A joke for the day...
"THE BOTTLE OF WINE"
For all of us who are married, were married, wish
we were married, or wish we weren't married, this
is something to smile about the next time you see a
bottle of wine:
Sally was driving home from one of her business trips in Northern Arizona when she saw an
elderly
Navajo woman walking on the side of the road.
As the trip was a long and quiet one, she stopped the car and asked the Navajo woman if she
would like a ride.
With a silent nod of thanks, the woman got into the car.
Resuming the journey, Sally tried in vain to make a bit of small talk with the Navajo woman.
The old woman just sat silently, looking intently at
everything she saw, studying every little detail, until she noticed a brown bag on the seat
next to Sally.
'What in bag?' asked the old woman.
Sally looked down at the brown bag and said, 'It's a bottle of wine. I got it for my husband.'
The Navajo woman was silent for another moment or two.
Then speaking with the quiet wisdom of an elder, she said:
'Good trade.'
####
Then there's the other side of the story...
RICHARD THOMPSON solo version of "I Misunderstood" live in Seattle 1990
and a nice 'lil lo-fi rare audio track from DEREK & THE DOMINOS live at Curtis Hixon Hall, Tampa, FL featuring Duane Allman
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Friday, January 16, 2009
2009 SCHLOCK TREATMENT
Well, it has been a few months and I've decided to try a few new tricks here to get myself blogging at STMonkey more often. I know, so many distractions...that evil thing called work, those distractions like eating, playing gigs, sitting on Facebook and MySpace for hours, watching the entire Season Six of 24 before Season Seven starts...having a different book and magazine next to each chair I may plop in (and this includes the front seat of my car, the commode, the bed...even the rocker on my front porch)...chasing girls..the usual distractions.
So I'm taking a turn from some of my fellow bloggers and I think I will use this place as a dump for whatever cultural claptrap comes across my desk each day as well as the occasional diatribe, cd or concert or book review etc. I always seem to wait until I have a huge writing urge and those tend to get divided between my letters to friends, my journals, my sex blog (don't ask) and random assorted networking rambles...so my promise is to attempt a more frequent attentiveness and instead of just letting some of this stuff flow by, I'll stick it here and see what happens.
Of course, I will love any feedback you can give. If it is just easier to post this stuff on MySpace or Facebook, I may just wind up there but at least here it will be a concentrated view as opposed to shifting through news of my band, my friends' daily personal issues, etc.
So here are a couple of things of interest (to me anyway)...come back again, subscribe, hang out...
The DEAD to play Barack's Inagural Ball
http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2009/01/15/barack-obama-selects-the-dead-for-inauguration-ball-it-was-quite-an-honor/
Okay but I think some of the guys played at Clinton's Inauguaral...any one recall? So what WILL they play? Songs from the set list from the 10/13 ROCK FOR CHANGE show may give some clues...Help On The Way...Throwin' Stones...Dark Star...Not Fade Away...Playin' in the Band...all somehow appropriate. Any other ideas? I say GOLDEN ROAD works...
Elvis Costello sings the Grateful Dead tune LOSER
Years ago, when I first heard a tape of Elvis' live version of the Dead's SHIP OF FOOLS I was blown away by what a great match it was for his voice and style. This is cool too is a tad raggedy. Looks from the backfrop like it was from Golden Gate Park but I'm not sure. That would indeed be appropriate. Elvis is one of the great music fans out there. A huge collector with a vast knowledge of so many styles and genres. I was pleased to be in the studio with him on a couple occassions for a Mingus Orhetra session where he wrote lyrics to and sang a relatively obscure Mingus tune, Invisible Lady. I also had a chance to be in on the session for Elvis's performance on Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz show on NPR and he was a fabulous guest. Gracious and full of insight into the jazz tunes and standards he played with Marian that day. Very cool. Check out his talk/music show on Sundance Channel, SPECTACLE. Possibly the best music show on TV since NBCs NIGHT MUSIC years ago.
Ryan Adams Quits the Music biz
http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/148460--ryan-adams-is-quitting-music-says-ryan-adams
Ok, so many of you know I think Ryan Adams is the best damn songwriter out there these days. Yeah, I dig Ray LaMontagne as well but Ryan is the man. Prolific as can be, stylistically interesting like Neil Young, Todd Rundgren, and many of the best "artists" before him. The Bowie's, the Willie Nelson's...guys who always sound like themselves, have an identity but are not afraid to push the envelope some every time out. Artists who were there influences out in the open but always add something totally unique and intriguing everytime out.
Now MANY famous artists retire, some over and over agin, just to find life out of the spotlight boring and suddenly realize that they are gonna be creative no matter what so they may as well share it with the world...Artie Shaw and Elton John retired numerous ties...Bowie, Tina Turner, Dylan, Charles Lloyd and many of them have come back and given us some of their most timeless work.
See ya in a bit, Ryan. We'll miss ya while you're gone, and we'll look forward to your return. I'm sure it will be not a minute too soon.
(Photo at top of me, Marian McPartland and Elvis Costello courtesy of RJ Capek)
Sunday, October 5, 2008
SPRINGSTEEN FOR OBAMA IN PHILLY
Bruce Springsteen pleaded the case for Obama for President at a free rally in Philadelphia on Saturday. Steph Brown and I went down after a lengthy SEPTA hassle getting there but made it in time for Bruce who came on about 30 minutes before his scheduled time. There were approximately 50,000 people there for a rally designed to help register voters in the swing state of Philadelphia.
Bruce played a stirring, emotionally riveting 40+ minute solo acoustic set as City Hall loomed behind him with an American flag billowing in the wind from atop a downtown skyscraper on this beautiful day in the town where this nation was formed.
Each song chosen contained an appropriate line or message of hope and the crowd cheered and sang along at each appropriate phrase.
After former mayor Ed Rendell and Gov. Bob Casey spoke, Bruce came out as rumors of a surprise Obama visit swirled in the wind and said, "I'm not Barack Obama, but I'll do my best," he said. "It's good to be back in my home away from home." Not only the city where the United States got it's official launch, it is also the town that broke Springsteen, who before local DJ Ed Sciokey took up his case and The Boss hit town with some legendary early, long, incendiary shows was known only along the Jersey Shore.
The Promised Land (all audio and video in this blog are from Philly Obama Rally)
THE PROMISED LAND (his tune not Chuck Berry's!)
"The dogs on Main Street howl 'cause they understand
If i could take one moment into my hands
Mister, I ain't a boy, no I'm a man / and I believe in the promised land....
...There's a dark cloud rising from the desert floor
I packed my bags and I'm heading straight into the storm
Gonna be a twister to blow everything down
That ain't got the faith to stand its ground
Blow away the dreams that tear you apart
Blow away the dreams that break your heart
Blow away the lies that leave you nothing but lost and brokenhearted."
Audio of Tom Joad:
THE GHOST OF TOM JOAD
Bruce sings, by way of John Steinbeck,
"Where there's a fight against the blood and hatred in the air
Look for me, Mom, I'll be there
Wherever there's somebody fightin' for a place to stand
Or a decent job or a helpin' hand
Wherever somebody's strugglin' to be free
Look in their eyes, Mom, you'll see me."
Audio of Thunder Road:
THUNDER ROAD
"SHOW A LITTLE FAITH!" (the crowd screams this line with him)
"With a chance to make it work somehow,
hey, what else can we do now
except roll down the windows and let the wind blow back your hair.
Well, the night's bustin' open these two lanes will take us anywhere.
We got one last chance to make it real
to trade in these wings on some wheels
climb in back, heaven's waitin' on down the tracks."
Audio of No Surrender and Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street:
NO SURRENDER
"We made a promise we swore we'd always remember
No retreat no surrender
Like soldiers in the winter's night with a vow to defend
No retreat no surrender."
DOES THIS BUS STOP AT 82ND STREET?
He hasn't played this one in ages but did it in Philly since he'd played it here so much before he was a star...
great line: "The Daily News asks her for the dope / She said, 'Man, the dope's that there's still hope.'"
- he intro'd the next song with a little speech. He wanted to "say a little something" and asked for a rock to hold down the paper he'd read from, "Don't throw it," he laughed.
And man he should be a speech writer for Obama. Eloquent, poignant, pointed and poetic. The Boss...here's what he said. (pt. 1 begins with the end of BUS STOP and ends with 1st half of speech w/ crowd shots and the first minute of THE RISING. Pt. 2 video is most of the speech plus the entire version of THE RISING)
PT. 1:
PT. 2:
"Hello Philly,
"I am glad to be here today for this voter registration drive and for Barack Obama, the next President of the United States.
"I've spent 35 years writing about America, its people, and the meaning of the American Promise. The Promise that was handed down to us, right here in this city from our founding fathers, with one instruction: Do your best to make these things real. Opportunity, equality, social and economic justice, a fair shake for all of our citizens, the American idea, as a positive influence, around the world for a more just and peaceful existence. These are the things that give our lives hope, shape, and meaning. They are the ties that bind us together and give us faith in our contract with one another.
"I've spent most of my creative life measuring the distance between that American promise and American reality. For many Americans, who are today losing their jobs, their homes, seeing their retirement funds disappear, who have no healthcare, or who have been abandoned in our inner cities. The distance between that promise and that reality has never been greater or more painful.
"I believe Senator Obama has taken the measure of that distance in his own life and in his work. I believe he understands, in his heart, the cost of that distance, in blood and suffering, in the lives of everyday Americans. I believe as president, he would work to restore that promise to so many of our fellow citizens who have justifiably lost faith in its meaning. After the disastrous administration of the past 8 years, we need someone to lead us in an American reclamation project. In my job, I travel the world, and occasionally play big stadiums, just like Senator Obama. I've continued to find, wherever I go, America remains a repository of people's hopes, possibilities, and desires, and that despite the terrible erosion to our standing around the world, accomplished by our recent administration, we remain, for many, a house of dreams. One thousand George Bushes and one thousand Dick Cheneys will never be able to tear that house down.
"They will, however, be leaving office, dropping the national tragedies of Katrina, Iraq, and our financial crisis in our laps. Our sacred house of dreams has been abused, looted, and left in a terrible state of disrepair. It needs care; it needs saving, it needs defending against those who would sell it down the river for power or a quick buck. It needs strong arms, hearts, and minds. It needs someone with Senator Obama's understanding, temperateness, deliberativeness, maturity, compassion, toughness, and faith, to help us rebuild our house once again. But most importantly, it needs us. You and me. To build that house with the generosity that is at the heart of the American spirit. A house that is truer and big enough to contain the hopes and dreams of all of our fellow citizens. That is where our future lies. We will rise or fall as a people by our ability to accomplish this task. Now I don't know about you, but I want that dream back, I want my America back, I want my country back.
"So now is the time to stand with Barack Obama and Joe Biden, roll up our sleeves, and come on up for the rising."
THE RISING
"Come on up for the rising
Come on up, lay your hands in mine
Come on up for the rising
Come on up for the rising tonight."
Audio of This Land Is Your Land:
THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND
He sings Woody Guthrie's populist classic with the seldom sung verse with crowd chanting "Yes, We Can" in time to the song. Incredible.
Bruce Springsteen has been the every man's poet laureate of the rock n roll world for the past 35 years and has time and again taken a stand for what he believes in. This show was remarkably moving and to have been a part of it will forever be a memorable and proud moment in my life.
all of the excerpted lyrics in the review above are
Copyright © Bruce Springsteen (ASCAP)
except THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND by Woody Guthrie
© Copyright 1956 (renewed), 1958 (renewed), 1970 and 1972 Ludlow Music, Inc.
Bruce played a stirring, emotionally riveting 40+ minute solo acoustic set as City Hall loomed behind him with an American flag billowing in the wind from atop a downtown skyscraper on this beautiful day in the town where this nation was formed.
Each song chosen contained an appropriate line or message of hope and the crowd cheered and sang along at each appropriate phrase.
After former mayor Ed Rendell and Gov. Bob Casey spoke, Bruce came out as rumors of a surprise Obama visit swirled in the wind and said, "I'm not Barack Obama, but I'll do my best," he said. "It's good to be back in my home away from home." Not only the city where the United States got it's official launch, it is also the town that broke Springsteen, who before local DJ Ed Sciokey took up his case and The Boss hit town with some legendary early, long, incendiary shows was known only along the Jersey Shore.
The Promised Land (all audio and video in this blog are from Philly Obama Rally)
THE PROMISED LAND (his tune not Chuck Berry's!)
"The dogs on Main Street howl 'cause they understand
If i could take one moment into my hands
Mister, I ain't a boy, no I'm a man / and I believe in the promised land....
...There's a dark cloud rising from the desert floor
I packed my bags and I'm heading straight into the storm
Gonna be a twister to blow everything down
That ain't got the faith to stand its ground
Blow away the dreams that tear you apart
Blow away the dreams that break your heart
Blow away the lies that leave you nothing but lost and brokenhearted."
Audio of Tom Joad:
THE GHOST OF TOM JOAD
Bruce sings, by way of John Steinbeck,
"Where there's a fight against the blood and hatred in the air
Look for me, Mom, I'll be there
Wherever there's somebody fightin' for a place to stand
Or a decent job or a helpin' hand
Wherever somebody's strugglin' to be free
Look in their eyes, Mom, you'll see me."
Audio of Thunder Road:
THUNDER ROAD
"SHOW A LITTLE FAITH!" (the crowd screams this line with him)
"With a chance to make it work somehow,
hey, what else can we do now
except roll down the windows and let the wind blow back your hair.
Well, the night's bustin' open these two lanes will take us anywhere.
We got one last chance to make it real
to trade in these wings on some wheels
climb in back, heaven's waitin' on down the tracks."
Audio of No Surrender and Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street:
NO SURRENDER
"We made a promise we swore we'd always remember
No retreat no surrender
Like soldiers in the winter's night with a vow to defend
No retreat no surrender."
DOES THIS BUS STOP AT 82ND STREET?
He hasn't played this one in ages but did it in Philly since he'd played it here so much before he was a star...
great line: "The Daily News asks her for the dope / She said, 'Man, the dope's that there's still hope.'"
- he intro'd the next song with a little speech. He wanted to "say a little something" and asked for a rock to hold down the paper he'd read from, "Don't throw it," he laughed.
And man he should be a speech writer for Obama. Eloquent, poignant, pointed and poetic. The Boss...here's what he said. (pt. 1 begins with the end of BUS STOP and ends with 1st half of speech w/ crowd shots and the first minute of THE RISING. Pt. 2 video is most of the speech plus the entire version of THE RISING)
PT. 1:
PT. 2:
"Hello Philly,
"I am glad to be here today for this voter registration drive and for Barack Obama, the next President of the United States.
"I've spent 35 years writing about America, its people, and the meaning of the American Promise. The Promise that was handed down to us, right here in this city from our founding fathers, with one instruction: Do your best to make these things real. Opportunity, equality, social and economic justice, a fair shake for all of our citizens, the American idea, as a positive influence, around the world for a more just and peaceful existence. These are the things that give our lives hope, shape, and meaning. They are the ties that bind us together and give us faith in our contract with one another.
"I've spent most of my creative life measuring the distance between that American promise and American reality. For many Americans, who are today losing their jobs, their homes, seeing their retirement funds disappear, who have no healthcare, or who have been abandoned in our inner cities. The distance between that promise and that reality has never been greater or more painful.
"I believe Senator Obama has taken the measure of that distance in his own life and in his work. I believe he understands, in his heart, the cost of that distance, in blood and suffering, in the lives of everyday Americans. I believe as president, he would work to restore that promise to so many of our fellow citizens who have justifiably lost faith in its meaning. After the disastrous administration of the past 8 years, we need someone to lead us in an American reclamation project. In my job, I travel the world, and occasionally play big stadiums, just like Senator Obama. I've continued to find, wherever I go, America remains a repository of people's hopes, possibilities, and desires, and that despite the terrible erosion to our standing around the world, accomplished by our recent administration, we remain, for many, a house of dreams. One thousand George Bushes and one thousand Dick Cheneys will never be able to tear that house down.
"They will, however, be leaving office, dropping the national tragedies of Katrina, Iraq, and our financial crisis in our laps. Our sacred house of dreams has been abused, looted, and left in a terrible state of disrepair. It needs care; it needs saving, it needs defending against those who would sell it down the river for power or a quick buck. It needs strong arms, hearts, and minds. It needs someone with Senator Obama's understanding, temperateness, deliberativeness, maturity, compassion, toughness, and faith, to help us rebuild our house once again. But most importantly, it needs us. You and me. To build that house with the generosity that is at the heart of the American spirit. A house that is truer and big enough to contain the hopes and dreams of all of our fellow citizens. That is where our future lies. We will rise or fall as a people by our ability to accomplish this task. Now I don't know about you, but I want that dream back, I want my America back, I want my country back.
"So now is the time to stand with Barack Obama and Joe Biden, roll up our sleeves, and come on up for the rising."
THE RISING
"Come on up for the rising
Come on up, lay your hands in mine
Come on up for the rising
Come on up for the rising tonight."
Audio of This Land Is Your Land:
THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND
He sings Woody Guthrie's populist classic with the seldom sung verse with crowd chanting "Yes, We Can" in time to the song. Incredible.
Bruce Springsteen has been the every man's poet laureate of the rock n roll world for the past 35 years and has time and again taken a stand for what he believes in. This show was remarkably moving and to have been a part of it will forever be a memorable and proud moment in my life.
all of the excerpted lyrics in the review above are
Copyright © Bruce Springsteen (ASCAP)
except THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND by Woody Guthrie
© Copyright 1956 (renewed), 1958 (renewed), 1970 and 1972 Ludlow Music, Inc.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)