A Couple of Notes on Media and Music

For more than 40 years we’ve been watching public service announcements exhorting us to “buckle up for safety.” We’ve seen terrifying post-crash photos with somber-voiced narrators and talking crash test dummies.

Frankly, I would have thought it impossible to come up with an utterly fresh way to promote seatbelt use. But this last week I saw spot from the UK that was not only different but possibly the most effective such spot I’ve ever seen. And there’s not a car in sight . . .

Embrace Life

Fastening your seatbelt is a “what.” Staying alive for the people who love and need you is a “why.” Whys are always more powerful that Whats. That’s what makes this little bit of message delivery so compelling.

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Now on to music.

I’m a fan of electric blues. Several years ago I discovered a female blues guitarist/vocalist that just blew me away. Susan Tedeschsi’s smoky voice goes places that Bonnie Raitt’s only hinted at. Raitt is a better blues guitarist. But Tedeshci’s voice is a wonder.

A couple of years ago Tedeschi married an amazing blues slide guitar player named Derek Trucks. Their marital merger resulted in a blues super-group–The Tedeschi-Trucks band. Here they are at Eric Clapton’s “Crossroads” guitar festival playing a song off of their first album.

It’s my current favorite (non-Christian) song. Enjoy . . .

Tedeschi-Trucks: It\’s Midnight in Harlem