So... yup. The history lesson is officially on hiatus, until further notice. I love writing it, and I hope you guys like reading it, and the hype machine sure adores it, but it was pretty much something to keep me busy when I didn't have other things to write about, and an excuse to post tracks outside of the context of shows and newness. Lately though, I have an awful lot of stuff to write about - show reviews, a stack of new CDs I got in the mail, and all of those ACL previews. So I'm just going to take a break from it for a bit and bring it back when things calm down again. Cool?
Sunday, July 23, 2006
Sunday, July 09, 2006
History Lesson - July 9-15
The History Lesson is a weekly feature here on Out the Other, offering one historical tidbit for every day of the upcoming week, paired with a song that usually has nothing to do with history. Check out last week here, and all previous weeks here.
July 9, 1995 - The Grateful Dead perform the last concert of their 30-year career at Soldier Field, Chicago.
The Grateful Dead - "One More Saturday Night"
(from Skeletons in the Closet)
July 10, 1991 - Boris Yeltsin begins his 5-year term as the first elected President of Russia.
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - "I Am Warm and Powerful"
(from Broom)
July 11, 1804 - Vice President of the United States Aaron Burr fatally shoots Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton in a duel.
Mates of State - "A Duel Will Settle This"
(from Our Constant Concern)
July 12, 1979 - Disco Demoltion Night, a promotional event that involves people bringing unwanted disco records to a Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers game at Comiskey Park in exchange for a 98 cent admission fee, turns into mayhem when the records are "blown up" and thousands of fans rush the field.
Metric - "Dead Disco"
(from Old World Underground, Where Are You Now?)
July 13, 1923 - The forty-five foot Hollywood Sign is officially dedicated in the hills above Hollywood, Los Angeles. It originally reads "Hollywoodland," but the last four letters will be dropped after renovation in 1949.
Ryan Adams - "Goodnight, Hollywood Boulevard"
(from Gold)
July 14, 1789 - Parisian revolutionaries and mutinous troops storm and dismantle the Bastille, signaling the beginning of the French Revolution.
Gomez - "Revolutionary Kind"
(from Liquid Skin)
July 15, 1606 - The Dutch artist Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn is born.
Spoon - "Believing Is Art"
(from Girls Can Tell)
Sunday, July 02, 2006
History Lesson - July 2-8
The History Lesson is a weekly feature here on Out the Other, offering one historical tidbit for every day of the upcoming week, paired with a song that usually has nothing to do with history. Check out last week here, and all previous weeks here.
July 2, 1937 - Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan vanish over the Pacific Ocean while attempting to make the first round-the-world flight at the equator.
Peter Adams - "The Disappeared"
(from The Spiral Eyes)
July 3, 1971 - Jim Morrison is found dead of a heart attack, likely caused by a drug overdose, at the age of 27.
July 4, 1776 - In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the Continental Congress adopts the Declaration of Independence, which proclaims the independence of the United States of America from Great Britain and its king.
Elliott Smith - "Independence Day"
(from XO)
July 5, 1946 - French designer Louis Reard unveils a daring two-piece swimsuit, dubbed the "bikini," which is named after a news-making U.S. atomic test that took place off the Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean earlier that week.
The Cramps - "Bikini Girls With Machine Guns"
(from Stay Sick)
July 6, 1785 - The dollar is unanimously chosen as the monetary unit for the United States.
The Mendoza Line - "Dollars to Donuts"
(from If They Knew This Was the End)
July 7, 1983 - Samantha Smith, a U.S. schoolgirl, flies to the Soviet Union at the invitation of Premier Yuri Andropov, after the young girl writes him a letter questioning the Cold War relationship between the two countries.
Cold War Kids - "We Used to Vacation"
(from Up In Rags EP)
July 8, 1947 - Reports are broadcast that a UFO has crash landed in Roswell, New Mexico.
Say Hi To Your Mom - "Let's Talk About Spaceships"
(from Numbers & Mumbles)
Monday, June 26, 2006
History Lesson - June 25-July 1
The History Lesson is a weekly feature here on Out the Other,
offering one historical tidbit for every day of the upcoming week,
paired with a song that usually has nothing to do with history. Check
out last week here, and all previous weeks here.
June 25, 1788 - Virginia ratifies the Constitution, and is admitted as the 10th state of the United States.
Gomez - "Sweet Virginia"
(from Split the Difference)
June 26, 1819 - The first US patent for a bicycle designed is awarded to William Clarkson of New York.
Black Mountain - "Bicycle Man"
(from Druganaut)
June 27, 1967 - The world's first ATM is installed in Enfield Town in North London.
Hard-Fi - "Cash Machine"
(from Stars of CCTV)
June 28, 1914 - Franz Ferdinand, the Archduke of Austria, and his wife Sophia are assassinated in Sarajevo by a Serbian nationalist, precipitating the Austrian declaration of war against Serbia, which triggered World War I.
Franz Ferdinand - "Outsiders"
(from You Could Have It So Much Better)
June 29, 1979 - Guitarist and Little Feat founder Lowell George is found dead of a heart attack in a hotel room in Arlington, VA, at the age of 24.
Little Feat - "Dixie Chicken"
(from Dixie Chicken)
June 30, 1859 - Jean-Francois Gravelet, a Frenchman known professionally as Emile Blondin, becomes the first daredevil to walk across Niagara Falls on a tightrope.
July 1, 1979 - Sony debuts the Walkman in Japan.
The Walkmen - "We've Been Had"
(from Everyone Who Pretended To Like Me Is Gone)
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
History Lesson - June 18-24
The History Lesson is a weekly feature here on Out the Other, offering one historical tidbit for every day of the upcoming week, paired with a song that usually has nothing to do with history. Check out last week here, and all previous weeks here.
June 18, 1983 - Sally Ride becomes the first American woman in space as a crewmember on the Space Shuttle Challenger.
June 19, 1885 - The disassembled Statue of Liberty arrives in New York Harbor, in 214 crates.
Super Furry Animals - "
Liberty Belle"
(from Phantom Power)
June 20, 1977 - Oil begins to flow through the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System.
British Sea Power - "
It Ended on an Oily Stage"
(from Open Season)
June 21, 1965 - The Byrds release their debut album, Mr. Tambourine Man.
The Byrds - "
Mr. Tambourine Man"
(from Mr. Tambourine Man)
June 22, 1633 - The Holy Office in Rome forces Galileo Galilei to recant his scientific view that the sun, not Earth, is the center of the universe.
TV on the Radio - "
Staring at the Sun"
(from Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes)
June 23, 1991 - Sonic the Hedgehog makes his North American debut in his self-titled video game.
Oasis - "
Supersonic"
(from Definitely Maybe)
June 24, 1942 - Drummer Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac is born in London.
Darren Hanlon - "
Don't Stop"
(from JJJ: Like a Version)
Monday, June 12, 2006
History Lesson - June 11-17
The History Lesson is a weekly feature here on Out the Other, offering one historical tidbit for every day of the upcoming week, paired with a song that usually has nothing to do with history. Check out last week here, and all previous weeks here.
June 11, 1962 - Frank Morris, John Anglin and Clarence Anglin escape from the prison on Alkatraz Island.
We Are Scientists - "
The Great Escape"
(from With Love and Squalor)
June 12, 1942 - Anne Frank, a young Jewish girl living in Amsterdam, receives a diary for her 13th birthday - one month before she and her family go into hiding from the Nazis.
Travis - "
Dear Diary"
(from The Invisible Band)
June 13, 1966 - The United States Supreme Court rules in Miranda v. Arizona that the police must inform suspects of their rites before questioning them.
Gomez - "
Get Myself Arrested"
(from Bring It On)
June 14, 1977 - The Stars and Stripes are adopted by Congress as the Flag of the United States, on a day that will subsequently be celebrated annually as Flag Day.
Wilco - "
Ashes of American Flags"
(from Kicking Television: Live In Chicago)
June 15, 1752 - Benjamin Franklin discovers the electrical nature of lightning by flying a kite in a thunderstorm.
The Apparitions - "
Electricity + Drums"
(from As This Is Futuristic)
June 16, 1960 - Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho opens in New York.
Talking Heads - "
Psycho Killer"
(from 77)
June 17, 1994 - After fleeing from the authorities in a white Ford Bronco during a dramatically televised car chase, O.J. Simpson is arrested for the murders of his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman.
Phoenix - "
Run Run Run"
(from Alphabetical)
Sunday, June 04, 2006
History Lesson - June 4-10
The History Lesson is a weekly feature here on Out the Other, offering one historical tidbit for every day of the upcoming week, paired with a song that usually has nothing to do with history. Check out last week here, and all previous weeks here.
June 4, 1974 - The Cleveland Indians attempt an ill-advised "Ten Cent Beer Night" for a game against the Texas Rangers at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Cleveland is forced to forfeit the game after alcohol-fueled mayhem and violence spreads from the stands onto the field.
Peter Mulvey - "
Bright Idea"
(from The Trouble With Poets)
June 5, 1956 - Elvis Presley introduces his new single, "Hound Dog", on the Milton Berle Show and scandalizes the audience with his suggestive hip gyrations.
Blanket Music - "
Hips"
(from Move)
June 6, 1933 - The first drive-in movie theater opens in Camden, New Jersey.
Meatloaf - "
Paradise By the Dashboard Light"
(from Bat Out of Hell )
June 7, 1893 - In his first act of civil disobedience, Mohandas K. Gandhi refuses to comply with racial segregation rules on a South African train and is forcibly ejected at Pietermaritzburg.
June 8, 1789 - James Madison introduces a proposed Bill of Rights to the United States Congress.
Folk Implosion - "
I Reserve the Right To Rock"
(from The Folk Implosion EP)
June 9, 1915 - Les Paul, a guitarist and important figure in the development of modern electric instruments and recording techniques, is born in Waukesha, Wisconsin.
Talking Heads - "
Electric Guitar"
(from Fear of Music)
June 10, 1935 - Alcoholics Anonymous is founded in Akron, Ohio by Bill Wilson and Dr. Robert Smith.
The Tah-Dahs - "
Alcoholic"
(from Le Fun)
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