Greg Mitchell's Blog, page 74
June 29, 2014
'Times' Not Changing, Still Loves the Hawks?
Typically fine Margaret Sullivan commentary (though I'd go a bit farther) on NYT still relying on hawks and unnamed sources for much of news coverage, and guest punditry, on Iraq, even today. This almost got us into Syria a year ago. They claim to have "learned lessons" of 2003, and it does show sometimes, but at other times you have to wonder--after all they still employ, and use on front-page, Michael Gordon. For backdrop, see my aptly-titled book on Iraq and the media, "So Wrong for So Long."
Colombian Golllllllld
If you missed Colombian announcer calling the first James goal yesterday....
June 28, 2014
Van's the Man, Not Beethoven
Dave Barry says "Gloria" is the greatest piece of music ever written, even topping Beethoven's Ninth. Of course, I disagree with him--at least slightly--though fans from Jim Morrison to Patti Smith may not. Anyway, a fun read. Three chords of fame! And the original from Them or They, correctly. Below that, I presume you've never experienced the Hendrix version.
Never Over
One of the great rock 'n roll songs--Bobby's Womack's "It's All Over Now," here by the Stones at the fabled (and long unavailable) TAMI Show, which I first saw at the one and only rock critics convention in Memphis 1973. Some say that Mick learned to dance that night on watching James Brown up close for the first time. Bobby's live version here.
This 'Archduke' Still Reigns
As we mark th 100th anniversary of the shooting of Archduke Ferdinand, which set off World War I, here's Beethoven's tribute to one of his friends, students and patrons, a much earlier Archduke, Rudolph. Never a mistake to listen to this, ever, no matter the day or time of day. Pianist Jeremy Denk, who I interviewed for my Beethoven book, and knows a thing or two about all this, calls this movement his favorite music in the world--"the holiest of holies."
June 27, 2014
Bobby Womack Dies at 70
No word yet on why. I knew him first as writer of the Stones' early classic "It's All Over Now." He was a Sam Cooke protege, sang with Sam and signed with his groundbreaking label. Then--he married his widow. After that "Across 110th St." and much else. J. Geils did his "Lookin' for a Love." Made the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame. Was still performing two weeks ago.
Tea Party Official Who Helped Snap Cochran Photos Commits Suicide
It happened today. Just out from AP:
A tea party official charged with conspiring to take photos of U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran's wife inside a nursing home apparently committed suicide Friday, police said, days after Cochran won a nasty Republican primary.
The body of attorney Mark Mayfield was found Friday morning in the garage of his two-story, brick home in a gated community outside Jackson. A gun was found nearby, Ridgeland Police Chief Jimmy Houston said.
Houston says Mayfield had been shot, and a suicide note was found at the scene.
"Everything we see so far, this appears to be a suicide," Houston said.
In a statement, Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant expressed sympathy to the Mayfield family.
"Deborah and I are saddened to hear of the loss of Mark Mayfield. He was a long-time friend, and he will be missed. Our prayers go out to his family in this tragic moment," wrote Bryant, a Republican.
Mayfield and three other men were arrested last month and face various charges of conspiring to photograph Rose Cochran in the nursing home where she has lived since 2001 with dementia. The Cochran family said she has lost the ability to speak and is receiving hospice care.A Tea Party official said Mayfield's "integrity" was "important to him." Also, he was "the finest man."
Emily, Mary-Claire and "The Yankee Clipper"
Wonderful recent 12-minute storytelling talk by Mary-Claire King at the recent World Science Festival in New York. King, of course, is the geneticist who discovered the BRCA-1 ("breast cancer") gene -- one of the most important medical breakthroughs of the last quarter of the 20th century. An amusing account for the main stage program from THE MOTH (video just released this morning) closing with an amazing story about Joe DiMaggio, as he did so often during his playing days, coming through in the clutch--in line at the airport in 1981--and its tie to the grant that led to her discovery. (h/t THE MOTH and Kate Roth Knull).
June 26, 2014
Hello In There
Saw terrific and important doc tonight at Burns Center, a Sundance hit, Alive Inside, about how music therapy can crucially help older folks, especially the millions with dementia. Don't miss. My wife and her mother happen to appear for a few seconds at the very end, with Ray Charles reference. Of course, the current acclaimed film I co-produced would probably work wonders for some in this regard.
