They were called “novelty songs,” although I didn’t know it at the time. They occupied a special niche that doesn’t seem to exist anymore in this far less innocent age: a nonsensical bubble-gum type of music/lyrics, meant mostly to amuse … Continue reading →
You may recall my disastrous efforts to learn to tango, chronicled here. But I still enjoy the dance as spectator, and the other evening I had the good fortune to attend a thrilling tango performance. Which made me think of … Continue reading →
I was listening to the radio the other day and heard an ad for a Pete Seeger concert. Pete Seeger? He’s still alive? And singing? I thought he must be a thousand years old now, because he already seemed old … Continue reading →
For the first time in fourteen years, Leonard Cohen is on tour. The kickoff was in Fredericton, Canada, on May 11. How many more tours could he possibly have in him? The guy is 74, a bit long in the … Continue reading →
It’s time to rewrite the lyrics of the Irish pacifist folk tune “Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye” to fit Barack Obama’s gift for sizing up character.
Continue reading →Has Hillary been the victim of sexism in her quest to become President? How’s this for an equivocal answer: Yes and no.
Continue reading →I can think of no better song for Memorial Day than Tim McGraw’s “If You’re Reading This“:
Continue reading →Okay, so I watch “American Idol.” So sue me. I see it as a brief weekly escape from our drab, wretched lives, a la Michelle Obama. I see it as a continuing soap opera with music, although the sort of … Continue reading →
Obama’s mockery of Hillary as Annie Oakley reminds me that I’ve had a soft spot in my heart for Annie for a long time. One of my favorite childhood songs was “Doin What Comes Naturally” from “Annie Get Your Gun,” … Continue reading →
Fred Barnes seems to be channeling neo-neocon in his latest Weekly Standard article. Towards the end of his piece describing Iraq’s recent progress towards reaching those benchmarks we used to hear so much about, Barnes asks some of the same … Continue reading →
I (heart) my iPod. Regular readers of this blog know I’m not the most technologically advanced of people. But although I may be slow on the uptake, I did finally join the trend a few months ago when I became … Continue reading →
Yesterday I saw my first one of these: Can’t say as I do. But that’s just me. I was never a big fan, even though I voted for him—twice, with vigor. But in the NH primary of 92, I was … Continue reading →