The Buzz Board
Picks from the Inner Circle
John Avlon
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John P. Avlon writes a column for The Daily Beast and is author of the forthcoming Attack of the Wingnuts, to be published in January by Beast Books. He is also the author of Independent Nation: How Centrists Can Change American Politics. Previously, he served as chief speechwriter for New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and was a columnist and associate editor for The New York Sun. Author and journalist |
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 Two great new bands—Works Progress Administration and Wakey! Wakey!—are worth keeping an ear and an eye out for. The WPA offers an L.A. take on bluegrass with a heavy dose of alt-country. The expert collection of musicians—including Sarah Watkins of Nicklecreek and Glen Phillips of Toad the Wet Sprocket—gathered at the oasis of club Largo and while their self-titled debut album is great, it is live that they transcendently take off. There is a timelessness to these tunes. Wakey! Wakey! is a piano-driven, Brooklyn-based band with Family Records. I saw them play at the Gramercy Theater a few weeks ago and was blown away. In their songs the melody and melancholy of Ben Folds is married to the edgy introspection of The Eels. The live show offers a string section, back-up singers and unexpected doses of humor—like an oddly effecting acoustic cover of “Girls Just Want to Have Fun.” |
John Avlon
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John P. Avlon writes a column for The Daily Beast and is author of the forthcoming Attack of the Wingnuts, to be published in January by Beast Books. He is also the author of Independent Nation: How Centrists Can Change American Politics. Previously, he served as chief speechwriter for New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and was a columnist and associate editor for The New York Sun. Author and journalist |
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 "I'm at the FiRe conference in San Diego—stands for Future in Review. It's been called “the best technology conference in the world” by The Economist. An enthusiasm for the future is something in short supply during this Great Recession, and this year's conference theme: "Technology—Driving the Economic Rebound" sets an admirably resilient, even bullish tone. I'll be filing a column for the Beast based on what I see here—including some promising new tips on emerging technologies and a test drive of a Tesla Roadster. Looking at the future in review has always seemed like exactly the right problem-solving perspective to me. |
John Avlon
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John P. Avlon writes a column for The Daily Beast and is author of the forthcoming Attack of the Wingnuts, to be published in January by Beast Books. He is also the author of Independent Nation: How Centrists Can Change American Politics. Previously, he served as chief speechwriter for New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and was a columnist and associate editor for The New York Sun. Author and journalist |
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Elbow. Great band, terrible name. Out of Manchester, U.K., the five-piece continues that city’s tradition of intense, literary-fueled rock. Their song “One Day Like This” is now featured in promos for The Soloist, but the string-laden, seize-the-day introspection is only one side of the diamond. To get a full picture, download “Forget Myself” as well as “The Bones of You” and “Grounds for Divorce.” Then go for a drive or walk around the neighborhood—it’s a solid soundtrack for spring 2009. |
John Avlon
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John P. Avlon writes a column for The Daily Beast and is author of the forthcoming Attack of the Wingnuts, to be published in January by Beast Books. He is also the author of Independent Nation: How Centrists Can Change American Politics. Previously, he served as chief speechwriter for New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and was a columnist and associate editor for The New York Sun. Author and journalist |
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One of my great pleasures in life is being a U2 fan—and today marks the release of their 12th studio album, No Line on the Horizon. I remember the days each of their albums were released—buying Achtung Baby on cassette in London’s Victoria Station, getting an advance import copy of The Joshua Tree at a record store on Carmine Street in Greenwich Village. I count down the calendar to consume their albums and tours; hunt down interviews, videos, b-sides and T-shirts. Their songs somehow inspire my most in-focus self, defining chapters of my life from the time I saw the Unforgettable Fire tour in 1984 to the way in which All That You Can’t Leave Behind became the soundtrack to the emergency operations center in New York after the attacks of September 11th. |
John Avlon
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John P. Avlon writes a column for The Daily Beast and is author of the forthcoming Attack of the Wingnuts, to be published in January by Beast Books. He is also the author of Independent Nation: How Centrists Can Change American Politics. Previously, he served as chief speechwriter for New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and was a columnist and associate editor for The New York Sun. Author and journalist |
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The music that seemed out of step with the Bush years seems right on key for the Age of Obama. Down at Jazz Fest in New Orleans last year I saw Terence Blanchard and The Bad Plus play and was blown away, rediscovering a music I'd first listened to back in high school but had put down for a while. Blanchard was playing his epic A Tale of God's Will (A Requiem for Katrina) during a thunderstorm with the local symphony orchestra. The Bad Plus is a thundering piano-driven three-piece that reinterprets rock standards from David Bowie's Life on Mars to Radiohead's Karma Police. But through the glory of iTunes you can do the jazz genealogy at home, downloading Coltrane, Miles or Monk and then going deeper into choice cuts from Clifford Brown, Charlie Parker, Bill Frisell, Charles Mingus, Dave Brubeck or Sonny Rollins. Enjoy. |
John Avlon
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RSS
John P. Avlon writes a column for The Daily Beast and is author of the forthcoming Attack of the Wingnuts, to be published in January by Beast Books. He is also the author of Independent Nation: How Centrists Can Change American Politics. Previously, he served as chief speechwriter for New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and was a columnist and associate editor for The New York Sun. Author and journalist |
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For those of you feeling a bit of forced cheer at this final stage of the holiday gauntlet, type in "Manamanah" on YouTube. If you grew up in the late ‘70s or early ‘80s, watching this clip will stir long-dormant receptors and bring a smile to your face. It's an old Muppet Show skit that pits a bearded beatnik Muppet in sunglasses and a green furry vest against comparatively conservative 1960s chorus girls/birds wearing enormous eyelashes and cow horns. They're singing a standard lounge song with cheesily regimented melody and rhythm, which our wild-haired friend keeps punctuating with freeform shouts of "Manamanah!" There is something wonderfully and weirdly timeless about its color-outside-the-lines enthusiasm. Judging from the Swedish subtitles and comments in different languages around the world, "Manamanah!" shows how humor can resonate beyond the limits of language. It's a guaranteed good time that doesn't cost a dime. |
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