One more time. Films that purport to show Planned Parenthood selling baby parts are deceptively edited fraud. They spin the truth into lies. If you believe these videos, as Republicans in Congress apparently did, you’re a dunce. Planned Parenthood is not selling baby parts. They are allowed by law to let mothers donate fetal tissue, …
Search Results for: Randy Rendfeld
Nixon’s attorney John Dean calls today’s tea party, specifically the U.S. House Freedom Caucus, “near treasonous” and says their actions might be unconstitutional with “criminal implications.” Robert Scheer has a new podcast on KCRW. In it, he talks to Dean, former White House Counsel under Richard Nixon, who served during the Watergate scandal. In the …
This is the same family from A Christmas Story, you know, the kid who wants a Red Ryder BB gun. Here they’re taking a summer vacation. It’s written by Hoosier storyteller Jean Shepherd. This is one of Shep’s best films — after A Christmas Story, of course. 7.7 on IMDB. I’ve also been dipping into …
A retriever puppy walks into a bar, sits down at the piano, and starts playing a mashup of Rachmaninoff, Gershwin and Debussy. He’s really getting into it when a much bigger dog walks in, grabs the puppy by the neck, and drags him out of the bar. One guy sitting on a bar stool says …
The documentary “Life Itself” shows film critic Roger Ebert in a less than flattering light. In a society that celebrates youth and vitality, some might find it shocking that we see Ebert’s face ravaged by cancer. We see shots of his final days when he’s unable to walk or talk. Yet he was able to …
One of the first stories I ever wrote for a newspaper was coverage of a tribute to black church music for the Southern Illinois University-Carbondale newspaper. I was moved by it. My parents dragged me to a Presbyterian church and we never had cool music like that. The choirs didn’t sway. Nobody tapped their feet. …
Should you brine your turkey if it’s been injected with a solution? No. Most turkeys in the grocery stores are injected now. This is something cooking shows rarely mention when they talk about brining. The only place I’ve seen it mentioned is the Amazing Ribs website: “Meat that is labeled ‘enhanced’ or ‘flavor enhanced’ or …
How can you not feel optimistic? In a world where unicycle-riding kilt-wearing Darth Vaders can belch flames from their bagpipes, there’s just no room for cynicism. – Randy Rendfeld
This live version of Van Morrison’s “Into the Mystic” is OK, although the foghorn needs some help. But I should have flagged this file: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVAnlke_xUY, the original album version. It’s the heart of Moondance, a nearly perfect album. This song seems to be about a spiritual quest and also about an act of love as …
This is a job for… Binder Woman! Enforcer of the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, defender of office moms who cook but don’t use assault weapons. – Peter Dysart Binder Woman will make sure that all women have the right to affordable contraceptives, even those who work for Catholic universities. Up, up and away! – …
I’ve asked friends to help me compile the creepy-dark-sinister-ghoulish-zany-zombyish-or-madcap-macabre list of Halloween songs. I’d like this to be an interactive thing, where people keep adding their ideas and YouTube clips for a Halloween song list. (Please add your selections to the comment section below.) – Randy Rendfeld This tune has a Portland connection. Here’s what …
This is one of those Dylan songs full of bizarre imagery, like “Desolation Row” and “Gates of Eden.” The horn section on this version is awesome, and that organ player is better than Al Kooper. I’m beginning to like this more than Dylan’s own version. – Randy Rendfeld
Saw Bob Dylan perform tonight at White River Amphitheatre in Indianapolis. His voice sounds like Jimmy Durante chewing rocks. That 60s Dylan is the stuff I always go back to: The Gaslight Tapes, Blonde on Blonde, Another Side of Bob Dylan, Freewheelin’, Bringing It All Back Home, Highway 61 Revisited, The Times They Are A-Changin’, …
Fats Waller (1904-1943) was literally the most well-rounded jazz pianist of the 20th Century. He was a song writer, singer, master of stride piano, a hit maker, and he often did it with a comic flair. Art Tatum was perhaps a superior contemporary pianist, at least technically, but few brought as much passion and energy …
One can trace a direct line from Louis Jordan to Chuck Berry and Little Richard to rock’n’roll. He is described by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as “the Father of Rhythm & Blues” and “the Grandfather of Rock’n’Roll.” Jordan usually performed with small, tightly arranged bands and did most of his work in …
Nice. Haven’t listened to this song in years. It’s also Andrew Lloyd Webber’s best work, IMO. He moved on to wreak serious damage to music and theater after this. Case in point: Cats. – Randy Rendfeld http://youtu.be/lgKb7-YC9lI
This is a great find. Robby on guitar and Ray on keyboards were the best part of the Doors. – Randy Rendfeld
Robbie Robertson must’ve been feeling generous on this day, because he gave Richard Manuel a co-songwriting credit on this beautiful haunting song. – Randy Rendfeld http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKnPYcsf508
I don’t know who else could pull this off. Jack White is the definition of cool. He doesn’t worry about the gender problem with this Dolly Parton song. He just lets it fly. Come to think of it, Bob Dylan sang “House of the Rising Sun” — a Dave Van Ronk arrangement — from the …
Let’s review. Before health care reform you could go broke, lose your house and die because you got sick and couldn’t afford coverage. If you had a pre-existing condition, you were screwed, even though you’d paid for insurance all your life. The health care plan that passed was a Republican plan (it’s true). If you …
Randy Rendfeld sent in this photo of guttercropping, a simple and easy way to increase the area available for growing things in an urban setting. Says Randy, “I should note that isn’t my photo. My friend Linda T. found it on the Net. Here is another page showing something similar: http://ballardfresh.wordpress.com/2011/06/28/gutter-lettuce/“:
This is the kind of stuff I listen to while driving sometimes now — YouTube files of Ted.com lectures and performances burned to MP3 CDs. This is a long file, but if you listen to a minute at the beginning, you’ll get the idea. Zoom to 16:38m, where Goldie Hawn picks some notes at random …
People are swallowing force-fed pablum when they watch American Idol, a show that neither Bob Dylan, Neil Young nor Frank Zappa would’ve been considered for when they were in their 20s. (You have to be under age 30.) In 1969, you had the Beatles, Stones, Joplin, Hendrix, Doors, CCR, and other great bands cranking out …
If you “like” Amnesty International USA on Facebook today, you can listen to all of Chimes of Freedom: The Songs of Bob Dylan — all 75 tracks by various artists. There are 75 covers of Dylan songs there for 6+ hours of music. I’m listening to Mark Knopfler’s cover of Restless Farewell while typing this …
My family had a vinyl record of “Wild Thing” by Illinois Senator Everett Dirksen in the 1960s. This version by a fake Bobby Kennedy should add some of that intellectual stuff I liked so much about Bobby. “Ah, I was reading, ah, Aeschylus last night, and it made me think how much Camus’ ‘The Plague’ …
One of the greatest songs ever written — and a good performance of it, too. – Randy Rendfeld İzleyin:
Some songs bludgeon you over the head with greatness. I remember the first time I heard Dylan’s “It’s Alright Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)” and Hendrix’s set at Monterey Pops. The first time I heard the extended version of “Whipping Post,” I thought it was one of the coolest band performances ever. Still is. This is …
Excellent clip. I like when artists strip down their songs to very simple acoustic arrangements, like Springsteen does here and on his ‘Nebraska’ album. It creates a more intimate performance. It’s a part of what gives albums like Joni Mitchell’s ‘Blue’ and early 1960s Bob Dylan tracks their enduring power. With ‘Nebraska,’ you might almost …
“The influence of the Ernie Kovacs shows-has been extensive. Dan Rowan, one of the hosts of Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In said many of that show’s ideas came from Ernie Kovacs. On Saturday Night Live, another show directly influenced by the earlier comic, sight gags were so much a staple that when Chevy Chase received an …
I was thinking about genius tonight. It starts with some talent; then these wunderkinds go off and work hard to hone it, like the Beatles did in Hamburg. Genius doesn’t just happen, it takes work. It took a lot of time to get these voices to blend so well (above). More on the subject of …