Twelve years ago this week my sister Madelaine passed away, long before there was a Sibling’s Day. James Taylor wrote the moving song ‘Enough To Be On Your Way’ as a lamentation for his late brother, Alex. My love for my sister is bigger than any pop song. But in the real world, what comes through the car radio is the soundtrack of our lives.
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290: Becca Kristovsky, ‘Bye Bye Baby Blues’
We buried Becca yesterday, but she’s still singing. With a glint in her eye. She’s singing those bye bye baby blues.
Continue reading...286: Joni Mitchell, ‘The Circle Game’
My granddaughter Nogah has me wrapped around her finger, and she knows it. So when she asked me to write a Song of The Week for her high school graduation, it was a no-brainer.
Continue reading...241: John Sebastian, ‘Welcome Back’
Big week coming up for me. Bigger than winning a million dollars in the lottery. Bigger than flying to the moon. Bigger than anything.
Continue reading...046: James Taylor, ‘Never Die Young’
“Never Die Young”, for me, is the multifocal prism through which I squint at the golden days of my youth. It contains all the love and pain and hopes and disappointments and optimism and disillusionment that my hoodlum friends and I have traversed, like all golden boys grown old. But we were fortunate enough to be children of a very special time.
Continue reading...083: Ezio Pinza, ‘Some Enchanted Evening’ (“South Pacific”)
Several regular readers of SoTW were gracious enough to write and ask why there were no postings for the last two weeks. The reason is that I went to the Old Country to bury my mother. I’m back, and I can’t say it’s easy to talk about music. I’m in a very dark and depressed place, as those of you who have been through this will understand, with no taste for mirth or fun or entertainment. Not even for music.
But in the five days since I’ve returned from the proscribed mourning period, I’ve been reluctantly thrown back into the Musical mode.
In September, I joined the Light Opera Group of the Negev for their annual production, which this year is Rogers & Hammerstein’s “South Pacific“. I’ll be playing Emile de Becque, the male lead…
066: Rickie Lee Jones, ‘Skeletons’
I had the good fortune last week to attend the Red Sea Jazz Festival in Eilat as a member of the press, representing the Jerusalem Report. It was my first formal journalism gig in 40...
Continue reading...SoTW 16: Bob Dylan, ‘Percy’s Song’
A real good thing happened to a real good friend this week. Neal Hendel was appointed to the Supreme Court here in Israel. It’s a little hard for me to digest. I don’t know a...
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