Recently a reader, and a friend, asked me, "What's your favorite Neil Young album?" Because we were talking music. Something we like to do. However, we're 36 years apart in age. That fact doesn't matter though, because he's really into Rock music and its cultural influence on America. Moreover, I was there from its inception, … Continue reading Time Fades Away: My Life’s Soundtrack
Category: Music
Can’t Buy Me Love
Or can you? Kyla Scanlon's post The Cost of Love got me thinking. What got her thinking was the old, silly little song, The Twelve Days of Christmas. She did what she does and I do what I do. We both analyze things, but in a different way. The song was composed (must have been) during the … Continue reading Can’t Buy Me Love
Mood Swings
Yesterday was a mood swing day. However, I didn't take my usual walk, didn't drink, and had no social contact. It was just me and the weather and my 'luxury' apartment. But that includes my mind, as well as my smart TV and smart phone. And that can be overwhelming. Because now my mind can … Continue reading Mood Swings
Hunger of the Pine: Teal Swan
What is the hunger of the pine? And who is Teal Swan? That all depends. Hunger of the Pine is both a song and a book. According to the author, Alt-J, and Miley Cyrus, of the song - it's a metaphor for the yearning, or pining for love or a loved one. The author of the … Continue reading Hunger of the Pine: Teal Swan
Waylon: Outlaw Hero
Waylon Jennings (1937 - 2002) was at his best when he was Lonesome, On'ry, And Mean. Which was a song he recorded in 1974, about the time I first heard him and his band. It was sometime in the early Seventies. I was a bartender at the Warehouse, a night club in Denver, Colorado, where he … Continue reading Waylon: Outlaw Hero
Election 2020: The Campaign Begins
I am a lonely visitor, I came too late to cause a stir, but I campaigned all my life toward that goal. Neil Young, 1969. "Campaigner" The 2020 campaign for POTUS began yesterday, at the summer solstice, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. President Donald J. Trump held an indoor, public rally, against the wishes and guidance … Continue reading Election 2020: The Campaign Begins
Karen and Dagny: Election 2020
Who are you? A Karen or Dagny? Election 2020 hinges on that? Or so Krystal Ball has said. I think she hit that fucking nail square on the head. Karen as defined by Krystal (Damn, the synchronicity/irony is mind blowing) is a "Facebook suburban empathy mom". Formally Formerly known (in Election 2004) as a "soccer … Continue reading Karen and Dagny: Election 2020
Joe Biden’s Revenge
"Joe Biden's revenge" is a phrase I lifted from Hunter Thompson's 1985-88 collection of essays chronicled in the book Generation of Swine. It refers to Biden heading a committee to vet Judge Robert Bork for nomination to the US Supreme Court. Biden, at the time, had just been "disgraced" for "cribbing a few lines on some obscure … Continue reading Joe Biden’s Revenge
Sexual Assault Then and Now
Sexual assault is different now than it was before. Joe Biden, the Democrat's presumptive nominee to challenge Donald Trump for president of the United States, has been accused by Tara Reade, a former staffer, of sexually assaulting her in 1993. My argument is that, that was then and this is now. Things have changed. I … Continue reading Sexual Assault Then and Now
Gone but not forgotten
Gone but not forgotten is singer songwriter John Prine. He died Tuesday of the virus. He was seventy-three and in poor health. I was introduced to John Prine's music in the early 70's by my neighbor, friend, and drinking buddy, Mike. Mike was a Vietnam vet and a postal worker - as was Prine, a … Continue reading Gone but not forgotten