Category Archives: art and humor

I know, I’m desperately late to jump on the Amy Winehouse bandwagon, but I tell you, I can’t get over her. Just listen to the song below, with its shocking first line. ("What kind of fuckery is this?") And its connection with classic soul ("Me and Mrs. Jones"). The nerve of this girl! http://media.imeem.com/m/Tl3WgYwyjJ/aus=false/

Steve Earle, as I wrote elsewhere, is a unique talent and a unique individual. Though known today for his radical politics, his raspy voice, and his time in jail, we tend to take for granted Earle’s ability to play guitar. We shouldn’t. Earle backed Lucinda Williams on her greatest record, Car Wheels on a GravelContinue reading “Enviro Song of the Year: Steve Earle’s “Down Here Below””

Some commentators on the human species and the idea of peak oil have been known to compare us to bacteria such as yeast, which will efficiently turn the sugar in a container of grape juice into alcohol…wiping out their own chances at survival. Not too smart! Being a crazy idealist, I think humans will doContinue reading “How Dumb Are We? (Do You Need to Ask?)”

From SciGuy, a fascinating graphic showing all known hurricane tracks since the 1880’s, on the Saffir-Simpson wind scale. The North Atlantic appears to dominate the most deadly storms category, but that likely is connected to the simple fact that the region is by far best documented. Another example of the art of global warming…

Okay, this is cool. Bruce Springsteen gives away the first song to his new record. And it sounds good! Download "Radio Nowhere" Free from the iTunes Store

Tom Toles, said to be the 48th most powerful person in D.C., and without doubt the editorial cartoonist most likely to consider global warming a matter of importance, returns from vacation with a vision of Bush’s true legacy, which will be far more destructive, unfortunately, than a notoriously incompetent AG.

On a Sunday morning, to post about rock and roll — blasphemous. Nonetheless…we have a friend who’s a genuine, certified "rockrgrl" — Rain Perry. Won an award from the magazine and everything. Wrote and sang what is surely the best song ever about Yosemite, called, appropriately, "Yosemite." Since Rain has so generously made it availableContinue reading “Sunday Morning on the Planet: Rockrgrls”

That’s the best description of John Lennon’s classic "Imagine," I’ve ever heard, from a musician friend here in Ojai. We all know the song, but his best version is not the familiar piano rendition, sez me, but a live version Lennon sang with guitar at a benefit at the Apollo Theater in l971. In theContinue reading “The Gettysburg Address of Pop Music”

Born on this day in 1899, Alfred Hitchcock was a man who despite his great sophistication, never forgot the essential meaning of meat. Happy birthday, Hitch. (HT: Slate)