Catch a glimpse of behind the scenes lifestyles of underground musicians on $5 Cover this weekend on MTV. The first three episodes air tonight (Friday, May 1) on MTV at Midnight EST. Amy LaVere is the first musician featured in the series. Her video “Killing Him”, highlights a song about a woman who kills her unfaithful lover in a fit of rage.
Sample lyrics He said he’d give her the sun and the moon
Now all she has is this 8×8 room
Killin’ him didn’t make the love go away
$5 Cover is a fictional series about actual musicians in midtown Memphis. All the musicians play themselves in a semi-fictionalized, dramatic narrative created by Craig Brewer, the Director of ‘Hustle and Flow’. The episodes are 6-8 minutes long, each featuring a song from one of the musicians.
For the entire month of May, MTV will simultaneously release three episodes a week on TV and on www.mtv.com/fivedollarcover.
The documentaries, $5 Cover AMPLIFIED, unlike the fictional series, offer a slower-paced, experimental, and intimate view into the actual creative lives of the featured musicians. The first three of twelve pieces are already available for viewing. You can see Amy LaVere’s behind the scenes video now. It includes her shooting a gun, telling a stories about her first gun experience and lamenting about ‘love gone wrong’ and the tendency of women to ’sell out’ to please their man.
Ah yes, Los Angeles. If you’ve only seen it on the news or in movies you probably think it’s a city of greedy, superficial heathens who kill each other for being in the wrong neighborhood but most of us who live here know better.
Los Angeles County is home to Koreatown, Historic Filipino Town and Little Tokyo. There is a Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. and Ceasar Chavez Blvd. in more than one city. The ethnic diversity is staggering and yet the majority of time we mix, we mingle and we get along.
We eat each other’s food, we learn a few words of each other’s languages and we sit side by side on public transportation. We travel to and from work through each other’s neighborhoods, attend each others weddings and funerals and more. If L.A. can do it, anyone can.
The photo and video in this blog are both from this weekend’s Warped Tour concert in Carson, CA. I was one of 20,000+ in attendance and I can tell you this. Despite the heat, the dust, the differences in age, ethnicity and musical tastes, this was an event that was enjoyable for all involved. To my knowledge, no one was shanked or shot or killed and even though there were some pretty crazy looking people the overall behavior was pretty tame. Sometimes the news makes us forget. Don’t forget. This is L.A. and if we can do it, anyone can do it.
Listen to This is L.A. at The Briggs’ myspace page
…or, watch the video shot at the Warped Tour this weekend in Carson, CA
Rinkrat is the former owner of Southern California punk rock icon, Zed Records. For almost 30 years, this mecca of punk and alternative music kept Southern California enthusiasts adequately supplied with unique, original and innovative music.
Currently, Rinkrat manages a hockey fan message boards at www.letsgokings.com with thousands of subscribers. He takes photos for the LAist and the LA Derby Dolls. Each week he will contribute a song with a theme, a message and a beat. Enjoy and stay tuned.
Ruefrex’s Capital Letters is a perfect example of entertaining, yet political, punk rock.
The chorus lines says; “‘Cause they’re keeping the airwaves open for capital letters.” One of two things crosses my mind when I hear those lyrics. First is how we respect people with “capital letters” behind their name even when they haven’t earned it. Second is how the information we receive is determined by capital letters like NBC, CBS and ABC and of course the proper names and institutions, in which we place blind faith. By the way, the diet industry, pharmaceutical industry and fashion industry are “Capital Letters”.
Rinkrat is the former owner of Southern California punk rock icon, Zed Records. For almost 30 years, this mecca of punk and alternative music kept Southern California enthusiasts adequately supplied with unique, original and innovative music.
Currently, Rinkrat manages a hockey fan message boards at www.letsgokings.com with thousands of subscribers. He takes photos for the LAist and the LA Derby Dolls. Each week he will contribute a song with a theme, a message and a beat. Enjoy and stay tuned.
“There is another America”. That’s a line from the song that tells the story of Anne Braden. The “other America” knows that oppression and predjudice are wrong. We know it’s all about power and control and we know that power violations grow in the dark. This “song” is as much a spoken word piece as it is hip hop. Flobots entertain and mesmerize us as they shed light on the story of a white Civil Rights activist who protested the lynching and slavery of blacks in the South.
Their album, Fight with Tools is a rousing piece of lyrical art woven from bits of rock and roll, hip hop and alternative rock. A violin floats in and out drawing memories of American Heritage stories. I hear influences ranging from Rage Against the Machine to Black Eyed Peas to Bauhaus. The lyrics are hauntingly familiar. These are the words that appear in classic books and great songs in every genre since music began.
The sound is edgy enough to be cool and Pop enough to be accessible. I can imagine a seven-year-old and her mother rockin’ this in an SUV or a 60-year-old hippie smoking a joint and saying “this is the way it used to be.” One of their songs might end up being played at halftime during the Super Bowl some day. Even though I’m only posting Anne Braden here, I highly encourage you to go to their MySpace or their website and listen to more. You can read the lyrics on-line if you click on this link.
Even though this isn’t really a video, you can click play button below to hear the song.
If that doesn’t work, try clicking play here. Then, turn up the speakers and enjoy.
Rinkrat is the former owner of Southern California punk rock icon, Zed Records in Long Beach. He currently manages a hockey fan message board at www.letsgokings.com with thousands of subscribers. He takes photos for the LAist and the LA Derby Dolls. Each week he will contribute a song with a theme, a message and a beat. Enjoy and stay tuned.
Every once in a while, I get a friend request on MySpace from someone I didn’t previously know but that I was glad to find out about. One such example from this week is the friend request I got from the punk band Fruit Punch. They have a raw, garage type sound: young, grungy, fun. For some reason I’m thinking of Youth Brigade, Uniform Choice, Minor Threat and All as I listen. You might hear it differently.
Here is a quote from their MySpace page: “To call Fruit Punch a Political band would be an understatement. With topics ranging from Human Rights, Animal Rights, to the nuclear apocalypse, this band is not scared to get a little dark in their lyrics. Their lyrics are a beautiful mix of metaphors and sarcasm that are not for the weak minded. I suggest catching this band while you can, before they are too big to play your basement!”
I enjoyed looking at the pictures on their MySpace page. When you look at their gig fliers you get a definite feel of their DIY vibe. They also have a “green”, vegetarian agenda. For me, they’ve captured the spirit of old school, DIY, garage-band punk rock. I’m having an 80’s flashback right now. I am seconds away from breaking out into a slam dance.
I’m likin’ how this Word Press blog works. I decided it’s time to consolodate my two existing blogspot accounts for one blog that encompasses everything. I’m thinking of it as an on-line magazine. I wanna talk about books, music, fashion, the mind, spirituality, body image, self-esteem and one of my favorite things right now: LA Derby Doll roller derby.
I just returned from the bout vs. San Diego Derby Dolls and the energy in the room was electrifying to say the least. I am hoarse. A couple of times I had to put my finger in my ear because the shrill of screams and whistles was vibrating my ear hairs
I am gonna post some pictures later from the game. Ira, age 92 was there. She is a big supporter of the Dolls. Krissy Krash’s grandma came in her wheel chair and I’m pretty sure rinkrat got a photo of Myna Threat’s mom and grandma shopping in vendor village.
What I love about Derby is how “real” it feels. Even though everyone is playing somewhat of a persona with their made-up derby names and all, I sense that their personas are more real than the face they wear at their “day job.”
I skate with the Derby Dolls during Fresh Meat practice. I chose the skate name Gal VanIZed. I loved the idea of having a name that said “I’m a woman, I’m proud to be a woman and I am strong.” I swear, having the name has changed me. But it didn’t make me something I wasn’t, It made me more of who I am.
don’t hold back…
’cause you woke up in the mornin’, with initiative to move, so why make it harder…
don’t hold back…
if you think about it, so many people do, be cool man, look smarter….
don’t hold back…
and you shouldn’t even care, ’bout those noses in the air, and their crooked stares…
don’t hold back…
’cause there’s a party over here, so you might as well be here, where the people care…
don’t hold back…
the world, is holdin back…
the time has come to…
the world, is holdin back…
the time has come to…
the world, is holdin back…
the time has come to…
galvanize!
c’mon, c’mon c’mon….
don’t hold back…
if you think about it too much, you may stumble, trip up, fall on your face…
don’t hold back…
we think it’s time you get up, crunch time, like a sit up, come on keep pace…
don’t hold back…
put apprehension on the back burner, let it sit, dont even get it lit…
don’t hold back…
get involved with the jam, don’t be a prick, hot chick, be a pick….
don’t hold back…
the world, is holdin’ back…
the time has come to…
the world, is holdin’ back…
the time has come to…
the world, is holdin’ back…
the time has come to…
galvanize!
c’mon, c’mon c’mon….
world, the time has come to…
push the button…
world, the time has come to…
push the button…
world, the time has come to…
push the button…
world, my finger, is on the button…
my finger, is on the button…
my finger, is on the button…
push the button…
the time has come to…
galvanize!
I told my husband the first time I heard this song: “This is my anthem.” One of the coolest things about it is that Q-tip drops the rhymes. The words are set to a hip hop, indian/tribal theme that evokes a feeling of unity and world peace.
Here’s the video. I had to watch it a couple of times before I realized the symbolism and hidden meanings in the make up choices and coreography.
I wrote to the Chemical Brothers and told them about why I chose my name and asked if they would send a Chemical Brothers sticker or ideally a Galvanize sticker. They did something very cool: they sent a pack of “Push The Button” stickers. I put one on the front and one on the back of my helmet. Here’s a picture here. If any of the Dolls want one, let me know.
