The Oxhorn Music Mix

The First Annual Hip Hop & Peacebuilding Festival is the brainchild of Stacy Willyard, is a George Mason University grad student at the Institute of Conflict Analysis and Resolution. The event is designed to bring together artists, diplomats, intellectuals & peacemakers from the US, Africa & the Middle East to increase understanding and awareness of political and social turmoil. The conference will focus on the role hip hop can play in empowering youth to speak out, organize and act to secure more peaceful future outcomes.

This conference represents everything good and awesome about this music. Hip Hop is a powerful art form and as such it has an incredible, if seldom recognized/realized, potential to be used for good. The medium can provide its practitioners an engaging forum to speak out about issues of real importance. And people listen. Whether or not the general populous is aware of this, real heads know it as truth.Consciously and conscientiously practiced Hip Hop is a positive influence on the communities in which it grows and provides otherwise disenfranchised youth with the means to affect real change on local and international levels. Hip Hop gives voice, gives direction, gives community, gives identity, gives understanding. Despite its somewhat sordid history, this art form can play an important role in peacemaking processes worldwide.The DC Hip Hop and Peacebuilding Festival represents the culmination of Stacy’s work with other GMU students, DC artists, and other foreign and domestic music groups to create a festival to promote co-existence and dialogue through Hip Hop. She is also a researcher at the United States Institute for Peace and is co-sponsoring the festival along with others such as Nomadic Wax, Rosetta Stoned, and Sol Productions, and GMU student group Project Nur. She deserves a hug, a handshake and a hardy round of applause.Word up.

Contact: transformationalart@gmail.com
Websitio: http://www.beats4peace.org/

Story by Ryn Burns

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Black Keys Tour & Release New Album w/ Dangermouse

The Black Keys will tour, release new album this year, so says Muzzle of Bees. Looks like they’ll be in New York, Washington DC, Chicago, San Diego and everywhere in between.

In what could be the most interesting moment in music, Danger Mouse will be producing the New Black Keys’ album, “Attack & Release.” Maybe I’m crazy, but I’m looking forward to this madly come April 1.

Flight of the Conchords Manager Murray Hewitt’s New Year’s Plan

NME is reporting that Murray Hewitt, Flight of the Conchords’ mild-mannered manager has offered to be Oasis’ new manager. Considering the recent success of “The Doggy Bounce,” and Oasis’ fall from pop graces, what have they got to loose?

What advice does Hewitt offer?

Im not sure about the name. What does it mean? Basically it’s a small pond of water in a dry desert. OK, it’s not too bad, but you could do better? From the experience I’ve had I don’t think brothers is going to work. I might have to split you up into two different bands to be fair. One can be Oasis and the other one can be Mirage - that’s another desert name.

In other Flight of the Conchords news, the complete first season is now available!

Kinks REUNION??? Nope.

The Daily Swarm is the front-runner for the 2008 Buzzkill of the Year Award, dismissing reports of a Kinks reunion tour. Thanks for nothing.

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In a new Pitchfork interview, David Berman talks about the The Silver Jews’ New Album - Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea. We can’t wait to hear it later in the year. Until then, a quote from Berman about the new, hopeful sort of characters he now writes about:

It’s definitely more about human possibility. Even if the characters themselves are just kind of like rogues or whatever living by their wits, they’re much more of an indomitable character, like a Saul Bellow character or Henry Miller’s voice in his books. They’re definitely more persistent.

And don’t forget to feast on our previous post on the Tribe - The Silver Jew’s American Vagabond Hymn - Smith and Jones Forver

In other news from NME.com Radiohead Discuss A Green Tour. The other day Thom Yorke discussed the ecological footprint of Radiohead’s upcoming tour for In Rainbows. The conclusion? It’s your fault.Says Yorke:

“I guess it’s obvious – it’s the mass of people traveling to one place, that’s the really big impact overall.”

We’ll have more news as dates are announced, which will hopefully give you plenty of time to walk to the show. While you’re walking, download the rare Radiohead mp3 from our previous post on The Trickster, a rare Radiohead B-Side.

Photo by Kirstiecat

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