Jam Today: Tuesday, September 5th, 2017
Death: “Deacon Blues,” ″Rikki Don’t Lose That Number,” ″Peg,” ″Reelin’ in the Years,” ″Hey Nineteen” ″Do it Again,” ″Black Friday”…. and that was just the hit singles. Every single Steely Dan album, with the exception of Everything Must Go, is a must own. I played my copy of Citizen Dan, where they compiled every pre- 97 recording into one big box set, down to the groove. Steely Dan were the great rock jazz fusion band. Half of them, Walter Becker, the guitarist and co-writer, died on Sunday at the age of 67.
Local Politics: The New York Times endorsed Mayor Bill De Blasio for a second tem without a shred of embarrassment over the most hated Mayor since Giuliani. It is Bill’s fault that you can’t walk through the streets of Manhattan without tripping over twenty-seven year old men begging and couples living under cardboard boxes in the middle of the street. He lies about school exams, he reeks of pay to play, he overpays the unions, he embarrasses New York City on the world stage, feuds with the Governor, has done nothing at all to help solve the huge problems in nyc infrastructure, and if there was anybody else I could stomach I’d vote for them. So OK, NYT, endorse him but with your nose held from the stink.
New Music: An indictment of Taylor Swift’s return is that the terrific “Look What You Made Me Do” (Grade: A-) is falling apart while breaking records and I sincerely doubt it will stand up too well saleswise. Look at it this way: On Spotify, “Look What You Made Me Do” is at 64M streams and “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever” is at 544M streams. Her second single “…Ready For It” opens with industrial beats, it sounds like Kanye West circa Yeezus, before morphing into a half rap, and finally smacking us sideways with a perfect Swift chorus; it harks back to 1989 but not all the way (Grade: B+)
Old Music: I’ve been listening to McCartney’s (and Carl Davis’) Liverpool Oratorio for a month now and am about ready to review it. The problem is that it is two in one, the oratorio, aka opera without acting, and the songs which are songs… Soon I’ll be back with Prince’s final album.
Sports: After getting swept by Cleveland, the Yanks have taken three out of four from the Sawx and beat Baltimore yesterday afternoon. If they can go on a run, they could take the division even while the clock is ticking.
POTUS: That’s the problem here, if Obama said we had to have a nuclear war we’d say bummer but there you go, if Trump says it you want a second opinion and then another and then another…He just isn’t trusted and I believe there is a serious question whether the armed forces will allow him a preemptive strike. A retaliatory strike, sure.
Concerts: Clapton on Friday, Depeche Mode on Saturday, next week: Roger Waters, Arcade Fire, Paul McCartney, Gorillaz.
