Music
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Weekend Music Today is Dylan's birthday. He's 72. Loudon Wainwright III, as you may know, was one of several artists who were briefly touted as "the new Dylan" in the early 1970s. The kid he refers to in the last verse is presumably Martha Wainwright, herself a worthy artist, I think somewhat less well…
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Weekend Music I'm only going to post one track from this album, but I really want to recommend the whole thing. It's almost universally considered a classic, and if you have much interest in jazz you've probably heard it; certainly you should hear it. I bought it some time back, on the strength of its reputation. I…
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Weekend Music Really this should be credited to Jack Bruce, as he does everything here except for Ginger Baker's high-hat cymbal. And the lyrics are by Pete Brown. I liked Cream's music well enough but was never a zealous fan, which is evident from the fact that this was by far my favorite track on…
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Weekend Music I don't know why, but almost every morning this week I've discovered that this song is running through my head as I'm getting ready for work. Something is triggering it–maybe something to do with walking the dogs to the bay–but I don't notice what, I just suddenly realize that it's there. It was…
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Weekend Music After a long hiatus, I've been listening to the forty or fifty eMusic freebies I'd accumulated over a period of months, and flagging the ones I think are especially good and will want to hear again. I found this one sort of haunting. It's not especially appropriate for Easter, but the video makes…
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Weekend Music I'm sure everyone who's been reading this blog for a while recalls this exciting post in which I compared two recordings of Bach's Goldberg Variations, Murray Perahia's and Glenn Gould's 1955 version. When speaking of Gould and the Goldbergs, one always has to specify which recording, the 1955 or 1981, because they're very…
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In honor of the election of Pope Francis, and suggested by Sally Thomas’s comment on this post of Janet’s, I will take a break from my Lenten musical fast, and offer you this, from that great penitent Franz Liszt. Has anyone heard definitive word on which Francis(es) Pope Francis has in mind?
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Weekend Music I guess anyone who's been in earshot of a radio very often over the past fifty years has heard The Tokens' 1960 hit version of this song. I remember seeing its name on an American Bandstand Top 10 list before I actually heard it, and being intrigued by the title. Some years…
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Weekend Music A few nights ago I watched a documentary about the 25th anniversary of Paul Simon's Graceland album. It's pretty good, though it gives more attention to the political controversy surrounding the album than I would have preferred. The best thing about it is bits of the music, many of which come from the 1987…
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Weekend Music If you thought last week's Rev. Gary Davis track was the real stuff, you may like this even better, (although it never actually gets to the crucifixion). It's seven and a half minutes long, so wait till you have a bit of time. I'm done with dyin' and I ain't gon' die no mo'…
Light On Dark Water 