Speaking of epitaphs, a wonderful song called “Get Out and Stay Out”

"Get Out and Stay Out" was recorded for the 1979 Quadrophenia film soundtrack and wasn't part of the original album in 1973. That's Kenney...

The Songs for a (P&u) Departure (1): “These cameras never lie”

We're told that Nov. 15 will be the last day for Pints&union in New Albany prior to the pub decamping for the Highlands: Here’s the...

The Songs for a (P&u) Departure (4): “Once upon a time I stood for...

We're told that Nov. 15 will be the last day for Pints&union in New Albany prior to the pub's inglorious "Hail Mary" flight to...

Roger’s year in music, 2024

The intro remains the same, because I'm lazy. --- Music does something to me, and I’ve never been able to explain exactly why. It just happens. My molecules...

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...

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...

Big bands: A book about Bunny Berigan, his life and times

Originally this was an "ON THE AVENUES" column from July 25, 2017. It has been lightly updated.  I was born in 1960, and grew up...

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...

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...

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,...

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February update: 40 Years in Beer, Baylors in the Balkans, and a forthcoming book...

Regular readers know that my "day job" is at Food & Dining Magazine, where responsibilities have expanded over the years from writing a quarterly...

40 Years in Beer (Book II), Part 73: All 42 pages of the 1999...

Previously: 40 Years in Beer (Book II), Part 72: Mitch Steele attends a F.O.S.S.I.L.S. meeting (1998). I cannot recall the specific impetus for creating the...

40 Years in Beer (Book II), Part 72: Mitch Steele attends a F.O.S.S.I.L.S. meeting...

Previously: 40 Years in Beer (Book II), Part 71: A-B, Molotov cocktails, Mitch Steele and me (G.A.B.F., 1997 & 1998). On November 8, 1998, something...