Album, TV and Political Picks

A long-awaited offering from Gillian Welch & Dave Rawlings, as we re-visit The Troubles in Northern Ireland, plus Al Green and cartooning the Trump catastrophe.

We’ve been trying to ignore or at least survive the post-election blues with a few distractions, so we didn’t need waking up to a covering of snow today to remind us of the coming cold and dark and slushy winter….

So a potpourri today. First, a new single by the right Reverend Al Green, a surprising re-make of an REM clåssic, “Everybody Hurts.”

We’ve finally started “The Diplomat”—after watching a bit of Allison Janney in the new season—and may continue after watching three eps from season one. But we are always susceptible to quitting at any time, feeling (to paraphrase someone we know re: this series), “It’s better than we thought it would be but not as good as it might be.” Looking forward to Ken Burns’ “Leonardo.” And a few upcoming movies, of course.

The real winner today is the new FX/Hulu streamer “Say Nothing.” We read the book a few years back and watched a couple of docs related to it back then, focusing on the female IRA “bomber,” Dolours Price and sister Marian. Coincidentally we are both reading Irish books of late, with my focus on Edna O’Brien and Claire Keegan. But the “Say Nothing” series is really something, as it moves from 1970s-era kidnappings to torture and bombings, from betrayals to hunger strikes, and attendant guilt. What’s remarkable is that it clearly, and repeatedly, pictures Gerry Adams as a top IRA leader who approved killings and bombings—but at the end of every episode includes the (legal) disclaimer that he continues to deny ever being an IRA member and having anything to do with violence!

Here’s a trailer (and I must add that I enjoyed hearing a couple of songs early on from the non-Irish Kinks:

Regular readers here know that I have long been a big fan of Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings and the pair finally have a new album, “Woodland.” Here are four songs live and another cut from the lp.

Now a few of our usual cartoons…