passings
Gerry Goffin, lyricist, February 11, 1939-June 19, 2014
The Shirelles, “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow” (G. Goffin, C. King), 1961
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The Drifters, “Up on the Roof” (G. Goffin, C. King), 1962
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Aretha Franklin, “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” (G. Goffin, C. King, J. Wexler), 1967
only rock ’n’ roll
This guy reminds me a little, at times, of some of the blues musicians I worked with years ago (when I was with Alligator Records in the ’70s), often relying, it seems, more on feel than plan.
Roky Erickson, live, Denmark (Christiana), 2013*
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*Set list (courtesy of YouTube):
1. Cold Night for Alligators
2. Bermuda
3. The Interpreter
4. Roller Coaster
5. Fire Engine
6. Tried to Hide
7. Levitation
8. Splash 1
9. Reverberation
10. Two Headed Dog
11. You’re Gonna Miss Me
what’s new
Where would Western civilization be without the invention of the three-minute pop song?
Dream Chart Top 40 Songs: May 2014 (5/24/14)
Some people behave strangely in their own living rooms. Others do it on national TV.
Van Morrison, Sinead O’Connor, The Chieftains, “Have I Told You Lately,” live (Late Show with David Letterman), 1997
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lagniappe
art beat
Garry Winogrand (1928-1984), New York, 1969
only rock ’n’ roll
The Ex & Brass Unbound,* “Cold Weather Is Back,” live, London, 2010
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lagniappe
art beat: yesterday at the Art Institute of Chicago
Christopher Wool (1955-)
*****
*Roy Paci (trumpet), Wolkter Wierbos (trombone), Ken Vandermark (tenor saxophone), Mats Gustaffson (baritone saxophone).
only rock ’n’ roll
MC5: A True Testimonial (2002)
Thanks to my brother Don for the tip. We first encountered these guys in Chicago’s Lincoln Park during the 1968 Democratic Convention. The park is still there. But that moment, when, as a teenager, nothing mattered more than intensity and attitude, is long gone.
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lagniappe
found words
Sometimes it’s hard to tell the advertising from the conceptual art. Last night, while driving to Hyde Park to hear pianist Rafal Blechacz, I came upon a billboard:
BE AMBITIOUS.
NOT THIRSTY.
Who knew Diet Coke could be so deep?
only rock ’n’ roll
Black Dub (Daniel Lanois, guitar, vocals; Trixie Whitley, keyboards, vocals; Jim Wilson, bass, vocals; Brian Blade, drums), “Ring the Alarm,” live, Vancouver, 2011
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lagniappe
art beat
Danny Lyon (1942-), Four Boys, Uptown, Chicago (1965)
sounds of Chicago
Oshwa, “Old Man Skies,” live (recording session), Chicago, 2013
only rock ’n’ roll
The War On Drugs, “Under the Pressure”
Live, Philadelphia, 3/14/14
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Recording (Lost in the Dream), 3/14
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lagniappe
reading table
Now, unlike then—sixty years ago—we know so much more about others . . . . [t]hough, of course, we know not much more of the important things—what’s in others’ hearts; and if their hearts are broken or damaged or full.
—Richard Ford, “A Symposium on Magic,” The Threepenny Review, Spring 2014
only rock ’n’ roll
Benjamin Booker, “Violent Shiver”
Live, 2013
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Live (album teaser; fall release), 2014
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lagniappe
art beat
Danny Lyon (1942-), 1960s
music clip of the day 