sounds of Chicago
Carrie Robinson, “Power to Live Right,” live, Chicago (Maxwell Street), 1965
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Forest Park, Ill.
What we need—now more than ever.
Clickety Clack! Clickety Clack!
What is this madness that Nixon has put upon us?
Clickety Clack! Clickety Clack!
Won’t someone bring the spirit back?—Rahsaan Roland Kirk (1935-1977), 1973
Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Bright Moments, recorded live (San Francisco), 1973*
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*Track list (courtesy of YouTube):
A1. Introduction
2. Pedal Up
3. You’ll Never Get To Heaven
4. Clickety Clack
5. Prelude To A Kiss
6. Talk (Electric Nose)
7. Fly Town Nose Blues
B1. Talk (Bright Moments)
2. Bright Moments Song
3. Dem Red Beans And Rice
4. If I Loved You
5. Talk (Fats Waller)
6. Jitterbug Waltz
7. Second Line Jump
back to church
Greater Harvest Missionary Baptist Church Choir (feat. Donishisa Ballard), “Stretch Out,” live, Chicago, 2010
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lagniappe
random thoughts
The four most important words in the English language: How can I help?
(Taking a break—back in a while.)
only rock ‘n’ roll
Tenement, “Rock Eating People,” live, Milwaukee, 2014
what’s new
D’Angelo and the Vanguard (Pino Palladino, bass; John Blackwell, drums; Jesse Johnson & Isaiah Sharkey, guitars, et al.), Saturday Night Live, 1/31/15
“Really Love”
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“The Charade”
two takes
“Strange Man” (D. L. Coates)
Steve Dawson (lead vocals, guitar), Diane Christensen (vocals), Robbie Fulks (vocals, guitar), live, Chicago, 2013
***
Dorothy Love Coates (1928-2002; MCOTD Hall-of-Famer), recording, 1968
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random thoughts
Do the Canada geese, seeing me ride by on my bicycle, feel like they’re communing with nature?
only rock ’n’ roll
Del Shannon (1934-1990), “Runaway,” live (with Tom Petty, guitar; Phil Seymour, tambourine, et al.), 1978
two takes
Bobby McFerrin, “Joshua,” live (studio performances), 2013
WNYC-FM, New York
*****
WFUV-FM, New York
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lagniappe
reading table
Novelist Philip Roth on death, getting older, etc.:
‘You think, That’s the end of it when your parents die. After that, you’re done. Nobody’s supposed to die anymore, right?’
—Claudia Roth Pierpont, “The Book of Laughter: Philip Roth and His Friends,” New Yorker, 10/7/13
*****
‘Seventy-five; how sudden.’
***
‘Time runs out at a terrifying speed. It seems that it was just 1943.’
—Patricia Cohen, “Philip Roth, Provacateur, Is Celebrated at 75,” New York Times, 4/12/08
Stevie Wonder with Prince, “Superstition” (S. Wonder), live, Paris, 2010
Not many stars would handle this the way Prince does. Actually, what’s most impressive is what he doesn’t do. Given a guitar solo, he doesn’t try to steal the show—or even draw attention. Instead, he feeds the groove.
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lagniappe
reading table
Sophistication is upscale conformity.
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What is more yours than what always holds you back?
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The heart is a small, cracked cup, easy to fill, impossible to keep full.
—James Richardson, “Even More Aphorisms and Ten-Second Essays from Vectors 3.0” (excerpts)
a week in New Orleans: day four
Mardi Gras Indians (Fat Tuesday, 2012)
Wild Magnolias
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Two Indian Tribes Meet in Treme
music clip of the day 