Thunderbolt

It’s not my desire to let a month pass between entries. Quite the contrary, I'm more inspired to write this year than I have been since I lost the desire in 2017. It's just with the holidays, then recovering from the holidays, and then the wife and I went to Maui to celebrate our 30th, and then recovering from Maui. You get the idea. Moreover, I've been working on a couple of novels. With the minimal hours I find to write, the books take priority. I'll get on a schedule of writing on the weekends so I can put out something once a week - I hope. Back to the tape collection! Column 1, Row 4: The Replacements Pleased to Meet Me Pleased to Meet Me was released in 1987, the same year the world was caught up in U2 mania. It was the Replacements second album for the major label, Sire. By that time, they had released four albums (three on independent Twin/Tone), none of which was a commercial success. The Replacements did receive critical acclaim, ...

After a slight delay (more like a hiatus), we're back. Let's get right to it, shall we? Column 1, Row 3: Cyndi Lauper She's So Unusual Cyndi Lauper is a Grammy Award, Tony Award, Emmy Award winning singer, songwriter and actress who, despite her many accolades, will likely be best known for her upbeat, female positive anthem, "Girls Just Want to Have Fun." Born in Brooklyn, raised in Queens, she began writing songs at an early age. As a teenager in the 60s, she was unafraid to express her individuality with different hair colors and clothing styles that didn't conform to what her peers wore. Considered an outsider and bullied by classmates, she was expelled from high school at 17 and left home soon thereafter. In the 70s, after getting her GED, she tried art school in Vermont, worked odd jobs to support herself, but eventually returned to New York and began performing in cover bands. By the end of the decade, frustrated by only singing covers, and worried that...