Van Morrison, “the only gazillionaire rock star to be a pandemic-denier besides Eric Clapton”
The pandemic seems to have deprived Van Morrison of his karma. Or maybe he already was running low.
Musically, the new album isn't unpleasant at...
Billy Strayhorn and Duke Ellington, et al (Part Two)
You'll notice I reversed their names in the title for the second installment. This 2007 film by Robert Levi helps provide context to the...
Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, et al (Part One)
A Duke Named Ellington was a two-part "American Masters" film on PBS in 1988.
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (1899-1974) was a musician and orchestra leader...
40 Years in Beer (Book II, Part 43): Facing the music at Rich O’s...
Previously: 40 Years in Beer (Book II, Part 42): Barr built the bar, and the Guinness began pouring.
Music?
That's right, music.
After all, this series is...
Quadrophenia: “Ain’t it funny how we all seem to look the same?”
Emerging from the shadows of The Dolphin pub in Plymouth’s Barbican, we began walking toward the stunningly perfect natural harbor, the open sea a...
Absent Ian Gillan, it’s less of a Jesus Christ Superstar to me
Recounts the last days of Jesus Christ from the perspective of Judas Iscariot, his betrayer. As Jesus’ following increases, Judas begins to worry that...
On the late James Levine
The conductor and pianist James Levine died earlier this month, and yesterday's obituary in the The New York Times is here. Levine was renowned,...
Killer diller, or thinking about big band music and my father’s WWII musical reveries
As introduction, during my 1990s salad days at the Public House, I maintained a collection of swing, big band and jazz CDs behind the...
Roger’s year in music, 2022
It never hurts to repeat fundamental truths.
Music does something to me, and I’ve never been able to explain exactly why. It just happens. Sometimes...
Roger’s year in music, 2023
Music does something to me, and I’ve never been able to explain exactly why. It just happens.
My molecules are somehow rearranged when I walk...
Latest article
Diary: When you experience ageism, that’s when you know it’s real
I’ll remember the winter of ’23-’24 as a difficult time for me – professionally, not personally.
This turbulence, which seems to be gradually receding as...
Beers with a Stoic: Wouldn’t it be less expensive NOT to brew house beer?
Let's say that you're a small brewery with a relentless social media presence of three, four or more Fb posts per day, probably 90%...
Beers with a Stoic: On Hop Atomica, brewery taproom expectations and generation gaps
Long ago and faraway, it was explained to me — again and again — that responsible (read: profit-seeking) restaurants and bars simply could not...
