The Trouble with Sweeney is going to play Lebowski Fest at the Knitting Factory in NYC on 13 August. Be there.
I’m back from the midwestern road trip with Reels of White Softly Flow. Thanks to everyone who came out to see us play, especially those who waited so patiently during the sound system troubles. We ended up making some limited edition cds and hand-silk-screened t-shirts that will be available in the online store shortly if you didn’t get a chance to buy anything. It’s not a pre-requisite to be a fan or anything. I also got the opportunity to stop by Secretly Canadian headquarters in Bloomington. Unwed Sailor books and LPs, Saxon Shore LPs, and Six Parts Seven LPs are now in safe hands ready for their 17 August retail date. On the way back, I got to see my parents and grandma and we all went to get a breaded tenderloin for lunch, a midwestern treat that doesn’t exist in Philadelphia and something I never thought I’d miss.
Last night, Scott and I went to see Control Room, the documentary about the Al Jazeera news channel. The film itself was fairly intellectual and seemed to give a pretty open and unbiased view behind the scenes. What’s interesting is that Al Jazeera is the main source of news in the Arab world, the most popular station among all Arabs. While often discredited by the US, their importance does remain. There are times where their bias does seem prominent and other times where the bias seems nearly non-existent. The documentary also includes other news stations covering the Iraq war from US Central Command in Qatar, the media headquarters prior to occupation. It’s interesting to see how different facts are presented by the military and how the news is covered by the various American and European networks in contrast to Al Jazeera, as well as giving a greater understanding about the Arab perspective of the events of the Iraqi war. Conservative or liberal, I highly recommend seeing Control Room to better understand this perspective and this media force in the Arab world.
:::scott:::