I know, I know, I’m way behind. Anyway, somewhere in the comment boards at Scott Eric Kaufman’s excellent Acephalous–my favorite, er, can I call it an “academic blog”?–someone teased Kaufman, asking “d’you think you maybe like Gogol Bordello too much?“ Which made me immediately go and look ’em up, and man am I glad I did. Here’s one of the songs that amuses me to no end: While this may be the first rock song I’ve heard that when the singer busts out a little braggadocio, proceeds to references both Diogenes and Foucault (let alone Passepartout, a Jules Verne character, …
Tag: MUSIC
Hollyday?
UPDATE: Hollyday apparently is still out there. He’s been teaching school for a while now, but (according to articles more recent that the one I linked, but which I can’t find now) he is apparently thinking of recording again, maybe making a comeback of sorts, though not on the scale of his original, brief career as a professional performer… There are a few updates out there, if you search for them. ORIGINAL POST: Surely I’m not the only person who remembers this guy? Well, Christopher Hollyday now apparently works as a band teacher but still gigs occasionally. (He was always …
But How Can I Forget
Have I mentioned My Little Airport? Excellent little Hong Kong indie band, at least from the album The OK Thing to Do on Sunday Afternoon is to Toddle in the Zoo. I’m definitely picking up all three albums. The best I can describe their music is it’s cute, twee, blippy, clockwork, breathy, girly, indie-pop. (In disarmingly unabashed Engrish, among other languages.) I also really like this song: Get this widget | Track details | eSnips Social DNA
Amusements
A few random amusements for you, before I toddle off to get some real work done: A terrible audio track that my friend Jack posted that WILL make you laugh. Sunset Grill is a webcomic made by my friend Kat. Anyone notice that Obama mentioned non-believers in his inauguration speech without calling them unAmerican? That was interesting.
Another Good One Gone
Yeah, we only really hear about the famous people who we lose. The not-famous people, those are personal tragedies, but the famous ones, they’re not so much tragedies to us as a moment to pause and reflect about how a human being could be excellent. Or maybe I’m just cold? Or distracted? I mean, obituaries and goodbyes propagate through the blogosphere and people mostly post videos of the person singing or ranting, or choice quotes from their books, or whatever. Maybe people are moved to tears, maybe not. Me, I just kind of pause and go, “Huh. Another good one …
Upcoming in Seoul: Brad Mehldau
He’s playing in Seoul with a trio on March 4th. That’s my birthday, and the man can play, so now I’m thinking… Never heard Brad Mehldau? Here’s a gig on NPR that’ll get you thinking about whether you’ll be bumping into me at the show.
Code Monkey
Excellent little video for an excellent little song by an excellent songwriter my friend Mike Hartman has somehow, via Facebook, gotten me into. I know, I know, I’m way behind the curve. Shut up and enjoy the video while I go throw around some furniture.
And the Bells Were Ringing Out
Not quite too late for it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwHyuraau4Q
Best Morning Music
Manu Dibango, Wakafrica. 1994 album, but it feels like 1973. Which, in music anyway, can be a glorious thing! Wakafrica – Manu Dibango
Who Do You Think You Are?
Continuing on the Great Depression theme from yesterday’s post: the current episode of This American Life, #368 which was titled, “Who Do You Think You Are?” is outstanding, featuring old interviews of people who’d survived the Hoovervilles of the Great Depression, the horrors of the Second World War, and all the chaos that followed on that time. Parts are very moving. And then there’s a discussion of what it’s like to see a black president from the point of view of a man who remembers explicit segregation and unrepentantly open racism against him as a black American — as a …