Friday, July 4th
Happy 4th of July!
This country has gotten many things wrong—music it got right.
The Blasters, “American Music,” live, Champaign, Ill., 1985
music clip of the day
jazz/blues/rock/classical/gospel/more
Category: rock/pop
2014
Monday, June 30th
what’s new
A Sunny Day in Glasgow, “In Love With Useless (The Timeless Geometry in the Tradition of Passing),” Sea When Absent, 6/14
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lagniappe
art beat
Alfred Stieglitz (1864-1946)
2014
Monday, June 23rd
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
2014
Friday, June 20th
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
2014
Friday, May 23rd
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)
2014
Monday, May 19th
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
2014
Friday, May 9th
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).
2014
Saturday, April 26th
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?
2014
Friday, April 25th
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)
2014
Friday, April 11th
sounds of Chicago
Oshwa, “Old Man Skies,” live (recording session), Chicago, 2013
music clip of the day 