sounds of Chicago
Thompson Community Singers, “Christ Is the Answer,” TV show (Jubilee Showcase), 1960s
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lagniappe
reading table
I stepped from Plank to Plank
A slow and cautious way
The Stars about my Head I felt
About my Feet the Sea –I knew not but the next
Would be my final inch –
This gave me that precarious Gait
Some call Experience –—Emily Dickinson (1830-1886), #926 (Franklin)
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I’m taking a break—back in a while.
testify!
Inez Andrews (1929-2012), James Cleveland (1931-1991), “I Appreciate,” live
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lagniappe
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Don’t you love the Oxford dictionary? When I first read it I thought it was a really really long poem about everything.
—David Bowie (1947-2016)
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random thoughts
Note to self: Incline, always, toward the light.
More of the late Otis Clay.
“That’s How It Is (When You’re In Love),” 1967
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“Trying to Live My Life Without You,” 1972
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“Precious, Precious,” 1972
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“The Woman Don’t Live Here No More,” 1974
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“I Can’t Take It,” 1977
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. . . life, that storm before the calm.
—Wislawa Szymborska (1923-2012, MCOTD Hall of Fame), “Negative” (translated from Polish by Clare Cavanagh)
More of Otis Clay, who died the other day.
The Gospel Songbirds (Otis Clay [right]; Maurice Dollison, aka Cash McCall [left], 1941-), “I Believe,” live (Jubilee Showcase), 1964, Chicago
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There was very little time for small talk, so I said, ‘Does God exist?’
—James Tate (1943-2015), “The Wrong Wedding” (Dome of the Hidden Pavilion, 2015)
sounds of New York
More from the drummer on the new David Bowie album.
Mark Guiliana Beat Music (MG, drums; Stu Brooks, bass; Yuki Hirano, keyboards; with guests Steve Wall [tape recorder], Jeff Taylor [vocals]), live, New York, 2014
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Unknown –
—Emily Dickinson (1830-1886), #778 (Franklin), last line
what’s new
David Bowie, “Lazarus,” 2016
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The World – feels Dusty
When We stop to Die –
We want the Dew – then –—Emily Dickinson (1830-1886), #491 (Franklin), beginning
passings
Paul Bley, pianist, November 10, 1932-January 3, 2016
Live, 1970s?
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With Charlie Haden (bass), live, New York, 2000
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With John Gilmore (tenor saxophone), Gary Peacock (bass), Paul Motian (drums; or Billy Elgart, side 2, tracks 2-3), Turning Point, rec. 1964/1968
Side 1
Side 2
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Live, Norway (Oslo), 2008
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lagniappe
reading table
I held a Jewel in my fingers –
And went to sleep –
The day was warm, and winds were prosy—
I said ”Twill keep” –I woke – and chid my honest fingers,
The Gem was gone –
And now, an Amethyst remembrance
Is all I own –—Emily Dickinson (1830-1886), #261 (Franklin)
sounds of Cameroon
Jovi, “Zélé,” 2015
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reading table
Maybe you go looking for one thing and find another.
—Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616), Don Quixote (translated from Spanish by Edith Grossman; internal quotation marks omitted)
Aretha’s daddy
One of these days, the cloud will be lifted . . .
—Rev. C. L. Franklin
Rev. C. L. Franklin, live, Detroit
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lagniappe
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The sea is not less beautiful in our eyes because we know that ships are sometimes wrecked.
—Simone Weil (1909-1943), “The Love of God and Affliction” (translated from French by Richard Rees)
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random sights
yesterday, Oak Park, Ill.
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the beat goes on
2,200 posts—and counting.
What better way to start the new year?
Aretha Franklin, “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” (G. Goffin, C. King, J. Wexler), live, Washington, D.C., 2015
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New Year’s Day—
everything is in blossom!
I feel about average.—Kobayashi Issa (1763-1827), translated from Japanese by Robert Hass
