Days of future remembrance Dreams beyond my stretch Of a life no one really inhabits Something else to kvetch — Time is just a hypnotist’s bobble Cannot parse the fake from real So many characters, all this fantasy Stay around for the reveal — Beautiful is my favorite color No majesty in fawning majestic The … More Within Reach
Concept albums are tough to pull off. Think Sgt. Pepper, Tommy, Quadrophenia, Animals, The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, Tales from Topographic Oceans, Thick as a Brick, The Wall, et. al. There might be an integrated story, instrumental segues, musical motifs and epic feel to the production. Or, the songs might conceptually linked by content … More Concept Albums by Frank Sinatra, Paul Williams, Richard Harris and Carole King: Of Love and Heartache
Don’t you love these films that want you to know how smart they are by constantly telling you. I admit, Bullet Train (2022) is a handful, requiring you to pay attention because you get a shit-ton of character exposition in flashbacks and winks to the audience. Along the way, you piece together who these characters … More Bullet Train (film review)
I once said, don’t make regrets And yet, a pile of them stare back Fermented and stacked high Reminders of life’s backpack — Reflections have a deceptive hue Beneath the tarnished glitter Sorting memories from dreams Tossing most in the litter — In old age the road ahead narrows Rear view distorts true reality Brighter, … More Old Habits and Soft Serve Memories
Another Neil Young release for 2022. The man is prolific. Young and Crazy Horse released Barn, last December, and this year the unreleased Toast, Noise and Flowers (a live album), and his 50th anniversary of Harvest. World Record is a head-scratcher. Too much for a single CD, it spills onto a second CD. Designed for … More Neil Young, World Record (a review)
“This book came out of the struggle to try and explain it all to my kids. I want to leave some kind of record that sets things straight, pokes holes in the mythology that’s sprung up around me, destroys some of the legends, and keeps the piranhas off. Something that documents the time I was … More Paul Newman’s Memoir: The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man (book review)
Distinguished and debonair, James Mason was a leading man for many years, but gravitated toward more daring and character roles for some of his best films. I don’t do impressions, but Mason was one of the few that i accomplished. From Gen. Rommel to to Capt. Nemo to Lolita to Hitchcock, Mason took risks: he … More James Mason (actor) Remembered
The U.S. and the Holocaust is a three-part, six-hour series focused on the Holocaust from the American involvement leading up to, during, and immediately following World War II. This Ken Burns series stirred a lot of discussion, certainly on the Holocaust, but more importantly, on the United States’ failures in responding to the Final Solution. … More The Holocaust: Ken Burns and Assorted Thoughts
Hell froze over. Or at least we have climate change. When the Eagles split in the early 1980s, they said he’ll would freeze over before a reunion. They’ve toured a lot since then. In recent years, the Eagles, or what’s left of the band, have been traveling the globe on their endless tour. The Hotel … More Eagles Concert Review: Hotel California (2022)
I am combining two book reviews and my own observations on the rise and fall of network television. Three television stations, with a foot antenna or rabbit-ears. Maybe a PBS station, and later, difficult to clearly receive UHF (mostly independent stations). Those were the options. Not a lot of channel surfing in those days, and … More Dick Ebersol: From Saturday Night to Sunday Night, and the evolution of network television (book reviews)
Ticket 2 Ride 
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