Greg Mitchell is the author of more than a dozen books and now writer/director of three award-winning films aired via PBS, including “Atomic Cover-up” and “Memorial Day Massacre.” Now watch trailer for acclaimed 2025 film “The Atomic Bowl.” Before all that, he was a longtime editor of the legendary Crawdaddy. At Blue Sky and Twitter: as @gregmitch. You can still subscribe to this newsletter for FREE. Sustain this newsletter by ordering one of his books.
If you missed last night’s “bonus” post with more than a dozen hot cartoon responses to Trump’s disgraceful and dangerous bullying of Zelensky, you can catch up quickly here, don’t miss it. A few more such responses down the page.
So, lightening the mood a bit, here is the first cut from an upcoming Van Morrison album, which we hope is more politically sane than some of his songs from not long ago. (It’s always good to keep in mind that the UK’s The Independent newspaper recently called him “almost a folkloric figure at this point, a curmudgeon of such bizarre and specific idiosyncrasies….”) This new song is actually not so new: It appeared in the well-regarded Kenneth Branagh film “Belfast” two or three years ago but never on an album. Here is “Down to Joy.”
Father John Misty debuted a new tune Thursday night on Colbert, solo and acoustic.
Next, no music here, “just” another revered dinosaur from the ‘6os, Neil Young, chatting recently with another geezer, Dan Rather. Great subjects: from corporate control of everything to—and this was a surprise to me after all these years—the rather dramatic if unseen effects to this very day of his childhood bout with polio.
This comes with news of a new Neil live album, “Coastal,” covering 2023 concerts and some rarities. And his wife Daryl Hannah has completed a film chronicling his life on tour. The film will screen in cinemas worldwide, for one night only on Thursday, April 17.
Not a surprise given the grim updates of past couple of weeks, but David Johansen has died at seventy-five.
From Tunes to Toons
Steve Brodner
Very good collection of cartoons.
Can't listen to Van Morrison (or Clapton).
The Neil Young interview by Dan Rather segment was great.
Van and Clapton have both become rather unpleasant individuals politically, but their best music remains great. The Van track seems a real return to form and I'm looking forward to the album. Thanks for sharing.