Goh Nakamura performs Simon and Garfunkel's "America"

Last year I marked the Fourth here by posting a clip of Paul Simon singing "American Tune", which, I noted, had a melody that stems from Bach's St. Matthew Passion, and which Bach got from an earlier work by Hassler (a factoid that has led many a web searcher to my blog). This year I'm captivated by the clip above of San Francisco musician Goh Nakamura performing on the street for a lunchtime crowd, doing "America", a song from Simon and Garfunkel's 1967 Bookends album.


Have a joyous Fourth.

Yanks sweep Mets at Citi.

Yuck. An all too familiar story: Mets outhit the opposition, but bring in fewer runs. History is made: Mariano Rivera gets his 500th save and his first-ever in the majors RBI, and Chien-Ming Wang his first win since George W. Bush was in the White House.

Hard to believe, but the Mets, now at .500, are still a viable post-season proposition. Nevertheless, I'm going to sulk for a while.

Cheery update: As this Brooklyn Paper story tells, my beloved Brooklyn Cyclones are off to a good start, and Mets starter Oliver Perez had an impressive rehab performance with the 'Clones at Keyspan Park yesterday.

@Twif: Thanks. At least your team has a perfect record against the Bronx Bullies going into the all-star break.