Holiday in Cambodia

You're a star-belly sneech | You suck like a leech | You want everyone to act like you
Kiss ass while you bitch | So you can get rich | But your boss gets richer off you
Well you'll work harder | With a gun in your back | For a bowl of rice a day
Slave for soldiers | Till you starve | Then your head is skewered on a stake
Now you can go where people are one | Now you can go where they get things done

What you need, my son…
Is a holiday in Cambodia | Where people dress in black
A holiday in Cambodia | Where you'll kiss ass or crack
Pol Pot, Pol Pot, Pol Pot, Pol Pot, etc…
And it's a holiday in Cambodia | Where you'll do what you're told
A holiday in Cambodia | Where the slums got so much soul

- "Holiday in Cambodia" by the Dead Kennedys

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Yesterday, my brother told me of his experience of sitting through a grim, grisly documentary of the murder of Filipino civilians in the 60s.  

This brought immediately to mind the Khmer Rouge genocide under dictator Pol Pot in Cambodia during the VietNam war era, perhaps best known to many through the award-winning "Killing Fields" film.  But, for me, the Dead Kennedys and its vocalist, Jello Biafra (aka Eric Reed Boucher) was the early 80s punk-era social protest band that made the definitive anti-Pol Pot comment in "Holliday in Cambodia".  

One of my very favorite bands of the era, Dead Kennedys put out much other controversial material, ranging from "Too Drunk to Fuck" to "Moral Majority".  Great stuff.  Jello Biafra made for a memorable live act.  And don't miss the drumming work of D.H. Peligro, added to the ensemble a bit later.

(As an aside: The band's name was not meant to insult the Kennedy family, but according to Biafra, "to bring attention to the end of the American Dream".)

JJ Cale, RIP

Passing last night with a heart attack at age 74. Neil Young once famously declared his the second best electric guitar to Jimi Hendrix. JJ Cale could do it all: rock, blues, jazz, you name it. Here's a performance of After Midnight in 1971:




And here, a few years later, with Eric Clapton:

Sarah Neufeld and Hero Brother

Here's one release, set for mid-August,  that I am eagerly anticipating.  Sarah Neufeld, probably best known as Arcade Fire's violinist, springs forth with her first solo album, Hero Brother, influenced by such figures as Steve Reich and Bela Bartok.  Recorded in Berlin in venues ranging from an orchestral hall to a parking garage to a geodesic dome, Neufeld's violin work can be previewed here:




Hear the entire track, entitled "Forcelessness", here.

Beware of Mr. Baker

Yes, he was a train wreck.  But he was a hellacious drummer and a real part of rock history.  See the trailer here:

Valerie June: Pushin' Against A Stone

She describes it as "organic moonshine roots music".  Whatever sort of blend of blues, gospel, country soul, bluegrass, folk and more it may be, I can't get enough at the moment.  Ranging from quaint to soothing to riveting only begins to describe the unique quality of June's sound.  Fine backing music on the album, too.    I first came upon June when she was featured on Me'Shell Ndegeocello's superb 2012 Nina Simone tribute album, and was mesmerized.

My only quibble is that, like 90% of modern fare -- excepting most jazz and classical -- the album is regrettably engineered to compress its dynamic range, coming up at an average of only DR7 on my meter.

Can't stop now:




Not yet, either:



Bring it on:



A little collaboration:


Some conversation:



Enough of this. Gotta get back to hearing the album right with the headphones and my main amp ...