Dubai can sometimes be a tough city for musicians, audiophiles, and the otherwise musically-obsessed. When planning releases, record labels tend to lump the Middle East together with Asia and other bootleg capitals (did I ever mention my DVD lady that meets me in a parking lot with a suitcase full of new release films that all mysteriously have Russian subtitles???), hence new albums don't show up on our shelves as long as two months later than in Europe or North America. Coupled with the fact that Virgin records is the only place worth shopping, we sometimes need to resort to drastic measures. Enter the music blogs.
Over the past couple of months I've come across some pinnacle sites that not only review new music but also post most of it right there for you to download. No more spending hours trying to download torrents of some artist's new album only to find out that the file is actually an audio track to some bad porno flick, this is the only way to go.
Noteworthy:
Good Weather for Airstrikes - Great reviews and everything from MSTRKRFT to Bloc Party to Indie Rock with a little electronic thrown in for good measure.
Filter 27 - All electronic, all the time. Especially good for new Essential Mixes, and other DJ stuff.
On the Download - Rock, and more Rock.
Bring the Beats - Eclectic mix of various electronic and rock.
Pinnacle Remixes:
LCD Mixed LCD Soundsystem Remix album
Flip the Switch - Chemical Brothers album remixed
Prodigy Mixed - Prodigy remix album
Over the past couple of months I've come across some pinnacle sites that not only review new music but also post most of it right there for you to download. No more spending hours trying to download torrents of some artist's new album only to find out that the file is actually an audio track to some bad porno flick, this is the only way to go.
Noteworthy:
Good Weather for Airstrikes - Great reviews and everything from MSTRKRFT to Bloc Party to Indie Rock with a little electronic thrown in for good measure.
Filter 27 - All electronic, all the time. Especially good for new Essential Mixes, and other DJ stuff.
On the Download - Rock, and more Rock.
Bring the Beats - Eclectic mix of various electronic and rock.
Pinnacle Remixes:
LCD Mixed LCD Soundsystem Remix album
Flip the Switch - Chemical Brothers album remixed
Prodigy Mixed - Prodigy remix album
Grand Theft Auto IV
Only shame of it is that this doesn't get released until October (Insha'Allah). So then what do they expect us to do here for entertainment whilst avoiding the 45+ C summer heat?
Okay, this is starting to make me a little nervous ...
In case your middle east geography isn't what it used to be - Dubai less than 200km away from the southern-most part of Iran.
MOSCOW, March 27 (RIA Novosti) - Russian military intelligence services are reporting a flurry of activity by U.S. Armed Forces near Iran's borders, a high-ranking security source said Tuesday.
"The latest military intelligence data point to heightened U.S. military preparations for both an air and ground operation against Iran," the official said, adding that the Pentagon has probably not yet made a final decision as to when an attack will be launched.
He said the Pentagon is looking for a way to deliver a strike against Iran "that would enable the Americans to bring the country to its knees at minimal cost."
He also said the U.S. Naval presence in the Persian Gulf has for the first time in the past four years reached the level that existed shortly before the invasion of Iraq in March 2003.
Col.-Gen. Leonid Ivashov, vice president of the Academy of Geopolitical Sciences, said last week that the Pentagon is planning to deliver a massive air strike on Iran's military infrastructure in the near future.
A new U.S. carrier battle group has been dispatched to the Gulf.
The USS John C. Stennis, with a crew of 3,200 and around 80 fixed-wing aircraft, including F/A-18 Hornet and Superhornet fighter-bombers, eight support ships and four nuclear submarines are heading for the Gulf, where a similar group led by the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower has been deployed since December 2006.
The U.S. is also sending Patriot anti-missile systems to the region.
"The latest military intelligence data point to heightened U.S. military preparations for both an air and ground operation against Iran," the official said, adding that the Pentagon has probably not yet made a final decision as to when an attack will be launched.
He said the Pentagon is looking for a way to deliver a strike against Iran "that would enable the Americans to bring the country to its knees at minimal cost."
He also said the U.S. Naval presence in the Persian Gulf has for the first time in the past four years reached the level that existed shortly before the invasion of Iraq in March 2003.
Col.-Gen. Leonid Ivashov, vice president of the Academy of Geopolitical Sciences, said last week that the Pentagon is planning to deliver a massive air strike on Iran's military infrastructure in the near future.
A new U.S. carrier battle group has been dispatched to the Gulf.
The USS John C. Stennis, with a crew of 3,200 and around 80 fixed-wing aircraft, including F/A-18 Hornet and Superhornet fighter-bombers, eight support ships and four nuclear submarines are heading for the Gulf, where a similar group led by the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower has been deployed since December 2006.
The U.S. is also sending Patriot anti-missile systems to the region.
In case your middle east geography isn't what it used to be - Dubai less than 200km away from the southern-most part of Iran.
It's official. For those that haven't heard, Halliburton - the inventors of neocon U.S. foreign policy, parking tickets, Monday mornings, crying babies, sagging tits, Richard Simmons, and just about everything else evil under the sun - is moving to Dubai. Even better, their new shiny headquarters will be located in one of the freezones where I happen to spend a good portion of my working hours. It's like living down the hall from Ghengis Khan ... only different.
"There's big news involving Vice President Dick Cheney's former company Halliburton -- the one that issued him a $34 million severance package. They're taking their over $10 billion in no-bid government contracts and moving their headquarters from Houston to Dubai -- a Middle Eastern city that's home to the world's largest shopping mall, the world's tallest hotel, an indoor ski resort with real snow, and an artificial archipelago where you can live on a man-made island in the shape of continents. And the guest workers there - civil rights free. How do they do it all while still being a plotting ground for the 9/11 hijackers? Well, let's just say that's what happens when Las Vegas and Saudi Arabia have a baby."
--Jon Stewart
--Jon Stewart