Steeleye Span canceled three concert dates in Atlanta while I was living there, so I never got to see them live. But I probably put more wear on their career-peak albums–especially Now We Are Six and Below the Salt–than just about anyone else’s, at a time when I was pretty seriously into both rock-and-roll music and late medieval/early modern history and culture. Who else was I going to listen to?
During my first (and for a long time only) trip to Europe in the late 1970s, I lodged with a Dutch family in The Hague and on my first night, while feeling a bit culturally out of sorts (I was brought to the house by an extremely drunken Dutch Tourism Agency staffer, but that’s another story), I heard “All Around My Hat” emanating from my host’s quarters, and felt at home.
Here are some mid-August midday news/views snacks:
* Kerry officially reopens U.S. embassy in Cuba.
* Only on Fox News, or perhaps Mars: Greta von Sustern apologizes to Chris Christie for describing his interaction with Barack Obama during Sandy as “a hug.”
* At TNR, Elizabeth Stoker Bruenig celebrates 80th anniversary of Social Security with charts showing its social and economic results.
* Bobby Jindal’s campaign is struggling so much he’s basically relying on clickbait for oxygen.
* Speaking of clickbait, William Cohan has a piece up at the Atlantic entitled “How Wall Street’s Bankers Stayed Out of Jail.” I think it will get a few views.
And in non-political news:
* At long last, Bill Connelly’s preview of the 2015 Georgia Bulldogs is available.
As we break for lunch, here’s a fine Steeleye Span performance from 1974: “Thomas the Rhymer” in Leeds.
