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- Happy Birthday, Leadbelly
- “I’m not offended by all the dumb blonde jokes because I know I’m not dumb… and I also know that I’m not blonde.” — Dolly Parton
- “I don’t think my books should be in prison libraries.” — Patricia Highsmith, 1966
- “I pretended to be somebody I wanted to be until finally I became that person. Or he became me.” — Archie Leach
- “I never told a joke in my life.” — Andy Kaufman
- “In France, I’m an auteur; in Germany, a filmmaker; in Britain; a genre film director; and, in the USA, a bum.” — John Carpenter
- Shadow and pools of light
- “Precision and accuracy are necessary for both white and black writers. ‘A black aesthetic’ should not be an excuse for sloppy writing.” — poet and publisher Dudley Randall
- “When I was discovered, everything happened like dominos. I don’t know how to talk about it now because it’s too mindblowing. It’s so unreal, and yet it’s real.” — Faye Dunaway
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- sheila on Happy Birthday, Leadbelly
- sheila on “I’m not offended by all the dumb blonde jokes because I know I’m not dumb… and I also know that I’m not blonde.” — Dolly Parton
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- sheila on “I never told a joke in my life.” — Andy Kaufman
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- sheila on “It wasn’t there, and then it was there.” David Lynch on Elvis
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- Maddy on “I’m not offended by all the dumb blonde jokes because I know I’m not dumb… and I also know that I’m not blonde.” — Dolly Parton
- Molly Larson Cook on R.I.P. Sam Schacht
- Melissa Sutherland on “I never told a joke in my life.” — Andy Kaufman
- Leena Myller on “It wasn’t there, and then it was there.” David Lynch on Elvis
- Leena Myller on “It wasn’t there, and then it was there.” David Lynch on Elvis
- sheila on “When I was discovered, everything happened like dominos. I don’t know how to talk about it now because it’s too mindblowing. It’s so unreal, and yet it’s real.” — Faye Dunaway
- Maddy on “When I was discovered, everything happened like dominos. I don’t know how to talk about it now because it’s too mindblowing. It’s so unreal, and yet it’s real.” — Faye Dunaway
- sheila on “When I was discovered, everything happened like dominos. I don’t know how to talk about it now because it’s too mindblowing. It’s so unreal, and yet it’s real.” — Faye Dunaway
- Maddy on “When I was discovered, everything happened like dominos. I don’t know how to talk about it now because it’s too mindblowing. It’s so unreal, and yet it’s real.” — Faye Dunaway
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Category Archives: Music
Happy Birthday, Leadbelly
From Tennessee Williams’ play Orpheus Descending: LADY: What’s all that writing on it? VAL: Autographs of musicians I run into here and there. LADY: Can I see it? VAL: Turn on that light above you. [She switches on green-shaded bulb … Continue reading
“I’m not offended by all the dumb blonde jokes because I know I’m not dumb… and I also know that I’m not blonde.” — Dolly Parton
An American original. Born on this day. A living legend. A national treasure. I have too many favorite Dolly Parton songs to list, and I love her stuff with Porter Wagoner. Speaking of which, have you seen the episode of … Continue reading
“I can pick a good song, but I sure couldn’t pick a good man.” — Ruth Brown
It’s the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer’s birthday today! Ruth Brown was born in 1928, one of seven children. Her father was a choir director, and she grew up surrounded by gospel, but she was drawn to chanteuses like … Continue reading
Posted in Music, On This Day
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“I feel I’m writing for everyone, but they haven’t discovered it yet. They will – I’ll just be six feet under.” — Scott Walker
It’s his birthday today. I must hand the microphone to my brother Brendan, a Scott Walker scholar if ever there was one. For about a year, I was periodically posting my brother’s music writing, airlifted over from his old defunct … Continue reading
Elvis forever and happy birthday
Elvis pieces (just a few): Most recently, I wrote about Marion Keisker’s crucial role in “discovering” Elvis. I wrote on his acting career for Film Comment For Criterion: Elvis’s Adventures in Hollywood And here’s the text of the talk I … Continue reading
“I was looking for what was coming from a man’s soul and a man’s conviction.” — Sam Phillips
The myth. The legend. There’s a lot of bull shit with the legend, and saying that does not mean throwing out the whole thing. But Sam did have a way of placing him at the center of every story in … Continue reading
Posted in Music, On This Day
Tagged B.B. King, Baz Luhrmann, Billy Lee Riley, Charlie Rich, Elvis Presley, Howlin' Wolf, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Rufus Thomas, Sam Phillips
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“I was just glad to get the Grammy. I didn’t know what the thing was. It’s the honor what I loved.” — Elizabeth Cotten
Elizabeth Cotten, folk/blues music pioneer, was born on this day in 1895. She taught herself to play the guitar and banjo as a child. She was left-handed but she played a guitar for a right-hander, meaning she played everything upside … Continue reading
Posted in Music, On This Day
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“I went from being obsessed with L.A. punk rock to being a part of it.” — Milo Aukerman
It’s the birthday of Descendents’ front man Milo Aukerman. The Descendents – and the album Milo Goes to College – were huge for my brother Brendan back in the day, which he wrote about in an essay I posted here. … Continue reading
Posted in Music, On This Day
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“I won’t apologize for trying to write for smart people.” — Paul Westerberg
It’s Paul Westerberg’s birthday today. My brother Brendan is the Westerberg Fan, and I will always associate The Replacements with my brother, whose fandom began in high school and continued unabated until this day. I posted all of my brothers’ … Continue reading
Posted in Music, On This Day
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“Everything I know I taught myself.” — Bo Diddley
Bo Diddley was born in 1928, the son of sharecroppers. In 1979, he opened for the freakin’ Clash on their American tour. A lot of shit happened in between and it’s the story of the 20th century! Diddley had a … Continue reading