Progressive Wednesday

The big three, part ii.

As the Mamas and the Papas put it: “Monday, Monday, can’t trust that day.” So, in our continuous quest to help you trust Mondays more, here’s today’s trio o’ art.

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First up: Art 21. This is a PBS serious now in its fourth incarnation highlighting contemporary visual artists. I’ve enjoyed this “documentary” a great deal: I’m a bit of a modern/contemporary art fanatic (the MoMA and the Albright-Knox Art Gallery are my museums of choice). Art 21 Season 4 airs on October 28, November 4, 11, and 18 at 10 PM (EST).

Check out the trailer to get a taste….

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I’ve been thinking back on my years in Columbus, Ohio (nearly a decade), and I can’t think about my time there without waxing nostalgic about beating a confession out of my drums for six different bands. Two of my former outfits — Jack Diesel and Lower Lights Burning — kicked the crap out of “Can’t Hardly Wait,” a tune recorded by the band Paul Westerberg fronted, The Replacements.

The Replacements were notorious for getting intensely drunk before gigs, drunk to the point of falling down on stage, unable to remember lyrics. I wish, wish, wish I’d seen this, but at the same time, thankfully, I lived it: at one of my gigs, our lead singer Jimmy, lover of whiskey and all things beer, literally plummeted into my kit mid-song, sending a crash cymbal flying, slicing open the hand of our bassist. It was, in all seriousness, fantastic. So here’s to Jimmy, and here’s to The Replacements.

Besides all of that, I love the lick that drives the song, and I dig the lyrics ’cause there’s something urgent in the closing chorus that just rings true. So here’s a sober Mr. Westerberg and his backing band playing “Can’t Hardly Wait” on Saturday Night Live. (My apologies for their suits and the bizarre antics of the drummer… just listen, yo.)

(I can’t embed the video here so just click this sentence to give it a spin.)

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Because a little nepotism goes a long way, I thought I’d highlight three photos I adore, all of which were clicked by James Robinson, our very own photography editor.

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To see more of his work, just click this here sentence, baby.