A collection of some interesting links we stumbled across this week:
Back to Where It All Started: Interview With Philip Oakey The Human League leader talks about the famed synthpop group’s new album Credo, the role of music videos in the band’s career and its upcoming U.S. tour, which will see it play shows with fellow ’80s survivors The B-52s and Men Without Hats. [Culture Brats]
Why Music Needs to Get Political Again Billy Bragg posts an uncut version of an essay recently published in the NME comparing the London riots of the mid-’70s, which gave birth to The Clash and British punk, to the chaos that just erupted in that country — and how the conditions now should inspire a new wave of political commentary in popular music. [billbragg.co.uk]
One More Reason (Some) Americans Don’t Care About Kate Bush Music critic Ann Powers weighs in on NPR’s “The Record” blog, making the argument that there’s really just one reason why Kate Bush, while hugely influential to a new generation of musicians, has never had much success in the United States: She refuses to tour. [NPR]
Inside Sonic Youth and Nirvana’s Epic 1991 Tour Filmmaker Kevin O’Donnell recounts his experiences on the European tour that would result in the film “1991: The Year Punk Broke,” the Dave Markey-directed chronicle that finally will be released on DVD next month. [Spin]
