Tag Archives: music

Of Note at the Convention: A Freer Shade of Free

Posted on August 20, 2024 by JMN

It did my hurt Texas heart a world of good to see Jason Isbell turn up and sing a good song in a classic tux and without a 50-gallon hat on his head. He was, after all, indoors. (I never … Continue reading →

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Are You Going to Savory Fare? Parsley, Turmeric, Tofu and Lime

Posted on February 26, 2024 by JMN

Remember me to one who waits there,She once was a server of mine. Love to Michelle and Phyllis in their respective states; to Raúl in Barcelona at the university bar; to the vendor near the Plaza de Cataluña who put … Continue reading →

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‘Poetry Doesn’t Need Music’

Posted on February 22, 2024 by JMN

Poetry doesn’t need music. All of its music is contained in print on the page.(PJ Harvey) People try to tell me I’m a poet and I say, No, I have music and rhythm to help me get my point across … Continue reading →

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A Drumbeat

Posted on July 28, 2023 by JMN

I can’t remember the journalist’s name (Jon Pareles?), but several years ago I read an article about James Brown’s “Funky Drummer.” In the recording, Brown puts the spotlight on his drummer Clyde Stubblefield, who plays a brief but memorable drum … Continue reading →

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‘Eat Bitterness’: Xi Jinping

Posted on June 7, 2023 by JMN

The ditches at the edge of the field were thick with poke, which I did like, even loved. The poison root of the poke grows down deep and snaggled like a mandrake.(Kathryn Nuernberger, from “A Sense of Belonging,” Poetry, May … Continue reading →

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Garabatos

Posted on August 1, 2022 by JMN

The Spanish word garabato (‘scrawl’) has a staccato pop to the ear, like a spate of rim shots. It evokes line and form in a night on the town, gadabout and roguish, flirting with all and sundry, living it up, … Continue reading →

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‘Business in Great Waters’

Posted on April 17, 2021 by JMN

I jotted on the fly several snatches of phraseology that resonated with me today as I watched Prince Philip’s live-streamed funeral service on the BBC. May what power that is deal graciously with those who mourn, and those who go … Continue reading →

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‘Bad Boy’ Harpsichordist

Posted on March 10, 2021 by JMN

Scott Ross moved to France when he was 12 years old. He studied harpsichord and organ at the Paris and Nice Conservatories, and in 1971 won the Bruges International Competition, in Belgium. Five years before dying of AIDS in 1982 … Continue reading →

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Language and Music

Posted on December 25, 2020 by JMN

“It takes a lifetime to learn shakuhachi. The earlier you start, the longer it takes.”(Japanese saying quoted by Zac Zinger on Adam Neely’s podcast. The shakuhachi is a bamboo flute.) I learned Spanish because I had to. From puberty forward … Continue reading →

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Friday Morning

Posted on September 4, 2020 by JMN

I’m struggling. My remote interlocutor in life of the mind is keeping me afloat insofar as having a rational dialog with someone. But that dialog is private. Of the muchness on my mind, I’m conflicted as to which of it … Continue reading →

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