2003-05 Vital Source Mag – May 2003
MC Honky
By Jeremy Saperstein "Sonnet No. 3 (Like A Duck)" has an irrepressible beat that combines physical fitness records, orchestral stabs and Shakespeare, while "Soft Velvety ‘Fer" seamlessly melds a very disturbing series of telephone answering machine messages with a backing track that recalls the Beatles’ "Flying"; while "3 Turntables & 2 Microphones" could be a rejoinder to Beck written and performed by his own bad self.
May 1st, 2003 by Vital Archives
Marc Broussard
By Brian Barney Marc Broussard first hit the stage at age five, joining his father, Hall of Fame guitarist Ted Broussard to belt out “Johnnie B. Goode.” Fifteen years later, he has become one of the brightest young talents to ever cause a record company bidding war. His legacy goes back to his grandfather, Albert, and influences within his family (most of whom are musicians) include primo Motown and classic jazz fusion. His debut release, Momentary Setback, is an eight-song collection of introspective, soulful songs that belie his young years. Broussard is the male answer to Nora Jones. His music is where Otis Redding meets Leo Kottke in a style that, with its depth, and the nature of his over-the-top songwriting and vocal prowess, is hard to pigeonhole. The opening track, “The Wanderer,” sets the tone with rich vocal lines that flirt with pop sensibilities bordering on mainstream. A Stevie Wonder funkiness resides in “Blue Jeans”, and the closing number, “Jeremiah’s Prayer,” steals the show with a happy/sad melancholy. Throughout the disc, stunning musicianship shines with drummer Mike Birch’s mastery of dynamics, David Ransons’ fluid bass lines, perfect placement by Shawn Carter on piano, and the drenching Hammond B3 organ of David Egan. The only problem with the disc is that it’s too short. Hopefully, due recognition will take place, and a major deal will see to it that Broussard’s vision doesn’t fade.
May 1st, 2003 by Vital Archives
White Stripes
By Jeremy Saperstein A college chum and I used to earnestly discuss how Guns’N’Roses were most certainly the future of rock. Paul Westerberg of the Replacements once said something like “Most bands stand outside and throw stones at the house; I think we have a chance to throw ‘em out from the inside”. I remember being blissfully happy, then slightly addled, then feeling angry and usurped when advance copies of Nirvana’s “Nevermind” played on the stereo in every record store I visited, back in that day. Does the new White Stripes record sound like any of these artists? Is that why I’m bringing them up? Well, no. The feeling of new discovery is really the thing here. Odds are you’re at least passing familiar with the Stripes’ schtick by now: boy & girl/guitar & drums duo, playing the hell out of some well-written and unique originals, not straying too far from roots in basements and garages all over the world. Elephant is all of that, for sure, but more. Indeed, it’s the record on which the Stripes begin delivering on all of the potential & hype they’ve been saddled with. “There’s No Home For You Here” with it’s fist-pumping 60s vocals and taut playing (including electric piano filigrees!) is my early favorite, but “Seven Nation Army” (the first single) and “Well It’s True That We Love One Another” (which features guest vocals by Holly Golightly) are climbing in my view as well. This ‘un is a good ‘un, to paraphrase Otis Rush.
May 1st, 2003 by Vital Archives
Can we teach Iraq to live (and love) democracy?
By Paul McLeary Democracy, being the big, wonderful, scary beast of a political system that it is, can please some of the people some of the time, but not all of the people all of the time. For all the lip service paid to its’ being beholden to the will of the people, a democratic system can also have wildly unexpected consequences – Hitler was a democratically elected leader, after all. Likewise, now that Iraq has been liberated and we’re gearing up to install democratic institutions in that repressed country, things may not be as rosy as some pundits make it seem. What if they elect someone we don’t like? Try this on for size: What do you think would happen if the first free elections in Iraq produced a victory for a nationalist or anti-western Islamic party like the one that currently rules Iran? Would we let the people choose a regime antagonistic to a western presence in the region? It’s a tough question, and one I hope the Bush administration has war-gamed, though staying true to form, they haven’t addressed the issue in public as of yet. The fact of the matter is that if Osama bin Laden were on the ballot in Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Afghanistan, Pakistan or any number of middle eastern countries, he’d likely win in a landslide. Signs of fierce Islamic nationalism have already begun to show up. On Friday, April 18th, only days after Baghdad fell, tens of thousands of residents took to the streets of the capital city to demand coalition withdrawal from the country and the establishment of an Islamic state. The demonstrators carried signs reading “No Bush, No Saddam, Yes to Islam,” and “No to America, No to Secular State, Yes to Islamic State.” Led by a group calling itself the Iraqi National United Front, the protesters represented a facet of Iraqi life –Islamic fundamentalism – that hasn’t been discussed much in the American media. Although full of unrealistic bluster (one man said if the Americans weren’t out in a few months, Iraqis would “kill them with our knives”), history has shown that there’s nothing more dangerous than a cornered dog. A democratic Iraq: the ultimate “square one” While democratic institutions may seem easy enough to create and maintain from our extremely fortunate perspective, certain preconditions normally need to be met before a real democracy can take hold – preconditions which are, at present, not only completely absent from Iraqi society, but Middle Eastern society in general. In the administration’s favorite examples of successful democratic nation-building, post-war Japan and Germany, conditions were far different than in Iraq. Both countries had a large, educated and entrepreneurial middle class, high literacy rates, an existing industrial base, familiarity with western political traditions and political history, remnants of a free press and a largely secular society familiar with the rapid political and economic changes of the 20th century. In contrast, Iraq has virtually no educated middle class from which to draw upon to begin […]
May 1st, 2003 by Vital Archives
Xerophonics
By Jeremy Saperstein There’s a definite warm solace to be found in the fluorescent hell of work. Once you’ve arrived for another eight-hour sentence, the rhythm of the workplace begins to nudge you like a tide, making action and reaction easy as you work through the day. Coffee at eight and ten, lunch at noon, candy bar at three. Without the routine, most of us would go insane. Xerophonics, a new ‘genre’ assembled entirely from the sounds of office appliances by one Dr. Stefan Helmreich is simultaneously the next great idea of industrial music and its denouement. Largely built on the repetitious patterns of noise that high-speed copiers emit (and named things like “Toshiba 2060” and “Xerox 5425 (Bookmark 35)”) Copying Machine Music is that great rarity in popular culture – a catchy prank – and exactly what you might expect to find on Negativland’s Seeland imprint. The unending rhythms of the copiers relax and capture me, taking me back to the countless copier rooms and desks I’ve occupied as a worker drone in America. From now on, I hope to hear more of the music that always plays around me.
May 1st, 2003 by Vital Archives
Thoroughly Modernist Museum
By Ken Morgan It’s already been selected to receive a 2002 American Architecture Award from the Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design. The Racine Art Museum opens its doors for the first time on May 11, 2003. A terrific example of contemporary architecture, it takes its place in Racine alongside 20th century architectural design landmarks such as Frank Lloyd Wright’s masterpiece “Wingspread” and the S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc. Administration Building and Research Tower. Chicago architects Brininstool + Lynch conceived the new museum building as a “restrained, modern showcase for one of the nation’s foremost collections of contemporary crafts.” The project included the total redesign of an existing building that had been a composite structure of different buildings from various periods, parts of which dated back to the Civil War. To give the building a unified character, Brininstool + Lynch devised what has become the project’s defining feature: a continuous wrapper of translucent acrylic panels. “At night, when the panels are lit from behind,” observes Bruce Pepich, Executive Director and Curator of Collections at RAM, “the museum glows like a lantern, serving as a beacon in downtown Racine.” WOOD RAM will house exhibition spaces for its permanent collection (which will be rotated on a regular, frequent basis to give museum-goers a chance to see as much of it as possible) and temporary, traveling shows, plus a museum store “curated” itself with consideration and flair. An entire floor will be dedicated to the collection, care and preparation of art, an extensive art library and research center, and administrative offices. Outdoor sculpture will be prominently displayed in a courtyard with views to Lake Michigan: this space will be open to the public and will also be used for special events. RAM will continue to play a vital role in arts education through its Charles A. Wustum Museum of Fine Arts campus, a short drive from the museum, where community outreach programs and studio art workshops are taught by nationally known artists. METAL The inaugural exhibition, Introducing RAM: The Building and Collections, will feature more than 150 works of contemporary crafts, many of which will be seen for the first time in the new Karen Johnson Boyd Galleries. Introducing RAM will highlight representative works from the more than 1,600 examples in the museum’s permanent collection. This extraordinary collection has been curated over the past 12 years through gifts from collectors and artists from across the country. “We were extremely fortunate to begin with the gift of a 200-piece collection of ceramics, baskets, and jewelry contributed by collector Karen Johnson Boyd in 1991,” elaborates Pepich. GLASS The show will include works by such prominent leaders in contemporary crafts as ceramists Peter Voulkos, Jack Earl, Kenneth Ferguson, and Richard Shaw; fiber artists John McQueen, Lillian Elliott, Joan Livingstone and Dona Look; sculptors in glass Dan Dailey, Richard Marquis, Joel Philip Myers, and Ginny Ruffner; jewelers Robert W. Ebendorf, Arline Fisch, Harold O’Connor, and Earl Pardon; and wood turners and furniture artists Wendell Castle, Jere […]
May 1st, 2003 by Vital Archives
Various Artists
By Jeremy Saperstein Man, there’s no reason I should like this as much as I do. OK, sure, it’s a tribute album not to a band, but to the (relatively) obscure 70s film Two-Lane Blacktop, and that’s a movie I have a strange place in my heart for. That conceit alone makes the work of Filippo Salvadori in compiling this disc something special. But the music, unlike tribute albums, which have an unfortunate lack of width and breadth to them evokes the odd, existential feeling of the film wonderfully – from the opening banjo stomp of Sandy Bull’s “Little Maggie” to the closing drum-machine and fuzz-guitar freakout of Roy Montgomery’s “2LB”. The music surprisingly takes you on a little journey, with bits of the monotony and featurelessness of a long cross-country drive (Sonic Youth’s “Loop Cat”, which evokes distant memories of Kraftwerk’s masterwork “Autobahn”) and brief bright spots that arrive to break things up (Cat Power’s “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”, itself an odd echo of the movie’s female lead Laurie Bird off-handedly singing the song). There are plenty of reasons to own this: current faves Wilco, Mark Eitzel, Calexico and Giant Sand all contribute songs, with the trophy going to Will Oldham, who offers a song (with Alan Licht) that combines all of James Taylor’s movie dialogue with an interpolation of Evita’s “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina” in an ear-friendly nugget.
May 1st, 2003 by Vital Archives
The "External Evil Winds" of Spring
By Lygia Angel Treating allergies with Traditional Chinese Medicine A strong wind blows over a field of ragweed. Suddenly, you sneeze and your eyes start to itch. In Chinese medicine this “sudden onset” (a.k.a., acute allergic reaction) means an “External Wind Evil” has attacked your lungs. When environmental or seasonal allergens are present, the body is hit by an allergen filled “wind.” To ward them off, Chinese medicine first strengthens the lungs and the exterior of the body. When you strengthen the lung energy sufficiently, that strong gust of ragweed blowing past your nose will pass through your system with no unpleasant physical effects. If the lungs are not strong enough, the result is sneezing, accumulated phlegm and nasal discharge. You could run for a prescription or over the counter medication, but this only masks your symptoms. For a true cure, the underlying conditions within the body must be addressed and brought into balance. Lung Qi, Defender From Allergies In traditional Chinese medicine the lungs are the most superficial organs, meaning they are the closest internal organs to the outside of your body. They act as the body’s defender from “external evils,” and are the first affected organs in allergic reactions. The job of the lungs is to down-bear air and excess fluids through the body and moisten (diffuse) the skin. The lungs moisten the skin by sending fluids to the skin and opening and closing the pores with their energy. This is called the defense qi. Defense qi is the natural energy of the lungs, which protects the surface of the body. One benefit of strong Defense qi is the ability of the pores to close when the body is cold (protecting it from external pathogens) and open when hot to sweat (eliminating excess heat or disease). For example, a healthy person with good Defense qi has pores that close when needed, and can tolerate cold wind better than a person who is weak, as if he literally has tough skin. This ability to block unwanted pathogens from entering the body also applies to allergens. When your body is hit by wind-blown pollen, strong lung qi should be able to pass what has entered the nose through your system and seal it from entering the skin. So the first treatment for allergies in Chinese medicine is to strengthen the lungs. This helps prevent an allergic reaction to airborne pathogens. One way to strengthen lung energy is with acupuncture points. These points are not necessarily near the lungs. In fact most points that strengthen lung energy are on or near your wrist. Another method for building up lung energy is herbal decoctions. Chinese herbal decoctions or remedies contain nutritive properties, as well as energies specific to particular conditions. In Chinese herbal medicine, different herbs are appropriate for different organs, and so the herbal decoctions for the lungs contain specific nutrition for the lungs as well as vibrations of energy. A Strong Army of Organs:protectors of the Lungs In Chinese medicine, […]
May 1st, 2003 by Vital Archives
Various Artists
By Jeremy Saperstein It’s perverse to review this: there’s no identification on it (beyond label name), no titles or artists, and it’s rumored to have been removed from distribution for copyright reasons. It’s nigh impossible to find a copy (I got mine on the Internet at Turntable Lab – turntablelab.com/index1.html). Perverse, yes. So why review it? Aside from displaying how cool I am to own a copy, I want to share the news about this release for the handful of others who are sure to enjoy a digital copy of some truly funky old 45s. The CD is a nonstop death-ride of white-knuckle funk, through-and-through, played with the sort of garage-rock enthusiasm found in collectors-only ‘Pebbles’LPs. If you ever wondered if a funk revolution was being spawned by those initial groundbreaking releases by George Clinton, this is the proof that all around, the youth were getting restless and working to emulate Uncle George – and even top him. If all of that sounds tasty to you, I recommend this with no reservation. If you can’t find a copy, drop me a line and we can arrange a listening party with some malt liquor and cheese-whiz refreshments.
May 1st, 2003 by Vital Archives
Dr. Judy Hall’s mission of medicine for the Iraqi people
By John Hughes On a recent unseasonably warm Monday evening, I sat with Judy Hall on the front stoop outside of her home, and as the breezes cooled us we watched neighbor children ride bicycles up and down the city street. Judy, an M.D. and psychiatrist, told me about her recent 10 day visit to Baghdad, Iraq, on a mission to teach Iraqi physicians. “I’m not really an activist,” she says. “My interest in Iraq began in medical school days when an Iraqi woman was my supervising resident. I’ve been thinking about her and worrying for all the ensuing years. So, in 1991, I was actually hopeful about the sanctions, when they were imposed, because I thought that might be a diplomatic solution to the Hussein problem. But in the end those sanctions were worse than any war could have been, for the suffering they’ve inflicted on the Iraqi people, without bothering Hussein at all.” “I was actually hopeful about the sanctions… But in the end those sanctions were worse than any war could have been, for the suffering they’ve inflicted on the Iraqi people, without bothering Hussein at all.” Her blonde hair falls in her eyes, over her steel framed eyeglasses, dancing in the breeze. She is, I estimate, roughly 50 years old, relaxed and unpretentious, the highlight of her clothing being her bright red clogs. She speaks freely. “In 1996, I became aware of a group called Voices in the Wilderness, who were bringing suitcases of antibiotics into Iraq. With the poverty inflicted by the U.S. sanctions, the water system was going bad, and people were getting sick. I thought these deliveries were good, but I also thought it would be more effective to clean the water system. So, although I supported Voices, I looked for a different group to be involved with. “Now realize, it was illegal to help the Iraqi people like that, or in any way, against the sanctions, without a license from the State Department. And the penalty for doing so is 12 years in prison and a $1.25 million fine.” I ask Judy how a person might go about giving a license. “In reality, they don’t give licenses,” she says, and laughs. “Finally, I was called on the carpet, though. I heard about something called ‘Campaign for Conscience’, which was the American Friends Service Committee, working in conjunction with Pax Christi and the Fellowship of Reconciliation. And they were importing small chlorinators so that they could at least purify the water for hospitals and orphanages, and perhaps some villages.” She then described to me a “Quaker Summit on Iraq” which she attended in January of 2002. During this event she learned of greatly increased incidences of birth defects and childhood cancer since Desert Storm, attributed to the depleted uranium casings left after the fighting 11 years before. She learned that Iraqi physicians had inadequate medication to deal with this endemic situation. She also learned that the U.S. sanctions apply to a ban on […]
May 1st, 2003 by Vital Archives
Borrower Beware
By Bethany Sanchez PART ONE OF A TWO-PART SERIES A cautionary tale “Mrs. Green” is a 72-year-old widow, who has lived in her home for 28 years. When a home repair contractor knocked on her door in April 2000, Mrs. Green had great credit, and she had almost paid off her entire 30-year mortgage. The contractor told her that it looked like her house needed some work. Mrs. Green acknowledged that her roof leaked, the house needed painting, and that the front porch was deteriorating and unsafe. However, she told the contractor that she could not afford to make the needed repairs, as she was on a very limited, fixed income. The contractor told Mrs. Green about a lender who would give her a home repair loan. The lender came to Mrs. Green’s house, helped her with her paperwork, and then sent out an appraiser who valued her house at a surprisingly high amount. The lender gave her a loan that not only paid the cost of the repairs, but also refinanced Mrs. Green’s mortgage and consolidated her credit card debt. The new interest rate was twice that of the old mortgage. Mrs. Green paid almost $5,000 in fees on the new loan and doubled her monthly debt payment. Shortly after the loan closed, Mrs. Green’s brother-in-law died. She used some of her monthly income, and tapped into her very limited savings to travel to New York to help her sister with the funeral and burial expenses. These expenses stretched her resources and caused her to, for the first time ever, send in her loan payment late. When the next month’s statement arrived, Mrs. Green found that she had been assessed a huge late payment fee, and when she did not pay the fee, the amount considered to be overdue continued to increase until the lender threatened to foreclose on the property. Not having many options, Mrs. Green decided to sell her house and move in with her son, but she found that the loan amount was $20,000 more than the market value of the house. The appraisal had been falsified. Mrs. Green was trapped in a loan that she couldn’t pay, and couldn’t even sell her house to entirely pay off the loan. She had no way “out.” “Mrs. Green’s” story is only one of hundreds involving Milwaukee area homeowners who have become victims of what is called a predatory loan. The details of these stories and loans vary widely from homeowner to homeowner, but the despicable practices of predatory lenders usually take a devastating toll on the homeowner. What is a predatory loan? A predatory loan is a loan that is unsuitable for the borrower, designed to exploit vulnerable or unsophisticated borrowers. A predatory loan has one or more of the following features: Mrs. Green’s story actually combines several of the things the Metropolitan Milwaukee Fair Housing Council hears over and over. The most common reasons people are seduced by these loans are an urgent need for cash […]
May 1st, 2003 by Vital Archives
