Radio Free Newport

Nihilists (cutting off the johnson of progress?)

Dave — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 14:13:17 +0000

An Andrew Sullivan reader perfectly nails the vacuousness & nihilism of the teabagging right. It is the smartest critique of the current right that I’ve read in a long time. My brief comments are below the quote.

My teabagger parents are gloating today about the Brown victory. To them, this whole politics game is like football: they simply cheer for the red team to beat the blue team. Period. They don’t know or care how Brown or any of their other preferred candidates are going to solve the real crises my generation will face.

And for all their slogans and smugness and phony outrage, the teabaggers are on the wrong side of the future in every way I can imagine: Entitlements will have to be cut. The eligibility age for Medicare and Social Security will be raised, benefits will be means-tested, and Medicare will eventually be rationed. Everyone in my generation knows this. We accept it. But we want those programs to stick around in at least a minimal, bare-bones form. The teabaggers just mindlessly shout “Don’t cut my Medicare!” But they don’t mind bankrupting it for my generation.

Taxes will be raised. This is a fact. But teabaggers keep demanding tax cuts, insisting that cuts increase revenues, a claim that can’t even be called discredited because it was never credible in the first place. Policy-smart conservatives know it’s hooey, but teabaggers love it because it’s a convenient, feel-good talking point, truth be damned.

The rest of our lives will be filled with economic stagnation and profound personal insecurity.

The health care system as we know it will fall apart, spiraling costs will destroy growth, and the government will be forced to take an ever-bigger role in health care, sooner or later. What it means to be middle-class will be drastically different in fifty years, maybe even twenty. The disruptions of globalization will require government to alleviate the economic risk on individuals through programs like expanded unemployment benefits, targeted job training (and re-training), and education reforms. Teabaggers’ answer? Scream “Socialism!” and argue for ending all regulations and social welfare programs.

The theme of the future will be the need to accomplish more with fewer government resources. This will require a generation of leaders committed to the old-fashioned conservative notion of good government. For teabaggers, though, it’s an article of faith that there is no such thing as good government, so they don’t care what kind of hacks they put in office.

American empire will have to be rolled back. We can’t afford it. The defense budget must be cut. But teabaggers just want more and more war, imperial occupations that never end, in every corner of the globe. You have to wonder if war simply makes them feel good. Climate change and peak oil are facts. They will alter our lives in ways that seem like science fiction to us now. But teabaggers grasp at any flimsy excuse they can find not to face these facts, from “Al Gore is a hypocrite!” to “Drill, baby, drill!” to “The emails prove it’s all a hoax!”

The ridiculous, exhausting culture war has to end. My generation is sick of re-fighting Vietnam and Selma and Stonewall. We don’t want to be defined by whether we eat arugula or wear Carhartt. But the teabaggers need the culture war to continue forever because it ratifies their prejudices. It justifies their hate. It prevents the change they fear.

Now who is better prepared to start solving these problems now, a pragmatist like Obama or the teabaggers? Who is the real small-C conservative? If teabaggers continue to stand in the way—or God forbid, if they take power—how much longer will it take for leaders to emerge who are willing to do the hard work? I asked my father what his solution would be. “Blow up the whole government,” he said. “I’m not responsible for your security.”

If that’s not nihilism, what is?

Bravo. This faction of the right — and they are clearly the dominant voice of the right at present — refuse to believe that we have serious problems, problems that are only getting worse. When you try to present factual evidence about these problems, they scream that the research is biased by (pick one) leftist professors, the NY Times, European socialists, the homosexual agenda, the UN, etc. They want to return America to 1950, when all was well (for them). They are unwilling to engage with the reality of globalization or the multicultural present and future of America. In their minds, we are not suffering because of the effects of deindustrialization, globalization, a government that has rewarded the wealthy at the cost of the rest of us (both parties are at fault), and our nation’s aversion of hard solutions and shared cost. They blame so-called socialist policies, arugula-eating liberals, immigration, and a lack of family values.

I’m not talking about this part of the right in the abstract, but rather about arguments with family and friends. It’s endless frustrating. And frequently insulting, like when I cite statistics from some of social science’s top researchers and get told, “oh, that can’t be right” or “you just believe the research that supports your political views.” And it’s frightening because this faction of the right is going to stall progress on important issues until it is too late. Yes, there are some of the far left who would probably impede progress if they could, but they don’t have the massive presence of the far right. (Dear friends & family who will bitch about this: please point me toward the far left’s equivalent of Fox News. Kthanxbye.)

The teabaggers who are suffering blame Democrats, immigrants, and poor minorities for their problems rather than the broader socioeconomic forces that have changed our country since the 1960s. The teabaggers who are not yet suffering — and this is where the people we know fall — refuse to see the problems because they are not yet feeling the economics effects of our problems.

Obama is not a leftist. He is a pragmatist — too much of one, at times. But the tea party right will continue to stall and resist through the 2012 elections. If you can’t get people to agree that there are problems — I’ve heard numerous people say that there is nothing wrong with our health care system — you surely cannot fix them. And even when we agree on the problems, we can’t find common ground on the science and knowledge needed to fix them (remember: global warming is a myth perpetuated by the left).

All of the hope we felt a year ago feels like a sad, distant, foggy memory.

Helping Haiti

Dave — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 13:43:09 +0000

If you are interested in sending aid to Haiti, please consider Partners in Health (PIH). PIH has operated clinics and hospitals in Haiti for over 20 years and, in the process, has revolutionized how infectious diseases are treated in poor countries around the world.

In 2008, I wrote about “Mountains Beyond Mountains,” a wonderful Tracy Kidder book that details the career of Dr. Paul Farmer and his Herculean efforts to found PIH and help people in Haiti.

Click here to go directly to PIH’s earthquake fund.

Also, via the Obama administration, you can also text “HAITI” to “90999″ and a donation of $10 will be given automatically to the Red Cross to help with relief efforts, charged to your cell phone bill.

Last, here are primers on Haiti from the BBC and CNN.

A whole big bunch of music, sociology, and more…

Dave — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 16:19:31 +0000

Belated happy new year everyone. I’ve had good intentions to blog more often, but all of my writing energy is going toward new songs, editing research papers for publication, and trying to land a letter in Penthouse Forum. Here is a bunch of things I’ve been reading/digging/thinking about over the last month, culled from my Twitter feed. (More on that later — the short version is that I like Twitter far more than I thought I would.) Your thoughts are welcome, as always.

First off, check out Amy’s annual top 10 book list, along with a link to her lists for the past decade. It’s amazing how far and wide this travels every year. This time, she mentioned her love for Martin Sheen — this resulted in an email from someone who works for the Sheen brothers and promises to try to get it to Martin. Very cool.

Music

* I’ve been ripping many old CDs that I didn’t get to when we moved to MP3s nearly six years ago. Somehow, I skipped over all of our Peter Gabriel records, so I’ve had fun getting reacquainted with them. Another fun rediscovery: “Sell Me A God” by Eat, an English band from the late 80s/early 90s. Check out “Tombstone,” their college radio hit. And while you’re in an ’80s college rock (yes, that’s what we called it back then, indie kids), check out Slicing Up Eyeballs, an excellent blog devoted to the subject. They link to things like this kickass video of Midnight Oil playing a protest show at the Exxon building back in 1990 (post-Valdez wreck), U2 ringing in the last decade in Dublin with “Where the Streets Have No Name, and a BBC interview with John Lydon/brief PiL reunion clip.

* Besides that, I’ve been obsessed with tracking down every U2 and Joe Strummer b-side I can find. It’s always amazing when an artist is so good that their non-album tracks are better than most artists’ lead single. I also finally checked out Frank Turner’s “Love, Ire & Song,” at the urging of our friend Tom Krueger. Check out some samples at Amazon — he’s like a cross between Billy Bragg and New Model Army.

* Other music stuff…

This is exceptionally cool: videos of Bono & The Edge on Elvis Costello’s Spectacle show. Nice collaborations all around. Speaking of U2, this is a great ten-minute clip from a documentary on Irish rock that discusses the Dublin scene that U2 & Gavin Friday came from. And here’s a good interview with excellent producer Steve Lillywhite.
Ted Leo & The Pharmacists’ 2010 tour kicks off in Cleveland on 3/11. You can hear three tracks from the new record here.
Jazz fans: check out this cool site at NPR: The Jazz Loft Project: Sights And Sounds.
Did you know that Kraftwerk had a big influence on Afrika Bambaataa & Detroit technno? Me neither. NYT: Who Knew That Robots Were Funky?
Get five songs from ex-Backslider Chip Robinson’s “Mylow” here. He’s one of Americana’s most underrated songwriters.
Lately, I’ve been working to “Music by Ry Cooder,” a mostly instrumental, two-CD comp. It’s really nice. Amazon link.
Great piece from 2005 – Tom Waits on his most cherished albums of all time, from the The Guardian.

Sociological (or “sociology near”)

62% of U.S. children can’t afford $2/day for school lunch. http://j.mp/914CFr
In 1960, 75% of college instructors were tenure-track professors; today only 27% are.” http://bit.ly/5sEBq1
Major sports star comes out of the closet. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/dec/19/gay-groups-applaud-gareth-thomas
A heart-breaking column about life & death on the streets of inner-city Cleveland. We could make solutions a priority, but we just don’t give a crap.
Speaking of solutions, here’s a good 60 Minutes segment on Geoffry Canada & the Harlem Children’s Zone. This American Life did a story on Harlem Children’s Zone last year (thanks, Ann).
AP: athletes at least 10x more likely to benefit from special admission programs than students in the general population. Kent State was among eight schools where athletes were *not* more likely than other students to get a break with special admissions.

Good Guardian article on Danah Boyd’s (@zephoria) research on youth & digital life: http://j.mp/4tTb34
Scott McLemee responds to critics of his strong critique of Cornel West’s latest. Inside Higher Ed: http://bit.ly/6K79dP
Is loneliness contagious? More results from the Framingham data in Journal of Personality and Social Psychology – MSNBC http://bit.ly/4WgWZ5
Good article on college tuition, revenue/expenses, w/ a chart of where the money goes, by KSU student paper – http://bit.ly/8b71on

Politics/Opinion

Christopher Hitchens says we’re terrible at airline security, and not getting better. http://bit.ly/6sXMCy. Here’s an xcellent graphic from FiveThirtyEight: your odds of being a victim of an airborne terrorist attack: http://bit.ly/55FP8x
Excellent columns by Paul Krugman on: (1) Senate dysfunction — cites interesting stats on filibusters. http://nyti.ms/85Bl1o, and (2) why we need a WPA-style emergency jobs program. I’ve never understood the downside of this. http://bit.ly/6Lj1ko
A prominent conservative blogger parts ways with the right. Good list of reasons why: Little Green Footballs – http://bit.ly/7mEJnC #

Miscellaneous cool stuff

Check out our friend Peter Cox’s site: amazing landscape photos of Ireland. We have the calendar, it is stunning. http://bit.ly/4AIbxu
Lance Armstrong reflects on the 2009 season, and takes a different approach to the 2010 Tour de France http://bit.ly/91GY7f
New LeBron/Kobe puppets commercial. Black Santa, Akron shoutout, and dunking on reindeer. Yes! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpMZAcmNI7A
Brain Pickings is an excellent blog with daily posts of interesting stuff. A few examples (her words, not mine): (1) “Droplets – stunning, stunning series by photographer Matt Holliday Simplicity, at its most magnificent. (2) 20 things that happen in 1 minute – a fascinating infographic http://is.gd/5A6Jx; (3) Revamped Hubble reveals never-before-seen deep images of the universe’s youngest galaxies http://is.gd/5gjvs; (4) Thin Blue Line – the thin line of Earth’s atmosphere and the setting sun, shot from ISS. Gorgeous. http://is.gd/570q0
The excerpts from the new Pluto/Windhorst book on LeBron, “The Making of an MVP,” are worth a read if you’re a hoops fan. This one is another ex of “it takes a village…” http://bit.ly/5BAGkR

Brief thoughts and a question on Afghanistan

Dave — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 14:41:56 +0000

I’m interested to hear what you think about President Obama’s decision to send more troops to Afghanistan. I understand some of the criticisms of Obama’s decision: we are getting more deeply involved in an endless quagmire; we can’t afford to spend trillions fighting — for what, exactly? — when there are so many desperate problems here at home; and that waging war in Afghanisan does not necessarily make us any safer.

But here’s the thing: I have read a lot this morning, and I have yet to see a convincing, comprehensive critique of Obama’s decision. The analyses I read are flawed for two reasons. First, they ignore the fact that we already ass-deep in a mess that Bush-Cheney created. Like Marc Ambinder at The Atlantic, I do not profess to know enough about the intricacies of our foreign policy in Afghanistan and Pakistan to proclaim what Obama should do. Too much of the criticism from the left, like that of Katrina Vanden Heuvel of The Nation, boils down to a paraphrase of Mr. Garrison from South Park: “War and guns are bad, kids, mmmkay?” Talking about the ideal recipe is not useful when the kitchen is already on fire. Second, pundits seem to be cherry-picking reasons for why we should not go. Thomas Friedman, for example, criticizes Obama’s decision almost entirely on economic grounds. I understand his arguments, but I do not think the problem is this simple.

I enjoy reading Andrew Sullivan because he is the rare, thoughtful conservative that I learn from. I appreciated his take this morning. He opposes the surge, and makes some excellent points in the process — especially this (emphasis mine):

The way our politics of fear is now constructed, there is no limit to the costs involved in nation-building in every conceivable failed state that could be a safe harbor for Jihadists. We cannot have the adult conversation about how much terrorist damage the US should tolerate compared with the costs of trying to control this phenomenon at its source. We are not mature enough as a country to have that conversation. And Obama has decided it isn’t worth confronting that question now.

I am inclined to support Obama’s decision for two reasons. First, walking away does not seem to be a viable option. Again, I do not completely understand the complexity of the possibilities of staying or moving forward, but I do believe that there is enough of a security risk that completely abandoning Afghanistan is not a reasonable path at this time. Obama did not create the mess, but it is now his job to clean it up.

Second, I still trust Obama. You may chuckle at that, but one thing I have long appreciated about him is his pragmatism. Many liberals rip him for not being progressive enough, but I don’t think they are willing to engage with, for lack of a better description, the messyness of life. Yes, it would be a perfect world if schools had enough money and the military had to hold a bake sale, but that has never been the case and, bumper sticker sentiment aside, it never will. It is a messy, ugly, conflict-filled world we live in, and pursuing a “war is bad, mmmkay?” philosophy is simply not reasonable, at least not at this time. (My 21-year-old self would rip my current self at this point, but…well, we learn and mature, right?) It is easy to take the higher moral ground when you don’t have to deal with the fallout. I appreciate that Obama is willing to make tough decisions that may benefit us in the long run even if they damage him politically in the short term.

The most convincing point on Obama’s pragmatism on this decision comes from Ambinder at The Atlantic:

The logic is the same as health care: we must spend more now to save later. It’s a difficult notion to sell but it carries with it the hope of something better. This wasn’t Bush on an aircraft carrier or Obama in Iowa railing about Iraq or Hillary and Iraq. This was a community organizer turned war president. He had always argued that Afghanistan was the good war, the one that should have been the center or our attention. For years the Left in America echoed that line until Iraq started to ease, and now many of the Afghanistan-only shouters have become advocates of a full retreat. That’s their right. But if Obama lost Mother Jones and The Nation and Salon tonight, he’s hoping he can get them and everyone else back with something resembling victory on the ground, however incomplete. Let’s hope he’s right.

“The strategy that I’m pursuing is designed to say let’s see if we can change the conditions on the ground in a time certain period. There are risks associated with that, but in the absence of that push, we are in a situation that doesn’t change, and there are big costs associated to troop presence, to casualties, to a slowly deteriorating situation over a course of years that are at least comparable and probably worse than us going ahead and making this big push now.”

What are your thoughts? If you have helpful links, please share them. (And if you’re coming here from Facebook, please comment here rather than there.)

http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2009/12/the-ailes-line.html

My favorite records of the last decade — what are yours?

Dave — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 15:31:25 +0000

Various publications have been compiling “best of the decade” lists for various cultural forms. A music email list I’m on conducted a poll on the best records of the decade. Here are mine, compiled in about 20 minutes. Thank goodness for iTunes, which made this a lot easier.

One caveat is that I restricted myself to one record per artist. (I also didn’t include records from bands I’ve played in, so apologies to Clabbergirl and Messerly & Ewing, both of which would be here otherwise.) There were 195 records in the running.

1. Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros – Streetcore – 2003
2. Ted Leo/Pharmacists – Shake The Sheets – 2004
3. Los Lobos – Good Morning Aztlan – 2002
4. You Am I – Convicts – 2006
5. U2 – All That You Can’t Leave Behind – 2000
6. Bruce Springsteen – The Rising – 2002
7. The Weakerthans – Reconstruction Site – 2003
8. Richard Thompson – Semi-Detached Mock Tudor – 2002
9. Chris Whitley – Hotel Vast Horizon – 2003
10. The Constantines – Shine A Light – 2003
11. Elvis Costello – When I Was Cruel – 2002
12. Joseph Arthur – Temporary People – 2008
13. Billy Bragg & Wilco – Mermaid Avenue Volume II – 2003
14. Jon Dee Graham – Hooray For The Moon – 2002
15. Ted Sirota’s Rebel Souls – Breeding Resistance – 2004

57 more that just missed the cut…

Bad Plus – These Are the Vistas – 2003
Bob Dylan – Love & Theft – 2001
Buffalo Tom – Three Easy Pieces – 2007
Chris Whitley – Rocket House – 2001
Chris Whitley – Soft Dangerous Shores – 2005
Christian Scott – Anthem – 2007
Chuck Prophet – No Other Love – 2002
Constantines – The Constantines – 2001
Constantines – Kensington Heights – 2008
Constantines – Tournament of Hearts – 2005
Dave Douglas – Keystone – 2005
David Byrne and Brian Eno – Everything That Happens Will Happen Today – 2008
Eleventh Dream Day – Zeroes and Ones – 2006
Elvis Costello & Allen Toussaint – The River In Reverse – 2006
Ernest Dawkins’ New Horizons Ensemble – Mean Ameen – 2004
Gingersol – Nothing Stops Moving – 2000
Go-Betweens – Oceans Apart – 2005
Graham Coxon – Happiness In Magazines – 2004
Hensley Sturgis – Cabin Fever – 2001
Hensley Sturgis – Open Lanes – 2000
Hothouse Flowers – Into Your Heart – 2004
International Noise Conspiracy – A New Morning, Changing Weather – 2001
Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros – Global A Go-Go – 2001
Los Lobos – The Town and the City – 2006
Macy Gray – The Trouble with Being Myself – 2003
Matthew Ryan – East Autumn Grin – 2000
Mayflies USA – Walking in a Straight Line – 2002
Paul Weller – Illumination – 2002
Pearl Jam – Pearl Jam – 2006
Pete Yorn – musicforthemorningafter – 2001
Rage Against The Machine – Renegades – 2000
Rancid – Indestructible – 2003
REM – Accelerate – 2008
Scott Miller – Thus Always To Tyrants – 2001
Sleater-Kinney – All Hands On The Bad One – 2000
Solomon Burke – Don’t Give Up On Me – 2002
Son Volt – Okemah and the Melody of Riot – 2005
Sonny Rollins – Sonny, Please – 2006
Spoon – Girls Can Tell – 2001
Starch Martins – Dressing up the Failure – 2001
Ted Leo/Pharmacists – Hearts Of Oak – 2003
Ted Leo/Pharmacists – Living With The living – 2007
The 757s – Tell the Pilgrims It’s a Potluck – 2007
The Waterboys – Book Of Lightning – 2007
Tim Rogers – The Temperance Union – 2001
Tom Waits – Real Gone – 2004
U2 – How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb – 2004
U2 – No Line On the Horizon – 2009
Vigilantes of Love – Audible Sigh – 2000
Wallace Roney – Jazz – 2007
Warren Zanes – Memory Girls – 2003
Weakerthans – Reunion Tour – 2007
Wilco – Yankee Hotel Foxtrot – 2002
Willie Nile – Streets Of New York – 2006
World Party – Dumbing Up – 2000
You Am I – Deliverance – 2003
You Am I – Dress Me Slowly – 2001

A whole mess of recent links

Dave — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 17:08:54 +0000

From my Twitter feed:

Sociology/Social issues/Higher Ed

Can you imagine the outrage that would ensue if dozens of white teens died in the Chicago suburbs every year? Chicago public schools in 2007-08 academic year: 34 deaths and 290 shootings. Not enough ppl care, certainly not ones in power. Sad. http://bit.ly/tI4nF #
Thomas LaVeist does work work — RT @JessieNYC: Racial disparities take a toll: http://bit.ly/13vaba #sociology #
RT @digiphile: “Job seekers now outnumber openings 6 to 1″ http://bit.ly/JpNMI (HT @TimOBrienNYT) 14.5M unemployed in this #recession. #
Hmm. RT @pewresearch Immigration and income, not race, are seen as primary sources of social conflict in America. http://tinyurl.com/yc5x653 #
Met w/ a senior honors college student/Interior Design major working on responsible design for homeless shelters. The part of my job I love. #
RT @louiseroth So Much for the “Opt-Out Revolution”! Recession Drives Women Back to the Work Force – http://bit.ly/11zRxQ #sociology #
Patrick Carr & Maria Kefalas on the rural brain drain. Chronicle of Higher Education – http://bit.ly/3mxrkd #sociology #
The 1911 Irish Census is now online. Pretty neat. National Archives: Census of Ireland 1911 http://bit.ly/10V9sb #
RT @thedjbutler @iheinsider 5 research universities pledge to pay professors to publish in free, online journals. http://tinyurl.com/p9sxop #

Music

“Seize The Time” by Ted Sirota’s Rebel Souls. Sirota is an exceptional jazz composer & band leader. http://bit.ly/v6yDf — review by @AllAboutJazz here: http://bit.ly/4nVtAz #
Potentially good news. Jay Farrar continues Woody Guthrie “Mermaid Ave” album series | guardian.co.uk http://bit.ly/S1DWb #
Ted Leo signs with Matador Records – http://bit.ly/1Ocs5M. #musicthatmatters #

Great Jon Pareles view of U2 in NY. Unlike some snarky rockcrits, he gets it. U2 in the Round, Fun With a Mission – http://bit.lyG/kSzXV #
Good article about the making of Springsteen’s “Born To Run” – Slate – http://bit.ly/1sYIN #musicthatmatters #
Good article in Soapbox Cincinnati, written by my dear friend Sean Rhiney: Making Musical Cities http://bit.ly/DeLHm #
I’m happy that Chip Robinson has a new record coming out. Great songwriter/singer. The Backsliders should’ve been huge. http://bit.ly/ARYXb #
DEVO announces deluxe reissues, tour. Akron Beacon-Journal: http://bit.ly/3k79K9 #music #
Bono, Edge, Elvis Costello jam on EC’s show. Looks like amazing set. Via @u2sp @u2gigs http://ow.ly/15PfNL #
Good review of U2 Saturday’ Chicago show from WSJ. RT @u2sp: U2 Lands in the Windy City – http://ow.ly/15P22s #gloriousrockandroll #
RT @jasondcrane Great post from Howard Mandel (@jazzbeyondjazz) on the state of jazz in Chicago: http://bit.ly/Uzlzb #jazz #

Misc

Nice overview of Wallace and Gromit from @PasteMagazine. W&G are great fun. http://bit.ly/2U8v6C (via @CycleFreak) #
If you want to lose any remaining faith in humanity, read the comments on any story on a major paper’s website. Sports are the worst. #
Limbaugh: “We need segregated buses.” ACORN makes MSNBC headlines, but not this. http://bit.ly/YhotY #
Nice story. Sports media should do more of this. NYT: Ravens’ Foxworth Is Building Home Museum to the Civil Rights Mvmt http://bit.ly/lQilm #
Spooky. The speech Safire wrote for Nixon if the Apollo 11 astronauts couldn’t return: http://bit.ly/4uZhnH
This is messed up. RT @kevinpmiller: Pitt Police Use “Sound Cannons” On Citizens Near the G-20 Meeting http://tinyurl.com/y9dueq3. #
Sounds interesting — Len Bias’ Legacy, Family’s Struggles Captured in Documentary — NCAA Basketball FanHouse http://bit.ly/S0pW7 #

Top spins o’ the week (Sept 21-27)

Dave — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 16:50:37 +0000

1. U2 – 44
2. John Coltrane – 32
3. Miles Davis – 26
4. Pearl Jam – 21
5. Amadou & Mariam – 18
6. Chris Whitley – 15
7. Van Morrison – 13
8. The 757s – 11
9. Los Lobos; Uncle Tupelo – 10
11. Bap Kennedy – 9
12. Blue Mitchell – 8
13. Roy Campbell; R.E.M.; Tom Waits; Jimmy Smith; The Waterboys – 7
18. Cannonball Adderley & John Coltrane; Latin Playboys; Pell Mell – 6
21. Daniel Lanois; Sonny Rollins; Sonny Clark; Buena Vista Social Club – 5

1. U2 – 44

2. John Coltrane – 32

3. Miles Davis – 26

4. Pearl Jam – 21

5. Amadou & Mariam – 18

6. Chris Whitley – 15

7. Van Morrison – 13

8. The 757s – 11

9. Los Lobos; Uncle Tupelo – 10

11. Bap Kennedy – 9

12. Blue Mitchell – 8

13. Roy Campbell; R.E.M.; Tom Waits; Jimmy Smith; The Waterboys – 7

18. Cannonball Adderley & John Coltrane; Latin Playboys; Pell Mell – 6

21. Daniel Lanois; Sonny Rollins; Sonny Clark; Buena Vista Social Club – 5

Twitter posts for 2009-09-14

Dave — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 00:06:01 +0000

MJ = great player, not a nice guy. Sadly, people just go along with it. “Jordan’s night to remember turns petty” – Yahoo! http://bit.ly/EhbbJ #
Incredible show – more thoughts later. “U2 Reinvent the Stadium Show as 360 Tour Launches in Chicago” – Rolling Stone – http://bit.ly/qKlL7 #
It’s the beginning of the third week of the semester & I’ve already received at least five emails from our administration about swine flu. #
Two good posts on 9/12 DC march & racism: 1) by @JessieNYC – http://bit.ly/7rPtn and 2) via @EdgeofSports – http://bit.ly/16TGqQ #
After thinking that something was wrong with my browser, I learned that Google has updated their search page. Ugly. http://bit.ly/4nSmns #
Great advice. RT @eszter my new Ph.Do piece out today: http://bit.ly/4fxbX7 first in a series of two re the conference scene #education #

A bunch of stuff on college graduation rates; a good one on health care

Dave — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 00:58:24 +0000

Matt Taibbi’s excellent (and bitterly funny) analysis of the health care reform process so far: Rolling Stone – http://bit.ly/10Ccwd #
Chronicle of Higher Education: Higher Ed admin salaries up 5%, 5.4% in last two years, faculty salaries up 4.1%, 3.4%. http://bit.ly/je1VH #
Massive report of college class of 1999: class, race, gender disparities still a problem. Chronicle of Higher Education http://bit.ly/16Iboo #
Graph of college graduation rates by socioeconomic status. The state system figures are shameful. CHE: http://bit.ly/11bTst #sociology #
More on higher ed report from NYT – How and Why US Colleges Are Failing in Graduation Rates http://bit.ly/3HH3ki (via @TimOBrienNYT) #
Online courses for $99/month – how long will it take for this to affect higher #education? Washington Monthly http://bit.ly/Snnuz #
Congrats to an Akron brewery — can’t wait to try this! RT @hoppinfrog: Hoppin’ Frog Wins Best Double IPA In America! http://bit.ly/aqsNB #

Good advice for academics, Nick Hornby, and more

Dave — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 11:33:42 +0000

For academics: outstanding post by @tenuredradical on departmental workload issues, w/ good advice on how to handle it. http://bit.ly/4j0ygd #
Good news: Amy had a short story accepted by Third Coast, a great literary journal. You can read some of her work here: http://bit.ly/DJSxN #
67 excellent documentaries available through Netflix http://bit.ly/cjXRT #
Excellent column by Nick Hornby on music blogs and their impact on older listeners. http://bit.ly/1Tfcdx (via @largeheartedboy) #
Dramatic pix of the wildfires in Southern California via the Boston Globe. Just stunning. http://bit.ly/13MUPA #
I followed up a late gig @ Annabell’s with a 26-mile bike ride on a hilly course this morning (STOMP is a great event). Not bad. #
Progress report on new Ted Leo + Pharmacists record. Can’t wait. Stereogum: http://bit.ly/KiClq #music #
RT @Richard_Florida: 9.1 million Americans currently working p/t who would prefer a full-time job, up 278,000 from last month #sociology #