American politics has been a tough business for a long time—ever since George Washington decided not to run for a third term, creating a battle between Vice President John Adams (who won) and Thomas Jefferson in 1796. Music has helped make and break political...

It never fails: I'm lost in the supermarket, searching for turmeric ginger tea, when the benign ocean of muzak that's been rolling through the store in soft waves suddenly pierces through my consciousness. Just like that I find myself singing under my breath to John...

Halloween turns my thoughts to the spooky, creepy music of the season. In my experience, there are really two types of what one might call spooky music: classical compositions and pop, or even “novelty,” songs. Let me take you down these rabbit holes. Maybe some of...

I’m not a person for whom the word “serendipity” yields feelings of excitement and curiosity. I’m a planner: I like to know what’s going to happen next and hold as dear the illusion that I know how things are going to turn out. So, one of the reluctantly learned...

I turned 62 a few weeks ago. The night before my birthday, while walking the dog, I realized that it has been 45 years—73 percent of my life—since Max Janowski of blessed memory took a chance on a 17-year-old kid and hired me for the bass section at the Central...