Sick Around America. Britain and the NHS

10 minte clip about the U.K's 60-year-old health care system. The Wall Street Journal reported this week that critics of Obama's health proposuals who say he wants to nationalize America's system point to the alleged pitfalls and failures with Britain's "socialized medicine."

That's sent Britain's politicians and citizens into a tizzy -- sample the Twitter campaign.

This video is from Sick Around the World, with Washington Post foreign correspondent T.R. Reid.

Here's a synopsis of the full program (which you can watch online) and a short summary of how things work in the government-run NHS.

AIR – Pocket Symphony (2007)

 

The French duo's fourth album, Pocket Symphony, is another creative masterpiece of unconventional style and sound.

More apt to cite stately rock paragons Burt Bacharach and Brian Wilson as their inspirations than Derrick May or Aphex Twin, the French duo Air gained inclusion into the late-'90s electronica surge due chiefly to the labels their recordings appeared on, not the actual music they produced. Their sound, a variant of the classic disco sound coaxed into a relaxing Prozac vision of the late '70s, looked back to a variety of phenomena from the period -- synthesizer maestros Tomita, Jean-Michel Jarre, and Vangelis, new wave music of the nonspiky variety, and obscure Italian film soundtracks. Despite gaining quick entrance into the dance community (through releases for Source and Mo' Wax), Air's 1998 debut album, Moon Safari, charted a light……..

…..well, airy, course along soundscapes composed with melody lines by Moog and Rhodes, not Roland and Yamaha. The presence of several female vocalists, an equipment list whose number of pieces stretched into the dozens, and a baroque tuba solo on one track -- all of this conspired to make Air more of a happening in the living room than the dancefloor.

Ever since Moon Safari was hailed as an instant classic, Air have swung back and forth between the experimental and accessible sides.

On Pocket Symphony, Dunckel and Godin find a balance between pretty and inventive that they haven't struck since, well, Moon Safari, even though it isn't nearly as immediate -- even by Air's standards, this is an extremely introspective and atmospheric album. It's beyond clichéd to call the duo's music filmic; nevertheless, "Space Maker",

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and "Night Sight"

play like the album's opening titles and ending credits, bracketing a set of songs that are sadder and wiser than anything Air has done since The Virgin Suicides (particularly "Lost Message," which could have easily appeared on that soundtrack).

These songs are often unsettling, but gently so, like dreams that are still vivid but hard to explain upon waking.

Pocket Symphony pairs Air with producer Nigel Godrich, which is an inspired choice -- not just because Godrich has a similarly atmospheric touch and adds lots of fascinating sonic details, but because he helps Air keep the album intimate, not polished into a state of distant perfection. "Left Bank," which blends humming with a cello and captures Godin's acoustic guitar so clearly it sounds like he's strumming it behind you, is a gorgeous example  of how well this collaboration works. The Japanese influence on Talkie Walkie and Air's music for Lost in Translation is deepened on Pocket Symphony, with shamisen and koto (which Godin spent a year learning to play) adding to its ethereal beauty, particularly on "Mer du Japon." Musically and thematically, this is some of Air's most elegant, mature music; it does what it does so compellingly that any attempts to be "poppy" would miss the point.

Download here:

http://rapidshare.com/files/163075042/A1r.P0ck3t.Symph0ny.rar

MGMT "Time to Pretend"

Psychedelic pop rarely seems to live in the real world, and that’s often part of its appeal. But “Time to Pretend” seems determined to turn this notion on its head, with cynical lyrics such as “Let’s make some music, make some money, find some models for wives” set to a soundtrack of steady drum beats, synths, and trippy vocals. MGMT is touring with Of Montreal, and of course will be opening for them when they come to Oberlin. They’re based out of Brooklyn, and I think this could be the beginning of the end of my Canadian obsession…but we’ll see. I'm having a hard time pinning down when their debut album, Oracular Spectacular, can be bought / will be released (supposedly this month?), but I'm working on it. (Update: it was released on October 2nd, and you can get it on iTunes.)

What else can we do?
get jobs in offices
and wake up for the morning commute.
Forget about our mothers and our friends,
We’re fated to pretend.

Sample: http://kate.oberlist.com/MGMT%20-%20Time%20to%20Pretend.mp3

Ben Folds – Songs For Silverland (2005)

Well I'm sure some of you have heard Ben Folds before, and hell you've probably even heard this album. Well that's great, and I'm there with you, he's a great artist, so I'm posting this album for those of you who are thinking "Ben who?".

This remains to this day my favorite of all Folds' releases, and it turned out to be the first record of his I listened to. It was actually my brother who bought this CD back in '05, and at the time I liked it but thought of it as an Elton John rip-off. And while there is significant musical similarities, Folds is very much his own artist. Besides being compared to Elton John is not one of the worst things that can happen!

"Songs For Silverman" is a return to form of sorts, coming on the tail of the relentlessly overproduced "Rockin' The Suburbs", and 3 EP's which were almost total misses. Musically, Silverman is his best effort since Messner, reverting back to the Ben Folds Five trio format with new bassist Jared Reynolds and drummer Lindsay Jamieson --- who also happen to sound a whole lot like Darren Jesse and Robert Sledge. While the new three-part harmonies aren’t quite as rich as the Five’s, at least they exist, and the new band's instrumentation is notably smoother and more fluid.

I know many people are reluctant to accept the new form of Ben Folds without it being followed by the Five. And while the Ben Folds Five were exceptional, and yes they did release some amazing records, one has to accept an artist for following their muse. At the time of this album he'd started to mature, what with the wife and kid, etc. and that shows in the songs content. "Gracie" for example is a heartfelt ode to his daughter.. Nothing wrong with that at all, but I know you can't always please everyone, and I'm sure the BF Five snobs spat on this album for a long while.
So if you've never heard Ben Folds' work I'd recommend checking this out immediately. I don't think you can find a better entry point into his music than this album, and from here your free to look backward into his catalog, as there is a lot of fantastic work there too.

The best part of this entire download is the "vinyl only" exclusive cut, Track 12 "Bitches Ain't Shit". That's right, Ben Folds of all people covering a classic track off of Dr. Dre's "The Chronic". It's more humorous than anything, but what's most amazing is that he actually does a great job performing the song.
It's just amazing to hear Ben sing lyrics like:

"Bitches ain't shit but hoes and tricks, Lick on deez nutz and suck the dick, Get's the fuck out after you're done, And I hops in my ride to make a quick run..."

01. Bastard (5:23)
02. You To Thank (3:36)
03. Jesusland (4:31)
04. Landed (4:29)
05. Gracie (2:40)
06. Trusted (4:09)
07. Give Judy My Notice (3:37)
08. Late (3:58)
09. Sentimental Guy (3:04)
10. Time (4:30)
11. Prison Food (4:15)
12. Bitches Ain't Shit (3:55) *vinyl exclusive track.

 

Download "Songs For Silverman" (2005) @ Sharebee