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Listen live at: nsightful essays on the genesis of subcultures from new wave and yuppies to graffiti and rap From the birth of hip-hop culture in the South Bronx to the influence of nightclubs in shaping the modern art world in New York, a generation of countercultural events and icons are brought to life in this personal account of the life and experiences of an investigative reporter and editor of High Times. Evidence from cutting-edge conspiracy research including the real story behind the JFK assassination and the Franklin Savings and Loan cover-up is presented. Quirky personalities and compelling snapshots of life in the 1980s and 1990s emerge in this collection of vignettes from a landmark figure in journalism. The Octopus Conspiracy delivers a lifetime of counterculture journalism, plunging the reader deep into the fomenting cultural waves that few get to experience personally. Steven Hager takes you behind the scenes of that hip underground of burgeoning international artistic and cultural movements—movements that set the music, fashions, fads, tastes and sensibilities of generations. We get to view these cultural events from various vantage points. One as a cub reporter meeting the young striving artists long before they were famous. Another as an editor of High Times, the counterculture’s most successful voice, where Hager is given entrée to events and to the celebrities at the heart of popular culture—sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll—that give him a panorama experienced by very few. But he doesn’t stop there. Hager examines our spiritual quests, celebrations and rituals. And in articles that bring clarity to our national discourse, he probes the netherworld of assassinations, secret societies and conspiracies affecting our national political life and personal liberties. The opening piece, “Heritage of Stone,” was named “the best written article on the [JFK] assassination” by Judge Jim Garrison—the same Jim Garrison who as New Orleans’ District Attorney forced the only open-court examination ever held of the President’s murder. Hager’s candid reportage and incisive interviews have also been called “the best and most reliable history of the break-rap-graffitti subculture” by the late, great New York Times music-critic, Robert Palmer. Whether you read them all at once or seperately, these are stories to be shocked about, to chuckle over, to ponder and to share. Over 150 photographs, many from award-winning photographers, give additional depth and allow readers an extra look at seminal events and notable people of our time. “Hits home with little-known facts” Nelson George, Billboard “The best read on the subject” James Marshall, East Village Eye “A thrilling, intricate story” Greil Marcus, Art Forum “Intelligent, extremely well-written” Dave Marsh, Rock & Roll Confidential “Impressive” David Hinckley, NY Daily News “What Margaret Mead was to Samoa...Steven Hager’s “Hip Hop” is to the South Bronx.” Art critic Rene Ricard “The most historically accurate book on the subject” Mark Weinstein, The Source Over 150 Photos Steven Hager is the author of Adventures in Counterculture, Art After Midnight, and Hip Hop. He is a former reporter for the New York Daily News and former editor of High Times. He lives in Woodstock, New York. Complete archives at http://www.sitbot.net/ Please let us stay on topic and be civil. OM YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS
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- [cia-drugs] Steve Hager on with Michael Corbin 12 noon EDT RoadsEnd
