Hi, all- Since I was thinking about it today- and the Grammys are less than two weeks away now- I thought I'd go ahead and post predictions for this year's race. Initial observations: Once again, we have Adele going up against Beyonce; it should be interesting to see how THAT plays out this time. Abba- one of my favorite bands ever- is back with several more nominations this time around, after scoring a Record of the Year nod last year. I've included more categories this year than I usually do, as I found myself recognizing some of the names in many of the more "out there" categories. Wil ..read more

So, another musical year has come and gone. And what a year it's been. 2022 was an odd year for music, at least for me. Ever since I started making lists of my favorite songs from each year, it hasn't been unusual for me to include songs from the previous year on my new list. (I think "Rolling in the Deep" and "Set Fire to the Rain", both by Adele, made my list for at least three consecutive years.) And I saw quite a bit of that on my list for this year as well. Yet one common theme of 2022 involved setting the trends of the present by revisiting the past. Elton John had major hits last year ..read more

Hi, all- It's been a while since I wrote any "in memoriam" postings- ten years, according to a search I did here. But I couldn't let this go by unacknowledged. Sorry if I seem a bit out of sorts right now. I only found out about Olivia's passing about an hour ago- and it hit me hard. Olivia Newton-John had one of the most diverse careers I can think of. Singer. Actress. Songwriter. And the titles just kept coming and coming. Starting out in the country genre, Olivia would go on to have a career spanning several decades- and genres. She is among a rare few performers to have had top 40 show ..read more

Hi, all- As you can see, I did not post any predictions for this year's Daytime Emmys race. I had planned to. Indeed, I was tickled to discover that the awards were coming back to television (airing on CBS last night), and I had planned to put together a list of predictions in my usual categories. Alas, by the time I was ready to put some predictions together, at least one winner in a category I had planned to cover had been named. After that, I didn't see much point in continuing with my process... so I took the night off. I did record the ceremony, and I'll probably go back to watch it a ..read more

Hi, all- I only found out last weekend that the Grammys were airing this coming Sunday. (And after missing the Oscars altogether.) As such, I've done little more than throw together my list of guesses in select categories for Sunday's telecast. As usual, my predictions of who will win are bold, my personal choice is in italics, and my dark horse is underlined. And here we go... Record Of The Year I Still Have Faith In You- ABBA Freedom- Jon Batiste I Get A Kick Out Of You- Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga Peaches- Justin Bieber Featuring Daniel Caesar & Giveon Right On Time- Brandi Carlile ..read more

Hi, all- 2021 was... a very TRYING year again- and probably not just for me. Work kept me pretty busy- to the point that I indulged in even less forays into new music than usual last year. Truthfully, coming up with even ten favorite songs from 2021 was a bit of a stretch for me- but I managed it. Of course, you may notice that said list seems to ring of... shall we say familiarity? I mean, I'm looking at it now- and the breakdown includes the covers of previous hits, one remix blending four previous titles together, and three holdovers form the previous year's list- including my #1 song fro ..read more