Why NOT to shop at Urban Outfitters.

Listen up, lovers of ironic t-shirts, skinny jeans and faux-vintage apparel. Your beloved hipster mecca, otherwise known as chain outlet Urban Outfitters, has a few skeletons in its pseudo-bohemian closet. Superficially speaking, UO could pass for an independent retailer - its target base is young, educated urban consumers; its products cater to an 'indie' niche; its speakers blast Pitchfork's 'best of'' playlist on repeat - morally, however, the store is aligned with massive corporations like The Gap and even Walmart.
With over 75 stores in the United States and roughly 150 stores globally, Urban Outfitters is a multimillion-dollar operation that outsources their clothing from sweatshops in countries like China that utilize child slave labor. LongView Funds, a mutual fund company with a stake in Urban Outfitters Inc., urged the company to adopt international labor standards in 2008. UO declined to adopt and disclose a code of conduct based on basic, internationally-recognized human rights. They instead released a statement saying they "expect[ed] suppliers to adhere to child-labor laws."
If Urban Outfitters is getting its apparel mass-produced in factories across the sea, how does everything look so cool? For starters, the styles are often stolen from local designers. Lillian Crowe, a Brooklyn-based jewelry designer, sells necklaces featuring a rib cage, a spine and the skull of a bull. She recently discovered shockingly similar pieces in the UO catalog. John Earle, graphic artist and creator of online t-shirt vendor Johnny Cupcakes, gladly obliged when Urban Outfitters asked for a few sample designs to be considered for placement in their stores. UO chose not to carry Johnny Cupcakes' products: they instead stole Earle's original art, remaking two of his designs into extremely similar t-shirts under their 'Urban Renewal' label. Urban Outfitters solicited t-shirts from an artist, then stole his concepts after choosing not to license his work. To think that UO panders to an 'artsy' demographic. Urban Outfitters v. Johnny Cupcakes
Moreover, the political bent of UO President Richard Hayne would likely dismay the young, progressive crowd that his company attracts. Richard Hayne, whose net worth is $1.8 billion, donated tens of thousands of dollars to former Senator Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) - the same politician who compared homosexuality to beastiality in a 2003 interview with the Associated Press.
Urban Outfitters is just one example of a company that projects an image completely different from what its executives are really all about. This incongruity represents a common, troubling phenomenon in retail.
The Gap and Lord & Taylor are widely regarded as classy merchandisers with high-quality apparel, yet BehindTheLabel.org, an online news magazine that covers sweatshop issues in the global clothing industry, cites them as "responsible for the global sweatshop crisis." Starbucks touts itself as a "responsible" company that has a "positive impact on the communities [it] serve[s]", yet similarly exploits foreign labor and has been additionally attacked for using genetically modified ingredients. In an ideal world, companies would wear their hearts on their sleeves; their products would reflect not only what they believe, but also their actions.
If goods are manufactured in a locale where the wages paid are significantly lower than US minimum wage, it's sweatshop labor. If the workers manufacturing those goods would be considered minors and subjected to US child labor laws, it's sweatshop labor. How to begin your life as a conscious consumer? Checking the tag for that 'Made in the USA' affirmation is a great first step.

(Or try consuming less. There's an idea worth considering...)

Burn The Earth! Leave It Behind!

Pat the Bunny was a transient: a freight train hoppin', pill poppin' anarcho-punk. He was as pissed off as he was intelligent, which is to say very. Pat left his hometown of Brattleboro, Vermont as a teenager to live the life of a vagabond and share his acoustic punk rock songs with anyone who gave a shit. Pat, née Patrick Schneeweis, performed as both Johnny Hobo & the Freight Trains and Wingnut Dishwashers Union. While he has all but disappeared since entering year-long treatment for addiction, his music found its way into my life rather recently.

Burn the Earth! Leave It Behind is an album that will slowly scratch itself into your psyche, and your soul. His songs are both clairvoyant and caliginous: he expresses and articulates his anger at unjust social norms, while remaining cryptic about his own personal life. After my first listen, I felt as if I knew Pat the Anarchist. But it wasn't until my upteenth listen that I began to understand Pat the Human. An anxious, sensitive, whip-smart fuck up.

Pat's music makes me question myself, my beliefs and values. But it's also really fun and catchy as fuck. The anarchistic rantings of a homeless man never sounded so good.

Download Burn the Earth! Leave It Behind

Jihaaaaad

Andrew Jackson Jihad sound like Woody Guthrie's bastard son.
And that's a damn good thing.
AJJ play straight up folk-punk: earnest and unplugged yet gritty and raw. Its two core members, Sean Bonnette (guitar / vox) and Ben Gallaty (bass), have worked with a slew of constantly alternating musicians since the band's 2004 inception. Bonnette, who strums his acoustic axe with string-popping intensity, has a knack for writing confessional songs about his love / hate relationship with Parliament cigarettes and his antipathy towards hipsters, as well as the abusive stepdad who fucked up his childhood. He admittedly sounds a lot like the dude from Neutral Milk Hotel - which kinda make sense, considering AJJ released a pitch-perfect cover of "Two-Headed Boy". Sean's songs tightrope-walk the line between personal and political - exploring both intimate and far-reaching topics with intelligence and humor. The Arizona-based band decries Immigration SB 1070 Law on their excellent "Lady Liberty".

Needless to say: their latest release, 2009's Can't Maintain, is pretty killer.

Download their magnum opus: People Who Eat People Are The Luckiest People In The World

Heaven Is Hold Steady.

Craig Finn ain't much of a singer, but the man sure spins a mean yarn. And for those of you naysayers who claim his songs rely far too heavily on brawny rock rhythms and Daedalean wordplay: Heaven Is Whenever, his band's fifth LP, will surely put your naysayin' to rest. Over the past few years, The Hold Steady has become synonymous with chugging guitars and earnest tales of "boys and girls in America". But after 2008's comparatively dull Stay Positive, fans couldn't help but wonder what the future held for the Brooklyn band. Were they destined to become another Springsteen-sound-alike: frontman Finn singing of mill towns and motorbikes with the same puffed-chest clout as his Jersey hero? Nah, dude. Finn is, for all intents and purposes, a nerd! He's a chubby thirtysomething with a nasty bout of male pattern baldness. Wendy isn't going to wrap her legs around him! Hell, she'd more likely laugh in his face then throw her diet coke on his freshly pressed button-down. And he got the memo. "You can't get every girl. You'll love the ones you get the best," he comforts a younger version of himself on the excellent "Soft In The Center", adding in, "I know what you're going through. I had to go through that too." The Hold Steady has returned to their Almost Killed Me roots. Screw concept albums – the only concept tying this album together is the concept of human experience. Their mustachioed keyboardist Franz Nicolay is notably absent. And while his fills and riffs were certainly an integral part of the group's sound, there is no mistaking the fact that this is their freshest sounding release since 2006’s Boys And Girls In America. That slide guitar on "Sweet Part of the City"? Dope. Finn's finest moment, however, comes in the form of a simple love song. "We Can Get Together" is about sitting on your beloved's bedroom floor, listening to a timeless record that stirs up the most wonderful kind of nostalgia. Heaven Is Whenever could easily become said timeless record. Saturated with warmth, humor, honesty - it is truly an album for the ages.

Live At Massey Hall 1971

Sifting through Youtube videos of Neil Young, I noticed one user's sage comment: "Neil never smiles." But with the topical themes of his songs and the haunting timbre of his voice, who can really blame him for an often-neglected sense of fun? A few weeks ago I stumbled across Young's Live At Massey Hall 1971. In addition to two never-released songs (the entrancing "Bad Fog of Loneliness" and the pulsing romp "Dance Dance Dance"), the album features stunning live renditions of his most poignant numbers. "Ohio" is all the more powerful in its acoustic incarnation; the defiant political rocker is elevated to a new level of stripped-down emotional vulnerability. "How can you run when you know?" sings Young, his fear and indignation audible. Live At Massey Hall 1971 is a remarkably rich collection of songs, so full of Young's essence: the social consciousness, the sensitivity, the sweetness. His mumble is modest and sincere, if somewhat somber. Maybe Neil Young wasn't such a smiley guy - but the breadth and depth of his emotional palate make smiling seem all-together irrelevant.

Faves of the Aughts.

As the decade drew to a close, I began to ponder what my favorite albums of the 00's (more simply the "aughts") were. Here's what I came up with.

Morrissey – You Are The Quarry (2004)
Most pop stars have to be dead before they reach the iconic status Steven Patrick Morrissey has achieved within his lifetime. Morrissey sheds his enigmatic, sexually ambiguous Smiths persona on You Are The Quarry. His sumptuous baritone wells with intense emotion as he denounces Oliver Cromwell, the Tory Party and the repressive Catholic Church that turned his childhood into a living hell. Amidst sensitive balladry and cathartic stompers, swirling piano and serrated guitar, Morrissey steps into the spotlight as a human being complex and flawed, on an album that is complex and flawless.

Nickel Creek – Why Should The Fire Die (2005)
Since their 1993 debut, the progressive bluegrass group has been composing melodically masterful tunes complete with lush three-part harmonies and charming twang. But what differentiates Fire from their other albums? This album really rocks. The string band remained traditional in their use of acoustic-only instrumentation, but their sonic scope broadened dramatically. The chromatic lilt of “Jealous Of The Moon”” is more reminiscent of R.E.M. than Ralph Stanley. With Why Should The Fire Die, Nickel Creek carried the American tradition of bluegrass into the 21st century.

Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not (2006)
Alex Turner was a 16-year-old Brit with big ears, a thick Cockney accent and keen observational abilities. When Turner decided to pick up a guitar and put his stories – inspired by drunken teenagers, young prostitutes and North England nightclubs – to music, the result was a prolific punk outfit with a sound as raw as their message. In the span of thirteen songs, Turner and company encapsulate the gritty realities of an angry, exploited generation. Remember the teenage wasteland that The Who described in “Baba O’Reilly”? New generation, same wasteland.

I Love Liz.

Words fail to capture the importance of Liz Phair's 1993 debut, Exile In Guyville. I can only begin express my feelings towards the album via hand gestures and facial expressions. Have you ever had that transcendental moment alone on your bedroom floor, listening to that certain album with tears streaming down your cheeks? There's something very essential and not at all girly about the experience of being literally moved to tears by a work of music that speaks on such a personal level, you can't help but think it was written with you in mind. Exile In Guyville tore me to shreds. When I first laid ears upon Phair's splenetic snarl, all of my preconceived notions about communication and gender roles in relationships were challenged and shattered. Liz uses her sharp tongue and equally sharp brain to explore natural human impulses. Her narrative is unfiltered, uncensored, honest, raw. Exile In Guyville is an album that centers around themes of love and sex, with lyrics that are never safe or sentimental. The song that brought me to the brink was "Fuck And Run", which explores how destitute, how heartbreakingly bleak physical love is in the absence of genuine human connection. Liz has this wonderful way of making herself vulnerable yet retaining the ability to sound like she can kick your ass at any given moment. The album is uniformly lo-fi, full of scratchy guitars and the low, almost-masculine tonality of Liz's voice. Her music is where tough meets tender: she is opinionated, often angry, yet compassionate and introspective. Exile In Guyville became my adolescent spirit guide, helping me navigate this mine-strewn journey through its frank study of relationships, carnality and self-discovery. This is not a pretty album. It doesn't coddle, it doesn't preach and it's a must own for any teenage girl.