With this video for “I Love Isan,” a new release from The Isan Project, you can hear and see the sounds of Isan, a region in Northern Thailand, hitting the charts. Two brothers from Manchester, UK, Producer Will Robinson and his brother, hand-assembled four traditional Thai instruments, played them, and added some very Western EDM …
So Monday we finished a week long cruise from Seward Alaska down to Vancouver Canada on Norwegian Cruise Lines. It was more fun and enjoyable than I expected. But about the only Norwegian thing about it was the Captain and that they had herring and lox every morning in the breakfast buffet. Of the close …
Rodrigo Solo has released a new video for his single, “Tal Vez No Se Hunda El Barco” (Perhaps the Ship Won’t Sink), which was recorded live at Tumbador Studios in Venezuela. The song is from his debut album No Estas Solo (You Are Not Alone) which came out last June and features a top-notch band …
Rimkus grew up mere blocks from the sprawling permanent Minnesota State Fair grounds – near halfway between St. Paul and Minneapolis and a virtual city in and of itself. As a kid, planning for a few precious days at the fair was a big deal; Rimkus and his best friend would prepare a detailed budget …
Truer words have never been spoken than those from Ambrosavage below. Gary, Indiana never disappoints a true midwesterner. There’s something in the gray industrial moonscape dotted with pools of standing chemicals which jumps up to kiss any returning traveler and say, “Welcome home friend, the east is behind you, South Chicago is in front of …
This is the old Yuengling mansion on upper Mahantango Street in Pottsville, PA. It and it’s full block of stables and grounds and such were donated to the city some decades ago – probably to the huge relief of the Yuengling family. It was given to the Schuylkill County Council for the Arts who back …
Not having planned an extended vacation this year, I’ve taken a few day trips to assuage the restlessness that hits me around July. Fortunately, I have a national park an hour’s drive from my house: Lassen Volcanic. The park consists of the usual wooded trails and streams, but also a 10,463 foot volcano that can …
Rooted in rock, albeit with a Scandinavian edge, comes Oslo’s Phone Joan. A four piece “wild bunch” from Norway that is known to play their rock as if their lives depended on it. Phone Joan on Facebook
“It’s a line. From a song. From, like, forty years ago. About this guy…who’s standing on a corner. THIS corner…” Rimkus said to his 14 year old daughter. She stared back blankly at him, slightly incredulous at this reasoning for the detour on the family spring break road trip. Rimkus continued, a bit more animated… …
Japanese rock band Imari Tones has released Atomic Live!, recorded near Fukushima, the site of a destructive earthquake, tsunami and nuclear accident, to send a message about the dangerous situation in Japan. The recording took place in November 2014. The band was touring Japan with an American rapper named Gallery Cat as part of The …
YES, this is it! The Hebrew language cover of the Del Vikings tune “Come Go With Me.” In the early days of Facebook I was looking for this tune and no one on the social media landscape would even believe that it existed. But I had heard it from Terri Gross, so it had to …
Can Arabic-language pop conquer America? A Tarzana ingénue and her power manager say ‘inshallah’
I watched the Sochi Opening Ceremony. Kyrgyzstan had a cool flag, and I learned that Nepal has the world’s only nonrectangular flag. I was surprised that Iceland had only five athletes. Mexico had one out of a population of 118 million. By contrast, Sweden had 111 out of a population of less than 10 million. …
Rimkus!’s old pal – and Pacific Northwest National Treasure cartoonist – Ambrosavage was born and raised “across the (proverbial) tracks” on the blue collar side of Madison Wisconsin in the 50’s and 60’s, where he is presently spending the holidays with his Dad (now in his 90’s) – an original swingin’ “Mad Men” who worked …
When worlds collide, we often get comedy. A story on National Public Radio this morning showed how this can happen even in the most traumatic situations. Apparently, kidnapping is a booming business in Latin America. The Morning Edition host, Steve Inskeep, interviewed a woman in Venezuela whose adult daughter had been kidnapped. While negotiating with …
Vietnam may not be the first place that you think of when it comes to planning a beach getaway, but it’s quickly gaining popularity as a strong choice, thanks to over 3,400 kilometers of coastline characterized by powdery sand beaches, secluded tropical islands and jungle forests. Keep reading to learn about some Vietnamese beaches that …
I’ve recently moved to Everett, WA, but I find myself in Sweden again for a couple of weeks and just in time to be caught up in the voting for Sweden’s Eurovision candidate. A quick Wikipedia search will tell you that Eurovision has gone on since 1958 and launched careers for among others ABBA, Julio …
You might envision Tunisia as a wonderful place for an exotic holiday. Most tourists love visiting the tiny African nation because you’re right in the middle of so many different landscapes – beaches, desert, mountains, and cities. But Tunisia also has plenty to do for the whole family, and if you’re thinking about bringing the …
I LIKE that we kill trees to make books. I love trees. I’m leaning up against one right now. I feel like a hunter of the Great Plains standing over the last gasp of a dying Buffalo when I hold a good book; admiring its achievement and its power. This book used to be alive …
This vid is a lot of fun. Sure, at the beginning it looks like a commercial for any feminine product of the last 70 years, but once it gets going, the movement is infectious. Nossa is a French girl group and they’re covering “Mas Que Nada,” the signature tune for Sergio Mendes and Brazil 66.
Thailand remains one of the premier vacation destinations out of any other place in Asia. Because of its location off the southeastern part of the Asian continent, it has some of the most beautiful tropical landscapes in the world. From its pristine beaches to its golden temples and its cool, northern jungles, Thailand offers the …
There are more Christmas Markets across the world than ever before, but have you ever stopped to wonder where they originated from? Christmas Markets light up many of the most famous towns and cities in the world during the festive season, and they bring delight to most who visit them. In recent years more and …
Haha! This vid is supposed to be controversial?! Who in their right mind would take this group seriously? Totally missing the point. I’d still like to hear the stories that got them dropped from Interscope Records though! – Marco Collins is currently rocking at JetCitystream.
I found this circa-1988 Cedar Crest skateboard half-pipe footage on YouTube, the best of several CCCC clips there. Seems just a bit different than I remember, but of course I was never there in daylight! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIudO7G3nQc&feature=related It would be INCREDIBLE if footage of the Cedar Crest Country Club concerts featuring Gwar, Bad Brains and …
Meet Tracy Irve, a brother-sister pop duo from Sweden whose video for “I Can’t” is trending in the US today. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVenuEKqEsE
First of all, I’d like to know what constitutes a “good” teacher. Do you think it’s test scores? Do you realize that Sweden is purported to have the best performing schools in the world. They do not use standardized tests,, they pay their teachers a livable wage, they have socialized health care, they put their …
Here’s a sexy, over-the-top video from Russia. The artist is Алина Артц or Alina Ascent. The song title is “Со мной по-другому нельзя! (ПРЕМЬЕРА!)” which means, “To Me in No Other Way! (PREMERA!).”
I’d ask you all to think of the women in Pussy Riot who stood up to Putin in a celebration of free speech in Russia. Three of them have been held incommunicado in prison for several months and are today in court. They’re a reminder that music can still have a strong political voice: – …
British wildlife expert Alex Larenty, 50, calms savage cats with gentle foot-rubs. Alex, originally of Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, UK, moved to South Africa in 1999. He started massaging Jamu, nine, after putting insect repellent on him one day. “I gave him a scratch and massage and he rolled around with his tongue out. Now he …