from monument to masses

my camarada & recent compañero de trabajo/co-conspirator sergio is sort of a jack of all trades.

for one thing he's kind of a rock star. for reals. as in he's played shows all over the us, uk, continental europe, and japan. as in he's one-third of this band, from monument to masses which plays its last show ever tonight at the great american music hall in sf. what kind of music? ummmm... post-rock? i admit to not really knowing exactly what that means except that it's the kind of music like electrelane or stereolab... maybe?? like heavy on the instrumental, light on the vocals, structurally unorthodox. i think. and in the case of fmtm anti-capitalist, anti-imperialist. ok, good.

it's the last weekend of august. weddings, birthday parties, panteon rococo... all kinds of good places to be. but maybe you also need to be at gamh to see fmtm? i hear they put on a great show :)

from monument to masses
the final show
tonight! saturday, 28 august
@ great american music hall, san francisco
doors: 8pm, show: 9
$15

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the quiet before (thunderbirds are now! mix)




deafening




comrades & friends (loquat mix)




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wow. on defening that's a translation of victor jara's last poem, written just before his assassination in the estadio chile (audio here by his widow?). beautiful.

but suddenly my conscience awakes
and i see that this tide has no heartbeat,
only the pulse of machines
and the military showing their midwives’ faces
full of sweetness.
...

how hard it is to sing
when i must sing of horror.
...

to see myself among so much
and so many moments of infinity
in which silence & screams
are the end of my song.

what i see, i have never seen
what i have felt and what i feel
will give birth to the moment…...

wyclef ridiculousness

looks like wyclef might be disqualified from the haitian presidential elections after all. i had been wanting to post about what utter mierda his candidacy is...

but lenin's tomb already did it for me:

... Promising to be the country's Obama, he claims to represent the "voice of the youth". Well, we'll see about that. The election process is sufficiently corrupt that, while the most popular party (Famni Lavalas) is banned from participating, a non-resident may well be allowed to participate against election rules. Wyclef Jean is an ideal candidate for the Obama administration, because his record is one of outright support for American imperialism in Haiti. He attacked the elected president Jean-Bertrand Aristide, and supported the death squad 'rebels' that overthrew him. He has continued to support the brutal MINUSTAH occupation, on the grounds that it must contain the 'gangs' (there are gangs, but his associates are involved in them - he's referring to Lavalas). He has schmoozed with Bill Clinton and Ban Ki moon, and the usual array of corporate philanthropists and entrepreneurs. His charity, Yele Haiti, is crooked, though it has made him a small fortune in charges for services rendered.

The only election in Haiti that could possibly be legitimate would be one in which Famni Lavalas was a fully legal participant, and Jean-Bertrand Aristide their presidential candidate.

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and mykel archie already drew it for me (thanks to kiilu for passing it along):



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nothing much else to say really, except that more than 6 months after the earthquake haiti is still under military occupation, and democratic popular forces there still need our solidarity! so let's give some please!!

Outside Lands Festival Part II

As promised, here is some additional video from the festival, including more Aterciopelados (I mean, really, is there ever enough?) and Social Distortion!



I have a very soft spot in my punkera heart for Social Distortion, who like Bad Religion, have made it through so many obstacles as a band, including drugs, fame, more drugs, and the introduction of Hot Topic/suburbia faux punk such as Good Charlotte (only The Cure can pull off that much eyeliner, and they have earned it!). It was such a treat to get to see them at Outside Lands!



I loved sitting in the room I shared with my three sisters and listening to this song full blast. I realized later that our ball and chains that each dragged were very different and made of totally different issues and problems.



Social Distortion's version of "Ring of Fire" by Johnny Cash is one of the best covers ever.

Outside Lands Festival Part I

After much negotiating with myself, I decided to go to the Outside Lands Festival in San Francisco. The compromise that I made with myself was that I would only go to one day. I am so glad for the times that I can bring myself to agreement!

This year's Sunday line-up did not disappoint, on the contrary, it rocked so much, I felt it on the Richter Scale!

Here is some of the video I shot from that day of Aterciopelados and Al Green. I will post part II later today with more Aterciopelados and Social Distortion.



One main highlight from the festival is that I got to meet the amazing Andrea Echeverria, lead singer of Aterciopelados! She stayed for a while after their set greeting people, giving hugs (including to me!), signing autographs, kissing babies (literally), and just being her ephemeral and chill self. She also signed my favorite Deporten a la Migra shirt, which I can now never wear again, but its a sacrifice I am more than happy to make. This gives me a chance to support Liberation Ink, who print the Deporten a la Migra shirt!



I was so excited to see Al Green on the line-up. Come on, its Al Green! That man's music is probably responsible for so many children being conceived over the last 40 or so years.



His songs are sexy, timeless, and have so much energy. Also, the man can still move!

lolita lebrón ¡presente!

lolita lebrón
19 noviembre 1919 - 1 agosto 2010

in 1954, 34-year-old lolita lebrón & her comrades walked into the visitors' gallery at the u.s. capitol building, shouted que viva puerto rico libre, and opened fire on the house of representatives, wounding five congressmen. upon her release from prison 25 years later, she returned home to her island and proudly declared herself unrepentant, that it is the right of all people to fight for their freedom. in 2001 she was arrested for "trespassing" at the age of 81, in an action to oppose the bombing of vieques, and was sentenced to two months.

lolita lebrón is adored throughout the americas for her many beautiful acts of rebellion & defense of her homeland. she will be missed!

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here is a bit of audio from freedom archives where she speaks about the decision to take up arms in the fight against u.s. imperialism...



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and here's some archival newsreel from the time of the attack on the congress, including an interview with her & rafael cancel miranda shortly afterwards where they are asked if they are sorry for what they've done ;)






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and finally carlos puebla's lovely dedication written for her during her detention...

guajira por lolita lebrón




¡que viva puerto rico libre! ¡que viva lolita lebrón!