Sometimes choices made turn out to be real duds. Witness, for example, the comment by the Emperor Franz Josef to Mozart about The Marriage o...

A point made in previous posts is that things that were acceptable in the past may today be unacceptable because of changes in society, out...

It is always an indication of age when a song that I know from first release is known to my kids as part of a retro soundtrack. An example ...

Change... To cause to be different, to transform. Change has come to America” President Obama said when elected. “If I can change,” Rocky...

In 1969, before the dissolution of the Beatles, John Lennon and Yoko Ono had formed the Plastic Ono Band , a supergroup which included John...

There has been discussion over the last few years as to the depiction of women in video clips on shows such as Rage, Video Hits and MTV. Th...

(First emailed 17.01.2009) “Do you know a song about houses made of ticky tacky?” my 15 year old Honourable Number Two son asked. “Little b...

I like Phil Collins, I like In The Air Tonight , but I love the video clip used in the Cadbury advertisement that utilises the song. The vid...

In March 1965 Bob Dylan released an album, Bringing It All Back Home , which contained the song Subterranean Homesick Blues . That song was...

Unless you’ve been living on Mars for the last 5 years you would know what YouTube is. For those who have been living on Mars, YouTube is a...

(First sent  29.11.2008) Never let it be said, dear readers, that this regular email does not strive, on occasions at least, to be topical...

Back when my daughter lived with me, I was invited to a 21st birthday party by one of her friends. My daughter, however, uninvited me on th...

Each generation has its own name and description: Lost Generation (1883–1900) Greatest Generation (1901–1924) Silent Generation (1925–1...

There is many a time that I have commented that the lyrics of Bob Dylan or Billy Joel should be taught in schools as poetry. No doubt many ...

In response to a request for some lyrics from Leonard Cohen, I present for your enjoyment the lyrics of Leonard Cohen's The Old Revolut...

I have previously mentioned the ability of country & western songs to both tell a story and deliver a life message in a 3 minute song. ...

Meanings in We Didn't Start The Fire : 1949: Harry Truman 1884-1972, 33rd President of the US, for the years 1945-1953. Became Pr...

Don't you just love country and western music? It's never complex, it tells a complete story in 3 minutes and it has a life lesson ...

About a hundred years ago when I was young, the Viet Nam War was current and conscription was in force for those who turned 20. Each 6 mont...

I have previously discussed whether music lyrics can and should be regarded as poetry, the bottom line being that some, but not all, would ...