Curdling your cream

The following is a republication of a comment I left on Michael Lally's blog in response to his very interesting trilogy of posts wherein he explores the premise that in the arts, the "cream" does not rise to the top.

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The three "cream" posts got me thinking about another angle that the Lal did not cover -- curdling some of the legitimate cream that rises to the top.

Let me explain. Especially when I was in my twenties, I thought I was the coolest, hippest cat around. I was all too ready to dump on anything that I perceived as "mainstream" or an example of what I deemed to be "selling out." In looking back now, I am embarrassed over how I put down some souls who had risen to the top, but deserved to be there. In other words, I curdled my cream! I just started thinking about this today, so I don't have a huge list at this point, but here are five examples that painfully spring to mind:

1. Louis Armstrong: I, the ultra-hip jazz fan was always pooh-poohing Satch. I think a lot of it was because he was on the Sullivan show and did do some pretty pitiful stuff in those appearances. Later, a friend pulled my coat to the real Satch and I had to spend a year just listening to his old shit and wondering how I could have been such a fool. One day, about a year ago, I was driving around on a beautiful sunny day and the FM jazz station played the Ella-Louie version of "Dancing Cheek to Cheek" and I couldn't stop smiling for days.

2. Lionel Hampton: Same deal. Some pretty awful appearances on the Sullivan show. Years later, I was listening to FM jazz and heard Lionel's version of "On the Sunny Side of the Street." Literally blew me away! Again, a year spent listening to his older, and surprisingly some newer material, and realizing how totally cool that cat was.

3. David Bowie: I don't know what the hell I was thinking on this one. I used to rail about Bowie and how he wasn't really a musician, etc. Duh. Now I can't get enough of the double CD set "Best of Bowie." Now, I realize he was way ahead of me. For doubters, one of my favorite things is to play Bowie's smoldering, incredible take on the old Johnny Mathis hit "Wild is the Wind." But all the rest of it is pretty glorious too.

4. Steely Dan. Ouch. I came back from three years in Germany in 1973, and a guy at work was telling everyone how great Steely Dan was. I had heard a few things of theirs, but of course I dismissed them as being "too slick," "too commercial." Only after I hooked up with my wife in 1991 did I get hipped to how truly innovative and pioneering these guys were. Nuff said. I am REALLY embarrassed about that one.

5. James Taylor. I remember being in Europe for three years and hanging out with a guy whom I really dug, who in turn dug Baby James. I would argue with him about whether Taylor was really that good. Like everyone at that time even I recognized Carole King as irrefutable "cream," but I was just too cool to accept Taylor whom I deemed too slick, too commercial, and in addition, getting famous on Carole's coattails. The revelation in this case was gradual. I would hear one of James' great songs, with those invariably impeccable musicians and backup singers, and realize I dug it immensely, and more weird, it would flash me back to happy times in the past. Pretty soon I realized I was having that experience with pretty much everything of his that I was hearing, so I went out and bought that great double CD of his live performances, which was one of the first all-digital live recordings ever made. I still listen to it all the time.

Stumble Upon

This is a very cool service I discovered. It's free and a great way to "stumble" upon new web sites.

Why can't we find another FDR?

The other day, I was listening to Thom Hartman on the Air America affiliate here in the Bay Area. He played an audio archive of FDR's acceptance speech given to the Democratic convention in June 1936. FDR goes off on what he terms "economic royalists," taking them to task on every level. I cannot imagine a sitting President of today giving anything remotely resembling this speech.

Here is a full transcript of the speech.

Every American should read this speech.

I'm currently trying to find a link to the actual audio somewhere on the Net. If anyone knows where one can be found, please leave a comment.

Hud Rules

I had a blog on another site that eventually went fallow. Here's an entry from the defunct blog, which will hip you to a truly great movie.

December 19, 2004:Last night, I got around to watching "Hud," which I had recorded a couple of months ago in our TIVO. What an experience! The movie was made in 1963 and I saw it around that time, being all of 19 or 20 years old. For one reason or another, I had not seen it since. Last night I realized that at 19 or 20 I had not experienced the pain, loss, and disappointment necessary to understand and feel the power and depth of "Hud."

I'm guessing that many of you have not seen the movie since the 60's because it is rarely shown on TV -- black & white, perceived "downer" plot, etc. Hence, I will resist the temptation to comment on this or that scene because that would detract from the full impact of your revisiting this truly great movie. I will remind you that Patricia Neal won the Oscar for best actress, and Melvyn Douglas won the Oscar for best supporting actor. And seeing Paul Newman as Hud leaves little doubt as to why my mother and her friends thought he was the sexiest actor of the time. In that regard, I wondered why Newman did not win the Oscar (of course he was nominated). I checked and found that the award went to Sidney Poitier for "Lilies of the Field." Hmmmm.

Do yourself a huge favor. Rent the DVD and enjoy one of the great movies of all time. Trust me!

Lally's Alley

Welcome everyone. Here's my first obscure post to something cool. My dear friend Michael Lally's new blog. Dig it. Lally's Alley