In The Wall Street Journal this week, I interviewed illustrator R.O. Blechman (go here), whose work has appeared on 15 covers of The New Yorker magazine and in hundreds of books, newspapers and other magazines. Bob is most famous for his "shaky line," which makes his work fun and accessible. Bob's passion for art began as a teen living on Central Park West. His neighbor was a bohemian French female artist. He admired her, and she helped him with his portfolio when applying to the prestigious High School of Music & Art. Fortunately for us she encouraged him. Bob was accepted, and the rest is history. [Photo of R.O. Blechman above courtesy of R.O. Blechman]
Here's Bob's revolutionary Alka-Seltzer ad in 1967 that introduced a new kind of animation to TV commercials...
For my WSJ "Playlist" column this week, I interviewed singer Rosanne Cash on Joni Mitchell's River (go here). After her parents' divorced, Rosanne went to live with her mother in a small Southern California town where she was misunderstood and miserable. In 1971, when Joni's Blue came out, Rosanne closely identified with the cover and the music inside. Joni's song River—her wish for a frozen river that she could use to skate out of town—became Rosanne's lifesaver. [Photo above of Rosanne Cash courtesy of Rosanne Cash]
Here's Rosanne singing on a promo video for her most recent album, The River & the Thread (2014)...
SiriusXM. For those of you who don't have a subscription to SiriusXM satellite radio or missed me last week talking about my "Anatomy of a Song" column on the Pet Shop Boys' Being Boring (1990), you can hear the entire Feedback show hosted by Nik Carter and Lori Majewski here. Thanks to Nik, Lori, Matt and Alex for treating me so well. [Photo of Nik and Lori above]
Off the wall. Last week, my undergrad alma mater, Northeastern University, turned the tables on me when Molly Chase phoned to interview me about my childhood and career. So that's what it feels like to be "House Call-ed." To read all about it, go here. [Photo of me in Los Angeles on assignment two weeks ago]
Anatomy of a Song in London. My book of 45 WSJ columns plus outtakes and additional reported material was spotted in the gift shop last week at London's Albert Hall by Jason Elzy. Wow, appearing at Albert Hall, where so many amazing artists have performed. So cool. To order the paperback edition of my book in the U.S. and Canada, go here. In the U.K., go here.
Marian McPartland hosted Steely Dan in 2005 on her Piano Jazz show on national public radio. The interaction between Walter Becker, Donald Fagen and Marian is fascinating. Donald and Walter clearly were a little intimidated at first, and so was Marian, as the gracious host tried to find a place where their personalities could meet. Halfway though, when Walter and Donald ask her to play Star Eyes, the chemistry gelled as Marian's British sense of humor came alive, making the boys from Steely Dan feel right at home. Go here.
Cityscape. I took the above photo of an old New York emergency kiosk on Park Avenue last Thursday night after dinner with director Raymond De Felitta.
What the heck. Here's the Mamas & the Papas' Cass Elliot and Andy Williams on TV singing a duet, combining Words of Love (Elliot) and Words (Williams) on the Andy Williams Show in 1968. So easy to forget how comfortable Elliot was on stage and how powerful and beautiful her voice was. You had to be an extraordinary artist with a large personality to upstage Williams, and that's exactly what Cass did without ever offending him...
Oddball album cover of the week.
Doctors needed music for dancing while seeing patients? Looks like a dose of malpractice and a touch of #MeToo on that cover. Plus the fiddling patient appears to be smoking. Apparently, Jimmie Janes was an M.D., according to the liner notes.
Funny thing is the band and arrangements by Jack Stern are superb. Mark56 Records was an Anaheim, Calif., label, which tells me the band was loaded with top-flight West Coast studio musicians making a few extra bucks. Sounds very Les Brown-y and feels like it's from the very early 1960s. Here's the entire album...
