Ok, I'll admit it. I'm not Irish. But I love St. Patrick's Day. Why? Oh, I dunno...because it's a holiday that invites you to drink beer - green beer even - in honor of...well...something. At least Felicia's Irish, so that gives me an excuse.
Like most holidays, St. Patrick's Day exists in this sort of Hallmark Television pardox that invites people to wear green, dye things green, and drink green beer and watch Leprechauns parade to celebrate, well, a heritage? Veritas Lux Mea set aside our Guinness for a few moments and investigated the history behind this beloved little green holiday. Here's what we discovered...
The History of St. Patrick's Day
St. Patrick's Day is celebrated on March 17, his religious feast day and the anniversary of his death in the fifth century. The Irish have observed this day as a religious holiday for thousands of years.
On St. Patrick's Day, which falls during the Christian season of Lent, Irish families would traditionally attend church in the morning and celebrate in the afternoon. Lenten prohibitions against the consumption of meat were waived and people would dance, drink, and feast—on the traditional meal of Irish bacon and cabbage.The first St. Patrick's Day parade took place not in Ireland, but in the United States. Irish soldiers serving in the English military marched through New York City on March 17, 1762. Along with their music, the parade helped the soldiers to reconnect with their Irish roots, as well as fellow Irishmen serving in the English army.
Over the next thirty-five years, Irish patriotism among American immigrants flourished, prompting the rise of so-called "Irish Aid" societies, like the Friendly Sons of Saint Patrick and the Hibernian Society. Each group would hold annual parades featuring bagpipes (which actually first became popular in the Scottish and British armies) and drums.
No Irish Need Apply
Up until the mid-nineteenth century, most Irish immigrants in America were members of the Protestant middle class. When the Great Potato Famine hit Ireland in 1845, close to a million poor, uneducated, Catholic Irish began to pour into America to escape starvation. Despised for their religious beliefs and funny accents by the American Protestant majority, the immigrants had trouble finding even menial jobs. When Irish Americans in the country's cities took to the streets on St. Patrick's Day to celebrate their heritage, newspapers portrayed them in cartoons as drunk, violent monkeys.
However, the Irish soon began to realize that their great numbers endowed them with a political power that had yet to be exploited. They started to organize, and their voting block, known as the "green machine," became an important swing vote for political hopefuls. Suddenly, annual St. Patrick's Day parades became a show of strength for Irish Americans, as well as a must-attend event for a slew of political candidates. In 1948, President Truman attended New York City 's St. Patrick's Day parade, a proud moment for the many Irish whose ancestors had to fight stereotypes and racial prejudice to find acceptance in America.
Wearing of the Green Goes Global
Today, St. Patrick's Day is celebrated by people of all backgrounds in the United States, Canada, and Australia. Although North America is home to the largest productions, St. Patrick's Day has been celebrated in other locations far from Ireland, including Japan, Singapore, and Russia.
In modern-day Ireland, St. Patrick's Day has traditionally been a religious occasion. In fact, up until the 1970s, Irish laws mandated that pubs be closed on March 17. Beginning in 1995, however, the Irish government began a national campaign to use St. Patrick's Day as an opportunity to drive tourism and showcase Ireland to the rest of the world. Last year, close to one million people took part in Ireland 's St. Patrick's Festival in Dublin, a multi-day celebration featuring parades, concerts, outdoor theater productions, and fireworks shows... [history.com].Irish Stereotypes Demand Sober Discussion
by Mike Tighe for the Palm Beach Post
Those of us who trace our roots to the Old Sod - I capitalize it in deference, and reference, to the Emerald Isle - are known for many things, not the least of which is the Luck 'O the Irish.
We're also acclaimed, or disclaimed, for two traits:
• Drinkin'.
• Living in shanties.
The common bias is that we're excessive with both. Well, this year, I came up with such a wealth of Irish material for the run-up to St. Patrick's Day that I feel like a drunken leprechaun in a shanty palace.
So, in a brazen example of excess, this is the first of two columns with St. Pat's stuff. It's become traditional in this column to offer Irish jokes for the holiday, partly because Shirley Frisch slapped me around when I didn't do so a couple of years back.
This fine Jewish lady was splitting shamrocks because I left her without new material for her annual St. Paddy's Day bash. I featured her last year, although she threatened me with a shillelagh shellacking if I revealed her age, other than to say she was seventysomething. I talked to her the other day, and she's still kickin'. She'll be kicking up her heels at a couple of small parties this year: one for St. Pat's at her house down here - appropriately, she lives in Greenacres - and the other, Up North, for a very important birthday. But she implied that she'd burn me at the stake on her candle-blazing cake if I reveal what birthday, so I won't (hint: It's seventysomething).
Well, next week is for joking. For now, I'm going to deflect the drunken shanty aspersions with some important historical notes:
• The potato famine of 1845 was a seminal point in Irish history. Actually, it wasn't just about potatoes. It also had serious political, religious and sociological implications. On the other hand, I liked a comedian's shtick about how my ancestors simply should have eaten some carrots instead of "insisting" on starving...[READ MORE]
Totally Stereotypical St. Patrick's Day MP3:
The Bloody Irish Boys - "Drunk Tonight"
Sports
NCAA March Madness First Round Recap
Day 1:
I mentioned in our breakdown of the NCAA Tournament that Louisville scares us, and after seeing their performance against Stanford on Day 1, we had every right to be shaking in our boots. At one point Louisville had a 42-15 lead on Stanford. Should be a great matchup today against a well-rounded Texas A&M squad.
Butler played better than we expected, as did VCU. Or rather, I guess I should say Duke played worse than we expected. We knew VCU was a tough squad and it didn't help that Duke only made 20 of 32 from the line. I think VCU's dance ends today against Jamie Dixon's Pittsburgh team.
Michigan State dominated Marquette just as we had expected (not really, but we did pick them to win). You have to love a coach like Tom Izzo who brings a football mentality to the sport. The Spartans were all over the glass in the first half, and shot 53% from the field and 86% from the stripe. I think they'll give a very talented North Carolina team a tough time, but the pure talent on the Carolina bench should win out.
Vandy was much tougher than we thought, which is good considering we have them in the Sweet 16. I guess it helps when George Washington shoots a dismal 27% from the field. They'll be tested by a much better club in Washington State, who was excellent defensively and from the foul line against Oral Roberts.
Day 2:
Florida shook a slow start to roll past Jackson State, but the highlight of the night may very well have been Jackson State University's Sonic Boom of the South.
I was severely disappointed with the play of Notre Dame yesterday and it cost me a Sweet Sixteen bid. Making only 4 or 13 from the line and getting outmuscled by Winthrop around the boards really did the Irish in. Going 4 of 22 from behind the arc never helps. Drive to the basket, man!
Miami of Ohio was tough and gave Oregon all they could handle, a true credit to them. We'll see how the Ducks handle Wintrop Sunday, but they should be able to find a spot in the Sweet 16.
Wisconsin had a terrible shooting day and deserved to lose that game to Texas A&M Corpus Christi. They only thing that saved the Badgers was that they were able to compose themselves in the second half and Kamron Taylor started making shots. Corpus Christi was gassed at the end of the game, you could feel that, and luckily the Badgers were solid from the foul line (25 of 30). They'll need to play much better offensively against UNLV to have a chance, although UNLV themselves had a terrible shooting game against Georgia Tech (about 31% from the field).
Chris Lofton helped Tennessee roll, Virginia handled Albany with ease, and Nevada survived a scare from Creighton. I really thought Arkansas would get the best of USC, but unlikely story.
Texas looked great against a New Mexico State team that really put in a good effort. Durant and company were an astounding 25 of 26 from the line, which is amazing considering how poorly teams have shot so far in the tournament from the foul line and how young of a squad Texas has.
Today, were looking for Maryland to handle Butler, Pitt and UCLA to move on, Vandy to upset the Cougars, and North Carolina to fight back Michigan State. We're also praying our Final Four pick Texas A&M gets past Louisville.
credit: NCAA photos courtesy of Sports Illustrated
Music
Gross Domestic Product Lineup Announced
Des Moines, Iowa (Feb. 19, 2007) - The Greater Des Moines Music Coalition (DMMC) announces Gross Domestic Product's (GDP) 15 band lineup. This years' GDP features a diverse range of 15 Iowa acts in metal, hip-hop, rock, emo, punk, pop, psychedelic and more, with no "headliners." This year Iowa is the headliner.
Gross Domestic Product Lineup:
Beside Nothing
Des Moines Boyz
Down Cast
Facecage
General Sherman
The Horseshoe Spatulas
Keepers of the Carpet
North of Grand
Oh Possum
On a Pale Horse
Only
Poison Control Center
Pushovers
Radio Moscow
$trick9
For more information on the lineup visit www.desmoinesmc.com.
History and rationale:
The first GDP in 2006 was a huge local music showcase featuring acts such as The Envy Corps and The Lifestyle; drawing more than 1,000 fans to the Hotel Fort Des Moines. This years' GDP features an even more diverse lineup and the DMMC hopes to surpass the 1,500 mark in
attendance.
Three bands return from the first GDP: General Sherman, The Horseshoe Spatulas, Poison Control Center, and Aeon Grey - solo at the first GDP - will perform with his new group, Pushovers. It's a night for music fans to come together, raise their fist to all of the critics and naysayers, and celebrate the amazing music that is happening in Des Moines and Iowa.
Details:
What: DMMC Presents Gross Domestic Product
When: Saturday, March 31, 2007
Doors: 6:30 Show: 7:00
Where: Hotel Fort Des Moines, 1000 Walnut St., downtown Des Moines
Tickets: On sale Feb. 21 at IowaTix.com, $10 in advance, $15 day of
ALL AGES - ALL AGES - ALL AGES
Fans can contact their favorite participating GDP bands to get tickets
for LESS than $10.
Featured Artist: Bang! Bang!
Chicago-based feisty dance/rock/punk band that may make you take your clothes off and dance around in a hot club that smells like vodka and cigarettes.
From their Morphius Records bio:In Chicago, where yesterday’s bands get chewed up and spit out like fingernails, mutation is survival. It’s how Bang! Bang! has hammered away in the stretches of time that eat most bands alive (four years and counting). But rather than growing legs and walking on land, this mutation has allowed Bang! Bang! to take a liberating plunge into new waters on their new LP, The Dirt That Makes You Drown (Morphius Records). With two new members joining the party started by Gretta Fine (vocals, bass) and Jackie Flash (vocals, guitar), drummer Nick Kraska and part-time keyboardist Rachel Shindelman (both from New Black), Bang! Bang! has evolved not so much into a different animal but rather a stronger one, better geared to endure a new world.
Caught in the act at Albini’s Electrical Audio Studios by Greg Norman (Pelican, Built To Spill) Bang! Bang! has come back louder in the loud parts, harder in the hard parts and softer in the gentle parts — making their latest onslaught an enrapturing warehouse of sound that aims to make your aorta pound like an impending heart attack. The album kicks off with “What We Need,” an incandescent maelstrom and hang-ten soul-blues spasm, where Jackie rocks like a dirtier Mick Jagger cum Richard Hell, amped up on trucker pills, big city lights and furtive desire — demanding that what we truly need is some “goddamn love.”
“She Came From Outer Space” is a mini-narrative about a wee girl, (or in this case, Gretta) inundated by nighttime B movies, who gets tucked into bed and watches the world warp around her head like a Twilight Zone episode. Backed by a beat that sounds like a KORG hammering into funk punk service, it’s a slow, mystery-entwined throbber. But what about Bang! Bang!’s self-proclaimed genre of “sex rock”? Which of the new songs fall under this classification?
It’s easy. All of them. And none of ‘em. And who cares? What matters in the end is that Bang! Bang! proves great rock transcends genre.
The new album, The Dirt That Makes You Drown, is out April 10th
Don't miss show: April 14, w/ Willowz & Arks @ The Beat Kitchen, Chicago, IL 10pm Our BIG cd release show!
Bang! Bang! - "What We Need"
Bang! Bang! - "She Came From Outer Space"
From "Electric Sex", released 2005.
Bang! Bang! - "Electric Sex (Down On The Dance Floor)"
Bang! Bang! on Myspace
Featured Artist: Morning Runner
Morning Runner want to tell you a story. It comes in the form of ‘Wilderness Is Paradise Now’ their debut album released in 2006. Recorded at Rockfield Studio, Monmouth and Sawmills Studio, Cornwall and produced by John Cornfield, it’s an album full of surprises
‘Heartwrenching songs, twisting and sighing with invention and glistening beneath a sharp edge of violence’ – Guardian.
After all, nothing is as it seems with this band. Perhaps sweet on the surface their lyrics give way to a picture that is far less pretty. A picture that deals with obsession, depression, lust and desperation.
‘Beneath their indie pop choruses lurks a disturbed soul. Mathews lyrics explore everything from family issues and breakdowns to horror movies, while Fields’ piano is more Nick Cave than Keane’ NME
The four members of Morning Runner met in Reading and signed to Parlophone in 2004. The band spent much of 2005 touring with the likes of Coldplay, Ian Brown, Bloc Party and have also played two sold out headline tours of their own.
Morning Runner - "Burning Benches"
Purchase Morning Runner music here
Morning Runner at Myspace
Featured Artist: Hallelujah the Hills
Hallelujah the Hills was born from the wreckage of the late, lamented Boston group The Stairs, who released two beautiful full lengths and promptly broke up, but not before receiving absurdly good press:
"The Stairs are a National Treasure"- The Nashville Press
"It appears that the Stairs final album, On Sleep Lab, is doomed to become a lost classic. Suffice to say, however, that the few people who've heard it will be shaking it at you like an Arcade Fire demo for years to come." -Boston Phoenix
Thankfully, Stairs guitarist Ryan Walsh and drummer Eric Meyer decided to carry on. Having decided on the band name, they asked a few friends along for the ride: David Bentley (cello, guitar), Joe Marrett (bass), Elio DeLuca (synth, samples) and Brian Rutledge (trumpet) are the other members that make up today's Hallelujah the Hills.
Meanwhile, future Misra manager Cory Brown got a copy of the Stairs record and was blown away. After Hallelujah the Hills played a show with Frog Eyes and Sunset Rubdown (of Cory's label Absolutely Kosher Records) he got in touch with them and, well, you know the rest.
Hallelujah the Hills - "Hallelujah the Hills"
HTH at Myspace
HTH Official Website
Featured Artist: Motocade
Alternative/indie rock band from Auckland, New Zealand.
Motocade - "Into the Fall"
Motocade at Myspace
Purchase Motocade music