Modern Times
vs. City Lights

From an entry of 
October 29, 2004:

"Each epoch has its singer." -- Jack London,     Oakland, California, 1901 "Anything but the void. And so we keep hoping to luck into a winning combination, to tap into a subtle harmony, trying like lock pickers to negotiate a compromise with the 'mystery tramp,' as Bob Dylan put it...." -- Dennis Overbye,    Quantum Baseball,    New York Times,    Oct.  26, 2004 "You said you'd never compromise With the mystery tramp,     but now you realize He's not selling any alibis As you stare into     the vacuum of his eyes And ask him do you want to     make a deal?" -- Bob Dylan,     Like a Rolling Stone

"Climbing up on  

Solsbury Hill..."

In today's meditation for
the Church of Peter Gabriel,
Dennis Overbye plays
the role of Jack Horner.



(See Overbye on Sagan in today's
New York Times, Sagan on Pi,
and Pi Day at Harvard.)

For more on Jack Horner, see
The Rise and Fall
of Popular Music,
by Donald Clarke,
Chapter One.

For two contrasting approaches
to popular music, see two artists
whose birthdays are today:



In other Grammy news--
At the end of Sunday's awards,

"Scarlett Johansson and Don Henley
 put themselves in the pole position
to star in a remake of 'Adam's Rib'
with the following exchange:

Henley: So you're recording
your first album?

Johansson: Yeah. Do you
have any advice for me?

Henley: No."

-- David Marchese, Salon.com

"Her wallet's filled with pictures,
she gets 'em one by one...."