Agents of Repression (1988), co-authored by Jim Vander Wall, describes what the authors claim was a secret war against the Black Panther Party and American Indian Movement carried out during the late 1960s and '70s by the FBI under the COINTELPRO program. The COINTELPRO Papers (1990; reissued 2002), also co-authored with Jim Vander Wall, examines a series of original FBI memos that detail the Bureau's activities against various leftist groups, from the U.S. Communist Party in the 1950s to activists concerned with Central American issues in the 1980s.


In Fantasies of the Master Race (1992), Churchill examines the portrayal of American Indians and the use of American Indian symbols in popular American culture. He focuses on such phenomena as Tony Hillerman's mystery novels, the film Dances with Wolves, and the New Age movement, finding examples of cultural imperialism and exploitation. Churchill calls author Carlos Castaneda's claims of revealing the teachings of a Yaqui Indian shaman, the "greatest hoax since Piltdown Man."


Struggle for the Land (1993; reissued 2002) is a collection of essays in which Churchill chronicles what he describes as the U.S. government's systematic exploitation of Native lands and the killing or displacement of American Indians. He details Native American efforts in the 19th and 20th centuries to prevent defoliation and industrial practices such as surface mining.


Churchill's Indians Are Us? (1994), a sequel to Fantasies of the Master Race, further explores American Indian issues in popular culture and politics. He examines the movie Black Robe, the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation killings, the prosecution of Leonard Peltier, sports mascots, the Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990, and blood quantum laws, calling them tools of genocide. Churchill is particularly outspoken about New Age exploitations of shamanism and American Indian sacred traditions, and the "do-it-yourself Indianism" of certain contemporary authors. John P. LaVelle of the University of New Mexico School of Law published a review of Indians Are Us? in The American Indian Quarterly. Professor LaVelle, an enrolled member of the Santee Sioux Nation, states that Indians Are Us? twists historical facts and is hostile toward Indian tribes. It was in this book that Churchill first made the claim that the United States distributed "smallpox-infested blankets" to Indian tribes, a claim which he repeated several times over the next decade. The claim has been criticized as a falsification. Churchill has, however, received support from some scholars.


From a Native Son: Selected Essays on Indigenism, 1985 – 1995 (1996) is a collection of 23 previously published essays on Native American history, culture, and political activism. In his introduction to this volume, Howard Zinn lauds "the emergence of a new generation of Native-American scholars" and describes Churchill's writing as "powerful, eloquent, unsparing of cant and deception".


Churchill's A Little Matter of Genocide (1997) is a survey of ethnic cleansing in the Americas from 1492 to the present. He compares the treatment of North American Indians to historical instances of genocide by the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, Turks against Armenians, and Europeans against the Gypsies, as well as Nazis against the Poles and Jews.


In Perversions of Justice (2002), Churchill argues that the U.S.'s legal system was adapted to gain control over Native American people. Tracing the evolution of federal Indian law, Churchill argues that the principles set forth were not only applied to non-Indians in the U.S., but later adapted for application abroad. He concludes that this demonstrates the development of the U.S.' s "imperial logic," which depends on a "corrupt form of legalism" to establish colonial control and empire.


Churchill's controversial essay on 9 / 11 was expanded into a book-length manuscript, published as On the Justice of Roosting Chickens: Reflections on the Consequences of U.S. Imperial Arrogance and Criminality (2003) by AK Press. The book features two other chapters, one listing US military interventions, another listing what Churchill believes to be US violations of international law. The original essay takes the "roosting chickens" of the title from a 1963 Malcolm X speech, in which Malcolm X linked the assassination of U.S. president John F. Kennedy to the violence which Kennedy perpetuated as "merely a case of chickens coming home to roost." Churchill's essays in this book address the worldwide forms of resistance that he posits were and continue to be provoked by U.S. imperialism of the 20th and 21st centuries.


In Kill the Indian, Save the Man: The Genocidal Impact of American Indian Residential Schools (2004), Churchill traces the history of removing American Indian children from their homes to residential schools (in Canada) or Indian boarding schools (in the USA) as part of government policies (1880s – 1980s) which he regards as genocidal.


== Activism on Native American issues ==


Churchill has been active since at least 1984 as the co-director of the Denver-based American Indian Movement of Colorado, now an autonomous chapter of the American Indian Movement. In 1993, he and other local AIM leaders, including Russell Means, Glenn T. Morris, Robert Robideau, and David Hill, broke with the national AIM leadership, including Dennis Banks and the brothers Vernon and Clyde Bellecourt, claiming that all AIM chapters are autonomous. The AIM Grand Governing Council is based in Minneapolis and retains the name of the national group. It says that the schism arose when Means, Churchill, Glenn T. Morris and others openly supported the Miskito Indian group Misurasata, who were allied with the anti-revolutionary, CIA-backed Contras.


Journalists such as Harlan McKosato attributed the split to Means and other AIM members dividing over opposition to the Bellecourt brothers because of their alleged involvement in the execution of Anna Mae Aquash in December 1975, who was then the highest-ranking woman in AIM but had been suspected of being an informant. It was a year in which other FBI informants had been discovered in AIM. On November 3, 1999, Means held a press conference in Denver, Colorado in which he accused the Bellecourt brothers of complicity in Aquash's death, and named three lower-level AIM members involved in her death: Arlo Looking Cloud, John Graham, and Theda Nelson Clark. This was the first time that an AIM leader active at the time of the Aquash murder had publicly accused AIM of having been involved.


Looking Cloud and Graham were convicted of murder in 2004 and 2010, by federal and South Dakota state juries, respectively. By then Clark was being cared for in a nursing home and was not indicted. Means attributed the split in AIM to divisions in the aftermath of Aquash's murder. The journalist Harlan McKosato said in 1999, "... her [Aquash's] death has divided the American Indian Movement ..."


The schism continued, with the national AIM leadership claiming that the local AIM leaders, such as Churchill, are tools of the U.S. government used against other American Indians. The leaders of the national AIM organization, now called AIM Grand Governing Council, claim that Churchill has worked in the past as an underground counter-intelligence source for the U.S. government, for example the FBI, and local, non-Indian, police forces, to subvert the national AIM organization. Specifically, they refer to a 1993 Boulder, Colorado interview with Jodi Rave, a former columnist for the Denver Post, in which Churchill stated that he "was teaching the Rapid City Police Department about the American Indian Movement." In addition, Vernon Bellecourt accused Churchill of having 'fraudulently represented himself as an Indian' to bolster his credentials. Bellecourt said he complained to the University of Colorado about this as early as 1986.


Churchill has been a leader of Colorado AIM's annual protests in Denver against the Columbus Day holiday and its associated parade. Colorado AIM's leadership has come into conflict with some leaders in the Denver Italian American community, the main supporters of the parade. As early as 2004, Churchill had claimed that such parades are unconstitutional, arguing that the Ninth Amendment to the Constitution provides Native Americans with a right not to be subjected to such displays, overriding the First Amendment rights of non-Native Americans.


== 9 / 11 essay controversy ==


Churchill wrote an essay in September 2001 entitled On the Justice of Roosting Chickens. In it, he argued that the September 11 attacks were provoked by U.S. foreign policy. He compared the role of financial workers at the World Trade Center in "ongoing genocidal American imperialism" to the role played by Adolf Eichmann in organizing the Holocaust. In 2005, this essay was widely publicized when Hamilton College invited Churchill to speak. This led to both condemnations of Churchill and counter-accusations of McCarthyism by Churchill and supporters. Following the controversy, the University of Colorado interim Chancellor Phil DiStefano said, "While Professor Churchill has the constitutional right to express his political views, his essay on 9 / 11 has outraged and appalled us and the general public."


A documentary called Shouting Fire: Stories from the Edge of Free Speech, broadcast on HBO, prominently features Churchill's case in addressing the issues of free speech and First Amendment rights.


== Research misconduct investigation ==


The controversy attracted increased academic attention to Churchill's research, which had already been criticized by the legal scholar John LaVelle and historian Guenter Lewy. Additional critics were the sociologist Thomas Brown, who had been preparing an article on Churchill's work, and the historians R.G. Robertson and Russell Thornton, who claimed that Churchill had misrepresented their work. In 2005, University of Colorado Boulder administrators ordered an investigation into seven allegations of research misconduct, including three allegations of plagiarism, and four allegations of fabrication or falsification regarding the history of the Dawes Act, the Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990, and statements that smallpox was intentionally spread to Native Americans by John Smith in 1614 and by the United States Army at Fort Clark in 1837 (not to be confused with the well-documented use of smallpox-infected blankets at Fort Pitt in 1764).


On May 16, 2006 the University released their findings; the Investigative Committee agreed unanimously that Churchill had engaged in "serious research misconduct", including falsification, fabrication, and two of the three allegations of plagiarism. The committee was divided on the appropriate level of sanctions. The Standing Committee on Research Misconduct accepted the findings of the Investigative Committee but also disagreed on what sanctions should be imposed. Churchill's appeal against his proposed dismissal was considered by a panel of the University's Privilege and Tenure Committee, which found that two of the seven findings of misconduct did not constitute dismissible offences. Three members recommended that the penalty should be demotion and one year's suspension without pay, while two favored dismissal.


On July 24, 2007, the University regents voted seven to two to uphold all seven of the findings of research misconduct, overruling the recommendation of Privilege and Tenure panel that two be dismissed. By a vote of eight to one, the regents determined to fire Churchill.


The next day, Churchill filed a lawsuit in state court claiming that the firing was retribution for his expressing politically unpopular views. The jury in Churchill's suit for reinstatement weighed the university's claims of academic misconduct per jury instructions it received in the case. As Stanley Fish said, "It was the jury ’ s task to determine whether Churchill ’ s dismissal would have occurred independently of the adverse political response to his constitutionally protected statements." The jury found that the alleged misconduct would not have led to Churchill's firing and rejected the university's academic misconduct claim as the grounds for dismissal. On April 1, 2009, a Colorado jury found that Churchill had been wrongly fired, and awarded $ 1 in damages. As one of the jurors said later in a press interview, "it wasn 't a slap in his face or anything like that when we didn't give him any money. It's just that [Churchill's attorney] David Lane kept saying this wasn 't about the money, and in the end, we took his word for that." Churchill's counsel asked Chief Judge Larry J. Naves of the Denver District Court to order reinstatement in light of the verdict.


On July 7, 2009, Judge Naves found that the defendants (university) were entitled to quasi-judicial immunity as a matter of law, vacated the jury verdict and determined that the University did not owe Churchill any financial compensation. Naves denied Churchill's request for reinstatement at CU.


Churchill appealed both decisions. On November 24, 2010, a three-judge panel of the Colorado Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court's decision. In February 2011, Churchill filed a petition for writ of certiorari with the Colorado Supreme Court. In late May 2011, the Colorado Supreme Court agreed to hear his case. Court records indicate that oral arguments began June 7, 2012. On September 10, 2012, the court ruled that the University had "quasi-judicial immunity", upholding the trial court's ruling. On April 1, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from Churchill.


== Honors ==


1992, Alfred University awarded him an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters.


== Works ==


Books, as editor


Marxism and Native Americans. Boulder CO: South End Press. 1984. ISBN 978-0-89608-178-9.


Sharon Venne, ed. (1997). Islands in Captivity: The International Tribunal on the Rights of Indigenous Hawaiians. Boulder CO: South End Press. ISBN 978-0-89608-568-8. Re-released as Churchill, Ward (2005). Sharon Venne, ed. Islands in Captivity: The Record of the International Tribunal on the Rights of Indigenous Hawaiians. Boulder CO: South End Press. ISBN 978-0-89608-738-5.


Natsu Saito, ed. (2006). Confronting The Crime Of Silence: Evidence Of U.S. War Crimes In Indochina. AK Press. ISBN 978-1-904859-21-5.


Books, as author and co-author:


Culture versus Economism: Essays on Marxism in the Multicultural Arena. with Elisabeth Lloyd. Indigena Press. 1984.


Agents of Repression: The FBI's Secret Wars Against the Black Panther Party and the American Indian Movement. with Jim Vander Wall. Boulder CO: South End Press. 1988. ISBN 978-0-89608-294-6.


The COINTELPRO Papers: Documents from the FBI's Secret War Against Domestic Dissent. with Jim Vander Wall. Boulder CO: South End Press. 1990. ISBN 978-0-89608-359-2.


Fantasies of the Master Race: Literature, Cinema, and the Colonization of American Indians. Common Courage Press. 1992. ISBN 978-0-87286-348-4.


Churchill, Ward (1992). Jennie and Jim Vander Wall, ed. Cages of Steel: The Politics of Imprisonment in America (Activism, Politics, Culture, Theory, Vol. 4 ed.). Maisonneuve Press. ISBN 978-0-944624-17-3. Re-released as Churchill, Ward (2004). Jim Vander Wall, ed. Politics of Imprisonment in the United States. AK Press. ISBN 978-1-904859-12-3.


Struggle for the Land: Indigenous Resistance to Genocide, Ecocide and Expropriation in Contemporary North America. Common Courage Press. 1993. ISBN 978-1-56751-001-0. Revised and expanded edition: Struggle for the Land: Native North American Resistance to Genocide, Ecocide and Colonization. San Francisco CA: City Lights Books. 2002. ISBN 978-0-87286-415-3.


Indians Are Us ?: Culture and Genocide in Native North America. Common Courage Press. 1994. ISBN 978-1-56751-021-8.


Since Predator Came: Notes from the Struggle for American Indian Liberation. Aigis Press. 1995. ISBN 978-1-883930-03-5.


Churchill, Ward (1996). From a Native Son: Selected Essays on Indigenism 1985 – 1995. Boulder CO: South End Press. ISBN 978-0-89608-553-4.


Pacifism as Pathology: Reflections on the Role of Armed Struggle in North America. with Mike Ryan (introduction by Ed Mead). Arbeiter Ring. 1998. ISBN 978-1-894037-07-5.


A Little Matter of Genocide. San Francisco CA: City Lights Books. 1998. ISBN 978-0-87286-343-9.


Draconian Measures: The History of FBI Political Repression. Common Courage Press. 2000. ISBN 978-1-56751-059-1.


Acts Of Rebellion: The Ward Churchill Reader. Routledge. 2002. ISBN 978-0-415-93156-4.


Perversions of Justice: Indigenous Peoples and Angloamerican Law. San Francisco CA: City Lights Books. 2002. ISBN 978-0-87286-416-0.


On the Justice of Roosting Chickens: Reflections on the Consequences of U.S. Imperial Arrogance and Criminality. AK Press. 2003. ISBN 978-1-902593-79-1.


Kill the Indian, Save the Man: The Genocidal Impact of American Indian Residential Schools. San Francisco CA: City Lights Books. 2004. ISBN 978-0-87286-434-4.


Speaking Truth in the Teeth of Power: Lectures on Globalization, Colonialism, and Native North America. AK Press. 2004. ISBN 978-1-904859-04-8.


To Disrupt, Discredit And Destroy: The FBI's Secret War Against The Black Panther Party. Routledge. 2005. ISBN 978-0-415-92957-8.


Articles


Churchill, Ward (July – September 1992). "I Am Indigenist: Notes on the Ideology of the Fourth World". Z Papers 1 (3). Archived from the original on October 14, 2007.


Churchill, Ward (1994). "Let's Spread the Fun Around". First published as "Crimes Against Humanity" in Margaret Anderson and Patricia Hill (eds.) (1994). Race, Class and Gender: An Anthology. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. pp. 366 – 73. Also published under the titles "The Indian Chant and the Tomahawk Chop" and "Using Indian Names as Mascots Harms Native Americans".


Churchill, Ward (November 1998). "Smoke Signals: A History of Native Americans in Cinema". LiP Magazine.


Churchill, Ward (Winter – Spring 2003). "An American Holocaust? The Structure of Denial". Socialism and Democracy 17 (2): 25 – 76. doi: 10.1080 / 08854300308428341.


Churchill, Ward (Spring 2005). "The Ghosts of 9-1-1: Reflections on History, Justice and Roosting Chickens". Alternative Press Review 9 (1): 45 – 56. Archived from the original on October 2, 2006.


Churchill, Ward (July – August 2007). "The Fourth World: Struggles for Traditional Lands and Ways of Life". Left Turn 25: 25 – 29.


Audio and video


Doing Time: The Politics of Imprisonment, audio CD of a lecture, recorded at the Doing Time Conference at the University of Winnipeg, September 2000 (AK Press, 2001, ISBN 978-1-902593-47-0)


Life In Occupied America (AK Press, 2003, ISBN 978-1-902593-72-2)


In A Pig's Eye: Reflections on the Police State, Repression, and Native America (AK Press, 2002, ISBN 978-1-902593-50-0)


US Off The Planet !: An Evening In Eugene With Ward Churchill And Chellis Glendinning, VHS video recorded July 17, 2001 (Cascadia Media Collective, 2002)


Pacifism and Pathology in the American Left, 2003 audio CD recorded at an AK Press warehouse in Oakland (AK Press Audio)


Z Mag Ward Churchill Audio August 10, 2003 and earlier


Churchill Speaks About Academic Freedom – Free Speech Radio News February 9, 2005


Ward Churchill Under Fire – Free Speech Radio News, February 3, 2005.


The Justice of Roosting Chickens: Ward Churchill Speaks The Pacifica Network Show, Democracy Now! from February 18, 2005 features extended Audio / Video exclusive interview with Churchill.


A Little Matter of Genocide: Linking U.S. Aggression Abroad to the Domestic Repression of Indigenous Peoples ", recorded in North Battleford, Saskatchewan on March 19, 2005


Debate with David Horowitz and Ward Churchill at George Washington University April 6, 2006


"Full two-hour audio of debate with David Horowitz". rightalk.listenz.com. Retrieved 2006-07-02.


"David Horowitz vs. Ward Churchill — Round 1". Young Americans Foundation. Retrieved 2006-07-02. Video and audio (excerpt)


"David Horowitz vs. Ward Churchill". insidehighered.com. Retrieved 2006-07-02.


== Artwork ==


Churchill's subjects are often American Indian figures and other themes associated with Native American Culture. He uses historical photographs as source material for works. In the early 1990s at Santa Fe Indian Market, Churchill protested the passage of the 1990 Indian Arts and Crafts Act. It requires that, to identify and exhibit works as being by a Native American, artists and craftsmen must be enrolled in a Native American tribe or designated by a tribe as an artisan. Under federal law, Churchill cannot identify his art as by a Native American.


Some of Churchill's pieces may infringe copyrights. For example, his 1981 serigraph Winter Attack was, according to Churchill and others, based on a 1972 drawing by the artist Thomas E. Mails Churchill printed 150 copies of Winter Attack and sold at least one of them. Other copies are available online for purchase. Churchill says that, when he produced Winter Attack, he publicly acknowledged that it was based on Mails' work. The online journal Artnet mentions Churchill's artwork and the controversy surrounding its originality.


= Exit Through the Kwik-E-Mart =


"Exit Through the Kwik-E-Mart" is the fifteenth episode of the twenty-third season of the American animated television sitcom The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 4, 2012. In the episode, Bart is punished by Homer after causing trouble. He gets revenge on his father by spray-painting images of him with the word "dope" all over Springfield. Street artist Shepard Fairey encounters Bart one night and offers him a gallery show of Bart's artworks. However, Chief Wiggum suddenly appears during the show and arrests Bart for covering the town in graffiti. It turns out that Fairey is an undercover officer working for Wiggum.


The episode references the 2010 street art documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop by graffiti artist Banksy, and features guest appearances from street artists Ron English, Kenny Scharf, and Robbie Conal as themselves. Fairey, who is a long-time fan of The Simpsons, also guest starred in the episode as himself. Around 5.09 million Americans tuned in to watch "Exit Through the Kwik-E-Mart" during its original broadcast. Since then, the episode has received praise from television critics for its opening sequence, which parodies the opening sequence of the medieval fantasy television series Game of Thrones.


== Plot ==


As a birthday gift for Marge, Homer buys a blender designed by television chef Paula Paul. He goes to a health food store called Swapper Jack's, where Paula is giving away autographs, to have Paula sign it. Homer is impressed by the store and says he will not be shopping at the Kwik-E-Mart any more. Apu, who is there to spy, overhears Homer and the two engage in a fight until the security guards grab hold of Apu and take him away. At the signing, Homer tells Paula that Marge is a big fan of hers. Paula decides that she will call Marge live during her upcoming show to wish her a happy birthday. Meanwhile, Bart gets his mother a rabbit for her birthday. The rabbit chews through the phone lines in the Simpsons' home, causing Marge to miss Paula's call. Paula becomes furious at Marge for not answering the phone as she embarrassed herself on her show. Homer punishes Bart by locking him up in the rabbit's cage.


To get revenge on Homer, Bart goes around Springfield spray-painting graffiti of Homer's face and the word "dope". When his work appears on the television news, it encourages Bart to create even more graffiti in the town. Street artists Shepard Fairey, Ron English, Kenny Scharf, and Robbie Conal encounter Bart one night when he is making some graffiti. The four tell Bart that they are impressed by his work and would like to showcase his art in a gallery show, at first Bart is unsure, but Bart remembers how Homer treated him, and then agrees. Meanwhile, the Kwik-E-Mart suffers because of the competition from Swapper Jack's. Apu ends up attempting to rob Swapper Jack's in a desperate measure, but the cashier (Snake Jailbird) convinces him to hand over the gun. Later, Apu is about to shut down the Kwik-E-Mart when his wife Manjula tells him that Swapper Jack's is closing because it was discovered they were selling monkey meat imported from Brazil as chicken.


Homer initially refuses to attend Bart's show because he discovers the artwork is an insult to him, but changes his mind after Bart apologizes and writes "I'm sorry" on the hood of Homer's car. At the show, Chief Wiggum and the Springfield Police Department suddenly appear to arrest Bart for making graffiti throughout the town. It is revealed that the gallery show is a sham and that Fairey is an undercover officer who helped the police identify Bart as the graffiti artist that had been spray-painting Springfield. Since Bart is just a boy, he is not sent to jail. Instead, he is punished by once again being locked up in the rabbit cage. When Bart tells Wiggum that he has to go to the bathroom, Wiggum covers the cage with the blanket and finds Bart gone when he removes the blanket from the cage.


== Production ==


"Exit Through the Kwik-E-Mart" was written by Marc Wilmore and directed by Steven Dean Moore as part of the twenty-third season of The Simpsons (2011 – 12). It spoofs the debated status of street art as a true form of art. The title is a reference to Exit Through the Gift Shop, a 2010 street art documentary by graffiti artist Banksy who produced the opening sequence of an earlier Simpsons episode titled "MoneyBART" (2010). The Richard Hawley song "Tonight The Streets Are Ours", which is the theme song of Exit Through the Gift Shop, is included in the episode during a montage of Bart painting graffiti in Springfield. Hayden Childs of The A.V. Club noted in his review of "Exit Through the Kwik-E-Mart" that the "reveal that the art show was a police sting gives the show a moment to joke about the anti-art market theme from Exit Through The Gift Shop. Wiggum asks who would be stupid enough to pay for work that an amateur puts up for free in public, and the answer is, as in Banksy ’ s movie, the very wealthy, here represented by Mr. Burns."


American street artist Fairey guest starred in "Exit Through the Kwik-E-Mart" as himself. The graffiti art featuring Homer's face and the word "dope" that Bart creates in the episode is a reference to Fairey's Barack Obama "Hope" poster and his OBEY Giant image. Fairey has said that The Simpsons has been one of his favorite television shows since the early 1990s because of its "blend of humor and social commentary", and he felt "deeply honored" to be included in an episode. Fairey wrote on his website that "Part of being on The Simpsons, is you ’ re being honored as a reference point in culture." He described the plot of the episode as "great", adding that the staff members of the show "were kind enough to indulge a couple of my dialogue suggestions designed to make the social commentary more pointed (even though I had to make fun of myself to do so)." This was Fairey's first acting performance. Street artists English, Scharf, and Conal also guest starred in the episode as themselves.


The traditional Simpsons opening sequence was replaced in this episode with a redesigned version that spoofed the opening sequence of the HBO medieval fantasy series Game of Thrones. The Game of Thrones opening shows the various locations featured in the series on a three-dimensional map of the fictional continent Westeros. In the Simpsons opening, these locations were substituted with places in Springfield, and The Wall was replaced with the Simpson family's couch. The theme song featured in the Game of Thrones opening sequence was arranged by The Simpsons composer Alf Clausen and used in the Simpsons opening as well. Nicholas McKaig, known for uploading a cappella covers of famous songs on YouTube, performed the Simpsons theme song over the closing credits of "Exit Through the Kwik-E-Mart". He was recruited after a staff member of the show saw his cover of the Simpsons theme on YouTube.


== Release ==


"Exit Through the Kwik-E-Mart" was originally broadcast on the Fox network in the United States on March 4, 2012. It was watched by approximately 5.09 million people during this broadcast, and in the demographic for adults aged 18 – 49, the episode received a 2.5 Nielsen rating and a seven percent share. This was a slight decrease from the previous episode, "At Long Last Leave", which acquired a 2.6 rating. The episode became the second highest-rated broadcast in Fox's Animation Domination lineup for the night in terms of both total viewers and in the 18 – 49 demographic, finishing higher than new episodes of American Dad!, Napoleon Dynamite, and The Cleveland Show, but lower than a new Family Guy episode (which received a 2.8 rating and was seen by 5.33 million people). For the week of February 27 – March 4, 2012, "Exit Through the Kwik-E-Mart" placed 25th in the ratings among all prime-time broadcasts in the 18 – 49 demographic, and seventh among all Fox prime-time broadcasts.


Writing for The A.V. Club, television reviewer Hayden Childs commented that "Exit Through the Kwik-E-Mart" was "somewhat amusing and far more coherent than many recent episodes, but the satire is relatively mild. The episode curdles a bit while looking for a sweet ending, but it is otherwise solid enough." Critics have praised the opening sequence that parodies Game of Thrones. Tim Surette of TV.com called it "one minute of genius", and MTV's Brandon Freeberg wrote: "Congratulations are in order for Matt Groening and his staff for really knocking this one out of the park." Jenna Busch of Zap2it and Kelly West of Cinema Blend, both fans of Game of Thrones, named the opening the best in the history of the show. IGN's Eric Goldman commented: "Ah, The Simpsons. Always there for us with clever / loving parody of something we all love. Such was the case last night, when the animated series opened with an epic opening credit sequence that gave us the Springfield-inspired version of the terrific Game of Thrones credits."


= The Boat Race 2008 =


The 154th Boat Race took place on 29 March 2008. Held annually, the event is a side-by-side rowing race between crews from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge along the River Thames. Oxford won the race. Oxford's crew featured the oldest competitor in Boat Race history. The race took place in very difficult weather conditions – strong winds and heavy rain – resulting in the slowest winning time in over sixty years. Oxford won by six lengths, the largest margin of victory since the 2004 race.


Oxford's Isis beat Cambridge's Goldie in the reserve race, while Oxford won the Women's Boat Race.


== Background ==


The Boat Race is a side-by-side rowing competition between the University of Oxford (sometimes referred to as the "Dark Blues") and the University of Cambridge (sometimes referred to as the "Light Blues"). First held in 1829, the race takes place on the 4.2-mile (6.8 km) Championship Course on the River Thames in southwest London. The rivalry is a major point of honour between the two universities and followed throughout the United Kingdom and broadcast worldwide. Cambridge went into the race as reigning champions, having beaten Oxford by over a length in the previous year's race and the overall lead, with 79 victories to Oxford's 73. The race was sponsored by Xchanging for the fourth time.


The first Women's Boat Race took place in 1927, but did not become an annual fixture until the 1960s. Until 2014, the contest was conducted as part of the Henley Boat Races, but as of the 2015 race, it is held on the River Thames, on the same day as the men's main and reserve races. The reserve race, contested between Oxford's Isis boat and Cambridge's Goldie boat has been held since 1965. It usually takes place on the Tideway, prior to the main Boat Race.


== Crews ==


Oxford's crew weighed an average of 12 pounds (5.4 kg) more per rower than their opponents, and featured the oldest competitor in Boat Race history in 36-year-old American Mike Wherley. Cambridge crew consisted of six Britons, two Australians and an American, while Oxford's comprised four Americans, three Britons, an Australian and a German. Both coxes, Nick Brodie and Rebecca Dowbiggin, were former Blues, while Cambridge also saw 30-year-old Tom Edwards return, having rowed in 2006. Cambridge's boat club president Dan O'Shaughnessy was the seventh Light Blue president not to row in his own Blue Boat.


== Race ==


Oxford were pre-race favourites, but Cambridge won the toss and elected to start from the Surrey station. Oxford took an early lead, but the boats closed on each other, and Umpire John Garrett was forced to issue a number of warnings to both coxes in an attempt to prevent a collision. By Craven Cottage, Oxford were nearly a length ahead and Cambridge responded; by the time the crews passed under Hammersmith Bridge they were level. Along Chiswick Eyot Oxford moved ahead once again, and were clear of Cambridge after 30 strokes. Oxford extended their lead to pass the finishing post in 20 minutes 53 seconds, six lengths and 22 seconds ahead of their opponents. Driving rain, strong winds and choppy water resulted in the slowest winning time for over sixty years, but the largest margin of victory since the 2004 race.


Oxford's Isis beat Cambridge's Goldie by three-and-a-quarter lengths in the reserve race. Oxford won the 44th running of the Women's Boat Race by half a length.


== Reaction ==


Oxford's Oliver Moore said "we got the rage going in the crew, and we started to kill it, we hit an awesome rhythm". Cambridge coach Duncan Holland congratulated his opponents: "Well done to Oxford, they were much faster on the day". Following tradition, the victorious Oxford crew tossed their cox Brodie into the Thames.


= Fort Scott National Historic Site =


Fort Scott National Historic Site is a historical area under the control of the United States National Park Service in Bourbon County, Kansas, United States. Named after General Winfield Scott, who achieved renown during the Mexican-American War, during the middle of the 19th century the fort served as a military base for US Army action in what was the edge of settlement in 1850. For the next quarter century, it was used as a supply base and to provide security in turbulent areas during the opening of the West to settlement, a period which included Bleeding Kansas and the American Civil War.


The current national historic site protects 20 historic structures, a parade ground, and five acres (20,000 m ²) of restored tallgrass prairie, inside the city of Fort Scott. It is open to visitors most days of the year.


== History ==


In 1842, Fort Scott was named after Winfield Scott, was established on the American frontier on the military road in eastern Kansas between Fort Leavenworth and Fort Gibson. It was established to provide protection to the rapidly increasing number of settlers, who were migrating from the Eastern United States. Fort Scott became one of a chain of forts intended to protect the new settlers from the Plains Indians, as well as to protect the Indians from the settlers' encroachment.


The United States government intention to reserve permanent Indian lands west of the Missouri River gave way to the competition of settlers continuing to encroach on the Indian settlements. Fort Scott's most active days were between 1842 and 1853, although it was also used during the Civil War.


=== Army days ===


The Cherokee of Indian Territory (now Oklahoma) were upset to have Fort Wayne in their proximity. After some delay, the US Army decided to abandon Fort Wayne and move its soldiers to a new fort to be built between Fort Leavenworth and the site. The Army both wanted to placate the Cherokee (who were supervised by the Department of Defense) and provide more defense for white settlers and other Indians against the Osage, who had been conducting frequent raids in the area. On April 1, 1842, some soldiers of Fort Wayne left their fort and on April 22 arrived where Fort Scott would be built, in the Osage Cuestas section of modern-day Kansas. After haggling with the Cherokees to acquire the land, the rest of Fort Wayne's garrison left the fort on May 26 and arrived at the Fort Scott site on May 30.


Unlike most forts for military use, the fort did not have defensive walls or structures when first built; the wide-open area and the available artillery made an enclosed fort unnecessary. The soldiers concentrated on building structures for lodging the men, animals, and equipment. These buildings were on the edges of a 350-foot (110 m) parade ground.


The post quartermaster, Captain Thomas Swords, was in charge of building Fort Scott's structures, and had to deal with the problems of construction on the Kansas prairie, which had few trees. He had only two bricklayers and three carpenters to rely on, as there were few civilians and most of the soldiers had other duties to perform. Wood was available, but the mill was built 1.5 miles (2.4 km) away, making transport time consuming. Swords found his efforts plagued by lack of wood, skilled labor and working equipment. Freak accidents destroyed much of the wood intended for the fort's construction. As a result, only one duplex of the five planned officers quarters (four duplexes and post commandant's house) was built by 1844, and the intended enlisted barracks were not completed. In his 1844 inspection of the fort, Colonel George Croghan reported that, in comparison to other frontier forts, he considered Fort Scott "above average".


Due to the rising tensions that escalated in the Mexican-American War, the US Army redeployed troops to the Southwest. With Fort Scott still uncompleted, officials decided on April 25, 1850, that no more construction would be done there, after eight years and $ 35,000. By the time it was finished, it was obsolete; three years later, it was abandoned by the military in favor of the more western Fort Riley.


For the average soldier, life at the fort was "monotonous". Until the permanent structures were built, soldiers had to live in tents, which lacked comfort. Aside from a few whiskey peddlers and prostitutes, few civilians lived at the fort. Officers had brought their personal slaves with them, including Captain Swords. Five miles East in Missouri was a grog shop that supplied soldiers, and quite a few courts-martial followed soldiers' going AWOL at the shop. The desertion rate from the fort ranged from 12 % -16 %, due to boredom, irregular pay, and hatred for military life. As no combat took place near the fort, it seemed more of a frontier village than a military base. Hunting was a popular pastime; according to Captain Swords, "wolf chasing and duck hunting" was the only way one officer could tolerate the place.


=== Bleeding Kansas ===


Two years after the army abandoned the fort, the buildings were sold by auction to civilians, with two being converted to hotels. In 1854 the Kansas-Nebraska Act repealed the Missouri Compromise of 1820, which had kept slavery out of Kansas. Missourians in favor of slavery soon moved to Kansas to try to sway the vote of whether or not Kansas would permit slavery. Settlers from New England arrived equally determined to keep it out. Each of the two competing factions of the Bleeding Kansas conflict claimed one of the hotels at Fort Scott: Free-Soil at the Fort Scott Hotel and Pro-Slavery at the Western Hotel. Most of the residents in Fort Scott supported slavery, but those outside the town tended to the free-soil side. During this time, there were local incidents of murder and attempted arson, typical elements of the guerrilla conflicts that were prevalent in the fighting.


=== Army returns ===


During the American Civil War, the fort was renewed as a US military post. In August 1861, the Union Army took command of Fort Scott, and readied it for the war times. The United States Army also took over several blocks within the town for commissary and quartermaster functions. The Union Army rented the properties from the current civilian owners. Troops from Indiana, Iowa, Colorado, Ohio, and Wisconsin would come to the fort, and either stayed by the fort, or traveled farther, to subjugate Missouri, Arkansas, or the Indian Territory. Fort Scott was one of the few installations that recruited and trained black soldiers for the United States Colored Troops of the Union Army.


A major supply depot was situated at the fort. Confederate general Sterling Price hoped to capture the town, but the closest the Confederate force came to the garrison was 10 miles (16 km) away at Battle of Dry Wood Creek. The site was strategically important as it was within a Southern-sympathizing area and close to the Confederate state of Arkansas and the "unstable" Indian Territory (present-day state of Oklahoma), where many of the members of the Five Civilized Tribes were allied with the Confederates. The fort served as a "general hospital" (large military hospital) and prison until after the war. Following the end of the war, in October 1865 the US Army left the facilities and sold off by auction what they controlled.


On January 14, 1870, the Army returned with the formation of the Post of Southeast Kansas. The Post was based at Fort Scott, but the soldiers camped along the rail tracks, and seldom used the original fort. They were sent to protect the railroads and workers from settlers. Some of the latter feared that the railroad, which had been awarded land for development by the US Government in rights-of-way, would evict them from their squatter homes. The settlers considered the troops lackeys to the railroads, and lumped both as enemies.


Settlers also had some continuing conflicts with Indians and insurgents using the recent Confederate cause as excuse for robbery. By the spring of 1873, the US Army withdrew the troops from Fort Scott for good. From 1873 to 1965, the buildings of the fort were left unattended, and slowly deteriorated. Many military buildings were razed and replaced with structures built for civilian use.


== Modern times ==


With the Act of August 31, 1965, the National Park Service gave the city government of Fort Scott, Kansas the necessary funds and technical knowledge to restore the fort.


On October 19, 1978, Fort Scott became a National Historic Site under the supervision of the National Park Service, encompassing 17 acres (69,000 m2). Today the fort is open throughout the year, save for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years Day. Visitation has declined in recent years. In 2005 visitation was 25,528; in 2007 it was 22,314.


Surviving structures include four officers'barracks, one dragoon's barracks, two infantry barracks, a hospital, guardhouse, dragoon stables, ordnance and post headquarters, quartermaster stables, bake shop, flagpole, and magazine. Another feature of the park is 5 acres (2.0 ha) of tallgrass prairie restored as part of an ecology-restoration project.


= Slammiversary (2008) =


Slammiversary (2008) was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) promotion that took place on June 8, 2008 at the DeSoto Civic Center in Southaven, Mississippi. It was the fourth event under the Slammiversary name and the sixth event in the 2008 TNA PPV schedule. Seven professional wrestling matches and one dark match were featured on the event's card, three of which were for championships. The event commemorated TNA's six year anniversary.


The main event was a King of the Mountain match for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, in which then-champion Samoa Joe defended against Booker T, Christian Cage, Rhino, and Robert Roode. Joe won the match to retain the title. The card also featured a bout pitting A.J. Styles against Kurt Angle, which Styles won. The TNA World Tag Team Championship was defended by The Latin American Xchange (Hernandez and Homicide; LAX) against Team 3D (Brother Devon and Brother Ray) at the event. LAX was the victors in the contest to retain the championship. A Six Woman Tag Team match was won by the team of Gail Kim, ODB, and Roxxi over The Beautiful People (Angelina Love and Velvet Sky) and Moose on the undercard.


Slammiversary is remembered for Joe being the first to retain a championship in a King of the Mountain match. The reported figure of purchasers for the event was 20,000, as reported by The Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Slammiversary had an attendance of 2,000 people. Jon Waldman of the professional wrestling section of the Canadian Online Explorer rated the show a 7 out of 10, which was lower than the 8 out of 10 given to the 2007 edition by Jason Clevett. After the event, an accident occurred which resulted in the death of one man and the injury of another.


== Production ==


=== Background ===


The fourth installment in the Slammiversary name was announced in January 2008 to take place on June 8. In March 2008, it was reported that Slammiversary would be held outside the TNA Impact! Zone in Orlando, Florida. In late-March 2008, Slammiversary was expected to be held in Tennessee. TNA issued a press release in April 2008 advertising Slammiversary on June 8 at the DeSoto Civic Center in Southaven, Mississippi, although TNA promoted the event as being held in the Memphis area. It also announced that the annual King of the Mountain match would be held at the event. Tickets for Slammiverary went on sale on April 25. Slammiversary celebrates TNA's six year anniversary, after it formed on June 19, 2002. TNA created a section covering the event on their website. TNA released a poster to promote the event prior featuring the tagline "In a town where legends are made, one strives to reach immortality" and Booker T, Christian Cage, Rhino, Samoa Joe, and Tomko. Release the Flood by Dust for Life was used as the official theme for the show. Promotional material advertising the return of Abyss at the event was featured on TNA's television program TNA Impact !. The scripted wedding of Jay Lethal and SoCal Val was promoted for Slammiversary. This was announced on the May 15 episode of Impact!, when Lethal proposed and Val accepted in the storyline. American singer Ace Young was advertised take part in the segment on the May 22 episode of Impact !. On the May 29 episode of Impact!, Lethal asked Sonjay Dutt to be his best man, to which Dutt agreed. Lethal's groomsmen were announced on the June 5 episode as George Steele, Kamala, Koko B. Ware, and Jake Roberts.


=== Storylines ===


Slammiversary featured seven professional wrestling matches and one pre-show match that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines. Wrestlers portrayed villains, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in the scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches.


The main event at Slammiversary was a King of the Mountain match for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, in which then-champion Samoa Joe defended the title against four other competitors. On the May 15 episode of Impact!, Joe announced the encounter would take place at Slammiversary as well that an agreement had been made between Management Director Jim Cornette and himself on who would compete in the bout. The arrangement entailed that qualifying matches would take place leading to the event between four wrestlers he chose and four wrestlers Cornette chose. Cornette's four wrestlers were James Storm, Matt Morgan, Robert Roode, and Tomko, while Joe's four were A.J. Styles, Booker T, Christian Cage, and Rhino. The qualifying matches were held on the May 22 and May 29 episodes of Impact !. Roode defeated Morgan in the first qualifier, while Booker T defeated Styles in the second, both on the May 22 episode of Impact !. The last two qualification matches were held on the May 29 episode of Impact!, with Rhino defeating Storm and Cage defeating Tomko. Kevin Nash, who played Joe's mentor in the storyline, requested to be made the Special Guest Ringside Enforcer for the bout, which he was granted by Cornette on the May 29 episode of Impact !.


The predominate storyline heading into the event was the rivalry between A.J. Styles and Kurt Angle, both members of The Angle Alliance group. On the February 14 episode of Impact!, TNA held the scripted wedding of Angle's real-life wife Karen Angle and Styles despite Angle and Karen still being married on-screen. Afterwards, Karen and Angle separated in the storyline on the March 13 episode of Impact !. TNA continued to build the situation with Angle attempting to reconcile with Karen on the May 15 episode of Impact !. Karen refused Angle's request on the May 22 episode of Impact!, leading to Angle turning on and assaulting Styles later in the episode due to his jealousy of the affection Karen showed for Styles. On the May 29 episode of Impact!, Cornette announced Angle versus Styles for the event. Angle sustained a severe neck injury in early May with several TNA officials believing Angle would not recover in time to perform at the show. Angle was still in pain a few days prior to Slammiversary but was expected to perform normally despite some officials feeling it was too soon to compete.


The TNA World Tag Team Championship was defended at Slammiversary by then-champions The Latin American Xchange (Hernandez and Homicide; LAX) against Team 3D (Brother Devon and Brother Ray). At TNA's previous PPV event Sacrifice on May 11, LAX defeated Team 3D in the final round of the Deuces Wild Tag Team Tournament for the vacant TNA World Tag Team Championship. On the May 15 episode of Impact!, Team 3D attacked and was scripted to injure LAX's manager Héctor Guerrero, thus starting a rivalry between the two. Cornette announced a rematch from Sacrifice for the championship to take place at the show on the May 29 episode of Impact !.


TNA held a Six Woman Tag Team match pitting The Beautiful People (Angelina Love and Velvet Sky) and Mickie Knuckles against Gail Kim, ODB, and Roxxi at Slammiversary. This was the main storyline in TNA's women's division which started at Sacrifice where TNA held a Ten Woman TNA Knockouts Makeover Battle Royal to become number-one contender to the TNA Women's Knockout Championship. The rules of the contest involved the winner getting a championship match while the runner-up had her head shaven. Love cost Roxxi — then known as Roxxi Laveaux — the match, resulting in her head being shaven. Kim won the bout and went on to have her title opportunity on the May 15 episode of Impact!, which she lost after interference from Love. On the June 5 episode of Impact!, Knuckles made her TNA debut aligning with The Beautiful People in assaulting Kim, ODB, and Roxxi.


== Event ==


TNA held a match to warm – up the crowd known as a dark match prior to the show pitting The Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin) against the team of Lance Hoyt and Johnny Devine. The Motor City Machine Guns won the encounter.


=== Miscellaneous ===


Slammiversary featured employees other than the wrestlers involved in the matches. Mike Tenay and Don West were the commentators for the telecast, with Frank Trigg providing for the A.J. Styles versus Kurt Angle bout only. Jeremy Borash and David Penzer were ring announcers for the event. Andrew Thomas, Earl Hebner, Rudy Charles, and Mark "Slick" Johnson participated as referees for the encounters. Lauren Thompson and Borash were used as interviewers during the event. Besides those who competed at the event, Abyss, Ace Young, Eric Young, George Steele, Héctor Guerrero, Jake Roberts, Jay Lethal, Johnny Devine, Kamala, Karen Angle, Koko B. Ware, Raisha Saeed, Rhaka Khan, Salinas, Scott Steiner, SoCal Val, Sonjay Dutt, and Tomko all appeared on camera, either in backstage or in ringside segments. The wedding of Lethal and Val took place after the second $ 25,000 Fan Challenge. The segment ended when Dutt proclaimed his love for Val in the storyline and attacked Lethal. Young, Steele, Roberts, Kamala, and Ware came to Lethal's defense before Roberts placed a snake on top of an unconscious Dutt to end the segment.


=== Preliminary matches ===


The TNA X Division Championship was defended by then-champion Petey Williams against Kaz in the opening contest of the telecast. Williams was accompanied by Rhaka Khan and Scott Steiner. The duration of the bout was 15 minutes and 19 seconds. Williams wore a protective face mask due to a broken orbital bone. Khan and Steiner interfered in the bout several times. Kaz was legitimately busted open during the match after Williams bashed him in the face with a steel pipe. Williams won the encounter after performing his signature Canadian Destroyer maneuver by slamming Kaz head-first into the mat to retain the TNA X Division Championship. Abyss returned after this match by aiding Kaz who was being attacked by Khan, Steiner, and Williams.


The team of The Beautiful People and Mickie Knuckles — renamed Moose — fought the team of Gail Kim, ODB, and Roxxi in a Six Woman Tag Team match next. It lasted 10 minutes and 14 seconds. ODB won the bout for her team after running and slamming Moose against the mat back-first and following with the pin.


The TNA World Tag Team Championship was defended in the third match of the event by LAX against Team 3D. Héctor Guerrero and Salinas accompanied LAX to the ring. Salinas, Guerrero, and Team 3D's associate Johnny Devine all interfered in the encounter. Near the end when Team 3D were waiting to perform their signature 3D tag team maneuver on Hernandez, Homicide came up behind Devon and pinned him with a schoolboy pin at 15 minutes to retain the championship.


TNA held two $ 25,000 Fan Challenge segments next with then-TNA Women's Knockout Champion Awesome Kong and her manager Raisha Saeed offering fans in the crowd the chance to face Kong. Kong and Saeed then chose a willing participant and if they defeated Kong they won $ 25,000. The participants chosen for these segments were predetermined, with each planted in the crowd. The first encounter pitted Serena D against Kong, which Kong won after slamming Serena face-first into the mat with her signature Implant Buster maneuver at 2 minutes and 26 seconds. The second was between Josie Robinson and Kong, lasting 1 minute and 42 seconds. Kong won the bout after slamming Josie back-first into the mat with her signature Awesome Bomb maneuver.


=== Main event matches ===


A.J. Styles fought Kurt Angle in the sixth encounter of the show next. The match lasted 22 minutes and 44 seconds. Angle was accompanied by Tomko to the ring. The referee forced Tomko to head to the backstage area due to the referee believing he would interfere. Styles attempted to perform his signature Styles Clash maneuver on Angle, which Angle countered into his signature Ankle Lock submission hold. Styles escaped the hold, causing Angle to crash into the referee, knocking him out in the storyline. Karen Angle then ran down to the ringside area and attempted to hand Angle a steel chair. Once Angle grabbed the chair she refused to release, allowing Styles to grab Angle and perform the Styles Clash by slamming Angle face-first into the mat. Styles then followed with the pin attempt to win the contest. After the encounter, Angle and Tomko assaulted Styles.


The main event was a King of the Mountain match for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship with Kevin Nash as Special Guest Ringside Enforcer between then-champion Samoa Joe and the challengers Booker T, Christian Cage, Rhino, and Robert Roode. In a King of the Mountain match, the objective is to climb a ladder and hang the championship belt on a hook above the ring. In order to do so, a wrestler must first qualify by either pinning or making another wrestler submit in the match. A wrestler who is pinned or made to submit is this placed in a penalty box for two minutes. The match is fought under no disqualification rules. Booker T was the first to qualify by pinning Rhino after slamming him back-first into the mat with his signature Book End maneuver. Rhino was this placed in the penalty box. Roode was the next to qualify after bashing a ladder Cage held with a chair into him and following with a pin. Immediately afterwards, Rhino pinned Roode with a roll-up pin to qualify. Later, Joe held Booker T in his signature Coquina Clutch submission hold when Cage ascended a padded turnbuckle and jumped off onto Booker T and Joe. He followed by pinning Booker T to qualify and send Booker T to the penalty box. When Booker T was released from the box, he attacked Nash with the title belt and then attempted to hang it. Nash stopped him and then dropped Booker T back-first against the mat with his signature Jackknife Powerbomb maneuver. Joe was the last to qualify by pinning Roode after slamming him back and neck-first into the mat with his signature Muscle Buster maneuver. Joe then hung the title belt at 19 minutes and 49 seconds to win the competition.


== Reception ==


A total of 2,000 people attended Slammiversary, while the The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported that 20,000 people bought the event. Canadian Online Explorer writer Jon Waldman rated the entire event a 7 out of 10, which was lower than the 8 out of 10 given to the 2007 edition by Jason Clevett. The 7 out of 10 was the same rating given to the 2009 edition by Chris and Bryan Sokol. The previous PPV event Sacrifice and TNA's next PPV event Victory Road both received a 7 out of 10 by Chris Sokol and Bob Kapur, respectively. Compared to rival World Wrestling Entertainment's (WWE) One Night Stand PPV event on June 1, both performed equally, as One Night Stand received the same rating from Matt Mackinder.


Waldman felt that "TNA put on a strong PPV" that was in "large part to little gimmickery." Regarding the main event, Waldman gave it a 6 out of 10, while the World Tag Team Championship match received a 4 out of 10. He gave the Six Woman Tag Team match a 4.5 out of 10 and the A.J. Styles versus Kurt Angle bout a 9 out of 10. The X Division Championship contest was given a 7 out of 10.


Wade Keller of the Pro Wrestling Torch Newsletter reviewed the show. He felt the main event had "lots of action and drama," but that having to hang the belt on a hook does not make for a "particularly dramatic end to a match as it seems like someone hanging a plant in the corner" than "beating someone to win a fight." Keller said the World Tag Team Championship contest was a "solid tag match" with some "elaborate sequences" that were "well executed." Keller stated that the X Division Championship match was a "very good opener." Regarding the Styles and Angle bout, Keller commented that it was a "good match, but short of a classic must-see match in part because there were too many chinlocks mid-match from Angle that took the crowd out of it."


James Caldwell, also of the Pro Wrestling Torch Newsletter, posted a review of the show in which he felt the main event was a "slow, plodding match" with an "anticlimactic finish." Caldwell stated that the Styles versus Angle contest was a "fine spotlight singles match," but was a "bit underwhelming when the expectations were reasonably high for two of TNA's best wrestlers in a featured singles match." He went on to say that he felt it was "missing something" and that it "seemed like the match just never moved out of second gear. Caldwell felt the X Division Championship bout was a" very good opening match, "which" could have been a featured match to sell a few additional PPV buys, but TNA didn't give the X Division any focus until the final show before the PPV. "Caldwell stated the World Tag Team Championship was" just a slow, plodding tag match. "Regarding the marriage segment during the show, Caldwell said" it was just a bad, bad, bad segment that died slowly and painfully in front of the live audience. "Overall, Caldwell felt that" TNA showcased the X Division in the opening match, "but needed more" athleticism on the show to balance the slow, plodding former WWE heavyweight wrestlers in the main event slots. "


== Accident ==


After Slammiversary ended, crews began to disassemble the set used for the event. During this time, a man named Kevin "Angus" Sinex was removing a light array when the scaffolding he was positioned on collapsed, causing him to slam against the concrete floor below. He was rushed to the Baptist DeSoto Hospital in Southaven, Mississippi where he was pronounced deceased. Another worker named Paul Martin was also taken to the hospital due to his thumb being cut off in the incident. TNA released a statement regarding the incident the next day through their website. The June 12 episode of Impact! was dedicated to Sinex, with a banner at the beginning of the show stating "In memory Kevin Sinex (1963 – 2008)". A moment of silence was held prior to the Impact! tapings after Slammiversary in honor of Sinex.


== Aftermath ==


Several wrestlers were concerned with Kurt Angle's health going into his Slammiversary match with A.J. Styles. Despite the concerns, Angle appeared to be out of it after the contest but was expected to be alright.


Samoa Joe and Booker T started a rivalry over the TNA World Heavyweight Championship following Slammiversary. On the June 12 episode of Impact!, Booker T claimed that Joe did not beat him at the event due to interference from Kevin Nash. This led to Nash stating that Joe could not beat Booker T in a one-on-one match later in the broadcast. After this segment, Joe announced that Booker T and he would face at Victory Road on July 13 for the title. On the July 10 episode of Impact!, Sting proclaimed that he did not know which of the two would win at Victory Road, but that he would be there to watch. At the event, Joe beat Booker T till he was bloody, causing several referees and security personnel to try to stop him to no avail. He was stopped when Sting interfered in the contest by bashing Joe with a baseball bat. Booker T then covered Joe for an unofficial pinfall victory that was counted by Booker T's legitimate wife Sharmell. The match result was ruled a no-contest, with Joe retaining the title.


A.J. Styles was joined by Christian Cage and Rhino in his feud with Kurt Angle, who was joined by Team 3D. Styles and Angle faced in a Lumberjack match on the June 12 episode of Impact!, which Angle won. Team 3D then injured both Cage and Rhino in the narrative, with Rhino being knocked out on the June 19 episode of Impact!, while on the June 26 episode of Impact! Cage was slammed through a glass table by Brother Ray. Rhino returned from injury on the July 3 episode of Impact!, challenging Team 3D and Angle to a Six Man Tag Team match at Victory Road, while teasing at adding Full Metal Mayhem rules to the bout. An online poll was held to determine the stipulation for the match, resulting in Full Metal Mayhem being chosen. The team of Angle and Team 3D were the victors at the event.


After Slammiversary, Kaz went on to captain Team TNA in the 2008 TNA World X Cup Tournament. He competed in a Four Way Ultimate X match at Victory Road as the final round of the tournament. He was unsuccessful in winning the match and gaining the appropriate points to win the tournament, thus causing Team TNA (Kaz, Alex Shelley, Chris Sabin, and Curry Man) to finish in second place, with Team Mexico (Averno, Rey Bucanero, Último Guerrero, and Volador Jr.) being the victors in point rankings.


LAX feuded with James Storm and Robert Roode over the TNA World Tag Team Championship after Slammiversary. Roode and Storm formed a team known as Beer Money Incorporated and challenged LAX for the title on the June 12 episode of Impact !. The match was originally won by Roode and Storm before being restarted due to interference. LAX won the restart to retain the championship. After the bout, Roode and Storm assaulted LAX and Héctor Guerrero. Management Director Jim Cornette scheduled a title defense at Victory Road between LAX and Roode and Storm under "Fan's Revenge" Lumberjack rules on the June 19 episode of Impact !. LAX were successful in defending the title at Victory Road.


== Results ==


King of the Mountain match


= Home Made Mince Pie =


Home Made Mince Pie is a 1910 American silent short comedy produced by the Thanhouser Company. The film is a comedy of circumstances, in which the Gale family is going to host a dinner. The focus of the humor is in a mince pie that brandy is added to in an attempt to make it more appreciable, but three people each add brandy to the pie. Everyone becomes tipsy upon eating the pie, including the family cat, and the film concludes. No cast or staff credits for this film are known. The film was released on September 27, 1910, to mixed reviews in trade publications. Reviewers mentioned that the film was too long and it was unbelievable that one pie split eight ways would be able to impact everyone. The film is presumed lost.


== Plot ==


Though the film is presumed lost, a synopsis survives in The Moving Picture World from September 24, 1910. It states: "Life in a country town is often tedious and tiresome, and were it not for the little dinners and teas the townsfolk are constantly given, existence in some localities would be a very dreary thing indeed. So the time honored get-togethers of the small town are an established feature to the social calendar; they are just as much a matter of necessity and as such have come to stay. The Gales thought well of this established feature. They made it a joyous occasion for themselves as well as their guests. They were hardly an overly wealthy family, and their table was never notable for an oversupply of the good things of life, but whenever they gave a dinner they cast all thoughts of economy to the country winds and worked to the one end that their guests have a pleasant time."


"On the night before such an event neither Mamma, Pappa, or Daughter Gale could get those minutes'solid sleep for thought that they might have overlooked some essential in the guests' comfort. At the first crow of the rooster they would come hopping down to the kitchen to get the larder into shape. So little wonder that on occasion of the dinner here pictured - when the prize dish was a splendid homemade mince pie - the Gales were ever looking after the need of the said pie. First Mamma Gale would tiptoe to the table whereupon it sat in solemn state, and give it a stir; then Pappa Gale would tiptoe over and give it a stir; finally Daughter Gale would have to come over and honor it likewise. Then arrived the guests. The Minister and the Mrs. Minister, they were, and some neighbors. While she was receiving them the recollection came to Mamma Gale that the beloved mince pie had not received its flavoring. Off she speeds to a decanter of whiskey in the kitchen. She pours into the pie the right proportion of liquor, and goes back to her guests. Then Pappa Gale remembers that the pie has not been flavored. He, too, excuses himself and a moment later is found pouring whiskey into the sacred mince. No sooner has he ceased and returned to his guest than Daughter Gale, who has just remembered about the forgotten flavoring, rushes in and makes for the whiskey. She pours'the right proportion' in, too."


== Production ==


The writer of the scenario is unknown, but it was most likely Lloyd Lonergan. He was an experienced newspaperman employed by The New York Evening World while writing scripts for the Thanhouser productions. The film director is unknown, but it may have been Barry O 'Neil. Film historian Q. David Bowers does not attribute a cameraman for this production, but at least two possible candidates exist. Blair Smith was the first cameraman of the Thanhouser company, but he was soon joined by Carl Louis Gregory who had years of experience as a still and motion picture photographer. The role of the cameraman was uncredited in 1910 productions. The cast credits are unknown, but many 1910 Thanhouser productions are fragmentary. In late 1910, the Thanhouser company released a list of the important personalities in their films. The list includes G.W. Abbe, Justus D. Barnes, Frank H. Crane, Irene Crane, Marie Eline, Violet Heming, Martin J. Faust, Thomas Fortune, George Middleton, Grace Moore, John W. Noble, Anna Rosemond, Mrs. George Walters. A surviving film still gives the possibility of identifying eight actors.


== Release and reception ==


The single reel comedy, approximately 1,000 feet long, was released on September 27, 1910. The film likely had a wide national release, with advertisements in theaters known in Indiana, Kansas, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania. The film would also be shown in Vancouver, Canada and was met with praise by the audience at the Province Theatre. In 1917, years after the film's release, the film was approved without censorship by the Pennsylvania State Board of Censors of Moving Pictures.


The The Moving Picture World reviewer found the subject to be too long, but did not find it to be a fault. The reviewer states, "A domestic comedy with a different flavor. In fact, with a mince pie for a basis the flavor comes to resemble brandy very strongly by the time that the cook, the maid and the mistress of the house and her daughter have added the proper proportion of flavoring, neither one knowing that the others have done likewise. The humor in this piece centers around this pie. What happened to the guests who partook of it certainly draws upon the imagination. Imagine eight people, not to speak of the cat, getting drunk on the brandy in one mince pie! ... We do not single out this subject as being more evidently padded than others shown on the screen this week. Licensed as well as Independents were guilty and it is time that the manufacturers realize the importance of the scenario end of matters. The mince pie episode was well done, which is the faint praise that we do not like to mete out to anyone." Walton of The Moving Picture News was not amused by the plot and stated, "To me the last scene had no humor. It was only the necessary ending to the beginning. True humor does not emanate from cognac." The New York Dramatic Mirror stated, "This is the old story of too many cooks, and it is quite funny after the first scenes are out of the way. The early part of the film takes too much time with trivial details leading up to the final situation. ... A weak point in the story is the fact that the pie is cut into eight small pieces, making it difficult to believe in its remarkable power. Two pies would have been as easy to make as one and would have been more convincing. The character parts are all well taken, although the cook would have been better if she had not seized so many opportunities to talk directly at the camera."


= Back Off Boogaloo =


"Back Off Boogaloo" is a song by English musician Ringo Starr, released as a non-album single in March 1972. Starr's former Beatles bandmate George Harrison produced the recording, which took place in London shortly after the two had appeared together at Harrison's Concert for Bangladesh shows in August 1971. The single was a follow-up to Starr's 1971 hit song "It Don't Come Easy" and continued his successful run as a solo artist. "Back Off Boogaloo" peaked at number 2 in Britain and Canada, and number 9 on America's Billboard Hot 100. It remains Starr's highest-charting single in the United Kingdom.


The title for the song was inspired by English singer-songwriter Marc Bolan. Some commentators have suggested that the lyrics were directed at Paul McCartney, reflecting Starr's disdain for the music McCartney had made as a solo artist over the previous two years. "Back Off Boogaloo" demonstrates the influence of glam rock on Starr, who directed a documentary film, Born to Boogie (1972), about Bolan's band T. Rex around this time. Described by one author as a "high-energy in-your-face rocker", the song features a prominent slide guitar part by Harrison and contributions from musicians Gary Wright and Klaus Voormann.


Starr re-recorded "Back Off Boogaloo" for his 1981 album Stop and Smell the Roses, in a collaboration with American singer Harry Nilsson that incorporates lyrics from Beatles songs such as "With a Little Help from My Friends", "Good Day Sunshine" and "Baby, You 're a Rich Man". The original version has appeared on Starr's compilation albums Blast from Your Past and Photograph: The Very Best of Ringo Starr, and as a bonus track on his remastered 1974 studio album Goodnight Vienna. Since his return to touring in 1989, Starr has performed "Back Off Boogaloo" regularly in concert with the various incarnations of his All-Starr Band.


== Background and composition ==


Ringo Starr identified his initial inspiration for "Back Off Boogaloo" as having come from Marc Bolan, the singer and guitarist with English glam rock band T. Rex. In a 2001 interview with Mojo editor Paul Du Noyer, Starr described Bolan as "a dear friend who used to come into the office when I was running Apple Movies, a big office in town, and the hang-out for myself, Harry Nilsson and Keith Moon". Over dinner one evening at Starr's home outside London, Bolan had used the word "boogaloo" so often that it stuck in Starr's mind, after which the beat and melody for the song came to him overnight. When discussing the composition on VH1 Storytellers in May 1998, Starr explained: "[Bolan] was an energised guy. He used to speak: 'Back off boogaloo ... ooh you, boogaloo.' 'Do you want some potatoes?' 'Ooh you, boogaloo!'" Starr also recalled having to take the batteries out of his children's toys that night, in order to power a tape recorder and make a recording of the new song.


The lyrics to the middle eight of "Back Off Boogaloo" came to Starr while watching London Weekend Television's football show, The Big Match. The program's host, Jimmy Hill, often referred to a footballer's playing as "tasty", a catchphrase that Starr incorporated into his song lyrics:


Get yourself together now


And give me something tasty


Everything you try to do


You know it sure sounds wasted.


Commentators have interpreted the song, and particularly this statement, as an attack by Starr on his former Beatles bandmate Paul McCartney. Starr has denied any such interpretation, instead "claiming that the song was inspired by Bolan and nothing more", Beatles biographer Robert Rodriguez writes. Starr had publicly criticised McCartney's solo albums McCartney (1970) and Ram (1971) on release, and author Bruce Spizer paraphrases the message of the middle eight as "a plea for Paul to produce better music". The mention of "sound [ing] wasted" could also be a reference to McCartney's overindulgence with cannabis, Rodriguez suggests. A further example of Starr's allegedly anti-McCartney message exists in the song's first verse:


Wake up, meathead


Don 't pretend that you are dead


Get yourself up off the cart.


The same commentators suggest that here Starr could be referring to the 1969 "Paul Is Dead" hoax. The latter rumour circulated during September and October of that year while McCartney hid away on his Scottish farm, disconsolate after John Lennon had told him and Starr that he wanted a "divorce" from the Beatles.


In addition to these supposed messages in "Back Off Boogaloo", observers have viewed the song title as Starr's rebuke to McCartney to abandon his legal stand against the Beatles and Apple Corps, which was placed in receivership in March 1971 after a High Court judge found in McCartney's favour. Author Keith Badman writes that "Boogaloo" had "long been cited as Paul's nickname" from his former bandmates Starr, Lennon and George Harrison. While acknowledging that in subsequent years Starr might have chosen to minimise any ill-feeling towards McCartney, Rodriguez notes that the lyrics "just happened to fit perfectly into the' us vs. Paul 'mindset" following the Beatles' break-up, to the extent that "Back Off Boogaloo" was "as damning as'Early 1970' had been conciliatory". When tailoring his 1970 composition "I 'm the Greatest" for Starr to record on the album Ringo (1973), Lennon referenced the song title with the lines "Now I'm only thirty-two / And all I want to do is boogaloo".


Although "T Rex devotees", in the words of Starr biographer Alan Clayson, claimed that Bolan had ghost-written "Back Off Boogaloo", Starr later acknowledged that Harrison co-wrote the song by adding some chords and finishing the melody. As on Starr's 1971 hit single "It Don't Come Easy", Harrison was not credited for his songwriting contribution. Starr originally offered "Back Off Boogaloo" to fellow Liverpudlian Cilla Black to record, but she declined, hoping instead to record another new Starr – Harrison composition, "Photograph".


== Recording ==


Having earmarked the song as his next single, Starr recorded "Back Off Boogaloo" in September 1971, following his appearance at the Harrison-organised Concert for Bangladesh in New York. The sessions took place at Apple Studio in central London, with Harrison producing, as he had on "It Don 't Come Easy". The recording reflects the influence of glam rock on Starr through what authors Chip Madinger and Mark Easter term "its big drum sound and repetitious nature", with a line-up comprising Starr (vocals, drums, percussion), Harrison (guitars), Gary Wright (piano) and Klaus Voormann (bass, saxophone).


Rodriguez describes Starr's "martial-sounding opening" as a rare "showcase for his own drumming", while Harrison biographer Simon Leng writes of "a roaring series of Harrison slide breaks that brought to mind Duane Allman". Further overdubs included contributions from three backing vocalists, led by American soul singer Madeline Bell.


=== "Blindman" ===


For the single's B-side, Starr had already written and recorded "Blindman", the theme song for the Ferdinando Baldi-directed Spaghetti Western of the same name, filming for which Starr had interrupted in order to perform at the Concert for Bangladesh. Starr produced the track with Voormann. The sessions for "Blindman" took place at Apple on 18 – 19 August, with Badfinger guitarist Pete Ham assisting Starr and Voormann. Like the film Blindman (1971), the song is held in low regard by critics; Spizer describes it as "a muddy-sounding dirge with little to recommend".


== Release and reception ==


Apple Records issued the single on 17 March 1972 in Britain, as Apple R 5944, with a US release taking place three days later, as Apple 1849. It was Starr's first release since "It Don't Come Easy", a year before. During this period, his priority had been to develop a career as an actor in films such as 200 Motels (1971) and Blindman. Further aligning himself with Britain's glam rock movement, Starr made his directorial debut with Born to Boogie (1972), a film starring Bolan that included Starr's footage of a T. Rex concert held at Wembley on 18 March. With "Back Off Boogaloo", NME critic Bob Woffinden noted Starr's success in establishing himself in the two years since the Beatles' break-up, and wrote that the single "confirmed that he and Harrison, dark horses both, were the ones who had managed their solo careers more purposefully and intelligently" compared with McCartney and Lennon.


The song was a hit in the US, reaching number 9 on the Billboard Hot 100, and achieved Starr's best position on the UK Singles Chart, where it reached number 2. A promotional video for "Back Off Boogaloo" was shot on 20 March at Lennon's Tittenhurst Park residence while Starr was looking after the property. The video, which shows Starr walking around an outdoor structure and followed by a Frankenstein-like monster, was directed by Tom Taylor and financed by Caravel Films. A similar monster appeared on the single's picture sleeve, holding a cigarette.


Alan Clayson writes of reviewers criticising "Back Off Boogaloo" for being repetitious, leading Starr to respond in a 1973 interview: "Play me a pop song that isn 't." On release, Chris Welch wrote in Melody Maker: "A Number One hit could easily be in store for the maestro of rock drums. There's a touch of the Marc Bolans in this highly playable rhythmic excursion ... It's hypnotic and effective, ideal for jukeboxes and liable to send us all mad by the end of the week." Woffinden described the single as "every bit as ebullient" as "It Don't Come Easy", although "slightly inferior", while Mike DeGagne of AllMusic views it as a song where "[t] he jovial spirit of Ringo Starr shines through". In a 1974 article for the NME, Charles Shaar Murray highlighted "Back Off Boogaloo" as a "great radio and juke-box tune".


Among Beatle biographers, Simon Leng terms it "a rocking, soccer crowd chant that suited Starr's talents well", and Bruce Spizer praises the track as a "high-energy in-your-face rocker propelled by Ringo's thundering drums and George's stinging slide guitar". In the 2005 publication NME Originals: Beatles – The Solo Years 1970 – 1980, Paul Moody listed "Back Off Boogaloo" first among Starr's "ten solo gems" and described it as "Good time rock 'n'droll to match the Faces". Guitar World editor Damian Fanelli includes the song on his list of Harrison's ten best post-Beatles "Guitar Moments", saying of the recording: "the main event is clearly Harrison's slightly wild, wacky – and very bouncy – slide guitar solo, which includes an alternate melody line that's even catchier than the melody Ringo is singing."


Re-releases for "Back Off Boogaloo" include Starr's 1975 greatest hits album, Blast from Your Past, and, along with "Blindman", as a bonus track on the 1992 reissue of his Goodnight Vienna album (1974). "Back Off Boogaloo" also appeared on his 2007 compilation Photograph: The Very Best of Ringo Starr, the collector's edition of which included his 1972 video for the song.


== Stop and Smell the Roses version ==


Starr recorded a new version of "Back Off Boogaloo" for his 1981 album on Boardwalk Records, Stop and Smell the Roses. The song was produced by Starr's friend, singer Harry Nilsson, and features a musical arrangement by Van Dyke Parks. Similar to Nilsson's 1968 cover of the Beatles'"You Can't Do That", the remake incorporates lyrics from a number of the band's songs – in this case, "With a Little Help from My Friends", "Help!", "Lady Madonna", "Good Day Sunshine" and "Baby, You're a Rich Man", as well as Starr's "It Don't Come Easy". In a further reference to his past, the 1981 version of "Back Off Boogaloo" opens with the same guitar riff that Harrison had played on "It Don 't Come Easy" ten years before.


Starr taped the basic track at Evergreen Recording Studios in Los Angeles on 4 November 1980, with additional recording taking place on 1 – 5 December at Nassau's Compass Point Studios. Among the large cast of musicians supporting Starr were Nilsson (vocals), Jim Keltner (drums), Jane Getz (piano), Dennis Budimir and Richie Zito (guitars), and a four-piece horn section led by saxophonist Jerry Jumonville.


Starr overdubbed his vocals on 4 December, four days before the murder of John Lennon, who had been due to record his contributions to Stop and Smell the Roses in January 1981. Contrasting with his success as a solo artist in 1971 – 73, the album continued Starr's run of commercial and critical failures since 1976; Rodriguez writes that "[m] ost people either love or hate the revamping" of "Back Off Boogaloo".


== Live performance ==


Starr has performed "Back Off Boogaloo" in concert with his All-Starr Band, beginning with the band's debut tour of North America in July – September 1989. The song was dropped from the concert setlist early in that tour, however, in favour of the 1963 Lennon – McCartney composition "I Wanna Be Your Man". Live versions of "Back Off Boogaloo" have appeared on the multi-disc compilation The Anthology ... So Far (2001) and King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents Ringo & His New All-Starr Band (2002). The latter version was recorded during a US tour in August 2001, at which point the All-Starr line-up was Starr (vocals), Mark Rivera (saxophone), Ian Hunter (guitar), Roger Hodgson and Howard Jones (keyboards), Greg Lake (bass) and Sheila E. (drums).


Starr also played the song live with Ringo and the Roundheads, a band he formed to promote his 1998 studio album Vertical Man. A version recorded on 13 May that year at Sony Music Studios, New York, appeared on Starr's VH1 Storytellers live album and video, released in October 1998. The personnel on this performance included Starr (vocals), Joe Walsh and Mark Hudson (guitars), Jack Blades (bass) and Simon Kirke (drums). Another live version with the Roundheads, recorded for PBS Television's Soundstage in August 2005, was issued on Ringo Starr: Live at Soundstage (2007).


== Personnel ==


The following musicians played on the original version of "Back Off Boogaloo":


Ringo Starr – vocals, drums, percussion, backing vocals


George Harrison – slide guitars, acoustic guitar


Gary Wright – piano


Klaus Voormann – bass, saxophone


Madeline Bell, Lesley Duncan, Jean Gilbert – backing vocals


== Chart performance ==


= Where the Streets Have No Name =


"Where the Streets Have No Name" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It is the opening track from their 1987 album The Joshua Tree and was released as the album's third single in August 1987. The song's hook is a repeating guitar arpeggio using a delay effect, played during the song's introduction and again at the end. Lead vocalist Bono wrote the lyrics in response to the notion that it is possible to identify a person's religion and income based on the street on which they lived, particularly in Belfast. During the band's difficulties recording the song, producer Brian Eno considered erasing the song's tapes to have them start from scratch.


"Where the Streets Have No Name" was praised by critics and became a commercial success, peaking at number thirteen in the US, number fourteen in Canada, number ten in the Netherlands, and number four in the United Kingdom. The song has remained a staple of their live act since the song debuted in 1987 on The Joshua Tree Tour. The song was performed on a Los Angeles rooftop for the filming of its music video, which won a Grammy Award for Best Performance Music Video.


== Writing and recording ==


The music for "Where the Streets Have No Name" originated from a demo that guitarist The Edge composed the night before the group resumed The Joshua Tree sessions. In an upstairs room at Melbeach House — his newly purchased home — The Edge used a four-track tape machine to record an arrangement of keyboards, bass, guitar, and a drum machine. Realising that the album sessions were approaching the end and that the band were short on exceptional live songs, The Edge wanted to "conjure up the ultimate U2 live-song", so he imagined what he would like to hear at a future U2 show if he were a fan. After finishing the rough mix, he felt he had come up with "the most amazing guitar part and song of [his] life". With no one in the house to share the demo with, The Edge recalls dancing around and punching the air in celebration.


Although the band liked the demo, it was difficult for them to record the song. Bassist Adam Clayton said, "At the time it sounded like a foreign language, whereas now we understand how it works". The arrangement, with two time signature shifts and frequent chord changes, was rehearsed many times, but the group struggled to get a performance they liked. According to co-producer Daniel Lanois, "that was the science project song. I remember having this massive schoolhouse blackboard, as we call them. I was holding a pointer, like a college professor, walking the band through the chord changes like a fucking nerd. It was ridiculous." Co-producer Brian Eno estimates that half of the album sessions were spent trying to record a suitable version of "Where the Streets Have No Name". The band worked on a single take for weeks, but as Eno explained, that particular version had a lot of problems with it and the group continued trying to fix it up. Through all of their work, they had gradually replaced each instrument take until nothing remained from the original performance.


So much time had been spent on "screwdriver work" that Eno thought it would be best to start from scratch. His idea was to "stage an accident" and have the song's tapes erased. He said that this was not to force abandonment of the song, but rather that it would be more effective to start again with a fresh performance. At one point, Eno had the tapes cued up and ready to be recorded over, but this erasure never took place; according to engineer Flood, fellow engineer Pat McCarthy returned to the control room and upon seeing Eno ready to erase the tapes, dropped the tray of tea he was carrying and physically restrained Eno.


The studio version of the song was compiled from several different takes. It was one of several songs mixed by Steve Lillywhite in the final months of recording The Joshua Tree. Drummer Larry Mullen, Jr. later said of the song, "It took so long to get that song right, it was difficult for us to make any sense of it. It only became a truly great song through playing live. On the record, musically, it's not half the song it is live."


== Composition ==


"Where the Streets Have No Name" is played at a tempo of 126 beats per minute. The introduction and outro are played in a 3 / 4 time signature, while the remainder of the song is in a common 4 / 4 signature. The songs opens with an instrumental section, starting with chorale-like sustained synthesiser notes. The guitar fades in after 42 seconds; this part consists of a repeated "chiming" six-note arpeggio. A "dotted eighth" delay effect is used to "play" each note in the arpeggio twice, thus creating a rich sound. The bass and drums enter at 1: 10.


The introduction, following a I – IV – I – IV – vi – V – I chord progression, creates a "wall of sound", as described by Mark Butler, against which the vocals emerge after nearly two minutes. The guitar part played for the remainder of the song features The Edge strumming percussive sixteenth notes. The bass and drums continue in regular eighth and sixteenth notes, respectively, while Bono's vocal performance, in contrast, varies greatly in its timbre, ("he sighs; he moans; he grunts; he exhales audibly; he allows his voice to crack") as well as timing by his usage of rubato to slightly offset the notes he sings from the beat.


This development reaches a climax during the first chorus at the line "burning down love" (A – G – F ♯ – D); the melody progresses through a series of scale degrees that lead to the highest note in the song, the A4 at "burning". In later choruses, Bono sings "blown by the wind" with the same melody, stretching the same note even longer. After the third chorus, the song's outro is played, the instrumentation reverting to the same state as it was in the introduction, with a six-note guitar arpeggio played against sustained synthesiser notes.


== Lyrics ==


The lyrics were inspired by a story that Bono heard about the streets of Belfast, Northern Ireland, where a person's religion and income are evident by the street they live on. He contrasted this with the anonymity he felt when visiting Ethiopia, saying: "... the guy in the song recognizes this contrast and thinks about a world where there aren't such divisions, a place where the streets have no name. To me, that's the way a great rock' n 'roll concert should be: a place where everyone comes together ... Maybe that's the dream of all art: to break down the barriers and the divisions between people and touch upon the things that matter the most to us all." Bono wrote the lyrics while on a humanitarian visit to Ethiopia with his wife, Ali Hewson; he first wrote them down on an airsickness bag while staying in a village.


According to him, the song is ostensibly about "Transcendence, elevation, whatever you want to call it." Bono, who compared many of his lyrics prior to The Joshua Tree to "sketches", said that "'Where the Streets Have No Name' is more like the U2 of old than any of the other songs on the LP, because it's a sketch — I was just trying to sketch a location, maybe a spiritual location, maybe a romantic location. I was trying to sketch a feeling."


The open-ended nature of the lyrics has led to many interpretations. Journalist Michael Campbell believed the lyrics send "a message of hope" and wish for a "world that is not divided by class, wealth, race, or any other arbitrary criterion". With regard to the place Bono was referring to in the song, he said, "I 'm not sure, really, about that. I used to think it was Belfast ..." Journalist Niall Stokes believes the title was influenced by Bono's and his wife Ali's visit to Ethiopia as volunteer aid-workers. Bono has expressed mixed opinions about the open-ended lyrics: "I can look at it now and recognize that [the song] has one of the most banal couplets in the history of pop music. But it also contains some of the biggest ideas. In a curious way, that seems to work. If you get any way heavy about these things, you don't communicate. But if you 're flip or throwaway about it, then you do. That's one of the paradoxes I 've come to terms with."


== Release ==


Originally, the third single from The Joshua Tree was meant to be the song "Red Hill Mining Town", but "Where the Streets Have No Name" was released instead, in August 1987. The single was released on 7-inch, 12-inch, cassette and CD single formats. Three B-sides were featured on the single, including "Race Against Time", "Silver and Gold", and "Sweetest Thing", except for the 7-inch release, which only featured the latter two tracks. The 12-inch single featured "Race Against Time" on side A of the record (despite being a "B-side"), and the cassette single featured all four tracks on both sides of the tape. Although not as successful as the album's first two singles, the song did chart well. In the U.S., the song peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 11 on the Album Rock Tracks charts. The song reached number four on the UK Singles Chart, and it topped the Irish Singles Chart.


=== Music video ===


The video begins with an aerial shot of a block in Los Angeles, and clips of radio broadcasts are heard with disc jockeys stating that U2 is planning on performing a concert downtown and expecting crowds of 30,000 people. Police show up to the set and inform the band's crew of the security issue that the film shoot is causing, due to the large number of people who are coming to watch the performance. Two minutes into the video, U2 are seen on the roof of a liquor store at the corner of 7th Ave. and S. Main St., and perform "Where the Streets Have No Name" to a large crowd of people standing in the streets surrounding the building. Towards the end of the song, the police tell the crew that the performance is about to be shut down, and eventually police walk onto the roof while the crowd are booing the police.


The video for "Where the Streets Have No Name" was directed by Meiert Avis and produced by Michael Hamlyn and Ben Dossett. The band attracted over 1,000 people during the video's filming, which took place on the rooftop of a liquor store in Downtown Los Angeles on 27 March 1987. The band's performance on a rooftop in a public place was a reference to The Beatles' final concert, as depicted in the film Let It Be.


During the shoot U2 played an eight-song set, which included four performances of "Where the Streets Have No Name". Prior to filming, a week was spent reinforcing the roof of the liquor store to ensure it would not collapse if it were to be intruded by a group of fans. A backup generator was put on the roof so the shooting could continue in the event that the authorities shut off the power on the primary generator, which happened during filming.


The depiction of the police attempting to shut down the video shoot due to safety concerns actually happened during filming, just as seen in the video. Hamlyn was almost arrested following a confrontation with the police. According to Avis, the events depicted in the video show what actually happened that day "almost in real time", and that "getting busted was an integral part of the plan." Band manager Paul McGuinness revealed in 2007 that much of the confrontation with the police was exaggerated; the group were hoping to get shut down by the authorities in order to dramatize the music video, but the police continually gave them extensions for shooting the video. In the background of the video is a sign for The Million Dollar Hotel, which was rebuilt to create some interest, in case no one showed up at the film shoot. Although the video is of a live performance, the audio used is from the studio-recorded version of the song. The video won the Grammy Award for Best Performance Music Video at the 1989 Grammy Awards.


=== B-sides ===


"Race Against Time" was released on the 12-inch, cassette, and CD versions of the single. The song developed from the band's interest in urban funk, and was described by The Edge as "a kind of Afro-rhythmic piece" and "a study in rhythm." The bass riff in the song, inspired by the bodhrán, was played by The Edge, but stemmed from some of Clayton's unused bass parts. Mullen's drum part was recorded in a single take. The song is primarily an instrumental piece but does contain some lyrics inspired by Bono's trip to Ethiopia after Live Aid and his witnessing firsthand the famine in occurrence; these lyrical references include Bono singing in an Ethiopian language and following it with the phrase "Race against time". Bono said of the song, "It reminds me of the desert. The desert is so empty, but it aches with a strange kind of fullness." John Hutchinson of Musician magazine described the song as having an "African flavour" and as being reminiscent of Peter Gabriel. The track was used in the Miami Vice episode "Child's Play", and is the only one of the single's B-sides that was never played live.