Here’s a song by my man Richard Thompson (lyrics here), featuring his characteristic beauty and bitterness: Those lines “in the dream I’m running/down a street of molasses/in the dream my feet gain no ground” seem an odd but effective image, … Continue reading →
…and do the Walk of Life: I usually prefer live versions, but for this particular song for some reason I couldn’t find a live version I liked better than the studio one. And here’s one of those “golden oldies” to … Continue reading →
I enjoy comparing different versions of songs I like, especially ones that highlight changes with the passage of time, and the variations among interpreters. Here’s a “compare and contrast” of three versions of Richard Thompson’s “Down Where the Drunkards Roll” … Continue reading →
I saw this ad on TV the other day and it stopped me in my tracks because the dancing is not the usual pop stuff at all. The dancers, and the woman in particular, have a nice intensity and what’s … Continue reading →
[NOTE: I wrote this post last night and had it set up in such a way that it would automatically be published in the morning. I don’t do that often, but every now and then I do. It turns out … Continue reading →
I’ve posted this song before, but I think it bears repeating, especially on Memorial Day weekend. It’s Tim McGraw’s extraordinarily moving song “If You’re Reading This:” If you’re readin’ this My momma’s sittin’ there Looks like I only got a … Continue reading →
Ray Manzarek, keyboardist and founding member of The Doors, has died at 74. I can’t say I ordinarily notice keyboardists, except in a very general way. But Manzarek was different. I didn’t know his name until a few years ago, … Continue reading →
Well, it is a hard song. And she’s French Canadian. But still, every performer’s nightmare: [Hat tip: Ace’s.]
Continue reading →[Bumped up.] I couldn’t help but notice the amount of boomer-directed venom expressed in the comments section of yesterday’s thread. I’ve noticed it many times before. Actually, I’ve noticed it almost every time I write about—well, about my generation. And … Continue reading →
Brenda Heist vanished over ten years ago. Despite a huge search she was never found, and was finally presumed (and even legally declared) dead. Brenda and her husband had been on the brink of divorce, and he remarried. Her two … Continue reading →
Well, call me ignorant, but until the other day I hadn’t realized that Otis Redding wrote Aretha Franklin’s anthem “Respect.” And he sang it, too. Differently… …than she did: Aretha’s version was a sister act, although I don’t know whether … Continue reading →
[NOTE: This post of mine sparked the following reflections.] Our responses to music are closely tied to emotion as well as memory. People who are brain-damaged and cannot speak can sometimes access music and even lyrics; different parts of the … Continue reading →