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...
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...
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...
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...
Roger’s year in music, 2021
Music does something to me, and I’ve never been able to explain exactly why. It just happens. Sometimes when I walk into a supermarket,...
“Funeral,” by Tigercub
This might seem an odd admission, but I pay too little attention to song lyrics or song titles, until I finally do, which often...
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...
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...
My year in music, at least so far
I remain wedded to the CD format, but these days I stream music first, then purchase the physical discs of those new releases that...
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40 Years in Beer (Book II, Part 44): Life becoming a landslide (1992-93)
Previously: 40 Years in Beer (Book II, Part 43): Facing the music at Rich O’s in 1992.
By the late summer of 1992, a routine had...
Diary: When you personally 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%...
