YFT - Bacon Bros. at Daryl's House

Probably all of us think Kevin Bacon is a very good actor.  But it turns out he is one heck of a musician and singer.  He and his brother Michael perform together as the Bacon Brothers.  In February of 2009 they were guests of Daryl Hall at Daryl's house.  The number I like the best is "Go My Way" with Kevin just doing vocals, although he plays guitar on other numbers.  It's a great tune and you can listen to it right here.  Again, there is a tinge of sadness in this number because of the presence of the great T. Bone Wolk, who died exactly a year later.  His guitar work on "Go My Way", especially the solo, is something I never get tired listening to.  Alas, T. Bone died while all the assholes continue to live on.

Yosemite Big Horn Sheep

If you want a "feel good" true story to add to your holiday cheer, you can't go wrong with this wonderful video from the Yosemite Conservancy.  Now if we can just figure out a way to stop the slaughter of elephants. rhinos, and lions I will be even happier.  

YFT - Daryl & Smokey

More snooping around YouTube at Daryl's house revealed a session with the great Smokey Robinson.  All of the tracks on YouTube are great, but one that I really love is "I've Been Good To You." What I love along with the song is the banter and obvious joy flowing between Smokey and Daryl. I am also knocked out by Daryl's singing on this tune.  Dig especially what he lays down at about 2:08 in.  Check it out right here.  By the way, Daryl was born in 1946, which means he is now 69 years old.  How come I couldn't look like that when I turned 69?!

There is a tinge of sadness in this track, that being the prominent presence of T-Bone Wolk.  He died of a heart attack at age 58 in February of 2010.  He had worked with Daryl for 30 years. What a terrible loss for us all, but seeing him on the "Good To You" track (and many others on Daryl's House) lets him live on in our memories.  A belated R.I.P. from me.

A sweet 90 seconds...

A lot can be conveyed in 90 seconds as is evident in this moving spec ad for Johnnie Walker.

YFT - Bill Evans - My Foolish Heart

I discovered jazz when I was a junior in high school.  My favorite album at that time was "Waltz For Debby" by Bill Evans (1961).  Over the years I wore out my first copy of the album and of course had to buy a new one.  It remains to this day among my top favorite jazz albums.  Later after CD's came on the scene I purchased the awesome and beautiful boxed 12 disc set of the complete Riverside recordings.  Of course the title tune of the "Waltz For Debby" album is a terrific composition of which I never tire, but for me the heart-breaker track is "My Foolish Heart."  Bill played it so movingly and yet so simply.  I know every note of that piece as it plays on the album. But for a change of pace, I found a rare video live performance which is just as beautiful as the original album version.  Enjoy it right here

YFT - Mayer Hawthorne

A great YFT (YouTube From Tom) for today.  Mayer Hawthorne from Daryl's House, with Booker T. on organ.  I had never heard of Mayer Hawthorne until visiting at Daryl's House (where I'm spending lots of time these days.)  The dude can sing up a storm but there is a lot more to him -- check it out.
Anyway, this track is "I Can't Go For That," one of my favorite Hall & Oates tunes.  The track is an awesome live performance by all involved, with kudos to the guy on tenor.  Very hot stuff.  Play it right here.

BTW, have you, like me, ever wondered what the "that" is that Hall & Oates can't go for?  Wish I could ask Daryl.

YouTube From Tom

Starting a new feature:  "YouTube From Tom" (YFT).  You're gonna get links to music that I am digging as often I can get it together to make the post. I'll try to provide tunes with accompanying motion video, but in some cases you will get only the music with a static screen (like today).  And, if possible I'll provide links to my current ear worms.  Today's ear worm came from deep, deep in my subconscious.  Check it out.  Geeze I can't find my knees!

P.S.  Check out the comments on YouTube.  They're great.

Early computers were huge but not that smart...

Check out this cool post regarding early computers.  The following paragraph from the end of the post puts it all in perspective:

It’s fascinating to look back and see how things were in the early days of computing, and it truly illuminates how far we have come. Today we have more computing power in our pocket than what would fit in entire buildings in the past. Our most modest smartphones widely exceed the performance and storage capacity of these early behemoths.

All of it truly blows my mind.

Bio pic fun

I just ran across a really cool web page showing 68 examples of actors playing famous people in bio pics.  All of them are good but many of them approach an uncanny realism in the portrayal of the famous person.  Enjoy.

Kirk Douglas as Vincent Van Gogh