Life Elsewhere

“I’ll burn your house, I’ll burn it down with my desire” Lyrics from In The Morning, a song on Barzin’s 2013 album, To Live Alone In That Long Summer. All these years later, Barzin stays with his themes, writing shockingly vivid, yet poignant songs, with Beauty, Dreams, Pretty Girls, and of course, Love reoccurring in Voyeurs In The Dark, the Canadian-based artist’s latest release. After four years in the making, the singer-songwriter and poet does not disappoint with the superbly-crafted album. Although he proclaims he was not trained as a musician, he certainly knows how he wants his songs to sound. The arrangements and production are beautiful, a pleasure to immerse yourself in on each repeated listen as Barzin edges towards careful experimentation. In our conversation on Voyeurs In The Dark Barzin shares his process for writing, composing, and recording, he also talks about playing live and offers to jet down from Toronto to give an impromptu performance at my home. Enjoy his music and words.

No matter where you get your news from, it’s always worthwhile discovering an alternate take on the headlines. We regularly call upon the learned Dr. Binoy Kampmark because no matter the topic he is always ready to share his well-considered opinions. In this edition of Life Elsewhere we ask the following:

1. Putin’s war. Is it still news? Or, has the rest of the world already moved on from daily coverage?

2. America’s gun fetish. Does it damage America’s standing in the rest of the world?

3. The big divide in America. Is the country broken forever? Will the only way for the left and the right to come together be under the iron fist of a dictator?

4. The economy. Are the rising prices manufactured by greedy corporations?

5. The Depp-Heard trial. The social media rush to judgment. Lurid details as entertainment?

6. 70 years on the throne, it’s Her Royal Majesty’s platinum jubilee. When she goes, will this signal the demise of the British royal family, similar to other European monarchs?

Listen carefully to Dr. Kampmark’s opinions, as always, he may surprise you. Binoy Kampmark is a senior lecturer at RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia. He is a regular contributor to CounterPunch.

Also in the show, we venture into the world of live jazz. Marrickville is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, Australia, this is where you will find the legendary restaurant and bar, Lazybones. This is also the venue for some very cool jazz. We bring you a cut from a new live recording,  Lazybones by Bentley, it features Mike Bentley on Drums, Edits, Mixing, Mastering, Matthew Thomson on Lead Keys, and Daniel Pliner on Synths. This is a fully improvised recording, certainly one of the very best we have heard in a long time. The cut you’ll hear is Been A While, and we recommend you search out more from Mike Bentley.

Who knew the humble peanut could provide a fascinating backdrop for an expedition into history, geography, culture, economics, and West Africa. Award-winning independent writer, Jori Lewis weaves a complex story in Slaves For Peanuts with a deft hand at including the tiniest of details without ever boring her reader. Few of us know the peanut’s tumultuous history or its intimate connection to slavery and freedom. Jori Lewis explains the natural and human history of a crop that transformed the lives of millions. She reveals how demand for peanut oil in Europe ensured that slavery in Africa would persist well into the twentieth century, long after the European powers had officially banned it in the territories they controlled. Delving deep into West African and European archives, Lewis recreates a world on the coast of Africa that is breathtakingly real and unlike anything modern readers have experienced. Slaves For Peanuts is told through the eyes of a set of richly detailed characters—from an African-born French missionary harboring runaway slaves, to the leader of a Wolof state navigating the politics of French imperialism—who challenge our most basic assumptions of the motives and people who supported human bondage. At a time when Americans are grappling with the enduring consequences of slavery, here is a new and revealing chapter in its global history.

Are Jigdesh and Charlie, the brilliantly depicted leads in Carlos Allende’s new novel, gay caricatures? The author’s answer may surprise you. The Mexican-born writer is not one to shy away from sharing his opinions. For instance, Carlos lets you know that gay millennials have it far too easy. “They don’t understand what it was like to keep your queerness a secret - or not be able to marry the person you love!” Mr. Allende recognizes his target audience for Coffee, Shopping, Murder, Love may be older gay men. “But women like it too!” He laughs, adding “And some straight men.” Yes, his new novel, set in Los Angeles is full, if not brimming over with gay-world references from movies to TV to interior design and queer icons. It’s a racey read as in breathtakingly fast and deliberately filthy. Carlos spares no one from his inquisitive and informed gay appraisal. No one in his book is half-formed. With a super-intense economical use of words, here is a writer who knows exactly just how much description to give. And, it works. Laugh? You’ll cry at the absurdity of the situations. While at the same time, the French Farce scenarios could also be oh, so too real. This is the charm of Allende’s writing. You will crack up laughing, but if you have any understanding at all of what it feels like to be disenfranchised, to be an outsider - or gay, you will also see the poignant truth in Carlos Allende’s words.

What a pleasure to chat with Tess Parks, an artist I have been an unabashed fan of since her 2013 debut album, Blood Hot. You never know where a conversation will go, Tess made that clear from the start as she recalls in her pre-teens being captivated by seeing Oasis live in concert. Liam strutting on stage with an acoustic guitar had a huge impact on Tess. “I thought, I can do that!” Later, when asked to choose music to fit into the show, Tess says, “Does it have to be my own?” Where many artists use the opportunity to wax lyrically about their own work, Tess selects the legendary Bill Withers and a rare cut from gospel/soul artist, Shirley Ann Lee. Tess is not ignoring her own music, instead, she is sharing her thoughts, her feelings, her passion - just as she does so perfectly in her latest LP, And Those Who Were Seen Dancing. The Toronto-based talent is a genuine voice of rock and roll. Listen carefully to what she says and you’ll understand why I’m looking forward to inviting Tess back on the show for more conversations.

Despite the Russian invasion of Ukraine or the fear of another American civil war, most of the time wars don’t happen, and of the millions of hostile rivalries worldwide, only a fraction erupt into violence. At this moment of crisis in world affairs, this necessary book from a seasoned peacebuilder and acclaimed expert in the field lays out the root causes and remedies for war and explain the reasons why conflict wins over compromise; and how peacemakers can turn the tides once conflict threatens to or becomes war. Its message could not be more urgent right now. Why We Fight draws on decades of economics, political science, psychology, and real-world interventions to lay out the root causes and remedies for war, showing that violence is not the norm; that there are only five reasons why conflict wins over compromise; and how peacemakers turn the tides through tinkering, not transformation. From warring states to street gangs, ethnic groups and religious sects to political factions, there are common dynamics to heed and lessons to learn. Along the way, through Blattman’s time studying Medellín, Chicago, Sudan, England, and more, we learn from vainglorious monarchs, dictators, mobs, pilots, football hooligans, ancient peoples, and fanatics. What of remedies that shift incentives away from violence and get parties back to dealmaking? Societies are surprisingly good at interrupting and ending violence when they want to—even gangs do it. Realistic and optimistic, this is a book that lends new meaning to the adage “Give peace a chance.” Continue reading https://wp.me/p38QA8-3wJ

No one can really tell you how it feels. How you will be affected. Grief is immeasurable. Singer-songwriter and spoken word artist, Anika Pyle has bravely produced an album reflecting on the passing of her father. Although she admits it was cathartic, she explains recalling her albeit brief moments with her dad are ever-changing, as her memory plays tricks with reality. Yet, when Anika shares this description of her dad, you know it’s real, “He had long hair. He always had long hair, except for a couple of times when he had to go to court. He was a handsome man”. That is the voice of a daughter, a woman grappling with the loss of a parent.  In Wild River, Anika’s most recent LP she tries to make sense of her father’s sudden death to an overdose. “It’s about loss in general.” She writes,  adding, “We’ve all lost so much this past year - loved ones, jobs, houses, in many ways life as we knew it. By the time the pandemic hit, I was already deep into a grieving process and learned you can’t stubbornly resist a wild, unpredictable, uncontrollable river, no matter how desperately you battle the current.” The honesty of Anika’s words and music caught our attention. A Zoom conversation was arranged, Anika dressed in black, looked photo-shoot-ready as she spoke earnestly into the camera. Her thoughtful responses to questions were bolstered by her natural ability to smile and laugh. Listen carefully, we believe you’ll agree, Anika Pyle is a talent who deserves your attention.

“How many Parks can you have?” Quipped my producer, adding, “Imaging if Arlo Parks had a new release this week?” A good point. Is it a coincidence that two artists we are raving about both have the name Park(s) featured in this volume? And it happens, yes. Since we first heard I Can’t Bike (last year) from Pictoria Vark we were determined to invite the singer-songwriter from Iowa City onto the show. Then, we received an advance copy of her album, The Parts I Dread, and we were blown away. “Simply put, this has to be one of the best albums so far this year”, we raved. Meanwhile, London-based, Toronto-raised, Tess Parks had been on our radar for some while. Just as we were finalizing our conversation with Pictoria Vark the latest single from Tess arrived. Do You Pray is another example of why Tess is an artist you need to take notice of. Her latest LP, And Those Who Were Seen Dancing will drop on May 20th. Both artists write exceptional music, they each have a very definite style, and their art cannot be ignored. Listen carefully to what Pictoria/Victoria has to say about her music, touring, and many more topics. Her smile is infectious and comes across on the radio. And, make sure you indulge in the cuts Pictoria selected for the show. As you listen to Tess Parks’ Do You Pray you’ll understand why we will be inviting her to the show for an in-depth conversation. Two brilliant artists who represent the very best of new music, now.

Continue reading https://wp.me/p38QA8-3wD

On June 25, 1973, a seven-year-old girl went missing from the Montana campground where her family was vacationing. Somebody had slit open the back of their tent and snatched her from under their noses. None of them saw or heard anything. Susie Jaeger had vanished into thin air, plucked by a shadow. The largest manhunt in Montana’s history ensued, led by the FBI. As days stretched into weeks, and weeks into months, Special Agent Pete Dunbar attended a workshop at FBI Headquarters in Quantico, Virginia, led by two agents who had hatched a radical new idea: What if criminals left a psychological trail that would lead us to them? Patrick Mullany, a trained psychologist, and Howard Teten, a veteran criminologist, had created the Behavioral Science Unit to explore this new “voodoo” they called “criminal profiling.” Ron Franscel, hailed as one of America’s best narrative nonfiction writers joins the program to talk about his new book, Shadow Man - An Elusive Psycho Killer and the Birth of FBI Profiling

“Cantonese is a very sweary language”, announces Louisa Lim. The award-winning journalist is explaining the joy of using so many expletives when speaking about the place she grew up in. Ms. Lim has masterfully captured so much of the essence of what the British called a “barren rock” with personal accounts and observations of the place she loves, Hong Kong. For decades, Hong Kong’s history was simply not taught, especially to Hong Kongers, obscuring its origins as a place of refuge and rebellion. When protests erupted in 2019 and were met with escalating suppression from Beijing, Louisa Lim—raised in Hong Kong as a half-Chinese, half-English child, and now a reporter who has covered the region for nearly two decades—realized that she was uniquely positioned to unearth the city’s untold stories. Lim’s deeply researched and personal account casts startling new light on key moments: the British takeover in 1842, the negotiations over the 1997 return to China, and the future Beijing seeks to impose. Indelible City features guerrilla calligraphers, amateur historians and archaeologists, and others who, like Lim, aim to put Hong Kongers at the center of their own story. Wending through it all is the King of Kowloon, whose iconic street art both embodied and inspired the identity of Hong Kong—a site of disappearance and reappearance, power and powerlessness, loss and reclamation. Louisa Lim is a charming and fascinating guest.

Just after Russia began attacking Ukraine, enterprising musicians and record companies immediately began releasing compilations to benefit the suffering people of that war-torn country. Almost daily we have received remarkable compilations from all over the world, including, Elegy for Ukraine: A Folkloric Compilation. We selected, Muzyky Vyryazukhi Moi (My Musical Instruments Carved Out of Wood) from a splendid collection of traditional Ukrainian folk songs. All income from sales of this compilation will be donated to institutions that help refugees victims of the war in Ukraine.

Continue reading https://wp.me/p38QA8-3wq

Samuel Clowes Huneke chose to take what could be considered a niche aspect of a minority in a certain place at a particular time. Except, his fascinating and explorative book, States Of Liberation - Gay Men Between Dictatorship And Democracy In Cold War Germany is far more than simple catalog headings - or cliches - much more. Huneke has masterfully delved into his subject with enormous energy, utilizing charts, graphs, and illustrations along with insightful observations and anecdotes. Not once in his book does Samuel become preachy or hint at a sanctimonious tone. Instead, this knowledgeable assistant professor of history at George Mason University applies his obvious passion for his field of study in a delightful, comfortable manner. Not unlike how he comes across in conversation. Samuel’s book introduces a captivating cast of characters, from gay spies and Nazi scientists to queer politicians and secret police bureaucrats, States of Liberation tells the remarkable story of how the two German states persecuted gay men – and how those men slowly, over the course of decades, won new rights and created new opportunities for themselves in the heart of Cold War Europe. Relying on untapped archives in Germany and the United States as well as oral histories from witnesses and survivors, Huneke reveals that communist East Germany was in many ways far more progressive on queer issues than democratic West Germany. Samuel Clowes Huneke is a charming guest, making this a must-listen-to conversation.

Over the last few weeks, in fact directly after Mr. Putin directed his forces to invade Ukraine, we have received almost daily, new releases in support of the Ukrainian people. Here then is a cut from Slava Ukraini! (This translates to Glory To Ukraine), this is an exceptional compilation out of London on the House of Mythology imprint, the track a previously unreleased cut from Daniel O’Sullivan - Waterbearer which will be on his forthcoming album, Rosarium, due for release on House of Mythology, later this year.

Lauren S. Cardon, an Associate Professor of English at the University of Alabama has taken her passion for her chosen field to explore an American trajectory in fashion. The result is, Fashioning Character - Style, Performance, And Identity In Contemporary American Literature, an engaging book examining works by Sylvia Plath, Jack Kerouac, Toni Morrison, Sherman Alexie, and Aleshia Brevard, among others. Lauren Cardon shows how we become what we wear. Over the twentieth century, the American fashion industry diverged from its roots in Paris, expanding and attempting to reach as many consumers as possible. Fashion became a tool for social mobility. During the late twentieth century, the fashion industry offered something even more valuable to its consumers: the opportunity to explore and perform. She illustrates how American fashion, with its array of possibilities, has offered a vehicle for curating public personas. Characters explore a host of identities as fashion allows them to deepen their relationships with ethnic or cultural identity, to reject the social codes associated with economic privilege, or to forge connections with family and community. These temporary transformations, or performances, show that identity is a process constantly negotiated and questioned, never completely fixed.

Continue reading https://wp.me/p38QA8-3vR