Trebling Developments

There are three main reasons that I play guitar.  Two of them are Gordon Lightfoot and The Moody Blues, respectively.  The most important reason is my dad.  As a child, I remember hearing and watching him play his 12-string guitar.  When he and his college friends/bandmates (including my uncle) reunited for a church fundraiser in 1989, I was mesmerized.  In family videos of that show, you can see this little kid in a bowl cut and a "Moos Brothers" sweatshirt (cow-based pun on the Blues Brothers) wandering around in front of the stage, staring up at dad & co.  Guess who. My dad has been a skilled finger-picker as long as I can remember.  He could really make that 12-string jangle as he played old folk tunes.  When I was 10, I decided that I wanted to start guitar lessons.  On the night of my first guitar lesson, my dad let me try out his guitar before we left.  It was enormous and I could barely get my arms around the body.  Over the years, I have developed a deep lo

Sometimes I am still startled by the rocket blast.  I've listened to this album hundreds of times.  I know it's coming.  And yet I still sometimes jump at the sudden white-noise cacophony.  An organ cries briefly through the roar, then a wall-of-sound vocal chant emerges, reaching a crescendo before the guitars and bass fade in to take over.  It's so delightfully late '60s. So begins "To Our Children's Children's Children" by the Moody Blues, one of my favorite albums.  From time to time, I will put it on, turn out all the lights, put aside any potential distractions (except maybe a glass of wine), and just let it wash over me.  I sing a number of tracks from the album to my toddler as lullabies. December of this year marks the 50th anniversary of "Children's Children"; the Moody Blues produced two albums in 1969 and this one is the second.*  Two albums in one year is a tall order, but the band and their producer, inspired

I don't know if this is a good idea.  I've decided to launch a music blog and this is my inaugural entry.  I mean, I know how badly the Internet needs more blogs fueled by arbitrary opinions - they are such a scarce resource - but I'm not sure anyone will read it.  And that's okay, I suppose.  I have a few reasons for undertaking this potentially doomed enterprise; attracting wide readership is not one of them. So why do this?  A valid question.  The first reason is that I like to write.  Sometimes I'm even good at it.  Furthermore, I like to write about things that matter to me.  Music is one of those things.  And sometimes I like to share things I write about things that matter to me.  This is not say there'll be any takers, but I hold out the appetizer tray nonetheless. Secondly, I feel that this blog will be easier to write than my other blog .  My other blog is about public policy and politics.  While I love these topics and have much to say on them, I