Ghosts of Cité Soleil is a scorching new documentary about the most dangerous place on earth. It follows the gangster army that lorded over the most deprived ghetto in Haiti, the poorest country in the western hemisphere. In our latest issue we interviewed the movie’s director about the insane access he managed to get. Last night we watched the film and, from the very first frame, it grabs you by the neck with two hands and doesn’t loosen its grip for 88 vein-bulging minutes…
Archive for June, 2007
HAITI - GHOSTS OF CITE’ DE SOLEIL
HAITI - GHOSTS OF CITE’ DE SOLEIL
Ghosts of Cité Soleil is a scorching new documentary about the most dangerous place on earth. It follows the gangster army that lorded over the most deprived ghetto in Haiti, the poorest country in the western hemisphere. In our latest issue we interviewed the movie’s director about the insane access he managed to get. Last night we watched the film and, from the very first frame, it grabs you by the neck with two hands and doesn’t loosen its grip for 88 vein-bulging minutes…
SCOTLAND – GET THE CATMAN OF GREENOCK OUT OF MY HEAD!
This is a page by and for Neds. They are essentially Glaswegian Chavs but about 20 times more violent. I got to this page after seeing VICE UK’s "Wee Man" post which is a funny parody of Neds (I hope) but the true highlight of this link is entitled "The Catman of Greenock" about halfway down. This man crawls around the cozy fishing village of Greenock on his belly eating rats and whatever else he can find. His face is black with soot and garbage residue. One can’t help but ask, "Here Catman hoo dud you end up l’
this?" Update: He’s on MySpace.
PHILADELPHIA - ESPERS
We thought we’d give you a little breather from all the environmental
ruin and economic WTFness of the Alberta Oil Sands, and let you curl up
with the warm, Pentangle-y plunking of Philadelphia’s Espers in a new
edition of Practice Space. There now, that really takes your mind off
the degradation to which we’re submitting our own breathing air,
doesn’t it? Staring at six good-looking longhairs gently humming out
folksy melodies on a rainy Spring day? You bet it does.
L.A. - BARR
BARR (aka Brendan Fowler) loves talking so much he even talks his songs. That’s partly because he’s tone deaf and can’t sing. It’s also because his songs are candid, spoken-word anecdotes about life that have led some to describe him as a "motivational speaker for lapsed indie kids." Even when he’s not on stage, Brendan chats at 10,000 words per minute. His verbal hyperactivity is mirrored in his body language (he bear-hugs everyone he meets) and his work (when he’s not doing BARR, he edits the arts magazine ANP Quarterly). We met up with Brendan and talked about talking, rap and fighting hecklers who think he’s an art-school fag.
VBS - TOXIC ALBERTA / UNCONTROLLABLE WOMEN / TERRY RICHARDSON
This week on VBS we continue our look at Toxic Alberta, this time examining the dorm-like charms of Borealis Work Camp. On Bangs and the Uncontrollable Women we get up to some "motorcycle shit" with Sugar Mom, L’il Flip Flop, Big Pantays. On DOs & DON’TS & FRIENDS it’s Terry Richardson week.
BRITAIN - FESTIVAL GUIDE
Every summer Britain has more music festivals per square mile than any other nation in the civilised world. Why? Because British people have an age-old, institutionalised passion for having a bit of a laugh and getting totally fucking wasted, being arrested after slipping over in your own vomit and sleeping in a muddy puddle next to a giant cow pat. For more funny festival horror stories, fashion, tidbits, and a preview of the best fests happening this summer, check out our Festival Guide.
SOUTH AFRICA - SWEAT X
Sweat X is two guys, Spoek Mathambo (the black one) and Markus Wormstorm (the white one). At this precise moment in time, Sweat X are the last word in the whole
hip-house/new rave/electro-booty funk thing that’s so new it hasn’t
even happened yet. They’re South Africa’s funnest musical export ever and they’re heading out across Europe to play a stack of parties in a town near you.
VBS - TOXIC ALBERTA / UNCONTROLLABLE WOMEN
Today on VBS we head back up to Toxic Alberta to chat with former premier Ralph Klein, the “progressive conservative” who helped turn a once sleepy, backwater province into the thriving, crime-ridden, exhaust-belching boom-land it is today. Back before he was elected to office, "King Ralph" was a talk radio host, and even today he’s still like some bizarro Canadian version of Rush Limbaugh who actually made it in politics (and isn’t a pill-popping racist), so be sure to check him out. And just so you don’t get in a state, this isn’t the end of Toxic Alberta—we’ll be back next week with new episodes. We’ve also got a new episode of Bangs today featuring the Uncontrollable Women, one of the Dayton area’s most well-respected and prestigious black-lady motorcycle club, and the third part of Epicly Later’d’s hang sesh at Erik Ellington’s Hollywood mansion. And as usual, there are two new DOs & DON’Ts & Friends.
INDIA - A CASTE OF MILLIONS
It goes like this: The first man in the world was dismembered into four parts. Brahmins, the priest caste, came from his mouth. The Kshatriya, or warriors, came from his arms. The Vaisya, or merchants, came from his loins, and the Shudra, or laboring caste, came from his feet. This is how it is in India. And then there are the Untouchables, who are apparently real dickhead losers.
Seriously, this shit is still going on. No offense, India, but isn’t it about time you got that whole foundation-of-your-civilization thing sorted? No? OK. So tell us all about it. One caste at a time.
SCOTLAND - STILL PISSED
Since we last reported on Scottish Neds, not much has changed — they are all still fighting drunk on Buckfast, a popular fortified wine. But the much maligned Buckfast brewery have recently tried to improve their image by buying a football pitch for a local team. It’s rumoured that Lambert & Butler are sponsoring a jogging club.
VBS - SHOT BY KERN / EPICLY LATER’D
It’s Thursday, which as you should/may know by now, means a new episode of Epicly Later’d. Today we head back to Hollywood to watch a couple old skate videos at Erik Ellington’s palatial estate. Seriously, the place is a fucking mansion. We’ve also got a new episode of Shot By Kern with two very friendly young English gals. In Toxic Alberta we sit down with Ralph Klein, the talk radio host turned premier who opened the doors to Alberta’s dizzying, oil-fueled growth. He’s sort of like a Western Canadian version of Rush Limbaugh, but more of a free-market progressive than a pill-popping racist.
VBS - SHOT BY KERN / EPICLY LATER’D
It’s Thursday, which as you should/may know by now, means a new episode of Epicly Later’d. Today we head back to Hollywood to watch a couple old skate videos at Erik Ellington’s palatial estate. Seriously, the place is a fucking mansion. We’ve also got a new episode of Shot By Kern with two very friendly young English gals. In Toxic Alberta we sit down with Ralph Klein, the talk radio host turned premier who opened the doors to Alberta’s dizzying, oil-fueled growth. He’s sort of like a Western Canadian version of Rush Limbaugh, but more of a free-market progressive than a pill-popping racist.
