Ive got a new "Think Again" column called "CNN Sells Itself Again (and Again)" here. You can guess what it’s about.
This week on Moyers (and we note with considerable regret that this feature has only two weeks to go…) How did Big Finance grow so powerful that its hijinks nearly brought down the global economy – and what hope is there for real reform with Washington politicians on Wall Street’s payroll? Bill Moyers talks with authors Simon Johnson and James Kwak, two of the nation’s most respected economic experts and authors of the new book 13 Bankers: The Wall Street Takeover and the Next Financial Meltdown. Also on the program, Bill Moyers talks with FCC commissioner Michael Copps about recent court decisions on net neutrality and media ownership rules.
Alter-reviews: Sal on Jeff Beck, Eric on new/old Dead:
As part of the British holy trinity of guitar players, a Jeff Beck, unlike Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page, has never really tried hard to stay in the limelight. Content with fixing up his car collection, the occasional guest appearance, and brief touring when he needs money for some new hemis, Jeff Beck has released only 10 albums of new material since his most successful release, "Blow By Blow," 35 years ago. So a new record is an event, especially when it’s as good as "Emotion & Commotion."
If you are a fan of Jeff Beck then his first record in seven years should not disappoint you. What had initially started as a classical record with an orchestra, has expanded to include a little of all that Jeff Beck has offered in the past, from blues to fusion to funk. What’s most important is his playing, which seems to get more sublime with each passing year. "Emotion & Commotion" is musical, I will say that. It may not be what you want out of Jeff Beck, if you’re still waiting for another "Beck-Ola," but it is never boring. The only Beck originals on the record, "Hammerhead" and "Serene, most resemble the material on the mid-seventies records "Blow By Blow" and "Wired." And songs you may think you don’t need to hear again, like "I Put A Spell On You" and "Over The Rainbow," are so perfectly executed by Beck, they actually sound fresh. Guest vocalists Joss Stone and Imelda May are used sparingly and with great affect, as is the orchestra, particularly on the emotional one-two punch of "Lilac Wine" and "Nessun Dorma."
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I’m writing this as I’m watching the DVD of the Dead’s July 7, 1989 performance at JFK stadium, now like two members of the then band, now deceased. It’s called "Crimson, White & Indigo" and it’s a generous package, three CDs and an 176 minute dvd of the boys in tank tops and shorts, sweating it out in a zillion degrees. It’s true that the band was in a renaissance period in ’89 that lasted for a few years until Jerry’s heroin addiction became unmanageable, though the liner notes oversell this. (The notes also spend a lot of time on other shows from this tour featuring songs that do not appear in this package, which is kind of annoying. (My favorite period is definitely the mid late seventies, which, I know, happens to coincide with my adolescence, but listen to the recent release of "To Terrapin" from Harford, 1977 if you think I am blowing proverbial pot smoke out of my posterior. In any case, this set is fine. I really love the "Lovelight/Knocking on Heaven’s Door" combination that ends the show. But again, what can one say? Depends on what you have and what you need. They were a great band. All that bands that are almost as good as they were are missing that greatness thing that cannot be defined nor reproduced. They’re in pretty fine form here despite the weather and Jerry, Bob and Mickey all have pony tails. You can see the set list here.
The Mail:
Name: George Farago
Hometown: Wayne, NJ
Your "Think Again" column, "Global Warming: You Don’t Need a Weatherman" hits the nail right on the head. Recently even The Weather Channel presented Larry King-style "debates" between TV weathermen (not their own, oddly enough) with their weatherperson as moderator. So now even TWC has to be neutral on this "controversy" it seems. A couple of years ago TWC on-air personalities referred to warming in an "of course" manner. I wonder what has changed? Now The Discovery Channel shows things like the crop circle "controversy"…The Learning Channel features bride shows…& now, sadly, even The Weather Channel has to balance science with pseudoscience. The dumbing-down of America is accelerating.
Name: Tahira Ahma
Hometown: Detroit
The govenor of Virginia has made the mistake of being part of the lynch party mentality of the republican party.
Unfortunately we haven’t seen nothing yet. What I like about your call for an economic and cultural boycott of Virginia is that it uses social "condemenation" to show Virginians the consequences of this disasterous act.
I disagree that the president should not appear in the state, though. He has to be the president of all the people, even the people of Virginia who do not like him or black people. The president has to still be above the republican agenda and for the sake of the people who do not agree with their govenor.
