The Housemartins & spin-offs

The Housemartins was one of the bands I used to like most back in the 80's. Here come two videos of their song "We're not deep": first, the "official one" (I guess); and then, a funny video were the members of the band are playing football -quite poorly- with some kids on the street.

They split up very soon, in 1988. After that, the leader of the band, Paul Heaton, created a new group, called The Beautiful South. In this band, Heaton shares the lead vocals with other members, as it can be seen below in this wonderful theme, "Song for whoever":

But I found out recently that The Beautiful South wasn't the only spin-off from The Housemartins, as I thought. Norman Cook (the guy who appears with Heaton at the end of the second video shown above, celebrating a goal), who played the bass with The Housmartins, nowadays known as Fatboy Slim, is doing a very different type of music. Take a look at his song "Right here, right now":

Perlman playing klezmer

Itzhak Perlman playing klezmer music, and talking a bit about it.

John Lennon & Paul Simon

I bring here today an amazing video I found on youtube. It's the Grammy Awards show of the year 1975.

The award for Record of the Year was delivered by Paul Simon and John Lennon. The award went to Olivia Newton-John, who wasn't present at the show (she missed it!). But it was even better, because accepting the award for her appeared... Art Garfunkel!

It looks like Simon and Garfunkel were, at that time, not getting along very well, and the meeting of those two on the stage is funny because of that.

24 accents

Great display of different (24) english accents.

It’s funny that the most unintelligible ones, come from Great Britain itself.

(Warning: the wording used by the “teacher” in the video is not very formal... Little kids, please don't press "play" below).

Adam Smith: "The invisible hand"

Excerpt from the book "The invisible hand", written by Adam Smith. First published in 1776.

"Men are much more likely to discover easier and readier methods of attaining any object when the whole attention of their minds is directed towards that single object than when it is dissipated among a great variety of things. But in consequence of the division of labour, the whole of every man's attention comes naturally to be directed towards some one very simple object. It is naturally to be expected, therefore, that some one or other of those who are employed in each particular branch of labour should soon find out easier and readier methods of performing their own particular work, wherever the nature of it admits of such improvement. A great part of the machines made use of in those manufactures in which labour is most subdivided, were originally the inventions of common workmen, who, being each of them employed in some very simple operation, naturally tumed their thoughts towards finding out easier and readier methods of performing it. Whoever has been much accustomed to visit such manufactures must frequently have been shown very pretty machines, which were the inventions of such workmen in order to facilitate and quicken their own particular part of the work. In the first fire-engines, a boy was constantly employed to open and shut alternately the communication between the boiler and the cylinder, according as the piston either ascended or descended. One of those boys, who loved to play with his companions, observed that, by tying a string from the handle of the valve which opened this communication to another part of the machine, the valve would open and shut without his assistance, and leave him at liberty to divert himself with his play-fellows. One of the greatest improvements that has been made upon this machine, since it was first invented, was in this manner the discovery of a boy who wanted to save his own labour."

Madness & Pet Shop Boys: "My girl"

Something’s going awfully wrong when songs from your childhood, those same ones that once appeared as brightly new, begin to stand out as old-time classics… classic enough, at least, to deserve a new version made of them by an acclaimed band from the present time.

To me, that’s the case of the song “My girl”. First written and sung by Madness in 1979, and now also played by The Pet Shop Boys in 2009. Here we have both versions.

My girl’s mad at me, I didn’t wanna see the film tonight…

Bruce Sprinsgsteen & his Mom: "Hungry heart"

Awesome video, this one I found on youtube: Bruce Springsteen taking his mother out to sing at a concert!