Gaurangi - Radhe Shyama

Isn't this what love is?

Today Is The Appearance Day Of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu

"When the rising sun appeared in the East, the jewel of the twice-born, Lord Gaurasundara, awakened, and, taking His devotees with Him, He went all over the countryside--towns and villages--and played the mrdanga, and the cymbals chimed in time. Lord Gauranga's shimmering golden features danced, and His foot bells jingled." --Bhaktivinoda Thakura

Ben Harper - I Shall Not Walk Alone

I just heard this song for the first time on Lost. I guess I should have given this show a chance a long time ago. But the Station Agent managed to turn me on to it.

Youngbloods - Get Together

I believe we had it right the first time! Come on people now, smile on your brother, everybody get together, try to love one another right now.

Right now!

Jimi Hendrix - All Along The Watchtower

Byrds Live - Eight Miles High

The Misunderstoods - I Can Take You To The Sun

1966.

Matthew Sweet--An American Girl

Well, it was kind of cold that night
She stood alone on her balcony
Yeah, she could hear the cars roll by
Out on 441
Like waves crashin' on the beach
And for one desperate moment there
He crept back in her memory
God its so painful
Something that's so close
And still so far out of reach

James Taylor--Fire & Rain

Here's a candidate for best song ever.

Tom Petty--Free Fallin

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers are about to fire up a new tour. Buy tickets to see the show and get their new album free. More info at Stereogum.

Barry McGuire - Eve Of Destruction

Last night I watched the first half hour of Hotel Rwanda. I couldn't watch anymore. So now I'm posting "Eve Of Destruction."

Kate Bush--Breathing

We've lost our chance/we're the first and last,
After the blast/chips of plutonium are twinkling in every lung.

The Bundles--Pirates Declare War

It seems like forever since Kimya Dawson put out a record, which is not true, her fantastic kid's record Alphabutt came out less than two years ago. The Juno Soundtrack and the album Remember That I Love You came out in '07 and '06 respectively.

I am excited to find out that the low-fi supergroup that stemmed from her collaborations with singer/songwriter Jeffrey Lewis and other "anti-folk luminaries" that Kimya talked about at her show in Baltimore last March is finally putting out their first CD on March 9, however, the album is available now from K-Recs website.

The group is called The Bundles, and it consists of Kimya, Jeffrey Lewis, Jack Lewis, Anders Griffen, and Karl Blau. This is the first song, "Pirates Declare War". If this is indicitive of the rest of the record, this release is going to be an epic of indie lo-fi. I'm placing my order now.

Beatles LP Countdown - Rocky Raccoon

Look at those pearly whites! You don't want to mess with raccoons. There was one that lived under my house in Berkeley, and they do not back down. But Rocky, he met his match...

Tori Amos--China

China
All the way to New York
Maybe you got lost in
Mexico
You're right next to me
I think that you can hear me
Funny how the distance
Learns to grow

Bettie Serveert--Deny All

90s Dutch indie rockers are back.

Fleetwood Mac - Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow

Think positive.

Elliott Smith--Miss Misery

From the 1997 Academy Awards. Smith was nominated for "Miss Misery," which was a featured song in Good Will Hunting. Sadly, starting this year, the Oscars will no longer invite Best Song nominees to perform.

Republicans Play Politics With Stimulus

This is outrageous. A hundred congressional Republicans voted against the economic stimulus bill, and then tried to get money out of it for their states. “They’re trying to vote against their cake and eat it, too,” U.S. President Barack Obama said.

Read the article.

Dusty Springfield--Son of a Preacher Man

"Learning from each other's knowing
Looking to see how much we're growing..."

There's A Place

A simple melody, raw but very effective harmony, Lennon's lead vocal and his haunting harmonica. Utterly unique.

Broadcasting from America's Deep South, local time is 10.00 am, at 54 Beatle degrees. That's www.thewalrusspeaks.blogspot.com on your cyber radio dial.

It Is Now 40 Beatle Degrees

The Beatles landing at JFK, 02/07/64

Some of you who have returned to The Walrus Speaks from time to time may wonder why in hell I frequently (usually on a weekend) announce the local temperature in "Beatle degrees." It's because when the Beatles first came to America, a New York DJ would say, "It's now 33 Beatle degrees" or whatever, and the custom spread from coast to coast. Another thing that all the DJs did, a few years later, was to wait until the end of "Lady Madonna", where there is a slight pause before the last piano riff, and exclaim, "Beatles!" They all did this, and we took it as a natural part of Beatles culture. I always wanted to be a DJ when I was a kid. Well, now I am.

And local time is 9.23 am, local temperature is 40 Beatle degrees.

That's www.thewalrusspeaks.blogspot.com on your cyber radio dial, with "All My Loving."

Tori Amos--Give

"So you heard I crossed over the line..."

Long Live Firefly

Cute line from the most recent episode of the sitcom, Big Bang Theory.

Ellie Goulding--Wish I Stayed

Hats off to the winner of the Critics' Choice prize at Brit Awards 2010.

Rilo Kiley--Does He Love You

"Let's not forget ourselves good friend
I am flawed if I'm not free..."

Latest California Study Confirms Medical Marijuana

Read the article.

Cymbals Eat Guitars--Wind Phoenix

A live performance in KEXP's studios. The blog, Side One: Track One has an MP3 of their cover of Elliott Smith's, "Ballad of Big Nothing."

Rilo Kiley - Hail To Whatever You Found In The Sunlight That Surrounds You

I need some hopeful music today, and this is very hopeful.

Elliott Smith--Angeles

"Someone's always coming around here trailing some new kill
Says i seen your picture on a hundred dollar bill
And what's a game of chance to you, to him is one of real skill
So glad to meet you angeles..."

Beatles LP Countdown - Piggies

Extreme Religious Practices

Some of the stuff you see here will inspire you, some of it will disgust you, some of it will amaze you. At the very least, it is proof that religion has an extraordinary side.

Greg Fitzsimmons On Trickle Down Economics

No deal! I want more!

Jokes.com
Greg Fitzsimmons - Economic Plans
comedians.comedycentral.com
Joke of the Day Stand-Up Comedy Free Online Games

Thao and the Get Down Stay Down--Beat (Health, Life and Fire)

Thao and the Get Down Stay Down performed "Beat (Health, Life and Fire)" live at WOXY back in 2008.

Lissie--Little Lovin'

“I gotta lotta love in
I gotta lotta love in
I gotta lotta love in my heart
I’m gonna get to heaven
I’m gonna get to heaven
I’m gonna get to heaven alright.”

Lissie Little Lovin' [Part 2 of 2] from Yours Truly on Vimeo.

Happy Presidents Day

Let me present a balanced view of the significance of Presidents Day.

In my childhood (the 1960's), no American elementary school classroom was without pictures of Washington and Lincoln, which stood side by side--not the one pictured here, but two classic prints in frames. Usually close to the flag. You old dogs know what I'm talking about. Neither of them could tell a lie! George and Abe were the gods of Presidents, unassailable, mythic, honest, full of character, and men to whom we all owed a great debt.

Nowadays we are more likely to hear about Washington's 18th century slaves and Lincoln's 19th century racism, but Washington was a courageous rich guy without whom we would not be having this conversation--who put his money where his mouth was--and Lincoln--whose views on race were altered by the Civil War (why don't we hear that part?)--demonstrated the greatness of a very miserable life, a poster child for the human potential movement.

These men stride across the pages of history (forgive my bombast, but the occasion warrants it) like the giants they are. As a Hindu, my duty is to be grateful. The tea baggers do not own American history!

Happy Presidents Day.

Boyce Avenue--Wonderwall

Boyce Avenue do a nice job covering Oasis.

Red Hot Chili Peppers--Scar Tissue

Yet another from AOL.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs--Maps

Another from AOL.

Of Montreal--The Past is a Grotesque Animal

From AOL studios.

Today Is Shiva Ratri

On this day hundreds of millions of Hindus and a few Western New Agers, pagans, etc, will worship Lord Siva, the cosmic dissolver of ignorance. His compassion is immense.

The Who--Won't Get Fooled Again

From The Kids Are Alright.

Nellie McKay--The Very Thought Of You

Last month, Nellie McKay played this song from her Doris Day tribute album on Craig Ferguson's show.

Erika Wennerstrom--The Mountain

Erika Wennerstrom of Heartless Bastards performed "The Mountain" at WNRN in Charlottesville, Virginia on February 11, 2009.

Dwayne Kennedy's Showtime Special

The latest WTF podcast contains an interesting conversation on race in comedy and in general between host Marc Maron and his guests comedians Dwayne Kennedy and W. Kamau Bell.

Here's some Dwayne Kennedy.



Part 2 here, part 3 here.

Bishop Allen--Butterfly Nets

From last November.

Please Please Me

Infectious joy. 1962.

Recite Buddha's Name Truthfully

Beautiful.

My Favorite Things--Novels by David Derrico

Due to a nice jolt administered to the publishing world by the proliferation of e-book readers, suddenly, deserving writers have a real opportunity to reach their audience. Novelist (and former lawyer) David Derrico, a good friend of mine for many years, wrote two excellent science fiction novels--Right Ascension and it's sequel, Declination--back in the early part of the decade. Like many other quality works, Dave's novels did not find a niche in the marketplace, and by the middle of the decade, they were languishing on the shelf.

These works recently were given new life by the popularity of Amazon's Kindle. With the obstacle of having to be anointed by a publishing company out of the way, Dave's novels are now competing with with some of the biggest names in science fiction on their own merits. It is with a great deal of satisfaction that I can report his e-book sales are skyrocketing; it's currently ranked in the top ten in war, adventure and techno-thrillers.

I don't do much selling on this blog, but if you're interested in science fiction, you can't beat the price of these books--$0.99. If you like them, please remember to give him a positive review on Amazon--that sort of thing matters quite a bit.

Russell Brand - The Secret Policeman's Ball

Station Agent, have you heard of this guy? Why does he conclude all of his performances by saying "Hare Krishna"? Doesn't seem to fit...

Then again, as I wrote in my latest paper, religious founders would be surprised, even alarmed, to see how their teachings are appropriated. Founders make boundaries, and followers shatter them.

Beastie Boys--Something's Got to Give

"I've seen better days than this one
I've seen better nights than this one
Tension is rebuilding
Something's got to give"

Laura Marling--She's Changed

From The London Town EP.

Willie Nelson - The City Of New Orleans

"The City Of New Orleans" was a huge hit for Arlo Guthrie, but it was actually written by Steve Goodman. I'm not fascinated with trains, but it beats freeways.

Willie Nelson - You Were Always On My Mind

This guy kills me. Elvis recorded this song a long time ago, but Nelson wrote it.

Bobby Darin--Mack the Knife

Speaking of great vocalists...

A Sunny Day in Glasgow--Everywhere

The band A Sunny Day in Glasgow covers this Fleetwood Mac classic for The New Gay.

Beatles LP Countdown - Blackbird

"Blackbird" gets consistently high marks by critics and Beatles lovers. It is certainly a lovely melody by Paul. Can you imagine it using a harpsichord? Bach could have written this song. Amazing.

"McCartney was inspired to write this while in Scotland as a reaction to racial tensions escalating in America in the spring of 1968, and (according to Sony/ATV Songs LLC 1968) McCartney stated that he had a black woman in mind when he wrote the song ("bird" being British slang for a woman)."

If there is anything that the Beatles hated as much as they hated war, it was racial bigotry. They loved the black recording artists of the 1950s and 1960s, and were dumbfounded by racial prejudice in America. Once Paul was enjoying watching some kids playing in a schoolyard in a black neighborhood in Manhattan, and was unceremoniously accosted with a racial epithet and advised to move on down the line. Entering a convenience store, he complained to a man working the cash register. The man looked closely at him and said, "Aren't you the guy who wrote "Let It Be"?

PS: All quotes in posts by Hector Diego are from Wikipedia.

Cyndi Lauper - True Colors

You must watch this amazing performance by Cyndi Lauper.



Here's the album version.



And an acoustic version.

Devendra Banhart--I Heard Somebody Say

"I heard somebody say
That the war ended today
But everyone knows its goin' still
Our motherlands and motherseas
Here's what we believe
It's simple
We don't want to kill"

John Lennon - Imagine, Live

Man, I would have liked to have been at this show.

The Bird and The Bee--The Last Day of Our Love

"there is nothing left to do or say
we tried our very best
and as we clear away
all the scraps of our happiness
i feel an ache in my chest"

The Elected--Biggest Star

"All my dreams came true you should know
So if you see her would you tell her so
they're gonna know me at the bank,
I'm gonna eat my meals for free,
and when she sees me, i can't lose"

Revisiting Good Will Hunting

I watched Good Will Hunting again last night. The movie has major problems, such as the contrived mature of scenes like the academic barroom brawl between Will Hunting and the Harvard Stiff:



Having actually read some of that material, I found it absolutely ridiculous that anyone could be among the greatest mathematical minds of all time and still have the capacity to embarrass a well read History grad student. Nevertheless, the movie still works for me, after all these years.

One Word Lost Review

Whoa.

Coconut Records--Ask Her to Dance

"Am I making sense..."

Beatles LP Countdown - I'm So Tired

Las Vegas: Gaming = Gambling

I can barely tolerate Disneyland; Vegas represents
everything I loathe.

It kills me the way gambling these days is now called "gaming." It's gambling! It's throwing your money away on a stupid dream! I have never gambled with money, and I never will. While I am not bothered by rich people who gamble, I have little respect for people who gamble who are not rich, at least in the money management department of their lives. I'm sorry if this offends many of you who visit The Walrus Speaks. I suppose my attitude would be softened toward those who know how to walk away after they have lost a small amount, but I really can't relate to the concept of gambling at all. I disagree with the President on this one--that there is no better place to spend your vacation dollars than Las Vegas--and to borrow a page from Rahm Emmanuel, GAMBLING IS RETARDED. Las Vegas should not even exist! WHAT A WASTE!

No wonder religious fanatics from developing countries want to bomb our lily white asses...

Read the article.

Jenny Lewis--Rise Up With Fists

From Coachella 2009.

The Hurt Locker Nominated for Nine Oscars

One of the most powerful war films I've ever seen was nominated for nine Oscars, including Best Picture, Director, Actor and screenplay.

Here's a preview.

Frightened Rabbit--Nothing Like You

Frightened Rabbit, one of the best bands to emerge in the second half of the last decade, has a wildly anticipated new album coming out soon called Winter Of Mixed Drinks.

This video for "Nothing Like You," is a strong indication that the band is on the verge of unleashing another brilliant record.


Frightened Rabbit on MUZU

Laura Marling--Failure

A live performance of this great tune from 2007.

Petula Clark - Chariot

Petula Clark is an interesting figure in 20th century music. Born in 1932, she was an unlikely star in 1964, when she hit it big in America with "Downtown." But at 32, she still had her looks and that voice! "Chariot" is a better demonstration of her singing abilities. Let me just say she makes a hetero man feel like one when she hits the low notes...and her French is so good that even a non-Francophone can tell it is the real thing.

To me Clark's music, for better or for worse, is the epitome of "pop", which is impossible to define but we know it when we hear it. The Beatles, of course, had pop elements in their work. I could just imagine young George assiduously listening to "Chariot" and making it his mission to find a guitar chord for every note in the song. Incorporating pop made the Beatles' music far more sophisticated than other rock bands, especially in 1964. These bands used only the thirteen most basic chords in combination of two, three, four, or rarely five. George knew every chord in the book. He must have gotten them from pop.

1959.

Petula Clark--Downtown

This song pretty much sucks, but Petula Clark's voice, especially as it is produced in this recording, is too good to let something like bad song writing dissuade you from listening. It's very effective juxtaposed against this key sequence from Lost, which, I may have mentioned, comes back on the air Tuesday.