Vslyke
@vslyke.bsky.social
Music, sports*, TV, screaming into the void. Small piece of the BobServe team. *Braves/Pittsburgh Pirates/White Sox/Penguins/Titans/Carolina Panthers/UGA
RFK jr overrode the NIH recommendation for NIAID Director to appoint his own preferred candidate (who applied, but NIH declined to interview), per @politico.com. Institute directors have final say on funding decisions and are critical to the integrity of NIH. 🧵 www.politico.com/news/2026/08...
A lab-leak proponent is in line for Fauci’s old job
Steven Quay is in final vetting to run the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
politico.com
"Sweet Soul Music: Voices from the Shadows" has a leg up on other rare soul compilations as this one primarily has rare soul. Of course, some of it is rare for a good reason but any R&B fan will find something they like here, often something completely new. 2/5 youtu.be/C2KMV4_Ebbg?...
Too bad we never got a show that featured both Luther Allison and Bob Dylan, that would have been an electric combination.
Mpls Music History@mplsmusichistory.bsky.social · 3d agoBob Dylan was a paying customer at the Cabooze on August 3, 1978, seeing Luther Allison. The Twin Cities Reader wrote about it.
"Soulful Love - Duets Vol. 1" is a compilation of R&B male/female duets from the late 50s and 60s. Duets have never been my favorite type of R&B ballad and quite a few of these tracks feel overly staid but there are enough solid gems to keep this from being a waste. 2/5 youtu.be/4_mVaBtVzj4?...
2026's "Hadestown: The Musical" is a gorgeous stage film that manages to create a recording as strong as the stage musical. The movie's cinematography is stellar and the cast shines throughout without ever overselling their characters. However, I do wish the sound mix was a bit more visceral. 9/10
"Live at the Century Plaza" by Lou Rawls shows off Rawls' excellent voice and his charisma. While the 2 Beatles covers and "Watch What Happens" are far too florid, the rest of the set is an excellent showcase of what made Rawls such a special singer. 4/5 youtu.be/hHlK9coOrTg?...
Down Here On The Ground
YouTube video by Lou Rawls - Topic
youtu.be
Must read! blog.bobserve.com/monterey-fol...
Monterey Folk Festival 1963: The Dylan & Baez Duet That Never Was
"When the legend becomes fact, print the legend." - That guy in that movie.
blog.bobserve.com
bobserve (Bob Dylan database)@bobserve.com · 5d agoThat famous Folk Festival duet with Joan Baez? It's been written about for decades, and even reenacted in a biopic. But did it really happen?
I can't stress enough what a crisis this is. Trump's own intelligence agencies concluded that Iran attacked Minnesota's critical infrastructure and Trump is saying that it's Minnesota's own fault and denying it was Iran. The federal government won't defend blue states in a literal war.
U.S. Sees Iran as Likely Behind Cyberattack on Minnesota Water Systems (Gift Article)
Investigators cautioned that the assessment was preliminary. There were no indications that any water supply had been rendered unsafe to drink.
nytimes.com
"Slipstream" by Bonnie Raitt avoids her prior album's poorly executed experimentation but suffers from poor material. Other than 2 Bob Dylan songs (1 of which is poorly arranged) and "Right Down the Line", nothing sticks lyrically, making this an empty calorie album. 2/5 youtu.be/doyRKAgyoCg?...
Million Miles
YouTube video by Bonnie Raitt - Topic
youtu.be
"Souls Alike" by Bonnie Raitt attempts to freshen Raitt's sound by bringing in newer genres, which unfortunately ends up cheapening the album. The mediocre material also keeps the album from taking full advantage of Raitt's still considerable talents. 2/5 youtu.be/TSAIP-7Z_9s?...
Unnecessarily Mercenary
YouTube video by Bonnie Raitt - Topic
youtu.be
"Soul Donkey" by Sugarman 3 is a solid follow up to a solid debut but does not hold up as well as their following album. The grooves are good but not exceptional, making each song susceptible to being spoiled by a small flaw, typically a lack of potency. 3/5 youtu.be/ardt5sfvNj0?...
Chicken Half
YouTube video by The Sugarman 3 - Topic
youtu.be
“Trump has rejected disaster aid for Democratic-run states at the highest rate in the 47-year history of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.” Right now people in blue states are basically paying federal taxes as if they’re colonized territories of red states. www.politico.com/news/2026/03...
1991's "Mortal Thoughts" is a twisty thriller that digs into the power of female friendship and the power of a bad marriage. The performances, particularly of Demi Moore and Bruce Willis, were strong and I loved the strong sense of place that came from being set and filmed in New Jersey. 7/10
"White Christmas" by Al Green finds the R&B legend's voice strangely subdued and partially obscured by generic backing singers. Overall, it feels like as cheap of a cash in as the awful album cover suggests despite a few flashes of what the album could have been. 2/5 youtu.be/hP5-pNbMg4o?...
My latest on Substack: a sublime night at Wolf Trap with Bob Dylan and his younger generation of listeners. timshorrock.substack.com/p/we-shall-b...
67 boat strikes 221 people killed EXCLUSIVE: Operation Southern Spear has not reduced the volume, availability, purity or price of cocaine arriving in the U.S., according to an internal DEA assessment and a closed-door Pentagon briefing for senators, and has made enforcement more difficult
67 boat strikes. 221 dead. The cocaine hasn’t slowed, officials report.
The president says Operation Southern Spear has virtually ended drug trafficking by sea. Pentagon and DEA analysts have concluded otherwise.
washingtonpost.com
the u.s. is bullying other countries into withdrawing from the i.c.c.
Wagatwe Wanjuki@wagatwe.bsky.social · last wk.oh my god
Overland couple shot dead in Guatemala after local ICE stop led to deportations www.stlpr.org/law-order/20...
Overland couple shot dead in Guatemala after local ICE stop led to deportations
The couple’s 14-month-old daughter was found crying beside her mother’s body in a sugarcane field last week, according to Guatemalan authorities and media.
stlpr.org
"Live: The Real Deal" by Buddy Guy has all the trademarks of a late era live blues album: a backing band and a headliner that do not gel, overly long jams, and a vague sense that the album is insisting on itself. Despite a couple good tracks, not worth tracking down. 2/5 youtu.be/8JJwBv7Sfy0?...
Ain't That Lovin' You (Live)
YouTube video by Buddy Guy - Topic
youtu.be
"Let Me in Your Life" commits the ultimate R&B sin of burying Aretha Franklin behind overly sentimental tracks. Her voice in their prime of her career is too good not to carry some of these songs but what a massive missed opportunity to not dial the production back. 3/5 youtu.be/TOhq3arb8Q8?...
I'm in Love
YouTube video by Aretha Franklin - Topic
youtu.be
www.americamagazine.org/ideas/2026/0... The Pope’s quote of Dylan was a deep dive- a song never recorded. Although he also used the phrase Masters of War. I like knowing the Pope is a deep divin’ Dylan dude. We need more leaders influenced by Dylan in my opinion.
1931's "Little Caesar" has an electric starring role from Edward G. Robinson but the rest of the film pales in comparison. That's particularly true of the wooden performances from the other actors, which keeps this movie from hitting the level of Robinson's iconic role. 6/10
The self titled Donny Hathaway album does not have the strongest set of songs but the performances are so good that it redeems them. In addition to his talents as an arranger, Hathaway was a great singer who excelled in drawing out emotion without going over the top. 5/5 youtu.be/riwePTnk-Zk?...
Donny Hathaway - A Song for You (Official Audio)
YouTube video by RHINO
youtu.be
NEW: In a stunning admission, the Trump administration admitted in court documents that it canceled billions in energy grants to states "based solely" on politics -- and whether that state was represented by Democrats and backed Harris in 2024. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/24/b...
Trump Administration Admits Canceling Grants to States That Did Not Vote for Him
Federal officials said in court documents that they halted billions of dollars in funding for energy projects to states “based solely” on whether they backed President Trump in the 2024 election.
nytimes.com
FFS 🤦♂️ The Pentagon removed the names of 4 servicemembers who died in Jordan from their official list of casualties. They explain that this is because "their deaths occurred after President Trump declared a cease-fire in the war in April." www.nytimes.com/2026/07/23/u...
Number of U.S. Troop Deaths in Iran War Appears Lower on Pentagon Website (Gift Article)
Three military officials and a Pentagon spokesman gave conflicting explanations for why the number of Americans killed in the Iran war had changed.
nytimes.com
"Greatest Hits" by Classics IV has the three hits they are remembered for and nothing else worth listening to again. The three hits are as good as you remember though and I was surprised to learn that "Traces" was their highest charting single. 2/5 youtu.be/o5gtVoA2upU?...
