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WHO RULES: THE ISRAEL LOBBY
OR UNCLE SAM?
The answer
at last! Uri Avnery, former Knesset member, assesses the Lobby's
power. "If the Israeli government wanted a law tomorrow
annulling the 10 Commandments, 95 U.S. Senators (at least) would
sign the bill forthwith." But, yes, in the end the dog wags
the tail.Fifty
years ago Allen Ginsberg's "Howl" blew the cobwebs
out of millions of young minds and drove a stake through the
heart of Eisenhower's America. Lenni Brenner remembers Ginsberg
in the East Village.Dr Mengele died in exile, in disguise. Dr Ishii
died rich and recognized, in his own Tokyo home. Christopher
Reed on Japanese WW2 medical tortures and how the U.S. covered
them up.CounterPunch
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Now!
Miracle Number One: after a
bout with Hep C brought him face to face with the grim reaper,
Alejandro has emerged healthy and in a fighting mood. Miracle
Number Two: this dark and unnerving recording, produced by Velvet
Underground vet John Cale, is one of Escavedo's best, which means
its among the best of any artist over the past decade. Boxing
Mirror is a return to Escavedo's punk roots, seasoned with the
scars and experience of a soul survivor. Send a copy to a Minuteman
near you.
One of the strangest (and greatest)
tandems in country music, the Louvins schooled themselves in
the work of the Delmore Brothers, secretly soaked in the lessons
of rockabilly and melded them both into a southern gothic all
their own--until Gram Parsons looted their catalog for his own
elevated purposes. The Louvins' "Great Atomic Power"
may not be the first anti-nuke song (in fact, I'm not at all
sure that it is an anti-nuke song), but it does offer
a chilling gospel prophesy of the looming thermonuclear apocalypse.
Whether the Rapture follows or not remains open to question.
Forget methadone, the Cowboy
Junkies are the perfect substitute for heroin. Margo Timmons'
narcotic voice slows down Lou Reed's "Sweet Jane" to
an eerie, writhing crawl, which is the way Reed should have sung
that strange anthem to opiated existentialism to begin with.
But Lou's no singer; Margo is. Even better than "Sweet Jane"
is Margo's sultry cover of "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry"--which
breathes new life into one of Hank Williams' most overworked
songs.
In the pre-Viagra 1980s, Grover
Washington's sax was a surefire remedy for almost any sexual
malfunction and for tens of thousands this record was the ultimate
music to fuck to. Yes, Washington's excesses helped spawned Kenny
G. and a whole generation of wimpy, New Agey elevator jazz and
for that abomination he'll be doing some serious time in Purgatory.
But Grover must eventually be released to join Marvin and Miles
because even now "Just the Two of Us" is capable of
stirring the iciest of veins.
My fellow Hoosier Lonnie Mack
still plays the same Flying V Gibson that he bought in 1958,
when he was humping along the roadhouse trail in Indiana and
Kentucky and doing session work for the two great Cincinnati
labels, King Records and Fraternity Records, where he worked
with James Brown, the Five Royales and the great Freddie King.
In 1963, Mack cut a scorching instrumental version of Chuck Berry's
"Memphis," which vaulted to number 5 on the charts
before Mack even realized the song had been released. In my mind,
Mack is the great white blues guitarist, a true master
and innovator of the Chicago style who, for better or worse,
set the template for the likes of Clapton, Jimmy Page and Stevie
Ray Vaughn. Oh, yeah, the guitar solo on The Doors' cover of
"Roadhouse Blues"? That's Lonnie Mack, man, and don't
you forget it.
Charlie Haden and Quartet
West: Haunted
Heart (Polygram)
Haden, a political and musical
radical, is the most influential bassist in avant-garde jazz
(See his work with Ornette Coleman and Don Cherry). But this
tenebrous recording is a return to the after hours music of Hollywood
jazz clubs in the 1940s. A soundtrack for a film noir of the
senses.
Jeffrey St. Clair's music writings (as well as CPers Ron
Jacobs, David Vest and Daniel Wolff) can be found in Serpents
in the Garden. He can be reached at: sitka@comcast.net.
Now
Available
from CounterPunch Books!
The Case
Against Israel
By Michael Neumann
CounterPunch
Speakers Bureau Sick of sit-on-the-Fence speakers, tongue-tied and timid?
CounterPunch Editors Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St Clair
are available to speak forcefully on ALL the burning issues,
as are other CounterPunchers seasoned in stump oratory. Call
CounterPunch Speakers Bureau, 1-800-840-3683. Or email beckyg@counterpunch.org.