June 2012
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New Rule:
“Country club” is spelled without the O.
May 2012
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WatchEurope’s Society Orchestra, “Irresistible” (1913)
Last one, I promise.
James Reese Europe was — I don’t have time to go into all that. If you don’t know, get thee to Wikipedia.
The important things as far as this recording are concerned: he was American, he was black, he was the leader of the orchestra for Vernon and Irene Castle, who were the premier...
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“Comics are so awful that it’s beside the point trying to figure out why the...”
– Eddie Campell, always.
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WatchNat M. Wills, “New York, What’s the Matter With You?” (1913)
As you might have guessed if you follow everything I do with breathless anticipation, I’m winnowing down my collection of 1913 songs for the next installment of Just One Song More. (I put the coy tag on the first of these, and now I’m stuck with it.) Now I’m just talking about the songs I wish I could...
“I was giving some lectures in Germany about the death penalty. It was...”
– Bryan Stevens, from his TED talk; “We Need to Talk about Injustice” (via withmy2hands)
[I mean, clearly there is not a disconnect for people of colour, and black people specifically, because they deal with the lived realities of this constantly. The disconnect between America’s racist history, the...
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WatchAl Jolson, “The Spaniard That Blighted My Life” (1913)
Sometimes it’s hard to hear funny across a century. Sometimes it isn’t. This genuinely cracked me up — the old reliable American gag, making fun of English accents, still works (at least for crusty old me, no guarantees made and no refunds either) — because Jolson takes the song exactly as seriously as it...
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WatchPeerless Quartet, “Dinah” (1913)
If you know 20s and 30s jazz, you may do a double-take when you heard this; it’s the “Dinah” written by Harry Akst and Samuel M. Lewis in 1923 for Eddie Cantor’s Kid Boots (and subsquently made great by Louis Armstrong, Bing Crosby, the Boswell Sisters, and more) except rudimentary and clunky and without the triple not-rhymes...
Goodness. Yes, please. →
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Going forward, if I ever say “America” when I mean “the United States of America,” please feel free to slap the shit out of me.
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WatchVictor Military Band, “Echále manteca al gringo” (1913)
I don’t even know where to begin with how terrible this is.
First, the accent should be on the E. “Échale manteca al gringo” means “give the fat to the white man,” and it’s a pretty good ironic commentary on how lumbering this is.
Because it’s supposed to be a tango. You can almost hear...
Hey Tumblr massive:
Any recommendations for tumblrs (or other blogs) to follow that focus on medieval/pre-Enlightenment history? European focus not a requirement.
Thanks, the wisdom of crowds!
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I don’t know why I didn’t realize this earlier, but the two most famous married couples in the United States right now are both — or all four, rather — black. Nbd, obv.
Dolly Parton, “Here You Come Again”...
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mengel419 asked: I note a similarity in style, perspective, and content of musical commentary between you and Allen Lowe, most of whose CD reissues I own and enjoy. For me, that's a high compliment, not an accusation of plagiarism :-). Agree?
“This is what makes swearing such an exquisite skill, hard to master outside of...”
– I love it when someone explains something that I’ve felt but never put into words.
sallyo replied to your post: To this day, I have never listened to Led…
But “What is and What Should Never Be” is iambic tetrameter!
But “What Is and What Never Should Be” is in swing time!
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To this day, I have never listened to Led Zeppelin’s “What Is and What Should Never Be,” because I’m annoyed that it’s not the rhythmically superior “What Is and What Never Should Be.”
Oof. Dunno if I deserved the leadoff spot there;... →
davidmanque replied to your post: My tumblr name in saved tags.
Springsteen or Manfred? I’m assuming the latter but I can never tell these sorts of things with you.
Oh, MMEB, for sure. The tag goes to this post.
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My tumblr name in saved tags.
Just finished eating a BLT of course if I needed a bong it would have been even better nobody’s impressed this is the internet and also sitting around until I got my turntable working again to the left to the left he said pretentiously and not just because I have some bronchial thing No seriously who is this? Blinded by the Light is one of the greatest songs of the 70s overly casual tumbling...
“Bushmiller’s naifs, though adrift in these modern ad- and techno-scapes, are...”
– Sean Rogers on the holy vacuity of Bushmiller.
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Forever my love. →
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To elaborate:
[[MORE]]Luhrmann’s Gatsby looks amazing, a feast for the senses that has at least one extremely perfect piece of casting (DiCaprio, obvs, just as perfect for the part as Redford was in the 70s) and a rich sense of the scale on which to tell his version of the story. (The brief glimpse of the Scene With the Shirts was perfect.) When I said I wasn’t going to see it because Craig...
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mengel419 asked: I just discovered your "Stay Up Late" site--by accident. I'm still exploring it, and I am floored. It's wonderful--your commentary is excellent. I've been a devotee of roots music since college (I'm 68)--especially 1920s jazz, blues, country--but I'm going through all of your lists. Are you really just half my age?
For the Week of December 28, 1991
Several days ago I linked to a playlist of songs that were on the Cash Box chart for the week I turned 14 (that were on Spotify) Listening through the playlist, I realized that I wanted to try to write about these songs, or at least blurb them in an entertaining quasi-Jukeboxy manner. So that’s what this is. Read or skip as needed to maintain quality of life.
(If you’re in a rush and...
“On the list of reasons why I’d be ashamed to live in this world, the shows I...”
– Brad Shoup
Come on, people. Perspective.
katherinestasaph asked: Is this where I say I like Luhrmann too?
katherinestasaph asked: Wait, what do you have against Craig Armstrong? I REFUSE TO ACCEPT IT.
