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A FATHER’S DUTY IN SERVICE TO ALL, or WHO’S YOUR DADDY

    A father’s duty to not get stomped in the mosh pit?   The parent still holds primary responsible for socializing their offspring; of fitting them into a cultural framework. In the end, if they stay out of jail, the whole village celebrates their success. But, if they crack the top ten call list […]

THEME SONG NOMINATIONS FOR BOOMERPDX HALL OF FAME

If not the best summation of a generation, the Traveling Wilbury’s ‘End Of The Line’ weaves a poignant picture. For a theme song that’s a pretty good combination. It’s not a Billy Joel history lesson with ‘We Didn’t Start The Fire,‘ though that would be a fine nomination, too. Instead, End Of The Line feels […]

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN AND THE SACRED SIX PACK

Did Bruce Springsteen grow artistically from bad parenting? Here’s the real question: Did growing up with a dad who smoked ’em when he had ’em, and worked a six pack in the dark, make Bruce Springsteen who is today? His old man was hooked on Camels, or Marlboro’s, or Winstons,  and liked to cool them […]

FOO FIGHTERS THERAPY

Do the Foo Fighters Love the Northwest Or Is It A Touring Coincidence? From Walla Walla to The Gorge to Portland in a couple weeks? Yep, they like it here, they really like it. My boys hit the road from Portland to Walla Walla for Gentlemen of the Road. It sounded like a Traveling Wilburys […]

MUSIC MATTERS BECAUSE

Something Happens To Our Brain When Music Matters. I just watched Bruce Springsteen onstage with Bono and U2 in New York. If feels like such a happy moment between those guys standing in middle of the greatest city in the world and singing. Isn’t that how it’s supposed to work when we hear our favorites? […]

PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS WHINE?

When it comes to root canals Portland baby boomers aren’t the only whiners. After a visit to the local endodontist for some root work it was a choice of pain meds or VooDoo juice. Is there really a choice when you’ve got VooDoo brand wine in the house? Seriously, is there a better time for […]

BABY BOOMER RESENTMENT, Con’t

The Beatles. For all the bands that go on forever, The Who, The Stones, Bob Dylan, why did we lose The Beatles so early? Baby boomer abandoned? Could be they burned so bright they went blind to our needs? Five years of top albums in the decade might do it. The Beatles had their five. […]

BOOMER ROCK HISTORY IN FIVE SONGS, pt. 1

1. I FOUGHT THE LAW by the Bobby Fuller Four. This is what you listen to after you’re banned from the biggest shopping center on the coast between Seattle and San Francisco. When a misunderstanding about how ‘that’ got into your pocket results in going home while your friends go to the mall, the only […]

BOOMERPDX AND THE WEEPING GUITAR

Music Lesson To Life Lesson And Back To Music. Personal history is tricky. Everyone has one and they’re all better than yours. At least that’s the idea of avoiding writing personal history stories. How many times have you told of an experience and someone listening says, “The same thing happened to me, except…” and their […]

40 Is The New 60? Growing Up Boomer-style

Dear Boomer, Do you feel the years creeping up? Are you looking back more than ahead? If your parents are still alive, give them a call. Ask them what it was like closing in on 60. They won’t say much. That’s how it works with the Silent Generation. But that doesn’t mean you’re alone. Apparently closing […]