The first set Thursday night began with an extended improvisation on “Jitterbug Waltz,” Cohen…
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I don’t want to write too much about any one musician, but I just got back from seeing clarinetist Anat Cohen’s quartet at the Village Vanguard, and I can’t resist. Her CD, Poetica, is one of the year’s fresh surprises—breezy, heady, and warm (see my blog of June 17)—but it’s a mere shadow of what she does live. She plays with a perfect clean tone and an insouciant virtuosity combined with a hip-swaying, eyes-rolling, wide-smiling swing—or with a breath-stopping melancholy, depending on the song.
Bagheera watches Huckleberry bird watch. If he starts making the chit chit noise, she'll reckon it's worth checking out for herself.
At the sight of blackbirds
Flying in a green light,
Even the bawds of euphony
Would cry out sharply.
Flying in a green light,
Even the bawds of euphony
Would cry out sharply.
Take time out for beauty. The Brooklyn Museum has posted all 118 (!) woodblock prints from One Hundred Famous Views of Edo.
John Vanderslice's "New Zealand Pines" is the very first song I ever mentioned here. It's an interesting choice for a first, and I'm glad I made it.
I wake on this hot and humid Saturday morning, and sit up so that I can see myself in the long mirror which leans against my dusty bedroom wall. I look tired and weak. I look like myself. My hair is an orange mess. I make something of it. I think of shaving it all off.
In the living room, the iMod is silently turning. It's been up all night. I raise the volume on the Trends amplifier, and hear his voice. It sounds good. He…
Krazy Kat, Ignatz Mouse, and Offissa Pup are an eternal triangle. Yes, the comic strip, the language, and the whole situation defy explanation or logic, but once you fall under its spell, you'll find yourself enchanted and intoxicated. Sarah Boxer explains all—sort of.
Like poetry, the essence of Krazy Kat is lost in translation. But thanks to Fantagraphics, the whole run is available once again.
Just about every bass player in the world joined Spinal Tap for "Big Bottom" at Live Earth. How could I leave this behind?
So I've been banned from avidlistener.com.
I exceeded the 644-click limit.
Compared to what's happening to me right now, this is excellent news. Here's my timeline:
9:13 P.M.: The Chinatown bus to Boston is nearly empty. The passenger in front of me is wearing the same "brown with white stripes" shirt as me. Neither of us acknowledges our fondness for the other's shirt. Awkward. I prepped myself for my mission, a Rush concert, by listening to some of the songs I would hear the next night.
11:09 P.M.: The Chinatown bus makes its routine stop at McDonalds,…