Spam Poetry

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Yes, the text above is really from real spam. Maybe authentic surrealism needed to wait for the digital revolution before it could reach its apotheosis.

Paul Simon - American Tune

In 1973 it felt like America was being torn apart. We had an unpopular war overseas, violence at home, and a level of tension in national politics that seemed like it could be the beginning of another civil war. There were a lot of cultural manifestations--whether in music, movies, writings, or some other form--that addressed those issues, and tried to articulate how people felt about it all. Here's one of those manifestations. Paul Simon is writing from the point of view of a young man, and none of those big issues are mentioned explicitly, but the song is really about nothing else. Now it's thirty-five years later, and...well, words fail me. But sometimes I think about this song.

Simon & Garfunkel - America

In 1968 it felt like America was being torn apart. We had an unpopular war overseas, violence at home, and a level of tension in national politics that seemed like it could be the beginning of another civil war. There were a lot of cultural manifestations--whether in music, movies, writings, or some other form--that addressed those issues, and tried to articulate how people felt about it all. Here's one of those manifestations. Paul Simon is writing from the point of view of a young couple, and none of those big issues are mentioned explicitly, but the song is really about nothing else. Now it's forty years later, and...well, words fail me. But sometimes I think about this song.

The Amazing Lyrebird of Australia - Unseen Footage

Why I love YouTube.
Hat tip to The House Next Door.

Jimi Hendrix - Hear My Train A Comin'

"Hear My Train A Comin'" exists in several versions, none of which were released during Hendrix's life. This one was recorded live at the Atlanta Pop Festival, July 4, 1970. With only three musicians and no overdubbing, this recording provides an excellent opportunity to focus on the guitar playing, and it bears scrutiny.
One of the commentators on the DVD of Monterey Pop points out that one of Hendrix's strengths was his sheer comfort with the guitar. This is no small thing, and not at all common even with many very good guitar players. Playing guitar is not really a natural thing—if it were, more people could do it—and playing it well requires a large investment of time and energy. Hendrix made himself unpopular in the army by sleeping with his guitar, and even late in his short life would reportedly wake up, put on a guitar, and then go make breakfast. Through constant exposure to the guitar, making it almost an extension of his body, he had reached a level of ease with the instrument that few could match. Combined with his unusually large hands and, needless to say, deep, deep, deep musical ability, that level of ease meant that whatever he could think of musically, he could do.
This performance is actually pretty loose—it ends rather abruptly—but if you play guitar, the level of virtuosity is apparent throughout. At one point, Hendrix is playing some very quiet notes with rapid use of the whammy bar. It may not sound like much, but actually playing such a passage and making it musical is not easy. He makes it sound easy.
The song itself is of the same musical family as "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)," deeply rooted in the blues without actually being a twelve-bar blues. Hendrix plays with verse lengths, possibly like Lightnin' Hopkins or John Lee Hooker deciding at each moment what he's going to do next, relying on the other musicians to be paying close enough attention to follow along. They are, and nearly forty years later so are we.

Bob Wills - San Antonio Rose

Patton Oswalt Explains How it All Works

Patton Oswalt has always truck me as a very sharp guy who enjoys masquerading as a doofus. This proves it.

(Hat tip to the Vanity Fair Culture & Celebrity blog.)