Music

I’ve reached an age.  If you haven’t you will, and if you have, you’ll know what I’m talking about.  A few days ago, I walked into a restaurant and saw what was probably a middle-school student wearing a band t-shirt from my youth: The Cranberries.  I was immediately hit with the lyrics from their September 1994 (my sophomore year had just started) hit &ld

The Weight from the Canadian-American rock group The Band is probably their best-known song.  Its lyrics evoke feelings of burdens, responsibility, and interconnectedness of community obligations.  In times of need, the Federal Reserve can counteract negative conditions in the economy as it did in the Great Financial Crisis and the economic challenges America faced during the Covid-19

Breakup songs that make their way into pop culture have a way of staying relevant by transcending time and touching the hearts of generations.  Who can listen to Etta James sing “I’d Rather Go Blind” and not feel the pain of losing the one you love?  Who can resist singing along with the Righteous Brothers whe

Philadelphia is a significant city in American history.  Delegates from 12 of the 13 original colonies met as there as the First Continental Congress on September 5, 1774, for a meeting which lasted until October.  Fast forward nearly two centuries and American Bandstand (AB) premiered there in March 1952.

America’s Electro-Harmonix and its sister company in Russia, Sovtek, have manufactured one of the most popular guitar pedals ever: the Big Muff Pi. This equipment offered three coveted characteristics to artists: reliability, a distinct sound, and relatively low cost. In the 1970s, David Gilmour of Pink Floyd used it on two albums: Animals and The Wall.

Surreal might best describe the feeling Mickey Newbury describes in his 1967 song “Just Dropped In.”  The song has been recorded by a lot of artists, suggesting what a fabulous song it really is.

In the late 1970s, Johnny Paycheck released his iconic song, "Take This Job and Shove It," resonating with workers back then who felt trapped and dissatisfied in their employment.  Fast forward to today, and the dynamics of the job market have undergone a significant transformation.  With recent shifts in the economy, we find ourselves needing to change the tune of Paycheck&

Unsure if we could use the name of a Beatles song as a title for a note to our audience, Atlas went with Doo-doo-doo-doo, but make no mistake, here comes the sun.  Our planet’s original energy source is spewing solar winds our direction and a second round of them could be arriving today!  Just last week scientists at NASA’s Solar Dynamic Observatory spotted a coronal hole

Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. is the first album released by Simon and Garfunkel.  The Sound of Silence is the last track on side one.  This hit song is about the inability of people to communicate and all the difficulties that accompany it.  America is facing such an episode now with our central bank.

Music has a magic to it.  Just the other day a young man was practicing the trumpet in a park near my home.  Mind you, he was practicing and miles from Mr. Davis, but the blare of his brass mellowed the moment as the sun was setting.  For me, it was as if everything was all right.