Music
May 31, 2026 — Scott Johnson
After celebrating Bob Dylan’s 85th birthday this past Sunday, I heard from the historian Ronald Radosh. Ron is the author (with Joyce Milton) of The Rosenberg File as well as the memoir Commies: A Journey Through the Old Left, the New Left and the Leftover Left, and other valuable books including Red Star Over Hollywood: The Film Colony’s Long Romance with the Left. All are highly recommended (by me). Ron
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May 26, 2026 — Scott Johnson
Sylvia Weiser Wendel writes in response to my celebration of Bob Dylan in two posts — “Not dark yet” and “Chimes of freedom” — this past Sunday. Dylan’s 85th birthday provided the occasion of my posts. Ms. Wendel’s personal site is Joseph Conrad Fan Fiction. She writes: Your Dylan columns triggered the following reminiscence: In 1987 I was in the car, on my way to work as a paralegal in
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May 25, 2026 — John Hinderaker
In honor of Memorial Day, I am re-posting this video which I recorded in 2007. I did a second post with the same video in 2014. It is from a choir concert in which my youngest child participated when she was 11. I will repeat what I wrote in 2014, then add an additional comment after the video. ********************************* Mark Steyn wrote yesterday (actually, it’s an excerpt from his book
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May 24, 2026 — Scott Johnson
Bob Dylan celebrates his 85th birthday today. When he snagged the Nobel Prize for Literature a few years ago, I pulled out all the stops by posting a big set of my favorite covers of his songs. I don’t have any stops left to pull, but I’m adding another cover or four (again) this year in honor of his milestone birthday today. Dylan is first and foremost a songwriter. See,
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May 24, 2026 — Scott Johnson
Today is the birthday of Minnesota native son Bob Dylan. He turns the ripe old age of 85. It’s not dark yet, but it’s getting there. I want to celebrate him as long we’re both still around to enjoy the occasion. He is a remarkable artist, self-invented, deep in the American grain. A few years back I visited Dylan’s old home at 2425 7th Avenue East in Hibbing. The house
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May 17, 2026 — Scott Johnson
Today is the anniversary of the birth of singer-songwriter Jesse Winchester. I think I first wrote this remembrance at the time his death in 2014. Marking time until our annual celabration of Mister Bob on his birthday next Sunday, I want to draw on my tribute Winchester again to accompany this compilation of a few highlights while seeking to keep his flame alive. I first saw Winchester perform live on
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May 16, 2026 — John Hinderaker
Eurovision is the annual European song contest that is somewhat like American Idol, only bigger. The music is generally Euro-pop, which, for what it is worth, I tend to like. Nationalism plays a role, as contestants enter on behalf of a country. Twenty-five countries participated this year. The event is broadcast live across Europe to an enormous audience, and scoring is based on a blend of judges’ scores and popular
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May 15, 2026 — Scott Johnson
Andrew Stiles reminds me at the end of his weekly Stiles Section column this week. I meant to call a timeout for the commencement speech Eric Church gave at UNC-Chapel Hill this past weekend after I read Dante the Don’s testimonial to it on X. Church is the highly successful country music singer singer/songwriter. As the powers-that-be at UNC-Chapel Hill explain, Church delivered a commencement speech structured on the six
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May 10, 2026 — Scott Johnson
Back when I was working as an attorney at Faegre & Benson, I went to see Martin Zellar perform Neil Diamond’s songs on a Sunday night at the old O’Gara’s Bar and Grill at Snelling and Selby in Saint Paul. The show was advertised to begin at 8:00 p.m. I arrived a little early and made my way into the bar’s attached performance space. When the show had yet to
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May 3, 2026 — Scott Johnson
The year was 1966. It was sixty years ago today, or sixty years ago, period. A few weeks back disc jockey Albert O. spun mostly folk/pop/rock records from 1966 for four hours on WUMB’s Highway 61 Revisited. As I listened to the show, I thought that this is my favorite music. If pop music is symbolic of civilization, perhaps 1966 represented a peak. The best of it sounded fresh, well-written,
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April 26, 2026 — Scott Johnson
It may not feel right to take a break from the news today, but what the heck. Turn the television on low for a few minutes and take in some historic covers of Merle Haggard songs by popular artists expressing their respect for his work. This past Sunday we dipped into covers by country artists. Too late for my use last week, the April 21 BGS Weekly Dispatch email rounded
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April 23, 2026 — Scott Johnson
I went to see Jorma Kaukonen play a two-hour set at the Dakota in downtown Minneapolis last night. He is now 85 years old. He looks his age and he shuffles somewhat awkwardly when he walks, but his playing is still fluid and beautiful. Jorma has had a long, varied, and storied career in music deep in the American grain. He tells his story in the 2018 memoir Been So
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April 19, 2026 — Scott Johnson
Celebrating Merle Haggard in this series last week, I thought it would make sense to note the breadth and depth of his catalog through his influence on other popular musicians. This week we’ll listen up to a few country artists performing songs from his catalog. Next week we’ll tune in to the roxy side of his influence. It was artists such as Phil Ochs and the Grateful Dead who gave
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April 12, 2026 — Scott Johnson
Merle Haggard died ten years ago at the age of 79 — to be exact, on his seventy-ninth birthday. The anniversary of his birth was this past April 6. I thought it might be a welcome break from the news to recall his remarkable career one more time. I want to take the occasion of the anniversary of Haggard’s birth and death last week to revise and expand on highlights
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April 5, 2026 — Scott Johnson
It’s been a few years since I last explored the work of Emmylou Harris. Emmylou celebrated her 79th birthday this past Thursday. We will have to give it up big time for her next year when she celebrates her big 8-0. She is still going strong. In the world of the Cosmic American Music, attention must be paid. I want to take the opportunity to revisit her career with a
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March 29, 2026 — Scott Johnson
In 2015 Wall Street Journal sports columnist Jason Gay previewed the NFL season in “The NFL begins: Is your TV big enough.” This particular column had a question-and-answer format. One question and answer brought back some memories: Who will play the Super Bowl L halftime show? The head says Taylor Swift, but the heart says Seals & Crofts. I thought that was funny and wondered what happened to Seals &
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March 28, 2026 — Scott Johnson
Bruce Springsteen is the headliner at the flagshiip No Kings rally at the state Capitol in Saint Paul this afternoon. Joan Baez, Jane Fonda, and Bernie Sanders are also primed to appear. Truth in advertising would require the rally to be redesignated Gimme That Old Time Religion or In Search of Lost Time. As the Rolling Stones once trilled, “What a drag it is getting old.” Tim Walz, Keith Ellison,
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