Music
February 13, 2024 — Lloyd Billingsley
Norman Jewison died last month, so no surprise that Turner Classic Movies was quick to run In the Heat of the Night, which Jewison directed. As Morgan Freeman might say, this 1967 film is really about American cinematic history. Jewison outlived star Sidney Poitier, suspected of a murder in a southern town, but as he explained, “I’m a police officer” and “they call me Mr. Tibbs.” Poitier considered the film
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February 6, 2024 — Scott Johnson
The video of the Tracy Chapman/Luke Combs Grammys duet performance of Chapman’s “Fast Car” that circulated on X has been removed. The video conveyed a moving performance of a moving song. I found it yesterday reposted on Tracy Chapman’s own X account. Now it’s been jacked by the copyright owner, if that’s not a contradiction in terms. It’s a sad postscript to a happy event. Tracy Chapman and Luke Combs
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February 5, 2024 — Scott Johnson
Tracy Chapman made a rare appearance on the Grammys last night to join Luke Combs in a performance of Chapman’s “Fast Car.” She hasn’t performed in public for some 15 years. Below is a video clip of the moment via X reposted by Tracy herself [see update at bottom]. Perfect duo does exist! #GRAMMYs pic.twitter.com/sOYNCjztLn — Recording Academy / GRAMMYs (@RecordingAcad) February 5, 2024 Tracy commented on the fortune of
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February 4, 2024 — Lloyd Billingsley
Taylor Swift has become a fixture at Kansas City Chiefs games, and the Super Bowl is shaping up as the Taylor Swift Show. That invites a look at female singers who do not get the exposure and respect their talent deserves. Consider, for example, Joanna Noëlle Levesque, known professionally as JoJo. Check out her live rendition of Smokey Robinson’s “Who’s Lovin You,” with Smokey on hand to receive the Library
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February 1, 2024 — Lloyd Billingsley
“Old man, look at my life, I’m a lot like you were,” sang Neil Young back in 1972. Half a century later, Steven Crowder transformed that tune into “The Hunter Biden Song” (below), well worth attention with Hunter’s old man Joe in the White House. At the outset of 2024, a crucial election year, the people could use more material like that. “Hey Joe,” as Jimi Hendrix wondered, “where you
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January 26, 2024 — Scott Johnson
We went to see Shelby Lynne last night as she closed out her two-night run at the Dakota. John Hinderaker joined me some 12 years ago when she last played the Dakota. I didn’t particularly like her show or her set then and passed on her 2018 show at the Cedar Cultural Center, but my wife and I went last night because she was performing songs from Just a Little
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January 21, 2024 — Scott Johnson
When Don Everly died in August 2020 I put together a set of videos with previous reflections on the music of the Everly Brothers. This is the season of their birthdays — Don was born on February 1, 1937, Phil on January 19, 1939. I thought I would use the occasion to replay it one more time in the hope that it might capture the interest of readers who may
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January 10, 2024 — Scott Johnson
A little over 30 years ago Rosanne Cash recorded The Wheel, a magnificent set of songs she wrote about the breakup of her marriage to Rodney Crowell. The album was produced by John Leventhal, whom she fell in love with in the process and married the following year. We saw the two of them at Minneapolis’s old Guthrie Theater when they toured in support of the album. I thought it
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January 7, 2024 — Scott Johnson
We went to see the The New Standards perform one of their annual pre-New Year’s shows at the Dakota on December 30 — the first of two shows they played that night following two shows the night before. We’ve gone for at least the past 10 years and have loved the band since we first saw them at one of their pre-New Year’s shows (they call them “preeners”). The band
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December 28, 2023 — Scott Johnson
Commenting on the “apology” tendered by the rapper formerly known as Kanye West for causing “unintended outbursts,” I quoted the text verbatim. I also drew on Christopher Kuo’s New York Times story reporting on the denial of anti-Semitism reflected in the title track of his forthcoming compact disc Vultures. On the album’s title track, the Times reports, “Ye raps that he cannot be antisemitic because he had sex with a
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December 27, 2023 — Scott Johnson
I first tuned in to the anti-Semitic ravings of Kanye West or Ye in his October 2022 interview with Tucker Carlson. In the part of the interview Tucker chose to air, Jared Kushner’s promotion of peace between Israel and Arabs in the Abraham Accords was disparaged as self-interested in an evocative fashion. “I just think it was to make money,” Ye said. “Is that too heavy-handed to put on this
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December 24, 2023 — Scott Johnson
This is my slightly revised and expanded edition of secular pop songs that seize on Christmas in one way or another for their own artistic purposes. Here they are in chronological order of release along with notes that might help place them. Noel Paul Stookey (Paul of Peter, Paul & Mary) adapted and arranged “A’Soalin” with Elena Mezzetti and Tracy Batteast including Christmas references – using “God Rest Ye Merry,
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December 23, 2023 — John Hinderaker
I am not sure how many Taylor Swift concerts my three daughters, combined, have gone to. At least six or seven, I think, and my wife has chaperoned them at most if not all, since these were when the girls were quite a bit younger. So I have been aware of Taylor Swift for a long time. Swift is now the number one figure in global popular culture. Long an
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December 9, 2023 — Scott Johnson
Karla Bonoff and Livingston Taylor came to town for two holiday themed shows at the Dakota this week. Karla has listed upcoming appearances here. This is a beautiful, beautiful show. Among other upcoming shows I want to note that they will hit the Birchmere in Alexandria on Tuesday. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed if you seize the opportunity to see the show. We made it last night and had
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November 19, 2023 — Lloyd Billingsley
Beverly Jean Santamaria, better known as Buffy Sainte-Marie, built a career on the false claim that she was a Cree Indian born in Canada. That marks a stark contrast to Robbie Robertson, born Jaime Royal Robertson on the Six Nations Reserve in Ontario – same place as Jay Silverheels – on July 5, 1943. Robertson never traded on his heritage and built a career by putting American folklore to music.
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November 18, 2023 — Scott Johnson
Don McLean appeared in town to perform at the Dakota last night. His show constituted a late leg of his 50th anniversary celebration of American Pie — “I’ve been flogging it for two years,” he said. He celebrates both the song and the album. “It’s one album everything went right on,” he said. Backed by a hot five-piece band, he put on a phenomenal show. He was engaging, funny, and
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November 17, 2023 — Scott Johnson
Tom Rush came to town for two shows at the Dakota this week. On Wednesday night he filled a hole in the Dakota schedule. Last night Tom made his originally scheduled appearance before an appreciative audience. We attended both shows and found little overlap between the setlists. You had to be there both nights. Thursday’s show gave me everything I wanted and more. With owner Lowell Pickett in the house
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