UK makes first arrests under new expanded hate crimes rules
The Guardian is reporting that Manchester police have made their first arrest under the new hate crimes laws which include "alternative" subcultures among those reasons to classify an act as a hate crime. The two charged were a 14 and 44-year old who allegedly assaulted a 16-year-old boy who…
2013-04-11 13:30:01

Musicians look at the legacy of Margaret Thatcher
The death of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher yesterday led many musicians of her era to look back at her controversial legacy. Her social policies in the UK, her unwillingness to impose sanctions on the apartheid government in South Africa and support for Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet among other things famously led to protest songs from The Specials,…
2013-04-09 12:30:01

Manchester Police to define attacks against punks, goths as hate crimes
In a new move, Greater Manchester Police have decided to classify attacks on goths, emos and punks as hate crimes. The force will treat abuse towards subcultures similarly to how it handles those based on race, religion, disability or sexual orientation. According to a Huffingon Post UK report, the move was partly the result of campaigning by Sylvia…
2013-04-04 14:30:01

Boston police going undercover to fight DIY punk shows
Slate is reporting on a new operation from The Boston Police Department which has police using fake social media…
2013-04-01 15:30:02

Lollapalooza Israel postponed due to lack of performers
After resurrecting the traveling musical tour as a single-city festival in 2003, Lollapalooza organizers began expanding the festival into new locations like Brazil and Chilé and this year, were were hoping to cross the ocean for an event in Israel. Originally planned to take place at Yarkon Park in Tel Aviv, the…
2013-01-23 18:00:01

Led Zeppelin awarded the Kennedy Award
President Obama awarded the Kennedy Award, one of the highest cultural honors in the United States, to rock band Led Zeppelin on December 2. Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters introduced the band and referred to them as "his teachers." The president remarked in his tribute: When Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and John Bonham burst…
2012-12-04 13:30:01

Did you vote?
Well, it's election day, the day when - for a brief moment - people really, really care about what happens in Ohio. Soon, the election will be over and that state will be a distant memory, sort of like Seattle after grunge, Australia after Crocodile Dundee or George W. Bush on January 20th, 2009. Despite what some people say, the two parties are definitely quite different. The Democrats aren't liberal enough for some of you, and the Republicans aren't conservative…
2012-11-06 15:00:01

Springsteen posts pro-Obama statement, plays at Ohio rally
Bruce Springsteen has come out strongly for President Barack Obama. The musician posted a lengthy statement about his reasons for supporting the president. He also spoke at a campaign rally: I'm here today because I'm concerned about women's rights, I don't have to tell you the dangers to Roe v. Wade under our opponent's policies. I'm also here today…
2012-10-19 12:00:02

One member of Pussy Riot freed, but others still facing two years
The briefly delayed appeal of Pussy Riot members which was held today in Russia has led to a encouraging outcome for one of the three women, but less good for the other two. The court did not argue the…
2012-10-10 14:30:01

Tom Morello, Tim McIlrath, Serj Tankian: "We Are the 99 Percent"
Rolling Stone is premiering a recording of "We are the 99 Percent," a song from Rage Against the Machine's Tom Morello, Rise Against's Tim McIlrath, System of a Down's…
2012-09-27 13:00:01