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Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

if you can’t see it, then you are useless in the fight to stop it.

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Republicans: slavery is when you own me. freedom is when I own you.

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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Wednesday Morning Open Thread: Kennedy Center Honors 2024

Wednesday Morning Open Thread: Kennedy Center Honors 2024

by Anne Laurie|  December 11, 20249:16 am| 85 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads, Popular Culture, Something Good Open Thread

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US President Joe Biden paid tribute to this year’s Kennedy Center honorees including filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola and rock band the Grateful Dead at the White House https://t.co/oMAfiUmhv9 pic.twitter.com/B6NububYNk

— Reuters (@Reuters) December 9, 2024

Per the Associated Press, “Kennedy Center pays tribute to Coppola, the Grateful Dead, Raitt, Sandoval and The Apollo”:

“Not Fade Away” closed out the Kennedy Center Honors at this year’s ceremony, just as honorees The Grateful Dead had used Buddy Holly’s ode to enduring love to close out hundreds of concerts over the years.

The packed house Sunday night danced in the aisles to the bouncy beat after a night of honoring the Dead and other recipients of the lifetime achievement award for artistic accomplishment: director Francis Ford Coppola, jazz trumpeter Arturo Sandoval and singer-songwriter Bonnie Raitt. The venerable Harlem theater The Apollo, which has launched generations of Black artists, also was recognized.

The annual gala at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts always features personalized tributes with performances and testimonials from fellow artists. Medallions were presented during the traditional Saturday night ceremony at the State Department.

In the first of the night’s tributes, Emmylou Harris and Dave Matthews performed a cover of Raitt’s duet with the late John Prine, “Angel from Montgomery.”…

Coppola received a tribute filled with previous Kennedy Center honorees, including Robert De Niro, Martin Scorsese, Al Pacino and George Lucas. All described an iconoclastic and driven auteur who loved to nurture and support younger filmmakers.

“What Francis does creatively is jump off cliffs,” Lucas said. “When you spend enough time with Francis, you begin to believe you can jump off cliffs, too.”

Sandoval’s tribute featured multiple performances from an all-star band featuring Trombone Shorty and pianist Chucho Valdez from Sandoval’s original band, plus a flamenco dance performance by Timo Nunez. It also included a bit of light roast comedy from actor Andy Garcia…

The official 47th Annual Kennedy Center Honors class photo, Seated: Arturo Sandoval, Francis Ford Coppola, Bonnie Raitt, @BobWeir and #MickeyHart @GratefulDead
Back row: Michelle Ebanks, Kamilah Forbes, Jonelle Procope of Apollo Theater, Bill Kreutzmann (Grateful Dead). pic.twitter.com/ZqLj11AaWI

— Gary Carmell (@gcarmell) December 9, 2024

Local paper, the Washington Post, on “A one-night ‘church’ of soul, blues, jazz and jams”:

It was a musical evening at the Kennedy Center Honors — so musical, it turned out, that even Robert De Niro played piano.

Before anyone was lionized at the annual ceremony on Sunday night, Queen Latifah led a medley of songs connected to each honoree — from Bonnie Raitt’s “Something to Talk About” to the theme from Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Godfather” — with De Niro on keys. “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band and J’Nai Bridges performed the “Star Spangled Banner.”…

Completing the lineup was the 90-year-old Apollo Theater, a nucleus for Black performers in Harlem that retains a packed calendar to this day. The ceremony marked the first time the Kennedy Center has honored a fellow arts institution, though it has sometimes departed from its usual format to pay tribute to bands, “Sesame Street” and the creators of “Hamilton.”

The evening was going to be a swan song for David M. Rubenstein, the Carlyle Group co-founder and philanthropist who said in January that he was stepping down as Kennedy Center chairman only to announce in late November that he would stay until September 2026. “I want to apologize to those who spent time and money on my retirement party,” he joked…

The question mark was the Apollo. How do you honor a building, one known not only for music, but also comedy, dancing and more?

The answer: Do it all.

The result: The centerpiece was easily the most exciting stretch of the evening.

It began with a short speech by Queen Latifah, the evening’s host, who called the Apollo the “heartbeat of Black America” while Kamasi Washington’s sumptuous saxophone erupted into a manic solo.

After singer-songwriter Raye performed “Cry Me a River” (Hamilton, not Timberlake), rapper Doug E. Fresh, clad in a sparking gold tuxedo, popped up from a seat in the audience to beatbox and then explain why there was a small tree stump on the stage.

It was a replica of the Tree of Hope inside the Apollo. Performers at the venue’s famous Amateur Nights are supposed to rub it for luck.

“The s— doesn’t work,” comedian Dave Chappelle said, remembering his own disastrous debut there when he was 15 years old and got booed off the stage. “I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. The Black community agreed on something!”

Nonetheless, his feelings were warm: “The Apollo Theater was a church where we could talk like ourselves, to ourselves,” Chappelle said.

Tap dancing from Savion Glover followed, and the first half of the show concluded with a medley from country duo the War and Treaty featuring “You’re All I Need to Get By,” “Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing” and “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” — beloved soul duets immortalized by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell — that had the room clapping into intermission…

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, an avowed Raitt fan, praised the artist as “all red hair and no bulls—.” Of Raitt’s activism, the comedian said, “It really makes you feel like crap, but in a really good way.” Browne said that when he first met Raitt, she “looked like Little Orphan Annie and sounded like Mae West.”

(In one charmingly impromptu moment, Matthews grabbed the mic to tell Raitt that he read in The Washington Post that she was raised a Quaker — exciting news to him since he was also raised a Quaker.)…

After a video featuring John Mayer, Norah Jones, both Ben and Jerry, and San Francisco’s own Nancy Pelosi, actor Miles Teller climbed onstage to say, “Being a fan of the Grateful Dead is nothing short of a religious experience.”

Here’s what church sounded like on Sunday: an all-star lineup of Maggie Rogers, Leon Bridges, Sturgill Simpson, Don Was, Dave Matthews, Derek Trucks, Susan Tedeschi and more playing such classic Dead tunes as “Friend of the Devil, “Ripple,” “Sugaree” and “Not Fade Away.” (That one’s a Buddy Holly ditty, but the Dead made it one of their signatures.)

One of the night’s most touching moments wasn’t found in a speech. It was when the long-deceased Jerry Garcia performed, in a manner of speaking, with Simpson and Grahame Lesh. A video of the Dead front man played along with the band, with Garcia’s vocals filling the room…

The Dead were the final honorees to receive their medallions, and in his own impish way, drummer Mickey Hart tried locating what makes the Honors so special, what makes music and art itself so deserving of recognition.

“It’s the only thing that’s universal,” Hart said. “It’s right up there with, you know, sex.”

Variety:

… As per tradition, the honorees observed the proceedings from the presidential box in the Kennedy Center Opera House, accompanied by President Joe Biden, first lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and First Husband Doug Emhoff. Freshly arrived from a White House reception, all received rousing ovations from an appreciative audience when introduced.

That White House tradition could go on hiatus during the incoming Trump administration, since Donald Trump notably declined to participate in the affair during his first presidency. Nonetheless, invitations will be extended by the rigidly nonpartisan arts institution, the Kencen assures.

Slated to air on CBS Dec. 22, the Honors production in its 47th year is a seamless and eye-popping spectacle produced again by Done + Dusted. It is filled with pleasant surprises as unannounced participants saunter on stage to toast and entertain. For example, the Opera House stage replicated the Apollo Theater’s venerable space during that lively segment, while the Grateful Dead tribute was adorned with suitable props including an iconic Volkswagen bus…

“Not Fade Away” closed out the Kennedy Center Honors at this year’s ceremony, just as honorees The Grateful Dead had used Buddy Holly’s ode to enduring love to close out hundreds of concerts over the years. https://t.co/f68FISy1qj

— WBAL NewsRadio 1090 and FM 101.5 (@wbalradio) December 9, 2024

?? @POTUS @JoeBiden and @FLOTUS @DrBiden just received an extended standing ovation from the crowd at the Kennedy Center.

[image or embed]

— Chris D. Jackson (@chrisdjackson.bsky.social) December 8, 2024 at 7:41 PM

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Reader Interactions

85Comments

  1. 1.

    Gin & Tonic

    December 11, 2024 at 9:23 am

    Real shame that Phil died so recently before this honor.

  2. 2.

    Splitting Image

    December 11, 2024 at 9:29 am

    It’s probably because they are nearly all wearing black, but the group photo of the honorees reminds me of every picture of the Supreme Court.

  3. 3.

    JiveTurkin

    December 11, 2024 at 9:36 am

    Next year’s Kennedy Center honorees:

    Kid Rock, Dinesh D’souza (for 2,000 Mules), Ayn Rand, Rosanne Barr, Ted Nugent

  4. 4.

    matt

    December 11, 2024 at 9:40 am

    Weimar splendor.

  5. 5.

    lowtechcyclist

    December 11, 2024 at 9:40 am

    I think it’s so fucking cool that they honored the Apollo. I’ve never been there, but I’ve been aware of its place in Black music and culture since I was a teen.

  6. 6.

    mali muso

    December 11, 2024 at 9:42 am

    I have a friend who works at the Kennedy Center and it’s always fun to check out her Facebook feed after the event for photos.  Sometimes she gets to be a seat warmer/filler next to important guests.

    Frankly, I was glad that the Orange Menace didn’t show up for these awards last time around.  The less we have to see his awful visage, the better, imo.  I prefer not having him pollute the space.

  7. 7.

    Old Man Shadow

    December 11, 2024 at 9:46 am

    This is so bloody depressing.

    Four years of quiet competence, pro-labor, progressive government…

    Now comes the clown show and the end…

  8. 8.

    Quinerly

    December 11, 2024 at 9:46 am

    @Gin & Tonic:

    Exactly what I was thinking. He did have a good run and overcame so many health issues for a long while, though. Would have been so wonderful if he could have just hung on a little longer.

    Music related. I just met David Crosby’s son James Raymond. He is my neighbor down the street. Pretty fricking cool. This is the child that was born in 1962.  The mother put the child up for adoption. They connected a few years before David’s death. Then they collaborated on some music, and  James Raymond produced Crosby’s last album.

    The things you learn at your mailbox, talking to your neighbor. Strong family resemblance. I had heard a rumor that he was in my neighborhood but had no idea that he actually was on the same road. He said his father road out a good portion of Covid Times with him at the house. They put in a small recording studio.

  9. 9.

    Gin & Tonic

    December 11, 2024 at 9:48 am

    @JiveTurkin: ​
    Honorees are not nominated by him.

    Funny story, not sure why I thought of it this morning, but in the late 1980’s for some reason (which in retrospect seems ludicrous) Trump sponsored a very serious and well-run professional bicycle race, called – naturally – Tour de Trump. Long, multi-day race on the east coast, with decent prize money that attracted world-class racers. The stated intent was to become a US equivalent to the Tour de France. After a couple of years Trump lost interest and ceased sponsorship, which was taken over by the duPont company. The race continued to run as the Tour duPont for several years, but ended in the late 1990’s. While it drew top riders, it really failed to draw spectators or additional sponsors/advertisers, and never made money.

    I’ve followed pro cycling for decades now, so I remember this well, even though it’s a footnote both in cycling and in politics.

  10. 10.

    raven

    December 11, 2024 at 9:51 am

    @Quinerly:
    Crosby, Stills & Nash – Southern Cross

  11. 11.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    December 11, 2024 at 9:52 am

    @mali muso:

    Frankly, I was glad that the Orange Menace didn’t show up for these awards last time around.

    Did he ever?  I don’t recall.  But yeah, not having Hair Furor at these events is a bonus.

  12. 12.

    Elizabelle

    December 11, 2024 at 9:53 am

    @Gin & Tonic:   Tour de Trump.  I see them riding into ditches, getting lost in waterways, and faceplanting because the road surface lacks maintenance.

  13. 13.

    mali muso

    December 11, 2024 at 9:54 am

    @comrade scotts agenda of rage: I don’t think he did.  Less of him is more, if you know what I mean.

  14. 14.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    December 11, 2024 at 9:55 am

    @Quinerly:

    For those of you not familiar with the story:

    https://www.acousticstorm.com/artists/interview/75

  15. 15.

    TBone

    December 11, 2024 at 9:55 am

    @Quinerly: great story! Wow.

  16. 16.

    TBone

    December 11, 2024 at 10:00 am

    Because my IRL middle name is Gray, the Dead have written my personal anthem.  I saw them in Philly long before Touch of Grey was written, however. What a blast!  My brother’s friends nicknamed me the “Get By Girl” soon after that song came out.

    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Ringers:_The_Making_of_Touch_of_Grey

  17. 17.

    UncleEbeneezer

    December 11, 2024 at 10:01 am

    That sounds like a fun event.  I never got real into the Dead (though I do love JGB and Billy Cobham’s instrumental tribute band Jazz Is Dead) but I’m happy to see them being honored.  People love to tut-tut and make fun of the Dead and Phish, but both bands really broke some tremendous musical ground and show that improv doesn’t have to be limited only in jazz.  When it comes to playing with the energy-change aspect of music that is such a huge part of why we love music, they are both absolute masters of the craft.

  18. 18.

    Elizabelle

    December 11, 2024 at 10:01 am

    @comrade scotts agenda of rage:  I no longer watch the White House Correspondent’s Dinner.  But it will be interesting to see how those  nerds  presstitutes  comport themselves at the next one.

    They brought this on themselves and us.

    Am reading the graphic edition of On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder, with illustrations by Nora Krug. Recommended — buy several for holiday gifts! Thriftbooks has them on backorder.

    On page 82, they bring up emails, emails, emails and the ridiculous press coverage. And segue right into: conspiracy theories.

    I think this would be a great book for intelligent preteens on up.

  19. 19.

    eemom

    December 11, 2024 at 10:02 am

    In other good people news, Krugman is on Substack now.

  20. 20.

    Spanky

    December 11, 2024 at 10:04 am

    Well this sucks:

    A federal bankruptcy judge has rejected the sale of Alex Jones’s Infowars platform to satirical news website the Onion, ruling Tuesday that the November court-ordered auction of Jones’s website lacked transparency.
    The decision capped a two-day hearing that stretched late into the night in U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez’s Houston courtroom.
    “I don’t think anyone acted in bad faith here. I think everyone was trying to buy an asset and put their best foot forward and play by the rules,” Lopez said as he delivered his decision. The judge took issue with the lack of transparency from the sealed bidding process selected by the court-appointed trustee Christopher Murray, who was overseeing the sale of Jones’s assets. The judge added that he was troubled that the process, however well intended, “did not maximize value in any way, based on the record before me.”

    Per wapo.

  21. 21.

    Omnes Omnibus

    December 11, 2024 at 10:05 am

    @UncleEbeneezer: Neither the Dead nor Phish are up my alley at all.  That being said, Kennedy Center honors for the Dead are entirely warranted based on their cultural impact.  The Apollo Theater being honored is awesome.

  22. 22.

    Quinerly

    December 11, 2024 at 10:07 am

    @raven:

    Smiling emoji.

    I didn’t tell my neighbor. I’m more of a Neil Young chick. “Harvest Moon” is one of my favorite songs. And, I love Neil and Daryl Hannah together. Just a perfect match. My favorite of CSN is Graham.

    I want to see my neighbor’s little Covid Times studio and have them over for a visit come Spring. I’ll keep my mouth shut about my favorites.

    Winking emojis.

  23. 23.

    Belafon

    December 11, 2024 at 10:08 am

    @eemom: Which is great, except for the grumbling you will hear about Substack supporting Nazis.

  24. 24.

    Quinerly

    December 11, 2024 at 10:12 am

    @UncleEbeneezer:

    Not a big Dead fan here. Most of my buddies in St. Louis were huge followers. And still following what’s left as recently as this past summer.

    Phish….where do I begin? Pro tip….You never want to camp in an urban campground situation on Chef Menteur Highway with Phish fans when they descend on NOLA Jazz and Heritage Fest when Phish is playing the fest.

    I’ll just leave it at that.

  25. 25.

    BellaPea

    December 11, 2024 at 10:13 am

    I am an avid fan of the Kennedy Center Honors, always beautifully produced and so inspiring. I read an article about this year’s event on my news feed, and in it Nancy Pelosi said she hopes the Orange Menace attends next year’s awards. And so the normalizing begins. It’s a shame.

  26. 26.

    UncleEbeneezer

    December 11, 2024 at 10:14 am

    @Omnes Omnibus: I can definitely understand why their music doesn’t appeal to people.  Just like I can see how some of my favorite heavy bands (Tool, Deftones, Soundgarden) and a lot of the jazz I love (with songs routinely running 8-20 minutes long live), wouldn’t appeal to plenty of people.  Likewise, there’s tons of stuff that tons of people love that doesn’t do much for me.  But whether or not it’s anyone’s cup of tea, jam-band music, especially the Grateful Dead, Phish and Dave Matthews Band, is a significant part of the legacy of American music.

  27. 27.

    Belafon

    December 11, 2024 at 10:15 am

    @BellaPea: Trump wouldn’t get culture if you made a mural in gold in his home.

  28. 28.

    zhena gogolia

    December 11, 2024 at 10:15 am

    OT, has anyone had trouble ordering with Cafe Press? I cannot order the calendars.

  29. 29.

    NotMax

    December 11, 2024 at 10:16 am

    (Don Adams voice) Would you believe Wednesday music?
    ;)

  30. 30.

    Omnes Omnibus

    December 11, 2024 at 10:17 am

    @UncleEbeneezer: You more or less restated my second sentence.

  31. 31.

    TBone

    December 11, 2024 at 10:18 am

    @UncleEbeneezer: I saw Tool at The Electric Factory in their band iteration named A Perfect Circle (gender bent).

  32. 32.

    Trivia Man

    December 11, 2024 at 10:20 am

    @TBone: some of the purists are disdainful of “touch heads” who only jumped on the bus after Touch Of Gray exploded on the scene. It was played as an encore at my first show so i suppose i qualify as “pre-touch”.

    Although that distinction hopefully has faded in the misty, distant past.

  33. 33.

    Quinerly

    December 11, 2024 at 10:20 am

    @comrade scotts agenda of rage:

    Thanks. Good article. I didn’t ask how long he had been in Eldorado. Obviously before me since he was telling me about his father surviving Covid Times mostly with him (and his wife).

    Crosby died since I moved into my home. Pretty sure he was on the West Coast.

    So many folks moved from CA to Santa Fe just before, during, and after Covid Times. I’m guessing he and his wife moved to Eldorado around 1999.

    Once Spring comes, I will seek out him and his wife and invite them over. I was a little star struck at my mail box when he was saying “David” this, “David” that….and talking  hanging out in their little studio while the world was changing around them in 2020/2021.

  34. 34.

    TBone

    December 11, 2024 at 10:27 am

    @Trivia Man: I don’t guess the Dead cared all that much about how their fans came into being, but as always I could be wrong!  My first introduction to them was so long ago in my early teen years that I don’t remember much except the taste of the mushrooms. Blech!

    Whoda thought that kind of snobbery would be a thing?

  35. 35.

    Quinerly

    December 11, 2024 at 10:28 am

    @TBone:

    Thanks. Santa Fe is a fascinating town.

    Ali MacGraw is always out and about on the Plaza…see her at lunch in restaurants very often. One time long before I bought and I was just out on a trip in February, she literally ran up to me to pet and hug my old traveling dog, Poco. She asked beforehand, of course. Next thing I knew, Ali MacGraw was practically rolling around on the sidewalk with my dog. She hopped up, flashed a smile, and ran back to her parked, very beat up Subaru.

    (Oldtimers here will remember the short lived presidential campaign of Baud/Poco!!!!)

  36. 36.

    UncleEbeneezer

    December 11, 2024 at 10:31 am

    @Omnes Omnibus: Some points need to be made twice!

  37. 37.

    TBone

    December 11, 2024 at 10:33 am

    @Quinerly: oh my goodness!  Thank you for sharing that lovely memory!  I’m a big fan (i.e., The Getaway, not as much Love Story but that’s good in a different, corny way).

    https://people.com/movies/ali-macgraw-on-losing-steve-mcqueen-i-wish-we-could-have-grown-old-together-sober/

    I am very lucky to be growing old with my Magnificent Other in sobriety.

  38. 38.

    Omnes Omnibus

    December 11, 2024 at 10:33 am

    @TBone: Whoda thought that kind of snobbery would be a thing?

    Anyone who has been around any kind of cultural discussion ever.

  39. 39.

    TBone

    December 11, 2024 at 10:35 am

    @Omnes Omnibus: Deadheads are a culture unto themselves and snobbery among them came as a surprise to me because of the ardent ones I’ve known IRL.

  40. 40.

    NotMax

    December 11, 2024 at 10:38 am

    The village of Paia (pah-EE-ah) on Maui, once populous during the heyday of sugar cane, became a sleepy enclave which may as well have been dubbed Deadhead Central during the 70s, 80s and 90s.

    More tie dye than you could shake a stick at. If that’s your idea of a good time.

  41. 41.

    UncleEbeneezer

    December 11, 2024 at 10:38 am

    @TBone: APC is a bit different from Tool, but related.  APC is a bit more heavy on keys/synth whereas Tool is more metal/prog.  I prefer Tool but also love APC.  I bet it was a good show.  I’ve never seen APC live but their YT live vids are solid.

  42. 42.

    TBone

    December 11, 2024 at 10:40 am

    @UncleEbeneezer: it was the closest I could get at the time to actually seeing Tool (revered by me and all of my friends) and it was indeed a great show!  Keenan dressed as a woman. In a wig.

    Not too long after that, I saw President Bill Clinton at the Electric Factory, a one man show. My attorney employer gave me the ticket and drove us all there that night with his wife and best friend, the best criminal defense lawyer our County had at that time.  My boss represented the cops, and his best friend the worst of the criminals.

  43. 43.

    kindness

    December 11, 2024 at 10:44 am

    I first saw the Dead at Watkin’s Glenn when they played a day long show with The Band & The Allman Bros.  I liked the Dead.  My older brother had Europe ’72, American Beauty and Workingman’s Dead.  I didn’t really get on the bus till I moved to the Bay Area in the late 70’s though.  Their shows were a thing of rapture.  Sure, acid made them fun but going straight was awesome too.  Not everyone’s taste, but we didn’t care.  It was our space and we lived it.  I saw hundreds of their shows.  It was easy to do as in N. Cal alone you’d get 20 local shows a year.  So much fun.

  44. 44.

    NotMax

    December 11, 2024 at 10:47 am

    First rock ‘n’ roll album I owned was the eponymous The Grateful Dead. Received as a gift from a friend of Mom in 1967.

    Said she, “I hope you like it. I hear they’re popular.”

    Wasn’t much of a fan of rock music until Sgt. Pepper came out that same year.

  45. 45.

    Gin & Tonic

    December 11, 2024 at 10:47 am

    @kindness: Ah, Watkins Glen 1973….

  46. 46.

    TBone

    December 11, 2024 at 10:48 am

    @kindness: are you surprised by the “touch heads” phenom like I was?

  47. 47.

    TBone

    December 11, 2024 at 10:49 am

    I was thinking about The Electric Koolaid Acid Test today.  Been a long time since I read it.

  48. 48.

    TBone

    December 11, 2024 at 10:50 am

    @NotMax: your mom was cool and I’m not surprised.

  49. 49.

    WendyBinFL

    December 11, 2024 at 10:50 am

    @Quinerly: Really enjoying your reminiscences this morning! (And your earlier tambourine tales!) Hearing about Ali MacGraw’s exuberance with Poco makes me grin. Both of her parents were artists, and my parents were best friends with them when I was a baby. I treasure a ceramic pig and cup and saucer her mom made for me. The adults used to play bridge together every week, and Ali was my babysitter! My dad was one of Ali’s teachers, and always said she was the brightest girl he ever knew. (Which pissed me off, haha!) She went on to Rosemary Hall and Wellesley. My folks went to her first wedding (to a Harvard man), and were thunderstruck and disappointed when she became a photographer’s assistant. I think they expected her to save the world. I think she’s had an amazing life!

  50. 50.

    TBone

    December 11, 2024 at 10:52 am

    @WendyBinFL: holy cow! All the emojis!

  51. 51.

    kindness

    December 11, 2024 at 10:56 am

    @TBone: Not really.  When I first started going to shows I was a young 20 something and the olds certainly thought we were invading their space.  Fuck them.  They didn’t own it.  Of course it’s a repeating dynamic.  My generation no doubt did the same thing.  Humans….. we’re blessed even though we’re not always right.

  52. 52.

    geg6

    December 11, 2024 at 10:58 am

    I love the Kennedy Center Honors.  Two great tribute performances from this event were Heart’s (and Jason Bonham’s) tribute to Led Zeppelin, which was simply immaculate, and Adam Lambert’s tribute to Cher, which was an amazing reinterpretation of Believe.  I always watch.

    Which will be a little torturous for me since I really, really do not like the Dead.  Like, a lot.  But I adore Bonnie Raitt, so that will be fantastic and I’m super curious to see the Apollo tribute.

  53. 53.

    Quicksand

    December 11, 2024 at 10:58 am

    On my first look at that group photo I thought Coppola was one of the Grateful Dead members.  Haha oops.

  54. 54.

    NotMax

    December 11, 2024 at 11:03 am

    @TBone

    Still is, at 96 (turns 97 in February).

  55. 55.

    Trivia Man

    December 11, 2024 at 11:03 am

    @TBone: gatekeeping is the ugly side of every hobby and fandom. Once at a show i asked the dude next to me the name of a song. His disgust at my ignorance was apparent even to me and my inability to interpret normal human emotions. “Loser” was the song BTW, and NOT “Deal”.

  56. 56.

    Geminid

    December 11, 2024 at 11:05 am

    @Quinerly: There is some really good hiking in the mountains in back of Santa Fe. The National Forest begins ~4 miles East of town. If you turn North you can hike all the way to Taos.

    If you keep going East you descend into the the Pecos Wilderness and come out at Pecos. I hiked that route long ago, maybe 1983. On the way up I fell in with four young local men out for a three day trip. Those guys practically ran up that mountain! I was hard-pressed keeping up even before I developed altitude sickness. When I did, one of them stayed behind with me until I made camp, upon which he sprinted off to join his buddies.

    I walked downhill the next morning and soon got past the altitude sickness. On the way to the river I met a guy coming up on his way to Taos with his dog and a flyrod. He looked happy.

  57. 57.

    Trivia Man

    December 11, 2024 at 11:07 am

    @kindness: hope you caught the soundcheck – luckily that has been preserved on tape

  58. 58.

    UncleEbeneezer

    December 11, 2024 at 11:11 am

    @TBone: I saw Tool at the Electric Factory in 1996 and it was one of the best concerts I’ve ever attended.  Unfortunately the YT video has great sound but pretty shitty video.  Amazing set!  Of the four times I’ve seen them live it was my fave (even though their laser/light show has gotten much cooler since).

  59. 59.

    TBone

    December 11, 2024 at 11:13 am

    @UncleEbeneezer: oooh now I am a bit jealous!

  60. 60.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    December 11, 2024 at 11:13 am

    @zhena gogolia:

    Are you using Firefox as the browser?  If so and it ain’t working, try another browser.

    I had the same issue, then ordered using Chrome and it worked.

  61. 61.

    rikyrah

    December 11, 2024 at 11:17 am

    Good Morning Everyone 😊 😊 😊

  62. 62.

    TBone

    December 11, 2024 at 11:18 am

    @Trivia Man: gatekeeping is a word I’ve not thought of much lately, and since it applies to SO much I thank you for reminding us all of it today.  I’m dying of irony from your “loser” experience!  I don’t truck with snobs.

    On that note, here is today’s Tiedrich. Swing wide the gates:

    finally, America’s beleaguered billionaires are getting the fast track to the help they so desperately need.

    are you an oligarch? well then step right to the head of the line, bro. all you have to do is grease Dear Leader’s palm to the tune of a bil, and every door will open for you.

    https://www.jefftiedrich.com/p/thank-god-someone-is-finally-helping

  63. 63.

    TBone

    December 11, 2024 at 11:21 am

    @kindness: thank you for that reminder!

  64. 64.

    Quinerly

    December 11, 2024 at 11:23 am

    @WendyBinFL:

    I love this comment and am saving it to reread. Hope to catch you on another thread.

    Late getting out the door. Too much morning BJ. (Smiling devil emoji). JoJo las Orejas is antsy for his morning hike. We are sniffing around Patagonia Lake and the state park there this AM. Then on to the border town of Nogales. I have my eye on a Mexican seafood joint that I read about on line.

    Thank you for taking the time to read and pipe in. I hope I can inspire more people here to post some fun stuff. The place has been such a dark and sometimes difficult place for too many weeks now. I’m not looking to hijack any threads with my traveling tales. I’m looking to encourage others to hopefully find a snippet in any comment of mine to bounce off a personal experience…share something else. Probably not wording this very well. Pulled over for gas and saw your wonderful comment. Have a great day.

    Heart emojis

  65. 65.

    Trivia Man

    December 11, 2024 at 11:24 am

    @TBone: I havecread so many stories about women specifically hitting the gatekeepers. Oh, you claim to like Marvel movies? Here is a short 50 question quiz to gauge your ACTUAL bona fides. THEN I may be willing to talk to you.

  66. 66.

    UncleEbeneezer

    December 11, 2024 at 11:32 am

    @TBone: Ah yes, Maynard’s drag phase :). He did that when I saw him at Lollapalooza ’97 at the Mann Music Theater in Camden, NJ.  Another great show.  As a fellow hardcore Tool fan (I have a tattoo inspired by the song Undertow) I’m kind of sad that Maynard now hides in the back for most of their shows.  He was truly one of the most compelling front-persons I’ve ever seen on stage.  I still remember when my buddy scored a vis tape of this Tool show from Santa Cruz 1994.  Back then we had to drive into Philly to get bootlegs and this was the only Tool video I ever saw available.  It’s with their original bassist Paul D’ Amour (whose wife I later met through friends in LA).  The first we got stoned and watched it I was utterly transfixed by Maynard’s bizarre, twisted-marionette stage movements and OMG that voice…Video features early versions of Stinkfist and Pushit and a great cover of No Quarter.

    Here’s the Electric Factory show if you want a good listen today.  Maynard was doing his full-body half-blue/half-white look.  Video quality is meh but the sound is fantastic.  And the set is a mix of Undertow and Ænema (my two faves).  Eulogy and Prison Sex both have extended parts different from the album versions.

  67. 67.

    zhena gogolia

    December 11, 2024 at 11:34 am

    @comrade scotts agenda of rage: I tried Chrome first, then Firefox. No dice.

  68. 68.

    Baud

    December 11, 2024 at 11:36 am

    @rikyrah:

    Good morning.

  69. 69.

    divF

    December 11, 2024 at 11:42 am

    @NotMax:

    If that’s your idea of a good time.

    Here’s Groucho ! (Just so you know someone recognized it).
    A YT earworm for the last few days has been “Cumberland Blues”, from Workingman’s Dead. Once I remembered it, I kept playing it over and over again.

  70. 70.

    rikyrah

    December 11, 2024 at 11:50 am

    Democratic Wins Media (@DemocraticWins) posted at 1:15 PM on Tue, Dec 10, 2024:
    BREAKING: Largely due to President Biden’s Cancer Moonshot program, Americans are now 33% less likely to die from cancer at the same ages as Americans in 1990. This is huge.
    (https://x.com/DemocraticWins/status/1866562522771492895?t=kUJW32CG57pFp7Ksg2B10Q&s=03)

  71. 71.

    NotMax

    December 11, 2024 at 11:51 am

    @divF

    Thanks. Sometimes unsure if the dots connect.

  72. 72.

    rikyrah

    December 11, 2024 at 11:52 am

    Resolute Square (@ResoluteSquare) posted at 5:15 PM on Tue, Dec 10, 2024:

    This clip best explains Trump/Musk’s plans to transfer $100 billion in taxpayer dollars to a “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve’ that will enrich their Cryptobro donors, and could enable them to participate in untraceable criminal activity.
    “It’s like backing the truck up to the Government”
    https://t.co/7vWXBjlCFx
    (https://x.com/ResoluteSquare/status/1866622674153164977?t=dHthFhEfEDdrVt704-tbhQ&s=03)

  73. 73.

    NotMax

    December 11, 2024 at 11:55 am

    @rikyrah

    “We can close Fort Know and put it all on a thumb drive.”
    //

  74. 74.

    rikyrah

    December 11, 2024 at 11:58 am

    Democratic Wins Media (@DemocraticWins) posted at 11:37 AM on Tue, Dec 10, 2024:
    BREAKING: The media is finally acknowledging that the U.S. economy is growing faster under President Biden than it ever did under Donald Trump. Wow. https://t.co/VW0Zq02tea
    (https://x.com/DemocraticWins/status/1866537628193132627?t=_2l3JYRGZACLevuuLUrcXw&s=03)

    Tim 🇺🇸 (@trouble_man90) posted at 8:26 PM on Tue, Dec 10, 2024:
    The media feels that it’s safe to report the truth now that they’ve succeeded in getting trump elected. They haven’t reported any of this all year. Fuck them
    (https://x.com/trouble_man90/status/1866670939733213603?t=9Ju-oxMllb0L9K3ug58E3A&s=03)

  75. 75.

    rikyrah

    December 11, 2024 at 12:00 pm

    Motor City Liberal returns (@MotorCityLib) posted at 2:13 PM on Tue, Dec 10, 2024:
    This is what I don’t get when we’re talking about Democrats and messaging if a majority of black women, black men, majorities of Jewish men and women, a majority of Latina women understood the assignment despite the amount of disinformation why can’t a majority of white folks? https://t.co/N4qn08WqhT
    (https://x.com/MotorCityLib/status/1866576974594052292?t=cWgTp7-rOx8IxQpNuqnn1w&s=03)

  76. 76.

    JML

    December 11, 2024 at 12:11 pm

    Any day that Bonnie Raitt gets honored is a better day.

    Dang, she’s awesome. Amazing vocals, glorious slide playing, badass attitude…I love her.

  77. 77.

    kindness

    December 11, 2024 at 12:28 pm

    @Trivia Man: Yea, everyone tells me then 5 hour soundcheck from the day before was better than the show.  I spend most all the day before stuck at various points on the NY Thruway & route 17.  Stopped cold so many times.  We finally got into Watkin’s Glenn about 9 in the morning.  I rode the last 10 miles into town sitting on the back of a Kharman Gia with my feet on the back bumper.  We had dumped our car and started walking about midnight.  I was so glad for that ride.

  78. 78.

    Jerszy

    December 11, 2024 at 12:44 pm

    @Quinerly: Raymond is, characteristically, being too modest and playing it down. He was born & given up for adoption in 1962, but tracked down his birth certificate in 1992 and learned who his father was. They met in February 1995 when Croz was hospitalized and getting a new liver, and, since he was already such a talented keyboardist, the two of them began writing together immediately, and formed CPR (the bandmembers’ last initials, with Jeff Pevar on drums).  So they did get to make up for so much lost time by closely writing, jamming, touring and performing together for 28 years.

    It’s such a beautiful story, truly.

  79. 79.

    Jerszy

    December 11, 2024 at 1:04 pm

    @Trivia Man: It has. The fan distinction/dividing line for the last 30 years has been whether you got to see Jerry or not.

  80. 80.

    Jerszy

    December 11, 2024 at 1:18 pm

    @UncleEbeneezer: I just went to a wine tasting in Santa Monica 2 weeks ago for Maynard’s vinyards. Had a really nice chat. I was very surprised to learn that he’s really talkative and effusive when discussing his wine business nowadays – so much more enthusiasm than when I’ve caught him live in any of his bands over the last decade+.

  81. 81.

    Trivia Man

    December 11, 2024 at 1:28 pm

    @Jerszy: I have had several of those conversations. They are always jealous i saw Jerry live about a dozen times. I am jealous they have been able to see the recent incarnations.

    Mostly glad the music lives on.

  82. 82.

    Quinerly

    December 11, 2024 at 1:38 pm

    @Jerszy:

    Like I said…it was a short chat at the end of my dirt driveway at my mailbox. Our neighborhood magazine had done a cover story on him and his wife after Crosby died in 2023. The article didn’t say exactly where they lived in the neighborhood. I had no idea they were so close to me. There are 3000 properties under the HOA. Recognized him from the picture. I didn’t want to be rude and ask a lot of details how and when they connected/reunited.

    Hope to connect again in the Spring.

  83. 83.

    prostratedragon

    December 11, 2024 at 2:03 pm

    @rikyrah:
    [Insert “Hallelujah Chorus” here]

  84. 84.

    lowtechcyclist

    December 11, 2024 at 2:19 pm

    @NotMax:

    More tie dye than you could shake a stick at. If that’s your idea of a good time.

    I recognize that line! Groucho in Monkey Business. (But with ‘women’ rather than ‘tie dye,’ of course.)​

    ETA: I see divF recognized it too!

  85. 85.

    lowtechcyclist

    December 11, 2024 at 2:27 pm

    @rikyrah: ​
     

    The media feels that it’s safe to report the truth now that they’ve succeeded in getting trump elected. They haven’t reported any of this all year. Fuck them

    Seconded. Said the same thing a day or two ago when CNN published a list of Biden’s major legislative accomplishments. As a high school friend of mine used to say, they can sit on it and rotate.

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