Wednesday, February 25th
never enough
Only a great artist could play so simply.
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)/Ferrucio Busoni (1866-1924), Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme; Solomon (AKA Solomon Cutner [1902-1988]), recording, 1948
music clip of the day
jazz/blues/rock/classical/gospel/more
2015
Tuesday, February 24th
Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.
—Muhammad Ali
Cecil Taylor Quintet (CT, piano; Harri Sjostrom, soprano saxophone; Tristan Honsinger, cello; Thurman Barker, marimba, percussion; Paul Lovens, drums), live, Germany (Hamburg), 1995
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lagniappe
art beat
William Klein (1928-), Blacks + Pepsi (AKA Moves + Pepsi)
Harlem, New York, 1955
2015
Monday, February 23rd
More of Daniel K.
Daniel Knox, “Blue Car,” 2014
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lagniappe
art beat
William Klein (1928-), Candy Store, Amsterdam Avenue, New York, 1955
2015
Sunday, February 22nd
back to church
“The Storm Is Passing Over”
Mt. Mary Primitive Baptist Church, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., 7/11
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lagniappe
art beat
William Klein (1928-), Theater Tickets, New York, 1955
2015
Saturday, February 21st
Twenty-four hours ago I’d never heard of this piece, nor this composer. Now I’ve listened to it, hungrily, twice. What a world.
Sulkhan Tsintsadze (1925-1991), String Quartet No. 6 (1968)
2015
Friday, February 20th
what’s new
Daniel Knox, “Don’t Touch Me” (Daniel Knox, Carrot Top Records, 2/24/15)
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lagniappe
reading table
Some people really are what they seem to be—though not that many.
***
Like most explanations, it’s as plausible as anything else.
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Character, to me, is one more lie of history and the dramatic arts. In my view, we have only what we did yesterday, what we do today, and what we might do tomorrow. Plus, whatever we think about all of that. But nothing else—nothing hard or kernel like. I’ve never seen evidence of anything resembling it. In fact I’ve seen the opposite: life as teeming and befuddling, followed by the end.
—Richard Ford, “The New Normal” (Let Me Be Frank With You)
2015
Thursday, February 19th
passings
Lesley Gore, singer, May 2, 1946-February 16, 2015
“It’s My Party,” 1963
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“Judy’s Turn to Cry,” 1963
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“You Don’t Own Me,” 1964
2015
Wednesday, February 18th
white folks got soul, too
(day three)
J.J. Cale (1938-2013)
“Call Me the Breeze” (J.J. Cale), live, Tulsa, 2004
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“After Midnight” (J.J. Cale), live (with Eric Clapton), Dallas, 2004
2015
Tuesday, February 17th
white folks got soul, too
(day two)
Tony Joe White & Shelby Lynne, live, Nashville, 2010
“Rainy Night in Georgia” (T. J. White)
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“Can’t Go Back Home” (T. J. White)
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lagniappe
reading table
“Did I forget to mention that when you’re dead
You’re dead a long time.
My uncle, dying, told me this when asked, Why stay here for such suffering.”
—Lucie Brock-Broido, “Currying the Fallow-Colored Horse” (Stay, Illusion)
2015
Monday, February 16th
white folks got soul, too
(day one)
More of Lucinda W.
Lucinda Williams (with Tony Joe White [harmonica, guitar], et al.), “West Memphis” (L. Williams), recording session, 2014
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lagniappe
reading table
Why am I now a walking accident waiting to happen? Why am I more worried about that than whether there’s an afterlife?
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I don’t look in mirrors anymore. It’s cheaper than surgery.
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Bonding heads the list of words I’ve ruled out. Emerson was right—as he was about everything: an infinite remoteness underlies us all. And what’s wrong with that? Remoteness joins us as much as it separates us, but in a way that’s truly mysterious, yet completely adequate for the life ongoing.
—Richard Ford, “I’m Here” (Let Me Be Frank With You)
music clip of the day 