Tag Archives: music

The Southpaw Violinist (Or, ChatGPT makes a mistake)

Posted on August 2, 2025 by Katherine Wikoff

When I asked ChatGPT for an image to illustrate “The Pianist’s Hands,” the short story I wrote with ChatGPT and posted earlier this week, I thought it was gorgeous and (for a few minutes) an “absolutely, breathtakingly PERFECT!!!” image to … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Creativity, Music, Technology, Writing with AI | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Marian Anderson’s 1939 Easter Concert

Posted on April 20, 2025 by Katherine Wikoff

When contralto Marian Anderson was denied an opportunity to sing at Constitution Hall in Washington, D. C., by the DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution, whom we never hear about anymore but who sadly were once very much in the … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Music, Popular culture | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Moonlight in Vermont

Posted on December 14, 2024 by Katherine Wikoff

Listening to this song tonight, which I’ve always liked, I suddenly realized that its verses are haikus I always sensed that its structure was different from most other songs, and I’ve also always found the lyrics evocatively poetic. But never … Continue reading →

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A Fun “Weird Al” Tribute to eBay

Posted on November 4, 2023 by Katherine Wikoff

Although this song appeared on “Weird Al” Yankovic’s 2003 album Poodle Hat, it was apparently not released as a single, nor was there ever an official music video made. “Weird Al” did perform this song at eBay Live! 2003, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Music, Popular culture | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Karma? (Or, what goes around comes around)

Posted on October 1, 2023 by Katherine Wikoff

Remember Rueben Kincaid, the Partridge Family’s manager? A while ago I read David Cassidy’s memoir (C’mon, Get Happy) and discovered that Dave Madden, the comedian and comic actor who played Rueben, was a really sweet, generous person. Among his good … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Life, Popular culture, Television | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

A chance encounter with “Tubular Bells”

Posted on March 16, 2022 by Katherine Wikoff

Heard this old song on the radio driving home today. It has literally been YEARS since I’ve heard it or even thought about it. The song, “Tubular Bells,” was released in 1973 and went on to be used as the … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, History, Media studies, Movies and film, Music, Popular culture | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Thoughts on Patti Smith

Posted on October 4, 2015 by Katherine Wikoff

Patti Smith was a little before my time. Definitely WAY outside the bounds of my Midwestern sensibilities by the time I became aware of her during my high school years. Smith was that punk performer, the one in New York who urinated onstage and … Continue reading →

Posted in Books and reading, Creativity, Music, Popular culture | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Northern Soul Project – Some Background (post #2)

Posted on August 8, 2014 by Katherine Wikoff

To recap: I stumbled across the term “Northern Soul” a week ago while trying to see if the Dusty Springfield part of the Pet Shop Boys’ “What Have I Done to Deserve This,” was actually one of her old songs.  … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Learning, Life, Movies and film, WPLongform (posts of 1000 words or longer) | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Lynyrd Skynyrd – 35 years later

Posted on October 21, 2012 by Katherine Wikoff

I just realized that yesterday was the 35th anniversary of the plane crash that killed three members of the Lynyrd Skynyrd band, including lead singer Ronnie Van Zant, and several members of their crew. High school dances are mostly DJ-powered … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies and film | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Happy birthday, Rod Temperton!

Posted on October 15, 2012 by Katherine Wikoff

Today is Rod Temperton’s 65th birthday, according to Wikipedia. For reasons I’m not completely sure of, I’ve always paid attention to songwriting credits.  Michael Jackson’s Off the Wall album had three really great songs written by someone named Rod Temperton: “Off … Continue reading →

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