David Wineberg – The Man With Two Brains

Link to David Wineberg’s review of Chris Knight‘s book Decoding Chomsky: Science and Revolutionary Politics (2016):

“The Man With Two Brains”

Bonus links: “Decoding Chomsky. Science and Revolutionary Politics. Chris Knight. A Review.” (this review usefully relies on Bourdieu), and “Understanding the Labyrinth: Noam Chomsky’s Science and Politics” (“Chomsky’s stance undercuts the responsibility of scientists to speak out as public intellectuals against dishonest invocation of pretended science [o]n behalf of commercial and political interests.”), and Systemic Functional Linguistics, and Denial AKA disavowal (“In Verleugnung, the defense consists in denying something that affects the individual and is a way of affirming what he or she is apparently denying.”) and “Chomsky, Wolfe and Me” and “Noam Chomsky Responds to Chris Knight’s Book, Decoding Chomsky: Science and Revolutionary Politics” and “When Chomsky Worked on Weapons Systems for the Pentagon”  (“In Chomsky’s writings, individualism and genetic determinism are both taken to astonishing extremes.”)

 

To the extent that Knight (or others) are insisting that Chomsky (or others) assume the position of a Hegelian “beautiful soul” I disagree.  Other other hand, from sort of a Bourdieu (or Bachelard) sort of sociological perspective, it is crucial to understand the institutional field in which a “major” academic like Chomsky operates.  I think Knight is more concerned with how Chomsky is or isn’t a “useful idiot” for military interests like Robert Oppenheimer with the Manhattan Project.

João Gilberto – Chega de saudade

Chega de saudade

João Gilberto – Chega de saudade Odeon MOFB 3073 (1959)

Chega de saudade was an album credited as the being the very first in an entirely new genre: bossa nova.  João Gilberto was the genre’s true master, the epitome of its cool, detached, laid-back qualities, with a voice perfectly suited to the music and an often-imitated but never duplicated style on the guitar.  He is supported by some jazzy accompaniment.  It is complementary.  Yes, this is music of the well-off, but it is music of the most aware and sympathetic among them.  In an era before the LP format really came into its own, this is one of the early milestones.  It still sounds great more than a half-century later.  His next few albums, though still good, lacked the utterly effortless cool achieved here.  Then came international success with the excellent collaboration Getz / Gilberto.  Also check out Gilberto’s arguably best album, the eponymous 1973 effort  João Gilberto.

On Fidel Castro’s Death

Links to commentary upon the death of Fidel Castro:

The Swan Silvertones – You Pray On

You Pray On

The Swan Silvertones – You Pray On HOB HBX 2146 (1972)

A pretty mediocre album.  It’s in the soul-inflected style of It’s a Miracle.  However, producer John Bowden has done an absolutely atrocious job recording this.  The instruments seem incredibly muddy and indistinct.  At times the recordings are so murky that it seems like the instrumentalists are just plain out of sync with the vocalists.  The murkiness of this recording is just as bad as on In God’s Hands.

The Swan Silvertones – You’ve Got a Friend

You've Got a Friend

The Swan Silvertones – You’ve Got a Friend HOB HBX 2156 (1973)

You’ve Got a Friend is among the more listenable of the albums The Swan Sivertones recorded for HOB Records.  The group has better success here melding their vocals with the instrumental backing than in subsequent years.  Of note is the increasingly prominent use of raw, slightly twangy electric guitar and rock-inflected organ.  Though there really are no standout tracks, the version of the gospel standard “Well, Well, Well” and covers of James Cleveland‘s “Prayer Will Move It” and the recently popular “You’ve Got a Friend” are nice.

The Swan Silvertones – I’ll Keep On Loving Him

I'll Keep on Loving Him

The Swan Silvertones – I’ll Keep On Loving Him HOB HOB LP 2172 (1974)

A solid effort.  Longtime member John Myles was still around for this mid-1970s album, though his input seems to have been waning.  Louis Johnson and Sam Hubbard take lead vocal duties.  Most of these songs are respectable but not particularly remarkable.  The best of the bunch are the title track, the organ-drenched “Happy With Jesus Alone”, and “Life of a Sinner”.  The last of those finds Louis Johnson going much further than usual with some of his most subtly complex songwriting and arranging, with vocals punctuated by a somber horn and a jittery, rambunctious piano.  The group does seem to run a bit low on ideas in places.  So they borrow a guitar riff straight out of Al Green‘s “Love and Happiness” to open their version of “Leak in This Old Building”.  But generally The Swans bring enough energy to the table that it’s easy to let the album’s weaknesses slip by.  On the whole, this is a characteristic effort from the group’s tenure on HOB Records, and worth a listen for anyone with an interest in soul-inflected gospel.

The Swan Silvertones – Try Me Master

Try Me Master

The Swan Silvertones – Try Me Master HOB HOB LP 2182 (1975)

Try Me Master was the final album The Swan Silvertones released for HOB Records, and their last album with longtime member John Myles.  It’s a decent album for the period, with better production values than their many low-budget releases of the previous eight or nine years.  The group remakes their perennial favorite “Jesus Remembers” and adapts a few gospel standards.  The title track and “Please Help Me” (with keyboards a little like Joy Division‘s “Love Will Tear Us Apart,” of all things) are the highlights.  The material is listenable throughout, if a little thin on side two.  Fans will probably enjoy this even though it doesn’t break any new ground.

Sun Ra – When Sun Comes Out

When Sun Comes Out

Sun Ra and His Myth Science Arkestra – When Sun Comes Out El Saturn LP 2066 (1963)

Though a bit patchy in places, Calling Planet Earth is an unequaled showcase for the Arkestra’s mighty sax section of John Gilmore, Pat Patrick, Marshall Allen and Danny Davis.  Sun Ra had a harder time recruiting brass players after relocating to New York City.  But the move actually strengthened the sax lineup, as Patrick came back into the fold—he tears up his solo on “Calling Planet Earth.”  [side note: Pat Patrick had relocated to New York ahead of Ra and had left his family behind in Chicago, including his son and future Massachusetts governor Deval]