Fall has stalled in New Orleans. It’s not summer hot, but highs have been in the mid-80’s with humidity on the rise. Where has my autumn gone?
The big local news is that beloved WWL-TV morning anchor Eric Paulsen has died at the age of 74. He was a witty man with a passion for New Orleans music and musicians. He was one of many reasons our local news is so good. He’s already missed.
Dr. A and I early voted last week. It was the only time we went downtown during the Swiftie invasion of New Orleans. It was a benign invasion complete with friendship bracelets. My friends in the service industry did well as business was good and the tips flowed. I’m still not a fan of her music but the kids are alright.
This week’s theme song was written in 1975 by John Whitehead, Gene McFadden, and Victor Carstarphen. It was the song that made a star of Teddy Pendergrass; something for which we should all be grateful.
I’m posting Wake Up Everybody to exhort, not extort, people to vote and do whatever else they can to take down the MAGA menace.
We have three versions of Wake Up Everybody for your listening pleasure; the album version by Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes followed by the group on Soul Train, then Keb Mo from his 2004 album of protest songs, Peace…Back By Popular Demand.
You knew this next song was coming. It’s called going from the sublime to the silly:
How could I resist posting a number by my countryman Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou DBA George Michael? I’m weak that way.
One more wakeful song for the road or whatever the hell this is:
We begin our second act with a story for art lovers and fans of a good detective story.
The Art Sleuth: Clifford Schorer III is an amateur art detective who specializes in recovering lost masterpieces: one of which is the Camille Pissarro painting that’s our featured image this week. He’s an enigmatic figure who’s a helluva sleuth.
That’s all the value I have to add to this segment. Get thee to Adam Leith Gollner’s fabulous Vanity Fair profile of the art sleuth.
Randy Newman: I love Randy Newman but not everyone does. He’s too blunt and sardonic for many listeners. His voice is an acquired taste that I acquired long ago. I believe that’s the first time I’ve ever used acquired twice in one sentence.
The best books reviews are essays that can stand alone for those who haven’t read the book under review. It was Gore Vidal’s specialty. David Hajdu follows in the Master’s footsteps with his review of a new book about Randy Newman by Robert Hilburn.
At the beginning of the piece, Hajdu fished me in with this paragraph:
When I was working for Entertainment Weekly in the ’90s, we regularly surveyed readers on the likability of our content. The week we covered Randy Newman’s Faust, that article was ranked “least appealing.” The editors puzzled over this and decided not to blame Faust. Could there be something about Randy Newman that people just didn’t like? Listening closely to the music he has made over many decades in all its varied forms, I’ve since come to accept that Randy Newman’s greatest work is indeed awfully hard to like. But I think its very unlikability is what makes it great.”
Nailed it.
The last word of our second act goes to Randy Newman:
Great video. Great lead guitar by Mark Knopfler.
We begin our third act with our favorite stolen feature.
Separated At Birth Casting Edition: I keep waiting for reporters to ask Trump this question: What was the good stuff Hitler did? They’re not going to ask. They’re too busy obsessing over trivia.
Where was I? Two great actors who caused a furor by playing Der Fuhrer: Richard Basehart and Alec Guinness.
Richard Basehart was an underrated thespian. He thought that playing Hitler damaged his career, but he was damn good in the part.
Your Weekly Oscar: You learn something new every day. I learned that OP and Milt Jackson recorded a very famous Rolling Stones song:
Have I told you lately how much I love Oscar Peterson?
The Best Of Letterman: Lovable and cute as a bug actress Teri Garr has died at the age of 79. She was one of Dave’s faves. Here’s a 1984 appearance on Late Night when Letterman still wore sneakers with his suits.
This next number is dedicated to Ms. Garr:
Saturday GIF Horse: Ready for some Hitler mocking? Hit it, Mel.
Your Weekly Meme: Yeah, I know. Halloween was Thursday. Better late than never.
I feel a cat song coming on.
Tweet Of The Week: The parade route book signer strikes again:
An incomplete list of wives who are voting for Kamala Harris and not telling their husbands pic.twitter.com/ASEzlvboiy
— Michael Tisserand (@m_tisserand) October 31, 2024
Let’s close down this virtual honky tonk with some more music.
Saturday Closer: Another inspirational tune in the tradition of our theme song. The freeze frame image shows Fela Kuti who joined the Nevilles onstage for this number.
That’s all for this week. The last word goes to Dustin Hoffman, Teri Garr, and Sydney Pollock on the set of Tootsie:
