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(King Crimson - Went from "The Cheerful Insanity Of Giles, Giles and Fripp" to this - and never looked back)
A special installment of the Roundtable tonight. A live performance during what is considered the heyday of one of the milestone Progressive rock bands, King Crimson. This 1970 concert, recorded by the BBC has as close to the original lineup as possible.
I've often wondered what would have happened, had King Crimson never existed in the first place. So many bands from 1969 on owe so much to the pioneering work of Robert Fripp and company. I'm sure someone would have come along, and maybe the direction would have been totally different. Or maybe it would have stayed frozen in time.
No. The nice part about music is that it constantly changes - it never quite stays the same. That's what's great about it.
And that's what was so great about King Crimson - they were constantly evolving.
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(A taste of Tull tonight - live)
A change of pace tonight and for the coming week. Nights At The Roundtable will be devoted to live concerts (in addition to our regular Backstage Weekend series) in celebration of our Fundraiser (hint-hint).
Tonight it's Jethro Tull, Live at the Hammersmith Odeon in 1984.
So check it out, play it loud and empty the change purse:
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(Heading into Sunday Night on a mellow note)
I just realized I've been giving Jazz a short shrift this past week at The Roundtable. Being Sunday night, I can't think of a better excuse than to dive into this Blue Note side, My Old Flame cut on January 31, 1945 featuring the Benny Morton All Stars with Ben Webster, Barney Bigard and an amazing pianist who has been criminally neglected, Sammy Benskin.
A little session info:
Benny Morton's All Stars
Benny Morton (tb) Barney Bigard (cl) Ben Webster (ts) Sammy Benskin (p) Israel Crosby (b) Eddie Dougherty (d)
WOR Studios, NYC, January 31, 1945
BN219-0 My Old Flame Blue Note 47
All in all, a good way to end another insane week.
On This Week with George Stephanopoulos, a discussion of the political machinations around the public option:
On the Roundtable, Bloomberg’s Al Hunt says that a health reform package can’t pass without the support of Sen. Olympia Snowe. She provides cover for moderates like Sens. Ben Nelson and Mary Landrieu and may pull over a couple of Republican votes.
HUNT: "Olympia Snowe, I think, thinks privately that in the end the trigger will be the compromise everyone has to rally around and give a little bit of face-saving to liberals and she and a few other republicans can go for it."
They really don't get it, do they? They're so out of touch with reality that they don't understand the kind of serious harm they're doing to the Democratic brand with this bait-and-switch routine on the public option.
A trigger? A frackin' trigger? How much longer do we have to wait to get relief from the predatory practices of the insurance industry? And how much more obvious does it have to be that the priority in the Senate is incumbency protection?
Hooboy. Did you hear about the neocon stenographers...er, national paper of record that printed an op-ed that might have as well been written by Dick Cheney himself? In a jingoistic and highly questionably-sourced article, WaPo's Fred Hiatt basically insisted that torturing Khalid Sheikh Mohammad worked, damnit! And of course, the big Dick himself, Darth Cheney will be on Fox News to reinforce what a smart and wonderful thing torture is. And Princess Darth, Liz Cheney, will be on This Week's roundtable to reinforce it. Meanwhile, the legacy of Ted Kennedy will be still on everyone's mind too. Meet the Press, This Week and State of the Union will immerse themselves in the life and life's work of Kennedy. Any bets on how fast some GOPer (Orrin Hatch, I'm looking at you) will bemoan EMK's death as the end of the hope of bipartisanship on health care reform?
ABC's "This Week" - Sens. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and John Kerry, D-Mass.
CBS' "Face the Nation" - Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Hatch; Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass.; Michael Eric Dyson, sociology professor at Georgetown University.
NBC's "Meet the Press" - Kerry; Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn.; Kathleen Kennedy Townsend and Maria Shriver, nieces of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy; Doris Kearns Goodwin, presidential historian; former Kennedy adviser Bob Shrum.
NBC's "The Chris Matthews Show" - Panel: Howard Fineman, Michele Norris, Andrea Mitchell, Bill Plante. Topics: Has television forever altered American politics and changed history? Chris Matthews's special personal reflections on Senator Edward Kennedy. Meter Questions: Will outspoken fringe players dominate GOP for the rest of Obama's term? YES: 9 NO: 3; If unemployment is still high next year, will Obama revise his tax proposals? YES: 11 No: 1.
CNN's "State of the Union" - Hatch; Dodd; Red Sox president Larry Lucchino; Boston Mayor Thomas Menino; former Massachusetts Lt. Gov. Thomas P. O'Neill III; environmental advocate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., nephew of Sen. Kennedy; Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, once a Kennedy aide; Sens. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., Mary Landrieu, D-La.
CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS" - An encore presentation of Fareed's Emmy nominated interview with China's Premier Wen Jiabao.
"Fox News Sunday" - Former Vice President Dick Cheney.
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(Brenda Payton - promo shot for Dry Your Eyes - sez it all)
Back to deep-soul (or Northern Soul if you're in the UK). Brenda & The Tabulations from 1967. Dry Your Eyes did rather well on the charts in 1967, going up to #20 on the pop charts and #8 on the Soul charts.
I don't usually make a habit out of putting charted records on the Roundtable, but this one is so good and it's been such a favorite of mine for years that it seems timeless and totally cool for a Saturday night - especially if you're going solo.
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(In honor of Hump Day, an increase in voltage)
I swear, next week the Roundtable will be attacked by mellow - but in the meantime, here's a little something to go along with your triple shot of espresso.
You know, I've been doing this Sunday morning shift for a few years now and I'm feeling a lot of sympathy for Bill Murray's character in Groundhog Day. Every morning I wake up, and it's the same ol' participants and the same ol' conversations and the same ol' media bias. Look at this line up: Sen. John "I didn't get elected POTUS, but I'll get the Sunday shows!" McCain on State of the Union; former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan on This Week (not to mention the ever-unbalanced and factually-challenged Michelle Malkin as part of the roundtable); National Economic Council's Larry Summers on both Face the Nation and Meet the Press and Senators Jim DeMint and Mike Pence on Fox News Sunday. Most egregiously, Tweety poses the question whether overt and extremist racism might actually help the Republicans. I can hardly stand it. Balance? A liberal perspective? Some journalistic integrity? Ha!
Doesn't it sound eerily familiar to pretty much every Sunday?
ABC's "This Week" - Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner; former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan.
CBS' "Face the Nation" - Lawrence Summers, director of the National Economic Council.
NBC's "Meet the Press" - Summers; former Reps. Harold Ford Jr., D-Tenn., and J.C. Watts, R-Okla.
NBC's "The Chris Matthews Show" - Panel: Eugene Robinson, Norah O'Donnell, Jennifer Loven, Howard Fineman. Topics: Why is President Obama losing public support for health care reform? Could racist talk from extremists help mainstream Republicans in elections? At the end of 2009, will Obama be viewed as a change agent? YES: 8 NO: 4; Will a handful of Senate Republicans vote for the final health care bill? YES: 11 No: 1.
CNN's "State of the Union" - Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz; Christina Romer, head of the Council of Economic Advisers.
CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS" - Will a new president help to stop the deadly downward spiral in Afghanistan? Fareed interviews the two candidates with the best shot at unseating President Karzai in this month's Afghan elections. Plus, is the U.S. government interfering in Iran? Spying? Supporting the opposition? Sending in radio and tv messages? All of the above?
"Fox News Sunday" - Rep. Charlie Rangel, D-N.Y.; Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C.; Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind.
Luckily, I got you babes to let us know what you see this Sunday morning. Leave your tips in the comments.
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(The Colourfield - one of Terry Hall's many incarnations)
A trip to the 80's this time. From their Castles In The Air ep released by The Colourfield in 1985 (Terry Hall - Specials, Fun Boy 3 etc. etc) a track I can't seem to find reissued anywhere. "Your Love Was Smashing" wasn't on the first album, or the second, or issued on compilations. Maybe it's shown up somewhere but I haven't found it. Which is too bad because it's a good track from a band that didn't get the recognition it deserved in the 80's. I've always liked Terry Hall's work. It's always had a good bite to it, lyrically and musically. Case in point - this was the first track I was thinking of putting up when I decided to do Nights At The Roundtable, and I hadn't played this song in at least 10 years.
Tells you about the lasting impression some things make.
Okay, I admit for being a sucker for Fourth of July shows. Stirring songs and fireworks wend their way into my cynical soul and I shake free those constraints to really, really love celebrating our independence. I grew up with a family tradition of a picnic under the stars and the fireworks show at the Hollywood Bowl. At least, that's what I used to do. Last night, I had to content myself with the Boston Pops on TV while comforting my frightened puppy; my husband got to take the kids to a bluff not far from our home where they could watch three different fireworks shows along the bay.
This morning, it's me cowering, wishing I could hide under the sofa at the prospect of the Sunday shows. It's safe to say that Sarah Palin's inexplicable "I'm saving Alaska by quitting early" move will be at the forefront of the conversation, especially on FoxNews Sunday, having bagged successor Lt. Gov. Parnell. VP Joe Biden will be on This Week, but he'll be followed by the intolerable roundtable featuring Tony Blankley and George Will, opining on Iraq, Palin and Franken. The only saving grace? We are spared David Gregory and Meet the Press, which is pre-empted for Wimbledon coverage.
ABC's "This Week" - Vice President Joe Biden.
CBS' "Face the Nation" - Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
NBC's "Meet the Press" - Pre-empted by coverage of Wimbledon tennis.
NBC's "The Chris Matthews Show" - Panel: Gloria Borger, Bob Woodward, Joe Klein, Tina Brown. (repeat)
CNN's "State of the Union" - Former Secretary of State Colin Powell; Mullen; Queen Noor of Jordan.
CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS" - Fareed speaks to British Foreign Secretary David Miliband about why Iran is so angry at Great Britain. Plus, a discussion on aid in Africa -- are celebrities throwing money at the problems or making an actual difference?
"Fox News Sunday" - Mullen; Reps. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., and John Boehner, R-Ohio; Alaska Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell; former Gov. Mike Huckabee, R-Ark.; and former George W. Bush adviser Karl Rove.
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(h/t David)
This Week with George Stephanopoulos breaks with the traditional In Memoriam format to note the passings and legacies of Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson at the This Week roundtable. In addition, the Pentagon released the names of 10 servicemembers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Army SSG Paul G Smith, 43, of East Peoria, IL
Army SSG Joshua A Melton, 26, of Carlyle, IL
Army SPC Chancellor A Keesling, 25, of Indianapolis, IN
Navy MCPO Jeffrey J Garber, 43, of Hemingford, NE
Army 1SG John D Blair, 38, of Calhoun, GA
Army SGT Ricky D Jones, 26, of Plantersville, AK
Army SGT Rodrigo A Munguia Rivas, 27, of Germantown, MD
Army SPC Casey L Hills, 23, of Salem, IL
Army 1LT Brian N Bradshaw, 24, of Steilacoom, WA
Army SPC Joshua L Hazlewood, 22, of Manvel, TX
According to iCasualties, the total number of allied forces killed in Iraq is now 4,634, in Afghanistan, 1,198. During this same period, Iraq Body Count has listed 174 Iraqi civilians killed in Iraq.
