Back on July 20, 2022, I wrote about a Dallas Winds Fourth of July concert. We played a medley of armed service anthems but stiffed the recently created Space Force. Did the Space Force, created in 2019, even have an anthem? At that time there was only an interim anthem, penned by John Philip Sousa. The Space Force Anthem The Sousa march is called The Invincible Eagle. Sousa wrote it in 1901 for the Pan-American Exposition, held in Buffalo, New…
I want to talk about the ways music becomes the villain in some movies. In my last post I talked about music that monsters, witches, and demons dance to. But you know the kind of “villain” music I mean. After all, what is the 1960 movie Psycho without the screeching violins of the shower scene? How could Darth Vader make an entrance without John Williams’ Imperial March? (Although Williams didn’t introduce that character theme until The Empire Strikes Back). Simply…
My friend, Deb, is part of the mystery writers group that blogs as Jungle Red Writers. It was her turn at bat last week. She turned to me, searching for ideas. We brainstormed our way through Halloween décor, pumpkin-centric agriculture, and spice cake recipes. At last, I suggested she investigate Halloween music and the tradition of the monster’s ball. She wasn’t sure what I was talking about. So I dragged Camille Saint-Saëns, Modest Mussorgsky, and Edvard Grieg into the conversation….
By Jan S. Gephardt Here in the United States, we recently celebrated Thanksgiving. As I noted in my last post, it’s supposed to be a time to reflect upon the blessings in our lives and be grateful. My purpose today is to make the point that gratitude isn’t only for one day a year. It’s better understood as a lifestyle. It’s my lived experience that when one looks at the world with gratefulness, it’s easier to see the blessings that…
By G. S. Norwood In my novelette, Deep Ellum Blues, rising blues guitar player Mudcat Randall performs a song called Deep Ellum Blues as one of his encores. He dedicates it to Ms. Eddy Weekes, who embodies the spirit of this old Dallas neighborhood, at least for him. But what, exactly is the song, Deep Ellum Blues? “The song isn’t really the blues at all, but an up-tempo string band number,” according to Alan Govenar and Jay Brakefield, in their…