I have a lot of friends and acquaintances who are not on Facebook. Some have quit, some never joined. A large portion of them seem to infer that they are too superior to join Facebook, that Facebook is only for “people with no lives” or that Facebook is somehow evil. Facebook is neither good nor …
. This is a nice clip. Aaron Tibeaux Walker. What can I say? Once almost as big as his contemporary, Louis Jordan, and now just as forgotten. A long, long string of r&b chart hits from the mid 40’s through the 50’s. A suave, seemingly effortless vocalist and guitarist, who penned most of his own …
When 5th season American Idol contestant Chris Daughtry sang a brooding cover of Johnny Cash’s “I Walk the Line” in 2006, Idol fans went universally ape shit, calling the arrangement “wildly innovative” and raving about how refreshingly far removed it was from the up-tempo original. What most didn’t realize was that Daughtry’s performance was not …
. One of my favorite videos… not because of it’s excellent image quality (quite obviously NOT) but because it combines my favorite singer, Robert Plant, with one of my favorite bands backing him up, Pearl Jam, in my favorite city and hometown, Chicago, in an iconic club, House of Blues, for a very worthy cause, …
This 1958 Stan Freberg audio file satirizes the overcommercialism of Christmas. It begins with Mr. Scrooge calling a meeting of important “advertising people” to find new ways to tie products to Christmas. One advertiser talks of depicting a more rugged Santa smoking a preferred brand of cigarette. In the ad, Santa has “both sleeves rolled …
. Even when you’ve spent time as a professional rock critic, there are inevitably gaps in your musicology knowledge. And one of the aspects of music I’ve always loved is how musicians pay homage to mentors, inspirations, peers, and lesser-known talents by covering or, better still, collaborating with them, helping them reach a wider audience. …
. Many of the songs in Tom Lehrer’s small, dark canon of work still seem relevant today, though nearly all of them were written in the 1950s and 60s. Lehrer often wrote about subjects that were in the news of the day. For example, his song “Smut” (which may be heard in the video below) …
. At 21, she had a few years on me; nonetheless, I was sure that Maria McKee and I could somehow work it out. Oh, how I was in love with this girl during my last gasps of high school in 1985-1986. Coming along after X and the Blasters but years before the terms “Americana” …
. Even considering what a sucker I am for a love song, I do not think I’m overstating the sublimity of the lyric masterpiece She by Elvis Costello. Like many folks, the first time I heard the song was in the soundtrack for Notting Hill. Had Costello written it for the film, he surely would …
Nathaniel Hawthorne once observed that “easy reading is damned hard writing.” The same holds true in music, where great mastery is often found in the simplest performances. Booker T and the MGs, one of the greatest backing bands of all time, played with such a profoundly deep groove that little elaboration was needed. It’s fitting …
. I don’t know if you were aware of the major underground movement at my college, North Park University in Chicago, among the gals when this song came out. Many girls of a certain era know this song word for word and know how to wield that curling iron or hair brush as a mic…great …
. Chavela Vargas is something of a legend in Mexico City where I live. She’s still making records at 91. Muse to both the Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar and the Mexican painter Frida Kahlo (and reputedly also her lover), her endurance, depth of passion, outsized personality, and gorgeously fierce voice make here one-of-a-kind. She was …
. Yet another attempt at a bounce back week: [Ed. Note – Updated Wednesday, Ron went 7-9 this week.] Thursday Night: No – PHILADELPHIA 8 Houston The Texans probably have enough offense to keep this one close. Sunday: Yes – MINNESOTA 6 Buffalo The Bills keep on playing close games, but they have to be …
. Scot-king songwriter, dark-hearted minstrel, troubled and temper-torn troubadour, bitter balladeer extraordinaire, roiling ace back alley jig picker Richard Thompson. I love this king of all the sad bastards with the golden hands, his records ooze delight and despair in the most organic and ornery of ways. Plays like the devil and knows all his …
. Although this video is listed as John Coltrane and Miles Davis, it should actually be listed as Miles Davis only. Coltrane was at this point simply the tenor man in Miles band, and as amazing as his playing is here the modal improvisations were more Miles’ innovation. It’s slightly disappointing to hear a different …
My appreciation for Bruce Springsteen happened much later than most people. It was 2005 to be exact. I was given a copy of “Nebraska” by Barton Carroll when we were touring with Crooked Fingers because I told him that I wasn’t a fan of Bruce. He told me to give that a listen and then …
I must admit, I had assumed Portland would be the last place on earth for a Christmas-related terror attempt: . Somali-born teen arrested in car bomb plot Feds supplied dud in sting at downtown Portland, Ore., Christmas tree lighting ceremony PORTLAND, Ore. — A Somali-born teenager plotted to carry out a car bomb attack at …
. It’s 2AM and I’m in the middle of a modern day Currier and Ives print. The parking lot is enervated, electric. A dazed polyglot of satisfied Walmart shoppers recess the aluminum store with armloads of discounted clothing. Cut rate electronics drop at sunup. Cellular reception bars are firm and plenteous, the inky skies are …
. [Updated Tuesday Morning – This week Ron has gone 8 -11. – Ed.] [Friday afternoon] – Still no line on the Miami – Oakland game. I’m assuming the fact that both Henne and Marshall are game time decisions is keeping that one off. I’ve included what I can for that one. Have a great …
. . I was saddened and dismayed last night to watch “Nightline,” one of the cherished news shows of my teenage years, and see how much it has changed. During a week of critical and frightening news coming out of Korea, when two nations with huge armies and powerful allies stand at the brink of …
Nils Lofgren is probably best known for his work with Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band. There is no doubt he excelled in both roles, but he also has a fine legacy as a solo performer. Lofgren is widely regarded as one of the best rhythm guitarists in the history of …
. My journalism school, at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, is changing its name from The Medill School of Journalism to The Medill School of Journalism, Media and Marketing Communications. This development culminates several years of changes instituted by the new journalism dean, who has shifted the focus of the school from news writing and …
. I didn’t think it possible, but recently discovered a friend on Facebook who’d actually never seen the unforgettable “OK Go on Treadmills” video. As an actual treadmill owner, I can’t even walk by (notice I didn’t say walk ON) my treadmill without OK Go’s one-take masterpiece immediately coming to mind. And it’s not just …
Awwwwwww…. . .
Fellow Swede-Ams, it’s time to stop the madness! Santa Lucia day, the most sexist holiday in the global Scandinavian calendar, is fast approaching, December 13. Please stop the needless subjugation of Scandinavian women through, coffee, coffeebread, candles and white robes. Every year a new generation is scarred for life, sometimes physically if real candles are …
Here’s a classic Ambrosavage Thanksgiving cartoon, back in time to make you laugh: . .
Tenor and global heartthrob Josh Groban’s new record, “Illuminations” is produced by Rick Rubin and six of the songs are co-written by Dan Wilson, of Semisonic and Trip Shakespeare fame. Groban and Wilson collaborated on “Bells of New York City” (below). My only question is, why no cover of “Erotic City?” Semisonic always had rollicking …
West Coast residents never understand the brutal sarcasm making up the everyday humor vocabulary in Chicago. Only in Chicago could perky morning news hosts make bitter wisecracks about osteoporosis and then make fun of themselves when they miss the bridge implosion. Here in the eternally optimistic West, it’s the osteoporosis joke and the hosts’ general …