I know for a fact that I’m not alone in my love of Miles Davis’s seminal 1958 album, Porgy and Bess, or of its cover. In addition to being one of the landmark albums of Cool Jazz, it boasts a cover image that is every bit as alluring as the music within.

It could just be my imagination, but what we have here is a rather suggestive image, but perhaps I’m reading into things. You may be wondering — that’s probably Miles on the cover, but who’s the woman? And what does this have to do with Porgy and Bess? Well first, that is Miles Davis, and the lady holding his trumpet is Frances Taylor, his first wife.

The cover was shot by famed photographer Roy DeCarava, who apparently had some trouble getting it taken in the first place. According to a poster on the All About Jazz message boards, here’s that story:

Roy DeCarava said that he had been trying to track down Miles for some time to get the cover photo because the album was done and Columbia wanted to get it out there. Only thing missing was the cover photo. Miles kept dodging him, not showing up for appointments, not returning his calls, etc. So, finally, Mr. DeCarava just shows up at Miles’ house one day and knocks on the door. Miles answers the door, looks at him for a minute and just says, “ahh shit, Roy”. So Miles invites him in and they shoot the photo in the back yard of Miles’ upper west side brownstone with Miles’ wife. I think he said it took no time at all, very quick.

Funny how some of the greatest album cover images have rather simple and sometimes amusing origins, isn’t it? Think about that for a few minutes while you listen to my favorite song from Porgy and Bess, “Gone.”

I’ll cop to not being a huge fan of the Swing Era of jazz. I certainly appreciate it for its rich history and cultural importance, but the jazz I love the most starts with the Bebop era in the mid-1940s. Still, one of my favorite tunes ever is “Swingmatism” by Jay McShann & His Orchestra, particularly the rendition I’m presenting today.

Now according to the video, this cut of “Swingmatism” was recorded with Charlie Parker on alto saxophone. I’m not enough of a historian to know any better, but it matters little. It absolutely sizzles and swings like few compositions from the era. So enjoy!

(Spotify users — you can listen to this and other featured Sunday Jazz songs by subscribing to my GFS Sunday Jazz playlist.)

Last week we started watching the 1943 Columbia Pictures Batman serial. So let’s keep it going with the second chapter, “The Bat’s Cave.” This chapter is notable in that it introduced, well, the Batcave. It had never been mentioned in the comic book — in fact, the only hideout of sorts for Batman/Bruce Wayne had been a tunnel between Wayne Manor and an old barn where he kept the Batmobile.

After a brief recap of “The Electrical Brain,” chapter two of Batman picks up with the Caped Crusader capturing one of Dr. Daka’s flunkies and bringing him to the Batcave for interrogation. Hmm, maybe not the greatest idea. Elsewhere,the Dynamic Duo make time to torment Alfred, Robin proves to be completely useless at surveillance, and Batman verrry sloooowly rescues Linda Page from captivity.

(Watch for a fun continuity error involving Batman’s cape in the big fight scene.)

Enjoy Batman — “The Bat’s Cave”!

It’s not bad enough that Time has taken the route of cheap sensationalism with the photo for their latest cover story — “Are You Mom Enough?” — which depicts a young mother (Jamie Lynne Grumet) breastfeeding her 3-year-old son. Now that they’ve gotten dads in on the picture, it’s just too much to take.

Related articles

• Time Magazine Breastfeeding Cover: WTF? (PHOTOS)(blippitt.com)

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• Q&A with Jamie Lynne Grumet(dhamma4mama.com)

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• Breastfeeding mom Time cover wins applause, cringes and shrugs(vancouversun.com)

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If you’re a fan of either Porcupine Tree or Opeth, you’ve known for  years of the great musical kinship between Steven Wilson and Mikael Åkerfeldt. They’ve guested, produced, or mixed on each other’s band’s albums, but only now do we get the first true collaboration between them — the self-titled debut of the Storm Corrosion project.

I’ve listened to the album several times already and it’s utterly engrossing. It sounds little like Porcupine Tree or Opeth, which is a good thing. The only time you really get a sense of the other bands is in Åkerfeldt’s guitar playing, which is reminiscent of Opeth’s more mellow moments.

Anyway, one of my favorite songs on Storm Corrosion is the first one — and lead single –”Drag Ropes.” I don’t know how to describe it other than the lost soundtrack to a great Tim Burton film, or maybe the animated “The Tale of the Three Brothers“ sequence from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1. It’s atmospheric, eerie, and completely mesmerizing.

Storm Corrosion is out now on Roadrunner Records. Get it!

Also, Spotify users can hear “Drag Ropes” and other songs featured in the Listening Booth by subscribing to this playlist.

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Along with real bumpers on cars, decorative hood ornaments seem to be a thing of the past. ‘Tis a shame too, as they really added that extra bit of personality to a car. Here’s a collection of photos showing some of my favorite hood ornaments, via Flickr.

Pontiac

1956 Chevy Belair

1929 Ford Model A Special Coupe

1949 Ford

Chrysler

1939 Bentley Vanden Plas Tourer

1955 Buick Century

1934 Hudson Terraplane

1932 Buick 8 Convertible Coupe

1934 Plymouth

1967 AMC Marlin Fastback

1939/40 Packard

1956 Cadillac Coupe de Ville

1941 Chevrolet Master Deluxe Coupe

1934 Dodge Brothers Pickup

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I don’t know about you, but I’m super-jazzed for the upcoming season of Keeping Up With the Kardashians on the fabulous E! Network. Maybe now that Khloé Khewbacca Kardashian Odom has one less series to focus on, she can get back to escorting Han Solo in many exciting galactic space adventures!

You're so outrageous, Khewbacca!

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Let’s be very clear here — the only reason you or I are even watching this video is because “Friday” was such a colossally bad song. Of course it turned Rebecca Black into a star of sorts, even if it brought her a tidal wave of snide jokes and venomous criticism.

But narcissism and opportunism being what they are, Black is back. This time there appears to have been some actual effort put into one of her songs, which I guess is an improvement. Witness the video for “Sing It,” which is not as brutally funny as “Friday” but is also not as memorable.

Sure, if the bar of quality for Black is the aural shitstorm that is “Friday,” this is a vast improvement — although no amount of AutoTune can hide the fact that she is simply an untalented singer. But even with a team of more professional songwriters and producers/engineers at her disposal, “Sing It” is still amounts to nothing more than a substandard imitation of vacuous, disposable Disney Channel-esque teen pop. I just can’t decide if the fact that this is an almost passable example of crappy teen music is a more damning indictment of Black’s — ahem — abilities or of teen music in general.

(And I don’t feel the least bit bad about blasting a teenager, given that she (or her parents/handlers) is going into this round with eyes — and unfortunately mouth — wide open.)

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Since all the dads out there got to enjoy some vintage advertisements three years ago, it’s only proper to finally give mothers their due. So here’s a hand-picked gallery of classic ads for Mother’s Day. And as always, these and many more ads can be seen in the main Retrotisements area.

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In case you weren’t already convinced of how painfully white people could look on album covers while supposedly partying, I’m back with even more cringe-inducing evidence. You’ve been warned.

Those aren't song titles, that's the photographer begging for mercy.

You mean there's ANOTHER volume of this out there?

Hey buddy, those aren't her eyes down there.

If you have to announce it, you're not doing it right.

That dude in the back with the dice hat is out of fuckin' control.

One of these things is not like the others...

I don't even know where to begin.

And this is how they dance before the cocaine kicks in.

That's about the surliest damn couple I've ever seen on the left.

I tried to stick to all live-action shots but this is too good to pass up. Look at that track listing!

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