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...
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...
A rainy writing morning; time again for “Venetian Vespers”
And might I add, a perfect day for letting my mind wander.
As I write, it is raining, and ponderings about Venice usually come equipped...
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...
The Songs for a (P&u) Departure (3): “Don’t go away mad, just go away”
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...
John Lennon: Life (and death) is what happens to you while you’re busy making...
(An essay originally published at NA Confidential in 2005, and often repeated. It has been lightly edited.)
On the morning of December 9, 1980, I...
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...
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...
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...
A pint of bitter, please, because it’s The Dubliners at the The Wheeltappers and...
In which three fascinating Anglo-Irish topics collide amid my frequent references to the adjective "elegiac."
It's the mid-1970s lineup of the Irish folk band The...
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Diary: Cousteau the band (not the oceanographer)
Sometimes when you're engaged in a life-altering and transformational maelstrom, as I was a quarter-century ago, little bits and pieces of the soundtrack slip...
40 Years in Beer (Book III), Part 89: A millennial upsurge with Cumberland Brews,...
Previously: 40 Years in Beer (Book III), Part 88: From Tokaj to Żywiec, and Achouffe to Poperinge (Travel 2002).
From 2000 through 2002/2003, a “third...
Remembering the Bastille Day “Bieres de Garde Dinner” at Bistro New Albany in June,...
Today is Bastille Day. Twenty years ago, I partnered with the embryonic Bistro New Albany to stage a Bastille Day "Bieres de Garde Dinner,"...
