Shake 'Em On Down
“We seem to be young, in a very old Galaxy. We're like kids tiptoeing through a ruined mansion.”― Stephen Baxter
I love the question about what band you wish you could have seen if you had a time travel device….what specific show, what specific era…Billie Holiday’s debut of Strange Fruit at Café Society in 1939, being at Leeds when the Who was recording their live record, seeing the Isley Brothers in the early 70s…the Elvis 68 Comeback…the original Wailers on their first UK tour…being with Roberta Petersen when the Flaming Lips almost burned down the nightclub in 1990. I mean….it could go on for ever and ever…seeing Tinariwen in the dessert in the early years…Beethoven in his later years….you cannot stop once you start this game (feel free to through your examples into the chat below).
Today is the birthday of Bukka White, one of the godfathers of the Hill Country Blues sound and one of the best song-talkers ever (hyperbole as truth). During one of my many sessions with Jim Dickinson, when I pried him for information about any legendary artist I could think of, he would tell me that with Bukka, pretty much noone paid much attention to him for much of his career in Memphis. Even during the great blues revival there were times when he would just sit around Beale Street (pre-its-big-face-lift)…going through his set mixed with classics and stream-of-consciousness on-the-spotters…people just walked on by him and never giving much notice.
I would have given anything to take a week out of life and sit near him: listen to him yarn and fixate on his incredible, drone-emitting strum and slide from his classic National resonator guitar. I would have loved to study the style that seeped its way into the fabric of Northern Mississippi and take in his huge presence.
Bukka recorded for Victor in the early 30s, and recorded for Alan Lomax while in prison in the late 30s. He actually had a hit with the great Shake Em On Down while serving time. And even with that, after serving in the Navy during the second great war stopped playing music, except maybe at the odd party or on the streets of Memphis, until the 60s rediscovery.
It is Bukka’s birthday today; I put together a compilation of his music that gives a nice career overview of the giant and if I might suggest, it is a fun fun listen.
Happy Weekend to y’all.
Robert Louis Stevenson...‘My Good Health,’ Part I
The Adirondack Daily Enterprise is running a series about the last part of Robert Louis Stevenson’s life. And while I am not sure why, it is a compelling, well researched read. They recently published Pt. 2 of this series with a promise of more to come. I knew about the sickness that challenged him in the later parts of his life, but I did not know details….anyway, given it is RLS’s birthday this weekend, might as well dig in…
Roadrunning: Joshua Clover in Conversation with Alex Abramovich
I am not sure what is better…hearing two people have a great conversation stemming from one of my all-time favorite records, or just the fact that in the modern era there are still people who write long, engaged letters to each other? Thank you Todd Krieger for sending this beauty to me.
Sigur Rós Frontman Jónsi Turns a New York Gallery into a Volcanic Transport Station
How did I miss this when I was in New York? This looks to be just an incredible exhibit. Damn.
‘Loved by millions’: Winter the Dolphin dies after battle with intestinal issues
My friend Noam Dromi wrote and produced the film The Dolphin’s Tale which in its wake created a movement around how dolphins were treated in captivity. And of course, behind every dolphin movie there is a dolphin star…Winter was that star.
My Own Reflection: A Conversation With Mihael Milunovic
Yugoslavian born artist Mihael Milunovic could easily be represented in the current Surrealism exhibit at the Met if they were featuring modern artists. With his focus on political issues, showcased through his imaginative painting style, he carries the torch of the Surrealists mightily. This article features several of his works and there are more on his website.
Myanmar Court Sentences American Journalist to 11 Years
I know this is national news…and I generally leave that for the normal channels of discovery…but this article is just devastating. It is a huge blow for Freedom of the Press in Myanmar…and an even bigger blow to the large Detroit community where Danny Fenster is loved. Poor, poor guy. His life has just been destroyed so that a government can show its strength. Free Danny Fenster. #FreeDannyFenster.
Fall of Stars
By: George H. Dillon
The snow came down like stars tonight
Over the city silently.
The air, like a great glittering tree,
Bloomed noiselessly with light.
I thought, it is the snow I see
Like stars. And it was long ago
That ever I saw the stars like snow.
And I thought of a boy, a long time dead,
Who dreamed such beauty out of pain
That music moved within his brain
And the stars stormed in his head.
His ghost is like the wind, I said,
That cries into the crystal gloom,
And wanders where the white clouds blow.
And I shall hear his song, I know,
Wherever the boughs of silence bloom
With snow like stars or stars like snow.
Hey, what was in the zodiac that today is the combined birthday of Bukka, Booker T., and Buck Dharma (BÖC)?