Posts Tagged ‘music’

Since musician Nanci Griffith’s recent death her fans have flooded social media with an avalanche of tributes. They reflected on songs and albums which hold special meaning. They remembered concerts and television appearances. They talked about times when her music shepherded them through challenging periods. These posts were (and still are) varied, heartfelt, and often tinged with sadness and melancholy. But almost universally they were framed with feelings of gratitude and thanks.

The official announcement of her passing specifically mentioned her wish that no details surrounding it be publicly shared for at least a week. It was a curious and, in this age, unusual choice, although (more…)


Tom Petty has been gone for three months, but it still doesn’t feel real. Since the mid-70’s he has always been there doing his thing without much fanfare, like bedrock. His songs, especially the earlier ones, routinely pop up on classic rock stations. Whenever that happens the volume gets boosted a bit. Part of the reason is the songs are solid; the other is they offer warm familiarity. This may be true of all music you enjoyed as a kid, but not all of that music endures. Petty endures, like bedrock.

I was never a superfan, but I like a lot of his work – and love some of it. I saw him live for the first and only time in 1979. Back then huge video screens did not flank the stage, so unless (more…)

long walk home

Posted: August 24, 2016 in Arts, New Jersey
Tags: , , , , , ,

welcome home

Home is where you feel at home and are treated well. – Dalai Lama

Bruce Springsteen came home to New Jersey last night. Again. And 55,000 people who he has never met welcomed him. Again.

These days whenever Springsteen and his mighty E Street Band bring their ageless touring carnival to the great Garden State we embrace them with a fervor that is part love, part pride, part ritual, and all possessiveness. Across all the decades, albums, tours and concerts, and after all the triumphs, tragedies and changes, we still flock to the altar because (more…)

beatles-650x367

Rolling Stone magazine recently conducted an online poll to see what the music listening public felt are the best post-Beatle songs by ex-Beatles. Stu Sutcliffe and Pete Best, the two band members who came and went before the group got insanely popular, had no post-Beatle musical success. Stu left in 1962 to devote his energies to painting and Pete was jettisoned the same year by the group’s manager, Brian Epstein. So they are easily (more…)

cellist in the park

So my sister, thinking she is the funny sort, posted a link on Zuckerface to a slideshow on the AARP website titled “16 Songs Everyone Over 50 Must Own.” Not sure why she sent it to me. Doesn’t she remember I figured out how to stop the aging process? You would think that kind of information would stick in a person’s mind, the proclamation, “I have discovered the secret which will allow people to stay their current age forever, never to grow old or infirmed.” But apparently (more…)

The elusive “they” say music is one of our strongest memory inducers. You can hear a song and be immediately transported back to a specific time and place from your life, the details of that moment as vivid as if you had just lived it. It is one of the brilliant powers of music – and one of the best. I know whenever I hear Three Dog Night’s Joy to the World I am once again in the 8th grade cafeteria where the 45 rpm single (more…)

I recently got a free three month subscription to SiriusXM Radio, recently being last week. I am currently heart-deep in the honeymoon stage. You know how it is. Just thinking about your new beloved gets the adrenaline zipping through your veins like Gary Busey through a residential neighborhood. A mere passing thought makes you wonder how you ever possibly managed (more…)

Sometimes I decide to craft a list which turns out to be an impossible task. Like this one. When I go through the R.E.M. catalog I am reminded how many great songs they recorded, songs which I had forgotten. Whittling them into a top ten list is like trying to pick up (more…)


When in doubt it is fun to create a list of stuff consisting entirely of your own biased opinions. It’s also a cheap and easy way to write a post on a rainy Sunday night. Or at any time. The difficulty comes in choosing what to list. Some lists are easy to compile. They organically rise out of the muck of (more…)