Archive for the ‘Music’ Category
Paris: Je reviens!
My day started at 4:30 this morning, when the newspaper hit the side of my house with a muffled “whump.” I tried for an hour to fall back asleep but eventually I gave up and got up. At 5:30 a.m., Como Lake was pretty much deserted. But I didn’t mind: The solitude provided ample opportunity […]
Filed under: Minnesota, Music, Paris, Photography, Travel | 6 Comments
Tags: Como Lake, Flickr MO 75, Je reviens, Paris, Paris photography, postaday2011, Travel
Happy 70th b-day, Bob Dylan!
Bob Dylan turns 70 today. I first heard about this milestone while exchanging wee-hours emails with a music-critic pal last week, and on Sunday I got to read the fruits of my former colleague’s labor. I loved the idea of asking a cross-section of musicians to share their Bob Dylan memories. “Take him out of […]
Filed under: Minnesota, Music, On being creative, On this day in history, Paris, Psychology, Writing | 2 Comments
Tags: Bob Dylan, Bob Dylan 70th birthday, Duluth, Girl from the North Country, Minnesota, Paris, postaday2011
Karaoke with Brunhilde
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about how my recent trip to Paris had inspired me to start taking piano lessons again. (Hanging out with musicians will do that to a gal.) What I didn’t mention is that I’ve also been studying voice. I was quite the little songbird, as a kid: I sang […]
Filed under: Attempted humor, Friends and family, Minnesota, Music, Paris, Psychology, Travel | 7 Comments
Tags: karaoke, music, Paris, Paul Simon, piano lessons, postaday2011, voice lessons
Maybe I should rename my blog
Although I write this blog just for fun, I sometimes enjoy checking out the statistics. I can’t tell who the individual visitors are—but I can occasionally see how they got here. Paris Catacombs, supermoon Paris and under Paris are perennial search-engine favorites. But a surprising newcomer recently eclipsed them all: Jan Gregersen. “What the hell?” […]
Filed under: Music, Paris | Leave a Comment
Tags: Google, Paris, postaday2011, site statistics
Paul Simon on songwriting
Last week I was lucky enough to catch Paul Simon at First Avenue in Minneapolis. I think that’s what prompted my friend Tom (aka., “The Blogfodder”) to share this gem from The Atlantic: I’ve blogged before about inspiration and derivation and the creative process … what to write about, and how. But in spite of […]
Filed under: Friends and family, How to ..., Minnesota, Music, Psychology, Writing | 2 Comments
Tags: composition, heather munro blog, Heather Munro wordpress, Minneapolis, music, Paul Simon, Paul Simon First Avenue, postaday2011, songwriting, The Atlantic
I met my friend Norine for a stroll today—our first walk since she lost her beloved Mica. I was worried that she’d feel melancholic, but she seemed to find joy in photographing the spring blooms. We followed our feet to Dinkytown, which is just a mile from our homes. In some ways Dinkytown hasn’t changed […]
Filed under: Attempted humor, Ethics, Music, Paris, Photography, Psychology, Writing | 2 Comments
Tags: Dinkytown, Eiffel Tower, Paris, Paris photography, Travel, travel photography
My trip to Paris last March continues to enrich my life in unexpected ways. It’s been a wonderful gift to talk to my friend Mo at least once a week since my return. And it’s been a joy to finish my favorite photography project yet. But I hadn’t expected that my time in Paris would […]
Filed under: How to ..., Minnesota, Music, On this day in history, Paris | 9 Comments
Tags: Paris, Paris busker, Paul McCartney, piano lessons, postaday2011, Yesterday
Paul Simon LIVE at First Avenue!
Tonight I was one of the 1,500 people who were fortunate enough to hear Paul Simon play live at First Avenue in Minneapolis. I grew up listening to Paul Simon (and Artie Garfunkel, of course): Scarborough Fair was one of the first songs I learned to play by ear on the piano, along with Paul […]
Filed under: Friends and family, Minnesota, Music, On this day in history, Writing | 2 Comments
Tags: America, First Avenue Minneapolis, Jon Bream, Kodachrome, Paul McCartney, Paul Simon, postaday2011, So Beautiful or What, The Boxer, Yesterday
Of resurrection and redemption
I’ve been thinking a lot about resurrection and redemption these past few days. Over the past couple of years, I’ve watched two friends struggle with their husbands’ alcoholism. One had the courage to throw down an ultimatum—either you stop drinking, or I leave—and to follow through when her husband chose the bottle. The other has […]
Filed under: Ethics, Friends and family, Minnesota, Music, Psychology | Leave a Comment
Tags: addiction, alcoholism, drug abuse, enabling, postaday2011, Psychology, redemption, resurrection, second chance
