Friday, April 3, 2009

Green Onions

We're staving off a global depression and George Will writes about...light bulbs. If conservatism isn't dead, it's sure doing a good job of rendering itself irrelevant...

In a highly useful analysis, the great E. J. Dionne assesses President Obama's relationship to the status quo and his critics on the left:
Without question, President Obama’s tax and budget proposals are daring, and his unwavering commitment to passing health care reform this year is both honorable and gutsy.

But his plan to bail out the banks reveals a deference to the existing financial system, deep worry about further unsettling an already troubled market and a devout hope that the economic situation is not as bad as some economists, notably Nobel Prize winners Paul Krugman and Joseph Stiglitz, fear.


Currently on Citizen K.'s album rotation:
  • Leonard Cohen, Live In London. This guy is 73? You wouldn't know it from listening to this incredibly vital performance. As far reaching as this CD is, it merely scratches the surface of what Cohen has to offer. I can't wait to see him when he's in Seattle later this month.
  • Asa, [asha]. Anglo-Nigerian singer-songwriter has a silver voice, a heart of gold, and the talent to make them shine.
  • Indigo Girls, Poseidon and the Bitter Bay. They just keep getting better. Get the deluxe edition with the second CD that reinterprets the first with all acoustic arrangements.
  • Gomez, A New Tide. Endlessly searching and creative, on this release they successfully probe their folk-rock side with an intricacy not often seen in that genre. It's their prog-rock roots that them do this, but who's complaining if it works this well?
  • Femi Kuti, Day By Day. Fela Kuti's son comes into his own with this world music masterpiece that augment Afrobeat with robust horns, the Hammond B3, and ominous lyrics like these: "How the richest continent get/Majority of the poorest people/You better ask yourself." Indeed...

Friday's Choice: It's 1966 and Booker T. & The MGs play "Green Onions" on Shindig:

7 comments:

Roy said...

An interesting music line-up. It's good to hear from Emily and Amy again, and Leonard Cohen as well. Femi Kuti was a new one to me, and well worth listening to.

Just in case you haven't been back over to my blog again yet, I answered your question about the playlist widget. I'll put it here, too:

As for my playlist, I have an account with DivShare, an online file storage and sharing site. You can upload individual song files as well as upload to a folder, and the folder is automatically treated as a playlist. You can copy the playlist embed code (when you click on a file or playlist's "share" link it pops up a window with the embed code) and paste it in Blogger's flash/html gadget. I usually go into the html code of the playlist object after I've pasted it to adjust the sizes to better fit the space it's going to be in. But that's really all it takes. Oh yeah, and DivShare's free account is 5 GB storage space and 10 GB/month download capacity. So you get a pretty generous service for free.

K. said...

Thanks, Roy. I'm researching this for a friend. The first one I tried I didn't like at all, then I remembered yours. I'll check it out this weekend.

Femi Kuti is a real find. He's coming to Seattle next month.

K. said...

BTW, LC has a great quip on the CD, to this effect: "I last played here 13 or 14 years ago, just a crazy kid of 60 with a dream.?

Unknown said...

I still have my very worn copy of the 1967 Songs of Leonard Cohen. A real gem. And I love the snapshot on the back of the woman wrapped in a towel. I appreciate all the songs where Leonard expresses his love for women.

K. said...

There's no shortage of LC songs in which he expresses his love of women!

I got turned onto LC and to Songs Of when I saw McCabe and Mrs Miller in college. "The Stranger Song," "Traveling Lady," and "Sisters Of Mercy" are all on the soundtrack. I'd die happy if I could come up with one image as good as "They willbind you with love/As graceful and green as a stem."

mouse (aka kimy) said...

great playlist! I remember you remarking that you are going to see leonard when he plays in seattle! totally awesome.

I adore femi kuti - had the privilege of seeing him live, so you are in for a treat!

fun vid....fits my mood today!

K. said...

Thanks, Mouse! Any time I find a 60's-era video with go-go dancers, I feel as if I've struck gold.

19 days to LC...