Introduction – “Still Growing” Today’s featured song fits clearly, if not neatly, into our wheelhouse here at MBM. It is not precisely a murder ballad. Neither is it exactly what we call a ‘conversation with death.’ It is, like many … Continue reading →
The power and influence of a poet A kind of madness breaks out in unexpected places across the world on the 25th of January. People gather in Edinburgh, London, Moscow, and Washington D.C., among other places, to eat, drink, and … Continue reading →
I recently paid a visit to Chicago for the birthday of my good friend Ken, also the father and co-founder of this blog. After a party-hating thunderstorm drove Ken, his family, and me with near full coolers from a free concert in … Continue reading →
James MacPherson’s sword. The actual truth concerning the life of James MacPherson has been long lost in the mists of time. However, as with the truth concerning Liberty Valance we are really concerned with the legend. Legend has it that … Continue reading →
Imagine if you can a rich landowner surveying his lands. He has a small band of his men with him. He looks around his land with pride knowing that everything he can see is his. As he stands there he … Continue reading →
Robert Burns Imagine if you can a wild, stormy and seemingly endless winter’s night. You are child in a very small village on the west coast of Scotland. The year is 1754 and by the light of the fire in … Continue reading →
