RichC | March 21, 2020
The painting projects continue without a need to rush or complete anything quickly. Finished the ceiling paint, some patching and trim area and “might” paint the first coat of paint that Brenda has picked on Saturday – “Bermuda Sand” (which is more yellow than the pink sand color that comes to mind – see below). […]
RichC | March 16, 2020
Back to the 70s for this week’s music pick… 1977 the year of my high school graduation to be more precise. While trying to sooth my soul last week after the coronavirus news and stock market crash I tried to relax by listening to SiriusXm “The Bridge” and felt my blood pressure drop a little […]
RichC | March 9, 2020
There has always been a part of me that enjoyed looking at the night sky … perhaps it is the “want-to-be” sailor in me or just growing up with space exploration? Studying the night sky really was never a passion until Katelyn took an interest in space (Space Camp, NASA Sharp, Astronomy as a hobby) […]
RichC | January 30, 2020
Encore has battery power again, Alleluia! After fiddling around with dying and dead batteries on the boat for the past year, I finally broke down and yanked out the 3 deep cycle AGM 105 Amp Hour batteries. I did a little rewiring and strapped down 2 new DEKA-made batteries this past weekend ($253 ea). The […]
RichC | January 20, 2020
More than a few of us have contemplated just what it would take to see as many U.S. National Parks in our lifetime (and Canadian National Parks for me). Likely, very few of us will accomplish the lofty ambition, but then as I recently mentioned to my daughter who enjoys tying visits and hikes in […]
RichC | January 6, 2020
Likely most who grew up listening to music in the 1970s remember the late Warren Zevon and his Excitable Boy album. The first song that comes to my mind is Werewolves of London (sharing on this decades first Music Monday post below) … but some may remember Lawyers, Guns and Money as well? I was […]
RichC | December 30, 2019
Here’s a #7 hit in 1977 (which has me thinking of American Top 40 and Casey Kasem) way back in the year I graduated high school. The song was “I Go Crazy” song by Paul Davis, who “looks like one of the Allman Brothers” as the late Ricky Nelson comments at the beginning of the […]
RichC | December 23, 2019
Pre-posting this Music Monday post a bit early since Brenda’s sister and her family will be visiting on their way to Cleveland from Atlanta. We always look forward to seeing Ann and Gary with their two girls Jessica and Sarah; it give us a chance to catch up on their life (Brenda grills the girls […]
RichC | October 28, 2019
In keeping with the vacation post of the last few days, here’s one more leftover that stuck with me: The movie and theme song for, An Officer and a Gentleman (1982). The song is Up Where We Belong written by Jack Nitzsche, Buffy Sanite-Marie and Will Jennings and was recorded by Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes […]
RichC | October 7, 2019
While listening to SiriusXM last week, I heard Aerosmith and Sweet Emotion that triggered high school memories for me (and another 1970 song from Music Monday). I was never an Aerosmith fan or listener of hard rock and roll music, but it was the music of many of my peers and like most transplanted high […]
RichC | October 4, 2019
Last week, Amazon authorized my invitation and gave me a promo code for the Echo Auto Alexa device for the car (it was a long wait, but they did discount to $24.99 for invitation holders). For the passed several months I’ve been using an Echo Input (no speaker) in my BMW X5 35d in an […]
RichC | September 30, 2019
One has to appreciate just how easy it is to get a wide selection of music nowadays, whether it is Pandora, Spotify, SiriusXM, Apple, Amazon or Google Music. All stream great content and wide selections … not to mention the 1000s of streaming radio services. It it a huge change from the era of bootleg […]
RichC | July 29, 2019
There are few female actress/singers as internationally admired by young and old, male or female than Olivia Newton-John in the 1970s. I don’t think there was anyone on the planet that did not enjoy her acting and music … or if you were a young boy in those day, have a crush on her. She […]
RichC | June 24, 2019
From an elementary school music teacher to international fame and success … Sheryl Crow lives the life most aspiring actors and musicians ambitiously dream to see. Like most Americans who enjoy the “small town girl making it big” story, I love seeing people in this country achieve the American Dream; there is something special about […]
RichC | May 27, 2019
When I mention 1970’s music to younger generations, I sense they assume electric guitar oriented rock and roll (which it often is) … but a large percentage of what we listened to was actually “mellow” soft rock (an overused term). The group America is an excellent example of this “mellow” sound for Music Monday … and […]
RichC | May 20, 2019
Whenever I hear the Doobie Brothers, I can’t help but think about being back in high school and listening to my high school pep band at basketball games (while I was behind the basket shooting photos for the paper). Several songs were regularly played as I recall … China Grove, Listen to the Music and […]
RichC | May 13, 2019
Having posted songs from the Allman Brothers Band and Gregg Allman a few times before, it was surprising not to have included a Music Monday “Ramblin’ Man” post? So instead of a vinyl single to mp3 (recorded 1972 – release 1973), how about a live YouTube live video from November of 1972 at Hofstra University […]
RichC | April 15, 2019
Since I drifted to the 1960s for Music Monday last week, why not stay in that decade for one more week? Spring is now definitely here in Ohio and we have had several “beautiful mornings” … even though today is a shockingly cold (37 degrees) “taxday.” With that introduction, how about “A Beautiful Morning” written […]
RichC | March 28, 2019
A John Cougar Mellencamp post a couple weeks ago had me remembering “my” small town of Sidney, Ohio and four of my high school friends from the late 1970s, hence the Throwback Thursday #TBT. I mentioned the Mellencamp Music Monday post to my friend Jeff a couple days later and the tie-in with Sidney (see […]
RichC | March 18, 2019
Here’s an Eric Carmen song (Make Me Lose Control – 1988) for Music Monday with a personal connection based on where we lived in the 1980s. Brenda and I were talking about my blog and the fact that I include music with the occasionally a memory that it triggers. She wondered if I included Eric […]
RichC | March 11, 2019
Surprised even myself that I’ve not made a Music Monday post highlighting music from John Cougar Mellencamp since my parents square danced in the 1990s with his mother and father, Marilyn and Richard.
RichC | March 4, 2019
It is odd that the band Loggins and Messina has not been highlighted, for either a Music Monday post or with other bands. A quick search did not turn up a mention of Kenny Loggins as a solo artist or even Jim Messina in his previous band. Hm, I’m slipping in having missed including them; […]
RichC | February 25, 2019
Average White Band performing in 2013 – Wikimedia Highlighting this band seems a bit out of my character for Music Monday (except for being 1970’s music), but hearing “Pick Up The Pieces” by the Average White Band in the car on SiriusXM triggered a good memory. My Ohio Northern University roommate Jerry Moody was a […]
RichC | January 14, 2019
If there is one thing that will keep me blogging and archiving, it will be my granddaughter Annalyn; I can’t help myself in smiling and grinning when receiving a video of her singing “Baby Shark doo doo doo doo doo” to Bompa (below). Hard to not want to give her a big hug, although our […]
RichC | January 7, 2019
After years of posting what I suspect are now considered “oldies” for Music Monday posts, I’ll at least start 2019 with a change. The Christmas season was a chance to listen to holiday music performed by a variety of different artists, and as I have in the past, enjoyed songs by almost all contemporary country […]
RichC | December 10, 2018
Digging back into the archives to unpack a few outdoor Christmas decorations had me remembering my high school friend Charlie and when we were taking the ‘fiberpile’ out sailing in cold weather …when there was still ice on the lake. Those old days once again reminded me of the music we would listen to on […]
RichC | November 10, 2018
It has been 41 years since Fleetwood Mac released their ginormous selling album called Rumours which was a must have by college students like me in the late 1970s (45 million copies of Rumours has been sold). Brenda and I attended a Rumours of Fleetwood Mac concert marking the 40 years milestone this past week […]
RichC | October 29, 2018
With Rumours of Fleetwood Mac coming to Cincinnati, it is time to get in the mood by adding another one of their live YouTube hits to the blog. One wonders how long music will continue to be available on YouTube, although just as with air-play radio for decades, it is still a way for musicians […]
RichC | August 27, 2018
With a bit of rain this past week, it was appropriate to listen to some "mellow music" on The Bridge channel on the SiriusXM iPhone app. Rain you say? Last Thursday was the wettest August day ever and the second wettest day ever for Cincinnati. A whopping 5.02 inches of rain was recorded at the […]
RichC | December 25, 2017
While reading about the Winter Solstice, songs we call “carols” were not originally what come to mind today. I Saw Three Ships (carol – written in 1410) The first songs/carols in Europe were not Christmas Carols, they were pagan songs sung while dancing around stone circles on the shortest day of the year – […]
RichC | December 11, 2017
While getting my haircut last week, the conversation of holiday themed entertainment was being discussed. The stylist asked me if I had seen the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Brenda and I had not, but I know it is something we would enjoy, especially Brenda with her classical violin background. I may check our schedule as they will […]
RichC | November 20, 2017
The advantage of Fox Business being on in the background most of my day is that "some" older hosts slip in music during commercial breaks. Varney & Co played a few seconds of an old favorite, Gordon Lightfoot on his birthday last week; it is hard to believe this Canadian singer-songwriter turned 78 79. Here […]
RichC | November 13, 2017
While posting something newer on last week’s Music Monday blog post, I wanted to include For a Dancer from Jackson Browne‘s 1974 Late for the Sky album … but it was once again from the 1970s. So this week I’ll post from Browne again, but return to something older. Enjoy. Jackson Browne | […]
RichC | October 25, 2017
Although Fats Domino was before my time, I do know my parents and grandparents played his music … such as “Ain’t That A Shame” and “Blueberry Hill.” He died Tuesday and was 89. Most think of him as a 200 pound 5-feet-5 big smiling guy with a flattop haircut as seen on his album covers. […]
RichC | October 18, 2017
It looks like “old” Jimmy Buffett fans will be treated to some new OLD music on November 17th? A few years ago, when legendary Nashville producer Buzz Cason sold his recording studio, there was some cleaning up to do. That is when Jimmy learned that they had found a sizeable collection of 1⁄4-inch tapes that […]
RichC | October 16, 2017
This past week the "Years Ago on this Day" center column of My Desultory Blog I noticed a Nicki Bluhm and the Gramblers post from October 2014. The post was their first video after they moved from a "van" (aka: Van Sessions) to a larger bus. It was a fun "from the road" Brewer and […]
RichC | September 4, 2017
A new music/musician discovery for me this past week thanks to social networking. I’m not exactly sure why I first listened to Lana White, but enjoyed the song and the sound … so checked out more. After a brief exchange on Twitter with her self-promoting and including a Spotify link to her albums, I ended […]
RichC | August 8, 2017
Glen Campbell, one of my all time favorite musicians from my earliest memories has passed away. So thankful we still have his mountains of music. It is with the heaviest of hearts that we announce the passing of our beloved husband, father, grandfather, and legendary singer and guitarist, Glen Travis Campbell, at the age of […]
RichC | July 3, 2017
When it comes to music, I’ve always been a James Taylor fan and have posted a few times about him. This past weekend I ran across a YouTube clip from The Late Show with Stephen Colbert from a year or so ago that had me laughing (video below). The skit was about James Taylor writing […]
RichC | June 19, 2017
With summer almost here, it is time for some warm weather feel good music and one such song is Steve Winwood‘s Back In The High Life Again song from 1986. I didn’t know it, but James Taylor actually sang harmonizing vocals on this single that went to #1 in Adult Contemporary music and 13 on […]
RichC | May 28, 2017
The news on Saturday was depressing as that it was announced Gregg Allman passed away at 69 … I was just commenting about a few of my Music Monday posts that included Coyotus Maximus (his self-described nickname) and the Allman Brothers Band since our politics did not mesh. A talented and musically influential force not just for […]
RichC | May 22, 2017
“Hey, Mr. Tambourine man, play a song for me …” was a Folk-Rock or Jangle-Rock song from the 1960s … and there isn’t any mistaking the “jingle jangle” sound. As many have noted over the years, the drug inspired lyrics are part and parcel of the LSD experimental culture in that era. The song Mr. Tambourine Man […]
RichC | May 8, 2017
Who doesn’t smile when seeing their nine week old granddaughter smiling at you … or the camera? I couldn’t help but share this photo during a FaceTime call with Katelyn. It sure makes me SMILE! And of course it is a Music Monday and a perfect day to post a then and now photo of […]
RichC | April 10, 2017
While listening to background music this past weekend (working on taxes), it became an easy decision post something on music. Next … decide which group and song to include without repeating something mentioned before on My Desultory Blog? How about Three Dog Night??? The rock band was not necessarily in my record (or cassette tape) […]
RichC | April 3, 2017
Most recognize the late Hawaii musician Israel Kamakawiwo’ole for his famous recording of "Somewhere over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World" medley, but while listening to a few of his "Live" appearances this past weekend, realized I enjoyed his traditional music and a recording of "I’ll Be There" almost as much. Kamakawiwo’ole’s career and story is […]
RichC | March 27, 2017
What do you get when you mix 1960s space history, some classic 1972 Elton John music and a twist of Bluegrass flair? Rocket Man with banjos and country harmony! Good stuff.
RichC | March 6, 2017
It seems like I’ve been stuck listening to music from the 1970s (and 60s) 90% of the time for quite a while. So in an attempt to move forward and out of my comfort zone a bit, here’s a mellow Indie song from the late 1980s — Yo La Tengo‘s New Wave Hot Dogs album […]
RichC | February 27, 2017
The Heinz Ketchup commercial from when I was a teen popped in to my head the other day … or at least the Carly Simon music part of it did. According the the Youtube clip (below), it aired in 1979 and I realized that not many born after that time would understand the “anticipation” of […]
RichC | February 13, 2017
A lousy, but socially needed, "Music Monday" message: While eating lunch at Wendy’s over the weekend, I notice a father and his young son spending time together for lunch as well. "Nice," I thought … until the all to often happened. The dad’s attention was drawn to his cellphone … to the point he gave […]
RichC | February 8, 2017
Nicki Bluhm continues her image as someone who fit better in the 1960s and 70s (a time before she was born), than someone rising in popularity nowadays. I’ve enjoyed her music, and Van Sessions with The Gramblers, from the beginning and continue to appreciate her talent … and love the sound. This new folk music […]
RichC | January 21, 2017
Those who have been blogging for a while learn to monitor their viewership. We’d like to know what kind of traffic is hitting the servers and often looking at the breakdown as to what generates interest and ad clicks. In the early days, a "hit counter" was sufficient, but as country music artist Loretta Lynn […]
RichC | January 9, 2017
After an episode with excessive ringing and noise in my good ear last month, reminiscent of when I lost most of the hearing in my right ear, I have appreciated things getting back to “my” normal this month. Admittedly it is frightening to think I might lose what is left of my hearing … even […]
RichC | January 2, 2017
With all the music posts and comments through the years on MyDesultoryBlog, it is surprising The Carpenters were not mentioned. As a teen in the 1970s, I thought Karen Carpenter’s voice was vocally near perfect (also because a girl I liked listened to them too). Hey, I think even my parents enjoyed the music? I […]
RichC | October 31, 2016
Time for a forgotten classic from my teenage music listening years. Heard this while switching to music in the car this week (burned out on political news) and thought … whatever happened to Andy Kim or Baron Longfellow… or how about his birth name, Andy Youakim? A lot I didn’t remember… he co-wrote “Sugar, Sugar” […]
RichC | October 14, 2016
In keeping with my monthly habit of sharing music, these last two months I’ve listened to more Allman Brothers Band than usual … although there is at least one song from them in every Pandora set! Likely the attention was due to Gregg Allman having a "medical scare" and dropping his tour dates at the […]
RichC | September 17, 2016
The rock band Sugar Ray was not exactly from my era (founded the year my daughter was born), but that doesn’t mean listening to Fly is not enjoyable or appreciated. I’m trying to hang on to what is left of summer weather with this song … but not happy about the shorter and shorter days. […]
RichC | August 23, 2016
While “looking up” and relaxing in the pool on a near perfect August 2016 weekend, the clear blue sky and beautiful white clouds had me appreciating life. If I would not have just posted the Joni Mitchell song “Both Sides, Now” (aka: Clouds), I would have included it with these photos … oh, why not: MP3 […]
RichC | August 15, 2016
We enjoyed a relatively relaxing weekend marking Brenda’s birthday with her mom and ended up sifting through a few old photos while reminiscing. It was fun looking at cute pics of my wife and her sisters and brother while growing up. I think Mom Howard enjoy it too. I’ll include couple of them above as […]
RichC | August 8, 2016
As has become a habit, I’ll continue to highlight a song or two that appeals to me … this time it is another recording from the 70s: The Pretender the title song from the 1976 album with the same name. Likely it has been heard by all who follow popular music and talented songwriters/performers like […]
RichC | July 29, 2016
It has been a while since I’ve seen one of these, but once I figured out what it was, the memory of Jerusalem Elementary School and Mrs. Fell came rushing back. I still remember her taped up wooden paddle as it slammed intimidatingly on the the desks at the front of the class in order […]
