Mike Pell's Blog (1,464)

I had been thinking about doing this Series for a long time, and since nothing is a given, I'd better do it while I can.

Too many leave us unexpectedly, and besides, We May Never Pass This Way Again!

When I was a kid I always felt bad for the Old…

With the New Year, for many it is a time of looking ahead and looking back on Life.

Things we did right, things we did wrong, and things we will change and improve on.

This will be a larger endeavor, covering the Cycle Of Life.…

Finishing up with our Odds & Ends, something the late Scott McKenzie, of San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Flowers in Your Hair) fame, did with his Music that to my knowledge was unique, and went extremely undetected by listeners.

He re-wrote the same song 3 times in the course of his…

I hope you are ready for Some Odds & Ends, I Am Ready!

As I was playing the first Set, the title of the album of one of the songs reminded me of Alan Freed.

Further, something triggered a memory of him being born in December.

Turned out I was right- Dec. 15th 1921.

He's the…

After the Intermission, we continue with 1946's It's A Wonderful Life and the project of inserting an updated Rock & Roll Soundtrack into it.

And it is true, I did have a box of tissues nearby.

After all these years, this Movie still gets to…

I wanted to do this for a long time, provide a Rock & Roll Soundtrack to the much loved and immensely popular movie, It's A Wonderful Life.

Soundtracks albums are very important and profitable for Movies nowadays.

That was not the case in…

We continue with the Christmas Party, and you know how at some parties there is one clown who starts trouble?

Well, at our Party that Troublemaker will be ME!

With tongue-firmly-planted-in-cheek, I'll take a musical look at what I call "The…

Welcome to the annual two-week Christmas Party.

It is usually an exercise in experimentation, and this year is no exception.

All I knew when I sat down to do this show was that I had an opening song- then it took on a life of its…

Using the Rat Race to make Money for Christmas Gifts, etc. for this Holiday Season.

A friend wrote me with a suggestion for a song to end the Series with.

Two things- first, I think I have a better pick to end it with, and as is so often the…

You know, I never did end the Rat Race Series.

So after flippant diversion and neglect on my part, we go back to the Rat Race to earn some money for Christmas Gifts and all the other things that go with the Holidays.

It's all about Working For…

Moving on to John Lennon in our remembrance of the lives of two men who were a part of something that probably will never happen again, the phenomenon that was the Beatles.

Dec. 8th 1980 is the unforgettable night John died of gunshot wounds.…

I don't know why it took me so long to listen to the Beatles BBC Sessions.

Looking for a new approach for this remembrance of the deaths of George Harrison and John Lennon, I finally gave the BBC tapes a shot.

And these selections from 1963 are a…

In this endless Pandemic Year of 2020, Traveling Home For Thanksgiving is frowned upon by the authorities.

I HATE Authority, and telling me how many guests I can have? Get the...lol!

I'll start with a very catchy solo single from the former Lead…

It's time for the annual trip Home For Thanksgiving- normally the most heavily traveled time of year in the United States.

Not so this year, NOTHING is normal, and the ever-changing CDC is advising not to travel!

I always look forward to the…

This episode will close out our Songs For Autumn.

There is something about The Fall Season that lends itself to a certain melancholy, a wistfulness, as the days get shorter and the nights colder.

Suggested listening time is a Cold…

Last week it was Fall Colors, this is more of a straight-up Celebration Of Autumn.

I will be playing more topical Songs For Autumn, and even dip into that Great American Songbook.

Leaves are a popular song subject at this time of…

Celebrating the Fall Colors, it is time, after more than 10 years, for the Return Of ROY G BIV!

Any idea who that is?

Well, honestly he is not a person but rather a teaching aid used by the nuns when I was in grammar school.…

To everything there is a Season, and we are comfortably settled in to this Season of Autumn.

It's just past October, so I'll play my favorite End Of October song.

Fall is now tied with Winter as Best Time Of Year for me!…

This is the Final Chapter on Friends, and it will be all about the Song Content, the Lyrics!

Beginning with the worst way to lose a Friend!

It would appear the Main Components of a true Friendship are Trust and Affection.…

I continue because You Can't Have Too Many Friends!

So I'll have 2 more Chapters to play what you probably expected me to play a long time ago, lol!

I don't feel like writing, I feel like listening.

As it…