Original air date Jan 18, 2025 | Time 59:00
There's terrible dead air for over a minute at the top of the show...I was freaking out! It's a live broadcast and I lost access to the computer, but pulled it together.
Today is the anniversary of David Crosby's passing in 2023 and his music is as relevant as the day he wrote it. In recognition of the upcoming inauguration on Monday, we listen to "Capitol" with his description of the halls of power "They run the whole damn place from here..." and then his heart wrenching song about immigrants "Look in Their Eyes".
When Bob Dylan received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2016 he was required to write an essay. He did and I read some of it. In March 2020 (remember that?) he released his longest song, "Murder Most Foul", with a long description of the assassination of JFK. But it's about how art can be cathartic in times of crisis.
Music is so powerful, it can shape a whole culture. Singer songwriters capture the events of the times and are like journalists without having to go through the filters of mainstream media. It's like having a one-on-one conversation with thousands of people at once. Not too many musicians have that position. Where is our young Neil Young? Where is our new Bob Dylan? Popular music is in steep decline as independent artists get wider access to public platforms. But it's slow and kinda painful, hard to make a living off of streaming. But I adore Jesse Welles as our newest Court Jester, taking up the mantle of sarcasm and lyricism with a heavy dose of guitar chops.
Kathy Geary, Host of Now & Then on Radio Catskill, Public Radio for the Catskills and Northeast Pennsylvania