Author Archives: Lord Jim

What we’re listening to today — The Hustle is On by T-Bone Walker

Along with Charlie Christian, Texas blues man T-Bone Walker revolutionized the use of the electric guitar in popular music directly before, during and and after WWII. A disciple of Blind Lemon Jefferson and featuring a smooth and easy vocal delivery to go along with his virtuoso guitar playing, Walker’s brand of big band jump blues is not always how most people think of the genre. The playing and arrangements are spotless and more often ecstatic than forlorn, whatever the lyrics might be saying. And one can hardly picture such a raconteur as T-Bone, legendary for his athletic live showmanship, going through any real trouble with the ladies. But his suave style is one of the pleasures of the blues canon and a rollicking pre-Rock burner like “The Hustle is On” makes clear where future legends like Chuck Berry jumped off from on their own epic musical journeys:

The faster-than-normal tempo, tight horn arrangements and bouncing locomotive back beat all provide T-Bone’s trademark Gibson ES-5 lead and unmannered vocals the proper urgency and punch. And his rhythm work on the sax break is equally forceful, a precursor to the less-is-more philosophy of Steve Cropper and Keith Richards. Whether it’s poker night with the boys or cocktails with a special lady, T-Bone Walker’s brand of blues always gets the evening off in fine style.

Recommended for further listening: The Complete Imperial Recordings, 1950-54. A double disc set, this 52-track collection is an essential and beautifully polished example of the master in his prime and with super tight backing personnel. Not a dud in the bunch.

Bonus video: An awe-inspiring performance from 1966’s Jazz at the Philharmonic in the UK–with Dizzy Gillespie, Teddy Wilson and other luminaries in the backing band:

Guy Style–Lift your lid

Man cannot live by baseball caps alone (god forbid). That’s why the sophisticated gent knows that a well-selected hat can spice up a fellow’s wardrobe from the top down. Take some of these classics from Bailey, which can help you look stylin’ without breaking the bank:

Bailey Darron

Bailey Darron

Bailey Silko

Bailey Silko

Bailey Wynn

Bailey Wynn

The venerable Goorin Bros. also has a wide range of sporty and handsome chapeaus for the modern gentleman:

Goorin Edison Gold

Goorin Edison Gold

Goorin Dark Forest

Goorin Dark Forest

Goorin Blues

Goorin Blues

If you’re really serious about your headgear, you can splurge for a classic high end brand like a Borsalino. But I find Bailey and Goorin Bros. cover similar styles as that admittedly great brand while still leaving some drinking money in your pocket. Plus a good hat is a bit like a potato chip: bet you can’t buy just one. A hat will change the way your entire outfit appears and having several in the repertoire is a fine idea for maximum versatility. And with the cooler weather coming along, it’s a natural time to debut your new lids while keeping your melon warm.

The best place I’ve seen for Bailey on the Web is San Diego’s Village Hat Shop, which has a great selection and free delivery for orders over $75 clams. (For whatever reason, you can only shop Bailey’s current seasonal collection at their own site and not their full range–odd and none too clever.) In contrast, Goorin Bros.’ site is excellent and all you need to buy one of their products: you can shop it direct and there is a ton of stuff to browse, both old & new. Or you can visit one of Goorin’s many shops across North America and try them on in person.

Either way, pick a lid that suits your own inimitable style and soon when folks see you comin’ they’ll be saying: Hats off to ya, you stylish devil!

Humphrey Bogart

 

 

 

What we’ve read this summer– From Here to Eternity by James Jones

It’s no coincidence that on the last day of August we’ve only just finished our summer reading of From Here to Eternity by James Jones. The text of this seminal 1951 military novel clocks in at a whopping 896 pages. And yet it rarely fails to captivate.

Set in and around the Schofield Barracks near Diamond Head in Honolulu, Hawaii in the months leading up to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, From Here to Eternity tracks the lives of several soldiers and their women in this last peaceful period before WWII. Principal among them are Private Robert E. Lee Pruitt and First (“Top”) Sargent Milton Warden. Pruitt is a poor Kentucky boy who enlisted in the Army after escaping the mining town that consumed his parents and bumming around during the Depression. His aim is to be a “30-year-man”, a career soldier, because he loves the ideal of the Army, the camaraderie of the men and the art of soldiering. It is really the only true home he’s ever known. Continue reading →

A big MFL welcome to our new contributor Punto Verde

We’re very glad to announce the addition of a new contributor to Man’s Fine Life, a gent who goes by the handle Punto Verde. Like tomvox1, he’s yet another Brooklyn hepcat (they’re downright ubiquitous these days… like herpes, only more charming) and PV is also an artist, music lover and all around bon vivant. We’re looking forward to his take on fashion, tunes, vintage contraptions and whatever else catches his fancy. The more the merrier and it’s always good to have another well-rounded gentleman aboard. So let’s raise a stein to Punto Verde!

High Blood Pressure: Still a silent killer

You may be working out five times a week and running triathlons on the side but every time you go for your physical, your BP is stubbornly high. Nothing crazy just 140/90, what they call “high normal” or “borderline high.” You argue with your doctor that because you are such a fine physical specimen there’s no need to worry about a number and you’ll try to get it down by reducing sodium intake and drinking more water. But, assuming you’re not testing it at home, another year goes by and the next checkup your numbers haven’t budged: still borderline high.

For a lot of guys in their 30s this may sound familiar, as this is when mild but persitent hypertension can start to kick in. But now’s the time to get your number down and if it takes a little medication, so be it. Because even if you feel terrific, your mild hypertension is damaging the inner workings of your body and putting you at long term risk of heart disease, stroke, eye problems and, yup, impotence. Continue reading →

What we’re listening to today–No Rollin’ Blues by Jimmy Witherspoon

Ain’t nothin’ on a Sunday like some Blues. And ain’t a lot of blues as good as that sung by Kansas City shouter Jimmy Witherspoon. This 1959 version of his evergreen “No Rollin’ Blues” shows all of his trademarks to a T: suave and powerful delivery, sexual innuendos galore, fun loving call-and-response rapport with his sidemen and uprorious reactions by his obviously appreciative audience.

Blessed with an epically long career, he began as a big band singer with Jay McShann in the late 1940s and was still at the peak of his powers (despite a battle with throat cancer) on 1988s Rockin’ LA. In between, the ‘Spoon was responsible for minting all-time standards like and “T’ Ain’t Nobody’s Business”, “Better Love Next Time (Pts. 1 & 2)” and “Have You Ever Loved a Woman”. In short, Jimmy Witherspoon was a colossus of post-WWII popular music and a Blues singing legend. Let’s toast him with some sweet corn whiskey!

You can download the sweet singing ‘Spoon on iTunes and Amazon.

Gorgeous Lady of the Week- Olivia Wilde

Not only does 29-year-old actress Olivia Wilde possess the sexiest cat eyes in Hollywood and a killer smile, but the native New Yorker is damn funny as well. Just check out The Incredible Burt Wonderstone to watch Olivia easily holding her own with the likes of Steve Carell & Steve Buscemi.

Olivia-Wilde-Bikini

While this accomplished actress really broke through with big budget high concept wannabe blockbusters like Tron: Legacy and Cowboys & Aliens, one can easily see her moving towards more substantial work. This lovely lady has the complete package: brains, beauty and a winning personality. If she keeps working hard at her craft and doesn’t coast on her looks alone, we foresee her as one of the best in the game one day soon.

Unfortunately for us other fellows, Ms. Wilde is currently engaged to funny man Jason Sedeikis. Which proves that sometimes you can get pretty far with the ladies if you can make them laugh. Now where do I sign up for that improv class at UCB again?

Olivia-Wilde-2

Olivia’s Wikipedia page is here and her IMDb profile is here.

What we’re listening to now: Baghdad Blues by Horace Silver

A strong eye and ear opener to go with your coffee and breakfast, “Baghdad Blues” is an uptempo workout composed by Don Newey and recorded by the Horace Silver Quintet. Silver is a wonderful pianist and on this track (and much of the superlative 1959 album Blowin’ the Blues Away) he shows his usual fine eye as a bandleader by assembling the swinging quintet of Junior Cook on tenor sax, the estimable Blue Mitchell on trumpet, Gene Taylor on Bass and Louis Hayes on the skins.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Fxkd1NWWCA

Like so much of Horace Silver’s classic work, there is an effortless virtuosity to the Baghdad Blues. He also demonstrates the undervalued leader’s quality of selflessness: the solos are concise and spread around democratically. The song scoots along at a nice clip and circles back to it’s brassy bridge several times before jumping off again into ecstatic excellence. Best of all, he’s still going strong at 84. If he comes to your town, be sure to check out one of the living legends of Jazz.

Horace Silver Bio & Discography from the outstanding Allmusic.com.

Plug it into your Pandora or download it from iTunes or Amazon.

Ads we like: DIRECTV “Get Rid of Cable”

Rarely has the benefit of the product and the diss to the competition been so cleverly entwined as in DIRECTV’s “When you have to (do something annoying because Cable sucks) you end up (worst case scenario). Don’t (worse case scenario). Get rid of cable. Upgrade to DIRECTV” campaign. If a mini-story is one great ways to sell a product and humor is another, these ads are the best of both worlds because they are damn funny and travel a very long story arc in 30 seconds. And because one of the oldest principles of comedy is that there is very little funnier than someone else’s slapstick misfortune, the arc is inevitably catastrophic for the protagonist. You can practically sense the creatives at Grey advertising working backwards from the outcome to get to the benefit: “Let’s see: a guy has to sell his hair to a wig shop–how do we get him there and blame Cable for it?” And like the Dos Equis campaign, DIRECTV also uses a uber-serious narrator with great pipes and intonation (in this case, the 60 Minutes man) to give the spot a faux serious documentary/PSA feel that perfectly plays off of the crazy on screen action.

Like only the very best campaigns, we’re actually left hoping for new spots while never tiring of these classics:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vm76JhMa61w

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoG0O9xH6-U

Adweek’s review here.