I mentioned our anniversary trip yesterday. I wrote this post before we hit the road, so I have no Memphian details to add. I’m also keeping this short.

January 2021 was John Hiatt-Edward Hopper month in this feature. Why break up a good combination? Americana, baby.

John Hiatt wrote this week’s theme song for the 1987 album Bring The Family. It was recorded in Nashville with what became the short-lived super group, Little Village. It was made up of Hiatt, Nick Lowe, Ry Cooder, and the fire in the engine room, Jim Keltner.

We have three versions of Memphis In The Meantime for your listening pleasure: the studio original, Hiatt live with The Goners, and Gregg Allman.

Here’s another Memphis song from John’s pal Lyle Lovett:

The Hopper featured image evokes another Hiatt song from Bring The Family:

We begin our second act with a piece by a friend.

Clancy’s 50th Anniversary: Clancy DuBos is the dean of Louisiana political pundits. I’ve been reading him and watching him on teevee since I moved to New Orleans.

We became friends after Hurricane Katrina and the Federal Flood when he admitted to being one of my readers when we first met. I was honored and flattered but he’ll be disappointed if I get too flowery. Gushy isn’t my style, y’all.

Clancy’s latest Gambit column celebrates 50 years in journalism. He proclaims, “this is still my dream job.”

I love it when good things happen to good people.

Thanks for letting me bug you via text during election broadcasts, mon ami. I try to make you laugh on camera, but it never works. Oh well, what the hell.

Congrats, Clancy. This song is dedicated to you:

Tom Nichols Does Succession: Have I told you lately that the Atlantic’s Tom Nichols is Greek?

He’s not only Greek American, he played a pundit on the election night episode of Succession:

I filched that photo from a swell piece Radio Free Tom wrote about his appearance. I’d ask him if Kieran Culkin speaks in complete sentences IRL, but I don’t want to be a pest. I’ve already reached my limit of pestiferousness in this post. So it goes.

FYI, Radio Free Tom is his Twitter handle. I don’t know if it has anything with the song that gets the last word of our second act:

We begin our third act with our favorite stolen feature.

Separated At Birth Casting Edition: I have Murdochs real and fictional on my mind. Bombshell is one of two dramatizations of the Roger Ailes-Gretchen Carlson mishigas that led to Ailes’ ouster. Malcolm McDowell played Rupe.

I think Malcolm is saying “Fuck off.” Oops, that’s Logan Roy’s catch phrase. So much for separating fact from fiction. That gave me a fraction too much friction or some such shit:

Your Weekly Oscar: This fabulous OP composition was inspired by working with Fred Astaire.

Have I told you lately how much I love Oscar Peterson? That goes for this guy too:

Oscar the cat was a stand up guy. I miss both Oscars.

Saturday GIF Horse: Ready for more Malcolm McDowell? Here are two images from A Clockwork Orange;  the Kubrick classic that made MM a star.

It’s hard being a droog.

The Best Of Letterman: One of the best things about Dave’s chat show was the music. Since I’m featuring a Los Lobos concert tomorrow, here’s a collection of their Letterman appearances.

Let’s close down this virtual honky tonk with some more music.

Saturday Closer: I’m currently a cat person but I grew up with dogs. This Aimee Mann song gives equal time to all the dog lovers out there.

Oops, the song just has a canine title. Never mind.

That’s all for this week’s quick and dirty Odds & Sods post. The last word goes to Little Village: