The Farr Side column: Name change to ‘The Chicks’ should not alarm anyone
Columns share an author’s personal perspective.*****What’s in a name? Apparently, everything. Just ask Natalie Maines, Emily Strayer and Martie Maguire the chicks from The Chicks. Or, the artists...
View ArticleThe Farr Side column: On ‘Folklore,’ Swift turns modern-day poet
Columns share an author’s personal perspective.*****The word “folklore” is best defined as traditional beliefs, customs and stories of a community, passed through the generations by word of mouth....
View ArticleMovie review: A restored ‘Jazz on a Summer’s Day’ still guarantees a hot time
Released in the U.S. to glowing reviews in March 1960, “Jazz on a Summer’s Day,” the 85-minute film made at the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival, boldly breaks many “rules” of documentaries: There’s no story...
View ArticleTinseltown Talks column: Neil Sedaka still singing his way through the pandemic
Many performers have recorded videos of encouragement for fans throughout the COVID-19 pandemic months. But few, if any, have been as prolific as Neil Sedaka.With some 90 mini-concerts already posted...
View ArticleThe Farr Side column: Katy Perry returns to make us ‘Smile’
Columns share an author’s personal perspective.*****Is it OK to smile now? If you’re Katy Perry, you might be doing a lot of smiling.The pop princess and her fiancé, Orlando Bloom, welcomed a baby...
View ArticleMovie review: A new documentary shines a light on Rolling Stones guitarist...
Guitarist Ronnie Wood has been in top name bands since the days of the second British Invasion. The earliest notable rumblings he made were when he played bass in the Jeff Beck Group, touring the U.S....
View ArticleThe Farr Side column: Houston to Swift: A legend and one in the making
Columns share an author’s personal perspective.*****In a few weeks, the incomparable Whitney Houston will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.The late singer was one of music’s most...
View ArticleBehind the Country Song: Patty Loveless’‘Timber, I’m Falling in Love’
In 1989, “Timber, I’m Falling in Love” became the first No. 1 hit for Patty Loveless. It was also the first taste of success for Kostas Lazarides, now a member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of...
View ArticleBehind the Song: ‘Abraham, Martin and John’
“Has anybody here seen my old friend Bobby/ Can you tell me where he’s gone/ I thought I saw him walkin’ up over the hill/ With Abraham, Martin and John.”On June 5, 1968, songwriter Dick Holler was in...
View ArticleThe Farr Side column: 20 years of column has brought some recurring questions
Columns share an author’s personal perspective.*****I have been writing The Farr Side column each week for more than 20 years. Where has the time gone?I’ve been able to share some compelling things...
View ArticleBehind the Song: Kenny Rogers’‘You Decorated My Life’
“You decorated my life/ Created a world where dreams are a part/ ... by painting your love all over my heart.”The demo for “You Decorated My Life” sat at the bottom of a stack of recordings for Kenny...
View ArticleBehind the Song: ‘Snoopy vs. the Red Baron’
At first, it didn’t look like there was a market for Dick Holler’s song about the Red Baron, the infamous German pilot who shot down dozens of planes in World War I. But then an unlikely ally came...
View ArticleMovie review: David Byrne’s splendid musical celebration ‘American Utopia’...
Here’s a simplified version of how “David Byrne’s American Utopia” made its way from album to stage to film. Byrne, the former Talking Heads frontman, released his solo album “American Utopia” in 2018....
View ArticleThe Farr Side column: Eddie Van Halen: Rock ‘n’ Roll icon
Columns share an author’s personal perspective.*****I think all my friends growing up learned to play air guitar by emulating Eddie Van Halen. He was the master for many of us who grew up during the...
View ArticleMovie review: A contemplative Bruce Springsteen delivers ‘Letter to You’
Most rock bands are content to just make music. But Bruce Springsteen, the bard of New Jersey, makes statements of intense recognition and empathy for the blue-collar folk who fork over as much as half...
View ArticleBehind the Song: Don McLean’s ‘Vincent’
“Starry, starry night/Paint your palette blue and grey/Look out on a summer’s day/With eyes that know the darkness in my soul.”Those words came to Don McLean as he looked at Vincent Van Gogh’s 1889...
View ArticleThe Farr Side column: Embrace Halloween and its tradition
Columns share an author’s personal perspective.*****“Trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat ...”Umm, yeah, that little saying may have been fun to say back in the day, but it was...
View ArticleThe Farr Side column: With ‘Letter to You,’ Springsteen’s run continues
Columns share an author’s personal perspective.*****Wow! Bruce Springsteen’s “Letter To You” is another in a long run of brilliant albums from one of rock’s most prolific singer-songwriters.The new...
View ArticleThe Farr Side column: Looking ahead to holiday music releases
Columns share an author’s personal perspective.*****If you notice your neighbors hauling out the holly or putting up a Christmas tree, don’t fret. Just smile and nod. They may have a need to be decking...
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