Compact archive May 9, 2008

Prague will host the Oscar duo Marketa Irglova and Glen Hansard for the first time since the February Oscar awards. Czech songress will perform with her Irish partner 8th June in the Archa theatre.

Irglova and Hansard have chosen Irish musicians from Hansard’s music group to accompany them at their concert. During the evening there should also be heard songs from the older album Swell Season, not just the well-known soundtrack to the film Once. Irish Liam Ó Maonlaí will play before them.

At the present moment, these two are touring the USA, their concerts are usually sold out. Than they move to Europe. They will play for the Germans, Spanish or British. In the half of June, they are coming back to the states, just before the holidays, they want to perform at British Glastonbury Festival.

Meanwhile businessmen in Slovakia celebrate, Czech exporters expect losses because of strong crown to Euro exchange rates. Slovaks can pay in Euro from the next year on. European commission and European central bank didn’t put Slovaks down and gave the green light for Euro adoption. But meanwhile traders are happy, ¾ of Slovaks do not like it very much.

Strengthening of Czech Crown makes troubles for Czech exporters already; Slovakia is the second country we export the most, just behind Germany. Especially automobile factories fear losses of profits. Skoda cars worth 1,8 bil. Czk were exported last year only. The relations manager of Skoda Auto says “every time czk strengthens of 1 czk to Euro, we lose one billion.

According to the speaker of the Czech Railways (CD) the reason for ticket price increase are ever increasing price of electricity and especially of oil. The prices willl be levelled up at the end of the year 2008.

Those who will be affected the most are those who use kilometric banks. The little book containing coupons for 2000 km rises its price every year, now the price of 1 kilometre rises to almost 1czk. Anyway the prices of regular tickets will be increased, too: I.e. the ticket which ables to use all the train connections will cost 440 czk, 50 czk more than now.

A number of various advantageous tarifs wil be simply abandoned. The CD speaker Kabala commented on it, that such a growth wasn’t possible to expect, as the last week the oil went to unrecorded 32,30 czk/l. The machines that don’t run on electricity run on oil.

The Czech Prime minister went on the mission, so common for the American President George Bush; to show up unexpected at a military base somewhere at the middle east, and to express deep concerns with his troops.

Topolanek decided to set up for his trip because of events of the last week, when an improvised explosive device killed one Czech solider and left others wounded. The Prime minister’s first stop was at the field hospital and chemical unit ISAF, which works in 4th contingent of Czech and Slovak army at the airport in Kabul. Than he moved to Logar province on the American base Shank, the home of Provincial reconstruction team of the Czech Republic.

There are approx. 100 soldiers of the Czech Army in Kabul, about 200 are in Logar.

Dinosaur Jr. myth exploded in a hail of flaming toads in the spring of 1989, when the band’s original trio line-up burst like a ripe sac of pus.

At its best, the trio’s music (its guts) was like a version of the Stooges that didn’t have Iggy – just one of the Ashetons mumbling vocals while they all slugged the crap out of their instruments. Dino Jr’s sound was actually a roiling sea of emotion and rage and a sense of aggro that had been forged into a bizarre metal-punk-pop-whatsis by obsessive listening to Sabbath, the Birthday Party, The Cure, Blitz and Neil Young.

Touring continued into ’06 and the band’s strengths were constantly increasing. When their equipment van was swiped a couple days before the Osheaga Festival in Montreal, it didn’t faze them. “No big deal,” J says. “That show was amazing,” Kim Gordon says. “It was almost like they’d been reborn as a hardcore band.”

Dinosaur’s early shows and recordings represented the first (or, at least, first best) example of a new rock-qua-rock music arising from the germ of hardcore punk.

(Sat) 24th 05 2008 start 19:30 DINOSAUR JR. /US, AWESOME COLOR /US, Palac Akropolis, Kubelikova 27