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Hunting and gathering music for your Thanksgiving holiday? Check out our playlist.You’ve gathered your bird, stuffing, sides, pies, a tablecloth, candles, flowers and extra chairs. You’ve washed the platters, dusted the mantelpiece, polished the silverware and sharpened your carving knife. But do you know what music you’re going to play Thursday?Never fear: We’ve got a roundup of great suggestions, culled from all over the musical map of America, that will take you from cooking to dining to getting through cleanup duty. Take a listen and let us know in the comments what you spin while you’re giving thanks.
Music To Get You Through Turkey Day, From Cooking To Chowing Down To Cleaning Up
Cooking: Anonymous 4, “My Shepherd Will Supply My Need”
In the hectic race against the clock that is preparing the Thanksgiving feast, I really like to choose calming, grounding music that tempers stress and creates the right kind of mindset for cook and helpers alike. An album of old American folk hymns, sung by the glorious vocal quartet called Anonymous 4, is just the ticket. (AT)
Hors D’Oeuvres: Fats Waller, “All That Meat And No Potatoes”
When guests arrive, it’s important to set a bubbly mood: Keep them busy with munchies and perhaps a glass of prosecco. The music should be light, fun and frothy, too. Fats Waller’s effervescent jazz tunes (quite a few are about food) and his humorous delivery — both on vocals and piano — fit the bill perfectly. (TH)
The Meal: Randall Thompson, Symphony No. 2
Soundtracking a big, noisy dinner can be tricky. You want music of substance, yet something that can function in the background — and nothing with Mahler-sized swings in dynamics that could trigger indigestion. Ella Fitzgerald singing Gershwin is always a safe bet, but vocals sometimes distract. If you want to step in a classical direction, why not Randall Thompson’s vintage 1933 Symphony No. 2? With its heartland themes and whiffs of jazz, it’s 30 minutes of solid Americana that goes down easy. (TH)
Post-Feast: Gershwin, ‘Lullaby’
After a giant meal, there’s nothing more satisfying than kicking back with a good cup of coffee, or perhaps a glass of tawny port. Whichever, the important thing is to relax — perhaps even letting the eyelids droop a little. George Gershwin’s Lullaby, a work originally for string quartet from 1919, rocks gently, caresses and just might help you drift off pleasantly before the late football game. (TH)
Cleaning Up: Antibalas, “Dirty Money”
Sure, maybe all you want to do is have a second piece of pumpkin pie/put your feet up/curl up into a little ball, but as Sam Sifton says, “You do not want to clean up in the morning, filled with a hangover, a food hangover, the vague regret that you did not clean up the night before.” So you’ve got to pick something that will get you moving — and dancing off all that Thanksgiving excess. Perfect: the new Antibalas album. (AT)
Updated November 19, 2012, 1:28 pm
On Nov. 20, 1945, 24 Nazi leaders went on trial before an international war crimes tribunal in Nuremberg, Germany.
On Nov. 20, 1925, Robert F. Kennedy, the United States attorney general and senator from New York assassinated during his 1968 campaign for president , was born. Following his death on June 6, 1968, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » | Other birthdays »
On This Date
By The Associated Press
1789 New Jersey became the first state to ratify the Bill of Rights. 1910 Revolution broke out in Mexico. 1917 Robert C. Byrd, the longest-serving senator in U.S. history, was born Cornelius Calvin Sale Jr. in North Wilkesboro, N.C. 1945 Twenty-four Nazi leaders went on trial before an international war crimes tribunal in Nuremberg, Germany. 1947 Britain’s future queen, Princess Elizabeth, married Philip Mountbatten, Duke of Edinburgh, in Westminster Abbey in London. 1966 The musical “Cabaret,” with music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb, opened on Broadway. 1969 The Nixon administration announced a halt to residential use of the pesticide DDT as part of a total phase-out. 1975 Spain’s Gen. Francisco Franco died after nearly four decades of absolute rule. 1977 Egyptian President Anwar Sadat became the first Arab leader to address Israel’s parliament. 1985 The first version of Microsoft’s Windows operating system, Windows 1.0, was released. 1995 Princess Diana admitted during an interview broadcast on BBC TV that she had been unfaithful to Prince Charles. 2003 Singer Michael Jackson was booked on suspicion of child molestation in Santa Barbara, Calif. (He was later acquited.) Current Birthdays
By The Associated Press
Vice President Joe Biden turns 70 years old today.
AP Photo/Matt Rourke
Country singer Dierks Bentley turns 37 years old today.
AP Photo/Chris Pizzello
1925 Kaye Ballard, Actress, turns 87 1927 Estelle Parsons, Actress, turns 85 1938 Dick Smothers, Comedian (The Smothers Brothers), turns 74 1943 Veronica Hamel, Actress (“Hill Street Blues”), turns 69 1946 Judy Woodruff, Broadcast journalist (CNN), turns 66 1947 Joe Walsh, Rock singer (The Eagles), turns 65 1948 Richard Masur, Actor (“One Day at a Time”), turns 64 1956 Bo Derek, Actress (“10”), turns 56 1959 Sean Young, Actress, turns 53 1963 Ming-Na, Actress, turns 49 1970 Sabrina Lloyd, Actress (“Sports Night”), turns 42 1971 Joel McHale, Actor (“Community,” “The Soup”), turns 41 1974 Marisa Ryan, Actress, turns 38 1986 Ashley Fink, Actress (“Glee”), turns 26 Historic Birthdays
Robert F. Kennedy 11/20/1925 – 6/6/1968 American politician; U.S. attorney general (1961-4), U.S. senator from New York (1964-8 ), presidential candidate (1968).Go to obituary »
64 St.Edmund of Abington 11/20/1175 – 11/16/1240
English archbishop83 Otto von Guericke 11/20/1602 – 5/11/1686
German physicist71 Oliver Wolcott 11/20/1726 – 12/1/1797
American public official81 Selma Lagerlof 11/20/1858 – 3/16/1940
Swedish writer78 Kenesaw Mountain Landis 11/20/1866 – 11/25/1944
American federal judge and baseball commissioner (1920-44)70 Patrick Hayes 11/20/1867 – 9/4/1938
American archbishop of New York (1919-39)83 James M. Curley 11/20/1874 – 11/12/1958
American politician; mayor of Boston (1914-8, 1922-6, 1930-4, 1947-50) and governor of Massachusetts (1935-7)84 Norman Thomas 11/20/1884 – 12/19/1968
American social reformer; frequent Socialist Party candidate for U.S. president74 Albert Kesselring 11/20/1885 – 7/16/1960
German field marshal during World War II63 Edwin Powell Hubble 11/20/1889 – 9/28/1953
American astronomer84 Chester Gould 11/20/1900 – 5/11/1985
Americn cartoonist93 Alexandra Danilova 11/20/1903 – 7/13/1997
Russian ballerina68 Emilio Pucci 11/20/1914 – 11/29/1982
Italian fashion designer
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Updated November 18, 2012, 1:28 pm
On Nov. 19, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address as he dedicated a national cemetery at the site of the Civil War battlefield in Pennsylvania.
On Nov. 19, 1917, Indira Gandhi, the former prime minister of India who served four terms over 15 years, was born. Following her death on Oct. 31, 1984, her obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » | Other birthdays »
On This Date
By The Associated Press
1831 James A. Garfield, the 20th president of the United States, was born in Orange, Ohio. 1917 Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was born in Allahabad. 1919 The Senate rejected the Treaty of Versailles. 1942 Russian forces launched a winter offensive against the Germans along the Don front during World War II. 1959 Ford Motor Co. announced it was halting production of the unpopular Edsel. 1969 Apollo 12 astronauts Charles “Pete” Conrad and Alan Bean made man’s second landing on the moon. 1977 Egyptian President Anwar Sadat became the first Arab leader to visit Israel. 1985 President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev met for the first time as they began a summit in Geneva. 1990 The pop duo Milli Vanilli was stripped of its Grammy Award after it was revealed that neither performer sang on the group’s records. 1998 Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr laid out his evidence against President Bill Clinton during a daylong appearance before the House Judiciary Committee. 2001 President George W. Bush signed legislation to put airport baggage screeners on the federal payroll. 2001 Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants became the first baseball player to win four Most Valuable Player awards. 2006 The Wii, the Nintendo Co.’s game console, first went on sale. 2007 Amazon.com Inc. introduced the Kindle, an electronic book-reading device. Current Birthdays
By The Associated Press
Actress Jodie Foster turns 50 years old today.
AP Photo/Dan Steinberg
Broadcast journalist Ann Curry (“Today”) turns 56 years old today.
AP Photo/Evan Agostini
1919 Alan Young, Actor (“Mister Ed”), turns 93 1933 Larry King, Talk show host, turns 79 1936 Dick Cavett, Talk show host, turns 76 1938 Ted Turner, Broadcasting and sports mogul, turns 74 1939 Tom Harkin, U.S. senator, D-Iowa, turns 73 1939 Garrick Utley, Broadcast journalist, turns 73 1941 Tommy Thompson, Former cabinet member, Wisconsin governor, turns 71 1942 Calvin Klein, Fashion designer, turns 70 1949 Ahmad Rashad, Football player, sportscaster, turns 63 1955 Glynnis O’Connor, Actress, turns 57 1959 Allison Janney, Actress (“The West Wing”), turns 53 1961 Meg Ryan, Actress, turns 51 1966 Rocco DiSpirito, TV chef, turns 46 1979 Ryan Howard, Baseball player, turns 33 Historic Birthdays
Indira Gandhi 11/19/1917 – 10/31/1984 Indian prime minister (1966-77; 1980-4).Go to obituary »
48 Charles I 11/19/1600 – 1/30/1649
English king (1625-49)53 Mikhail Lomonosov 11/19/1711 – 4/15/1765
Russian scientist and poet89 Ferdinand Lesseps 11/19/1805 – 12/7/1894
French diplomat49 James Garfield 11/19/1831 – 9/19/1881
20th president of the United States (1881)52 Richard Avenarius 11/19/1843 – 11/18/1896
German philosopher72 Billy Sunday 11/19/1862 – 11/6/1935
American evangelist79 Allen Tate 11/19/1899 – 2/9/1979
American poet and literary critic66 Nathan Leopold 11/19/1904 – 8/29/1971
American murderer51 Tommy Dorsey 11/19/1905 – 11/26/1956
American band leader71 Roy Campanella 11/19/1921 – 6/26/1993
American baseball player
I was both hugely thrilled and disappointed with this much-awaited Spielberg film featuring the very talented Daniel Day-Lewis in the role of Abraham Lincoln. I was certainly thrilled to see Day-Lewis personify Abe Lincoln with such panache and conviction, I can’t imagine anyone doing it better or differently, but I was also disappointed somewhat in realizing that the focus of the story was nothing more than a civics lesson in the three branches of government in general, and the executive and the legislative, in particular. The legislative process in the United States which is characterized by a system of checks and balances can be a long-drawn out and messy one and can be an exercise in gridlock, compromise and division.
This is well demonstrated throughout the story which features lengthy stretches of deliberation and dialogue aimed to persuade the members of the opposing Democratic party to cross over to the other side in order to pass the historical 13th Amendment that officially abolished slavery in the United States. We see the full weight and scale of this mission in Lincoln’s dedication to achieving this no matter the consequence of a prolonged civil war. Democracy is difficult and messy and uncertain. This, we understand and can relate to even to this day in how the current Congress continues to struggle in reaching compromise.
But I didn’t just want a civics lesson, I wanted to understand why slavery was so terrible a concept and the toll that it was taking on American lives– both white and black. I wanted to see how this affected Abraham Lincoln himself, and how his personal views might have shaped his political views. This was sorely lacking. It was also a disservice to portray Black women in slavery to being happy mistresses of white men. From what little I do know about slavery, I don’t believe it was the case, and if anything, was anything but.
And so, while the story rightfully places slavery as the real reason for the Civil War, it doesn’t pause long enough to explain the impact of this horrendous practice on the sixteenth president of the United States.
Regardless, it is still a thoughtful movie that gives voice to perhaps one of the most important pieces of history in the course of human civilization: the abolition of slavery.
When I attain to utter forth in verse
Some inward thought, my soul throbs audibly
Along my pulses, yearning to be free
And something farther, fuller, higher, rehearse
To the individual, true, and the universe,
In consummation of right harmony:
But, like a wind-exposed distorted tree,
We are blown against for ever by the curse
Which breathes through Nature. Oh, the world is weak!
The effluence of each is false to all,
And what we best conceive we fail to speak.
Wait, soul, until thine ashen garments fall,
And then resume thy broken strains, and seek
Fit peroration without let or thrall.
