Fleetwood Mac - Sentimental Lady

I've always preferred this version, recorded when Bob Welch was a member of the pre-Stevie Nicks Fleetwood Mac, to his solo version from a few years later. The simpler arrangement seems to suit the lyrics better. Or maybe I'm just a sucker for a guitar solo through a Leslie speaker.

Krugman on Obama and the Progressives

 Krugman usually makes an excellent case. This one is no exception.

What explains Mr. Obama’s consistent snubbing of those who made him what he is? Does he fear that his enemies would use any support for progressive people or ideas as an excuse to denounce him as a left-wing extremist? Well, as you may have noticed, they don’t need such excuses: He’s been portrayed as a socialist because he enacted Mitt Romney’s health-care plan, as a virulent foe of business because he’s been known to mention that corporations sometimes behave badly.

Joni Mitchell - For Free

Since I posted Leonard Cohen yesterday, maybe I'm covering Canadian singer/songwriters. Neil Young, Gordon Lightfoot, Ian and Sylvia, or Bruce Cockburn might be around the corner. Be that as it may...

Most Joni-philes think this is one of her best songs. I have to admit that I listened to it for years before I finally noticed the sting in the tail -- the final lines that undercut, or else underline, everything that has gone before. The fact that it could be either is what makes it such a good song.

Leonard Cohen - Famous Blue Raincoat (Lisbon 2009)

Excellent version of amazing song, captured by amateur video at a recent concert.

Blackadder - The Cavalier Years

The several Blackadder series and one-off episodes are best appreciated, I've come to find, in large helpings, so this fifteen-minute singleton may not be the best introduction. In addition, I had to have it pointed out to me that Stephen Fry's playing of King Charles I is funny to an English audience because his mannerisms and vocal inflections are based on those of his namesake, the current Prince of Wales. Still and all, it's pretty good stuff, and if you're a Blackadder fan it's an integral part of the canon.

The Honeycombs - Have I The Right

A bit of the British Invasion circa 1965, produced by the one-of-a-kind Joe Meek.

Frank Rich on Shirley Sherrod

I might as well stop apologizing for linking to Frank Rich so often, because it looks like I'm going to keep doing it. It's pretty simple: frequently he provides the best overview of a recent political episode. The key quote in this one: The N.A.A.C.P. was wrong to demand that the Tea Party disown its racist fringe. It should have made that demand of the G.O.P. instead.