• Tag: beastie boys

    Some Christmas songs just hit you like wham

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    Some Christmas songs just hit you like wham

    I’m one of those folks who gets irritated when they see Christmas decorations in early November or hear Christmas songs on the radio weeks before Thanksgiving — especially those stations that switch to an all-Christmas format somewhere around November 1. I know a lot of folks fret about some “War on Christmas,” but if you’re one of those who defended Christmas from the evil-doers, you should be happy — you won! There’s only one time I want to hear Christmas music, and it’s during this week. Christmas music at Christmastime … what a concept! Still, there’s a lot of Christmas […]

    The long and winding road of music hits a dead end

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    The long and winding road of music hits a dead end

    The No. 1 song the day I was born was “The Long and Winding Road” by The Beatles. It was their 20th and last No. 1 hit on Billboard’s Top 100 in the United States. And it’s a fitting song for the beginning of my life’s musical soundtrack because (1) it’s been a long and winding road and (B) The Beatles have been at both ends of it. Recently we watched Peter Jackson’s three-part rock doc “Let It Be” about The Beatles’ final recording sessions. It was interesting but not fascinating. The main takeaway was that they had run their […]

    Why the $10 bill now gives me anxiety

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    Why the $10 bill now gives me anxiety

    Musicals have never been my thing. I know that’s surprising for those of you who look at me and think, “Well, if that ain’t a walkin’ talkin’ ball of culture right there, I don’t know what is.” Perhaps it’s the flashbacks I have to my days at Possum Holler High when our drama class staged “My Fair Lady” — but not the one based on George Bernard Shaw’s “Pygmalion.” No, our creative drama teacher Lynn-Ellen Miranda wrote her own version based upon that time the Dog-Faced Boy ran off with Snake Girl — well, slithered off — at the 1977 […]

    You never forget your first real concert

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    You never forget your first real concert

    Last night I took my 17-year-old son to his first real concert — Poppy at a small club called Vinyl in Atlanta. If you haven’t heard of Poppy, she’s an unusual YouTube sensation, more of a visual and sound experiment than a true music star. But she does have an album out and is now touring smallish clubs with most shows selling out. It’s not my kind of music. The crowd is not my crowd. But it is fairly innocent, and the fans loved it. My son was among those at the front of the stage, while I stood well […]