Thinking of Neil Young’s Alabama — I can’t hear the opening bars to “Out on the Weekend,” the first track on Neil Young’s 1972 album Harvest without flashing to images of lost weekends and a girl named Pam who thought long and hard about “big brass beds,” though none she ever shared with me. …

My favorite LP’s of the 70's — Not to let the title give too much away, but as I drift through the 1970’s again, remembering and realizing not only how many fabulous albums I bought, but just how many ground-breaking albums there were, I feel cheated, and will be cheating you, because I’ll leave out some great…

Through the joy, there’s still a “Worst” Best Album — “Becoming a father, having a child, being a parent.” You never get used to uttering those words, nor do I, at least, ever get tired of saying them. Last night, my wife and I were watching Raoul Walsh’s They Drive By Night, a film released in 1940, and as I…

Yes, you heard that right — I am not ashamed to say that my family and I were great and faithful patrons of K-Mart in those days before that mega-giant went bankrupt due to the Wal-Mart-ization of America. I suppose K-Mart’s idea of discount prices were a Double-A baseball team’s relationship to the majors. The old…

And making the ghost of Dick Clark born and proud — For those who’ve played the game so far, like Paul Combs, Steven Hale, and Kevin Alexander to name a few, what fun, right? Almost as much fun as being the guy who “ASSAULTED” poor Rudy on Staten Island the other day (he got arrested for 2nd-degree assault and spent 24…

Leaving the driving to someone — “Jonathan Richman: ‘You’re Crazy for Taking the Bus’ Jonathan was a believer in the new asceticism long before most musicians. On the face of it this is a characteristic commercial for taking the bus rather than the plane… It’s also an argument for doing something that traveling musicians…

No lounge will suffice in ‘94 — My second daughter was born in 1994, and some time later, we had a palm reader give both daughters’ hands a good look-see. For our oldest, the visionary said, “She’s wise beyond her years.” And for the younger, the woman dropped that little hand, looked up at us and almost…

Right, if you listen to Washed Out — “Call your friends, I’ll call mine Head out for a long ride Sun is coming out now It all feels right. Close my eyes Think about the old times. What’s it all about?” Those lyrics from Washed Out’s 2013 album Paracosm keep me sane and reflective whenever I hear them…

Of being so very happy — You should know before you invest much time in any new potential lover, that if they’re already seeing someone and go on the flirt in such a heavy handed way with you, nothing will be fair in love and heartache. Maybe you do know, but I sure as crap didn’t. …