for the President-elect
Skip James (1902-1969), “Hard Times Killing Floor Blues,” live (song begins at :58), Germany (Cologne), 1967
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lagniappe
art beat: other day, Whitney Museum of American Art (New York)
John Sonsini (1950-), BYRON & RAMIRO, 2008
How rare—a guitarist with dazzling technique whose ideas often are just as strong.
Julian Lage (guitar) with Scott Colley (bass), Kenny Wollesen (drums), “I’ll Be Seeing You,” live, Los Angeles, 2016
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lagniappe
random sights
other day, New York (Central Park)
more
Patti Smith, “Peaceable Kingdom,” “People Have the Power” (with Michael Stipe), live, New York, 12/5/16
***
Another take.
Live (“People Have the Power,” with Michael Stipe), Chicago, 12/30/16
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lagniappe
random sights
other day, New York
sounds of New York
What other drummer does so much with so little?
Paul Motian Trio (PM, drums; Joe Lovano, tenor saxophone; Bill Frisell, guitar), “It Should’ve Happened a Long Time Ago” (P. Motian), live, New York, 2005
old white men
Rolling Stones, live, England (Glastonbury Festival), 2013
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lagniappe
art beat: other day, Art Institute of Chicago
Jackson Pollock (1912-1956), Number 17A (1948)
The painting has a life of its own. I try to let it come through.
—Jackson Pollock
only rock ‘n’ roll
Hasil Adkins, “She Said” (H. Adkins), live, Westwood, Calif., mid-1990s
***
Another take.
Cramps, live, Boston, 1983
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lagniappe
art beat: other day, Art Institute of Chicago
Willem de Kooning (1904-1997), Interchanged, 1955
Chicago blues
day four
Magic Sam (AKA Samuel Maghett, 1937-1969)
“All Your Love,” “Lookin’ Good,” live (TV broadcast), Germany, 1969
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“All Your Love,” 1957
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“Love Me with a Feeling,” 1957
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“Everything Gonna Be Alright,” 1958
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“21 Days In Jail,” 1958
Chicago blues
day three
Otis Rush (1935-; vocal, guitar) with Fred Below (1926-1988; drums), et al., “I Can’t Quit You Baby,” live, East Berlin, 1966
***
Here’s the original 1956 recording.
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lagniappe
reading table
On the first page of the course syllabus [for the class, taught at Columbia, on “The American Radical Tradition”], I always included the words of Max Weber, a rebuke to those who believe that critics of society should set their sights only on “practical” measures: “What is possible would never have been achieved if, in this world, people had not repeatedly reached for the impossible.”
—Eric Foner, “American Radicals and the Change We Could Believe In,” The Nation, January 2-9, 2017 issue
Chicago blues
day two
Junior Wells (1934-1998; vocal, harmonica), Buddy Guy (1936-; guitar), et al., “Cryin’ Shame” (AKA “Country Girl”), live, Chicago, 1970
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lagniappe
reading table
winter wind—
he can’t find his roost
the evening crow—Kobayashi Issa (1763-1827), translated from Japanese by David G. Lanoue
Chicago blues
day one
Howlin’ Wolf (AKA Chester Burnett, 1910-1976), with Hubert Sumlin (guitar), Willie Dixon (bass), et al., “Somestack Lightning,” live, England, 1964
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lagniappe
random sights
last night, Oak Park, Ill.
music clip of the day 