RIP, Isaac Hayes.
Here he is, performing his classic, at WattStax 1972. (WattStax is sometimes known as the "Black Woodstock".)
It's one of the coolest movie theme-songs and possibly one of the funkiest wah-wah guitar intros.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Saturday, August 09, 2008
"I Met The Walrus"
A beautifully animated short featuring a teenager's interview with John Lennon in 1969. The animation is reminiscent of visuals from "Yellow Submarine" and Monty Python's animated gags. And it's such a pleasure listening to Lennon talk about peace, revolutions and the answer being "there".
The full story of the interview here. (courtesy Metafilter)
Some kids actually enjoyed listening to the Bee Gees in 1969? Granted that the Bee Gees in 1969 were much better than their disco incarnation, but there was so much more going on, musically, in 1969. Just look at this list of some great albums from 1969. Tell me, what 14-year old would spend his time and money on the Bee Gees? A most unfortunate flashback to my 14th year....I emerge from a record shop with a copy of Wham's "Make It Big". But that same year, I also discovered Queen, Deep Purple, Jimi Hendrix and Bob Dylan. So now that my Coolness Quotient has been re-established, we now resume our normal programming.
The full story of the interview here. (courtesy Metafilter)
Some kids actually enjoyed listening to the Bee Gees in 1969? Granted that the Bee Gees in 1969 were much better than their disco incarnation, but there was so much more going on, musically, in 1969. Just look at this list of some great albums from 1969. Tell me, what 14-year old would spend his time and money on the Bee Gees? A most unfortunate flashback to my 14th year....I emerge from a record shop with a copy of Wham's "Make It Big". But that same year, I also discovered Queen, Deep Purple, Jimi Hendrix and Bob Dylan. So now that my Coolness Quotient has been re-established, we now resume our normal programming.
Friday, August 08, 2008
Talking Book: Literacy Bridge
This could be big. And let's hope it is.
The idea is fantastic and from what I've read, so is the implementation (inexpensive, battery-powered, open source software) and this addresses a critical problem to some extent: the paucity of teachers in villages.
I learned about this company from Slashdot, which will carry an interview with the founder of Literacy Bridge soon. (If you have a question for the founder, you can post it there.)
"As an affordable literacy tool, the Talking Book device offers children and adults a versatile and interactive tool designed for use with locally-recorded readings of existing and newly created reading books."Literacy Bridge wants to bridge the literacy gap by offering a low-cost audio device that plays back educational content. (Read details of their solution here.)
The idea is fantastic and from what I've read, so is the implementation (inexpensive, battery-powered, open source software) and this addresses a critical problem to some extent: the paucity of teachers in villages.
I learned about this company from Slashdot, which will carry an interview with the founder of Literacy Bridge soon. (If you have a question for the founder, you can post it there.)
Thursday, August 07, 2008
The Maharaja Plays The Cole Porter Songbook
If you are happy and you know it, play an Oscar Peterson album.
Feeling inspired by TR's "happy" post, I went looking for a "happy" jazz album and ended up with "Oscar Peterson Plays The Cole Porter Songbook".
Sure, Ella singing that great songbook will always be on my desert island album list, but this delightful little album by the "Maharaja" is very, very close to breaking into the list.
Free Napster has other Peterson albums, but you can look at the complete track list on Amazon and listen to samples.
Feeling inspired by TR's "happy" post, I went looking for a "happy" jazz album and ended up with "Oscar Peterson Plays The Cole Porter Songbook".
Sure, Ella singing that great songbook will always be on my desert island album list, but this delightful little album by the "Maharaja" is very, very close to breaking into the list.
Free Napster has other Peterson albums, but you can look at the complete track list on Amazon and listen to samples.
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Just Your Typical "To A Bollywood Actress, Everything Looks Like A Nail" Kind Of A Story
“My friends advised me to carry a hammer in my bag and I did that every day.”Sweet.
Hammers are scary, serial killer-y things. (Joan agrees. Posthumously.) But maybe Bipasha just wanted to hammer in the evening, in the morning and all over the land?
Sunday, August 03, 2008
"Crush This Cripple Crow Into Mashed Bananas": Finally, The Ramayana Meets Psych-Folk
A wild, weird, wonderful video by singer Devendra Banhart for a song called "Carmensita". (Indians and Bollywood fans, please note the "Central Board of Film Certification" certificate at the start of the video and let your chest cavities be filled with much love, joy and pride). Via Boing Boing.
Too bad Banhart is not well-known enough to reap the benefits of some "Hindu pride" backlash ;)
Too bad Banhart is not well-known enough to reap the benefits of some "Hindu pride" backlash ;)
Nandalal Bose Retrospective In Philadelphia
Not sure why I did not hear about this sooner, but the works of Nandalal Bose, one of the central figures of modern Indian art, are on display at the Philly Museum till September 1.
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