First off, i thought my post about Russel Crowe and Marvin Gaye was not only lucid, but hilarious. Unfortunately it seems i'm the only one who laughs at my own joke, so i'll extend my apologies to my exhaustive readership. Which, as far as i can tell, is Julie.

Speaking of exhaustion, the commute between NYC and New Haven is leaving me with bags under my eyes the size of MC Hammer's pants circa the February 1991 Hammer-Ice playground debates. I almost fell asleep in the SML microfilm room. I did fall asleep on the train this morning, in brief fits and starts anway. Still managed to read a good chunk of There Ain't No Black In The Union Jack though, which made me feel productive, And i finally got a fucking ID card, which means hopefully i can get folks at the Schomburg to let me access some restricted collections. Which means i won't be coming to New Haven so much if at all, except for tomorrow, cause i'm on a roll with the Baltimore Afro-American Ledger and I really haven't seen Dāv since the September strike. Having the ipod paradoxically helps me focus on the reading - it's useful for tuneing out the yuppie cell phone conversations, and blasting "5 million ways to kill a CEO" into my earlobes strikes me as devilishly appropriate in such circumstances, or whenever passing through Greenwich or the adjoining suburbs. Alright! Enough narcissism!

1.Sam Cooke, "A Change Is Gonna Come." Sifting through years of Jim Crow/Krystalnacht-era black newspapers, with daily reports of lynchings, racialized violence, strikes --the hate strikes of white skilled tradesmen unwilling to integrate their unions and what Luxembourg would have termed the "political strikes" of African-Americans flocking to the CIO unions, and the organizing and vision of the membership and leadership of unions like the Brotherhood of sleeping car porters, lead me to this song's extraordinary lyrical depth and symbolic power.

Bob Dylan: "4th Time Around"

Bob Dylan: "Absolutely Sweet Marie." Nothing I really want to say about either of these songs right now, except they're incredible and they're on one of the best albums i've ever heard.

Charles Mingus: "Group Dancers." It appeared under other names elsewhere, but this piece of melody from The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady is probably my favorite single Mingus composition of them all. Which is saying a lot, cause i've been obsessed with Mingus since i was like 16.

Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings: "How Long Do I Have To Wait For You?" Steve Cropper called, and he wants you to teach him that guitar riff.

ok, sorry, that sucked. Read the last entry and make pity laughter.