Cool'eh Magazine Rss

Feature: BUM RUSH THE SHOW

2007-07-09T00:17:00-05:00

Hank Shocklee is an icon. It doesn't matter if you don't know who he is or never heard of the Bomb Squad. When you can say you were Chuck D's mentor you are an icon. When your production credits run from Public Enemy's "It Takes a Nation of Millions" to Ice Cube's "AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted" to Slick Rick's "Great Adventures" to RUN-DMC's "Down with the King"...

words: DZANA TSOMONDO

Feature: REAGAN LIVES

2007-07-09T00:17:00-05:00

One sure thing in life is that someone, somewhere is plotting to profit at your expense this very minute. Believe that. The Trap: Selling Out To Stay Afloat in Winner Take All America, the first book written by Daniel Brook, a young writer from Philadelphia via Yale and a New York City childhood, looks at what happens when successful profiteers aren't charged enough for the privilege of exploiting the American market: college graduates accept their diploma carrying student loan debt and, if they want to live in a major metropolitan area and afford to buy a home and raise a family, their only career option is to "sell out" and work for corporate America.

words: CONOR RISCH

Filler: Why Aren't We Doing Enough About Climate Change?

2007-07-09T00:17:00-05:00

First of all, it is important to address two arguments, one scientific, the other economic, often put forward to demonstrate that there is little or no point in taking action on climate change. The first argument suggests that it is still far from clear that global warming is in any significant way a man-made phenomenon, that we have little control over the earth's climate and that it would be futile to try to reduce future climate change.

words: DANIEL MORGAN - illustration: ASHES57

Filler: IN PURSUIT OF JUSTICE

2007-07-09T00:17:00-05:00

So far, Charles Taylor has approached his trial for crimes against humanity with the same mix of wishful thinking and legalistic wrangling that colored the prosecutions of Slobodan Milosevic or Saddam Hussein. He has refused to attend his own trial and questioned both the jurisdiction of the courts and the quality of his defense team. Although he is being held on International Criminal Court property and tried in the Hague, the proceedings are actually taking place in what's called a hybrid court, in this case a Special Court for Sierra Leone.

words: JOANNA CONSTANTINE

Filler: BLACK BOARDERS HIT THE DECKS

2007-07-09T00:17:00-05:00

"They look like they're off to rob the Soul Train." That was a comment overheard by this writer on an unusually brisk Friday evening in spring. Pedestrians scurried about in Manhattan's West Village, readying themselves for a forecasted Nor'easter, but amid the frenzied foot traffic, three almost identically attired young men stood out as they made great effort to strut as slowly as possible. The young female commentator delivered her remark with a chuckle and a hint of sarcasm, but her voice could be taken for that of the average New Yorker's.

words: words: DESMOND WILLIAMS

Interview: THOSE MEDDLESOME KIDS: TEGAN AND SARA LOOK TO SOLVE THE MYSTERY WITH THE CON

2007-07-09T00:17:00-05:00

When I meet twin Canadian pop musicians Tegan and Sara in the lobby of their midtown hotel, I can't help but wonder what the fuck they are doing staying in a place like this�I could practically spit on the Four Seasons from here, and the street outside is awash in the suits of executives and business casual of underlings. "You don't want to feel like you're going to a club when you go to your hotel, but some people really love that shit," Sara tells me, referencing the Rivington Hotel, which is where their friends say they should be staying. "We've been coming to New York for eight years, but I've never seen a Broadway play and I've never gone to the Met, so this time I was like, I'm gonna do all of that."

WORDS: ROLLIES FINGS

Interview: WRITING KODE

2007-07-09T00:17:00-05:00

Kode9 is pretty understated for a Scotsman. Not that I expected the Dubstep pioneer and minor celebrity to hit me over the head with a Kronenberg when I approached him after he spun at Love and Cielo on back-to-back nights. Well, maybe I kinda did, but instead we shot the shit for a little bit and he threw me his contacts on the other side of the Atlantic. Widely recognized as the most creative producer in the genre, and the head of it's most respected label, Kode9 is the axis upon which much of Dubstep has turned. From his seminal work with the MC Spaceape to his forays into grime to his steel trap live set, the man is as intense behind the wheels and he is relaxed and soft-spoken offstage.

words: BLACKY BLACKMON - illustration: ASHES57

Interview: FIGHT NIGHT

2007-07-09T00:17:00-05:00

Its hard to say when The National finally achieved the indie rock phenomenon status that preceded them as they prepared to release Boxer this May, their second full-length for Beggars Banquet (their fourth LP overall). Music critics' initial misconception of 2005's Alligator were nearly comical�the venerable music wonks at Pitchfork even saw fit to admit they mistakenly underrated Alligator at the beginning of their review for Boxer last month. Regardless of the reception, Alligator would eventually be widely regarded as one of the albums of the year, and so it wasn't too surprising when The National sold out five straight nights at Bowery Ballroom to kick off their tour in support of Boxer. What was surprising was that they chose to play there rather than a larger venue. COOL'EH dropped by the Bowery on a Wednesday afternoon to talk with singer Matt Berninger and guitarist Aaron Dessner about the old record, the new record, the weird alchemy of live music, and the state of rock lyricism.

WORDS: CONOR RISCH

Sound

2007-07-09T00:17:00-05:00

illustration: ALICIA FAIRCLOUGH

Gallery

2007-07-09T00:17:00-05:00

Ratatat, Ra Ra Riot, Jennifer Gentle, Chow Nasty, Cheyenne, The Book of Knots, Arthur and Yu, C-Rayz Walz, Super Chron Flight Brothers, Wileylt;/p>

Livres: FROM THE TRAP: SELLING OUT TO STAY AFLOAT IN WINNER-TAKE-ALL AMERICA

2007-03-21T00:17:00-05:00

Waiting on the drink line at a wedding reception, I explained the premise of this book to my ex-girlfriend's new boyfriend. From the social circumstances alone, I was not expecting a sympathetic hearing. Having been tipped off by the groom that the new boyfriend worked on Wall Street for Lehman Brothers, and seeing his advantage in height and weight, I hoped he wasn't a belligerent drunk. To my relief, he greeted my ideas with enthusiasm (and sobriety). " �Sellout' is harsh," he said, "but it's not too strong a word." A leftist with a liberal arts degree, he had gone to Wall Street after years stuck in unpaid internship limbo convinced him to give up on his dream of a career as a muckraking journalist. "That's how hegemony works," he offered, referencing a key concept of Antonio Gramsci, the Italian Marxist theorist. "The system can contain all of the dissenters."

TIMES BOOKS, 2007 - By Daniel Brook

PODCAST

2007-03-21T00:17:00-05:00

Suscribe to our posdcast