LouieB

Oh yea...I don't disagree with that.....but he is a bit of a "white Negro" at some level. (Hell he may be more black at other levels then Barak......) LouieB

Yea, the Chicago clergy are right up there with the greats, Richard Pryor and Lenny Bruce. Sadly Pfleger is pretty much of a grandstander (a white Jesse Jackson) and since he is a fixture in the black community he sometimes forgets he is also white. Most of his antics are for the good (reducing gun violence, improvement of schools in poor communities, etc.) but in this case even I think he overstepped his bounds. I simply don't think Hillary needs to be kicked that bad now that she is down. Yea, she has done and some said things I strongly disagree with, but she still would be better t

In recent years, the Chicago Jazz Fest, the first city sponsored event of it's type and now 30 years old (holy shit seems like only yesterday), has had some very weak moments but this year promises to be a return to form. I realize many here aren't into jazz, (although many are), mostly out of towners here are attracted to stuff like the Residency or Lollapalooza or Pitchfork or whatever (and rightly so), but this year it may be worth while for some of you to plan on this one as well. Jazz Fest is free and the lineup this year includes two of the last of the greats, Sonny Rollins and Orne

So I did....I knew I was leaving someone out. I guess Utah is really part of a different three..... LouieB

First off congratulations on being successful. It is getting harder and harder and has been for the last 30 years. What union are you with or are you independent? As I look back on my life (sounds like I am really really old which I am not), my union experience is certainly one of the most important and worthwhile experiences of my life (the union is still there), which included a trip to the NLRB, some protracted negotiations, a three week strike in the middle of winter, and some real gains on salaries and benefits. Feeling like you actually experienced some collective successes that wil

Nice selection... LouieB

Gawd...whatever... LouieB

See the Utah Phillips thread. Pete has far less in common with Bruce Springsteen (despite his album of the same name)and Eddie Vedder than he did with Utah Phillips. Folksingers who believe that music CAN change the world are a dying breed, but that is just because they are dying. I saw a very good singer the other day who opened for the Bottle Rockets who sang political type songs and told stories about traveling around on the cheap (damn I forget his name), but I suppose there are some still around. They just aren't the emo musicians that's all. LouieB

There isn't any way that the Wobblies can be construed as much more than an anacronism in this day and age. I suppose they survived (where groups like the Knights of Labor didn't) because they steadfastly refused to compromise and they believed in an ideology that was on the fringe not only of its own time (even up to WWI as you mention), but certainly now. They have nothing really in common with what we now think of as trade unionism. But some people will always be drawn to these ideas and eschew the general cynicism of the age, or simply want to harken back to a simpler time. The vision

This has been a bad week for entertainment figures......RIP Harvey...Utah, Sidney, Harvey...must be the threesome. LouieB

That's good to know because it is the only solo Weller I own. Someone gave me a free copy with the bonus CD as I recall. LouieB

We certainly agree about that... LouieB

That's about all I know about him myself. LouieB

Nice article by DN. Great network there... Nothing ever disappears any more...don't you know.... The event I am refering to took place in 1975 I believe, maybe even the winter of 74 since frankly alot of that part of my life is starting to run in together. The Wobs were still based in Chicago at that point. I believe some time in the 1980s they moved to the more politically aware city of Portland Oregon (someone can try and find out the exact information, in this case I am close enough time and geography wise) and kind of took on some new energy; now they even represent some workers (St

Actually I was totally unaware that he had another one going until recently (I heard a song on the radio from it.) You gotta love Alejandro, he just keeps going and going....(the guy is my age...) LouieB

Sadly I can't drink coffee anymore, so I guess I am a tea drinker... LouieB

Bruce wrote a few folk standards including "Rocksalt and Nails," "Starlight on the Rails," "Green Rolling Hills of West Virginia" (Analogman you there??) and "Daddy' What's a Train". But my favorite part of his repetoire were the old union songs, particularly those from the Little Red Songbook or Hallejujah I'm a Bum and Dump the Bosses off your Back. I guess I am old enough and nostalgic enough that I wish there were more singers of those kinds of songs now. Times have changed. Few people have posted here which seems to be an indication of how unknown he has become. I once also saw him w

Been awhile since I have seen him. Chicago is a big town for him and I am sure he will show up here soon. I hope to find a copy of this new album soon. The last one was good in parts (very good in others), but some of the rest of it left me a bit chilly. None the less, a decent album from Alejandro is better than other folks best efforts.... LouieB

Analogman..patron saint of finding old threads..(thanks); lots of good info on turntables here in the past. Take tyg's advise and just enjoy the records they way they were intended to be played, on a turntable. If you need MP3s, download the songs or buy CDs, they will sound better anyway. LouieB

I haven't gotten that far yet. Reading about the demise of the music scene on the south side is where I am at. Strange time, the mid-60s and the clubs of the southside disappeared. Now that I go into those neighborhoods more often, the spots he mentions will be on my radar. Lewis is able to integrate the larger musical landscape into forces effecting the local scene. Von Freeman and Fred Anderson get mentioned often in the mix of what was going on in the 50s and 60s. Interesting stuff. LouieB

He is playing twice this week in Chicago. Sadly I can't make either show (other committments and just have to work during the day.) Seems like the kind of guy I would like. LouieB

Happy Birthday!!!! LouieB

Great director and a very good character actor also. Sad indeed. Life is too short. LouieB

One of the few bands to play Pitchfork twice. Take your earplugs.....and see you there. LouieB

I saw Utah a couple times including a benefit that the Wobbies (IWW, before they left Chicago) put on for some striking child care workers, one of whom is now my wife. Utah has been ailing for many years sadly and I think there was a benefit for him here recently. In fact I think he has been ill the better part of the last couple decades. He was one of the greats, without being flashy or self promoting. One of the last great anarchists as well as a great musician and particularly a great story teller. partictularly about trains, hobos and politics. (I did not know he was actually fr