#603: A is for Aurora

It’s Halloweenand next up in this October listeningritual is oneof the least frighteningfamous human beingson the planet.But she is kind of other-worldly, sprite-like, impish, adorable, and monstrously talented. Watching her interviewsand clips of her stage banterhas become a favorite pastime. She’s funny, personable, almost awkwardly honest, a kind of personality that is winning, irresistible.It happens,Continue reading “#603: A is for Aurora”

On the Second Day of 2024: Notebooks

Morning meditation two days in a row after nearly a year and a half without. This morning my feet didn’t fall asleep as I sat cross-legged on the cushion, but I did find myself somehow less focused than I was yesterday. If opening my eyes to look at the timer is any indication of aContinue reading “On the Second Day of 2024: Notebooks”

Notes Toward a Musical Autobiography: Volume V, Letter Costello

It happened when I was listening to The Beatles; I couldn’t choose which record to listen to.  It happened again with The Boomtown Rats, again with Cheap Trick, and now, in my mission to listen to one cd from each artist represented in my collection in alphabetical order, I am faced with choosing a singleContinue reading “Notes Toward a Musical Autobiography: Volume V, Letter Costello”

Notes Toward A Musical Autobiography: Volume III, Letter B

I’m betting you gave up on me.  I almost gave up on myself.  What with a trip to Disneyland scheduled for spring break, National Poetry Writing Month, and some illness in the family, it looked hopeless that I would ever get through the project of listening to at least one CD from every musical artistContinue reading “Notes Toward A Musical Autobiography: Volume III, Letter B”

Some Things that Sucked about Music in the 80’s

It’s time to make some pronouncements.  I have no authority, and I hate it when people who have no authority make pronouncements, but because I am a musician and can kind of claim to know something about music, and because I lived through, was actually a teenager and a young adult in this particular era,Continue reading “Some Things that Sucked about Music in the 80’s”

Well, That Was Mostly fun., Wasn’t It?

First of all, what a strange name for a band. Dorky, really; nevertheless, these fun. kids have become my favorite contemporary pop thing of the last couple of years. And I’ve been sort of astounded, surprised, and heartened by their recent and rip-roaringly fast rise to megastardom. So, I got my tickets months ago andContinue reading “Well, That Was Mostly fun., Wasn’t It?”