Cy Twombly, titan of modern art, dies at 83.

So, farewell then
Cy Twombly.
Keith’s mum says you were a great artist.
But I just wish
You had married
Twyla Tharp.

Stormy weather

Don't know why, there's no sun up in the sky ... has been the lament for far too many weeks, and not only here in Rome. So here for your delectation is Ivie Anderson fronting the Duke Ellington Orchestra in a 1933? recording of Stormy Weather. There's also a video on YouTube of...

Corn Grinding, Haiti

Hard to know where to break into this story. I had it all lined up for last week, and then came the earthquake in Haiti and “sensitivity” got the better of me, so I pulled it. Then I read up more about Harold Courlander, the man who recorded it. He seems to be most famous as...

The Weight

I had thought, when I started this series, that there would be at least one song in each of the Sounds to Grow On episodes that would be worth singling out; that hasn’t been the case. I’m not saying that there won’t be more Folkways tracks in future, only that nothing in the past couple...

What with The Wire done and dusted and an occasional hole in our evening entertainment, I sought out Burn Notice and we gave it a little watch. It’s likable enough escapist nonsense (although I figured out who done it and why for the pilot pretty quickly) and could grow on one. But one thing is...