The album version is a little bit better musically, but Rubén's bell-bottoms, goofy haircut, and sweaty upper lip are pretty damn irresistible. Not to mention El Profesor Joe Torres on the piano, and a sound for the ages.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Surprise, surprise...
... the NY Times endorsed Mr. Obama. The case is well argued, but would it have killed them to note some serious disappointments? For me, those would include Obama's endorsement and adoption of dangerous abuses of power associated with the post-9-11 Bush/Cheney security state, such as assassinations, detentions, drone attacks, state secrecy etc., and his near-silence on climate change. Would Gov. Romney do better on these dimensions? What a laugh. When all is said and done, history will judge Obama a damn good president during his terrifically challenging first term. He deserves a second.
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Can Music Be Perfect? Vol. 22
Court and Spark still sounds like nothing else made before or since... and yes, perfect...
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Your Willow quote of the day
"Chemistry's easy. It's a lot like witchcraft, only less newt."
If you have no idea where this could come from... I'm sorry for you...
If you have no idea where this could come from... I'm sorry for you...
George McGovern, RIP
“I always thought of myself as a good old
South Dakota boy who grew up here on the prairie. My dad was
a Methodist minister. I went off to war. I have been married to the
same woman forever. I’m what a normal, healthy, ideal American should be
like."
“But we probably didn’t work enough on cultivating that image,” he
added, referring to his presidential campaign organization. “We were
more interested in ending the war in Vietnam and getting people out of
poverty and being fair to women and minorities and saving the
environment."
“It was an issue-oriented campaign, and we should have paid more attention to image.”
Tricky Dick beat him 520-17 in the Electoral College. More attention to image probably wouldn't have been enough. At the time I was 14 and helped my parents get out the vote for the local Republican Party. Back in '72 there were still liberal Republicans, and even Nixon himself turned out to be left of Clinton or Obama on policy in some respects. Of course he was also an evil bastard. McGovern may have been inept at politics and out of step with the mainstream, but an evil bastard he surely wasn't.
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Arcade Fire
As do many other people, Mr. Krugman seems to like them. What are the good things about the band? Well, there are quite a lot of them(!), and they seem able to play together with impressive enthusiasm. Then again, staying together is probably easier when all your songs sound the same. They do provide a comfortable way for people in a certain age demographic (mea culpa!) to feel like they are keeping up with the latest sounds, which is also a good thing. Speaking of musical good things for old guys, here's a better one...
Friday, October 19, 2012
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Monday, October 15, 2012
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Friday, October 12, 2012
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Monday, October 1, 2012
Bad week for Marxist historians
The deaths of Eugene Genovese and Eric Hobsbawm within a few days of one another mark the waning of a generation of historians strongly influenced by a version of Marxism that emphasized the role of class struggle as a driving force of world history. The contrast between Genovese's 180-degree twist to social conservatism and Hobsbawm's "unrepentant" communism is also emblematic of the fate of the socialist left since the Cold War. They don't make 'em like that any more... a mixed blessing.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)