Decade: 1970-1979

Warren Zevon – Warren Zevon

Some of us are drawn to darker lights. I am one of them.  Your teenage dad tore through all of Kurt Vonnegut and Bukowski’s works, was hooked on Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange, and laughed hysterically through American Psycho.  However, It wasn’t until the last decade that I really discovered my mercurial, drunkard, hilarious, arrogant, obnoxious,… Continue reading Warren Zevon – Warren Zevon

XTC – Drums and Wires

“Hey Nigel!  Come here Nigel!”  Kids are weird.  Hell, we all are.  When your Uncles and I were younger, we used to call each other so many different names.  Some were obvious in their intentions to hurt and others were simply ridiculous.  For some reason, we always called your Uncle Mitchell…“Nigel.”  I know for fact… Continue reading XTC – Drums and Wires

Bill Withers – Just As I Am

Another soul favorite, Bill Withers takes on a different meaning to me than Sam Cooke.  Simply, whenever I hear Bill, I think of my dad, your grand dad.  I’m not even sure why as there really isn’t a direct correlation, just some minute similarities.  My dad came out of poverty from a single parent home… Continue reading Bill Withers – Just As I Am

Patti Smith – Horses

Fake it till you make it.  That could be one way of looking at it.  “If you will it, it is no dream” (The Big Lebowski’s Walter Sobchak re-quoting Theodore Herzl) could possibly be a better route of looking at what we want with our lives.  Patti Smith was raised in New Jersey but was… Continue reading Patti Smith – Horses

T. Rex – Electric Warrior

This album ignited my interest into a passion for record collecting.  Just about every one of my New Orleans core group of friends chose to go to law school after college.  I came pretty close but, fortunately, it wasn’t in the cards for me.  One of those friends, Mark, lived uptown on Valmont and Magazine… Continue reading T. Rex – Electric Warrior

Novos Baianos – Acabou Chorare

“If you’re going through hell, keep going.” My namesake Winston Churchill wasn’t around for Covid-19 but his message to the people during World War II certainly applied.  March 11, 2020 was 2 weeks before Hogs.  We had an incredible line-up, record ticket sales with 40,000 attendees expected, charitable donations were already at new highs and… Continue reading Novos Baianos – Acabou Chorare

Van Morrison – Tupelo Honey

Today, October 8th 2022, marks the 5th anniversary of your Kiki’s (my mom) passing. She was initially diagnosed with breast cancer when I was 17 years old.  She would go on to have one recurrence, a full mastectomy and 2 other original malignant tumors.  I knew her with cancer longer than I knew her without. … Continue reading Van Morrison – Tupelo Honey

Joni Mitchell – Blue

Blue is a perfect companion album.  A great companion to the aforementioned emotionally forward Roy Orbison album or even a personal companion in trying times.  From the album’s title to the iconic album cover, what you see is what you get.  Joni Mitchell paints an incisive picture of personal loss and loneliness. This is a… Continue reading Joni Mitchell – Blue