THURSDAY--Another Edition of:

And the weekly tip of the hat to Jimmy Cannon---

NOBODY ASKED ME BUT.....

1) Why do people tell you to stop being defensive when that is what are and transfer it to you?

2) Is not Julie and Julia a really nice film but not a great one?

3) Does that not sound like an old Woody Allen routine about Gertrude Stein?

4) Why are people so excited about Baseball when Soccer, Tennis, Basketball, and other sports (Not U S Football—that has lots of “tush” patting) have more action?

5) Don’t you think that the Hudson River should have flight restrictions?

6) Mad Men starts again this Sunday on TV and it is a delight to welcome back an intelligent but expensive production compared to the cheap quiz and reality shows.

7) Sadly MONK is in its last season.

8) It surely is sad to have lost so many “folk” icons in such a short period of time since we thought they might go on forever.

9) Why are so many people upset because there is a proposal to improve Health Care in this nation since they really are not that well off?

10) When did movie tickets become the price of Broadway tickets and Broadway Tickets become the price of airline tickets and Airline tickets become Space Travel equivalents without any amenities.

11) It seems inane to pay big city police less than their suburban counterparts who face less risk and less work. Their pensions (the suburban ones) are also obscene.

12) I am glad that Hillary Clinton can show some emotion in a confrontation and not fall back on diplomatic clichés.

13) The subway system does lose some historic significance by having letter and number lines rather than the “traditional” names of the various divisions.

14) TV has improved technically and deteriorated with regard to content.

15) When people say “...they don’t build ‘em like they used to” it usually turns out the product is better and the memory is faulty.

MIKE SEEGER REMEMBERED ON TRADITIONS

MIKE SEEGER

1933---2009

Sadly, Mike Seeger passed away on Friday at the age of 76. A man with a wonderful and diversified musical history.

I will be offering a brief musical and oral (aural for semantic purists) remembrance in the 4 PM hour on TRADITIONS on Sunday August 8. You may also hear the program on the web at http://www.wfdu.fm/ and it will be archived for a period of 2 weeks at that same site.

This promises to be a very full program but it surely would not be complete without a remembrance of this historical figure in musical history.

If you will check on the right side of the screen there are some videos of Mike Seeger courtesy of You Tube.

THURSDAY--Another Edition of:

(tip of the hat as always to Jimmy Cannon)



NOBODY ASKED ME BUT.......



1) the release of the N. Korean detainees was pre-arranged and Bill Clinton was the messenger. It was a good thing===Bolton and Fox not withstanding



2) the lady who drove the vehicle that crashed on the Taconic Pkway. (NY) was deemed drunk and high and I would like to see more evidence since it is so hard to believe. But, sadly, it is probably true---a fact I, an many, try to deny.



3) I hope David Buskin packs lightly for his trip to Avalon Festival in PawPaw, Va. for good reason.



4) I still feel that Branaugh is the defining interpreter of Shakespeare in this generation



5) It was nice to see Sotamayor confirmed and have to wonder why a, supposedly, judicial and neutral body is now defined by the gender and ehtnicity of its members.



6) Why was Thomas approved when it seemed merely a racial balancing act and he does not hold a candle to another "Black" member---Marshall.



7) I am surely looking forward to seeing Julia and Julie---Meryl Streep is an amazing actor---yes, actor---leave gender out of it.



8) Why does the NYC police department act in a professinal manner (generally) and suburban-- overpaid police departments act as if they own their town.? Perhaps they do. Their pensions of over 250,ooo for some reflect it. To the taxpayer's detriment and burden



9) Does anyone recall when you paid .25 on the East River crossings in NYC and .50 (and they sold coupon books) on the PA crossings?



10) Who remembers the Grand Concourse in the Bronx in its prime and the premier theatre that was there?



See you next Thursday for another edition:

SOME PROGRAM NOTES AND SUGGESTIONS

The first comment I have to make is that we did lose a treasure of the "Folk Community" in Sandy Paton and I compliment my co-host, Ron Olesko, on a wonderful tribute to this person who helped keep traditional music alive and vibrant at great sacrifice to himself and his family. The nice thing is that he succeeded.

The second comment is to wish peace and tranquility to Mike Seeger in his final days and his decision to stop his treatments for cancer and await what portends to be the end of a truly fruitful and wonderful life.

Moving on to the header now---Program Notes and Suggestions. It occurred to me that so many times there is a wonderful song out there and it becomes a big hit because someone with name recognition recorded it---and did it well---but many a time it was recorded earlier by someone that does not have that name recognition and to my subjective way of thinking is, actually, a better version. The writer is happy with the hit and does not forget who introduced it so well. I know for a fact that Julie Gold feels that.




Bette Midler made this a huge hit and to me the Nanci Griffith version is still the unequaled interpretation (don't you hate "cover"?) of this song.

Many of you have heard me play Kate Long on TRADITIONS and with special interest to her song "McNamara's Tear". I know that Nanci Griffith had a copy of it from an inside source. Unfortunately this great piece is not on her newest CD. If you feel the spirit please do contact Nanci Griffith at her website and request that she record this piece. The same way Christine Lavin gave Julie Gold's beautiful composition to Nanci Griffith and it was picked up by Bette Midler I am hoping that some groundswell for this meaningful song will also move things along. I also know that Julie Gold backs me on this----AND if you ever want to hear once again the interview I did with Julie Gold (some 12 years ago now--go figure) which included some 15 or so versions of From A Distance (not to fear it is not that long---we excerpted the various languages) just let me know and it shall be scheduled on TRADITIONS.

That, by the way was the suggestion in the header---contacting Nanci Griffith.

This coming Sunday on TRADITIONS I shall be doing a few songs that were huge hits by some name people but were introduced to the world by people I thought had a better version. You know the old cliche---you get what you pay for. Does not always work that way. Think of the other cliche---less is more.

The upcoming Sunday on TRADITIONS will also feature some really great new recordings---yes, you heard a few today with Ron Olesko this past Sunday and you will hear more of those--including the brilliant Jonathon Edwards-- but there is a bevy of wonderful material that has come in over the always open transom---including one group that I featured on SUNDAY SIMCHA and are a truly universal folk ensemble---Beyond The Pale.

Another item for TRADITIONS this Sunday is something I wrote about above that put me in mind to play some songs and then the parodies of them. You know when a song becomes very popular there is sure to be a great parody. See if yuo can figure out what they will be---only 3 or 4 which translates to 6 or 8 if you count the parody after the original. If you have any you can think of future reference please do e mail me or leave a comment here.

Not to leave SUNDAY SIMCHA out of this missive let me say that next Sunday we have a rare comedy appearance by the pre-cursor (I suppose) of Andy Kaufman---or, at least, in the same vein along with some wonderful new material from the Canadian group---Beyond The Pale.

THE ALMOST DAILY ROOSTER has not had a new entry in a long time since it seemed more germane to put things on this site. I am hoping to add a few things in the next week of a non-folk, non-music, and more topical and personal nature there.

Please do check out the videos on all three pages since there are some new ones that, I believe, will be of interest and, certainly, worthy of your attention. Or---watch the damned things and either laugh or cry.

Nest week the Nobody Asked Me But... column will be posted---your input is always welcome.

WEEKLY EDITION OF :

As always a tip of the hat to Jimmy Cannon

NOBODY ASKED ME BUT........

1) I was saddened to hear about Mike Seeger's entering a Hospice and stopping his cancer treatments portending the final scene of the last act.

2) Saddened to hear about the passing of Sandy Paton who was a mainstay of "traditional" music after suffering some personal tragedies in recent times.

3) The 50th anniversary of the start of the Newport Folk Festival is this weekend and I guess that means you can go home again---but the home is re-decorated.

4) I love the quote from Mike Murphy (Republican strategist)--"...if Sarah Palin looked like Golda Meir would we still be talking about her?"

5) Why did the Republicans just figure out that she is like some chemical elements----unstable

6) How come people who claim devotion to a higher spirit settle for making material deals for profits from politics and human organs

7) Perhaps the now late Reverend Ike was right---he also worshipped the mighty dollar and made no secret of it.

8) Wouldn't it be nice if we went back to Television with great content and less technical improvements. Or, perhaps, we could have both--

9) A President should focus on issues of import to the nation and not on something instigated by a reporter in search of a story; and also defer that question for a later time---diplomatically.

10) I don't give a damn what beer the parties to this ludicrous affair drink since it seems to demean the office to think a "brew" will calm the seas of controversy. Something I would have felt GW Bush was more apt to think would work---but he doesn't drink anymore---so I hear.

11) Don't you think that obscenity can also be defined as banks and financial firms that give huge bonuses after they received bail-out funds and then proceeded to foreclose on homeowners and not modifying their terms?

12) What a delight to see that a cartoon series has been nominated for a best in Comedy and not as a cartoon---Family Guy.

(OK--it should be on later than it is--but it is, after all, FOX---nuff said.)

13) You really have to listen to the new Eric Bogle CD in its entirety.

14) You really have to listen to TRADITIONS and SUNDAY SIMCHA to know about these things. That is, if you actually care.

15) It is nice to just sit in Piermont and get involved in conversation with people and find you cannot truly judge a book by its cover---for further cliches there will be a nominal charge.

More next week.

A NEW REGULAR ITEM--Nobody Asked Me But....

Your choice about this---let me know if you want it on this page or on The Almost Daily Rooster I hope to make this a weekly or bi-weekly feature. It would be nice to have it on the page with the most traffic. Your choice.

That is a picture of Jimmy Cannon who was one of the great sports writers of any time. Besides sports he created a wonderful column which many have emulated and I now become a member of the vast group. The column dealt with much more than sports---and it was so simple. Without going into his journalistic history; suffice it to say he worked at the end for the NY Post---yes, the NY Post. Not the one that the fish look forward to being wrapped in today but in a day when it was a "newspaper".

The column was called (and it came out sporadically) "Nobody Asked Me But....."

I have started doing it on Facebook and it seemed to elicit interest and so I am hoping that you will take to it as well and leave some comments---pro or con. What follows is the latest entry on the Facebook site of that column (with, always, due respect to Jimmy Cannon). The point of it is varied topics--as you will see---that will, hopefully, interest people of varied interests and opinions.

NOBODY ASKED ME BUT......

1) People say that Folk Music attracts only older people but how many of us oldsters (elders sounds so pontifical) go to Rock Concerts?

2)Bet a certain generation can answer questions on Jeopardy about earlier Pop or Folk categories and cannot answer the queries during the College Bowl weeks about those musical items.

3) Do you think there is a musical group called the Underarms---I hope they have a strong deodorant

4)Pres. Obama got sucked into an incident that he should have avoided and answered in much better terms---the Police / Gates brouhaha

5)If I saw a break in I would call the police.

6)Do you think it possible that someone could commit murder and steal and ID from the victim?

7)Even though I don't go to ball games I still curse the traffic near the parks which I will still call SHEA and Yankee Stadiums---and The Triboro Bridge is still not the RFK Bridge to me.

8)I am delighted that so many venues on Long Island honor Harry Chapin

9)I think Medicare is great (the original plan) but why is it that the government will spend untold sums adding years to old lives and leaving younger people in a financial bind? (Not, of course, the congress ---their coverage is great)

10)The NY Times article on Medical Rationing was right on the mark---we just need better terminology.

So--make comments and let me know if you want it on this page or The Almost Daily Rooster. Disclaimer---I make no profit, as usual, from either site.