Monday, March 28, 2005
Take Off the Head 2005: Paintings by Friese Undine
Friese was in my Tom Waits class last fall, and is also quite the harmonica player. His exhibition will be up at the Chicago Cultural Center until April 24.
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
Big Al Anderson
Saw Buddy Miller again Sunday night at the Old Town School, and he was excellent as always (though it's never the same without Julie), but I was really impressed with the guy who opened for him, Big Al Anderson. He's mainly known, if at all, from his work with NRBQ (apparently Buddy's band opened for them back in the '70s), but he's a compelling solo performer -- sort of like Charlie Rich with a guitar.
Tom Waits' Top 20 Albums
It's quite a list. Happy to say I actually have a few of them....
(of course, there's more than 20, so here are the rest)....
(of course, there's more than 20, so here are the rest)....
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
Online Music Resource
Found what looks to be an excellent "open-source" online music information resource called MusicMoz:
About MusicMoz - The Open Music Project
Music information is one of the most searched topics online and a very important application of the internet. Commercial and fan websites offer an abundance of information on thousands of bands, artists, orchestras, composers and just about every other aspect of music. One of the biggest drawbacks to this wealth of information is that it can be very disorganized and can often disappear as websites continually shut their doors.Based around the Open Directory editing model, MusicMoz aims to be a comprehensive directory of music, built by volunteers around the world, with contributions from the web public.
The site also appears to be blessedly free of popups, lurking spyware, and the like -- which by itself makes it an improvement over most "music" sites.
Let no one doubt Hogzilla!
At last, the truth has been verified....
Alas, if only someone had read Hogzilla passages from The Purpose-Driven Life, he might have been saved.
Alas, if only someone had read Hogzilla passages from The Purpose-Driven Life, he might have been saved.
Monday, March 21, 2005
Springsteen inducts U2 into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Springsteen on Bono (and to an extent himself):
Read the entire speech here.....Shaman, scheister, one of the greatest and most endearingly naked messianic
complexes in rock and roll. God bless you, man! It takes one to know
one, of course.
You see every good Irish and Italian-Irish frontman knows that
before James Brown, there was Jesus. So hold the McDonald arches on
the stage set, boys, we are not ironists. We are creations of the
heart, and of the earth, and of the stations of the cross. There's no
getting out of it.
Friday, March 18, 2005
George Kennan: 1904-2005
If you don't know who he is (or was), you're certainly not alone. But he was as responsible as anyone for the course the United States took in the world following World War II. A brilliant and complicated man, he was decidedly ambivalent about his legacy, and was troubled by what he saw as an overapplication and misinterpretation of his ideas (he was warning us about the folly of going into Iraq in 2002, at the spry age of 98).
His obituary is here...and is a 20th Century history lesson in itself.
His obituary is here...and is a 20th Century history lesson in itself.
Wednesday, March 16, 2005
Oscar Brown Jr. at the Hideout - Thursday, April 7
I've been hearing about Oscar Brown for awhile now, so I'm hoping to make the 10:00 show:
More info here and here.
"Sounds of the Browns"
WHERE: The Hideout
1354 W. Wabansia (located 2 blocks north of Elston and North Avenue on Chicago's near north side)
Chicago, IllinoisWHEN: Thursday, April 7th at 8:00 & 10:00pm "The Sounds of the Browns" will feature OBJ accompanied by two of his talented daughter's, Maggie and Africa Brown, providing patrons with a great evening of vocal entertainment, Chicago style.
Friday, March 11, 2005
Gospel and Grace
Going to Memphis in two weeks, and I just might have to pay a visit to the Full Gospel Tabernacle to see Rev. Al Green....
Bush and "Democracy"
Naomi Klein has a great article up in The Nation this week. Key quote:
Indeed.
George W. Bush likes to say that democracy has the power to defeat tyranny. He's right, and that's precisely why it is so very dangerous for history's most powerful emancipatory idea to be bundled into an empty marketing exercise.
Indeed.
Wednesday, March 09, 2005
Socialized Medicine That Works
Monday, March 07, 2005
Am I My iPod?
I keep adding books to my reading list that I never get to (much less finish), but this looks like one that might move to the head of the line. The book is Mediated: The Hidden Effects of Media on People, Places and Things, by Thomas De Zengotita, a professor of philosophy and anthropology at NYU, and he's describing a phenomenon that's been on my mind a lot lately, but which I hadn't been able to articulate fully.
Here's an interview with him in Salon (you might have to view an ad if you're not a subscriber)...
Here's an interview with him in Salon (you might have to view an ad if you're not a subscriber)...
Friday, March 04, 2005
The Spin Cycle of God's Washing Machine
Here's an interview with Marianne Williamson on Beliefnet. I have mixed feelings about her and other self-styled gurus, inspirational speakers, etc. (i.e., Tony Robbins, Deepak Chopra, Wayne Dyer -- or anyone from the "Oprah school"), but I must admit I like what she's saying, and find it hard to disagree with much or any of it...
Thursday, March 03, 2005
Social Security - What's Really at Stake
Tuesday, March 01, 2005
More from Buddy Guy's
Ivy, Elissa, me, Bob, Mike, Bill Brickey (co-instructor), Jason
