20 years late to the party

How did we never see the whole video to U2's "Where the Streets Have No Name?" How did we miss the story behind it? The band performed an eight song set on the roof of a Los Angeles liquor store before the LAPD came in and shut things down?!? What? Wow!

U2 and the video's director Meiert Avis had stashed a back-up generator on the roof in case cops cut the power to the main generator powering the filming and sound crews. The conceit was to reference The Beatles final live performance, which was on a rooftop in a public place.

Check out the marvelous music video here, with the audio of the cops and a couple of local radio DJ's who were on-air in that day in LA dubbed in over the song. The video won Grammy Award for Best Performance Music Video in 1989. So welcome the Clarion Content to the party two decades late...

Charlie Smarts; Tony Robbins

This man dresses like he speaks the language of excellence...

A new to the office hip-hop act has been getting some air play in the Clarion Content's back rooms, Charlie Smarts aka Kooley High. Check him out here musing on amongst other things, NLP guru Tony Robbins.

Breakout talent?

Keep an eye out for this kid!



The Clarion Content does not have a staff member assigned to watch America's Got Talent, but even we heard about eleven year-old Anna Graceman's stunning rendition of Alicia Keys hit, "If I Ain't Got You." We had to go to AOL of all places to dig up a link to the video. Check it out here... The B listers who are serving as celebrity judges obviously passed her along to the next round of their competition in Las Vegas.

Rocking our world

This is the song that has been rocking our offices for the last week.

F*cking commercials.

Central Park District rolling

The Clarion Content has been most excited to read about the opening of the Geer Street Beer Garden in Durham's Central Park District. Andy Magowan has been doing good things on the Durham restaurant scene for a long time. He cut his teeth at a Durham institution, Foster's Market. He was also the first chef, and allegedly the guy who wrote the menu, at the place with the most consistently high quality bar food in Durham, The Federal.

One of our correspondents attended the Future Kings of Nowhere and Hammer No More the Fingers double billing at MotorCo the other night. The Geer Street Garden was hopping when he arrived and still going long and strong into the late evening.

By the by, Durham's Hammer No More the Fingers was tremendous. The polished wall of sound they produced damn near blew the doors off of the MotorCo. It was clear evidence of the band's prowess on the heels of a recent extended tour, first of the northeastern United States and then jolly old England. These guys stepped their game up to even another level!

Check out a couple of pics of the Geer Street Garden on the last days before opening. Read about what the situation was for this old gas station property as little as two years ago here.

Go, Durham!









On the corner of Foster and Geer Streets catty-corner from the also wonderfully resurrected King's Sandwich shop.

What they are watching... Episode XXI

Our look at what the teens and tweens of America are watching. We peer into their world through the lens of Youtube. You may have caught some of our earlier episodes, if not, follow this link [and scroll down past this post].

This video from Yung Humma is blowing up. He introduces the portmanteau "smang." We can't decide if Yung and his buddy, Flynt Flossy, are being facetious in the manner of the Steam Punk movement, ala Professor Elemental, or keeping it real.

What they are watching...Episode XX

Our look at what the teens and tweens of America are watching. We peer into their world through the lens of Youtube. You may have caught some of our earlier episodes, if not, follow this link and [scroll down].

This fascinating video was filmed by students at East Chapel Hill High School. It tracks cultural recognition. It is an eye-opening look, don't get to caught up on the youthful respondents, ask yourself how much better your friends would do.

Twain masters meeting

They say never the twain shall meet. Are they right? Or can we close this energetic web that is our time defiant singularity?

Rebecca Black sets new cultural speed record

Rebecca Black has set the new cultural landspeed record from nowhere-dom to superstardom. Andy Wharol's fifteen minutes are officially obsolete. As the thirteen year-old Ms. Black told Jay Leno, on the Tonight Show, [paraphrasing] "One day I am coming home from school and it is 4,000 views, the next day its four million, six weeks later I am on network television." Ms. Black rise was unprecedentedly meteoric, even in the age of viral video, yet, in her Leno interview she seems remarkable well-adjusted, even wholesome. Although, perhaps it has all happened so fast that she hasn't yet had the opportunity to become jaded.

She has debuted stronger on i-Tunes than Justin Bieber's latest single.

The feeling here is that Rebecca Black does not so much signal the coming of a new paradigm, she symbolizes the triumph of new modes of cultural transmission that have already quite securely taken hold. From American Idol to Twitter to Google's sponsorship of the World's First Online Science Fair, direct routes to the top of the Q ratings and a global platform have appeared where no such passages previously existed.

And really, just how different is Rebecca Black's single from say that of a Miley Cyrus who took a more traditional route to global superstardom (nepotism).

Taryn Manning

Taryn Manning was not a household name in our office as of last week. But our executive editor has been a Playboy subscriber nearly twenty years, and once in a while an issue arrives, and the cover just knocks socks off. Taryn Manning was one such cover.

She showed up this month in the mailbox and when we threw the mag down on the coffee table, it caught fire.

Who is she?

As an actress; she has starred in Crazy/Beautiful, the Clarion Content favorite, Crossroads, as well as, Hustle & Flow, and she played Eminem's ex-girlfriend in 8 Mile. She has her own rock and roll band, a solo career, and no less of a star than Katey Sagal, of Married with Children fame, says she rocks. Can she sing like Katey? The jury is still out.

We have no doubt she is smoking.

Ahhh the 70's

While reading a fascinating tale of about the excess, speculation and greed of the 1980's, the story of Jean-Michel Basquiat, we were struck by the way that it is possible to relate the decade to more recent experiences. There are a litany of parallels between the 1980's and 2000 aughts. The ethos of each decade had so much in common that Ollie felt compelled to remake Wall Street.

The 1970's feel much more distant and mysterious, harder to explain, not so easily pigeonholed.

For example, what the f*ck was this about?

Regina Spektor

The music of Regina Spektor shatters the glass cage that is want to drop round my soul.

There is probably an interesting debate

Auto-tune is a fascinating ethical conundrum.



But it is hard to argue with Ms. Aguilera's position...

Interesting Conversion

The New York Times reports that the rapper Shyne, a Sean P. Diddy Combs protégé, has converted to Orthodox Judaism and moved to Israel. He has legally changed his name from Jamaal Barrow to Moses Levi. He says, "My entire life screams that I have a Jewish neshama...[the Hebrew word for soul]."

Shyne served almost nine years in prison for allegedly opening fire in a New York nightclub in 1999. Shyne was in the club with Combs and his then girlfriend, Jennifer Lopez. Many surmised that Shyne took the fall for the more famous, P. Diddy Combs. Combs is now allegedly worth $350 million dollars. Might be a little debt of gratitude there.

Shyne had a fascinating backstory even before his conversion to Judaism. He grew up in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn with a single mother who cleaned houses for a living. His father is now the Prime Minister of Belize.

Shyne has two new records coming out with Def Jam.

Read the whole story here.

Young maestro

Check out the young maestro grooving to the 4th movement of Beethoven's 5th Symphony.



We would like to thank one of our Allentown, Pennsylvania readers for sending this link our way.

What are they watching...Episode XIV

Our look at what the teens and tweens of America are watching. You may have caught some of our earlier episodes, if not, follow this link and [scroll down]. This one is a remake of the soon to be classic Miley Cyrus tune, "Party in the USA."

These boys really get into the spirit of things.

Jersey

People wonder why folks from Jersey have an attitude that can sometimes seem a little harsh, maybe even defensively aggressive, accompanied by bouts of lashing out and attacking, necessary or not...

It is because of videos like this. Jay-Z does a New York song, an inspired masterpiece about a New York state of mind. And some goofball parodies it as a way to knock Jersey.

World Beer Festival

Although we are not certain that the editorial staff of the Clarion Content will be able to attend this year, we highly recommend that you make it out to the World Beer Festival, Saturday October 9th. We try to attend every year, and surely at least some of the staff will be there this year. [The editor has the wedding of a dear friend.]

The event has two sessions, one afternoon and one evening. It has gotten a little pricier recently, up from $25 to $35 to $45 over the last six years, but it is still worth every penny. Featuring the beers of over 180 breweries from all over the United States and the globe, it is a rollicking good time. Our advices is as follows. Pick one session or the other, even the strongest livers should not be asked to handle both. Go slow, there is plenty of beer for everyone. Make sure you ask if the beer is high alcohol content, ever since the Pop the Cap initiative succeeded in North Carolina, quite a few of them are, sip gently these beers will rock you. Eat some of the food, there are plenty of delicious options. This year's beer festival will feature the music of Big Daddy Love and Children of the Horn for the afternoon session; Brushfire Stankgrass and Big Something are playing at the evening portion.

Tickets are available at their website here. And at the Carolina Ale House locations in the Raleigh Durham area.

Katy Perry and Elmo

Not sure if you have been following the Katy Perry-Elmo saga, dear readers. The lovely and talented Katy was supposed to have a playdate with the Sesame Street star, furry, red Elmo. However, at the last minute under fire from the patron saints of Political Correctness, Sesame Street decided not to air Katy's pre-taped appearance. She and Elmo sing a version of Perry's hit Hot and Cold together. Apparently, there was too much cleavage for some folks, even though Perry was wearing a flesh-colored body stocking. Both Katy and Elmo have since appeared to talk about the non-event.

Elmo here on Good Morning America.

Katy here on Saturday Night Live.

Gotta like the self-deprecating sense of humor that Perry shows...

What they are watching...Episode X

Our look at what the teens and tweens of America are watching. You may have caught some of our earlier episodes, if not follow this link and [scroll down].

In this case "What they are watching" is a young, North Hollywood dance sensation, who appears poised to leap into stardom...Kyle Hanagami. He is beautiful and a bad ass dancer. His videos have garnered hundreds of thousands of views.