Local rag Geez magazine is getting some attention for being the antithesis to the right-wing evangelical movement in the states. Managed by Aiden Enns former editor of Adbusters, practicing Mennonite and CKUW regular, Geez offers a different perspective on the Christian faith. One that aims to “untangle the narrative of faith from the fundamentalists“and make Jesus fun again.
You can check out the magazine here.
We’re presenting American Hardcore from Dec. 1-7 at the Cinematheque. The Paul Rachman film explores the American punk rock scene from 1980 to 1986 with stories from Black Flag, Bad Religion, D.O.A., Bad Brains, Circle Jerks and more. The doc isn’t a lot easier to summarize than that of any other major war, but it’s quite a bit funnier, as this belated documentary overview-based on Steven Blush’s like-titled tome-proves in each of its 90 exuberantly irritable minutes. “Normal people did not listen to hardcore, and we liked it that way!” exclaims Articles of Faith’s Vic Bondi, one of the movie’s many hilarious punk raconteurs. Like the three-chords-fast tunes themselves, director Paul Rachman’s montage is a frenzied, propulsive pull from here and there – “an astonishing array of milky VHS concert footage (Black Flag in 1981!)”- The Village Voice. The film is showing along with Worked to the Bone By Gwen Trutnau (2006) (3:20) Everyday monotony, will kill skeletons who want to party.
Early last year South Korea produced a halfway-decent punk rock tune on behalf of North Korea. The catchy anti-American tune “Fuck’n USA“was released into cyberspace. The ploy to stir up American resentment towards their commie half unwillingly gave the DRNK temporary punk rock clout until the song and subsequent video was exposed as a hoax. Yes I was had. I though for sure it was possible to have a punk rock scene in the “Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea“just as long as it was anti-American but it now seems a more improbable musical situation is taking place in the hermit kingdom. Instead of punk rock the DPRK is opening up its boarders this summer to what they call “western capitalist popular music.“What is being described as the North Korean Woodstock is in the works for May and all bands including the yanks are invited. That’s right if you’re in band and willing to withstand screaming newscasters, daily military high kick marches, kissing in public and a possible nuclear war you could be playing for a brand new market. It’s unknown if their wacko leader has anything to do with the “rock for peace“festival but it wouldn’t be surprising. Kim Jong II seems to be scarier as an unwavering crack addict for America’s pop culture nightmares including the likes of Liz Taylor and Michael Jackson then he is as a nuclear-ideled irate dictator. The news tells me he’s dangerous, erratic, dishonest, half-drunk and a sex crazed pervert. Christ, it’s a wonder why he hasn’t started making records yet. He could win a Grammy. Maybe that’s his game. Kim is known to kidnap worldly filmmakers to make monster movies it’s not a stretch that rockers might to have endure reeducation classes and daily meals of grass and cornmeal during their prolonged stay. The only restrictions are there can be no mention of war, sex, violence, murder, drugs, rape, anarchy, imperialism, colonialism, racism, anti-DPRK and anti-socialism during their act. With that laundry list of disclaimers Kim may not be able to quite capture the spirt of the hippie era but it could be a way of offloading some really shity jam bands. I sent a list of suggestions to festival organizer Jean-Baptiste Kim. Hopefully the string cheese incident can make time in their schedual although without readily available psychadelic drugs the audience might not be as receptive. Unless they’re under gun point. Better yet maybe we can have a nuclear exchange program where industry stars are traded for Kim’s nuclear arsenal and Bono can finally get his damn peace prize. Still, it’s a hell of an opportunity for any artist who wants to be able to say they rocked out in Pyongyang – they just couldn’t take any pictures of it. If you want to know more about the festival or look at some lovely DPNK propaganda including creepy photos of Norwegians and NK school boys the website here.
Back by tepid demand!!!! Sixty Stories is back Dec 1st at the Albert. Smallman Records hard-pop trio Sixty Stories is reuniting for a European tour this Christmas. The band called it quits May 2004 after four years of hard touring, two releases, and tremendous success in Europe. Since that time Jo Snyder (guitar and vocals) and Paul Furgale (drums and computer programming) were finally able to finish the University degrees their mother’s had been bugging them about for so, so many years. With reasonable demand from their European label, The Company with the Golden Arm, Snyder and Furgale along with bassist Sarah Sangster agreed to a Christmas time reunion tour. The trio welcomes second guitarist Andrew Filyk (Anthem Red, This Time I’m God) to compete with the computer for who can play the keyboard parts better. Anthem Red, the often-confusing name of the follow up band founded by Snyder and Sangster in October 2004, will tour European preceding Sixty Stories. Anthem Red has just released their debut full length “Dancing on the Dishwasher” on The Company with the Golden Arm. The bands will be on tour December 6 2006 – Janurary 2 2007. For pics, songs and other jibber jabber go here.
Recently Tawny sent this along. I think he’s upset about something but Like a David Lynch film I can’t figure it out. Maybe you will.
I can’t take it anymore. Can someone please translate whatever message CKUW is trying to convey into something that I might better be able to understand, like Yiddish or that Bushman clicking language? As it stands, I have no idea whether CKUW is seriously claiming that it has the trappings of deity or if it’s simply the case that it is missing not only the point, but also the whole paradigm shift and huge sociological implications. The rest of this letter is focused exclusively on CKUW, not because I harbor any ill-will towards it but because I’m not a psychotic person. I’d like nothing more than to extend my hand in friendship to CKUW’s subordinates and convey my hope that in the days to come we can work together to speak up and speak out against CKUW. Unfortunately, knowing them, they’d rather organize a whispering campaign against me because that’s what CKUW wants. With all due respect, facts and their accuracy make a story, not the overdramatization of whatever CKUW dreams up. Sad, but true. And it’ll only get worse if CKUW finds a way to attack the critical realism and impassive objectivity that are the central epistemological foundations of the scientific worldview. I feel no shame in writing that I recently informed CKUW that its secret police grant a free ride to the undeserving. CKUW said it’d “look further into the matter.” Well, not too much further; after all, it justifies its plans to attack the fabric of this nation as “preemptive self-defense”. And let me tell you, it can’t possibly believe that its opinions are all sweetness and light. It’s juvenile, but it’s not that juvenile. While there are many revolting big-mouths, CKUW is the most stolid of the lot. CKUW accuses me of being drossy whenever I state that I have nothing more to say on that issue. Alright, I’ll admit that I have a sharp tongue and sometimes write with a bit of a poison pen but the fact remains that CKUW uses the word “theologicohistorical” without ever having taken the time to look it up in the dictionary. Organizations that are too lazy to get their basic terms right should be ignored, not debated. Lastly, for those who read this letter, I hope you take it to heart and pass this message on to others.
[CKUW] is our chief connection with Winnipeg and with music and ideas that matter. Funny, entertaining, informative and unpredictable.
– Dale
Room 4CM11, University of Winnipeg, 515 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg, MB, Canada, R3B 2E9
Office: (204) 786-9782, Studio: (204) 774 6877, Fax: (204) 783-7080, E: ckuw@uwinnipeg.ca
