Minor Wisdom

My vote for best political album

Yesterday’s topic was best political song. Today I’ve been thinking of a follow-up topic: best political album. My vote goes to Bob Dylan’s Infidels. It includes Neighborhood Bully (about Israel—who else has written a political song about Israel?), License to Kill (video below), Man of Peace (about a politician or someone else you might idolize), and what is No. 1-A on my list of best political songs, Union Sundown, about jobs moving overseas. Union Sundown includes what may be the best political verse in any song: “Democracy don’t rule the world / You better get that in your head / This world is ruled by violence / But I guess that’s better left unsaid.”

What’s your favorite political song?

Here’s something with go-viral potential. The New Statesman has a list of top-20 political songs, as voted by its readers. At First Draft, Athenae responds to the call, as do a dozen (so far) commenters. So what’s your favorite political song? Here’s mine: Political World, by Bob Dylan, recorded in New Orleans.

“When foundations are destroyed ...”*

The synopsis of The Infrastructure Crisis, by Robert L. Reid:

The collapse last summer of the Minneapolis bridge that carried Interstate 35W over the Mississippi trained a spotlight on a long-standing national problem: how years of neglect, underfunding, and a lack of leadership and vision allowed America’s infrastructure to deteriorate. This special report examines the state of the nation’s infrastructure in 15 major categories—as outlined in ASCE’s three “report cards”—as well as the various causes and costs associated with the problem, and explores some possible solutions.

Hat tip to beSpacific.

________

* Psalm 11 verse 3.

The Preservation Hall Jazz Band: Sweet, not flashy

The Preservation Hall Jazz Band has been around so long that we sometimes take them for granted. But what a treasure they are! They have a new record out, appropriately entitled Preservation, featuring a slew of guest artists: Andrew Bird, Paolo Nutini, Tom Waits, Yim Yames, Del McCoury, Ani DiFranco, Pete Seeger, Jason Isbell, Brandi Carlile, Richie Havens, Merle Haggard, the Blind Boys Of Alabama, Dr. John, Louis Armstrong, Amy LaVere, Steve Earle, Cory Chisel, Buddy Miller, Angelique Kidjo, and Terence Blanchard. I’ve been enjoying it the last couple of days, and I highly recommend it. You can get it on standard CD, deluxe CD, or vinyl.

Here is the 1971 version of the band, performing Basin Street Blues. It’s not flashy. It’s just the sweetest thing you’ll hear today.

Jazz Fest: The fun starts now

A couple of days ago, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival release what we call “the cubes”: the day-by-day, stage-by-stage music schedule. This is a big day for hard-core Jazz Fest addicts (like yours truly); it’s the day we can start making serious plans about which acts to catch. There are 12 stages, with roughly five to six acts per day on each. This means that, unless you’ve mastered bi-location, some hard choices must be made. And of course, one must allow room for serendipity—it’s not a real Jazz Fest until you’ve become a die-hard fan of some act that you hadn’t heard of before. Anyway, here is my initial plan.

Friday, April 25. A lot of good stuff, but just one must-see: Dr. John and the Lower 911 (Gentilly Stage, 3:30). There’s a terrible conflict at 12:30: Frankie Ford on the Acura Stage, the Joe Krown Trio on the Gentilly Stage, and Little Freddie King in the Blues Tent. I’ll probably opt for Little Freddie King. For those into late 1970s to early 1980s pop, there’s Lionel Richie (Acura Stage, 5:30).

Saturday, April 24. I’ll join the 1.23 million or so in front of the Acura Stage at 5:15 for Simon & Garfunkel. Those who don’t like hordes may want to check out Tab Benoit (5:40, Blues Tent). My dilemma occurs around midday, when D.L. Menard & the Louisiana Aces (12:25, Fais Do-Do) conflict with Bonerama (12:40, Gentilly). Other acts circled in red on my schedule: Walter “Wolfman” Washington (2:25 Congo Square), the funky Meters (3:30, Acura), and Dr. Michael White (4:30, Economy Hall).

Sunday April 25. So much to choose from! The Allman Brothers Band is doing a 2-hour set (Acura, 5:00). Besides that, I’ve got conflicting red circles all over my schedule. I’m intrigued by the name of Robert “1-String” Gibson (12:15, Blues Tent). Other worthwhile acts include Jeremy Davenport (12:55, Jazz Tent), Guitar Slim Jr. (1:05, Blues Tent), the Voice of the Wetlands Allstars (1:40, Acura), Theresa Andersson (1:40, Fais Do-Do),the Levon Helm Band (3:10, Acura), Wayne Toups & Zydecajun (2:50, Gentilly), Irvin Mayfield & the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra (3:55, Jazz Tent), Susan Cowsill (4:25, Lagniappe), the Blind Boys of Alabama (4:45, Gospel Tent), Marcia Ball (4:00, Gentilly), and Jonny Lang (5:40, Blues Tent).

Thursday, April 29. This is traditionally a low-key day—a good day to just wander around and see what strikes your fancy. Names you may recognize include Widespread Panic (4:30, Acura), Elvis Costello (5:30, Gentilly), and the Average White Band (5:25, Congo Square). Mid-afternoon will present some tough choices for me between Amanda Shaw (1:55, Gentilly), Sunpie Barnes & the Louisiana Sunspots (2:05, Congo Square), and C.J. Chenier & the Red Hot Louisiana Band (2:45, Blues Tent).

Friday, April 30. If you like the blues, you’ll have a real dilemma at the end of the day. Aretha Franklin will be on the Acura Stage at 5:35, while Derek Trucks & Susan Tedeschi will be in the Blues Tent at 5:45. If you see either one, you’ll have to miss Louis Prima Jr. (5:55, Economy Hall). I’ll definitely start the day with the J. Monque’D Blues Band (11:20, Blues Tent). In mid-afternoon, Kermit Ruffins (2:35, Congo Square) competes with John Mooney (2:55, Blues Tent). I’ll probably opt for John Mooney. Also circled in red is Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Allen Toussaint (3:40, Acura).

Saturday, May 1. This is killing me. Will it be Jeff Beck (5:40, Gentilly) or Kenny Wayne Shepherd (5:45, Blues Tent)? Other acts playing at the same time: New Birth Brass Band (6:00, Jazz & Heritage), and Bobby Lounge (5:55, Lagniappe).There’s also Pearl Jam (5:00, Acura), Pete Fountain (4:30, Economy Hall), Sonny Landreth (4:00, Gentilly), Aaron Neville (3:50, Gospel Tent), Chris Thomas King (2:35, Blues Tent), Rebirth Brass Band (1:55, Congo Square), Anders Osborne (1:55, Acura), Henry Butler (12:55, Gentilly), and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band (12:30, Acura). Have I left anyone out? Yes, about 50 other acts.

Sunday, May 2. I’ll probably start the day at the Gospel Tent with the Zulu Male Ensemble (11:15). After that, who knows? Maybe Clarence “Frogman” Henry (12:30, Acura). Maybe Irma Thomas (1:50 Acura). Maybe Trombone Shorty (2:00, Gentilly). Maybe Van Morrison (3:35, Acura). To close out the day, the choices include the Neville Brothers (5:40, Acura), the Radiators (5:40, Gentilly), Maze featuring Frankie Beverly (5:40, Congo Square), and B.B. King (Blues Tent, 6:00).

Sadly, one act won’t be there. Marva Wright passed away the other day. She did blues, gospel, and everything in between. She sang for princes, presidents, and regular people. I suppose she’ll be on the cover of the Jazz Fest Bible. Anyway, she should be.

Bottled water is a scam

Bottled water is bad for the environment and no better for your health than tap water. That’s the message from this video by The Story of Stuff.

You can also observe a lot just by listening.

The tag line for this blog—the Yogi Berra quotation—isn’t just amusing; I think Yogi was on to something. You really can observe a lot just by watching. The trick is to watch with an open mind, dropping your prejudices. Don’t look for anything. Just watch.

You can also observe a lot just by listening. Over at Lawsagna, Anastasia talks about 7 barriers to really listening. I think that 1, 3, and 4 on her list are common afflictions among lawyers—we’re trained for rebuttal, and we tend to apply that training when hearing something we don’t agree with.

The things they used to do — Double feature for Saturday Evening Blues

I’ve been listening to an Earl King CD I just bought, which put me in the mood to post an Earl King video. So I went looking for one, and one good thing led to another. First up is The King himself, performing The Things I Used To Do.

As I said, one good thing led to another. Here’s a young, geeky-looking gunslinger, who would later become famous, covering the same song. You may not recognize his face at first, but you’ll definitely recognize his unmistakable style on guitar.

Watch this. But watch it full-screen.

Here’s an embedded video showing where we fit in the scheme of things. But please don’t watch it embedded. Watch it full-screen. Click where you see four arrows pointing to the four corners, and watch it that way. (Hat tip to Dambala.)

We’re number one — hundred and fifty five

Avvo ranks the top 425 legal blogs. Somehow Minor Wisdom made the list at number 155. I think traffic to my other blog, The (New) Legal Writer, may be driving the numbers, since both blogs share the same root URL. Still, I’ll take it.