03/28/2015

Welcome back, Gentle Reader(s), to the friendly confines of that Worldwide Water-Wiggle of Digi-rific Blognostications and Exhortations, Matador Playlist. A momentous week it has been indeed, highlighted by the much-anticipated appearance of Tweedy at the Lensic Performing Arts Center, courtesy of the one and only Heath Concerts and its mindful mastermind, Jamie Lenfestey. It would be nigh on impossible to top Wilco's performance at the Santa Fe Opera in September, 2012—a major Lenfestey triumph—but last night's Tweedy concert came in a very close second, in my estimation. I swung by the venue late afternoon-ish to, perchance, hand Spencer Tweedy a copy of Your Humble Narrator's very first book of photographic emissions, but the band had already completed its soundcheck and headed out, either into the crisp Santa Fe afternoon or back to the hotel for a pre-show nap (judging by the impressive bed-head that Spencer was sporting later in the evening, I'll wager it was the latter). Not to be discouraged, YHN left the aforementioned tome in the capable hands of the Lensic tech crew, with the trust and hope that they were not overly biblio-kleptically inclined.
03/21/2015

On one hand, Spencer Tweedy likely requires little in the way of introduction. If you know of his father, Jeff, and his work you probably have a pretty good idea of where Spencer is coming from, aesthetically speaking. He lives in Chicago, turned 19 in December of last year, and is currently on tour with his dad and their band, Tweedy, in support of their album Sukierae which was released in September.   On the other hand, considering Spencer merely as adjunct to his father and his father’s career does not, of course, give him the credit he very much deserves. Spencer is much more than Jeff Tweedy’s son, cool though that may be. He is a very thoughtful and articulate young man whose precocity you can sample at his blog where he posts photographs, essays, video clips and music. (Sounds somewhat familiar… but despite his youthful years he’s been at it for quite a while longer than Your Humble Narrator.) In addition to Tweedy, the band, Spencer has a variety of other musical involvements and I can assure you that they are definitely well worth a listen. His album with the Blisters, Finally Bored, resides very happily on YHN’s iPod and the song Own It by the Raccoonists (Jeff + Spencer + younger brother Sammy) enjoys steady rotation on the DJ Inky playlist.
03/05/2015

Every spring I look forward to it, but not quite in the manner of, say, a holiday or a birthday—I’m well past the point of looking forward to those. Neither fully secular, sacred nor profane, it is more the initiation of a process than a specific event. Nonetheless, elements of spirituality, rebirth, renewal, and a quasi-mystical sense of nostalgia are commonly associated with it. Much misty-eyed, overwrought commentary has accrued to it over the years. Why stop now?   Despite the histrionics, this annual ritual could not be more democratic, more quintessentially American, more beautifully ordinary in its extraordinary way. It is the return of baseball season—spring training in early March in Florida and Arizona, and the regular season a month later across the continent. It is a feeling like no other and I love it dearly. In the immortal words of the fictional plucky Dominican, Chico Escuela, ‘Béisbol been berry berry good to me.’