Category: Music

Posted on

Brooks & Dunn – Neon Moon

Warning:  This song is a bit of an earwig.  I just want to share the delightful pain of that imaginary burrowing insect, although I suppose earwigs could apply to other things than songs.

I made reference to this song in my posting: My Musical Roots?, since then I have played this YouTube video about 20 times.  As mentioned,  back in the 90s, my pick-em-up radio had decided to only feed me AM stations, leaving me with nothing but country stations for music. I had experienced a double whammy I really do not need to get into here. At the time it seemed like they were playing this song at least once an hour. Talk about a crying in your beer song… does that still hold true if it is a dark ale instead of a Busch Light? Bud Light? Coors Light?  Cowboys and rednecks  like their light beers. I reckon, though, that sometimes a girl just needs to wallow in her nostalgia.

All that aside it is a great song, if you like country music.  This video has had 46 million views in the last two years.  Not bad for a song released in 1992.

Remember I warned you.

Subscribe to Curmudgeon Alley

Download as PDF

Posted on

My Musical Roots?         

A love of music is something that Señora and I share.  An important inflection point in our courtship story, Señora and the Curmudgeon, was our second date, an indoor Bluegrass music festival taking place in St. Louis that first winter of our romance.

Shared Musical Loves

Bluegrass seems to be a style of music that you either love or you look at the other person thinking, “WTF.”  Obviously, we both are fans.  Our other commonality in the realm of music is that we both have very eclectic taste, liking a wide array of musical styles.  Although, our favorite genres are folk music and a style of roots fusion music that is referred to as Americana.

 Musical Talent

One key musical difference between the two of us is Continue reading “My Musical Roots?         “

Download as PDF

Posted on

One Sexy Video | Paradise By The Dashboard Lights

I fell down the Meat Loaf YouTube rabbit hole.

Oh… I remember why.  I made a comment to someone (DFR), “as Meat Loaf once famously said, ‘two out of three ain’t bad.'” This lead me to look up the song on YouTube: Two Out Of Three Ain’t Bad I can’t hardly listen to this song without a tear or two coming to my eyes. But then again I have way too many ghosts of past relationships rattling around my psychic, soul, or however you want to express it.

More Than I Thought

Which made me wonder if Meat Loaf was still with us. No. He died in 2022 at 74, probably of complications of COVID.  To show my ignorance, I always thought of Meat Loaf as a one album wonder, Bat Out of Hell and a one film wonder, Rocky Horror Picture Show.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  He had a long career, both as a musician and as an actor of both film and theater.  He sold millions and millions of albums world wide.  His Bat Out of Hell alone sold 43 million, was certified platinum 14x, and spent almost a record of 522 weeks on the charts.

Paradise By The Dashboard Lights

I have listened to this song an unknowable number of times. It was and is a staple of rock radio.  However, I have never seen the video of him singing this classic with Ellen Foley, who is from St. Louis.  The video is more than a little sexy without being vulgar. The song by itself is just about a perfect encapsulation of the drama that is the relationship between men and women.  What is the conventional  wisdom? Women give sex to get love, men give love to get sex. As one my siblings commonly says, “true dat!”

The Video

And so it goes.

Subscribe to Curmudgeon Alley

Download as PDF

Posted on

Allegro’s “Season of the Heart” 2023 Holiday Concert

Señora – aka Robin – is down to singing in only two choirs, the Allegro Choir which is for persons  50 years and older and her hospice choir.  She sang for 22 years with the choir at the Center for Spiritual Living until its director became too old to lead them and they discontinued it. The Allegro choir has grown to over a 100 souls.

This is Allegro’s holiday concert. It includes a mixture of songs from various traditions… and many familiar tunes. Señora is sitting down to the left of the piano in a green blouse. Ain’t she prutteee.

Enjoy.

Download as PDF

Posted on

Greg Jacobs – Music Videos

From his Bio on his website:

“As part of a group of “red dirt” musicians who migrated to Stillwater in the late 1970’s – a rag-tag outfit that includes Jimmy LaFave, Tom Skinner, Bob Childers and the Red Dirt Rangers – singer/songwriter Greg Jacobs helped set the standard for great Okie songwriting. His latest CD, “Encore” serves as proof this standard is still alive and well.”

Greg, Randy Pease, and Grammy nominated John Fullbright were gracious enough to do a house concert at our abode here in Chesterfield 10 or so years ago.  After they completed their regular set, John started playing Robin’s 100 year old Mason & Hamlin piano and wowed everybody again.

So many of the images he uses in his music videos remind me of being in Checotah, Oklahoma at my grandmother’s house in the 50s and 60s.  Greg is a long time resident of Checotah where he taught history in the high school.  One of his students was Carrie Underwood. It always amazes me how many really talented musicians never make the big show.

A link to Greg’s website is here: Greg Jacobs’ website

Greg’s YouTube channel

Download as PDF

Posted on

YouTube Video: Pete Morton at The Focal Point

Pete Morton is one of Señora‘s and mine favorite folk singers.  He is British and gets over to the States only on rare occasions, and fortunately for us that is frequently at the Focal Point. We have seen him three times. Señora may be up to five times now as she “discovered” Pete before we were the hot item that we are now.

Pete made me a hero a few years back. I had taken a picture of him and Señora together when he was playing a house concert here in St. Louis.  I sent to him, in England, an 8×10 copy of the photo, along with money for postage, and asked him to autograph it as I wanted it for a Christmas present for my wife, the esteemed Señora.  He was gracious enough to do so.

Señora and I have this fantasy about going to England and seeing him in a club there. Some day.

Enjoy.  We did.

Señora who is Jewish with more of a Chicago accent has this thing about doing accents.  She has several that she does.  Among them are New York Jew and Southern. I will admit, as a Southerner,  her Southern accents sets my teeth on edge a bit, but then there are more than a few actors  who do Southern accents that do the same.

One of her accents is British. Once when Pete was at the Focal Point she went up to talk to him after the concert and dropped into her British accent.

Pete remarked to her in his natural accent, “Are you mocking me?”

Señora replied in her Señora British accent, “No, I’m not mocking you.”

Fortunately, Pete has a sense of humor.

And so it goes.

Download as PDF