Atlas Shrugs

An empty open thread

This house is empty now Burt Bacharach & Elvis Costello, one of my favorite collaborations. I love this record ........eveyr cut off the album.

"Does the extinguished candle care about the darkness"?

Late Night Sunday Music Thread .... terribly irresistible

I love the way you're breaking my heart Peggy Lee

Click below to "CONTINUE" to viww (videos slow down the main page)

Smile ..... it's the Friday Music Thread

After this tragic week ...... Nat King Cole. Listen to it a few times.

Click on CONTINUE to view the video or click here.

UPDATE: Wow. I am smiling :)

iT'S A BEAUTIFUL DAY -- DON'T LET IT GET AWAY

SUNNY DAY Joseph Mallord William Turner’s ‘Mortlake Terrace, the Seat of William Moffatt, Esq.; Summer’s Evening’ (exhibited 1827) is part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s current exhibition. (NY Sun)

Go, NOW  to the Met today for this excruciatingly beautiful Turner retrospective - Glorious, all of it. Turner is the master. No one captures light, nature, the wild of life like Turner ... Go, that is if you are not heading up into los montanas to visit the kinder :)

An Open Thread for THE BIRTHDAY BOY!

Happy 105th Birthday Louis Armstrong! I love that man.

Click below on "CONTINUE" to watch the perfect video for the perfect day (too many videos on the main page slows Atlas down)

And now for something different

TOP OF THE HEAP Christian Dior’s couture collection for Fall-Winter 2008/2009 included classic Dior silhouettes — and modern creations inspired by the past. (NY SUN)

I love this! Had to share:) Adore da glam.

Ah .... a clean open thread

Gustave Caillebotte, Laundry Drying on the Bank of the Seine, c. 1892.

A Summer Samba Open Thread

Astrud Gilberto - Dammi un'idea (Summer Samba) 1967.  Smooth, cool  as ice cream but still as sweet. Many a languid summer's night spent in youthful infatuation a la Getz and Gilberto Au Go Go.

CLICK "CONTINUE" BELOW FOR VIDEO! It's working now! No plug in necessary ....

Just one of the those Music Threads

Ella On Tour ~ Ella Fitzgerald Quartet .. Amsterdam 1957 ~ Don Abney .. Piano ~ Herb Ellis .. Guitar ~ Ray Brown .. Bass ~ Jo Jones

An Open Thread but not for me

Carolyn Leonhart and her brother tickling the ivories

Kiss me ........... on an open thread

This one is for Obambi ... Kiss me on the bus (or under the bus in his case).

yeah kiss me, I liked to get kissed when I am gettin' screwed.

The Replacements! A favorite of my youth. Westerberg!

Les Paul turns 93 .... stilla killa

The world is waiting for sunrise ..............indeed.

Les Paul turns 93

Musical pioneer and namesake of Gibson’s most iconic guitar, Les Paul was born 93 years ago, on June 9, 1915 in Waukesha, Wisconsin.  Any player who knows his guitar history is already aware that Gibson’s Les Paul guitar was pioneered, developed with the assistance of, and endorsed by Les Paul, a famous jazz-pop artist and musical and electronic genius.

Paul wanted a guitar that better served the needs of jazz guitarists, one that would offer more sustain and feedback resistance than the hollowbody archtops that were the norm at the time, and would also be more versatile sonically. In the early ‘50s, he and Gibson worked together to develop the cutting-edge guitar of his dreams. What resulted was the Les Paul, and with its unrivaled tonal capabilities it soon landed in the hands of top guitarists from every genre. Though Les Paul may be best known for developing the electric guitar as we know it, the sum of all of his contributions is immeasurable.
The great Les Paul still plays every Monday night at the Iridium Jazz Club in New York City.

And I have seen him. He rocks baby.

Bang Bang .. An Open Thread

Bang Bang Nancy Sinatra

Bang Bang, my site was down
Bang Bang, the al jizz clowns
Bang Bang, keffiyeh mad
Bang Bang, But I was glad

Bang Bang, the painful truth
Bang Bang,  fight nail and tooth
Bang Bang, and so they hack
Bang Bang, but I am back

Bang Bang!~

Saturday Lust ...an Open Thread

Two people carry a photograph made by Helmut Newton into the museum. Photo: EFE / Ing   

“Bullshit! I love the girls; that’s nothing but a feminist misunderstanding.” This was how Helmut Newton several years ago countered the reproach from Alice Schwarzer, the editor-in-chief of Emma, who claimed that he and his nude photographs were sexist, even racist.

Ah the leftists and the feminists ......doing the world's really important work. /sarc tag off

Newton was the bomb. The best.

If your're in the neighborhood  photographs by Helmut Newton will be on on view at Weserburg Museum fur Moderne Kunst.

Improbable Open Thread

Andrea Bocelli Christina Aguilera Somos Novios (It's Impossible)

I just love it........... tears at me, My father adored this song when I would play it on the piano

Fleet Week .... then

The Third Man's Open Thread

The only thing better than this tune is the damn movie and if it was public domain it would have run on my Saturday night Cinema. Ah well ............. this is fine. And it's Naudo on the guitar.

Want to hear the original .....go here.

A Music Thread to Build a Dream On

Louis! A kiss to build a dream on. This tune kills me.   Every time. It hardly gets any prettier or smoother than this. Lend me your chops for just a moment :-*

Sweeeeeeeeeeeet.......... *clink*

A Birthday Open Thread

Yael Naim, New Soul The first Israeli solo artist to have a top ten hit in the United States (the mama must be kvelling!)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY  to the oldest of souls, Israel. :)

Simone's Open Thread

Nina Simone Ne me quitte pas -  (I couldn't find her doing it live ..... still  it's intense )

Longing for Leonard

Jeremayakovka shares my passion, my deep affection for Leonard Cohen. He just finished Leonard Cohen's last book of  poetry and drawings, Book of Longing (which sits by my bed since ....forever). 
Read his review. He should have excerpted Fun ............ but he got lost in the lamentations I guess.

UPDATE: Fausta digs  LC here.   hat tip Larwyn

Can't Getz this Open Thread Started

 

Stan Getz and His Quartet- I Can't Get Started with you

And now for something wonderfully different

Charlie Chaplin, Louis Armstrong Bible Students. Appropriate with the Pope's visit (sorta, thematically, anyway). Chaplin's genius against all Armstrong. The music is wonderful. La Vie en Rose, A Kiss to Build a dream on, I've got the world on a string and more. I am traveling ..... enjoy!

Infected Art Thread

View of a minefield..

Shai Kremer Broken Promised Land April 10 - May 10, 2008 hat tip van

The Julie Saul Gallery is pleased to announce our first solo exhibition of photographs by Shai Kremer. Since 1999 Kremer has set about documenting the "ominous imprint of the military on the Israeli landscape- and reflectively, on Israeli society." Working in color in a beautiful documentary style, Kremer's vision is both clinical and emotional. The traditional Zionist attitude of a poetic affinity and love of the scorched and often barren Israeli landscape blends with the awe and disgust with the remnants and elements of Israel's longstanding violent struggles with their Arab and Palestinian neighbors.

The exhibition features ten large color prints, including two panoramas. Subjects include the separation wall, training sites, detritus from past conflicts and the scars left on the landscape collectively make up the vision of Israel as it is today. Instead of shock, Kremer cerates aesthetic, orderly compositions that parallel the defense mechanisms developed to protect Israelis from the powerful reality of the current political situation. As Kremer as stated, "my goal is to reveal how every piece of land has become infected with loaded sediments of the ongoing conflict."

Brewin' an Open Thread

Billie and Louis ..... The Blues are Brewin

Calling an Open Thread

Eliane Elias Call me .............

God bless the open thread

Billie Holiday, in "God bless the child" and "Now or Never"

the best there ever was.........

A little drama

Greek tragedy. Right here in New Jack City. Spitzer went down. Knowing all along that he would have to go down. The man prosecuted so many prostitution rings. He knew about the wires. He knew.  Like I said Greek tragedy. Seems fitting for a drama queen singing  from the soundtrack  "Suicidio!" from La Gioconda. Maria Callas.

Somewhere .......... an open thread

My girl, my girl my girl ........ Sarah

John Garfield

Force of Evil now playing on TCM (and if you missed last night's marathon of pre-code movies buy them here. Not to be missed. Especially Shearer in the The Divorcee and the killer flick  Three on a match. Watched till 4am. Meow.

Ever since FOX has rendered itself irrelevant, I can hi the old movie channels with no guilt! First time since 9/11 I moved off FOX. Overdue.

Now Playing ...... Leonard

Music for a gray Saturday afternoon. Leonard Cohen Famous Blue Raincoat.....

To The Moon on an open Thread

Anybody else see that big, gorgeous glowing moon last night? Knocked me off my feet. Honey colored too. Diana Krall, Fly me to the Moon.

Prefer to slowdance to Moonglow? Yeah, me too.

A Helleva ..... Open Thread

Charlie Parker, Lester Young, Coleman Hawkins, Bill Harris, Ella Fitzgerald, short movie, New York, 1950

Valentine "Holiday"

Just one of those Threads

Ella Just one of those things ...... for the lonely hunter up late like me.

Playing Gershwin Ella On Tour ~ Ella Fitzgerald Quartet .. Brussels 1957 ~ Don Abney .. Piano ~ Herb Ellis .. Guitar ~ Ray Brown .. Bass ~ Jo Jones .. Drums ~ Jazz ~ Diva

Body and Soul- a Wide Open thread

Body and Soul .......... Sarah Sarah Sarah (Billy Eckstine is in there too)

A Toxic Open Thread

Yael Naim - Toxic (thanks Michael)

Make Out Music on an Open Thread

Stan Getz Stella by Starlight (Getz, Getz, Getz,)-  Great clip.  Put down the blog and grab your woman  (or your man) by the back of the neck and start kissing her. Now.

Giving the Open Thread the Shaft

Can you dig it?

A Man and a Woman, an Open Thread

Inspired by today's bombshell development in the mad love affair - le grand passion. I, of course, thought of Anouk Aimee and Jean-Louis Trintignant in "A Man and A Woman".  Douleur dulce.

Speaking of France. C'est bizarre! ! Spy chiefs uncover Islamic terror plot to blow up the Eiffel Tower

An Open Thread on Fire

Come dance with me .... lord knows I am dancing as fast as I can

Tango performance by Estampas Porteñas during their world tour.

New Years Day

All is quiet on New Years Day .... I want to be with you, be with you, be with you on New Years day.....under a blood red sky.... U2 baby

Oscar Oscar Oscar Oscar Oscar

Oscar Peterson Love Ballade

Particularly beautiful. Still feeling the loss of this jazz great ............ thanks to Andrew Bostom who shares my passion for jazz.

Oscar Peterson.... all weekend long

Couldn't help myself. Oscar Peterson all weekend long. I miss him (video hat tip Andrew Bostom)

Oscar Peterson - The Quartet Live (featuring Jo... (more) Added: November 04, 2006 Oscar Peterson - The Quartet Live (featuring Joe Pass) - Soft Winds

Go Softly into the Night

One of the greatest of the greats past away Christmas eve, Oscar Peterson, extraordinary jazz pianist. Much as I love Art Tatum, I prefer Peterson. Many a romantic New York night spent languishing while Peterson brilliantly tapped those jazz keys. In this clip, an unusual trio, Oscar Peterson on piano, Ray Brown & Niels Pedersen both on double bass, perform "You Look Good To Me" at the Montreux Jazz Festival, 1977.

Just beautiful ...............
 

Very Merry Open Thread

I couldn't help myself ...........

A Little Black Magic .....

Great stuff. The greatest. I caught this on the 4:30 movie as kid and it lit me up like a Christmas tree.  I understood that woman (at 5). Bus Stop is one of my top three Monroe flicks but this scene ..... this scene is the money. Very hot (in a homogenized kind of way, but Monroe makes it all work.)

Still as fresh as the first time I saw it. And I am still rooting for Beauregard.

Speaking of divas ............. "we try harder"

A Friendly Open Thread

The magnificent Chet Baker singing and blowing "Just Friends". Stan Getz introducing. Amazing clip. And thanks to BF for that mad wonderful CD.

Scaring myself on an Open Thread

Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks, "I scare myself" ...."it's me I'm scared of"

The great Sid Paige does a magnificent  2 minute violin solo, and the song? The song is the money.

I scare myself
when I let my thoughts run
and when they're runnin'
I keep thinking of you
and when they're runnin'
what can I do?

MORRISSEY....True Brit Open Thread

Had no clue when I loved his art, that I'd love his intellect.  An artist that gets it. Booya!

Morrissey's Irish Blood, English Heart (of course he was singing of me here, my  favorite Morrissey.)

Morrissey complains that immigration has led to the loss of Britain's identityTimes Online  

Morrissey says he is not racist, but believes immigration has swallowed the identity of Britain

Morrissey, the former Smiths singer, has sparked controversy by claiming British identity has disappeared because the country has been “flooded” by immigrants.

The pop star, originally from Manchester, suggested that immigration was one of the reasons he would not move from his American home back to Britain.

UPDATE: The plot thickens. Wolf sent this: "This is an interesting, and important controversy since the magazine has taken a very innocuous statement, innocent really and decided to defame him because he misses the Britishness of his childhood and feels that it is been lost, the sense of  proud  English identity.  How daft. This just shows how even those in the arts will have to keep mum. It's insane.

Morrissey Sues NME Over Racism claim Telegraph

Lawyers for the outspoken former Smiths singer Morrissey say the star will sue NME magazine over its controversial cover story about the artist. Morrissey's manager responds to NME story

The publication will be issued with a writ on Friday by the singer's London solicitors claiming he has been libelled.

See the exchange between NME and Morrisey's manager and the libel suit here on a Morrissey zine here.