@PlowboyHampton
@JoJoFromJerz
Fears of his cult should not make him exempt from the rules of law. Period. The implication that he’s too powerful to hold accountable is unacceptable.
@JasonIsbell
a few years ago having a coffee in silver lake, I began waxing aloud about cannonball’s genius tension release on KoB. An elderly black woman sharing my bench turned and said, “young man, it’s so nice to hear you speak of Julian that way. I’m his widow.”
not only a hero of my formative years as a songwriter, but --as a friend and himself a cancer survivor--
@JohnPrineMusic
has for the past year and a half stood as my personal patron saint. he and his wife fiona have been bedrock for me; and i urge all prayers for him.
i want to acknowledge
@brandicarlile
––and while i'm at it,
@JasonIsbell
; for i have witnessed both in the last year employ their significant and freshly-minted currency to shine light on their/our church elders. rave on.
@marcorubio
The sadness began a long time ago, pal —when the whole of your party locked arms around a deranged sociopath, insisting he was above accountability. You’ve squandered all moral credibility.
Happy birthday to my friend and mentor, Harry Belafonte. I know no one like him, and neither do you.
(Photo taken by yours truly, in a snowfall in Berlin, at the Russian war memorial; 2010.)
I hope my broadcast of this not unseemly, but I want to share that my first-ever poem to see publication is scheduled to appear in the upcoming issue of the New Yorker. It is no small thing to me.
@JoJoFromJerz
I mean, clearly it IS the national gun of this angry and confused nation, but good god: the desire to celebrate that rather than be ashamed is confounding to me.
JUST POSTED: Today
@realDonaldTrump
became a terrorist leader.
The Trump-incited attack on the Capitol is an unprecedented act of domestic terrorism. It's the predictable culmination of Trumpism—and the GOP owns it, too. Please read, RT, Like and share.
if the current resident has to dismantle the postal service to win an election...it's not actually an election ––in the same way that if one has to have the opposing quarterback's legs broken before the big game in order to win...it isn't a game.
Alice Munro. Gone / not gone. I have no words for what she means to me; for how she has spoken to and schooled me for so very long. She was an absolute giant among us.
a supreme court justice is threatened by an armed man, and mitch mcconnell is demanding same-day action. children are slaughtered beyond their parents' recognition, and nearly the entire GOP locks arms to defend the right to unregulated gun ownership. am i reading this right?
for any of you who might be the praying kind: please do, in whatever way you might, pray for the end to our national trauma, and for a renewed dedication to peace and justice ––love, acceptance, and forgiveness–– for and between us all. xojh
I’m sad to learn of my brother’s passing. His stage posture notwithstanding, he was a life enthusiast; a deep lover of music as well as laughter. My heart goes out to his wife Joyce, whom he adored and credited for keeping him on the rails.
JUST POSTED:
@realDonaldTrump
& Co. have been pumping out emails to his supporters stating the election was stolen from him. This barrage of disinformation, which sows suspicion & paranoia, goes far beyond his tweets. Read my article on this & please RT.
on sunday my daughter witnessed a parade of monster trucks flying T flags right down a LA blvd and was fearful as was intended. i was invited to be too; then recalled being engulfed at women's marches by a vast sea of fierce hearts and minds. and their spirit shall carry the day
Thank you to my new home state of Maine: I received part one of the vaccine today; and being a songwriter, was mandated the Moderna version. Going to stay up late to see what else Dolly can do for me going forward —and not like she hasn’t already done enough.
"If conservatives become convinced that they cannot win democratically, they will not abandon conservatism. They will reject democracy." - from
@DavidFrum
's upcoming book "Trumpocracy"
gone / not gone:
my time spent with harry belafonte was a revolution upon my heart when it needed one. and i am grateful. (photo by yours truly, taken at the russian war memorial in berlin, winter 2010)
Thinking of this hero, mentor, and friend —a light in darknes:
@johnprinemusic
— on this, his birthday. I owe more than I can say to him and his beloved wife Fiona.
#iremembereverything
saddened at the passing of my pal alan arkin: a profound and brilliant actor; an uncommonly kind man. we met on a film set and sang cole porter songs together as he strummed a ukulele. i was as happy as i look.
@JasonIsbell
the greatest stress of my cancer journey has been the heavy lean on our family’s resources just to keep me upright and in forward motion. In such critical moments it’s clear just how heartless and cruel is our healthcare system. It consumes hope like a combine harvester.
This marks my first Mother’s Day without mine. But it only amplifies how fully she lives within and continues to shape my life. She remains my life’s most essential blessing: the rest of them all flowing from that first.
@JasonIsbell
if i may, mick was the guitarist on my 2nd album (1989); and sitting with him as he played, i realized there were many things i'd always naively credited to keith that were mick. he is a badass.
any of us voicing the argument will lose friends for it; yet that cannot matter: the US is funding a genocide against the Palestinian people; and it can't be excused simply because Israel has been attacked and are enraged. they're willfully killing civilians. today. right now.
This loss is unimaginable right now. Few in my lifetime have lived as fearlessly, as generously, as did dr paul farmer. I weep for the world that must continue without him, though the North Star of his good works still there to follow, if we choose…if we dare to be so selfless.
Partners In Health announced that its founder, Dr. Paul Farmer, unexpectedly passed away today in his sleep while in Rwanda.
Dr. Farmer was 62 years old. He is survived by his wife, Didi Bertrand Farmer, and their three children.
1/🧵
John Prine had never played Paris in his 50-year career — but for his last show ever, he did. We spoke to Prine's wife Fiona, son Jody, Bonnie Raitt and more about the legend's remarkable final days
This may not be the most current photograph of us, yet the bond it represents on this, our 35th anniversary, is viscerally current. My marriage has been not only the light upon my path, but the path itself. Lucky me.
thank you to my dear friends
@rosannecash
,
@HappyWoman9
, and
@ElvisCostello
for helping kick off the countdown to my new album's release (11/15). watch this space for the camera to continue to pull back and widen the frame.
this strange, troubled, and wondrous world shall be to us what we make it. and this man has made it immeasurably better. happy 60th birthday to my true brother-in-arms, Billy Bragg.
oh yeah: and happy 61st birthday to this freak of nature ––my dear sister through thick and thin, ropes and feathers; high tides and low riders. she's a riot around the Thanksgiving table; a favorite martini companion when the crowds scatter. and, lucky me, she knows my shoe size
@JasonIsbell
my wife melanie claims i won her over from just being friends by making her a blackberry cobbler. it's such a heavy card to play it almost feels like cheating.
these times that we endure with such fear are but a mirror before us; and look we must, if we care to change anything of who we see ourselves to be. our republic is deeply flawed; our humanity redeemable. to which of those two things we are most devoted is wholly up to us.
i want to encourage –upon this day and for any subsequent planned events going forward– that everyone of us arrive at their local high school and stand outside in visible and vocal solidarity with participating students, teachers, and administrators. this is a moment to be seized
“I imagine one of the reasons people cling to their hates so stubbornly is because they sense, once hate is gone, they will be forced to deal with pain.” -James Baldwin [i should post this every day, it now seems]
With its deep body, short scale length, and dark vintage sunburst Adirondack top, this highly customized 0002H Traditional for singer-songwriter
@JoeHenryMusic
is an eye-catcher that produces a uniquely thick and enveloping multi-dimensional tone.
#joehenry
#collingsguitars
goodbye to john cohen. i had chosen this image of his without knowing i'd be able to use it, and before we'd recorded a note of music. i simply gathered the musicians around a table, opened the book and said, "see here, fellas: the music should sound like this looks."
@DavidCornDC
His great delusional dream, that he’s so important that blood could and should run through the streets at the mere suggestion he might be held accountable.
@JasonIsbell
He’s either a rich man who’s dodged responsibility, or a broke, posing huckster. Biden should ask him to pick one. He can’t be both a brilliant business man and someone who loses enough money to pay nothing in taxes. Cue jeopardy music....
we have to support our courageous young leaders in every way we can. they evidence, in fact, the *only* real leadership we have around this nation-defining issue.
It’s the anniversary of the electric-chair execution of George Junius Stinney, Jr. in South Carolina in 1944. He was 14, weighed 95 lbs, and had to sit on his Bible for his head to reach the metal helmet of the electric chair. 70 years later, he was exonerated. Lord, have mercy.
A window into my weekend in SF, directing the sprawling and spirited tribute to jack elliott: at rehearsal with bob weir, bassist dave Piltch, and Joan Baez. (Photo by Jay Blakesberg)