Paul McCartney: Target Field, Aug. 2, 2014

My wife, my parents and a number of friends and I went to Paul McCartney's show at Target Field in Minneapolis. It was amazing! Sir Paul did 39 songs (40, if you count the Jimi Hendrix tribute), and he was in spectacular form. His voice was great, his energy was high, you could tell the week of rest he'd had between shows rejuvenated him. I've never seen him dance or smile so much (and he's an entertainer, he does this kind of stuff regularly), and he actually wiggled his bottom at one point. He was feeling the love!

It's been FOREVER, and my apologies

Hi there, folks.

Like so many bloggers, I'm afraid I let my blog go dark for a long time there.

The reasons were many. First, I've just been so busy with real life. Honestly, since my job has me at a computer for so many hours each day, it gets difficult to want to sit in front of a monitor during my free time. Second, a lot of the music I've been listening to the last year or so has either been stuff I've blogged about, OR is new stuff that I haven't really digested. I try to be a reasoned opinion giver, having taken the time to let music settle with me before I give opinions on it.

The third reason isn't as fun or even as understandable, perhaps, but it was a factor in my taking a break: I was getting so many requests from people who just wanted links to the music I was discussing. As I've said since the beginning, I don't provide downloads. I strongly encourage everyone to buy music, or to go through sites where artists and companies get compensated when the music is enjoyed (be it Spotify, YouTube, etc.).

New acquisition: Beach Boys new vinyl

Howdy all.

It's been more than a month since my last post. Sorry about that. Between work, a week of vacation and a general malaise, I haven't been too inspired to hop on and blog about music. Hope everyone can understand that, as I'm sure we've all been there.

On Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving in the United States, when shopping becomes insane and people camp out in front of stores to take advantage of sales in preparation for Christmas), there was a Record Store Day event. I didn't go to this event, as I was visiting family at the time.

When I got back into town on Monday night, I stopped by the local indie music store to see if any goodies were left. As luck would have it, there were two great pieces still waiting to be picked up. One was a "Hallelujah" 45, with the A-Side as the original Leonard Cohen recording and the B-Side featuring Jeff Buckley's cover. Both versions are amazing, and having it as a new 45 RPM record is pretty groovy.

The other piece I picked up was actually the one I was most interested in (Rolling Stones, White Stripes, Bob Dylan and many others were very enticing ... but they'd already sold out). I was able to buy a copy of The Beach Boys' vinyl release of "Surfin' Safari" / "409" / "Isn't It Time" (the single version, not the album version) / "From There to Back Again."

It's pretty awesome! I thought I'd share my good fortune with you folks, as those of you who'd find this blog entry can appreciate my pleasure at snagging this item (and the "Hallelujah" piece, too).

OK, that's all I have for now. Hope to be back in the blogging swing, soon. I hope everyone out there is doing OK, and that your lives / health / jobs are all going well.

Spending some time with The Band

The Band ... Wow. Now THAT is a band. (Now is the time for a collective groan.)

I've been listening to The Band a lot lately. It's been time well spent!

I came to the group years ago (like, oh, around 2000) through the usual path ... I was getting into Bob Dylan, and I kept reading about The Basement Tapes and the group that Bob recorded them with. There were no Lennons or McCartneys in this group. No George Harrison, no Ringo Starr. No Clapton. No superstars.

The Band were musicians. Veterans of the road. Rhythm and blues, country and western, rockabilly, rock and roll, gospel ... Throw that in a blender, add some Walt Whitman, some Bach, some Canadian winter and a dash of Arkansas moonshine -- out comes The Band.

Album review: Giving Bob Dylan's "Tempest" a spin

Some artists seem forever chained to their pasts, no matter their efforts. Sure, there are revivals. There are periods of renaissance. There are reinventions. But all of those phases seem to go back to an original idea of what an artist is, or represents.

Bob Dylan is one such artist. His name is forever tied to folk and the folk tradition, roots music, the songs of the past. And with a new album out, called "Tempest," much of his history is being discussed by rock critics and fans ... and non-fans, too. And some of that history is seemingly embraced, as Bob performs material that evokes "old-time" music from long-gone eras when wax and radio were magic and spiritual and life-affirming and scary ... Music wasn't just streamed, picked and chosen, praised for hooks or breasts or being bizarre.

Dylan "Tempest" post is coming

Hi all,

I've got almost half of a blog entry finished on Bob Dylan's new "Tempest" album.

I've got my preamble written. All that's left is giving the album a listen and giving my thoughts in the comments area, as I've done with my past "live blogging" entries.

It's my hope to get that done tonight!

I'm definitely looking forward to giving the album a listen in its entirety. Should be very cool!

See you then.