Santana - Aspirations

"Aspirations" is from 1974's Borboletta, which was when Carlos Santana was doing some of his most musically adventurous, and economically unrewarding, work. Such is life. Santana himself does not even appear on this track, instead letting it serve as a showcase for the remarkable bass playing of guest Stanley Clarke.

Memphis Minnie and Joe McCoy - When the Levee Breaks

Memphis Minnie departed the earthly plane on this date in 1973, which meant that she lived long enough to have heard Led Zeppelin's version of this song. Don't know if she ever did, though. Or if she did, what she thought of it. Maybe she would've thought, like the rest of us, that it had a kick-ass drum sound.

Krugman Explains Deflation

This post is from a few days ago. In it Krugman does something simple but useful: explains why, even though high inflation is bad, deflation is also bad.

Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazlewood - Some Velvet Morning

There's a version on YouTube that is a clip from the 1967 Nancy Sinatra TV special, but it doesn't allow embedding, so here you go.

Also Sprach Zarathustra (Introduction) - The Portsmouth Sinfonia

There are many ways in which music can give you pleasure.

Paul Simon - The Late Great Johnny Ace

This song was first presented to the larger world as part of the HBO special of Simon and Garfunkel live in Central Park in 1981. When the home video version was released, it was not included. It was however included in Simon's album Hearts and Bones the following year, in a much more elaborate arrangement. That was good, and Philip Glass's coda was a wonderful addition, but I always felt that the impact of the lyrics had been muted by all the added stuff. Here is Simon's original demo version of "The Late Great Johnny Ace," from the bonus tracks on Hearts and Bones. It may be the best song I know that tells what it was like to live through the fifties, the sixties, and up to the immediate pre-Reagan era. After that, all bets are off.

The Rascals - See

About the time that it seemed like the Rascals (originally the Young Rascals) might be running out of steam as a creative force in the late sixties, they put even more great songs. "See" was part of the album of the same name released in 1969.