Norman's Rockwell

My Christmastime was marvelous. I hope yours was too. I'm extending mine. As I type, I'm listening to Dylan Thomas reading his poem "A Child's Christmas In Wales." It is simply one of my favorite works by anyone. I'm still going to memorize it someday. I'll let you know when I'm ready to recite it. The week was alternately wet and frigid in Los Angeles. Perfect weather for doing a lot of eating. We went to the Huntington and the Norton-Simon museum. Christmas Eve church service was very moving and the candlelight ending was poignant. It was nice having Mom in town for the Yuletide. The Monday Night Living Nativity was fun, even if we were frozen in place. A special note of gratitude to the couple who brought corporate cocoa to us. I'm sure we had the church's most irreverent cast of characters. I'd post pictures, but I'm afraid the rest of the congregation might "tsk, tsk" us for the next 12 months. With Mom around and the wea...

Hey Soul Mates, I know, I've been a little lax in getting my year end Top 10's posted. It's been a busy month: working the Christmas Tree lot, work in general. Festivities. My GRAMMY ballot arrived today, so that's on tap. Went to see Zappa Plays Zappa last Friday at the Roxy. That was an amazing 3 hour tribute to the genius of Frank Zappa led by his son Dweezil and Zappa alum, Ray White. I was going to list the 10 best things I'd heard all year so I could include some non-2008 releases, like Springsteen's Magic (which would have taken the #2 LP slot and the #2 single slot for Girls In Their Summer Clothes ) and David Ruffin's Unreleased Album from 1970 (#4 LP of the year). I'd also thought about marking the 30th anniversaries of the Stones Some Girls (crucial to my musical development) and Chic's Le Freak (still one of my top 5 singles of all time). But I'm omitting them and sticking to my usual format. So here we go, just in time for a Joye...

This morning I delivered the homily for chapel at church for the Wesley School. Our theme this month is "peace." So I decided to split time for two poets. John Lennon and Maya Angelou. I was very pleased that several of the 4th graders knew Lennon's lyrics when I quizzed them. I.e. who said "Give peace a chance" or "All you need is love?" A couple of the girls were very quick tell us it was John Lennon. Turns out they had done book reports on him and the Beatles. Today is the 28th Anniversary of John's assassination. What a pity he is gone. I can remember the following day, Tuesday morning, waking up to Strawberry Fields Forever on the radio. My 6th grade teachers (in their early 30s) were devastated. We spent the day talking about him and listening to his records. John's music and the lessons of his life are as important as ever. As I clean the house, I have the Imagine album playing. Mr. Lennon means a lot to me. I've made two pilgrimag...

Let me start with this: it was simply fun to be in the house and know that something was on the line.  Even though my GRAMMY dreams are deferred for another day, we had a swell time at the Nominations Concert at L.A. Live. It's a prime place for concerts and the Grammy shows are fun because I get to see many different performances. Foo Fighters ferocious take on You're So Vain , Mariah's Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) , and the duet between B.B. King and John Mayer on Let The Good Times Roll were the highlights for me. Plus, Mariah looked great as Mrs. Claus. Frankly, all the artists did their thing, except for the vocally anemic co-host Taylor Swift. I was surprised they didn't let LL Cool J break out a classic hip hop number. But then, I'm not sure what rap songs are in the Grammy Hall of Fame. John Mayer's post-show concert was entertaining. He performed solo and ran through his hits ( Waiting On The World To Change, Wonderland ) and tasteful covers ( C...

Happy December. Christmastime is here again. Ain't been 'round since you know when. I'm getting very excited about tomorrow night: GRAMMY Nominations will be announced. I will be in attendance at the Nokia Live for the event. It's not clear how many categories (other than the 4 marquees) will be announced. May be that the majority of the nominations will be released on Thursday morning. Regardless, it should be a fun night. Gotta look sharp. Anything can happen in Los Angeles. I might meet Paris and become her latest, newest BFF.  There will be plenty of performances for the show. John Mayer is doing a whole concert. Morris Day and the Time are playing the after-party. I'm looking forward to BB King and Mariah . The show airs live on CBS at 9 PM, EST. Check your local listings.  I'm believing that there will fantastic news to share with you on Thursday. No matter what, I've felt blessed through the whole process. My dog agrees with me. Or maybe it's the...

It's Thanksgiving. Time to take stock of what I'm thankful for this year. Although I tell God all the time that I'm thankful for everything everyday. But the emphasis this year is on the opportunities I've had to serve my church and community. I've had a blast assisting with morning chapel on Mondays. Leading Bible study has been cool and enlightening. Going to the San Fernando Valley Rescue Mission on a monthly basis has made me even more grateful that I earn enough to keep a roof over my head and food on the table. I'm also thankful for my family: Patty, Callie, Renee, Mom & Dad, Nathan and Herb, Gmom, Nil & Uma. I'm appreciative of my church and musical families. Thanks for your love and support this year and every year. Friends and fans around the globe, I've got a lot of love for you too. In one week, the GRAMMY nominations will be announced. I'll be at the Nokia theatre for the live concert and TV program, believing. Believing. Thanks t...

New music has arrived on the interwebs. Fans of Bruce, or Obama for that matter, need to check out Working On A Dream . This was a song that Springsteen debuted while touring in support of Obama's presidential campaign. It's free on iTunes this week. I'm awaiting the whole new album from the Boss since it sounds like a true sequel to 2007's Magic, which featured the E Street Band in all its glory. Bruce and Co. will be the halftime entertainment at the Superbowl in January. Maybe he'll perform at the GRAMMY awards the following week. No doubt Springsteen will be in DC for the inauguration. Yours truly will watch two of those three events from home. Other fresh cuts I'm digging right now include Keane's very 80's The Lovers Are Losing and the return of Q-Tip with Gettin' Up . I'm still getting my Motown education on with the Temptations. I'm hoping to check out their show with the Four Tops at the Gibson on Friday. Happy Thanksgiving Week