Nilsson sings Newman does sound lovely.

Is it generally assumed that Nilsson's posthumous album is unreleasable garbage?

Corwood, for the better part of twenty years Eliot and I have been yelling at each other "'HE GOT WHAT HE WANTED BUT HE LOST WHAT HE HAD' SHUT UP! SHUT UP! HE GOT WHAT HE WANTED BUT HE LOST WHAT HE HAD!" And, yes, it is effin' great.

Ha!

I second the recommendation of Mystery Train, which is one of Marcus's best books.

David, Bo Diddley will be on the Leonard Lopate show today. In addition to music by Himself I recommend the Animals' "The Story of Bo Diddley". Another of my favorite refrains throughout the years has been Bo's maracas player Jerome Green's (as played here by Eric Burdon) response to Bo/Eric's query, "What do you think of these guys doin our, our material?": "Uh, where's the bar, man. Please show me to the bar." Useful in almost any circumstance.

DX, thanks for the edit. Sorry about that.

A belated comment on the "conservative song list" Lyra Jane linked to. The writer puts "Sweet Home Alabama" on his list, quotes the lines "In Birmingham they love the gov’nor/Now we all did what we could do/ Now Watergate does not bother me/Does your conscience bother you?," and comments, "It is worth remembering that the governor of Alabama at this time was George Wallace. And with the song coming out in August 1974, just as Richard Nixon was forced to resign the presidency because of Watergate, the line about that alone makes it a conservative classic." Perhaps I'm reading it wrong but he seems to be conflating Ronnie's indifference to Watergate (which the writer clearly supports) with Birminghamians' love of Wallace (hey, Skynyrd supports "states' rights" wink wink nudge nudge excellent!) First, "they" love the gov'nor; Van Zandt explicitly states that Watergate doesn't bother him him but he does NOT say that he likes Wallace & his agenda. Second, the writer neglects to mention that the back up singers respond to "In Birmingham they love the gov’nor" with a loud and clear "BOO! BOO! BOO!" If the writer wants to continue to support the race-baiting that "conservatives" (his term) used, some as true believers, some as a cynical political ploy, to move the "solid South" from solidly Democrat to a GOP hammerlock that's his business, but to try to smear Lynyrd Skynyrd (not that he considers it a smear) with his misreading of a great song is wrong, wrong, wrong. The song doesn't say, "hey, Neil Young, screw you if you have a problem with lynching," it says, "hey, Neil, screw you if you think we're all just a bunch of murdering bigots. Yeah, some people love Wallace, but some of us are gonna boo him BECAUSE we love the South." And in a top 10 hit no less. At least that's how my Yankee ears hear it. Corwood, you're an Alabama native, right? Any comments?

I agree 100%. Lynyrd Skynyrd were neither racists nor Republicans. Heck, the Drive-By Truckers wrote a whole rock opera debunking that idea (i.e. Southern Rock Opera).

t drive-by

Steph! I went and saw Lyle Lovett for the first time night before last (at Ravinia in the North Chicago suburbs - you can bring coolers and chairs and whatever if you have lawn seats. I have NEVER seen so much brie and expensive stemware and boutique grocery store take-out packages in one place, omg) and thought of you. He was FANTASTIC. He sang with a native Chicagoan woman - Francine somebody - who was stunning. He said it was the first time the band (what is it the Very Large band?) had performed together in a long time. I'm not familiar with him (obviously) but he played the one song of his I looove "Penguins". And lots of gospel and lots of great stories and he looked great.

So anyway, that's my super un-specific report on seeing Lyle Lovett.

Hec, the check is in the mail!

Right on with the Lynrd Skynrd not being racists thing, too - I know lots of crazy Neil Young fans who will go on and on about how they hate Skynrd because of that ONE line. Uhm, I love Neil but you can't have some Canadian dude diss your whole hometown region and not say something about it. Come on.

t /drive-by

Right on with the Lynrd Skynrd not being racists thing, too - I know lots of crazy Neil Young fans who will go on and on about how they hate Skynrd because of that ONE line. Uhm, I love Neil but you can't have some Canadian dude diss your whole hometown region and not say something about it. Come on.

That's nuts. Neil was a huge Skynyrd fan, and really respected them. He even played "Sweet Home Alabama" on stage with them at least once.

Steph! I went and saw Lyle Lovett for the first time night before last and thought of you. He was FANTASTIC.

Right on! I haven't seen him in concert in a couple of years. Must rectify that.

That's nuts.

Tell me about it. You'd be amazed how many times I've heard it.

I gotta run (I am inside on a gorgeous day when there is a pool 20 yards away - talk about nuts) but I really want to hear what you have to say about the new Stevens album. I am absolutely loving it.

but I really want to hear what you have to say about the new Stevens album. I am absolutely loving it.

I've misplaced it somewhere at home. I'll be getting the errant Skinny Arms disc out to you today. I have to admit I've been enjoying it at work this week.

Skinny Arms

Hey Sandy (Adventures of Pete & Pete theme) - Polaris
Cast A Shadow - Beat Happening
Rolling Moon - The Chills
Half-Man / Half-Mole - Chris Knox
Favourite Films - Television Personalities
Forgotten Favorite - Velocity Girl
She Loves Monsters - The Bartlebees
Lee Remick - The Go-Betweens
Wish I Was Skinny - The Boo Radleys
Hair Like Alain Delon - White Town
100,000 Fireflies - The Magnetic Fields
I'm Alright With You - The Pastels
D'yer Wanna Dance With Kids - Peatmos
Pop Songs Your New Boyfriend's Too Stupid To Know About - Tullycraft
Strawberry Girl - BMX Bandits
You Make My Head Explode - The Groovy Little Numbers
Great In Formula One - Helen Love
Steaming Train - Tallulah Gosh
Hey Now! - Perfect Disaster
Hip and Well Read - Embarrassment
My Favourite Dress - The Wedding Present
I Love My Leather Jacket - The Chills
I'm Going To Heaven - Close Lobsters
I Could Be In Heaven - The Flatmates
Almost Prayed - The Weather Prophets
Jumping Fences - The Olivia Tremor Control
Having a Mild Weekend (Kids in the Hall theme) - Shadow Men On a Shadowy Planet

That's nuts. Neil was a huge Skynyrd fan, and really respected them. He even played "Sweet Home Alabama" on stage with them at least once.

More than that, he wrote "Powderfinger" for them, and only recorded it himself when they passed on it. Imagine that for a second.