Thanks, my blood wasn't already boiling--part 14

Paul Krugman explains how the Bush administration is handling the current financial crisis.

Turn left, then right, then up, then sideways, then into the past or future...

Finally, a review of a movie that made me want to see the movie. Courtesy of Hullabaloo, home to Digby.

Sonny Boy Williamson - I'm A Lonely Man

Avatars of cool walk among us. Here's one from about 1964.

Deep thought à la Atrios

Just because you know how to break eggs doesn't mean you know how to make an omelet.

The History of Recorded Music

In today's NY Times is an article about a recent discovery that rewrites the history of recorded sound.

The Onion: Queen Will Leave Behind Long Legacy Of Waving

An example of why I, like so many people, love the Onion.

It's Today

Due to unforeseen technical issues, I can either have a nada post or just link to Glenn Greenwald again. Which do you prefer? Oh well, okay then.

non-post

There were two posts yesterday, so none today. Scroll below and listen to Marlene sing about war and flowers, if you haven't already.

Marlene Dietrich - Sag mir, wo die Blumen sind

The great Marlene sings an anti-war song.

An early post for tomorrow.

And this means that YouTube is once again speaking to Blogger.

Stop the Presses - Sean Hannity's a Hypocrite

Undercover Black Man has the story of Sean Hannity being called out on the air about his hypocrisy over inflammatory speech on racial matters.

Bach - English Suite Number 2: Gigue

When people say they don't like Bach or other classical music, it usually means they don't really like music all that much--they either like music casually, or else they think the only purpose music serves is as a cultural marker and they don't see themselves as the sort of people who would put on formal clothes and go to a concert hall, or else they just like being thought of as a cool person who's into music. Charlie Parker loved Bach. That's all the argument I need. Although the argument made by Bach himself, in music, is actually even better. Listen here, to Martha Argerich performing a solo piano version of the last movement of the second English Suite, for a cogent summation of that argument.

Bach - St. Matthew Passion

So I said yesterday that I wasn't going to post some Bach. So I changed my mind. Here is some seasonally appropriate music, since the St. Matthew Passion was written to be played on Good Friday, if memory serves. This is the opening of a version recorded in 1988, with too many wonderful voice soloists to list, along with the Monteverdi Choir, the London Oratory Junior Choir, and the English Baroque Soloists, all conducted by John Eliot Gardiner.

George Harrison - It's Johnny's Birthday

It's Johann Sebastian Bach's birthday. I thought of posting some Bach, but then I thought of this. So much more appropriate, don't you think?

nada - the saga continues yet some more again

Had a great YouTube clip picked out, but apparently Blogger and YouTube are again not being nice to each other, so nothing today. Just look outside the window--maybe you'll see something interesting. Or maybe not. Really, there's an infinite number of possibilities.

Greenwald on Obama's Speech

If I were as a) knowledgeable, b) insightful, and c) could write as well as Glenn Greenwald, then I'd just write it all up myself. But since a) I'm not, b) I'm not, and c) I can't, here is what he had to say.

Dogs

Cuz while cats are wonderful, they're already everywhere on the Web. It's dawg time now, suckaz. What, dated slang? You mean it's not still 1993?

Stevie Wonder - Higher Ground

There are more interesting videos of this song on YouTube, but this is still the best version. So here you go.

John Phillips - The Frenchman

Time, time, I don't have enough time. This post was originally going to be a fairly long disquisition about lost songs, since this song by John Phillips was recorded during sessions for his first solo album but never released. It finally saw the light of day, or was heard by the ears of ordinary listeners, as a bonus track when the CD was put out about thirty years later. It's well written, has a good melody, with lyrics that aren't drivel and tell a story, and a nice arrangement. So why was it left on the shelf? Don't know. Maybe Lou Adler knows, but I've never met him.

When I Come Across a News Item That Doesn't Make My Blood Boil, It's Such an Unfamiliar Feeling That it's Kind of Weird

There's a reason that I link to Glenn Greenwald so often. He's knowledgeable and prizes clarity. Therefore he will never work for Time. And I say that as someone who grew up reading Time.

Bare Ruined Choirs

This has been my brainworm for the last few days. Why? Well, brainworms are mysterious.

More Toots Thielemans on Nightmusic

YouTube and Blogger are talking again! I'm back in the twenty-first century! All hail YouTube tech support!

Here's Toots Thielemans in the 1980s (I think). It's sad that for a lot of people who claim to be musicophiles, the word "virtuoso" seems to carry overtones of "hack." That's a kind of sophomoric idea. It is possible to be both very proficient on an instrument and a passionate player. Here's an example: a jazz harmonica player from Belgium, no less.

Yeah, They're Hypocrites

Listening to Fox News talking heads et al. talk about how Democrat Eliot Spitzer must must must resign right now, it occurs to me that Republican Larry Craig, who has actually entered a guilty plea over his incident, is still a member of the U.S. Senate.

Gary Burton - Henniger Flats

A song from the great vibraphonist, but posted here mostly for the guitar solo by Jerry Hahn.

Sir Douglas Quintet - The Rains Came

I believe the proper technical term is "oldie but goodie."

Surprise, Surprise

New York Times: Countrywide Said to Be Subject of Federal Criminal Inquiry

Thanks, my blood wasn't already boiling--part 13

Your top-level American political press and how it works, courtesy of Glenn Greenwald.

Paul Revere & The Raiders - Him or Me - What's It Gonna Be

My original post is lost in the ether, as Blogger and YouTube are not playing nice with each other for some reason. So here's a lost gem from the sixties by a band that was too famous to make it onto Nuggets.

Deep thought à la Atrios

Tim Russert wasn't given his job in spite of the fact that he's no genius -- he was given his job because he's no genius. He will always take seriously what he's told in private by powerful people, then advance their agendas out of the belief that he's doing the Right Thing. And if weren't the Right Thing, how could doing it earn him a vacation house on Martha's Vineyard?

The return of the son of nada

Teacher had a long night -- you kids will just have to entertain yourselves.

Thanks, my blood wasn't already boiling--part 12, section B

Digby has more on the House and FISA.

Thanks, my blood wasn't already boiling--part 12

The House and FISA -- Glenn Greenwald explains.

Junior Delgado - Fort Augustus

This song has shown up twice recently on the shuffle setting in my iTunes, and as we all know, there are no coincidences. So there must be a reason--the universe is trying to tell me something. Until I figure out what that reason is, I'll just listen to the song again.

Monkey Blogging

Cat blogging is popular, yesterday Atrios had dog blogging--but what about monkey blogging, sez I?