music – Jacke Wilson

March 25, 2022

The History of Literature #365 – Moby Dick, All Quiet on the Western Front, and The Odyssey (A Bob Dylan Reading List) | PLUS Some thoughts on Charles M. Schulz

Your humble podcaster-squirrel is back! Jacke considers the legacy of Charles M. Schulz, creator of Charlie Brown and Peanuts, and reflects on the difference between being “best known for” and “known for” an artistic endeavor. THEN Jacke continues the discussion of Bob Dylan and literature (is his music literature? is it not? does “poetic song Continue reading

Arts, Authors, books, Fiction, history of literature

bob dylan, Charles M. Schulz, charlie brown, Literature, music, Peanuts

July 7, 2021

The History of Literature #298 – Amyra León!

Jacke talks to Amyra León, author of the new book Concrete Kids, about her background, her artistic projects, and how influences like James Baldwin, Frida Kahlo, and Frederick Douglass helped make her the person she is today. Concrete Kids is part of The Pocket Change Collective (Penguin Random House), a new pocket-sized nonfiction series centered around timely issues and Continue reading

history of literature, Podcast

amyra león, concrete kids, Frederick Douglass, Frida Kahlo, James Baldwin, music, pocket change collective, Tagsactivism

January 26, 2015

The Beatles and You: Finding Inspiration in Abbey Road’s “The End”

Ugh, my big plans for the blog this year have run into some real-life snags. More posts soon, I promise! On the other hand, I’ve been enjoying this trip through the Beatles catalog and exploring the genius and creativity behind it. So here we go with another spin of our Jacke Wilson Randomizer… the wheel Continue reading

Tao Te Beatles

abbey road, beastie boys, composing, Creativity, Genius, George Harrison, george martin, inspiration, john lennon, ken scott, music, paul mccartney, ringo starr, the end

January 19, 2015

Embrace Your Inner Beatle! (“I Am The Walrus”)

Whoa. The dice tumble, the dial spins…and the gods have chosen! Oh, ye gods. What a sense of humor you have. A work of genius? Yes. It’s a big one this time. A landmark in weird, mindblowing creativity. In context, maybe the strangest song ever written, and yes, I’m including Revolution 9 in that calculus. Continue reading

Tao Te Beatles, Writing

beatles, Creativity, Genius, i am the walrus, inspiration, john lennon, madness, music, paul mccartney, philosophy

January 12, 2015

Embrace Your Inner Beatle! Nowhere Man by John Lennon

THE SELECTION Aha! This week we use the perfect randomizer: four spins of a Life board game dial. Szzzzzzzzz-tika-tika-tika…. and the gods of creativity have chosen! NOWHERE MAN (LENNON-MCCARTNEY, RUBBER SOUL) http://youtu.be/GruVywUtohs Oh, wow. Once again, the gods seem to have looked out for themselves. Here’s another divinely inspired song, or at least divinely delivered. Continue reading

Tao Te Beatles, Writing

beatles, Creativity, Genius, George Harrison, inspiration, john lennon, music, nowhere man, paul mccartney, philosophy

May 12, 2014

A History of Jacke in 100 Objects #7 – The Keyboard

Every kid in school was afraid of the music teacher. The grownups didn’t understand this. Miss Steiner had been teaching forever – she had taught the grandparents of some of my classmates – and when she had been young she had apparently been kind and patient and not yet disillusioned. To us, though, she was impossibly old. And worse than Continue reading

Authors, Fiction, The History of Jacke, Writing

childhood lessons, Fiction, music, paper keyboard, piano, Short story, Writing