Why I Oughta...

 Thanksgiving will be great if you do four things and four things only 1 . 1.  Get outside and do something.  We, thanks to Nat do a Turkey Trot.  But, if you do a Turkey Bowl or just a walk.  That's good. 2.  Eat. A lot.  This one is easy.  Everybody does it. 3.  Watch some football.  Same as #2 above.  Easy peasy. 4.  Enjoy (at least part) of The Last Waltz from The Band.   Or Get Back from The Beatles and Peter Jackson - if that's more your thing.   This is the 17th year that I've blogged about The Last Waltz and 14th year-in-a-row.   Here's my post from 2023 outlining the four keys to Thanksgiving - including The Last Waltz . Here's my post from 2022 on The Last Waltz and Turkey Bowls/Trots . Here's my post from 2021 on The Last Waltz and The Beatles . Here's my post from 2020 where I skipped The Last Waltz  (Thanks, COVID.). Here's my post from 2019 on The Last Waltz . Here's my post from...

Holiday traditions are important in every family.  And they're both the same and different in every family.  Thanksgiving in our house means a few things:  turkey trots, turkey bowls, turkey legs, football and...The Last Waltz.  We used to watch the whole thing.  (This is the Royal "We", as it really means *me*).  Now, I try to find time to turn it on and let it play while I putter around doing whatever else I need to do in between the trot and bowl.   I've done this for a number of years and have covered it here on the blog for those same years, but last year, we did something new:  watched the Peter Jackson program on The Beatles:  Get Back.   This year, I'm going to start with what I've always watched:  The Last Waltz.   Here, below, is Bob singing with his backing band in what feels like (during the show) a very transition-y number: Here, below, are the Thanksgiving Day archives from "Why I Oughta..."  This i...

After taking a one-year COVID-related break from The Last Waltz here on the blog for Thanksgiving (with an appropriate detour of " Whatever Gets You Through The Night" from Elton John and John Lennon ), it feels right to come back home to The Last Waltz this year.  Sort of.  Will I watch The Last Waltz?  That's my plan.  But, what's the hangup?  The Beatles Get Back is released today - Thanksgiving Day - on Disney+.   So, what lives at the intersection of The Last Waltz by The Band and Get Back by the Beatles?  It seems that it is this rendition of Hey Jude by The Beatles as performed on David Frost's Frost on Sunday.  Why this song?  First, it is a really lovely number.  But, thanks to my good friend Neil, I discovered a neat little nugget:  If you scroll ahead (or listen all the way) to around 6:19ish mark (during the nah-nah-nahs), you can hear Macca belt out some lyrics from The Weight.  "Take a load off, baby.  T...

This is maybe my favorite version of Bob Dylan.  Maybe.  I don't mean the song, specifically.  But...it is really great.  It is 'One More Night' from Nashville Skyline which was released April 9, 1969 . It has only been played twice live.  Yeah...twice.  June of 1990 and September of 1995 . But, by saying *favorite* Bob Dylan, I'm talking about how the whole thing comes together.  The song, the voice (according to some...he stopped smoking (???) and you can hear it in his voice.  I mean...those people who say to you:  I hate Bob Dylan's voice.  That voice, etc.  Just have them play this video above and then see if they stand by their answer??!?), the sound and the flow of the entire record.  Just really great. I remember the first time I had ever heard of Nashville Skyline.  My friend Neil (son of Super Coach Jer, sometimes AKA Mitch) and I went to Threshold Records in Tinley Park.  And after nosing around so...

Go out yonder, peace in the valley Come downtown, have to rumble in the alley Oh, you don't know the shape I'm in. Doesn't get much better than that song, right?  Go ahead...hit 'play',  then keep reading the rest of the post.   Those of you who have been following along at home over the years know about our Thanksgiving tradition of watching a little bit of The Band play live for their last show.   (Note:  I say "our" tradition, but Nat has made it *very* clear that this is *my* tradition alone...) I've been posting about it since 2004 here on the blog with a few years skipped.  Turns out, this is the 12th postin the series over the years. Here's my post from 2017 on The Last Waltz . Here's my post from 2016 on The Last Waltz . Here's my post from 2015 on The Last Waltz . Here's my post from 2014 on The Last Waltz . Here's my post from 2013 on The Last Waltz . Here's my post from 2012 on The Last Waltz . H...

Another Thanksgiving day of turkey and trotting and family....and...of course, Levon and the boys in The Last Waltz.  This marks 14th years of posting on the blog about the film on Thanksgiving.  Here's last year's post .  The first one was all the way back in 2004 but there are a few missing years in there for some reason. Turn it up! Here's my post from 2015 on The Last Waltz . Here's my post from 2014 on The Last Waltz . Here's my post from 2013 on The Last Waltz . Here's my post from 2012 on The Last Waltz . Here's my post from 2011 on The Last Waltz . Here's my post from 2010 on The Last Waltz . Here's my post from 2007 on The Last Waltz . Here's my post from 2005 on The Last Waltz . Here's my post from 2004 on The Last Waltz .

This whole thing is pretty interesting of a listen (I think it must be from his audio book, right?), but if you tune in right here, at the 1:19 mark , the way Bob Dylan says "The Basement" is so interesting to me.

The 13th year here on the blog where we mark Thanksgiving day not with the parade or the Turkey Trot (although those are both usually present!), but with the boys from The Band and The Last Waltz. And, this is the 10th post (that I can locate), but the first one was back in 2004.  There are 3 years missing (2006, 2008, 2009). We're marking the occasion in Vic + Equation Boy/Man's house and this *should* be the last Thanksgiving we're here and the final one NOT in our own house. "Happy Thanksgiving."  And a condensed version of 'Don't do it'.  Which they play like it is their own. Here's my post from 2015 on The Last Waltz . Here's my post from 2014 on The Last Waltz . Here's my post from 2013 on The Last Waltz . Here's my post from 2012 on The Last Waltz . Here's my post from 2011 on The Last Waltz . Here's my post from 2010 on The Last Waltz . Here's my post from 2007 on The Last Waltz . Here's my post from ...

This post is making it 11 years that we've rung in Thanksgiving with The Band's "The Last Waltz" here on the blog.  There have been years where we've done the Turkey Trot.  Years where we've split time between my folks house in Frankfort and Nat's folks place in Naperville.  Some years where the Bears play on Thanksgiving (like tonight!).  But...one thing has remained persistent:  The Band. Here's the post from last year . And here's the rest of the posts that I can turn up on the topic: Here's my post from 2013 on The Last Waltz . Here's my post from 2012 on The Last Waltz . Here's my post from 2011 on The Last Waltz . Here's my post from 2010 on The Last Waltz . Here's my post from 2007 on The Last Waltz . Here's my post from 2005 on The Last Waltz . Here's my post from 2004 on The Last Waltz . Van the Man is this year's feature on "Why I Oughta".  Happy Thanksgiving, everybody.

Since 2004 (and likely before, but 2004 on the web), I 've been recommending a viewing of The Last Waltz as a way to give thanks on Thanksgiving.  With kids - and a Turkey Trot - my time to sit down and watch the whole thing has been diminished, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't be breaking bread with Levon, Rick, Garth, Robbie and Richard. Here's my post from 2011 on The Last Waltz . Here's my post from 2010 on The Last Waltz . Here's my post from 2007 on The Last Waltz . Here's my post from 2005 on The Last Waltz . Here's my post from 2004 on The Last Waltz . Happy Thanksgiving, everybody!

It's Thanksgiving, and in my world that means 2 things. The Last Waltz and stuffing. I'm already halfway through the first record. I'll watch the film a bit later. Utilizing horns one more time, this was the gig of the Band's life and one of the greatest in rock history. We are privileged that it exists in a form where we can hear it as often as we want. -- Rob Bowman , All-Music Guide