Anyone see the Sun Records documentary thing on PBS last night? I turned it off pretty quickly. It didn't seem interesting enough to sit through the pledge drives for.

I saw Ben Lee, Ben Folds and Rufus Wainwright in concert last night. It's always interesting to see a cult musician when you aren't in the cult, and I know exactly two Ben Folds songs. But I can see why people get all culty around him; he's clearly a skilled musician/performer. And I loved that he covered "Bitches Ain't Shit" and apologized to the ASL interpreter, which Wolftrap has because it's a national park, for making her sign motherfucker 87 times.

Rufus, which was the main reason I went, was good, but I'm not in love with his stage persona. I really enjoyed Ben Lee, to the point of ordering his latest CD. (We're about the same age, and I've always been a little snitty about the fact he wrote a song about Evan Dando and got to hang out with Thurston Moore and the Beastie Boys at age 15, while I was stuck in Algebra II. But hey, the boy has talent...)

I just sent the Boswell Sisters article, Legs McNeil Rocket to Russia liner notes, and liner notes to the CD of Forever Changes (hello, Corwood!) to buffistarawk. Enjoy. Sorry the Ramones notes are a bit difficult to read, but if you enlarge the pdf they're pretty clear.

It didn't seem interesting enough to sit through the pledge drives for.

I didn't see it, Tom, but I might have stuck around had I known it was on. I usually listen to WNYC (radio) at work. Their pledge drives are irritating, but mostly they either stick with the usual programming or get really good guests and give the listener an incentive to stick around. WNET (tv), on the other hand, usually trots out stuff for their pledge drives that I have less than zero interest in watching. Why break out all the self-help gurus, ghastly oldies reviews (and I say that as a huge fan of pre-British invasion rock), and whatever other crap they show on an endless loop when they want money? Dance with the one that brung ya! That said, I would like to see the Sun doc. World o' difference between watching archival footage and watching an old fart with a bad toupee and rhinestones singing "My gal is red hot!"

liner notes to the CD of Forever Changes (hello, Corwood!

From the 2001 re-release? 'Cause they're sitting in front of me at this very second. Freaky!

Hey, I started the Jon Ronson book, which is freakin' fascinating so far.

Condolences to Kate P., whose grandfather passed away. He was active in Habitat for Humanity. I sent to buffistarawk two wonderful, apropos tributes in song to a couple other goodhearted handymen, John Prine's "Grandpa Was a Carpenter" and Tom T. Hall's "The Ballad of Bill Crump". (Kate, I'll email you the password if you don't have it.)

Freaky!

I'd find it much freakier if you didn't have Arthur Lee on the brain! As for other obsessions of ours, Eliot left me a message consisting solely of him reading the passage where Billy kills Claggart. "Fated boy,... what have you done?"

ETA: The Ronson book... ahh, yes. Took me a second. I thought you meant the Lee/Love bio. The Ronson book is like a Buffy S2 or S3 episode where the balance of funny and frightening was just perfect.

I'd find it much freakier if you didn't have Arthur Lee on the brain!

True, true. There is rarely such a time.

As for other obsessions of ours, Eliot left me a message consisting solely of him reading the passage where Billy kills Claggart. "Fated boy,... what have you done?"

Niiiiiice. In my "reading Moby Dick aloud" project (we're, what, 4 months in?), I've just reach Ahab's first appearance. Li'l Sphere was thrilled, but I figure that might have had something to do with the toy he was playing with. On another note, I have The Confidence Man, which I've never read, next up on my plate.

I have The Confidence Man, which I've never read, next up on my plate.

Let me know when you start. I also have it & have never read it. My guess is that it's in storage. Friggin' NY apartments! Bought this (used) recently, mostly for the cover. (Make sure you can see the bottom half.) Hmmm, any music connection to this... well, Bob Z loved Dylan T enough to adopt the name. And in "Bob Dylan's 115th Dream" he's a sailor and there's a Captain Arab (rhymes with Ahab). And that gives me the opportunity to throw out one of my favorite lyrics: "They asked me for some collateral and I pulled down my pants." Bwah! And a bonus: "God said, 'You can do what you want, Abe... but the next time you see me comin' you better run.'"

Ah, yeah. I read that one (and Adventures In The Skin Trade) as an undergrad. In fact, I wrote a paper arguing that Thomas was a greater prose stylist than poet. If I recall correctly, my professor gave me an A. And here I am, bragging about it on the Internet a mere 14 years later! People say you can't do anything with a liberal arts educations, but to them I say, "nyah."

Joe, I got your email, but wanted to catch you here as well. Thank you for putting those songs up.

Kate, I'm so sorry for your loss. Your grandfather sounds like a wonderful person to know.