I’m back to civilization after spending three days at Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks, which means I didn’t take a laptop or Blackberry with me. Shocking, no?
Yellowstone is interesting, for lack of a better term - some parts stunning, some parts downright alien and stinky (read: mud volcanoes, geysers, hot springs). Lots of dead, burned out trees from the 1988 fires (Mom, I got lots of pictures of dead trees). Grand Teton is breathtaking: Giant peaks popped up in the middle of nowhere, spread in front of a picturesque lake.
There were moments when I enjoyed bonding with nature; other times of solitude I was trying to figure out whether Billy Joel or Elton John was a bigger influence on pop music. So it is good to be back with you all. Regular posting will resume in a few days.
I’m in Montana for a week visiting family, so blogging may be sporadic. I have my laptop (Have laptop, will travel reads the card of a man…), so when I’m not hiking and/or playing with the girls, I’ll be hard at work, spreading the word as usual.
In the meantime, enjoy a great video from the Go-Go’s.
To all new readers of My hmphs, welcome! This blog is dedicated to the appreciation of good pop music - not popular music, but accessible music with melody and harmony, which for some reason is usually unpopular. (Learn more about the title on my About Page.)
I try to spread the word about the good music out there, sometimes flashing back to the good ol’ days - the 80s, the Beatles and the Beach Boys. I also occasionally critique today’s “popular” music - hip hop, boy bands and artists manufactured by marketing groups.
Here’s what to expect during any given week:
Mondays are dedicated to Desert Island Discs - Reviews of albums that you should absolutely not live without.
Wednesdays are Hmph Day - the one day I get snarky and make fun of the latest talentless hack to make news.
On most Fridays, I have a series called “There is Hope,” where I recognize a band that seems to get it - they write and perform music that is pleasing to the ears. It is my hope that these artists will break out into the mainstream and Western music toward a more tuneful era.
I try to post daily, with one day off on weekends. A missing day otherwise is rare and usually means that I’m (a) too busy to sit down at a computer and (b) gotten lazy and not planned posts to run on those really busy days.
I welcome comments on the posts, too. Feel free to drop me a line and let me know of any suggestions, changes or ideas for new posts. I’ll be glad to oblige. You can subscribe via RSS or e-mail at the top right to receive updates.
Most importantly, spread the word! The only way to hear more of this music is to make it popular and encourage others to stress substance over style. We must prevail!
