http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/ Musings on music, culture, technology and history. en-US Sun, 29 Jan 2012 10:36:27 -0500 http://www.typepad.com/ http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification noMusings on music, culture, technology and history. http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2012/01/beware-much-of-local-tv-news-is-fake.html http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2012/01/beware-much-of-local-tv-news-is-fake.html You probably didn’t know it, but much of the local television news you see is produced by corporations and not journalists. Stories are made to look like news, but they are actually disguised commercials trying to sell you something. The practice is also perfectly legal, if the station buries the info about the fake reporting at the end of the newscast during the fast-moving credits. Otherwise, it could face a $10,000 fine. This issue has been going on a long time. But don’t expect to hear about it on your local news. A few years ago, several public interest groups complained to the Federal Communications Commission that television news operations were including commercial content in newscasts disguised as news. Now, the FCC is reacting, proposing a new regulation that would require all broadcast stations to disclose on the Internet all corporate interests behind their news content. The FCC has determined that TV newscasts are increasingly seeded with corporate advertising masquerading as news, though the news program is portrayed as the work of independent journalists. Increasingly, paying companies are shaping news coverage at broadcast stations. The FCC would change the rule from disclosure in the closing credits to making television stations... Television TV News Web/Tech Frank Beacham Sun, 29 Jan 2012 10:36:27 -0500 http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2012/01/corruption-shows-its-hand.html http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2012/01/corruption-shows-its-hand.html You have to hand to former Senator Chris Dodd. He’s as corrupt as they come. After resigning from the Senate, he slid into the cushy job as chief lobbyist for the Motion Picture Association of America. He thought it would be business as usual. But after last week’s shellacking by Internet activists, Dodd went ballistic. The truth came out. He threatened to cut off Hollywood campaign contributions to any member of Congress who doesn’t pass his group's Internet-censorship legislation. After Congress shelved the controversial PIPA and SOPA bills, Dodd told Fox “News,” the voice of the far right: “Those who count on quote ‘Hollywood’ for support need to understand that this industry is watching very carefully who’s going to stand up for them when their job is at stake. Don’t ask me to write a check for you when you think your job is at risk and then don’t pay any attention to me when my job is at stake.” This is the very face of corruption in Washington. Outsiders might think its outrageous that Dodd is leveling these threats. But to him, it’s business as usual. It's time that Congress showed that its votes are no longer for sale.... Activism Film Web/Tech Frank Beacham Wed, 25 Jan 2012 12:55:00 -0500 http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2012/01/stop-sopa-and-pipa-before-it-destroys-the-internet.html http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2012/01/stop-sopa-and-pipa-before-it-destroys-the-internet.html Most of us know that our Congress is corrupt. Money from corporate interests has infiltrated the entire body, making even the "best" members often use very bad judgement. The large media companies are pushing SOPA and PIPA, two bills that will allow private corporations to shut down web sites they suspect of stealing their content. Passage would be the end of a free Internet. Today, many web sites are on strike. Go here and register your complaint with Congress. We live in dangerous times and this one of them. PROTECT IP / SOPA Breaks The Internet from Fight for the Future on Vimeo. Current Affairs Web/Tech Frank Beacham Wed, 18 Jan 2012 09:02:16 -0500 http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2012/01/its-time-to-stamp-out-rupert-murdoch-now.html http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2012/01/its-time-to-stamp-out-rupert-murdoch-now.html I was in the same room with Rupert Murdoch more than 20 years ago when he said his ultimate goal was world domination of media. He meant it as a joking aside, but we all took it very seriously at the time. That comment eventually became part of the script of a James Bond movie. This weekend, Murdoch, still on his quest, sounded off about the White House's rejection of SOPA and PIPA, the controversial anti-piracy bills currently being debated in Congress. "So Obama has thrown in his lot with Silicon Valley paymasters who threaten all software creators with piracy, plain thievery," he wrote on Twitter. "Piracy leader is Google who streams movies free, sells advts around them. No wonder pouring millions into lobbying." Murdoch has lobbied aggressively for the bills, which amounts to all out web censorship. On Saturday, the White House announced that they would not support the legislation. Google is one of the most vocal opponents of SOPA and PIPA. Co-founder Sergey Brin has said that the bills "give the U.S. government and copyright holders extraordinary powers including the ability to hijack DNS and censor search results (and this is even without so much as a proper... Art Music Television Web/Tech Frank Beacham Sun, 15 Jan 2012 15:36:45 -0500 http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2012/01/hostess-makers-of-kid-show-goodies-files-for-bankruptcy.html http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2012/01/hostess-makers-of-kid-show-goodies-files-for-bankruptcy.html Sorry, Doodyville, one of Howdy’s most dedicated sponsors from the 1950s has filed for bankruptcy. Hostess Brands, makers of Hostess Creme-Filled Cupcakes, Twinkies and Ding Dongs — not to mention Wonder Bread — has assets of about $1 billion but is struggling under a debt load of $860 million. A privately held company located in Irving, Texas, Hostess became a staple junk food maker for kids, who grew up sneaking Twinkies and Hostess cupcakes when no one was looking after seeing them on TV's kid shows, like Howdy Doody. High-end restaurants took to duplicating the cupcakes as desserts in later years, playing on the nostalgia. Buffalo Bob once told me he did private “blue” dress rehearsals for executives of the sponsors, which no doubt included Hostess. Later, when I was older I worked on the floor crew of “Mr. Knozit,” a kid show run by Joe Pinner, at WIS-TV in Columbia, S.C. On this show, Joe had to tear a slice of Wonder Break straight down the middle to prove how fresh it was. The trick worked because I would go to the factory and get the freshest loaves of bread available for the show. Otherwise, the bread would never... History Television Frank Beacham Wed, 11 Jan 2012 10:28:32 -0500 http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2012/01/nrbqs-drummer-tom-ardolino-dies.html http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2012/01/nrbqs-drummer-tom-ardolino-dies.html NRBQ Drummer Tom Ardolino died on Jan. 6 at age 56, according to the band's website. I photographed Tom on a cruise ship in New York Harbor on Aug. 19, 2010 when he was backing the great guitarist Hubert Sumlin, who also recently died. Ardolino joined NRBQ (for New Rhythm and Blues Quartet) in 1974 and played on 15 studio recordings. Though the group had limited mainstream followers, it had major music figures in its fan base, including Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Bonnie Raitt and Elvis Costello. Music Frank Beacham Sat, 07 Jan 2012 15:16:09 -0500 http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2012/01/bob-dylan-and-joan-baez-at-the-rolling-thunder-review.html http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2012/01/bob-dylan-and-joan-baez-at-the-rolling-thunder-review.html I took this picture at Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Review in Gainesville, Florida on April 25, 1976. Dylan is pictured with Joan Baez. I had no camera at the time and paid a fellow sitting next to me $10 to borrow his camera and to purchase one roll of film. Well worth it, I think! Art History Music Photography Frank Beacham Tue, 03 Jan 2012 05:38:10 -0500 http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2011/12/the-operative-word-is-grace-in-christina-haags-come-to-the-edge.html http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2011/12/the-operative-word-is-grace-in-christina-haags-come-to-the-edge.html The dictionary defines the word “grace” as elegance or beauty of form, manner, motion or action. After reading Christina Haag’s magnificent book, “Come to the Edge,” that definition has expanded for me to two very public members of the Kennedy family: John Jr. and Jackie. One of John F. Kennedy Jr.’s college roommates perhaps put it best at his funeral, after he died in an airplane crash in 1999 at the age of 38: “He was an ordinary boy in extraordinary circumstances. And he lived his life with grace.” For five years Kennedy was Christina Haag’s lover. In dream-like prose—with details like the color of the leaves and the name of every plant in sight—Haag takes us on a detailed journey of his privileged and adventurous life. At its core, this book is a tale of unresolved love between two lifelong friends in their mid 20’s. It’s a great read on this level alone. Unfortunately, as with so many such relationships, the affair doesn’t last. It was perhaps for the best. Haag becomes an actress and a best-selling author, and Kennedy, sadly at age 38, crashes his small plane off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard, killing his wife, Carolyn Bessette,... Art Books Current Affairs History Frank Beacham Wed, 28 Dec 2011 09:30:33 -0500 http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2011/12/reuniting-with-the-urb-brothers.html http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2011/12/reuniting-with-the-urb-brothers.html It was the late 1980s and I was living in Los Angeles. From time to time, I worked on projects with the late Paul Rothchild, producer of The Doors, Janis Joplin, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, the Paul Butterfield Blues Band and many others. He introduced me to the Urb Brothers, a duo who had won notoriety in Estonia during the Soviet era there and had defected to the United States. The Urbs had an amazing story. Tarmo Urb once spent five years in and out of Soviet jails in an effort by the government to silence his voice. It was only when younger brother Thomas (who, during Tarmo's incarceration, had made his mark as an actor in the Soviet film industry) wrote a pleading letter to then President Gorbachev that Tarmo was finally released...only to face an assassination attempt by the KGB, an attempt that failed when the operation's chief officer became a fan of the Urb's music and message, allowing the brothers to defect by the skin of their teeth. Urbs in 1971 I visited with the Urbs on Venice Beach and actually pitched one of them to act in a movie I was then trying to get made... Activism Art Music Frank Beacham Sun, 18 Dec 2011 20:33:18 -0500 http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2011/12/hubert-sumlin-one-of-the-worlds-most-influential-chicago-blues-guitarists-is-dead.html http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2011/12/hubert-sumlin-one-of-the-worlds-most-influential-chicago-blues-guitarists-is-dead.html Hubert Sumlin, 80, guitarist for the legendary Howlin’ Wolf from 1954 to 1976, died of heart failure on Sunday in a hospital in Wayne, New Jersey. One of the world’s most influential Chicago blues guitarists, Sumlin’s playing was characterized by “wrenched, shattering bursts of notes, sudden cliff-hanger silences and daring rhythmic suspensions,” said Guitar World magazine in naming Sumlin one of the 100 top guitarists of all time. With the aid of an oxygen tank due to removal of a lung in 2004, Sumlin played frequently, especially around the New York City area. One of the more pleasant venues were his summer Rockin' the River cruises through New York harbor. The last, in 2010, he played with guitarist Jimmy Vivino, singer David Johansen and John Sebastian of Lovin’ Spoonful fame. Hubert Sumlin with David Johansen --- Born in Greenwood, Mississippi, Sumlin first met Howlin’ Wolf by sneaking into one of his performances as a kid. When Wolf relocated from Memphis to Chicago in 1953, his long-time guitarist Willie Johnson chose not to join him. In 1954, Wolf invited Sumlin to relocate to Chicago to play with his Chicago-based band. Sumlin became the primary guitarist in Wolf’s band, a position he... Current Affairs History Music Frank Beacham Mon, 05 Dec 2011 05:07:52 -0500 http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2011/12/on-the-great-film-director-ken-russell.html http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2011/12/on-the-great-film-director-ken-russell.html Film Frank Beacham Fri, 02 Dec 2011 18:00:34 -0500 http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2011/12/carol-dickmans-yoga-dvds-can-help-older-people.html http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2011/12/carol-dickmans-yoga-dvds-can-help-older-people.html I don’t usually hawk commercial items on this blog, so please excuse this unusual exception. It’s unusual because it involves two friends—one the seller and the other a buyer. Carol Dickman, a yoga teacher, makes DVDs aimed at helping older people. She sent her programs to a client, Ann Ruckert, a musician living in New York City. Ann wrote back to Carol, telling this story: “How do you tell someone that you would not be able to walk without her programs? I’m working hard and if were not for Carol's DVDs, I would be in serious trouble. Each morning I use “Bed Top Yoga” while still in bed and work the whole program. Then to the next plateau, I work out with “Seated Yoga.” Ann went on: “Ta-da, now I am on my feet, in a hot shower, finishing with a cold shower. It takes close to four hours to be off and running, but I do not want to be stuck in a wheel chair…or worse. Keep moving has become my mantra. Thanks for all of your help.” Endorsements don’t come much better than that. Perhaps Ann’s experience can determine if those same DVDs can be of help to... Frank Beacham Thu, 01 Dec 2011 08:10:35 -0500 http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2011/11/dan-rather-money-owns-news-today.html http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2011/11/dan-rather-money-owns-news-today.html On November 22, Dan Rather received the Committee to Protect Journalists' Burton Benjamin Memorial Award for 2011 at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City. What follows is the speech he gave upon accepting the prestigious award. It is well worth reading by anyone who consumes today's news. One of Bud Benjamin's dreams was to expand the CBS Evening News to a full hour. And Bud wasn't thinking of filling it with helicopter shots, celebrity gossip and punditry. He imagined an entire hour brimming with investigative reporting, exposés and dispatches from around the world. It was a different time in journalism. A time when professional duty was patriotic, and the freedom of the press motivated and inspired newsrooms. I know it is hard to believe - but it's true - newsrooms were not supposed to turn a profit. Frankly, news was considered an acceptable loss on the balance sheet. To keep our FCC license and the public trust, we had to use the public's airwaves in the public interest. Yes, that's a whole lot of "public." But that's the way it was. It's the way it should be again. Today, how we look and how we "present" information has become far... Activism Current Affairs History Television TV News Web/Tech Writing Frank Beacham Wed, 30 Nov 2011 08:24:18 -0500 http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2011/11/ken-russell-the-iconic-british-film-director-is-dead.html http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2011/11/ken-russell-the-iconic-british-film-director-is-dead.html Ken Russell after a screening of "Tommy" at Lincoln Center on Aug. 5, 2010 --- I admit that it wasn’t until last summer, when I saw a screening of the Who’s 1975 rock opera “Tommy” at Lincoln Center, that I began to appreciate the film and its great director, Ken Russell. Russell, then 83, was in the audience and I met him afterward. However, I was mainly there to meet his fascinating wife, Lisi Tribble, who I was introduced to in a song called “The Kiss” by her old friend, David Massengill, performed at the Gerdes Folk City 50 anniversary reunion on June 7, 2010. Because of the picture I took of David, Lisi and I became Facebook friends. She was a legend in the Gerdes “face down” era and I wanted to meet her, which is what brought me to the "Tommy" screening. Russell, which news reports said died after a series of strokes, was the kind of filmmaker I love, but who doesn’t exist anymore. He was a polarizing figure who tested everyone with controversy—from studios, to critics, to audiences. He kept life interesting and made some terrific films ranging from the D.H. Lawrence adaptation “Women in Love”... Art Film Frank Beacham Mon, 28 Nov 2011 09:44:14 -0500 http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2011/11/some-thoughts-on-whats-next-for-occupy-wall-street.html http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2011/11/some-thoughts-on-whats-next-for-occupy-wall-street.html The past week has been an exciting time in New York City. We have seen a popular uprising grow and expand—aided by a tin-eared billionaire mayor and a violent and over-zealous police department dedicated to protecting the wealthy. As with many of the dictators that have fallen around the world recently, these New York officials are as lost and isolated as Gadhafi was in Lybia or Mubarak in Egypt. There is a global trend at work and it’s in reaction to the huge and growing disparities in wealth and political power throughout the world. Today’s government leaders have hit bottom—enabling and supporting a culture of shallow commercialism, intellectual bankruptcy, corporate corruption and phoniness in everyday life that is crushing ordinary people. Honest, objective news media has evaporated, entertainment is becoming no more than corporate-created fluff and public education has come down to brainwashing a generation that the best life offers are financial deals that make money. Art, music and the creating of anything that enhances human life is minimized in today’s over-commercialized culture. All that matters in the short term is a soul-killing chase for bucks and the drudge work that usually goes with it. Today, the rich actually “make”... Activism Art Current Affairs History Music Politics Television TV News Web/Tech Frank Beacham Fri, 18 Nov 2011 09:30:57 -0500 http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2011/11/beth-carons-whats-missing-at-the-illuminated-metropolis-gallery-in-new-york-city.html http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2011/11/beth-carons-whats-missing-at-the-illuminated-metropolis-gallery-in-new-york-city.html Through the end of November, New York photographer Beth Caron is featuring a new collection of images titled “What’s Missing” at the Illuminated Metropolis Gallery in New York City. Capturing the innocence of children in raw black and white photography, the pictures depict truth and beauty in everyday life experiences. Several of the images are based on slices of life at the playground. The photos focus on children at play, in motion and with their families. Some images capture odd angles—almost like discombobulated body parts—that make the viewer stop in their tracks and think. Beth is an old friend and I must say it’s her best photography work ever. My favorite of her images were made at Halloween. She captures images of kids dressed to the hilt in scary costumes that genuinely stand out in the black and white medium. My absolute favorite is titled Jokerman, a kid who somehow looks much older in the image. After a crowded opening reception at the Chelsea gallery on Nov. 10, the photos will be on public display on Thursdays from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. and Fridays and Saturdays from noon until 6 p.m. through Nov. 30. The gallery is located 547... Art Photography Frank Beacham Fri, 11 Nov 2011 12:25:23 -0500 http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2011/11/joan-baez-and-kris-kristofferson-brings-the-sounds-of-60s-protest-to-new-york.html http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2011/11/joan-baez-and-kris-kristofferson-brings-the-sounds-of-60s-protest-to-new-york.html Against the backdrop of Occupy Wall Street in New York, there couldn’t have been a better duo to echo the history and connections of today’s protests to those of the 60s. Joan Baez, 70, who appears ageless and whose voice is every bit as powerful as 50 years ago, joined Kris Kristofferson, 75, the outlaw songwriter, actor and political activist in concert at the Beacon Theatre in New York City. Baez dived into her early works, doing one of her best concerts in years. She sang two songs by Bob Dylan—Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right and With God on Our Side—doing her crowd pleasing Dylan imitation on the first song. She also posed a question to the audience. Did Dylan ever sleep with Janis Joplin? Then, she mentioned she was asked to tell a secret on a recent radio show, and asked the same question about herself. Did she herself ever sleep with Joplin? She never really answered but said she was kidding, leaving some in the audience wondering. Baez wandered through the civil rights era, telling of the time she was sent in to wake up a sleeping Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who was late for a... Music Frank Beacham Tue, 08 Nov 2011 23:32:10 -0500 http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2011/11/rip-jimmy-norman.html http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2011/11/rip-jimmy-norman.html Jimmy Norman at his last public appearance on Oct. 29. Photo by Frank Beacham --- Jimmy Norman was not only a personal friend, but a window into the music of my youth. He told me hours of great stories about the music legends I had grown up with and humanized them for me. He knew and worked with them all, especially Bob Marley and Jimi Hendrix. He was on the road with Soloman Burke and played with Ricky Nelson at his famous “Garden Party” at Madison Square Garden. Jimmy took me with him to Harlem to clubs where I would have never gone alone at 4 a.m. We were always treated like royalty, because Jimmy WAS royalty to his many fans who always honored him. I had the pleasure of knowing Jimmy for more than a decade. When I first met him in 2001, his health was very poor. He’d had a heart attack and had been forced to retire after three decades of singing with The Coasters. Even though he was always sick, his very best work lay in the years ahead. By sheer luck (many of his later songs were rescued from notebooks in a trash bag on... History Music Frank Beacham Tue, 08 Nov 2011 09:28:35 -0500 http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2011/11/another-night-of-victory-for-daniel-ortegothis-time-in-1979.html http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2011/11/another-night-of-victory-for-daniel-ortegothis-time-in-1979.html Reading that Daniel Ortega is heading for a third term as president of Nicaragua brings back memories of a very unusual night in 1979—when I, and other reporters—ate rice and drank Johnnie Walker Red into the wee hours with the future president in a dark, candlelit bar at Managua’s InterContinental Hotel. Earlier that day, July 17, Nicaragua's longtime leader, Gen. Anastasio Somoza Debayle, was overthrown after an insurrection led by the FSLN, the Sandinista National Liberation Front, a group whose leaders included Ortega. Earlier, Somoza had left the country, flying to exile in Miami. Rebels were shooting in the air and the celebrations, though dangerous, were going on in the streets. I had been eating cans of tuna fish seemingly for days—there was no food to be had—and had just returned from a tour of Gen. Somoza’s “safe house,” where cans of caviar were ripped open and tossed across the room. In an earlier time, at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, I had shared a couple of beers with General Somoza during an outdoor party for the astronauts at the Cocoa Beach Holiday Inn. He seemed like a pleasant enough guy, on his best behavior for a visit to... Current Affairs History Politics TV News Frank Beacham Mon, 07 Nov 2011 16:05:38 -0500 http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2011/11/the-great-flood-is-a-glowing-alternative-history-of-the-birth-of-rock-n-roll.html http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2011/11/the-great-flood-is-a-glowing-alternative-history-of-the-birth-of-rock-n-roll.html I have always been enamored of great floods—mostly because of the way they alter human history in unforeseen ways. Just as Katrina is still re-shaping modern New Orleans, the Mississippi River Flood of 1927 had a huge effect on American culture that we can only measure today through the remarkable impact it had on our music. Bill Morrison, the filmmaker, and Bill Frisell, the musician, collaborated on a new project called The Great Flood, which uses archival film of the flood of '27 and a newly composed suite of music to tell the story of that natural disaster, the worst in American history. The live music and film got its New York City premiere Friday night at Carnegie Hall in New York City. In the spring of 1927, the Mississippi River broke out of its earthen embankments in 145 places and flooded 27,000 square miles. As a result, there was a forced exodus of displaced sharecroppers, who left plantation life and migrated to northern cities, adapting to an industrial society with its own set of challenges. What they don’t teach us in school is the great migration to the north fueled the rise of acoustic blues. This included artists who... Film History Music Photography Writing Frank Beacham Sat, 05 Nov 2011 12:33:14 -0400 http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2011/11/tom-keith-sound-effects-wizard-for-a-prairie-home-companion-frequented-local-hardware-stores-on-the-.html http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2011/11/tom-keith-sound-effects-wizard-for-a-prairie-home-companion-frequented-local-hardware-stores-on-the-.html Tom Keith, who died this week, once told me that the most valuable resource as he travelled around the country for broadcasts of A Prairie Home Companion was the local hardware store. It was there—at the very last minute—where he could purchase the gadgets needed to do the sound effects conjured up by Garrison Keillor. Keith said Keillor, who wrote in most of the sound effects in his scripts, liked to make last minute changes and, at times, created almost impossible effects — some designed to trick him. But Keith almost always succeeded in pulling off an authentic version of anything his old friend could create, whether it be a singing walrus or a man falling into piranha-infested waters. Whenever I visited a live broadcast of Companion, I always liked to get seats in front of stage left, where Keith positioned his table of sound effects goodies. Not only was he very good, but his facial expressions were hilarious. He was also an actor in Keillor’s sketches, where he played “Buster the Show Dog” and Maurice the maitre d’ at the Cafe Boeuf, among other characters. When I interviewed him in his dressing room, Keith was the same unassuming, funny... Art Radio Theatre Frank Beacham Wed, 02 Nov 2011 07:25:31 -0400 http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2011/10/kristen-bussandri-an-exciting-young-americana-artist-worth-your-attention.html http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2011/10/kristen-bussandri-an-exciting-young-americana-artist-worth-your-attention.html Photo by Laurence Labat --- It is very rare these days that I discover a new recording artist that I really like. I’m handed dozens of demo CDs, but must admit the listening experience is usually deeply depressing. Then, suddenly, magic happens! I knew Kristen Bussandri as the music student of a friend before I had heard her music. When she e-mailed me about her new collection of five songs, called Diamonds to Dust, I listened and was floored by the high quality of her compositions and music. It was a complete and total surprise that came out of the blue. Yes, Virginia, great work survives! Kristen, who now lives in Montreal, has worked hard over the years on her music and it shows. She studied with Ann Ruckert in New York, before returning home to begin a well thought out career. Her style is “country soul,” a term that describes “a lot of mixing of 60s influences including R&B, blues and gentle country.” She likes the description because it brings together diverse parts of her music. “It’s important to have a description of your music. Everything I do and love is in the scope of Americana music — soul,... Art Music Frank Beacham Mon, 31 Oct 2011 08:11:22 -0400 noPhoto by Laurence Labat --- It is very rare these days that I discover a new recording artist that I really like. I’m handed dozens of demo CDs, but must admit the listening experience is usually deeply depressing. Then, suddenly, magic happens! I knew KrPhoto by Laurence Labat --- It is very rare these days that I discover a new recording artist that I really like. I’m handed dozens of demo CDs, but must admit the listening experience is usually deeply depressing. Then, suddenly, magic happens! I knew Kristen Bussandri as the music student of a friend before I had heard her music. When she e-mailed me about her new collection of five songs, called Diamonds to Dust, I listened and was floored by the high quality of her compositions and music. It was a complete and total surprise that came out of the blue. Yes, Virginia, great work survives! Kristen, who now lives in Montreal, has worked hard over the years on her music and it shows. She studied with Ann Ruckert in New York, before returning home to begin a well thought out career. Her style is “country soul,” a term that describes “a lot of mixing of 60s influences including R&B, blues and gentle country.” She likes the description because it brings together diverse parts of her music. “It’s important to have a description of your music. Everything I do and love is in the scope of Americana music — soul,...Art, Music http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2011/10/jimmy-norman-performs-again.html http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2011/10/jimmy-norman-performs-again.html Sometimes miracles happen. And it couldn’t happen to a nicer guy than the man who co-wrote Time is On My Side. Maybe there are more to these lyrics than meets the eye. Six months ago, Jimmy was near death. We all paid our last respects to this great musician. But Jimmy hung on—not ready to leave us yet. Last night, at a Loft Party for the Jazz Foundation of America, Jimmy sang again before a public audience. It was an event that no one expected. Jimmy, a member of the Coasters for 30 years, collaborated with some of the greats, including Bob Marley and Jimi Hendrix. He combines the best of gospel, blues, jazz, country and rock & roll. Jimmy was backed by an all-star band led by Jonny Rosch and featuring Lou Reed, Jeff Golub and Andy Hess. Jimmy did two songs, Collector of Keys, from his latest album, and the classic he co-wrote, Time is On My Side Art Current Affairs History Music Frank Beacham Sun, 30 Oct 2011 12:13:59 -0400 http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2011/10/melvin-van-peebles-sends-a-40-year-old-protest-song.html http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2011/10/melvin-van-peebles-sends-a-40-year-old-protest-song.html A recent New York Times article about the lack of protest songs at Occupy Wall Street has prompted a fierce response from friends, most of whom have written such songs in the past. One came today from my friend, the great Melvin Van Peebles—actor, director, screenwriter, playwright, novelist and music composer. Yes, Melvin has done it all! Though Melvin is most famous for creating the indie film hit, Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song, he directed the motion picture comedy Watermelon Man in 1970, which starred Godfrey Cambridge as a bigoted white insurance insurance salesman who wakes up one morning to find that he has become a black man. Melvin sent me a song from that movie called Love, That’s America, which he recorded 41 years ago. He said he’s thinking of recording a new version of it since “it’s still fresh today.” In the meantime, BW Moving Images has done a video to the song. We live in a time of raging video production that mirrors protests in the streets. Words & Music Melvin Van Peebles © Copyright 1970 EXCUSE ME BUDDY BUT EXCUSE ME LADY BUT YOU FOOLIN AINT YOU WHERE CAN I BE THIS AINT AMERICA IS IT NAW... Activism Film History Music Frank Beacham Sun, 23 Oct 2011 16:02:02 -0400 http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2011/10/judy-collins-on-greenwich-village-in-the-60s-and-the-people-who-made-the-music-that-changed-a-generation.html http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2011/10/judy-collins-on-greenwich-village-in-the-60s-and-the-people-who-made-the-music-that-changed-a-generation.html Before heading to the Occupy Wall Street demonstration in New York City, folk singer Judy Collins stopped by a meeting of audio engineers to talk about the music of the 60s and her 50 years in the business of recording records. “It was 50 years ago that Jac Holzman walked up to me at the Village Gate where I was making a television show,” she recalled. “He said you're now ready to make an album. So I started recording in 1961.” Jac Holzman in 1956 Now, at 71, she has published a new memoir on the era of the 60s and recorded a new CD, titled Bohemian. “I wanted to call this book "Sex, Drugs, Rock ’n Roll and the Music that Changed a Generation,” she said, but her publisher liked the title of a song written for her in 1968 by Stephen Stills—Sweet Judy Blue Eyes. “In 1968, we were having this riotous love affair and the song was written by Stephen to get me back. Well, the song didn't get me back. But he is one of the most exciting musicians I have ever met or worked with. We've remained friends through the years. He has always been... Activism Art History Music Writing Frank Beacham Fri, 21 Oct 2011 19:38:58 -0400 noBefore heading to the Occupy Wall Street demonstration in New York City, folk singer Judy Collins stopped by a meeting of audio engineers to talk about the music of the 60s and her 50 years in the business of recording records. “It was 50 years ago that JBefore heading to the Occupy Wall Street demonstration in New York City, folk singer Judy Collins stopped by a meeting of audio engineers to talk about the music of the 60s and her 50 years in the business of recording records. “It was 50 years ago that Jac Holzman walked up to me at the Village Gate where I was making a television show,” she recalled. “He said you're now ready to make an album. So I started recording in 1961.” Jac Holzman in 1956 Now, at 71, she has published a new memoir on the era of the 60s and recorded a new CD, titled Bohemian. “I wanted to call this book "Sex, Drugs, Rock ’n Roll and the Music that Changed a Generation,” she said, but her publisher liked the title of a song written for her in 1968 by Stephen Stills—Sweet Judy Blue Eyes. “In 1968, we were having this riotous love affair and the song was written by Stephen to get me back. Well, the song didn't get me back. But he is one of the most exciting musicians I have ever met or worked with. We've remained friends through the years. He has always been...Activism, Art, History, Music, Writing http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2011/10/norman-corwin-a-legend-in-radio-dies-at-101.html http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2011/10/norman-corwin-a-legend-in-radio-dies-at-101.html Somehow—out of blind luck—I have worked with two of the great legends of radio. First there was Orson Welles, and later, Norman Corwin, who died this week at age 101. During an amazing career that spanned more than 70 years, Norman Corwin wrote, produced and directed for radio, television, film and the stage. His writing won Emmy and Golden Globe awards, and received an Academy Award nomination for his script for the 1956 film, Lust for Life, the biography of Vincent van Gogh starring Kirk Douglas. Corwin was a creative giant of the Golden Age of Radio. Actor William Shatner, who narrated several of Corwin's later radio programs, called him a legend. “He is the poetic soul of discretion and a monument to artistry in America," Shatner said. During the Golden Age of Radio, Corwin did it all—from variety shows to dramas, comedies to documentaries. He was a contemporary of Orson Welles, who also ruled in the audio medium. He kept writing and producing programs for most of his long life. I met Corwin through Peggy Webber, who had also worked as an actor for Welles. She still runs the California Artists Radio Theatre in Los Angeles, where I directed... Art Film Radio Writing Frank Beacham Wed, 19 Oct 2011 09:02:23 -0400 http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2011/10/edgar-villchur-built-the-first-women-friendly-high-fidelity-home-speakers.html http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2011/10/edgar-villchur-built-the-first-women-friendly-high-fidelity-home-speakers.html I have a woman friend in New York City with the most exquisite sounding music system. The wall-hanging speakers are old and have been painted over many times—but the audio is sweet and clear. When I asked one day about it, she told me the speakers are original Acoustic Research AR-1s, first built in 1954. The man who designed those speakers, Edgar M. Villchur, has died at age 94. He was considered one of the great names in American audio and those speakers on my friend’s wall are very special. They are small—yet produce deep, rich sounds like no others their size. In the days when they were built, good speakers came in huge cabinets. By reducing the size in his acoustic suspension design, Villchur revolutionized home audio. Many women would allow speakers into their home for the first time due to their tolerable size. Villchur and a student, Henry Kloss, who died in 2002, formed Acoustic Research to market the speakers. By 1966, the company sold more speakers than any other manufacturer in the world—with a 32 percent share of the market. Villchur’s speaker design is on display at the Smithsonian Institution. Villchur went on to design other Hi-Fi... Art History Music Web/Tech Frank Beacham Tue, 18 Oct 2011 08:03:15 -0400 http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2011/10/revisiting-bob-dylans-masterpiece-masked-and-anonymous.html http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2011/10/revisiting-bob-dylans-masterpiece-masked-and-anonymous.html It was in March, 2006—while taking Robert Levinson’s Bob Dylan class at the New School in New York City—that several class members met the guest speaker that night for dinner at a coffee shop before the session began. He was Richard Thomas, director of graduate studies and professor of classics, at Harvard. Dr. Thomas is quite an expert on Dylan, having written a book and lectured on his performance artistry and such esoteric subjects as “the Aesthetics of Pastoral Melancholy from Virgil to Dylan.” But that night, what I mainly remember, was our discussion of Dylan’s 2003 feature film, Masked and Anonymous. On the surface, most critics said the film was about how a singer, whose career had gone on a downward spiral, was forced to make a comeback to the performance stage for a benefit concert. Those critics totally missed what the film was really about. It was immediately panned as another clueless Dylan effort, which if they didn’t understand, no one else possibly could either. Thomas, of course, wasn’t one of those critics. He got the film immediately. “In three hundred years, when people look back at the entire Sony motion picture catalog of that era, only one... Art Film Music Frank Beacham Fri, 14 Oct 2011 14:38:13 -0400 http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2011/10/from-dylan-the-dead-to-blackie-the-dog-minnesota-singer-songwriter-paul-metsas-new-memoir-is-a-compe.html http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2011/10/from-dylan-the-dead-to-blackie-the-dog-minnesota-singer-songwriter-paul-metsas-new-memoir-is-a-compe.html For the past month, I have been slowly absorbing a great new book that has turned into an old friend. It’s called Blue Guitar Highway by Paul Metsa, a Minnesota musician I met online through my blog and who now I feel like I’ve known all my life. I’m not a musician, but I love music and the people who make it. I especially like the little dive bar clubs—those tiny rock ’n roll dungeons where the genuine, real-life jams happen late at night after the paying crowd has left the building. Paul Metsa takes you into these clubs and navigates through the ups and downs of a working musician’s life. It is a mesmerizing journey in a real page-turner. What’s unique is Paul Metsa, at least here in New York City, is not a household name. He’s not a “famous” musician living a privileged “rock star” life. Yet, as you learn as the story unfolds, he has played with and for a virtual who’s who of musicians at some of the top venues in the nation. This is a guy who loves music and often lives gig to gig on minuscule paychecks, yet has a life that is rich... Books Current Affairs History Music Frank Beacham Tue, 11 Oct 2011 21:51:27 -0400 noFor the past month, I have been slowly absorbing a great new book that has turned into an old friend. It’s called Blue Guitar Highway by Paul Metsa, a Minnesota musician I met online through my blog and who now I feel like I’ve known all my life. I’m not For the past month, I have been slowly absorbing a great new book that has turned into an old friend. It’s called Blue Guitar Highway by Paul Metsa, a Minnesota musician I met online through my blog and who now I feel like I’ve known all my life. I’m not a musician, but I love music and the people who make it. I especially like the little dive bar clubs—those tiny rock ’n roll dungeons where the genuine, real-life jams happen late at night after the paying crowd has left the building. Paul Metsa takes you into these clubs and navigates through the ups and downs of a working musician’s life. It is a mesmerizing journey in a real page-turner. What’s unique is Paul Metsa, at least here in New York City, is not a household name. He’s not a “famous” musician living a privileged “rock star” life. Yet, as you learn as the story unfolds, he has played with and for a virtual who’s who of musicians at some of the top venues in the nation. This is a guy who loves music and often lives gig to gig on minuscule paychecks, yet has a life that is rich...Books, Current Affairs, History, Music http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2011/10/the-death-of-steve-jobs-ends-a-spectacular-era-of-american-creativity.html http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2011/10/the-death-of-steve-jobs-ends-a-spectacular-era-of-american-creativity.html It was in the early 1980s, at the Day in the Life of Hawaii photographic project in Honolulu, that I first used an Apple Lisa computer. The Lisa, named after the daughter of Steve Jobs, was the first computer that I could actually work with without having to pay a computer programmer a recurring fee to make the damn machine useable. In January, 1984, when the Apple Macintosh was introduced during a commercial in the Super Bowl, I vowed to buy one. I purchased the first 128K Macintosh and never looked back. I have remained a loyal Mac user ever since, buying new models every couple of years. The Macintosh has been responsible for allowing me to work for myself on my own terms. That was 27 years ago. It is a testament to the genius of Steve Jobs that I, as well as millions of others, learned of his death last night on a machine that he invented. There is no question in my mind that he was the singular force in developing the best technology in my lifetime. No one else was in his league. I’ve seen Apple with and without him— and there’s no question which was... Art Current Affairs Web/Tech Frank Beacham Thu, 06 Oct 2011 07:07:49 -0400 http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2011/10/harlem-street-singer-the-rev-gary-davis-film-gets-a-rough-cut-screening-in-new-york.html http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2011/10/harlem-street-singer-the-rev-gary-davis-film-gets-a-rough-cut-screening-in-new-york.html The new documentary film—Harlem Street Singer: The Reverend Gary Davis Story—previewed before two audiences in rough-cut form Monday night. Some of the participants, including bluesman John Hammond Jr. and guitarist Barry Kornfeld, were in the audience. The film tells the little-known story of Davis, a great ragtime and gospel musician who impacted a generation of major musical performers. Though not finished yet, the project is nearing completion with a release date expected to be early next year. Still to be shot is an interview with Peter Yarrow, but already in the film are Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead (with the Dead performing the music of Rev. Davis), Jorma Kaukonen, David Bromberg, Stefan Grossman, Happy Traum, John Cohen and others. The film is being produced by Woody Mann and Trevor Laurence. Mann is a guitarist who studied with Rev. Davis in Harlem as a teenager. The film features tapes of Mann’s sessions with Davis. Mann is also an expert on American blues and folk music and has been a faculty member at the New School in New York City. He performs in the film. Laurence is also well schooled in the Rev. Davis’s music and has been a teacher of... Film History Music Television Frank Beacham Mon, 03 Oct 2011 22:58:09 -0400 http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2011/10/its-not-that-dylan-copied-other-works-its-that-he-didnt-make-them-better.html http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2011/10/its-not-that-dylan-copied-other-works-its-that-he-didnt-make-them-better.html I visited the Gagosian Gallery in Manhattan this weekend to see Bob Dylan’s Asia Series paintings. The viewing rooms were nearly empty when I was there and the paintings—well I can only say they were disappointing. Not because of all the hoopla being made over Dylan's alleged copying, but because the works themselves had a kind of amateurish quality. It was clear to me that if Bob Dylan’s name was not on these paintings, they would never have gotten such a prestigious showing. Back to the hoopla, which not only surprised me, but demonstrated again just how gullible many of Dylan’s fans actually are. The man, himself, admitted he had done some of the paintings from other images. So what? Dylan’s been doing that in his music since the early 1960s. What I think is confusing to some critics with no sense of creative history is the recording industry’s misleading campaign against music copyright infringement. The Recording Industry of America (RIAA) would have people think that all songs are completely original and come out of thin air. This has led many, especially younger people, to believe the use of other works of art is outright theft. Most art is copied... Art Current Affairs Music Photography Frank Beacham Sat, 01 Oct 2011 14:13:19 -0400 http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2011/09/a-reunion-of-musical-history-in-washington-square-park.html http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2011/09/a-reunion-of-musical-history-in-washington-square-park.html The musical interconnections of those gathered in Washington Square Park on Sunday boggle the mind. It’s billed as an annual folk music reunion, but to those who ask questions and dig deeper, the rewards are rich. Take Roger Sprung, age 81. A pioneer in progressive bluegrass banjo, he has been playing in the park since 1947. After being exposed to country musician Bascom Lamar Lunsford in the South, Sprung almost single handily introduced authentic Southern bluegrass banjo picking styles to the folk music movement in Washington Square Park. He has recorded with Leadbelly and Woody Guthrie. His “Tom Dooley” was recorded and popularized by the Kingston Trio. Steve Mandell squared off with Eric Weissberg as the guitar-playing city boy versus the banjo playing country boy in the film, Deliverance. "Dueling Banjos" became a huge hit in 1973 and remains so today. Peter Stampfel is the only person ever to play music with Bob Dylan, Sam Shepard, Mississippi John Hurt and Buckminster Fuller. He has a long legacy of folk and rock, and was a founding member of both the Fugs and the Holy Modal Rounders. The Holy Modal Rounders, by the way, featured the first use of the term "psychedelic"... Art History Music Frank Beacham Sun, 25 Sep 2011 19:10:46 -0400 http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2011/09/-feds-leave-gibson-guitars-alone.html http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2011/09/-feds-leave-gibson-guitars-alone.html My disappointment with the Obama administration runs very deep these days. While Obama’s Justice Department lets virtually every financial villain off the hook for the worse economic meltdown in our history, now the administration raids Gibson's guitar plants. Over what: wood! On August 24th, government agents executed four search warrants on Gibson Guitar’s facilities in Nashville and Memphis, and seized several pallets of wood, electronic files and guitars. The raids forced Gibson to cease manufacturing operations and send workers home for the day while armed agents of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service executed the search warrants for ebony and rosewood that was imported from India. The feds claim that Gibson violated the Lacey Act, which stipulates that a company cannot import wood in a manner that’s against the laws of the country the wood is coming from. However, Gibson has complied with Indian law and no concerns have been raised by the Indian government. “Agents seized wood that was Forest Stewardship Council controlled,” said Henry Juszkiewicz, Gibson’s CEO. “Gibson has a long history of supporting sustainable and responsible sources of wood and has worked diligently with entities such as the Rainforest Alliance and Greenpeace to secure FSC-certified supplies. The... Frank Beacham Tue, 20 Sep 2011 12:05:58 -0400 http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2011/09/happy-birthday-danny-kalb.html http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2011/09/happy-birthday-danny-kalb.html Danny Kalb, founder of the Blues Project and one of the great living guitar players, is 69 today. We wish him a very happy birthday. Yesterday, he had a party in his Brooklyn apartment. There were more guitar players per square inch than I’ve experienced in years. It was a great day, with a terrific jam and a wonderful exchange of stories about a who’s who in the music business. Barry Kornfeld, (far right) the legendary guitarist who is retired and no longer even touches a guitar, used to “lead” the Rev. Gary Davis, whose great songs still resonate in Kalb’s body of work. I mentioned that the people of South Carolina, where Davis was born in Laurens, don’t know him today. Kornfeld wasn’t surprised, saying Davis didn’t become famous until the 1960s, along with other performers like Mississippi John Hurt and John Lee Hooker after they played in Greenwich Village. He knew them all, as well as Bob Dylan, who he said once told him he’d played piano for Elvis Presley. “I don’t think so,” said Kornfeld, amused by Dylan's antics. Current Affairs Music Frank Beacham Mon, 19 Sep 2011 10:05:49 -0400 http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2011/09/information-without-knowledge.html http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2011/09/information-without-knowledge.html Information everywhere. We are drowning in it. We are assured that information is wealth. To succeed in the new economy, we are told, we must be connected. Why then—with so much information—are we in an age of such unenlightenment? Why is virtually any idea of substance "dumbed down" for public consumption? Why is instant gratification so important to so many of us? Easy access to information, it would seem on the surface, should be leading to a better educated, more knowledgeable population. So why is it that as information technology improves, most people move down, not up, the knowledge chain? Some answers to these questions emerged from a symposium where a group of major American artists tried to grapple with creative issues facing them in the age of digital media. The session, called "Digital Expression," was held at the Media Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge. Peter Sellars, a director of theater, opera and film, offered some insight on modern information overload. Hundreds of years ago, Sellars said, people in search of knowledge went on personal pilgrimages for information. The process, he said, could take years. By not having the information easily available, there was experience attached... Art Current Affairs Science TV News Web/Tech Frank Beacham Sat, 17 Sep 2011 07:56:20 -0400 http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2011/09/a-short-history-of-the-blues.html http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2011/09/a-short-history-of-the-blues.html (This editorial was in the Guardian in the United Kingdom. It offers a short history lession and brings a unique sensibility to the importance of the Delta Blues rarely found in American mass media.) The death, at 95, of David Honeyboy Edwards severs the last living link with the original blues of the Mississippi Delta. Arthur Big Boy Crudup, Delta Blind Billy, Papa Charlie McCoy. They sound like the stuff of legend, even before you get to those who indisputably are: the Howlin Wolfs, the Muddy Waters and the John Lee Hookers. The death, at 95, of David Honeyboy Edwards severs the last living link with the original blues of the Mississippi Delta, music which grew out of the sweltering bitterness of southern cotton fields yet conquered the world nonetheless. Honeyboy was there when the most legendary bluesman of the lot, Robert Johnson –- the guitarist who sold his soul to the devil at the crossroads where blues myth meets blues reality –- drank the laced whiskey which killed him at just 27. It was the re-release of pre-war Johnson recordings in 1961 which reconnected modern song-writing and rock performance with its forgotten roots, by catching the ear of young... History Music Frank Beacham Fri, 02 Sep 2011 09:02:25 -0400 http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2011/08/honeyboy-edwards-blues-royalty-is-dead-at-95.html http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2011/08/honeyboy-edwards-blues-royalty-is-dead-at-95.html David "Honeyboy" Edwards was blues royalty. He traveled every blues highway many, many times, and played with virtually every major blues musician of the 20th and 21st Century. He was the real thing, and now he has died at age 95. It’s hard to underestimate Edwards' authenticity in the blues. He is believed to have been the oldest surviving member of the first generation of Delta blues singers. He was born in 1915 in Shaw, Mississippi, and at 14-years-old he began performing with Big Joe Williams. He was on the road until last April, when his health declined. Just shy of his 96th birthday, he played his last gigs at the Juke Joint Festival and Cathead Mini-Festival in Clarksdale, Mississippi on April 16 and 17. Edwards played with them all, including Robert Johnson, Charlie Patton, Big Joe Williams, Sonny Boy Williamson, Howlin' Wolf, Sunnyland Slim, Lightnin' Hopkins, Big Walter, Little Walter, Magic Sam and Muddy Waters. He was the last living link to Robert Johnson, widely considered the King of the Delta Blues. Johnson and Edwards traveled together, performing on street corners and at picnics, dances and fish fries during the 1930s. “We would walk through the country with our... Music Frank Beacham Tue, 30 Aug 2011 07:57:42 -0400 http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2011/08/steve-jobs-is-a-one-of-a-kind-genius-very-rare-in-todays-world.html http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2011/08/steve-jobs-is-a-one-of-a-kind-genius-very-rare-in-todays-world.html When 20-something tech “journalists” tell you Apple Computer will be just fine without Steve Jobs, don’t believe a word they say. They know nothing. We lived through the period when John Sculley and Gil Amelio ran Apple, and it wasn’t a pretty picture. Most corporations today are run by committees of lame—sometimes stupid—people. Most MBA-era executives are constantly fearful with little real instinct about how to make anything—much less brilliant products that people want. They always worry about the bottom line. Steve Jobs was never like them. He is an original thinker with a singular instinct for the next great thing. Apple has never done focus groups. Jobs goes by his gut instincts and is usually right. In an interview Jobs once said that Microsoft's Bill Gates would "be a broader guy if he had dropped acid once." That statement was not a joke. It’s perhaps a dirty little secret today that psychedelic drugs pushed the computer and Internet revolutions forward by demonstrating that reality can be profoundly altered through unconventional, highly intuitive thinking. It was not like the government told you. Steve Jobs could take one look at Microsoft and know exactly what was wrong. “They just have no... Current Affairs History Science Web/Tech Frank Beacham Thu, 25 Aug 2011 04:42:31 -0400 http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2011/08/stax-records-tribute-endures-a-pouring-rain-in-new-york-city.html http://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2011/08/stax-records-tribute-endures-a-pouring-rain-in-new-york-city.html Sometimes great concerts have to be earned by everyone—from the members of the audience to the performers to the stage crew. Such was the case in New York City Sunday night at an outdoor tribute to Stax Records at Lincoln Center. It rained, even poured at times. Crews pushed water off the stage during breaks, as performers marveled at the endurance of the tiny crowd shivering under a sea of umbrellas. But the music was too good to be stopped. Stax Records of Memphis was a major factor in the creation of Southern soul music, as well as a conduit for gospel, funk, jazz and blues recordings in the 1960s. As former Stax president Al Bell watched from the side of the stage, the Bar-Kays performed with James Alexander, 63, playing bass guitar. Alexander was the bassist for the band when, in 1967, four of the six band members were killed in the same plane crash that took the life of Otis Redding, the biggest Stax star. Alexander was the only Bar-Kays member not aboard that flight as the plane, a Beechcraft owned by Redding, only held eight occupants (Redding, five of the Bar-Kays, the pilot and Redding's road manager);... Frank Beacham Mon, 15 Aug 2011 03:36:59 -0400 nonadult