Reagan - when things started going downhill

This says it all.  Funny, but actually sad.

John Butler deserves more fame

One of the most underrated, undiscovered (other than in Australia)  talents making music today is John Butler, with his trio, or by himself "unplugged."  By all means you should read all about him right here.
Eileen and have been big fans for quite a long time.  He is truly versatile as this excerpt from the Wiki page bears out:

Butler plays harmonica, didgeridoo, drums, lap-steel, banjo and amplified acoustic guitars and removes the higher octave G string on his 12-string guitar.^[28][29] Butler prefers the Maton 12-string guitar and often uses a Seymour Duncan SA-6 Mag Mic pickup with a Marshall Amplification JMP Super Lead Head and a Marshall 4×12 cabinet. He uses a variety of electronic effects including distortion, reverb / delay and wah-wah pedal to achieve his unique sound.^[30] Butler uses long, pointed acrylic fingernails for finger picking.

So I know you've been waiting for a link to a performance, right?  Try this one, a great "uplugged" effort.  Ain't he the very essence of cool?

Post-modern jukebox

For yet another example of why the Internet is endlessly cool and surprising, check this out.  All six songs are great, but the last one (Get Lucky) is a charmer.

A bit of cello madness...

My daughter was an accomplished cellist in former times.  Therefore, I know a bit about cello works and have witnessed many stirring performances.  However, in all this time I have never seen anything quite like this performance.  Play the official "Thunderstruck" video.  It's a wonder that either guy's bow survived the onslaught.

Nile Rodgers = cool

One of the happy benefits of the Daft Punk "Get Lucky" craze is the renaissance of the great Nile Rodgers who is featured in the Daft Punk hits.  Back in the age of disco, he and his band, "Chic" were a driving force behind that genre.  Even when tastes changed and disco became of bit of a pariah, Nile still managed to adapt and keep in the game.  All of this is explained in an hour long 2013 BBC bio feature that you can view right here.  Obviously you don't have to watch it, but if you've got the time, you won't regret it.  Nile is one fascinating cat.

In the meantime, just to whet your appetite, I'm going to serve up an example of a 2013 revival of Chic that should blow your socks off.  Check it out right here.  Long live Nile Rodgers, a true cool soul.