After spending a week in the south of the country with friends, partying it up in Mayfair with the great people of London, I find myself on a train. Now usually, this wouldn’t be a problem, but for the lack of Wi-Fi and music, due to some jackass obliterating my headphones with their massive bag. So with only my laptop to amuse me and the thrill of solitaire not quite fulfilling my needs I sit and ponder what I can do to pass the time back home.

I soon come to the conclusion that I have nothing better to do than write a blog post, and considering I haven’t written anything for I’m Not A Fucking Hipster for quite some time, I thought it would be in my better interests to write something for Miss Moshi before she comes at me with an axe.

It’s an hour and a half train journey, so I have ample time to talk about my “Top Ten”. We all have those tracks on our iPods that we skip to, that we never deviate from, and that we sit in the car listening to, adamant about not leaving the car until you at least hear the chorus. These are mine;

#10 – Rizzle Kicks – Down with the Trumpets

This recently discovered duo from Brighton have been writing for years, and have only just hit it big with their single “Down with the Trumpets”. It’s a chilled out mix of Rap and pseudo Jazz, mixing together to be one of the biggest anthems of summer 2011 over here in England. Ones to watch, what with upcoming collaborations with Olly Murs, and their debut album hitting stores soon

.

#9 – LMFAO – Party Rock Anthem

We all have them, those aunties that think the running man is still the cool thing to do at a wedding, and for years they have been shunned by the younger generations. But in one fell swoop in the spring of 2011, the running man suddenly became cool again what with LMFAO’s introduction of “Shuffling” to the mainstream. Now you can’t visit a club without this tune dropping and the entire room erupting with anoraks thinking they can dance and just going mad doing the running man. I’m not saying I don’t do it myself, but good god you need a beer after going mad to this number.

#8 – Skrillex – First of the Year (Equinox)

My favourite track of Skrillex to this point. Sonny Moore (Or Skrillex as the stage name goes) mixes a Strong DnB beat to what can only be described as the sound of a Transformer getting his head kicked in. The second drop in this track is absolutely bonkers, and i'm getting bumps just thinking about it dropping the next time I’m in a club. The video is also a work of art, showing a paedophile getting his comeuppance by a dubstep wielding 8 year old girl. The only lyrics in the song coming from a sample of a film screaming “CALL 911 NOW” is totally necessary, plenty of people need carting out after this bad boy drops.

#7 – Foo Fighters – My Hero

A classic, ‘nuff said really. Any musically adept person can tell you this. From the soft vocals in the verse, to the snarly shouts of the chorus, Dave Grohl puts on a master class in this piece. On a side note, also a perfect tune to get ready to a Saturday night to. Pumps you up no end.

#6 – The Smiths– This Charming Man

Morrisey. What can you say about this guy that hasn’t already been said? This song is the defining piece from him, as many Smiths fans would agree. Somewhat of a curveball in this list, as many would assume I’d be all Britpop and dubstep. Nono, there’s a bit of new romantic left in me somewhere. If you’re new to The Smiths, I suggest you head to iTunes and pick up the recently remastered version of the self titled album, somewhat a greatest hits if you will, but without all of that inevitable crackling business you had when recording a song in the latter part of the century.

#5 – Professor Green – I need you Tonight (Ft. Ed Drewett)

After seeing his debut album get utterly lost when The Street’s lead vocalist Mike Skinner’s record label didn’t fare too well, “Pro Green” needed to knuckle down, and rethink his strategy. After signing a deal with Warner Brothers, his next album was released to high acclaim. Already having made a name for himself on the underground scene in MC battles, this album was a bit of a swerve from the Professor, and caught many of his critics off guard. With his tongue in cheek look at urban life and romance, this track taken from his album is my favourite work of his to this point, as the lyrics are genius, and the contrast in the two artist’s voices is inspired.

#4 – Living Colour – Cult of Personality

It’s a fucking classic! Why would you even question it?

3 – Blur – Parklife

OOOOOOI! That smash of glass, and Quadrophenia’s Jimmy’s unmistakable cockney accent kicks off this utter tune, and it’s all uphill from there. Between him and Damon Albarn, you really can’t go wrong, and in this satirical look at mid 90’s Britain, a song that will remain relevant for many years to come. I go absolutely insane when this song comes on, belting the tune out until I go red in the face. I may include the picture of that at the end of this post, but you get the idea.

2 – Friendly Fires – Paris

What would a post of mine be without a reference to Friendly Fires, eh? The release of their second album this year sent them off on a worldwide tour and with their eclectic mix of South American samba and Great British indie, this band are destined for great things, even if the majority of the British community can’t see it yet. Paris is a personal favourite of mine, and has been for a good three years now, after initially hearing them in passing on Zane Lowe’s evening radio show, I had to tune in every day for the next three days, hoping to hear it again, and finding out who performed it. Needless to say, Friendly Fires. Me likey.

#1 – Arctic Monkeys – A Certain Romance

Predictable, no? You probably didn’t even have to read this article to know that this is my favourite tune of all time. From the rousing opening (Some what tribal) drum solo, to its intricate opening verse, all the way to the somewhat euphoric crescendo; this song is an utter beast of a tune from beginning to end. But as it wasn’t released as a single, it never received the plaudits it deserved. I shall always champion this song, and endeavour to get it heard by the masses as often as possible (Usually through posts on here), but if you don’t have this song in your life, sorry, but you’re no friend of mine.

With all that said, I now await the baying masses of people raging, proclaiming hate, and coming at me with torches and pitchforks. NO HENDRIX? NO NIRVANA? It’s a personal choice; I’m not saying this is the general census of the population. We’re all entitled to an opinion. It’s just I have this platform to voice mine on.

Oh yeah - That picture - Drank far too much champagne that night. Those guys are looking at me like i'm mad.

I'm so sorry for the promoters involved in the House Music Festival debacle downtown.  My guess is that there were not enough pre-sale tickets to cover the costs of these overinflated and less and less relevant dinosaurs of the heyday of electronic music.  Since the UK craze hit the U.S. in the early 90s, the OGs of the electronic music days have had to compete with a proliferation of new electronic genres.  There is not one single version of any electronic brand--Just check out beatport and your head will spin at the amount of music there is out there!  Like underwear--there is a genre of music for every day of the week. Some of it really sucks.  Most of it actually.  

Once again electronic based music has made it's way back into the mainstream but  perhaps promoters should consider the amalgamation of genres and promotion techniques that successful labels have been utilizing in order to gain that ever valuable crossover appeal.

Take for example the ever-impressive Franki Chan.  A DJ/Promoter who owns IHEARTCOMIX records, a label responsible for breaking some of the hottest up and coming acts of this decade such as

W/: Justice, MSTRKRFT, She Wants Revenge, Wolfmother, Diplo, Thunderheist, Lady Sovereign, Dan Deacon, Lupe Fiasco, Kid Sister, Spank Rock, Para One, The Juan Maclean, Bonde Do Role, Q And Not U, The Federation, Annie, A-Trak, Andrew W.K., Peaches, Radioclit, The Rapture, Datarock, Bloc Party, Yo Majesty, Simian Mobile Disco, Adult, The Futureheads, Amanda Blank, Boys Noize, Dr. Octagon, Erase Errata, The Kooks, Shout Out Out Out Out, The Horrors, Roxy Cottontail, Chromeo, Teddybears, Crystal Castles, Monsters Are Waiting, Institubes, VHS Or Beta, Guns'N'Bombs, Eon Mckai, Switch, Flosstradamus, Muscles, The Killers, Green Velvet, Princess Superstar, Shit Disco, The Presets, Uffie, ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, Oh No! Oh My!, Fields, French Kicks, Interpol, Shepard Fairey, Giant Drag, Ratatat, Freeform Five, Lo-Fi-Fnk, Death Cab For Cutie, Midlake, Juiceboxxx, We Are Scientists, Stellstarr*, The Cribs, Death From Above 1979, The Shins, OkGo, Tommie Sunshine, Fischerspooner, Hot Hot Heat, Tralala, Jim Noir, Ima Robot, Maximo Park, The Blood Brothers, Pretty Girls Make Graves, Midnight Movies, Burning Angel, Debonair Samir, Darker My Love, Ted Leo and many more....

Controversial invocations of the USA PATRIOT Act

The following are controversial invocations of the USA PATRIOT Act. The stated purpose of the Act is to "deter and punish American terrorists in the United States and around the world, to enhance law enforcement investigatory tools, and for other purposes." One criticism of the Act is that "other purposes" often includes the detection and prosecution of non-terrorist alleged future crimes.

Contents [hide] 1 2007 US Justice Department audit finds FBI abuse of PATRIOT act powers 2 Dismissal of United States Attorneys 3 Investigating copyright infringement 4 Use against the homeless 5 Investigation of potential drug traffickers 6 Blanket Requests for financial information on visitors to Las Vegas 7 Wrongful accusations under the Act 8 Controversial requests to the media 9 Other cases 10 Opposition 11 References

[edit] 2007 US Justice Department audit finds FBI abuse of PATRIOT act powers

Wikinews has related news: U.S. Justice Dept. says FBI misused USA PATRIOT Act

On March 9, 2007, a Justice Department audit found that the FBI had "improperly and, in some cases, illegally used the USA PATRIOT Act to secretly obtain personal information" about United States citizens.^[1]
On June 15, 2007, following an internal audit finding that FBI agents abused the USA PATRIOT Act power more than 1000 times, U.S. District Judge John D. Bates ordered the agency to begin turning over thousands of pages of documents related to the agency's national security letters program.^[2]

[edit] Dismissal of United States Attorneys

Dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy

Main issues Timeline Summary of attorneys Documents Congressional hearings List of Dismissed Attorneys Complete list of related articles

Seven United States Attorneys were dismissed by the United States Department of Justice on December 7, 2006. Senior members of the White House and the Department of Justice participated in compiling the list of dismisees.^[3] The USA Patriot Act Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005, which was signed into law on March 9, 2006, extinguished the former 120-day term limit of interim United States Attorneys appointed to fill vacated offices. This in effect gave the U.S. Attorney General greater appointing authority than the president, since the interim U.S. attorneys did not need Senate confirmation, and the presidential nominees do. (An interim U.S. attorney's term expires upon the confirmation and swearing in of a presidentially appointed U.S. attorney, if one is put forward.)^[4] Critics have claimed the dismissals were either motivated by desire to install attorneys more loyal to the Republican party or as retribution for actions or inactions damaging to the Republican party. At least six of the eight had positive internal Justice Department performance reports.^[4][5][6][7]
A bill, S-214, filed in January 2007, to rescind the no-term-limit interim U.S. attorney provision was approved by very large majorities in both the Senate and the House, and was signed into law by the President on June 14, 2007, designated Public Law No: 110-34 and called the Preserving United States Attorney Independence Act of 2007. ^[8] The new law also specifies that all Attorney General-appointed interim attorneys then in office shall have a term that ends 120 days from the signing of the bill. As of June 14, 2007, the Department of Justice has more than twenty United States attorney positions that are not presidential appointees, which are filled by either acting US attorneys (held by civil service first U.S. attorneys) or interim U.S. attorneys appointed by the Attorney general. (Terms of district court-appointed interim US attorneys were unaffected by the new law—there was at least one: Paula D. Silsby of Maine, appointed in 2001.)^[9]

[edit] Investigating copyright infringement

Adam McGaughey, the webmaster of a fan site for the television show Stargate SG-1, was charged with copyright infringement and computer fraud. During the investigation, the FBI invoked a provision of the Act to obtain financial records from the site's Internet Service Provider.^[10] The USA PATRIOT Act amended the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act to include search and seizure of records from Internet Service Providers.

[edit] Use against the homeless

This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2010)

Summit, New Jersey invoked the USA PATRIOT Act to defend itself from a lawsuit over removing homeless people from its train station.^[11]
The city said that its conduct is protected by the Patriot Act and that a homeless man's federal lawsuit should be barred. The city cited a section of the law regarding "attacks and other violence against mass transportation systems."
The Justice Department criticized Summit's use of the law saying that it "[represented] a fundamental misunderstanding of what the Patriot Act is."

[edit] Investigation of potential drug traffickers

In September 2003, the New York Times reported on a case of the USA PATRIOT Act being used to investigate alleged potential drug traffickers without probable cause. The article also mentions a study by Congress that referenced hundreds of cases where the USA PATRIOT Act was used to investigate non-terrorist alleged future crimes. The New York Times reports that these non-terrorist investigations are relevant because President Bush and several members of Congress stated that the purpose the USA PATRIOT Act was that of investigating and preempting potential terrorist acts.^[12]
This is also seen by some as a violation of constitutional rights as Defined in Article One of the United States Constitution which states, "No bill of attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed." Prohibiting a bill of attainder means that the US Congress cannot pass a law which deems a specific person or group guilty and then punish them. Prohibiting an ex post facto law (Latin - literally - after the fact) means that the US Congress cannot make any given act a crime (or a more serious crime) after the time when that act has been committed. It is arguable that this applies to some uses of the Patriot Act and those who watch the Supreme Court are waiting for a case to make its way up so that the judges can rule on it.

[edit] Blanket Requests for financial information on visitors to Las Vegas

In November 2005, Business Week reported that the FBI had issued tens of thousands of "National Security Letters" and had obtained one million financial records from the customers of targeted Las Vegas businesses. Selected businesses included casinos, storage warehouses and car rental agencies. An anonymous Justice official claimed that such requests were permitted under section 505 of the USA PATRIOT Act and despite the volume of requests insisted "We are not inclined to ask courts to endorse fishing expeditions".^[13] This didn't just include financial records, but credit records, employment records, and in some cases, health records.
Furthermore, this information is databased and maintained indefinitely by the FBI. Previous legislation required that federal law enforcement destroy any records harvested during an investigation that pertained to anyone deemed innocent. The Patriot Act superseded that and now the records are maintained indefinitely. According to the legislation, they may be "shared with third-parties where appropriate" yet nowhere in the legislation does it define who these third parties are or what conditions would be deemed appropriate for the sharing of such records.
The large scale wiretapping and tracing of calls to and from foreign countries also falls under this. Millions of phone records were harvested, fed into a database and were searched for patterns of calling to and from numbers of known terrorists. To date, there have been no announced arrests from this program.
Public libraries have been asked to turn over their records for specific terminals. A few have filed suit, because the National Security Letters that they were presented with were very sweeping, demanding information not just on the individual under investigation, but on everyone who had used specific terminals at the libraries during given time windows. Since many of the users in one case were minor children, one library felt that it had an obligation to notify the parents. The FBI has disagreed and the case is now working its way through the court system.
A National Security Letter can be issued by any FBI agent with the rank of Field Supervisor or above, at their discretion. It does not require a judge or probable cause, as does a search warrant.

[edit] Wrongful accusations under the Act

In May 2004, Professor Steve Kurtz of the University at Buffalo reported his wife's death of heart failure. The associate art professor, who works in the biotechnology sector, was using benign bacterial cultures and biological equipment in his work. Police arriving at the scene found the equipment (which had been displayed in museums and galleries throughout Europe and North America) suspicious and notified the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The next day the FBI, Joint Terrorism Task Force, Department of Homeland Security and numerous other law enforcement agencies arrived in HAZMAT gear and cordoned off the block surrounding Kurtz's house, impounding computers, manuscripts, books, and equipment, and detaining Kurtz without charge for 22 hours; the Erie County Health Department condemned the house as a possible "health risk" while the cultures were analyzed. Although it was determined that nothing in the Kurtz's home posed any health or safety risk, the Justice Department sought charges under Section 175 of the US Biological Weapons Anti-Terrorism Act—a law which was expanded by the USA PATRIOT Act. A grand jury rejected those charges, but Kurtz is still charged with federal criminal mail and wire fraud, and faced 20 years in jail before the charges were dropped. Supporters worldwide argue that this is a politically motivated prosecution, akin to those seen during the era of McCarthyism, and legal observers note that it is a precedent-setting case with far-reaching implications involving the criminalization of free speech and expression for artists, scientists, researchers, and others.^[14][15]
FBI agents used a USA PATRIOT Act "sneak and peek" search to secretly examine the home of Brandon Mayfield, who was wrongfully jailed for two weeks on suspicion of involvement in the Madrid train bombings. Agents seized three hard drives and ten DNA samples preserved on cotton swabs, and took 335 photos of personal items. Mayfield has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government, contending that his rights were violated by his arrest and by the investigation against him. He also contends the USA PATRIOT Act is unconstitutional.^[16][17][18]

[edit] Controversial requests to the media

The FBI used the USA PATRIOT Act 13 times to request journalists that had interviewed computer intruder Adrian Lamo to preserve their notes and other information while they petitioned the Department of Justice for a subpoena to force the reporters to hand over the information. Journalists involved included newspaper writers, wire service reporters, and MSNBC writers. The Department of Justice did not authorize the subpoena requests because the language of the subpoena violated the Department's guidelines for a subpoena request, rather than recognition of any reporter/source privilege. The requests to preserve information were dropped. In some cases, the FBI apologized for the language of the request. ^[19][20]

[edit] Other cases

In April 2003, Sami Omar Al-Hussayen was arrested on charges of supporting terrorism by maintaining several web sites that supported violent activities. This crime was created by a 1996 act^{[clarification needed]} signed by President Clinton, but was further expanded under the USA PATRIOT Act. Supporters of the Act respond that prosecutors did not try Mr. Al-Hussayen because of his association with the website, but because he actively participated in raising money for terrorist organizations, recruiting terrorists, and disseminating inflammatory rhetoric via his website. Prosecutors said the sites included religious edicts justifying suicide bombings and an invitation to contribute financially to the militant Palestinian organization Hamas.
On the other hand, sometimes critics of the law mistake unrelated prosecution as being under the USA PATRIOT Act. Sherman Austin, anarchist and webmaster of Raise the Fist, plead guilty to violating 18 U.S.C. § 842(p), a 1997 statute authored by California Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein which prohibits the distribution of bombmaking information knowing or intending that the information will be used in a violent federal crime. Despite claims to the contrary, the USA PATRIOT Act was not invoked in this case.
On October 24, 2005, David Sobel of the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) obtained FBI Papers under the Freedom of Information Act that revealed that the FBI had been conducting surveillance on citizens for lengthy periods of time without correct paperwork. A total of 13 cases from 2002 to 2004 were referred to the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board's Intelligence Oversight Board.^[21]

[edit] Opposition

On April 6, 2004, the American Civil Liberties Union sued the FBI and DHS over the USA PATRIOT Act's authority to demand that a business hand over records that may contain private financial or business information that is not pertinent to an ongoing investigation. The specific action in question was the request of the FBI and DHS for the account information for users of an Internet service provider.
Citing possible secrecy provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act, the Department of Justice prevented the ACLU from releasing the text of a countersuit for three weeks. After judicial and congressional oversight, sections of the countersuit that did not violate secrecy rules of the USA PATRIOT Act were released.
The lawsuit filed by the ACLU was dropped on October 27, 2006. ACLU stated it is withdrawing the lawsuit because of improvements to the law. "While the reauthorized Patriot Act is far from perfect, we succeeded in stemming the damage from some of the Bush administration's most reckless policies," Ann Beeson, associate legal director of the ACLU.
In June 2005, the United States House of Representatives voted to repeal the Patriot Act provision that allows federal agents to examine people's book-reading habits at public libraries and bookstores as part of terrorism investigations. [2]

[edit] References

Gomez-Pena: A border shaman | Online Dramaturgy Resource Center

           One of the lessons learned so(sp) Gomez-Pena of performance art is that we can reinvent our identity. We have the ability to pick, choose and approve something of our multiple selves to construct and create a more human "being".

Too many things to address within the past week to really just focus on one so I will just say this:

When you have the ignorant masses pliant and ready beneath your guiding hands, you should never squash them  with your intelligence.  Intellectual tyranny is balked at by the everyman and everywoman.  It just does not work--and the dramatic effect you seek--with such vain and self-serving avarice--will surely extinguish the little chance you had in making a difference.

Tread carefully and be sensitive to the ignorant, for they do not have the knowledge you do.