Jesse Winchester - “If Only”

Okay, you all know that I have a very special place in my heart for Jesse Winchester.  (See my previous post on the subject.)
About a week ago I had the rare privilege of seeing Jesse at the “Freight and Salvage” in Berkeley, with several hundred devoted fans.  As in the past when I have seen him live it was just he and his guitar, and two sets worth of wonderful songs.  We all pretty much  knew every note of every tune and every word of every song, but there was one song in the second set that I had never heard before and it so moved me I got a bit teary-eyed.  The tune is “If Only.”  I found it in a live album of Jesse’s and duly paid Rhapsody for the download.  I love this song.  It is so great to hear it as a live performance, just as I heard it a few days ago.  It is pure Jesse.
So take the time to enjoy it yourself.
~  Tom

Your very own poster

Well, yeah!

Boardwalk Empire

Last night we watched the premier episode of the new HBO series, “Boardwalk Empire.”  Fifteen minutes into it I was totally hooked.  I love it already and I know it is just going to keep getting better and better as the future episodes unfold. 

The episode began in 1920, three days before Prohibition became the law of the land.  I’ve always been fascinated with the twenties.  In many ways the twenties were like the sixties (which was probably my happiest and most exciting decade).  HBO must have spent a TON of money on this series as the production values show. Everything from the great old cars, to the ambiance of the supper club, to the shabby row houses of the hoi polloi, to the signage on the streets, and much more, is amazing.  And, the icing on the cake is that the first episode, (which is extended to 75 minutes) was directed by Martin Scorsese. 

The casting is excellent, with Steve Buscemi  being the only really major star.  This makes for great television because you are not distracted by the credentials of the actors – they seem like real people whom you are getting to know for the first time. 

If you have HBO by all means jump on the band wagon.  If you don’t have HBO, put it down on your wish list for when the DVD comes out.

~  Tom

Biden on Maddow show

The buzz today on progressive radio was the Vice President’s appearance on the Rachel Maddow show yesterday.  It’s worth watching, so check it out.

Another Pic worth 1000

The political landscape is getting weirder and weirder. This whole Tea Party movement is putting the Republican party on its head. With more of these "nut cases" ousting viable Republican candidates in the primaries, the outlook improves for the Democrat candidate in the general election. I just heard some Republican operative opining that Tea Party victories yesterday in New York and Delaware just cost the Republicans at least two Senate seats. Mainstream Republicans (and the polls) are pretty unanimous in agreeing that there is no way these right wing fringe candidates are ever going to appeal to anything other than their rabid base.

As for the politicking going on in the more traditional arena, here is another one of my example of a picture being worth 1000 words.

Shrewd Obama

I have said that it would be a mistake for Obama to seriously take on the right wing too far in advance of the fall elections. I believe I wrote a post a while back analogizing it to why attorneys never give the other side the trial brief until they are absolutely required to do so. The longer the other side has it before trial, the more they can rebut it or figure out strategies to get around it.

Obama has started his push, as described in E.J. Dionne’s column today. In this excellent column Dion says:

“Suddenly, there's a point to this election. Obama is late to this game, but at least he's finally playing it.”

I agree with the first sentence. I disagree with the second sentence. I think the President knows what he is doing and is right on time. Time to kick some ass.

~ Tom

Jimi is truly timeless

Greetings from our place at Tahoe Donner.  We drove up here yesterday (Sunday) and will be going back to the Bay Area on Wednesday. But on to the point of this post.
I was on a run Friday, and as usual listening to my MP3 player, shuffling over 1000 tracks.  This time I was fortunate enough to hear “Highway Chile” by Jimi Hendrix, a track off his great album, “Are You Experienced.”  I would venture to say that more weed has been smoked to that album than pretty much any one you could think of.  You may recall that this album is loaded with what came to be many of Jimi’s masterpieces such as:  Purple Haze, Foxey Lady, Fire, Hey Joe, and many others.  Believe me, this stuff more than holds its own when compared to today’s offerings.
Anyway, as I was running along, “Highway Chile” came on and I was just blown away.  I had not heard it for a long time because the other tracks I mentioned get all the play.  That’s a shame because “Highway Chile” is also a Hendrix masterpiece.  It is unique in its style and content.  First of all it is the only shuffle I can recall Jimi ever writing and performing.  Second, the lyrics tell a little story that you can play out in your head, thinking of the sixties as you are unspooling that reel.  Third, I love, love the tricky hook Jimi uses for the referencing the song title, which is a double delay, with the delivery coming at last on the BACK BEAT!  Fourth, the “what’s up brother” coming at one minute 38 seconds makes me smile every dang time.  And fifth, while not on the level of some of his other jaw-dropping guitar solos, Jimi tosses off a beauty at about a minute and 48 seconds in.
Anyway, I just have to share it with all of you.  I don’t think Jimi would mind.  So by all means, crank up the volume and enjoy Highway Chile.
~ Tom