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Limbaugh Censored
Broadcasting excellence?
When the Republican leadership tells Rush Limbaugh to shut up, you gotta know that we have a popular Democrat President in the White House. Oh yeah.
Marianne Faithfull, Beware Of Darkness
Faithfull's rendition of George Harrison's classic song is worth listening to.
After recording his last album, Bruce Springsteen still had momentum so his longtime producer, the great Brendan O'Brien, encouraged him to keep right on going. The result, Working on a Dream, is a moving, often nostalgic record, every bit as strong, if not stronger than 2007's Magic.
On his website Springsteen says that he hopes "Working on a Dream has caught the energy of the band fresh off the road from some of the most exciting shows we've ever done." It does. The songs, for the most part, are straightforward, yet lush, rockers with just enough nuance and surprises to keep a seasoned group like the E-Street Band engaged.
The album opens with "Outlaw Pete," a gorgeous Western epic that serves notice from the beginning that this is going to be a different kind of Springsteen record. The song ends with the signature melodic E-street jam. The title track, "Working on a dream," is vintage Springsteen. If you don't get the album, you will hear this song anyway in a bar, on the radio, in a movie or on a TV show. The production works expressly for the purpose of framing Bruce's vocals in this song. The song, complete with a whistling solo and doo-wop-style background vocals, feels like it could be a b-side from "Born in the U.S.A." The album peaks with the scorching "Good Eye". The song's dirty harmonica darts in and out between Springsteen's distorted preacher blues vocals.
The last two songs, "The Last Carnival" and "The Wrestler" wind down the record with a couple of intense ballads. On "Carnival" Springsteen recreates his Nebraska sound briefly before turning the song over to a lush choir. Again both songs are packed with themes of mortality and endings.
In the pantheon of aging superstars, Bruce Springsteen still gets the highest resale value and this album is every bit the classic that Rolling Stone says it is. The tour starts in April, if the recession isn't hitting you too hard, you should get out to an arena near you and catch this tour.
Iceland's Economic Collapse Brings Down Government
In the wake of their economic meltdown and the dissolution of their government, Iceland likely has a new Prime Minister--Jóhanna Sigurdardóttir. If she assumes office, she will be the first openly gay prime minister in the world. That accomplishment was buried in the seventh paragraph of the article linked above on Iceland Review Online. They have more important things to worry about.
So what happened to Iceland's economy? This should sound familiar:
[A] small group of aggressive businessmen whose high-risk investing bloated the island’s economy to 10 times its GDP, buying up chunks of the British and Continental European high streets in the process. French Connection, Debenhams, Karen Millen, Oasis, Warehouse, Mappin & Webb, Hamleys and many more fell into Icelandic ownership. So did West Ham United football club. When Icelanders visited Copenhagen, they would strut into its smartest department store to buy expensive fashions from “their” shop. Like many British chains, it too was owned by the “Viking” Jon Asgeir Johannesson’s Baugur group: one in the eye for the mother country. Few stopped to consider, let alone fret over, whether their swift financial ascent would end in an equally steep plunge into oblivion.
Lila Downs, La Llorona
If you don't know about Lila Downs, you should.
Degrassi Jr. High And Next Generation
