A not so good day – but some good music from Progression by Failure

POk so obviously the problem I had yesterday i.e. no power to my computer has not been resolved. it is clear from the fact that I am writing my first post of the day at 11:20 pm! Of course it didn’t help that I somehow wiped out this website this morning and when it was restored this afternoon it was restored back to March 8th! Anyway the new site is socialstudious.us and will be the home for politics, and the rest of the social sciences! I will try to keep this site for mysteries, music and family! Read More

Townes Van Zandt – March 7, 1944

Townes Van Zandt – Dean of Americana Songwriting (March 7, 1944 – January 1, 1997)

On March 7, 1944, Townes Van Zandt was born. I am one of those people who just fairly recently discovered Townes’ music. I knew his name , but it really wasn’t until after Willie recored “Pancho & Lefty that I became aware of his immense talent. The first album that I bought was A Far Cry from Dead which was released in 1999 after his death. Since then I’ve gone back and added several albums to my library. Some background information from Wikipedia, for those who don’t know Townes: Read More

Today in History – The First Mother-in-Law Day and thoughts on the passing of a Wonderful Aunt-in-Law!

Anita and Kathy On this date in 1934 a newspaper editor in Amarillo, Texas proclaimed the first Mother-In-Law Day.

Modeled on the celebration of Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, Mother-in-Law’s Day was first celebrated on March 5, 1934, in Amarillo, Texas, where it was initiated by the editor of the local newspaper. The observance was later moved to the fourth Sunday in October. Mothers-in-law have never enjoyed the widespread respect and devotion that mothers have received over the years, and the rising divorce rate has given the whole concept of in-laws a less permanent place in the national imagination. This may be part of the reason why Mother-in-Law Day has failed to catch on like Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and even Grandparents’ Day. But many people feel that mothers-in-law deserve a special day of their own, if for no other reason than for their good humor in enduring the many jokes that have been told about them. (Source) Read More

Book Number 9 of 2013 – The President and the Assassin….

Leon Czolgosz

Emma Goldman

Albert_Parsons_portrait

Ok so which of the four people pictured above can you identify? Before I read Book Number 9 for 2013, I could have maybe identified two! The first two are the key players in the book, while persons three and four helped nudge number two along! The first two are William McKinley and Leon Czolgosz, who are The President and the Assassin, respectively, from Scott Miller’s  terrific book titled – The President and the Assassin:McKinley, Terror, and the Empire at the Dawn of the American Century. Persons three and four are anarchist Emma Goldman and Albert Parsons.  both of whom provided a push to Leon to do the deed! Read More

Today In Music – Ron Carter’s Birthday – Not!

So my usual routine in the morning consists of reviewing several this day in history and music sites. Then I think about the events, birthday, etc, that catch my eye and decide while exercising and taking my shower what to write about and how the music may tie into my musical library. Today two things caught my eye. The first was the birthday of Ron Carter the jazz bassist and the second was that on today’s date the first Grammys were awarded!  So as I thought about Ron Carte I thought about how he was the bass player on probably over half of the jazz albums that are in my collection. So I decided I would go with today being his birthday…… then I came down to write the post and I discovered that, in fact, today is NOT Ron Carter’s birthday rather his 76th birthday will be celebrated on May 4th. So I thought ok, I’ll go with the first Grammys. Then I read this: Read More

A Fine Saturday at Tufts University!

For me there is something special about being on a college campus. During our trip this weekend to Boston Elizabeth interview for Graduate School at two universities. First at Northeastern in Boston City and then yesterday at Tufts University in Medford, a little north of Boston. While Northeastern appeared to be nice the urban nature of the University left the buildings square and sterile! Read More

“Into the Night” with the Blues Harp of Mitch Kashmar!

So after listening to Kevin Selfe’s album last night and thinking about Mitch Kashmar lending his harp prowess to the album, made me feel like listening to a little Mitch Kashmar tonight!. So on my way back from the DMV I put on the Mitch Kashmar and Pontiax album 100 Miles and listened to several tracks. Once again I will say, by writing this blog and concentrating on finding and listening to new music, I don’t get enough time to listen to some of my favorites, and Mitch is one of them! He is a great blues artist and boy can he wail on harp. And I am not the only one with that opinion! “Mitch Kashmar is my absolute favorite blues harp player of his generation, and one of my favorites period! He’s also a first-class vocalist – his singing really knocks me out.” – William Clarke “Mitch was only 19 when I first heard him and he sounded good even then. These days, oh man, is he tough!”– Kim Wilson of the Fabulous Thunderbirds From his page at Delta Groove Productions: Read More