Category: Music
R.I.P. Jim Steinman
Songwriter Jim Steinman, best known for writing the Bat Out of Hell album for Meat Loaf, a number of hits for other singers, and a couple of musicals, died last week. He was 73 and had been ill for some time, ultimately succumbing to kidney failure. It took me a few days to figure out what to say about him. I think the best approach is to just tell my story of discovering and experiencing his work.
Rockin’ the Comics
So I was listening to Spotify, and up comes “Precious” by the Pretenders. I had never really paid much attention to the lyrics, so you can imagine my surprise when, finally, after 41 years, I heard Chrissie Hynde’s shout-out to Howard the Duck. This reminded me of a collection of comic-themed songs I had put together in 2005, and here we are.
“When in Doubt, Do Something.” Harry Chapin in Recent Media
Recently, our own Greg Hatcher sent me a link to a new documentary about Harry Chapin; when I mentioned that I’d seen it, he suggested a review, and when I mentioned that there are also a couple of new books out, he suggested a round-up review. See, Greg is smarter than me and he thinks of things like this. So here we go.
Floyd The Slayer
A single shot from Buffy and a Pink Floyd album cover are they meant to be the same or not?
They’re Maniaks, Maniaks at Your Door!
I would like to follow my title by saying “and you’re laughing like you’ve never laughed before!” but having read the Maniaks’ three Showcase tryout issues, I wasn’t. I doubt …
It’s a Musical!
If I were capable of feeling shame, this might be my guilty pleasure, but there’s no guilt involved. I like musicals. It’s just a damn shame that I can’t sing or dance, because I’d love to be in musical theater. I often listen to musicals at work, sometimes old classics like Camelot or Chicago, sometimes more obscure works like Threepenny Opera, or recent shows like Something Rotten, and every so often I go looking for stuff I didn’t know existed. Some of it is on the odd side.