Podcasts about Morrison

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Latest podcast episodes about Morrison

Comic Book Couples Counseling Podcast
Scott and Emma: New X-Men (5th Anniversary Spectacular)

Comic Book Couples Counseling Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 8, 2023 138:49


Five years ago, we launched this podcast with Scott Summers and Jean Grey. Back then, our conversation concluded with a tumultuous debate surrounding Grant Morrison's New X-Men and the complicated three-way that seemingly shattered an iconic Marvel Comics romance. With so much life lived since those early podcasting days, we return to New X-Men issues 127 through 141, this time examining them through the lens of Scott Summers and Emma Frost. Are they the one true pairing? Is the question even fair? Once again, we use The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman as our relationship guide, exploring Scott and Emma's Love Tank levels and considering how each could benefit from recognizing the other's Love Language. By shifting our relationship focus and surviving five strange years on this planet, our response to Morrison's New X-Men is totally different from how we previously reacted. Our hearts are open in new ways, but are we ready to declare ourselves #TeamScemma? We celebrate and reflect on five years of Comic Book Couples Counseling. Thanks to all of you reading this post and listening to our episodes, we've managed to grow our show and ourselves tremendously. We owe you. We love you. Also, we're joined this week by several artists and listeners who steadied themselves and braved our CBCC Hotline. These creators offer their good wishes, delivering some much-needed Words of Affirmation and absolutely filling our Love Tank. Please reach out to them online, say "Thank You," and buy their art. New X-Men issues 127 - 132 and 134 - 141 were published by Marvel between June 2002 and May 2003. They were written by Grant Morrison, penciled by John Paul Leon, Igor Kordey, Phil Jimenez, Keron Grant, Frank Quitely, inked by Bill Sienkiewicz, Igor Kordey, Andy Lanning, Tim Townsend, and Avalon Studios, colored by Hi-Fi Design, Dave McCaig, and Chris Chuckry, and lettered by RS and Comicraft's Saida, Jimmy, Wes, and Albert!, and VC's Chris Eliopoulos. As always, Omnibus, the Digital Comic Store and Reader, sponsors our Referrals segment. This week, we selected two comic book titles on the site that satisfy this episode's themes. We won't spoil what they are here, but if you click the links below, you'll be immediately escorted to the books. Brad's Referral Lisa's Referral Other Relevant Links: Support Jesse Tapia II's GoFundMe Campaign Our Comic Book Holiday Gift Guide Karen Charm's Shop Larry Hama and Chris Mooneyham on GI Joe Final Round of Plugs (PHEW) Now Open - the CBCC Digital Shop! Support the Podcast by Joining OUR PATREON COMMUNITY Don't forget! Watch the latest episode of The B&B Show, where Brad and Bryan Review the Hottest Cinematic Releases. And, of course, follow Comic Book Couples Counseling on Facebook, on Instagram, and on Twitter @CBCCPodcast, and you can follow hosts Brad Gullickson @MouthDork & Lisa Gullickson @sidewalksiren. Send us your Words of Affirmation by leaving us a 5-star Review on Apple Podcasts. Continue your conversation with CBCC by hopping over to our website where we have reviews, essays, and numerous interviews with comic book creators. Podcast logo by Aaron Prescott @acoolhandfluke, podcast banner art by @Karen_XmenFan.

Word on the Straights
s3e5 + s3e6. "Homecoming" and "Band Candy" w/ Will Morrison

Word on the Straights

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 7, 2023 73:48


this podcast was a slayerfest98! it was more fun than f*cking giles on the hood of a police car comedian Will Morrison (@wamorrison95) joins to discuss these two iconic (if, ahem, plot-light) episodes of Buffy! follow @BuffyBoyfriends on ⁠⁠twitter⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠instagram⁠⁠ executive produced by sam stanish and mike lawliss produced by alex conti and joe mcmahon

Morrison Mysteries
Introducing Season 2 of Morrison Mysteries: A Christmas Carol

Morrison Mysteries

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 7, 2023 2:01


In Season 2 of Morrison Mysteries, Dateline NBC's Keith Morrison takes you back to Victorian England, where it's Christmas Eve.  Everyone is full of joy and cheer, except one miserable man – Ebenezer Scrooge. What happened to make him so mean? Tune in to Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol to hear all about Tiny Tim, Bob Cratchit, and the Ghosts who show Scrooge the true spirit of Christmas.

Microsoft Research Podcast
Collaborators: Teachable AI with Cecily Morrison and Karolina Pakėnaitė

Microsoft Research Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 5, 2023 36:25


Transforming research ideas into meaningful impact is no small feat. It often requires the knowledge and experience of individuals from across disciplines and institutions. Collaborators, a Microsoft Research Podcast series, explores the relationships—both expected and unexpected—behind the projects, products, and services being pursued and delivered by researchers at Microsoft and the diverse range of people they're teaming up with.In this episode, Dr. Gretchen Huizinga speaks with Cecily Morrison, MBE, a Senior Principal Research Manager at Microsoft Research, and Karolina Pakėnaitė, who also goes by Caroline, a PhD student and member of the citizen design team working with Morrison on the research project Find My Things. An AI phone application designed to help people who are blind or have low vision locate their personal items, Find My Things is an example of a broader research approach known as Teachable AI. Morrison and Pakėnaitė explore the Teachable AI goal of empowering people to make an AI experience work for them. They also discuss how “designing for one” when it comes to inclusive design leads to innovative solutions and what they learned about optimizing these types of systems for real-world use (spoiler: it's not necessarily more or higher-quality data).Learn more:Teachable AI Experiences (Tai X) | Project pageUnderstanding Personalized Accessibility through Teachable AI: Designing and Evaluating Find My Things for People who are Blind or Low Vision | Publication, October 2023Microsoft Inclusive Design | Inclusive design resource centerDeafBlind Everest Project | Karolina (Caroline) Pakėnaitė personal website

THE Bitcoin Podcast
TrueVote: Fixing Voting with Bitcoin & Nostr: Brett Morrison (Bitcoin Talk)

THE Bitcoin Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 2, 2023 81:04


Walker talks with Brett Morrison, creator of TrueVote – an open-source solution for tamper-proof ballot data, built on Bitcoin, opentimestamps, and Nostr.Go to bitbox.swiss/walker and use promo code WALKER for 5% off the Bitbox02 Bitcoin-only hardware wallet.*****BRETT'S LINKS:https://twitter.com/morrisonbretthttps://primal.net/profile/npub1u8um5vstlax9p60644zygvhc7w5mkzfyhwyvj453l3j7l9mrf5rspnc3c3https://truevote.org/https://truevote.org/TrueVote.pdf*****WALKER'S LINKS:FOLLOW ON NOSTR: https://primal.net/walkerNpub: npub1cj8znuztfqkvq89pl8hceph0svvvqk0qay6nydgk9uyq7fhpfsgsqwrz4uFOLLOW ON TWITTER:https://twitter.com/walkeramericahttps://twitter.com/titcoinpodcastWATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/@walkeramericaWATCH ON RUMBLE: https://rumble.com/user/WalkerAmericaBITCOIN PODCAST WEBSITE: https://bitcoinpodcast.net

The Moth
Growing Up with Siblings: Saad Najam and Meredith Morrison

The Moth

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 1, 2023 34:03


In this episode, we'll be playing an episode all about siblings from the Moth's very first spinoff podcast, Grown, which has just launched it's second season! Subscribe to Grown wherever you get your podcasts, or check out its website for more information: www.grownpod.com Hosted by: Aleeza Kazmi and Fonzo Lacayo The Moth would like to thank its listeners and supporters. Stories like these are made possible by community giving. If you're not already a member, please consider becoming one or making a one-time donation today at themoth.org/giveback

Raise Private Money Legally • for Real Estate
How to Overcome Challenges in Self-Storage Syndication with Christopher Cashman and Terry Morrison

Raise Private Money Legally • for Real Estate

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 1, 2023 59:36


Our host, Attorney Kim Lisa Taylor,  will be interviewing Christopher Cashman and Terry Morrison of Equanimity Capital Partners LLC, who have built a portfolio of more than 3,100 storage units, plus 188 RV parking stalls, in five states (GA, NC, SC, AR, UT) using more than $10M in private capital in just 2.5 years! Kim will get these two pros to share their insider's view on what it takes to build a profitable self-storage business. 

Varsity House Podcast
Benjamin Morrison Talks Tears To Triumph, The Influence Of Family Values & His Unwavering Faith

Varsity House Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 1, 2023 42:40


In this captivating episode of the Varsity House Podcast, host Shaun Crawford welcomes the standout Notre Dame cornerback, Benjamin Morrison, for an in-depth discussion about his remarkable journey from tears to triumph. Discover the trials and tribulations behind Morrison's breakthrough season, as he reflects on the pressures of collegiate football, the influence of family values, and his unwavering faith. Morrison opens up about his jersey number choice, his admiration for Minkah Fitzpatrick, and the familial bonds that shaped his path to becoming an All-American athlete. This is an episode filled with raw emotion and inspiring stories that you won't want to miss.Support the show

eTown
eTown On The Road - Red Rocks - Big Thief - Lucinda Williams

eTown

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 29, 2023 58:52


This week on eTown, we're featuring indie-folk-rock band Big Thief and legendary Americana singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams, live from Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, CO. While the theatre of Red Rocks is dramatic in and of itself, this year's show was electric–-storms brewed overhead before, during, and after. Paired with incredible music from Big Thief and Lucinda Williams, set and setting combined for a night that was nothing short of magic.   That's all this week on eTown!    Visit our Youtube Channel to see artist interviews, live recordings, studio sessions, and more!   Be a part of the audience at our next recording: https://www.etown.org/etown-hall/all-events/

The Café Bitcoin Podcast
"True Vote" with Brett Morrison + Bitcoin Demand Metrics, Stratum V2 with Tomer Strolight, Dr. Jeff Ross, Wicked, and Ant - November 28th, 2023

The Café Bitcoin Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 28, 2023 123:35


CEOFoundero ensure a true democracy, what's needed is an open, fully digital, tamper-proof, verifiable system. We also talk with Dr.Jeff Ross, Tomer Strolight, and the Café Bitcoin Crew about the BlackRock ETF filing, Bitcoin demand metrics with Stratum V2 and more. 00:00:00 "Café Bitcoin" Intro 00:00:59 Bitcoin Demand Metrics, Stratum V2, & Bull Market Incoming? 00:55:00 Bitcoin ETF Conversation with Dr.Jeff, Wicked, and Tomer 01:32:29 "True Vote" with Brett Morrison 02:01:00 "Café Bitcoin" Outro https://truevote.org/ https://twitter.com/TrueVoteOrg Become a part of the Conversation: Join ⁠https://t.me/cafebitcoinclub ⁠⁠ Swan Private Team Members: Alex Stanczyk Twitter: https://twitter.com/alexstanczyk Café Bitcoin Crew: Ant: https://twitter.com/2140data Tomer: https://twitter.com/TomerStrolight Wicked: https://twitter.com/w_s_bitcoin Peter: https://twitter.com/PeterAnsel9 Produced by: https://twitter.com/Producer_Jacob Free Bitcoin-only live data (no ads) ⁠http://TimechainStats.com⁠ “From Timechain to Cantillionares Game, you can find Tip_NZ creations at Geyser Fund:” ⁠https://geyser.fund/project/tip⁠ Swan Bitcoin is the best way to accumulate Bitcoin with automatic recurring buys and instant buys from $10 to $10 million. Get started in just 5 minutes. Your first $10 purchase is on us: https://swanbitcoin.com/yt  Download the all new Swan app!  iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/swan-bitcoin/id1576287352  Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.swanbitcoin.android&pli=1  Join us for Pacific Bitcoin Festival 2024! Purchase your tickets now before prices go up (Fully Refundable Until February): ⁠https://www.pacificbitcoin.com/collections/tickets⁠  Are you a high net worth individual or do you represent corporation that might be interested in learning more about Bitcoin? Swan Private guides corporations and high net worth individuals toward building generational wealth with Bitcoin. Find out more at https://swan.com/private  Check out the best place for Bitcoin education, Swan Bitcoin's “Bitcoin Canon”. Compiling all of the greatst articles, news sources, videos and more from your favorite bitcoiners! https://www.swan.com/canon/  Get paid to recruit new Bitcoiners: https://swan.com/enlist Hello and welcome to The Café Bitcoin Podcast brought to you by Swan Bitcoin, the best way to buy and learn about Bitcoin. We're excited to announce we are bringing the The Café Bitcoin conversation from Twitter Spaces to you on this show, The Café Bitcoin Podcast, Monday - Friday every week. Join us as we speak to guest like Max Keiser, Lyn Alden, Tomer Strolight, Cory Klippsten and many others from the bitcoin space. Also, be sure to hit that subscribe button to make sure you get the notifications when we launch an episode. Join us Monday - Friday 7pst/10est every Morning and become apart of the conversation! Thank you again and we look forward to giving you the best bitcoin content daily here on The Café Bitcoin Podcast. Swan Bitcoin is the best way to accumulate Bitcoin with automatic recurring buys and instant buys from $10 to $10 million. Get started in just 5 minutes. Your first $10 purchase is on us: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://swan.com⁠⁠/yt⁠⁠⁠ Connect with Swan on social media: Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/Swan⁠

Word of Mom Radio
Dr. Jess Patton Joins Dr. Crystal Morrison on The Village Vision Podcast

Word of Mom Radio

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 28, 2023 27:00


Dr. Jess Patton experiences the world of special needs as a parent and a professional.  In addition to her twenty years in education, she is also the founder and president of Sense of Connection, a nonprofit serving the autism community, as well as the owner of Patton Advocacy & Consulting, LLC.  With her extensive experience, Dr. Patton understands parenting and working with children who have special needs can be filled with the most rewarding moments intertwined with some extremely difficult struggles.  Using humor and a unique flair, she enjoys sharing her story with the intention of helping other parents and professionals. Join us on The Village Vision Podcast. Connect with Dr. Patton at SenseofConnection.net and PattonANC.com and on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. Dr. Crystal G. Morrison is a highly regarded executive advisor, strategist, leader, scientist, tech entrepreneur, and co-founder of Meerkat Village, a software company dedicated to improving outcomes for children with special needs by building collaboration and communication among adults providing care.  She created the Village Vision podcast to celebrate their stories. Follow at TheVillageVision.com and on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube. WordofMomRadio.com  

The Back to Jerusalem Podcast
Episode 716: Bury Me In China

The Back to Jerusalem Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 28, 2023 45:53


More than 200 years ago, Robert Morrison had a dream to get the Bible into the most populated nation on earth, but that dream was said to be unattainable. Robert Morrison dared to do it anyway. Now, in our latest book 'Bury Me In China', read for the first time how Morrison gave the ultimate sacrifice to translate, print, smuggle, and distribute the entire Chinese Bible inside China – how he lost friends and loved ones, buried two children, a wife, and eventually died on the mission field, thousands of miles away from the land of his birth.

china bible morrison bury robert morrison chinese bible
Do you really know?
Are budget food brands really worth the savings they offer?

Do you really know?

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 26, 2023 4:37


How much attention do you pay to prices when doing your grocery shopping? In September 2023, UK consumer watchdog Which published research showing just how much cheaper budget brands can be. One striking example was the price of rice at Asda. Shoppers could get 1kg of Asda Just Essentials rice for 52 pence, while the store's standard own-brand Easy Cook Long Grain White Rice was £1.80 for the same quantity. That's 246% more. And if no Asda store brand products were available, shoppers would be faced with spending £4.85 on a kilo of Ben's Original Long Grain Rice - a whopping 833% more than the Just Essentials product. Similar cases were found at supermarkets like Sainsbury's, Tesco and Morrison's, on staple foods like baked beans, spaghetti and tea bags. The cost of living crisis has seen a lot of people switch to budget food brands in order to save. And an early 2023 survey by Attest found that 70.2% of Brits plan to stick with own-label brands, rather than reverting to premium options. What counts as a budget food brand? Are the products of good enough quality? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! To listen to the last episodes, you can click here: Why is funflation causing us to spend more on live entertainment? Are gas cookers dangerous? How do I know if I'm allergic to gluten? A podcast written and realised by Joseph Chance. In partnership with upday UK. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Steelers Podcast - The Terrible Podcast
The Terrible Podcast — Talking Steelers Vs. Bengals Game Preview, Coordinator Comments, Week 12 Picks, & Much More

Steelers Podcast - The Terrible Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 24, 2023 101:08


November 24, 2023 - Season 14, Episode 54 of The Terrible Podcast is now in the can. In this Friday morning show, Alex Kozora and I get right to talking about the slate of Thanksgiving Day games the NFL had and how all three weren't all that competitive overall. The Pittsburgh Steelers have now released two injury reports ahead of their Week 12 road game against the Cincinnati Bengals, so we recap where the team sits from a health standpoint entering Friday and how it looks like the team won't be getting S Minkah Fitzpatrick thon Sunday. New offensive coordinator Eddie Faulkner addressed the media for the first time in his new role on Thursday, so Alex and I recap all that he had to say during that press conference. We then move on to cover what notable things that defensive coordinator Teryl Austin had to say on Thursday during his media session. With the Steelers playing the Bengals on Sunday, Alex and I are pleased to have Jay Morrison on the show this Friday. Morrison, who now covers the Bengals for Pro Football Network, is a longtime beat writer and Alex and I talk to him for nearly 25 minutes about the upcoming Week 12 Sunday game in Cincinnati. Jay graciously provides us with his score prediction for the Sunday game to close out our talk with him. If not already doing so, please follow Jay on Twitter at @ByJayMorrison and also make sure to catch up on all of his pregame coverage here: https://www.profootballnetwork.com/author/jmorrison/. After talking to Jay, Alex and I provide our own preview for the Steelers Sunday game against the Bengals. As usual, Alex and I wrap up this Friday show by providing our picks against the spread for the remaining Week 12 games. We then provide our final score predictions for the Steelers Sunday road game against the Bengals. Several other minor topics not noted are also discussed in this 99-minute episode as well and we finish it up by answering several listener questions. steelersdepot.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

FLW Bass Fishing Podcast
Alec Morrison recaps a stupendous 2023

FLW Bass Fishing Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 23, 2023 86:56


With a record-setting Toyota Series win and a Northern Division Angler of the Year title to his credit, Alec Morrison's 2023 was the definition of a breakout season. It was a big year for Morrison, who started guiding in Florida and fishing outside of his home range in New York more than ever. In this episode of the podcast, we get into it all and get the backstory of one of the most promising young anglers in the game.

Rock N Roll Bedtime Stories
Episode 173 – Jim Morrison vs Jimi Hendrix

Rock N Roll Bedtime Stories

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 22, 2023 40:38


The guys get into the lore around Steve Paul's The Scene, 60's NYC, and that time The Lizard King tried to stick his face into Jimi Hendrix's pants (and got Janis Joplin all riled up.) Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/rocknrollbedtimestories SHOW NOTES: https://theburr.com/2505/blogs/grace-marie-burton/the-conflicted-legacy-of-the-doors/ https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2020-03-18/coronavirus-self-quarantine-learning-to-like-the-doors-jim-morrison https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/disastrous-two-occasions-jimi-hendrix-jim-morrison-met/ https://www.loudersound.com/features/what-happened-when-jimi-hendrix-jammed-with-jim-morrison http://www.historyoffilm.net/film-making/film-schools/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joel_Brodsky http://weareclassicrockers.com/article/december-1967-night-jim-morrison-was-arrested-stage https://www.amazon.com/Live-At-Scene-Club-York/dp/B000UBF1M6 https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/jimi-hendrix-jam-sessions-with-famous-players.575240/ https://msmokemusic.com/blogs/mind-smoke-blog/posts/6562587/steve-paul-s-the-scene https://www.janisjoplin.net/life/friends/jim-morrison/#:~:text='%20Jim%20would%20get%20drunk%20most,the%20more%20Jim%20loved%20it. https://culturacolectiva.com/en/entertainment/music/jim-morrison-and-janis-joplin-hook-up/ Morrison's Lament: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTCnKZ9YhzE

Audiolibros Por qué leer
Dulzura - Toni Morrison | Audiolibros Por qué leer

Audiolibros Por qué leer

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 22, 2023 18:09


“Le dije que me llamara ‘Dulzura' en vez de ‘madre' o ‘mamá'. Era más seguro así”. Una cita que contiene la síntesis de la historia y el profundo dolor de la discriminación racial. En 2015, la escritora afroestadounidense Toni Morrison publicó su última novela “God Help the Child” (en español, La noche de los niños) en la que narra la vida de Lula Ann, una mujer negra nacida de padres de piel clara que la rechazan desde la cuna. “Dulzura” es el primer capítulo de La noche de los niños y está narrado desde el punto de vista de la madre de Lula Ann, y es por eso que funciona tan bien como texto independiente. ¿Por qué la progenitora tuvo que criar a su hija con esa mezcla de distancia, desprecio y miedo? Morrison escribe con la pluma de la incomodidad, haciéndonos pensar en cada línea qué hubiéramos hecha nosotros en el lugar de la narradora. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Qué es POR QUÉ LEER Por qué leer es un proyecto multiplataforma que promueve el placer por la lectura. La idea es contagiar las ganas de leer mediante recomendaciones, reseñas y debates. ¡Cada vez somos más! CECILIA BONA Soy periodista, productora y creadora de contenidos. Trabajé en radios como MITRE, VORTERIX y CLUB OCTUBRE. Amo leer desde pequeña, incentivada especialmente por mi mamá. En Por qué leer confluyen muchas de mis pasiones -la radio, la edición de video, la comunicación- y por eso digo que está hecho con muchísimo amor. Editó este episodio: DANY FERNÁNDEZ para Activando producciones Sus redes: https://www.instagram.com/danyrap.f/ https://www.instagram.com/activandoproducciones.proyecto/ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ¿Te gustaría patrocinar POR QUÉ LEER? ALIAS BANCARIO: porqueleerok PATREON: http://bit.ly/patreonporqueleerok ALIAS MERCADO PAGO: porqueleerok PayPal: https://paypal.me/porqueleerok SUSCRIBITE A LAS MEMBRESÍAS MENSUALES Y APOYÁ EL PROYECTO $500: https://bit.ly/xqlmembresia500 $1000: https://bit.ly/xqlmembresia1000 $2000: https://bit.ly/xqlmembresia2000 $3000: https://bit.ly/xqlmembresia3000 $4000: https://bit.ly/xqlmembresia4000 $5000: https://bit.ly/xqlmembresia5000 ¡Gracias por todo!

Circle Sanctuary Network Podcasts
Circle Sanctuary's Circle Talk - Lesley A. Morrison

Circle Sanctuary Network Podcasts

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 22, 2023 63:00


Would you like to learn how to achieve balance, fulfillment and magic in your home? Join us on this encore presentation of Circle Talk as we chat with Lesley A Morrison about her new book, “In the Spirit of Home Practical Ways to Create Your Perfect Haven”.

Snapshots
#47 - Echoes of the Blitz: Mike Hutton's Journey through Wartime Britain

Snapshots

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 21, 2023 49:01


Today, we're joined by Mike Hutton, the author of "The Children of the 1940s." Hutton, an 85-year-old Englishman, shares his unique experiences of growing up during World War II in London. He paints a vivid picture of British life during the war, highlighting the extensive rationing, the Morrison table, and the class distinctions that shaped living conditions. His journey from the textile industry to becoming a social historian and author, inspired by the likes of Hemingway and Faulkner, is a testament to his passion for capturing the lives of ordinary people in extraordinary times. The discussion then pivots to post-war Britain, where Hutton provides insights into the nation's gradual recovery and the political changes that followed. He contrasts the resilience and adaptability of his generation with that of modern children, offering an intriguing perspective on how today's youth might cope with similar hardships. Join us for this journey into the past, as we explore the realities of wartime Britain and the indomitable spirit of its people. Buy "Children of the 1940s" on Amazon _ Produced by Podcast Studio X. Listen on YouTube. Find my book reviews on ViewsOnBooks.com.

A History Of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs
Episode 170: “Astral Weeks” by Van Morrison

A History Of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 21, 2023


Episode 170 of A History of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs looks at "Astral Weeks", the early solo career of Van Morrison, and the death of Bert Berns.  Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode. Patreon backers also have a forty-minute bonus episode available, on "Stoned Soul Picnic" by Laura Nyro. Tilt Araiza has assisted invaluably by doing a first-pass edit, and will hopefully be doing so from now on. Check out Tilt's irregular podcasts at http://www.podnose.com/jaffa-cakes-for-proust and http://sitcomclub.com/ Errata At one point I, ridiculously, misspeak the name of Charles Mingus' classic album. Black Saint and the Sinner Lady is not about dinner ladies. Also, I say Warren Smith Jr is on "Slim Slow Slider" when I meant to say Richard Davis (Smith is credited in some sources, but I only hear acoustic guitar, bass, and soprano sax on the finished track). Resources As usual, I've created Mixcloud playlists, with full versions of all the songs excerpted in this episode. As there are so many Van Morrison songs in this episode, the Mixcloud is split into three parts, one, two, and three. The information about Bert Berns comes from Here Comes the Night: The Dark Soul of Bert Berns and the Dirty Business of Rhythm and Blues by Joel Selvin. I've used several biographies of Van Morrison. Van Morrison: Into the Music by Ritchie Yorke is so sycophantic towards Morrison that the word “hagiography” would be, if anything, an understatement. Van Morrison: No Surrender by Johnny Rogan, on the other hand, is the kind of book that talks in the introduction about how the author has had to avoid discussing certain topics because of legal threats from the subject. Howard deWitt's Van Morrison: Astral Weeks to Stardom is over-thorough in the way some self-published books are, while Clinton Heylin's Can You Feel the Silence? is probably the best single volume on the artist. Information on Woodstock comes from Small Town Talk by Barney Hoskyns. Ryan Walsh's Astral Weeks: A Secret History of 1968 is about more than Astral Weeks, but does cover Morrison's period in and around Boston in more detail than anything else. The album Astral Weeks is worth hearing in its entirety. Not all of the music on The Authorized Bang Collection is as listenable, but it's the most complete collection available of everything Morrison recorded for Bang. Patreon This podcast is brought to you by the generosity of my backers on Patreon. Why not join them? Transcript Before we start, a quick warning -- this episode contains discussion of organised crime activity, and of sudden death. It also contains excerpts of songs which hint at attraction to underage girls and discuss terminal illness. If those subjects might upset you, you might want to read the transcript rather than listen to the episode. Anyway, on with the show. Van Morrison could have been the co-writer of "Piece of My Heart". Bert Berns was one of the great collaborators in the music business, and almost every hit he ever had was co-written, and he was always on the lookout for new collaborators, and in 1967 he was once again working with Van Morrison, who he'd worked with a couple of years earlier when Morrison was still the lead singer of Them. Towards the beginning of 1967 he had come up with a chorus, but no verse. He had the hook, "Take another little piece of my heart" -- Berns was writing a lot of songs with "heart" in the title at the time -- and wanted Morrison to come up with a verse to go with it. Van Morrison declined. He wasn't interested in writing pop songs, or in collaborating with other writers, and so Berns turned to one of his regular collaborators, Jerry Ragavoy, and it was Ragavoy who added the verses to one of the biggest successes of Berns' career: [Excerpt: Erma Franklin, "Piece of My Heart"] The story of how Van Morrison came to make the album that's often considered his masterpiece is intimately tied up with the story we've been telling in the background for several episodes now, the story of Atlantic Records' sale to Warners, and the story of Bert Berns' departure from Atlantic. For that reason, some parts of the story I'm about to tell will be familiar to those of you who've been paying close attention to the earlier episodes, but as always I'm going to take you from there to somewhere we've never been before. In 1962, Bert Berns was a moderately successful songwriter, who had written or co-written songs for many artists, especially for artists on Atlantic Records. He'd written songs for Atlantic artists like LaVern Baker, and when Atlantic's top pop producers Leiber and Stoller started to distance themselves from the label in the early sixties, he had moved into production as well, writing and producing Solomon Burke's big hit "Cry to Me": [Excerpt: Solomon Burke, "Cry to Me"] He was the producer and writer or co-writer of most of Burke's hits from that point forward, but at first he was still a freelance producer, and also produced records for Scepter Records, like the Isley Brothers' version of "Twist and Shout", another song he'd co-written, that one with Phil Medley. And as a jobbing songwriter, of course his songs were picked up by other producers, so Leiber and Stoller produced a version of his song "Tell Him" for the Exciters on United Artists: [Excerpt: The Exciters, "Tell Him"] Berns did freelance work for Leiber and Stoller as well as the other people he was working for. For example, when their former protege Phil Spector released his hit version of "Zip-a-Dee-Do-Dah", they got Berns to come up with a knockoff arrangement of "How Much is that Doggie in the Window?", released as by Baby Jane and the Rockabyes, with a production credit "Produced by Leiber and Stoller, directed by Bert Berns": [Excerpt: Baby Jane and the Rockabyes, "How Much is that Doggie in the Window?"] And when Leiber and Stoller stopped producing work for United Artists, Berns took over some of the artists they'd been producing for the label, like Marv Johnson, as well as producing his own new artists, like Garnet Mimms and the Enchanters, who had been discovered by Berns' friend Jerry Ragovoy, with whom he co-wrote their "Cry Baby": [Excerpt: Garnet Mimms and the Enchanters, "Cry Baby"] Berns was an inveterate collaborator. He was one of the few people to get co-writing credits with Leiber and Stoller, and he would collaborate seemingly with everyone who spoke to him for five minutes. He would also routinely reuse material, cutting the same songs time and again with different artists, knowing that a song must be a hit for *someone*. One of his closest collaborators was Jerry Wexler, who also became one of his best friends, even though one of their earliest interactions had been when Wexler had supervised Phil Spector's production of Berns' "Twist and Shout" for the Top Notes, a record that Berns had thought had butchered the song. Berns was, in his deepest bones, a record man. Listening to the records that Berns made, there's a strong continuity in everything he does. There's a love there of simplicity -- almost none of his records have more than three chords. He loved Latin sounds and rhythms -- a love he shared with other people working in Brill Building R&B at the time, like Leiber and Stoller and Spector -- and great voices in emotional distress. There's a reason that the records he produced for Solomon Burke were the first R&B records to be labelled "soul". Berns was one of those people for whom feel and commercial success are inextricable. He was an artist -- the records he made were powerfully expressive -- but he was an artist for whom the biggest validation was *getting a hit*. Only a small proportion of the records he made became hits, but enough did that in the early sixties he was a name that could be spoken of in the same breath as Leiber and Stoller, Spector, and Bacharach and David. And Atlantic needed a record man. The only people producing hits for the label at this point were Leiber and Stoller, and they were in the process of stopping doing freelance work and setting up their own label, Red Bird, as we talked about in the episode on the Shangri-Las. And anyway, they wanted more money than they were getting, and Jerry Wexler was never very keen on producers wanting money that could have gone to the record label. Wexler decided to sign Bert Berns up as a staff producer for Atlantic towards the end of 1963, and by May 1964 it was paying off. Atlantic hadn't been having hits, and now Berns had four tracks he wrote and produced for Atlantic on the Hot One Hundred, of which the highest charting was "My Girl Sloopy" by the Vibrations: [Excerpt: The Vibrations, "My Girl Sloopy"] Even higher on the charts though was the Beatles' version of "Twist and Shout". That record, indeed, had been successful enough in the UK that Berns had already made exploratory trips to the UK and produced records for Dick Rowe at Decca, a partnership we heard about in the episode on "Here Comes the Night". Berns had made partnerships there which would have vast repercussions for the music industry in both countries, and one of them was with the arranger Mike Leander, who was the uncredited arranger for the Drifters session for "Under the Boardwalk", a song written by Artie Resnick and Kenny Young and produced by Berns, recorded the day after the group's lead singer Rudy Lewis died of an overdose: [Excerpt: The Drifters, "Under the Boardwalk"] Berns was making hits on a regular basis by mid-1964, and the income from the label's new success allowed Jerry Wexler and the Ertegun brothers to buy out their other partners -- Ahmet Ertegun's old dentist, who had put up some of the initial money, and Miriam Bienstock, the ex-wife of their initial partner Herb Abramson, who'd got Abramson's share in the company after the divorce, and who was now married to Freddie Bienstock of Hill and Range publishing. Wexler and the Erteguns now owned the whole label. Berns also made regular trips to the UK to keep up his work with British musicians, and in one of those trips, as we heard in the episode on "Here Comes the Night", he produced several tracks for the group Them, including that track, written by Berns: [Excerpt: Them, "Here Comes the Night"] And a song written by the group's lead singer Van Morrison, "Gloria": [Excerpt: Them, "Gloria"] But Berns hadn't done much other work with them, because he had a new project. Part of the reason that Wexler and the Erteguns had gained total control of Atlantic was because, in a move pushed primarily by Wexler, they were looking at selling it. They'd already tried to merge with Leiber and Stoller's Red Bird Records, but lost the opportunity after a disastrous meeting, but they were in negotiations with several other labels, negotiations which would take another couple of years to bear fruit. But they weren't planning on getting out of the record business altogether. Whatever deal they made, they'd remain with Atlantic, but they were also planning on starting another label. Bert Berns had seen how successful Leiber and Stoller were with Red Bird, and wanted something similar. Wexler and the Erteguns didn't want to lose their one hit-maker, so they came up with an offer that would benefit all of them. Berns' publishing contract had just ended, so they would set up a new publishing company, WEB IV, named after the initials Wexler, Ertegun, and Berns, and the fact that there were four of them. Berns would own fifty percent of that, and the other three would own the other half. And they were going to start up a new label, with seventeen thousand dollars of the Atlantic partners' money. That label would be called Bang -- for Bert, Ahmet, Neshui, and Gerald -- and would be a separate company from Atlantic, so not affected by any sale. Berns would continue as a staff producer for Atlantic for now, but he'd have "his own" label, which he'd have a proper share in, and whether he was making hits for Atlantic or Bang, his partners would have a share of the profits. The first two records on Bang were "Shake and Jerk" by Billy Lamont, a track that they licensed from elsewhere and which didn't do much, and a more interesting track co-written by Berns. Bob Feldman, Richard Gottehrer, and Jerry Goldstein were Brill Building songwriters who had become known for writing "My Boyfriend's Back", a hit for the Angels, a couple of years earlier: [Excerpt: The Angels, "My Boyfriend's Back"] With the British invasion, the three of them had decided to create their own foreign beat group. As they couldn't do British accents, they pretended to be Australian, and as the Strangeloves -- named after the Stanley Kubrick film Dr  Strangelove -- they released one flop single. They cut another single, a version of "Bo Diddley", but the label they released their initial record through didn't want it. They then took the record to Atlantic, where Jerry Wexler said that they weren't interested in releasing some white men singing "Bo Diddley". But Ahmet Ertegun suggested they bring the track to Bert Berns to see what he thought. Berns pointed out that if they changed the lyrics and melody, but kept the same backing track, they could claim the copyright in the resulting song themselves. He worked with them on a new lyric, inspired by the novel Candy, a satirical pornographic novel co-written by Terry Southern, who had also co-written the screenplay to Dr Strangelove. Berns supervised some guitar overdubs, and the result went to number eleven: [Excerpt: The Strangeloves, "I Want Candy"] Berns had two other songs on the hot one hundred when that charted, too -- Them's version of "Here Comes the Night", and the version of Van McCoy's song "Baby I'm Yours" he'd produced for Barbara Lewis. Three records on the charts on three different labels. But despite the sheer number of charting records he'd had, he'd never had a number one, until the Strangeloves went on tour. Before the tour they'd cut a version of "My Girl Sloopy" for their album -- Berns always liked to reuse material -- and they started performing the song on the tour. The Dave Clark Five, who they were supporting, told them it sounded like a hit and they were going to do their own version when they got home. Feldman, Gottehrer, and Goldstein decided *they* might as well have the hit with it as anyone else. Rather than put it out as a Strangeloves record -- their own record was still rising up the charts, and there's no reason to be your own competition -- they decided to get a group of teenage musicians who supported them on the last date of the tour to sing new vocals to the backing track from the Strangeloves album. The group had been called Rick and the Raiders, but they argued so much that the Strangeloves nicknamed them the Hatfields and the McCoys, and when their version of "My Girl Sloopy", retitled "Hang on Sloopy", came out, it was under the band name The McCoys: [Excerpt: The McCoys, "Hang on Sloopy"] Berns was becoming a major success, and with major success in the New York music industry in the 1960s came Mafia involvement. We've talked a fair bit about Morris Levy's connection with the mob in many previous episodes, but mob influence was utterly pervasive throughout the New York part of the industry, and so for example Richard Gottehrer of the Strangeloves used to call Sonny Franzese of the Colombo crime family "Uncle John", they were so close. Franzese was big in the record business too, even after his conviction for bank robbery. Berns, unlike many of the other people in the industry, had no scruples at all about hanging out with Mafiosi. indeed his best friend in the mid sixties was Tommy Eboli, a member of the Genovese crime family who had been in the mob since the twenties, starting out working for "Lucky" Luciano. Berns was not himself a violent man, as far as anyone can tell, but he liked the glamour of hanging out with organised crime figures, and they liked hanging out with someone who was making so many hit records. And so while Leiber and Stoller, for example, ended up selling Red Bird Records to George Goldner for a single dollar in order to get away from the Mafiosi who were slowly muscling in on the label, Berns had no problems at all in keeping his own label going. Indeed, he would soon be doing so without the involvement of Atlantic Records. Berns' final work for Atlantic was in June 1966, when he cut a song he had co-written with Jeff Barry for the Drifters, inspired by the woman who would soon become Atlantic's biggest star: [Excerpt: The Drifters, "Aretha"] The way Berns told the story in public, there was no real bad blood between him, Wexler, and the Erteguns -- he'd just decided to go his own way, and he said “I will always be grateful to them for the help they've given me in getting Bang started,” The way Berns' wife would later tell the story, Jerry Wexler had suggested that rather than Berns owning fifty percent of Web IV, they should start to split everything four ways, and she had been horrified by this suggestion, kicked up a stink about it, and Wexler had then said that either Berns needed to buy the other three out, or quit and give them everything, and demanded Berns pay them three hundred thousand dollars. According to other people, Berns decided he wanted one hundred percent control of Web IV, and raised a breach of contract lawsuit against Atlantic, over the usual royalty non-payments that were endemic in the industry at that point. When Atlantic decided to fight the lawsuit rather than settle, Berns' mob friends got involved and threatened to break the legs of Wexler's fourteen-year-old daughter, and the mob ended up with full control of Bang records, while Berns had full control of his publishing company. Given later events, and in particular given the way Wexler talked about Berns until the day he died, with a vitriol that he never used about any of the other people he had business disputes with, it seems likely to me that the latter story is closer to the truth than the former. But most people involved weren't talking about the details of what went on, and so Berns still retained his relationships with many of the people in the business, not least of them Jeff Barry, so when Barry and Ellie Greenwich had a new potential star, it was Berns they thought to bring him to, even though the artist was white and Berns had recently given an interview saying that he wanted to work with more Black artists, because white artists simply didn't have soul. Barry and Greenwich's marriage was breaking up at the time, but they were still working together professionally, as we discussed in the episode on "River Deep, Mountain High", and they had been the main production team at Red Bird. But with Red Bird in terminal decline, they turned elsewhere when they found a potential major star after Greenwich was asked to sing backing vocals on one of his songwriting demos. They'd signed the new songwriter, Neil Diamond, to Leiber and Stoller's company Trio Music at first, but they soon started up their own company, Tallyrand Music, and signed Diamond to that, giving Diamond fifty percent of the company and keeping twenty-five percent each for themselves, and placed one of his songs with Jay and the Americans in 1965: [Excerpt: Jay and the Americans, "Sunday and Me"] That record made the top twenty, and had established Diamond as a songwriter, but he was still not a major performer -- he'd released one flop single on Columbia Records before meeting Barry and Greenwich. But they thought he had something, and Bert Berns agreed. Diamond was signed to Bang records, and Berns had a series of pre-production meetings with Barry and Greenwich before they took Diamond into the studio -- Barry and Greenwich were going to produce Diamond for Bang, as they had previously produced tracks for Red Bird, but they were going to shape the records according to Berns' aesthetic. The first single released from Diamond's first session, "Solitary Man", only made number fifty-five, but it was the first thing Diamond had recorded to make the Hot One Hundred at all: [Excerpt: Neil Diamond, "Solitary Man"] The second single, though, was much more Bert Berns' sort of thing -- a three-chord song that sounded like it could have been written by Berns himself, especially after Barry and Greenwich had added the Latin-style horns that Berns loved so much. Indeed according to some sources, Berns did make a songwriting suggestion -- Diamond's song had apparently been called "Money Money", and Berns had thought that was a ridiculous title, and suggested calling it "Cherry Cherry" instead: [Excerpt: Neil Diamond, "Cherry Cherry"] That became Diamond's first top ten hit. While Greenwich had been the one who had discovered Diamond, and Barry and Greenwich were the credited producers on all Diamond's records  as a result, Diamond soon found himself collaborating far more with Barry than with Greenwich, so for example the first number one he wrote, for the Monkees rather than himself, ended up having its production just credited to Barry. That record used a backing track recorded in New York by the same set of musicians used on most Bang records, like Al Gorgoni on lead guitar and Russ Savakus on bass: [Excerpt: The Monkees, "I'm a Believer"] Neil Diamond was becoming a solid hit-maker, but he started rubbing up badly against Berns. Berns wanted hits and only hits, and Diamond thought of himself as a serious artist. The crisis came when two songs were under contention for Diamond's next single in late 1967, after he'd had a whole run of hits for the label. The song Diamond wanted to release, "Shilo", was deeply personal to him: [Excerpt: Neil Diamond, "Shilo"] But Bert Berns had other ideas. "Shilo" didn't sound like a hit, and he knew a hit when he heard one. No, the clear next single, the only choice, was "Kentucky Woman": [Excerpt: Neil Diamond, "Kentucky Woman"] But Berns tried to compromise as best he could. Diamond's contract was up for renewal, and you don't want to lose someone who has had, as Diamond had at that point, five top twenty hits in a row, and who was also writing songs like "I'm a Believer" and "Red Red Wine". He told Diamond that he'd let "Shilo" come out as a single if Diamond signed an extension to his contract. Diamond said that not only was he not going to do that, he'd taken legal advice and discovered that there were problems with his contract which let him record for other labels -- the word "exclusive" had been missed out of the text, among other things. He wasn't going to be recording for Bang at all any more. The lawsuits over this would stretch out for a decade, and Diamond would eventually win, but the first few months were very, very difficult for Diamond. When he played the Bitter End, a club in New York, stink bombs were thrown into the audience. The Bitter End's manager was assaulted and severely beaten. Diamond moved his wife and child out of Manhattan, borrowed a gun, and after his last business meeting with Berns was heard talking about how he needed to contact the District Attorney and hire a bodyguard. Of the many threats that were issued against Diamond, though, the least disturbing was probably the threat Berns made to Diamond's career. Berns pointed out to Diamond in no uncertain terms that he didn't need Diamond anyway -- he already had someone he could replace Diamond with, another white male solo singer with a guitar who could churn out guaranteed hits. He had Van Morrison: [Excerpt: Van Morrison, "Brown-Eyed Girl"] When we left Van Morrison, Them had just split up due to the problems they had been having with their management team. Indeed, the problems Morrison was having with his managers seem curiously similar to the issues that Diamond was having with Bert Berns -- something that could possibly have been a warning sign to everyone involved, if any of them had known the full details of everyone else's situation. Sadly for all of them, none of them did. Them had had some early singles success, notably with the tracks Berns had produced for them, but Morrison's opinion of their second album, Them Again, was less than complimentary, and in general that album is mostly only remembered for the version of Bob Dylan's "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue", which is one of those cover versions that inspires subsequent covers more than the original ever did: [Excerpt: Them, "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue"] Them had toured the US around the time of the release of that album, but that tour had been a disaster. The group had gained a reputation for incredible live shows, including performances at the Whisky A-Go-Go with the Doors and Captain Beefheart as their support acts, but during the tour Van Morrison had decided that Phil Solomon, the group's manager, was getting too much money -- Morrison had agreed to do the tour on a salary, rather than a percentage, but the tour had been more successful than he'd expected, and Solomon was making a great deal of money off the tour, money that Morrison believed rightfully belonged to him. The group started collecting the money directly from promoters, and got into legal trouble with Solomon as a result. The tour ended with the group having ten thousand dollars that Solomon believed -- quite possibly correctly -- that he was owed. Various gangsters whose acquaintance the group had made offered to have the problem taken care of, but they decided instead to come to a legal agreement -- they would keep the money, and in return Solomon, whose production company the group were signed to, would get to keep all future royalties from the Them tracks. This probably seemed a good idea at the time, when the idea of records earning royalties for sixty or more years into the future seemed ridiculous, but Morrison in particular came to regret the decision bitterly. The group played one final gig when they got back to Belfast, but then split up, though a version of the group led by the bass player Alan Henderson continued performing for a few years to no success. Morrison put together a band that played a handful of gigs under the name Them Again, with little success, but he already had his eyes set on a return to the US. In Morrison's eyes, Bert Berns had been the only person in the music industry who had really understood him, and the two worked well together. He had also fallen in love with an American woman, Janet Planet, and wanted to find some way to be with her. As Morrison said later “I had a couple of other offers but I thought this was the best one, seeing as I wanted to come to America anyway. I can't remember the exact details of the deal. It wasn't really that spectacular, money-wise, I don't think. But it was pretty hard to refuse from the point of view that I really respected Bert as a producer. I'd rather have worked with Bert than some other guy with a bigger record company. From that angle, it was spectacular because Bert was somebody that I wanted to work with.” There's little evidence that Morrison did have other offers -- he was already getting a reputation as someone who it was difficult to work with -- but he and Berns had a mutual respect, and on January the ninth, 1967, he signed a contract with Bang records. That contract has come in for a lot of criticism over the years, but it was actually, *by the standards in operation in the music business in 1967*, a reasonably fair one. The contract provided that, for a $2,500 a year advance, Bang would record twelve sides in the first year, with an option for up to fifty more that year, and options for up to four more years on the same terms. Bang had the full ownership of the masters and the right to do what they wanted with them. According to at least one biographer, Morrison added clauses requiring Bang to actually record the twelve sides a year, and to put out at least three singles and one album per year while the contract was in operation. He also added one other clause which seems telling -- "Company agrees that Company will not make any reference to the name THEM on phonograph records, or in advertising copy in connection with the recording of Artist." Morrison was, at first, extremely happy with Berns. The problems started with their first session: [Excerpt: Van Morrison, "Brown-Eyed Girl (takes 1-6)"] When Morrison had played the songs he was working on for Berns, Berns had remarked that they sounded great with just Morrison and his guitar, so Morrison was surprised when he got into the studio to find the whole standard New York session crew there -- the same group of session players who were playing for everyone from the Monkees to Laura Nyro, from Neil Diamond to the Shangri-Las -- along with the Sweet Inspirations to provide backing vocals. As he described it later "This fellow Bert, he made it the way he wanted to, and I accepted that he was producing it... I'd write a song and bring it into the group and we'd sit there and bash it around and that's all it was -- they weren't playing the songs, they were just playing whatever it was. They'd say 'OK, we got drums so let's put drums on it,' and they weren't thinking about the song, all they were thinking about was putting drums on it... But it was my song, and I had to watch it go down." The first song they cut was "Brown-Eyed Girl", a song which Morrison has said was originally a calypso, and was originally titled "Brown-skinned Girl", though he's differed in interviews as to whether Berns changed the lyric or if he just decided to sing it differently without thinking about it in the session. Berns turned "Brown-Eyed Girl" into a hit single, because that was what he tended to do with songs, and the result sounds a lot like the kind of record that Bang were releasing for Neil Diamond: [Excerpt: Van Morrison, "Brown-Eyed Girl"] Morrison has, in later years, expressed his distaste for what was done to the song, and in particular he's said that the backing vocal part by the Sweet Inspirations was added by Berns and he disliked it: [Excerpt: Van Morrison, "Brown-Eyed Girl"] Morrison has been very dismissive of "Brown-Eyed Girl" over the years, but he seems not to have disliked it at the time, and the song itself is one that has stood the test of time, and is often pointed to by other songwriters as a great example of the writer's craft. I remember reading one interview with Randy Newman -- sadly, while I thought it was in Paul Zollo's "Songwriters on Songwriting" I just checked that and it's not, so I can't quote it precisely -- in which he says that he often points to the line "behind the stadium with you" as a perfect piece of writing, because it's such a strangely specific detail that it convinces you that it actually happened, and that means you implicitly believe the rest of the song. Though it should be made very clear here that Morrison has always said, over and over again, that nothing in his songs is based directly on his own experiences, and that they're all products of his imagination and composites of people he's known. This is very important to note before we go any further, because "Brown-Eyed Girl" is one of many songs from this period in Morrison's career which imply that their narrator has an attraction to underage girls -- in this case he remembers "making love in the green grass" in the distant past, while he also says "saw you just the other day, my how you have grown", and that particular combination is not perhaps one that should be dwelt on too closely. But there is of course a very big difference between a songwriter treating a subject as something that is worth thinking about in the course of a song and writing about their own lives, and that can be seen on one of the other songs that Morrison recorded in these sessions, "T.B. Sheets": [Excerpt: Van Morrison, "T.B. Sheets"] It seems very unlikely indeed that Van Morrison actually had a lover die of tuberculosis, as the lover in the song does, and while a lot of people seem convinced that it's autobiographical, simply because of the intensity of the performance (Morrison apparently broke down in tears after recording it), nobody has ever found anyone in Morrison's life who fits the story in the song, and he's always ridiculed such suggestions. What is true though is that "T.B. Sheets" is evidence against another claim that Morrison has made in the past - that on these initial sessions the eight songs recorded were meant to be the A and B sides of four singles and there was no plan of making an album. It is simply not plausible at all to suggest that "T.B. Sheets" -- a slow blues about terminal illness, that lasts nearly ten minutes -- was ever intended as a single. It wouldn't have even come close to fitting on one side of a forty-five. It was also presumably at this time that Berns brought up the topic of "Piece of My Heart". When Berns signed Erma Franklin, it was as a way of getting at Jerry Wexler, who had gone from being his closest friend to someone he wasn't on speaking terms with, by signing the sister of his new signing Aretha. Morrison, of course, didn't co-write it -- he'd already decided that he didn't play well with others -- but it's tempting to think about how the song might have been different had Morrison written it. The song in some ways seems a message to Wexler -- haven't you had enough from me already? -- but it's also notable how many songs Berns was writing with the word "heart" in the chorus, given that Berns knew he was on borrowed time from his own heart condition. As an example, around the same time he and Jerry Ragavoy co-wrote "Piece of My Heart", they also co-wrote another song, "Heart Be Still", a flagrant lift from "Peace Be Still" by Aretha Franklin's old mentor Rev. James Cleveland, which they cut with Lorraine Ellison: [Excerpt: Lorraine Ellison, "Heart Be Still"] Berns' heart condition had got much worse as a result of the stress from splitting with Atlantic, and he had started talking about maybe getting open-heart surgery, though that was still very new and experimental. One wonders how he must have felt listening to Morrison singing about watching someone slowly dying. Morrison has since had nothing but negative things to say about the sessions in March 1967, but at the time he seemed happy. He returned to Belfast almost straight away after the sessions, on the understanding that he'd be back in the US if "Brown-Eyed Girl" was a success. He wrote to Janet Planet in San Francisco telling her to listen to the radio -- she'd know if she heard "Brown-Eyed Girl" that he would be back on his way to see her. She soon did hear the song, and he was soon back in the US: [Excerpt: Van Morrison, "Brown-Eyed Girl"] By August, "Brown-Eyed Girl" had become a substantial hit, making the top ten, and Morrison was back in the States. He was starting to get less happy with Berns though. Bang had put out the eight tracks he'd recorded in March as an album, titled Blowin' Your Mind, and Morrison thought that the crass pseudo-psychedelia of the title, liner notes, and cover was very inappropriate -- Morrison has never been a heavy user of any drugs other than alcohol, and didn't particularly want to be associated with them. He also seems to have not realised that every track he recorded in those initial sessions would be on the album, which many people have called one of the great one-sided albums of all time -- side A, with "Brown-Eyed Girl", "He Ain't Give You None" and the extended "T.B. Sheets" tends to get far more love than side B, with five much lesser songs on it. Berns held a party for Morrison on a cruise around Manhattan, but it didn't go well -- when the performer Tiny Tim tried to get on board, Carmine "Wassel" DeNoia, a mobster friend of Berns' who was Berns' partner in a studio they'd managed to get from Atlantic as part of the settlement when Berns left, was so offended by Tim's long hair and effeminate voice and mannerisms that he threw him overboard into the harbour. DeNoia was meant to be Morrison's manager in the US, working with Berns, but he and Morrison didn't get on at all -- at one point DeNoia smashed Morrison's acoustic guitar over his head, and only later regretted the damage he'd done to a nice guitar. And Morrison and Berns weren't getting on either. Morrison went back into the studio to record four more songs for a follow-up to "Brown-Eyed Girl", but there was again a misunderstanding. Morrison thought he'd been promised that this time he could do his songs the way he wanted, but Berns was just frustrated that he wasn't coming up with another "Brown-Eyed Girl", but was instead coming up with slow songs about trans women. Berns overdubbed party noises and soul backing vocals onto "Madame George", possibly in an attempt to copy the Beach Boys' Party! album with its similar feel, but it was never going to be a "Barbara Ann": [Excerpt: Van Morrison, "Madame George (Bang version)"] In the end, Berns released one of the filler tracks from Blowin' Your Mind, "Ro Ro Rosey", as the next single, and it flopped. On December the twenty-ninth, Berns had a meeting with Neil Diamond, the meeting after which Diamond decided he needed to get a bodyguard. After that, he had a screaming row over the phone with Van Morrison, which made Berns ill with stress. The next day, he died of a heart attack. Berns' widow Ilene, who had only just given birth to a baby a couple of weeks earlier, would always blame Morrison for pushing her husband over the edge. Neither Van Morrison nor Jerry Wexler went to the funeral, but Neil Diamond did -- he went to try to persuade Ilene to let him out of his contract now Berns was dead. According to Janet Planet later, "We were at the hotel when we learned that Bert had died. We were just mortified, because things had been going really badly, and Van felt really bad, because I guess they'd parted having had some big fight or something... Even though he did love Bert, it was a strange relationship that lived and died in the studio... I remember we didn't go to the funeral, which probably was a mistake... I think [Van] had a really bad feeling about what was going to happen." But Morrison has later mostly talked about the more practical concerns that came up, which were largely the same as the ones Neil Diamond had, saying in 1997 "I'd signed a contract with Bert Berns for management, production, agency and record company,  publishing, the whole lot -- which was professional suicide as any lawyer will tell you now... Then the whole thing blew up. Bert Berns died and I was left broke." This was the same mistake, essentially, that he'd made with Phil Solomon, and in order to get out of it, it turned out he was going to have to do much the same for a third time.  But it was the experience with Berns specifically that traumatised Morrison enough that twenty-five years later he would still be writing songs about it, like "Big Time Operators": [Excerpt: Van Morrison, "Big Time Operators"] The option to renew Morrison's contracts with Berns' companies came on the ninth of January 1968, less than two weeks after Berns' death. After his death, Berns' share of ownership in his companies had passed to his widow, who was in a quandary. She had two young children, one of whom was only a few weeks old, and she needed an income after their father had died. She was also not well disposed at all towards Morrison, who she blamed for causing her husband's death. By all accounts the amazing thing is that Berns lived as long as he did given his heart condition and the state of medical science at the time, but it's easy to understand her thinking. She wanted nothing to do with Morrison, and wanted to punish him. On the other hand, her late husband's silent partners didn't want to let their cash cow go. And so Morrison came under a huge amount of pressure in very different directions. From one side, Carmine DiNoia was determined to make more money off Morrison, and Morrison has since talked about signing further contracts at this point with a gun literally to his head, and his hotel room being shot up. But on the other side, Ilene Berns wanted to destroy Morrison's career altogether. She found out that Bert Berns hadn't got Morrison the proper work permits and reported him to the immigration authorities. Morrison came very close to being deported, but in the end he managed to escape deportation by marrying Janet Planet. The newly-married couple moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts, to get away from New York and the mobsters, and to try to figure out the next steps in Morrison's career. Morrison started putting together a band, which he called The Van Morrison Controversy, and working on new songs. One of his earliest connections in Massachusetts was the lead singer of a band called the Hallucinations, who he met in a bar where he was trying to get a gig: [Excerpt: The Hallucinations, "Messin' With the Kid"] The Hallucinations' lead singer was called Peter Wolf, and would much later go on to become well-known as the singer with the J. Geils Band. He and Morrison became acquaintances, and later became closer friends when they realised they had another connection -- Wolf had a late-night radio show under the name Woofa Goofa, and he'd been receiving anonymous requests for obscure blues records from a fan of the show. Morrison had been the one sending in the requests, not realising his acquaintance was the DJ. Before he got his own band together, Morrison actually guested with the Hallucinations at one show they did in May 1968, supporting John Lee Hooker. The Hallucinations had been performing "Gloria" since Them's single had come out, and they invited Morrison to join them to perform it on stage. According to Wolf, Morrison was very drunk and ranted in cod-Japanese for thirty-five minutes, and tried to sing a different song while the band played "Gloria". The audience were apparently unimpressed, even though Wolf shouted at them “Don't you know who this man is? He wrote the song!” But in truth, Morrison was sick of "Gloria" and his earlier work, and was trying to push his music in a new direction. He would later talk about having had an epiphany after hearing one particular track on the radio: [Excerpt: The Band, "I Shall Be Released"] Like almost every musician in 1968, Morrison was hit like a lightning bolt by Music From Big Pink, and he decided that he needed to turn his music in the same direction. He started writing the song "Brand New Day", which would later appear on his album Moondance, inspired by the music on the album. The Van Morrison Controversy started out as a fairly straightforward rock band, with guitarist John Sheldon, bass player Tom Kielbania, and drummer Joey Bebo. Sheldon was a novice, though his first guitar teacher was the singer James Taylor, but the other two were students at Berklee, and very serious musicians. Morrison seems to have had various managers involved in rapid succession in 1968, including one who was himself a mobster, and another who was only known as Frank, but one of these managers advanced enough money that the musicians got paid every gig. These musicians were all interested in kinds of music other than just straight rock music, and as well as rehearsing up Morrison's hits and his new songs, they would also jam with him on songs from all sorts of other genres, particularly jazz and blues. The band worked up the song that would become "Domino" based on Sheldon jamming on a Bo Diddley riff, and another time the group were rehearsing a Grant Green jazz piece, "Lazy Afternoon": [Excerpt: Grant Green, "Lazy Afternoon"] Morrison started messing with the melody, and that became his classic song "Moondance": [Excerpt: Van Morrison, "Moondance"] No recordings of this electric lineup of the group are known to exist, though the backing musicians remember going to a recording studio called Ace recordings at one point and cutting some demos, which don't seem to circulate. Ace was a small studio which, according to all the published sources I've read, was best known for creating song poems, though it was a minor studio even in the song-poem world. For those who don't know, song poems were essentially a con aimed at wannabe songwriters who knew nothing about the business -- companies would advertise you too could become a successful, rich, songwriter if you sent in your "song poems", because anyone who knew the term "lyric" could be presumed to know too much about the music business to be useful. When people sent in their lyrics, they'd then be charged a fee to have them put out on their very own record -- with tracks made more or less on a conveyor belt with quick head arrangements, sung by session singers who were just handed a lyric sheet and told to get on with it. And thus were created such classics prized by collectors as "I Like Yellow Things", "Jimmy Carter Says 'Yes'", and "Listen Mister Hat". Obviously, for the most part these song poems did not lead to the customers becoming the next Ira Gershwin, but oddly even though Ace recordings is not one of the better-known song poem studios, it seems to have produced an actual hit song poem -- one that I don't think has ever before been identified as such until I made a connection, hence me going on this little tangent. Because in researching this episode I noticed something about its co-owner, Milton Yakus', main claim to fame. He co-wrote the song "Old Cape Cod", and to quote that song's Wikipedia page "The nucleus of the song was a poem written by Boston-area housewife Claire Rothrock, for whom Cape Cod was a favorite vacation spot. "Old Cape Cod" and its derivatives would be Rothrock's sole evident songwriting credit. She brought her poem to Ace Studios, a Boston recording studio owned by Milton Yakus, who adapted the poem into the song's lyrics." And while Yakus had written other songs, including songs for Patti Page who had the hit with "Old Cape Cod", apparently Page recorded that song after Rothrock brought her the demo after a gig, rather than getting it through any formal channels. It sounds to me like the massive hit and classic of the American songbook "Old Cape Cod" started life as a song-poem -- and if you're familiar with the form, it fits the genre perfectly: [Excerpt: Patti Page, "Old Cape Cod"] The studio was not the classiest of places, even if you discount the song-poems. Its main source of income was from cutting private records with mobsters' wives and mistresses singing (and dealing with the problems that came along when those records weren't successful) and it also had a sideline in bugging people's cars to see if their spouses were cheating, though Milton Yakus' son Shelly, who got his start at his dad's studio, later became one of the most respected recording engineers in the industry -- and indeed had already worked as assistant engineer on Music From Big Pink. And there was actually another distant connection to Morrison's new favourite band on these sessions. For some reason -- reports differ -- Bebo wasn't considered suitable for the session, and in his place was the one-handed drummer Victor "Moulty" Moulton, who had played with the Barbarians, who'd had a minor hit with "Are You a Boy or Are You a Girl?" a couple of years earlier: [Excerpt: The Barbarians, "Are You a Boy or Are You a Girl?"] A later Barbarians single, in early 1966, had featured Moulty telling his life story, punctuated by the kind of three-chord chorus that would have been at home on a Bert Berns single: [Excerpt: The Barbarians, "Moulty"] But while that record was credited to the Barbarians, Moulton was the only Barbarian on the track, with the instruments and backing vocals instead being provided by Levon and the Hawks. Shortly after the Ace sessions, the Van Morrison Controversy fell apart, though nobody seems to know why. Depending on which musician's story you listen to, either Morrison had a dream that he should get rid of all electric instruments and only use acoustic players, or there was talk of a record deal but the musicians weren't good enough, or the money from the mysterious manager (who may or may not have been the one who was a mobster) ran out. Bebo went back to university, and Sheldon left soon after, though Sheldon would remain in the music business in one form or another. His most prominent credit has been writing a couple of songs for his old friend James Taylor, including the song "Bittersweet" on Taylor's platinum-selling best-of, on which Sheldon also played guitar: [Excerpt: James Taylor, "Bittersweet"] Morrison and Kielbania continued for a while as a duo, with Morrison on acoustic guitar and Kielbania on double bass, but they were making very different music. Morrison's biggest influence at this point, other than The Band, was King Pleasure, a jazz singer who sang in the vocalese style we've talked about before -- the style where singers would sing lyrics to melodies that had previously been improvised by jazz musicians: [Excerpt: King Pleasure, "Moody's Mood for Love"] Morrison and Kielbania soon decided that to make the more improvisatory music they were interested in playing, they wanted another musician who could play solos. They ended up with John Payne, a jazz flute and saxophone player whose biggest inspiration was Charles Lloyd. This new lineup of the Van Morrison Controversy -- acoustic guitar, double bass, and jazz flute -- kept gigging around Boston, though the sound they were creating was hardly what the audiences coming to see the man who'd had that "Brown-Eyed Girl" hit the year before would have expected -- even when they did "Brown-Eyed Girl", as the one live recording of that line-up, made by Peter Wolf, shows: [Excerpt: The Van Morrison Controversy, "Brown-Eyed Girl (live in Boston 1968)"] That new style, with melodic bass underpinning freely extemporising jazz flute and soulful vocals, would become the basis of the album that to this day is usually considered Morrison's best. But before that could happen, there was the matter of the contracts to be sorted out. Warner-Reprise Records were definitely interested. Warners had spent the last few years buying up smaller companies like Atlantic, Autumn Records, and Reprise, and the label was building a reputation as the major label that would give artists the space and funding they needed to make the music they wanted to make. Idiosyncratic artists with difficult reputations (deserved or otherwise), like Neil Young, Randy Newman, Van Dyke Parks, the Grateful Dead, and Joni Mitchell, had all found homes on the label, which was soon also to start distributing Frank Zappa, the Beach Boys, and Captain Beefheart. A surly artist who wants to make mystical acoustic songs with jazz flute accompaniment was nothing unusual for them, and once Joe Smith, the man who had signed the Grateful Dead, was pointed in Morrison's direction by Andy Wickham, an A&R man working for the label, everyone knew that Morrison would be a perfect fit. But Morrison was still under contract to Bang records and Web IV, and those contracts said, among other things, that any other label that negotiated with Morrison would be held liable for breach of contract. Warners didn't want to show their interest in Morrison, because a major label wanting to sign him would cause Bang to raise the price of buying him out of his contract. Instead they got an independent production company to sign him, with a nod-and-wink understanding that they would then license the records to Warners. The company they chose was Inherit Productions, the production arm of Schwaid-Merenstein, a management company set up by Bob Schwaid, who had previously worked in Warners' publishing department, and record producer Lewis Merenstein. Merenstein came to another demo session at Ace Recordings, where he fell in love with the new music that Morrison was playing, and determined he would do everything in his power to make the record into the masterpiece it deserved to be. He and Morrison were, at least at this point, on exactly the same page, and bonded over their mutual love of King Pleasure. Morrison signed to Schwaid-Merenstein, just as he had with Bert Berns and before him Phil Solomon, for management, record production, and publishing. Schwaid-Merenstein were funded by Warners, and would license any recordings they made to Warners, once the contractual situation had been sorted out. The first thing to do was to negotiate the release from Web IV, the publishing company owned by Ilene Berns. Schwaid negotiated that, and Morrison got released on four conditions -- he had to make a substantial payment to Web IV, if he released a single within a year he had to give Web IV the publishing, any album he released in the next year had to contain at least two songs published by Web IV, and he had to give Web IV at least thirty-six new songs to publish within the next year. The first two conditions were no problem at all -- Warners had the money to buy the contract out, and Merenstein's plans for the first album didn't involve a single anyway. It wouldn't be too much of a hardship to include a couple of Web IV-published tracks on the album -- Morrison had written two songs, "Beside You" and "Madame George", that had already been published and that he was regularly including in his live sets. As for the thirty-six new songs... well, that all depended on what you called a song, didn't it? [Excerpt: Van Morrison, "Ring Worm"] Morrison went into a recording studio and recorded thirty-one ostensible songs, most of them lasting one minute to within a few seconds either way, in which he strummed one or two chords and spoke-sang whatever words came into his head -- for example one song, "Here Comes Dumb George", just consists of the words "Here Comes Dumb George" repeated over and over. Some of the 'songs', like "Twist and Shake" and "Hang on Groovy", are parodying Bert Berns' songwriting style; others, like "Waiting for My Royalty Check", "Blowin' Your Nose", and "Nose in Your Blow", are attacks on Bang's business practices. Several of the songs, like "Hold on George", "Here Comes Dumb George", "Dum Dum George", and "Goodbye George" are about a man called George who seems to have come to Boston to try and fail to make a record with Morrison. And “Want a Danish” is about wanting a Danish pastry. But in truth, this description is still making these "songs" sound more coherent than they are. The whole recording is of no musical merit whatsoever, and has absolutely nothing in it which could be considered to have any commercial potential at all. Which is of course the point -- just to show utter contempt to Ilene Berns and her company. The other problem that needed to be solved was Bang Records itself, which was now largely under the control of the mob. That was solved by Joe Smith. As Smith told the story "A friend of mine who knew some people said I could buy the contract for $20,000. I had to meet somebody in a warehouse on the third floor on Ninth Avenue in New York. I walked up there with twenty thousand-dollar bills -- and I was terrified. I was terrified I was going to give them the money, get a belt on the head and still not wind up with the contract. And there were two guys in the room. They looked out of central casting -- a big wide guy and  a tall, thin guy. They were wearing suits and hats and stuff. I said 'I'm here with the money. You got the contract?' I remember I took that contract and ran out the door and jumped from the third floor to the second floor, and almost broke my leg to get on the street, where I could get a cab and put the contract in a safe place back at Warner Brothers." But the problem was solved, and Lewis Merenstein could get to work translating the music he'd heard Morrison playing into a record. He decided that Kielbania and Payne were not suitable for the kind of recording he wanted -- though they were welcome to attend the sessions in case the musicians had any questions about the songs, and thus they would get session pay. Kielbania was, at first, upset by this, but he soon changed his mind when he realised who Merenstein was bringing in to replace him on bass for the session. Richard Davis, the bass player -- who sadly died two months ago as I write this -- would later go on to play on many classic rock records by people like Bruce Springsteen and Laura Nyro, largely as a result of his work for Morrison, but at the time he was known as one of the great jazz bass players, most notably having played on Eric Dolphy's Out to Lunch: [Excerpt: Eric Dolphy, "Hat and Beard"] Kielbania could see the wisdom of getting in one of the truly great players for the album, and he was happy to show Davis the parts he'd been playing on the songs live, which Davis could then embellish -- Davis later always denied this, but it's obvious when listening to the live recordings that Kielbania played on before these sessions that Davis is playing very similar lines. Warren Smith Jr, the vibraphone player, had played with great jazz musicians like Charles Mingus and Herbie Mann, as well as backing Lloyd Price, Aretha Franklin, and Janis Joplin. Connie Kay, the drummer, was the drummer for the Modern Jazz Quartet and had also played sessions with everyone from Ruth Brown to Miles Davis. And Jay Berliner, the guitarist, had played on records like Charles Mingus' classic The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady: [Excerpt: Charles Mingus: "Mode D - Trio and Group Dancers, Mode F - Single Solos & Group Dance"] There was also a flute player whose name nobody now remembers. Although all of these musicians were jobbing session musicians -- Berliner came to the first session for the album that became Astral Weeks straight from a session recording a jingle for Pringles potato chips -- they were all very capable of taking a simple song and using it as an opportunity for jazz improvisation. And that was what Merenstein asked them to do. The songs that Morrison was writing were lyrically oblique, but structurally they were very simple -- surprisingly so when one is used to listening to the finished album. Most of the songs were, harmonically, variants of the standard blues and R&B changes that Morrison was used to playing. "Cyprus Avenue" and "The Way Young Lovers Do", for example, are both basically twelve-bar blueses -- neither is *exactly* a standard twelve-bar blues, but both are close enough that they can be considered to fit the form. Other than what Kielbania and Payne showed the musicians, they received no guidance from Morrison, who came in, ran through the songs once for them, and then headed to the vocal booth. None of the musicians had much memory of Morrison at all -- Jay Berliner said “This little guy walks in, past everybody, disappears into the vocal booth, and almost never comes out, even on the playbacks, he stayed in there." While Richard Davis later said “Well, I was with three of my favorite fellas to play with, so that's what made it beautiful. We were not concerned with Van at all, he never spoke to us.” The sound of the basic tracks on Astral Weeks is not the sound of a single auteur, as one might expect given its reputation, it's the sound of extremely good jazz musicians improvising based on the instructions given by Lewis Merenstein, who was trying to capture the feeling he'd got from listening to Morrison's live performances and demos. And because these were extremely good musicians, the album was recorded extremely quickly. In the first session, they cut four songs. Two of those were songs that Morrison was contractually obliged to record because of his agreement with Web IV -- "Beside You" and "Madame George", two songs that Bert Berns had produced, now in radically different versions: [Excerpt: Van Morrison, "Madame George"] The third song, "Cyprus Avenue", is the song that has caused most controversy over the years, as it's another of the songs that Morrison wrote around this time that relate to a sexual or romantic interest in underage girls. In this case, the reasoning might have been as simple as that the song is a blues, and Morrison may have been thinking about a tradition of lyrics like this in blues songs like "Good Morning, Little Schoolgirl". Whatever the cause though, the lyrics have, to put it mildly, not aged well at all: [Excerpt: Van Morrison, "Cyprus Avenue"] That song would be his standard set-closer for live performances for much of the seventies. For the fourth and final song, though, they chose to record what would become the title track for the album, "Astral Weeks", a song that was a lot more elliptical, and which seems in part to be about Morrison's longing for Janet Planet from afar, but also about memories of childhood, and also one of the first songs to bring in Morrison's fascination with the occult and spirituality,  something that would be a recurring theme throughout his work, as the song was partly inspired by paintings by a friend of Morrison's which suggested to him the concept of astral travel: [Excerpt: Van Morrison, "Astral Weeks"] Morrison had a fascination with the idea of astral travel, as he had apparently had several out-of-body experiences as a child, and wanted to find some kind of explanation for them. Most of the songs on the album came, by Morrison's own account, as a kind of automatic writing, coming through him rather than being consciously written, and there's a fascination throughout with, to use the phrase from "Madame George", "childhood visions". The song is also one of the first songs in Morrison's repertoire to deliberately namecheck one of his idols, something else he would do often in future, when he talks about "talking to Huddie Leadbelly". "Astral Weeks" was a song that Morrison had been performing live for some time, and Payne had always enjoyed doing it. Unlike Kielbania he had no compunction about insisting that he was good enough to play on the record, and he eventually persuaded the session flute player to let him borrow his instrument, and Payne was allowed to play on the track: [Excerpt: Van Morrison, "Astral Weeks"] Or at least that's how the story is usually told -- Payne is usually credited for playing on "Madame George" too, even though everyone agrees that "Astral Weeks" was the last song of the night, but people's memories can fade over time. Either way, Payne's interplay with Jay Berliner on the guitar became such a strong point of the track that there was no question of bringing the unknown session player back -- Payne was going to be the woodwind player for the rest of the album: [Excerpt: Van Morrison, "Astral Weeks"] There was then a six-day break between sessions, during which time Payne and Kielbania went to get initiated into Scientology -- a religion with which Morrison himself would experiment a little over a decade later -- though they soon decided that it wasn't worth the cost of the courses they'd have to take, and gave up on the idea the same week. The next session didn't go so well. Jay Berliner was unavailable, and so Barry Kornfeld, a folkie who played with people like Dave Van Ronk, was brought in to replace him. Kornfeld was perfectly decent in the role, but they'd also brought in a string section, with the idea of recording some of the songs which needed string parts live. But the string players they brought in were incapable of improvising, coming from a classical rather than jazz tradition, and the only track that got used on the finished album was "The Way Young Lovers Do", by far the most conventional song on the album, a three-minute soul ballad structured as a waltz twelve-bar blues, where the strings are essentially playing the same parts that a horn section would play on a record by someone like Solomon Burke: [Excerpt: Van Morrison, "The Way Young Lovers Do"] It was decided that any string or horn parts on the rest of the album would just be done as overdubs. It was two weeks before the next and final session for the album, and that featured the return of Jay Berliner on guitar. The session started with "Sweet Thing" and "Ballerina", two songs that Morrison had been playing live for some time, and which were cut in relatively quick order.  They then made attempts at two more songs that didn't get very far, "Royalty", and "Going Around With Jesse James", before Morrison, stuck for something to record, pulled out a new lyric he'd never performed live, "Slim Slow Slider". The whole band ran through the song once, but then Merenstein decided to pare the arrangement down to just Morrison, Payne (on soprano sax rather than on flute), and Warren Smith Jr: [Excerpt: Van Morrison, "Slim Slow Slider"] That track was the only one where, after the recording, Merenstein didn't compliment the performance, remaining silent instead – Payne said “Maybe everyone was just tired, or maybe they were moved by it.” It seems likely it was the latter. The track eventually got chosen as the final track of the album, because Merenstein felt that it didn't fit conceptually with anything else -- and it's definitely a more negative track than the oth

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The Iron Fist and the Velvet Glove
Episode 408 - Albanese is Morrison Without the Smirk

The Iron Fist and the Velvet Glove

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 21, 2023 68:15 Transcription Available


In this episode we discuss:What is the point of Labor Governments?Robodebt – 57 recommendationsMove to double Qld first-homeowner grant to $30,000Boomers are spendingHave BabiesIndefinite detentionDavid McBrideOptus CEO QuitsTuvaluGender Pay GapUk RwandaArgentinaGazaJordan PetersonElon Musk on GazaChina UpdateXi In San FranciscoAmerica can't stop China's riseUkraineTo financially support the Podcast you can make a per-episode donation via Patreon or donate through PaypalWe Livestream every Tuesday night at 7:30pm Brisbane time. Follow us on Facebook or YouTube, watch us live and join the discussion in the chat room.You can sign up for our newsletter, which links to articles that Trevor has highlighted as potentially interesting and that may be discussed on the podcast. You will get 3 emails per week.We have a website. www.ironfistvelvetglove.com.auYou can email us. The address is trevor@ironfistvelvetglove.com.auYou can send us a voicemail message at SpeakpipeWe have a sister podcast called IFVG Evergreen. It is a collection of evergreen content from the weekly podcast.

Word of Mom Radio
Dr. Tiffany Gary-Webb on The Village Vision Podcast with Dr. Crystal Morrison

Word of Mom Radio

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 21, 2023 28:00


Dr. Tiffany Gary-Webb received a BS in Biology from the Pennsylvania State University and an MHS and PhD in Epidemiology from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She is currently the Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and a tenured Professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh, School of Public Health. Her current research agenda is the culmination of her 20+ years of experience working to understand the social/environmental determinants of chronic disease and implementing interventions to improve prevention and control. Find out more on The Village Vision Podcast. Connect with Dr. Gary-Webb at BlackEquitypgh.org on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. Our host Dr. Crystal G. Morrison is a highly regarded executive advisor, strategist, leader, scientist, tech entrepreneur, and co-founder of Meerkat Village, a software company dedicated to improving outcomes for children with special needs by building collaboration and communication among adults providing care.  She create the Village Vision podcast to celebrate their stories and ignite action. Follow at TheVillageVision.com and on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn .and YouTube. WordofMomRadio.com - sharing the wisdom of women.    

The Liberation Theology Podcast
Ep. 30: The Church Fathers and Anti-Capitalist Christianity with Stephen D. Morrison

The Liberation Theology Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 20, 2023 61:16


Ecumenical theologian and author Stephen D. Morrison joins David to discuss common objections to liberation theology and to present a patristic, anti-capitalist Christianity. Isn't Christianity about a change of heart and a personal relationship with God? Why turn religion into economics and politics? It's true that early Christians abolished private property and shared their possessions, but this model did not last long because it was unrealistic. Human beings are fallen and selfish. Capitalism is the best economic model given the reality of original sin. Why repeat a failed, impossible experiment by advocating for common property today? Didn't key figures in the early Church have a wide array of views on economics? Is there enough consensus among them to claim that their witness gives relatively clear guidelines on religion and economics? Marx was an atheist and a materialist. These starting points are not compatible with a Christian approach. Further, Marxism is responsible for the deaths of millions of people in the 20th Century. Why take Marx seriously given that his first principles are flawed and his views yielded mass murder? What is your “elevator pitch” for Christian socialism? How has liberation theology shaped your life and thought as a Christian socialist?Resource:All Riches Come From Injusticehttps://www.sdmorrison.org/books/Music:"Los molinos" by Adam Drake and Tom Jenkins"Azure Sky" by Terry Devine-King and Adam DrakeObtained via subscription to Audio Network

Chillin with Dylan
Love Island Games - Exit Interview w/ Zeta Morrison

Chillin with Dylan

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 20, 2023 23:02


This might be my favorite exit interview so far! Zeta is hilarious and I absolutely love her!Dylan Deckard Social Media Links:Chillin with Dylan InstagramDylan Deckard InstagramDylan Deckard TikTokDylan Deckard TwitterZeta Morrison's Social Media Links: Zeta's InstagramZeta's Twitter

The Lawfare Podcast
Assistant Secretary Matt Axelrod on Enforcing Export Controls

The Lawfare Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 17, 2023 46:45


The United States has long set restrictions on the export of certain sensitive goods and technologies, particularly to strategic rivals. But over the past several years, we have seen first the Trump and now the Biden administrations use the legal authorities behind these export controls in new and innovative ways, for purposes ranging from limiting China's access to key emerging technologies to stymying Russia's military effectiveness in Ukraine. The only problem is, once you impose these restrictions, you then have to enforce them—and that's not always an easy task.To learn more about how the Biden administration is taking on this challenge, Lawfare Contributing Editor Brandon Van Grack and Lawfare Senior Editor Scott R. Anderson sat down with Matthew Axelrod, Assistant Secretary of Export Enforcement at the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security. They discussed how export control enforcement works; the sorts of coordination it requires with industry and foreign countries, friendly and unfriendly; and what new enforcement strategies the United States is pursuing as the use of export controls changes.This is the latest episode of “The Regulators,” a special series Lawfare is co-producing with the law firm Morrison & Foerster, where Brandon is a partner. Each episode, Brandon and Scott sit down with some of the senior U.S. policymakers responsible for crafting and implementing the cutting edge policies that are defining our new era of economic statecraft. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/lawfare. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

TNT Radio
The Hon. John Ruddick, MLC, Shane Healy & Dr Robert Brennan on The Chris Smith Show - 17 November 2023

TNT Radio

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 17, 2023 55:48


On today's show, The Hon. John Ruddick, MLC, discusses the latest Australian political developments. Later, Shane Healy discusses the Israel/Palestine conflict. Also, Dr. Robert Brennan discusses the upcoming Australians for Science and Freedom conference. GUEST 1 OVERVIEW: John Ruddick is a member of the Legislative Council of the Parliament of New South Wales and a member of the Liberal Democratic Party. He was an active member of the NSW Liberal Party and championed democratic reform of that party. In 2018 he published "Make the Liberal Party Great Again" but in mid-2021 he joined the Liberal Democrats after his disappointment with the Morrison and Berejiklian governments and their over-reaction to COVID-19 and the associated government debt. X: @JohnRuddick2 GUEST 2 OVERVIEW: Shane Healey is a terrorism and youth justice expert. He's a former Australian Defence Force Special Operations Command intelligence operator, a former Alice Springs resident and an Indigenous man originally from western NSW. GUEST 3 OVERVIEW: Dr Robert Brennan is a TNT Radio presenter. He lectured in anatomy and several other biomedical sciences before medical school and a career as a public sector medical officer in psychiatry. He became an anti-lockdown activist from April 2020, the first Queensland medical practitioner to publicly speak out and the second in Australia to be suspended by the regulator for thought/speech crime.

The Dale Jackson Show
Dale and Jacob Morrison discuss the unionization wins across Alabama and the Country - 11-16-23

The Dale Jackson Show

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 16, 2023 15:00


See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Slamfest Podcast
Judas Priest/Whitesnake Concert 8/11/09

Slamfest Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 16, 2023 84:57


The Slamfest Podcast brings the premier rock concert pregaming experience from the parking lot to the podcasting airwaves. Episode 179 - Brad saw a great double bill on 8/11/09 at the legendary Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, CO...Judas Priest & Whitesnake with Priest playing British Steel in its entirety.  He welcomes Slamfest Crew members, Brad C., Andy, Craig, Jay and Matt to the show to review the concert and recap this Slamfest weekend in the mile high city.   For the Band on the Bill Spotlight, they do a Priest Live song draft drawing songs from Priest's first two live albums,  Unleashed in the East, from 1978 and Priest! Live from 1987.  After a Slamfest Tip of the Week, they are faced with a "Which Side are you On?" - Side 1 or 2 off Judas Priest's sixth studio album, British Steel, from 1980.Music in this episode by:WhitesnakeJudas PriestBon JoviMotorheadBlack SabbathKissOzzyVisit the Slamfest Podcast online at: https://slamfest-podcast.simplecast.comRequest to join the Slamfest Podcast private Facebook page here:https://www.facebook.com/groups/slamfestpodcastE-mail us at : slamfestpodcast@gmail.com

Bloomberg Daybreak: US Edition
Biden Calls Xi A 'Dictator' After Meeting; Senate Votes to Avert Shutdown

Bloomberg Daybreak: US Edition

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 16, 2023 17:34 Transcription Available


On today's podcast: 1) Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping emerged from their first meeting in a year betting that a handful of small victories will arrest a surge in US-China tensions that has unnerved neighboring nations and threatened global economic growth. 2) President Joe Biden said he still believed his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping was a dictator, casting a shadow over what both sides had characterized as their most productive meeting to date. 3) The US Senate overwhelmingly approved a temporary funding measure to avert a government shutdown, delaying a partisan clash over federal spending until the new year and leaving out emergency aid to allies Ukraine and Israel. 4) The Cleveland Browns announce QB Deshaun Watson is out for the season. Full transcript: Good morning, I'm Nathan Hager and I'm Karen Moscow. Here are the stories we're following today. We begin with the high stakes meeting between Presidents Joe Biden and she Jinping. They met for more than four hours on the sidelines of the APEX summit in San Francisco. President Biden called his discussions with China's leader some of the most productive he's ever had. I've been meeting with President Sheeshu's both us for vice president over ten years ago. Our meetings have always been canda stradeforward. We haven't always agreed, but they've been straightforward, and today build on the groundwork related over the past several months of high level diplomacy between our teams, We've made some important progress, I believe, and President Biden's words were echoed by President she China is ready to be a partner and friend of the United States. The fundamental princippos that we follow in handling China US relations are mutual respect, peaceful co existence, and wing wing corporation. China's president spoke there through an interpreter, but after the gathering, President Biden was asked whether he still considers China's leader a dictator. Look, he is. I mean he's a dictator in the sense that he is a guy who runs the country. That is collin Cocu based on formagart totally different than ours. And after President Biden's remark, China's Foreign ministry called the statement extremely incorrect and irresponsible political manipulation. Well Nathan asked for the actual meeting, Both Biden and Shi jinping Is say they reached a number of agreements. Bloomberg's ed Baxter has that part of the story, as well as fentanyl. High on President Biden's list is opening communication between the country's militaries. We're reassuming military to military contact direct contacts. As a lot of you press know follow this that's been cut off and it's been worse, and that's how accidents happened. Biden also saying the two agreed on finding ways to control ai Biden also says he was assured that China has no plan to invade Taiwan. Now. She did say that he told Biden that the US should not have plans to suppress China and also ask for sanctions to be removed. In San Francisco, I'm at Baxter Bloomberg Radio, and thank you. Some of Wall Street's elite attended dinner with Si Jinping. Black Rocks Larry Fink and Stephen Schwartzman of Blackstone were among the top executives seated at the Chinese leader's table, according to a program seen by Bloomberg News. Other big names and attendance were Apple's Tim Cook, Bridgewater associates Ray Dalio, and Pesla says Elon Musk also met with President she yesterday. Well Nathan some major developments out of Washington to avoid a government shut down. In a late night vote, the Senate overwhelmingly approved the House's short term spending bill. Bloomberg's Amy Morris reports from Washington. President Biden is expected to sign the bill that will extend government funding at current levels through two deadlines, one in mid January, the other in early February, but the bill did not include aid for Israel nor Ukraine. Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer says that will be lawmaker's next priority after the holiday break. Both sides genuinely care about approving aid to Israel and Ukraine and helping innocent civilians in Gaza, so I hope we can come to an agreement even if neither side gets everything they insist on. And now the risk of partial government shutdown moves to January as House Speaker Johnson faces criticism from within his own party because he did not include deep spending cuts or changes to immigration policies. In Washington, Amy Morris Bloomberg Radio, Thank you. We now turned to the latest developments in the war in the Middle East. The Israeli military says it found a Hamas command center, weapons and technological assets at the Alshifa Hospital in Gaza City. Middle Eastern countries, including Jordan and Turkey, have condemned the raid. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking through an interpreter says he makes no apologies for sending troops in. But we were told that we would not reach the outskirts of Gaza city. We arrived. We were told that we won't end to Shifa, but we entered, and in this spirit we say simple thing. There is no place in Gaza that we will not reach. Prime Minister Natanya, whose comments come as The Washington Post reports discussions are underway on a potential deal that would see Hamas free fifty women and children hostages in exchange for an extended pose and fighting, and the release of some Palestinians held in Israeli prisons. Well, Nathan, we turned to the markets now, and shares of Cisco plunging, the drop coming after it gave a disappointing forecast. We get more from Bloomberg's Doug Prisner CEO Chuck Robbins, who's trying to rea doue Cisco's dependency on one time sales of equipment by pushing deeper into software and services such as security. But the transition isn't complete enough to cushion Cisco from smaller corporate budgets, and the company is now projecting the weak environment. Will Linger because customers are taking a break from new orders to installed gear they've already received. In New York, I'm Doug Prisner, Bloomberg Radio. All right, Doug. Thanks, and Cisco's shares are down nearly eleven percent in the pre market. Earnings continue this morning, with the nation's biggest retailer reporting. Get a preview of that from Bloomberg's Tom Busby. Walmart's expected to report that sales growth slow to four percent last quarter. That's less than half the pace from just a year ago as consumers pulled back on their discretionary spending, but sales of food and healthcare products should be resilient and outpaced demand for that general merchandise adjusted ernis per share estimated to be a dollar fifty two total revenue of one hundred and fifty nine point one three billion dollars. Tom Buzby, Bloomberg Radio, all right, Tom, Thanks. Well. In Europe, shares a Berber down almost nine percent. The UK luxury retailer is warning this year's revenue target maybe out of reach after sales barely grew in the most recent quarter. And Karen, we have a big deal for chocolate lovers this morning. US Candy company Mars, has agreed to buy the UK's Hotel Chacalott Group for more than six hundred and sixty million dollars. That price tag represents one hundred and seventy percent premium to Hotel Chachalot's closing price yesterday. All right, Nathan, thanks, it's time now for a look at some of the other stories making news around the world. For that, we're joined by Bloomberg's Amy Morris. Amy, Good morning, Good morning, Karen. US. Capitol police officers say one person was arrested following protests outside Democratic National Convention headquarters in Washington, DC as part of a pro Palestinian rally. Protesters got into a shoving match with Capitol police officers that arrest being made for assault. Six Capital officers also suffered minor injuries. Pepper spray was used on protesters and DNC members were evacuated. Billionaire Elon Musk endorsed an anti Semitic post on x the social media site that he owns, that attacked members of the Jewish community for pushing dialectical hatred against white people. Musk said in his reply to the post, quote you have said the actual truth. Musk has repeatedly been criticized for promoting content attacking Jewish people at a time of rising anti semitism. After a year of strikes in Hollywood and the auto industry, now it's Starbucks turn. The union representing thousands of Starbucks workers is staging a one day walk out today, coinciding with the Red Cup Day. It's one of the coffee chain's busiest days of the year. Daisy feederspiel Bayer is a supervisor in Seattle. I really wish that I could be in there serving you coffee. I do, but with the drastic understaffing and the toll that that takes on our barista's Unfortunately, we have to push for better and we aren't getting that from Starbucks right now. Starbucks Workers United represents nine thousand employees at three hundred and sixty stores. They want better wages, benefits, and the right to bargain. The Thanksgiving travel rush is about to begin. Bloomberg's Nancy Lions with the latest The Transportation Security Administration says the official travel window lasts twelve days, beginning Friday and running through to the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. During that time, the TSA expects to screen twenty eight million passengers. John Bush is Federal Security Director for the TSA. The best tip we can offer is to ask everyone to arrive early for your flights. The recommendation is always two hours before domestic flight three hours before an international flight, and that's going to be even more important this coming holiday weekend. Bush says they do have the staffing and the technology in place to ensure that everything runs smoothly. In Washington. Nancy lyons Bloomberg Radio Global news twenty four hours a day and whenever you want it with Blueberg News Now, I maybe Morrison, this is Bloomberg Karen Amy. Thank you well. We do bring you news throughout the day right here on Bloomberg Radio. But now, as Amy said, you can get the latest news on demand whenever you want it. Subscribe to Bloomberg News Now to get the latest headlines at the click of a button. Get informed on your schedule. You can listen and subscribe to Bloomberg News Now on the Bloomberg Business app, Bloomberg dot Com plus apples, Spotify, and anywhere else you get your podcasts. Time now for the Bloomberg Sports Update. Here's John stash Hour. John Daren should be a good Thursday night game to kick off Week eleven in the NFL. It's an AFC North battle between the Bengals and Ravens in Baltimore. Both teams at four game winning streaks come to an end this past Sunday, losing right at the end of their game. Cincinnati beaten by Houston, and the Ravens blew a two touchdown lead and lost to Cleveland. The Baltimore quarterback is Lamar Jackson. Every game is a musk win for us, you know, not just cousin is in a division game, but we we definitely, I believe our team is definitely a lot hungrier just for more happened Sunday in a division loss in the closed game. We definitely hungry as well. So the Clinton Browns had that big win in Baltimore, led by their quarterback Deshaun Watson. He was fourteen to fourteen of the second half. He battled an ankle injury, and yesterday it was learned that his season is over because of a fractured shoulder. He needs surgery. He's had shoulder problems before. Justin Fields has been out three games with the thumb injury in Chicago. He's expected to return on Sunday NBA in Philadelphia, Battle in the East and the Celtics beat the Sixers one seventeen to one oh seven. Facing Tatum led the way twenty nine points, eight rebound, six assists. The Celtics are nine and two. The Sixers were eight and one. They've now lost their last two. Milwaukee beat Toronto for the new Buck Damian Lillard thirty seven points thirteen assists. The Wizard struggles continue a home loss to Dallas one thirty to one seventeen. The MAVs are nine and three. The Wizards are two and none. The Knicks but one by two in Atlanta. John stash That were Bloomberg Sports from coast to coast, from New York to San Francisco, Boston to Washington, DC, nationwide on Syrias Exam, the Bloomberg Business app, and Bloomberg dot Com. This is Bloomberg Daybreak. Good morning, I'm Nathan Hager. We've made some important progress. We heard those words from President Biden after his first meeting in more than a year with the leader of the People's Republic of China, Shi Jinping. President says two leaders are restoring military to military communications and they plan to keep talking at the highest levels in the United States, will continue to compete vigorously at the PRC, but will manage that competition responsibly so doesn't veer into conflict for accidental conflict. That was President Biden after his more than four hours sit down with China's leader on the sidelines of the APEX summit in San Francisco, and joining us with more from Singapore is Berg News Managing editor Derek Wallbank. Derek, it's good to have you back with us this morning. Going into these talks, the White House said just talking would be a deliverable. What kind of deliverables can we say We're gleaned from this gathering between Presidents s Biden and shape Well, Nathan, they certainly talked. You know. Yeah. It's funny because in that relationship here, we've seen ebbs and flows between real, real static, real problems, and and times when it has seemed maybe a little bit sunnier, maybe a little bit more placid. I borrow an observation that Singapore's Foreign minister made last week at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum here in Singapore, which was that you shouldn't on US China relations confuse weather with climate. Things might look a little bit more peaceful right now, certainly in the face of this meeting that seemed to go mostly okay, But the for all climate of the US China relationship is still one with a lot of tension points. There were not major fundamental issues resolved here. This is not like we have a giant breakthrough on Taiwan, for example. So so whether a little bit nicer climate overall still very much progressing in the in the in the ways that it was sticking with the weather analogy, I guess maybe one dark cloud in that otherwise sunny gathering could be that question that the President received from a reporter when asked whether he still considers China's leader a dictator, and he basically said yes, he did, he said, he said emphatically yes. And and look, this is one of those things where China does take offense to this. You know, they don't like the term, they don't like it being used about them. But at the same point, the thing I think that bears watching is whether or not China blow it up into a whole big thing and says, right, well, this is some offense and we want to change the tenor of our leader to leader engagement or the relationship more broadly, it doesn't initially seem like that is happening. Remember Joe Biden said this before, and we're still on a path where they've gone to me, she went to the United States. That's actually something that's a big symbol for this meeting. So I'm not sure that that's necessarily going to derail everything here. Where I think it's much more likely if you were looking for risk problems is to look in the South China Sea, specifically off the coast of the Philippines, and some of the territorial disputes that are there, some of the trade disputes that are there. Those are places that I think are potential fracture points. But look, if you're sitting there saying are things a little bit better in the relationship between China and the US than they were this time yesterday, the answer is yes, they are a little bit better. You're going to see maybe some small tangible things including possibly, let me say, you might see some pandace come back to the US. We did hear that mentioned right by the leader of China. But when it comes to those small steps in our last minute here, Derek, what are some of the broader issues that could still lead to some of these overarching tensions that we do continue to see between the US and China. Well, I think, you know, on the good side, you've seen that the US and China are trying to do a little bit more on reducing fentanyl. On the good side, you are seeing Biden said they're agreeing to talk a little bit more military to military, and Biden said that they had an open line between the two of them. If one calls the other, they'll pick up the phone. But I do think on that broad thing, that the broad issue of trade, the broad issue of of China's state craft and military ambitions, those are real fracture points, and those are as I say, structural climactic fracture points, and that's going to be something that these two countries are going to have to very carefully manage going forward to make sure that they don't actually escalate. This is Bloomberg day Break Today, your morning brief on the stories making news from Wall Street to Washington and beyond. Look for us on your podcast feed at six am Eastern each morning, on Apple, Spotify, and anywhere else you get your podcasts. You can also listen live each morning starting at five am Wall Street Time on Bloomberg eleven three to zero in New York, Bloomberg ninety nine to one in Washington, Bloomberg one six to one in Boston, and Bloomberg nine sixty in San Francisco. Our flagship New York station is also available on your Amazon Alexa devices. Just say Alexa Play Bloomberg eleven thirty plus. Listen coast to coast on the Bloomberg Business app, serious XM, the iHeartRadio app, and on Bloomberg dot Com. I'm Nathan Hager and I'm Karen Moscow. Join us again tomorrow morning for all the news you need to start your day right here on Bloomberg Daybreak See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Weigh In with Gina
Spill the Tea - Fall 2023: Week 9 with Candace Morrison

Weigh In with Gina

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 15, 2023 33:32


This is the live recording of the Spill the Tea session with Gina and Special Guest Candace Morrison.You can find the full video hosted at:https://www.facebook.com/groups/livymethodfall2023Topics covered:Dealing with life and the Program when a lot of feels are coming upIntroducing Candace MorrisonHow Candace worked through the grief of losing her daughterWeight loss can seem so trivial when you're going through major life events and how Candace reconciled thatWhat drew Candace to join the Livy MethodHow the Program helped heal coping mechanismsHow the Program brought awareness to eating when Candace already had awareness in so many other areas of her lifeThe impact of the 4 Mindfulness Questions on developing true awarenessThe frustrations of plateaus and how to work through themShifting focus onto non scale victoriesWhen we're not getting external validation on our progress from other peopleThe effects of starting to eat less rather than eating mindfullyBody positivity, wanting to lose weight and health at any sizeBeing over scheduled, struggling to follow along perfectly and when we're feeling like we're not checking all the boxesTaking a broader view, looking at the bigger picture of what we are accomplishingDeveloping a Why around living a life of healthy longevityWhat's different with this Program vs traditional diet cultureHow our thoughts are connected to our physical bodyBringing trust back to yourself and healing your relationship with foodThis Program is much bigger than weight loss, it's about healing your relationship with yourselfDiet culture and how it brainwashes us to think the scale is the end all be all and we should feel bad until we reach our goalsWhen family places significant focus on weight and compliments are tied to body compositionWhat Candace would you tell her younger selfAdvice for those who are struggling, taking a holistic approach to lifeThe power of the support in this communityHow to find Candace and the Yoga Room in Ajax OntarioTo learn more about the Livy Method, visit www.ginalivy.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Word of Mom Radio
Dr. Marjorie Aunos Joins Dr. Crystal Morrison on The Village Vision Podcast

Word of Mom Radio

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 14, 2023 23:00


Dr. Marjorie Aunos is a researcher, speaker, and consultant on accessibility and inclusion. She teaches organizations and educators to solution-find and build environments that are accessible, inclusive, and welcoming to young families with disabilities. Find out more on The Village Vision Podcast anytime. Connect with Marjorie at RollFwd.com and on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube. Dr. Crystal G. Morrison is a highly regarded executive advisor, strategist, leader, scientist, tech entrepreneur, and co-founder of Meerkat Village, a software company dedicated to improving outcomes for children with special needs by building collaboration and communication among adults providing care.  She create the Village Vision podcast to celebrate their stories and ignite action. Follow at TheVillageVision.com and on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube. Please support UnsilencedVoices.org and thanks to our sponsors at BrainLoveHealth.com.    WordofMomRadio.com - sharing the wisdom of women, in business and in life.  

Writers, Ink
The one where NYT bestsellers Beth and Boyd Morrison explain why every book should have dragons.

Writers, Ink

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 13, 2023 61:00


Join hosts J.D. Barker, Christine Daigle, and Kevin Tumlinson as they discuss the week's publishing topics, including an update on Simon & Schuster's new owners. Then, stick around as Christine chats with brother and sister writing duo Boyd and Beth Morrison! Boyd Morrison is a #1 NY Times bestselling author, actor, engineer, and Jeopardy! Champion. Beth Morrison is Senior Curator of Manuscripts at the J. Paul Getty Museum. Their new novel, The Last True Templar, is a follow-up to their first collaboration, The Lawless Land, and is the second book in their "Tales From The Lawless Land" series. It is available now wherever books are sold. Check It Out! The Last True Templar - https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-last-true-templar-volume-2-boyd-morrison/19781594 "The End of an Era: The Wall Street Journal's Bestseller Lists Discontinued" (via NY Weekly) - https://nyweekly.com/news/the-end-of-an-era-the-wall-street-journals-bestseller-lists-discontinued/ "Spotify Launches 200,000-Plus Audiobooks for Premium Subscribers in the U.S." (via Variety) - https://variety.com/2023/digital/news/spotify-premium-audiobooks-subscribers-us-1235784076/ "SAG-AFTRA Reveals Details of Strike-Ending Deal With Hollywood Studios" (via Rolling Stone)- https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-news/sag-aftra-board-approves-deal-with-hollywood-studios-end-strike-1234875654/ Show Links: Writers, Ink on YouTube! - ⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@jdbarker_author/podcasts⁠⁠⁠ J.D. Barker - ⁠⁠⁠https://jdbarker.com/⁠⁠⁠ Christine Daigle - ⁠⁠⁠https://www.christinedaiglebooks.com/⁠⁠⁠ JP Rindfleisch IX - ⁠⁠⁠https://www.jprindfleischix.com/⁠⁠⁠ Kevin Tumlinson - ⁠⁠⁠https://www.kevintumlinson.com/⁠ Patrick O'Donnell - ⁠⁠⁠https://www.copsandwriters.com/⁠⁠ Boyd Morrison - https://boydmorrison.com/ Other Links Best of BookTok - ⁠⁠⁠https://bestofbooktok.com/⁠⁠⁠ Booktrib - ⁠⁠https://booktrib.com/author/writers-ink/⁠⁠ Music by Nicorus - ⁠⁠⁠https://cctrax.com/nicorus/dust-to-dust-ep⁠⁠⁠ Voice Over by Rick Ganley - ⁠⁠⁠http://www.nhpr.com⁠⁠⁠ and recorded at Mill Pond Studio - ⁠⁠⁠http://www.millpondstudio.com⁠⁠⁠ Show notes & audio production by Geoff Emberlyn - ⁠https://twitter.com/horrorstoic⁠⁠⁠ Website Design by Word & Pixel - ⁠⁠⁠http://wordandpixel.com/⁠⁠⁠ Contact - ⁠⁠⁠https://writersinkpodcast.com/contact/⁠⁠⁠ *NOTE: Some of the links are affiliate links. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/writersink/support

All Horror Radio
"48 Hours” Presents: My Life of Crime | Twisted Twins: Who Killed Heather DeWild?

All Horror Radio

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 13, 2023 8:19


48 Hours” correspondent Erin Moriarty takes you inside true-crime investigations like no one else, in her podcast “My Life of Crime”. In the new season, Erin delvesinto the labyrinth of crime within families and the secrets that kept them together or tore themapart. Here's a preview of the “My Life of Crime” season premiere, “Twisted Twins: Who Killed Heather DeWild?” Erin examines the case of 30-year-old Heather DeWild, who vanished after visiting her soon-to-be ex-husband Daniel DeWild's home. Investigators soon focused not only on Daniel, but also his identical twin brother, David. While Daniel was not forthcoming, investigators were convinced David had something to say, but could police break through their tight twin bond? What could cause a person, or persons, to destroy their family? You can hear the rest of the episode on “My Life of Crime”, from CBS News. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Prime Members, you can listen to “My Life of Crime” exclusively on Amazon Music.Download the Amazon Music app today: EPISODE LINKThis show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/4433638/advertisement

Sound Pollution
Ep 168 - Deb Morrison Music and Updates

Sound Pollution

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 13, 2023 60:10


Hello wonderful listeners. This week Brent took over the show so Raynelle could take some much-needed time to take care of herself before she ended up on an episode of Snapped. Your Uncle Brent did an amazing job and Raynelle was really grateful.  He got to touch base with the amazingly talented and sweet Deb Morrison. They discussed navigating life changes, video making, inspirations, song writing, slowing down near the holidays, and so so so much more. Not only was Deb a great guest to have back on the show, but she shared and discussed FOUR tracks. Make sure you click those links below to support this artist. Make Some NOISE and buy that album https://smithmusic.ffm.to/662582838626_debmorrison_thenorthfork . WEBSITE: https://debmorrisonmusic.com/ BANDCAMP: https://debmorrison.bandcamp.com/ SOUNDCLOUD: https://soundcloud.com/debmorrison FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/DebMorrisonMusic INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/debmorrisonmusic YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPu SPOTIFY:  https://open.spotify.com/artist/4oyX Use the links below to Like, Friend and/or Follow Uncle Brent:   WEBSITE:  https://UncleBrentMusic.com  FACEBOOK:  https://www.facebook.com/UncleBrentMusic   INSTAGRAM:  https://www.instagram.com/UncleBrentMusic   SPOTIFY:  https://open.spotify.com/artist/0JlsP TWITTER:  https://twitter.com/UncleBrentMusic   YOUTUBE:  https://www.youtube.com/NoStoneMusic

THE CLINK
Producer Picks - Dean Dingo Morrison

THE CLINK

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 12, 2023 72:41


Welcome to the Clink Producer PicksBrent is out of action at the moment so we are looking back at some of the Clinks best guestsThis weekSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hollywood Crime Scene
Episode 301 - Ft. Donny Morrison

Hollywood Crime Scene

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 12, 2023 67:22


We talk to journalist, Donny Morrison about investigating the murder of Mac Dre, writing a book, Bay Area rap, and more! Buy Donny's bookread more about the investigationPatreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Practice Thinkers Podcast
Convenience Food Practice - with Gordon Morrison

Practice Thinkers Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 12, 2023 85:55


In this podcast Gordon Morrison, Professional Golf Instructor, and I discuss Gordon's coaching journey, learning and development.  We discuss: Effective Practice Design Coaching Analogies and Convenience Food Practice  Simulating Tournament Play in Practice  You can find Gordon on X at https://twitter.com/GolfGordon and explore his Golf Academy at https://vgk.no/headpro/ Come join us at: www.practicethinkers.com  PLAYERS: Book a 1-2-1 Practice Conversation with Pete Bring your practice beliefs, questions, or challenges, and together, we'll delve into them for an hour, unlocking fresh insights and broadening your perspective. You'll gain clarity, receive actionable advice, and understand how relevant practice principles apply uniquely to your golf. Following the call, you'll get a recording, relevant links to things referenced, and any action items discussed. Book a slot today! COACHES: Practice Master Class Course A 6 week online course for golf coaches that helps optimise your group and individual practice to performance. Starting Monday the 29th of January for six weeks. 5-7pm each Monday (GMT) More on the Master Class here!  New Book Release Buy our new book The Tiger Practice Guide: Training like a Champion Golfer here: Buy Here!   

Illinois News Now
Morrison's First Turkey Trot with Nathan Jacobs

Illinois News Now

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 10, 2023 15:03


November 25th will be the first ever Turkey Trot in Morrison and it will benefit The Morrison Food Pantry.

Montana Public Radio News
Knudsen announces AG reelection campaign; Morrison drops out of Supreme Court race

Montana Public Radio News

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 9, 2023 1:46


Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen announced his re-election campaign Tuesday to be the state's top lawyer for another four years. John Morrison has withdrawn from the race less than a month after announcing his campaign.

The Victory Couch
S3: Episode 6 – about first dates, chain restaurants of yore, our childhood bedrooms, and misconceptions about our occupations

The Victory Couch

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 9, 2023 48:02


If you're wondering where NOT to take a first date, this is the podcast episode for you. Join us on The Victory Couch as we discuss chain restaurants of our past as well as our childhood bedrooms. We also give thought and discussion to what people simply don't fully understand about our occupations. Martial arts school owners and photographers…squish in--- this one is for you. Show notes:       Connect with us on Instagram @thevictorycouch, Facebook, victorycouchpodcast@gmail.com, or www.thevictorycouch.com Want a new Victory Couch sticker for your water bottle, laptop, guitar case, etc.? Send us a quick screenshot of your review and your mailing address and we'll get you one! Reviews welcome https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-victory-couch/id1628820081   SUBSCRIBE to The Victory Couch e-mail list by visiting https://www.thevictorycouch.com/ and click SUBSCRIBE at the top of your screen. Leave us a voice message through Spotify for Podcasters: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thevictorycouch/message   Where would you not EVER take a first date? Walt Disney World https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/ BP https://www.bp.com/   What was your favorite chain restaurant as a kid? Fuddruckers https://www.fuddruckers.com/ Morrison's cafeteria https://www.piccadilly.com/location-morrisons-cafeteria#menu=?morrisons-cafeteria K&W https://www.kwcafeterias.com/ Red Lobster https://www.redlobster.com/ Chuck E Cheese https://www.chuckecheese.com/ Toys R Us https://www.toysrus.com/ Chi-Chis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chi-Chi%27s Bob's Big Boy https://bobs.net/ Olive Garden https://bobs.net/ Pizza Hut https://www.pizzahut.com/ Chick-fil-A https://www.chick-fil-a.com/ Shoney's https://www.shoneys.com/locations/   What do you most remember about your childhood bedroom? Washington Redskins (now Commanders) https://www.commanders.com/ Dean Cain https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001002/ Tiffani Amber Thiessen https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005485/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_0_nm_8_q_tiffani%2520 Sandra Bullock https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000113/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1 The Spice Girls https://thespicegirls.com/ The Chicks https://thechicks.com/ YM magazine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YM_%28magazine%29 Seventeen magazine https://www.seventeen.com/ Teen People https://www.bustle.com/articles/139755-22-teen-people-covers-ranked-in-terms-of-nostalgia-value   Are there some common misconceptions about being a photographer/martial arts studio owner?   Couch crumbs: lost sleep, the loss of Pat Johnson - https://parade.com/news/pat-e-johnson-dead-karate-kid-trainer   TMNT Karate Kid Prop your feet up: getaway with a friend/ date night, making coffee, solving a mystery --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thevictorycouch/message

Screw It, We're Just Gonna Talk About Spider-Man
Hall of Milksops - JLA Earth 2

Screw It, We're Just Gonna Talk About Spider-Man

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 1, 2023 63:05


We close out our coverage of the terrific Grant Morrison JLA run with this adventure that was released as its own graphic novel: JLA Earth 2. Done by Morrison and Frank Quitely  -- who would later do the sublime All-Star Superman series -- this story is about an alternate world where the JLA is evil (the Crime Syndicate of America) and Lex Luthor is good! CSA is not a Morrison invention -- it goes back to 1964 when Gardner Fox created them during the original run of JLA stories. But here we get a Morrison-y twist: in the CSA's world, evil ALWAYS WINS. So how do you win in such a world? You'll have to read to find out. Or listen to our episode. Kevin thinks Will hates this story, but it's just that Will is embarrassed at his poor ability to recap!

Motive for Murder
Morrison Mysteries

Motive for Murder

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 23, 2023 4:14


Hey, Dateline fans! As a bonus, we're giving you a special preview clip of our new podcast series Morrison Mysteries. Keith Morrison takes you on a captivating ride through some of the most suspenseful and chilling works of fiction you'll ever hear. Get ready for haunting stories of ghosts, love triangles, jealousy and rage. Since it's Halloween, we're starting with Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Travel with us to a haunted town in New York, where some say the Headless Horseman rides to this day... If you like what you hear, you can listen to The Legend of Sleepy Hollow now for free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium on Apple Podcasts to listen ad-free. https://link.chtbl.com/mm_fdlwk

Sunday Sitdown with Willie Geist
Dateline presents: Morrison Mysteries

Sunday Sitdown with Willie Geist

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 23, 2023 2:15


As a bonus for you, we're sharing the trailer for Morrison Mysteries, an all-new original podcast from Dateline... Keith Morrison takes you on a captivating ride through some of the most suspenseful and chilling works of fiction you'll ever hear. Get ready for haunting stories of ghosts, love triangles, jealousy and rage. Since it's Halloween, we're starting with Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Travel with us to a haunted town in New York, where some say the Headless Horseman rides to this day... If you like what you hear, you can listen to The Legend of Sleepy Hollow now for free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium on Apple Podcasts to listen ad-free. https://link.chtbl.com/mm_fdlwk

Making Space with Hoda Kotb
Dateline presents: Morrison Mysteries

Making Space with Hoda Kotb

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 23, 2023 2:15


As a bonus for you, we're sharing the trailer for Morrison Mysteries, an all-new original podcast from Dateline... Keith Morrison takes you on a captivating ride through some of the most suspenseful and chilling works of fiction you'll ever hear. Get ready for haunting stories of ghosts, love triangles, jealousy and rage. Since it's Halloween, we're starting with Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Travel with us to a haunted town in New York, where some say the Headless Horseman rides to this day... If you like what you hear, you can listen to The Legend of Sleepy Hollow now for free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium on Apple Podcasts to listen ad-free. https://link.chtbl.com/mm_fdlwk