Million Dollar Mistake
It was probably a drive toward democratization that game shows, aside from the ever more rare stalwarts such as “Jeopardy” started shying away from actual book knowledge and school smarts.…
Playlist 12-24-10
Normally a show before Christmas brings all holiday tunes, particularly one scheduled on Christmas Eve. But I wanted to note the death of Captain Beefheart, and the Christmastime anniversaries of…
Lotta ‘Little Drummer Boy’
The weird little duet by David Bowie and Bing Crosby, recorded for a Christmas special in 1977 and released as a single in 1982, has taken on a life of…
Remembering Captain Beefheart
Captain Beefheart’s music came to me through the curatorial services of Frank Zappa The purveyor of the unusual in his own work in the Mothers of Invention, his Bizarre label…
Playlist 12-17-10
This is getting to be a bad habit: Posting this set list later and later. Let’s blame the holidays, shall we? Started off Friday’s show with some Bill Withers and…
Attack of the Santas
It wasn’t the optimum day to kick around and trawl the pubs – the crowds in town for the holiday trappings was approaching overkill. But I realized I had a…
Christmas with the Waldos
One more story about my recent weekend visit to New York City: Stopping in to see the Christmas tour of Jesse Malin with Marah and others. I had vaguely marked…
Paulie’s Recent Splash
It’s been a fruitful season for Paul McCartney, who at 68 has been playing small newsmaking gigs on both sides of the ocean – at the Apollo and the 100…
Buying Back the Past
The bulge in the population represented by post-World War II baby boomers doesn’t just affect Social Security futures. It also affects rock ‘n’ roll. This was the rock generation, after…
Carrie Fisher Does ‘Wishful Drinking’
Carrie Fisher, who presents her “Wishful Drinking” special on HBO Sunday, says that indeed her mother, Debbie Reynolds has seen it. And? "Well, I’m out of the will" she deadpanned.…