Entries Tagged 'Barack Obama' | Indie Ear

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Entries tagged “Barack Obama”

10RW: You Should Root For Pittsburgh

By Jim Shearer on 01/30/2009

Filed under: 10RW (10 Reasons Why)

Another Super Bowl blog posting? Sorry, but on the Friday before Super Bowl Sunday my typing fingers or my mind won't let me concentrate on anything else besides the Pittsburgh Steelers. (left: Don't know who to root for in the Super Bowl yet? Let me sell you on Pittsburgh.) Spend anytime in this fine city and you'll quickly learn why we're all like this. It might be the only city in America where jocks, grandmothers, hipsters, young kids, old men, couch potatoes, yoga enthusiasts, Catholics, Protestants, and any other oddball character you can throw in there come together for... MORE »

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Your Brand New Favorite Barack Obama Shirt

By Jim Shearer on 01/27/2009

Filed under: HODGEPODGE

Just in case your Hope or Change t-shirts are in the wash... I'm President Barack, there is none higher, Prime Ministers should call me sire. To burn the White House you must use fire I won't stop Barackin' till I retire. MORE »

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Tardust Liberated

By Jim Shearer on 01/21/2009

Filed under: FREE SONGS

Tardust Liberated. That was the subject line of a mass e-mail Saul Williams sent out to his fans yesterday. Niggy Tardust is the character/persona Williams embraced on his last album, The Inevitable Rise and Fall of Niggy Tardust. In the same way David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust character opened up dialogue about sexuality and gender, Williams hoped to do the same with race in society through his similarly named alter ego. (left: "We are the government!") Earlier in the election year, Williams wrote An Open Letter To History asking "history" and the American people to change its ways (and its... MORE »

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Hey, America Kinda Feels Cool Again

By Jim Shearer on 01/12/2009

Filed under: NEWS, SOON

That's the name of the event being held a week from now (Jan. 19) at Washington DC's 9:30 Club (doors at 8PM, show at 9PM). In conjunction with Rock The Vote, Beastie Boys, Sheryl Crow, Citizen Cope, and Justin Jones will be playing full sets to celebrate Barack Obama's inauguration. MORE »

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2008...Never Say Never

By Jim Shearer on 12/30/2008

Filed under: IT'S LIKE THAT

Ironically, Metallica released a single in 2008 called "The Day That Never Comes." (left: Oh the memories of '08.) But in many ways, 2008 was "The Day That Did Come," even for the band mentioned above, who released a back-to-form album, Death Magnetic, which included 8-minute songs, guitar solos, and the return of the old Metallica logo (surfaces of high school desks beware). For those who have ever uttered the word "never," 2008 was a year for them to eat their words:... MORE »

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LUNCHBOX: 2008 Golden Guitar Awards

By Jim Shearer on 12/30/2008

Filed under: '08 WAS GREAT!, VIDEO BLOG

Ladies and Gentlemen, time to hand out some Golden Guitar Awards for outstanding performances in 2008: The flash 8 plugin was not detected. var so = new SWFObject("/static/bc/ifc_generic_blog.swf", "yearend", "380", "295", "8", "#ffffff"); so.addParam("wmode", "transparent"); //change player width so.addVariable("pwidth", 380); //change player height so.addVariable("pheight", 285); //distinguish between different videos so.addVariable("s_movieID", "yearend"); //insert brightcove title id here so.addVariable("bctid", 5663608001); so.write("yearend"); MORE »

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For Those About Barack (We Salute You)

By Jim Shearer on 11/05/2008

Filed under: IT'S LIKE THAT

Yesterday, millions and millions of Americans pressed touch-screens, flicked levers, and punched chads all in an attempt to Barack the Vote. Some smelled what Barack was cookin', others didn't. As results began coming in, we saw Barack around the clock, and vote by vote, he continued to Barack On. Could he actually pull this off? At 9PM, Barack was ahead of McCain both in popular and electoral votes, leading his supporters to proclaim: "I Love Barack n' Roll" (put another dime in the jukebox baby!). Some once skeptical Americans, overcome by the excitement of the night, began swaying slightly... MORE »

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I Just Voted!

By Jim Shearer on 11/04/2008

Filed under: HODGEPODGE

Yes indeedy, I woke up at the crack of dawn to cast my vote (figured the lines would be shorter at 6AM than 6PM). Still blows my mind though that the fate of the free world is decided in bingo halls across the country, while senior citizen volunteers stand guard over voting machines that have been in use for the last 50 or so years. It's both frightening and awesome at the same time! (left: Me and my voter registration card.) MORE »

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Hey, Isn't PA a Swing State Too?

By Jim Shearer on 10/15/2008

Filed under: HODGEPODGE

In a rousing example of bipartisanship, the Beastie Boys--my favorite group of all-time (have I ever mentioned that in this blog before?)--have decided to cross musical-genre lines, and will tour with the likes of Sheryl Crow, Jack Johnson, and Norah Jones for the next few weeks to drum up voter interest for Barack Obama in swing states (states in which no candidate has overwhelming support). Because the Beastie Boys have only played Pittsburgh once--my favorite city of all-time (have I ever mentioned that in this blog before?)--and because Pittsburgh is in Pennsylvania, a swing state, I think this is... MORE »

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Beastie Boys Hit the Campaign Trail

By Jim Shearer on 10/10/2008

From the Desk of the Beastie Boys: My Fellow Americans, we are going to do a few shows in hopes that we can remind people to vote. this election is too important, too much is at stake to stay at home. we hope that you can come out, have a nice night, dance, sing, get your freak on, and then wake up the next morning and get everyone that you possibly can to get out and vote. if they have early voting in your state then ask people to vote early, lets get everyone we can out there on... MORE »

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10 Reasons Why Murs Should Be President

By Jim Shearer on 10/01/2008

Filed under: LISTS

Yesterday, underground hip-hop fave Murs, released his brand new album titled, Murs For President. After thinking about it for a second, it doesn't seem like such a bad idea after all. Here are 10 reasons why I think Murs would do al'ight in the Oval Office: 10. Murs' State of The Nation addresses would be done in 16-bar freestyles. Who wouldn't tune in for that?! 9. Murs can skateboard. When was the last time you saw John McCain or Barak Obama pop an ollie? 8. John McCain's running mate, Sarah Palin, played in her high school's state basketball finals... MORE »

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Indie Rock for Barack

By Jim Shearer on 08/27/2008

Filed under: NEWS

As the Democratic National Convention continues, the Young Democrats are throwing an event tonight called, Unconventional '08, featuring performances from DJ Z-Trip, Silversun Pickups, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Cold War Kids, and Nada Surf. (left: Barackin' at the Democratic National Convention.) A VIP (invite only) stage will then feature performances from Ben Gibbard (Death Cab For Cutie), Jenny Lewis (Rilo Kiley), Matthew Caws (Nada Surf), Jonathan Rice, and Zooey Deschanel (She & Him). Sarah Silverman is also scheduled to appear, so if there are any Young Republicans going deep cover tonight, I'm sure you can get a whole... MORE »

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