Not sure what channel it is on because the hotel channel guide is wrong, but I’m watching a fascinating documentary on Bill Withers. I’ve always liked his music, but the man himself is so much more interesting. You really need to watch it.
Still Bill
by John Cole| 70 Comments
This post is in: Movies
cathyx
Where are you?
cmorenc
When in your hotel room, it’s always good to have an interesting program to watch until the hooker you ordered from the escort service arrives.
:=)
cathyx
I’m such a dweeb. I had to look up what his music was, and of course I’ve heard it before. They’re classics. I wonder if it’s on here tonight.
Steve L.
Damn, I wanna see that. Anyone else know what channel it’s on?
memphisj
SHowtime.
Violet
@Steve L.:
It’s on Showtime.
Tata
You must love Bill Withers. That’s practically a rule.
Alex S.
@cathyx:
If I had to take a guess….Arlington, Texas:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Bowl_XLV
cathyx
That makes sense. But man, that’s a long car ride.
Poopyman
@Alex S.: Nah. Earlier he was bitching (rightfully)about listening to DC101 in his car.
DC101 is, surprisingly, in DC.
Alex S.
@Poopyman:
Maybe he went to the wrong Arlington…
cathyx
@Alex S.: So funny.
PeakVT
@Alex S.: Hey, there’s nothing wrong with the People’s Republic of Arlington. Nothing that seceding from Virginia wouldn’t fix, that is.
Poopyman
@Alex S.: Tailgating in the Pentagon parking lot?
There WILL be a video of that, and I’d love to see it.
JWL
I’ve read where the Righteous Brothers opened shows for the Beatles during the mania, and held the Fab Four in musical contempt.
I assume they later changed their tune. But maybe they didn’t. As a lifelong Beatle fanatic and a Brothers fan, I wonder just how they came to view the Liverpudlian’s catalogue.
cathyx
Has anyone read this rubbish? I so don’t agree with it, I don’t know where to begin. And Fineman says he’s a native Pittsburgher? No native would write this.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/howard-fineman/the-steelers-have-already_b_819008.html
Alex S.
@PeakVT:
Do it! The new state will be known as Fake Virginia.
@Poopyman:
It’s probably going to show John from a weird angle and people will mistake him for a cruise missile.
DaveInOz
John’s getting in line for his new Stiller‘s shirt
Southern Beale
Good evening, folks. Just saw this “Only on FOX” on our local Fox channel: a dangerous new drug! Called White Lightning! Sold LEGALLY as an insect repellant! ZOMG!
I’m thinking this is the latest “your kids are smoking catnip and they’re all gonna diiiieeee” fearmongering our snooze media specializes in but what do I know.
Lincolnshire Poacher
Bill Withers, good musician.
I always tell people Bill Withers was on my mail route, or at least someone who just happened to share the same name.
Phoebe
I love love love Bill Withers. I only have netflix, no tv. Is this A&E Biography?
Bob In Pacifica
“Use Me” was a great song. With a few lyrical adjustments it could be the anthem for teabaggers except that it was done by a black man.
Mr Stagger Lee
Just the two of us, we can make it if we try
just the two of us.
Just the two of us, building castles in the sky, just the two of us, you and I
Then the cool sounds of Grover Washington Jr and the Sax.
Great Song!
Anne Laurie
@Phoebe: Looks like it’s available through Netflix (not streaming, unfortunately).
honus
Bill Withers- native of Slab Fork, West Virginia
honus
@cathyx: absolutely Cathy. This “…they rose to prominence via ferocious defense and frightening pictures of a toothless Jack Lambert.”
Howard, the first famously toothless and violent middle lineback was a Polish guy from Green Bay named Ray Nitscke.
Fineman also says the Steelers have won too much to be beloved, kind of ignoring the fact that the Packers dominated football for ten years. He is also old enough to remember, if he is really from Pittsburgh, when the Steelers were perennially pathetic and the Pirates were a consistent powerhouse. The Steelers never even played a postseason game until 1973.
JGabriel
NY Times:
Meanwhile in Egypt:
I’m all for a free press, but, generally speaking, if you’re trying ease out a dictator, I think it’s a good idea NOT to blab to the press about making vacation suggestions to guy. At least, not until AFTER he’s gone.
.
M. Bouffant
@honus: Go Steagles!
eemom
plz note, none of us here in deecee wants to have a drink with you. kthxbai.
PeakVT
@Alex S.: I thinking more along the lines of Loyalist Virginia. That’s not entirely true because the area was held by force, but it’s the most irritating-to-dead-enders name I can think of.
@JGabriel: The US is still trying to walk the line between appearing to support the protesters and appearing to be meddling and appearing to be throwing Mubarak overboard without a second thought. Having unnamed but entirely authorized “administration officials” give not-at-all subtle hints like that is one way – perhaps the best – to satisfy all of the limitations on what can be said.
Tattoosydney
Music: Adele – Someone Like You (on ‘Later Live with Jools Holland’)
Steeplejack
Can’t believe no one’s thrown in a video. Here are my two favorite songs: “Ain’t No Sunshine” and “Grandma’s Hands.”
JGabriel
@PeakVT:
Possibly, but you can’t deny the inherent comic potential:
“Hosni, it’s impossible to even go to the store, what with all these ridiculous protesters and the shops being closed. Why don’t you take a vacation? We’re not getting anything done right now, and I hear Palau is very nice this time of year. Or maybe Tristan da Cunha?”
.
Tattoosydney
@Steeplejack:
Lovely Day (Full Phatt Remix)
DougJ®
Very cool. I meant to organize something around the release of that DVD last year but I didn’t get around to it. I still haven’t seen the documentary but love love love the guy.
eemom
@Steeplejack:
I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I KNOW, I got the right number of I know’s in there.
I think.
asiangrrlMN
@Steeplejack: YOU. Haven’t seen you in awhile. How you be?
@Tattoosydney: Hey, hon!
Man. I just read ABL’s thread below, and i’m steamed. And exhausted (not from reading). I think I’m gonna take a nap.
DougJ®
@Steeplejack:
You know, I’ve never liked Ain’t No Sunshine. One thing I first heard a few years ago that I love is his cover of Everybody’s Talking.
Steeplejack
@Tattoosydney:
Nice remix. Bit of a rocky start, but it settles down into a good groove.
I also like Joan Osborne’s take on “Ain’t No Sunshine.” It could just be because I am a sucker for that smoove, late-night organ sound.
Hey, you will appreciate this: I am learning Portuguese! My brother is seriously involved with a nice Brazilian man and is committed to learning the language, but he is having trouble. My diagnosis is that, like all the Steeplejack men, he hates to look foolish or to be in the wrong. Plus he’s a doctor. ‘Nuff said. So I have decided to learn along with him to provide moral support (and arm-twisting) as necessary. Plus I’d like to see if my aging Steeplejack brain is up to it. I think it is.
Steeplejack
@eemom:
Sister, you don’t know. This is a relatively short version. On the original album version I swear he ruptured a lung about halfway in.
Phoebe
@Anne Laurie: Thank you!! I just shoved it in at #1. I almost put “Who is He and What is He to You” on someone’s mix cd maybe half an hour before I read this post, but thought, “Naw, who doesn’t already have that song?”
Steeplejack
@DougJ®:
“Ain’t No Sunshine” might be one of those songs that you got sick of because you heard it about a million times in a three-month period. For me that song is Rod Stewart’s “Maggie Mae.” Shudder.
Bill Withers’s standout qualities are his excellent voice and his impeccable selection of perfect material for that voice. “Ain’t No Sunshine” can sound kind of cheesy in the wrong hands, but he brings it with the thunder. Actually, he brings it with the thunder, the lightning and the golf-ball-sized hail.
The other artist I associate in my mind with Withers, because of those same qualities of having a unique voice and selecting the right material for it, is Richie Havens. It always kills me to hear him do “Just Like a Woman.”
Steeplejack
@asiangrrlMN:
My schedule has been totally screwed lately, what with the snowpocalypse and weird work changes. I have been opening a lot lately and having to reacquaint myself with this weird “normal” circadian rhythm. But I closed tonight and will close again tomorrow night, so I’m back into night-owl mode. Go figure.
Have been trying to keep up with the threads but usually read them too late to comment.
How you been? Surprised you still have time for us peons, now that you’re a front-pager at ABL’s joint and all.
Steeplejack
Okay, as per usual, venturing over to YouTube sent me down a Floyd hole looking for other stuff.
Here’s a nice reggae version of “Ain’t No Sunshine” by Ken Boothe.
And, for the trifecta of perfect material matched to a singular voice, here’s Timmy Thomas doing “Why Can’t We Live Together?”
Bonus: go-go dancers!
Steeplejack
Next up: William DeVaughn, “Be Thankful for What You Got,” as we approach the one o’clock hour here at WJAZ, broadcasting at the foot of Mount Belzoni.
Yutsano
@Tattoosydney: Hi hon.
@asiangrrlMN: Hi hon. Nap well hon. I’ll be about for awhile.
@Steeplejack: Ahh I might as well hi hon you too. But think Baltimore style hon.
Steeplejack
Okay, apparently I have chased everyone away from this thread. I will bring it home with Ronny Jordan’s “The Jackal” and retire to work on my 12-step program for Threadkillers Anonymous.
Steeplejack
@Yutsano:
Heh. I see we are passing like the proverbial ships in the night. Good luck with this thread. See if you can resuscitate it.
Polar Bear Squares
Saw that. I think it was on Ovation (love that channel).
What cha’ll youngsters know about Bill Withers? (Just kidding. I just turned 34.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWOa4sv6BIE
Thanks again for putting the spotlight on this doc. Withers was an awesome songwriter. Doesn’t get much better than him and Stevie Wonder IMHO.
hamletta
@Steeplejack: Aw, that’s sweet! I tried to find the appropriate clip from Love Actually, but it’s blocked by NBC-Universal. (Now Comcast-NBC-Universal for more borg-like pleasure!)
Anyway, it’s good to learn the native language of your beloved, just in cases.
Yutsano
@Steeplejack: Well I’mma gonna go stare into my fridge for awhile and see what I can concoct for dinner. Just thinking off the top of me head not coming up with much yet. I’ll think of something though.
Common Sense
OT but I know you guys are suckers for doggies. A neighbor of mine found an unneutered male pit wandering the streets of Heights, Houston the other night. His wife took the poor guy in from the cold, but they can’t keep him. All of the no kill shelters in Houston are full, and the SPCA here usually kills pits on arrival. He has a chip, his shots, and was trained at some point, but obviously his owners failed to build on it. The city has no record of him, and the number with the chip is disconnected. Here is a pic of the guy.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y193/Yankee_In_TX/th_IMG_7845.jpg
If anyone in the Houston area has room to roam and is able to take on a feisty fella, let me know via the thread and I’ll try to hook y’all up.
Mark S.
I have no idea who Michael Shear is, but he’s probably an idiot:
You know, sometimes people (often through no fault of their own) make bad first impressions. They might get nervous and come off as dumb when they aren’t (God knows it’s happened to me). Watching Sarah for the last two and a half years, I’m pretty sure it’s just that she is that stupid and shallow. Her interview with Katie Couric wasn’t a fluke.
ETA: Yay! A successful multiparagraph blockquote.
Common Sense
edit my user name to contact me about the dog
Just Some Fuckhead
Whatever.
S. cerevisiae
OT: Creepshow is on, am I wrong to think Inhofe would be perfect for the Stephen King role being turned to a plant? Ironic Justice 101.
Redshift
@Mark S.:
I agree, that’s some Grade-A stupid there.
No. No, it is not possible, short of a brain transplant.
This is someone who a presidential campaign staff could not manage to get to understand why there was a North and South Korea, and even lacking understanding, cannot convincingly deliver a speech that someone else has written if it is on any topic other than herself or a word salad of wingnut talking points.
The comments on that post are hilarious, though.
Redshift
I would be put out that John is practically next door and isn’t saying hi, but then I remembered he does that everywhere.
I’m sure your plans are all set, JC, but if you need any restaurant suggestions in the VA suburbs, let me know.
S. cerevisiae
And now the late, great Leslie Nielsen burying Ted Danson in the sand. You can’t get much better than that.
JGabriel
@Redshift:
Now, now, there’s no need for cruelty — it is perfectly possible to be broadly conceived and, simultaneously, strictly stupid.
.
hamletta
It’s also possible that I am Marie of Roumania.
Tattoosydney
@Steeplejack:
!
Best of luck. If there’s anything I can help with, let me know…
S. cerevisiae
@hamletta: And it could be that I am only +4, when I am really about +7 (accounting for the Pappy’s Dark.
Mark S.
Michael Shear will be crying himself to sleep tonight:
But she got some zingers in!
And why are they having a video tribute to Reagan before the Super Bowl?
Yutsano
@Mark S.: After all the hype her speech was…boring. If they can only pick out one decent line, that’s a huge flop. I think I’m giddy.
freelancer
@Steeplejack:
What, no West Wing/ CJ Cregg reference to The Jackal? I’m ashamed a y’all.
Draylon Hogg
How do you turn a duck into a soul singer?
Put it in the microwave until it’s bill withers.
Rimshot.
I’ll get me coat.
JGabriel
Palin via Mark S.:
It really is a fetish or compulsion, isn’t it? Palin just can’t get through two paragraphs without a reference to guns, ammo, or some sort of explodey, brutalizing, deadly use of violence to express power.
.
Max Peck
I can’t Write left Haaaaanded!
Bill Murray
@Mark S.: Sunday is Dumb St. Ronnie’s 100th Birthday