If this song doesn't give you chills...

I have recently been listening to Derek Trucks, thanks to my good friend Chris Owns. Born and bred a prodigy guitarist, Trucks travels with his band playing slide guitar blues. He sings with his guitar. Trucks' wife, Susan Tedeschi, plays with him as well, demonstrating a powerful, resonating female voice. Both have been on stage with the Allman Brothers, Warren Haynes, and other staple musicians in the southern rock, blues genre. Enjoy, and be sure to stick around for his creamy jam at the end of the song... Midnight in Harlem.

The Weight

One of my all time favorite covers of this song...

Like this? You'll love this
... and this

Skinny Love.

I became a Bon Iver fan during the summer of 2010. I have Will Kocher to thank for that. “For Emma, Forever,” recorded with unsurpassed levels of courage and honesty, spoke for itself. Simple. The resonating copper strings on the steel acoustic guitar. The wailing falsetto. The gentle, strung out harmonies. Bon Iver created an unrivaled masterpiece during those long nights in Wisconsin, where the album was recorded. I’m not writing this post about Bon Iver’s musical innovation. Plenty of people can write about that. I’m interested in the nature of “covers” and whether or not they can speak truth through the original masterpiece on which they are based.

“Skinny Love,” for example, has recently gone viral through a 14 year old UK singer/pianist called Birdy. Her single of Bon Iver’s staple track has reached as high as 21 on the UK singles charts. On Youtube, a music video appeared on April 1, and has already reach over 432,000 views. The non-official video released in February of 2011 has over 1,000,000 views. Is Birdy’s success merited? Can she be called a “musician” when her only true single is a cover of one part of Bon Iver’s masterful album? I love her cover. It tingles my spine and sends bumps down my legs. But is it real? Is it genuine? It's hard to say. Certainly Birdy’s version required a great deal less courage and honesty than it took for Justin Vernon to travel to his father’s cabin in Wisconsin and record a deeply inspired album. He did it all by himself. I can’t wait to see Birdy do the same…

The Salvation Army Man

**Below is an excerpt from a short story I am in the process of finishing, inspired by the photograph below.

He came around in a starched white dress shirt and navy blue trousers every day except Sundays. Sometimes he’d walk right by without so much as a nod or a tip of the hat. Sometimes he’d stop and wave and force a little polite conversation. But, for me and my sister, whenever he crossed that threshold down the road- the part of the road where the shiny black pavement turns to cold, hard gravel and dirt- dressed in his Sunday’s best and carryin’ a brown paper sack under each of his hands, we knew he wasn’t jus gonna walk by. No, when he brought the sacks under his arms, we knew he’d be joinin’ us on the stoop.

He wore brown penny loafers, so worn there were three or fo holes in each sole. He was balding and kept a rusted can of Penelope’s Miracle Hair Wax in his left back pocket; always had to keep his hair smoothed back. He smoked a pack of Pall Malls a day. I remember the cigarettes ‘cause he always left the butts littered on the dirt yard in front of our stoop. The thing I truly remember most, even mo’ than the cigarettes and the wax cans and the penny loafers and the starched white shirts, were the gifts. Now, it wasn’t often he’d bring gifts, but bein’ in charge of the Salvation Army in town gives you the liberty and creative license to bring by a little trinket or toy or tool or who knows what every now and then. Those brown paper sacks under his arms would be filled to the point of burstin’ with pots and pans for Granny B, new curtains for Mama’s windows: we had fo windows. One on each of the fo walls of our little house. He’d bring wooden horses and action figures. He even brought a black rubber tire jus for me. He told me in his neighborhood, over on the other side of town where the pavement’s shiny and black and smooth, the kids all curl up inside the rubber tires and roll down the hill ‘till they hit a tree or fall out. Anything you can imagine and the Salvation Army man could bring it.

Now I’m gonna make a point in tellin’ y’all that it wasn’t no charity work he was doin’ back then neither. He didn’t bring no food. And he didn’t bring no clothes. Mama worked plenty hard to provide us with those sorts of things. She worked for the food and the clothes and the roof over our heads; the Salvation Army man brought the rest.

No Such Thing as a Free Tomato

            A few weeks ago, as I relaxed in my bedroom with my favorite issue of the Economist, I felt a sudden craving in my stomach for a Wendy’s Baconator hamburger and a chocolate frosty. Putting my nightly economics-based leisure time aside, I got in the car to get some food. Upon my arrival at the drive-thru window, I noticed a sign that read, “Wendy’s would like to inform you that tomatoes will only be available upon specific request, at a price of 25 cents. Thank you.” Hm. It seemed at the time that tomatoes had become a luxury, only available to those consumers willing to pay the big bucks of twenty-five cents for tomatoes on their burger. After some research, however, I discovered that the price change I perceived at that Wendy’s was not a matter of demand, but rather an outside effect on supply.

            In March of 2011, cold temperatures in Florida and Mexico ravaged crops, tomatoes in particular. Freezing winter weather knocked out nearly 70% of Florida’s tomato crop. In Mexico’s largest tomato producing state, in which over 75% of their crop is exported to the United States, over 70% of that crop was gone after the winter months. Crop wipeout leads to shortages; shortages lead to increase in price. And, wouldn’t you know it, increase in the price of tomatoes leads to me having to pay a single quarter extra for the simple joy of having tomato slices on my Baconator sandwich.

Whatever happened to Monty Python and British comedy?

Thoughts on Modern Dance

Expression through dance, a product of thousands of years of influence, has challenged the societal norms and embedded customs of particular traditions and heritages throughout history. Each new era of artistic development draws from influences of the movements that came before. By the late twentieth century, dance had reached a platform on which its pioneers aspired to both embrace rich traditions and tear down restricting expressionistic boundaries. Though dance has been passed down through the creative control of generations of trailblazers, one essential truth has always remained in tact: expression is a product of the human mind and its relentless devotion to the physical manifestation of authenticity. Alvin Ailey once said, “Dance should be given back to the people, because that is where it came from.” This philosophy exemplifies the ability of dance to give voice to the voiceless, power to the powerless, and genuine expression to those brave enough to grasp it. 

The most powerful aspects of dance can be understood by observing the dawn of human existence. On the spectrum of dance’s evolution, it is necessary to understand that humanity originated as a blank slate. The only characteristics that defined people were the human mind and the human body. Movement became the only form of externalizing emotion and intellect. This act of movement triggered new methods of expression, emerging as the origin of human influence. Communication through movement, reflected by even the smallest insects’ mating rituals, evolved into other forms of expression, including visual art, song, and rhythm. The art of movement quickly branched into various traditions, some relying on rhythm and music, others relying on technique, and some forms remaining fixed on the idea that any form of movement is a form of expression. As various cultures spread away from the African and Indian origins of dance, newfound societies and traditions became the standards by which dance would held.

Alvin Ailey, an American choreographer and activist who popularized modern dance in America, perceived dance as a gift of the people. Dance has progressed through the ages in conjunction with the majority voices of particular time periods. In early European Royal courts, dance emerged as a symbol of wealth, royalty, and superiority. Dance became codified as Louis XIV introduced drama, dance, music, and costumes into his court. As dancers began to practice forms of movement on a professional level, artistic pioneers of European culture began to utilize these gifted dancers. Ruling classes mandated the training and professional agendas of dancers, using dance as a diplomatic tool. Peter the Great aided in establishing the Imperial School of Ballet in St. Petersburg as a way to westernize Russia and display their influence and power to the rest of Europe. As European nations continued to adopt national ballet companies in the 18th and 19th centuries, strict techniques and methods were formed and practiced. The documentary Children of Theatre Street depicts the intensity of ballet methods in Europe. Children’s bodies, limbs, and movements were judged by a strict code, and the ones selected entered into demanding training and rehearsals, learning the styles and techniques of Jean Noverre’s early visions of ballet. The children appear almost as robots, learning the repetitions and positions necessary to maintain the tradition of European ballet.

Romantic ballet emerged in the 19th century as an expression of man’s struggle with nature, humanity’s fascination with exotic worlds, and the desire of humans to express limitless emotion. Giselle, a renowned romantic ballet, premiered in 1841 and portrays a shift toward ballerinas taking center stage, increasingly mystical illusions of flight, and technological stage advances that increased the mystery and emotion of the romantic era.

Post-classical ballet emerged in the 20th century as a new form of dance expression, attacking ballet’s passive conformity to technique and tradition. This style is portrayed by the post-classical ballet “Rite of Spring,” a ballet that emerged in conjunction with Fauvism and Cubism as a rejection of blind conformity to technique and tradition. “Rite of Spring” ignores gender roles and talent level, reflecting abstract characters and jagged rhythms that represent new forms of movement and true expression by way of personalized and abstract dance.

Neoclassical ballet surfaced as a product of George Balanchine’s ability to strip away classical ballet’s outdated luggage, leaving only the dancers and their free expression through classic technique. His work, defined by the iconic neo-classical ballet “Apollo,” represents his efforts to express both the technicality and power of his dancers. He choreographed stark movements, hip thrusts, and fall and recovery techniques into dance, while popularizing ballet in America as an exciting expression of the people.

Modern dance emerged in the mid 20th century, described as a new revolution of identity, unity and defiance. Dance became a voice for the voiceless during the era of expression, becoming accessible to people worldwide. A pioneer of this movement, Alvin Ailey turned dance upside down, transforming its historical nature as an expression of the elite ruling classes into a new, free spirited form of art that stems from the spite and emotional drive of the minority. Ailey became famous for his choreography in “Revelations,” which blended techniques and formed new versions of movement on stage. Rather than specifically training his dancers, he challenged them to dance with personal style, creativity, and individualism. Modern dance became available to every person who wanted to participate in dance: whether that participation was through dance, choreography, or simply watching and appreciating movement and expression. Ailey brought a new voice to the table in Western dance culture, providing a foundation on which humanity can regard dance as a free form of expression rather than a constricted establishment of the elite classes.

When Alvin Ailey said, “Dance should be given back to the people, because that is where it came from,” he expressed a fundamental ideal that dance exists to drive the human mind, challenge complacencies, and express emotion. Spawning from the simple, raw act of movement, dance has evolved into a culturally influenced establishment that harnesses the power of the human mind. Classic traditions drive pioneers to build on dance establishments, while new innovations inspire groundbreaking rejections of restricting artistic norms. In essence, dance has always belonged to the people and has always been for the people. Ailey’s message encourages humanity to embrace this ancient tradition, illustrating a universal human devotion to the physical manifestation of authentic expression.

Cohen's Isle of the Wight.

The Isle of the Wight was a festival held in late August of 1970. The festival is argued by many to have been the largest musical festival of its time, bigger than Woodstock in terms of Attendance. 1970 was an important year for the festival, particularly in regards to the weather, the fact that the festival was held a year after Woodstock, and the notion that the festival would not be held again at that location for over 30 years after 1970.  The wind blew across the island for most days of the 1970 festival, carrying the sound across the audience and away from the listener’s ears. Transportation to the island was unorganized and semi-disastrous considering that 500,000 people were trying to get to an island on which only 100,000 people lived.  Due to political and logistical problems, the festial was proclaimed “free” due to its failure to turn a profit. Artists like Jimi Hendrix, Joni Mitchell, Lighthouse, Procol Harum, The Who, The Doors, Kris Kristofferson, and of course Leonard Cohen all played sets at some point during the 4 day festival.

            Leonard Cohen, backed by his band The Army, performed an incredibly well received set on the final night of the concert, following the performances of Jimi Hendrix and John Baez. Suzanne’s recording can be found on the film “Message of Love.” The rest of the set is found on his album “Live at the Isle of Wight 1970.”

Corny

Corn production in America experienced heavy regulations by the government between the time of the New Deal and the policy changes promoted by Agricultural Commissioner Earl Butz in 1973. The government protected and regulated supply of agriculture through the use of price floors that guaranteed “fair” prices for corn. Excess corn was stored in reserves as a way to deal with “overproduction.” In 1973, Agricultural Commissioner Earl Butz changed the American economy for food production drastically, implementing a system that essentially told farmers to produce as much as they could, allowing the “free market” to determine prices.

Before 1973, American agriculture was strongly centered on small and medium sized family farms. The government invested in subsidy programs that regulated how much and where farmers could grow their crops. Thus, farmers were taken care of by the government, encouraged by price floors to produce and sell, but only within the constraints that the government allowed them to produce at. Essentially, every farmer produced and sold the same product in the same way.

After 1973, the agricultural industry became cut throat. If a farmer could buy out his neighbor, he would because it would be economically beneficial. Butz saw overproduction as a positive factor for the economy. The increase in corn production after 1973 led to the decline and near extinction of the family farm. Corporations began to run farms, producing as much as possible and attempting to always sell at free market equilibrium price. By 1996, the Freedom to Farm act stated that all price floors would be removed permanently, allowing “farmers” to produce without government intervention. It didn’t work. Prices collapsed and the government had to step back into agriculture, bailing out thousands of farms across the country.

The agricultural economy in America has experienced many twists and turns in regards to government regulation and intervention. The concept of Price Control will always be topically relevant when discussing American farming due to the fact that farming can simply not operate efficiently in the free market system without price control by the government. After 1973, corn production in America rose so drastically, new ways of sweetening food adapted to the use of corn. Nearly everything in the supermarket today contains some trace of corn due to its massive overproduction within the last forty years. However, lack of government price control failed to protect the farmers and the price of corn. Price eventually dropped too low that corporate farming companies began to control farmers, the ones who were actually producing the crop. In the end, price control by the government protects the mutually beneficial transactions between farmers and consumers.