Category Archives: Pop Culture

Music Miscellanea (8)

Posted on May 21, 2013 by dedc79

1) The Door’s keyboardist, Ray Manzarek, passed away yesterday.  I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with the The Doors’ music, but Soul Kitchen remains one of my favorite songs ever and Manzarek’s playing features prominently: 2) The National … Continue reading →

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What is and What Should Never Be

Posted on May 17, 2013 by dedc79

I was not aware of this: Miles and Jimi. Jimi and Miles. Fans of the late trumpet and guitar masters have long known that Miles Davis and Jimi Hendrix had been making plans to record together in the year before … Continue reading →

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Regression

Posted on May 15, 2013 by reflectionephemeral

This doesn’t quite sync up perfectly, but you can make “Band on the Run” a little worse, and improve “Imagine” a great deal, via mashup: Elvis Costello was quite right about “Imagine”: ”I think ‘Imagine’ is a dumb song. … His work was … Continue reading →

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Friday Night Music

Posted on May 10, 2013 by dedc79

Headed over to the 930 club tonight to see Josh Ritter.  The Felice Brothers are opening.  Between songs, I will be furiously pressing refresh on my phone to get the updated Rangers-Caps score.

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Book Miscellanea

Posted on May 8, 2013 by dedc79

1)  The New York Times is celebrating “A Century of Proust.” 2) NYRB reviews Karl Marx: A Nineteenth Century Life by Jonathan Sperber. 3) Over the weekend, I finished John Le Carre’s Our Kind of Traitor.  While it doesn’t compare to … Continue reading →

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Bohemian Rhapsody In Blue

Posted on May 3, 2013 by reflectionephemeral

This improvisation seems more of a riff than a mashup: The imaginative, ragtime-feeling reworking of “Bohemian Rhapsody” is the highlight, to me, rather than the combination of the two songs. More mashups by pianist Scott Bradlee here.

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We’re # 1

Posted on May 2, 2013 by dedc79

Washington D.C. has had so many new music venues move in recently that it’s gotten very hard to keep track of which shows to attend.  The Fillmore Silver Spring, The Hamilton, The Bethesda Blues and Jazz Supper Club, to name … Continue reading →

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Monday Mix

Posted on April 29, 2013 by dedc79

Keeping things positive on a rainy Monday morning: I’ll Always Be In Love With You - Benny Goodman See the World – Gomez Bhindi Bahngee - Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros Skating Away On The Thin Ice of a New Day – Jethro Tull … Continue reading →

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Futurebirds

Posted on April 25, 2013 by dedc79

Just because I hate Pitchfork, that doesn’t mean I don’t read it.  This morning, I came across their review of a new album by the band Futurebirds.  I’d never heard of them but gave some of their older stuff a … Continue reading →

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Musicians on Music

Posted on April 23, 2013 by dedc79

Thumb through The New York Review of Books and you’re likely to find that at least a few of the book reviews are themselves written by authors.  Such reviews aren’t inherently better than reviews written by non-authors, but because they … Continue reading →

Posted in Music, News and Current Events | 1 Comment

And Bush Probably Wished He Was Kincaid Too Or Whatever

Posted on April 21, 2013 by reflectionephemeral

We’ve addressed George W. Bush’s paintings, and their reception. Kate Hiscock at Utne Reader examines their meaning: Why is the former president painting himself? Why is he even painting? The rest of the criticism centers on the quality of the … Continue reading →

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The Play’s the Thing

Posted on April 15, 2013 by dedc79

The American Scholar has a fascinating article on Abraham Lincoln and his appreciation of the plays of William Shakespeare.  Here’s an excerpt: After Hackett performed before the president, he sent Lincoln a copy of a book he had just published, … Continue reading →

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Old is New

Posted on April 11, 2013 by dedc79

Can’t tell if this is more Velvet Underground or Bob Dylan, but either way, I like it: Here’s my favorite song so far from soul-singer Charles Bradley’s new album. And for those of you who, like me, haven’t listened to … Continue reading →

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The evolving market for music

Posted on April 8, 2013 by dedc79

It’s succinctly illustrated over at Spin via a year-by-year pie chart GIF.

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Music Miscellanea (7)

Posted on April 5, 2013 by dedc79

1) For those of you who like the music of Leonard Cohen, but not the voice, check out these ten covers of his songs by various female artists.   (h/t GZ) 2.) Speaking of covers, Dan Deacon has shown his appreciation … Continue reading →

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Time of the Season

Posted on April 3, 2013 by dedc79

Writing in the London Review of Books, John Lanchester considers the popular appeal of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series  (Note: while the excerpt below contains no real spoilers, the linked article contains many): So the … Continue reading →

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New Music

Posted on April 2, 2013 by dedc79

New releases from Rilo Kiley, the Besnard Lakes and others can be streamed at Pitchfork Advance.  Kurt Viles “Waking on a Pretty Daze” is streaming at NPR First Listen.  NPR is also streaming a John Denver tribute album, which includes My … Continue reading →

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Brain-Scrambling Yawp

Posted on March 28, 2013 by dedc79

We can thank two people for the the privilege of being able to listen to the music of Sid Hemphill.   One, of course, is Hemphill himself. The other is Alan Lomax: Lomax found Hemphill in Senatobia, deep in Mississippi’s Hill Country. … Continue reading →

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