Haiyan

In the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan's devastation of the Philippines, reports are circulating (in, e.g., the Guardian) of rampaging mobs looting a provincial capital.

I beg you not to believe them. We often hear stories like this after natural disasters, but no one who's actually investigated gives them any credence.

On the order of 10,000 people are dead. The survivors need relief, not slander. Give what you can.

Sunday Music: Goin' Back, Dusty Springfield

Album Title: Goin' Back

Why I Bought It: Mostly, for "Son of a Preacher Man"

What I Like (Nostalgic): "Son of a Preacher Man". I remember seeing her perform this on the Ed Sullivan Show, w-a-y back when. Dusty's voice here is smooth and a little sassy, and if she never does reveal just how much she did with Billy Ray, still, she clearly enjoyed it....

What I Like (Hungry): "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me". Elvis' version of this song is, I think, better known, but its sound is a little ragged, to my ear. I like Dusty's version better - at least partly because I can sing along with the chorus.

What I Like (Echoes of Eliot): "What Have I Done to Deserve This". There's one line which reminds me irresistibly of "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock". It's an odd song, in (obviously) the mistreated and complaining lover category, but I find it appealing.

What I Like (A Bit of Mystery): "Windmills of Your Mind". There's something dreamlike in this one - but the dream isn't a comfortable one.

Overall: This is another of my favorite albums. There's what appears to be a summary of a soap opera ("Nothing Has Been Proved"); there's a "caught in adultery, what we gonna do" song ("Reputation"); there's a country standby, sung in a faux-Texan accent ("Silver Threads and Golden Needles"); there's the nostalgic "Goin' Back"; there's "Wishin' and Hopin'", "I Only Want to Be with You", "Little by Little".... There's just a lot of stuff - twenty-five tracks, and not a bad one among them, at least to my ear.