The birth, re-birth, and enduring legacy of Van Morrison's Astral Weeks. ℘℘℘ In 1968, Van Morrison was on the lam from the mob and hiding in Boston. Author Ryan Walsh takes Van’s frantic story of “another time, another place” and folds it into the radical zeitgeist of Boston Cambridge in Astral Weeks: A Secret History of 1968. Walsh argues that Boston, usually associated with … [Read more...] about The Sacred Text of Rock ‘n’ Roll
Music
Collins & Stills: Together Again
Judy Collins and Stephen Stills, two American singer-songwriters celebrated the golden anniversary of their formative time together in the 1970s, when Stills penned “Judy Blue Eyes” and other songs about the couple’s two year relationship, with a series of sold out concerts across the U.S. Irish America’s Patricia Harty and her family caught up with Judy and Stephen in Santa … [Read more...] about Collins & Stills: Together Again
Wild Irish Women: Touched by Fire
Sinéad rose to fame in the late 1980s with her debut album The Lion and the Cobra. She will release a new album under a new name, Magda Davitt, in 2019. In between she has battled mental illness and controversy – she was one of the first to speak out about the abuses by the Catholic Church – but hers remains one of the purest voices in music. Whenever her name comes up these … [Read more...] about Wild Irish Women: Touched by Fire
Turlough O’Carolan: The Irish Vivaldi
In 1691, a poor, blind, twenty-one year old son of a blacksmith and his guide set out on a journey from a backwater estate, Alderford, near the town of Balyfarnon, County Roscommon, hoping to make a living as an itinerant harper. He seemed an unlikely figure to leave a lasting stamp on Ireland’s musical culture, yet Turlough O’Carolan would become a great composer, creating … [Read more...] about Turlough O’Carolan: The Irish Vivaldi
Sláinte! Music: The Food of Love
With Father’s Day in mind, our columnist writes about her own dad, “a true Irish bard.” I live with a disc jockey. No, not like one you’d find in a dance club, not at all. My jock lives in my head. His repertoire is wide and deep, it ranges through all music genres, and I never know what tune he’s going to spin next. Some days his pick is my first waking thought. Other times … [Read more...] about Sláinte! Music: The Food of Love