Albums hold a special place in my heart. It’s a love affair that began when I was a wee lad and has continued unabated for nearly fifty years. What’s not to love about them? Okay, scratches and skipping needles. I’ll give you that. But outside of poor album care, there…
Category: Music
Is Artificial Intelligence Killing Creativity?
I have mixed feelings about artificial intelligence (AI). On one hand, it’s the cutting edge of technology, computers that can think, reason, and make decisions. There are amazing implications for how that can help to advance healthcare, science, and technology. But on the other hand, I’m concerned about the implications…
Fear Mongering and Art
I tend to shy away from politically-themed content. However, there’s a growing trend here in the U.S. where book banning and censorship of artistic self-expression is becoming the norm. Every day I read about another book title or another author’s works being pulled from library shelves. And it’s not just…
Remembering Jeff Beck [Music]
I’m embarrassed to admit, up until I was 19 or 20 years old, the only Jeff Beck song I knew was “Freeway Jam“, a great instrumental to listen to when cruising on the highway. However, I was lucky enough to stumble upon his solo album, Blow by Blow, in a…
A Music Moment – King Crimson [Music]
When it comes to experimental progressive music, there aren’t many groups that can compete with King Crimson. Over the decades they’ve blended everything from classical, jazz, and folk, to electronic, industrial, and new wave. They’ve incorporated African rhythms, post-punk, minimalism, and free improvisation. While they are classified as a rock…
Stimulating Your Creativity [Creativity]
Sometimes we can get into a rut and find it difficult to be creative. For example, I sometimes have the urge to write, but when I sit down at my keyboard I find there aren’t any words. I simply can’t get started. What I’ve learned is that I occasionally have…
Productive Procrastination [Creativity]
I recently stumbled upon a term I hadn’t heard before: Productive Procrastination. The basic definition is when someone is productive as a way to avoid doing some other productive endeavor. Weird, right? But I get it. I know I’m guilty of it myself. I’ve caught myself working on a blog…
Gift Ideas for Writers [Writing]
Buying gifts for writers can be easy. Most people simply buy us books or give us gift certificates to book stores, which is perfectly fine. I love buying books, supporting my fellow writers, and helping out local bookstores. Of course, that can also become repetitious and you may want to…
Another Music Moment – Jeff Beck [Music]
I’ve had a busy week and didn’t have time to work on all my projects, so for today I thought it would be fun to share another musician who both entertains and inspires me. Jeff Beck has a storied history as a guitarist. He played with the Yardbirds, the Jeff…
Music Moment – Little Boy Blues [Music]
For this Music Moment, I thought I’d share an instrumental song that’s always been a favorite of mine. Well, at least since high school. The song, “Little Boy Blues”, was written and performed by the Canadian rock trio, Triumph. It was the final song on their 1984 album, Thunder Seven….