It all started with The Beatles, Herman’s Hermits, Buffalo Springfield and Creedence Clearwater Revival. Since the sixties I’ve been an obsessive consumer of music — first on vinyl, then cassette and for the past 30 years on CD. My selective…
It’s comfortable, hanging out with an old friend — you understand one another, speak the same language; and differences in age, culture and personality only make time together more entertaining and worth the while. Spending a month traveling the United…
What does today’s music have in common with all the best of previous generations? Plenty, if you give it a listen. You’ll experience equal or better musicianship, songwriting and creativity. For example, here is my A-Z list of favorite artists…
There is proof that on rare occasions, an individual part can produce something equal to and sometimes even greater than the whole group, as it were. Here are 20 cases in point of addition by subtraction: Without The Drifters, Ben…
The classic songs of despair, depression, loss and occasionally hope should come with a warning label: “CAUTION: Repeat listening may cause melancholy.” Although, these classics could make for a great pity party mixtape. “In Your Eyes” by Peter Gabriel “Why”…
Another music list … This time it’s songs with water themes, of which there are a bunch. Something to whet everyone’s appetite: from seas to oceans, sloops, bridges, docks of bays, boardwalks and waterfronts: “Take Me to the River” by…
The memories conjured by recent death of Russ Solomon, the founder of Tower Records, were those of disappointment and despair. Not for Solomon, RIP, but for the failure of his stores. This includes the first one on the corner of…
Sixty-three years to accumulate and one anguished day to narrow down my 19 favorite musical artists — as of December 2017. For the record, my criteria considered originality, influence, quality musicianship and songwriting, and consistency. The Beatles (because, they are)…
“Before you abuse, criticize and accuse, walk a mile in my shoes.” For better or worse, the sentiment in Joe South’s classic folk/rock anthem remains as profound today as it was relevant and prophetic when first released nearly a half-century…
As important as I believe good lyrics are to a song, I confess to either not knowing or understanding the words of some of my favorite songs. For example, I had no idea what Lou Reed’s “Sword of Damocles” was…
