Crosscut Saw

Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers - Moanin'

2012-01-29T09:48:00.000-06:00

A jazz classic from the fifties. I first heard it in the Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross vocal version, which is very nice, but this pretty much epitomizes a particular type of jazz: relaxed but always meticulously focused rhythm, melodic content related to the blues but not twelve-bar blues, the musicians always, always, always listening to each other, etc.

Spirit - Dark Eyed Woman

2012-01-28T08:04:00.000-06:00

Some classic rock that isn't played to death on the classic rock stations.

RIP Winston Riley

2012-01-27T07:30:00.000-06:00

One of the important figures of Jamaican music of the last forty years, Winston Riley died at sixty-eight of injuries from a shooting in November. Here from 1971 is his production of Dave and Ansell Collins's "Double Barrel."

nada retrieves what may be essential

2012-01-26T07:50:00.002-06:00

Nothing today, sorry.

The Rains Came - The Sir Douglas Quintet

2012-01-25T07:36:00.000-06:00

Images are a little random, but what the hell. A great song.

Early African Guitar 1982 - Mwenda Jean Bosco (Congo-Zaire)

2012-01-24T07:30:00.001-06:00

One of the greats of African guitar in the twentieth century.

Krugman on Green Shoots

2012-01-23T07:30:00.002-06:00

Dr K explains. Maybe, maybe, maybe, cross your fingers...

There are reasons to think that we’re finally on the (slow) road to better times. And we wouldn’t be on that road if Mr. Obama had given in to Republican demands that he slash spending, or the Federal Reserve had given in to Republican demands that it tighten money.

Mâlem Sassi Lebrati

2012-01-22T08:29:00.001-06:00

Some traditional North African music, from about fifty years ago. I've been listening to Opika Pende: Africa at 78 RPM, which contains much wonderful music from a wide variety of African cultures.

RIP Etta James

2012-01-21T08:04:00.000-06:00

Harry Warren, who wrote many songs, quite a few of which were recorded many many times, said that this was his favorite recording of one of his songs. Goodbye Etta James, and thanks for leaving us this, along with so much other wonderful music.

RIP Johnny Otis

2012-01-20T07:30:00.000-06:00

A key figure in West Coast R&B in particular. Extremely influential, as a bandleader he gave career boosts to Big Mama Thornton and Esther Phillips, among others. But under his own name he's probably best known for this song.

The Abyssinian Baptist Choir - Said I Wasn't Gonna Tell Nobody

2012-01-19T07:37:00.000-06:00

This is officially "The Abyssinian Baptist Gospel Choir Under The Direction of Professor Alex Bradford," and I posted some Alex Bradford recently. This is a perfect example of mid-twentieth-century African-American gospel music. It was recorded at a church service instead of in a recording studio, so it's more representative of how the music usually sounded: the choir feeds off the energy of the congregation, and vice-versa.

Dark Web

2012-01-18T07:44:00.000-06:00

It will be interesting to see what kind of impact today's Web blackouts have. The SOPA and PIPA bills are clearly overkill (except to their corporate supporters), but this sort of protest by organizations like Google and Wikipedia is something too new to have a predictable effect. If you're reading this, you use the Web, so you have an opinion. But I know that at least some people who visit this site do not live in the US, so the fact that a US law could so easily affect them says something about how, although Web use has become common, the nuances of how it is used are still often poorly appreciated.

Bud Powell - It Could Happen To You

2012-01-17T07:30:00.000-06:00

What it means to play the piano.

Colbert's (No Wait, It's Not His) SuperPAC Has a Commercial

2012-01-16T07:30:00.001-06:00

The Colbert Report
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Art Ensemble of Chicago - Theme de Yoyo

2012-01-15T08:42:00.000-06:00

From a soundtrack that the AEC did for a French film in 1970. Features Lester Bowie's ex-wife Fontella Bass on vocals.

Last Cent - Louisiana Rhythm Kings

2012-01-14T08:19:00.000-06:00

The phenomenon of white musicians loving African-American music goes back long before the Beastie Boys et al. The Louisiana Rhythm Kings were actually from Chicago, and recorded this in 1929.

"One Life to Live" Ends

2012-01-13T07:33:00.000-06:00

For decades, going back to when there was no television and soap operas existed only on radio, there has always been at least one of them that was produced in New York City. No more. It may not matter much to you, and I honestly was never a watcher, but such a cultural shift deserves mention. From the Washington Post:

Quite unsoapily, “OLTL,” like “All My Children” in the fall, has become a victim of the dullest possible villain: slackened ratings and the simple fact that reality TV is cheaper to produce.

RIP John McWhinnie

2012-01-12T07:43:00.000-06:00

When someone who deeply cares about culture, and is innovative and inventive in exploring and promoting it, dies unexpectedly and relatively young, it's worth noting.

“He has been one of the primary forces to bridge the gap between the art world and the establishment rare book world,” said Sheelagh Bevan, assistant curator of printed books at the Morgan Library & Museum in New York. “He was usually two years ahead of everyone else in elevating an overlooked group of artists or writers–Mary Beach comes to mind, but there are many others–to the point where institutions and private collectors took notice.”

nada strives fiercely

2012-01-11T07:48:00.000-06:00

Nothing today, sorry.

Another Night in Dixville Notch

2012-01-10T07:30:00.000-06:00

From the Washington Post. A longstanding tradition continues for the first voters in the first primary.

Nick Gravenites & Mike Bloomfield - Moon Tune

2012-01-09T07:30:00.003-06:00

Posted just because it's some wonderful guitar work, not very well-known. As usual with Bloomfield's live guitar work from this era, he goes a little out of tune after the string-stretching, but what the hell.

Krugman on the Economic Debate

2012-01-08T09:26:00.000-06:00

I was going to post something musical from YouTube this morning, but their sharing function has some kind of glitch at the moment. So some Krugman to keep your political tooth satisfied:

People like Kantoos or Tyler Cowen start from the presumption that when people with the right credentials, like Cochrane, or Jean-Claude Trichet, or Robert Lucas make strong statements, that they must have a defensible model behind their assertions. And so if someone like me or Brad says that there is no such defensible model, we must be engaged in a “rant”, treating these people unfairly.

But sometimes people with impressive credentials do talk complete nonsense — and on fiscal policy in the Lesser Depression, that has been more the rule than the exception.

Charlie McCoy, Session Musician

2012-01-07T07:30:00.004-06:00

Just thought it would be interesting to juxtapose these two songs as an example of what it means to be a skilled session musician. The lead guitar (played on acoustic) on Bob Dylan's "Desolation Row" and the harmonica on George Jones's "He Stopped Loving Her Today" were both played by Charlie McCoy. Two more different instruments on two more different songs would be hard to imagine, but Charlie McCoy nails them both.

Professor Alex Bradford - Leak in the Building

2012-01-06T07:46:00.001-06:00

Traditional mid-twentieth-century African-American gospel music. Powerful stuff.

Nina Simone - Here Comes The Sun

2012-01-05T07:43:00.000-06:00

Good morning.

Perry Fifth in Iowa, Loses First Election Ever

2012-01-04T07:38:00.000-06:00

As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, and the look on Rick Perry's face says it all.

Nick Drake - Tomorrow is A Long Time

2012-01-03T07:34:00.000-06:00

A home recording (note the heavy tape hiss). Drake covers Bob Dylan.

Donny Hathaway - For All We Know

2012-01-02T07:30:00.000-06:00

Wow.

Kristof on Celebrities, and News That Matters vs. News That Gets Covered

2012-01-01T08:35:00.000-06:00

Nicholas Kristof:

Frankly, it’s just humiliating when news organizations cover George Clooney (my travel buddy on one Darfur trip) more attentively when he breaks up with a girlfriend than when he travels to Sudan and uses satellite photos to catch the Sudanese government committing mass atrocities.

H/t Mark Sumner @ DailyKos.

Kev Thompson - Auld Lang Syne

2011-12-31T10:33:00.001-06:00

About as close as you may get to hearing it as it was originally sung. Happy new year.

What Has Obama Done For You?

2011-12-30T08:04:00.000-06:00

Thomas Lane of Talking Points Memo provides an answer.

Charles P. Pierce on Skocpol and Williamson's Analysis of the Tea Party

2011-12-29T10:07:00.000-06:00

Sometimes the obvious needs to be pointed out. From Pierce's blog at Esquire.com.

The Tea Party is nothing more than the hard right wing of the Republican party, rebranded by the more conservative end of its corporate wing. It's approximately as "new" as the 1964 Republican national platform and, that being the case, will disappear again as soon as another Republican wins the White House.

H/t Atrios.

RIP Sam Rivers

2011-12-28T08:21:00.000-06:00

Sam Rivers died Monday at the age of eighty-eight. A prominent figure in the jazz avant-garde of the last fifty years, for a brief period in the early sixties he played in Miles Davis's band. According to Wikipedia he was too free a player for Miles at the time, and when he was replaced by Wayne Shorter, Miles's "Second Great Quintet" was complete and went on to its own glory. Rivers maintained his own career, but to memorialize him today we'll hear this example of his work with Miles.

nada derives what can be derived

2011-12-27T17:22:00.002-06:00

Nothing today, sorry.

The Irish Rovers - Good King Wenceslas

2011-12-26T08:11:00.000-06:00

Today is the feast day of St. Stephen, which is mentioned in this traditional Christmas song.

Nat King Cole - The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting...)

2011-12-25T08:39:00.002-06:00

Gail Collins on the Establishment Republicans vs. the Tea Party

2011-12-24T08:40:00.000-06:00

Ms. Collins, as she is capable of doing, pretty much nails it.

I think the moral here is pretty clear. We have talked for nearly three years about how the Tea Party is terrorizing the Republican establishment, until the old country-club, deal-making model was verging on extinction. But it now appears that if the new populist right does something that actually endangers the well-being of the old, entitled right, the establishment will rise up and slap those little whippersnappers down faster than you can say Mitch McConnell.

House Republicans Cave

2011-12-23T07:48:00.001-06:00

From Politico:

Boehner knew the year-end fight to renew the payroll tax would be bad — but he couldn’t possibly have anticipated how bad it would get. Obama always knew the fight would be good for him — but not this good. It got the president not only the tax cut he wanted but provided a jolt for Democrats anxious about 2012 who felt Obama had been played by House Republicans in earlier negotiations.

Roberta Flack / Donny Hathaway - Where Is The Love

2011-12-22T07:49:00.000-06:00

Ralph MacDonald, whose death was announced yesterday, was a percussionist whose work landed him on dozens (if not more) albums in the seventies. He was also a skilled songwriter, co-writing this song with William Salter.

Rick Perry, the Gift That Keeps on Giving

2011-12-21T07:59:00.000-06:00

From The Telegraph. H/t Alicublog via Atrios.

Hitchens via Pollitt

2011-12-20T07:52:00.000-06:00

Katha Pollitt, a longtime colleague of Christopher Hitchens, presents a measured perspective of him. H/t Atrios.

So far, most of the eulogies of Christopher have come from men, and there’s a reason for that. He moved in a masculine world, and for someone who prided himself on his wide-ranging interests, he had virtually no interest in women’s writing or women’s lives or perspectives. I never got the impression from anything he wrote about women that he had bothered to do the most basic kinds of reading and thinking, let alone interviewing or reporting—the sort of workup he would do before writing about, say, G.K. Chesterton, or Scientology or Kurdistan. It all came off the top of his head, or the depths of his id. Women aren’t funny. Women shouldn’t need to/want to/get to have a job. The Dixie Chicks were “fucking fat slags” (not “sluts,” as he misremembered later). And then of course there was his 1989 column in which he attacked legal abortion and his cartoon version of feminism as “possessive individualism.” I don’t suppose I ever really forgave Christopher for that.

Krugman on the Incipient Chinese Financial Crisis

2011-12-19T07:30:00.000-06:00

Uh-oh.

Some commentators say not to worry, that China has strong, smart leaders who will do whatever is necessary to cope with a downturn. Implied though not often stated is the thought that China can do what it takes because it doesn’t have to worry about democratic niceties.

To me, however, these sound like famous last words. After all, I remember very well getting similar assurances about Japan in the 1980s, where the brilliant bureaucrats at the Ministry of Finance supposedly had everything under control. And later, there were assurances that America would never, ever, repeat the mistakes that led to Japan’s lost decade — when we are, in reality, doing even worse than Japan did.

They're Out

2011-12-18T08:41:00.000-06:00

Last American military base in Iraq is closed. From the Washington Post:

The last of the troops left Contingency Operating Base Adder about 2:30 a.m. Kuwait time for the 218-mile trek through the empty, dark desert to the border. In contrast to the U.S. invasion in 2003, the final American convoy, made up of soldiers from the 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, drew little notice from Iraqis. The road from the U.S. base to the border was almost entirely deserted, which was the way the U.S. military wanted it.

Last Days of Hitch

2011-12-17T08:14:00.000-06:00

The British novelist Ian McEwan shares a reminiscence of his old friend as he approached the end of his life.

RIP Christopher Hitchens

2011-12-16T07:34:00.000-06:00

I'm among the people who admired him more at the beginning than at the end -- his full-throated support of the Iraq war betrayed a lack of critical thinking that was surprising from someone who prided himself on being a much more rigorous and tough-minded thinker than most political writers -- but there's no doubt that he brought something rare to the American political scene. He never pandered to his readers: for example, although mostly conservative, he was a staunch, even fierce, atheist until the end. The Guardian appreciation is here.

Iraq War Officially Ends

2011-12-15T07:34:00.000-06:00

It's telling and sad that this story is not the top story on the Washington Post website (at the NY Times it is). I usually post a short quote from the article I link to, but this one is so carefully non-analytical about the war itself that there's not much point. Over 4500 Americans died (along with many more Iraqis), tens of thousands of Americans were left permanently injured (again, even more Iraqis). And for what? The supposedly liberal WaPo carefully avoids drawing any conclusions.

Spike Jones - Sabre Dance

2011-12-14T07:43:00.000-06:00

Happy 100th birthday to the late Spike Jones, who was an avatar of some force -- I'm not sure which -- of which this world has too little.

Freddie King - Have You Ever Loved A Woman

2011-12-13T07:40:00.000-06:00

I noted Laura Nyro's selection for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last week, but somehow missed that Freddie King, one of the great electric guitarists of the blues, also made it in. Here he performs one of his signature songs, which was also performed by his disciple Eric Clapton on the Layla album.

E. J. Dionne on Obama's Evolving Foreign Policy

2011-12-12T07:47:00.000-06:00

Mr. Dionne makes an interesting point that I hadn't seen before.

Something important has happened to President Obama’s foreign policy. For some time after he took office, he only rarely spoke out for human rights or used the word “democracy.” In the wake of the George W. Bush years, he was focused on rebuilding alliances and moving toward both a more measured and prudent use of American power. It was an approach much closer to the old-fashioned realism practiced by the first President Bush....This is evolving, as [Secretary] Clinton’s excellent week brought home. Like the elder Bush, Obama remains a foreign policy realist, but the Arab Spring may have encouraged him to speak ever more forcefully about democracy and human rights. The intervention in Libya — careful, limited, but effective — was a signal moment.

Krugman on Official European Folly, Part 5

2011-12-11T08:33:00.000-06:00

This is getting depressing in more than one sense of the word. Krugman explains.

The crisis really has settled some major issues in economics. Unfortunately, too many people — including many economists — won’t accept the answers.

Donny Hathaway - A Song For You

2011-12-10T08:55:00.000-06:00

How about Donny Hathaway's version of the song we heard Amy Winehouse do a couple of days ago?

The Butthole Surfers - The One I Love

2011-12-09T07:30:00.000-06:00

Psychedelic Texans cover REM.

Amy Winehouse - A Song For You

2011-12-08T07:35:00.000-06:00

From the new collection of unreleased material Lioness. Amy covers Donny Hathaway covering Leon Russell. The bit of dialogue at the end where she talks about Hathaway -- "Donny Hathaway, like....he couldn't contain himself, he had somethin' in him, you know?" -- was obviously included because she might as well be talking about herself.

Laura Nyro - It's Gonna Take a Miracle

2011-12-07T07:30:00.000-06:00

Laura Nyro, who died in 1997, was chosen to enter the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame today. She's best known as a songwriter who wrote hits for others, so to vary things let's play a song that she sings but didn't write. This is the title song from her 1971 album of covers, featuring material that she loved from the early sixties, songs that had heavily influenced her own songwriting. She's accompanied by LaBelle, and the moment near the end where the four women's voices blend in a near-a-capella moment is, well, just listen for yourself.

Krugman on the Republican Presidential Race

2011-12-06T07:30:00.002-06:00

Looking at the same situation as Dionne yesterday, Krugman makes some of the same points but from a different perspective.

The larger point, however, is that whoever finally gets the Republican nomination will be a deeply flawed candidate. And these flaws won’t be an accident, the result of bad luck regarding who chose to make a run this time around; the fact that the party is committed to demonstrably false beliefs means that only fakers or the befuddled can get through the selection process.

E. J. Dionne on the Republican Presidential Race

2011-12-05T07:30:00.003-06:00

Dionne makes sense, which by today's standards means he's an insane liberal.

But what’s going on is not just a Romney problem. The Republican Party’s core electorate has changed radically since 2008 — and even then John McCain won the nomination against the wishes of many on the Republican right because the opposition to him was splintered.

A party that lived by the tea crowd in 2010 is being severely hobbled by it now. The Republican right wants the kind of purity that led it to take candidates such as Cain and Bachmann with great seriousness for a while. The same folks took Sharron Angle, Christine O’Donnell and Joe Miller seriously in the 2010 Senate primaries, too. None of them got elected.

Bob Dylan - Visions of Johanna

2011-12-04T09:08:00.000-06:00

A solo live version from (I think) 1966, shortly after it was written.

Yr Space Pix: Vesta Rotates

2011-12-03T09:34:00.001-06:00

Isaac Asimov early in his career wrote a story called "Marooned off Vesta," which is where I first remember hearing of this large asteroid. Now we get close-up pics of it. Ah, modern times...

H/t DarkSyde @ DailyKos.

Krugman on Official European Folly, Part 5

2011-12-02T07:41:00.000-06:00

Krugman lays it out and...it does not look good.

How did things go so wrong? The answer you hear all the time is that the euro crisis was caused by fiscal irresponsibility. Turn on your TV and you’re very likely to find some pundit declaring that if America doesn’t slash spending we’ll end up like Greece. Greeeeeece!

But the truth is nearly the opposite. Although Europe’s leaders continue to insist that the problem is too much spending in debtor nations, the real problem is too little spending in Europe as a whole. And their efforts to fix matters by demanding ever harsher austerity have played a major role in making the situation worse.

Romney Stumbles, or Was Tripped

2011-12-01T07:37:00.001-06:00

From TPM:

Nor is this out of character for Mitt. The guy doesn’t like getting questioned too hard or pressed too closely. That’s not altogether surprising given the life Mitt’s led. But he shows it. Remember the debate six weeks ago when Rick Perry finally took his geritol and managed to seriously get under Mitt’s skin on the illegal immigration issue? There’s a difficult to describe mix of surprise, put-off-edness and testiness that he exhibits in these cases.

Good News on the Global Financial Front?

2011-11-30T07:36:00.000-06:00

We'll see. From the Washington Post.

The world’s major central banks made it easier Wednesday for banks to get dollars if they need them, a coordinated move to ease the strains on the global financial system.

1812 Overture (according to Ken Russell)

2011-11-29T07:46:00.000-06:00

Can't let Ken Russell's passing pass, so to speak, without one more mention. This is from The Music Lovers, his "biopic" of Tchaikovsky, and shows well how Russell earned his reputation as a brilliant lunatic fascinated by brilliant lunatics.

RIP Ken Russell

2011-11-28T07:49:00.000-06:00

In the words of William Blake, "The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom." One of my favorite filmmakers for a long time now. The Guardian has a full account of his career.

Willie Nelson - Blue Skies

2011-11-27T09:25:00.000-06:00

Produced by Booker T. Jones, who also plays the organ.

David Ackles - Laissez-Faire

2011-11-26T08:12:00.000-06:00

This song actually ties in with much recent political discussion. From 1968.

Krugman on The Elite of the Economic Elite

2011-11-25T07:45:00.001-06:00

Dr. K explains why talking about the 99.9% tells you more than does talking about the 99%.

The economic crisis showed that much of the apparent value created by modern finance was a mirage. As the Bank of England’s director for financial stability recently put it, seemingly high returns before the crisis simply reflected increased risk-taking — risk that was mostly borne not by the wheeler-dealers themselves but either by naïve investors or by taxpayers, who ended up holding the bag when it all went wrong. And as he waspishly noted, “If risk-making were a value-adding activity, Russian roulette players would contribute disproportionately to global welfare.”

Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) - Sly & the Family Stone Live on Soul Train

2011-11-24T07:30:00.001-06:00

Give thanks.

Thanksgiving is a USA holiday, but wherever you are in the world, you can participate in one aspect of the day: think of something that you're thankful for. Me, I'm grateful that even though I know the rules of English grammar I'm not such a pedant that I won't end a sentence with a preposition. There are other things too, of course...such as YouTube, where it's possible to find a forty-year-old clip of a rare live version of one of Sly's biggest hits.

Ooh Child - The Five Stairsteps

2011-11-23T07:39:00.000-06:00

Sometimes when I read the news I end up thinking of this song. I thought I'd posted it before but couldn't find it in the archives, so it's fair game.

Krugman on What the Markets Really Want

2011-11-22T07:30:00.000-06:00

It's a version of arcane hermeneutics, like Kremlinology during the Cold War, where tiny signs require detailed interpretation. Krugman explains what some recent market behavior means. H/t Atrios.

But if you read the Bloomberg piece carefully, what it actually says is that market players fear that the absence of a debt deal means no stimulus. So the actual fear is not that spending won’t be cut enough, it is that it will be cut too much — which actually makes sense, and is consistent with the action in stock and bond markets.

Victim at Center of Penn State Scandal Bullied at School

2011-11-21T07:54:00.000-06:00

I'd say it's unbelievable, but sadly I have no trouble believing it. From ABC News:

The mother of the alleged victim, who set off the investigation that has rocked the world of college sports and led to 40 counts of child sexual assault against Sandusky, told ABC News that students at her son's high school blame him for triggering the sex abuse scandal that led to the firing of Paterno, the beloved head coach who oversaw the university's Nittany Lions football team for 46 years.

Income Inequality in the United States

2011-11-20T09:08:00.000-06:00

Mark Sumner at DailyKos -- click through to see the stunning graphics.

That's how America looks to corporations and organizations who are piloted by these Godzillas of the 1%. Why should they be bothered if their massive strides should squash a few ants in passing? What difference does it make if their corporate colony gets its ants from China, or Cambodia, or wherever is cheap this week, rather than American ants? The 1% measure value by wealth, and the ants don't have any. You put all the ants together, and they still can't match even the beetles that live at the 90% mark. Actually, ants are bit of an exaggeration. You know those tiny black ants that try to invade your kitchen in the spring? Compared to the fiscal titans of the 1%, you're not that big. Think more along the lines of dust mite.

Kathleen Parker on Republican Candidates and Republican Voters

2011-11-19T08:30:00.000-06:00

I generally don't cite Republican pundits, but Kathleen Parker seems willing to confront a few hard truths about her party. Of course, she's one of the conservative writers at the Washington Post, which for most Republicans would mean that she's a liberal Democrat until proven otherwise.

The Republican base requires that candidates tack away from science toward the theistic position — only God controls climate. More to the point, Rush Limbaugh says that climate change is a hoax and so it must be. Huntsman may as well be a Democrat.

It takes courage to swim against the tide of know-nothingness that has become de rigueur among the anti-elite, anti-intellectual Republican base. Call it the Palinization of the GOP, in which the least informed earns the loudest applause. The latest to this spectacle is Herman Cain, who has figured out how to turn his liabilities into assets. After fumbling for an answer during an editorial board meeting to a simple question about his position on Libya, a lead news item since February, Cain blamed — who else? — the media.

Krugman on the Committee That is Super

2011-11-18T07:30:00.003-06:00

Krugman isn't shouting "Fire" in a crowded theater, he's quietly pointing out that the theater is on fire. Someday the NYT will cut him loose under pressure from the right, so enjoy him while you can.

So the supercommittee brought together legislators who disagree completely both about how the world works and about the proper role of government. Why did anyone think this would work?

Well, maybe the idea was that the parties would compromise out of fear that there would be a political price for seeming intransigent. But this could only happen if the news media were willing to point out who is really refusing to compromise. And they aren’t. If and when the supercommittee fails, virtually all news reports will be he-said, she-said, quoting Democrats who blame Republicans and vice versa without ever explaining the truth.

The Mountains That You Can't See

2011-11-17T07:40:00.000-06:00

Cool stuff.

The Gamburtsevs are the size of the European Alps and yet they are totally buried beneath the Antarctic ice. Their discovery in the 1950s was a major surprise. Most people had assumed the rock bed deep within the continent would be flat and featureless....[A] multinational effort in 2008/2009 flew aircraft back and forth across the east of the White Continent, mapping the shape of the hidden mountain system using ice-penetrating radar.

Great Plains, Small Towns, Hispanics

2011-11-16T07:36:00.001-06:00

This is interesting, partly for its own sake and partly for what it suggests about the political future of some of the reddest states. H/t kos.

For generations, the story of the small rural town of the Great Plains, including the dusty tabletop landscape of western Kansas, has been one of exodus — of businesses closing, classrooms shrinking and, year after year, communities withering as fewer people arrive than leave and as fewer are born than are buried. That flight continues, but another demographic trend has breathed new life into the region.

Hispanics are arriving in numbers large enough to offset or even exceed the decline in the white population in many places. In the process, these new residents are reopening shuttered storefronts with Mexican groceries, filling the schools with children whose first language is Spanish and, for now at least, extending the lives of communities that seemed to be staggering toward the grave.

Seeing the Earth From the International Space Station in Time-Lapse Images

2011-11-15T07:30:00.003-06:00

Way cool. There may be an ad first, but it's worth the wait.

Stevie Ray Vaughan - Life by the Drop

2011-11-14T07:30:00.000-06:00

Doyle Bramhall (not to be confused with his son Doyle Bramhall II, most widely known for playing guitar with Eric Clapton) died over the weekend. He was a mainstay of the Austin blues scene since the 1970s, and acted as something of a mentor to Stevie Ray Vaughan. This continued throughout Stevie's career: when Doyle entered recovery for his substance abuse problems in the 1980s, he later was able to encourage Stevie when he did the same thing. One result of that process was this song, co-written by Bramhall.

CAROL KAYE interview/video chat about her work with BRIAN WILSON on THE BEACH BOYS` "SMiLE" sessions

2011-11-13T08:44:00.001-06:00

I love the twenty-first century. A German interviewer and an LA musician using webcams to discuss Brian Wilson and the Smile sessions. If you're a certain type of music fan, this is heaven.

Krugman on Official European Folly, Part 4

2011-11-12T07:30:00.000-06:00

Dr K explains.

But what’s the meaning of the eurodebacle? As always happens when disaster strikes, there’s a rush by ideologues to claim that the disaster vindicates their views. So it’s time to start debunking.

The Kingston Trio - Where Have All the Flowers Gone?

2011-11-11T07:44:00.002-06:00

Governor Goodhair Meltdown

2011-11-10T07:30:00.003-06:00

And Katie Couric was nowhere near.

Step Aside, Bill

2011-11-09T07:47:00.000-06:00

Chait via DeLong via Atrios: Daley’s Demotion: How Washington Elites Got Obama Wrong.

But the interesting legacy of Daley’s tenure is not his mechanical performance. It’s that he conducted an experiment based on the Washington elite view of the Obama presidency. That view, shared by business leaders, centrist pundits, and other elites, holds that Obama’s main problem has been excessive partisanship, liberalism in general, and hostility to business in particular....Daley, pursuing his theory, heavily courted business leaders. He made long-term deficit reduction a top priority, and spent hours with Republican leaders, meeting them three-quarters of the way in hopes of securing a deal that would demonstrate his centrism and bipartisanship. The effort failed completely.

Solo Guitar Version of "Wonderful" by the Beach Boys

2011-11-08T07:30:00.009-06:00

From the same era of the Beach Boys as yesterday's song, "Wonderful" is here rearranged beautifully for acoustic guitar. In fact it's a Django Reinhardt-style guitar, although the musical style is very different.

The Beach Boys - Cabinessence

2011-11-07T07:44:00.001-06:00

This is one of the songs on the new Smile Sessions release, but this version was first released on the 20/20 album. It's a great example of the kind of music that was coming out of Brian Wilson's head in 1967, and how different it was from what had come before: "Shut Down" had not had a banjo, or harmonica and flute playing in contrary motion, like this song does. Have you seen the Grand Coulee working on the railroad?

Elgar - Nimrod (from "Enigma Variations")

2011-11-06T09:14:00.002-06:00

Daniel Barenboim conducting the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 1997.

Miles Davis - Konda

2011-11-05T08:16:00.001-05:00

Another track from the Complete Jack Johnson Sessions. Recorded in the spring of 1970.

Miles Davis (trumpet)
Keith Jarrett (electric piano)
John McLaughlin (guitar)
Jack DeJohnette (drums)
Airto Moreira (percussion)

GWAR - Release the Flies

2011-11-04T07:30:00.003-05:00

RIP Cory Smoot, better known as Flattus Maximus, who besides being lead guitarist for GWAR performed the lead vocal on this song.

Krazy Kat and Ignatz Mouse at the Circus

2011-11-03T07:36:00.000-05:00

Krazy Kat was a comic strip phenomenon and never really made much of a splash in films, but the attempt was made, as seen here. If you're not familiar with the Kat, go to the official website and check the Wikipedia entry. The appreciation of Krazy Kat in artistic circles was an early element in the creation of what we now think of as the cultural entity known as pop art.

The Greek Referendum

2011-11-02T07:38:00.001-05:00

Not sure if it's accurate, but very interesting if so. From Robert Kuttner at the American Prospect. H/t Atrios.

What is the Greek leader up to?

On one level, Papandreou is simply weary of being the agent of his own country’s economic destruction at the hands of bankers. He also is tired of the political unpopularity that comes with the role of broker of austerity.

But more important, Papandreou is resisting a double-cross already being cooked up by the bankers. He is playing the one card he has: If the bankers walk away from the partial debt relief committed in principle at the recent EU summit, Greece will default. And Papandreou wants that decision to be made, knowingly, by the Greek people and not by technocrats.

Miles Davis - Go Ahead John (1/3)

2011-11-01T07:43:00.000-05:00

A different version of the music posted two days ago. This is the way it was released on the Big Fun album.

Krugman on Republican Hypocrisy, Part XXXVII

2011-10-31T07:30:00.002-05:00

Maybe shamelessness is a survival instinct. Krugman discusses why Republican members of Congress want to cut all types of government spending except big weapons systems.

But why would anyone prefer spending on destruction to spending on construction, prefer building weapons to building bridges?

John Maynard Keynes himself offered a partial answer 75 years ago, when he noted a curious “preference for wholly ‘wasteful’ forms of loan expenditure rather than for partly wasteful forms, which, because they are not wholly wasteful, tend to be judged on strict ‘business’ principles.” Indeed. Spend money on some useful goal, like the promotion of new energy sources, and people start screaming, “Solyndra! Waste!” Spend money on a weapons system we don’t need, and those voices are silent, because nobody expects F-22s to be a good business proposition.

Miles Davis - Go Ahead John (Part 2 [A])

2011-10-30T08:18:00.001-05:00

Some of the music being made in the spring of 1970. From The Complete Jack Johnson Sessions, Miles creates a musical environment in which John McLaughlin lets loose. McLaughlin on guitar, Dave Holland on electric bass, Jack DeJohnette on drums, and Steve Grossman on soprano sax. Miles lays out, but his presence is everywhere.

Nahawa Doumbia - Banani (Mali)

2011-10-29T07:30:00.000-05:00

A singer I just learned about.

Krugman on Official European Folly, Part 3

2011-10-28T07:30:00.002-05:00

There actually may be a light at the end of the tunnel. No, really.

If you’ve been reading accounts of the financial crisis, or watching film treatments like the excellent “Inside Job,” you know that Iceland was supposed to be the ultimate economic disaster story: its runaway bankers saddled the country with huge debts and seemed to leave the nation in a hopeless position.

But a funny thing happened on the way to economic Armageddon: Iceland’s very desperation made conventional behavior impossible, freeing the nation to break the rules. Where everyone else bailed out the bankers and made the public pay the price, Iceland let the banks go bust and actually expanded its social safety net. Where everyone else was fixated on trying to placate international investors, Iceland imposed temporary controls on the movement of capital to give itself room to maneuver.

How Will Ferrell Touched Me

2011-10-27T07:30:00.001-05:00

This is a hoot, that's all. H/t HuffPo.

How Will Ferrell Touched Me from Larry David

The Draughtsman's Contract - Opening Scene

2011-10-26T07:30:00.001-05:00

Peter Greenaway is sort of the anti-Michael Bay, gaining small audiences while doing intelligent work. Like Bay, however, he never pretends that he's showing the viewer something realistic. IF you haven't seen any of his work, it's definitely worth seeking out.

Your Morning Python

2011-10-25T07:30:00.002-05:00

In 1975, ABC had a not particularly successful morning show called AM America. To boost their ratings, one morning they had three members of Monty Python -- Graham Chapman, Michael Palin, and Eric Idle -- more or less co-hosting while promoting their new movie, Monty Python and the Holy Grail. The results were predictable if you knew the Pythons, but apparently came as a surprise to the people running the show. H/t HuffPo.

Krugman on Official European Folly, Part 2

2011-10-24T07:35:00.000-05:00

Yes, it is possible for things to get even worse. And the sad thing is that it could be avoided, but there are no indications that it will be. Krugman explains.

The story of postwar Europe is deeply inspiring. Out of the ruins of war, Europeans built a system of peace and democracy, constructing along the way societies that, while imperfect — what society isn’t? — are arguably the most decent in human history.
Yet that achievement is under threat because the European elite, in its arrogance, locked the Continent into a monetary system that recreated the rigidities of the gold standard, and — like the gold standard in the 1930s — has turned into a deadly trap.

Miles Davis - Walkin'

2011-10-23T08:10:00.000-05:00

The second great quintet, in Germany in 1967, tearing into a song from Miles's early fifties period. Tony Williams, who'd been with Miles for four years, was still only about twenty-one.

Johnny Thunder - I'm Alive

2011-10-22T07:30:00.003-05:00

In an interview he gave in 1969, Bob Dylan said that this was one of the best songs he'd heard recently.