Thursday Night Music Club (Voices Carry ed.)

caught Aimee Mann on NPR the other day and really liked what I heard; always thought she had a very under-appreciated catalogue. Here's a track from her latest album, a duet w/ James Mercer of The Shins. Enjoy--

Thursday Night Music Club (19-mo.-old daughter ed.)

So, I'm getting my first exposure to what happens when a youngster likes to hear/watch the same thing over and over . . . the new stuffed animal that plays this song when you press his left foot is cute and all the first couple hundred times, but . . .

Here is Chet Atkins (you forget how good he was) playing his "Yakety Axe" (aka "Benny Hill Theme")--enjoy. 

(dig on the crowd shots and the leisure suits). 

7 Lies (+1)

Robert Reich asked folks to share this brief video clip (2.5 min.) with you where he addresses the 7 biggest lies the R's propagate about the economy. Yes, this will be on the quiz--here

* * *
(via Ben White)

Important from @ezraklein: those who paid only payroll taxes paid more, 15.1%, than Romney in 2010, 13.9% http://wapo.st/V6qfS0

 

Happy Birthday W.C.W.

The Red Wheelbarrow

William Carlos Williams

---

so much depends
upon

a red wheel
barrow

glazed with rain
water

beside the white
chickens.

* * *

great post by Roger Ebert on the best known of Bill's poems (lots of video "interpretations")--check it out here


* * *

here's one of my favorites--

Pastoral

The little sparrows
hop ingenuously
about the pavement
quarreling
with sharp voices
over those things
that interest them.
But we who are wiser
shut ourselves in
on either hand
and no one knows
whether we think good
or evil.
Meanwhile,
the old man who goes about
gathering dog-lime
walks in the gutter
without looking up
and his tread
is more majestic than
that of the Episcopal minister
approaching the pulpit
of a Sunday.
These things
astonish me beyond words.

* * *

and one more:

Tract

I will teach you my townspeople
how to perform a funeral
for you have it over a troop
of artists-
unless one should scour the world-
you have the ground sense necessary.

See! the hearse leads.
I begin with a design for a hearse.
For Christ's sake not black-
nor white either - and not polished!
Let it be whethered - like a farm wagon -
with gilt wheels (this could be
applied fresh at small expense)
or no wheels at all:
a rough dray to drag over the ground.

Knock the glass out!
My God - glass, my townspeople!
For what purpose? Is it for the dead
to look out or for us to see
the flowers or the lack of them -
or what?
To keep the rain and snow from him?
He will have a heavier rain soon:
pebbles and dirt and what not.
Let there be no glass -
and no upholstery, phew!
and no little brass rollers
and small easy wheels on the bottom -
my townspeople, what are you thinking of?
A rough plain hearse then
with gilt wheels and no top at all.
On this the coffin lies
by its own weight.

No wreathes please-
especially no hot house flowers.
Some common memento is better,
something he prized and is known by:
his old clothes - a few books perhaps -
God knows what! You realize
how we are about these things
my townspeople -
something will be found - anything
even flowers if he had come to that.
So much for the hearse.

For heaven's sake though see to the driver!
Take off the silk hat! In fact
that's no place at all for him -
up there unceremoniously
dragging our friend out to his own dignity!
Bring him down - bring him down!
Low and inconspicuous! I'd not have him ride
on the wagon at all - damn him! -
the undertaker's understrapper!
Let him hold the reins
and walk at the side
and inconspicuously too!

Then briefly as to yourselves:
Walk behind - as they do in France,
seventh class, or if you ride
Hell take curtains! Go with some show
of inconvenience; sit openly -
to the weather as to grief.
Or do you think you can shut grief in?
What - from us? We who have perhaps
nothing to lose? Share with us
share with us - it will be money
in your pockets.
Go now
I think you are ready.

Magpies and Jackdaws

 "Magpies are known to collect things; and Jackdaws are known to share what they have and to collect things for other birds"--Swag

* * *
(from CBS Baseball)

Johnny Bench on Mission Impossible in 1971 (I know!): here

* * *
Top 10 Alt-Country Bands You Should Know --Americana, if you prefer. (from Flavorwire)
(no, no Wilco. Avetts are top on the list and pretty well known, but several others are new to me, which is cool)

also from Flavorwire, 10 Underrated Books Everyone Should Read (sorta embarrassed that not only haven't I read any of these books, but I only recognize half these authors--big fan of Kelly Link's though. Looks like I have my summer reading list for next year.)


*more to follow . . . 



(sorry, folks, for these silly posts--but my fuel is all used up right now). 

Thursday Night Music Club (you can call me Zimmy ed.)

yeah, I know. Dylan again. But wait--it's the first single from his new album Tempest just released earlier this week. The video is funny and dark(er) at the same time, sorta like a Robert Frost poem. Enjoy. 

PS--be sure to find your favorite '70s AMC car in the video. 

9/11 Remembrance

Roger Ebert wrote this piece just three days after--less than 300 words, yet it says more than most: here

* * *
(from MLB)
Vin Scully reflects on 9/11: here

* * * 
(from the Daily Kos) Vice President Biden remembers the victims of 9/11 (video and transcript here)

* * *
(from Keith Olbermann)

(from Think Progress, via Keith Olbermann)

 

Thursday Night Music Club (now, for something completely different ed.)

found these guys on NPR--the first video is from the NPR Folk Alley studio, the second is shot from a live show a few years back (but very well done). They're hard to categorize . . . but worth checking out. Enjoy--

Nun Gives Smackdown to Ryan Budget

(via Daily Kos)

Sister Simone just finished speaking at the DNC; here is the transcript of her remarks (Paul Ryan, you better straighten up and fly right).

Why aren't you working on Monday?

from the Daily Kos, here are several pieces about Labor Day and what it means--a video by President Bartlet (aka Martin Sheen), a music video by the recently organized CWA workers in NY, and many more. Check it out here.

And remember why you're not going in to work tomorrow--it's probably not due to the beneficence of the Man. Unions, weakened and demonized--even by those who continue to benefit from their influence, have made it possible for this day off for many folks, along w/ the 40-hour work week, healthcare, and much more. They may not be a perfect institution, but they are one of the few things keeping it (almost) fair for the middle and working class.

* * * * *
And here is a recent 2 page op-ed from Green Party candidate Jill Stein on her endorsement of the AFL-CIO's efforts to secure the second Economic Bill of Rights sought by Pres. Roosevelt in 1944. Stein also lays out a chunk of her platform--read it and then tell me how what Romney or Obama is selling is better for you, your family, your community, and your country. Don't think you can.

* * * * * 
more from the Daily Kos--a whole mess of songs, murals, and whatnot in today's post about the history of Labor Day--from Woody and Pete Seeger to John Lennon and Loretta Lynn, very much worth checking out as you relax at home today: here

Happy Labor Day Everybody--