All Purls. No Swine.
Oh, it's a long, long while From May to December, And the days grow short When you reach September.... Well, here we are again. Almost at the autumnal equinox (which happens this year on September 22), that time of year when the the Sun hangs directly above the equator and day and night (which have… Continue reading September Song
I've always been fond of traditional country (no matter what country) and bluegrass (more specific country) music. Long story, but to shorten it a bit: Rhonda Vincent. An acquaintance of a dear friend, and someone who seems to be a genuine and dear person. So, a few of my favorites from this marvelously talented lady:… Continue reading Weekend Music: Rhonda Vincent
Tom T. Hall died yesterday. While my contemporaries were listening to the addled, screeching, incoherent outpourings of the deranged, the dysfunctional, and the sex, drugs and rock-and-roll addicted contingent of my generation, I was here: https://youtu.be/pQAk-xYxvVo Don't like it? I don't really think I want to know you.
Inspired by a recent Ricochet "members only" post on folk and traditional music. First: Let's be clear. If your idea of "folk music" is Peter Paul and Mary, then stop right now. Puff, the Magic Dragon? Crimenutely. Most else they recorded was derivative. And somehow, even when that they derived from wasn't fatuous, they managed… Continue reading The Eriskay Love Lilt
Can't do better, IMHO, than Aaron Copeland's Hoe Down: https://youtu.be/6ajQYANLiug
A personal favorite: Sure Sure's cover of "This Must be the Place." Originally recorded by the Talking Heads (who I also love) I particularly enjoy this breezy summery cover. My favorite lyrics? "Never for money, always for love," "Home is where I want to be, but I guess I'm already there," and "Out of all… Continue reading Musical Mondays–“This Must Be the Place”
Today, July 10, 2021, is the fifty-ninth anniversary of the launching of Telstar 1, a 170lb communications satellite launched for the purpose of receiving ground signals and re-transmitting them back to earth. According to britannica.com: Following Telstar’s launch on July 10, 1962, a giant movable horn antenna near Andover, Maine, locked onto the satellite when… Continue reading Musical Interlude: Telstar
The author of the song has denied the connection. I'm not sure I believe him. https://youtu.be/St6jyEFe5WM (A performance from PH as geezers, which points up the classical references in the song, one of the seminal influences of rock music on my youth. A youth in which rock music wasn't much of a seminal influence, but… Continue reading As the Miller Told His Tale: From Chaucer to Procol Harum
Ever have one of those days? When you feel besieged on all sides? When you wish you could just pull up the drawbridge and lower the portcullis? I do. Telemarketers trying to sell me an extended warranty on an ancient car that never belonged to me, but which I took to get new tires and… Continue reading A Musical Interlude: N[entirely]SFW
Happy 88th birthday to one of my perennial favorites, the one-and-only (other) red-headed stranger in my life, Willie Nelson. https://youtu.be/iZaZqx9v3dU May your career last another 65+ years, and may you continue to compose instant classics for yourself and others to sing: https://youtu.be/MbnrdCS57d0 https://youtu.be/HMSWAUAKJn0 https://youtu.be/hw5yFbY9k7w https://youtu.be/juyiScREFzQ And the song that always has the same effect on… Continue reading Ain’t It Funny (How Time Just Slips Away)