An American Tune, by Paul Simon

Happy Independence Day.

Paul Simon singing his American Tune on British television in 1975.

More songs about America

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Lamentations of the Father, by Ian Frazier, read by Isaiah Sheffer

Selected Shorts replayed one of my favorite stories this week. Ian Frazier’s hilarious Lamentations of the Father, read by the great Isaiah Sheffer.

More Isaiah Sheffer.

Poem for Summer Solstice: More Than Enough, by Marge Piercy

More Than Enough

by Marge Piercy

The first lily of June opens its red mouth.
All over the sand road where we walk
multiflora rose climbs trees cascading
white or pink blossoms, simple, intense
the scene drifting like colored mist.

The arrowhead is spreading its creamy
clumps of flower and the blackberries
are blooming in the thickets. Season of
joy for the bee. The green will never
again be so green, so purely and lushly

new, grass lifting its wheaty seedheads
into the wind. Rich fresh wine
of June, we stagger into you smeared
with pollen, overcome as the turtle
laying her eggs in roadside sand.

 

More poetry

Angelique Kidjo: Born Under Punches

Angelique Kidjo has a new album of covers of every song on Talking Heads’ Remain in Light album. She calls it Remain in Light. Sounds great to me.

 

Cynthia Alexander: Motorbykle

I love this Cynthia Alexander song.

Bob Dorough

The great Bob Dorough, composer of Blue Xmas, many beloved Schoolhouse Rock tunes, and loads of other cleverness, has died at the ripe old age of 94.

This is my favorite Bob Dorough song, performed by Blossom Dearie.

And here’s Bob himself singing one of his lovely Schoolhouse Rock tunes.

 

Fresh Air has a wonderful episode of past interviews with Dorough, including lots of music.

May he rest in a peace as peaceful as his cool, soothing voice.

 

Edouard Vuillard’s Spring Light

These Edouard Vuillard paintings seem to me to perfectly capture the chilly sunlight of early spring.

 

Brymo: Heya!

A lovely song, and an evocative video, by Brymo.

Found on the excellent Everlasting Blört.