Tuesday, July 23, 2013

As Bo Diddley said, “You Can’t Judge a Book…....”

Why not try actually reading the new Rolling Stone cover story on Dzhokhar Tsarnaev instead of just looking at the cover (YES I know initially that is all Rolling Stone released).  The article is another excellent example of Rolling Stone journalism and anyone interested in the perplexing case will fine if quite interesting. 

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Preserving National Treasures

Recently I have seen a few what we will call “aging artists and performers”, i.e. folks I have been listening to for over 40 years, but the most moving was Mavis Staples this past Thursday in North Truro at the Payomet Arts Center with the Rick Holmstrom Band.   Ms. Staples had just the day before turned 73 years old.  She has had her current band, the great Rick Holmstrom band and her backup singers for over 5 years and there is a very warm family feel within the group and they watch over Mavis with great love and care.  Mavis is currently having some knee problems that made her a bit unsteady on her feet.  Mr. Holmstrom is closest to Mavis on stage and helped her several times to sit on the stool that was onstage, on one memorable moment kept playing his guitar while steadying her with his arm.
For some reason these days I often think of the passing of B.B. King.  I feel very strongly that with his passing an entire swath of American music and experience will go with him, the very same thing is true of Ms. Staples.   Folks like Mavis and B.B. represent a deep and direct connection with the African American culture that fostered so much of the music we love.  Folks like Ms. Staples embody a vast treasure trove of American music and experience that cannot be duplicated.  There are lots of talented young people who will and do carry on the traditions of blues, gospel and soul music, but it cannot be the same.  When we lose folks such as Mavis Staples or B.B. King (you can fill in other names as well) a direct bond is broken with the past that cannot be undone.

This all struck me the other night as I watched Mavis’s band watch over her so lovingly and I thought these folks are doing us a great service.  They are the caretakers of one of our National Treasures, Mavis Staples and they are doing such a wonderful job.          

Pixar – 3 strikes and you’re out?

Having just seen “Monsters University” I am sad to say we might have seen the demise of Pixar Studios as we know and love it.  That string of brilliant movies starting with Toy Story in 1995 and ending 10 years later with Toy Story 3 seems to have faded.  Their last 3 films, Cars 2 (the worst!), Brave and now Monsters University have seen the creeping and deadly clutches of Disney take hold.  Gone is the laser beam focusing on story and character and you are left with entertaining but very conventional children’s movies.    It is hard to imagine these folks ever again coming up with a film of the genius of Wall-E, of the gentle grace of Finding Nemo.   Is John Lasseter capable of conjuring up a stunning scene like the incinerator scene in Toy Story 3?  Can Brad Bird ever come up with anything as moving as Peter O’Toole’s soliloquy at the end of Ratatouille?  

I hope so, if not it is the sad demise of what will be seen historically as one of the most successful movie studios in history.