St. Ambrose University, the Davenport Civil Rights Commission, and the Putnam Museum are joining together to chronicle the civil-rights movement in the Quad Cities between 1940 and 1984, and its impact on the community. To create an archive of materials for future generations, the Civil Rights History Committee is conducting interviews and gathering archival materials such as photos, film, letters, audiotapes, diaries, other documents, and memorabilia. Additionally, the committee will create an exhibit at the Putnam. Anyone who played a role in the history of the Quad Cities civil-rights movement, or who is in possession of artifacts related to the movement, is encouraged to contact Arthur Pitz at (309) 736-0840 or (artpitz@hotmail.com) or Judith Morrell at (563) 326-7888.

On
"Puttin' People on the Moon," the Driver-By Truckers'
Patterson Hood sings a litany of tragedies personal and regional:
"Mary Alice got cancer just like everybody here / Seems everyone I
know is gettin' cancer every year / And we can't afford no
insurance, I been 10 years unemployed / So she didn't get no chemo
so our lives was destroyed / And nothin' ever changes, the cemetery
gets more full / And now over there in Huntsville, even NASA's shut
down too."
Protectionists
claim that free trade is bad for America - that increasing imports
of goods means increasing exports of jobs, thereby gutting our
economy. This notion could only be valid in a zero-sum world with a
fixed number of jobs, where one country's gain would be another's
loss; in fact, though, the number of jobs, both at home and abroad,
is locked into a clear uptrend. New businesses and industries
continually emerge in the never-ending attempt to satisfy humankind's
insatiable wants. We can never run out of jobs.
It's a woman's world in two upcoming CD tribute projects that benefit breast-cancer support and awareness. Later this month New Jersey's Face Down Records will release About a Girl, collecting cover contributions from Philadelphia-area artists taking aim at songs with a woman's name in the title. AC/DC's "Whole Lotta Rosie" is found within, covered by Beretta 76, as is the Jukebox Zeroes' spin on The Sonics' "Cinderella" and the Creeping Weeds' hand at Arthur Alexander's "Anna." With proceeds benefiting the Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition, the disc also includes covers of Elvis Costello's "Allison," Weezer's "Suzanne," The Kinks' "Victoria," and the AM-radio nugget by The Looking Glass, "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)."






