Richard F. Thomas, a professor of the Classics at Harvard University and a big Bob Dylan fan, has written a book called Why Bob Dylan Matters (2017). Why Bob Dylan Matters is an interesting title, one that presupposes that Dylan does matter. Certainly he matters to this author; and in some 300 easy to readContinue reading “WHY BOB DYLAN MATTERS”
Category Archives: Music
COLORADO STATE SONG (BY GRUBSTAKE)
Now, you wouldn’t expect a great song about, say, Nebraska to be written by Hannah Montana. And Tennessee Ernie Ford wasn’t known for his songs about Rhode Island. And who would think John Denver would give us a song about West Virginia. Well, that last thing may have happened … Nevertheless, we are going to consider a Colorado song – theContinue reading “COLORADO STATE SONG (BY GRUBSTAKE)”
SONG OF THE WEEK – HOLY ARE YOU
For the past several days I have been thinking of the song “Holy Are You” from the Release of an Oath album by the Electric Prunes. I had considered filing this with the “Colorado Songs,” but decided that would not be appropriate. Why would I even think of this as a Colorado Song, you may ask.Continue reading “SONG OF THE WEEK – HOLY ARE YOU”
I-70 WESTBOUND (BY THE RAILBENDERS)
Interstate Highway 70 (I-70) is a major East-West highway running from western Utah to Baltimore, Maryland. It passes through ten states. In a sense it is the alpha and omega of the interstate highway system. That system was initiated by the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, signed into law by President Eisenhower on June 29,Continue reading “I-70 WESTBOUND (BY THE RAILBENDERS)”
ON THE NATURAL (BY HOYT AXTON)
In preparing this series, I have looked at a number of other people’s lists of Colorado Songs. Can you believe that none of them have included “On the Natural,” by Hoyt Axton? I am putting it on my list to set that travesty to rights. I previously mentioned this song in passing while discussing Chapter 9Continue reading “ON THE NATURAL (BY HOYT AXTON)”
COLORADO BLUEBIRD SKY (BY THE STRING CHEESE INCIDENT)
The String Cheese Incident (“SCI”) is your typical Colorado bluegrass-Afro-Latin-Calypso-electronica fusion jam band. The group started in 1993 when several musicians from Telluride and Crested Butte got together to do some jamming. During their early days, they played at various Western ski areas for lift tickets. As their popularity increased, they moved to Boulder inContinue reading “COLORADO BLUEBIRD SKY (BY THE STRING CHEESE INCIDENT)”
COLORADO GIRL (BY TOWNES VAN ZANDT)
Singer-songwriter Townes Van Zandt (whose full name was John Townes Van Zandt) was an enigmatic, perhaps singularly talented individual. He never had a hit song, and most people probably don’t even know his name. Nevertheless, he was quite influential in the music business and his songs – the best known of which are “Pancho andContinue reading “COLORADO GIRL (BY TOWNES VAN ZANDT)”
MOSE ALLISON
After recently writing about Leonard Cohen’s passing and some thoughts about the recent presidential election, it is appropriate that I should mention, too, the passing of a unique musical talent, Mose Allison, who died on November 15, 2016, four days after his 89th birthday. Although his work has been called too bluesy for jazz andContinue reading “MOSE ALLISON”
COLORADO SONGS
The natural beauty and the interesting people of Colorado have inspired many wonderful songs through the years. In this series of posts, we look at some of the best of these. The songs considered to date are: A Mile High in Denver, by Jimmy Buffett America the Beautiful The Ballad of Alferd Packer, by PhilContinue reading “COLORADO SONGS”
BOULDER SKIES (BY PURE PRAIRIE LEAGUE)
The fog on a London morning is not the same as the toxic haze of Beijing, and both are different from the the wide open vistas of Montana’s Big Sky Country. Songs like Paul Simon’s “Under African Skies” and Hoagy Carmichael’s “Ole Buttermilk Sky” evoke images of particular and distinct locales. The sky that isContinue reading “BOULDER SKIES (BY PURE PRAIRIE LEAGUE)”
Ralston Creek Review 