John Coltrane - Chim Chim Cheree (Part 1)

Recorded at the Half Note in 1965. This song, along with many others, was written by Robert Sherman and his brother Richard for Disney. Songs like "A Spoonful of Sugar" and "It's a Small World" are perfect earworms, but also lend themselves to an interpretation like this one by Coltrane. Robert Sherman died on Monday at the age of eighty-six.

Krugman on Government Spending, and Which Government Should be Doing the Spending

Krugman, as usual, looks at the evidence and comes to a reasonable conclusion, a mode of operation which is increasingly rare for pundits.

Ronnie Montrose - Town Without Pity

Geez, musicians are dropping like flies. The only time I saw Ronnie Montrose he played this song, and it stuck with me. RIP RM.

Hell Freezes

An apology from Rush.

The Carter Family - Bury Me Under the Weeping Willow Tree

Oops, missed a day. That's what happens when your schedule falls apart. Apologies.

This is the first song ever recorded by the legendary Carter Family, and already contains all the elements for which they became famous: strong three-part harmony, powerful rhythm from the stringed instruments, melody plucked on the low strings of the guitar (instead of the high strings, as was more common), etc. Today's country music doesn't sound much like this, but they were not only very popular during their heyday but hugely influential for decades afterward.

Monkees - Riu Riu Chiu

One more Monkees song to mark the passing of Davy Jones. Very nice a capella harmony singing of a traditional Spanish song. I'd never heard this before.

The Monkees - Daydream Believer

RIP Davy Jones.