Outside Counsel

 Good review of a complicated record: <a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/cahoots-19711111"> Jon Landau on The Band's Cahoots</a>.  It seems to me that Greil Marcus's conception of "the old, weird America" has always been better exemplified by The Band than by Dylan, although, to be sure ol' Bob has traveled there. The problem with The Band is an auteur problem: are we willing to concede to Robbie Robertson, a Canadian, born and raised on the Six Nations Reservation, sole credit for a vision of the United States which seems like some sort of Jungian collective unconscious version of the American identity? It seems improbable, and there is testimony-- chiefly that of Levon Helm-- to the contrary. And yet, there's the evidence, right there on the label. And is it so improbable, after all? Doesn't outsider-- or maybe better, pereferal status, confer insight that someone closer might miss? Aren't some of the most perceptive movies about America by immigrants?is there a better "old, Weird America" movie than Billy Wilder's Some Like it Hot? Isn't Saul Bellow's Augie March as American as Columbus himself?

// posted by Bill @ 9:59 PM 0 comments

 Lucky us, Buffalo has two jazz series now, one at Kleinhan's and one at the Albright-Knox. On Sunday we were at the second of the Kleinhan's shows, a tribute to Harold Arlen featuring Tierney Sutton. 

Although I am broadly familiar with Ms. Sutton's work she's never really grabbed me, and although Sunday's performance was fine it didn't make me a convert. My first thought was that she was at the jazz end of cabaret,  but that's not quite right- she's a straight up jazz singer, and that may be my problem. If an instrumentalist- Sonny Rollins, let's say, wants to take a song like "My Shinning Hour" at a swing tempo that's one thing, but being sung like that does a disservice to the lyrics. Similarly, "If I Could Be With You (One Hour Tonight) sung as a ballad seems forced. You can hear the swing pushing back against the interpretation. 

Also, can we please declare a moratorium on  "Over the Rainbow"? 

// posted by Bill @ 1:06 PM 0 comments

 Number 35 at my polling place at 12:45. It's a special election to fill the seat Sean Ryan vacated to become mayor. There'll be a Democratic primary in June, and then a general, so it's not at all clear how long former Erie County Democratic Chair will have to be a New York State Senator, but he spent nearly $300k to win this race

// posted by Bill @ 1:32 PM 0 comments

 For me the word of the year has been "tranche". I don't think I ever saw it used before 2025, and I'm still not sure how to pronounce it, but it's been everywhere. 

// posted by Bill @ 1:04 PM 1 comments

 Philly has a statue of Rocky, and now Detroit has one of RoboCop. Works for me

// posted by Bill @ 12:07 PM 0 comments

 What Three Words. Sorry, Good, Also

// posted by Bill @ 12:03 PM 0 comments