by Josh Wachtel

Behind-the-scenes RFE-er Alexei Panshin has just posted the first of five parts of an essay titled "Sympathy for the Devil," about a Robert Heinlein story called "Solution Unsatisfactory" written in 1941 before the U.S. entered World War II, and prophesying that the war would be put to an end in 1945 by a radiological weapon that could destroy entire cities.

The story is tricky, though, and in untangling it, Alexei has a lot to say about contemporary politics and how we might solve one of the major problems of the world we live in today: With the power available to destroy ourselves and our environment, how can humans survive?

Part 1 is here. Parts 2, 3, 4 and 5 will be published every other day until the whole is available on-line.

by Josh Wachtel

When are we going to quit stealing people’s food?

When are we going to quit stealing people’s oil?

When are we going to quit stealing people's lives?

When are we going to start taking care of ourselves?

Click here to see a ragged black and white recording, supposedly of the Holy Modal Rounders, doing "She Done Sold It Out." There's a whole lot of them rounders there for this session.

Alexei Panshin writes, "I think you've made a mistake with James Burton. He never played with the Rock'n'Roll Trio, who were Johnny and Dorsey Burnette and Paul Burlison on guitar. Burton was a good bit younger and made his first mark on 'Susie Q' with Dale Hawkins, and then played behind Ricky Nelson where he first got attention and later Elvis Presley."

And: "Paul Burlison, who was born in 1929, died in 2003. He's the one who discovered he could get a fuzz tone with a loosened tube in his amp. James Burton was born in 1939 and is still playing. He even has his own website."

Now this looks interesting:



BOUND TO LOSE: THE HOLY MODAL ROUNDERS by FILMMAKER PAUL LOVELACE
2006 – USA – 1 hr 27 min – d. Sam Wainwright Douglas and Paul Lovelace
From the Greenwich Village folk music scene of the early 1960’s, to the tumultuous and drug-hazed years of touring, to the present day, this highly entertaining documentary charts the success and struggles of the Holy Modal Rounders, a music group whose songs appeared on the soundtrack of Easy Rider. Featuring interviews with Dennis Hopper and Sam Shepherd (who was the band’s drummer for a few years), the film humorously chronicles the lives of band mates Steve Weber and Peter Stampfel, eloquently ruminating on the line that divides (or connects) genius and madness.

This movie will be screened at the County Theater in Doylestown, PA, May 5 @ 7 p.m. and the Ambler Theater in Ambler, PA, May 8 @ 7 p.m. Both screenings will be introduced and discussed by director Paul Lovelace.

Yvonne pointed out that the guy playing with Johnny Burnette below
is not James Burton. Does anybody know who it is?

Meanwhile, this guy compares better with the person in the photos accompanying the interview.

Here's a link to an interview with James Burton, who nobody knows but everybody's heard.


And here's him playing with Johnny Burnette and the Rock'n'Roll Trio: