The Big Picture

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• Best of 2014: Different Kind of Music List
• The Chemistry of Champagne
• Top 50 Financial Advisor Blogs And Bloggers
• Art Cashin’s Tis the day before New Year’s
• 10 New Year’s Eve Day Reads
• Financial Stability and Central Bank Governance

Best of 2014: Different Kind of Music List Posted: 31 Dec 2014 02:30 PM PST Its that time of year again: I present TBP's annual "Different Kind of Music List" for 2014. (Click to see prior years' lists). Here's the deal with our Anti-list: Lots of Best of Lists are out there, but simple truth is they have zero relevancy to people with families, careers, hobbies, etc. Neither you nor I have time to listen to 100s of new CDs each year. Instead, you find a few favorites, and play them to death. Hence, this list. Rather than an irrelevant age inappropriate list of new music you have never heard of (and probably never will), this is a more useful list: What a relatively informed music fan's "Most played" albums were this year — at least, according to my iTunes and the Mrs. Big Picture (Your playing THAT again!?!). This was my personal soundtrack for 2014. Those the ground rules. Let's have at it: • Album of the year: St. Vincent I first fell in love with Annie Clark née St. Vincent due to her shredding of an under appreciated small Beatles' tune Dig A Pony at the All Points West Festival. When her new album St. Vincent came out in the beginning of this year, I could not stop playing Digital Witness. The entire album has a discordant syncopation that commands attention. Its quirky, eccentric even, with intelligent well crafted tunes. I hear everything from Adrian Belew's work on King Crimson to Laurie Anderson, Kate Bush and Bjork in this. Its ethereal pop, challenging, yet accessible. Her voice is lovely, she shreds guitar with the best of them. • Mash Up/Crossover:  Jetsetter Jazz & the Persuasive Sounds of Nutty The  bizarre mash up of swingin' jazz and crooning classic rock, with a healthy dollop of big band swing that is Nutty deserves your attention. As an example, see this blend of Henry Mancini's Pink Panther with Jimi Hendrix' Purple Haze. A unique hybrid of lyrics, melody, musical hooks. Nutty's arrangements have been called "musical martinis that are spiked, shaken and stirred." It's so much more than, simply, "jazzy versions of classic rock hits" — its irreverent, humorous, and sassy. I find it delightful album to pop on when guests come over for martinis. This one disc could cover past categories: Jazz, Classic Rock, Mash Up and WTF Album — all in one! If you are into music and fond of mashups, then check out the band Nutty. • Classic rock album of the year: Art of McCartney was hands down, one of the most interesting albums of the year. Two CDs of 46 songs written or sung by Paul McCartney — as a Beatle, solo artist or with Wings – performed by a Who's Who of musical talent. Very familiar songs become fresh and new again via these refreshed versions, some faithful, some quite interpretive. Part of the fun of this album is trying to guess which artist is covering which song. A DVD of how this project came together is also good fun. Spoiler alert: Some favorites include “Let It Be” by Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders; “Junior's Farm” by Steve Miller; an inspired choice of Kiss playing “Venus And Mars/ Rock Show”; and the incredible vocals of Roger Daltrey on “Helter Skelter.” Baby-boomers and millennials alike will find something to love in this collection. • Movie Soundtrack of the year: Chef I enjoyed this charming little indie film where, despite being attached to Jon Favreau, nothing whatsoever blows up (thought Robert Downey does make a cameo appearance). Favreau does quadruple duty as an Actor, Director, Producer, and Writer. The film is charming, albeit predictable, and populated with women (Sofía Vergara, Scarlett Johansson) who are way too beautiful for the storyline. But it's the soundtrack that stayed with me: A perfect confection of Cuban, Latin and pop music. Impossible to listen to without tapping your feet. Check it out. • Pop Album of the Year: Taylor Swift – 1989. Who is this girl? She went from singing about her latest faux heartbreak to a confident pop star, singing infectious, compelling hooks without the cloy saccharine of her Nashville days. Shake It Off is obviously song of the year, with nearly half a billion plays on You Tube. Admit it, you helped drive those numbers up. She is everywhere, an unstoppable force in music for good or evil. New York looks good on her. Pharrell William’s G I R L was a strong contender, but truth be told I only listened to Happy, and it was from a 2013 film Despicable 2.   • Redemption disc:  Chrissie Hynde – Stockholm. I was a huge Pretenders fan back in the day (still am). Theirs first disc is one of the finest rock and roll albums ever made — and the best debut disc ever (IMO). Its also probably the first album to have "Play Loud!" written across the album cover. And I did. After that startlingly raw and powerful debut, the band never managed to achieve a perfect, complete album again (no surprise). Now 35 years later Hyndes shows she still is in full voice, with the same nasty lyrics and snarling sensuality. There is a touch less anger, a sense of loss just below the music's surface. These may be the most accessible songs Hynde’s has ever sung. • Overlooked Album:  I Just Dropped by to Say Hello, Johnny Hartman I have mentioned Johnny Hartman many times over the years (see this, this and this). His best known work was the superb John Coltrane & Johnny Hartman – a beautiful, must own jazz classic — but in the same year (1963), he also released I Just Dropped by to Say Hello, with Illinois Jacquet as his sideman. It is an overlooked masterpiece. If you fancy yourself a Jazz fan, you really need to check this one out.   • Surprise Find of the Year: Lucky Dube In St. Lucia last February, I was pleasantly surprised by the reggae I kept hearing, in particular, one singer, a South African reggae musician and Rastafarian named Lucky Dube. He had recorded 22 albums in Zulu, English and Afrikaans and was South Africa’s biggest-selling reggae artist. Unfortunately, Lucky was not all that lucky, and was murdered in a car jacking gone wrong. He left behind lots of music, and you can find plenty all over You Tube. If you want to check out a few albums, let me suggest Serious Reggae Business, House Of Exile, and Captured Live. Its a great loss for such a wonderful artist to have been cut down so young . . . at least he left a wealth of music behind. • Compilation:  Mercedes Benz Mixed Tape Download I stumbled onto the Benz  Mixed Tape site sometime ago, a curated hand-picked string of musical discoveries. Every ten weeks, they release a new download compilation featuring some very interesting new talents from around the world. Previous editions of Mixed Tape were no longer available for download — until now, courtesy of Elias Lange. Enjoy!

The Chemistry of Champagne Posted: 31 Dec 2014 11:00 AM PST Source: Compound Interest

Top 50 Financial Advisor Blogs And Bloggers Posted: 31 Dec 2014 07:00 AM PST What a lovely Holiday Gift from Michael Kitces . . . Numbers 1 and 2 with a bullet!   Click for the full list. Source: Kitces

Art Cashin’s Tis the day before New Year’s Posted: 31 Dec 2014 06:00 AM PST ‘Tis the day before New Year's and despite what you're hopin' The folks in the Boardroom say "the full day we're open" So we’ll buy and we’ll sell as the tape crawls along And though “Bubbly’s” verboten we may still sing a song Two Thousand Fourteen was okay, not really a wow Till a Santa Claus rally took us through Eighteen Thou We lost special people as we seem to each year It just makes us treasure each one that's still here Robin Williams, so manic snuffed out his own light Mickey Rooney’s gone also into Dylan’s Good Night Joan Rivers departed when a doctor slipped up And Sid Caesar now sips from a heavenly cup James Garner, “Bret Maverick” has played his last hand Polly Bergen now sings in an Angelic band Eli Wallach needs no badges he’s got wings, I’ve a hunch Elaine Stritch found a new place now with cherubs she’ll lunch Hurricane Carter has thrown his last punch Ann B. Davis as “Alice” no longer waits on the “Bunch” Bacall, who could whistle took her last curtain call Philip Seymour Hoffman is now just down the hall Casey Kasem’s now listing Top 40 harp songs Mayor Barry departed moving on past his wrongs Mike Nichols graduated t o Mrs. Robinson’s place Ruby Dee now also fills heaven with grace Ben Bradlee followed Nixon for one final time Maya Angelou tells St. Peter her favorite new rhyme Oscar De La Renta designed his last gown “Adam Smith” (Jerry Goodman) he has also left town The threat of Ebola made everyone fear ‘So Time made health workers their Man of the Year Kim K bared her assets glossed up till they shone But most folks on the net shrugged and left the whole thing alone Some guy near the White House hopped up over the wall And since the door was unlocked he just strolled down the hall The ice bucket challenge made some hairdos a mess But it raised lots of money to help fight ALS In their Little League Series one kid pitched a pearl As a young lady showed us how to “throw like a girl” Polar Vortex froze business The year started out rough But when we got defrosted things seemed to go well enough There were shootings, then lootings things kept turning bizarre Until a mad man came North to shoot two cops in a car We saw ISIS beheadings and car bombs galore Sadly, three different airliners got half way but no more Brad wed Angelina and George Clooney – Amal But some folks like Don Sterling could not find any pal There were midterm elections The GOP did quite well Will that help them to govern? It’s way too early to tell Sony thought it terrific and they’d have lots of fun If they made a joke movie in which they killed Kim Jung Un Derek Jeter retired one game at a time In most states, gay marriage is no longer a crime The NFL fumbled on domestic abuse We didn’t see the whole tape was their only excuse Rolling Stone ran a story that they later withdrew And more women blamed Cosby saying the press really knew Gwyneth Paltrow “decoupled” Taylor Swift told streamers “No!” In the kid’s movie Frozen Elsa sang “Let it go” Let not this year’s memories of sadness or sleaze Disturb you this day just give your heart ease Have faith that this New Year will bring a new sign And believe in yourself it will all work out fine Just lift up your spirits and some fruit of the vine And kiss ye a loved one and sing Auld Lange Syne And late in the evening as you watch the ball fall Wish yourself all the best Happy New Year to All!! Cashin’s Comments Wednesday, December 31, 2014

10 New Year’s Eve Day Reads Posted: 31 Dec 2014 05:00 AM PST My nasty headcold is starting to break, just in time for celebrations this evening. Oh, and our morning reads: • Here’s The Brilliant Trading Advice 50-Year NYSE Veteran Art Cashin Has For Investors (Business Insider) • Zweig: Lessons From a Year of Market Surprises (WSJ) • S&P 500 will finish 2014 without ever having four consecutive down days. That's never happened before (Moneybeat) • Our 33 Weirdest Charts From 2014 (fivethirtyeight) • 2014 in Review: Best of the Silver Bullet Awards (Dash of Insight) see also The 2014 Financial Market Awards (Wealth of Common Sense) • The 10 most expensive cars auctioned in 2014 totalled $141m (Classic Driver) • Legal Weed’s Strange Economics in Colorado (Bloomberg) see also Vermont Governor confronts deadly heroin crisis as public health problem (PBS) • We need more sleep (The Boston Globe) • The Top 5 Neuroscience Breakthroughs of 2014 (The Connectome) • Anchorage, Alaska never saw a day below zero in 2014 (Washington Post) Where are you celebrating tonight?   More Than Half of Smartphones Activated on Christmas Were iPhones Source: Re/Code

Financial Stability and Central Bank Governance Posted: 31 Dec 2014 03:00 AM PST

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