Category: Music

A lonely soldier cleans his gun and dreams of Galveston. Marty Robbins messes with the wicked Felina in El Paso and catches a bullet for his trouble. Joan Baez sings of a jilted lover and her counterfactual conditional, "If the ladies was squirrels with high bushy tails, I'd load up my shotgun with rock salt and…

I can't speak for my housemates at the time, Ken Bower and Craig Fellin, but these three albums were my favorites among the ones we listened to, and the selections are my favorites from each. 1. Bob Dylan, New Morning (released 19 October 1970).  Sign on a Window.  If any song puts me in mind…

Ronettes,  Be My Baby (opening sequence). Rolling Stones, Tell Me (Keitel's entrance). Rolling Stones, Jumpin' Jack Flash (De Niro's entrance). Smokey Robinson, Mickey's Monkey Derek and the Dominoes, I looked Away Marvelettes, Please Mr. Postman Little Caesar and the Romans, Those Oldies but Goodies Johnny Ace, Pledging My Love Paragons, Florence 

Merry Christmas everybody.  Pour yourself a drink, and enjoy. Cheech and Chong, Santa Claus and His Old LadyCanned Heat, Christmas Boogie Leon Redbone and Dr. John, Frosty the SnowmanBeach Boys, Little St. Nick.  A rarely heard alternate version.Ronettes, Sleigh RideElvis Presley, Blue ChristmasCharles Brown, Please Come Home for ChristmasWanda Jackson and the Continentals, Merry Christmas…

The sound of the sitar played a prominent role in the soundtrack of the '60s.  To George Harrison, student of Ravi Shankar,  goes the credit of having introduced it to Western popular music.  Light a stick of sandalwood incense and enjoy these great Beatle songs that feature its use: Norwegian Wood  Love You To Tomorrow Never Knows. …

What would the soundtrack of the '60s have been without Shankar's sitar?  Here is the Shankar I heard at the Monterey Pop Festival in '67.  Here is an extended performance at the 1971 Concert for Bangladesh. Here is an obituary. More on Shankar Saturday night.

Dave Brubeck has passed beyond time signatures and time itself, ending his earthly sojourn last Wednesday a day shy of his 92nd birthday.  My old college buddy  Monterey Tom writes, I don't think that you have to be either a Jazz aficionado or a musician to note Brubeck's importance in both the music world itself and…

Mickey "Guitar" Baker died this last week at age 87.  He is perhaps best known as one half of the Mickey and Sylvia duo whose Love is Strange was a hit in 1956.  Also from '56: Johnny Cash, I Walk the Line Gogi Grant, The Wayward Wind Elvis Presley, Love Me Tender Doris Day, Que…

Carl Orff, Carmina Burana, O Fortuna (With Latin and English).  Better performance without lyrics. Joan Baez, There But For Fortune.  The best rendition of a song written by Phil Ochs.  Ochs' version. I agree with this analysis of Ochs: The short, triumphant, tragic career of Phil Ochs illustrates one of the harder lessons of American popular…

Skeeter Davis, The End of the World Traveling Wilburys, End of the Line Floyd Cramer, Last Date. Skeeter Davis' version. Bob Dylan, It's All Over Now, Baby Blue.  Dont' like Dylan's voice? Try Joan Baez's angel-throated version. Roy Orbison, It's Over Beatles, The End George Harrison, All Things Must Pass Bob Dylan, Not Dark Yet…

Simon and Garfunkel, The Dangling Conversation.  A lovely song, if a bit pretentious.  Paul Simon was an English major. Beatles, We Can Work it Out.  Listen for the time signature change from 4/4 to 3/4. Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, You Really Got a Hold on Me Barbara Lynn, You'll Lose a Good Thing.  Her…