraq war making recruiting harder, officials said on Thursday.

Jeff Spara, in charge of Army recruiting policy, denied the Army has been making its recruiting goals by taking lower-quality volunteers who previously might have been rejected, as some experts contend.

“It looks very good right now,” Spara said of the active-duty Army reaching its goal of 80,000 new soldiers in fiscal 2006, which ends September 30. It fell about 7,000 recruits short of the same numerical goal in fiscal 2005.

Spara said it was “too close to call” whether the Army’s part-time components, the National Guard and Reserve, will reach their 2006 targets. Both missed their July quotas and fell short last year.

The Army provides the bulk of U.S. ground forces in Iraq. Spara said the war continues to complicate recruiting, with parents and other influential adults more likely than in the past to counsel potential recruits against volunteering.

The Army sent 10,890 recruits into boot camp in July, exceeding its biggest goal of the year of 10,450 and pushing it 4 percent above its year-to-date goal. The Army has landed 62,505 recruits through July, and needs 17,495 more in the final two months of fiscal 2006 to meet its goal.

The Army National Guard missed its July goal by 25 percent and stood 1 percent behind its year-to-date goal. The Army Reserve missed its July goal by 13 percent and also was 1 percent behind its year-to-date goal.

The Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force made their July recruiting goals. The part-time Navy Reserve missed, and trailed its year-to-date goal by 16 percent.

*** Spara attributed the Army’s success to several steps taken to boost recruiting, including monetary enlistment incentives, raising the enlistment age limit to a person’s 42nd birthday, adding recruiters, and relaxing a ban on certain types of tattoos.

*** Some critics have questioned the quality of some recruits entering the Army. They note the Army is taking more recruits with criminal records, mostly misdemeanors; with body weight exceeding maximum body weight standards; and who fall into the military’s lowest acceptable quality category.

“They’re taking in less-qualified people,” said Lawrence Korb, an assistant secretary of defense under President Ronald Reagan. “Now, what they (Army leaders) will argue is that they are still above the minimum standards.”

But Korb, an analyst with the Center for American Progress, said when the Army brings in more people who do not meet its highest standards, it increases the chances of misconduct in the ranks and of having a less-capable force.

*** Spara defended the quality of the new recruits, saying, “You know, it’s a question of whether you want a bagel or you want angel food cake. They’re both bread.”

“They are qualified medically, physically and morally,” he added

The U.S. military moved to an all-volunteer force in 1973, during the tumult of the Vietnam War era. Some analysts have said if the military cannot attract enough recruits, the United States might have to consider reinstating the draft.

2. WHAT ARTHUR MAGAZINE IS DOING TO COUNTER THE MILITARY’S RECRUITING EFFORTS.

“So Much Fire to Roast Human Flesh”

a benefit album curated by Josephine Foster

“All profits from sales of this compilation will be distributed to specific counter-military recruitment and pacifist organizations and programs. We hope to assist them in their efforts promoting peace and non-militarism in the United States.

“All of the musicians represented here are US citizens. Our voices join with many others across this land that freely question and openly oppose war.” — Josephine Foster

Track listing:

THE CHERRY BLOSSOMS – “Dragonfly” (live)

FEATHERS – “Dust”

MICHAEL HURLEY – “A Little Bit of Love for You”

MEG BAIRD – “Western Red Lily (Nunavut Diamond Dream)”

ANDREW BAR – “Don’t Trust That Man”

GOATGIRL – “President Combed His Hair”

DEVENDRA BANHART – “I Know Some Souls” (demo)

KATH BLOOM – “Baby Let It Come Down On Me”

CHARLIE NOTHING – “Fuck You and Your Stupid Wars”

DIANE CLUCK – “A Phoenix and Doves”

JOHN ALLINGHAM & ANN TILEY – “Big War”

JOSEPHINE FOSTER – “Would You Pave the Road?”

ANGELS OF LIGHT – “Destroyer”

RACHEL MASON – “The War Clerk’s Lament”

PAJO – “War Is Dead”

MV & EE – “Powderfinger”

KATHLEEN BAIRD – “Prayer for Silence”

LAY ALL OVER IT – “A Place”

Cover artwork by Fred Tomaselli.

All labor donated.

Edition of 1,000.

Available NOW NOW NOW NOW — purchase with PayPal at