One of the grimmest & most despicable subjects is granted one of the most stellar documentations from US director Ava DuVernay. 13th (a reference to the 13th Amendment which prohibits slavery, unless of course you’re a – convicted “criminal”, which then makes it apparently just fine) examines the USA’s screamingly-obscene prison industrial complex (the commercialization, cultivation & profiteering from mass incarceration by private companies & conglomerates) & the racism/racially prejudiced appendage that targets a grossly disproportionate demographic of black & latino people. Continue reading 13th
All posts by Kanju
John Abercrombie 1944-2017:
You know this cat right? I don’t even need to tell you? John Abercrombie was one helluva’ guitarist & band leader. during the 70’s, Abercrombie began to lead the exceptional Gateway trio with Dave Holland on double-bass & Jack Dejohnette shedding splinters. This culminated in two brilliant albums – 75’s Gateway & 78’s Gateway 2. They were both preceded by Timeless from 74, which encompassed Jan Hammer on keys rather than Holland. The overture track on Timeless, “Lungs”, has a ferocious tempo prompting Jack to expel some of the fastest Turbo Swing you will hear him dispense in his career (perhaps being rivaled only by his “Song X” LP with Ornette Coleman & Pat Metheny from 85). It also features a fantastic gracile exchange between John & Jan, all whilst belting through a cloud scape at terminal velocity. Continue reading John Abercrombie 1944-2017:
Cowspiracy-the sustainability secret DVD:
Still one of the best documentaries about if you ask moi! In terms of sheer exposure of subject but also for it’s multidimensional disclosures that almost infer multiple documentaries (with concomitant but differing focus) condensed into one single picture. There’s nothing vague about the results either & the factual revelations & statistical figures (not to mention that so many of those figures come inadvertently from those that would rather you didn’t know) are overwhelming & resoundingly rock-solid (it’s the kind of indisputable expertise that will proselytize many nay-sayers/opposition-figures even). Continue reading Cowspiracy-the sustainability secret DVD:
Starsha Lee – live at Flaxonptootch:
Sometimes, a brisk jog results in a cross-bow bolt in the testicles! Last Thursday had them streaking like lightening quarrels with casualties a plenty. At the Flaxonptootch, a very fine venue with more personality & unorthodox cred than ya’ average, London based four-piece goon gang Starsha Lee disembogued a schema of Grunge, Rock, Punk & Metal melange bound together with a decent smattering of distortion clog. The icing on the road-kill is really the vocalist & front-woman – a tornado of chattering, utterly exasperated, rapid high-pitched shriek that are both hilarious & perturbing. Continue reading Starsha Lee – live at Flaxonptootch:
Roscoe Mitchell-Bells for the South Side:
Last month 2015 (huh?). c-c-celebrated savant & seasoned Free/Avant Jazz colossus Roscoe Mitchell (acting here as a performer, composer, conductor, situational stimulant, protagonist placement, conceptualist) leads an inimitable cabal of barely plausible super-cretins into mythic metamorph & medley. the occasion? The Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (that’s AACM to you cuddles) 50th anniversary. Location – Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, basement stage & exhibition area (so three totally separate & varying performances, captured here on two discs). The label – ECM Records…. Continue reading Roscoe Mitchell-Bells for the South Side:
Parliament Ltd-a journey into the dark heart of British politics:
“For the last six months I have been investigating MP’s private finances. During this time, I have seen just how corrupt Parliament has become. Greed is endemic. If you want to understand why British politics isn’t working, it seems the first place to look is in the bank accounts of our politicians. Yet this is an issue that the authorities have turned their backs on. Rules and regulations are lax and transparency is laughable. The whole thing is shrouded in secrecy. Because of this, it is easy for politicians to milk the system and get away with it.” Continue reading Parliament Ltd-a journey into the dark heart of British politics:
Rat F**ked-the true story behind the secret plan to steal America’s democracy:
“This is the story of the actual redrawing of the American political map and our democracy itself. It’s the story of how the republicans turned a looming demographic into legislative majorities so unbreakable, so impregnable, that none of the outcomes are in doubt until after the 2020 census. It is the story of new mapping technologies so exact that they’ve resorted and resegregated Americans, while creating congressional districts where the only competition comes from someone more extreme. It’s legal, it’s breathtaking, and much of it happened in plain sight. The Democratic majority was ratfucked.” Continue reading Rat F**ked-the true story behind the secret plan to steal America’s democracy:
Still The Enemy Within DVD:
Good gracious! An exponential, roof-raising dazzler of a doco on Britain’s unprecedented 1984-1985 Miners Strike from Owen Gower (who doubles as both director & co-producer). Stupendous archival footage, film & photography along with riveting personal accounts from key participants, all loaded & edited with great care & tinges of genius into an astonishingly poignant grand-finale. Continue reading Still The Enemy Within DVD:
Nabeg – Apoplexy, Flensecore, Fray, Riot-Gear & the Enclave for Aberrational Expostulation:
Budapest/Hungary fall 2015, industrial district, hypogeal quarters (“sedition station”), nemesis pariah sage Kikanju Baku & a rogue-cell of Anti-Listener enthusiasts/stentorians are gathered on the cusp of a seismically dramatic, irreversible eruption & parturition that is about to be realized in retaliation to institutionized injustice, mega-malfeasance, hyper-hypocrisy, deliberate degeneracy, rampant nonchalant corporate, fiscal & political criminality/financialization/misrule/usury, automation, technological encroachment & dehumanization, truth-impairment, anthropocentrism & catastrophe-consignment (particularly as perpetrated by the Western World). A radical rebuke/repudiation/retaliatory-reflex to explicitly inveigh “economic growth” & “development” along with Globalization, called-out for the fucking mega disaster/super-nadir that it is. Continue reading Nabeg – Apoplexy, Flensecore, Fray, Riot-Gear & the Enclave for Aberrational Expostulation:
Tanya Tagaq-Retribution & Animism CD’s:
Sometimes, being uncompromising as fuck pays off! The success of Tanya Tagaq heralds such an occurrence, one that rarely transpires but always brings a smile to my gob (you don’t have to suck to succeed). She seems to have enthralled the “World Music” spectrum, which is, in regard to some of her construct, very surprising due to the intense darkness & ominous threat much of her music emanates. Continue reading Tanya Tagaq-Retribution & Animism CD’s: