only rock ‘n’ roll
Carl Perkins (1932-1998), “Honey Don’t” (C. Perkins), live (TV show), 1956
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Oak Park, Ill.
*****
reading table
Sight of that mountain
makes me forget
I’m getting old—Matsuo Basho (1644-1694), translated from the Japanese by David Young
alone
György Kurtág (1926-), from Signs, Games and Messages; Ensemble Musikfabrik (Hannah Weirich, violin), live, Cologne (Germany), 2020
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Oak Park, Ill.
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reading table
Another year gone—
hat in my hand,
sandals on my feet.—Matsuo Basho (1644-1694), translated from the Japanese by Robert Hass
like nobody else
James Brown (1933-2006), live, Paris, 1968
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lagniappe
random sights
this morning, Oak Park, Ill.
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reading table
You shout from the other room
You ask me how to spell boogie-woogie
And instantly I think what luck
no war has been declared
no fire has consumed
our city’s monuments
our bodies our dwellings
The river didn’t flood
no friends
have been arrested
It’s only boogie-woogie
I sigh relieved
and say it’s spelled just like it sounds
boogie-woogie
—Adam Zagajewski (1945–2021), “Boogie-Woogie” (translated from the Polish by Clare Cavanagh)
spellbinding
Daniil Trifonov (1991-, piano), live, Verbier (Switzerland), 2012: Frédéric Chopin (1810–1849), Eight Études (Op. 10, No. 11; Op. 10, No. 6; Op. 25, No. 1; Op. 25, No. 5; Op. 10, No. 5; Op. 25, No. 6; Op. 25, No. 7; Op. 25, No. 11)
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lagniappe
reading table
Look, look greedily,
when dusk approaches,
look insatiably,
look without fear.—Adam Zagajewski (1945–2021), from “Mountains” (translated from the Polish by Clare Cavanagh)
basement jukebox
Bobby Bland (1930-2013), “That’s the Way Love Is,” 1963
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lagniappe
reading table
Plates and bowls
dim in the darkness
cool of the evening—Matsuo Basho (1644-1694), translated from the Japanese by David Young
sounds of New York
Being & Becoming (Peter Evans, trumpets, compositions; Joel Ross, vibraphone; Nick Jozwiak, bass; Savannah Harris, drums, percussion), New York, streamed 6/29/21
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lagniappe
reading table
It is in no sense
essentialthat this crown of leaves,
sifted by windas if turning over
some problem,is a gray-green
brightening into rust-redat the tips
or that its equivocations
fill this instantto the brim.
—Rae Armantrout (1947-), from “Making”
alone
Miranda Cuckson (violin), live, New York, 11/30/21
Iannis Xenakis (1922-2001), Mikka S
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lagniappe
reading table
First rain of winter
today’s a day
people get older—Matsuo Basho (1644-1694), translated from the Japanese by David Young
like nobody else
World Saxophone Quartet (Julius Hemphill [1938-1995], alto and soprano saxophones; Oliver Lake [1942-]. alto and soprano saxophones; David Murray [1955-], tenor saxophone; Hamiet Bluiett [1940-2018], baritone saxophone), live, Berlin, 1987
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lagniappe
reading table
For today’s tourist, orientation is impossible.
—Arthur Rimbaud (1854-1891), from “Cities (I)” (translated from the French by John Ashbery)
sounds of New York
Francisco Mela (drums), William Parker (bass), Cooper Moore (piano), live, New York, 2/22/20
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lagniappe
reading table
The world today
is slowcore,
a rhythm section
dragging.—Peter Gizzi, from “Field Recordings” (Archeophonics, 2016)
Three minutes of magic.
Friedrich Gulda (1930-2000, piano), live: Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), Air on the G String (adapted from Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major, 2nd Mvt.)
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Oak Park, Ill.
*****
reading table
Autumn advances
and I become
a bit sad
closing the gate
to my hut.—Ryokan (1758-1831), translated from the Japanese by Kazuaki Tanahashi
music clip of the day 