Tag: music
September Rambling: overcoming adversity
One of my oldest friends is going to be working with Paul McCartney!
Why is September a slow writing month? Haven’t even gotten to look at many interesting links I have set aside to peruse later, then “later” never comes. Jaquandor’s having writing problems too, but it appears to have been rectified, according to his Facebook posts.
Arthur has had a woeful time on HIS blog, but maybe it’s the way it is after seven years of blogging. Or maybe he’s just excited about the fact that on Friday, November 1, he and Nigel are going to the registry office in Auckland, New Zealand to change their civil union to marriage. Mazel tov!
My friend Claire’s annual blog post.
SamuraiFrog was in a wedding. He was extremely anxious about it, but he did very well! Still, he’s still dealing with some stuff; good luck, guy.
My ABC Wednesday buddy Leslie on her beau’s improving health, but also her own self-described klutziness.
Phil Hansen: The art of the imperfect.
The oddest Facebook conversation I had about the owner of Barilla pasta and his anti-gay comments, which has spurred calls for a boycott, forced me to write: “It is necessarily true that one does not know the bigotry of every CEO. I don’t know how that translates to ‘since I don’t know what they all think, I’ll ignore this one’s bigotry.'”
An interview with Mark Evanier. Stories of his father featuring Harry the Gonif and ambulances. Plus a story about David Frost NOT about Richard Nixon.
A suspected surrogacy scam revealed something remarkable. Plus, an arm and a fin.
Arthur shares his Labor Day message and an ad I like.
Dustbury manages to write about Microsoft Windows and the 1908 Chicago Cubs in the same post.
The Evolution of Alex Trebek’s Mustache.
Evanier on coverless comics and the early days of Marvel Comics. BTW, Mr. Frog is still writing about those old Marvels.
Polite Scott is back with his medical reviews of current comic books. And you don’t even have to have read the comics to appreciate the analyses.
I imagine we’ve all felt a bit like Dougie McCoy.
MUSIC (mostly):
One of my oldest friends is going to be working with Paul McCartney! Here’s his NEW song.
Bobby McFerrin’s science lesson.
Comedian Gary Owen on “Black Churches”; and Lyle Lovett: Church.
Noshville Kotz, with apologies to John Sebastian.
The Fox by Ylvis. And I STILL don’t know what to make of this video. Maybe seeing the parodies of it, compiled by Chuck Miller, will help.
Chuck has also unearthed The Ballad of Albany and found a composer of the song. http://www.nippertown.com/2013/09/27/other-voices-other-rooms-119/#sthash.1wlWkrbF.dpuf
Before he was famous, Jimmy Buffett was in this faux band called the Now Generation. Here are amazingly “inspiring” versions of These Boots Are Made for Walking and Come Together.
GOOGLE ALERT (me)
Arthur and Jason spent episode 91 of the 2political podcast responding to comments I left on their previous episode. “Jason also talks about his experience after being attacked and robbed, including dealing with the criminal justice system.”
GOOGLE ALERTS (not me)
Ex-reporter lifts lid on his wrestling career. Roger Green’s book, titled Memoirs of a TV Wrestler, is available to download. “It is a no-holds-barred semi-autobiography, which lifts the lid on the wrestling business during the 60s and 70s.”
The Lydster, Part 114: Anita
She went online and got the lyrics to ‘America’, her first favorite song, and then “A Boy Like That.’
I mentioned that the family saw an Albany High School production of West Side Story this spring. Since then, the Daughter has been listening to the movie soundtrack, which pleases me, since it was #2 on my favorite albums of the 1960s.
More specifically, I burned her a copy of my CD so that, if she loses it, I’ll still have it. I’ve done this with some 1959 rock ‘n’ roll compilation and the Beatles’ albums A Hard day’s Night and Help. She’s been playing WSS before she goes to sleep quite often of late.
The Daughter has been particularly enthralled by the character of Anita, the leading Shark girl. In the program, we saw Bryana Greer play Anita, and she was the best performer, we all thought, in a quite good cast.
So she went online and got the lyrics to ‘America’, her first favorite song, and then “A Boy Like That.’ She hasn’t yet figured out the “I Have A Love’ duet that Anita has with Maria, but give it time.
And she HAS been asked to be called Anita, not all the time, but when she’s “in character.”
I have NO idea where she gets this music/theater interest.
August Rambling II: Smart is sexy and stupid is not
A reference to my piece about David Cassidy made it into the print version of the paper because “it was a good post, and filled with what we like: short, timely and to the point :)”
The New York Times’ prophetic 1983 warning about the NSA, which naturally leads to Glenn Greenwald killed the internet.
My Feelings About the Harriet Tubman Sex Tape in 10 GIFs.
Invisible Disabilities Day is October 24. I have this friend with rather a constant neck pain, but she doesn’t LOOK sick, and therefore feels diminished by those who actually don’t believe her. Conversely, The Complexities of Giving: People with Disabilities as Help Objects.
Photos of the worldly goods of inmates at the Willard Asylum. I backed the Kickstarter for this and wrote about it a couple years ago.
“Each week, TIME Magazine designs covers for four markets: the U.S., Europe, Asia, and the South Pacific.” Often, America’s cover is quite, well – different. I had noticed this before. I don’t know that it’s “stunning,” but it IS telling.
The Peanuts gang meets The Smiths, in which This Charming Charlie masterfully blends Charles Schulz’s comics with lyrics by The Smiths.
Mark Evanier’s Tales of My Father, featuring Tony Orlando. Also, Tales of My Cat.
A friend’s letter from his brother. (Can one read this sans Facebook?)
Yes, smart is sexy and stupidity is not.
Eddie, the Renaissance Geek is cancer-free!
John Scalzi: To The Dudebro Who Thinks He’s Insulting Me by Calling Me a Feminist.
Air New Zealand celebrates marriage equality.
Lake Edge United Church of Christ in Madison, WI: “Worship at the Edge” PRIDE Sunday.
My old buddy Matt Haller has a new blog and writes about lies my shampoo bottle tells me about dating.
Arthur challenges his own snap assumptions.
SamuraiFrog writes about the list of best movies that EW had on the list in 1999, but which had fallen off the list by 2013 and also other great films. Re: a comment he made: that will require a blog post from me. He’s been musing on the early Marvel comics, which have all been interesting, and I was glad to play a small part in his understanding of Thor.
21 Jokes Only History Nerds Will Understand.
German, not Swiss, Orson Welles.
Marian McPartland, ‘Piano Jazz’ Host, Has Died. I loved how she way she not only performed but, probably, more importantly, INFORMED about music.
The late Elmore Leonard’ TEN RULES FOR WRITING. His New York Times obit.
David Janower has passed away. He was the choral director of the fine Albany Pro Musica, and I knew and liked him personally, so I am sad. He had surgery a few months back and suffered a stroke from which he never really recovered.
A worthy neologism found by Dustbury.
The God of SNL will see you now.
Dolly Parton’s original recording of “Jolene” slowed down by 25% is surprisingly awesome.
Paul McCartney “In Spite Of All The Danger” & “20 Flight Rock” (Live), the former a cover of first Beatles record. Also, the Beatles’ final photo session, August 22, 1969.
Chuck Miller has posted every day for four years, over 2,000 blog posts on the Times Union site.
Dueling banjos: Steve Martin, Kermit the Frog. Sesame Street does Old Spice parody with Grover.
No ukuleles were harmed in the making of this video.
What did I write about in my Times Union blog this month? That annoying JEOPARDY! Kids Week story and Should ‘citizen initiative and referendum’ come to New York? and The prescient David Cassidy song. Cassidy got arrested locally for felony DWI, and a reference to my piece made it into the print version of the paper because “it was a good post, and filled with what we like: short, timely and to the point :),” FWIW.
If you are an NYS homeowner, read Tax Department Launches Statewide STAR Registration. The Data Detective blog has some other interesting stuff – if I do say so myself – such as On being ‘right’ in science.
Jaquandor answers my questions about the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team and unfriending.
Linda Ronstadt for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Linda was as eclectic as musical shapeshifters like David Bowie and Neil Young, but because she didn’t write her own stuff, she’s been dismissed.
One of my friends, remembering her popularity in the late 1970s, both musically and visually – posters of her image were on more few dorm room walls – wrote: “Now that we know Linda Ronstadt is living with Parkinson’s, can we please finally put her in the Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame?”
Not sure about whether induction there really matters; it certainly does not diminish her remarkable talent over decades. Still, I support the notion of her getting into the Hall, and if it takes a sympathy vote because she no longer can sing to achieve it, so be it. But I think she has enough bona fides to get there without pity.
She had tremendous commercial success in the folk-rock milieu in the 1970s, yet ventured off to do the Pirates of Penzance; two albums of music of her Mexican father, in Spanish; three albums of standards arranged by Nelson Riddle; some great duets with Aaron Neville and Emmylou Harris, among others; the Trio albums with Dolly Parton and Emmylou, and much more.
Linda was as eclectic as musical shapeshifters like David Bowie and Neil Young, but because she didn’t write her own stuff, she’s been dismissed. You’ll find her on albums as varied as Randy Newman’s Faust and Philip Glass’s Songs of Liquid Days; from the latter, here is Forgetting, also featuring the Roches and the Kronos String Quartet. She’s one of the great backup vocalists, with Neil Young on Heart of Gold, and Paul Simon on Under African Skies, e.g.
It’s also true that I like Linda Ronstadt – not personally – based on what I’ve heard about her. I hear she’s a big donator to repertory theater in Tucson, for instance. Her birthday is the same as my wife’s (Linda’s a bit older, though).
She inspired a buycott by me. A buycott, as described by Arthur, is “to go out of my way to support businesses that support the issues I care about instead of boycotting the ones that oppose those issues.” In 2004, she was escorted from a Las Vegas casino after she had dedicated a song to the filmmaker Michael Moore. Her ejection and the attitude of the audience annoyed me so much that I soon ordered from Amazon The Linda Ronstadt Box Set, which is great, especially discs three, “Collaborations, ” and four, “Rarities.” Though the collection ignores her hits such as Heat Wave, Tracks of My Tears, That’ll Be the Day, It’s So Easy, and most of the Hasten Down the Wind album, it was a very satisfying purchase.