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...
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...
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...
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...
Forty 1970s-era albums for December, 2025
Complete as of December 27, 2025
Nostalgia regularly afflicts me, and as a result, I endeavor to keep it at arm’s length.
But 2025 has been...
10 Songs for Remembering Barry Sears
https://www.rogerbaylor.com/2025/10/30/r-i-p-barry-sears-a-friend-since-kindergarten-who-changed-my-life-over-lunch/
Barry Sears, one of my oldest and dearest friends, died unexpectedly in October. It was a profound shock amid a sad year of loss.
However,...
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,...
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...




































