Snowy ornithology craft afternoon

Little birds find it hard to forage for nibbles when it's snowing (which it is). They also need food and water every 24 hours to stay alive when temperatures drop (which they have), so if you're lucky enough to own a patch of garden, it's always kind to leave something out for the little feathered cuties. We bought a bucket load of seed/fat balls, but they came naked, without the little fluorescent netting needed to attach them to branches/hooks. Turns out old fishnet tights and a little twine do just as well. Win! 

Everything She Said zine

I curated my first ever zine! Everything She Said is a collection of pieces written by various folk, on their personal connections to female musicians/bands and the music they have made. It was a collaborative project to celebrate Wears The Trousers' 5th birthday and Ladyfest's 10th, and it debuted at London Ladyfest last month. Those who would like to purchase a hard copy to treasure and adore can now do so via the wonders of snail mail and PayPal. Pick a cover (Top - Sue Denim, middle - Daphne Avenue D, bottom - Jessica Grace) and holla at me here with yr pennies: charlotte@wearsthetrousers.com

UK - 60p
Europe - £1
Rest of world - £2

Minaj à trois

HAPPY BDAY NICKI

Image via Miss Info

Jean Grae feat Mela Machinko - 'The Bridge' (Prod. By RJD2)

Pretty sure Ms Grae performed this joint at the Jazz Cafe back in September.  Flow/delivery notably different from earlier material but still. Sounding sexxxxy.

Assange, sexual decoys, scapegoats, objective press.

Pertinent article on Julian Assange via Kate Harding on the dangers of uninformed reporting by fanboys and how rape as an act and allegation has been reduced/sidelined in the Wikileaks maelstrom.

"Here they fall into her love and never have to hide"

Watching the two alpha males sitting in front of us at the Janelle Monae gig clap wildly and holla proudly for every song until 'Mushrooms & Roses's super homoerotic art theatre and then sit in offended silence for the rest of the show, stiff-backed, glowering with embarrassment and trying to work out how they could have missed *all* those queer-friendly strains in her lyrics = PRICELESS.

Full goose bumps and almost a tear at her cover of Nat King Cole's 'Smile (Though Your Heart Is Breaking)'. Only the smallest snippet to be found so here's an earlier version from 2009:

Dr Syntax interview

I interviewed Dr Syntax last month for Tour Dates. Always got time for rappers who dig graphic novels. We talked about zombies, incest, 19th Century poetic folly, rural Banbury, drinking session fails with Stig Of The Dump, and his new LP Benny Huge. London launch party is on the 9th.

Check it  aaaaaut.

http://www.tourdates.co.uk/londontourdates/issue-067/2010/11/19/2524-dr-syntax-thinking-big

"The music industry was the record industry"

It turns out that Steve Albini was in the Big Smoke yesterday to give a lecture at the London College of Music AND I ONLY FOUND OUT TODAY. Sigh.

My friend George was there and has kindly posted the audio for all of us who missed it.

http://www.damnably.com/2010/12/03/steve-albini-lecture-on-december-2nd-at-the-london-college-of-music-tvu/

The Bullits - 'Close Your Eyes'

CLOSE YOUR EYES - THE BULLITTS starring JAY ELECTRONICA & LUCY LIU from THE BULLITTS on Vimeo.

the Lil Kim vs Nicki Minaj situation and rap beef dynamics

'Black Friday' is depressing. There is a vicious, voyeuristic pleasure to be had in the diss track modes of hip hop, but the issues operating underneath these spats - which have ended up being fatal in a number of tragic, well-known cases - are way serious if you value rap as more then just a capitalist-appropriated form of entertainment.
So Nicki took "subliminal shots" at Lil Kim? Nah, she just dipped into the usual hip hop braggadocio posturing, a card any newcomer earning their spurs is bound to pull. She drew on a convention that Kim has both participated in and profited from. Sad times when someone with such a golden CV has to attack a younger artist - one who has consistently paid homage - for some borrowed shine. I  agree wholeheartedly with all the points Minaj makes in this radio interview. Kim would have served herself better by taking an MC Lyte approach: accepting the dues paid with the good grace of a veteran confident in her legacy, and propelling any new projects on love and support from her hip hop sistren, not shunning them and insisting on an unnecessarily aggressive oppositional stance.
I think Kim is a victim of a tradition that traps both male and female rappers - a tradition that hip hop did not create. I believe she is acting on a number of damaging motives rooted in issues of race, gender and class. I think engaging in this as a spectator, and turning it into a form of titillating, ringside fun perpetuates a whole lotta nasty ish.

Pass the baton on ma. There is room for everyone. Unity is the one