Speed of Life

Music video for The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte by Sparks, from the new album of the same title.  Starring Cate Blanchett

I am spending this January afternoon looking back at my art and travels while listening to Walter Martin's new song The Bear. Walter grew up in Washington DC and formed his first band at 11 with future Jonathan Fire*Eater lead vocalist Stewart Lupton who died in 2018. (More on Stewart Lupton in a Speed of Life post from 2004 here. ) In 1993 Jonathan Fire*Eater was formed in New York City where Stewart Lupton and Walter Martin and friends had moved for college. When Stewart left the band in 1998, Walter Martin put together the Walkmen with other remaining members.  Stereogum reports today - "Ever since the Walkmen embarked on their hiatus, several of the band’s members have had prolific solo careers. But none of them have churned out music at quite the pace of Walter Martin. Today, Martin’s announced his sixth solo album in under a decade, The Bear . It’s out at the end of March." I've had the title track on repeat for the last hour. Haunting and inspiring. Walter Mart...

Gregg Chadwick American River (for Greil Marcus) 24”x36” oil on linen 2016 Audis Husar Gallery, Beverly Hills                  Bruce Springsteen has pre-released an album from his Springsteen on Broadway engagement. His  album announcement  is accompanied by a first taste of his  Broadway  recording: an acoustic version of his train metaphor song "Land of Hope and Dreams."  Lauren Onkey writes about the song on  NPR Music : "Land of Hope and Dreams" is the penultimate song of the Broadway show, an uplifting end to a night that features a lot of heartbreaking stories of characters — including Springsteen himself — who fall into isolation. Rooted in the gospel song "This Train" and The Impressions' 1965 gospel-soul hit "People Get Ready," "Land of Hope and Dreams" imagines a communal train where all are welcome — saints, sinners, whores, gamblers, thieves, lost souls, fools, kings, the brokenh...