Of all the marvelous songs in the marvelous “West Side Story,” perhaps the most famous is “Maria.” Although it’s a great great song, it’s not my absolute favorite from the show, although I’d be hard-pressed to name my favorite because … Continue reading →
In this recent thread, there was an interesting discussion regarding popular music about finding your soulmate (or thinking you’ve found your soulmate). But no one mentioned the song that immediately came to my mind: “I’ll Know” from “Guys and Dolls.” … Continue reading →
Kids can sometimes demonstrate incredible technical facility at playing a musical instrument at a very young age. I bring you Exhibit A, Evan Le, playing the piano at four after reportedly only studying it for a number of months (try … Continue reading →
Or the old guy playing the drums, for that matter? First, we have some of the guys (Brian May on lead guitar and Roger Taylor on drums; they are featured starting around minute 2:00) when young: Now for the old … Continue reading →
I just couldn’t bring myself to watch the Oscars this year, even for the fashions. I’ve only seen one of the movies this year that was nominated, “Bohemian Rhapsody.” It was fun (despite the historical inaccuracy typical of the genre), … Continue reading →
I saw the movie “Bohemian Rhapsody” recently—more about that in another post—which started me thinking about the phenomenon of rock songs that start one way and then go off in a very different direction. I don’t just mean a traditional … Continue reading →
Gladys Knight’s been in the news lately for her great rendition of the national anthem at the Superbowl, and for showing what a tool Don Lemon is: That sent me on a stroll down YouTube memory lane in search of … Continue reading →
Did you ever notice that young people sometimes write and/or perform as though they’re old? Some do it very successfully; the best example that comes to mind is T. S. Eliot—who perhaps was born old—who began writing his masterpiece “The … Continue reading →
Child singers are an interesting phenomenon. Some people like them; some don’t. Child singers can’t bring the depth of feeling to a song that someone with greater life experience can. Or can they? At least, a few of them? At … Continue reading →
Sometimes when I need some relaxing down time, I surf YouTube. A while back in my YouTube explorations, I came across what are known as “reaction videos.” They’re a strange genre in which people often rack up biggish view counts … Continue reading →
The lyrics were written in Scots dialect by the poet Robert Burns in 1788. That’s a lot of auld lang syne ago. But the song—set to a traditional folk tune—has endured, particularly at New Year’s to be sung right after … Continue reading →
[NOTE: This is a redux of a post I wrote a year ago. Apparently they’re still making a big fuss about this song, so I thought I’d revisit it.] The song “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” was written in 1944 by … Continue reading →