Categories
music

Music Wednesday

Album Covers. Bambara. Jills Veranda. Ozzy. Stephen Malkmas.

A little something for everyone this week. It’s a 20-minute playlist starting gentle with Jill Johnson & Loney Dear and moving toward a close with Ozzy. How can you go wrong with Ozzy!?

I picked up the first track because I’m a huge fan of Loney Dear. Pushing play I discovered a lovely cover of Can’t Help Falling in Love with You sung as a duet with Jill Johnson.

Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube

For those who know me well, you know that I’ve been a huge Daniel Lanois fan since the 80s (when he produced a couple of my favorite U2 albums). In the 90’s, I created and ran a fan-based website for him. Here we see him return as part of the Red Dead Redemption II soundtrack. He’s got a few tracks on the album, but this one is my favorite. Enjoy That’s the Way It Is. Classic Lanois.

Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube

California Central Valley band Pavement broke up in 2000, but the primary songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist has some new music out now. Stephen Malkmus sounds great throughout the Traditional Techniques album, but my favorite track so far is Xian Man. A great retro sound reminiscent of the Velvet Underground.

Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube

I’m not recalling where I came across this next band, but I was interested in the band from the first listen to their new album Stray. They’re categorized as punk, but this probably means the modern definition of punk rather than the 80s version of punk. This is the opening track. Miracle.

Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube

Ozzy. Ozzy. Ozzy. What can I say? I’m a fan. After the most excellent 2013 Black Sabbath album, I was curious to hear what Ozzy had in store for us in 2020. He gets a little soft with the Elton John song and a little hip hop with the Malone song, but it’s the opening track that sounds like Ozzy. Abrasive. Humorous. And a great guitar solo by Slash. Even the title speaks Ozzy: Straight to Hell.

Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube

Happy listening.
Kenley



Categories
Buddhism Environment Library Reading

Sunday Reads

I often seek inspiration from people or communities that step out and stand for something. Actually doing something meaningful. The Wet’suwet’en Nation is one such community. In the effort to protect the environment, we need communities like this to be heard. No Surrender: Inside the Wet’suwet’en Protest Camp That Refused to Cede Land for a Pipeline, from The Intercept, looks in detail at their efforts.

Speaking of stepping out. My colleague Meredith Farkas did just that by opening writing about mental health within the library community. Check out LISMentalHealth: That time my brain and job tried to kill me from Information Wants To Be Free. I know the feelings expressed here all to well.

As a Buddhist practitioner, I was very much appreciated this next piece by Kritee published in Lions Roar. We too can and should take action. Why Bodhisattvas Need to Disrupt the Status Quo.

Aldous Huxley argued that all religions in the world were underpinned by universal beliefs and experiences. Was he right? What can we learn from Perennial Philosophy? Are we seeing more spiritual convergence?

And now for something completely different, and yet, still right up my alley. This one is a tech piece. Is Apple an illegal monopoly? For those who know me, I’m definitely an Apple guy and strongly situated in their camp. So, I found this article interesting. Apple’s Secret Monopoly.

Happy reading!

Categories
music

Music Wednesday

Five new music tracks for your Wednesday evening. It’s available as an Apple Music Playlist or individually below.

  1. Pictures by Ásgeir
    Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube
  2. The Kids Are Having None of It by Frazy Ford
    Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube
  3. Oceans by RY X & Ólafur Arnalds
    Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube
  4. Massive Oscillations by Waclaw Zimpel
    Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube
  5. Guardians of Earth by Sepulture
    Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube

Categories
Reading

Sunday Reads

I’ve been suffering from some boredom lately. In some ways it’s a good thing, but it’s definitely not something I’m not very used too. When I came across this article by Neel Burton, I had to give it a read. He writes, “How might we, mere mortals, best cope with boredom?” in Boredom is but a window to a sunny day beyond the gloom.

A close follow up to the boredom, is the benefit of walking. Ferris Jabr explores this idea in Why Walking Helps Is Think. Just today I took a 3-mile walk without headphones and I was surprised at home much creativity arose.

Another topic that I’ve been living with has to do with liminal space. I’m definitely in between. Claudia Smith takes this to driving, parking lots, and hotel hallways. When her narrative takes the reader down Westheimer, I can completely envision the space having spent a few months in Houston last year. Check out In Between.

Some of the finest investigative journalism comes from The Intercept. This piece is a wake up call for the environmental movement, particularly in light of the current administration. Makes me feel some solidarity with those in Oregon struggling to make a difference. Read A Canadian Energy Company Bought an Oregon Sheriff’s Unit by Will Parish and Alleen Brown.

Illustration: Alex Petrowsky for The Intercept

If you like their work, you can donate.

The last piece today is food for thought. It’s a criticism of the left and how they’ve lost their way. It’s not all to agree with, but certainly enough to turn a head. Umair Haque writes, “When the left gives up on its fundamental values of gentleness, decency, humanity, friendship, expansiveness, curiousity — and replaces them with spite, rage, intimidation, hostility, conformity, and tribalism…in what way is it different from the hard right?” in It Was the Worst Decade for the Left Since the 1930s. How Come Nobody Much Noticed — or Cares?

I hope you enjoy these pieces as much as I did.

Kenley

Categories
Reading

Sunday Reads

  1. This is an introductory article to a much longer report. REPORT: Hundreds Killed or Attacked in El Salvador After Being Deported From U.S. You can also read the entire report.
  2. From Yes Magazine, Black Farmers Embrace Practices of Climate Resiliency reveals what we can do in addressing the climate crisis.
  3. It’s Detroit! The Blackest City in the U.S. Is Facing an Environmental Justice Nightmare
  4. From today’s NYT, For Thousands of Years, Egypt Controlled the Nile. A New Dam Threatens That. It’s a good article, I only wish they’d spent more time on the climate aspects. One sentence in particular reached out to me: “Egypt’s population increases by one million people every six months — a soaring rate that the United Nations predicts will lead to water shortages by 2025. Rising sea levels threaten to nibble at Egypt’s low-lying coast and help push saltwater inland, spoiling fertile land. Increasingly volatile weather is another risk.”
Nile River
Categories
Reading

Sunday Reads

Skip the Super Bowl and spend some time reading! ?

  1. What does sea level rise really look like? Read some data and analysis. Sea Level Rise: It’s Probably Worse Than You Think
  2. Written from the perspective of being Black in a time of climate change. 15 Years After Katrina, a Fight Against ‘the Jim Crow of Climate Change’ Rages on in the Gulf Coast
  3. My candidate for president is Bernie Sanders. A look at him, Biden and Warren. Only Sanders Can Undo Trump
  4. For the librarian and educator audience. The title says it all. Information Privilege and First-year Students: A Case Study from a First-year Seminar Course Using Access to Information as a Lens for Exploring Privilege
  5. A short but important essay on practicing Buddhism and being Black. Sweeping my Heart

Categories
music

Music Wednesday

I can’t believe it’s been a month since the last music posting. So, now it’s 2020 and a whole new release of music. Some of these are older (2019) but still excellent.

  1. In the Afternoon by MGMT. This is their teaser song before the entire album is dropped (we hope). Dreamy pop circa 1980. Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube
  2. for L by Jeff Parker. Pretty straight forward jazz on this track. Some of the others on Suite for Max Brown are a bit more edgy. Guitar jazz. Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube
  3. Magpie’s Nest by Bonny Light Horseman. I’m really digging this new album. I’ll place it in the folk category. Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube
  4. Immigrant Boogie by Ghostpoet. Hypnotic and dark. Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube
  5. Beograd by SebastiAn. Dance. Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube

Enjoy!

Bonnie Light Horseman Album Cover. It's a head of horse.