Picture Show

All About Prince

Lauren Date — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 14:49:53 +0000

This photo has been making the rounds on several of my Minnesota friends’ Facebook pages, and I love it. In case you are unfamiliar, it is of Prince in front of the mural on the side of the old Schmitt Music building in downtown Minneapolis. The internet tells me the mural was painted in 1972, and I’m guessing this photo was taken a few years later. The music is said to be covered in jokes that only musicians would find funny.

Prince is pretty strict about not allowing any of his official videos to be on YouTube, so live videos are the most accessible.

1981:

1985:

I really wanted to post the video for “Raspberry Beret”, but the only version that I am able to embed is from VH1′s “Pop Up Video”. Maybe we can all learn something interesting. Check out his cloud suit!

P.S. Have you ever wondered what Prince keeps in his fridge?

Happy Birthday Sam Cooke

Lauren Date — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 03:43:34 +0000

In honor of what would have been his 81st birthday, let’s watch some videos of Sam Cooke doing what he did best (singing and being handsome).
“Twistin’ the Night Away”, 1963

“You Send Me”

Sam Cooke and Muhammad Ali singing “The Gang’s All Here” in 1964. They make a good pair.

And finally, one of my favorites – “Bring it On Home to Me” (Live at the Harlem Square Club in 1963).

I listen to Sam Cooke on a daily basis. He was so smooth.

Winter Wardrobe

Lauren Date — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 16:13:28 +0000

On Friday Chicago finally saw its first significant snowfall of the year. It snowed pretty steadily all day, which meant that the roads were a mess when I left work. It took three hours to make the three-mile journey home on the bus, but on the upside – it gave me a chance to catch up on some Science Friday podcasts on NPR.

Here are three items of clothing I am thankful for this winter:

1. Bean Boots. I got these just before the blizzard of 2011, and they have proved to be great winter boots for city livin’.

Back in 1969, you could get a pair for just $16.

2. SmartWool socks. If you do a lot of winter walking, they are worth the price tag.

3. A down jacket. I resisted wearing down winter coats forever because I thought they looked like sleeping bags. They still do look like sleeping bags, but I don’t care because my coat keeps me remarkably warm.

Having the right gear makes winter a lot more enjoyable. As does knowing it will be over in two months.

In the Pines

Lauren Date — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 04:48:29 +0000

Last summer in a blog post about the blues singer Lead Belly, I mentioned that I really like Nirvana’s cover of the traditional song “In the Pines”. I didn’t think about it at the time, but I also love the Smog version (from the album A River Ain’t too Much to Love). I’m not sure what film these images are from, but they are a nice compliment to the music. I’ve watched this video a lot over the past week.

I was surprised to find when I was at the Violet Hour on Friday that they serve a gin-based cocktail by the same name (appropriately, made with Douglas Fir Eau de Vie).

I was even more surprised on Sunday at the Old Town School of Folk Music when our teacher had us open the class by playing – you guessed it – “In the Pines”.

If you had an odd series of encounters with this song last week, let me know!

A Brief Update in Three Photos

Lauren Date — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 23:24:05 +0000

Like the rest of the mid-west, Chicago has had an incredibly mild winter thus far. This has allowed me to continue running outside into January, and walk to work most mornings. I really enjoy walking to work so I can maximize the precious daylight hours.

We did get some snow over the past few days – here is winter on Iowa Street.

I went to Reckless today and picked up a new record. This will keep me occupied for a while.

Guitar class starts tomorrow – I’m excited to get back into it! And to try out my new, super cool guitar case that has backpack straps. I’ll let you know how that works out.

Cookie Party

Lauren Date — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 23:11:32 +0000

Last night was the third annual White Christmas viewing/cookie party – this year hosted by Erin and Rob at their killer apartment in Logan Square. I made a couple of batches of cookies this year.
1. Dark Chocolate Florentines:

2. Pistachio-Orange cookies:

These were fun to make, and pretty delicious.

This year we did not pick any winners, but there would have been some stiff competition. Behold!

I’m still partially in a cookie coma.

Reel Injun

Lauren Date — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 17:24:39 +0000

Reel Injun is a great documentary about a topic that has always been of particular interest to me: Native Americans in Hollywood.

It features interviews with filmmakers, film historians, and Native actors to discuss common Native American archetypes found in popular culture: the “noble Indian”, the “savage Indian”, the “Drunken Indian”, the “Indian princess”, and the “peaceful, hippie Indian”. It also explores Hollywood’s practice of depicting most Indians as being from Plains tribes (but shown living in the Southwest desert/Monument Valley), using “Tonto-speak”, and the use of white actors to play Native roles.

I was also surprised to learn that Iron Eyes Cody, aka “The Crying Indian” (from the famous 1970s “Keep America Beautiful” PSA), was actually Sicilian, not Native American.

The filmmaker even drives around the country in a “Rez car” to visit locations that are iconic in both film and Native American history. Check it out, it’s on Netflix watch instantly!

P.S. Dances with Wolves is the first movie I remember seeing in a movie theater.

Guitar Lessons (Part Deux)

Lauren Date — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 23:00:38 +0000

I signed up for my second round of group guitar classes at the Old Town School of Folk Music!

In addition to group sing-a-longs, I can look forward to practicing:
F chord, Dm, Bm
(Simple) Bass Runs in Keys A, C, D, E, G
Arpeggios in 4/4, 3/4 & 6/8 Time
Simple Scale Knowledge
Slash Chords and Bass Notes on Strings E, A, D
A Developing Friendship with the Capo

I really hope we learn and perform this song.

(I love this movie).

Brew and View: Urban Roots

Lauren Date — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 13:14:07 +0000

Last night Revolution Brewing held a screening of Urban Roots – a documentary about the urban farming phenomenon in Detroit. If you have the chance, I highly recommend seeing it.

Detroit finds itself in such a unique situation. With so much open space and so few places for most of the city’s residents to get fresh and affordable produce, the urban farming movement makes a lot of sense. Here are a few pictures I took at Eastern Market last year – the open-air public market that attracts 40,000 people each Saturday.

It will be interesting to see what the city looks like in five or ten years – but there are certainly some cool things happening right now. This film is inspiring.

Mug Shot

Lauren Date — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 15:53:17 +0000

First cup of coffee in my Minnesota Public Radio sustaining member mug. I feel like an adult.

I should probably donate money to Chicago Public Radio, but I don’t listen to it nearly as often.