Remembrance of Calamities Past

Tangled and Twisted - "Blood On the Tracks" Performed Live

2012-01-26T16:50:00.000-08:00

TANGLED & TWISTED (the BLOOD BALLADS): The Blood On The Tracks Compilation

Blood on the Tracks may be the the best introduction to Dylan.Most people say that it is his masterpiece -- although Bob Dylan, Freewheelin', Blonde on Blonde, Time out of Mind, and about a dozen other albums may be considered his best.

This compilation is a collection of the best live versions of the Blood on the Tracks songs. They take those beautiful songs to another creative level -- jazzy and soulful, with raw emotionality. Alternate moods and even story lines are tried out. Each live performance is another new and great Bob Dylan song.

"Simple Twist of Fate"

Bob Dylan
Tangled & Twisted: The Blood Ballads
Dylantree compilation

Disc 1:
1. Tangled Up In Blue (solo acoustic) (Bob on harp)
2. Simple Twist Of Fate (Bob on harp)
3. You're A Big Girl Now (Bob on harp)
4. Idiot Wind
5. You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go
6. Meet Me In The Morning
7. Lily, Rosemary And The Jack Of Hearts (acoustic) (Bob on harp)
8. If You See Her, Say Hello (Bob on harp)
9. Shelter From The Storm (Bob on harp)
10. Buckets Of Rain (Bob on harp) (live debut of this song from Blood On The Tracks)
11. Tangled Up In Blue (acoustic) (Bob on harp)

- Track 1 is from 11/21/75 (evening) Boston, Massachusetts
- Track 2 is from 11/12/81 Houston, Texas
- Track 3 is from 07/19/94 Warsaw, Poland
- Track 4 is from 05/03/76 New Orleans, Louisiana
- Track 5 is from 05/16/76 Fort Worth, Texas
- Track 6 is from The New York BOTT sessions, alternate mix
- Track 7 is from The New York BOTT sessions
- Track 8 is from 10/19/94 New York City, New York
- Track 9 is from 06/29/93 Marseilles, France
- Track 10 is from 11/18/90 Detroit, Michigan
- Track 11 is from 02/01/02 Sunrise, Florida

Disc 2:
1. You're A Big Girl Now
2. Simple Twist Of Fate (acoustic) (Bob on harp)
3. Shelter From The Storm
4. Tangled Up In Blue (Bob on harp)
5. Idiot Wind (Bob on harp)
6. If You See Her, Say Hello (Larry on fiddle)
7. You're A Big Girl Now
8. Simple Twist Of Fate
9. Shelter From The Storm (Larry on pedal steel) (Bob on harp)
10. Tangled Up In Blue (solo acoustic) (Bob on harp)
11. You're A Big Girl Now (Larry on steel guitar)
12. You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go

- Tracks 1,12 are from Rundown Rehearsals '78
- Track 2 is from 09/10/75 The World Of John Hammond, Chicago, Illinois
- Track 3 is from 05/03/76 New Orleans, Louisiana
- Track 4 is from 06/29/93 Marseilles, France
- Track 5 is from 08/30/92 Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Track 6 is from 03/02/01 Yokohama, Japan
- Track 7 is from 06/30/88 Jones Beach, New York
- Track 8 is from 09/04/88 Bristol, Connecticut
- Track 9 is from 04/15/02 Frankfurt, Germany
- Track 10 is from 07/01/84 Paris, France
- Track 11 is from 03/10/01 Hiroshima, Japan

_____________________________

Liner Notes

Occasionally, an artist produces a work of such magnitude and depth that it redefines not only his own work, but the canvas on which all artists who follow will create.

Bob Dylan has been lucky enough to have more than a few such artistic epiphanies in his extensive and well-documented career. This compilation focuses on one of these epiphanies.

Arlo Guthrie once noted that songwriting is somewhat like fishing. Occasionally, you catch some big ones. Sometimes, you get the small ones that you throw back. Occasionally, you come up empty. But, whatever your luck, no one wants to be downstream of Bob Dylan.

Bob is respected by millions of fans the world over, for his ability to turn a phrase, turn a head, and turn back the hands of time, all at once. There is no better evidence of this but the music contained in what is arguably Bob's greatest masterpiece of the 1970s, Blood on the Tracks.

Out of our reverence for Blood on the Tracks, the artist who created it, and the fertile legacy Bob's work leaves us, we have lovingly assembled a number of live performances of songs that originally appeared on Blood on the Tracks. These tracks, like any overview of Bob's work, show an ever-evolving and revolving man. They show the effects of time on both his spirit and art. They chronicle the rise and fall of many relationships, both Bob's, and those of his listeners. Everyone has been where Bob takes us, but only Bob gives us such dramatic, heart-piercing commentary on the state of love, and life. In his recent "Waitin' For You," Bob tells us that:

"The night has a thousand hearts and eyes / Hope may vanish but it never dies..."

Blood on the Tracks is a story about how it feels when hope vanishes, and the well-spring of emotions that arise when it feels like hope HAS died. It also shows us that there is hope, no matter how badly you may hurt. As with so much of Bob's work, in ways both obvious and hidden, God and optimism are the lighthouses. -- EMMETT TILL

It is with that in mind that we present you with TANGLED & TWISTED (the BLOOD BALLADS), the Dylan Pool Blood On The Tracks Compilation

__________________________________

Tracks donated by: Degrosmartian, Dnoishere, Bobzilla, Arlo

Compiler: dnioishere

Liner notes: Emmett Till

Thanks to: Sweetheart Like You

Supreme help from & extra thanks to: Bobzilla

Cover art: front -- BOBZILLA
insides / middle -- DNOISHERE

A Visual Sound Production - ABDDPP

Retirement (to Mike)

2011-11-09T18:28:00.000-08:00

The second retirement is better than the first. I think we appreciate it more. We still have major work to do on two houses, hoping to sell one or both of them -- all the while hoping that the housing market gets over its current constipation. I have set a goal of two years to untie myself from those material possessions. In my daydreams I imagine it can be done in a few months.

I'm not sure when we'll be down -- we're playing this winter by ear. I greatly envy your lifestyle. A month in Oaxaca sounds idyllic.

I am very sorry to hear about Susie's back problems. I've had some back problems, and I understand how incapacitating it is. I hope the physical therapy helps. Is she using Spinal Decompression Therapy?

Thanks for keeping me posted on La pepina zaftiga.

Hi, Doug

2011-11-09T17:46:00.000-08:00

I was recently reminded of you, Susan and Jessie when I received an invitation from Linked-in. I have to be honest, I don't really understand Linked-in, but then again, I don't understand Twitter either.

We are now fully retired again. Geni just quit as editor of the local newspaper and we are rethinking our future. We still have to sell a house or two, so we are working on those and hoping that the market recovers from its current constipation.

I assume you are still in Uruguay?

I just downloaded your book - Drawing in 3-D. As long as I knew you, I didn't really know what your books were like. It seems very useful, and a little trippy. I liked the "convention of astronomers searching for power poles on a distant asteroid."

I recall that you have a collection of interesting weblinks and thought you might like Gentle Apocalypse. This guy also put together a music collection called The Best of All Music Ever, a grandiose, eclectic and bizaarely-categorized assortment. I can send it to you if you're interested -- it's huge, so I might have to mail it.

I hope all is well. Maybe we can cross paths again.

Best wishes,
Larry

The Best of All Music Ever

2011-08-18T12:32:00.000-07:00

Best of all music ever?

A completely ridiculous claim, I know: intended as a kind of intention rather than a strict description. I've spent an insane amount of time putting together a highly selective and highly eclectic collection of music. Obviously its flavoured with my particular taste and culture - with an emphasis on gentle western electro / indy-folk - but you'll find many a rare strange jewel here. Take a look at the track list - if you like [most of] the tracks you recognise it will be, I promise, worth listening to those you don't.

I've divided the mixes into twelve vaguely month-flavoured sections…

January (dark and painfully sad, cold, distant and gently dreadful)
February (ambient, drones, requiems and deathly calms)
March (bossas, births, dribbling electro blues, mutant desert yawps and trumpets various)
April (sweet indy joys)
May (sunny pianos and orchestras numinous)
June (lo-fi love songs and the holding of hands)
July (summer daydreaming, lazy euro-folk, hawaiian trees singing and women in beautiful dresses)
August (reggae, calypso and hot afro-persian pleasure)
September (indy wabi-sabi and losses warmly okay)
October (grit, wind, cement, electricity, drugs and life in the desert)
November (descents into darkness, secret services, blue finnish flames and cumbia moog)
December (midwinter jazz, electric retro, dancehall brass and fireside choirs)

Hope you enjoy half as much as I have… In fact I'm jealous of anyone with similar taste to me who gets to listen to this stuff for the first time. If you like it, please comment, and please check out my website - www.gentleapocalypse.com - because, in a way, this is as much a philosophical exercise as rasp, yelp, bellow one.

Talking of which, a philosophical word on genre. Great art, in my experience, comes from the freely creating individual (or, if you'll pardon the oxymoron, group of individuals) endeavouring to perceive and express the unique quality of the impossible moment he, she or they live in. This endeavour is fundamentally selfless in that, although the tool of the self is used (and loved), the great artist puts it aside to see what is beyond, what is strangely real, what cannot quite be captured by thought and emotion; and so, which, inevitably finds expression in paradox; simple yet complex, sad yet joyful, of its time yet timeless, naively immediate yet painstakingly crafted, and so on. What tends to happen however is that people come along whose self-motivations - emotions, desires, hopes, dreams, fears, thoughts, imaginations, philosophies and so on - are more important than the impossible moment. Unable to see beyond form they are unconsciously determined by it - and the genre ossifies and corrupts. This is why the music I love tends towards the first flowers of collective musical creativity - old blues (as opposed to the whining guitar wanks of the John Lee Hooker years), trad jazz (as opposed to the self-indulgent wallpaper of modern times), roots reggae (as opposed to the ludicrous posturing of ragga), krongcong (as opposed to the ghastly slickness of I-pop), and so on - and to those periods in the individual's working life when the self (along with technical competency) has not overthrown the life beyond (and within it) and before the artist, through isolation from life and overexposure to partially blind adulation, becomes a caricature of himself.

Here's the full track list in alphabetical (rather than monthly) order…

4 Roses Pour Marie   Pascal Comelade
54-46 Was My Number   Toots and The Maytals
96 Degrees In The Shade   Third World
Aaj Mera Jee Kardaa (Today My Heart Desires) Mychael Danna
Adagio   Bach
Aguirre    Popol Vuh
Ain't Got No (live)   Nina Simone
All Fires   Swan Lake
All the World Is Green   Tom Waits
Allegro ma non troppo   Beethoven
Animal Waves   Can
Anthem for Keyboard Solo   Wendy Carlos
Apples And Pairs   Slow Club
Armellodie   Gonzales
Asleep   The Smiths
Au Fond Du Temple Saint   Bizet
Augusta, angélica e consolação   Tom Ze
Ballad of a Thin Man   Bob Dylan
Ballad Of The Spirits   Ethiopiques
Bang Bang   Betty Chung
Beale Street Blues   Louis Armstrong
Becalmed   Brian Eno
Because (a capella)   The Beatles
Bessie Smith   Bob Dylan & The Band
Black But Sweet   Wilmoth Houdini
The Body Breaks   Devendra Banhart
Bombay Talkie [Title Music]   Shankar/Shankar Jaikishan
The Boy in the Boat   Charlie Johnson and His Paradise Band
Brazil   Theme
Butterfly Nets   Bishop Allen
Bye Baj   Pascal Comelade - Pierre Bastien - Jac Berrocal - Jaki Liebezeit
C.M Blues   Gonzales
C'est le vent, Betty   Gabriel Yared
Caixa De Sol   Nazare Pereira
Cajuina   Cibelle
Calice   Chico Buarque & Milton Nascimento
Chanson pour l'Auvergnat   Georges Brassens
The Chauffeur (2009 Digital Remaster) Duran Duran
Cheer Up   The Wailers
Chipolenado   Juan Vicente Torrealba
Choir from the Sun   The Microphones
Chunari Chunari (extended)   Mychael Danna
Clementine   Elliott Smith
Cloudbusting   Neil Halstead
Cold Cold Ground   Tom Waits
Colors   Amps for Christ
Concerto No. 2 in G Minor, RV 315 'Summer' - III: Presto Vivaldi
Convening the Coven   Michael Nyman
Cornflake Girl   Tori Amos
Cosmic Sea   The Mystic Moods
Country Road   Adam Green
Cracked Up Dietrich   Screaming Tea Party
Creep (Radiohead)   Richard Cheese
Croque   Thomas Fersen
Cue #32 - Simple Men   Ned Rifle
Cumbia De Sal   Cumbia En Moog
Dance of the Knights   Prokofiev
Daniel's Mele No. One   Various Artists
Desdeñosa    Uña Ramos
Desperate Things You Made Me Do The Magnetic Fields
Digan Lo Que Digan   Raphael
Dirty Epic   Underworld
Disturbed This Morning   Erland And The Carnival
Dixie Biscuit (feat. Henrik Wager)   Tape Five
Don't Shit Where you Eat   Ween
Dreaming Of You   The Coral
Dreams   Goran Bregovic
Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain Sparklehorse
drowning is fine   Darren Allen
Echo Beach   Martha & the Muffins
The Echoing Green   Erland And The Carnival
Edo Komoriuta   Takeshi Terauchi & Blue Jeans
Ei aurinko milloinkaan laske   Kuusumun Profeetta
Eraz (Armenia)    Sogoman Seranyan
Eternal Sunshine   Jon Brion
Etudes de concert, S. 144 3. Un Sospiro. Allegro affettuoso. Liszt
Eyepennies   Sparklehorse
Fantasie on an Armenian Theme Pt. 3 Javad Ma'roufi
Fantastic man   William Onyeabor
Feel Like Jumping   Marcia Griffiths
Figure In A Clearing   David Behrman
Flume   Bon Iver
Fragments   Pascal Comelade
Free Up The Weed   Lee Perry
Gado Gado Djakarta   Kartini
Get A Move On   Mr. Scruff
The Ghost    Burning Spear
Golden Hours   Brian Eno
Good Morning Blues (Real Tuesday Weld Clerkenwell Remix) Count Basie
Good old fashioned lover boy   Queen
Goodbye To Song   Kim Hiorthøy
Green Gloves   The National
The Guilty Party   Matt Elliott
Gymnopédie no. 1   Erik Satie
Gymnopédie no. 3   Erik Satie
Haiti   The Arcade Fire
Head Over Heels   ABBA
Hearing Aid   They Might Be Giants
Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel   Tavares
Hidamari   Shugo Tokumaru
hook & sling   Eddie Bo
Hopelessly Devoted To You   Bmx Bandits
How About You   Thomas A. Dorsey
Humming Chorus   Puccini
Hymn II   Gavin Bryars
I Am That I Am   Peter Tosh
I Can See Clearly Now   Johnny Nash
I Melt With You   Nouvelle Vague
I'll Read You a Story   Colleen
I'll See You in My Dreams   The Real Tuesday Weld
I'm a Lady   Santigold
Imuhar   Group Bombino
In A Manner Of Speaking   Tuxedomoon
In My Life   The Beatles
Innocent When You Dream (Barroom) Tom Waits
Intermission   Scissor Sisters
Is You Is Or Is You Ain't (Ma Baby)? Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five
It Doesn't Have To Be Beautiful   Slow Club
It's Alright   Spacemen 3
It's Soon Be Done   Otis Wright
Jaevel Av En Tango   Kaizers Orchestra
Janglin   Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
Jinhe Naaz Hai Hind Par [Pyaasa] 1957 Mohd Rafi
Jocasta   Noah And The Whale
Journey of the Sorcerer   The Eagles
Jupiter, The Bringer Of Jolity   Holst
Just War (featuring Gruff Rhys)   Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse
Kids   MGMT
King Of Joy   Bill Drummond
L-O-V-E   Nat King Cole
La Bambola   Patty Pravo
La chanson de Prévert   Serge Gainsbourg
La Dispute (Yann Tierson)   The Third Eye Foundation
La Mer Opale   Coralie Clément
Lambeth Walk   Django Reinhart
Last Kind Word Blues   Geechie Wiley & Elvie Thomas
Le Jour D'avant   Yann Tiersen
Le petit chose   Tryo
Leb Wohl   Neu!
Lemanjá   Duo Ouro Negro
Les Deux Guitares   Jo Privat
Les Jours Tristes   Yann Tiersen
Ley Ley   Jermain Tamraz
Libertango   Astor Piazzolla
Light & Magic   Ladytron
The Lion Sleeps Tonight   The Tokens
Liszt - Liebestraum (3), notturnos for piano - Notturno I - Hohe Liebe Liszt
Litamin   Mouse On Mars
Long black train   Richard Hawley
Long, Long, Long   The Beatles
Lord Knows Best   Dirty Beaches
Losing On A Tuesday   Adam Green
Love Theme From Twin Peaks (Instrumental)
Angelo Badalametti - Julee Cruise
Love Will Tear Us Apart   Susanna & The Magical Orchestra
Lume, Lume   Fanfare Ciocarlia
M79   Vampire Weekend
Marie La Veau   Papa Celestin's New Orleans Band
Mario's Cafe   Saint Etienne
Memories of Green   Vangelis
Misere   Palestrina
Moderato: Allegro   Rachmaninoff
Moleke Mbwa (Congo)    Nzila Joseph et Son Ensemble
Monday (I Heart Huckabees)   Jon Brion
Mudie's Mood   Rhythm Rulers
Music Like Dirt   Desmond Dekker
My Sentimental Melody   The Magnetic Fields
N1 (First Obligatory, Throwing Out Arms) Thomas De Hartmann
Neopolitan Dreams   Lisa Mitchell
New Slang   The Shins
New World Symphony (Op. 95) - Largo Dvoru780 ák
Nice nice time   Zap Pow
Nightmare Fantasy [2001]   Spooky Dance Band
Nin-Com-Pop   Lali Puna
No No No   Dawn Penn
No. 3 in G flat major : Andante   Schubert
No. 40 in G minor- II. Andante   Mozart
Nocturne #1 In G Minor, Op. 37   Chopin
Nocturne #2 In E Flat, Op. 9   Chopin
Nocturne In C Sharp Minor, Op. Posth. Chopin
North by North   The Bats
Nothing Matters When We're Dancing The Magnetic Fields
NY #1   Gurdjeiff GI
Nyigo Nyigo   Pascal Comelade
O Superman (For Massenet)   Laurie Anderson
Ode To Street Hassle   Spacemen 3
Oh Lori   Alessi Brothers
On Her Majesty's Secret Service   John Barry
One   Harry Nilsson
One April Day   Stephin Merritt
One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest   Theme
One More Kiss, Dear   Vangelis
The Only Living Boy In New York   Simon and Garfunkel
Op. 118 V. Romanze in F Major   Brahms
Osiris Jones   Steve Gunn
Out on the Weekend   Neil Young
Outside Of This (Inside Of That)   Jon and Vangelis
Paceñita (Bolivia)   Alberto Ruiz y su Lira Incaica
Patricia   Pérez Prado
Pavaner, Op. 50   Faure
Peg O' My Heart   Max Harris & His Novelty Trio
Photographes et religieuses   Orchestre
Piazza, New York Catcher   Belle & Sebastian
Play For Today   The Cure
Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want The Smiths
Plenty More   Squirrel Nut Zippers
Pole Musa   Peter Tsotsi, Nashil Pichen, & The Equator Sound Band
Porque te vas   Jeanette Dimech
Préludes 1er livre L.117 - VIII. La fille aux cheveux de lin Debussy
Puttin On the Ritz   They Might Be Giants
Raaga Bhoopali   Pandit Pran Nath
Radioactivity   Kraftwerk
Ragtime Nightingale   Joseph Lamb
Rainbow Connection   Trespassers William
Ramblin Man   The Residents
Red Cave   Yeasayer
Regiment   Brian Eno & David Byrne
Requiem   Mozart
Rhythm of Life   The Perfect Gentlemen
Ride Into The Sun   The Velvet Underground
Road Movie To Berlin   Frank Black
The Rubber Room   Porter Wagoner
S.W.W. Op. 30 - 6 - Gondolier's Song Mendelssohn
Saint Louis Blues   Johnny Lytle
Sanctus   Les Troubadours Du Roi Baudouin
Santo   Pixies
Sax and Violence   Muppets
Say Yes   Elliott Smith
Scenic World   Beirut
See Land   Neu!
See You In Dreams (Cibelle Version) The Real Tuesday Weld
The Show Must Go On   Pink Floyd
Simon Smith and the Amazing Dancing Bear Randy Newman
Sing, Sing, Sing   Benny Goodman Band
Skinhead Moonstomp   Symarip
Small Hours   John Martyn
So Long, Marianne   Leonard Cohen
Sombre Dimanche [1936]   Damia
Some Are   David Bowie
Sonata in Bb, Op. 106 - 3 - Andante Mendelssohn
Sound And Vision   David Bowie
Sphangnum Esplanade   The Shins
Spinning Away   Brian Eno & John Cale
Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains) The Arcade Fire
Stay Golden   Au Revoir Simone
Stay Hungry   Talking Heads
Stephanie Says   The Velvet Underground
Strange Kind of Love   Cud
Such Great Heights   The Postal Service
Suicide is Painless   Johnny Mandel
Suite bergamasque - Clair de lune   Debussy
Summer Wine (w Lee Hazlewood)   Nancy Sinatra
A Sunday Smile   Beirut
Superman   REM
Sway   The Puppini Sisters
Sweet Beat   Prince Buster
Sweet Thing   Van Morrison
A swingin' Safari   Bert Kaempfert
Sycamore Trees   Angelo Badalametti - Julee Cruise
Ta Aspra Poulia Sta Vouna [The White Birds in the Mountains] Kostas Bezos
Taddy's Dream: Ramallah's Road   Igor Wakhévitch
Take ecstasy with me   The Magnetic Fields
Talk About It   Mighty Diamonds
Tango del Rosselló   Pascal Comelade
Tears In The Typing Pool   Broadcast
Tempo no Tempo (Once Was A Time I Thought) Os Mutantes
Tezeta   Mulatu Astatqe, Girma Beyene, Tesfa-Maryam Kidane and Party
Thank You for Sending Me an Angel Talking Heads
Their Duet   Wim Mertens
Theme From S.W.A.T. (extended 7' version) Rhythm Heritage
These Days   Nico
This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody) Talking Heads
Tsiganka Sam Mala   Vera Petrovic
Ulemu   Musi-O-Tunya
Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey   Paul McCartney
Uncle Remus   Frank Zappa
Unfamiliar Wind (Leeks Hills)   Brian Eno
Up Town Top Rankin'   Anthea & Donna
Você Não Serve Prá Mim (1967)   Roberto Carlos
Vou Sair Do Cativerio   Ton & Sergio
Walking The Cow   Daniel Johnston
Wall Street   Jackie Mittoo
When I Fall Alseep It Will Be Forever Directorsound
When We Dance   The Bill Elliott Swing Orchestra
Whispering Grass (Don't Tell The Trees) Ink Spots
(White Monkey) Under The Volcano Magic Dragon
White Winter Hymnal   Fleet Foxes
Who By Fire   Leonard Cohen
Who Loves The Sun   The Velvet Underground
Will You Be Me?   Kimya Dawson
The Winner Is   Mychael Danna/DeVotchKa
Yarlarim (Tashkent)   Mutavaqqil Burxanov
Yelp, Bellow, Rasp et Cetera   Vivian Stanshall
Yesu Ka Mkwebaze   Novicat de Soeurs Missionaires
You and Me   Penny & the Quarters
You And Your Sister   This Mortal Coil
You Get So Lucky   Adam Green
You Give a Little Love   Bugsy Malone
You You You You You   The Sixths
You're Wondering Now   The Specials
Zamane   Baligh Hamdi
'Zari' Ritual Lamentation (The 'Lileh' Choir Of Dmanisi) Various Artists
Zion's Blood   Lee Perry

I've got to get rid of all this stuff

2011-08-18T12:17:00.000-07:00

I have begun to feel consumed by my possessions.

"A house is just a place to keep your stuff while you go out and get more

- George Carlin

Bob Dylan and Paul Simon - Jones Beach, NYC, 1999

2011-02-07T12:49:00.000-08:00

Bob Dylan and Paul Simon - Jones Beach, NYC

Turning the Corner in Cuba

2011-02-04T08:09:00.000-08:00

In September, 2010, the Cuban government announced a plan to lay off half a million of about 4.3 million state workers by March, 2011, to and issue hundreds of thousands of new licenses to people wanting to join Cuba’s tiny private sector. Today's New York Times

Bob Dylan at Tramps, New York City, July 26, 1999

2011-02-02T16:12:00.000-08:00

Geni, Jo and I had a 'memorable' vacation to NYC to see Bob Dylan and Paul Simon at Madison Square Garden. The night before that show, we read about Bob performing an accoustic show in a small club in Manhattan. The show was sold out in minutes. It remains one of the best performances of his career.

Tramps

Charley Louvin

2011-02-02T09:26:00.000-08:00

Charles Elzer Loudermilk (July 7, 1927 – January 26, 2011), known professionally as Charlie Louvin, was an American country music singer and songwriter. He is best known as one of the Louvin Brothers, and was a member of the Grand Ole Opry since 1955. -- Wikipedia

KUT broadcast
Austin Convention Center
SXSW 2007
broadcast 3/17/07

01 Intro
02 Must You Throw Dirt in My Face
03 Interview
04 Great Atomic Power
05 Interview
06 Waiting For a Train
07 Interview
08 The Christian Life
09 Interview
10 Blues Stay Away From Me
11 Closing Comment

Total Time: 31:00

A Review of Machete

2010-09-08T07:02:00.000-07:00

I thought of spending a lazy afternoon at the movies. With a giant soft drink and a tub of butter-soaked popcorn. I remembered the cool dark escape on a Saturday afternoon at the Largo theater watching giant imaginary worlds of cowboys , space aliens, and the Bowery Boys.

Machete had the right vibe for the experience -- one man saving the world with a humongous knife. Danny Trejo was appealing as an aging Mexican Mafia converted to supercop. Robert DeNiro and Don Johnson were perfectly cast. The action was nonstop and nonsensical.

There was a political message that seemed simplistic, but has more substantial implications. President Calderon has declared war on narcoterrorists, and he seems to be losing. Government, police and military officials are routinely assassinated. Many others are bought or terrorized into complicity with the drug gangs. A larger war is being fought at the same time among the cartels to consolidate power. Calderone is vulnerable to assassination, himself. Bluntly put, the United States is one bullet away from invading Mexico.

The violent images in Machete have a safe unreality about them. Real images from Mexico require no imagination. Check out Blog del Narco for the daily report.

In addition to entertaining film making, Robert Rodriguez is also trying to raise American awareness of the crisis in Mexico. The United States has a vested interest in the stability of Mexico. If democratic government fails there, we will have the political equivalent of a BP oil spill.

So, I walked out of the movie theater into the hot, bright sunlight, just like I did 50 years ago in Largo, Florida. After sitting in the dark for two hours, I was surprised to see the sun, and the heat felt like a distant forest fire.

Dick Armey on Jon Stewart Show

2010-08-18T08:13:00.000-07:00

Dick Armey, clearly one of the right-wing devils, makes an uncomfortably compelling argument for small government. He has a totally repulsive personality, but ideas must be separated from their context.

http://www.thedailyshow.com/

Bob Dylan's Dream

2010-05-26T08:04:00.000-07:00

One track from the Great White Wonder.

Bob's dream about chessmen
Set in East Orange, New Jersey, 1963

Great White Wonder: Transfer from Original Vinyl - July 1969

DISC ONE: 39.49
Side A
01. Candy Man
02. Ramblin' 'round
03. Black Cross
04. Ain't Got No Home
05. Death Of Emmett Till
06. Poor Lazarus

Side B
07. New Orleans Rag
08. If You Gotta Go, Go Now
09. Only A Hobo
10. Sitting On A Barbed Wire Fence
11. Mighty Quinn
12. This Wheel's On Fire

DISC TWO: 41.04
Side C
01. Baby Please Don't Go
02. Interview with Pete Seeger
03. Dink's Song
04. See That My Grave Is Kept Clean
05. East Orange, New Jersey
06. Man Of Constant Sorrow

Side D
07. I Shall Be Released
08. Open The Door, Homer
09. Too Much Of Nothing
10. Nothing Was Delivered
11. Tears Of Rage
12. Living The Blues

Masked and Anonymous

2010-05-19T08:09:00.000-07:00

Bob Dylan & his Band
Masked Songs And the Ghosts of Electricity
Music from "Masked And Anonymous" unavailable on the official cd soundtrack.

Masked and Anonymous is a 2003 film directed by Larry Charles and co-written by Larry Charles and Bob Dylan . According to Wikipedia, " The film was widely panned by critics upon release." Needless to say, my opinion is different.

M & A is one of those few movies that I watch repeatedly and learn new subtleties on each viewing. The movie is a filmic experience in terms of design, mood, visual impact and characters. In addition, there is considerable remarkable music. Dylan performs several songs live before the camera, but most of the soundtrack are covers of Dylan songs by a wide range of musicians.

This album is a collection of audio outtakes from

Can Democracy Change Itself?

2010-02-03T06:06:00.000-08:00

The current state of the health care reform debate feels like a gut punch. A little over a year ago Barack Obama had just been elected. The people had arisen and spoken--about a number of subjects: the wars, torture, tranparency in government, as well as a fair and just health care system.

President Obama felt the health care issue most personally. His mother had battled abusive insurance companies and may have lost a part of her life because of the vicious insensitivity of corporate health care. When Barack (somehow it seems OK to call him Barack) speaks about people losing their homes because of medical catastrophe, there is a core intensity to his words. He, of course, cares about the war, and honesty in government, and other issues, but his mother's sad experience created a fire within him.

For those reasons, health care reform was the first major social change issue addressed by the Obama presidency. A few weeks ago, it seemed that the health care bill was a done deal, with only minor tweaking needed. It was supposed to be signed well before the State of the Union address. Then one day its passage was at risk, and the next day it was D.O.A. What happened?

All of the wheeling and dealing hurt public confidence. Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska blackmailed his colleagues behind closed doors for unknown political gain, and Senator Olympia Snow of Washington, after initially balking only about the idea of a public option, seems to have sold her vote to the highest bidder. Big lies and scare tactics by the Republican party worked as usual.

The election of Republican Scott Brown to the Massachusetts Senate seat previously held by Ted Kennedy came as the final blow. How could the most liberal state in the Union knowingly return veto power to the Republican majority? The behavior of the Republican party during this year has been disgraceful. For the sake of political gains in the next elections, a humane and rational change to our health care system may be lost.

This situation reminds me of the debate about term limits in the early 1990s. Public opinion was all for trying the idea of term limits. Years of corruption in public office brought about a grassroots demand to do something different. Professional politicians were seen as driven primarily by potential threats to their career. From the first day in office, the incumbent was running for the next election. Most of their day consisted of fundraising and schmoozing; very little time could be devoted to analyzing and understanding pending legislation.

As with health care, the public was informed that term limits wasn't going to happen. Our congressmen must have laughed at our naivete. Why in the world would they allow such a thing to happen? Term limits would force them to find other careers. Even though there was public support for a constitutional amendment, if needed, the grassroots movement was suppressed. Today no one talks much about term limits and the corruption and inefficiency of our government is unchanged. After hopes for change are crushed, there remains only a dull, subdued acceptance.

But, perhaps most important, the "hope" so prominent in last year's election was beaten down. Remember that just a year ago spirits were through the ceiling. Now, after a year of political obstruction and sabotage, many of us feel deflated and apathetic. It is more tolerable to be detached than to feel the pain of disappointment.

Fear of change is a common, perhaps universal human quality. We all can envision radical changes in our lives, but as the change approaches, we begin to fear the uncertainty and embrace the security of the status quo. In his campaign, President Obama fueled and inspired hope and optimism about the future. Current political reality has frightened many of us back into our caves.

Barack clearly has phenomenal motivational and leadershop skills. However, in practice, he has wandered somewhat, allowing the Washington politicos too much leeway. His political strength lies in a personal connection with the majority who elected him. Perhaps he can, through his massive mailing list, contact all of the contributors and volunteers from the campaign and ask them to become involved again.

Barack's supporters can promote public education about the cost benefits of health care reform: Wellness programs have been proven successful in reducing sick leave in a variety of work settings. Emphasizing primary care will save massive amounts of money very quickly. It is far cheaper to counsel an obese person than to treat diabetes and heart disease. Reserving expensive emergency room facilities for true emergencies is both cost effective and efficient.

Perhaps of greatest impact would be increased public exposure of the abuses committed by insurance companies. In addition to a motivation toward mediocrity that results from corporate greed, a number of politicians are in the financial pockets of insurance lobbyists. At some point campaign contributions become bribes.

As I was writing these words, my wife, Geni, told me she had just received an e-mail from David Plouffe, Barack's gifted and driven campaign manager. Maybe some of that exhilarating feeling from last year can be rekindled. Otherwise, if health care reform fails, the other dreams will likely fade away as well.

Democracy is the sum of the desires of individuals. It is important to remember that our political representatives are our employees, and not elite, privileged and powerful overseers. It is probably just as hard for democracy to change itself as it is for individual people. But it can be done.

The Shockwave Rider

2010-01-31T15:48:00.000-08:00

To Conquer Chaos

2010-01-15T18:06:00.000-08:00

To Conquer Chaos
John Brunner

Stand on Zanzibar

2010-01-15T17:01:00.000-08:00

John Brunner

Stand on Zanzibar

Remembrance of Childhood

2010-01-09T19:58:00.000-08:00

My father was a professor of philosophy, and my mother was a journalist. Since they have both retired, she interviews him all day long, and he pontificates more and more bizaarly as the years go by. My life would have been simpler if a parent had been a preacher, or even a criminal -- I could have risen above those circumstaances. I could have defined my self in contrast with their warped view of life.

However, a philosopher is an intellectual con-man, one who has staked out a living and a lifestyle by proving the illogical nature of any argument or point of view. Empiricism, rationalism, extentialism all point to an internally consistent way of life. As a child and teenager, I tried out various lifestyles, only to have their underpinning eroded by the force of syllogism.

I tried religion in the form of Sunday school and all the morals and traditions of the Christian church. The philosopher at home scoffed at the obvious hypocrisy of everything I learned those Sunday mornings. Jesus was alright, even admirable, but his message was not to be found in any church building. Jesus would have overturned the tables at the recreation center potluck dinner. The exclusionism and arrogance of the congregation could only benefit from a thorough cleansing of the temples.

I tried rebellion, rejecting all external authority. Anything my parents (or teachers) said was prima facie stupid, pathetic, and mean. In the face of all scientific evidence, I smoked cigarettes. I skipped school as often as possible, and smoked pot like a Reefer Madness fiend. I rejected the societally-imposed values of materialism and social structure.

The parental reaction was more genial, but equally disdainful. All that motivated my generation's hippie mentality had already been tried, and much better, in the sixties. Even Bob Dylan, the messiah of social revolution, had given up and started advertising women's underwear.

The rebuke was more equally condescending as the response to organized religion, but somewhat more amiable. My lashing out at constrictive social rules was seen as charming and somewhat cute. The social structure, I was informed, is a product of immutable human nature. Aggression and dominance are genetically programmed in the human animal. Governments and other institutions can only hope to maintain a balance of hostilities, and the prospect for the future is bleak. Idealism and the power of love is a pleasant delusion that had been tested by the best only to a tragic failure and disappointment. That dream died with Jimi Hendrix and Altamont.

From a sheer lack of options, I adopted a personna of cynicism and bitter humor. In my school contacts I avoided and mocked the upward-striving "successful" kids, whom I say as materialists and holy rollers. My friends displayed the same edgy sarcasm that I did.

Of course, the professor was not impressed with that lifewiew either. I was told that I was making the logical fallacy of nihilism. Descartes had unimpeachably proved that simply observing and commenting on the passing social experience constituted an underlying belief system. "I think, therefore I am;" therefore the universe cannot be simply nothing. Cynicism was characterized as the product of a lazy and immature mind.

A Study in Scarlet

2010-01-03T09:40:00.000-08:00

A Study in Scarlet (IMDB)

Reginald Owen	...	Sherlock Holmes
Anna May Wong	...	Mrs. Pyke
June Clyde	...	Eileen Forrester
Alan Dinehart	...	Merrydew (as Allan Dinehart)

Members of a secret "trust" that meets in Limehouse are being murdered; a victim's widow enlists Sherlock Holmes' help. The atmospheric doings involve coded messages, a pretty heiress, sinister villains, and a country mansion with a secret passage. The story bears no relation to the novel of the same name.

Double Harness (IMDB)

	Ann Harding	...	Joan Colby
	William Powell	...	John Fletcher

A woman (Harding) tricks a playboy (Powell) into marrying her and then tries to make him legitimately fall in love with her.

The wonderful William Powell one year before playing Nick Charles! Just found out via Robert Osborn on TCM why this film hasn't been seen in 50 years. This picture was not available when Ted Turner bought the RKO Pictures catalog. It was tied up in litigation which was finally resolved. At that point it became available to TCM for showing. Also, TCM found a print in France that had 2 1/2 minutes which had been cut from the version available here. So TCM restored the missing footage to the film.

Bob Dylan - Fall Tour Compilation - 2009

2010-01-01T17:34:00.000-08:00

Dylan has been on the "never-ending tour" since 1988. At 68-years of age, he plays more than 100 shows a year, criss-crossing the United States and many foreign countries.

During October and November 2009, Dylan performed 33 shows, stopping in Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Ontario, Pensylvania, Virginia, Massachusetts, and New Your. In four cities (Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston and New York City, he perfomed three consecutive nights. In two (Seattle, and Berkeley) he did two consecutive shows.

This three-disk compilation presents highlights of those performances. Included in this collection, in addition to the requisite crowd-pleasers, are many rarities as well as fresh takes on his newest material. A large percentage of his audience experience bafflement (and anger) that they cannot understand what he says or even recognize famous songs, but most of those appreciate the driving, creative music of the show.

Dylan is famously unconcerned about being misunderstood, and he does little to comfort the uninformed. He rarely speaks on stage (apart from introducing the band), and he obsessively changes the tempo and mood of songs. The result of this is hearing the lyrics afresh. I have seen dozens of Dylan shows and have studied the lyrics for countless hours, but I repeatedly learn something new from those fresh takes on his songs.

Dylan's songs are directly descended from beat poetry. It is helpful to think of his performances as an extension of 1950s coffeehouse readings. Many of his songs are readable as poems, and early in his career Dylan wrote numerous Kerouacesque poems primarily as liner notes for his own and other artists' albums.

Perhaps my favorite song-as-poem is Chimes of Freedom
, a reminder of the youthful idealism of the 1960s.

A great example of a recent song that is given new meaning is Beyond The Horizon (mp3)

This, and many hundreds of other Dylan collections, are available online. The best source for Dylan and related artists is the bit torrent site Hunger City. They provide lossless files, usually compressed by flac.

A great source of MP3s is Croz. Patrick Crosley is a genuine encyclopedia of a wide range of music. Both these sites require registering, and a 20 dollar bill will get you far with Croz. Dylan's lyrics are available at Bob Dylan.com

Following is the setlist for this collection:
The names in parentheses are the tapers, God bless 'em.

1. Introduction - Seattle 4-10 (Spot)
2. Gonna Change My Way Of Thinking - Seattle 4-10 (Spot)
3. Every Grain of Sand - Chicago 30-10 (Romeo)
4. My Wife's Hometown - Berkeley 10-10 (Soomlos)
5. Lay, Lady, Lay - Portland 7-10 (RobertD)
6. Man in the Long Black Coat - Philadelphia 9-11 (Flying Gonz)
7. The Man In Me Boston - 15-11 (Walkin' Dude)
8. Chimes of Freedom - Los Angeles 15-10 (Bach)
9. Million Miles - Kitchener 7-11 (Krewe Chief)
10. It's All Good - New York 18-11 (Taperadvokat)
11. High Water - Salina 23-10 (Midrock)
12. Mama, You Been On My Mind - Berkeley 10-10 (soomlos)
13. Love Minus Zero/No Limit - Canton 5-11 (Jefft)
14. This Dream Of You - Tulsa 24-10 (Cygnus02)

1. Under the Red Sky - Rockford 27-10 (CtfshJohn)
2. I Feel A Change Comin' On - Chicago 29-10 (Roy)
3. I Don't Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met) - Seattle 5-10 (Spot)
4. Things Have Changed - Portland 7-10 (Robertd)
5. Love Sick Phoenix - 17-10 (Greenie44)
6. Jesus Gonna Be Here - Chicago 31-10 (Romeo)
7. San Diego Serenade - Bloomington 2-11 (Lukas Olsen)
8. Beyond Here Lies Nothin' - Las Vegas 18-10 (Bach)
9. Shooting Star - Los Angeles 13-10 (JB)
10. Working Man Blues - Boston 13-11 (Romeo)
11. Ballad of Hollis Brown - Boston 14-11 (Walkin' Dude)
12. A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall - Canton 5-11 (Jefft)
13. Po' Boy - Philadelphia 9-11 (Flying Gonz)
14. Beyond The Horizon - Springfield 25-10 (Cygnus02)
15. Forgetfull Heart - Los Angeles 14-10 (Bach)

1. Cold Irons Bound - Columbus 3-11 (Jefft)
2. Tryin' To Get To Heaven - Berkeley 11-10 (Soomlos)
3. Jolene - Detroit 6-11 (Statsfax)
4. John Brown - New York 17-11 (JF)
5. Sugar Baby - Los Angeles 14-10 (Bach)
6. To Ramona - Chicago 31-10 (Romeo)
7. Not Dark Yet - Boston 15-11 ((Walkin' Dude)
8. Ballad Of A Thin Man - Berkeley 11-10 (Soomlos)
9. If You Ever Go - To Houston Fairfax 11-11 (Romeo)
10. Ain't Talkin' - Columbus 3-11 (Jefft)
11. Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine) - Kitchener 7-11 (Krewe Chief)
12. Band Introductions - New York 19-11 (JF)
13. All Along the Watchtower - New York 19-11 (JF)

Let's take a bus trip to Tacambaro

2010-01-01T09:19:00.001-08:00

I want to go to Tacambaro. People say it's a beautiful town. We were on our way there one time, headed in that direction, but we gave up and went home. They have a bus connection, straight to Tacambaro from Patzcuaro. Let's go to Tacambaro.