Top 5 Buzzworthiest Music Moments of the Month via It's Getting Hot In Here
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Earth to America: Video Sends Message on Global Warming, Loud and Clear via It's Getting Hot In Here
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Kurdish Dance Party via Carpetblogger
Hey Breed and Producer!
Forget the Gram Parsons impersonator, I want these guys at my 40th birthday party!
Via......
Rocking the House: Guster’s Adam Gardener Takes Conciousness Tour to Congress via It's Getting Hot In Here
Adam Gardner, who headlines Guster, is the real deal. If you are tired of rockstars mouthing green platitudes about paper or plastic, when they criss-cross the country in a private jet, Adam Gardner is a breath of fresh air. (Literally! He uses a green tour bus.) My friend, Mark Orlowski, from the Sustainable Endowments Institute accompanied Adam on his Campus Consciousness tour and was astounded at his depth of understanding and passion for sustainability. Adam helped found Reverb, a non-profit that has greened 649 concerts and reached over 4.4 million fans with a message of building and living a sustainable future. So, after touring all across the country, where is Adam headed? To Congress! No, he isn’t running, but he is testifying for the House Select Committee on Energy... Elvis lives via Body in Motion
Elvis is alive and well! The King made a guest appearance at a fund raiser in town this weekend for the Lilongwe Wildlife Centre.
While the King revived some old favourites, the Lilongwe mzungu crew rocked out at The Shack and a good time was had by all.
Ladies and gentleman, Elvis has left the...... The African Gasket via Body in Motion
On our way back from the Lake of Stars music festival last weekend, we passed a friend’s broken down pickup by the side of the road. Having already made ample use of jumper cables at the aid of those with less energetic car batteries, we stopped in the name of good karma.
We picked up a local mechanic in a nearby town and brought him back to the truck to take a look. Within a couple of seconds, the mechanic found a leaking gasket and set about the repair by African gasket. A notebook cover was converted to two snug-fitting nuts on either side of the faulty gasket and got the engine running tout de suite.
When the truck’s owner asked if the replaced gasket would carry him 3+ hours back to Lilongwe, the mechanic asked “Today?”
By the time we were loaded back into... Sunglasses via Extra Extra
Some of the impressive eyewear featured in the video below
A video has surfaced of Madilu System’s amazing funeral, the biggest in years. After some reverent ogling of the open-top casket, you can see some impressive crowd scenes, the arrival of various local dignitaries and pop stars and some impromptu singing.
They say a blog should have a niche. Seeing as it’s standing room only in the design and technology departments, I’m making a bid for funerals in Kinshasa.... Adieu, Grande Baleine via Extra Extra
Farewell to a legend
Sometime last year, I was listening to a rhumba band in a Kinshasa pizza restaurant. Reacting to the opening chords of the Franco classic ‘Mario’, a fellow diner of impressive girth stood up and gestured for the microphone. I didn’t recognise him, but an awestruck waiter told me that the big man had once been part of Franco’s TPOK Jazz. As he sang, he danced with one arm around the waist of a somewhat slimmer woman, like this:
He was Bialu Madilu, also known as Multi Système, Grand Pharaoh, Grand Ninja, Sa Majesté and Grande Baleine. Born in Matadi, in the province of Bas Congo, he sang with Simaro and Tabu Ley Rochereau before joining TPOK Jazz. Sadly, he died on Saturday, and all of Kinshasa is in mourning. Radio stations have been... Black Bears Bulldozed in West Virginia via It's Getting Hot In Here
Written by Sam McCreery and Jen Osha.
In southern West Virginia, the people and the land are paying the price so the rest of the nation can have cheap energy from mountaintop removal coal mining. Here in Rock Creek, men and machines are working 24-7 to remove the “overburden” over the coal seams. What many people don’t realize is that the “overburden” that is removed includes every living thing on the mountaintop, including the animals that can’t escape.
The Black Bear is the state animal of West Virginia. Mountaintop Removal is decimating their habitat by the thousands of acres. Long time resident of Rock Creek, WV, avid hunter and woodsman, Ed Wiley knew the site of a black bear den where the overburden was being shoved over. It was...
Mother Earth, Al Gore, and Partying For the Planet via It's Getting Hot In Here
So, I am here at Mother Earth, where Al Gore, Garth Brooks, and Trisha Yearwood, will be ushering in Live Earth in front of the Capital. After Sen. Inhofe blocked the concert, many feared it would just be in Giants Stadium, behind security and high ticket prices. Well, the event has taken off and gone global, with satellite concerts in DC to Antartica. House parties have been organized across the World, with MoveOn organizing more than 1300 alone in the United States, and Avaaz.org organizing thousands and thousands more worldwide. The energy is palpable, with in countries like Sierra Leone throwing Live Earth parties with the president as the headline guest. With over 10,000 parties across the globe, concerts on 7 continents, and Live Earth inspired concerts all over the place, from... BREAKING NEWS: Free Live Earth in DC! via It's Getting Hot In Here
In a nice last minute scramble worthy of climate activists everywhere, Al Gore and team have put together a last minute free Live Earth concert in Washington, DC. In the same place as the Step It Up! party, the National Museum of the American Indian will host Al Gore, Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, and Blues Nation.
I am sure Sen. Inhofe will blow his top when he sees us partying outside the Capital with Garth Brooks.
So join us at 10:00am, at the Welcome Plaza of the National Museum of the American Indian tomorrow with Energy Action, MoveOn, and a whole bunch more.
Editors Update: Also, with a sweet band of Polar scientists rocking out in Antartica - it will truly be on 7 continents.......
Rockin’ to ReEnergize Iowa via It's Getting Hot In Here
Check out the video of Ben Folds doing his tribute to the ReEnergize Iowa project. Then, as our new friend Ben says, “Get your a** out on the street” and join them as they march from Ames to Des Moines August 2-5. Or, if you’re in the Northeast, catch up with the New Hampshire crew walking from Nashua to Concord August 1-5....
Rock ‘n Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution via It's Getting Hot In Here
by Joe Richie, in the field in Des Moines, IA:
Organizing is more about being opportunistic than serendipitous, but sometimes even the best organizers can’t imagine how the fates will align.
ReEnergize Iowa* team member Whit Jones was in downtown Des Moines yesterday afternoon with his girlfriend Claire, who luckily for us, describes herself as a “huge Ben Folds fan.” Claire sighted Mr. Folds walking down the street, and after some driving maneuvers that Whit described as “not life endangering, but certainly worthy of a ticket,” Whit and Claire stopped at a red light and waved the former Ben Folds Five frontman over to the car. They shook hands, and, like any good organizer would do, left him with a ReEnergize Iowa flyer in his hand.
That evening, Janie... PlanetRoo - It’s Getting Hot Out Here! via It's Getting Hot In Here
I am here at Bonnaroo - one of the biggest music festivals in the world - with a crew from the Southern Energy Network. We roadtripped through Tennessee in a Flexcar (a car sharing program) hybrid from Knoxville to Manchester…getting some interesting looks in the process. We arrived at PlanetRoo and set up our signs and gear, to tell folks about the Youth Climate Pledge and the Powershift 07 conference. It’s an interesting crowd out here, with over a hundred thousand people setting up a impromptu music city on 540 acres in small town Tennessee.
PlanetRoo is a major initiative of Bonnaroo, with space given to groups that can reach the crowd on issues like Global Warming, Wildlife Conservation, and how to install solar power. A solar stage has performers talking about...
Free Madonna Download for Live Earth via It's Getting Hot In Here
Reading about the new Madonna single Hey You as a free download made my little gay enviro heart sing! The song which is a collaboration with Pharrell was inspired by the Live Earth series of concerts. Madonna is one of the many perfomers scheduled for the London Live earth event.
You can download the MP3 for one week only at here.
Share...... Climate Battle of the Bands via It's Getting Hot In Here
C-Change, a new youth-led campaign to change attitudes and raise awareness of climate change in England, has just kicked off with its first major event, a battle of the bands competition. Supported by UK indie band Klaxons and solar-powered recording studio The Premises, unsigned bands can upload an mp3 of their music onto the C-Change website, where anyone and everyone votes for their favourite band. The top five get to play live at a free concert at Party for the Planet in London in July, and the winning band gets to spend a day at The Premises laying down their track by renewable energy.
Head on over to switchonswitchoff.org to vote, and if any It’s Getting Hot In Here UK readers are in a band yourself (and aged 11-21) what are you waiting for? Join the battle!
Share...... His Excellency, Papa Wemba via Extra Extra
Papa Wemba, King of Rumba, dressed for the occasion
MAG and UNICEF have had the bright idea of signing up Congolese music legend Papa Wemba as their Ambassador against Landmines.
I have a great video clip of the dapper gent performing Show Me the Way at the ceremony last night, and will seek have permission to show it here, in the name of mine action diplomacy :... What’s new? via Extra Extra
As Bemba packs his bags for Portugal, what’s left of his house and TV stations have been looted by government troops, and his radio stations have been silent since being shut down the day before the fighting started.
This week, I have had a number of meals and meetings in places with bullet holes in the windows. The atmosphere seems normal enough until you notice a thousand-yard stare or a trembling hand.
It hardly made the news, did it? The BBC and agency reporters have been working hard, but I can just imagine the editors in their morning meetings, asking just what’s new about a little more fighting in Congo. I could understand July’s ‘historic’ elections being overshadowed by the crisis in Lebanon, but it was strange that our latest drama should have been... Convenient Truths: Climate And Action via It's Getting Hot In Here
As college comes to an end, I’ve begun to get a little antsy, wondering if there things I haven’t tried yet? Are there ways of reaching my campus and larger community that haven’t been explored? In an attempt to answer some of these questions, I teamed up with some amazingly talented hip-hop beat mixers and artists (not to mention some sick eco-dancers) to create The Convenient Truths which is a music video to the rap I wrote and performed about the urgency of climate change and what Yale students are doing to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.
It is a part of Treehugger’s Convenient Truth contest, so please check it out and remember to rate the video (please be generous!). There are a number of other amazing videos online as a part of the competition, too, and...
Guster and the Campus Consciousness Tour — Spring 2007 via It's Getting Hot In Here
Picture this: a high profile national tour of 20 universities that is a combination environmental awareness campaign and rock show.
The Campus Consciousness Tour fuses these worlds with an afternoon of activities and an evening concert headlined by Guster.
Watch a short video recapping last year’s Campus Consciousness Tour.
Check out the current schedule to see when Guster and the tour might be rolling onto your campus.
You might even be able to bring Guster and the Campus Consciousness Tour to your school! The dates that are currently open are April 15-19, 2007 anywhere on the East Coast and April 22-25, 2007 anywhere in New England.
To learn more about the Campus Consciousness Tour and see tour dates continue reading…
(more…)
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Koffi checks in via Extra Extra
Koffi Olomide (in blue) exhorts his dancers to shake a leg
Rhumba star Koffi Olomide, locally known as Mopao, is playing a series of Sunday night gigs at Chez Bibi, his local bar. If not quite in the league of Fela at The Shrine, this is nonetheless not to be missed. In defiance of predictable consequences for Monday morning, three of us went along last night to pay our respects.
Olomide started out as a songwriter, joining Papa Wemba’s band in the 70’s before going solo in the 80’s. With his band, Quartier Latin, he had huge international success reviving and updated Franco’s languid, soulful approach to Congolese rhumba. He calls his style Tcha Tcho, which he explains is essentially about singing from the heart.
(Extending the lineage, a fellow by the name of...
He also writes for the NY Times via It's Getting Hot In Here
Continuing the theme, check out think clip of Andy Revkin, Climate Reporter for the NY Times and Senator Inhofe’s favorite author, singing his own climate ballad “Liberated Carbon”… to his class at Columbia. You can find more music by Revkin with his band, Uncle Wade. Apparently you can have a life and work on global warming too. You just need to become a NY Times reporter. Andy, got any openings? I write for this amazing blog…
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Save the Snow! Save the Snow! Save the Snow! via It's Getting Hot In Here
I think I’ve heard “Let it Snow” at least 10 times in the past few weeks, on the radio, in stores, and as carollers sing around campus. Since I’ve been thinking a lot about warming in the Northeast and the decreased snowfall we can expect in the future, our ideals of a white winter may be harder and harder to meet. (To read more about Northeast impacts, here’s the Union of Concerned Scientists’ report.) Re-inspired by Josh Tulkin, here’s a new climate spoof to the tune of “Let it Snow”.
Oh, climate change is so frightful
But the solutions are delightful
We’ve got so many improvements to go
Save the snow, save the snow, save the snow
All the emissions we need to be stopping
And oil and coal be dropping
We can bring emissions way...
“A Warm December” via It's Getting Hot In Here
I couldn’t help it, this one just came to me. It’s 11:00 PM on Sunday and I am writing climate spoof songs. OY! Anyway, thanks to Caroline for the idea. If you don’t know it, this is based on Counting Crow’s “Long December” off of Recovering the Satelites. Brilliant song. Mine is better, but I did write it in five minutes so feel free to send comments. All rights reserved to Josh Tulkin and Counting Crows, original lyrics and chords here.
“A Warm December”
A warm December and there’s reason to believe
Maybe next will be hotter than the last
I just remember the way it used to snow
and the jackets I once wore have turned to dust
and it’s one more day you’ll still be tanning
and it’s one warm night in shorts and tees
but... Sacred Heart Hotel via ask direct
I’ve been sent flying back into nostalgia land here today. I downloaded The Stars of Heaven’s Sacred Heart Hotel from iTunes last night (I already have it on vinyl but my turntable is in cold storage awaiting the erection of some new shelves - but that’s another story) and then I came across Tom Dunne’s brilliant piece about them here
I remember hearing Never Saw You for the first time on Capital Nitesky Radio – god, it’s 20 years ago now – and being captivated by it. The jangly guitar bit that I could never figure out how to play. The way the bass guitar walked in after the first verse.
I remember a brilliant gig in the New Inn Gig on New Street - in fact it may have been the last gig for both band and venue. And another gig in the Belgard in... Sudanese Hip Hop via ::::I've Left Copenhagen for Uganda::::
Emmanuel Jal is a former starving child soldier who contemplated suicide and cannibalism. He was recruited to fight in Sudan's civil war, by the age of eight he had learnt to fire an AK47 and at 13 he was fighting on the front line.
He trekked across Sudan, surviving drought and famine, and was eventually rescued and smuggled into Kenya.
He's topped the charts in his adopted home of Kenya, performed at Live 8 in Cornwall, and got a US tour lined up this year. Emmanuel Jal then joined northern Sudanese singer, composer and oud player Abdel Gadir Salim.
Read a critical review here.
Download Emmanuel_Jal-Abdel_Gadir_Salim-Elengwen.mp3... In my next life… via ::::I've Left Copenhagen for Uganda::::
...I want to live in Belgrade and do photos for Serbian bands' CD covers. In between I really miss this mad creativity, and I miss to produce concrete results. Click here to find more.... Proudly South African via ::::I've Left Copenhagen for Uganda::::
Last night Hugh Masekela (or, to be all South African about it, Bra Hugh), guested Hotel Serena in Kampala.
Opening the evening with one of his classics, 'The Boy's Doing It'. As it turned out, however, the first minutes was only a warm up. The band blasted into a high-speed performance and kept this intensity and energy throughout. And mind you, the man is 67. Respect!
I discovered Hugh Masekela years back, but this is the first time I saw him in concert. I have always found his music extremely powerfull, not just the lyrics and the energy, but also the whole political engagement and context which is part of this artist and his background. 'Bring Him Back Home (to Soweto)', the song written in 1987 to Mandela, always makes me shiver. Download it here. Download... Africa via ::::I've Left Copenhagen for Uganda::::
"Africa" is a song by the 80ties rock band Toto about a young man's mystical journey through Africa.The song was included on their 1982 album Toto IV and reached number one on the Billbord Hot 100 chart in February 1983.
It is also a song which is very often played on the radio - in Africa - and hence in my head. Not at all bad.
I hear the drums echoing tonight
But she hears only whispers of some quiet conversation
She's coming in twelve-thirty flight
Her moonlit wings reflect the stars that guide me towards
salvation
I stopped an old man along the way
Hoping to find some old forgotten words or ancient melodies
He turned to me as if to say: "Hurry boy, it's waiting there for
you"
It's gonna take a lot to drag me away from you
There's nothing that a hundred men or more could...