Wednesday, 1/25/12
trying to teach white folks
This Is Ska! (1964)
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lagniappe
found words
Real Messages from Heaven
—book title (Books-A-Million, 144 S. Clark St., Chicago)
music clip of the day
jazz/blues/rock/classical/gospel/more
Category: guitar
2012
2012
Monday, 1/23/12
Yesterday we left off in 1977; let’s fast-forward 33 years.
Von Freeman (tenor saxophone), with Mike Allemana (guitar), Matt Ferguson (bass), Michael Raynor (drums); “Lester Leaps In,” live, Chicago (New Apartment Lounge, 75th St.), 2010
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lagniappe
This year, as I’ve mentioned before, Von was awarded, along with bassist Charlie Haden, singer Sheila Jordan, trumpeter Jimmy Owens, and drummer Jack DeJohnette, an NEA (National Endowment of the Arts) Jazz Masters Fellowship—“the highest honor that our nation bestows on jazz artists.” Here’s the NEA’s video tribute.
2012
Friday, 1/20/12
passings
Johnny Otis, December 28, 1921-January 17, 2012, singer, songwriter, piano player, bandleader, disc jockey, TV host, etc.
“Willie and the Hand Jive” (The Johnny Otis Show), c. late 1950s
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lagniappe
Genetically, I’m pure Greek. Psychologically, environmentally, culturally, by choice, I’m a member of the black community.
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Society wants to categorize everything, but to me it’s all African-American music. The music isn’t just the notes, it’s the culture—the way Grandma cooked, the way Grandpa told stories, the way the kids walked and talked.
2012
Wednesday, 1/18/12
He does covers, too.
“Pale Blue Eyes” (L. Reed)
Alejandro Escovedo, live, Paris, 2007
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Velvet Underground (The Velvet Underground, 1969)
2012
Monday, 1/16/12
The other night my son Alex took me—this was my Christmas present—to see this guy at a small concert hall on the north side of Chicago (Old Town School of Folk Music). We’d last seen him together 20 years ago, in 1992, at a little club not far from where we live (FitzGerald’s). Alex wasn’t even five years old. It was an early evening set, part of a big Fourth of July festival. The night was stormy. The power went out. He played by candlelight.
Alejandro Escovedo (1951-), singer, songwriter, guitarist, bandleader
“Anchor” (A. Escovedo & C. Prophet)
Live, Austin, Tx., 2010
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“Always a Friend” (A. Escovedo & C. Prophet)
Live (with Bruce Springsteen), Asbury Park, N.J., 2010
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“Tender Heart” & “Street Songs” (A. Escovedo & C. Prophet)
Live, Austin, Tx., 2010
2012
Friday, 1/13/12
only rock ’n roll
The Dirtbombs, “Ode to a Black Man” (P. Lynott), live
Seattle, 2008
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New York, 2008
2012
Thursday, 1/12/12
I don’t know what these folks call this stuff, but one thing I’m sure of: it ain’t “world music.”
Sobanza Mimanisa (“Orchestra of Light”), “Kiwembo,” live
Democratic Republic of Congo (Kinshasa), c. 2005
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lagniappe
reading table
The 100 Most Powerless New Yorkers
Have you noticed that power lists, which have been spreading like the clap lately, from the Time 100 to the Forbes 500, tell you things you already know about the rich and famous and give publicity to people who already have more of it than they know what to do with? For the rest of us, here’s a power list to get 2012 going in the right direction. They’re in no particular order. (Like it really matters.)
1. Weed-delivery guys
The reason so many marijuana arrests are of black and Hispanic people is not because they smoke weed more. White New Yorkers, by the NYPD’s own numbers, have a higher per-capita rate of contraband when they’re arrested. However, white people stay safe in their apartments while colored folks deliver drugs to them. Delivering drugs puts you on the bottom of a pyramid scheme where you usually earn less than minimum wage, making you vulnerable to homicide and giving you about as much of a chance of becoming a rich kingpin as being a production assistant or a media intern gives you of becoming a celebrity. . . .
—Steven Thrasher, Village Voice, 1/11/12
2011
Tuesday, 12/27/11
more favorites from the past year
Wild Flag, live, SXSW (Austin, Texas), 3/11
“Romance” (Mellow Johnny’s Bike Shop)
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“Future Crimes” (IFC Crossroads House)
Someday an all-female band will seem no more remarkable than an all-male one.
(Originally posted 10/24/11.)
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She’s going to be a big star someday.
Nneka, live
Vodpod videos no longer available.(Originally posted 2/15/11.)
2011
Sunday, 12/18/11
It’s our lucky day. Down on the corner there’s a guy with a little guitar amp who just finished setting up. Let’s listen.
Rev. Billy H. Grady, “Holy Rock” (1965)
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lagniappe
reading table
Going too fast for myself I missed
more than I think I can rememberalmost everything it seems sometimes
and yet there are chances that come backthat I did not notice when they stood
where I could have reached out and touched themthis morning the black shepherd dog
still young looking up and sayingAre you ready this time
—W. S. Merwin, “Turning”
2011
Friday, 12/16/11
only rock ’n roll
Happy Refugees, “What’s Your Appeal”
Live, New York (Cake Shop), 12/10/11
More? These guys recently did a live studio performance at WFMU-FM (The Cherry Blossom Clinic with Terre T), which can be heard here.
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lagniappe
art beat: Tuesday at the Art Institute of Chicago (after a hearing at the nearby federal court building)
George Inness (1825-1894), Early Morning, Tarpon Springs (1892)
music clip of the day 