"But he was no Walt Kelly."
Via Blog of a Bookslut.
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"Believe me, Leonardo [da Vinci] was absolutely amazing.
I was doing a little dance on the subway platform. I was standing behind a dirty, purple column, so that no one could see me. I was waiting for the uptown F train. I was listening to the iPod¹. I was somehow avoiding death. And it occurred to me that I should start a new band.
This new band will be huge. In number of musicians, I mean. Bigger than Polyphonic Spree, Mercury Rev, and Broken Social Scene combined. And what's that other ridiculously huge band? I forget, but they're probably from Canada. Everyone in Canada seems to get along so very well. In any case, we're…
Rodrigo y Gabriela play guitar real good. The video, on the other hand, is annoying. You might enjoy it more with your eyes closed.
John Marks writes: "Here is a page with six free downloadable MP3 tracks that for one reason or another had to be left off my CD survey of the historical and significant pipe organs of Rhode Island I have mentioned a few times in my Fifth Element column.
"I think that the single most audiophile-friendly track will turn out to be Andrew Galuska’s Stravinsky-flavored improvisation—very dynamic, with sharp rhythms. But all the tracks are worth a listen.
"The page also has photos of a few of the organs on the CD (and two organs that were left off).
"The CD is on its way…
Captain Beefheart's rules for guitarists: "Wait until the moon is out, then go outside, eat a multi-grained bread and play your guitar to a bush. If the bush doesn't shake, eat another piece of bread."
"'If you define the black hole as some place where you can lose objects, then there is no such thing because the black hole evaporates before anything is seen to fall in,' said [Case Western Reserve University physicist] Vachaspati."
"Seen the extra-long trailer for Ratatouille?" I asked Paul DiComo.
"Meh. No movie about a rat has ever been a hit."
"What about Steamboat Willie?"
"Mickey Mouse is not a rat. There's a difference."
"Sure, that's what they say now, but he sure wasn't cute in that movie."
"Still, a rat is a different critter entirely. And a rat cooking in the kitchen of a fancy restaurant—don't even get me started on all the ways that's wrong."
Paulie D is right—there's so much for Ratatouille to overcome, but the nine-minute preview is exciting, character-driven…
If Keith Jarrett weren’t such a magnificent pianist, it would be intolerable to watch him in concert. His screechy humming and moaning, his lizard leering and preening—in three decades of seeing him play, I’ve never managed, despite some effort, to find the charm in his theatrics. And yet, he usually has me from his first chord—so warm, rich, and intriguingly edgy—especially the past few years, as he’s tightened his rhapsodic tendencies while enriching his lyrical core.
And so it went at his Standards Trio concert tonight at Carnegie Hall—which lasted more than two hours, including three…
I don't know about you, but I can't resist an essay that begins: "San Francisco is a city without graves. In 1900, the board of supervisors passed an ordinance prohibiting burials within the city limits. In 1912, the board announced its further intention to eliminate the city’s previously existing cemeteries, and in 1914 removal notices were sent to all burial sites, declaring them 'a public nuisance and a menace and detriment to the health and welfare of city dwellers.'"
Joseph Bottum kept me thinking all the way through.
Huckleberry is the only cat we've ever owned who can be both crazed and stationary. It's a gift.