Losing a Friend

When I first heard Andy Palacio last year, I instantly double underlined the track on my Songlines sample CD and went right out and bought it. I had the great fortune to see him play a fantastic set at Cargo last June and am deeply saddened by the news that he has died at 47.

He reminded me of what's important and I feel like I have lost a friend.

My Endorsement for In Bruges in 2008!

If you need convincing, listen to NPR. Ralph Fiennes is an excellent bad guy!

The Blur of Morrissey

Slightly older than the last time I saw him, but aren't we all getting better with age?

January 22, 2008 - Roundhouse in London

My Famous Friend, Jimmy!

I feel proud to have placed Jimmy Libresco as one of my photos of 2007 (see Jimmy and Daddy below). Clearly the Washington Post reads my blog. But my picture is far better then the Post's.)

2007 - My Year in Photos

Much has happened in 2007. Rather than tell you about it, and in continuing the tradition started in 2006, here you have it! It certainly wasn't always pretty, but pretty is over rated in my book.


If nothing else, at least Americans give good turkey!




Look who's having a baby!


















And on the 8th Day, God created The Who?



Homophobia 3



















Hi, Nursultan!



Cossack Dreaming



















Never forget to celebrate important birthdays!



God, save the Queen (Elizabeth)!



Father of the Bride.



"Beat me!"



Untitled



Zo!




















The Killoffs and Mayme



Da, darling, definitely DA!




Hearts, stars and horseshoes! Clovers and blue moons! Pots of gold and rainbows! And me red balloons!















I love New York!



They joy of being Aunt Catherine.



May we all enjoy our 70s like Paul Nabor.



Paris shopping with my mother-in-law.



















???




Like son, like father.




















Womad '07, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Mud.




How many more times will you watch the full moon rise? Perhaps twenty. And yet it all seems limitless. Paul Bowles














Alien and Predator vs. The Real Predator.



I left my heart in Montenegro.


...and my top photo of 2007!


Tell me of your homeworld, Usul.

Help US, Russkiis!

Very amusing post by the Carpetblogger on Russian NGOs saving the US of A. God speed them in their difficult work.

I appreciate her suggestions for meaningful support from Russia to the US. To her fine list, I would also welcome Russia's advice on how to turn teen faux lesbians into internationally acclaimed mega pop stars adored by all (or me, at least). The US needs more of that, I think. Hey, while there at it, I hope they send some help to the UK as well!

The post made me wonder what ever happened to Angela Davis. Now I know and also know that a new degree in the History of Consciousness is in store for me. I did hear Davis speak in Eugene, OR in 1994. I remember it was MLK day and there were no tickets so I made a sign - "I need one ticket" - and waited until some communist sympathizer felt pity for me. It didn't take long. We loved 1994.

Holy Covers!

I have been a bit taken by this recently. I have been scrolling through my itunes looking for them. So far I have about 30 and I am looking for more.

My favorites thus far are Björk and PJ Harvey covering Satisfaction and Johnny Cash's cover of Hurt and Personal Jesus, which really made the originals far better in my book. I would love to meet the person who listened to this and dreamed up this. Has Morrissey ever commented on that?

Anyone got a favorite? Please share.

G-l-o-r-i-a

Um, here is another version. I like this one too.

I'm the crawling king snake

Booze and music - is should be a regular Wednesday evening.

Tonight, I have renewed my love of Benn loxo du taccu, which shows me I have only scratched the surface of African music. Tonight's find was Ignace De Souza, a great west african early afrobeater.

I learned the history of Sterns Music in London, a force in bringing African music to London since 1983.

Now I have moved on to all the tracks I didn't have from The Doors from their box set. God, I had missed a lot.


The song G-l-o-r-i-a makes me feel better, always. That's a Van Morrison cover?!? I had never heard The Doors version until tonight!

Plans for June 19-23?

The Gnawas have both a therapeutic and a propitiatory function. They are often summoned in cases of mental disturbance, even when the patient is being treated at a psychiatric clinic; they are also called in to treat scorpion stings.

Paul Bowles

Cheatin' Steelers

My girlfriend of over three years has patiently tolerated one of my less-than-useful habits - "watching" Pittsburgh Steeler scores on the Internet every Sunday in the fall. Pathetic, I know, but I do it. We even celebrated together at 3:00 a.m. here in London two years ago when they won the Super Bowl for the first time since 1980. As a nine-year-old who liked football cards, I was taken with Jack Lambert and the working-class dream team of the 1970s. Those were the days! (But Roethlisberger 5 TDs last night were pretty darn cool...)

Imagine my surprise as she was remembering her childhood "first songs" on Sunday and googled a previously unknown band to me - The Kendalls, a father and daughter country duo who sang a song called the "Pittsburgh Steelers" about cheating between shifts. To those who know her, you might like the image of the cheating father-daughter duo and the lyrics...

I found myself in Pittsburgh, working in a steel mill
And I was a southern girl whose husband didn't see
Well, he pulled the night shift
And I worked the day shift
And it came too easy for us to play the game

They could call us the Pittsburgh Steelers
Stealing happiness and cheating anytime we can
We both know the score but we run back for more
And tonight the Pittsburgh Steelers play again

Morning will ever find us with a night of love behind us
On a back street in Pittsburgh time after time
Just touch and go lovers running a pattern
And every time we meet we leave it all wrong tonight

They could call us the Pittsburgh Steelers
Stealing happiness and cheating anytime we can
We both know the score but we run back for more
And tonight the Pittsburgh Steelers play again

Not exactly a team fight song, but it does show creativity, I guess.

Battle for My Toybox

I am confused.

These Samson and Goliath spirt warriors look a lot like dolls from 300, yet they are created by a Christian toy maker who clearly didn't realize that it's been done before by a gentleman named Normal Bob. Bob, however, seems to have been crucified for his actions, while the Samson's creator was picked up by Walmart and Target. Is this fair?

Longing for Russia(n Parts of Brooklyn)!

I couldn't have said it (or shown it) better than badger and weasal, the newest bloggers on the block.

BoNO Must Die

I have never enjoyed a band for its name...until now!

Our youthful daze...

We certainly were not that good, but did manage to win two games back in 1989. I was handsome, if I do say so myself.

Goat for four...

...to share.
Mongolia is not a vegetarian's dream, to put it mildly. This was dinner, served with four knives. No salad. Nothing green, in fact.

Eggs again!

My Glasto Highlights!

1) My god, The Who was amazing!!! I know all the talk on Radio 1 is about cool hip bands like Arcade Fire and CSS, who were amazing, but watching The Who in the pissing rain with a mind-blowing video of the young rockers had to be my top moment! Call me old fashioned...


2) The surprise and totally unexpected visit of Amadou and Mariam, who woke me up from a late afternoon nap in my tent on The Park stage, which was followed by the surprise and totally unexpected visit of Baaba Maal, who did a great performance with Toumani Diabate! West Africans are takin' over!



3) Sing, yes, but I had no idea she could dance! I am dying to see her in a venue without being trapped between the masses and having my feet stuck in the mud.


4) Silent disco? Sounds odd and it is odd. But it was fun. I took the best videos of the crowds screaming to Nirvana. Lady V with back up here...

Singing along to world music

Once upon a time when I was a teacher in Russia, I had a spry young student, Anton, come to me with the aim of finally gaining insight into some of his favorite "world music". In this case, it was that pillar of world music innovation, Ace of Base. Simple enough, but as I got into it, I worried that when I translated the words, he might lose his enthusiasm for world music. He might realize that the lyrics were not as hip as he once imagined.

I never thought of it much at the time, but while scrolling down my iTunes today, I realized I can't really sing a long too much of my music. Isn't part of the joy knowing the words and the poetry?

Would I still love Ali Farka Toure, Gigi and that gnawa legend, Mahmoud Guinia, if I could hear their lyrics? Were I to visit Mali, Ethiopia or Morocco and have the words translated, would the lyrics still be as hip as I imagined?

I got a new life
You would hardly recognize me
I'm so glad
How can a person like me care for you
Why do I bother
When you're not the one for me
Is enough enough
I saw the sign and it opened up my eyes
I saw the sign
Life is demanding without understanding
I saw the sign and it opened up my eyes
I saw the sign
No ones gonna drag you up
To get into the light where you belong

Some of you may disagree with me, but have to say that I think, yes, I would. First of all, while I agree that singing along is fun, my iTunes has some incredible music even if there are no lyrics at all. Plus, I tested all my music today and I have good taste, really. Granted, not all the Rokia Traore songs are easy to distinguish from one another, but they are still great.

And to be quite honest, while the lyrics of Ace of Base are crap, I still actually enjoyed some it is just 'cause it was familiar and catchy. I have seen the sign and in opened up my eyes, I saw the sign. No one's gonna drag you up.

Exactly.

I "heart" Glasto (and BBC and Myspace)

I hear by declare this day, 1 June, 2007, the Official BBC and Myspace Appreciation Day. The BBC announced the Glastonbury lineup which includes links to all the main acts' myspace profiles, CD reviews and other juicy bits. This is glorious information.


I am giddy with excitement.

Second-Hand Lives

After years of putting it off, I just read this and I don't really care to read her any more. I must be a altruistic second-hander. Shame on me.

I didn't ever get over that the "love story" was initiated by rape and found the hero to be a robot ideology posing in human form. He intrigued me at first and by the end, his long monologues just left me bored. I learned in this book that I attach value to characters being fallible and I prefer my political ideology in the non-ficition section of the book store. As with her non-fiction, which I dabbled in 10 years ago, I get the sense that Ayn Rand thinks everyone gets an equal shot in this meritocratic world. That seems pretty historically illiterate.