Bright before me, the signs implore me/ To help the needy and show them the way/ Human kindness is overflowing, and I think it's going to rain today

Remembering Katrina today.

Trouble in mind, I'm blue/ But I won't be blue always

New Orleans is a wonderful city for music, maybe the best ever. Here are a few of my favorite New Orleans songs, many by New Orleans artists. There are many, many more.

A couple of my favorite books about Hurricane Katrina and the people of the Gulf Coast... Douglas Brinkley's The Great Deluge, and Dave Eggers's Zeitoun.

Buckwheat Zydeco "Cryin' in the Streets"
Jimmy Buffett "Stars Fell on Alabama"
Dr. John "World I Never Made"
Fats Domino "Walking to New Orleans"
Gulf Aid AllStars "It Ain't My Fault (feat. Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Mos Def, Lenny Kravitz, and Trombone Shorty)"
Norah Jones "I Think It's Going to Rain Today"
Randy Newman "Louisiana 1927 (feat. Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra)"
Preservation Hall Jazz Band "Baby, Won't You Please Come Home?"
Preservation Hall Jazz Band "Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?"
Preservation Hall Jazz Band "Old Rugged Cross"
Preservation Hall Jazz Band "Trouble in Mind"
Alvin Robinson "Let Me Down Easy"
Allen Toussaint "Yes We Can Can"
Trombone Shorty "Hurricane Season"

On a bus stop in the town, "We Rule The School"/ Written for anyone with eyes in their heads/ Do something pretty while you can/ Don't fall asleep writing, from California to New York

Today, I went to graduate school orientation for the second time. The first time was in New Jersey in 2005. For the next two years, probably more, I will be reading and writing (less so arithmetic) in an English Department in New Hampshire. In the spirit of showing school spirit, I posted some spirited school songs today.

3 Simmons "You Are My Dream (School Time)"
Belle & Sebastian "We Rule the School"
Belle & Sebastian "The Ghost of Rockschool"
A Classic Education "We Can Always Run to Hawaii"
Ferris Bueller's Day Off "Handle School on a Day Like This"
Old School "Denver, Gorgeous!"
Old School "Pretty Nice Weekend"
Old School "So Good"
Old School "You're Crazy, Man"
Liz Phair "Whip-Smart"
Schoolhouse Rock "Interjections!"
Schoolhouse Rock "Verb: That's What's Happening"
School of Fish "3 Strange Days"
Paul Simon "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard"
The Simpsons "Me Fail English"

Newport Folk Festival, 2011

Such a great time at the Newport Folk Festival this year... Here are some of my favorite songs from this year's artists.

The Decemberists "O Valencia!"
The Decemberists "July, July!"
Mavis Staples "Creep Along Moses"
Mavis Staples "Have a Little Faith"
Tegan and Sara "Monday Monday Monday"

The White Stripes "Walking With a Ghost (Tegan and Sara cover)"

Justin Townes Earle "Hard Livin'"
Justin Townes Earle "Mama's Eyes"
M. Ward "Buckets of Rain (Bob Dylan cover)"
M. Ward "Made of Glass"
Ryan Adams and Gillian Welch "Helpless (Neil Young cover)"
Conor Oberst and Gillian Welch "Lua"