Arturo Toscanini
Arturo Toscanini retired from the NBC orchestra before I saw him perform live, but later on in the 1960s, NBC had showed reruns of these famed orchestra performances. I watched them as a young boy, and was riveted by the music, and by Toscanini.
After reading a recent article on him in the New Yorker, I felt a twinge of sadness about the trajectory his career went given his once immense popularity, and the passion he displayed. I remember as a child watching awestruck, and now today, as I watched him again. He was an amazing figure in classical music and in the early days of broadcast television.
The broadcast below is from 1952, when he was 85 years old. Watch it uninterrupted (11:54), and feel the heights this man took his craft. You’ll find more Youtube links to explore, should you be moved to do so. I was.
Long Strange Trip
Most entertaining.
If you were just half a Grateful Dead fan, you will breeze through all six episodes. Every interview has intelligent and thoughtful accountings of the odyssey of the Grateful Dead. The depth was unexpected. Tons of great unearthed footage and culture as backdrop from a musical era that already sticks to many of us forever.
I wasn’t a Deadhead, by any stretch, but I appreciated the band for what they were trying to do. Mostly it was Jerry Garcia’s guitar, and Robert Hunter’s thinking man’s lyrics that made me a fan. I had their first 8 or 9 albums and then I fell off in ’74. Unlike the true acolyte, I didn’t hang on every note and word, following them from show to show, convinced of a deeper meaning of it all. Still, I had plenty of Dead favorites that I enjoyed just for the music’s sake. I suppose Jerry would be just fine with that.
Highly recommended.
Gregg Allman: 20 Essential Songs
The rock band that sold me the blues. Outstanding list including some of the very best from the band’s legendary heyday. Each one deserves a listen. Respect! RIP Gregg.
Gregg Allman: 20 Essential Songs
Southern rock pioneer fused country blues with San Francisco-style extended improvisation, creating a template for countless jam bands.
Let It Snow (Warning: Potential Offensive Language)
“Oh the weather outside is frightful,
But the fire is so delightful,
And since we’ve no place to go,
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
My Ass! Get that shit outta here!
Get that motherfucking white dirt black slag shit crap outta my face. Fuck this!!
It doesn’t show signs of stopping,
And I’ve bought some corn for popping,
The lights are turned way down low,
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
No! Noooooo! I hate it! It sucks!! No!! DO NOT LET IT SNOW! I REPEAT.
DO NOT LET IT SNOW!! SHIT!!! AGAIN??! FUCK!!
The fire is slowly dying,
And, my dear, we’re still good-bying,
But as long as you love me so,
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!