In memory of Katrina and New Orleans

It's hard to express all of one's feelings about the devastation of Katrina. Lots of people have written about the human loss, and I'm not sure I have a lot new to add. It's been a week when I've shared everyone's desolation at the thought of all those people dead and abandoned; done my bit to give to charity in the hope it'll help.

But beyond dealing with the human toll will be the rebuilding of a great city. Will we have the political will and the money to do it? And even if it is, will New Orleans be transformed from the messy, chaotic city we know and love into an ultramodern city with million-dollar faux "live-work" lofts and a Starbucks and Jamba Juice at every corner? I hope not. As of now, the French Quarter seems to have been saved, but we don't yet know about many of the wonderful places to eat and hear music - the Maple Leaf Lounge, Mid-City Lanes Rock N'Bowl, the Mermaid Lounge, the Howling Wolf, the Praline Connection, Jacques Imo's.

Anyway, as I was thinking about all this, I put together a list of some of my favorite songs by New Orleans-based artists. Many are about the city as well. Additions/comments welcome. Hope you enjoy listening! Here are the links:

1. Louis Armstrong - I Want a Big Butter and Eggman
2. Cowboy Mouth - You Are the Sunshine
3. Champion Jack Dupree - Angola Blues
4. Louis Armstrong - (What Did I Do to Be So) Black and Blue
5. Fats Domino - The Fat Man
6. Dr John - Goin' Back To New Orleans
7. Henry Butler - Bourbon Street Blues
8. James Booker - Make a Better World
9. James Booker - St. James Infirmary
10. Louis Armstrong - (What Did I Do to Be So) Black and Blue---1
11. Jelly Roll Morton - Ponchartrain
12. Meters - Hey Pocky A-Way
13. Mac Rebennack - Wade in the Water [-]
14. Otra - Con Otra In New Orleans
15. Professor Longhair - Jambalaya (On the Bayou)
16. Tuts Washington - When the Saints Go Marching In
17. Snooks Eaglin - I Went to the Mardi Gras

Swami