Apropos of nothing in particular, a short musical interlude:
Archive for the ‘Music’ Category
Take the money. Leave the box.
Friday, April 8th, 2016Obit watch: April 7, 2016.
Thursday, April 7th, 2016Obit watch: April 6, 2016.
Wednesday, April 6th, 2016Expect a longer roundup tomorrow.
Random notes: March 23, 2016.
Wednesday, March 23rd, 2016Let’s play a little game: fill in the blank in this headline. (No fair peeking.)
New York Police Increase Patrols Around 20 Clubs to Combat [Blank] Violence
Did you say “gun”? Bzzzzzt! Sorry. Understandable, but wrong. We were looking for “knife”. “Knife”.
I just like pointing out the use of “knife violence” here.
And speaking of things I just want to point out:
“There’s never been a paper bag for drugs…until now.”
I have to admit, “William Butler Yeast” is clever.
The latest additions to the National Recording Registry came out today.
A few random notes:
- You can find the W.H. Stepp version of “Bonaparte’s Retreat” on YouTube if you want to compare and contrast to Copland.
- I rather like the note on Mahler’s Symphony No. 9, putting it into the context of 1938.
- I want to hear those two “Destination Freedom” episodes. I haven’t had a chance to go looking for them yet.
- Dixie McCall for the win!
- Yeah, I can accept both versions of “Mack the Knife”. You know who did a really good version of that song? Sting, believe it or not, with Dominc Muldowney on the Lost in the Stars: The Music of Kurt Weill
album, which does not appear to be available digitally.
- As everyone knows, I am not a basketball fan, but I do acknowledge the significance of Wilt Chamberlain.
- Damn, “Mama Tried” is a great song.
- I have to agree Carlin belongs on this list, if for no other reason than the legal significance of the “Seven Dirty Words” routine.
- “I Will Survive” is a good song, but I prefer the Cake version. (I also prefer girls with a short skirt and a long jacket.)
- One of my coworkers and I have been joking back and forth about how metal I am. This is how metal I am: I’ve never heard “Master of Puppets”. Perhaps I need to fix that.
Obit watch: March 17, 2016.
Thursday, March 17th, 2016Apparently, Barry Keenan was involved in a project to build a casino in downtown Austin? How did I miss that?
Imagine a rotting Elvis shopping for fresh fruit…
Tuesday, March 15th, 2016Today’s Statesman ran an AP article on the decline of Elvis mania in Las Vegas. I think this is the original.
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I have no joke here, I just like saying “oversaturated by Elvis impersonators”.
First Liberace, now Elvis. Is there no sense of history in Vegas?
Obit watch: March 13, 2016.
Sunday, March 13th, 2016I actually didn’t find out Keith Emerson was dead until I sat down to dinner last night and started browsing while I waited for Lawrence. A/V Club. Lawrence. NYT.
Sunny Balzano, owner and bartender of Sunny’s Bar in Red Hook, Brooklyn, died Thursday night. I mention this here, not because of Mr. Balzano’s prominence, but because this is a really, really good obituary for a neighborhood “character” (for want of a better word): it is the kind of thing that the paper of record, when it does it, does it well.
Obit watch: March 9, 2016.
Wednesday, March 9th, 2016I have to note this one: Kathryn Popper has passed away at the age of 100.
Ms. Popper had a very small, almost microscopic, role in “Citizen Kane
According to the NYT, she was the last surviving person to have appeared in the film: Jean Forward Baker, who dubbed Susan Alexander’s voice, is still alive.
I’m guessing this
Also among the dead: George Martin, noted record producer, perhaps most famous for his work producing an overrated mediocre band with a few toe-tappers.
You know, I never thought of it that way…
Tuesday, February 23rd, 2016And now I’ll wait for Mike the Musicologist to jump all over me.
(One criticism I anticipate that he might make: it isn’t just metal that corresponds to economic development. Which is a valid point. Generally economic development = more leisure time = more time to make music for fun and profit, as well as more places to do so. It’s hard to make music, be it metal, punk, rock, soul, or folk, if you’re spending all your time sunup to sundown trying to scratch a bare subsistence living out of the earth. I think what the author is trying to say, though, is that it takes more resources to support a metal band than it does two folksingers with acoustic guitars in a coffee house.)
Obit watch: February 16, 2016.
Tuesday, February 16th, 2016The A/V Club is reporting the death of Denise Matthews. Ms. Matthews was also known as Vanity, Prince’s protege in the early 1980s. (Edited to add: NYT. LAT.)
I’m just going to throw this one out here for all my conspiracy buff friends:
TMQ Watch: February 9, 2016.
Tuesday, February 9th, 2016And so we come to the end of Gregg Easterbrook’s first season writing TMQ for the New York Times. What does he have in store for us this week? Would you believe neuroscience and the evils of the NFL? Well, yes, you probably would believe that.
After the jump, this week’s ultimate TMQ…
Obit watch: February 5, 2016.
Friday, February 5th, 2016Maurice White, founding member of Earth, Wind, and Fire. NYT. A/V Club.
Dave Mirra, prominent BMX racer.
The number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-TALK (8255).