Music
July 12, 2017 — Paul Mirengoff
Scott handles the music beat around here. Having little to offer on the subject, I rarely weigh in. On Saturday, however, I had the pleasure of listening to about an hour of music by Lee Wiley, a jazz singer prominent in the 1940s with whom I was familiar only by name. Her singing blew me away. She gave the lyrics their full due but added a layer of quiet sensuality
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June 18, 2017 — Scott Johnson
I wrote this on Father’s Day a few years ago. It is a post that struck a chord with at least a few readers. I am taking the liberty of reposting it today in honor of the day. My father was a thoughtful man in his own way. In the last years of his life he recited for me the things for which he was most grateful. In retrospect I
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June 12, 2017 — Steven Hayward
It’s been over two years since I last tortured Power Line’s readership with one of my preposterous excursions in to the greatness of 1970s progressive rock—and especially Gentle Giant, one of the most obscure acts from that period—but the publication of Dave Weigel’s new book on progressive rock, The Show That Never Ends: The Rise and Fall of Prog Rock, gives me an excuse to inflict new punishment. In particular,
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May 28, 2017 — Paul Mirengoff
Gregg Allman died yesterday at the age of 69. I was a big fan of the original Allman Brothers Band. “Whipping Post” isn’t my favorite Allman Brothers song, but I think it best exemplifies Gregg Allman as a blues singer. Below are (1) a studio recording of “Whipping Post” and (2) a performance of it at the Fillmore East in 1970.
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May 24, 2017 — Scott Johnson
Today is the birthday of Minnesota native son Bob Dylan; he turns the ripe old age of 76. It’s not dark yet, but it’s getting there. We’re going to celebrate him as long we’re both still around to enjoy the occasion. He is a remarkable artist, self-invented, deep in the American grain. A few years back I visited Dylan’s old home at 2425 7th Avenue East in Hibbing. The house
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May 14, 2017 — Scott Johnson
We made it to the Xcel Center this past Thursday night in St. Paul to see Daryl Hall and John Oates in concert. The Xcel Center is the home of the Minnesota Wild; it’s not built for music. The show did not disappoint, however, and the crowd filled the arena. The crowd packed all three balconies to the rafters. We were seated on the main floor. I milled around after
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May 7, 2017 — Scott Johnson
On Monday, the day after I wrote about the appearance of Daryl Hall and John Oates this coming Thursday in St. Paul, I ran into a senior officer of one of the prominent local bar associations. For my purposes here, I will identify him as Mr. K. Mr. K. asked me if I still write for “that blog.” I acknowledged I did. He doesn’t read it, he said, but Mrs.
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April 30, 2017 — Scott Johnson
Daryl Hall and John Oates are about to hit the road on tour with Tears for Fears (about whom I know nothing). The tour is making an early stop in St. Paul at the Xcel Center on May 11. I’ve had a late in life conversion to the gospel according to Hall & Oates since picking up on Hall’s Live from Daryl’s House series. Just for the fun of it,
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April 25, 2017 — Scott Johnson
Today we celebrate the centennial anniversary of the birth of Ella Fitzgerald, the First Lady of Song. She was a remarkable artist. Each period of her long career is rewarding, though she deepened her art as she got older. She excelled in a wide variety of material and in every musical setting. There is an emotional reserve or detachment in her singing, but there is also joy and an irrepressible
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April 11, 2017 — Scott Johnson
Dave Carroll memorialized his experience as a musician traveling on United nearly a decade ago. He complained in song that United had destroyed his valuable Taylor guitar (video below). The Wikipedia entry on Carroll’s videos has already been updated (footnotes omitted): “On April 9, 2017, #unitedbreaksguitars trended on Twitter. This was following the release of a video that showed United Airlines physically forcing a passenger off a plane in order
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April 2, 2017 — Scott Johnson
Emmylou Harris celebrates her seventieth birthday today — the big 7-0. We haven’t celebrated her birthday for several years. Today in the world of Cosmic American Music attention must be paid. I’m a latecomer to Emmylou’s artistry, having discovered her indirectly through my love for the music of the 1960’s group the Byrds. The Byrds famously brought brilliant Beatles-inspired vocal harmonies and jangly 12-string electric guitar to the music of
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March 26, 2017 — Scott Johnson
Aretha Franklin — the Queen of Soul, as Steely Dan reminded the “sweet young thing” in “Hey Nineteen” — turned 75 yesterday. The metaphor of royal lineage is not entirely amiss in her case. Her father, the Reverend C.L. Franklin, was the renowned Detroit preacher whose New Bethel Baptist Church provided the original venue for Aretha and her sisters, Erma and Carolyn. She became a child star as a gospel
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March 20, 2017 — Scott Johnson
In the interest of anger management therapy on a day that calls for it, I’m taking the liberty of reposting this tribute to a great song with an unusual story behind it: There are a few torch songs that lament the coming of Spring. This time of year, if you’re tuned to one of the right stations, you may well find yourself listening to Ella Fitzgerald’s memorable rendition of “Spring
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February 12, 2017 — Scott Johnson
I am so sad to observe the passing of the singer Al Jarrreau today in Los Angeles at the age of 76. Matt Schudel does a good job of paying tribute to Al in the Washington Post obituary . Margalit Fox provides a more ambivalent take in the New York Times obituary. I want to add a local note on Al’s death. Al was a native of Milwaukee. Once he
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January 22, 2017 — Scott Johnson
Friday was a big day for me. I had looked forward to Trump’s inauguration, for sure, but what really made it special was the notification that singer Suzy Bogguss had started following me on Twitter. I’m not sure why. It can’t be politics. Maybe she’s just following me back, but I started following her a couple of years ago. I’d like to think there’s something to it. A guy can
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January 7, 2017 — Steven Hayward
As previously observed here and elsewhere, it makes no sense to think that Vladimir Putin actually favored Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton on the merits of policy. More likely Putin’s goons were merely celebrating—even as most Never Trumpers did—the schadenfreudtastic spectacle of Hillary losing, and the chaotic potential it might augur. Perhaps Putin thinks that an inexperienced American president is preferable to Clinton, but that seems a risk. On the
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January 6, 2017 — Scott Johnson
Ammo Grrrll invites someone to NAME THAT HORSE! She writes Every Tuesday night, Mr. AG and I play poker with a group of other gun nuts. (Def of gun nut according to leftists: someone who owns a gun. Owning more than one gun elevates that gun owner from “nut” to full certifiable lunatic. Also having more than 10 rounds of ammo.) Poker night includes the tradition of a light meal,
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