Happy Birthday, America! Celebrate Safely!
While the span of the band’s career was relatively short, The Runaways changed the landscape of rock and altered the perception of women making music forever. With The Runaways’ biopic just released last year, who would have imagined that their influence would continue to be topical several decades after their break up? I was around for the duration of their rise and fall and, the significant post-Runaways careers of Joan Jett and Lita Ford notwithstanding, I sure never thought we’d still be taking about them 30 years later. So it’s not surprising, really, that Main Man Records has compiled what can only be called the definitive Runaways tribute compilation; a two disc set called Take It Or Leave It. All you need to know is that this record fucking rocks. Continue reading Recommended Listening: Take It Or Leave It, A Tribute to The Runaways
ABC No Rio By Dan Witz
Being a veteran of the Orange County punk scene of the late seventies/early eighties, I’ve seen my share of the cultural phenomenon known as the mosh pit. With his background as a musician in New York’s downtown post-punk noise scene of the early 1980s, the paintings of artist Dan Witz will surely strike a chord in the heart of anyone with a similar cache of experiences via his new exhibit, Mosh Pits, Human and Otherwise, up now at the Jonathan Levine Gallery. This vibrant collection features large-scale oil paintings on canvas produced by Witz over the past ten years.
Continue reading Dan Witz: Mosh Pits, Human and Otherwise At Jonathan Levine Gallery
Jim Morrison shuffled off this mortal coil exactly forty years ago today. Wow. A lot of Doors fans reading this post weren’t even born then. I was ten years old, so Jim has been dead for most of my life. He left us a lot of good and very unique music, and for this we should continue to fete him each year on the anniversary of his passing. My fellow rock critic Rob O’Connor has an noteworthy contribution to this day of remembering Jim Morrison in his latest Yahoo Music column, List of The Day, in which he conducts an interview with himself about Morrison’s life and The Doors’ contribution to music. It is quite clever/hilarious while also remaining respectful to the memory of Mr. Mojo Rising. Sort of. Also, O’Connor offers some solid advice for the novice Doors collector. Example:
Question #7: Which Greatest Hits Album Should I Buy?: Thanks for asking! The Doors, like The Smiths, have more greatest hits albums than actual studio albums. So, I would suggest buying all six of their studio albums. They’re all super! Then grab Absolutely Live!
Read the rest Here.
Multi-talented and wildly controversial artist Marilyn Manson has donated one of his original watercolors depicting photographer Grove Pashley’s infamous image of Damien Echols with his hand on the glass of the prison window during a visit. This original piece will be auctioned to raise money for the defense fund of Damien Echols (who is on death row), Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley Jr. — also known as the West Memphis Three (www.wm3.org) — who were convicted for murdering three elementary school children in 1994.
Continue reading Marilyn Manson Donates Original Artwork to Aid West Memphis Three Defense Fund
