THE MORNING BRIEF, Vol. IV, #43 (October 22, 2001) --- Obey your psyche.

CONTENTS

Why Bin hates us so
The way I look at night
Microcosm
Marketing 101
TOONAGE: Chocolate Genius @ Largo
TOONAGE: Cake @ The Mayan
Comps
TOONAGE: Rainer Truby Trio @ Sugar
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SIX DISK CHANGER
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CONTRIBUTIONS
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UPCOMING CONCERTS

WHY BIN HATES US SO >>> I have a new theory for why Osama bin Laden detests America so much. Think about our movies. Has there ever been a film where the good guy bears any sort of resemblance to the tall, boney terrorist? Even bad guys don't look as bad as him. The psychology behind many pop films is getting the audience to relate to one or another of the characters. And aside from the tall, totally scary character actor who haunted the subway in "Ghost," nothing else in modern cinema comes close.

With all of that spare time he's got on his hands out in the caves, I'm guessing bin Laden rents a ton of movies. He's probably seen everything in the Afghanistan Blockbuster at least twice. The more he watches, the more it pisses him off that no one looks even remotely like him. That might be what's making him mad.

By the way, is it Usama or Osama? I'll bet it really pisses him off when we spell it wrong.

THE WAY I LOOK AT NIGHT >>> I'm getting ready to go out and trying to decide how much effort I need to spend to look right for the occasion. Can I get by with jeans, or some sort of slack? Shoes low key, casually under-stated, or powerboots? Should a shave be involved? And as I sort all of this out, I'm trying to remember if it required this effort when I was younger. Like maybe when I was in my twenties it all came more naturally. Or maybe I just didn't give a second thought to spending the time.

MICROCOSM >>> Fascinating Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher last Wednesday, with four Islamic-American students joining Bill on the show. Ali Hasan, Zahir Janmohamed, Rali Badissy, and Sarah Eltantawi began a spirited discussion with a good deal of give and take on Muslim ideals and American involvement in the Middle East. As time went on, the argument devolved, with all four guests going into a "blame the victim" stance, staunchly defended by Maher. By the end, all four were talking at the same time, obscuring one another's points. The last five minutes was almost complete chaos, with virtually no one given the floor long enough to formulate a coherent point.

Check out the transcript at: http://abc.go.com/primetime/politicallyincorrect/episodes/2001-02/1017.html.

MARKETING 101 >>> The television trailer for "Thirteen Ghosts" (a Warner Brothers film) promises:

"This movie contains graphic violence, nudity, some language, and scenes unsuitable for young children...so be warned..."

The ad aired prior to 7 p.m. A bold, next step in the devolution of modern movie marketing: adult content as the overt "why to buy." Some folks' cajones are bigger than their brains.

TOONAGE: Chocolate Genius @ Largo >>> Largo is perhaps the ideal spot for intimate, personable performers to create their connections. It plays like a Supper Club, emphasis on the club though, not the supper. And though the food essentially blows, on a good night at Largo you can leave simply loving an artist. Until Thursday, Chocolate Genius was known to me principally by his first album, "Black Music."

Following the release of his second record, "Godmusic," Chocolate Genius, aka Marc Anthony Thompson, is taking his New York-based, coffeehouse soul on the road and making fans. The five-man band, which had met just the day before and rehearsed only once was conspicuously loose. Which fits the Genius' music to a tee. Thompson's songs are folk and blues infused with soul, and the free-wheeling ensemble had the talent to roll with his many moods and tudes. All night they bounced effortlessly from the bones of his super-intelligent tunes out into the ether with quips, squawks, rants, and numerous soliloquys to the importance of pussy (a recurring theme that never lost its sweetness).

Can't say it was a total surprise, because you'd think the Genius' sound would translate well in an intimate, live setting. But the good ideas and free-form style laced with constant joy helped make a very memorable evening. As good as it gets.

TOONAGE: Cake @ The Mayan >>> Good band, wrong venue. Cake's five-man, quirky modern rock sound just didn't sound right Sunday evening in the dance-friendly confines of The Mayan. The sound never crunched, and vocals were barely audible, even on the floor right in front of the stage. All of Cake's albums are clever and energetic and fun, I thought they'd be a blast live. But the show offered very little musically that transcended the recordings.

Granted, the band's fans were loyal, extremely supportive, and sang about half of the lyrics. At times it felt like a bit of an inside joke; I probably should have studied up to prepare for the show. Perhaps they mixed down the band to encourage audience participation. However, when you're twenty feet from the stage of a rock concert and you can barely hear the vocalist, and reasonable conversations totally eclipse the band, the sound just isn't loud enough. If they promise to pump up the volume, I'll be back for more Cake.

COMPS >>> I'd like to know what percentage of people at any given concert or show have gotten in for free. I understand the whole free thing - it's what music industry people take for compensation in lieu of salaries - but if I'm at a show in a venue that's super-crowded, I hope that a good percentage of the people have paid to be there, like me. It gets a little old being surrounded by insiders who haven't paid, and may not give a damn. Perhaps most events are reasonable, like 5%. But something tells me it's closer to the surcharge Ticketmaster nails you for when you buy a ticket: 33%. Fuckers.

TOONAGE: Rainer Truby Trio @ Sugar >>> There's nothing more frustrating than a venue which turns a good musical experience into a legistical nightmare. Club Sugar's ticketing process, which uses TicketWeb, made it easy to reserve tickets and get into the club. Yet once we were inside, the experience became a royal pain in the ass.

First, the place has the worst feng shui of any venue I've ever been to in L.A. (a haven for sloppy feng shui). The way it's laid out, there's absolutely no place you can go to dance without having people constantly bump into you. This is because the only way to get from one side of the club to the other is through the dance floor. No alternate routes. Lots and lots of collisions.

Rainer Truby Trio was entertaining, throwing every techno style imaginable into the mix: house, jungle, drum-n-bass, hip hop, acid jazz, even a little Stevie Wonder. Very little was truly transcendent or sublime, though certainly enough energy to fuel a good three hours worth of bumper cars on the dance floor.

@ @ @

SIX-DISK CHANGER >>> With the New Order's first new album in six years.

1. Chocolate Genius, "Godmusic"

Soul, heart, intelligence, art. Marc Anthony Thompson beats the sophomore jinx.

2. The Incredible Moses Leroy, "Electric Pocket Radio"

Good songwriting plus lots of enthusiasm equals great fun.

3. Radiohead, "Amnesiac"

Because I like Radiohead.

4. Zero 7, "Simple Things"

My favorite summer album; emotional, thoughtful, catchy. Perfect.

5. Mercury Rev, "All is Dream"

Picking up where they left off in "Deserter's Songs"; the music is sweeping, symphonic, yet personal.

6. Orbital, "The Altogether"

Two CDs of new ideas from German dance-meisters. "Illuminate," with vocals by David Gray, is pure gold.

7. New Order, "Get Ready"

A case can be made that New Order are the forebearers of the modern techno-movement. With "Get Ready" the band seems to be getting comfortable in this role. The band's still making that characteristic blend of real guitars with sound samples. The lyrics are deadpan, yet subtly catchy. Their Joy Division roots have never been more visible; an endearment to those fearing a sell-out. And a very fresh album from a group that's been making new sounds for a very long time.They're not getting older; just re-ordered.

@ @ @

Have a great week.

Your pal,
David.
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Let's keep our tools in their belts until it's time to build something, OK?

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You can also find prior Briefs at www.morningbrief.net if you've got the time. Or load it up from www.avantgo.com and get your Briefs to go.

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DISCLAIMAGE >>> Please feel free to forward The Morning Brief to whomever you like. If you do, in part or in segments, or if you'd like to re-publish, please copy me or just let me know. Thanks for reading!

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Notable shows in and around Southern California.
Highly recommended shows this color.
Red alert; must see!

10.22.01 - Bjork @ Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
10.22.01 - Q-Burns Abstract Message @ Monday Social
10.22.01 - Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros @ The Troubadour
10.23.01 - Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros @ The Troubadour
10.23.01 - Travis w/Remy Zero @ Universal Amphitheatre
10.23.01 - Bis @ Knitting Factory Hollywood
10.24.01 - Pete Yorn @ Knitting Factory Hollywood (free!)
10.24.01 - Tenacious D @ Wiltern Theatre
10.24.01 - Los Amigos Invisibles @ Conga Room
10.24.01 - Dirty Dozen Brass Band @ Temple Bar
10.25.01 - Orbital @ Hollywood Palladium
10.25.01 - Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros @ The Troubadour
10.26.01 - Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros @ The Troubadour
10.26.01 - Uberzone / Christopher Lawrence @ The Pool (Giant)
10.27.01 - Jane's Addiction (w/Courtney Love, Stereo MCs) @ Hollywood Bowl
10.27.01 - Oysterhead (Trey Anastasio, Stewart Copeland) @ Hollywood Palladium
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10.31.01 - The Negro Problem @ 14 Below
10.31.01 - Denny Tenaglia @ Giant
11.01.01 - Tool w/Tricky @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
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11.06.01 - Superchunk @ Knitting Factory Hollywood
11.06.01 - The Beta Band @ The Mayan
11.06.01 - Built to Spill @ House of Blues
11.07.01 - Built to Spill @ House of Blues
11.08.01 - Lee Scratch Perry w/Mad Professor @ El Rey Theatre
11.09.01 - Sounds Eclectic Evening (Sparklehorse, Pete Yorn, elliott Smith, Ozomatli) @ Wiltern Theatre
11.11.01 - MeShell Ndegeocello @ Roxy Theatre
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11.12.01 - U2 w/ No Doubt @ Staples Center
11.12.01 - MeShell Ndegeocello @ Roxy Theatre
11.12.01 - The Roots @ House of Blues
11.13.01 - Spiritualized @ Wiltern Theatre
11.13.01 - U2 w/ No Doubt @ Staples Center
11.13.01 - Femi Kuti @ House of Blues
11.14.01 - Maxwell @ Shrine Auditorium
11.15.01 - Digweed/Sasha @ Mayan Theatre
11.15.01 - Mr. Scruff @ Sugar
11.15.01 - King Crimson w/John Paul Jones @ Universal Amphitheatre
11.15.01 - Uziq @ El Rey Theatre
11.15.01 - Tori Amos w/Rufus Wainwright @ Wiltern Theatre
11.15.01 - Beachwood Sparks @ The Troubadour
11.16.01 - Bill Frisell, Petra Haden @ Knitting Factory Hollywood
11.16.01 - Tori Amos w/Rufus Wainwright @ Wiltern Theatre
11.17.01 - G. Love & Special Sauce w/Nikka Costa @ Hollywood Palladium
11.17.01 - Tori Amos w/Rufus Wainwright @ Wiltern Theatre
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11.19.01 - U2 w/ No Doubt @ Staples Center
11.21.01 - Frank Black (acoustic) @ The Mint
11.23.01 - Mike Watt @ Knitting Factory Hollywood
11.24.01 - Stereolab @ The Palace
11.24.01 - Nikka Costa w/ Miranda Lee Richards @ Knitting Factory Hollywood
11.25.01 - Stereolab @ The Palace
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11.29.01 - Diamanda Galas @ Royce Hall
11.30.01 - Goldfrapp @ Knitting Factory Hollywood
12.01.01 - Bebel Gilberto @ House of Blues
12.01.01 - Goldfrapp @ Knitting Factory Hollywood
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12.02.01 - Tindersticks @ El Rey Theatre
12.03.01 - Mercury Rev @ The Troubadour
12.06.01 - Wilco @ El Rey Theatre
12.08.01 - Jane Siberry @ Knitting Factory Hollywood
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12.12.01 - Elton John @ Universal Amphitheatre
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1.12.02 - Blind Boys of Alabama @ Royce Hall
1.18.02 - Buena Vista Social Club (Gonzales/Ferrer) @ Royce Hall
1.19.02 - Buena Vista Social Club (Gonzales/Ferrer) @ Royce Hall
2.17.01 - The Coen Brothers and Down from the Mountain @ Universal Amphitheatre

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HAVE YOU seen something amazing? HAVE YOU figured something out? HAVE YOU found a new haven? HAVE YOU changed your mind recently? HAVE YOU got a bug in your butt? HAVE YOU been remembering to breathe?

RE: PUNCHING PACIFISTS >>> I would consider myself to be an advocate of a peaceful solution as a response to the recent terrorism occurring on September 11.

The recent attack on Afghanistan was as horrifying to me as what occurred on September 11 because of the dependence on a lethal military strategy for dealing with a very complex situation that has only been characterized by our, uh, president, as "evil" and "An attack on freedom". The U.S. response to September 11 could have been an opportunity to show true world leadership but rather shows a complete lack of imagination and intelligence. The solution that was pursued seems quite inexcusable and specious in that it creates an immediate and tangible response (bloodlust?), that may be televised to American voters, many of whom do not truly understand the situation, to a problem that can't be solved through bombing, shooting or killing. Indeed, the problems will only intensify because of these violent actions.

Historically, intense nationalism is usually something encouraged by misguided leaders to further their own goals, or distract a population from threatening domestic issues at the expense of the greater good. This, I am afraid, seems applicable to the current situation in the United States.

The true solution can only be seen on a larger scale because justice must be sought for all the aggrieved parties involved in this situation and six thousand murdered Americans and their families, unfortunately, is only one component in a paradigm that also involves many horribly oppressed and poverty stricken people in the Middle East.

In order to eliminate or reduce terrorism the United States must look at the negative consequences of our Foreign Policy in the Middle East. Is it not true that after World War II we understood that we had ruthlessly created conditions, after World War I, in Germany that led to the rise of Adolph Hitler? Did that make those who instituted the Marshal Plan unpatriotic and sympathetic to the to the Nazi cause? I don't think so.

The actions of Israel, for example, which the United States unequivocally supports, in Palestine are indefensible and atrocious and the resentment created by such oppression is quite understandable. Our presence in Saudi Arabia, as a further example, is greatly resented because we are supporting a corrupt monarchy that ruthlessly crush any dissent and such oppression can create an over-reaction such as terrorist action. It is not suggested here that what happened on September 11 was in any way justified but it might serve to prevent such future events to look at our own role in creating what can only be seen as a reaction.

Being a peace advocate does not mean I advocate doing nothing. Any use of force by the United States should have been done in accordance with all dictates of the United Nations which fundamentally state there is no excuse for military action for any purpose other than stopping the immediate threat of killing, bringing criminals to justice or for self-defense, and our attack on Afghanistan does not conform to most of this. This war will not reduce terrorism, but will surely increase terrorist acts exponentially and indefinitely because of the resentment created by our attack on and killing of Middle Eastern people. We are unnecessarily escalating a conflict in which the civilian population of the United States is a target. I have two beautiful daughters and I bitterly resent the danger that this has placed them in.

If you have never heard or read the statement by Martin Luther King, that "Violence is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it attempts to destroy," then read it now and remember it. You seem to be advocating violence, not only as a way to respond to September 11, but also as a way to respond to people exercising their fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression. You shouldn't do that, because you may beget a descending spiral and be caught in its vortex.

I would like to think that Christian values should be used in our approach to terrorism. If, as Jesus Christ tried to teach us, one makes peace and love to be their overriding goals there is usually a way to resolve all problems peacefully and peaceful resolution is always superior to violence.

-- Alan Zorthian.

RE: PACIFISTS PUNCH BACK >>> in response to the pro-war folk: a nasty rant from a peace demonstrator...if you can't handle it, don't read this message:

i have been waiting for a pro-war counterdemonstrater to come up to me and punch me...i would dearly love to kick his ass...i am anti-war, but not non-violent...i am pro-peace but not pacifist...

so before the knuckleheaded war-mongers put us all into one category, stop by the corner of river street and hwy 1 in santa cruz...ask for greg...punch him in the face...he will be thankful, because their hasn't been a counterdemonstrater yet with the balls to start something...greg will gladly kick ass and send home the lesson that war is killing...kicking ass is simply kicking ass...figure out the fukking difference... i will gladly explain it in a kinesthetic sense to anyone who needs it...

war is killing...death...blackness...limbs torn from bodies...blood...agony...oxygen sucked from the air... anti-personnel projectiles that carve the human body like razors...hunks of metal which are actually more humane, obliterating flesh...

then the famine, the fevers, the ruined infrastructure...no clean water, no place to go...winter coming...

babies, orphaned...women, mistreated by their men, yes, now able to starve to death without them...babies sucking at empty breasts...

war is not big fukking flags hanging from big fukking trucks...shove the go-dammed flag up your pompous asses, all of y'all...

you know how the innocent amerikans died in the world trade center? that is war...that is crushing, smothering, hateful, inhuman...that is war...just like what we dish out...

i can kick your ass to within an inch of your life and you wouldn't understand war...and neither would i... you see, i don't want to understand war...i don't want to see human beings planning the dismemberment and inceration of other human beings...i don't want to hang a flag and shout "kill them all" from a fukking gas-guzzling truck...

-- Gregory Uba.

RE: W's RECORD >>> Whatever your beliefs, know what your president is doing. You can say one thing for the guy: he certainly hasn't let not being elected hold him back... Here is a list of some of his work in his first six months (edited for brevity):

* Eliminated $39 million of federal spending on libraries

* Eliminated $35 million in funding for doctors to get advanced pediatric training.

* Cut by 50% funding for research into renewable energy sources.

* Proposed elimination of new marine protections for the Channel Islands and the coral reefs of northwest Hawaii. [San Francisco Chronicle, April 6, 2001]

* Eliminated 28% of funds for research into cleaner, more efficient cars and trucks.

* Suspended rules that would have strengthened the government's ability to deny contracts to companies that violated workplace safety, environmental and other federal laws.

* Appointed John Negroponte - an un-indicted high-level Iran Contra figure - to the post of United Nations ambassador.

* Abandoned campaign pledge to invest $100 million for rain forest conservation.

* Reduced by 86% "Community Access Program" - for public hospitals, clinics and providers of care for people without insurance.

* Rescinded a proposal to increase public access to information about the potential consequences resulting from chemical plant accidents.

* Suspended rules that would require hardrock mining companies to clean up sites on Western public lands.

* Cut $60 million from a Boy's and Girl's Clubs of America program for public housing.

* Proposed to eliminate a federal program designed to help communities (successfully used in Seattle) prepare for natural disasters.

* Pulled out of the 1997 Kyoto Treaty global warming agreement.

* Cut $200 million - workforce training for dislocated workers.

* Eliminated program to provide childcare to low-income families as they move from welfare to work.

* Cut a program that provided prescription contraceptive coverage to federal employees (though it still pays for Viagra).

* Cut $700 million in capital funds for repairs in public housing.

* Appointed Otto Reich - an un-indicted high level Iran Contra figure-to Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs.

* Cut Environmental Protection Agency budget by $500 million.

* Proposed to curtail the ability of groups to sue in order to get an animal placed on the Endangered Species List.

* Rescinded rule that mandated increased energy-saving efficiency regulations for central air conditioners and heat pumps.

* Repealed workplace ergonomic rules designed to improve worker health and safety.

* Abandoned campaign pledge to regulate carbon dioxide (CO2), the waste gas that contributes to global warming.

* Banned federal aid to international family planning programs that offer abortion counseling with other independent funds.

* Closed White House Office for Women's Health Initiatives and Outreach.

* O.K.'d Interior Secretary Gale Norton to go forth with a controversial plan to auction oil and gas development tracts off the coast eastern of Florida.

* Gutted White House AIDS Office.

* Renegotiating free trade agreement with Jordan to eliminate safeguards for the environment and workers' rights.

* Will no longer seek guidance from The American Bar Association in recommendations for the federal judiciary appointments.

* Appointed recycling foe Lynn Scarlett as Undersecretary of the Interior.

* Took steps to abolish the White House Council on Environmental Quality.

* Cut the Community Oriented Policing Services program.

* Allowed Interior Secretary Gale Norton to shelve citizen-led grizzly bear re-introduction plan scheduled for Idaho and Montana wilderness.

* Continues to hold up federal funding for stem cell research projects.

* Makes sure convicted misdemeanor drug users cannot get financial aid for college...though convicted murderers can.

* Refused to fund continued cleanup of uranium-slag heap in Utah.

* Refused to fund continued litigation of the government's tobacco company lawsuit.

* Proposed a $2 trillion tax cut, of which 43% will go to the wealthiest 1% of Americans.

* Signed a bill making it harder for poor and middle-class Americans to file for bankruptcy, even in the case of daunting medical bills.

* Appointed a Vice President quoted as saying "If you want to do something about carbon dioxide emissions, then you ought to build nuclear power plants." [Vice President Dick Cheney on "Meet the Press."]

* Appointed Diana "There is no gender gap in pay" Roth to the Council of Economic Advisers. [Boston Globe, March 28, 2001]

* Cut $15.7 million earmarked for states to investigate cases of child abuse and neglect.

* Proposed elimination of the "Reading is Fundamental" program that gives free books to poor children.

* Is pushing for development of small nuclear weapons to attack deeply buried targets-weapons, which would violate the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.

* Proposes to reverse regulation protecting 60 million acres of national forest from logging and road building.

* Eliminated the "We the People" education program which taught schoolchildren about the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and citizenship.

* Appointed John Bolton - who opposes nonproliferation treaties and the U.N. - to Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security.

* Nominated Michael McConnell - leading critic of the separation of church and state - to a federal judgeship.

* Nominated Terrence Boyle - ardent opponent of civil rights - to a federal judgeship.

* Canceled 2004 deadline for automakers to develop prototype high mileage cars.

* Nominated John Walters - strong opponent of prison drug treatment programs-for Drug Czar. [Washington Post, May 16, 2001.]

* Nominated J. Steven Giles - an oil and coal lobbyist - as Deputy Secretary of the Interior.

* Nominated Bennett Raley - who advocates repealing the Endangered Species Act - for Assistant Secretary for Water and Science.

* Earmarked $4 million in new federal grant money for HIV and drug abuse prevention programs to go only to religious groups and not secular equivalents.

* Reduced by 40% the Low Income Home Assistance Program for low-income individuals who need assistance paying energy bills.

* Proposes to ease permit process - including environmental considerations - for refinery, nuclear and hydroelectric dam construction. [Washington Post, May 18, 2001]

* Proposes that $1.2 billion in funding for alternative renewable energy come from selling oil and gas lease tracts in the Alaska National Wildlife Reserve.

* Revoked rules that reduced the acceptable levels of arsenic in drinking water.

* Blocked rules that would require federal agencies to offer bilingual assistance to non-English speaking persons. This, from a candidate who would readily fire-up his Spanish-speaking skills in front of would-be Hispanic voters.

-- forwarded by Anonymous.

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