Oct 31, 2009
It’s Hallowe’en again, and so it must be time for the annual Straight No Chaser Spooky Song Showcase. Podcast 166 features a scary cross section of sinister titles, so click here to enjoy:
Eldar – “The Exorcist” from Virtue. Hopefully you listened to my interview with this 22 year old piano wizard, who...
Oct 30, 2009
Part two of the birthday boy’s podcast tributes comes with recordings made by Gordon Sumner
himself, tapping into his jazz vein. He was quoted in 1985 when asked why he drafted jazz musicians for his backing band:
"I want freedom and the privilege to surprise people. With this new band, I want to destroy the...
Oct 29, 2009
Rock musician Sting – born Gordon Sumner 58 years ago this month – is one of the jazzier pop stars of the past forty years. Although he reached fame first as the bass player of the punk rock-styled band The Police, his first professional gigs during college and during breaks from being a school teacher were in jazz...
Oct 25, 2009
Nancy and I are spending a wonderful weekend in Manhattan. We're going to see Leonard Cohen at Madison Square Garden, eat at some top restaurants, catch an exhibit at the Guggenheim, and see "A Steady Rain" on Broadway so she can drool over Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig.
Yes, the soundtrack would have to be "Autumn in...
Oct 24, 2009
I celebrate my 50th birthday last month, and my brother and sisters presentd me with an area of gifts that turned out to be items that first appeared in 1959. So, I got a cool Barbie Doll, some Jiffy Pop Popcorn, the first season of "The Twilight Zone" on DVD and a burned CD of songs that were on the pop charts at that...