Roger Waters of Pink Floyd has a new arrangement of We Shall Overcome composed as a tribute to the people of Gaza and calling for an end to the blockade imposed on them by Israel. It and the accompanying video, produced as part of the documentary Roadmap to Apartheid, are very moving. [Read more…]
Megan Garber of The Atlantic recounts the history of flash mobs (it started out as an experiment to demonstrate the connectivity of the internet), how they have evolved over time to serve different purposes, and how this particular manifestation came about. [Read more…]
When they were young, my children were big fans of Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood and I would watch along with them. The show did not have the same entertainment value to adults as Sesame Street but you could not but help like his gentle character and his simple wholesome messages of tolerance and acceptance of diversity. The low production values and slow pace added to its quirky charm. [Read more…]
Audra McDonald, starring in a revival of Porgy and Bess, was interviewed on The Colbert Report. I usually do not enjoy interviews with performers that much but this was a really good one, with her giving some great background to the musical. [Read more…]
I watched a lot of Sesame Street with my children when they were young. It was not purely out of a sense of fatherly duty but also because I thoroughly enjoyed the program and thought that it was one of the best things on TV. In fact, I remember a lot of more of the sketches and songs than my (now grown) children do. [Read more…]
Nice cover of the Gerry Rafferty song.
The Colbert Report
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(This clip appeared on April 16, 2012. To get suggestions on how to view clips of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report outside the US, please see this earlier post.)
Here are two kinds of unusual music.
The first is music played on an unusual instrument.
The second is music played unusually on a familiar instrument.
Music has always been a medium where innovation and creativity thrive and where even amateurs can produce wonderful new things by breaking the rules. It is nice to see fresh examples of that.
Even the most die-hard anti-Christian is likely to concede that a lot of the music inspired by Christianity is excellent, although the words are often simply appalling. Growing up in the Methodist Church with its emphasis on singing, I used to love the hymns we sang in church and the Christmas carols. [Read more…]
In this song that conveys cheerful resignation, Willie Nelson captures a sentiment that those of us who are older and looking back will recognize, that it is too late to change some things and there is no point wasting time in futile regrets. [Read more…]
Earl Scruggs died yesterday.
I am not that knowledgeable about bluegrass music but love its sheer joyful sound. In this performance of Foggy Mountain Breakdown by Scruggs and friends (which was featured in the film Bonnie and Clyde), you get to see a range of virtuoso performances from a range of musicians, including Steve Martin and others whom I do not recognize. Anyone able to fill in the names of the others?
Beautiful.