Recent Reading

Music Database

Artist Search:

Browse

Website Search

Google:

Blog Entries [140 - 149]

Wednesday, July 31, 2024

July archive (finished).

Music: Current count 42729 [42703] rated (+26), 36 [23] unrated (+13).

My Mid-Year Jazz Critics Poll threw me off the usual Sunday/Monday post schedule, although the sheer quantity of news I reaped for yesterday's Speaking of Which would have been excuse enough (249 links, 11258 words before today's additions).

ArtsFuse published my intro/overview essay, Diversity Brings Riches: A Mid-Year Jazz Critics Poll, on Friday, at which time I enabled the totals and ballots on my archival website:

• New Albums (366).
• Rara Avis (109).
• Ballots by Voter: first of five batches, this one Ackermann-Dollar, chained links to the rest.
• Voting Critics (90).

There was a glitch early on where the points totals in the tables on ArtsFuse got mangled, so had to be fixed. I've received some feedback on the poll, but not very much. I sent a notice out to my "jazzpoll" mailing list, but as best I can figure, only about half of those messages get past the spam traps (gmail seems to be exceptionally harsh). I put out two announcements on X, but the first (link to essay) only has 164 views (1 retweet, 3 likes), and the second (link to updated Music Week) got 222 views (2 retweets, 5 likes). I also did two notices on Facebook, like this one, with 1 share and 5 likes.

A Google search reveals:

• Avant Music News: The results are in from the Mid-Year Jazz Critics Poll.

Also, a couple critics published their ballots (which are all available through the link above). Chris Monsen wrote up his extended mid-year list. I also suspect that I provoked All About Jazz into polling their writers for this all-star break edition list. (As I understand it, their call went out a week after my invites, but they were first to press.)

I've scarcely touched my metacritic file, but should get back to it if/when demands on my time lighten up. Its main value is as a prospecting tool, which I haven't much needed while I had so many jazz albums to search out. I'm pretty sure I'll return to it when the year-end lists start coming in, but between now and then it's likely to only be an occasional hobby. I'm also not sure I'll continue updating my Best Jazz Albums of 2024 file, although it's pretty comprehensive for now. An even more vexing question is whether I'll make a serious effort at the download links I've been accumulating. More pressing is that I've fallen behind the queue of promo CDs (although much of that mail I just opened today).

I did manage to wrap up the July Streamnotes file, and to open a new one for August. Rated count is light this week, as I've had several days where I didn't want to multitask while writing, or didn't feel up to it. I also found myself tiring of looking for unheard albums that got poll votes, especially as many proved inaccessible. Still 189 left in the tracking file, so maybe I just need a break. It's tempting to just take August off. I have a lot of stuff to do around the house. Also a couple of web projects that need attention. I need to rethink my writing ambitions. There are also some health questions.

I've just finished reading Amy Kaplan's Our American Israel: The Story of an Entangled Alliance. It's a pretty good general history of Israel since the 1940s, with its long drift from left to right, fought mostly on the level of myth, where the intertwined alliance brings out the worst in both. That focus often ignores real political issues -- like the American preoccupation with the Cold War and the postcolonial order of petrostates, and how Israel could somehow deny Arabs (especially Palestinians) any real agency in their fate. They are always treated as an irreconcilable other, to be fought and subdued, and there is nothing they can do about it, so they cycle endlessly between violence and conciliation, only to find that neither stance makes any difference. This fixed gaze saves Kaplan from having to give them any consideration.

The section on Lebanon is pivotal, as Israel shifted direction from justifiable defense to unconscionable offense. Of course, we now know that the latter was always part of the game plan, which is part of the reason we forget how brutal the shift appeared at the time. There is a passage here describing the devastation of West Beirut that will make you think of Gaza today. By that point the right-wing had taken charge in Israel, with Begin as PM, and Sharon running the war. And as the left in America (and to some ultimately fruitless extent in Israel as well) started to have misgivings, the American right embraced the Israeli right ever more firmly. The book's coverage of Christian Zionism is the most detailed I've read, and is truly scary -- in large part because it's really hard to grasp that people can actually believe such nonsense. The book then moves on to neocon militarism, and to the war on terror (with Israel as its guiding light, and "start up" profiteer).

Along the way, the focus on myth offers in-depth discussions of such cultural artifacts as the books/movies from Exodus to Schindler's List to The Late Great Planet Earth to Homeland to World War Z.

New records reviewed this week:

Daymé Arocena: Alkemi (2024, Brownswood): Afro-Cuban jazz singer, first appeared in Jane Bunnett's Cuban group Maqueque, fifth album since 2015, all on this British label. B+(*) [sp]

Carlos Bica: 11:11 (2024, Clean Feed): Bassist, from Portugal, wide range of albums from the late 1990s on (last one was Playing With Beethoven, and I didn't much care for it). This is a quartet which can run rough or refined, with José Soares (sax), Eduardo Cardinho (vibes), and Gonçalo Neto (guitar/banjo). Has a bit of vocal. B+(**) [sp]

Zach Bryan: The Great American Bar Scene (2024, Belting Bronco/Warner): Country singer-songwriter, one I've underrated in the past, and may well again, as he has a knack for making exceptional songs seem ordinary. Runs over an hour. B+(**) [sp]

Chick Corea & Béla Fleck: Remembrance (2024, Thirty Tigers): Piano and banjo duo, third album together, after The Enchantment (2007) and Two (2015). No recording date(s) given, but this "last project" (which includes audience applause) was obviously recorded before pianist's death in 2021. B [sp]

Jon De Lucia: The Brubeck Octet Project (2023 [2024], Musæum Clausum): Alto saxophonist, several albums, modeled on Dave Brubeck's early (1948-50) group, with trumpet, trombone, two more saxophones (Scott Robinson on tenor), piano (Glenn Zaleski), bass, and drums. Nice sense of group interplay. B+(***) [cd]

Divr: Is This Water (2022 [2024], We Jazz): Swiss piano-bass-drums trio (Philipp Eden, Raphael Walser, Jonas Ruther), first album. B+(*) [sp]

FUR [Hélène Duret/Benjamin Sauzereau/Maxime Rouayroux]: Bond (2023 [2024], Budapest Music Center): French-Belgian trio: clarinets, guitar, drums. Nice atmospherics B+(**) [sp]

Marshall Gilkes and WDR Big Band: Life Songs (2022 [2024], Alternate Side): Trombonist, debut 2004, often drawn to big bands (Maria Schneider, John Fedchock) and Latin (Brian Lynch), third album with the German radio orchestra. Vibrant and lush, the Sabeth Pérez vocal a plus. B+(***) [sp]

Ciara Grace: Write It Down (2024, self-released): Singer-songwriter, can't find much about her, had to look the album up by title as artist name didn't do the trick (found me a single, instead). First impression is I like her, though. [PS: Would have found out more had I gotten her name right, including a previous album from 2016.] B+(***) [sp]

The Gringo Pistoleros: The Rise and . . . Subsequent Fall of the Texas Alien (2024, self-released): Recorded in Austin, with Cory Grinder (presumably from somewhere else) just passing through, "named in homage to the great Tim Henderson" (who? Discogs lists 11 with that name, pictures 0). B+(**) [sp]

Christopher Hoffman: Vision Is the Identity (2024, Out of Your Head): Cellist, has a couple previous, core group here has keyboards (Frank LoCrasto) and drums (Bill Campbell), but four (of seven) tracks add guests: Henry Threadgill (alto sax), Ryan Scott (guitar), Anne Webber (flute), Alfredo Colón (EWI). Short (24:20). B+(*) [sp]

Johnny Blue Skies: Passage Du Desir (2024, High Top Mountain): "Metamodern" country singer-songwriter Sturgill Simpson, not sure if his name is on the cover or not but it appears everywhere the record is mentioned. B+(**) [sp]

Norah Jones: Visions (2024, Blue Note): Singer-songwriter, tends to be slotted as jazz given her record label, but little reason to read much into that. Her 2002 debut was a huge crossover hit, with US sales topping 11 million. Ninth studio album, co-wrote most songs with producer Leon Michels. B+(*) [sp]

Pat Metheny: MoonDial (2024, BMG): Popular jazz guitarist, mostly played fusion since 1975 but has occasionally ventured off the beaten path, which in recent years has included novel instruments. Here he plays baritone guitar, not technically novel, but going deep into "the instrument's nature," he finds "resonant contemplation." B+(*) [sp]

Kim Myhr & Kitchen Orchestra: Hereafter (2020 [2024], Sofa Music): Norwegian guitarist, various albums since 2005, also credited here with voice, organ, synthesizer, drum machine, and piano, with a fairly large postclassical ensemble (but no real string section). B+(*) [sp]

O.: WeirdOs (2024, Speedy Wunderground): "O. (15)" at Discogs, "jazz-fusion duo from London, UK," Joe Henwood (baritone sax) and Tash Keary (drums), first album after a single and an EP, instrumental, sort of a funk-grunge synthesis. B+(*) [sp]

Revival Season: Golden Age of Self Snitching (2024, Heavenly): Atlanta producer Jonah Swilley and rapper Brandon Evans, first album. B+(***) [sp]

Splitter Orchester: Splitter Musik (2024, Hyperdelia, 3CD): Berlin-based composer-performer collective, founded 2010, with members of ten different nationalities, fourth album, each disc a single piece (51:47, 41:36, 78:00). Sort of an ambient industrial feel. Hard to nail down much on an album this long because it's impossible to concentrate like that, but just let it go, and you may wind up suspecting there's something to it. B+(**) [sp]

Stemeseder Lillinger Quartet: Umbra II (2023 [2024], Intakt): Austrian pianist Elias Stemeseder, with German drummer Christian Lillinger, cover adds "feat. Peter Evans & Russell Hall" -- trumpet and bass. They've done this before -- not just Umbra but Penumbra and Antumbra. B+(***) [sp]

Kevin Sun: The Fate of the Tenor (2022 [2024]. Endectomorph Music): Tenor saxophonist, impressive Trio debut in 2018, has been on a roll ever since, knows his history and lore. Live set here, another trio, with Walter Stinson (bass) and Matt Honor (drums). B+(***) [sp]

Kenny Warren: Sweet World (2023 [2024], Out of Your Head): Trumpet player, based in Brooklyn, played in Slavic Soul Party, has several albums on his own, this one with cello (Christopher Hoffman) and drums (Nathan Ellman-Bell). B+(**) [sp]

Stian Westerhus & Maja S.K. Ratkje: All Losses Are Restored (2024, Crispin Glover): Norwegian guitarist and vocalist, at least established as such in careers established in the early 2000s, but credits aren't clear here, and two voices intertwine. Hard to tell how deep the story line is, as despite considerable skill I never care enough to follow. B [sp]

Wimps: City Lights (2023, Youth Riot): Punk rock trio from Seattle, fourth album since 2013, 13 songs, 26:43. B+(***) [sp]

Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries:

Fingers: The Complete Fingers Remember Mingus (1979-93 [2024], Jazz in Britain, 3CD): British quintet -- Lol Coxhill (soprano/tenor sax), Bruce Turner (alto sax/clarinet), Michael Garrick (piano), Dave Green (bass), and Alan Jackson (drums) -- recorded Remember Mingus in 1979, the five tracks (plus "Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise") there doubled here for two CDs, and supplemented with later BBC shots for a third. B+(***) [bc]

Pat Smythe Quartet: New Dawn: Live 1973 (1973 [2024], British Progressive Jazz): British pianist (1923-83), probably best known for his 1960s work with Joe Harriott; quartet here features fusion guitarist Allan Holdsworth (1946-2017), with Daryl Runswick (bass) and Soft Machine drummer John Marshall. B+(***) [sp]

Old music:

Mike Cooley/Patterson Hood/Jason Isbell: Live at the Shoals Theatre (2014 [2020], Southeastern): Three singer-songwriters, all started out in the Drive-By Truckers, Isbell went solo circa 2007, Hood has a couple solos albums, Cooley just one from 2012 but gets lead billing here because the theatre seems to have been his childhood dream. B+(***) [sp]

Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:

• John Alvey: Loft Glow (Jazz Music City) [08-25]
• Charlie Apicella & Iron City Meet the Griots Speak: Call to Action/Call to Prayer (OA2) [08-16]
• Welf Dorr/Elias Meister/Dmitry Ishenko/Kenny Wollesen: So Far So Good (self-released)
• Morten Duun: Code Breaker (Cmntx) [07-19]
• Russell Haight: Go Forth (OA2) [08-16]
• Eric Jacobson: Heading Home (Origin) [08-16]
• Omer Leshem: Play Space (Ubuntu Music) [09-27]
• David Liebman & the CNY Jazz Orchestra: If a White Horse From Jerusalem . . . (CNY Jazz Arts Foundation) [08-10]
• Rosemary Loar: Vagabond Heart/Curação Vagabundo (Atlor Music) [07-18]
• Matt Mitchell: Zealous Angles (Pi) [08-16]
• Planet D Nonet: Echoes of Harlem: A Salute to Duke Ellington Vol. 2 (Eastlawn) [07-19]
• Dred Scott/Moses Patrou/Tom Beckham/Matt Pavolka: Cali Mambo (Ropeadope) [09-20]
• Piet Verbist: Flamenco Jazz Summit: El Mar Empieza Aquí (Origin) [08-16]
• Philip Weberndoerfer: Tides (Shifting Paradigm) [08-23]
• Miguel Zenón: Golden City (Miel Music) [08-30]

Ask a question, or send a comment.

Tuesday, July 30, 2024

Opened this file on Friday, July 26, early evening. Thought I might wrap this up Monday evening, but I had a very stressful day, got bummed out, and accomplished little. Hence, this week's piece has lapsed into Tuesday, but coverage of [07-30] will be spotty, at best.

One thing I did accomplish on Monday was to write a bit of code that I'm using here, and should save me a lot of trouble in the future. As I've been writing these posts, I've often wondered how much I had written. It then occurred to me that I could measure the post using two Linux shell commands:

fgrep 'href' FILENAME | wc -l
wc -w FILENAME

The former counts links (assuming there is no more than one link per line). The latter counts words. I usually omitted the wc options, since it's easy to visually pick out the number I wanted: the default counts lines, words, and characters. My first thought was to wrap those two commands into a shell script, then run it and append the answer to the web page. Then it occurred to me that I'm already reading the file to find a few directive lines (mostly used for the title and date), so I could count links and words as I go, then add a directive to print them out at (or near) the end. (Which gives me a bit of flexible control, as opposed to just automatically appending the stats to every page -- something I still may decide to do.)

At present, the link counts match the program output, but the word counts vary somewhat. Obviously, word counts depend on how you delimit words (e.g., is a "hyphenated-word" 1 or 2 words?). I used wc just because it was easy and close enough for my purposes. The new code also takes the easy route, using the PHP str_word_count() function, which at least initially produced larger word counts (e.g., 11616 vs. 8674, so in this case +25.6%). But rather than try to tune the PHP code to better match the wc results, I thought maybe I should aim for more useful results. I knew that a lot of the text in these particular files appeared in HTML tags and comments, which never appears as words on the web page, so I tried removing them -- using a regular expression replace:

preg_replace('/<[^>]*>/', ' ', LINE)

I then called the word count function both on the edited line and on the original one -- I was curious what the effect was, and wound up printing out both totals. I also eliminated the directive lines from the word count, since like markup they do not appear in the page, and I was already separating those lines out. For the page cited above, the word counts wound up at 7996 (tags stripped) and 11616 (total). I can imagine refining this further. The most obvious thing is I'm not checking for HTML entities right now, which are few (so have little practical effect), and are rather complicated (so would require much more complex code).

I don't doubt that my programming skills have atrophied over the score-plus years since my last full-time job, but it's always a good feeling to see that I still have some.

One more new formatting tic this week. I thought I'd like to have some way to draw extra attention to articles that seem especially important. What seemed like the simplest, most intuitive way was to change the • bullet to something that would stand out more, like this -- a bright red star.

I've applied this in a few places, and probably should in a few more. (This was a very late addition to the file.) I figured I could do this with CSS, but ran across the problem that once an element was selected for the star, any child elements also inherited the star. (There's a Sarah Jones example below, which is actually pretty unusual.) I haven't found a way in CSS to prevent or stop such inheritance, so resorted to another hack to undo it.

Top story threads:

Israel:

• Mondoweiss:

  • [07-25] Day 293: Palestinians slam Netanyahu speech to Congress as US officials say a ceasefire deal is close: "Palestinian political leaders slammed U.S. politicians' response to Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to Congress as Israel continued its Khan Younis offensive for the fifth day, killing dozens of civilians there and across Gaza."

  • [07-29] Day 297: Israel and Lebanon brace for new escalation after 12 Syrian residents of the Golan Heights were killed by a strike: "Israeli officials say that Netanyahu is behind Israel's hardened position preventing a ceasefire deal as a new round of talks in Rome concludes without a breakthrough."

• Yasmin Abusayma: [07-24] What it's like for Palestinian women living through the Gaza genocide: "Palestinian women have been forced to demonstrate remarkable resilience while navigating the harsh realities of Israel's genocidal war for themselves and their families."

• Eman Alhaj Ali: [07-27] Living in a nightmare: "In Gaza, night is not peaceful. Going to sleep means not knowing if you'll wake up in the morning."

• Jan Altaner: [07-26] An investigation shows how the IDF killed Hind Rajab: A six-year-old Palestinian girl, one of the few names and faces recognized as such among the thousands Israelis have killed.

• M Reza Behnam: [07-25] The politics of water under occupation: Israel in Palestine.

• Shatha Hanaysha: [07-24] Israel kills 11 Palestinians in 24 hours in the West Bank: "Israeli forces carried out a drone strike on a crowded refugee camp, killing five people including a paramedic and her daughter. Eyewitnesses said Israeli forces desecrated the bodies with a bulldozer before taking four bodies into custody."

• Heidi Levine, et al.: [07-28] Israel strikes deep in Lebanon after rocket attack, stoking fear of wider war: "Israel had promised revenge for a rocket strike from Lebanon that killed 12 in the Golan Heights town of Majdal Shams. Hezbollah denied responsibility."

• Gideon Levy: [07-24] In Gaza, Israel lost what remained of its humanity.

• Ibtisam Mahdi: [07-26] The decimation of Gaza's academia is 'impossible to quantify': "With thousands of faculty and students likely killed and campuses destroyed, Palestinian universities in the Strip are barely surviving Israel's scholasticide."

• Qassam Muaddi: [07-26] Palestinian factions strike a reconciliation deal -- will this time be any different? That all depends on Israel, because it's always Israel, and only Israel, that determines what is allowed. If Israel has a deal that is broadly acceptable, unified Palestinian leadership can help sell it. Otherwise, it's just a phase in the never-ending cycle of powerless people trying to find a strategy when none is allowed.

• Abed Abou Shhadeh: [07-25] Israel's crackdown on Palestinian citizens could lead to return of military rule.

• Djaouida Siaci: [07-28] How Israel is stripping Palestinian women of their dignity.

• Eric Sype: [07-24] Big tech terror: for Palestinians, AI apocalypse is already here.

• Sharon Zhang:

  • [07-30] Israeli militants riot over investigation into torture of Palestinian prisoner: "The group of protesters, which included Israeli lawmakers, demanded release of soldiers suspected of rape."

  • [07-30] Israel bombs Beirut in escalation of attacks.

America's Israel (and Israel's America):

Netanyahu wangled an invitation to speak to a joint session of Congress, first lining up his right-wing allies to float the invite, then giving the Democratic leadership little choice but to join in. He may be massively unpopular in Israel, but when he appears in Washington, he can preen like he owns the place, as he essentially does. And his exhibition of power over Washington helps maintain his perch in Israel, where regardless of his many faults, he is widely seen as the one guy who can force presidents to kowtow. The whole spectacle was deeply embarrassing for all concerned. So while he got the ovations he expected, his message just underscores how deeply out of touch Israel is with world opinion. Mustafa Barghouti was absolutely right: "a disgusting speech in a session of shame to the U.S. Congress."

• Nathan J Robinson: [07-26] One of the most shameful moments in American history: "Applauding Benjamin Netanyahu exposes the dark moral depravity of America's political class." I promoted this piece to the head of this section because what it says is exactly right.

• Michael Arria: [07-24] Wanted war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu addresses Congress: "Benjamin Netanyahu addressed a joint meeting of Congress to bolster support for Israel's genocidal assault on Gaza. About half of the Democrats in Congress skipped the speech where he vowed to continue the attack until 'total victory' is met."

• Seraj Assi: [07-25] Netanyahu's speech is a gift to future genocide historians.

• Jonathan Cook: [07-26] Only a failing US empire would be so blind as to cheer Netanyahu and his genocide.

• Abigail Houslohner/Louisa Loveluck: [07-27] Netanyahu's US visit revealed 'no workable plan' for peace, critics say. Not just critics. Netanyahu couldn't have been clearer that he will do everything in his power to his wars going.

• Fred Kaplan:

  • [07-23] Netanyahu's visit to Washington is already a debacle.

  • [07-24] Netanyahu's shameful speech was nothing but theater.

• Danaka Katovich: [07-26] A standing ovation for genocide.

• Joshua Keating: [07-24] Has Netanyahu finally lost America? "After his address to Congress, the Israeli prime minister has never looked more isolated."

• Blaise Malley: [07-24] Netanyahu lectures Americans, makes case for 'total victory'.

• Souzan Naser: [07-23] Netanyahu's speech to Congress is a desperate ploy to rally support for genocide.

• Mitchell Plitnick: [07-28] Congress applauded the genocide in Gaza, but Netanyahu's speech showed the political consensus on Israel is over: "Benjamin Netanyahu's call for continued support for the Gaza genocide may have received rapturous applause from Congress, but the speech revealed uncertain political terrain for Israel among both Democrats and Republicans.

• Nia Prater: [07-24] Rashida Tlaib holds 'war criminal' sign during Netanyahu speech.

• Richard Rubenstein: [07-26] Netanyahu in Congress: the crime boss fulminates, while his accomplices cheer.

• Annelle Sheline/Adam Weinstein: [07-23] Bibi's bullying visits to Congress never end well: "Washington will give Israel's Netanyahu whatever he wants, whether it's in America's interest or not. Who will say no?"

• Richard Silverstein: [02-27] Netanyahu's tissue of lies: "Congressional speech falls flat." While we're at it, catch up with his articles, plus an interview:

  • [07-25] Netanyahu's Congress speeech shows America who's the real boss: "Netanyahu's speech to Congress was met with a hysterical display of bootlicking."

  • [06-30] Gaza and Lebanon: Bibi's once and future wars.

  • [07-09] Bibi wants war without end, the IDF says no . . . or does it? "IDF contradicts Netanyahu, calls for ceasefire, acknowledges Hamas cannot be defeated."

  • [07-12] UK medical study finds 186,000 Gaza dead: "Netanyahu sabotages ceasefire deal, Haaretz confirms IDF invoked Hannibal Directive on 10/7."

  • Robert Scheer: [07-26] Netanyahu's speech betrays historic Jewish values: Interview with Richard Silverstein. Also, note this ("Unacceptable, -- Mr. Fish):

    Benjamin Netanyahu working out the argument he hopes will shame and silence those critical of his relentless slaughter of Palestinians since October 7th by saying that the percentage of Israelis killed on that day by Hamas would be the equivalent of 20 September 11ths in America when measured proportionally against the US population, while hoping nobody does similar math regarding the percentage of Palestinians he's killed since October 7th because that would translate to be just over six million in the US and there's something about that particular number some people might find unacceptable."

• Emily Tamkin: [07-25] The very people Netanyahu claims to represent rejected him: "Neither Americans nor Israelis are buying the prime minister's version of events."

• Ishaan Tharoor: [07-24] At Netanyahu addresses Congress, agony in Gaza endures.

• Jonah Valdez: Netanyahu insulted and smeared the pro-Palestine protest movement. Congress clapped.

Other stories in this nexus:

• Michael Arria: [07-25] The Shift: Biden's legacy is genocide. Biden's withdrawal elicited "sentimental tributes," but not from those who focused on his defense and support of genocide by Israel.

  • Ammiel Alcalay: [07-22] Even the US propaganda machine can't whitewash Biden's sordid record.

• Dexter Filkins: [07-22] Will Hezbollah and Israel go to war? That's really up to Netanyahu, who is fully able to push Hezbollah's buttons to get whatever level of back-and-forth he wants -- thus far, enough to provide cover for the real wars against Palestinians both in Gaza and the West Bank, and to keep the Americans in line with their depiction of Iran the puppet master on many fronts. As last week showed, escalating the bombing of Lebanon is easy within those parameters. Launching a real ground war isn't so easy, with little to gain and a fair amount to lose.

• Nicole Narea: [07-25] What Kamala Harris really thinks about Israel and Gaza: "Biden's approach to the war in Gaza has been divisive. Would Haris chart a new path?" I have a whole section for Harris, where I'll slot pieces on every other aspect of her campaign and politics, but for now I'd rather compartmentalize and keep her Israel stuff here, as a subset of the Washington-based group-think that lets American politicians and their cronies avoid having to think or care about the issue. I don't think anyone really knows what she thinks here, because the position she's in doesn't allow thinking, or doing for that matter.

  Maybe when she is president, she will be in a position to do, and therefore will need to think. But right now, all she really has to do is to avoid the pitfalls being laid out for her. (Having to meet with Netanyahu is just one such pitfall.) I'm not unsympathetic to people who regard Israel (or at least Gaza) as the biggest political issue of the moment, but through the election, I think they/we should give her a pass. I'm pretty sure that she's no worse than Biden, and undoubtedly a lot better than Trump. You don't have to endorse her (at least for this). You can even rag on Genocide Joe if you want. But this is just speculation, and probably not helpful at all. Of course, once she's elected, the gloves can come off. My hope, and that's really all it is, is that she'll listen better than Biden, and act more decisively. The time to talk specifically to her is when she's ready to listen and act.

  • Michael Arria: [07-22] Looking at Kamala Harris's record on Israel.

  • Michael F Brown: [07-22] Kamala Harris won't stand up to Netanyahu in Washington.

  • Nandika Chatterjee: [07-26] Israeli official criticizes Kamala Harris for speaking out about "dead children" in Gaza.

  • Liza Featherstone: [07-27] The right is hoping to defeat Cori Bush next.

  • Daniel Larison: [07-23] If there is a Harris foreign policy do we call it Biden-lite? "The VP is largely stuck with the president's agenda but there are a few glimmers of hope." He mentions Philip Gordon, as does:

  • Robert Wright: [06-26] Kamala's very good foreign policy guy: Philip Gordon.

• Kelley Beaucar Vlahos: {07-24] Peter Thiel: 'I defer to Israel': "Video surfaces showing the Palantir tech giant strugglig to answer questions about client's use of AI-generated kill lists."

• Brett Wilkins: [07-24] Ben-Gvir endorses Trump, says he's more likely to back war on Iran: "The Israeli security minister, who leads the far-right Jewish Power party, accused the Biden administration of thwarting Israel's victory against Hamas."

Israel vs. world opinion:

• Ramzy Baroud: [07-26] 'Terrorist organization'? What's behind the Israeli war on UNRWA.

• Magdalena Berger: [07-23] How Israeli media helps the war effort: Interview with Haggai Matar, executive director of +972 Magazine (which I've often cited in these posts).

• Avik Jain Chatlani: [07-17] A brief history of 'human animals': From the ruins of Peru to the Gaza genocide.

• Jessica Corbett: [07-24] Groups demand probe of Israeli influence operations targeting Americans.

• Yves Engler: [07-26] Canada set to revoke Jewish National Fund's charitable status: "Score a significant victory against apartheid, genocide and Palestinian dispossession. The powerful Jewish National Fund of Canada has reportedly had its charitable status revoked."

• Dan Owen: [07-24] How Israel plans to whitewash its war crimes in Gaza: "The Israeli army uses the veneer of internal accountability to fend off external criticism. But its record reveals how few perpetrators are punished."

  The scale of horror that Israel has inflicted upon Gaza over the last nine months is almost impossible to comprehend. The Israeli army's decision from the start of the war to significantly expand its authorization for bombing non-military targets and causing harm to civilians has resulted in the killing of tens of thousands of Palestinians, and has left the Gaza Strip unrecognizable. The surviving population faces mass hunger and displacement as a result of intentional Israeli policies, which are in violation of international laws of war.

  Every day, more and more horrifying evidence emerges, revealing what many Israelis seek to repress. . . . As these accusations pile up, Israel is beginning to launch another large-scale operation alongside its ongoing military campaign: the biggest crime cover-up in the country's history.

• Philip Weiss:

  • [07-23] Biden staffers who resigned over Gaza say US has destroyed international law and endangered Americans: "The Biden administration is suppressing dissent over its Gaza policy within its ranks, enforcing a 'culture of silence,' say some who resigned."

  • [07-28] Weekly Briefing: The difference between Biden and Harris on Israel? "Zippo, zilch, zero!"

Election notes:

• Current Affairs: [07-27] Kat Abughazaleh on how right-wing propaganda works: "An expert in Fox News' brainwashing techniques explains how the right-wing propaganda apparatus convinces viewers to believe lies and nonsense." She was an analyst for Media Matters, has moved on to produce videos, including her weekly Fox roundups.

• Frank Giustra: [07-24] Why American war and election news coverage is so rotten: "It's not 'conspiratorial' to wonder about corporate control and the lack of options."

• Ed Kilgore: [07-27] Harris vs. Trump polls: It's a new race.

Trump:

• Zack Beauchamp: [07-29] Trump proposed bombing Mexico and it somehow wasn't a big story: "Trump's extremist policy agenda is flying under the radar -- and that's a problem."

• Jamelle Bouie:

  • [07-02] Mr. President, your get-out-of-jail-free card is ready: "The Nixonian theory of presidential power is now enshrined as constitutional law."

  • [07-09] Trump's lust for expulsion, explained: "It is no accident that he is talking about immigrants 'poison in the blood of our country.'"

• Charles R Davis: [07-29] "Old and quite weird": Democrats finally discover new effective attack -- and Republicans hate it: "After nearly a decade of being forced to take Trump seriously, Democrats increasingly call BS on the whole charade."

• Dan Froomkin:

  • [07-22] Trump was winning. Now maybe he's not That's the news.

  • [07-24] Don't treat Trump like he has no agency. Calls out a New York Times article for its passive construction -- Trump's new rival may bring out his harshest instincts -- as if he can't help himself.

  • [07-26] How to investigate Kamala Harris without repeating the mistakes of 2016.

• Margaret Hartmann:

  • [07-27] The real origin of Trump's Hannibal Lecter obsession: "The deeper you go, the less sense it makes."

  • [07-25] Melania Trump book may be more money grab than memoir: "For the past two years, Melania has barely said anything about her husband's reelection effort; . . . but during this time, she regularly churned out overpriced merch, from NFTs to Christmas ornaments to an ugly Mother's Day necklace."

• Ed Kilgore: [07-29] Would Trump really dump J.D. Vance? Well, it would be a real loser move.

• Dylan Matthews: [07-24] The billionaire tax proposal that's driving Silicon Valley to support Trump: "No, it isn't a devious Democratic plan to destroy startups." The actual Biden proposal is a minimum tax, which is a fairly weak attempt to reduce the incentives rich people have for tax evasion through various dodgy scams. But as the article points out, the Silicon Valley billionaires don't need Trump to keep laws like that from passing: they and their lobbyists have lots of clout in both parties, as they've already shown, on this and many other issues. What bothers these rich folk isn't really the threat to their bottom line, which they have contained, but how their feelings are hurt by the suggestion they should be paying more in taxes. Related here:

  • David Dayen: [07-26] The corporate wishcasting attack on Lina Khan: "Billionaires are hopeful that Kamala Harris will break from the FTC chair."

  • Jake Johnson: [07-25] Billionaire megadonor draws backlash for urging Kamala Harris to fire Lina Khan.

• Liz Theoharis/Shaily Gupta Barnes: [07-28] The Christian nationalist vision for America: "Project 2025: A new Pax Romana."

Vance:

Trump's running mate, a Republican Senator from Ohio, one thing you can say for him is that he's gotten more press attention than any VP candidate since Sarah Palin, and probably more, since he's not just a turbocharged gaffe machine but has a more philosophical side that is also easy to chew over. I'm pretty sure that had Trump picked Doug Burgum or Elise Stefanik, this phase would be done by now.

• Karyn Amira: [07-29] JD Vance's selection as Trump's running mate marks the end of Republican conservatism. Problem here is the author's definition of conservatism: "a philosophy that supports smaller and less-centralized government because consolidated power could be used to silence political competition and deny citizens their liberties." That's almost exactly wrong: conservatives believe in order defined by their preferred hierarchy, which is necessarily enforced by power in a state that they seek to control. That's precisely what Trump and Vance believe in.

  On the other hand, Amira's definition actually describes an obsolete version of liberalism, which has been cynically used by conservatives to oppose the modern democratic state. From the progressives in the early 1900s through the New Deal and Great Society, liberals came to realize that laissez-faire capitalism had ceased to expand "liberty and justice for all," and if left unchecked would revert to a new version of feudal aristocracy. So they came up with a very successful alternative, where the state, embodying the will of the popular majority, would organize and regulate countervailing institutions, their powers limited and regulated in the public interest.

  Needless to say, the would-be lords of neofeudal capitalism hated this, and fought to preserve and extend their superiority with every trick they could muster -- including adopting the time-tested rhetoric of classical liberalism, but redirected against the democratic state -- which they characterized not just as a revival of pharoahs and czars but as something more impersonal and nefarious, as totalitarianism -- and really against the people it represented.

  But while "small government" may have been useful rhetoric when the government was held by people conservatives reviled, have you ever seen conservatives once they control the state reduce its size and power? You might point to deregulation, but that's effectively a transfer of power from public to private hands. Similarly, tax cuts and credits are transfers of money from public to private hands. By debilitating public interest functions, conservatives seek to discredit the state as a means by which the people can help themselves. Conservatives may see the state, in the wrong hands, as a repressive force, but given power, they eagerly use that force for their own ends, especially against the people they see as enemies, which is most of us.

  Trump and Vance aren't the end of Republican conservatism. They're more like its apotheosis, grown powerful and arrogant enough they can quit pretending they're doing anyone any favors but themselves. Maybe they mark some kind of denouement for conservative naïveté, but few real world conservatives were ever so deluded.

• Maureen Dowd: [07-27] JD Vance, purr-fectly dreadful.

• Elizabeth Dwoskin/Cat Zakrzewski/Nitasha Tiku/Josh Dawsey: [07-28] Inside the powerful Peter Thiel network that anointed JD Vance: "A small influential network of right-wing techies orchestrated Vance's rise in Silicon Valley -- and then the GOP. Now the industry stands to gain if he wins the White House." There hasn't been a VP pick this explicitly tied to donor choice since the Koch Network (uh, Mitt Romney) picked Paul Ryan in 2012. And while Republicans are more likely to brag about their corruption, what are the odds that Harris's VP pick will be traceable to another megadonor? (I mean, beyond the default conspiracist pick: George Soros?)

• Paul Elie: [07-24] J.D. Vance's radical religion.

• Rebecca Jennings: [07-25] J.D. Vance didn't have sex with a couch. But he's still extremely weird. "The rumors were easy to believe, especially when the potential VP has such terrible ideas about sex."

• Sarah Jones: [07-26] Dear J.D. Vance, childless cat ladies are people too. Emphasis added:

  "Normal people" see this bleak prospect for what it is, and they have rejected it repeatedly in the voting booth. That probably won't change. Vance's comments are weird, cruel, and, yes, creepy. They don't reflect the way most people think or live, even if they do have biological children. By attacking childlessness, the right cheapens parenthood, too. The act of having children is no longer about joy but conquest. I can't imagine anything sadder, though I am but a childless cat lady. Vance's worldview is poisonous to parents and children, too: Babies should be loved and wanted for their own sake, not because they're future nationalists or tradwives. The right offers a small and selfish vision that is authoritarian to its core. Their America belongs only to the righteous few, but my America belongs to everyone. I may never give birth, but I too have a stake in this country. We're all responsible for creating a future worth living in. It will belong to somebody's children, if not to ours.

  By the way, Jones also wrote:

  • [07-23] A woman can win, which probably belongs with the Harris articles, but is more about how Hillary Clinton's didn't win, and the precedent that doesn't really set.

  • [07-30] American freak show. I've thought of myself as weird much of my life, so I've learned to flip the insult and see weirdness as a more interesting attribute. And that's just one of many pejoratives that I've been prodded into reconsidering based on my experiences with the people they are and are not applied to. For instance, people who call themselves "patriots" because they support wars and who call people who don't support those wars "traitors" not only have a very shabby vocabulary, they're also, in my mind at least, making "patriots" appear to be horrible people, and "traitors" to be fundamentally decent ones. So I was initially reluctant to jump on the bandwagon that labels Trump, Vance, et al. as "weird." (I see Tim Walz getting credit here, but Seth Myers has been leaning in to this line of attack for several years now.) It just feels to me like we need some qualification, like in the song: "well I hear he's bad/ hmm, he's good-bad, but he's not evil." Surely, lots of people are simply "good-weird," but Trump and Vance are venturing into real "weird-evil" territory.

    Any formerly weird child can attest to how difficult it is to shrug off this label. What are you going to do, put your fingers in your ears and chant "I'm not weird, you're weird" until somebody eventually believes you? I was a little awkward in my day, and I know that's not how things work. You can refute the attack only by not being weird -- an idea that seems to elude many conservatives. They've left themselves few options. To address the attack, the bizarre right would have to reconstitute an entire movement, and that will take time and political will. Both are in short supply. Go on, then, and call the right weird, as long as it's part of a bigger argument. Progress ought to be normal, and it's worth fighting for, too.

    But I'm starting to appreciate the advantages of flipping scripts like this. And when you think about it, there's a lot of not just weird but very bizarre thought going on with the far-right these days. I mean, I'm 73, and my thinking has evolved a lot over the years, but I can still remember things that I learned as norms and rules when I was a child, like the 10 Commandments, the 7 Deadly Sins, the Boy Scouts' 12 laws, the Golden Rule, the maxim that "power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely," and strategic bits of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, and much more that I never really rejected even though I eventually disposed of most of the dross and cant they were wrapped up in. And because I can remember, and still largely respect, those norms and rules, it's really easy to see just how far many right-wingers have strayed from principles they claim as exclusively their own, and how ridiculous they look when they do. In some ways, calling them "weird" is the kindest way you can point that out. Their weirdness may even be their one saving grace. It certainly won't be in their Project 2025.

• Ezra Klein: [07-17] The economic theory behind J.D. Vance's populism: Interview with Oren Cass, who was Mitt Romney's domestic policy director in 2012, who since "evolved" and founded American Compass, a think tank catering to "populist" Republicans.

• Paul Krugman:

  • [07-25] JD Vance's 'cat ladies' riff has serious 'Handmaid's Tale' vibes.

  • [07-22] Trump's cynical attempt to pit recent immigrants against black Americans.

• Bradley Onishi: [07-27] J.D. Vance will be a more extremist Christian VP than Mike Pence: "The vice presidential pick's Catholicism hasn't received a lot of attention, but it's the key to the populist radicalism he wants to impose on America."

• Andrew Prokop: [07-25] J.D. Vance has made it impossible for Trump to run away from Project 2025: "He wrote the forward for a new book by Project 2025's architect -- and has backed some of its most extreme ideas." The book is Kevin D Roberts: Dawn's Early Light: Taking Back Washington to Save America, coming out on Sept. 24.

  • Alex Shephard: [07-30] Read J.D. Vance's violent foreword to Project 2025 leader's new book: "Trump's running mate writes that 'it's time to circle the wagons and load the muskets.'" Also relevant here:

  • Hafiz Rashid: [07-30] Project 2025 head resigns after backlash from Trump: "Paul Dans of the Heritage Foundation has announced he is resigning from his role."

• Corey Robin: [07-26] Like a diary, only far more masculine: Reading J.D. Vance's, from his blog days.

• Robert Schlesinger: [07-29] J.D. Vance proves it: Trump hires the very worst people: Trump's new running mate will haunt him just like all of the fools and weasels from his first administration."

• Alex Shephard: [07-26] Is J.D. Vance the worst vice presidential pick ever? Fair question, unless you know much about American history, in which case it's way too early to tell. It also depends on what you mean by "worst." John Tyler and Andrew Johnson probably helped their tickets win, but were really terrible presidents. Some others that didn't become president were also pretty notoriously bad, like Aaron Burr and John Calhoun (two terms, under two presidents who were polar opposites in every aspect except for their loathing of Calhoun). Then there was Spiro Agnew, the only VP ever forced to resign. And what about Dick Cheney? If memory serves, the only VP ever to finish his term with a single-digit approval index. Then there are the ones who never won anything. They tend to be easily forgotten, but tag reads "Palin Lite," in case you want a hint. So with competition like that, Vance hardly has a chance. But it's early days, and at least he's in the running.

• Ed Simon: [07-17] J.D. Vance keeps selling his soul. He's got plenty of buyers.

  Mr. Vance is more a product of the Upper West Side and New Haven, Capitol Hill and Cambridge, than of the Appalachian hollers. "Hillbilly Elegy" owed much of its critical and commercial success to how it flattered its audience about their own meritocratic superiority over the people whom Mr. Vance was supposedly championing, and reaffirming some of the most pernicious stereotypes about the residents of Appalachia. "What separates the successful from the unsuccessful are the expectations that they had for their own lives," Mr. Vance wrote. In his telling, those who fell into poverty, unemployment or substance abuse hadn't dreamed big enough.

  He points to whole books written about Vance's book, like:

  • Elizabeth Catte: What You Are Getting Wrong About Appalachia.

  • Anthony Harkins and Meredith McCarroll, eds: Appalachian Reckoning: A Region Responds to "Hillbilly Elegy". Also see this essay:

  • Meredith McCarroll: Hillbillies need no elegy.

• Matt Stieb: [07-27] J.D. Vance can't stop saying the dumbest things imaginable.

And other Republicans:

• Emily Bazelon: [07-27] The right-wing dream of 'self-deportation': "Some conservatives have a grim proposal to make undocumented immigrants leave: exclude their children from schools." I hadn't heard of "self-deportation" until Mitt Romney adopted it as his anti-immigration platform in 2012. It is quite the euphemism. It basically means systematically treating immigrants (and, to be sure, anyone who looks or sounds like an immigrant) so cruelly they resign themselves to leaving on their own. Or it could just as well drive them to turn to crime, which expedites the regular deportation process.

• Jenny Brown: [07-27] Project 2025's anti-union game plan.

  From there, the plan is to bulldoze the protections US workers have built up over one hundred years of determination, sacrifice, and unity.

  It's ugly: abolish overtime pay laws, outlaw public sector unions entirely, get rid of health and safety protections, eliminate the federal minimum wage, make it harder to receive unemployment, and put children back to work like in the 1920s.

  Hitting building trades workers, they would get rid of requirements for prevailing wage pay and project labor agreements in federal projects.

  There's more. They want to get rid of the Department of Education. Ban teaching women's history and African American history in schools -- lest we get ideas about how to change things! Ban abortion nationwide. (The AFL-CIO details the whole alarming list here.)

• Patrick T Brown: [07-19] Pro-lifers helped bring Trump to power. Why has he abandoned us? Because you're losers? You don't think he ever actually cared about you, did you?

• Thomas B Edsall: [07-24] What the Trump-Vance alliance means for the Republican Party. One thing that occurs to me here is that the more Republicans like Vance talk about supporting American workers, the more ground that opens up for Democrats to appeal to same, only with more realistic programs and greater credibility. It encourages them to lean left, rather than crawl scared toward the right (like so many have been doing since Reagan).

• Jack Herrera: [07-28] Trump says he wants to deport millions. He'll have a hard time removing more people than Biden has. "Even as Trump slams the president for open borders, the Biden-Harris administration has kicked out far more immigrants than Trump ever managed."

• Hassan Alu Kanu: [07-29] DEI and the GOP: "Hey Republicans, your racism is showing."

• Julius Krein: [07-23] Republican populists are responding to something real. One could argue that -- although Krein isn't very clear here -- but not that they're offering realistic responses to real problems.

• Robert Kuttner: [07-30] The left's fragile foundations: "Could a weaponized Trump IRS wreck the progressive infrastructure by attacking the entire nonprofit ecosystem?" This is a big and important article. "Defund the left" has long been a major Republican goal. One small bit:

  These vulnerabilities remain in place today. It has long galled the right that Planned Parenthood is a major recipient of government funds; of its budget of over $2 billion, about $700 million comes from government health service reimbursements and grants. While the Hyde Amendment prohibits federal funding of abortion, 17 states allow Medicaid funding of abortion through their state contributions to the mixed federal-state program. In addition, Planned Parenthood is a major recipient of federal Title X family-planning support of its clinics. As right-wing groups keep complaining, money is fungible and federal family-planning funds free other money to pay for abortions. Under Trump, the government did bar Planned Parenthood from the Title X program in 2019, but this was restored by Biden in 2021.

  The battle to defund the left would be far more sophisticated under a second Trump administration. The Heritage Foundation's detailed blueprint, Project 2025, systematically targets the entire range of agencies, and one of its tactics is to undermine agencies that help progressive organizations such as the NLRB and numerous others. With a second Trump presidency, the right's war against Planned Parenthood will only intensify.

• Michael Lind: [07-20] Trump's transformation of the Republican Party is complete.

• Calder McHugh: [07-27] Republicans keep trying to copy Trump's humor -- and voters keep cringing. Perhaps the material never was funny in the first place -- just the buffoon delivering it?

• Pamela Paul: [07-25] The Republican Party's elite conundrum: Let me condense this a bit (all her words, but with less wandering):

  Donald Trump loves to show off how smart he is. [But] Trump is shrewd enough to know that Americans don't like a guy who acts smart. So if his fumbles are strategic, it's not entirely dumb. In MAGA world, glorified ignorance actually serves as a qualification for higher office, empowering more effective rage against 'the liberal elite' and 'the ruling class.' This puts those Republican politicians saddled with inconvenient Ivy League degrees in an awkward position, like the guy who shows up in a tux for a rodeo wedding. In order to say in office and on message, they must reject the very thing that propelled their own careers. After all, the Republican Party has turned ignorance into a point of pride.

  Of course, this is ultimately about Ron DeSantis (Yale, Harvard Law), Ted Cruz (Princeton, Harvard Law), Josh Hawley (Stanford, Yale Law), Tom Cotton (Harvard, Harvard), and now J.D. Vance (Ohio State, but finally Yale Law).

• Charles P Pierce:

  • [07-23] The most unnerving thing about the RNC was all that talk of miracles: "I am not ready for a quasi-religious cult springing up around the most thoroughgoing heathen ever to sit in the White House."

  • [07-23] J.D. Vance is already stepping in it, just one week out of the gate: "You have to admit, after the RNC, it's fun watching the Republicans fumble like this."

  • [07-24] Get to know the Oversight Project, the Heritage Foundation's legal ratf*cking operation: "They seem to be plowing a whole lot of money into questionable investigations."

  • [07-29] J.D. Vance may be the worst politician I've ever seen: "This is before even taking the couch into consideration."

• Tessa Stuart: [07-25] Trump allies sure are talking a lot about civil war: "The former president's supporters keep raising the idea there's violent conflict in America's future." When lies don't suffice, Republicans will try extortion: vote for us, or we'll [insert threat here, ranging from shut down the government to killing you].

Harris:

• Maggie Astor: [07-28] Harris campaign says it raised $200 million since Biden dropped out: "The one-week total is more than President Biden's haul in the first quarter of the year. About two-thirds came from first-time donors, according to the vice president's campaign."

• Brian Beutler: [07-26] The perils of backseat driving Kamala Harris: When I saw this title, I was hoping for a lesson on said perils, and not just that when she veers off in some other direction you're bound to look useless and/or stupid, but instead we get this: "She can try to bring the anti-Trump coalition back together, or she can chase the unicorns of 2008. It's still not clear which approach will make the most sense."

• Jonathan Blitzer: [07-28] The real story of Kamala Harris's record on immigration: "Republicans have attacked the Vice-President as the Biden Administration's "border czar," but her remit was always to address the root causes farther south."

• John Cassidy: [07-29] Kamala Harris and the legacy of Bidenomics.

• David Dayen: [07-29] The only member of Congress who has worked for Kamala Harris: "'What I saw is someone who is not for sale,' Katie Porter told the Prospect."

• Moira Donegan: [07-25] Unlike Joe Biden, Kamala Harris will be a genuine champion for abortion rights.

• Ellen Ioanes: [07-24] Could a short campaign be exactly what Kamala Harris needs? "Dozens of other democracies have short election cycles. Can the Democrats learn something from them?" As far as I'm concerned, the long campaigns of the recent era have been insanely wasteful, a weird prism that has reduced everything else to refraction. No evidence that we've learned any lessons here, as this one seems to have just been dumb luck, but we should figure out how to do better. (Hint: the one thing that could help would be to curtail the big money influence.)

• George Hammond/James Fontanelle-Khan/James Politti: Kamala Harris campaign seeks 'reset' with crypto companies: Well, this is bad news, plain money-grubbing with one of the worst "industries" on the planet. As Dean Baker noted: "Crypto is the lowest of the low, there is no reason to do anything with these clowns but tax them."

• Ed Kilgore: [07-25] How Kamala Harris can fight the 'too liberal' label: But does she have to? Should she even want to? As Kilgore points out, Kerry may have hurt himself more by running away from his liberal record than had he stood firm, and explained why he was right to do so. Most "moderate" Americans are actually closet liberals, not least because liberalism is deeply imbued in American political lore. Moreover, Republican charges against "liberals" are so widely flung about that hardly anyone knows what they're talking about. Why not just take them to task? Stand firm in your beliefs, and show some leadership in fighting back. Nothing hurts Democrats more than cowardice. Even people with very little understanding of the issues can sense fear. If undecided, they tend to turn to the more forceful, more resolute candidate. (That is, after all, how Republicans win while taking positions few people actually support.)

• Lydia Polgreen: [07-27] I was a Kamala Harris skeptic. Here's how I got coconut-pilled.

• Greg Sargent: [07-26] Trump's repulsive new "laughing Kamala" smear reveals a MAGA weakness: "As Trump and his allies ramp up the vile attacks on Kamala Harris's personality, a progressive strategist explains why Harris's joyful disposition might be perfectly suited to taking on MAGA."

• Michael Scherer/Tyler Pager: [07-28] How Kamala Harris took control of the Democratic Party: "Party officials and campaign aides raced to flip an entire brand from facing hope to salute emojis."

• Alex Shephard: [07-26] Kamala Harris has plenty of time to win the election: "Three months isn't as short as it sounds. In Europe, campaigns are often even shorter."

• Matt Stieb: [07-29] White dudes for Harris was a 'rainbow of beige' that raised $4 million.

• Zoya Teirstein: [07-22] What Kamala Harris's track record on climate change makes clear.

• Michael Tomasky: [07-21] Kamala Harris has two superpowers, and that's all she needs: "She may have run a bad presidential race before, and had a rocky vice presidency. But she's not 81, and she's not Donald Trump." This was written just 9 days ago. You think maybe Tomasky would have found some positives since then?

• Matthew Yglesias: Make the VP selection on the merits! "The political impact of the Veep is overrated; the substantive stakes are underrated." Problem is nobody seems to know what the merits needed will be, let alone which candidates have them. The office has been a disaster as far back as John Adams, even with ones who were reasonably competent to become president, and it's been a little more than a gamble for all concerned.

  • Li Zhou: [07-24] Who could be Kamala Harris's VP? The potential list, briefly explained. The only thing we can really be sure of is that the decision will be made for us, without any input or airing, and rubber-stamped because Democrats don't really trust themselves with democracy any more. And whoever they pick, it will probably be ok. It is, as one says, "above my pay grade." [PS: I wrote this bit before I moved it under Yglesias, and added the rest. My intention was not to talk about any individuals. Adding the item on Sanders didn't really violate that, but eventually it made sense to add a couple more pieces. I have no endorsements here. My wife is anti-Shapiro, so that article is a nod to her.]

  • Ben Burgis: [07-24] Bernie Sanders should be Kamala Harris's vice president: This isn't going to happen, for lots of reasons, some of which actually make sense. Even if he could help Harris win -- doubtful, given that he scares donors otherwise sympathetic to Harris, and would seem to validate Republican charges that Harris is the most leftist Democratic candidate ever -- he'd give up his seniority in Congress, and his independence, which we'll need to guard against Harris triangulating right.

  • Ryan Cooper: [07-25] Tim Walz would make a great running mate.

  • David Klion: [07-24] The only vice presidential pick who could ruin Democratic unity: "Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro is a leading candidate to be Kamala Harris's running mate. Selecting him would fracture the party." This is mostly over Israel. Harris needs to figure out some way to finesse the issue. Shapiro's dedication to Israel is complete, with no hint of ambiguity or conflict, allowing for no independent initiative by America.

  • Robert Kuttner: [07-29] Kamala Harris's Eric Holder problem: "Her choice to vet candidates for vice-president needed more vetting himself."

• Li Zhou: [07-21] Kamala Harris's strengths -- and vulnerabilities -- explained.

• Jason Zinoman: [07-28] Kamala Harris's laugh is a campaign issue. Our comedy critic weighs in.

Biden:

• Dean Baker:

  • [07-22] A tribute to President Biden.

  • [07-18] Adjusting the Washington Post's Biden-Trump scorecard.

  • [07-26] Bloomberg says things are almost as bad as 2019, when Trump was in the White House: "Seriously, they probably don't want readers to walk away with that impression, but that is the implication of the piece they did complaining about people working multiple jobs."

  • [07-29] The biggest success story the country doesn't know about: "Yes, inflation has been punishing. But there is a mountain of good news that media have barely reported. Here's the real record the Democrats can run on."

    Under Biden, the United States made a remarkable recovery from the pandemic recession. We have seen the longest run of below 4.0 percent unemployment in more than 70 years, even surpassing the long stretch during the 1960s boom. This period of low unemployment has led to rapid real wage growth at the lower end of the wage distribution, reversing much of the rise in wage inequality we have seen in the last four decades. It has been especially beneficial to the most disadvantaged groups in the labor market.

    The burst of inflation that accompanied this growth was mostly an outcome of the pandemic and the invasion of Ukraine. All other wealthy countries saw comparable rises in inflation. As of summer 2024, the rate of inflation in the United States has fallen back almost to the Fed's 2.0 percent target. Meanwhile, our growth has far surpassed that of our peers.

    Furthermore, the Biden administration really does deserve credit for this extraordinary boom. Much of what happens under a president's watch is beyond their control. However, the economic turnaround following the pandemic can be directly traced to Biden's recovery package, along with his infrastructure bill, the CHIPS Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act, all of which have sustained growth even as the impact of the initial recovery package faded. While the CARES Act, pushed through when Trump was in office, provided essential support during the shutdown period, it was not sufficient to push through the recovery.

    One should also use every opportunity to stress that the CARES Act, at least everything that was good in it, was the result of leverage Democrats in Congress had. With the economy in free fall, Trump wanted something to save the stock market. That the act also helped unemployed workers, collapsing small businesses, and helped many stave off debt collection, was because Trump had to deal with Pelosi and Schumer. Without their help, Trump's own dismal record would have been that much worse.

• Zachary D Carter: [07-24] You have no idea what Joe Biden for employment.

• Elie Honig: [07-26] Let's knock off the 25th amendment talk.

• Kerry Howley: [07-27] Exit ghost: "Watching Joe Biden say good-bye."

• Umair Irfan: [07-23] Joe Biden's enormous, contradictory, and fragile climate legacy: "If elected, Trump could slow down Biden's progress, but the shift to clean energy is unstoppable."

• Branko Marcetic:

  • [07-22] Joe Biden wanted this. This is a left view, but seems fair:

    There is a tendency, even among the Left, to overstate the extent of Biden's populism. This is, after all, a president who nickel-and-dimed Georgia voters on the $2,000 checks he had pledged, quickly abandoned his promise of a $15 minimum-wage increase that might have helped voters weather inflation, and refused to fight to keep transformative pandemic-era policies like Medicaid expansion and expanded unemployment insurance. However ambitious his Build Back Better legislation was, we sometimes talk about it as if it had actually become law, when the reality is it died -- and did so in large part because Biden considered getting a handshake with Republicans a higher priority.

    That his presidency became the unlikely vehicle for progressive economic populism tells us less about Biden himself than the state of the Left: a Left that, however disorganized and defeated, succeeded in dragging someone like Biden into adopting even a watered-down version of its political program. It did so not just through political pressure, but by changing the political landscape to such an extent that a man who had spent his life tacking right in the chase for political power came to realize there was a popular constituency for a left-populist agenda, and that it was worth his while politically, crucial to his legacy even, to give pursuing such a thing an honest-to-God shot.

  • [07-25] How Joe Biden became a steadfast Israel defender.

• Nicole Narea: [07-24] So what does Joe Biden do now? "In an Oval Office speech, Biden said his farewells. But his job isn't done yet."

• Noah Rawlings: [07-29] Build no small things: "A sampling of innovative projects made possible by the Biden legislative wins."

And other Democrats:

• Lee Drutman: [07-28] The Democratic Party is (still) broken: "The sudden ascendance of Kamala Harris doesn't change the fact that the party suffers from deep, possibly fatal problems." I'm not sure how useful this analysis is. I don't doubt that the Democratic Party has structural problems, tied mostly to the need to raise huge amounts of money from interest groups that want favors not solutions, and the double standards that blame Democrats for all problems while excusing Republicans. But the Democrats do have one big advantage: in a two-party system, they're the only ones who are sane and conscientious and actually care about people, which should give them some advantages, wouldn't you think? However, the author seems to be wedded to a fantasy idea, explained in his book Breaking the Two-Party Doom Loop: The Case for Multiparty Democracy in America.

• Lulu Garcia-Navarro: [07-27] The Interview: Pete Buttigieg thinks the Trump fever could break.

• Michael Podhorzer: [07-24] Democrats are poised to win. But only if they make the election about Trump. As I've been saying, all along.

• Michael Tomasky: [07-25] The race the Democrats need to run now: "How the party can reshape this election so it isn't about Donald Trump's martyrdom." I dunno. I mean, there's something to be said for martyring Donald Trump. It's not that I don't think this has a place:

  That's all the more reason for Harris to make the race a contest between not only two people but two ideas of America, two extremely different visions of what the federal government can and will do to protect the rights of all Americans, especially vulnerable ones. That means talking about Trump's plans. But just as importantly, it means trying to make voters understand that the presidency is much larger than one person. It's an army of people with a set of beliefs who either will or will not protect abortion rights, defend workers' interests, insist upon the basic human dignity of migrants, fight for the human and civil rights of LGBTQ people, continue the fight against the effects of climate change, uphold civil liberties, and respect the principles of democracy.

  But anything that gets people to turn on Trump is fine with me.

Legal matters and other crimes:

• Shirin Ali: Three ways that Jack Smith could resurrect the classified documents case.

• Jamelle Bouie: [07-12] John Roberts makes his bid for infamy: "The chief justice and his allies have rewritten the Constitution to make it say what they want it to say."

• Ian Millhiser:

  • [07-24] Republicans ask the Supreme Court to gut student loan relief a second time: "The Court's first decision blocking student loan forgiveness was a lawless mess."

  • [07-26] A new Supreme Court case threatens to gut the Court's one good trans rights decision: "Republican Justice Neil Gorsuch surprised most Court watchers by supporting trans rights in Bostock v. Clayton County. We're about to find out if he actually meant it."

  • [07-29] Biden's new Supreme Court reform proposals are mostly useless: "The president is finally going after the high court, but his ideas are pretty weak."

• Shawn Musgrave: How Clarence Thomas cleared Trump's path in classified docs case.

• Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff: [07-27] Texas sues Biden administration over teenage access to birth control.

• Sara Ruberg: [07-28] 3 men with white supremacist ties sentenced in plan to attack power station: "Two of the men met through a neo-Nazi online forum and recruited other people to join their scheme.

• Paul Starr: [07-17] The Supreme Court's license for presidential vengeance: "The Court's ruling on presidential immunity makes us all vulnerable."

• Li Zhou: [07-26] What we know about the police killing of Sonya Massey: "It adds to a long and disturbing pattern of police violence toward Black Americans."

  • Farrah Anderson/Sam Stecklow:

    • Deputy accused of killing Sonya Massey was discharged from Army for serious misconduct.

    • Past employers questioned integrity and conduct of deputy who killed Sonya Massey.

  • Tahir Duckett: [07-27] The police killing of Sonya Masssey argues for alternatives to reform.

  • Tatyana Tandanpolie: [07-27] Sonya Massey killing underscores disproportionate police violence against Black and disabled people.

Climate and environment:

In some ways, just another mid-summer week, but one with four days topping all-time heat records, and 104 (at least that's one count) active wildfires in the US.

• Kelsey Ables/Brianna Sacks/Nick Parker/Marisa Iati: [07-27] Park Fire's rapid growth puts it among larges in California history: More on this and other fires:

  • Matthew Cappucci: [07-26] California's Park Fire probably spawned freak fire tornadoes. Here's how.

  • Scott Dance: [07-25] A map of Oregon's Durkee Fire, the largest in the US.

  • Diana Leonard/Brianna Sacks: [07-28] Why the Park Fire exploded so quickly.

  • Joshua Partlow: [07-28] When all of the West is on fire at once, this is who deals with it.

  • Charles P Pierce: [07-24] Spare a thought for Canada, which is on fire (again): "Thousands of people have been evacuated from around Jasper, Alberta."

• Kate Aronoff: [07-19] What does military readiness mean in a warming world? "NATO seems worried about climate change. But stopping climate change probably means cutting defense spending."

• Dino Grandoni: [07-26] Extreme heat is wilting and burning forests, making it harder to curb climate change: "High temperatures, droughts and wildfire last year caused some forests to wilt and burn enough to degrade the ability of the land to lock away carbon dioxide."

• Sarah Kaplan: [07-27] 4 hottest days ever observed raise fears of a planet nearing 'tipping points'.

• Amy Westervelt: [07-29] Oil companies sold the public on a fake climate solution -- and swindled taxpayers out of billions: "The fossil fuel industry's carbon capture bamboozle, explained."

Economic matters:

• Jake Johnson: [07-25] Global 1% captured $42 trillion in new wealth over past decade.

• Jean Yi: [07-24] The great telemarketing scam behind pro-police PACs. Before we got a phone system that announces caller IDs, we were plagued with 2-5 phone calls per week trying to shake us down for donations to help out our poor police. We probably still are, but simply don't answer any calls we don't recognize and welcome. We always figured these calls as scams, but this article makes it all much more clear. If any politicians wanted to do something that would immediately better the lives of most Americans, they would come up with a legal framework to destroy the entire telemarketing industry (and hopefully take junk texts and emails with it -- for now at least, I'm ok with advertisers buying stamps, which at least helps fund the post office, even though most of our mail goes straight to recycle).

Ukraine War and Russia:

• Blaise Malley: [07-26] Diplomacy Watch: Ukraine turns to China as potential mediator: "This, days after Beijing brokers agreement on the Palestinian front."

• Jessica Corbett: [07-26] Amnesty urges war crimes probe of landmines in Russian-occupied Ukraine.

• William Hartung: [07-26] DoD finds another $2B accounting 'error' to boost Ukraine aid.

• Anatol Lieven: [07-19] What I saw and heard about the Ukraine war in Moscow: "Russian elites appear resigned to accepting that the conflict will carry on indefinitely."

• Eldar Mamedov: [07-22] Europe doubles down on protracted war in Ukraine: "The European Parliament re-elected Ursula von der Leyen as president of the Commission, cementing the EU's maximalist aims."

America's empire and the world:

• Ben Armbuster: [07-26] What it means when someone calls you an 'isolationist': "When war-boosters like Max Boot don't have a comeback, they turn to smears."

• Dan Grazier: [07-25] Time to retire the phrase 'military industrial complex': "Sorry Ike: it's a bit too dated and no longer the right moniker to describe what we're up against."

• Samantha Schmidt/Ana Vanessa Herrero/Maria Luisa Paúl: [07-28] Venezuelans vote in election that could oust an autocrat: Or a democratically-elected leftist, depending on your perspective. I don't have much insight into or opinion on the Maduro government, but that they're allowing an election that could go either way, and that they've run elections in the past that have gone against their druthers, suggests that the "autocrat" charge is overblown.

  At this point, it might be best for the embattled left to give way to the American-backed right-wingers. Presumably that would satisfy American efforts to strangle the revolution, ending the isolation US sanctions have imposed. The right will then be free to resume the crony capitalism they profit from, fixing none of the problems that have plagued Venezuela from the early Standard Oil days, but giving the left a clear and present local enemy to organize against (as well as the spectre of American imperialism). Reagan and his Contras bullied Nicaraguans into voting against the Sandinistas, but eventually the voters returned them to power. More on Venezuela:

  • Samantha Schmidt/Ana Vanessa Herrero: [07-27] If Maduro loses, will he cede power? Venezuela's election, explained.

  • Ishaan Tharoor: [07-26] Is this the beginning of the end for the Maduro regime in Venezuela?

  • Anatoly Kurmanaev/Frances Robles/Julie Turkewitz: [07-28] Venezuela awaits result in pivotal election that could oust autocrat: After the previous stories, I only mention this to show that the New York Times is also stuck on the "autocrat" bandwagon.

  • Associated Press: [07-29] Entrenched incumbent Maduro declared winner of Venezuela's disputed presidential election: And then this happened. Maduro's opponents are whining and whinging like Trump. More on this next week.

• Nick Turse:

  • [07-25] Osama Bin Laden's enduring triumph: Alt-title: "Suicide Squad: US troops are losing a war with their deadliest enemy." He means suicides among soldiers and ex-soldiers.

  • US has never apologized to Somali drone strike victims -- even when it admitted to killing civilians.

  • Cheap and lethal: The Pentagon's plan for the next drone war.

• Joby Warrick/Souad Mekhennet: [07-25] Sanctions crushed Syria's elite. So they built a zombie economy fueled by drugs. For more on US sanctions, see:

  • Jeff Stein/Federica Cocco: [07-25] How four U.S. presidents unleashed economic warfare across the globe. More than four of them: even if you skip over the Cold War blockades and restrictions and start with Clinton, Biden makes five, and while each president has done more than the previous one, Biden's sanctions are really off the charts.

  • Jeff Stein/Ellen Nakashima/Samantha Schmidt: [07-26] Trump White House was warned sanctions on Venezuela could fuel migration: "The internal debate over the policy underscores how U.S. financial measures can sometimes lead to unintended consequences."

Other stories:

• Alex Abad-Santos/Bryan Walsh: [07-26] The good, the bad, and weird of the 2024 Olympics opening ceremony: I don't anticipate having any interest in the Olympics, but if anything catches my fancy, here I have a slot to file it.

  • Peter Coy: [07-22] Which country will win the Paris Olympics? Don't just count medals. This one's for statistics nerds, something I find far more interesting than the javelin toss.

  • Kelly McClure: [07-27] Speaker Mike Johnson and Elon Musk blast Olympics for being offensive to Christians.

  • Dave Zirin/Jujles Boykoff: [07-29] Israel's olympic presence helps legitimize war crimes: The IOC is sanctioning Russia, so clearly they have some political principles. Why they don't realize that Israel is as bad (or worse) isn't clear, but sure does look hypocritical.

• Adam Clark Estes: [07-24] The worst internet outage still hasn't happened yet: "How a bit of bad code could bring down the whole world."

• Kelsey Piper: [07-26] Warren Buffett's breakup with the Gates Foundation will hurt the world: "Buffett's decision to put his money into a foundation controlled by his kids is a mistake."

• Jeffrey St Clair: [07-26] The spirit of Jezebel: Photo of Harris, but more on Biden, before making the usual rounds.

Obituaries

• Trip Gabriel: [07-28] James C Scott, iconoclastic social scientist, dies at 87: "In influential books, he questioned top-down government programs and extolled the power of the powerless, embracing a form of anarchism." I've noted a couple of his books in my Roundups -- Seeing Like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed (1999), and Two Cheers for Anarchism: Six Easy Pieces on Autonomy, Dignity, and Meaningful Work and Play (2012) -- but have never read him. I'm certainly sympathetic to the notion that power isn't all it's cracked up to be, even for those who seem to possess it. I also know enough about anarchism to be able to see it as a model for acting in situations where no effective power is possible, like international relations.

  • Corey Robin: [07-25] James Scott, 1936-2024.

• Martin Landler: [07-25] Martin S Indyk, diplomat who sought Middle East peace, dies at 73: "As ambassador to Israel in the Clinton administration and as a special envoy under Barack Obama, he was skeptical of Israeli settlements." Instead of skeptical, he should have been flat-out opposed, as the settlements he allowed to propagate destroyed the "two-state solution" he was an apostle of. Like many US diplomats, he was so in thrall to Israel that he could never be an honest broker, even when he realized that Israel had no intention or desire for peace, which he did reckon more often than most.

• Nicholas Levis: [07-26] A non-conformist of the power elite: Lewis Lapham, 1935-2014.

  • Kelly Burdick: [07-26] Lewis Lapham salvaged from history what was useful, beautiful, and true.

  • Chris Lorentzen: [07-26] Lewis Lapham knew that a great editor was an artful thief: "Lapham, who died this week at 89, was an eloquent skeptic of power and a great nurterer of talent."

• New York Times: Obituaries: I scrolled through ten pages and, aside from the above, recognized a few names I hadn't noted, but wanted to at least mention:

  • William L Calley Jr (war criminal)
  • Orlando Cepeda (baseball player)
  • Michael Cuscuna (jazz archivist, founded Mosaic Records)
  • Yael Dayan (daughter of Israeli war director Moshe Dayan; a distinguish writer and something of a peace activist)
  • Lou Dobbs (CNN/Fox hack and bigot)
  • Maurice El Medioni (Sephardic-Algerian pianist)
  • Duke Fakir (Four Tops)
  • Kinky Friedman (satirist and singer)
  • Bill Holman (jazz arranger)
  • James M Inhofe (R-OK Senator, major climate change denier)
  • Parnelli Jones (Indy 500 driver)
  • Bob Newhart (comedian)
  • Bernice Johnson Reagan (Sweet Honey in the Rock)

Books

• Rachel Connolly: [07-25] Porn shows what people still won't say about sex: "A book of intimate interviews reveals how reluctant people are to speak about their true desires." Long review of Polly Barton: Porn: An Oral History.

• Richard J Evans: [07-01] Can the museum survive? "From looted artifacts to rogue employees, a series of crises have beset some of the world's most visited collections." Review of Adam Kuper: The Museum of Other People: From Colonial Acquisitions to Cosmopolitan Exhibitions.

• David Klion: [07-29] After histgory ended: "How the chaos and excesses of the 1990s led to the politics of today." Review of John Ganz: When the Clock Broke: Con Men, Conspiracists, and How America Cracked Up in the Early 1990s.

• Carlos Lozada: [07-02] Is America a City on a Hill or a Nation on the Precipice? "Ours is a nation obsessed with depicting and interpreting itself, usually with the boldest of brushstrokes." Sounds, well, to use a word I first encountered in 8th grade, when it suddenly became everyone's favorite put-down for virtually everyone else, "conceited." Reminds me that "nationalism" is the word for projecting narcissism on a, well, national scale. Lozada reads a lot of books, which gives him lots of examples for essays like this one. But for every example, you can just as easily find an exception. Which makes me wonder, why bother?

• Samuel McIlhagga: [07-26] Anne Applebaum's dystopia of rules: A review of the Ukraine hawk's new book, Autocracy, Inc.: The Dictators Who Want to Run the World. I always assumed that her 2018 book, Red Famine: Stalin's War on Ukraine, was a credible if somewhat jaundiced historical account of Stalin's tragic efforts to collectivize agriculture in Ukraine in the 1930s, much like Timothy Snyder's 2010 book, Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin. But both authors have moved beyond their research into political polemics, where they pose as defenders of democracy but act as advocates of conflict and aggression, including war, against Russia. At least Snyder seems to have had some left leanings -- he started out as a student and protégé of Tony Judt -- before the 1989-90 revolts in Eastern Europe turned him against Russia, but her earlier books suggest that Applebaum was an ardent cold warrior from the start. She honed her political agenda in her 2020 book, Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism (the paperback changed the subtitle to: The Failure of Politics and the Parting of Friends). Here she broadens her attack to encompass the entire neocon shit list, from its Russia-China-Iran axis to peripheral irritants like Venezuela and North Korea.

• Manuel Roig-Franzia: [07-24] Donald Trump's nephew asks questions about racism in new memoir: "Fred C. Trump III cast aside decades of silence to delve into the roots of the Trump family's dysfunction at a critical moment in American political history." The book is All in the Family: The Trumps and How We Got This Way.

• Michael Tatum: Books read (and not read): July 2024.

• Also, just happened to notice this:

  • Jason Stanley: Erasing History: How Fascists Rewrite the Past to Control the Future [09-10]: author of How Propaganda Works (2015); and How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them (2018).

Music (and other arts?)

• Ethan Iverson: [07-26] In search of the backbeat: The Rolling Stones are on the road again, with a new drummer (Steve Jordan).

• Ryan Maffei: [07-28] My vanished friend: Remembering Martin Phillipps of the Chills.

• Phil Overeem: [07-31] The best newish releases I lived to listen to this month.

Chatter

• Dean Baker: [07-30] [in response to: X has SUSPENDED the White Dudes for Harris account (@dudes4harris) after it raised more than $4M for Kamala Harris.] Musk is using his control of X to make in-kind contributions to Trump in lieu of his pledge to contribute $45 million a month to a Trump super Pac

• Ramesh Ponnuru: [07-31] Trump policing who's really black and who's a good Jew in the same week.

Local tags (these can be linked to directly): Netanyahu's speech, music.

Original count: 259 links, 11258 words (15482 total)

Current count: 264 links, 11362 words (15656 total)

Ask a question, or send a comment.

Thursday, July 25, 2024

July archive (in progress).

Music: Current count 42703 [42668] rated (+35), 23 [15] unrated (+8).

I'm slowly decompressing after deep burial in the work of running my Mid-Year Jazz Critics Poll. The website is up, but the results won't be public until ArtsFuse publishes my introductory essay -- which I turned in on Tuesday, so it shouldn't be much longer. After some initial panic, I finally counted 90 ballots, which is a bit more than half of the 159 ballots we received for the 2023 Poll. A couple dozen more invitees wrote back with apologies, mostly due to the very limited voting period I allowed and other demands on their time, but several just didn't like the idea (while expressing an interest in year-end voting -- I know of other critics who just don't like the idea of polls and lists in general, but they had taken themselves off my mailing list).

Voters were asked to vote for up to 10 "new releases" (first releases of new music recorded no earlier than 2014) and up to 5 "rara avis" (reissues or newly released music from 2013 or earlier). The 90 critics voted for 366 "new releases" and 109 "rara avis" albums. If memory serves, 3 albums got votes in both, and 3 more received one vote in the wrong time frame, so the total number of albums that received votes was 472, which is 5.24 per voter. I'd hazard a guess that about half of those records got 1 vote each. Also, at least half of them weren't in my tracking file before the poll, so were new to me. I've added them all now, and over the last 3-4 weeks I've listened to a lot of jazz I wasn't previously aware of (including all 5 A- records this week, and most of the high B+ records too).

As I've probably mentioned, I find lists most useful as a means for checking what I do and do not know. Donald Rumsfeld once made the distinction between "known-unknowns" and "unknown-unknowns." Well, I keep the former are on a list as such, leaving only the latter as still unaccounted-for unknowns. So, thanks to the last few weeks, I now know much more about what I don't know. When the results are published, so can you.

As part of this exercise, I went ahead and prematurely compiled a Best Jazz Albums of 2024 file. (I didn't bother compiling the companion Best Non-Jazz list, because I didn't need it, and didn't want to bite off the extra work, least of all in maintenance -- indeed, I may not maintain the Jazz file until the need arises come November.) The most notable thing here is that the A-list has already reached 60 albums, whereas for recent full years, it has never grown beyond 87 albums. I can imagine three possible explanations for this bounty: this is a really great year for new jazz; I'm much better informed this year than ever before; and/or I'm growing soft and addled in my old age. Still, I've retained enough wits to discriminate between these 60 A/A- albums and 108 with B+(***) grades, and another 193 with lower grades. (Let's see: in 2023, that split was 85 A/A-, 225 B+(***), 532 lower, so comparing this year so far to last gives us: 70.5%, 48.0%, 36.2%.) So, sure, that's skewed pretty significantly. But I can't think of anything to do about it. The grading scale was never conceived of as a curve, and it's too late to change much now.

While working on the essay, I slowly pieced together a Speaking of Which, which wound up straddling the Republican Convention, Biden's withdrawal, and Kamala Harris's clinching of the Democratic nomination. The domestic politics did at least take my mind away from the international situation, which as far as I can tell is still very much out there -- especially the atrocities in and around Israel. One story I avoided was Netanyahu's speech to Congress. I thought the most telling moment there was when Biden praised and gave thanks to Joe Biden, and Republicans stood and applauded. Of course, it wasn't Biden they were applauding. Nor were they really showing how supplicant they are to Netanyahu (although they clearly are). They mostly relished how Netanyahu's embrace disgraced Biden and his administration. As I've noted many times before, the only time Republicans are up for a "bipartisan" deal is when they see it as a wedge between the Democratic leaders and their base. All of Washington may be in thrall to Israel, but it's not a good look for the self-anointed leaders of the free world.

Of course, I didn't really finish with last week, so next week's Speaking of Which will start as soon as this Music Week posts. And as I'm unlikely to be done on Sunday, next Music Week should again be delayed -- perhaps enough to give me most of a week (as long as I wrap up before the end of July, I'll be happy.) After that, I hope to slow down a bit, and take stock. I have lots of projects to work on around the house. I have some doctor stuff on tap. I also have a new website to think about. And I need to rethink the whole writing life. Besides, August is usually pretty miserable here in Wichita.

Meanwhile, a couple mid-year lists to check out:

• All About Jazz: [07-15] Best jazz albums of 2024: all-star break edition.

• Chris Monsen: Mid-year picks: 30 + 10 favorite album releases from January through June, 20024.

New records reviewed this week:

أحمد [Ahmed]: Giant Beauty (2022 [2024], Fönstret, 5CD): Five more shows, each on its own disc each a single piece 44:15-49:40 long, from five consecutive nights in Stockholm (August 10-14, so after the April 2 Glasgow date on Wood Blues). Too intense to play straight through, possibly redundant if you're satisfied with Wood Blues, but something where you can just pick a disc at random when the mood strikes. A- [sp]

Alliance [Sharel Cassity/Colleen Clark]: Alliance (2024, Shifting Paradigm): Supposedly a group name, but two of the four women pictured on the cover are named in smaller print at the bottom: Cassity plays flute and alto/soprano sax, Clark drums, along with Hannah Meyer (piano) and Carmani Edwards (bass). A very sprightly hard bop outing. B+(**) [sp]

Beholder Quartet: Suspension of Disbelief (2024, Sachimay): Streaming sources list this as Beholder Trio, but cover says Quartet, as does a previous album -- a still earlier trio is simply credited to Beholder. Group of Dan DeChellis (piano), John Philip Tomasic (guitar), Jeffrey Slater (electric bass), and Zach Martin (drums). DeChellis has albums back to 1998, including a 1999 trio with Tomasic, and a later series of albums with avant saxophonist Gary Hassay. Very interesting album, even in the slow spots. A- [sp]

Oddgeir Berg Trio: A Place Called Home (2024, Ozella): Norwegian pianist, home is the island of Rolla, which is pretty far north, fifth trio album since 2018, with Audun Ramo (bass) and Lars Berntsen (drums). B+(*) [sp]

Isaiah Collier & the Chosen Few: The Almighty (2023 [2024], Division 81): Saxophonist, from Chicago, group is a quartet with piano-bass-drums, but aims higher, starting off with a gospelized Dee Alexander vocal, then a spiritual spot for Ari Brown. Three more tracks: more yearning, more vocals, more rafters-raising saxophone. B+(**) [sp]

Nick Dunston: Colla Voce (2022 [2024], Out of Your Head): Bassist, fifth album since 2019, also credit for "post-processing," on what is billed as "a warped narrative of sorts, hurtling from acoustic universe to electric universe, string to scream, raw to produced, New York to Berlin, and real to surreal." The strings and voices give it an air of opera, but very warped indeed, and I'd add, saved by the drums. B+(**) [cd]

Isabelle Duthoit & Franz Hautzinger: Dans le Morvan (2021 [2024], Relative Pitch): French clarinetist, also credited for voice (which is more like audible breathing), in a duo with the Austrian playing quarter tone trumpet. Second duo album, very sketchy. B+(*) [sp]

Nick Finzer: Legacy: A Centennial Celebration of JJ Johnson (2024, Outside In Music): Trombonist, eighth album since 2012, quartet with Renee Rosnes (piano), Rufus Reid (bass), and Lewis Nash (drums), all veterans of Johnson's 1980-90s groups. B+(***) [sp]

Gregory Groover Jr.: Lovabye (2023 [2024], Criss Cross): Tenor saxophonist, from Boston, name sounds like a smooth jazz alias (well, maybe not as much as Euge Groove), but he studied and teaches at Berklee, has his debut on a mainstream label, and lined up a batch of stars for backing: Joel Ross (vibes), Aaron Parks (piano), Vicente Archer (bass), Marcus Gilmore (drums) and Matthew Stevens (guitar on 3 tracks). B+(**) [sp]

Giovanni Guidi: A New Day (2023 [2024], ECM): Italian pianist, about a dozen albums since 2007, quartet here with James Brandon Lewis (tenor sax), Thomas Morgan (bass), and João Lobo (drums). He plays nicely, nowhere close to challenging his guest star, who nonetheless reveals that he'll probably make a great ballad album some day. B+(**) [sp]

Jo Harrop: The Path of a Tear (2024, Lateralize): British singer-songwriter, slotted jazz but not necessarily so, third album, has a nice feel and touch, and songs. B+(***) [sp]

Xaver Hellmeier: X-Man in New York (2022 [2023], Cellar Music): German drummer, based in Munich, but went to New York to study with Joe Farnsworth, which set him up for a first album recorded in Van Gelder Studios with what must be his dream band: Jeremy Pelt (trumpet), Eric Alexander (tenor sax), David Hazeltine (piano), and Peter Washington (bass). I've long admired that group (and Farnsworth), but it's been a while since they've put their skills to such inspired use. A- [sp]

اسم ISM [Pat Thomas/Joel Grip/Antonin Gerbal]: Maua (2022 [2024], 577): London-based piano-bass-drums trio, at least one previous album, they also form the core of the quartet known as [Ahmed]. Two pieces, the 41:15 title track, plus a 6:22 extra, with a very nice Bösendorfer grand that may have slowed the group down a bit, just to relish the sound. Title means "flowers" in Swahili. Not as dramatic as the [Ahmed] albums, but this should help Thomas get recognition as one of jazz's top-tier pianists. A- [dl]

Tobias Klein/Frank Rosaly/Maria Warelis: Tendresse (2022 [2024], Relative Pitch): Bass/contrabass clarinetist, originally from Germany (Saarbrücken), based in Netherlands, not much as leader but side credits since 1997 (most often in the group Spinifex). Backed here with drums and piano. B+(**) [sp]

Christian McBride/Edgar Meyer: But Who's Gonna Play the Melody? (2024, Mack Avenue): Bass duo, with each musician switching to piano for two tracks. McBride is probably the most famous jazz bassist of his generation, but I had to look Meyer up: 12 years older, from Tennessee, has a distinguished career in classical music, but also ventures into bluegrass with Mark O'Connor, Béla Fleck, and Chris Thile. Often engaging, but kind of self-limiting. B+(*) [sp]

The New Wonders: Steppin' Out (2024, Turtle Bay): Trad jazz septet, led by Mike Davis, who plays cornet, sings, and composed or arranged everything. Second album. B+(***) [sp]

Carlos Niño & Friends: Placenta (2022-23 [2024], |International Anthem): Based in Los Angeles, "an internationally celebrated producer, arranger, composer, musician, radio host, DJ, music consultant, writer, poet, and event organizer," "involved in the production of more than 100 records," although the only groups I recognize are Build an Ark and Hu Vibrational, and they're both a tad obscure. Fourth group album on this label -- Discogs shows earlier ones back to 2009 -- a sprawling (77:07) jumble of synths, flute (André 3000), horns, rhythm, voices. B [sp]

Omawi [Marta Warelis/Onno Govaert/Wilbert De Joode]: Waive (2023, Relative Pitch): Piano-drums-bass trio, fairly abstract in an intimate framework. B+(**) [sp]

Hery Paz: River Creatures (2023 [2024], Porta Jazz): Tenor saxophonist, from Cuba, second album, trio with Nate Wooley (trumpet) and Tom Rainey (drums). B+(***) [sp]

Frank Paul Schubert/Michel Pilz/Stefan Scheib/Klaus Kugel: Live at FreeJazz Saar 2019 (2019 [2024], Nemu): German free jazz saxophonist (alto/soprano), a couple dozen albums since 2005, here in a group with bass clarinet, bass, and drums, joint improv on a piece called "Where Is Charles?" -- no answer or further explanation offered, not that any is needed. B+(***) [cd]

SML: Small Medium Large (2022-23 [2024], International Anthem): Quintet of Anna Butterss (electric bass), Jeremiah Chiu (synths), Josh Johnson (sax/electronics), Booker Stardrum (drums), and Gregory Uhlmann (guitar), pieced this together from four sets of improv, with an ear toward finding an irresistible groove. B+(***) [sp]

Space: Embrace the Space (2024, Relative Pitch): Swedish piano-bass-drums trio, Lisa Ullén, Elsa Bergman, and Anna Lund. Second album, improv pieces, pretty tight. B+(***) [sp]

Natsuki Tamura/Satoko Fujii: Aloft (2023 [2024], Libra): Trumpet and piano duo, husband and wife, many records together (mostly in larger groups, all the way to big bands), but this is the basic mix, and very striking when they grab your attention. B+(***) [cd]

Terton [Louie Belogenis/Trevor Dunn/Ryan Sawyer]: Outer, Inner, Secret (2023 [2024], Tzadik): Tenor/soprano sax, bass, drums trio. B+(***) [sp]

Marta Warelis/Andy Moor: Escape (2022 [2024], Relative Pitch): Polish pianist, has been making the rounds since 2017, here a duo with one of the Ex guitarists. B+(**) [sp]

Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries:

Cannonball Adderley: Burnin' in Bordeaux: Live in France 1969 (1969 [2024], Elemental Music): Alto saxophonist, a hard bopper who actually scored some crossover r&b hits, probably did his best work in the late 1950s, but had a strong series of albums with Riverside in the early 1960s, more mixed results later on with Capitol, before he died at 46 in 1975. So this is rather late in his career, a quintet with his brother Nate Adderley on trumpet, Joe Zawinul on keyboards, Victor Gaskin on bass, and Roy McCurdy on drums. A solid but not exceptional set, in a very nice package. B+(**) [cd]

Cannonball Adderley: Poppin' in Paris: Live at L'Olympia 1972 (1972 [2024], Elemental Music): A bit later, after Joe Zawinul left for Weather Report, with George Duke adding some funk on keyboads, Walter Booker the new bassist, Ray McCurdy back on drums, and brother Nat the stand out on cornet. B+(***) [cd]

Atrás del Cosmos: Cold Drinks, Hot Dreams (1980 [2024], Blank Forms Editions): Reportedly the first free jazz group to come out of Mexico, but not much known about they: this reissue is their only album in Discogs (which doesn't have the original), nor is there much evidence of members Ana Ruíz (piano), Henry West (sax), Evry Mann (drums), or Claudio Enriquez (bass). Opens with heavy piano (think Cecil Taylor), adds in the sax, then evolves into their own milieu. A- [sp]

Charlie Mariano: Boppin' in Boston 1947-1953 (1947-53 [2024], Fresh Sound, 2CD): Alto saxophonist (1923-2009) from Boston, a remarkably fluid player, was very quick to jump on the bebop bandwagon -- much quicker than the bands he played in early, judging from the opening tracks here. Digital breaks this into two volumes, the first ending with a Jan. 27, 1953 session, the second from later that year, a bit more consistent. B+(**) [sp]

Gerry Mulligan: Night Lights (1962 [2024], Philip): Baritone saxophonist, in a laid back mood with Art Farmer (flugelhorn), Bob Brookmeyer (valve trombone), Jim Hall (guitar), bass, and drums. B+(*) [sp]

The Oscar Pettiford Memorial Concert (1960 [2024], SteepleChase): A concert organized in Copenhagen shortly after the bassist's death at 37, features a number of local acts -- Erik Mosenholm Trio, Max BrÜel Quartet, Bengt Hallberg Trio (plus Alice Babs), Jazz Quintet '60 (with Svend Asmussen on violin), Louis Hjulmand Quartet -- finishing with Stan Getz (backed by Hallberg's Trio). Nice evening. B+(*) [sp]

Old music:

Beholder: Claim No Native Land (2017, Sachimay): Trio of Dan DeChellis (piano), Philip Tomasic (guitar/loops/effects), and Zack Martin (drums/electronics), seems to be their first album, nothing in Discogs on any of the group albums, although DeChellis and Tomasic had a trio album with a different drummer in 1999, and Tomasic had a solo guitar album the same year. B+(*) [sp]

Beholder: The Cicada Sessions (2022, Sachimay): Again, no doc here, other than same trio lineup, more varied, ends a bit ambient. B+(**) [sp]

Beholder Quartet: Omni Present (2023, Sachimay, EP): The piano-guitar-drums trio expands a bit, adding Jeffrey Slater on electric bass. Just a proof-of-concept 15:52 single. B+(*) [sp]

اسم ISM [Pat Thomas/Joel Grip/Antonin Gerbal]: Nature in Its Inscrutability Strikes Back (2014 [2015], Café Oto): British piano-bass-drums trio, the full significance of its iconography way beyond me. Three pieces, 62:47. B+(***) [sp]

Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:

• Cannonball Adderley: Burnin' in Bordeaux: Live in France 1969 (Elemental Music) [04-26]
• Cannonball Adderley: Poppin' in Paris: Live at L'Olympia 1972 (Elemental Music) [04-26]
• Livia Almeida: The Brasilia Sessions (Zoho) [07-19]
• Orrin Evans and the Captain Black Big Band: Walk a Mile in My Shoe (Imani) * [08-12]
• Richard Guba: Songs for Stuffed Animals (self-released) [06-06]
• Joel Harrison & Alternative Guitar Summit: The Middle of Everywhere: Guitar Solos Vol. I (AGS) [07-24]
• Jason Kao Hwang: Soliloquies: Unaccompanied Pizzicato Violin Improvisations (True Sound) (09-15]
• Lux Quartet: Tomorrowland (Enja/Yellowbird) [08-09[
• Rose Mallett: Dreams Realized (Carrie-On Productions) [09-01]
• Shelly Manne & His Men: Jazz From the Pacific Northwest (1958-66, Reel to Real) [04-20]
• Brother Jack McDuff: Ain't No Sunshine: Live in Seattle (1972, Reel to Real) [05-17]
• Terence McManus: Music for Chamber Trio (Rowhouse Music) [09-24]
• Jason Stein: Anchors (Tao Forms) [09-13]

Ask a question, or send a comment.

Wednesday, July 24, 2024

Big breaking news this week was the end of Joe Biden's campaign for a second term as president. This became public on Sunday, July 20. I started collecting bits for this post back on Thursday, July 18, and in the intervening days I collected a fair number of pieces on the arguments for Biden to withdraw. I've kept those pieces below (and may even add to them), while splitting the section on Biden, and adding one on Kamala Harris, who as Vice-President and as Biden's running mate is the leading candidate for the Democratic nomination.

Biden won all of the primaries, so an overwhelming majority of DNC voters were selected and pledged to Biden (and implicitly to Harris). Biden has endorsed Harris. And most of the people who put pressure on Biden to withdraw did so realizing that Harris would be his most obvious replacement. Opposition to Biden was almost never rooted in rejection of his policies or legacy. (Critics of Biden's deaf, blind and dumb support for Netanyahu's genocide may beg to differ, but they had little if any clout within the party powers who turned on Biden. Nor do Israel's supporters have any real reason to fear that Harris will turn on them.)

I originally meant to start this post with a bit from a letter I wrote back on Thursday [07-18], which summed up my views on Biden's candidacy at the time:

For what little it's worth, here's my nutshell take on Biden:

1. If he can't get control of the wars in Ukraine and Gaza by early October, he's going to lose, no matter what else happens. For people who don't understand them, they're bad vibes, so why not blame the guy who was in position to do something about them. That may be unfair, but that's what uninformed voters do. And if you do understand them (which I think I do), Biden doesn't look so good either. He sees Ukraine as a test of resolve, and Israel as a test of loyalty, and those views are not just wrong, they kick in his most primitive instincts.

2. Otherwise, the election will go to whichever side is most effective at making the election into a referendum on the other side. That should be easy when the other side is Trump, but it gets real hard when most media cycles focus on your age and/or decrepitude. That story is locked in, and isn't going away. When your "good news" is "Biden reads from teleprompter and doesn't fumble," you've lost.

3. Even if Trump's negatives are so overwhelming that even Biden, incapacitated as he is, beats him (and surely it wouldn't be by enough to shut Trump up), do we really want four more years of this?

As of early Tuesday evening, I'm still preoccupied with trying to wrap up my jazz critics poll. I expect to mail that I will get that mailed in tonight, and hope that I may wrap this up as well, with the by-now-usual proviso that I may add more the next day, but certainly will have lots to return to next week.

As of late Wednesday evening, I figure I should call it a week. I still haven't gotten to everything, but I've deliberately skipped anything on the Netanyahu speech to Congress, and various other pieces of late-breaking news (including recent campaign rallies by Trump, which I overheard some of, and by Harris, which I gather was much more fun. If I do grab something more while working on Music Week, I'll flag it as usual. Otherwise, there's always next week.

One half-baked thought I will go ahead and throw out there is this: maybe this was the plan all along? I know it's hard to credit the Democratic Party insiders with devising much less executing such a clever plan. But if you wanted to get to where we are now, it's not that hard to imagine. If Biden hadn't run, Harris would have been his probable successor, but not without a bruising and potentially divisive primary fight. Biden's reelection campaign kept that from happening -- and to make extra sure, scotching the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary eliminated the two best opportunities potential opponents might gamble on. Biden wound up with an overwhelming majority of delegates locked in, and predisposed to Harris as his successor.

Biden's presumptive nomination also gave cover to Trump, who never had to face the age questions that dogged the slightly older Biden. Then Biden tanks the debate, which gives Trump a huge psychological boost, but drags out his withdrawal until after Trump's nomination becomes official. By the time he does announce, all the ducks are lined up for Harris, cemented by the record-breaking cash haul. No one will run against her, and all Democrats will unite behind her. It's not a very good example of democracy in action, but it's clean and final, and she enters the campaign against Trump with few wounds and very little baggage.

On the other hand, Trump, despite all the optimism he brought into the RNC just last week, has tons of debilitating baggage -- to which he's already added his "best people" VP pick, J.D. Vance. I've said all along that the winner will be the one who does the best job of making the election into an opportunity for the people to rid themselves of the other candidate. The odds of Trump being the one we most want to dispose of just went way up.

Make no mistake, there is something profoundly wrong with our democracy, and it goes way beyond gerrymanders and registration scheming. It mostly has to do with the obscene influence of money not just on who can run in elections and what they can campaign on, but also on what whoever manages to get elected can or cannot do with their post. This influence goes way back, and runs very deep, but it's pretty clear that it's gotten significantly worse over the last several decades, as income and wealth have become much more unequally distributed.

We are, of course, fortunate that not everyone with great sums of money wishes to harm most of us. It's mostly just Republicans who want to drive us to ruin, and who surely will if we allow them the power to do so. (The Supreme Court is one place where they already have that power, and it is already providing us with a steady stream of examples of how "power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.") Rich Democrats may be every bit as self-interested and egocentric as rich Republicans, but at least they can see that government needs to work reasonably well for everyone, and not just for the rich at everyone else's expense. They understand things that Republicans have turned against: that life is not a zero-sum game (so you don't have to inflict losses in order to gain); that security is only possible if people sense that justice prevails; and that no matter how much wealth and power you gain, you still depend on other people who need to be able to trust you.

Perhaps you can and should trust rich Democrats in times of severe crisis, such as in this election. Today's Republican Party, with or without Trump, is threat enough. But know that those same rich Democrats don't trust you to make decisions they can support, which is why they hijacked the 2020 primaries to stop Sanders with Biden, and why they've micromanaged the 2024 process to give your nomination to Harris. And actually, I'm strangely OK with that.

Top story threads:

Israel:

• Mondoweiss:

  • [07-18] Day 286: Netanyahu accused of obstructing prisoner talks while Israel and PA negotiate future of Rafah crossing: "UNRWA reports Israel has bombed eight schools in 10 days. The Red Cross warns of 'total collapse' of health care in Gaza."

  • [07-22] Day 290: Israel launches a new offensive on Khan Younis forcing thousands to again flee: "At least 40 Palestinians have been killed by air strikes on Khan Younis as Israel launched a surprise offensive on the city. Meanwhile, West Bank settlers renewed attacks on Palestinians following the ICJ ruling that the occupation is illegal."

• Seraj Assi: [07-21] Israeli soldiers flaunt war crimes on social media. Why aren't they held accountable? "In video after video, soldiers document their atrocities, marking a new era of impunity."

• Julia Conley: [07-22] UNICEF reports Israel is killing kids at shocking rates amid West Bank assault: "Since Israel began its bombardment nearly 10 months ago, 143 Palestinian children have been killed in the West Bank."

• Awdah Hathaleen: [07-22] In Umm al-Khair, the occupation is damning us to multigenerational trauma: "I saw the first bulldozers arrive in my village 17 years ago. Now, after the most brutal weeks in our history, my son will carry similarly painful memories."

• Shir Hver: [07-19] The end of Israel's economy: "As Israel's genocidal war against Gaza continues unabated, the Israeli economy is facing a catastrophe. The physical destruction in Israel from the war has been minimal, but one thing has been destroyed: its future."

• Edo Konrad: [07-20] Israeli settlers believe their moment has come. "Never have settlers had this kind of influence over Israeli politics, and Netanyahu is afraid of them bringing down the government, which gives them enormous influence and power to keep the war going."

• Ibtisam Mahdi: [07-18] Searching for Gaza's missing children: "Buried under rubble, lost in the chaos, decomposed beyond recognition: the desperate struggle to find thousands amid Israel's ongoing war."

• Maziar Motamedi: [07-21] Everything to know about Israeli and Houthi attacks amid war on Gaza: "The Yemeni group remains undeterred in its support for Palestine despite the massive Israeli attack on a key port."

  • Vivian Nereim/Shuaib Almosawa: [07-21] Israeli strike on Yemeni port will harm civilians, not Houthis, experts say: "Israel's counterattack on the Houthis, which set a vital Yemeni port ablaze, will do little to deter the militia, Yemeni and international experts said."

• Qassam Muaddi: [07-16] Israel's legalization of settlements in the northern West Bank, explained: "Israel is launching a political and military assault on the West Bank. Its legalization of settlements in the north is a crucial part of the story."

• Mouin Rabbani: [07-21] Polio and the destruction of Gaza's health infrastructure: "Polio had been eradicated in the Gaza Strip but was detected this past week. While it is unclear how it has suddenly reappeared it is beyond doubt how it's spreading: Israel's systematic destruction of Gaza's health infrastructure."

America's Israel (and Israel's America):

• Michael Arria:

  • [07-18] The Shift: The most surreal election of your lifetime.

  • [07-19] GOP takes aim at Palestine at Republican National Convention: "Donald Trump's closing speech to the Republican National Convention threatening Gaza ended a week of speeches featuring full-throated support for Israel, false allegations of campus antisemitism, and condemnations of pro-Palestine protests."

• Daniel Denvir: [07-20] Why is the US still backing Israeli genocide?: An interview with Waleed Shahid and Dylan Saba.

• Lev Grinberg: [07-16] Deceive, defy, and defer: Netanyahu's time-tested strategy to outmaneuver Biden: "For 15 years, the Israeli prime minister has proven his ability to scuttle political agreements -- while never losing the United States' backing."

• David Hearst: [07-22] Israelis should abandon Netanyahu's sinking ship. He's lost.

• Sophie Hurwitz: [7-16] The Gaza pier is a $320 million symbol of the Biden administration's "ineffectiveness": "On July 11, US officials announced that the pier would be shut down. It never delivered enough aid to make a difference."

• Mitchell Plitnick: [07-20] Netanyahu's speech to Congress will seek to maintain support for genocide: "Benjamin Netanyahu will use his upcoming speech to a joint session of Congress to consolidate political support for the genocide in Gaza from both Republicans and Democrats. The leadership of both parties appear happy to oblige."

• Philip Weiss: [07-21] Weekly Briefing: The exquisite choreography of hosting a war criminal at the White House: "Netanyahu ought to be persona non grata in Washington, for his war crimes and nullification of U.S. policy, but the Biden administration is welcoming him with open arms."

Israel vs. world opinion:

• Arash Azizi: The left's self-defeating Israel obsession: "Taking an extreme position, then demanding total orthodoxy, does no favors for democratic socialism in America." I'm out of "free articles" at The Atlantic, so I can only imagine what this person is complaining about and/or purports to believe in and/or thinks the alternatives are.

• Ghousoon Bisharat: [07-23] 'Israel always sold the occupation as legal. The ICJ now terrifies them': "Palestinian lawyer Diana Buttu unpacks the ICJ opinion on Israel's military regime, and the lessons of turning international law into action."

• Mark Braverman: [07-21] Palestinian Christians challenge the World Council of Churches on Gaza: "Palestinian Christians are criticizing a World Council of Churches statement for ignoring the context of the October 7 attacks and refusing to call out the unfolding Gaza genocide."

• Jonathan Cook:

  • [07-19] Israeli soldiers tell story of savage cruelty in Gaza -- one given blessing by the West.

  • [07-23] The World Court has just cleared the fog hiding western support for Israel's crimes.

• Emilio Dabed: [07-16] By failing to stop the Gaza genocide, the ICJ is working exactly as intended: "The international legal order was built to administer colonial violence, not to end wars -- and that poses serious questions for the Palestinian struggle."

• Richard Falk: [07-24] Why the world must stand behind ICJ decision on Israeli occupation: "While this was only an 'advisory opinion,' it carries significant weight through the level of judicial consensus on such a politically polarising topic."

• Masha Gessen: [07-20] What we know about the weaponization of sexual violence on October 7th: "Rape is a shocking and sadly predictable feature of war. But the nature of the crime makes it difficult to document and, consequently, to prosecute."

• Hanno Hauenstein: Gideon Lelvy: Getting rid of Netanyahu is not enough: An interview with "one of the most articulate critics of Israeli war and apartheid." Asked whether there was any discussion in Israel about a recent massacre in Gaza:

  I can guarantee you, if it wouldn't have been two hundred killed in Nuseirat but two thousand, it would still be justified by most of Israel. To them, Israel has the right to do whatever it wants after October 7. And it's not up to the world to put up limits for us. That's the mindset. Obviously, there are those who see things differently, but they are a minority and quite scared to raise their voices. Most Israelis would justify any aggression against Palestinians right now, on any scale.

• Jake Johnson: [07-15] World 'cannot remain silent in the face of this endless massacre,' says Lula: "The Israeli government continues to sabotage the peace process and the cease-fire in the Middle East," said the Brazilian president after a deadly weekend of bombings."

• David Kattenburg: [07-19] In a historic ruling, ICJ declares Israeli occupation unlawful, calls for settlements to be evacuated, and for Palestinian reparations: "The International Court of Justice declared Israel's occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem is unlawful, the settlements must be evacuated, and Palestinians must be compensated and allowed to return to their lands."

• Yoav Litvin: [07-19] Israel: where genocide meets real estate.

• Harold Meyerson: [07-22] A modest suggestion for an American Jewish response to Bibi: excommunicate him. "At the Republicans' behest, Netanyahu will speak to Congress on Wednesday. What better time to figuratively cast him out?"

• Ralph Nader: [07-15] The Gaza genocide deepens: the reckoning begins for the perpetrators.

• Dan Owen: [07-24] How Israel plans to whitewash its war crimes in Gaza: "The Israeli army uses the veneer of internal accountability to fend off external criticism. But its record reveals how few perpetrators are punished."

• Richard E Rubenstein: [07-19] Zionism: the end of an illusion.

• Raja Shehadeh: [07-23] The world's highest court has confirmed what we Palestinians always knew: Israel's settlements are illegal.

Election notes:

• Jeffrey St Clair: [07-19] Politics on the verge of nervous breakdown. This starts with the most detailed and credible account of the Trump rally shooting I've bothered to read, ranges wide enough to include a picture of Mussolini with a nose bandage after a 1926 assassination attempt, then moves on to Biden (pre-withdrawal), compares his tenure to that of Stalin and Brezhnev, doubles back to J.D. Vance, and winds up with a potpourri of scattered points, like:

  • As if to emphasize their indifference to the victims of the shooting, they're having an AR-15 giveaway at the GOP convention . . .

  • Days after a 20-year-old tried to nail Trump with an AR-15, a federal appeals court ruled that Minnesota's law requiring people to be at least 21 to carry a handgun in public is unconstitutional.

  • While the Democrats -- for some reason comprehensible only to Democrats -- have "paused" fundraising after the failed assassination attempt, a Trump-owned company is selling sneakers for $299 a pair with an image of his bloodied face after the rally shooting . . .

Republican National Convention:

Focus on the Convention here. Articles that focus on Trump and Vance, even at the convention, follow in their own sections.

• Intelligencer Staff:

  • [07-15] RNC day 1: A VP, Trump's big bandage, and a lot of Biden bashing.

  • [07-19] Trump's record-length speech, Hulk Hogan's tearaway, and there's Melania: RNC recap.

  • [07-19] The triumphalist Republican convention in photos.

• Jonathan Alter: [07-19] Good news for Democrats: Trump's bad speech wrecked the Republican convention.

• Zack Beauchamp: [07-15] How the Republican convention and Project 2025 work together.

• Ben Burgis: [07-19] So much for a newly reborn Republican Party.

• David Freedlander:

  • [07-15] Trump and the Republicans have found their ideal reality.

  • [07-17] Republicans try to explain why they were wrong about Trump.

  • [07-18] Republicans have bed-wetters, too: At the RNC, some Trump-campaign officials and allies think their good luck will run out."

• Mel Gurtov: [07-22] Gathering of the clan: The Trump criminal enterprise at the RNC.

• Antonia Hitchens:

  • [07-16] Trump, unity, and MAGA miracles at the R.N.C. "The former President's campaign has always been inflected with a bit of martyrdom. When he walked onto the convention floor on Monday night, his right ear bandaged, it was the most profound and unexpected culmination of all the messianic talk."

  • [07-19] The spectacle of Donald Trump's R.N.C.: "An inside look at the Republican Party's weeklong celebration of the former President."

• Ben Jacobs: [07-17] It was losers night at the RNC: "One by one, Trump's former rivals kissed the ring." Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis, etc.

• Fred Kaplan:

  • [07-18] One of the most disturbing moments at the RNC so far.

  • [07-19] Trump's view of the world is a delusional fantasy.

• Branko Marcetic:

  • [07-16] Donald Trump's near death has reenergized his movement.

  • [07-17] Republicans' message of unity didn't last long.

  • [07-19] The GOP presented a racially diverse party at the RNC.

• Amanda Marcotte: [07-17] MAGA energy takes over the RNC: Republicans are riled up over Donald Trump's shooting: "Republicans at the convention aren't upset over Donald Trump's shooting -- they're giddy."

• Harold Meyerson: American Prospect writer attending the RNC:

  • [07-15] This week's Republican challenge: "How can their convention, and nominee, call for both calming de-escalation and furious retribution?"

  • [07-16] Republican make-believe: playing nice and loving workers: "That was the implausible message of their convention's opening night." Republican elites are so used to the gullibility of their base, they assume they can just say anything, and no one will bat an eye.

  • [07-17] The RNC, night two: the party as cult.

  • [07-18] Would J.D. Vance join a UAW picket line outside a Tesla factory? Quotes Vance: "We're done catering to Wall Street. We'll commit to the working man!" Laughs.

  • [07-19] A party of precarious manhood, led by a blithering idiot: "Trump's acceptance speech was a mishmash of self-love, protestations of toughness, and prefabricated lies." Opening line: "The problem with Joe Biden, sometimes, is that you can't hear him. The problem with Donald Trump is that you can." Trump's speech reminded Meyerson of an article he wrote back in June:

  • [06-10] How the Republicans became the party of precarious manhood: "On Donald Trump's genius at exploiting working-class male displacement and anxiety."

• Rick Perlstein: [07-24] Seeds of a conservative crack-up: "My conversation with them [a group of progressive anti-abortion activists protesting the RNC with signs like 'GOP murders babies'] was the only interesting thing I absorbed at the Republican convention last week."

• Chris Walker: [07-16] Hundreds march against GOP in Milwaukee during first day of RNC.

• Benjamin Wallace-Wells: [07-18] The rise of the new right at the Republican National Convention: "In Milwaukee, Donald Trump's choice of J.D. Vance as Vice-President was seen as a breakthrough for the young conservative movement, which blames elite institutions for the destruction of the American working class." Not that they care one whit about the working class, but they claim whatever they can, knowing that it gets under the skin of Democrats, who at least feel guilty for their own betrayals.

Trump:

• New York Times Opinion: Donald Trump's first term is a warning. This looks like they finally went back and reviewed their own reporting, and belatedly realized, oh my God, how could we just let all this happen?

  This week, Republicans have tried to rewrite the four years of Trump's presidency as a time of unparalleled peace, prosperity and tranquility: "the strongest economy in history," as Senator Katie Britt of Alabama put it. The difference between Trump and Biden? "President Trump honored the Constitution," said Gov. Kristi Noem of South Dakota. Gov. Glenn Youngkin of Virginia offered Mr. Trump's first term as an example of "common-sense conservative leadership."

  The record of what Mr. Trump actually did in office bears little resemblance to that description. Under his leadership, the country lurched from one crisis to the next, from the migrant families separated at the border to the sudden spike in prices caused by his trade war with China to the reckless mismanagement of the Covid pandemic. And he showed, over and over, how little respect he has for the Constitution and those who take an oath to defend it.

  For Americans who may have forgotten that time, or pushed it from memory, we offer this timeline of his presidency. Mr. Trump's first term was a warning about what he will do with the power of his office -- unless American voters reject him.

  The timeline is mostly told through pictures, which are often shocking, and tweets, which are mostly stupid. One thing I was especially struck by was the prominence given to Trump's catering to the whims and desires of the right-wing in Israel, while still neglecting to point out their direct bearing on increasing hostilities and the ongoing genocide. Also seems to me like there's too much focus on Trump's national security lapses, which caters to the worst instincts of the so-called Security Democrats, when the real problem with Trump is not lack of vigilance but a general disinterest and even contempt for peace and real democracy.

  I expect this timeline will be recut into campaign commercials, fast and furious, driving home the point that Trump is nothing but trouble.

• Anna Betts: [07-25] FBI director questions whether Trump was hit by bullet or shrapnel in shooting.

• Jonathan Blitzer: [07-15] Inside the Trump plan for 2025: "A network of well-funded far-right activists is preparing for the former President's return to the White House."

• Jonathan Chait:

  • [07-17] Trump invites China to invade Taiwan if he returns to office. Given all the credible charges you could lay at Trump, why bother with this bullshit? Trump has this dangerously stupid idea that if he can scare Taiwan, they'll pony up for more US arms and bribes for security. China's just the bogeyman in this scam. Chait has his own dangerously stupid idea here, which is that American deterrence is the only thing keeping China out of Taiwan. I'm not saying that Taiwan has nothing to worry about, but they do have more control over their own predicament than the ridiculous whims of presidents and pundits.

  • [07-19] Donald Trump cannot even pretend to change who he is.

• John Ganz: [06-05] The shadow of the mob: "Trump's gangster Gemeinschaft."

• Jay Caspian Kang: [07-19] Are we already moving on from the assassination attempt on Trump? "When an act of violence doesn't lend itself to a clear argument or a tidy story, we often choose not to think about it."

• Ed Kilgore: [07-19] The old, ranting, rambling Trump was back at the Republican convention.

• Eric Levitz: [07-19] The RNC clarified Trump's 2024 persona: Moderate authoritarian weirdo: "The Trump campaign is at once a savvy, disciplined operation and an illiberal narcissist's personality cult." Weirdo, sure, but considered in light of the whole package, weirdo loses all of its affectionate and amusing traits. "Moderate" is the word that hurts here, like a toenail cut into the quick. On some political policy scales, Trump may rate as more moderate than many other prominent Republicans (off the top of my head: Abbott, DeSantis, Cruz, Rubio, Cotton, Hawley, Vance, Gosar, Gaetz, Mike Lee, Nikki Haley, Liz Cheney), but every bit of his persona screams extremism -- he sees himself as a real fighter, as one real bad dude, and that's how he wants you to see him. That's the act he puts on, and that's what most of his fans are lapping up. Once you see that, the weirdo stuff falls into place, and should be viewed much more harshly: he's showing you that he doesn't care what others think, that he can be as weird as he wants, and there's nothing they can do about it.

• Chris Lewis: [07-15] The dangerous authoritarian gunning to serve as Trump's grand vizier: "Russell Vought is rumored to be under consideration for chief of staff in a second Trump administration. This would be a disaster."

• Nicole Narea: [07-17] Why tech titans are turning toward Trump: "Silicon Valley isn't right-wing, but its Trump supporters are getting louder."

• Tom Nichols: A searing reminder that Trump is unwell: "His bizarre diatribe at the RNC shows why the pro-democracy coalition is so worried about beating him."

• Matt Stieb:

  • [07-16] How security went so wrong at Trump's rally: Interview with former agent and criminal justice processor Robert McDonald.

  • [07-22] Joe Biden's departure sends Trump into a conspiracy-theory meltdown.

  • [07-23] It looks like Trump may actually suck at golf.

• Robert Tait: [07-25] Trump monetizes assassination attempt by using photo as book cover.

• Maureen Tkacik: [07-18] The assassin amid the undesirables: "On the abiding despair of the failed Trump assassin's post-COVID, private equity-looted nursing home."

• Li Zhou: [07-16] The Trump shooting points to shocking Secret Service security lapses.

Vance:

Trump picked Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance as his running mate and potential vice-president, confirmed by the RNC, so he's very much in the news, and for this week at least, elicited quite a bit of response: much more than I suspect any of his competition would have generated.

• Alex Abad-Santos: [07-19] The damsel-ification of Usha Vance: "What people project onto the would-be second lady fits a pattern of benevolent sexism about GOP wives."

• Michael Arria: [07-16] The Shift: J.D. Vance's anti-Palestine record: "J.D. Vance is a strong supporter of Israel, and, like many U.S. Zionists, he attributes the allegiance to his Christianity."

• Aaron Blake: [07-24] Could Republicans get buyer's remorse with J.D. Vance? "New polls show him to be unusually unpopular for a new VP pick. Here's how that compares historically, and what it could mean."

• Ben Burgis: [07-16] On stochastic terrorism and speech as violence: Responding to Vance's tweet blaming Biden for the attempted shooting of Trump:

  In effect, conservatives like Vance are appropriating the idea, long put forward by some liberals, that overheated political rhetoric is itself a form of violence. The theory of "stochastic terrorism" holds that over-the-top rhetoric about a targeted individual or group has the effect of encouraging "lone-wolf" political violence -- that is to say, political violence carried out by individuals on their own initiative rather than terrorist organizations -- and that this makes the purveyors of the rhetoric responsible for the violence.

  Actually, the right is far more likely to employ verbal threats and agitation toward violence than the left is, largely because they're much more into violence as a tool of political power. It's hard not to believe that the atmosphere of malice they create has no relationship to occasional violent outbursts, but causality or even responsibility is hard to pin down. Burgis concludes, "let's not go down that road." But Vance is so imbued with the culture of violence that his own charge can just as easily be taken as encouragement for his "2nd amendment people" to take a shot at Biden. When Democrats criticize Trump, their obvious even if just implcit remedy is the ballot. But when Trump rails against "vermin," just what is he imploring his followers to do? And given that a couple of his follows have actually committed acts of criminal violence against his designated enemies, shouldn't we be alarmed at such speech?

• Kevin T Dugan: [07-18] Why J.D. Vance wants a weak dollar. Is that a good idea? I'm not so sure it isn't. I've been bothered by trade deficits since the 1970s, when they mostly started to cover up the drop in domestic oil production. Since then, they've mostly worked to increase inequality both here and abroad.

• Gil Duran: Where J.D. Vance gets his weird, terrifying techo-authoritarian ideas: "Yes, Peter Thiel was the senator's benefactor. But they're both inspired by an obscure software developer who has some truly frightening thoughts about reordering society."

• Thom Hartmann:

  • J.D. Vance is a grifter -- just like his new boss.

  • J.D. Vance wants Kamala Harris to be "grateful" for white male power: "Trump's running mate has an ugly history of attacking the vice president, and he added a new chapter on Monday."

• John Ganz: [07-16] The meaning of JD Vance: "The politics of national despair incarnate."

  Vance himself, of course, is a winner in the cultural sweepstakes: his Hillbilly Elegy became a massive success, explaining the failures of the white poor. He made it okay to look down on them. After all, one of them said it was okay. Conservatives who reviled Trump's base turned to Vance as well as liberals who condescendingly wanted to "understand" them. It was really the same old conservative nonsense about "cultural pathology" applied to whites now instead of blacks -- a way to blame the poor for being poor, to "racialize" the white poor as the blacks had been; to find in them intrinsic moral weaknesses rather than just a lack of money and resources.

  But Vance always wanted to run with hares and hunt with the hounds. He wants to hold fast to the his wounded Scots-Irish machismo while simultaneously rising to heights of both American capitalism and cultural success. He took his background to be both an advantage and a handicap, a counter-snobbery that served him well as he entered the halls of power and wealth. Look back at the famous American Conservative interview that turned him into a sensation: ". . . the deeper I get into elite culture, the more I see value in this reverse snobbery. It's the great privilege of my life that I'm deep enough into the American elite that I can indulge a little anti-elitism. Like I said, it keeps you grounded, if nothing else! But it would have been incredibly destructive to indulge too much of it when I was 18." . . . Reverse snobbery, like all snobbery, comes from comparison, of a feeling of not living up, of wanting to best others. As Peter Thiel acolyte, he's familiar with René Girard's theories of envy and knows how that emotion gives rise to hate. Vance once said that Trump might be "America's Hitler" to a law school buddy. This is what that friend says now: "The through line between former J.D. and current J.D. is anger . . . The Trump turn can be understood as a lock-in on contempt as the answer to anger . . ." To people like that, Hitler, so to speak, has a point.

• Jacob Heilbrunn: [07-17] With Vance selection, Trump doubles down on America first. One can readily fault Vance for lots of things, but calling him an "isolationist" -- "the heir to Charles Lindbergh, Pat Buchanan, and other GOP isolationists" -- is pretty flimsy.

• Sarah Jones: [07-16] The billionaire and the bootlicker.

• Ed Kilgore: [07-18] Who is J.D. Vance? His muddled RNC speech didn't tell us.

• Paul Krugman: [07-18] J.D. Vance puts the con in conservatism. Well, it's always been there, but he takes it to especially extravagant lengths.

• Eric Levitz: [07-17] J.D. Vance's GOP is for bosses, not workers: "Trump's 'populist' running mate won't change his party's class allegiances."

• Nicholas Liu: [07-18] JD Vance wants to abandon Ukraine but bomb Mexico and Iran.

• Ryan Mac/Theodore Schleifer: [07-17] How a network of tech billionaires helped J.D. Vance leap into power: "Mr. Vance spent less than five years in Silicon Valley's tech industry, but the connections he made with Peter Thiel and others became crucial to his political ascent."

• Arwa Mahdawi: [07-20] Sorry, JD Vance, but being a 'childless cat lady' is actually not a bad thing.

• Andrew Prokop: [07-17] J.D. Vance's radical plan to build a government of Trump loyalists: "Fire every single midlevel bureaucrat, every civil servant in the administrative state, replace them with our people." Obviously, this isn't original with Vance. Republicans have been dreaming of this for years, and Trump did a fair amount of it during his first term -- especially in purging employees who think there might be something to fossil fuel-based climate change. It was part of Rick Scott's Senate plan, and is part of Project 2025.

• Max Read: [2020-07-21] Peter Thiel's latest venture is the American government: This old article popped up, but should by now have spawned many updates. My view all along was that Trump was putting the VP slot up for bids -- in effect, he was shopping for the best dowry. Burgum made the short list because he has his own money. The rehabilitation of "Little Marco" also suggested that he brought some serious money into play -- every serious Republican candidate in 2016 had some kind of billionaire in the wings. (In 2012, Newt Gingrich griped that he couldn't compete, because he only had one billionaire, whereas Romney had four.) I don't know who was backing Rubio, but J.D. Vance was always a front for this guy, Peter Thiel.

• Veronica Riccobene/Helen Santoro/Joel Warner: [07-16] J.D. Vance wants to crack down harder on abortion access.

• Becca Rothfeld: [07-23] Hillbilly Elegy and J.D. Vance's art of having it both ways.

• Martin Scotten: [07-22] JD Vance owes almost everything to Peter Thiel, a pro-Trump billionaire and "New Right" ideologue.

• Ishaan Tharoor:

  • [07-17] J.D. Vance's vocal admiration for Orban's Hungary tells its own story.

  • [07-19] The Trump-Vance ticket aligns the GOP with Europe's far right.

• Benjamin Wallace-Wells: [07-15] Why Donald Trump picked J.D. Vance for Vice-President: "The Ohio senator is an attack dog for the former President, but he is also something more emergent and interesting: he is the fuse that Trump lit."

• Robert Wright: [07-19] J.D. Vance, the tech oligarch's populist.

• Simon van Zuylen-Wood: [07-24] Democrats might want to take J.D. Vance seriously: But isn't it so much more fun to take him as a joke? Does he really deserve anything else?

And other Republicans:

• Dean Baker: [07-17] Decision 2024: Would people be willing to pay higher taxes to make Elon Musk richer?

  That is a question that should occur to people who read through the Republican Party's platform. Not only does the platform promise to extend the 2017 tax cuts, which will potentially put tens of billions of dollars in Elon Musk's pocket over the next decade, it also promises to "modernize the military."

  "Republicans will ensure our Military is the most modern, lethal and powerful Force in the World. We will invest in cutting-edge research and advanced technologies, including an Iron Dome Missile Defense Shield, support our Troops with higher pay, and get woke Leftwing Democrats fired as soon as possible."

  This looks to be hundreds of billions or even trillions of dollars in additional spending over the next decade. Elon Musk, among others, is likely to be well-situated to get some of the contracts that will be involved in modernizing the military. . . .

  As far as how much Musk and other military contractors are likely to get out of an increase in spending, it is worth noting that excessive payments and outright fraud are already big problems with military contracting. However, the problem is likely to get considerably worse in a second Trump administration.

  There are a number of potential checks on fraud and abuse in place at present. These include the Defense Department's Inspector General, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), and the Justice Department, which can investigate allegations of fraud.

  Donald Trump has said that he wants to remove these sorts of checks on his presidential power. They would all fit into his category of the "deep state." These people are likely the "woke Leftwing Democrats" who the platform promises to fire as soon as possible.

• Zack Beauchamp: [07-19] It's Trump's party now. Mostly. "How the Trumpified GOP resembles Frankenstein's monster."

• Tim Dickinson: [06-09] Meet Trump's new Christian kingpin: "Oil-rich Tim Dunn has changed Texas politics with fanatical zeal -- the national stage is next."

• Abdallah Fayyad: [07-16] The crime wave is over but Republicans can't let go: "The GOP is still pretending that crime is spiraling out of control."

• David Frum: This crew is totally beatable: "Democrats just need to believe they can do it."

• Sarah Jones: [07-18] The GOP is still the party of the boss.

• Christian Paz: [07-16] The clever politics of Republicans' anti-immigrant pitch: "The Republican National Convention featured plenty of angry rhetoric about immigration. It might find a receptive audience."

• Nikki McCann Ramirez/Ryan Bort: [07-10] A guide to Project 2025, the right's terrifying plan to remake America.

Biden:

He announced he was withdrawing as the Democratic candidate for president in 2024 on Sunday, July 21, so the following links can be easily divided into before and after sections. More recent links first:

• Perry Bacon Jr: [07-23] The give groups of Democrats that ended Biden's candidacy: "How the party decided."

  1. Opponents of Biden's Israel-Gaza policies: They may not have had any power over the decision, but they were the first to smell smoke, and to demonstrate Biden's weakness.
  2. Six middle-aged white guys: Biden-friendly pundits who sensed that Biden could lose. I can think of many more than six, but Bacon cites Ezra Klein, Nate Silver, Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, Dan Pfeiffer, and Tommy Vietor (the "Pod Save America" guys).
  3. Donors: No names provided here, which is the way they like it.
  4. A weird coalition on Capitol Hill: The first to stick their necks out were Lloyd Doggett and Peter Welch, their numbers eventually swelling to an almost random 38 Democrats (out of 263).
  5. The big four: Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, Hakeem Jeffries, and Barack Obama.

  Bacon also wrote on Harris:

  • [07-22] Harris has not been a great politician. But hopefully she's good enough. "Busting the myths against replacing Biden with his vice president as the Democratic nominee."

• Ed Kilgore: [07-24] No, the Biden-Harris switch is not a 'coup'.

• Natasha Lennard: Biden is no hero for stepping aside: Unfortunate when people say he is, but rubbing dirt into his wounds won't help much either. Sometimes you have to humor people in power to get them to do the right things, especially when the right thing is giving up some of their power. History can always be rewritten later.

• Nicole Narea: [07-24] So what does Joe Biden do now? "In an Oval Office speech, Biden said his farewells. But his job isn't done yet."

• Heather Digby Parton: [07-22] Joe Biden's brilliant exit: Democrats get a boost, Republicans left bewildered.

• Sean Rameswaram/Bryan Walsh: [07-23] "What was not a race yesterday is a race today": David Axelrod on Biden dropping out: "What a fresh face might mean for the November election." An interview.

I had already collected a bunch of links before the withdrawal. While this should be a moot issue going forward, we shouldn't forget too readily what happened and why.

• Intelligencer: [07-19] Pressure builds as more Democrats call on Biden to step aside: "Here are the latest developments on the efforts to get Joe to go." Following some earlier reports scattered about this section, he's getting the "live updates" treatment.

• Russell Berman: 'I think it's happening': "The lone senator who has called on Biden to withdraw is growing confident that the president will leave the race."

• Jonathan Chait: [07-18] The presidential nomination is becoming worthless for Joe Biden: "A devastating polling nugget shows what happens if he stays in."

• David A Graham: [07-18] The end of Biden's candidacy approaches: "At the start of the day yesterday, it was conceivable that Joe Biden might manage to hold on to the Democratic nomination for president. But this morning, things seem to be slipping out of his grasp." He cites a number of reports of people who are close enough to Biden to have leverage but who still don't want to be seen with blood on their hands. There's also the all-important fear of "money drying up." The big selling point is fear of a Trump presidency, but if you're rich enough to splurge on politics, you don't have that much to fear. It's more a matter of hedging your bets.

• Elie Honig: [07-19] The secret Biden tape that we shouldn't hear. That's special counsel Robert Hur's interview of Biden in conjunction with the "top secret" documents Biden found in his garage. At the time it was first disclosed, it was reported that the tape made Biden out like a doddering fool, so naturally Republicans in Congress set out to subpoena it.

• Dhruv Khullar: [07-18] Doctors are increasingly worried about Biden: "Nine physicians weighed in on the President's health. Almost all were concerned that Biden's symptoms might go beyond a gradual, aging-related decline."

• Eric Levitz: [07-18] Democrats are finally taking on Biden -- and giving the party a chance to win: "Pelosi, Schumer, and Obama have all signaled to Joe that it's time to go."

• Nicole Narea: [07-18] Biden is betting on impossible promises to progressives: "Biden is trying to reinvigorate his candidacy by pushing progressive priorities." That might work better if the left had any real power in the Democratic Party, if Biden had the power to deliver, and if the promise didn't panic the corporate faction into dumping him.

• Nia Prater: [07-18] The push to replace Biden is rapidly gaining momentum.

Harris:

• Intelligencer Staff: [07-22] Kamala Harris is now the presumptive nominee: live updates: She cleared 2,579 delegates less than 36 hours after Biden dropped out and endorsed her.

• Mariana Alfaro/Marianna Sotomayor: [07-24] House GOP leaders ask member to stop making racial attacks against Harris. Probably more where this came from:

  • Nia Prater: [07-24] GOP lawmakers can't help making racist remarks about Harris.

• Michael Arria: [07-22] Looking at Kamala Harris's record on Israel: "If elected president, many believe that Kamala Harris will continue Joe Biden's doomed policy in Gaza."

• Karen Attiah: [07-24] The first clean-up job for Harris is Biden's horrible Gaza policy. I sympathize with the sentiment, but I don't see the political angle. The Biden administration needs to quietly shut the Gaza war down, with a stable ceasefire, with no Israeli troop presence in Gaza, and with some kind of international salvage/reconstruction effort, probably under the UN with some contingent of Arab volunteers. Harris should (and hopefully can) work behind the scenes to firm up the administration's resolve to do this, but also shouldn't be seen as getting her hands too dirty in the effort. She needs this, because if the war/genocide is still continuing in October, that's going to reflect very badly on Biden, and therefore (but probably somewhat less) on her. So yes, this is important. But advice like this -- Indigo Olivier: Kamala, denounce Netanyahu. Do it now. -- is neither likely to work on Israel, nor is it likely to gain her any voters.

• Ryan Cooper: [07-23] What would President Harris do with Gaza?: "There are tentative signs that she would not indulge Israel's war as President Biden has done." This is pretty speculative. No one expects Harris to break with Israel, or even to rethink the fundamentals of the alliance, but it's possible to love Israel and still exercise some restraint to steer Israelis away from embarrassing themselves, as they have done ever since their defense against Hamas attacks turned into a campaign of genocide. Indeed, many Israelis -- not Netanyahu and his allies, who will take every atrocity they can get away with, but many of his wholeheartedly Zionist opponents -- expect the US to act as a brake on their own worst impulses. It is worth noting that when the Biden administration briefly held up supply of 2000 lb. bombs, Harris was disciplined enough to keep her messaging in line with the policy, while Biden waffled and gave up any pretense.

• David Dayen: [07-23] Who is Kamala Harris? "The vice president has been a cautious political operator. Her vision for the future points in several directions."

• Benjamin Hart: [07-24] Kamala Harris's biographer says she's always been underestimated. Interview with Dan Morain, author of Kamala's Way: An American Life.

• Susan Milligan: [07-24] Sexism and racism only make Kamala Harris stronger.

• Christian Paz: [07-18] Kamala Harris and the border: The myth and the facts.

• Greg Sargent: [07-23] Fox News's awful new Kamala Harris smears hit nuclear levels of idiocy: "As right-wing media scramble for an effective attack on the vice president, a reporter who has closely examined Harris's career explains why her political identity is so hard to pin down."

• Michael Scherer/Gerrit De Vynck/Maeve Reston: [07-23] Historic flood of cash pours into Harris campaign and allied groups: "Democrats reported raising more than $250 million since Biden announced he was leaving the presidential race and endorsed Harris."

• Marc A Thiessen: [07-24] Harris is a gaffe-prone leftist. Why didn't anyone challenge her? "That would-be rivals are waiting for 2028 suggests they know our democracy will survive Trump." When I saw this title, I had to click on it, just to see who could be that dumb (although in retrospect I should have guessed). If you do bother to read this, you'll get a prevue of all the angles Republicans will use against Harris. If I knew nothing else, I'd take them as reason aplenty to vote for her. Still, I have to wonder whether the rest of the Republicans will even rise to Thiessen's level of sophistry. Consider this recent run of advice-giving columns:

  • [07-08] How Trump can make NATO great again.

  • [07-11] Trump needs swing voters. Here's how he can win them at the RNC.

  • [07-17] Now is Trump's chance to unite the country. Here's what he should say.

• Rebecca Traister: [07-24] The thrill of taking a huge risk on Kamala Harris: "The actual case for being unburdened by what has been." I think the author is really onto something here:

  None of us knows if we can do this. And we are about to do it anyway. And the combination of those truths helped me, in those vertiginous few minutes, to not feel panic but excitement. I felt excited about the future for the first time in years.

  More than that: I felt excited not in spite of my uncertainty, but because of it. I felt that our national political narrative was finally accurately mirroring our national reality: Everything is scary, we have never been here before, we don't know if we can do this, and precisely because these stakes are so high, we are at last going to act like it, by taking unprecedented, untested, underpolled, creative measures to change, grow, and fight at a pitch that meets the gravity of the urgent, existentially important task in front of us. No more clinging to the walls of the past for safety, no more adhering to models or traditions or assumptions that the autocratic opposition has shown itself willing to explode over the past two decades in its own efforts to win.

  Our aversion to uncertainty is part of how we got to this precipice. Too unwilling to take risks -- on people, ideas, and platforms, on the next generation of leadership -- Democrats have remained chained to the past.

  In some ways, Harris is the safe choice right now, but after Biden and Clinton, she doesn't feel like such a stale, stodgy compromise. She feels like a candidate who can fight back, who won't spend the next four months backpedaling and disclaiming. And why can't she win? Who really believes racist, sexist, red-baiting Republicans theses days? Just cowards who take their clues from the fear and shame of those being maligned? Traister addresses this here:

  There are certainly terrible things in store: the racism and sexism Harris will face, the monstrous and vengeful resistance to her rise, in which she will be accused of incompetence and radicalism and being an affirmative-action token and a barren cat lady and a welfare queen who has slept her way to the top, all according to the right's overfamiliar playbooks for how to discredit people they would rather not participate fully in this democracy and helped by a media happy to engage in double standards. We know there will be bad polls and gaffes. And those who feel scared about what is on the line, including possibly me, will be tempted to say, "I told you this would happen!" because in our moments of direst discomfort we take slim consolation in certainty, even when the certainty is about how awful we knew everything was going to be.

  But if we permitted that dismal comfort to guide us, we would not have any space to be shocked and inspired by how good some things can be: the giddy memes emerging from an improbably enthused online left, the cheerily halved "BIDEN/HARRIS" yard signs now reading simply "HARRIS." The $81 million in donations raised in 24 hours. The 58,000 volunteers who stepped up in less than two days to work phones and knock doors. The Sunday-night zoom call hosted by Win With Black Women and Jotaka Eaddy, which was scheduled to accommodate 1,000 women, that eventually had to make room for 44,000 participants, all within hours of Harris becoming the unofficial candidate. The next night, a call organized by Win With Black Men drew 53,000 registrants, well above its capacity, of whom 21,000 were ultimately able to attend.

And other Democrats:

Included here are pieces about the upcoming procedure for replacing Biden as presidential nominee, any candidates beyond Harris, and the upcoming convention.

• Isaac Chotiner: [07-17] The paralysis of the Democratic Party: "Its leaders have clear moral and political incentives. Why have they not come out against Joe Biden?"

• Rachel M Cohen: [07-16] Why is the DNC accelerating Joe Biden's nomination? "An upcoming virtual roll call is deepening Democrats' fight over Biden's spot on the ticket."

• Ed Kilgore: [07-24] Is Kamala Harris the nominee? How the DNC will work.

• Nikki McGann Ramirez: [07-23] Sen. Bob Menendez to resign following guilty verdict.

• Norman Solomon: [07-23] Putting the Biden crisis in perspective: "The Democratic Party's culture of loyalty: How an ethos of compliance made the Biden debacle possible."

Climate and environment:

• Umair Irfan: [07-17] The lessons Houston didn't learn from Hurricane Harvey.

Economic matters:

• Rick Baum: [07-19] The astonishing success of the wealthy at accumulating more wealth.

• Kevin T Dugan: [07-24] Tesla is down $90 billion on Elon Musk's delayed Robotaxi.

John Quiggin:

• [07-23] The era of privatisation is nearly over. But cleaning up the mess left behind will take years: "From the 1980s until recently, politicians saw privatisation as a way to get a big bucket of money to spend on popular projects."

• [07-10] Why neither growth nor degrowth make sense as long-term objectives for Australia's economy: "What we need to reduce is the 'throughput' of the residual industrial economy."

• Richard Wilkinson/Kate Pickett: [07-23] Our landmark book revealed the cost of inequality. Fifteen years later, things have only got worse.

Ukraine War and Russia:

• Blaise Malley: [07-19] Diplomacy Watch: Europe turns attention to GOP ticket: "Moscow, Kyiv, also react to eventuality of Trump returning to White House." This was written post-Vance, pre-Harris, so maybe the panic has subsided a bit. What hasn't changed is the war's stalemate, or more accurately, spiraling self-destruction.

America's empire and the world:

• Wesley K Clark: [06-23] America is already great again: "Don't let doomsayers like Donald Trump fool you. On every meaningful metric of national strength, the United States under Joe Biden is a rising power -- and we have the economic means and necessary alliances to meet our gravest challenges." He's fighting bullshit with bullshit, which he wouldn't have to if he could just escape the "metric of national strength" Trump characterizes as greatness. I remember how Bill Moyers tried to convince LBJ to call his programs "the good society," but Johnson, ever the bullshit artist, insisted on "great" -- and got neither. Clark actually does a fair job of pointing out how the reforms Biden started, and further reforms that are broadly supported by the democratic wing of the Democratic Party, can make our lives better, can help the rest of the world, and put us in better alignment with peace and justice everywhere -- an analysis that could be much sharper with a bit less ego and arms hawking.

• Tom Engelhardt: [07-18] Where did the American Century go? "The decline and fall of presidential America: are we now living in a defeat culture?"

• Mike Lofgren: [06-23] Why can't America build enough weapons? That's really not the question we should be asking, but that anyone can bring it up should expose the hopeless trap we've locked ourselves into. "The debasement of the U.S. defense industrial base began, ironically, under Ronald Reagan, and won't be reversed until we abandon the free-market fundamentalism he introduced." This is a subject that merits a long screed, one I have no time or patience for now.

Other stories:

Adam Clark Estes: [07-11] Why I quit Spotify: Some things to think about, especially as "Spotify raised its prices in July for the second time in as many years." As I recall, in the announcement letter they touted all the extra podcast content the extra money will help them develop. (They develop things? I've never listened to a podcast there, so the all money they spent on Joe Rogan -- and on pissing off Neil Young and Joni Mitchell -- was wasted, as far as I'm concerned).

Bryan Walsh: [07-16] It's time to stop arguing over the population slowdown and start adapting to it: "The world population could peak in your lifetime."

Li Zhou: [07-19] The "largest IT outage in history," briefly explained: "Airlines, banks, and hospitals saw computer systems go down because of a CrowdStrike software glitch." Note that only Microsoft Windows users were affected ("Mac and Linux users were not affected").

Obituaries

John Otis: [07-24] Lewis Lapham, editor who revived Harper's magazine, dies at 89: "He turned Harper's into what he called a 'theater of ideas,' promoting emerging voices including David Foster Wallace, Christopher Hitchens and Fareed Zakaria." I only occasionally read Harper's (and later Lapham's Quarterly), but I've read a couple of his books, and thought he was a superb political essayist: Theater of War: In Which the Republican Beocmes an Empire (2003), and Pretensions to Empire: Notes on the Criminal Folly of the Bush Administration (2006). I should do a complete book rundown, but for now I just ordered a copy of his 2017 book, Age of Folly: America Abandons Its Democracy.

• Robert D McFadden: [07-24] Lewis H Lapham, longtime editor of Harper's, dies at 89.

• Also take a look at Lapham's essays for TomDispatch (2010-2014).

Giovanni Russonello: [07-24] Toumain Diabaté, Malian master of the kora, is dead at 58: "He believed that music could transcend national borders set by colonialism and restore ancient ties, even as it embraced the changes of a globalizing society."

Alex Williams: [07-19] Happy Traum, mainstay of the folk music world, dies at 86: "A noted guitarist and banjo player, he emerged from the same Greenwich Village folk-revival scene as his friend and sometime collaborator Bob Dylan."

• Jorma Kaukonen: [07-17] A heartfelt goodby to Happy Traum.

• Ed Sanders: [07-19] A tribute to Happy Traum.

Books

Zack Beauchamp: [07-17] Why the far right is surging all over the world: "The 'reactionary spirit' and the roots of the US authoritarian moment." Excerpt from a book the author has been working on: The Reactionary Spirit: How America's Most Insidious Political Tradition Swept the World.

Doug Storm: [2022-09-16] A crash course in the works of H Bruce Franklin . . . with H Bruce Franklin. I just read the late cultural historian's memoir, Crash Course: From the Good War to the Forever War, which does a good job of recounting the path of post-WWII militarism from the red scare into Vietnam, as he discovered it in real time, and also recounted a much more militant anti-war movement than I was ever involved in. The book ends rather abruptly after Vietnam, making me wonder whether he planned a second one, or just figured his later life just wasn't that interesting. The interview covers the book, as well as other works, like

Music (and other arts?)

Ian Bogost: The mid-year best-of list is a travesty: "The worst idea of 2024 so far." And here I was thinking that the worst idea of 2024 was using AI to select bombing targets on Gaza. Or using drones for terror bombing around nuclear power plants in Ukraine. Or major political parties picking two doddering idiots to debate the very serious issues facing America and the world. The author seems to have reconciled himself to end-of-year lists: "These annual rundowns arrive during a period of reflection, when a full year's worth of human art and industry is about to recede into history." That's an odd turn of phrase: don't things turn into history the moment they happen? Whether they recede or not depends on whether they still have continuing import, or have (like most things) turned into passing fancies. Even so, one suspects that passing fancies are precisely what end-of-year lists are meant to recognize.

But it end-of-year lists are ok, what's so bad about mid-year lists? The time chunks are arbitrary. Smaller ones give us less material to cover, but you don't have to think back so far, and when it comes to music albums, it's not like we have a scarcity problem. My mid-year jazz critics poll (89 voters) identified 468 albums, vs. the full-year 2023 total of 760 (159 votes). It sounds like he's complaining about the novelty, but I've been tracking mid-year lists for a decade or more. They're still not nearly as common as end-of-year lists, but I've tracked about 35 so far this year, which includes a majority of the music publications that Album of the Year follows. As far as I know, nobody's taking the 6-month time chunk seriously enough to run a second-half list at end-of-year time, but I have seen movement toward shorter time periods, with quarterly and even monthly retrospectives.

Paul Schwartzman: [07-11] Who killed the Kennedys? The Rolling Stones won't tell you anymore. Songs evolve, sometimes as historical references slip from memory -- "On the Sunny Side of the Street" lives on, but increasingly likely to substitute for "rich as Rockefeller" -- and sometimes when casual terms fell out of fashion, as when Louis Armstrong changed "darkies" to "the folks."

Mid-year best-of lists:

• All About Jazz: [07-15] Best jazz albums of 2024: all-star break edition.

• NME: [06-24] The best albums of 2024 . . . so far!

• Northern Transmissions: Our 24 favourite albums of 2024, so far. "Capitalism is sucking the life out of independent music." Sucking, for sure, but life goes on.

• Paste: [06-24] The 25 best albums of 2024 so far.

• PopMatters: [06-27] The 50 best albums of 2024 so far.

• Rough Trade [UK]: [07-01] Albums of the year so far 2024.

• Shatter the Standards: [06-30] The 40 best albums of 2024 (so far).

• Slant: [06-26] The best albums of 2024 . . . so far: "The album is still the most coherent way for us to understand where music culture is in any particular moment."

• Spectrum Culture: Best albums of 2024 (so far).

• Still Listening [Eliot Odgers]: [07-02] The best albums of 2024 (so far).

• The Times [Chris Pearson]: [07-10] The best jazz albums of 2024 so far.

• WRTI [Greg Bryant]: [06-20] The best jazz albums released in 2024 (so far).

• Chris Monsen: [07-24] Mid-year picks: 30 + 10 favorite albums releases from January through June, 2024.

Initial count: 209 links, 10413 words. Updated count [07-25]: 228 links, 11635 words.

Local tags (these can be linked to directly): music.

Ask a question, or send a comment.

Wednesday, July 17, 2024

July archive (in progress).

Music: Current count 42668 [42624] rated (+44), 15 [20] unrated (-5).

I put out the call for a Mid-Year Jazz Critics Poll back on June 30, offering a July 14 deadline for ballots, which would give me a few days to wrap things up before ArtsFuse returns from vacation on July 17. Sure, I expected a light turnout: mid-year lists, while increasingly common as click-bait, don't have the same gravitas as year-end wrap-ups, so fewer voters would be prepared let alone interested; there are vacations and other distractions; the voting period was much shorter than for the year-end poll; and I didn't want to work as hard at rounding up voters. (Last year's 159 voters took a lot of hustle on my part, but in taking the poll over from Francis Davis, I really wanted to prove that I could do it, and it was very wearing.) I didn't do any prospecting for new voters, and hoped that sending a single message to my Jazzpoll mailing list would do the trick.

It didn't: by last Wednesday, I had only about two dozen ballots counted, with another dozen promises to vote later, and a half-dozen polite declines, out of approx. 200 invitees. I had figured that 50% (let's say 80) ballots would still be a good showing, and would generate a lot of information. But 25% struck me as way too low. I had reason to suspect that a big part of the problem was that many messages from my server were being flagged and sequestered as "spam," especially by the gmail servers. So I rebooted, and sent a second round of invitations out to a subset of the list -- the ones I hadn't heard from, skipping a few who hadn't voted in recent years -- in MailMerge-customized letters from my regular email account (which has been dicey enough of late). That took many hours I had wanted to avoid, but got an almost immediate response. I streamlined the invitation a bit, and extended the deadline to July 17 (tonight, or effectively tomorrow morning). As of last night, I had 78 ballots counted, and as I'm writing this I have 2 more in my inbox, so I'm happy with my 50%. [PS: By posting time, the count increased to 86.]

I'll need to move on from this to write an essay (intro, overview, whatever), as well as footnotes on various oddities and discrepancies in the voting. I've struggled with the essay the last couple years, so fear I may again. On the other hand, the data is really extraordinary, so just dive into that. And every time I do this, I come away even more impressed with the extraordinary knowledge and exemplary judgment of the fine people who participate in this Poll. There's nothing we need more in this increasingly complex and scatter-brained world than smart people who develop and share their expertise so that we all may benefit. I'm proud to do my bit, and to help them do theirs.

I might as well start here and disclose my own ballot:

NEW RELEASES

1. Fay Victor, Herbie Nichols SUNG: Life Is Funny That Way (Tao Forms)
2. Emmeluth's Amoeba, Nonsense (Moserobie)
3. Luke Stewart Silt Trio, Unknown Rivers (Pi)
4. Ballister, Smash and Grab (Aerophonic)
5. Dave Douglas, Gifts (Greenleaf Music)
6. The Core, Roots (Moserobie)
7. James Brandon Lewis Quartet, Transfiguration (Intakt)
8. Roby Glod-Christian Ramond-Klaus Kugel, No Toxic (Nemu)
9. Ivo Perelman Quartet, Water Music (RogueArt)
10. Mike Monford, The Cloth I'm Cut From (self-released)

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

1. Sonny Rollins, Freedom Weaver: The 1959 European Tour Recordings (Resonance)
2. Mal Waldron & Steve Lacy, The Mighty Warriors: Live in Antwerp (1995, Elemental Music)
3. Alice Coltrane, The Carnegie Hall Concert (1971, Impulse!)
4. Karen Borca Trio Quartet & Quintet, Good News Blues: Live at the Vision Festival 1998 & 2005 (NoBusiness)
5. Mars Williams & Hamid Drake, I Know You Are but What Am I (1996, Corbett vs. Dempsey)

As lists go, this feels pretty haphazard and tentative. I keep an ongoing ranked list, but don't put much effort into maintaining it. What usually happens is that once I decide an album is A-, I scan the list from the top or bottom (depending on whether it's a real solid A- or a somewhat iffy one), find something that is roughly comparable, and insert the new record above or below that reference point. I fiddled with these a bit, but didn't do much rechecking. Fact is, I never do much rechecking.

This week's batch of reviews are mostly albums that popped up on ballots. I wasn't previously aware that the Kenny Barron, Ivanna Cuesta, Welf Dorr, and [Ahmed] albums existed. Tomeka Reid was one of those download links I've been sitting on -- I probably have nearly 100 stashed away, but I'm loathe to do the extra work when it's so easy to play a promo or stream something -- but it did well enough I felt obligated to listen to it. (Same for Braxton, with all 8 hours + 10:36, available on Bandcamp.) Beger, Borca, and Brötzmann were promo CDs, but they too can be found complete on Bandcamp. I learned about the Armstrong from hype mail the day it became available to stream.

I started to prepare a file with all of my 2024 jazz reviews, similar to my 2023 best jazz, but it isn't ready to be presented yet. I'll clean it up if I decide I want to mention it in my poll essay, or just discard it until end-of-year. (Once I've started it, it's just another thing to try to keep updated.) One thing I can note here is that when I divvied the 2024 file up into jazz and non-jazz sections, the split among new A/A- records was 52-to-25, with old music 12-to-5. That seems like a lot, given that I wound up with only 84 for all of 2023 (and 75 for 2022, 77 for 2021, 86 for 2020, 77 for 2019, 67 for 2018, 84 for 2017, 75 for 2016, 81 for 2015, 69 for 2014, 87 for 2014 -- that's as far as the file series goes back, and the record as far as I can easily tell. Makes me wonder if I'm going soft in my old age, but other explanations are possible, including that the Mid-Year Poll has made me aware of 237 albums I didn't previously have in my tracking file. Most I haven't played yet, but the dozens I have gotten to contributed to this skew.

Given all the extra work on the Mid-Year Jazz Critics Poll, I didn't get around to Speaking of Which until Saturday, when I started with a long section on why Biden should withdraw from the Democratic presidential nomination. This all seems so obvious that it's hard to fathom the negligence and nonsense of whoever's conspiring to keep Biden in the race. On the other hand, much else that popped up in the week's news is hard to fathom. I certainly haven't had the time to figure it out.

The Trump shooting remains a story I know very little about, and have very little interest in pursuing, unless it turns out that my suspicion, as yet purely based on cynicism, that it was a staged PR ploy, turns out to be valid. (By the way, we've been watching the old Jane Marple mysteries. In one of them, the killer creates a blackout, kills someone else, then shoots herself, nicking the ear, so that when the lights come back on, she appears to have been the target (and very lucky). The ear was chosen because it bleeds readily but not seriously. It also emphasizes the luck involved, because it's generally very hard to shoot someone's ear without hitting their head. Of course, there are other ways to fake it, at little risk to Trump. The whole thing would take skill and timing, which seems beyond Trump and his cronies, the chances of such a scheme getting exposed are high, and it's hard to imagine that even Trump could lie his way out of it. On the other hand, how gullible is just about everyone involved so far? So it can't possibly be true, but they're playing it just like it was scripted. And everyone else seems to be falling for it.

Hardly any adds to Speaking of Which today: fixed a couple broken links, some typos. I'll open a file for next week after Music Week goes up. It'll be lower priority than the Poll, but good for the occasional break from thrashing on the Poll essay. I haven't been following the RNC, but I'm sure the people who have will be able to explain in its all its true horror.

There's also this story: Inae Oh: [07-16] The DNC's plan to force Biden's nomination is everything people hate about the DNC. If they go through with this, it won't have been the first time they gamed the rules to help Biden escape normal Democratic procedures: derailing the Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary, where Biden had performed poorly in 2016, while making South Carolina the first primary, eliminated the most likely path for someone more credible than Dean Phillips to challenge Biden, so no one risked it. This would be shabby in any case, but is especially galling from the people who sell themselves as the guardians of democracy.

The marvelous Swiss avant-jazz pianist Irène Schweizer has died at 83:

• Martin Schray: [07-17] Irène Schweizer (1941-2024)

Here's my Grade List. I first got acquainted with her work when I reviewed a 2-CD compilation of her work in 2006:

IRÈNE SCHWEIZER: Portrait [1984-2004] (Intakt) Nothing in this year's bumper crop of solo piano is anywhere near as robust as the three solo cuts on this sampler from 14 albums. Eight duos, mostly with drummers, impress even more. The Swiss free jazz pioneer's straight rhythmic undertow rivals Jarrett's, and her pianistics challenge Cecil Taylor's. But as Schweizer demonstrates on the longest piece ("First Meeting," with trombonist George Lewis), her real talent is her spontaneous response to the challenges of such minuscule aggregations. One of the few compilations ever that makes me want to hear every single one of the source albums. A

Her duos with drummers were extraordinary, especially the ones with Han Bennink (1995 and 2015). The latter was my number one jazz record of 2015:

Irène Schweizer/Han Bennink: Welcome Back (2015, Intakt): Piano-drum duo, both should be household names by now, and indeed the Dutch percussionist is one of the very few Europeans to make Downbeat Hall of Fame ballot. On the other hand, I've had to write in the name of the Swiss pianist the last few years -- this year ahead of Myra Melford and Marilyn Crispell, who are similar players only in the sense that anyone can be described as similar to Cecil Taylor; Schweizer comes as close as anyone to matching Taylor, but she can also work in some boogie woogie or pennywhistle jive, and closes here with a bit of Monk that evokes "Lullaby of Birdland." In the late 1980s Schweizer started a series of duos with top avant drummers (Louis Moholo was the first, followed by Gunter Sommer and Andrew Cyrille). The best was her 1995 meeting with Bennink (although I also have the 1990 Pierre Favre at A). This return engagement belongs alongside. A [cd]

New records reviewed this week:

أحمد [Ahmed]: Wood Blues (2022 [2024], Astral Spirits): British quartet of Pat Thomas (piano), Joel Grip (bass), Antonin Gerbal (drums), and Seymour Wright (alto sax), originally formed as a tribute to bass/oud player Ahmed Abdul-Malik (1927-93), fourth album since 2017, unless the 4-CD Giant Beauty box came out ahead of it (looks like it did, by 4 days). I've had people tell me this is the best live band on the planet. They probably thought the same of Cecil Taylor in the 1970s. A- [sp]

Kenny Barron: Beyond This Place (2024, Artwork): Pianist, I first really noticed him as a duet partner for Stan Getz (People Time, 1991), but he started in the early 1970s (cf. Peruvian Blue, 1974), is a DownBeat hall-of-famer, one of the most storied jazz educators in history, and still pretty sharp entering 80s. Helped out here by Steve Nelson (vibes), Kiyoshi Kitagawa (bass), Johnathan Blake (drums), and especially Immanuel Wilkins (alto sax). A- [sp]

BassDrumBone: Afternoon (2023 [2024], Auricle): Mark Helias, Gerry Hemingway, and Ray Anderson: I've been filing their records under the trombonist since 1986. This one seems a bit muted, but that just brings out the craft in the BassDrum. B+(***) [cd]

Jamie Baum Septet+: What Times Are These (2023 [2024], Sunnyside): Flute player, debut 1996, Septet -- including Jonathan Finlayson (trumpet), Sam Sadigursky (reeds), Brad Shepik (guitar), and Luis Perdomo (piano) -- has four albums 2004-18, expands to nine credits here plus four more vocalists picking their spots. Choice cut is "Sorrow Song," even beyond Kokayi's words. Other vocalists don't fare so well. B+(*) [sp]

Albert Beger/Ziv Taubenfeld/Shay Hazan/Hamid Drake: Cosmic Waves (2023 [2024], No Business): Tenor saxophonist, born in Istanbul, grew up in Israel, studied at Berklee, has a 1995 album, came to my attention with a pair of 2005 albums with William Parker under Hamid Drake's name. The others play bass clarinet and bass, for a dicey free jazz jam, with the drummer as impressive as ever. A- [cd]

Anthony Braxton: 10 Comp (Lorraine) 2022 (2022 [2024], New Braxton House, 10CD): Alto sax legend, credited with "saxophones, electronics" here, with each composition (numbered 423-428, 432-435) running from 41:31 to 60:09. The first six are trio with Adam Matlock (accordion/voice) and Susana Santos Silva (trumpet); the last four are quartet, with a second saxophonist (James Fei) and two bassists (Zach Rowden, Carl Testa). Way too long for anything other than a glancing view, but the first trio has limited appeal: sure, the accordion isn't as grating as Braxton's bagpipe albums, but that's the direction, and the operatic vocals have no more appeal when sung over abstractions than they do over schmaltz. The quartet is similar musically but with fewer annoyances, which doesn't necessarily make it more interesting, or even listenable (though sometimes it is). Length: 490:36. B+(*) [bc]

George Cartwright & Bruce Golden: Dilate (2024, self-released): Saxophonist and drummer, played together in the final iteration of Cartwright's group Curlew (founded 1979, but I think we're talking 2002-03 here). Sounds mostly like electronics and percussion, but all the credits have to say is: "george licked sounds; bruce nailed sounds." Some bits I really like, but others wear me down and out. B+(*) [bc]

Ivanna Cuesta: A Letter to the Earth (2023 [2024], Orenda): Drummer, from Dominican Republic, studied there and at Berklee, based in Boston, first album, composed by, also credited with electronics, with Ben Solomon (sax), Kris Davis (piano), and Max Ridley (bass) -- all terrific here. Bit of guest vocal at the end (Pauli Camou). A- [sp]

Jeremiah Cymerman: Body of Light (2022-23 [2024], 5049): Clarinet player, fifteen-plus albums since 2007, first two pieces here appear to be solo, credits including synths, percussion, sequences, bass. The other two (longer) tracks add drums (Mike Pride) and either guitar-cello or violin. Either way this mostly comes off as ambient. B+(*) [sp]

Welf Dorr/Elias Meister/Dmitry Ishenko/Kenny Wollesen: So Far So Good (2022 [2024], self-released): Alto saxophonist, born in Germany, based in New York, first album appears to be a Flowers for Albert thinking of Einstein not Ayler, unless it was the group called Funk Monk. Backed by guitar, accordion/electric bass, and drums, has traces of soul jazz and funk fusion, but mostly as a vehicle for distinguished saxophone. A- [bc]

Edition Redux: Better a Rook Than a Pawn (2023, Audiographic): I lost track of Ken Vandermark's projects when he pulled most of his work behind the paywall, so I jumped on this new group as soon as I noticed it: Erez Dessel (piano/synth), Lily Finnegan (drums), Beth McDonald (tuba/electronics), and Vandermark (reeds, notably baritone sax). Piano tends to lead, but the real power remains the saxophonist. B+(***) [bc]

Bill Frisell: Orchestras (2021-22 [2024], Blue Note): Guitarist, long-established, leads a trio with Thomas Morgan (bass) and Rudy Royston (drums), featured here surrounded by symphony orchestras (Brussels Philharmonic, Umbria Jazz Orchestra), his (and some other) compositions scaled up by Michael Gibbs. Quick take is that the full strings on the first disc are a turn off. Dispensing with them, the second disc is rather enaging. B+(**) [sp]

Paul Giallorenzo Trio: Play (2021 [2023], Delmark): Chicago pianist, first trio album in 2012, second with this trio of Joshua Abrams and Mikel Patrick Avery. B+(*) [sp]

Erik Griswold/Chloe Kim/Helen Svoboda: Anatomical Heart (2023 [2024], Earshift Music): Pianist, based in Brisbane, Australia, a dozen-plus albums since 2002, has a fondness for prepared piano. Trio with drums and bass. The bit of jerkiness keeps it interesting. B+(**) [sp]

Sarah Hanahan: Among Giants (2024, Blue Engine): Alto saxophonist, first album, quartet with Marc Cary (piano), Nat Reeves (bass), and Jeff "Tain" Watts (drums), with extra percussion on 4 (of 8) tracks. Mainstream, with considerable power, and more than a little finesse. B+(***) [sp]

Simon Hanes: Tsons of Tsunami (2024, Tzadik): California-born, based in New York, plays baritone guitar here, has mostly worked under group names (Tredici Bacci, Trigger, Shimmer, Guerilla Toss; Tsons of Tsunami was the group name for a 2013 album called Fearless Riders of the Holy Curl. He describes these compositions as "surf-based," backed with trombone, horn, waterphone, vibraphone, and drums. B+(**) [sp]

Roger Kellaway: Live at Mezzrow (2023 [2024], Cellar Music): Pianist, first album 1963, first new one since 2019, with bass (Jay Leonhart) and drums (Dennis Mackrel) plus guest Roni Ben-Hur (guitar). He's always been a bop era pianist with a little stride in his style. B+(*) [sp]

Brian Landrus: Plays Ellington & Strayhorn (2023 [2024], Palmetto): Baritone saxophonist, also plays similar instruments, plus some piccolo and flutes, backed quite capably by Dave Stryker (guitar), Jay Anderson (bass), and Billy Hart (drums), playing fourteen songs you can't go wrong with. B+(***) [cd]

Nduduzo Makhathini: Unomkhubulwane (2024, Blue Note): South African pianist, started leading albums in 2014, got a big profile boost when Blue Note picked him up in 2020. Third album there, sings some (not fancy or dramatic, but quite agreeably), backed by Zwelakhe-Duma Bell le Pere (bass) and Francisco Mela (drums). B+(***) [sp]

Fabiano do Nascimento & Sam Gendel: The Room (2024, Real World): Brazilian guitarist, several albums since 2011 -- I particularly liked 2015's Dança Dos Tempos -- here in a very nice duo with soprano sax. B+(**) [sp]

Madeleine Peyroux: Let's Walk (2024, Just One Recording/Thirty Tigers): Jazz singer-songwriter, born in Georgia but grew up in France, ten or so albums since 1996, aimed early for Billie Holiday phrasing, returns after a six-year pause with a new batch of songs that defy expectations. I could see this one being taken for Americana, if you pardon the bit of French (in my book, that's a plus). B+(***) [sp]

Tomeka Reid Quartet: 3+3 (2023 [2024], Cuneiform): Cellist, based in Chicago, helped revitalize the post-2000 AACM, and has an impressive list of albums since her 2015 Quartet, finally a MacArthur "Genius" Fellow in 2022. Same group here, with Mary Halvorson (guitar), Jason Roebke (bass), and Tomas Fujiwara (drums). Three longish pieces: sags a bit in the middle but closes real strong. A- [dl]

Michael Shrieve: Drums of Compassion (2024, 7D Media): Drummer, played in Santana 1969-74, formed Go in 1976 with Stomu Yamashita and Steve Winwood, with later groups like Spellbinder. I recognized the name, and found him in my database, but in the New Age section, with two unheard albums (1984, 1989). Not much jazz there, but some of his many collaborators here count, starting with percussionists Jack DeJohnette, Zakir Hussain, Airto Moriera, and Babatunde Olatunji. Not just drums, but keyboards, sax (Skerik), and electronics (Amon Tobin). B+(*) [sp]

Harry Skoler: Red Brick Hill (2022 [2024], Sunnyside): Clarinet player, three albums 1995-99, this is only his third since, following a Mingus study in 2022. Strong support here on vibes (Joel Ross), bass (Dezron Douglas), and drums (Johnathan Blake), with one-track guest spots from Marquis Hill (trumpet), Christian Sands (piano), and Grégoire Maret (harmonica). B+(**) [sp]

Something Else! [Featuring Vincent Herring]: Soul Jazz (2024, Smoke Sessions): Mainstream "supergroup," alto saxophonist gets featured spotlight but Jeremy Pelt (trumpet) steals as much spotlight. Also with Wayne Escoffery (tenor sax), Paul Bollenback (guitar), David Kikoski (piano), Essiet Essiet (bass), and Otis Brown III (drums). They swing a little, swagger too. B+(*) [sp]

Gregory Tardy: In His Timing (2023, WJ3): One of many mainstream tenor saxophonist to emerge in the 1990s, starting out on Impulse!, but mostly recording on SteepleChase since then. But he plays clarinet here, paired with violin (Regina Carter), backed by piano-bass-drums. Sometimes the mix pays dividends, sometimes not so much. B+(*) [bc]

Alan Walker: A Little Too Late (2024, Aunt Mimi's): Singer-songwriter, started in a group I've never heard of, the Brilliant Mistakes (three albums 1998-2008), second solo album. Plays piano, some pop craft, some strings. B+(*) [cd]

Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries:

Louis Armstrong: Louis in London (1968 [2024], Verve): A previously unreleased BBC radio shot from July 2, 1968, billed as his "last great performance," three years before his death in 1971. He had been in decline for several years, often unable to play trumpet, but his vocals remained endearing, with a couple songs turning into big pop hits. He's credited with trumpet here, which seems good enough, his voice even better, as he runs through thirteen songs, most signature hits, a proper career summary. A- [sp]

Derek Bailey/Sabu Toyozumi: Breath Awareness (1987 [2024], NoBusiness): British guitarist (1932-2005), a major figure in the avant-garde (albeit one that I've only lightly sampled, and never really gotten the hang of), in an improv duo with the Japanese drummer. Scratchy, abstract, requires close listening, sometimes rewards it. B+(***) [cd]

Karen Borca Trio Quartet & Quintet: Good News Blues: Live at the Vision Festival 1998 & 2005 (1998-2005 [2024], No Business): One of the few bassoon players in any branch of jazz, especially in free jazz, she led groups so rarely that this is her first collection as leader, but Discogs credits her with 30 albums, many with her husband, Jimmy Lyons, also Cecil Taylor, William Parker, Joel Futterman, Alan Silva, Bill Dixon. The early set here has Parker and Rob Brown (alto sax). Brown returns for the late set, with Reggie Workman, and is stellar throughout. A- [cd]

Peter Brötzmann/Toshinori Kondo/Sabu Toyozumi: Complete Link (2016 [2024], NoBusiness): Tenor sax/tarogato, trumpet/electronics, drums. Within our ten-year window for "new releases," with both of the principals recently departed, this feels more like an archival find. They had a fairly long run together in the quartet, with William Parker and Hamid Drake, named for their first album, Die Like a Dog. I always found their records a bit too abrasive, but here I'm not only not bothered, I'm feeling a bit nostalgic. A- [cd]

Nat King Cole: Live at the Blue Note Chicago (1953 [2024], Iconic): Pianist and singer (1917-65), had his first r&b hits in 1942, cracked the pop top ten in 1944 with "Straighten Up and Fly Right," hit number one in 1946 with "For Sentimental Reasons," followed by "Nature Boy," "Mona Lisa," and "Too Young" -- all in these live sets, a quartet with guitar (John Collins), bass (Charlie Harris), and drums (Lee Young). B+(**) [sp]

The Jazzanians: We Have Waited Too Long (1988 [2024], Ubuntu Music): In 1984, Dave Brubeck's son Darius organized a jazz program at the University of Natal, in South Africa. A few years later, he organized this "first multiracial student jazz ensemble from South Africa," and took them on tour, and into the studio. Best known player now is probably Zim Ngqawana (alto sax/flute). They kick off with a very infectious township jive groove. They're not all that delightful. B+(**) [sp]

Charles Mingus: Incarnations (1960 [2024], Candid): The bassist recorded two sessions for Nat Hentoff's label, which immediately led to the albums Presents Charles Mingus and Mingus. In 1985, Mosaic collected those albums and outtakes for The Complete Candid Recordings of Charles Mingus, In 1990, Candid took some of those for Mysterious Blues. This albums grabs five more takes (one previously unissued). B+(**) [sp]

Louis Moholo-Moholo: Louis Moholo-Moholo's Viva-La-Black (1988 [2024], Ogun): South African drummer, moved to Europe in 1964, emerged as a prominent free jazz drummer in the 1970s. Leads a sextet here, with Sean Bergin (tenor/alto sax), Steve Williamson (tenor/soprano sax), Claude Deppa (trumpet/flugelhorn), Roberto Bellatalla (bass), and Thebe Lipere (percussion). B+(**) [bc]

Septet Matchi-Oul: Terremoto (1971 [2024], Souffle Continu): Label dedicated to "Treasures of the French Underground," this one-shot group led by Chilean-French pianist Manuel Villarroel qualifies nicely. No other names I immediately recognize, but some further research may be in order. B+(***) [sp]

Sun Ra & His Arkestra: Pink Elephants on Parade (1985-90 [2024], Modern Harmonic): A "small sample" of songs from Walt Disney movies, eight from two dates in 1988-89, 5 more from 5 different venues, the first 9 tracks previously unreleased. Vocals on most tracks, none slick or particularly funny, but amused? Sure. B+(***) [sp]

John Wright Trio: South Side Soul (1960 [2024], Craft): Pianist (1934-2017), born in Kentucky but moved to Chicago when he was two. First album, with bass (Wendell Roberts) and drums (Walter McCants). [sp]

Old music:

Albert Beger: The Primitive (1995, NMC): Israeli tenor saxophonist, plays some flute, first album, quartet with piano (John Bostock), bass guitar (Gabi Maier), and drums (Asaf Sirkis). B+(**) [sp]

Albert Beger Quartet: The Art of the Moment (2000, Third Ear Music): Curious lack of information on this, label name appears on some streaming sites (NMC seems more likely), quartet with guitar, bass, and drums (no idea who). Impressive saxophonist, rhythm section has some spunk, flute I could do without. Need to work on that discography. B+(*) [sp]

Welf Dorr: Funk Monk 2002 (2002 [2020], self-released): Alto saxophonist, from Germany, based in New York, led the band Funk Monk from 1996-2009, various lineups, released a Live at the Knitting Factory in 1999 but that seems to be all. Dorr salvaged this tape from Izzy Bar in July 2002, and claims all compositions, so no Monk tribute here: more horns (Antonio Dangerfield on trumpet, Melvin Smith on tenor sax, trombone on two tracks), backed by a bubbling array of keys, guitar, bass, and drums. B+(*) [sp]

Welf Dorr: Flowers for Albert (2005 [202], self-released): The saxophone/flute player/composer has laid claim to this tape, although his name appears last on the cover, after Kenny Wolleson (drums), Jonathan Finlayson (trumpet), Hock Temesgen (bass), and Shoko Nagai (piano). Title comes from David Murray's tribute to Ayler, but Dorr's preferred Albert is Einstein, seeing this as the centennial of his three breakthrough papers on physics. B+(**) [sp]

Welf Dorr Unit: Blood (2014 [2018], Creative Sources): Brooklyn group, leader plays alto sax and bass clarinet, backed by guitar (Dave Ross), bass (Dmitry Ishenko), and drums (Joe Hertenstein). Guitar runs a bit heavy. B+(*) [bc]

Welf Dorr/Dmitry Ishenko/Joe Hertenstein: Pandemic House Sessions (2020 [2021], self-released): Previous Unit reduced to a trio, recorded at the drummer's apartment. Losing the guitar gives the saxophonist a lot more breathing room. B+(***) [sp]

Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:

• Greg Copeland: Empire State (Franklin & Highland, EP) [09-06]
• Ize Trio: The Global Suites (self-released) [08-02]
• Frank Paul Schubert/Michel Pilz/Stefan Scheib/Klaus Kugel: Live at FreeJazz Saar 2019 (Nemu) [05-01]

Ask a question, or send a comment.

Tuesday, July 16, 2024

I'm starting this introduction on Tuesday, already two days late, ignoring for now the new news pouring in, especially from the RNC. Due to my Mid-Year Jazz Critics Poll project, I wasn't able to start until Saturday, at which point I started with the long introduction to the Biden section. After that, I scrounged up a few quick links to seemingly important stories. The alleged Trump shooting -- I'm not denying it, but I'm not fully buying it either -- had just happened, so I had to spin off a section on that. Monday the Cannon ruling on the Trump documents case came down, so I had to note that. If I find out that Hamas and Netanyahu agreed to a cease fire deal -- I've heard that, but as I'm writing this I haven't seen any confirmation -- I'll note that too. (But thus far I've been smart to ignore past rumors of impending agreement.)

A couple days ago, still with Biden very much on my mind, I thought I'd begin this introduction with a spur-of-the-moment tweet I posted:

Unsolicited advice to the ruling class: can someone point out to Biden that being president and running are two different full-time jobs. He should pick one, like the one we need someone to focus on and do well, right now. He could set a model we should add to the Constitution.

Looking it up now, I see that it only has 97 views, with 0 replies, forwards, or likes. It seems like views have been steadily declining, although the number of followers (640) is about double from a long plateau about a year ago.

One thing that stimulated my thought was when I saw several folks pushing a constitutional amendment to impose a maximum age limit on presidents. (Search doesn't reveal a lot of examples, but here's one.) I have no time to argue this here, but I've often worried about the accumulation of arbitrary power in the presidency -- especially war-making power, but there are other issues here -- and with in the development of a political personality cult (Reagan is the obvious example, with Trump even more so, but they at least remained aligned with their party, while Clinton and Obama used their office to direct their party to their own personal fortunes, a shift that worked to the detriment of other Democrats).

Banning self-succession (second consecutive terms) wouldn't fix all of the problems with the presidency, but it would help, especially in terms of democracy. I won't go into details here, but there should also be limits on nepotism (spouses, children, possibly more), and major campaign finance reforms. Whether you keep the two-term total limit is optional -- eliminating it may get rid of the often stupid "lame duck" argument. But I also suspect that people will have little appetite for returning a non-incumbent ex-president.

One more point: if presidents can't run again, maybe they'll actually put their political instincts aside and settle into actually doing their jobs. Trump is the obvious worst-case example: the first thing he did after inauguration in 2017 was to file as a candidate for 2020, and he returned to holding campaign rallies a month or two later. Given how temperamental his judgment was, we are probably lucky that he turned out to be so oblivious to actually doing the job, but that's hardly something we can count on saving us again. Even more competent presidents were repeatedly distracted by political duties -- ones they were, as a requirement for selection, more interested in, if not necessarily better at.

At this point, the essential skill sets of campaigners and administrators have diverged so radically that it's almost inconceivable that you could find one person for both jobs. I could imagine a constitutional change where whoever wins the presidency has to appoint someone else (or maybe a troika) to run the executive government, while being personally limited to symbolic public service, like the King of England, or the President of Israel. But the amendment I proposed above should be a much easier sell, especially given the mess we're in now.

Fortunately, we don't actually need the amendment this year. All we need is for Biden to drop out. As I explain below, there are lots of good reasons for him to do so. This is one more, and if he grasped it, would be a principled one.

About 10 PM Tuesday, time to call it quits for this week. I may pick up a few adds while I'm working on the similarly delayed Music Week, but I expect to be extremely busy on deadline day for the Mid-Year Jazz Critics Poll (up to 78 ballots as I write this). No doubt I'll have to do a lot of cross-checking next week to keep from repeating stories. But the big ones, rest assured, will return, pretty much as they are here, so what's below should give you a leg up on everyone else.

Top story threads:

Israel:

• Mondoweiss:

  • [07-08] Day 276: Top Israeli security officials 'shocked' by Netanyahu's attempts to sabotage ceasefire proposal: "Israel has committed a new massacre in Nuseirat as it launches a new invasion of Gaza City. Meanwhile, Hamas says it has recruited thousands of new resistance fighters."

  • [07-11] Day 279: Israel orders Gaza City residents to flee south -- again: "Israel ordered Gaza City residents to leave as Shuja'iyya has become 'uninhabitable.' Meanwhile, ceasefire talks are set to continue in Egypt as Netanyahu is accused of sabotaging a potential deal."

  • [07-15] Day 283: Israel bombs three Gaza displacement centers, killing hundreds: "Hamas confirms that ceasefire talks will continue despite the latest massacres, while differences rise between Netanyahu and Israel's negotiating team headed by the security services."

• Ellen Cantarow: [07-14] A cancer on the West Bank: "How the Israeli extreme right has achieved victory." Essential history, starting with Gush Emunim and the Alon Plan. If you don't know this stuff, you should.

• Tareq S Hajjaj: [07-14] Testimonies from the Mawasi massacre: 90 people buried in the sand: "The Israeli army committed another massacre against displaced Palestinians in tent encampments, this time in the coastal Mawasi area, which Israel had designated as a 'safe zone.'"

• Haggai Matar: [07-04] A flawed peace conference offers a radical proposal: hope: "In a context of fear, hatred, and violence, an Israeli-Palestinian gathering that seemed detached from reality actually represented something revolutionary."

• Qassam Muaddi: [07-11] Why the West Bank is on the verge of economic collapse: "The West Bank's economic crisis and the expansion of Israel's settlements are connected."

• Mahmoud Mushtaha: [07-10] Israel ordered thousands to 'safe' areas in Gaza City -- them bombed them: "After fleeing west at the Israeli army's instruction, Palestinians quickly found themselves encircled and under fire from tanks, drones, and snipers."

• Orly Noy: [07-04] Only an anti-fascist front can save us from the abyss: "Israeli society will emerge from this war more violent, nationalist, and militaristic than ever. The work of curbing its worse impulses must start now."

• Abed Abou Shhadeh: [07-15] For Palestinian parents, every day of this war provokes existential anxiety: "In the annihilation of Gaza, we see a vision of our future as Palestinians inside Israel. So do we cling to our land, or ensure our children's safety and leave?"

• Oren Ziv:

  • [06-29] Can this conference inspire a new Israeli-Palestinian peace movement? "For activists Maoz Inon and Aziz Abu Sarah, reviving a joint peace effort that learns from past obstacles is 'the biggest antidote to extremism.'"

  • [07-02] 'We'd rather die than enlist': Haredi Jews vow to defy conscription: "An Israeli High Court ruling has overturned a decades-old military exemption for ultra-Orthodox Jews, leading thousands to rage against the state and their community's politicians."

  • [07-08] 'I'm bored, so I shoot': The Israeli army's approval of free-for-all violence in Gaza: "Israeli soldiers describe the near-total absence of firing regulations in the Gaza war, with troops shooting as they please, setting homes ablaze, and leaving corpses on the streets -- all with their commanders' permission."

America's Israel (and Israel's America):

• Spencer Ackerman: [07-09] These corporations are the true "winners" of the war on Gaza: "From Colt to Caterpillar, American companies are earning big profits off of Israel's ongoing assault on Gaza, turning the horrors of war into boardroom victories."

• Mitchell Plitnick: [07-12] Biden or not, US policy on Palestine stays the same: "When it comes to Dems and Republicans, you pick your poison, but there's no healthy choice."

Israel vs. world opinion:

• Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz: [07-12] We must understand Israel as a settler-colonial state: I'd go a bit deeper and say we can only understand Israel if we start from acknowledging that it is primarily a settler-colonial state. I'm not saying this because I think "settler-colonial state" means we should automatically condemn Israel, and especially not to argue that the only solution is expulsion ("go back where you came from" just won't do here). But identifying it as such puts Israel into a conceptual framework that really helps explain the options and choices that Israeli political leaders made -- many of which do indeed deserve approbation -- as well as providing a framework to see some way of ending the conflict on terms that most people can find agreeable. I would add that among settler-colonial states, Israel is exceptionally frustrated, which is why it has turned into such a cauldron of interminable violence.

• Marcy Newman: [07-13] The reluctant memoirist exposes the academy: "At a time when Palestine activism and free expression at U.S. universities are under attack, Steven Salaita's new memoir disabuses us of the notion that these universities are anything other than hedge funds with a campus."

• James North: [07-10] Israel's leading paper says its own army deliberately killed Israelis on October 7. But in the US media: silence: "Israel ordered the 'Hannibal Directive' on October 7 by ordering the killing of captive Israeli soldiers and civilians. But the U.S. media continues to hide the truth."

• Alice Rothchild: [07-14] The destruction of healthcare in Gaza and the scientific assessment of settler colonial violence: "The Jewish Voice for Peace Health Advisory Council held a distinguished panel of experts that addressed the settler colonial determinants of health in light of the Gaza genocide." Following up on these documents:

  • Jewish Voice for Peace Health Advisory Council: [07-01] Emergency statement on the health and human rights crisis in the West Bank: "Alongside the catastrophe in Gaza, another crisis is unfolding in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, where the Israeli military has launched land incursions, conducted airstrikes,restricted access to resources, and targeted health infrastructure."

  • Palestine Mental Health Networks: [07-10] The duty of mental health professionals in the struggle for Palestine: "We call on mental health professionals around the world to follow the example of renowned American psychoanalyst Dr. Jessica Benjamin in respecting the BDS picket line and boycotting conferences in Israel."

• Philip Weiss: [07-14] Weekly Briefing: The 'NYT' justifies Israeli slaughter of civilians as necessary tactic: "The New York Times says Israel has been 'forced' to massacre Palestinian civilians because Hamas militants hide in bedrooms. The U.S. used such justifications for massacres in Vietnam."

Trump:

Well, this happened:

• [Vox]: [07-14] Who shot Trump? What we know about the assassination attempt. [PS: This piece has been updated after I wrote the following, as more information was released, such as the identities of the people shot, including the alleged shooter.] "This is what happened at the Butler rally, as we understand it right now." As I understand it, shots were fired during a Trump rally. Trump dropped to the ground. When he appeared again, there was blood on his face. Secret Service surrounded him, and moved him off the platform. The people around him jerked when he did, but afterwards mostly looked confused. He tweeted later that he had been shot, nicked in the ear. (From his head angle at the time of the shot, it must have come from the far side -- not from the crowd, or from the gallery behind him.) Reports are that two people wound up dead -- one the alleged shooter, and another person, still unidentified, and two more people were injured. It's not clear where those people, including the shooter, were, or what the timing of were. One report says the shots came from an "AR-type" gun.

  I'll link to more pieces as I collect them. But knowing only what is in here (and having watched the video provided), my first reaction is that a real assassination attempt like this would be very hard to pull off, but would be very easy to fake (assuming you could imagine that anyone involved would be willing to do so, which with this particular crew isn't inconceivable; still, the risk of faking it and then getting exposed seems like it should be pretty extreme). No need to jump to that conclusion, but I'm pretty sure the "grassy knoll" squad is going to jump all over this story. More Vox pieces are collected in: Donald Trump targeted in assassination attempt.

• Zack Beauchamp:

  • [07-13] America is not ready for what comes next: "The attempt on Donald Trump's life has put the republic in peril."

  • [07-15] This is how you get escalation: "Political leaders should try to douse the flames. The right's leaders are fanning them."

• Constance Grady: [07-15] The pure media savvy of Trump's first pump photo, explained by an expert: "It's his brand now." The interview goes into the making of other iconic photos, as well as Trump's history of seizing on moments like this.

• Jeet Heer:

  [07-13] In the wake of the Trump shooting, we need clarity -- and caution: "The best way to fend off conspiracy theories and instability is by emphasizing the need for solid facts."

  • [07-14] Biden condemns political violence without whitewashing Trump: "The president deftly avoids the trap of surrendering his critique of MAGA lawlessness."

• Murtza Hussain: Will this make Trump more popular? "Assassination attempts targeting populist leaders have had a track record of boosting their popularity."

• Sarah Jones: [07-15] God's strongman.

• Ed Kilgore: [07-15] Trump assassination attempt makes 2024 election more bonkers than ever: "But will it cinch a victory for him?" Evidently, "many Republicans are already saying the bullets that nearly killed Donald Trump have clinched his return to the White House."

• Natasha Lennard: The only kind of "political violence" all U.S. politicians oppose.

• Eric Levitz:

  • [07-14] Heated rhetoric is dangerous, but honest disagreement is necessary for democracy: "Critics are blaming Democratic rhetoric for Trump's shooting. Here's what they're missing." Subheds: "Biden's most heated rhetoric about Trump is defensible"; "heated rhetoric is an inextricable feature of democratic life." Maybe he figures it's too soon, but sooner or later someone will recall that the only candidate who's ever called for "2nd amendment people" to take matters into their own hands is one Donald J. Trump.

  • [07-14] Yes, it's still fair to call Trump a threat to democracy: "The attempt on his life shouldn't cow his critics." Looks like a new title for the same article.

• Stephen Prager: [07-16] 'Political violence' is all around us: "Condemning 'political violence' rings hollow coming from politicians who are highly selective in the violence they deplore. We should oppose it consistently."

• Aja Romano: [07-15] The Trump assassination attempt was a window into America's fractured reality. I'm not sure whether the subhed is a conclusion or just a premise: "The shooting wasn't staged, but conspiratorial thinking has become widespread in our paranoid age." You know, the latter truism doesn't prove "the shooting wasn't staged." It just suggests that we shouldn't jump to that conclusion.

• Helen Santoro/Lucy Dean Stockton/David Sirota/Joel Warner: Pennsylvania GOP fought a ban on the gun used in Trump shooting.

• Timothy Messer-Kruse: [07-15] The myth of the magic bullet: He doesn't weigh in on the Trump shooting, but takes on the more general idea, that a single bullet can change history for the better. I rather doubt his assertion that "there would still be a MAGA movement" without Trump, because no matter how much fuel of "white resentment" had accumulated, it still took a spark to set it off, and it's hard to find a leader with Trump's particular mix of ego and ignorance. But he is right when he says, "Trump is not a threat to democracy as much as he is a symbol of its deepening absence."

On Monday, Trump announced his pick for vice president: JD Vance:

• Zack Beauchamp: [07-15] What J.D. Vance really believes: "The dark worldview of Trump's choice for vice president, explained."

  Vance has said that, had he been vice president in 2020, he would have carried out Trump's scheme for the vice president to overturn the election results. He has fundraised for January 6 rioters. He once called on the Justice Department to open a criminal investigation into a Washington Post columnist who penned a critical piece about Trump. After last week's assassination attempt on Trump, he attempted to whitewash his radicalism by blaming the shooting on Democrats' rhetoric about democracy without an iota of evidence.

  This worldview translates into a very aggressive agenda for a second Trump presidency. In a podcast interview, Vance said that Trump should "fire every single mid-level bureaucrat" in the US government and "replace them with our people." If the courts attempt to stop this, Vance says, Trump should simply ignore the law.

  "You stand before the country, like Andrew Jackson did, and say the chief justice has made his ruling, now let him enforce it," he declares.

• Aaron Blake: [07-15] The risk of J.D. Vance: "Trump went with the MAGA pick. But the 2022 election suggests that might not be the right electoral one."

• Jonathan Chait: [07-15] J.D. Vance joins ticket with man he once called 'America's Hitler': "Apparently he meant it as a compliment."

• Ben Jacobs: [07-15] J.D. Vance on his MAGA conversion: "Trump's man in Ohio once called him 'America's Hitler,' but there's an explanation."

• Sarah Jones: [07-15] Hillbilly shapeshifter: "Re-reading J.D. Vance's memoir." This came out earlier this year, but gets an update for the moment.

• Ed Kilgore: [07-15] J.D. Vance as VP means Trump picks MAGA over 'unity'. What does "unity" even mean? Trump has complete control. He doesn't need to compromise with anyone. One might ask why he would pick a double-crossing weasel, but Trump probably figure he's on top of that game. Maybe Kilgore is just trying to plug the Intelligencer liveblog: So much for 'national unity': RNC live updates. Republicans don't need "unity": they believe they're the only ones who count, so they already are "unity" -- now if they can just get rid of everyone else, they'll be set (and America will be great again, like it was when the other people didn't count).

• Daniel Larison: [07-15] What will Vance do for Trump's foreign policy? "The Ohio senator's ideology is hard to nail down as he has vacillated between restraint and interventionism."

• Steve M: [07-15] J.D. Vance probably hates you more than Trump does: "It is clear that Vance is an angry, nasty person whose contempt for the people he doesn't like is bone deep." Also:

  Now that Trump has chosen Vance, I expect Democrats to focus on the mean tweets Vance posted about Trump before he became a Trump fan. I don't see the point -- politicians (and non-politicians) change their minds about people all the time. Kamala Harris said harsh things about Joe Biden during the 2020 campaign. George H.W. Bush attacked Ronald Reagan's economic ideas in the 1980 campaign. I think it's more important for voters to know how much contempt Vance has for everyone who disagrees with him or does things he doesn't like. I have kids, so he hates me. Maybe he hates you too.

• Veronica Riccobene/Helen Santoro/Joel Warner: J.D. Vance wants police to track people who have abortions.

• Ross Rosenfeld: The scary message Trump sent by choosing J.D. Vance: "The Ohio senator is a sycophant who will never challenge or question his boss -- not even to defend American democracy."

Of course, the Trump news doesn't end there.

• Sasha Abramsky: [07-14] A brief history of Trump and violence: "But that can't be allowed to erase the long, ugly history of Trump's dalliance with violence."

• David Atkins: [07-08] Pay attention to Trump's every cruel and crazy syllable: "All eyes are on President Biden's words, but Trump is getting meaner and increasingly bonkers each day."

  Let's look at just a few recent examples.

  1. Trump wants to make poor migrants fight each other for sport.
  2. Trump wants to ban electric cars because someone in an electric boat might get eaten by a shark.
  3. Donald Trump wants to ban all vaccine mandates in schools, which would include polio, measlesl, etc.
  4. Trump wants to end meaningful elections in the United States.
  5. Trump thinks the end of Roe v Wade was "amazing" and brags that he was "able to kill Roe v. Wade.

• Elizabeth Austin: [07-13] Trump's Democrats-support-infanticide trope is an infuriating lie: "Republicans like the soon-to-be GOP presidential nominee are mocking every woman who got that horrible call from the obstetrician and made the tragic decision to end a hopeless pregnancy."

• Christopher Fettweis: [05-15] Trump's big idea: Deploy assassination teams to Mexico: "His plan to kill drug kingpins to solve the American opioid crisis will backfire dramatically."

• Chris Lehman: [07 -11] Donald Trump's new strategy: act normal: "With the opposition in disarray, Trump and his campaign have begun exhibiting unusual restraint in hopes of expanding his support."

• Clarence Lusane: [07-12] Who thinks Donald Trump is racist? "Other racists, that's who!"

• Nicole Narea: [07-15] A right-wing judge just threw out a case against Trump in a brazen abuse of power: "The classified documents case against Trump hits another major setback before the 2024 election." Why?

  In her ruling, Cannon argued that because Smith had not been appointed a special counsel by the president and confirmed by the Senate, his appointment violated the Constitution's Appointments Clause. . . .

  Cannon's ruling, which relies on a stringent reading of the Constitution and represents a brazen break with precedent, has come under heavy criticism from legal scholars. Under her ruling, the appointment of prior special counsels would have also come into question, from Archibald Cox, who investigated the Watergate scandal that led to President Richard Nixon's resignation, to Robert Mueller, who investigated Russian interference in the 2016 election.

  I'm sure there will be more on this next week. Well, for now, this one is worth quoting at length:

  • Steve M.: [07-15] The death of America is steady rot:

    We think we'll lose democracy and the rule of law suddenly if Donald Trump becomes president again. We think the edifice will be destroyed like the Twin Towers on 9/11: the planes hit the buildings, and without hours they collapsed in on themselves.

    But our system is like a house that's rotting room by room. The foundation has cracks. There are termites. The roof leaks. One room after another has become uninhabitable.

    We've lost the federal courts. The would-be murderers of America already have the federal bench they need to sustain the horrible America they want. A second Trump presidency won't really worsen the federal bench -- it will only fix it in place in its current form for several more decades. I'm 65, and I'll never live to see a federal bench that isn't an extremist Republican legislature in robes.

    Through gerrymandering, we lost democracy in many state legislatures years ago. In states like North Carolina, Wisconsin, and Texas, liberals and moderates add up to more than 45% of the electorate and have exactly none of the legislative power, because of gerrymandering. This happened long before Trump and there were no "Death of Democracy" front-page headlines.

    If Trump wins in November, he and the thugs of Project 2025 might take a wrecking ball to what's left of the house. But already several rooms are closed off. It's unsafe to live in them. And even if Trump loses, or wins and doesn't follow through with the worst ideas his backers have proposed, many rooms in the house will continue to rot.

    A lot of this rot can be traced back to Reagan in the 1980s, when a brief majority of Americans put sentiment and emotion over reason and practicality, and ceded power to the people Kurt Anderson called Evil Geniuses (subtitle: The Unmaking of America: A Recent History), and for that matter to the conspiracies -- to use a word we've systematically been trained to abjure -- of the 1970s that many others have written about (off the top of my head: Rick Perlstein, Jane Mayer, Max Blumenthal, Kim Phillips-Fein, Laura Kalman, Nancy McLean, Jeff Madrick). For sure, part of the blame lies with Democrats, like Carter and Clinton, who thought they could beat the Republicans at their own game, and some to with Democrats like Obama and Biden, who chose to play along rather than rouse the people to defend their rights against relentless Republican assault.

    M's point is absolutely right. Bad choices often take years, sometimes decades, to manifest themselves. To cite two examples where the elapsed time was too short to cloud causality, the distance from Reagan's deregulation of the S&L industry to its collapse was 6-8 years. The distance from Clinton's repeal of Carter-Glass and the deregulation of derivatives -- changes mostly championed by Republicans like Phil Gramm, but Clinton signed off on them -- was 8-10 years. Longer, more insidious time frames are even more common. I recall George Brockway tracing the financial madness circa 2000 back to an obscure banking law Republicans passed after their fluke congressional win in 1946 -- the same one that gave us Taft-Hartley, which had little effect on unionized auto, aircraft, steel, etc., workers through the 1960s but led to their collapse from the 1980s on. Similarly, there are blunders from the early Cold War that still haunt us (like the overthrow of Iran in 1953).

    We've been systematically starved of democracy for decades now: ever since campaigns became media circuses, increasingly in thrall to the sponsor class. Maybe now that the strangulation has become so obvious -- the only choice we've been allowed is between the two least popular, and quite arguably the two least competent, politicians in America -- we'll finally realize our need to struggle to breathe free. Or maybe we'll just fucking die. After all, we're about 90% buried already.

. . . And other Republicans:

• Sasha Abramsky: [07-02] Will Arizona be MAGA's last stand? "Trump needs the state's votes to win. But after its highest court revived an 1864 law that bans abortions, all bets are off."

• Hassan Ali Kanu: [07-11] No, Trump and GOP have not 'softened' on abortion, women's rights: "The language change in their platforms is nakedly dishonest bait and switch."

• Sarah Jones: [07-14] The authoritarian plot: "At the National Conservatism conference, Republicans mix with racists ranting about 'post-white America.'"

• Steve M: I have a couple more of his posts elsewhere, but let's go to town here:

  • [07-13] First thoughts on the shooting (updated): Starts with his own prediction tweet: "Every rank-and-file Republican voter believes this was an assassination attempt ordered by President Biden. Trump will soon start pouring gasoline on the flames by stating this as if it's fact." Update shows it's happening even ahead of Trump's provocation. He does have them well trained.

  • [07-13] Project 2025: the gaslighting is well underway.

  • [07-13] Fear the all-powerful left! "The fever dreams of the propaganda-addled crazies at the Heritage Foundation are hilarious."

  • [07-12] Are Biden's poll numbers impervious to bad news, like Trump's? I think the upshot here is that while people may not know what (or whom) to believe, they've become so wary of being lied to that they reject any news, probably from any source, leaving them impervious to change. If you're a journalist/pundit, you may think it's your job to adjust to new facts, but if you're not, it's just fucking noise, almost all of which can be discounted.

  • [07-11] New York Times editorial: Trump is bad -- but the Republican Party is awesome! That editorial was titled Trump is not fit to lead.

    Not a single Democrat is cited in this editorial. I understand that that's the point -- the ed board members, if you asked them about this, would say, "We're making the point that even Trump's fellow Republicans know he's unfit" (though no Republican in good standing dares to say that). But this is also a sign that the Times ed board agrees with the Republican Party's decades-long campaign to "other" Democrats. Our political culture accepts the GOP's assertion that Democrats aren't really Americans.

  • [07-10] Dear Democrats: You know people can hear you, right? (updated):

    It's been thirteen days since the June 27 debate. On each of those thirteen days, the top news story in America -- not just in the monomaniacal New York Times, but everywhere -- has been "Christ, That Joe Biden Is Really, Really Old. He Can't Possibly Win. He Has to Step Aside. Has He Done It Yet?" Other stories, including stories that could have been very damaging to Donald Trump, were fully or partly buried. And still Democrats can't muscle Biden out, persuade him to leave the race, or stop talking about it and get behind him. . . .

    I think Democrats believe it's okay for this to play out in public for two weeks -- two weeks of bad headlines for the man who now seems certain to be the nominee -- because of a fundamental misunderstanding of politics that hurts them in other areas as well. They think this is fine because they think voters pay attention to politics only in the last couple of months before an election. That's the reason most Democrats don't bother with messaging unless it's election season, while Republicans engage in messaging every day of every year.

    I'm not personally super bothered by the protracted process, but clearly this has given Trump and the Republicans a whole month of big PR wins, from the June 27 debate all the way through the end of the RNC, especially as, in response to the shooting incident, Democrats have wisely decided to pull their ads, and keep their powder dry. But if the election was next week, this would have been a total disaster for the Democracy. (Maybe not for the small-d concept, but that's what they called the Party back in Jackson's day, and that's what Will Rogers meant when he said he wasn't a member of an organized political party: he was a democrat.) But at some point soon-ish, they really have to get the act together and turn this mess around. I don't see how they can do that without first jettisoning Biden, who is the indelible personification of a much greater crisis in democratic faith.

  • [07-09] The press doesn't have a "bias toward coherence" -- it has a bias toward Republicans.

• Shawn Musgrave: Trump's camp says it has nothing to do with Project 2025 manifesto -- aside from writing it.

• Timothy Noah: The GOP platform perfectly reflects the lunacy of Trump's party: "I read it so you don't have to: It's an unconditional surrender to the cult of Trump, and its plan to reduce inflation is laughable."

• Rick Perlstein: [07-10] Project 2025 . . . and 1921, and 1973, and 1981: "Terrifying blueprints for the next Republican presidency are a quadrennial tradition." Perlstein points out that aside from all the truly evil stuff you've possibly read about elsewhere, there is also a lot of confusion and in-fighting going on. For example:

  The section about Russia in the State Department chapter -- the author is an old hand of the High Reaganite wing of the Republican foreign-policy guild; a "globalist," if you will -- emphasizes that the Russia-Ukraine conflict "starkly divides conservatives," with one faction arguing for the "presence of NATO and U.S. troops if necessary," while the other "denies that U.S. Ukrainian support is in the national security interest of America at all."

  This misunderstanding is important. The silence, so far, on those parts, indicts us. These are great, big, blinking red "LOOK AT ME" advertisements of vulnerabilities within the conservative coalition. Wedge issues. Opportunities to split Republicans at their most vulnerable joints, much as when Richard Nixon cynically expanded affirmative action requirements for federal building projects, in order to seed resentment between blue-collar building trades Democrats and Black Democrats.

  And yes, there is plenty of blunt insanity, too. But, bottom line, this is a complicated document. "Conservatives in Disarray" is precisely the opposite message from that conveyed by all the coverage of Project 2025. But it is an important component of this complexity, and why this text should be picked apart, not panicked over, and studied both for the catastrophes it portends and the potential it provides.

• Andrew Prokop: [07-13] Project 2025: The myths and the facts: "The sweeping conservative plan for Trump's second term is very real. Here's what it actually says."

• Prem Thakker: GOP platform doesn't mention the word "climate" once -- even after hottest year on record.

Biden

Evidently Biden's age was already an issue in 2008, when Barack Obama picked him for Vice President. The thinking was that his age would balance off Obama's youth, that the position would cap off an already long and distinguished political career, and that he'd be too old to mount a serious run in 2016, leaving the field open for Hillary Clinton.

But when Clinton lost to Donald Trump -- let that sink in for a moment, folks -- Biden convinced himself that he could have done better, and set out to prove it in 2020. And he was a flop, his age dulling the charisma he never really had in the first place, but with Bernie Sanders a year older age wasn't so much an issue, and with Sanders winning, Biden became the only credible option to stop him, and the donor wing of the Democratic Party were desperate to do that.

After derailing Sanders, defeating Trump should have been the easy part, but somehow Biden managed to make even that look hard fraught. He won, but not decisively enough to lead Congress, or to squelch Trump's big lie about a rigged/stolen election. Trump has, if anything, loomed larger in American politics than Biden, even as president, could do. While that is testimony to several alarming tendencies in public opinion -- and media that both panders to and cashes in on controversy -- one cannot help but suspect that Biden's age is part of the problem.

At any rate, it's the part that people focus on once they realize that there is a problem that it could plausibly explain. They do that because it's tangible, something they have lots of experience with or at least observing. It's also something you can base expectations on, because it's inevitably progressive: if age seems to be a problem now, you can only expect it to get worse. Many Democrats, especially one who have closely bound their careers to Biden, have worked hard to hide evidence and deflect discussion of Biden's age -- even from Biden himself. But once you see it, as most people did in his June 27 debate with Trump, it's hard to revert to denialism. It's like the zit you never noticed, then found you can't avert your eyes from. Pretty soon you wind up with the Emperor's New Clothes.

As the following links will show, Democrats are divided: Biden and his closest allies still think that if they hold firm, he can ride the story cycle out, and by November refocus the campaign on beating back the immense threat of a Trump win; many others are skeptical and/or worried sick; a few actually see that replacing Biden with a younger, more dynamic, and hopefully much sharper candidate -- Harris seems to fill that bill, and is well-placed to step in, but there could be dozens of good options -- opens up an opportunity to not just eke out a win in November but deliver a crushing blow to Trump and his crony fascists.

As I've probably made clear over the last couple weeks, I'm skeptical, but also in the latter camp. I'm not really capable of the sort of despair that sees Biden, even as decrepit as he obviously is, losing to Trump -- despair in the future tense, as anticipation of a horrible turn of events, something very different from the sickening feeling when such events happen (as I remember all too well from November 2016). That part is just faith, still intact even if waiting to be shattered.

But my skepticism takes many forms. The one I'm most certain of is that if Biden remains in the race, he will commit a fair number of age-related gaffes and blunders, maybe including what wouldn't be his first fall, and that every time he does, his age will return as the paramount media obsession, shifting attention from the real and present threat of Trump. I don't know how many votes that will cost Biden, but it is a risk, and also a major opportunity cost. We need Democrats to win not just to stop Trump and shore up the somewhat liberal wing of the militarist oligarchy that Biden aligns with, but to actually address real problems, helping an overwhelming majority of Americans through very troubling times.

Another form of skepticism is suggested by my rather sour turn of phrase in that last line. I gravitated toward the new left in the late 1960s, and since then I've been as acutely critical of the Democratic Party as I've been of the Republicans, even as I've most often voted for Democrats, figuring them to be not just lesser evils but occasionally good for modest reforms. Either is reason enough to vote Democratic. (It's not like your vote is good for much else.) But if you're on the left (or anywhere else excluded from access to power), you might also consider voting a tactical choice: you're going to spend the next four years in opposition anyway, but which issues would you rather protest against? Biden, or any other Democrat with a chance, will leave you plenty to argue against.

One thing I can say about age is that it mellows you out. My critical analysis is as radical (in the sense I originally got from a 1966 book titled The New Radicals) as ever, but my appetite for conflict has really dimmed, and I'm willing to appreciate almost any tad of ameliorative reform. I chalk much of my personal change up to aging, and I suspect similar things happen to most people, including politicians like Biden. As I've noticed, Biden is the only president in my lifetime who turned out better than I expected (well, until Gaza, which is hard to excuse). Part of that is that he came in with really low expectations. Part of it may be that he's old enough to remember the pre-Carter, pre-Reagan, pre-Clinton Democrats -- even though he seemed totally simpatico with them, you know how old people lose recent memories before they lose formative ones? There's no one else like him in the Democratic Party these days. (Sanders is old enough, but never was that kind of Democrat. He was much better, which is why he remains so much sharper.) I do worry that whoever replaces Biden will be just another neoliberal shill. But even where Biden's heart is in the right place -- and, let's face it, it isn't always -- he's lost his ability to persuade, to lead, and to listen.

So my considered view is that we need to move him out, and start working on viable future. Even if Biden sticks and wins -- and I'll vote for him, despite thinking he really belongs in a Hague Court -- he's only going to get older, more decrepit, less credible, more embarrassing, and less effective as he struggles to hang on past his 86th birthday. And if he dies, resigns, or has to be removed, his replacement will enter with a much reduced mandate. Dump him now, elect his replacement, elect a Congress that's willing to do things, and the next four years will start looking up.

I guess that's more of an editorial than an introduction. I wrote it before collecting the following links:

• Intelligencer: [07-09] Biden resistance appears to be waning in Congress: For a brief period, this publication seemed convinced that Biden is persevering in his fight to stay atop the Democratic Party ticket.

  • Ben Jacobs: [07-10] How the Democratic movement to dump Biden went bust.

  • Nia Prater: [07-09] Why is the Squad backing Biden so forcefully?

• Sasha Abramsky: [07-10] An open letter to the president of the United States: "There are worse things in life than a comfortable retirement."

• Michael Arria: [07-09] Biden was already a vulnerable candidate because of the genocide: "Biden was already plummeting in the polls before his disastrous presidential debate with Trump. The reason was his ongoing complicity in the Gaza genocide and the Uncommitted movement."

• David Atkins: [07-11] I'm a DNC member and a public opinion professional. It's highly unlikely Biden can win: "Only one person can build on the administration's accomplishments, have unfettered access to funds and ballot lines, and do so without wasting precious time. Her name is Kamala Harris." Another long-time, major Biden apologist breaks ranks.

• Rachel Bade/Eugene Daniels/Ryan Lizza: [07-11] Playbook: What Obama and Pelosi are doing about Biden. Report here is that George Clooney showed his op-ed to Obama before he ran it, and did not receive any objection. "Obama's team declined to comment." Pelosi seems to be maneuvering behind the scenes, but "out of respect for Biden and national security writ large" thought he should hang on through the NATO summit. Now (my thinking here), with the shooting, it would make sense to wait until after the RNC shuts down.

• Joseph Contreras: [07-06] What Joe Biden could learn from Nelson Mandela about knowing when to quit: "Unlike the beleaguered U.S. president, the South African leader did not want to be an 81-year-old head of state and served only one term."

• Keren Landman: [07-11] The controversy over Biden and Parkin's disease, explained.

• Eric Levitz:

  • [07-09] The arguments for Biden 2024 keep getting worse: "No, 'history' does not tells us that the Democrats shouldn't change their nominee."

  • [07-12] The bar for Joe Biden should not be on the floor: "At his press conference, the president proved he can sometimes speak coherently. That's not good enough."

• Andrew Prokop:

  • [07-09] Is it undemocratic to replace Biden on the ticket? "Biden says the primary voters picked him. Is there more to democracy than that?" What kind of democracy was that? Practically nobody ran against Biden in 2024 because the campaign finance system lets donors pick who can run, and they didn't dare cross Biden -- especially after Democrats canceled Iowa and New Hampshire, which historically have been wide open and have a history of upsets, and which Biden lost badly in 2020, in favor of running South Carolina first, the sourc of Biden's breakthrough win in 2020.

  • [07-11] What Biden's news conference did, and didn't, clear up: "The presser went fine. But the Democratic defections continued."

  • [07-14] Will Trump's shooting change everything? Or surprisingly little? "Two theories on the political impact of the Trump assassination attempt." The Trump campaign will try to spin this in to a big deal, blaming it all on the left and championing Trump as a life-risking fighter for true Americans, who want nothing more than to make their beleaguered nation great again. But it doesn't change the issues, or stakes, one iota.

  • [07-15] Did Trump's shooting save Biden's nomination? "Democratic defections have slowed, but Biden isn't out of the woods yet." Perhaps I should re-read this more carefully, but on first scan, absolutely nothing in this piece makes any sense to me.

• Kaleigh Rogers: [07-12] Americans were worried about Biden's age long before the debate. Background from the poll-watchers at 538, who also produced:

  G Elliott Morris: [07-09] Why 538's forecast hasn't moved much post-debate: "Polls move a lot in the fall, and the fundamentals are still good for Biden."

  • Nathaniel Rakich: [07-10] What the Democrats doubting Biden have in common: "They're more moderate, while his backers are progressive and racially diverse."

  • Tommy Barone: [07-11] 4 reasons to beware of post-debate polling takes: "Biden's lost some ground, but it's hard to say much more."

• Luke Savage: [07-12] The Biden problem has been years in the making: "As concerns mount over Biden, the Democratic Party reminds us this isn't a democracy."

• Bill Scher:

  • [07-05] I've defended Biden for years. Now, I'm asking him to withdraw: "After waiting too long to reassure the public of his mental fitness, the president is sinking in the polls with little hope for recovery. But he can resign with grace and make history." Scher has long struck me as the most diehard Biden apologist in the Washington punditocracy, and indeed he was one of the few to have reserved hope after the debate (see: A wasted opportunity for Biden (but still time for redemption)). So this appears as a significant retreat. And he's followed with:

  • [07-09] How Kamala can win (without mini-primary madness).

  • [07-12] Wilson didn't resign. The world suffered. Biden need not repeat that mistake: "Wilson hid an incapacitating stroke from the public and fatally compromised his mission to establish a functional League of Nations. Once again, global peace and democracy precariously rely on a president reluctant to face a personal health crisis." Well, that's another whole can of worms, and while it's always fun to argue about Wilson, his case is really not relevant here. I will say that Wilson was a very complex but tragically flawed character, often invoked in arguments that reduce him to caricature. My own argument is that his failure to sell Americans on the League of Nations -- which was evident before his stroke took him out of action -- had no real bearing on the coming of WWII, but his failures at Versailles did (as Britain and France cast aside his anti-imperialism and insisted on punitive reparations over his better sense).

• Jeffrey St. Clair:

  • [07-12] Running on empty: Very good coverage on Hurricane Beryl here, but this is mostly on Biden, starting with a Chris Hayes quote: "Biden is a decent man who has done nothing wrong. He has not got caught in a scandal -- he's just aging." To which St. Clair responds: "The real scandal is that liberals don't see arming a genocide as a scandal." I'm inclined to compartmentalize and see opposing Netanyahu's genocide in Gaza and opposing Trump in America as both critically important but separable matters, and I'm even willing to cut Biden some slack, as he is a potential solution to both -- although in the latter he's mostly proven hapless, in the former, which is something he could do something about on his own, he's drifted into criminal negligence. But clearly Hayes misspoke, and he, at least, should have known better. We've seen many attempts to use flattery to tempt Biden to quit (e.g., George Clooney, Thomas Friedman, Paul Krugman, David Remnick, Matthew Yglesias), but it hasn't worked, and it's hard to see why it would. This seems more like the time for brutal honesty. If you must, sugar-coat it as tough love, but save the huzzahs for after he does "the right thing."

  • [07-15] Big Boy Biden in his own words: He starts by quoting some of the praised heaped on Biden for his press conference performance, like Andrew Bates: "To answer the question on everyone's minds: No, Joe Biden does not have a doctorate in foreign affairs. He's just that fucking good." That leaves St. Clair wondering:

    After hearing these encomia, I had to check myself. This is Joe Biden they're talking about, right? The same Joe Biden who voted for the Iraq War, the most disastrous foreign policy debacle in US history? The same Joe Biden who backed the overthrow of Qaddafi, turning Libya into an anarchic war zone dominated by slave trading gangs? The same Joe Biden who provoked and now refuses to seek an end to a bloody, stalemated war in Ukraine? The same Joe Biden who has continued Trump's Cuban embargo and tariffs on China? The same Biden who has spent the last 3.5 years pandering to the bone-sawing Saudi regime he called a "pariah" state during his 2020 campaign? The same Biden who refused to renegotiate a nuclear agreement with Iran? The same Biden who has armed a genocide in Gaza that may end up claiming over 200,000 Palestinian lives? The same Biden who could barely string together two complete sentences a couple of weeks ago?

    Adding, "An unlikely transformation, IMHO." So then he reads the White House transcript, and quotes it liberally, although his best line is in his introduction: "Biden's answers reminded me of some of Samuel Beckett's later works exploring the thought patterns of a decaying mind."

• Alexander Stille: We learned everything we needed to know about Biden in 1988: "His stubborn refusal to heed wise advice, and bottomless belief in his own greatness, were on display in his first campaign for president."

• Michael Tomasky: [07-12] Democrats: "He was better than the debate" is not remotely good enough: "In Trump world, they're thinking landslide. Democrats need to act and talk Biden into stepping aside, and soon."

• p>Cenk Uygur: [07-11] Biden will not be the nominee: "The Young Turks host has long predicted Biden's campaign would implode. He explains why it wasn't obvious to everyone, and predicts what will happen next." Nathan J Robinson interviews him.

And other Democrats:

• Jonathan Chait: [07-15] The Democratic Party's strange attraction to defeatism: "After the Trump shooting, another post-9/11 moment takes hold."

• Christian Paz: [07-10] Is Kamala Harris a better candidate now than she was four years ago?

• Li Zhou: [07-13] Kamala Harris's strengths -- and vulnerabilities -- explained: "Harris would be a strong nominee. She also has to overcome some challenges."

Legal matters and other crimes:

• Aja Romano: [07-13] How Alec Baldwin's Rust trial went spectacularly off the rails: "Charges of involuntary manslaughter against the actor have been dismissed, and cannot be refiled. Here's what happened."

Climate and environment:

• Umair Irfan: [07-12] Why Hurricane Beryl was more than Houston could handle: "The factors fueling the storm's strength -- and the city's widespread power outages -- have been building for months."

Economic matters:

• Ryan Cooper: [07-12] Inflation is whipped. Someone wake up Jerome Powell.

Ukraine War and Russia:

• Blaise Malley: [07-12] Diplomacy Watch: Will Russia be invited to next peace summit?

• George Beebe: [07-12] We need a rational discussion about the Russian threat: "Is Moscow about to 'move on to Poland' after Ukraine like Biden says? Not exactly."

• Warren Davidson: [07-09] All eyes on Biden, but can they se how close we are to war? "More than ever the president appears willing to cross any red line against Russia for Ukraine."

• Jonah Valdez: Russia attacks hospitals in Ukraine. Israel does the same in Gaza. The U.S. response couldn't be more different. "The U.S. undermines its criticism of Russia's abuses in Ukraine by making excuses for Israel's assault on Gaza."

America's empire and the world:

• Bob Dreyfuss: [07-09] A surprise win by an Iranian reformist. Masoud Pezeshkian, regarded as a moderate, won Iran's election to become president after Ebrahim Raisi's recent death. Also on Iran:

  • Ellen Ioanes: [07-10] Iran's new president can only change the country so much.

• Anatol Lieven: [07-08] This week, NATO III celebrates itself: "As thousands descend on Washington for an anniversary summit, we posit that the alliance is broken and sleepwalking into war." Also on NATO:

  • Medea Benjamin: [07-12] Similar to Biden, NATO is aged and unfit for leadership: Only a passing reference to Biden on the way to her real subject: one she, with David Swanson, wrote a book about: NATO: What you Need to Know.

  • Sevim Dagdelen: [07-12] NATO charts a new course: "Will NATO encircle China next?"

  • Blaise Malley: [06-10] Declassified docs: US knew Russia felt 'snookered' by NATO; "Clinton officials understood Moscow's objection to eastward expansion."

  • Ishaan Tharoor:

    • [07-08] NATO meets at a moment of peak uncertainty in the West.

    • [07-10] At NATO summit, Gaza is the elephant in the room.

    • [07-12] NATO sets its sights on China. Because Russia worked out so well?

Other stories:

Zack Beauchamp: [07-10] What the world can learn from Indian liberalism: "The intellectual Pratap Bhanu Mehta explains how liberalism grew out of 3,000 years of Indian history."

Roger Kerson: [07-09] You think this year's presidential conventions will be crazy? 1924's fights over the Ku Klux Klan were wilder.

Katie Miles: [07-08] "She usually won." Remembering Jane McAlevey, 1964-2024. Also:

• DD Guttenplan: [07-09] From the moment she joined a fight, Jane McAlevey was in it to win.

• Nathan J Robinson: [04-17] What Jane McAlevey has taught us: "The labor organizer and writer is approaching the end of her life. She leaves behind vital organizing lessons that will reverberate over the next decades." I've cited this piece before, but it's obvious worth citing again now.

Initial count: 146 links, 9355 words. Updated count [07-16]: 193 links, 9436 words.

Local tags (these can be linked to directly): Biden.

Ask a question, or send a comment.

Tuesday, July 9, 2024

July archive (in progress).

Music: Current count 42624 [42580] rated (+42), 20 [29] unrated (-9).

Delayed until Tuesday again, because Speaking of Which took all of Monday, itself being pushed out by the seemingly futile notion that I could add a few Afterthoughts to the previous week's massive Speaking of Which.

Seems like I could wind up delaying this post a second day, as it's already late as I'm writing this. Most of Tuesday got chewed up writing two long comments relating to the Biden nomination: one on a Matthew Yglesias post, the other an expansion of my Afterthoughts comment. None of this even mentions the seemingly important (if true) Ben Jacobs: [07-09] How the Democratic movement to dump Biden went bust. Or Nia Prater: [07-09] Why is the Squad backing Biden so forcefully? As Yglesias explained in his piece, the calculation for Democratic politicians is different than the one for journalists and pundits. New York Magazine, which published a number of pieces extremely critical of Biden (probably all op. cit. through my links above) has gotten so into circling the wagons, they've gone into live blog mode: Biden resistance appears to be waning in Congress. On the other hand, Eric Levitz: [07-09] is back with another piece: The arguments for Biden 2024 keep getting worse.

Definitely no Afterthoughts this week, and I'm going to be hard pressed to do a Speaking of Which by Sunday or Monday. Most pressing thing after getting this up will be to follow up on the Mid-Year Jazz Critics Poll. Deadline remains Sunday, July 14. I've received 18 ballots so far, referencing a total of 177 albums. About 50% of those albums were not previously in my tracking file, so I've been using them for prospecting (three of the five A- albums this week came from ballots; the other two are promos I received, with no votes so far).

Probably the most important thing I need to do is to compare the Jazzpoll mailing list, which is where I sent the invites, to the more authoritative list I made last year of people I actually sent invites to, especially the ones I voted. At some point I stopped automatically adding names to the Jazzpoll list, so chances are that a couple dozen people who should have been invited weren't. I'm also worried about invites being diverted into spam folders -- I know of at least two such cases, both with gmail. If I had the time and energy, I would follow up, but it's a lot of work. I also need to go back and review some couple emails I received after last year's poll -- a couple offers of help, at least one person who asked to be invited (and should be).

To make up for these shortcomings in the invitation process, I asked people to inform and possibly invite their colleagues. Thus far I haven't received any takers, or for that matter inquiries. The only evidence I have is that some spam has started getting caught there. Not a lot, and none of it's getting through, but it's one more thing to deal with.

At this moment, the website is a bit behind my local copy, but I will refresh it a couple times this week. I need to edit several documentation files, and change the methodology notes in the totals files. The main things of possible public interest are the invitation, the list of critics who have voted, and the list of new releases and rara avis that have received votes. The actual results won't be public until ArtsFuse publishes them.

I've had very little time for updating my metacritic file, but I have added the mid-year lists I've been noting in the Speaking of Which music section, so there's been a bit of movement. File still needs a lot of work. I did, by the way, start counting all of the metal magazines at AOTY (but I've yet to go back and fill in the ones I skipped earlier). I wish their coverage of jazz, hip-hop, electronica, and country was as deep as their interest in metal, but it isn't. I haven't gotten around to sources like All About Jazz, Saving Country Music, and Hip Hop Golden Age, which would help remedy those deficits. No time, and not much energy these days. Also, I can barely see, so if I don't post this right away, it won't make it tonight.

PS: Facebook blocked me, so I may give that a rest.

New records reviewed this week:

BbyMutha: Sleep Paralysis (2024, True Panther): Rapper Brittnee Moore, from Chattanooga, second album, Bandcamp page attributes it to "BIGMUTHA," but every other source goes as I have it, sometimes no-caps. B+(**) [sp]

Beings: There Is a Garden (2024, No Quarter): New York-based quartet of Zoh Amba (tenor sax, mostly), Steve Gunn (guitar), Shahzad Ismaily (bass, synth), and Jim White (drums). I never thought of Gunn as a jazz musician, and he doesn't have to be one when filling in behind Amba's sax or piano (even more indebted to Charles Gayle than her sax), but when she sings, he presents a Velvet Underground vibe so she can be Moe Tucker. No attempt at fusion here. Just multiplicities. A- [sp]

Chris Byars: Boptics (2023 [2024], SteepleChase): Tenor saxophonist, what you might call a retro-bebopper, probably the most talented musician to first appear on Luke Kaven's early 2000s Smalls label, which also produced exceptional records by two more musicians in this sextet: Zaid Nasser (alto sax) and Ari Roland (bass). They're joined here by Stefano Doglioni (bass clarinet), John Mosca (trombone), and Keith Balla (drums). B+(**) [sp]

Kim Cass: Levs (2023 [2024], Pi): Bassist, second album, composed everything here, mostly for pianist Matt Mitchell, who he's supported in the past, and is striking (as usual) here. Also with Tyshawn Sorey (drums), and (except for 3-4 tracks) flute (Laura Cocks) and euphonium (Adam Dotson). B+(***) [cd]

Ernesto Cervini's Turboprop: A Canadian Songbook (2022 [2024], Three Pines): Canadian drummer, based in Toronto, half-dozen albums since his 2015 Turboprop introduced his group name. Sextet with two saxophonists (Tara Davidson and Joel Frahm), trombone (William Carn), piano (Adrean Farrugia), and bass (Dan Loomis). Songs are sentimental favorites in his neck of the woods, but they travel well. B+(***) [bc]

Coco Chatru Quartet: Future (2024, Trygger Music): Swedish group, named for "a legendary Swedish adventurer," label for bassist Håkan Trygger, who wrote four (of eight) pieces, with two each by Daniel Kåse (drums) and Linus Kåse (alto sax), zero by Charlie Malmberg (baritone sax). Slippery postbop, somewhat understated. B+(***) [lp]

Alfredo Colón: Blood Burden (2023 [2024], Out of Your Head): Alto saxophonist, based in Brooklyn, first album, quartet with Lex Korten (piano/keybs), Steve Williams (bass), and Connor Parks (drums), original pieces plus a Son House blues. This develops impressively, in the "spiritual jazz" vein pioneered by Coltrane, Sanders, and Ayler, alongside more recent efforts by saxophonists like Nat Birchall. A- [cd]

GloRilla: Ehhthang Ehhthang (2024, Cocaine Muzik Group/Interscope): Rapper Gloria Hallelujah Woods, from Memphis, two albums, this one's considered her second mixtape, crunk (I've read). Lot of b&n here (as in "ain't no b in me, n"). If you can roll with that, this should rock you. B+(***) [sp]

Conrad Herwig: The Latin Side of McCoy Tyner (2024, Savant): Trombonist, born in Oklahoma, studied at UNT, joined Clark Terry's 1980s band, played with Joe Henderson, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Joe Lovano, Mingus Big Band; first leader album in 1987, joined Eddie Palmieri in 1994, and recorded his initial The Latin Side of John Coltrane in 1996, since followed by Shorter, Hancock, Henderson, Silver, Mingus, and now Tyner. This one has Alex Norris (trumpet), Craig Handy (tenor/baritone sax), Bill O'Connell (piano), with the usual percussion excitement, and a special guest slot for Palmieri. B+(**) [sp]

Janel & Anthony: New Moon in the Evil Age (2024, Cuneiform): Janel Leppin (cello) and Anthony Pirog (guitar), self-released an album together in 2006, another for Cuneiform in 2012. They've since gone on to establish separate careers, but reunite here for what is effectively two albums: the first a ten-track suite of darkly engaging duet instrumentals, the second a singer-songwriter set with Leppin doing most of the singing -- jazz-influenced, no doubt, but not something one would note in a blindfold test. I find the songs a tad more appealing, but probably for the music, as I can't say much about the lyrics. B+(**) [cdr]

Mathias Højgaard Jensen: Is as Is (2022 [2024], Fresh Sound New Talent): Danish bassist, lives in Brooklyn, probably his first album as leader (Discogs has three side credits since 2019, his website has 13), all his pieces, quartet with David Mirarchi (alto sax), Jacob Sacks (piano), and Steven Crammer (drums). This is very nice: subtle and intricate postbop that sneaks up on you. A- [cd]

Malcolm Jiyane Tree-O: True Story (2020-21 [2024], New Soil/Mushroom Hour): South African trombonist, second group album. B+(**) [sp]

Alex Kautz: Where We Begin (2024, Sunnyside): Brazilian drummer, based in New York, married to Mexican singer Magos Herrera (featured on two songs here), with John Ellis (tenor sax/clarinet), Chico Pinheiro (guitar), Helio Alves (piano), and Joe Martin (bass). B+(*) [cd]

Cassie Kinoshi's SEED.: Gratitude (2023 [2024], International Anthem): British alto saxophonist, plays in the Afrobeat group Kokoroko, leads the large SEED Ensemble (first album in 2019, nominated for Mercury Prize, was upper case then but lower case now), which is a skeletal big band plus string quartet, flute, tuba, and turntables. Title piece runs 21:56, is packaged with a slightly smaller group on a 5:42 piece (so 27:38 total). B+(*) [sp]

Charlie Kohlhase's Explorer's Club: A Second Life (2022 [2024], Mandorla Music): Saxophonist (alto, tenor, baritone), based in Boston, Discogs credits him on 48 albums since 1985 (many with Either/Orchestra) but Wikipedia hasn't noticed yet, third group album, an octet with tenor sax (Seth Meicht), trumpet (Dan Rosenthal), trombone (Jeb Bishop), tuba (Josiah Reibstein), guitar (Eric Hofbauer), bass, and drums. Originals plus covers from Elmo Hope, Ornette Coleman, John Tchicai, and Roswell Rudd. The bottom horns provide a lot of lift. A- [sp]

Janel Leppin: Ensemble Volcanic Ash: To March Is to Love (2023 [2024], Cuneiform): Cellist, released the album Ensemble Volcanic Ash in 2022, same basic group and concept here but I'm annoyed by the typography, so this is my solution. The music can also annoy, but also can turn remarkable, even living up to this hype: "progressive chamber jazz with the steely avant-garde that descends from Julius Hemphill's 1972 LP Dogon A.D." Hemphill's secret was cellist Abdul Wadud, whose name appears in the opening "Ode." Sextet with Brian Settles (tenor sax), Sarah Hughes (alto sax), Anthony Pirog (guitar), Luke Stewart (bass), and Larry Ferguson (drums). B+(***) [cdr]

Frank London/The Elders: Spirit Stronger Than Blood (2023 [2024], ESP-Disk): Trumpet player, has extensive experience in klezmer music (Klezmatics, Hasidic New Wave, Klezmer Brass Allstars, Klezmer Conservatory Band) as well as straight jazz -- here often evoking Ellington and Mingus, with tributes to Lester Bowie and Ron Miles. B+(***) [cd]

Megan Thee Stallion: Megan (2024, Hot Girl): Rapper Megan Pete, fourth album (plus several EPs) since 2019, I usually like her raunch and roll, but runs long here, for mixed results. B+(***) [sp]

Che Noir: The Color Chocolate, Volume 1 (2024, Poetic Movement, EP): Rapper Marche Lashawn, from Buffalo, Discogs lists as Che'Noir, cover looks more like Chè Noir. EP is four songs, 10:58, but Discogs has more cuts, and Wikipedia has nothing, which is odd given that Discogs lists seven songs and six singles/EPs. Even at this length, this feels pretty substantial. B+(**) [sp]

Clarence Penn: Behind the Voice (2024, Origin): Drummer, has several albums, one original here plus a batch of soul & rock standards from the 1970s-80s, roughly Stevie Wonder to Prince, with sides of Peter Gabriel and Don Henley, employing five guest singers, with Kurt Elling the one you've heard of (but may not want to hear). B+(*) [cd]

Ken Peplowski: Unheard Bird (2024, Arbors): Supposedly another chapter of "Bird with Strings": a first recording of arrangements commissioned for Charlie Parker. The leader, playing clarinet and tenor sax, is not a very obvious choice for this project, but if the idea is simply to make Bird cornier, who is? Peplowski leads a very capable quintet with Terell Stafford (trumpet), Glenn Zaleski (piano), Peter Washington ( bass), and Willie Jones III (drums), while Loren Schoenberg conducts an orchestra of strings, harp, and oboe. B- [sp]

Ken Peplowski: Live at Mezzrow [Smalls Live Living Masters Series] (2023 [2024], Cellar Music): This is more like what he's done so consistently since 1989: tenor sax and clarinet, playing swing standards with the occasional bop reference (Monk, Hank Jones), leading a rhythm section that's been doing just that for decades: Ted Rosenthal (piano), Martin Wind (bass), Willie Jones III (drums). B+(***) [sp]

Carla Santana/José Lencastre/Maria do Mar/Gonçalo Almeida: Defiant Ilussion (2023 [2024], A New Wave of Jazz): Electronics, alto/tenor sax, violin, bass quartet, recorded in Portugal. B+(***) [bc]

Dirk Serries/Rodrigo Amado/Andrew Lisle: The Invisible (2021 [2024], Klanggalerie): Belgian guitarist, Portuguese tenor saxophonist, English drummer, recorded in Belgium, three pieces (56:44). Amado is superb when he gets out front. B+(***) [bc]

Matthew Shipp: The Data (2021 [2024], RogueArt, 2CD): Pianist, brilliant, many albums since the late 1980s, probably has a dozen solos by now, with this one of the better ones, if you're at all so inclined. B+(***) [cdr]

TV Smith: Handwriting (2024, JKP/Easy Action): T for Timothy, was singer-songwriter in British punk band the Adverts, released two 1977-78 albums, best remembered for the single "Gary Gilmore's Eyes," but the song I always think of is "One Chord Wonders." He formed another band, then went solo in 1983, and has recorded pretty regularly since 1992 -- way off my radar. Older now, which means slower, and anger ripened into bitterness, and therefore gravitas. B+(***) [sp]

Anthony Stanco: Stanco's Time (2023 [2024], OA2): Trumpet player, second album, side credits back to 2011, half originals, half jazz standards from Ellington and early boppers (Parker, Monk, Dameron, Davis), half with "Time" in the title. With Randy Napoleon (guitar), Xavier Davis (piano), bass, drums, and on three cuts, Walter Blanding (tenor sax). B+(**) [cd]

TiaCorine: Almost There (2024, South Scope/Interscope, EP): Rapper from North Carolina, merged her first two names together, omitting Thompson Shultz, mother is Shoshone, father has roots in Japan and Africa. She released an EP in 2020, an album in 2022, back here with eight songs, 16:38. Title is about right. B+(**) [sp]

Ryan Truesdell: Synthesis: The String Quartet Sessions (2022-23 [2024], ArtistShare, 3CD): Composer/arranger/conductor, started as Maria Schneider's assistant, made his name with "Newly Discovered Works of Gil Evans," has conducted "The Music of Bob Brookmeyer." Here he's composed a bit and arranged or at least currated a lot of new compositions for string quartet, with a few strategic guest spots. B+(**) [cdr]

Steve Turre: Sanyas (2023 [2024], Smoke Sessions): Trombonist, also plays conch shells, couple dozen albums since 1987, quite a bit of side work (Discogs lists 224 albums he played trombone on). Live sextet here with Nicholas Payton (trumpet), Ron Blake (tenor sax), Isaiah Thompson (piano), Buster Williams (bass), and Lenny White (drums). Starts with title track, which Turre wrote for Woody Shaw's The Moontrane (1974), evoking the classic trombone-augmented hard bop sextets of the 1960s. Ends with a very nice "These Foolish Things." B+(***) [sp]

Lisa Ullén: Heirloom (2023 [2024], Fönstret): Swedish pianist, born in Seoul, South Korea, over a dozen albums under her own name since 2006, more side-credits. First solo album, each side with a variation on the same three-part suite. B+(**) [bc]

Jack Walrath: Live at Smalls (2023 [2024], Cellar Music): Trumpet player, started out with Mingus in the mid-1970s, debut album 1979, had an impressive run in the 1990s, has five albums on SteepleChase since 2008 -- quite a bit of work I should catch up on. Quintet here with Abraham Burton (tenor sax), George Burton (piano), Boris Kozlov (bass), and Donald Edwards (drums), revisiting his songbook and adding to the legacy ("A Bite of Tunisia," "Mood for Muhal," etc.). B+(***) [sp]

Neil Young & Crazy Horse: Fu##in' Up (2023 [2024], Reprise): Live album, from Tivoli in Toronto, reprising their 1990 album Ragged Glory, a pretty solid A- at the time, dropping one song ("Mother Earth"), renaming most of the rest (title song becomes "Heart of Steel"), length up 1:50. Hard to see this as necessary, but sounds good and gets better. B+(***) [r]

Denny Zeitlin: Panoply (2012-23 [2024], Sunnyside): Pianist, 86 now, has recorded since 1964, while pursuing a parallel career in psychiatry. This offers a good survey of his range, from solo pieces (2012) to a trio (2019) with Buster Williams and Matt Wilson, plus home recordings in a duo with George Marsh (drums). B+(**) [sp]

Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries:

Christer Bothén Featuring Bolon Bata: Trancedance [40th Anniversary Edition] (1984 [2024], Black Truffle): Swedish tenor sax/bass clarinet player, first albums were with Don Cherry, this was the first he led, Bolon Bata the band name, went on to a second album in 1988. Before this he lived and studied in Mali and Morocco, also playing doson n'goni and guimbri here, the large groups featuring other African instruments, and various vocals. A- [bc]

Johnny Griffin Quartet: Live in Valencia 92 [The Jordi Suñol Archives 3] (1992 [2024], Storyville): Tenor saxophonist (1928-2008), distinguished himself with Thelonious Monk in the 1950s, had a major career in the 1960s, recorded consistently during the 1970s and 1980s (on widely scattered labels), enjoyed something of a comeback in the 1990s. Live set from Spain -- part of a series of archives that started with albums by Phil Woods and Mulgrew Miller -- with Hervé Sellin (piano), Reggie Johnson (bass), and Doug Sides (drums). Opens fast, closes gently. B+(***) [sp]

Shelly Manne & His Men: Jazz From the Pacific Northwest (1958-66 [2024], Reel to Real): Drummer (1920-84), started in swing bands, quickly adapted to bebop and majored in cool jazz; played with Stan Kenton, André Previn, and Ornette Coleman; led small groups, his 1959 Black Hawk sets with Richie Kamuca and Victor Feldman are especially esteemed. Two LPs here, the first from Monterey in 1958 with Stu Williamson (trumpet), Herb Geller (alto sax), Russ Freeman (piano), and Monty Budwig (bass); the second from Seattle in 1966 has Conte Candoli (trumpet), Frank Strozier (flute/alto sax), Hampton Hawes (piano), Budwig, and Ruth Price (vocals). B+(**) [sp]

Brother Jack McDuff: Ain't No Sunshine: Live in Seattle (1972 [2024], Reel to Real): Organ player (1926-2001), recorded 20-plus albums for Prestige 1960-66, establishing himself as one of the main soul jazz talents of the period, recording much less prolifically thereafter (for Atlantic, Blue Note, Cadet, and after 1992 for Concord). This is previously unreleased, a couple of nice sets with sax (Leo Johnson or Dave Young) and sometimes trumpet (unknown), as well as guitar and drums. B+(*) [sp]

Shelly Manne & His Men: Jazz From the Pacific Northwest (1958-66 [2024], Reel to Real): Drummer (1920-84), started in swing bands, quickly adapted to bebop and majored in cool jazz; played with Stan Kenton, André Previn, and Ornette Coleman; led small groups, his 1959 Black Hawk sets with Richie Kamuca and Victor Feldman are especially esteemed. Two LPs here, the first from Monterey in 1958 with Stu Williamson (trumpet), Herb Geller (alto sax), Russ Freeman (piano), and Monty Budwig (bass); the second from Seattle in 1966 has Conte Candoli (trumpet), Frank Strozier (flute/alto sax), Hampton Hawes (piano), Budwig, and Ruth Price (vocals). B+(**) [sp]

Kalaparusha Maurice McIntyre: Live From Studio Rivbea: July 12, 1975 [Rivbea Live! Series, Volume 1] (1975 [2024], No Business): Tenor saxophonist (1936-2013), born in Arkansas, grew up in Chicago (AACM, two albums on Delmark), and on to New York, where he played in the streets, subways, and lofts, first recording as Kalaparusha in 1970, with an uptick in activity around 1998. The label has done a terrific job of releasing archival tapes by Sam Rivers, who was the central figure in New York's "loft scene, so it's nice to see them building out. B+(***) [cd]

Sun Ra: Excelsior Mill (1984 [2024], Sundazed/Modern Harmonic): Solo organ performance, described here as "like a cross between a demonically riffing '50s horror movie villain and a futuristic congregation leader delivering the interplanetary gospel," and indeed this instrument often evokes church and/or horror movies. I'm not particularly fond of either. B [sp]

Old music:

Christer Bothén Trio: Triolos (2003-04 [2006], LJ): Leader plays bass clarinet, ngoni, guimbri; trio with David Stackenäs (guitar) and Peter Söderberg (theorbo, lute, guitar, low budget electronics). Rather abstract, more interesting than compelling. B+(**) [sp]

Ernesto Cervini: Joy (2021 [2022], Three Pines): Toronto-based drummer, composer, several albums, also a tireless publicist for his fellow Canadian musicians (many, including guest vocalists, featured here), credits this as "inspired by Louise Penny's Gamache series of books and the qualities of goodness, decency, courage, and love that permeate them." B+(**) [sp]

Maurice McIntyre: Humility in the Light of the Creator (1969, Delmark): Tenor saxophonist, first album, two suites ("Ensemble Love" and "Ensemble Fate"), the first dominated by George Hines' incantatory vocal, the latter picks up piano (Amina Claudine Myers) and more horns (Leo Smith on trumpet, John Stubblefield on soprano sax). B+(**) [sp]

Kalaparusha Maurice McIntyre: Forces and Feelings (1970 [1972], Delmark): Second album, cover has "Kalaparusha" in large type on top line, title (smaller, because it's longer) on second line, then "Maurice McIntyre" (smaller still) as third line, while the back cover credits tenor sax, clarinet, flute, and bells to "Kalaparusha Ahra Difda." Backed by guitar (Sarnie Garrett), bass (Fred Hopkins), and drums (Wesley Tyus), with vocals by Rita Omolokun. B+(**) [sp]

Kalaparusha Maurice McIntyre Quartet: Peace and Blessings (1979, Black Saint): Italian label, became a major outlet for American "loft scene" veterans (especially David Murray). This was recorded in Milan, with Longineau Parsons on trumpet (both also playing related instruments), Leonard Jones (bass), and King L. Mock (drums). B+(**) [sp]

Jack Walrath Quintet: In Europe (1982 [1983], SteepleChase): Trumpet player, played with Mingus in the 1970s (and later in various Mingus big bands), early in his career as a leader, with a relatively unknown group (Anthony Cox, on bass, is the only one I recognize), for a set in Copenhagen, playing four of his pieces. B+(*) [sp]

Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:

• Robby Ameen: Live at the Poster Museum (Origin) [07-26]
• BassDrumBone: Afternoon (Auricle) [06-24]
• Mai-Liis: Kaleidoscope (OA2) [07-26]

Ask a question, or send a comment.

Monday, July 8, 2024

Posting this a day late, only partly because I tried slipping in the Afterthoughts post. Late Monday night, and I'm dead tired, pretty sure I didn't complete my rounds, but at this point if I fail to post I'll just waste another day. Expect Music Week on Tuesday, plus some late additions here (and maybe on the Sunday-dated but Monday-posted Afterthoughts as well). On the other hand, my mid-year jazz critics poll needs some work too, and should probably be considered a more urgent priority.

Nice to see elections leaning left in UK, France, and Iran. That should probably be a bigger story.

Initial count: 139 links, 7096 words. Updated count [07-11]: 163 links, 9377 words. -->

Local tags (these can be linked to directly): on music.

Top story threads:

Israel:

• Mondoweiss:

  • [07-04] Day 272: Israelis urge Netanyahu to accept US ceasefire deal as Hamas gives its response: "Hezbollah has fired hundreds of rockets on the Galilee after Israel's assassination of one of its senior commanders."

• Sam Biddle: Israel opposes rebuilding Gaza's internet access because terrorists could go online: Worse than that, they could report news.

• Tareq S Hajjaj: [07-03] Israel's starvation policy in Gaza is forcing people to eat tree leaves: "The state of hunger in Gaza has not ended. Its long-term health effects are starting to show."

• Jewish Voice for Peace: [07-01] Emergency statement on the health and human rights crisis in the West Bank: "Alongside the catastrophe in Gaza, another crisis is unfolding in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, where the Israeli military has launched land incursions, conducted airstrikes, restricted access to resources, and targeted health infrastructure."

• Jake Johnson: [07-07] Israel bombs yet another UN school in Gaza as it enters month 10 of genocide: "The strike killed 16 and injured 75, including children. Israel has destroyed or damaged 80 percent of Gaza's schools."

• Hasan Khatib: [07-03] Why Gazans' extreme hunger could leave its mark on subsequent generations.

• Qassam Muaddi: [07-05] Why there is no uprising in the West Bank -- yet: "The West Bank remains unusually calm as Israel carries out its genocide in Gaza. But while Israeli repression has dissuaded an uprising in the streets, the tectonic plates underneath continue to shift."

• Haneen Odetallah: [07-03] The philosophy of Hamas in the writings of Yahya Sinwar: "The concepts of self-sacrifice, asceticism, and security awareness were crucial to Yahya Sinwar's philosophy of resistance. The revolt that culminated with October 7 was the direct application of his political thought." Like Theodor Herzl, Sinwar wrote a novel which can be read for philosophical depth and/or political strategy, but probably can't support the weight of either. If the comparison seems to trivialize Sinwar, that's probably my intention.

America's Israel (and Israel's America):

• Nicholas Kristof: [07-03] How Biden has gotten in the way of fighting starvation in Gaza.

• Blaise Malley: [07-03] By the numbers: US Gaza pier prject appears sunk.

• Robert A Pape: [06-21] Hamas is winning: He's some kind of counterterrorism guru, with books like Dying to Win: The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism (2005), and Cutting the Fuse: The Explosion of Global Suicide Terrorism and How to Stop It (2010), following earlier tomes like Bombing to Win: Air Power and Coercion in War, which was all the rage when it came out (1996). My wife wants me to listen to 11 minutes of his interview by Doug Henwood, but so far all I've found is this, with a link to an hour-long podcast that's supposed to be "wherever podcasts are" (like here?. I haven't read the article either, because it's paywalled behind a publication site that publishes crap like this:

  David Petraeus/Meghan L O'Sullivan/Richard Fontaine: Israel's war of regime change is repeating America's mistakes: "But Israel can still learn from America's successes." This was the source of an article I previously noted, but not the only thing he's been in the news for lately:

  • Gregory Daddis: [06-25] Stop listening to David Petraeus: "The self-promoting ex-general continues to rewrite history, suggesting that Israel deploy an Iraq-style 'surge' in Gaza.

  • Ukes, Kooks & Spooks: [07-02] 'This is where the presidents play': "Petraeus hosts neo-Nazi golf tournament at Joint Base Andrews.

  • Shalom Lipner: Israel is losing America: "Netanyahu should work with Biden, not against him.

  • Mohammad Shtayyeh: The best way to end Israel's war in Gaza: "Reviving the Arab Peace Initiative would resolve the conflict -- and build a new Palestinian reality."

  • Jens Stoltenberg: What NATO means to the world: "After 75 years, the alliance remains indispensable."

  • Andrew Byers/Randall L Schweller: Trump the realist: "The former president understands the limits of American power."

  Pape's article title (and for that matter his book titles) suggest he has a very naive, very addled concept of winning. Granted, I'm starting from the default position that nobody can ever win at war, and that anyone who thinks otherwise is deluding themselves, most likely by failing to recognize most of the costs one will eventually have to pay. Pape may well agree with much of this -- he certainly understands that Israel's collective punishment of Gaza is raising more opposition, and more desperate opposition, than they're able to kill off. It's not just that the violence could -- and sooner or later probably will -- rebound against Israel. It's just peculiar to think of either Israel's immediate offensive gains or its likely eventual denouement as winning for everyone.

  And especially for Hamas, which I'm inclined to believe -- admittedly with little evidence to back me up -- is no longer a real force, just a spectre conjured up by Israel as an excuse to continue genocide. I'm not saying that when Israel sends troops into some enclave in Gaza, they're not going to get fire returned. Just not much, and not from a coherent military or political force. Admittedly, I don't have much data to go on, so Pape might be helpful in that regard. On the other hand, how can he know much more than what Israel tells him? And why should he or we believe any of that?

• Brett Wilkins: [07-04] Senior Israeli lawmaker suggests nuclear attack on Iran: Avigdor Liberman, the guy who's not in Netanyahu's coalition because it isn't far-right enough for him. (Actually, it's probably just because he hates Netanyahu. While he has no other redeeming qualities, who can't sympathize with him on that?) Still, he's basically saying that the problem with Israel is that the government isn't stark-raving bonkers enough.

• Sharon Zhang: [06-28] Biden releasing part of bombs shipment to Israel that was paused over Rafah raid: "The administration appears to have totally thrown away its 'red line' on Rafah, two months after the invasion."

Israel vs. world opinion:

• Mohammad Jehad Ahmad: [07-07] Silenced at school: NYC public schools chancellor suppresses Palestinian voices: "New York City Public Schools has been suppressing Palestinian narratives and activism. NYC Educators for Palestine has attempted to meet with Chancellor David Banks for months, but he keeps dodging our meeting."

• Akbar Shahid Ahmed: [07-02] 12 Biden administration reseignees blast 'intransigent' Gaza policy: "Joe Biden 'has prioritized politics over just and fair policymaking' on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, former government officials argued in their first joint statement since quitting."

• Michael Arria: [07-04] The Shift: School's out, but attacks on student protesters continue.

• Muhannad Ayyash: [07-06] A hollow Palestinian state: "Spain, Ireland, and Norway recently made headlines for recognizing the State of Palestine. But the only effective policy for any state recognizing Palestine is also the diplomatic and economic isolation of the Israeli state. There is no other way." I would phrase this somewhat differently. There is no legitimate and/or sovereign Palestinian state to recognize, so it's an empty gesture -- admittedly, one that disrespects Israel, and may be worth doing just for that, but is insufficient to effect any change in Israel, which after all is the only place change can meaningfully occur.

• Helena Cobban:

  • [07-06] Chaos, collusion, and catastrophe: Biden and the genocide in Gaza.

  • [06-21] Israel's path to defeat: The implications.

• Ayça Çubukçu: [05-01] Many speak for Palestine: "The solidarity movement doesn't hav e a single leader -- and doesn't need one."

• Joseph Levine: [07-06] If you support Israel in the middle of a genocide, you're an awful person. I don't agree with this, but that's because I recognize that many basically good people subscribe to bad political opinions, mostly because they are misinformed and/or habitually focus on the wrong things (which makes them easily misled). I might even go so far as to say that there are no bad people: only people who believe bad things, often for bad reasons (like to dominate and demean other people). But it's almost always a mistake to reify bad politics into bad people -- only making sense when the politics totally consumes the person. This article led me to an older one worth noting:

  • Randa Abdel-Fattah: [2023-12-27] On Zionist feelings: "The feelings and fragility of Zionists are used as a rhetorical shield to deflect from the reality of Palestinian genocide. I refuse to provide reassurances to placate and soothe Zionist political anxieties." I'm more indulgent of Zionist feelings than most critics of Israel, and I have my reasons, but I also understand this viewpoint. Starts with a quote from Edward Said: "Since when does a militarily occupied people have the responsibility for a peace movement?" Since the more instinctive war movement has repeatedly failed against a massively more powerful oppressor? Fighting back, understandable and even inevitable, reduces you to their level, not that they don't respond by sinking even lower. A peace movement, on the other hand, gains moral high ground, and challenges them to do better. Admittedly, Israel has never taken that challenge. All they do is designed to provoke violence, because that's the level they want to fight on. And, to circle back around, those who want that don't just have bad politics but are fairly seen as bad people.

• Mitchell Plitnick: [07-05] Liberal Zionists answer the Gaza genocide by appealing for 'nuance': "Liberal Zionists are trying to rehabilitate Israel's image among young U.S. Jews after the Gaza genocide by appealing for 'nuance' and sending them to indoctrination camps. But these attempts ring more hollow than ever." Hard to scan for something as elusive as "nuance" in an article like this. As near as I can tell, the subjects here (Liberal Zionists in America) insist on being taken as fundamentally decent liberals, while excusing their distinctly illiberal views of anyone critical of Israel, mostly by treating "Arab nationalism" and "Islamic fundamentalism" every bit as rigidly as their opponents generalize about Zionism and Colonialism. Of course, they're right that their thought can be more nuanced than others appreciate, but the same is true for the others, who they reject with blanket generalizations -- like the syllogism that: Hamas is evil and can only be stopped with death; Hamas is an intrinsic tendency for Palestinians; therefore we will only be safe when all Palestinians are killed. That, in a nutshell, is current Israeli policy. Adding "nuance" may help obscure the issue, but won't change it.

  Plitnick, along with Marc Lamont Hill, is co-author of the book Except for Palestine: The Limits of Progressive Politics (2022), which goes deep into why many good people on the left in America have a blind spot for Israel. I don't know whether this addresses the second group of people, those who started with left/liberal sympathies but snapped hard to the right, often triggered by some crisis over Israel. The neocons, who rose to power under Clinton and GW Bush, provide some prime examples, but there are many more.

• Richard Rubenstein: [07-02] Israel in Gaza: The Jewish break with Zionism: or, "Zionism as ethnic chauvinism."

• Barnett R Rubin: [01-04] False Messiahs: "How Zionism's dreams of liberation became entangled with colonialism."

• Philip Weiss: [07-07] Weekly Briefing: Normalizing genocide. The article itself briefly cites lots of other articles I've already cited. "Genocide" is such a hard, definitive term, so the idea is to break it up into smaller, softer, more ambiguous acts, spread out over time to lessen the shock, an aid to denial for those so inclined. But making it all seem normal is going to be a tall order. This article elicited a comment worth noting:

  The psychology of denial is important to understand: Jews tend to identify with Israel the way people identify with their families, says Joseph Levine. Well, many, many people eventually come to the realization that their father was an abusive drunk, their mother was manic-depressive and their siblings bullied them but they stuck around because admitting to themselves the real situation is just too painful -- I think that's the situation we're dealing with re Israel.

• Omar Zahzah: [07-07] Why Big Tech's control of social media cannot stop anti-colonial resistance.

Election notes:

• Nandika Chatterjee: [07-03] RFK denies eating dog but admits he has "so many skeletons in my closet": "Kennedy denied an allegation in a new Vanity Fair report but sidestepped sexual assault claims from ex-babysitter." Bad enough that he goes for policy views that are even more demented than Trump's, but thinking he can beat Trump out for misbehavior, and thinking that will help his candidacy, is real chutzpah. Still, he's probably earned it. After all, none of the wives Trump betrayed ever committed suicide.

  • Matt Stieb: [07-08] RFK Jr. says he loves, does not eat, dogs: More about what I didn't realize was even a story.

• Akela Lacy/Prem Thakker: Whether it's Biden or someone else, Gaza remains top priority for "uncommitted" voters.

Joe Biden (post-debate):

• Sasha Abramsky: [07-03] Running Biden against Trump is just plain irresponsible: "If American democracy is on the line, as Democrats have rightly insisted, why nominate someone who has trouble keeping up with his opponent." Or how about this: why nominate someone who is living proof that democracy is already lost?

• Zachary D Carter: [06-10] Inflation is not destroying Joe Biden; "But something is!" Pre-debate piece I've been meaning to mention, but re-read it given what you know now.

• Jonathan Chait:

  • [07-06] Biden's norm-shattering response to the post-debate crisis: "The problems are ethical, not just political." Chait cites two examples that while "not illegal" he finds ethically troubling: bringing convicted felon son Hunter in as one of his close family advisers (a circling of the family wagons that reminds Chait of Trump), and Biden's unwillingness to submit to cognitive screening. The thing is, you not only have to consider the literal merits, but how they will be spun, in a political media environment that quite frankly is not inclined to favor Biden.

  • [07-08] The Democrats who care more about their careers than beating Trump: "Biden bets his party doesn't have the guts to confront him." As long as you're talking politicians, that's probably a good bet, at least at first. But the people who decide who runs and who cannot are the big donors, and they'll still have careers either way. Politicians may be waiting for their signal. When they do, expect all the tails to wag.

• George Clooney: [07-10] I love Joe Biden. But we need a new nominee. This matters, both as personal observation from someone who has access very few of us can match, and as the author is not a "low cost" pundit but a high value donor -- one of the people I often claim are actually pulling the strings. Also see the letters, at least the first one (another close witness). The third (terrified Harris will lose) and the fourth (he's just an actor, so who cares?) not so much.

• Nate Cohn: [07-03] The debate hurt Biden, but the real shift has been happening for years. There's also this interview with Cohn:

  • Isaac Chotiner: [07-04] Nate Cohn explains how bad the latest polling is for Joe Biden. This is in in a nutshell:

    Joe Biden is a badly wounded candidate whom voters dislike, and who voters think isn't capable of handling the Presidency. And while Donald Trump isn't a political juggernaut by any stretch, and is maybe every bit as weak as he was four years ago, at least at the moment, Joe Biden does not have the broad appeal necessary to take advantage of it.

• Matthew Cooper: [07-05] If Biden quits the race, he should resign the presidency: "Being a lame duck for seven months would be far worse for him -- and us -- than leaving office and propelling Vice President Harris to the Oval Office." Sorry, but this is really stupid. Running for president and being president are two very different things, and really demand different skill sets (not that there's any way we can fix that). Running for president demands that be able to engage with public and press, being articulate and decisive in difficult circumstances, every day between now and November. You'll need to convince voters that you will serve them, and will be able to continue to serve, clearly and coherently, for another four years. Nobody believes that Biden can or even should do that. That's a tall order, maybe even an impossible one, for anyone. Even in his prime, Biden never had those skills. He only got elected thanks to a series of fluke circumstances: first as the least objectionable compromise to stop Sanders from winning the Democratic nomination, and then as the only alternative to Trump. And while it may have seemed plausible that he could repeat given similar circumstances -- above all, a rematch with Trump -- some critical elements have changed beyond repair (like Biden having to own his own record, battered as he's been by four years of relentless Republican villification, with his own skills clearly diminished in his 80s).

  On the other hand, what's so hard about finishing his term? As president, he needs to attend a few meetings, ask questions, sign orders he has staff to prepare, do the occasional meet and greet. He doesn't have to give speeches or press conferences. He doesn't have to fly overseas. If, as reported, his sweet spot is 10-to-4, why can't that be his work day? And if he ever does have to answer that 3AM call to start WWIII -- you may recall that as Hillary Clinton's "commander-in-chief test" -- just wake him up and brief him. That's a situation smarter people would never allow to happen, but if he did, how much worse could he be than Clinton or any of his predecessors?

  As for being called a "lame duck," that's something that stupid people (or opportunists trying to dupe stupid people) are going to do anyway. Ignore them. (Actually, the 22nd Amendment should have banned consecutive terms. They didn't think of that because there was a long tradition of major presidents serving two -- and until FDR only two -- terms, and because in 1947-51 presidential election campaigns only took up a couple months, as opposed to the billionaire-funded multi-year marathons of late. They also had no idea all the crap journalists would spread about "lame ducks.")

  Let's assume that Biden has to withdraw from the nomination. As far as the country is concerned, there should be no problem with him finishing out the term he was elected to. But if he did so, Kamala Harris would become president. As she is most likely his replacement as nominee, would becoming president help or hurt her candidacy? I don't see how it would help. It would give her a bigger plane to campaign from, and offer a few nice photo-ops (world leaders and such, look presidential). But it would put a lot of demands on time she needs to campaign. And it would saddle her more closely with Biden's legacy, which despite some real accomplishments remains pretty unpopular. I also suspect that a Biden resignation wouldn't spin well: it will be taken as a disgrace, affirming all the charges against Biden, and tainting his legacy -- a legacy that Harris will need to burnish in order to win.

• Chas Danner:

  • [07-05] What happened in Biden's high-stakes ABC interview? One of those "live updates" smorgasbords, so scattered views; e.g., "Biden was able to stay afloat, but only by treading water while denying he could drown."

  • [07-07] Frail, stressed, stiff, and blinking: an aging expert on Biden's "shocking debate": "Looking at him today versus a few months ago is very concerning." Interview with Steven N. Austad.

• Arthur Delaney: [07-05] Reps. Seth Moulton, Mike Quigley latest Democrats to call on Joe Biden to quit race: "The dam hasn't broken, but there's a steady drip of statements from Democrats skeptical of Biden being the Democratic nominee."

• Ed Kilgore: [07-08] Was Biden's debate worse than Access Hollywood? I suppose what he's trying to say is that candidates can win despite embarrassing incidents along the way. I don't know or care which was worse, but I can think of several reasons why this will cause Biden more trouble: Access Hollywood may have impugned Trump's character, but he didn't have much to lose in the first place; also it's an old story, not present, so something Trump might have matured out of (as opposed to something that only gets worse with age); and while most of us might prefer to have a president who's not an asshole, some people actually regard that as a plus. On the other hand, debating is supposed to be a core competency for presidential aspirants, and is suggestive of how a person might handle an unexpected crisis, as is almost certain to happen. Also, the debate was an explicit opportunity for Biden to show that years of suppositions and innuendos about Biden's mental agility, tied to his age, were wrong. Biden's performance would seem to have confirmed them -- with his ever-increasing age by far the most obvious cause. Perhaps worse still, this implied that Biden's past denials were also false, casting considerable doubt on his reliability and truthfulness.

  Trump recovered because the the DNC mail dumps changed the fickle media's story line, then came Comey's announcement that he was re-opening the Clinton email investigation, which itself might have faded had the Stormy Daniels story not been bought off. But henceforth, every time Biden debates, he will be haunted by this performance, and every time he doesn't debate, that too works against him. Either way, Biden is trapped. If he doesn't drop out, this is going to be very painful to watch.

• Ezra Klein: [06-30] This isn't all Joe Biden's fault.

• Paul Krugman: [07-08] Please, Mr. President, do the right thing.

• Chris Lehman:

  • [07-02] Democrats are running interference for Biden. Voters aren't convinced: "Party messaging since last week's debate has set out to convince the public that what they saw on television didn't really happen."

  • [07-03] The debate won Biden some new supporters: Republicans.

• Eric Levitz:

  • [07-05] In an ABC interview, Biden charts a course for Dems' worst-case scenario: "The president appeared too frail to defeat Trump and too delusional to drop out."

    No interview or stump speech can erase these revelations. The news media will not stop scrutinizing the copious evidence of Biden's senescence. The Trump campaign will not forget that it now possesses a treasure trove of humiliating clips of Biden's brain freezes and devastating quotes from the president's allies. Given this climate and the candidate's limitations, it is not plausible that Biden can surge in the polls between now and November. . . .

    The Biden who spoke with ABC News Friday night was enfeebled, ineloquent, egotistical, and intransigent. He was a man who appeared both ready and willing to lead his party into the wilderness. Asked how he would feel if he stayed in the race and Trump were elected, Biden replied, "I'll feel as long as I gave it my all and I did the goodest job as I know I can do, that's what this is about."

    Wasn't that how Hillary Clinton felt after losing? I've never forgiven her for losing to Trump, and probably never will. Biden will be even worse, because doubts about him are so widely and deeply expressed, so far in advance of the actual vote.

  • [07-07] Biden is leading Democrats toward their worst-case scenario: Appears to be a slight edit of the previous article.

• Daniel Marans: [07-06] Voters had issues with Biden's age long before the debate. That's why Democrats are worried.

• Nicole Narea: [07-03] Forget four more years. Is Biden fit to serve now? Was he ever fit? What does that mean? Let's take care of the nomination first: that's the position that needs to be filled, with someone who can handle the immediate requirements and very probably continue to do so four years out. After that, if he can finish his term with dignity, shouldn't we show him that much respect? He'd certainly be under a lot less pressure and stress if he wasn't also running for a second term.

• Olivia Nuzzi: [07-04] The conspiracy of silence to protect Joe Biden: "The president's mental decline was like a dark family secret for many elite supporters."

• Evan Osnos: [07-06] Did Joe Biden's ABC interview stanch the bleeding or prolong it?

• Tyler Pager: [06-30] Biden aides plotted debate strategy for months. Then it all collapsed. "The Biden team gambled on an early debate and prepared intensively at Camp David, but advisers could not prevent the candidate's stumbles onstage." Pager also reported on:

  • Matt Viser/Tyler Pager/Nick Miroff: [07-04] Biden told governors he needs to get more sleep, avoid events after 8 p.m.

• Nia Prater: [07-08] Read Biden's I'm-not-going-anywhere letter to House Democrats. Following up:

  • Intelligencer Staff: Many congressional Democrats on Biden: "It's complicated.'

• Andrew Prokop: [07-03] Leaks about Joe Biden are coming fast and furious: "The recent reports about the president's age and health, explained."

• David Schultz: [07-03] Biden's abysmal debate.

• Nate Silver:

  • [06-28] Joe Biden should drop out: "Denying Joe Biden's decline has put Democrats in a terrible position." I had this open in a tab, but missed it in my article search.

  • [07-03] Doing nothing about Biden is the riskiest plan of all.

• Norman Solomon: [07-02] Who you gonna believe, Biden loyalists or your own eyes and ears?

• Brian Stelter: [07-03] Did the media botch the Biden age story? "Asleep at the wheel? Complicit in a cover-up? The real story is far more complicated -- and more interesting." Or "Sorry, Ted Cruz, there are more than two options."

• Michael Tomasky:

  • [07-05] It's 8:30 PM. Do you know where your president is? "Since his disastrous debate, Biden has done nothing to reassure America. Quite the contrary."

  • [07-08] OK, Democrats, this is the week to say what you really believe: "Want to replace Biden atop the Democratic ticket? It's now or never."

• Benjamin Wallace-Wells: [07-08] Joe Biden is fighting back -- but not against Trump, really: Then what the hell is he good for?

• Joan Walsh: Biden did not save his presidency on ABC: "An uneven interview with George Stephanapoulos was too little, too late -- and maybe a bit too churlish."

• Matthew Yglesias: [07-08] I was wrong about Biden: I followed Yglesias closely for many years, but after he won that "neoliberal shill of the year" contest (I think it was 2019), quit Vox, started buckraking at Substack, and wrote that opportunisticaly Friedmanesque book (One Billion Americans: The Case for Thinking Bigger), about the only time I read him these days is when he gets one of his Bloomberg columns syndicated (and they're rarely much good). He's a smart guy who knows a lot, but he's also a calculating bastard who's especially adept at spotting trends and triangulating them with an eye toward profit. So it's no surprise that he (unlike his Vox-cofounder Ezra Klein, another smart triangulator) bought the Biden second term plan hook, line and sinker, or that Biden's debate performance, for once in his life he's eating crow. Or maybe twice: he started out as a big Iraq war booster.

  But enough with shooting the messanger. Let's try reading the message. It's long, methodologically sound, meticulously thought out, and damning. For instance, consider some facts:

  Biden isn't doing press conferences. He's using teleprompters at fundraisers. The joint appearances with Bill Clinton or Barack Obama look like efforts to keep attention off the candidate. It's not just that he's avoiding hostile interviews or refusing to sit with the New York Times, he isn't even doing friendly-but-substantive shows with journalists like Ezra Klein or Chris Hayes. It was a while ago now that I talked to him, and though it went well, I haven't heard recent rumors of many other off-the-record columnist chats. The seemingly inexplicable decision to skip the Super Bowl interview is perfectly explicable once you see the duck. In a re-election year, a president needs to do two different full-time jobs simultaneously, and Biden was really struggling with that. Apparently foreign governments were sitting on some anecdotes that have now leaked, which I wouldn't have thought possible.

  But the biggest data point that I blew off was a recent and totally unambiguous one.

  Five days before the debate, someone who'd seen Biden recently at a fundraiser told me that he looked and sounded dramatically worse than the previous times they'd seen him -- as recently as six months ago -- and that they were now convinced Biden wouldn't be able to make it through a second term. I blew that warning off and assumed things would be fine at the debate.

  That goes a bit beyond the facts I wanted to show, but you can see where he's going. The next paragraph begins: "Now that Biden apologists like me are discredited in the eyes of the public," then segues into a good point we needn't dwell on here. The next section is more important: "The media climate is going to get worse." He offers some details, but if you at all understand how the media works, you can imagine the rest, and then best double it for what you're too decent to even imagine the media doing. [Insert shark metaphor here.]

  Yglesias moves on to a "What comes next?" section, where he reminds us what a calculating bastard he is:

  Columnists calling on Biden to step down provide, in my view, are a small boost to Trump's election odds and a minuscule increase in the odds that Biden actually steps aside. I think we have to say it anyway, because this is journalism and we owe a duty of truth to our audience. But in narrow cost-benefit terms, the public criticism of Biden has negative expected value.

  Elected officials have a different set of responsibilities. I've seen some people express frustration that Barack Obama came out with such a strong statement of support for Biden. But Obama slagging Biden in public would have been a boon to Trump and accomplished nothing. Same for Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries and Nancy Pelosi and everyone else who matters. These are politicians, and they do not share journalists' obligations of candor.

  But what they do in private does matter, and I hope they do the right thing.

  The main thing I would add to this is that the election isn't until November (or, with early voting, mid-October?), so even if it takes until the Convention to replace Biden, there will still be plenty of time to unite behind the nominee and the ticket before anything real happens. Until then, it's just hot air (or maybe just tepid). The media cares, because they want you to think that every moment, every minute shift and sway, portends great importance, but that's just their business model. There are good reasons to replace Biden sooner rather than later -- it's painful to watch Biden and his cadres squirm, and we would be much happer spending the time exposing and deprecating Trump and the Republicans -- but it's a process, and that takes time. (I'm not even bothered by it not being a very democratic one, although it does mean that the elites who control this process will be held responsible should they fail.)

  Let me close here by quoting a reader comment:

  So long as Biden remains the nominee, we're going to keep getting hammered on age and mental decline.

  As soon as Harris is the nominee, we can hammer Trump on age and mental decline.

  I'd rather play the second game.

  Indeed, as long as Biden is the nominee, this is going to be one long, miserable election, where we're stuck playing defense, on grounds that aren't really defensible. Sure, we still might eek out a win, but best case is it's going to be close, which means that the administration will be hobbled for four more years, its leadership decrepit, while getting blamed for disasters that have been brewing for decades. On the other hand, replace Biden, and you reverse the tide, and go on the offense: throw the whole anti-Biden handbook (not just age and imbecility, but cronyism and corruption, egotism, vanity, the whole ball of wax) back at Trump, and go after all the Republican toadies fawning all over him. Wouldn't you rather kick some ass? We have time, but we won't have it forever.

Trump:

• Margaret Hartmann: [07-08] What the Jeffrey Epstein documents reveal about Donald Trump.

• Jeet Heer: [07-05] Why aren't we talking about Trump's fascism? "Joe Biden has created a distraction from the existential question that should define this election." I don't see this as a problem. Some people understand what fascism means, especially historically. Most of them are fascinated enough to debate the fine points, but all of them already have weighed Trump out on the F-scale, so there's no real need to engage them on the issue. (Most are opposed, even ones who dismiss the charge on technical grounds, and none are likely to view Trump more negatively if you make them better understand the case that Trump is a fascist.) A second group of people only understand that aside from a couple of known and long gone historical examples, "fascist" is a slur, mostly used by people on the left to attack people not on the left. To convince people that Trump is a fascist and therefore bad, you first have to teach them what fascism is and why it is bad, which is a lot of excess work, and will probably wind up making them think that you are a Marxist (which if you actually know this stuff, you probably are). There are lots of more straightforward ways to argue that Trump is bad than that he specifically is a fascist, so for those people the effort ranges from inefficient to counterproductive. Then there are the people who will accept your analysis and embrace it, deciding that fascist Trump is even cooler than regular Trump.

  Heer's article is a good example of why we shouldn't bother talking about Trump and fascism. Heer is part of that first group, so he not only likes to talk about fascism, he sees fascism as the prism that illuminates Trump's myriad evils. However, once he introduces the terminology, we forget what the article was meant to about -- that Biden's incompetence has become a distraction from the real issue, which is the very real disaster if Trump is elected -- and fixate on the single word (which as I just said, is either understood but redundant, or misunderstood and therefore irrelevant, so in either case ineffective). So Heer's article doesn't expose Biden's distraction but merely adds to it.

• Nicholas Liu: [07-08] Trump runs from Project 2025, claims not to know what it's about: "The former president is trying to distance himself from a plan drafted by his own former aides."

  • Amanda Marcotte: [07-05] Project 2025 was supposed to boost Donald Trump's campaign -- but it may be backfiring instead.

• Shawn Musgrave: Trump camp says it has nothing to do with Project 2025 manifesto -- aside from writing it.

• Marc A Thiessen: How Trump can make NATO great again. No time to read this, but the fusion of author (aka "Torture Boy"), concept, and title blew my mind.

And other Republicans:

• Shawn Musgrave: Missouri's Attorney General isn't MAGA enough for Leonard Leo.

• Marin Scotten: [07-08] Former Trump aide slammed for calling Kamala Harris a "DEI hire." "Elected Republicans are increasingly using the term as a de facto racial slur." Sounds a lot like:

  • Griffin Eckstein: [07-05] Boebert's "DEI hire" remark towards Karine Jean-Pierre causes blowback.

And other Democrats:

• Sarah Jones: [07-03] A socialist's case for Kamala Harris: I'd tread carefully here. The decision on the Democratic ticket is going to be made by people who fear and hate socialists even more than Trump, and you don't want them to turn on Harris just because she's one of the less bad compromises available. She as much as admits this with her last line: "But if I can't get what I want this year, I'd rather settle for Harris."

• Osita Nwanevu: [07-08] Democrats don't just need a new candidate. They need a reckoning. "Democrats will be impotent messengers on democracy as long as they remain beholden to the feudal culture this crisis has exposed." Right, but it isn't going to happen, certainly not this year. The Democratic left didn't challenge Biden this year, basically for three reasons: it's nearly impossible to reject an incumbent president running for a second term; their relationships with Biden were engaging enough that they saw him as a path for limited but meaningful reform, which they valued more than just taking losing stands on principle; and they are more afraid of Trump and the Republicans than ever. Conversely, Biden is running not because he's uniquely qualified to beat Trump, but because he was uniquely positioned to prevent an open Democratic primary that could have nominated a Democrat who might be more committed to the voters than to the donors. But now that cast is set. Even if the convention is thrown open, the people voting there are almost all beholden to Biden. So while Biden will not survive as the nominee, he and his big donors will pick his successor, and when they do, every Democrat who doesn't want to risk Trump will line up, bow, and cheer. The reckoning will have to wait, probably until crisis forces it.

• Prem Thakker: Every Democrat other than Joe Biden is unburdened by what has been: "As voters look for another option, alternative Democratic leaders poll similarly or even better than Biden -- even without name recognition."

Legal matters and other crimes:

• Ian Millhiser: [07-08] The supreme incompetents: "The justices are awful at their jobs, and they don't know that they are awful at their jobs."

• Nandika Chatterjee: [07-02] Rudy Giuliani disbarred "effective immediately": His misconduct "cannot be overstated," court says.

• Griffin Eckstein: [07-05] Kansas Supreme Court strikes down second-trimester abortion ban, affirms right to abortion.

• Nia Prater:

  • [07-08] Did the Supreme Court kill every case against Trump?

  • [07-08] It's been another very bad day for Boeing. Boeing agreed to a deal with the DOJ, where the company pleads guilty of conspiracy to defraud, and will pay a $487.2 million fine, plus will be on probation for three years, during which they will be "overseen by a government-appointed independent compliance monitor and be required to invest a minimum of $455 million in its compliance and safety programs, as well as making Boeing's board of directors available to meet with the families of crash victims."

• Laurence H Tribe: [07-08] How the US Supreme Court shredded the Constitution and what can be done to repair it.

Climate and environment:

• Ian Livingston: [07-08] Severe heat wave in the West is making history. How much longer will it continue?

• Washington Post:

  • Beryl strengthens to hurricane status as it heads toward Texas coast.

  • 4 dead, millions without power as Beryl leaves Houston.

Economic matters:

Ukraine War and Russia:

• Blaise Malley: [07-05] Diplomacy Watch: Ukraine, West prepare for an uncertain future: "Zelensky warily watching world events, planning for possibility of less enthusiastic support."

• Mikhail Klimentov: [7-08] Russian missile attack kills 37 in Ukraine, hits children's hospital.

• Jim Lobe: [07-03] Zelensky's star fading among NATO countries: "After two and a half years of war, a growing number wonder whether Ukraine's leader is doing 'the right thing'.

America's empire and the world:

• Hekmat Aboukhater: [07-04] That's militainment! Big Hollywood succumbs to the Pentagon borg: "Experts explain how 2,500 films and shows have been weaponized to promote war." About a documentary film, Theaters of War, created by (among others) Roger Stahl, author of Militainment, Inc.: War, Media and Popular Culture (2009).

• Heather Ashby: [06-20] How the 'war on terror' made the US Institute for Peace a sideshow: "Forty years ago, Congress thought it was a good idea to fund peacemaking, but it was no match for War Inc." One item on Marianne Williamson's presidential platform was to establish a Department of Peace. Turns out the US already had one, but nobody ever heard of it, probably because it didn't do anything.

• Zack Beauchamp: [07-08] The real lesson for America in the French and British elections: "The European elections tell us little about Biden's chances -- but a lot about his choices."

• Julia Cagé/Thomas Piketty: [07-03] France's 'hard left' has been demonised -- but its agenda is realistic, not radical: "The New Popular Front will improve ordinary people's lives -- and it's an effective, economically sound alternative to the far right." More on France:

  • Eloise Cassier: [07-05] French president Macron in the desperate hours: "His insistence on a bold pro-Ukraine strategy turned out to be tone-deaf and now his power is on the line."

  • Ellen Ioanes: [06-08] France's elections showed a polarized country: "France held back the far right. No One knows what's next."

  • Harrison Stetler: [06-12] In France's snap elections, can a "popular front" hold off the far right?

• Juan Cole: [07-02] Another American war in the Middle East?: "Turning the Red Sea redder."

• William Hartung: [07-03] Silicon Valley USA: Are these 'patriots' mere harbingers of doom? "Young, hot upstarts want to shorten the kill chain with AI weapons."

• Ellen Ioanes: [07-05] What the Labour Party's big win in the UK will actually mean: "The UK is getting a new government. What is it promising to do?"

  • Joshua Keating: [07-05] Why Britain's Conservatives were wiped out by Labour: "A historic defeat brings in new UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer as the Tories pick up the pieces."

• Michael Klare: [07-04] Early signs of the failure of American global power? "The Anglo-Saxonization of American foreign policy and its perverse consequences."

• Alex Little: [07-03] Washington should resist the urge to meddle in Moldova.

Other stories:

Margot Roosevelt: [07-07] Jane F. McAlevey, who empowered workers across the globe, dies at 59: "An organizer and author, she believed that a union was only as strong as its members and trained thousands "to take over their unions and change them."

Books

Jedediah Britton-Purdy: [07-02] The Creed: "How did Americans come to worship the Constitution?" Review of Aziz Rana, The Constitutional Bind: How Americans Came to Idolize a Document That Fails Them.

• Aziz Rana: [05-30] Democracy was a decolonial project: "For generations of American radicals, the path to liberation required a new constitution, not forced removal." I ran across this essay slightly after finding the book review. While there is a common point, this goes in a different direction.

Leah Hunt-Hendrix/Astra Taylor: [07-02] For a solidarity state: "The state structures society. It can make us more prone to care for one another."

Sean Illing: [07-07] How the 1990s broke politics: "Inside the GOP's transition from the party of Reagan to the party of Trump." Interview with John Ganz, author of When the Clock Broke: Con Men, Conspiracists, and How America Cracked Up in the Early 1990s.

Osita Nwanevu: [03-11] The divided president: "Who's in charge in the Biden White House?" This is a bit dated, a review of Franklin Foer, The Last Politician: Inside Joe Biden's White House and the Struggle for America's Future. I bought the book at the time, figuring it might shed some light on some things (mostly involving foreign policy) that I didn't adequately understand), but never got around to it, and I'm in no hurry these days.

Marshall Steinbaum: X thread: "There's a little book I recommend to anyone who's trying to get a handle on what's going on in American politics this week." The book is Nancy McLean, Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right's Stealth Plan for America. The book is mostly about economist James Buchanan, and how his and similar careers have been sponsored by right-wing networks, especially that of the Kochs. I read the book when it came out, and thought it was pretty good. Buchanan's early ties to the anti-desegregation movement were especially striking -- how easily we forget how reflexively racist many people were in the 1950s -- and the Koch funding was something I was rather familiar with. (I even received some myself, back when I typeset reprints of a couple Koch-sponsored reprints of Murray Rothbard books.) I'm less clear on Buchanan's economic theories, which seemed rather trivial. Maybe "stealth plan" was a bit of an oversell: much of it was public, and some of it barely qualified as a plan -- throwing money at something could just as well be seen as another of those "irritable mental gestures" Lionel Trilling saw in most "conservative thought." Still, this kicked up a flurry of protest over McLean's book, including some from people I generally respect (e.g., Rick Perlstein), so I took some notes:

• Jonathan H Adler: [2017-06-28] Does Democracy in Chains paint an accurate picture of James Buchanan?

• David Bernstein: [2018-09-14] Another brutal review of Nancy McLean, Democracy in Chains: which touts an unavailable review by Jennifer Burns ("author of a well-written and, more important, informative and fair biography of Ayn Rand").

• Steven G Horwitz: [2017-07-09] Democracy in Chains: Thoroughly debunked. Followed by links to other critical reviews. Post evidently filed by Raheem "Rocky" Williams, whose "more from" other posts that are not ipso facto worth taking seriously, like "The myth of the racist conservative and the Uncle Tom" and "Capitalism is not exploitative."

• Henry Farrell/Steven Teles: [2017-10-09] Even the intellectual left is drawn to conspiracy theories about the right. Resist them. This is the review to take most seriously, both on the facts and the political messaging (last section hed: "If you believe your opponents work through secret cabals, your own strategic thinking gets distorted").

Music, etc.

Nick Paumgarten: [07-01] Alan Braufman's loft-jazz séance.

Midyear Lists:

• Album of the Year: Other 2024 lists: Tracks 19 (so far).

• Brooklyn Vegan: [07-05] 10 best rap albums of 2024 so far.

• Complex: [07-05] The best albums of 2024 (so far)

• Exclaim!: [05-31] Exclaim!'s 25 best albums of 2024 so far

• Louder Than War: Nathan Whittle: [06-10] Albums of the year . . . so far.

• Variety: [06-26] The 20 best albums of 2024 (so far). Article mentions a couple of albums, but I'm not seeing the list. AOTY has it here.

Ask a question, or send a comment.

Sunday, July 7, 2024

Back during my careerist, apolitical middle ages, I read a number of business/management books (also, more often, popular science, and sometimes science fiction -- those were the good ol' days), and one point that stuck with me was the observation that in and coming out of meetings, there are two kinds of people: those who give you their reactions immediately, and those who need a day or two to process and come up with better reactions. I quickly recognized that I'm one of the latter.

I'm pretty sure the book was Robert Townsend's Further Up the Organization, which I probably got more from than I did from The Communist Manifesto and Minima Moralia combined, although from Walter Benjamin's Illuminations and John Berger's Ways of Seeing would be close. Some major things I got from Townsend are the value of employee ownership, and a deep loathing for nepotism -- points that have repeatedly been reinforced by real-world experience. There's also a quote about the Ottoman Empire that I'd have to look up to do justice, but the gist is that when you lose your reputation for justice, you lose everything. That quote comes as close as anything to explaining why I spend so much time harping on how important it is that Israel and America have so thoroughly disgraced themselves in Gaza (and, sure, not just in Gaza).

Anyhow, before my digression, I just wanted to introduce this concept, which may or may not become a regular feature -- depends on how much free time I have, which if this week is any example is likely to be not much. It's been taking me so much time to round up my weekly Speaking of Which compendiums, often of late requiring an extra day (or two?), that I wind up just throwing them out, with no more than a quick, minimal spell check. Then I have to pivot for Music Week, which is mostly a matter of collecting bits I had written more leisurely (or carelessly) during the week, and that usually breaks the mood until Friday or so when I get going on the next Speaking of Which. Lately, Music Week day has given me a chance to fix the typos my wife always finds, and add a few items that slipped my net, but I never have the time and perspective I need to refine, clarify, and polish what I wrote in such haste.

That led me to the idea of doing a midweek "Afterthoughts" post, where I look back through the previous week's roundup with somewhat refreshed eyes, pick out a few salient items that I think could use more (by which I think I mean deeper) commentary. I could then add anchors and links to go back and forth between Speaking of Which and Afterthoughts. As I reread, I'll probably catch and fix a few mistakes, perhaps editing some particularly awkward passages. While Afterthoughts will offer the occasional link, I imagine that I'll add new ones I to the old file, or save them for the following week. That will entail keeping multiple files open (and raises the question of whether I should make the work-in-progress file visible).

Another digression (maybe I should invent some markup for these?): I have on occasion done that, and I'm usually rather pleased with what I find there. That gets me to imagining that someone could pull out a book's worth of particularly notable nuggets, but the only people who have given them a look so far have thrown up their hands in dismay (my wife and her publisher friends). When I do it myself, I'm tempted to edit, rarely for points but the writing can always be sharpened up. I've collected most of my post-2000 writings into book files, but they are pretty massive (the four political volumes up to 2020 total 2.86 million words; not collected there yet, Speaking of Which, since June 2021, would add another 800 thousand words).

Anyhow, that's the concept. Unfortunately, I wasted 2-3 days after coming up with the idea without actually doing the work. But I left a placeholder for this post when I opened the next Speaking of Which draft file, so I feel obliged to post something here. (It works this way for technical and historical reasons I won't bore you with, possibly because doing so might expose my inept design.) But as this is being written on Sunday, all I can hope for is make a quick pass and post tonight, with everything else delayed a day (or, perhaps like last week, more).

Zack Beauchamp: Sometimes I think I should write up an annotated list of books on Israel, but the number that I have read quickly becomes mind-boggling -- especially when you start thinking about the various angles and tangents. But this one cuts to the heart of the matter: not so much as to what happened -- which tends to be a long list of indictments -- as to what was going through Israeli when they acted as they did.

One imagines there could be a similar reading list for how Palestinians think, but they've had so few viable options that it really wouldn't tell us much. As Americans, we've been brought up to think that we have a large degree of freedom within which we can deliberately live our lives. Even here, much of that is illusion (or delusion), but Palestinians have never had any meaningful degree of political freedom: not under the Ottomans, or the British, or the Egyptian/Jordanian occupations of Gaza and the West Bank from 1948-67, or under Israel (in or out of the Green Line, with or without the gang rule of Fatah/Hamas), or for exiles in Lebanon, Syria, the Gulf, etc.

I dug out Ben Cramer's book a few weeks ago. I wanted to find a story I remembered him using -- one about teaching a dog to speak -- but so far it's escaped me. On the other hand, I have reread many passages, and I'm always struck by how easily he gets to unobvious but essential points. One of those is that of all the world's many problems, this conflict should be one of the easiest to solve -- pace Christgau, who throws up his hands in despair after declaring it "the cruelest and most gruesome international conflict of my adulthood." I pick my around that line, but Ben Cramer simply offers an answer: just start by showing Palestinians some respect, and see how they adjust. I have little doubt that they will, but that's because I'm aware that there are many more strands of thought among Palestinians beyond the only ones Israelis recognize: those who fight (like Hamas), and those who surrender (like Fatah, not that even they have so little self-respect that they can satisfy Israel).

I've read quite a bit on Israel over the years: enough that I can pull up a historical reference for almost any situation, so quickly that I frequently circle back instead of offering immediate reactions to atrocities that no understanding of historical context can excuse. But mostly I'm writing on the basis of models I've formed and refined over many years, that give me insight into things people say and do, and how they are perceived and reacted to. I suppose this started fifty years ago, when I was first smitten with philosophy, and through it psychology and sociology (and economics?).

It's been a long time since I ever attempted to articulate it, but I have been thinking more about stories and models lately: most people understand things through stories -- or so we're told by political and advertising consultants, who one suspects prefer them because they see them as ways to manipulate, and as such to compensate their clients and earn their premium. And, if you're interested in practical politics, that's often a game you have to play. Models are harder to sell, because they simply give you insight into how things actually work, and most importantly, that many of the things selfish people would pay for -- like riches, power, status, glamor, fame, notoriety -- come with hidden costs that make them worth much less than you'd like to think.

But read on. The models will come to you.

About last Thursday's debate: I collected a huge number of links, as most center-to-left pundits took the matter seriously and had an opinion to air (and often not just an axe to grind). I didn't bother much with right pundits, as what could they possibly say worth taking seriously? So while I started the post with a general idea of what was going on, and how it might play out, I was fine with letting this play out. And it did, pretty definitively. Biden is toast. He's lost all credibility as a candidate, and if the Democrat clique around him somehow manage to keep him as their candidate, they will lose all credibility and, as soon as possible, control of the party. Even if he sticks and wins, which given his opposition isn't impossible, he and they will get no credit for the feat. All they will get is condemnation for the risk they're running by sticking with a candidate who has clearly lost the faith and trust of his own voters.

That it isn't official yet is probably because the insiders haven't yet agreed on a succession plan. There's been very little reporting on this so far, because it's not the sort of thing inside power brokers dare brag about. But it's pretty obvious if you understand how things work. And what's happened is pretty simple. . . .

Changes I made to the file:

• Tareq S Hajjaj: missing link.
• Hoda Osman: botched link tag.
• Moved Prem Thakker under Blaise Malley's "craziest 'pro-Israel' budget amendments."
• Zack Beauchamp: bold-faced book authors.
• Andrew Prokop: typo.

Ask a question, or send a comment.

Wednesday, July 3, 2024

July archive (in progress).

Music: Current count 42580 [42549] rated (+31), 29 [22] unrated (+7).

Nominally a day late (ok, two days), but last Music Week was two days late, so this is still a short week. I started off most days with old r&b in the CD player -- especially Scratchin': The Wild Jimmy Spruill Story, which combined a few minor hits with some major studio work, leading me to tweet up two singles (Bobby Lewis, Tossin' and Turnin', and Bobby Long, The Pleasure Is All Mine). Beyond that, what I got to was pretty haphazard, with a fair amount of old music left over from the William Parker research.

My piece was published by ArtsFuse, here: Celebrating bassist William Parker's lifetime of achievement. You can also find my 2003 CG, with its updated discography, and my notes file, which includes my full set of reviews of albums Parker. The former could still use some cleanup, especially to separate out the albums that Parker didn't play on -- the CG was originally focused on Matthew Shipp and the Thirsty Ear Blue Series he curated, until I started noticing how many more albums Parker played on and how central they were to the whole circle. The latter needs even more work, as most of it was cut-and-pasted from my book files (which are now several years out of date), with others copied with HTML markup (where they still have bold credits and letter grades). If I didn't fear getting sucked into a huge time sink, I'd go fix those, but for now I can only offer excuses.

Besides, I have a much more urgent website project to work on. I've decided to use my Francis Davis Jazz Critics Poll contacts to run a Mid-Year straw poll. I explain this on the website (which still needs a good deal of work) and in the invite letter (which went out to approx. 200 critics on June 30). I'm asking for lists of up to 10 new releases (which can include newly discovered 2023 releases) and/or up to 5 "rara avis" (old music, recorded 10+ years ago, or reissues). Deadline is July 14, and ArtsFuse will publish the results, probably later that week.

The Poll is a quickie experiment. I've simplified the rules to make it easier on voters (and hopefully on he who counts), and I've saved myself a lot of work by only sending out one batch of invites without trying to vet new voters. The problem with the "one batch" approach is that I'm using a server and software that has been known to run afoul of some spam traps. I especially fear that people with gmail addresses may have their invites diverted or discarded. But it's impossible to test and verify these things. I made an effort to research this problem before, to little avail, and I will make another one soon, but in the meantime, please read the following, and follow up if anything seems to apply to you:

1. If you've ever voted before, or for that matter received an invite before, and haven't received an invite, please check your spam filter. If you find one, take steps to get your mail provider to recognize that the mail isn't spam. If you can't find one, assume you're eligible and use this one. Follow the instructions, and vote. Let me know if you want to be added to my list (jazzpoll [at] hullworks.net). Not everyone who has voted is on the list (various reasons, including sloth on my part), but I can add you. The advantage of being on the list is that I'll send you updates and further requests.

2. If you haven't received an invite, but think you should be qualified, look up the invite, follow instructions, and send me your lists. You need to have some real expertise in jazz (my first approximation would be listening to 200+ jazz records per year, but that's easy for me to say because I listen to 700+), have some verifiable credentials (you write about some of them, which can be on your own blog or mainstream or niche publications, and/or you broadcast about them, which obviously includes radio but I suppose could extend to podcasts), and construct lists that are focused on jazz (the occasional outlier or, as DownBeat likes to call them, "beyond"; by the way, "smooth jazz" is not jazz, at least for purposes of establishing credibility, although it may be acceptable as "beyond"). If this checks out, I will very likely accept your ballot, and you'll be on the inside track for future invites.

3. Check with your friends: make sure they got their invites, and let people you think should be voting know that they can vote, and how. They can always hit me up with questions, but we don't have a lot of time, so it's best to move fast.

4. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to publicize this wider, although bear in mind that I still see this as a forum of critics -- even though I recognize that there are lots of fans that have become pretty expert themselves, especially given how easy it's become to check out new music on streaming platforms.

Also, one key point to emphasize is that this isn't a big deal. I'm not asking you to exercise Solomonic (or Christgauvian) judgment over the jazz universe. Your list doesn't have to find the absolute best records (whatever that might mean). Nor does it have to be ranked. (Although blessed are the rankers, for they get slightly more points weighting for their efforts.) Nor does it even have to be a full list. Just jot down a few albums that you would like to recommend to other people. That's mostly how these lists will be used.

Given the late date, the short deadline, my various shortcuts, and the fact that we've never done this before, I'm not expecting much, but even if we just get 50 voters (as opposed to the 159 in 2023), I think the lists will be interesting and informative.

I started to track mid-year lists when they started appearing just before June 1 -- see my metacritic file, which is running behind at the moment, as the last couple weeks haven't allowed much opportunity to work on it -- and they both give me a broad sense of what's out there and a useful roster of prospects to check out. This also ties into my tracking file, which has a jazz selector (currently listing 400 jazz albums, of which I have 332; this list will expand as I receive your lists: from past experience, about 30% of the albums that show up in ballots are ones I hadn't previously tracked; there's also a no grade variant, for those who don't want to see my grades).

The website started off as a clone of last year's, with minor hacks. As I do more work to it this week, it should become a more useful source of information about the Poll and its progress. For instance, I need to revise things like the FAQ and the Admin Guide. I also hope to get some work done on the older parts of the website, especially to fill in information that predates my involvement (in administration; I've voted every year, from the founding).

I hope to make the website the best source for information about the Poll. But if you wish to follow, check my Music Week posts, and follow me on twitter (or "X" if you prefer; I haven't jumped ship yet, although at this point it's rare for one of my tweets to be viewed by as much as a third of my nominal followers, so the returns seem pretty slim).

Some other website work: I've done an update to Carola Dibbell's website, as her novel, The Only Ones is being reprinted, and she has an event later in July. I haven't done my database update to Robert Christgau's website yet, but have all of the CG reviews in my private copy. I still have to do some cross-referencing work, but should update the website in a couple days.

I have a question about Michael Brecker that I need to research a bit. Would be nice to have a couple more to gang it up with.

We've gone through more email tsuris, as Cox has dumped all of their email customers (or at least us) onto Yahoo. It appears to be stable now, but Yahoo has a pretty poor reputation, so we'll see.

I did post another food pic on Facebook, if you into that sort of thing: Indian chicken, potatoes, cabbage, eggplant, raita, and paratha.

I posted a massive Speaking of Which late Monday night (290 links is probably a record; 11720 words isn't, but is quite a lot). I've added a few more things today, and will probably add some more before I get this posted. I'm inclined to hold off on further complaints about the horrible Supreme Court, but would like to capture as much of the initial reaction to the Trump-Biden debate as may be useful. I'm grateful that I didn't bother with anything written in advance of the debate.

This particular post got delayed an extra day as I got stuck writing a long comment on Robert Christgau's Xgau Sez. And while I got that done by 5PM, the delay occasioned one last round of "addl" tags.

New records reviewed this week:

Arooj Aftab: Night Reign (2024, Verve): Pakistani singer-songwriter, born in Saudi Arabia, returned to Lahore when she was 10, on to US at 19, studied at Berklee, based in New York, fifth album, got some notice in 2023 whens he shared billing on Love in Exile with Vijay Iyer and Shahzad Ismally. B+(***) [sp]

Alan Braufman: Infinite Love Infinite Tears (2024, Valley of Search): Saxophonist, had a few years in New York in the mid-1970s working around the lofts with Cooper-Moore and William Parker, then did something else until retirement age, when he reissued his one album (actually quite good) and some archival tapes, and started working on a new one. This follows up on the promise of 2020's The Fire Still Burns, with James Brandon Lewis (tenor sax), Patricia Brennan (vibes), Ken Filiano (bass), Chad Taylor (drums), and Michael Wimberly (percussion). B+(***) [r]

Ani DiFranco: Unprecedented Sh!t (2024, Righteous Babe): Folkie singer-songwriter, had a lot of edge when she emerged in 1990. This one doesn't particularly grab me, but probably deserves another listen. [PS: It does, as her critique is sharp as ever, but the music still doesn't grab me.] B+(*) [sp]

Dayramir González: V.I.D.A. [Verdad, Independencia, Diversidad Y Amor] (2024, self-released): Cuban pianist, based in New York, has a 2008 album with Habana Entrance, not sure what else. B [sp]

Morgan Guerin: Tales of the Facade (2024, Candid): Self-described "prolific multi-instrumentalist and visionary composer," born "right outside New Orleans," studied at New School and Berklee, based in New York, side-credits since 2019, appears to have three previous albums, plays sax and related, keyboards, electric bass, and drums, but I can't find any credits here, and I'm thrown by all the vocals. B+(*) [sp]

Goran Kajfeš Tropiques: Tell Us (2024, We Jazz): Swedish trumpet player, quite a few albums since his 2000 debut, quartet with Alex Zethson (keyboards), Johan Berthling (bass), and Johan Holmegard (drums), third group album. Has a wide, panoramic feel. B+(***) [sp]

Bill Laurance/The Untold Orchestra: Bloom (2022 [2024], ACT Music): British pianist, member of Snarky Puppy at least 2006-20, own albums since 2012, his keyboards leading an orchestra, conducted by Rory Storm, of 18 strings. Reflects his roots in classical music, and probably impressive as such, but quite enjoyable, too. B+(**) [sp]

Les Savy Fav: Oui, LSF (2024, Frenchkiss): Art punk band from Rhode Island, released five albums 1997-2010, return for another 14 years later. Still a potent combination of hooks and volume. Last song is triumphant: "We were there when the world got great/ We helped to make it that way." B+(**) [sp]

Grégoire Maret/Romain Collin: Ennio (2024, ACT Music): Swiss harmonica player, eponymous debut 2012, second album with the French pianist, backed by guitar-bass-drums, with flute (Alexandra Sopp) and heavyweight vocal guests Gregory Porter and Cassandra Wilson. B+(*) [sp]

Zara McFarlane: Sweet Whispers: Celebrating Sarah Vaughan (2024, Universal): British jazz/soul singer, fifth album, standards. I don't have a good feel for how representative they are, or even much of an idea how Vaughan sung them: I was so surprised by "Inner City Blues" I stopped the record to compare Vaughan's 1972 version. Vaughan's voice is unrivaled for stature and precision, but I rather like McFalane's softer, sweeter tone, and the loose swing of her arrangements. B+(**) [sp]

Ngwaka Son Système: Iboto Ngenge (2024, Eck Echo): Spinoff from Kinshasa (Congo) group Kokoko, emphasis on electrobeats. Six songs, 28:22. B+(**) [sp]

Normani: Dopamine (2024, RCA): R&B singer from Atlanta, last name Hamilton, formerly of the vocal group Fifth Harmony (3 albums, 2015-17), first solo album. B+(**) [r]

Carly Pearce: Hummingbird (2024, Big Machine): Country singer-songwriter from Kentucky, fourth album since 2017, found herself in her age-marking 29: Written in Stone. This sounds pretty good -- even the Levi's jingle. B+(***) [sp]

Dave Rempis/Tashi Dorji Duo: Gnash (2024, Aerophonic): Rempis plays his full range of saxophones (soprano/alto/tenor/baritone), with his usual fierce resolve, with Dorji pushing (and occasionally rivaling) on guitar. I'm impressed, as always, but doubt the harsh tone (or maybe the specific harmonics, or the lack of a drummer) will make this an album I return to. B+(***) [cd]

Sisso & Maiko: Singeli Ya Maajabu (2024, Nyege Nyege Tapes): Tanzanian DJ Mohamed Hamza Ally, "figurehead" of the Sisso Records label, with one of his producer/keyboardists, for a volume of high velocity, klang-and-squiggle-filled dance beats. B+(*) [sp]

Jason Stein/Marilyn Crispell/Damon Smith/Adam Shead: Spi-raling Horn (2023 [2024], Balance Point Acoustics): Bass clarinet player, has gotten steadily better since his 2007 debut, adds a stellar pianist to his recent bass-drums trio. A- [sp]

Thollem: Worlds in a Life, Two (2024, ESP-Disk): Pianist, goes by first name, last name is McDonas, nominally a solo album, but draws on samples from previous albums, so side credits for William Parker (bass), Michael Wimberly (drums), Pauline Oliveros (MIDI accordion), Terry Riley (vocals), Nels Cline (guitar, effects, Mega mouth). B+(**) [cd]

Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries:

Alan Braufman: Live in New York City: February 8, 1975 (1975 [2022], Valley of Search): Saxophonist, aka Alan Michael or Alan Michael Braufman, recorded a 1975 album, Valley of Search, that he reissued to much acclaim in 2018, followed up by a new album, The Fire Still Burns, and reissue of some early tapes, like this one, a WBAI airshot with Cooper-Moore (piano), William Parker (bass), John Clark (French horn), Jim Schapperowe (drums), and Ralph Williams (percussion). B+(***) [r]

DJ Notoya: Funk Tide: Tokyo Jazz-Funk From Electric Bird 1978-87 (1978-87 [2024], Wewantsounds/Electric Bird): Not sure how much credit the presenter deserves here. The music is closer to disco than to funk, and has minimal value as jazz. B- [sp]

Charles Gayle/Milford Graves/William Parker: WEBO (1991 [2024], Black Editions Archive): Tenor sax, drums, bass, a major new find in the late drummer's archives, running just over 2 hours (2-CD, 3-LP). Gayle (1939-2023) was like the truest heir of Albert Ayler, pushed to extremes I found very difficult to take when I first ran into him, so my grades are scattered, and likely in need of revision -- e.g., I still have Repent (1992) as a B, but at least get Touchin' on Trane at A-. This is in the same ballpark, but perhaps better mixed to bring out the truly amazing bass and percussion. A- [sp]

Ron Miles: Old Main Chapel (2011 [2024], Blue Note): Cornet player, from Denver, albums since 1987, signed with Blue Note for a 2020 album, shortly before he died at 58 in 2022. This is a live album, dating back to the trio he recorded Quiver with: Bill Frisell (guitar), and Brian Blade (drums). A decade later, this is a lovely memento. B+(***) [sp]

Old music:

Collective 4tet: Orca (1996 [1997], Leo Lab): Originally Heinz Geisser (drums), Mark Hennen (piano), William Parker (bass), and Michael Moss (reeds), for two albums 1992-93, before Moss was replaced by Jeff Hoyer (trombone), and they went on to record six more albums for Leo 1996-2009. Free jazz with chamber music intimacy. Several spots got me thinking this might be great, only to slip back into their framework. B+(***) [r]

Collective 4tet: Live at Crescent (1997 [1998], Leo Lab): Live in Belfast, no idea why. Loses a bit of edge, while retaining the complexity, which is not exactly how live albums are expected to excel. B+(**) [r]

Collective 4tet: Moving Along (2002 [2005], Leo): Recorded the same day as Synopsis. Three long pieces, in their zone, with trombone highlights. B+(**) [r]

Collective 4tet: In Transition (2008 [2009], Leo): One more album, the trombonist departed, replaced by Arthur Brooks (trumpet/flugelhorn), who plays this close to the vest, as pianist Mark Hennen takes a more pominent role. B+(***) [sp]

Marco Eneidi Quintet: Final Disconnect Notice (1994, Botticelli): Alto sax, second horn is Karen Borca's bassoon, an excellent pairing, especially when they get dicey, backed by two bassists (Wilber Morris and William Parker, who also plays some cello) and drums (Jackson Krall). B+(***) [yt]

Marco Eneidi/Glenn Spearman: Creative Music Orchestra: American Jungle Suite (1995 [1997], Music & Arts): Discogs gives title as Creative Music Orchestra, which cover and spine confirm, while other sources cite the title of the 69:05 piece the 21-piece big-band-plus-violins plays. Led by the two saxophonists (alto/tenor), Eneidi does most of the composing, arranging one piece from Cecil Talor, while Spearman wrote the final movement (26:48). Some great potential here, but could use a conductor. B+(**) [sp]

Marco Eneidi/William Parker/Donald Robinson: Cherry Box (1998 [2000], Eremite): Alto saxophonist (1956-2016), born in Portland, as a child took lessons from Sonny Simmons, moved to New York in 1981 to study with Jimmy Lyons, played with William Parker, Bill Dixon, Cecil Taylor, and Glenn Spearman. Trio here with bass and drums. Fierce leads, holding back only to let the others show off their magic. A- [sp]

Marco Eneidi/Vijay Anderson: Remnant Light (2004 [2018], Minus Zero): Alto sax and drums duo, a home-recorded tape unearthed after the saxophonist's death in 2016. B+(**) [bc]

Marco Eneidi Streamin' 4: Panta Rei (2013 [2015], ForTune): Alto saxophonist, American, active in free jazz circles since the early 1980s, picks up a like-minded group in Poland, with Marek Pospieszalski (tenor sax), Ksawery Wojcinski (bass), and Michal Trela (drums). B+(*) [sp]

Heinz Geisser/Shiro Onuma: Duo: Live at Yokohama Little John (2007 [2008], Leo): Swiss percussionist, member of Collective 4tet, Discogs list 10 albums under his name (plus 37 side-credits), in a rare drums duo. B+(*) [sp]

The Ivo Perelman Quartet: Sound Hierarchy (1996 [1997], Muisic & Arts): Brazilian tenor saxophonist, debut 1989, had released four albums through 1995, three more in 1996, then nine in 1997, of which this one looks most impressive on paper: Marilyn Crispell (piano), William Parker (bass), Gerry Hemingway (drums). Flexes some muscle, but not all that interesting. B+(*) [sp]

Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:

• Derek Bailey/Sabu Toyozumi: Breath Awareness (1987, NoBusiness) [05-27]
• Albert Beger/Ziv Taubenfeld/Shay Hazan/Hamid Drake: Cosmic Waves (No Business) [05-27]
• Karen Borca Trio Quartet & Quintet: Good News Blues: Live at the Vision Festival 1998 & 2005 (No Business) [05-27]
• Peter Brötzmann/Toshinori Kondo/Sabu Toyozumi: Complete Link (NoBusiness) [05-27]
• Alfredo Colón: Blood Burden (Out of Your Head) [06-14]
• Nick Dunston: Colla Voce (Out of Your Head) [04-26]
• The Sofia Goodman Group: Receptive (Joyous) [07-26]
• Monika Herzig's Sheroes: All in Good Time (Zoho) [07-22]
• Hyeseon Hong Jazz Orchestra: Things Will Pass (Pacific Coast Jazz) [08-23]
• Kalaparusha Maurice McIntyre: Live From Studio Rivbea: July 12, 1975 [Rivbea Live! Series, Volume 1] (No Business) [05-27]

Ask a question, or send a comment.

prev -- next