Friday, December 30th
only rock ‘n’ roll
What a way to close out a life—with some of the strongest work of your career.
David Bowie (January 8, 1947–January 10, 2016), Blackstar (January 8, 2016)
“Lazarus”
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“Blackstar”
music clip of the day
jazz/blues/rock/classical/gospel/more
Category: rock/pop
2016
2016
Monday, December 26th
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
2016
Saturday, December 24th
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
2016
Friday, November 18th
only rock ‘n’ roll
La Luz, live, Iceland (Reykjavik), 2014
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lagniappe
art beat: other day, Art Institute of Chicago
Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858), Descending Geese, c. 1830
2016
Saturday, November 12th
passings
Leonard Cohen, songwriter, singer, poet, novelist, Zen Buddhist monk
September 21, 1934-November 7, 2016
With Sonny Rollins (tenor saxophone), “Who By Fire,” 1989
***
“Closing Time,” 1992
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“Everybody Knows,” 2014
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“You Want It Darker,” 2016
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Oak Park, Ill.
2016
Friday, November 11th
two takes
“I Hate to See You Go” (AKA “Hate to See You Go”) (W. Jacobs)
Rolling Stones, Blue & Lonesome, 2016
***
Little Walter, 1955
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lagniappe
art beat: other day, Art Institute of Chicago
Vasily Kandinsky (1866-1944), Painting with Green Center, 1913
*****
reading table
BRIDGEPORT, CT—Thinking back on how happy and untroubled he had been during that time and how different he feels in the present day, local man Jason Moulton, 52, reportedly paused Wednesday and nostalgically recalled the simpler era of 20 hours ago. “Everything seemed so much brighter back then before 9 p.m. last night—nothing like the way things are now,” said Moulton, wistfully reflecting on how, back before yesterday evening, things had seemed to make sense and the future appeared to hold endless promise. “America was a different place all those hours ago. Things were safer then, and the economy was strong—it was just a better time. But it’s all gone downhill ever since. We just don’t have the same values anymore.” Moulton then reportedly shook his head and said that while he would love for the country to get back to the good old days of November 8 and earlier, realistically he knew that would never happen.
—The Onion, “Man Nostalgic For Simpler Era Of 20 Hours Ago,” 11/9/16
2016
Friday, November 4th
only rock ‘n’ roll
PJ Harvey, “The Letter,” live (TV show), London, 2004
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lagniappe
baseball: Chicago Cubs
You have to believe in order to see things, and I do believe.
—Joe Maddon, after Game 7
2016
Friday, October 14th
Bob Dylan, “High Water (For Charley Patton)” (B. Dylan)
Live, Irvine, Calif., 2013
No matter how often he changes styles, he keeps coming back to the blues.
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lagniappe
baseball
Javy Baez (Chicago Cubs infielder), defensive highlights
2016
Friday, September 23rd
How strange it seems, still, that he should be dead.
Prince with Mavis Staples, et al., live, England (King’s Cross), 1993
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lagniappe
art beat: yesterday, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago
Kerry James Marshall (1955-), Slow Dance, 1992-93 (Kerry James Marshall, Mastry, through 9/25/16)
2016
Friday, September 16th
only rock ‘n’ roll
Joy Division, “Love Will Tear Us Apart,” 1980
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lagniappe
art beat: other day, Whitney Museum of American Art (New York)
Stuart Davis (1892-1964), Lucky Strike, 1921 (Stuart Davis: In Full Swing, through 9/25/16)
music clip of the day 