4. King Horse, by Elvis Costello. King Horse on Spotify. This is, without a doubt, the best juggling song ever. It’s from Elvis’ best album, Get Happy!, which I was listening to quite a bit in the winter of 1981-82, when I learned how to juggle. Besides being a great song, it has lots...
List: Top Five Story Songs—No. 5
“You see, I knew that song so long before we met, that it means so much more than it might” —Elvis Costello, King Horse Elvis is onto something here, I think. There are certain songs that take on meanings that are far beyond whatever the songs are “about.” Surely everybody has their own songs...
When Linda Was Country
I recently went retro and bought three CDs, small-disc versions of LPs that I owned decades ago but haven’t heard in many years, owing to the fact that I haven’t owned a working turntable since some time in the Clinton administration. Anyway, the three CDs are: Randy Newman—Sail Away Randy Newman—Trouble In Paradise Linda...
The Meditations Of Our Hearts
Every once in a while, Pastor Dave will use these beautiful lines at the beginning or the end of a prayer: “Let the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in thy sight…” The first time I heard this, it stopped me cold. I knew these words, but from...
List: Top Five Musical Crimes Against Humanity
Perhaps I’m still a little cranky about the state of music these days. (That always seems to happen after one of those Super Bowl halftime shows.) But as great as rock music can be, the extraordinary heights it can deliver us to, there are also plenty of “what were they thinking” moments. Here are...
The Grammys
The Grammy Awards are tonight. I may or may not be watching; it sort of depends if there’s anything else on. There have been some great Grammy shows in the past; the one in particular that stands out for me is 2003, the year after the Clash’s Joe Strummer died, and Bruce Springsteen, Elvis...
Music For The Winter Solstice
I do NOT recommend that you watch this video: Seriously, don’t watch it. It will ruin your day. I only include it to demonstrate what I think is the absolute worst example of an awful genre, the pop Christmas song. Every year, more and more artists get the idea that they can make a...
Who’s Next
A good portion of my summer vacation in 1971 was spent trailing my two older brothers and cousin around Brainerd, Minn., visiting every record store and head shop in hopes of finding the new album by The Who. My cousin had just seen them in concert at the Mississippi River Festival, and “obsessed” is...
List: Top 5ive Albums Of The 1980s
Everyone loves lists, right? Well then, here comes a list: the best albums of the 1980s. Any such “Top” list having to do with music is going to be controversial, of course. But this one may be less so than others, at least for me. These five albums simply stand out from all the...
Good Old Boys
With all the talk about blasting levees lately, I just had to listen to Randy Newman’s classic album Good Old Boys, with the song Louisiana 1927 today. I first heard this song in 1977, when he came and played at Jesse Hall at Mizzou. None of my friends wanted to go, so I went...