Category Archives: music+verse

rolling top hits

Rhino Records made a series of CDs of Billboard Top Ten songs for various years. I wonder, if you summed every sequence of 52 consecutive weeks, how many songs would show in those Rolling Top Tens that never made a … Continue reading

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a question of aspect

The refrain of P. F. Sloan’s song “Let Me Be” (recorded by the Turtles) concludes, I am what I am and that’s all I ever can be. Defiance or fatalism?

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more bent frets

Some simplified meantone guitars (here showing only the first octave): pentatonic (GDAEB); seven naturals; three flats and two sharps; six flats and six sharps.

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31 frets

Here is the neck of a guitar that I’d like to have made someday, if I should ever develop the dexterity to make it worthwhile. The blue stripes show where standard frets would be, for comparison. The tuning is my … Continue reading

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a wave in the air

“Radar Love” (1973) is the biggest hit of the Dutch band Golden Earring. Some folks strongly prefer a cover (1989) by White Lion. I don’t; is there a reason for that, other than my notorious conservatism? White Lion’s version fills … Continue reading

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intertwingled

Simon & Garfunkel came up in conversation, and I mentally listed their alba: Wednesday Morning 3AM, Sounds of Silence, Bookends, Bridge Over Troubled Water. Wait, aren’t there five? I was sure there are five . . . . . The other one came to … Continue reading

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musical generations

I’ve had this conversation more than once. I’m chatting with a cashier half my age. A song circa 1967 is in the background. Me: “Is that song familiar to you?” Cashier: “Um, yeah.” Me: “When I was your age, if … Continue reading

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