Confessions of a Conservative Atheist
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What’s the point of prefacing what’s supposed to a celebration of rock and roll, perhaps Mr. Springsteen’s final run considering he will turn 76 later this year, with a political diatribe of largely recycled talking points? Last week, legendary singer, songwriter, and all-around-rocker, Bruce Springsteen chose to open his European “Land of Hope and Dreams”… Continue reading Bruce Springsteen and the now purely performative Resistance
For nineteen of thirty songs, Mr. Anastasio was alone on stage, a man with several guitars, a songbook that would be the envy of many other artists, a spotlight, a screen behind him that projected supporting imagery at times, and a voice that has only gotten better with age, becoming richer and more soulful. I… Continue reading Trey Anastasio is a one man jam band
Those who are convinced we cannot make things in America anymore have conveniently forgotten the recent history of the pandemic, where we invented a new vaccine, produced hundreds of millions of doses along with hundreds of thousands of ventilators and millions of other medical devices in a few months. There are plenty of reasons… Continue reading Tariffs, our selective amnesia, and the total failure of American imagination
How much should we care about the plight of a man too afraid to change his life, one who knows it, and yet can’t stop bitching about it, whether they are dancing alone or jerking off? Read literally, “Dancing in the Dark,” one of Bruce Springsteen’s biggest hits and the source for perhaps his most… Continue reading “Dancing in the Dark” and the art of self-help, Springsteen style
Can a song can be a stirring patriotic anthem and a condemnation of certain aspects of the American experience at the same time, a paradox of a piece of music if you will? On the surface, “Born in the USA” isn’t a patriotic song, far from it. Originally conceived and recorded as a mournful yet… Continue reading Springsteen’s “Born in the USA” and the paradox of a song
Cars are, in a sense, milestones in our lives. When I “finally” got my first roadster in 2002 it seemed a lifetime of driving had passed already, though it hadn’t even been ten years since I got my license and I couldn’t have predicted I’d have five more, spanning more than twenty. Technically, the headline… Continue reading My sixth six-speed roadster and a few reflections on aging after a half lifetime of cars
It is the supreme irony of our age that we live in a period of more peace, prosperity, and health than the world has ever known, one where new wonders arise practically weekly, but cannot bring ourselves to acknowledge how truly lucky we are. There are years that are objectively bad. No one, or at… Continue reading When did every New Year become the winter of our discontent?
It’s human nature, but if you value what you have now, what you’ve seen, done, and hopefully learned, why would you want to go back to a point where you had none of it or at least less of it? Aging is a funny thing to say the least. I suspect almost all of us… Continue reading New Year’s, the mysteries of aging, and whether we’d really want to go back in time to be our younger selves
The means to purchase a $350,00 vehicle are far in the future for me at least, but that’s not the point. The point is: When someone offers you the chance to drive one, you take it, but you’ll never get the chance if you aren’t in the game in the first place. As many of… Continue reading Driving an 800 horsepower Lamborghini in Manhattan and the importance of being there to live out your dreams
It’s almost inconceivable that he can keep this up much longer, but it’s a near miracle that we can still marvel at it right now while we can. If you don’t believe me, you don’t need to take my word for it any longer. My lovely wife finally agrees after a rousing performance at Camden… Continue reading Springsteen’s 75th birthday, and recent epic performances of “Darlington County” and “Youngstown” in Baltimore
Confessions of a Conservative Atheist 