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 December 4, 2008Opinion Today |
Measure for MeasureHow to Write a Song and Other Mysteries  In the last few months I have had a chance to review a song I wrote in October of 2007. It’s called “Daddy Is White,” and I haven’t sung it out loud yet in front of an audience except to record a demo of it. My daughter worries that people might make fun of me. However, I feel that it is a truthful song. . . . Read full post » ADVERTISEMENT  Video: Nicholas D. KristofA video by the Op-Ed columnist.  One of the most effective ways to improve the physical and mental health of impoverished people is as simple as adding iodine to the salt supply, Nicholas D. Kristof says. Watch the video » Bloggingheads.tvA regular series of video debates by Bloggingheads.tv  Christopher Hayes, left, of The Nation and Eli Lake of The New Republic debate whether "American empire" is the best option. Watch the video » | The Opinionator: Tobin HarshawA guide to the wide world of newspaper, magazine and Web opinion. Former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer has a new gig: Slate columnist. Read full post » The BoardA blog by the editorial writers of The New York Times So, the heads of Detroit’s three auto makers decided this time to take their tin cups to Washington D.C. by car. They were smart, certainly, not to travel again by corporate jet to ask for their taxpayer-funded bailout. But they could have just bought coach class tickets on Northwest Airlines, like regular people. The car trip to Washington, however, was not the auto C.E.O.'s’ most pointless populist gesture. . . . Read full post » Paul Krugman: The Conscience of a LiberalThe Op-Ed columnist's blog. I’ve been ruminating over economic prospects for next year, and I’m getting scared. Two points: 1. The economy is falling fast. We’ll see what tomorrow’s employment report says, but we could well be losing jobs at a rate of 450,000 or 500,000 a month. 2. Infrastructure spending will take time to get going . . . Read full post » Authors Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner bring their blog to The Times. Read More » |
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Reader Comment
"It’s a powerful lyric that paradoxically loses its edgy impact because of the lack of a melody. (I tried singing it -- basing a melody on what the chord progression and meter suggested -- and the imagery jumped right off the page at me). Would “Tom’s DIner” have been as arresting and inspirational if it was just recited instead of sung? I doubt it -- Vega writes melodies that are powerful for their lack of flourish and pretense; they are optimal vessels for her lyrics, even when they seem deceptively simple but are in fact sophisticated. . . ." - Posted by Sandy, Dec. 4, 3:25 a.m.
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