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About This Author
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Max's Musings
A math guy's random thoughts.
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Today is a state holiday in Texas when everyone celebrates my Sam Houston's birthday. My ex wrote and asked me what we were doing to celebrate, so responded with what we've been watching onTV lately.
In the unlikely event anyone cares, here's my response.
We’ve been watching Reacher, on Amazon, recommended by a former co-worker. It’s not terrible.
We’ve also been watching The Pitt. It stars Noah Wylie as the head of an ER—as nearly as I can tell, it’s supposed to be the grown-up Noah Wylie character from the old ER series. It’s not bad, and I'll watch anything with Noah Wylie, even The Librarian.
Also, The Irrational with Dennis Green (from Law and Order) isn’t bad. He was in “Rent” on Broadway, but i don't think he was in the production we saw years ago--the only Broadway show I've ever seen live on a Broadway stage.
For another, Doc turns out to be interesting. The premise is that the POV character was an over-bearing physician in charge of surgery at some hospital, then she had an auto accident and lost ten years of memory. She has to re-certify as a physician, deal with the fact that she’s now working for her ex-husband (who she remembers still being married to) and doesn’t remember the physician she was having an affair with in the first episode, where she was in the accident. So, we’ve got this soap opera going on in the background on each episode, while the main story line is a disease-of-the-week, kind like in House. I’m sure it will get tiresome, but for now, it’s interesting.
We’re also watching Tracker. The lead is way cute. The stories are pretty far-fetched and repetitive, but I can tolerate them just to watch the lead character.
Finally, I absolutely love Elspeth, Thursday nights at 9. Thursday starts with the Big Bang spin-off, Georgie and Mandy’s first Marriage, goes on with Ghosts, then to Matlock, and ends with Elspeth. All of the lead-ins are watchable (and, in ascending order, range from tolerable to excellent), but the best is the last. Elspeth is a quirky-but-smart “consultant” with the NYPD whose veering approach solves crimes. The guest-star criminals have all been kind of interesting—Nathan Lane, in particular, was funny in his role. It’s kind of like Columbo, but with a female detective who’s even more quirky. I’d have to say it’s my favorite new show on TV right now.
We’ve also recently re-watched all the old seasons of Fargo and True Detective. All good.
Finally, Mr. Gene loves Penn and Teller and all things magic, so that’s been on our TV, too. I’m usually playing solitaire, though.
So now you know what I watch on TV. I'm sure that's been high on your list of things to know.
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February 28, 2025 at 8:59am February 28, 2025 at 8:59am
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"Total Eclipse of the Heart" was the lead single by Bonnie Tyler from her 1983 album, Faster Than the Speed of Night . The song was written by Jim Steinman, who also produced the album--more on him in a bit. The single was Tyler's biggest career hit, toping the Billboard charts in the both US and the UK. In fact, it kept another Steinman-written song, Air Supply's "Out of Nothing at All," from reaching the top spot in the US.
The song is likely also Stenman's biggest and best-known hit, but he wrote many other awesome songs--arias, really--about obsessive love, including Meatloaf's "I'd Do Anything For Love (Except that)" and Air Supply's "Oot of Nothing At All," among others. When he wrote "Total Eclipse of the Heart," he'd also been working a score for a musical version of Nosferatu, and he originally intended it to be a vampire song. The song was subsenquently included in his musical, Dance of the Vampires, and he's said, "If anyone listens to the lyrics, they're really like vampire lines. It's all about the darkness, the power of darkness and love's place in the dark..."
The theme for this paricular set of blogs is supposed to be about the songs that have inspired my fiction. That's true for this song, too, except I'm still *writing* the story in question, so I can't link to it. It will be final story, "Liam's Tale," in the collection
 
As always, if you want to read any of these tales, drop me a note and I'll send the passkey.
The tale from the source material--It's obvious what that is, right?--is short, more or less parodies the other tales, and gets cut off for being "boring." Using this song, along with "Out of Nothing At All," I've figured out more or less how to do that. But, it'll take a couple of more days for the germ of the idea to percolate into a real story. I'll probably come back here once I'm done so people can find it.
Anway, here's the awesome video that went with Steinman's masterwork.
Footnotes
Hernandez, Ernio (18 September 2002). "Rando, Steinman Talk About Dance of the Vampires at Press Preview, Sept. 18". Playbill. |
February 28, 2025 at 8:59am February 28, 2025 at 8:59am
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"Total Eclipse of the Heart" was the lead single by Bonnie Tyler from her 1983 album, Faster Than the Speed of Night . The song was written by Jim Steinman, who also produced the album--more on him in a bit. The single was Tyler's biggest career hit, toping the Billboard charts in the both US and the UK. In fact, it kept another Steinman-written song, Air Supply's "Out of Nothing at All," from reaching the top spot in the US.
The song is likely also Stenman's biggest and best-known hit, but he wrote many other awesome songs--arias, really--about obsessive love, including Meatloaf's "I'd Do Anything For Love (Except that)" and Air Supply's "Oot of Nothing At All," among others. When he wrote "Total Eclipse of the Heart," he'd also been working a score for a musical version of Nosferatu, and he originally intended it to be a vampire song. The song was subsenquently included in his musical, Dance of the Vampires, and he's said, "If anyone listens to the lyrics, they're really like vampire lines. It's all about the darkness, the power of darkness and love's place in the dark..."
The theme for this paricular set of blogs is supposed to be about the songs that have inspired my fiction. That's true for this song, too, except I'm still *writing* the story in question, so I can't link to it. It will be final story, "Liam's Tale," in the collection
As always, if you want to read any of these tales, drop me a note and I'll send the passkey.
The tale from the source material--It's obvious what that is, right?--is short, more or less parodies the other tales, and gets cut off for being "boring." Using this song, along with "Out of Nothing At All," I've figured out more or less how to do that. But, it'll take a couple of more days for the germ of the idea to percolate into a real story. I'll probably come back here once I'm done so people can find it.
Anway, here's the awesome video that went with Steinman's masterwork.
Footnotes
Hernandez, Ernio (18 September 2002). "Rando, Steinman Talk About Dance of the Vampires at Press Preview, Sept. 18". Playbill. |
February 27, 2025 at 8:53am February 27, 2025 at 8:53am
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Without going into too much detail, this 1926 song by George and Ira Gershwin fit perfectly with the mood and thematic material of "Alby's Tale"  .
The song itself was written for the musical Oh Kay!, which ran for 200 performance on Broadway and also had a successful run on the London stage. The original score called for an up-tempo beat, marked scherzando (playiful) on the sheet music. However, starting in the 30s, recordings appeared wth a slower, more balladic tempo, which has since become the standard. The song has been recorded by many artists, including such luminaries at Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Barbra Streisand, Ray Charles, Willie Nelson, Sinéad O'Connor, Elton John, Nelson Riddle, and Linda Ronstadt. My personal favorite recording is by Michael Feinstein.
The story "Alby's Tale" .references the song playing in a piano bar, so the version that's appropriate for this particular blog is this interpretation for jazz piano.
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February 26, 2025 at 9:22am February 26, 2025 at 9:22am
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Originally, "Melancholy Baby" was a honky-tonk song. It was published in 1912, with music by Ernie Burnett and lyrics by George A. Norton. The first public performance of the song was at the Mozart Cafe in 1912 by William Frawley. Fans of the old TV sitcom I Love Lucy will remember Frawley for his role as the Ricardo's landlord, Fred Mertz. He actually reprised his performanc in a 1959 episode, "Lucy Goes to Sun Valley."
For me, the most memorable version is the one by Judy Garland, in A Star is Born. The song is completely recast from its honky-tonk origins to a melancholy dirge, and is one of Garland's most unforgettable performances.
The last half of "Alby's Tale" is set in a piano bar. At current count, it's got seven different song references. The first half of the story happens in a crowded discotheque where the ABBA hit "Dancing Queen" sets the scene. I wanted a song to set a different, more introspective mood for the piano bar, so of course Garland's rendition of "Melancholy Baby" came to mind. But, it's a piano bar, so I wanted to find a version for piano, preferably a smooth jazz version.
This is what Alby hears as he enters the piano bar:
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February 25, 2025 at 3:53pm February 25, 2025 at 3:53pm
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I've spent most of yestreday and today writing a short story. Well, doing that and making bread and seafood ceviche. The story--still very much first-drafty--is {item:2335764
It's based on another well-known tale, from another era. I think I managed to include all of the essential plot elements from the source material. See if you can guess what it's based on. There are hints galore.
Anyway, a good part of this story takes place in a piano bar, so I've got a wealth of songs to fill out the month in just this one story. It's also a romance, and the song that motivated the romance element is this haunting performance by Marlene Dieitrich.
Dietrich first sang the song in the 1930 movie Der Blaue Engel, an erotic story of obsessive love. It was later translated into English and she sang it again for American audiences. It became her signature. The most sexually explicit verse in the original German lyrics never got translated into English--see this review in The Guardian if you're interested in the details.
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February 24, 2025 at 8:30am February 24, 2025 at 8:30am
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The Charile Daniels Band relesed "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" on their 1979 album Million Mile Reflections. Whle uncredited, , Vassar Clements originally wrote the basic melody an octave lower, in a tune called "Lonesome Fiddle Blues." Charlie Daniels moved it up an octave and added lyrics. Tthe lyrics, which are more of a recitative than sung, tell of a battle with the devil over the soul of a country fiddler. This is recognizably a varition on the classic deal with the devil trope. In particular, Daniels has cited the poem The Mountain Whip[orwhill by Stephen VIncent Benet as the inspiration for framing the trope as contest of violinists.
The lyrics and music also mention at least three old-time country songs.
 Fire on the Mountain
The House of the Rising Sun
Granny Will Your Dog Bite
Ida Red
The last is referenced only by the lyric, "Chicken in the bread pan peckin' out dough."
The song rose to number three on the BIllboard Top 100 Chart, but the populatirty of "My Shirona" eventually stopped iis rise.
In my story, "The Package" , the song is playing on the radio as the protagonist drives home, as a bit of foreshadowing for what's in the unexpected package she finds on her driveway. If you want to read the story, please drop me a note for the passkey.
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February 23, 2025 at 12:27pm February 23, 2025 at 12:27pm
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"Softly and Tenderly" was written by Will L. Thompson in 1880 as part of the American Restoration Movement. It is based on the Bible verse Mark 10:49. It is among the most used gospel songs, and has circulated far beyond its original evangelical origins.
Growing up, my rather stern Congregationalist church never used this hymn--at least to my memory. Not paricularly a propos of anything, the history of this particular congretation included having the father of Robert Milliken as it's pastor. MIlliken won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1923 for measuing the mass of the electron. His autobiography describes my home town in the 1880s as having more saloons than taverns on main street.
That tedious anecdote aside, here's another. My first enocunter with this song that I actually remember was while watch the film Junebug. That's the performance I've linked below. In this scene, Allesandro Nivola sings the song a cappella, along with two extras from the local congregaton where the scene was filmed. The reactions from the other characters while he's singing add amazing depth to the performance.
It was this scene and Nivola's performance that inspired the associated story. In this case, it's final chapter of "Dreamin' Life Away" , "Chapter 11--Softly and Tenderly" . Dante is back in the subway to hell 1950s Tulsa and he hears two street magicians, a pianist and a violinist, performing an instrumental version of the song. For completeness, I'm including a link to the song Dante hears, but it's not what motivated its inclusion in this chapter.
If you want to read this chapter or any of the chapters, please email for the passkey. Here's a complete list of eleven chatpers:
Max Griffin
Max Griffin 🏳️🌈  
Novel
Genre: Slipstream, Supernatural, LGBTQ+
Teaser. Dante's boyfriend just dumped him. He's moved into a new place. Oh, and there's a locked door in his kitchen.
"Chapter 1. Sleep Walk" 18+: Dante can't sleep
"Chapter 2. Take Five" 18+: The Subway
"Chapter 3. Over the Rainbow" 18+: At the downtown subway station
"Chapter 4--Danse Macabre" 18+: At the Cool Cat Clothiers
"Chapter 5--Everyday" 18+: Everyday life's headed this way, faster than a roller coaster.
"Chapter 6--Mad World" 18+: Dante is back in his new digs
"Chapter 7--So What, Gymnopédies" 18+: Back in the subway station
"Chapter 8--You Belong To Me" 18+: The Screen Test
"Chapter 9--Get Happy, In Dreams" 18+: At the Club of Dreams
"Chapter 10--Rider on the Storm" GC: Back in Dante's bedroom
"Chapter 11--Softly and Tenderly" 18+: Back on the subway
"Songs in "Dreamin Life Away"" E: Links to the songs referenced in the story
Here's Nivola singing in Junebug.The movie is definately worth watching.
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February 22, 2025 at 5:20pm February 22, 2025 at 5:20pm
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"Riders of the Storm" was the last song recorded by the Doors and the last song recorded by Jim Morrison before his death in 1971. It was inspired, in part, by the country classic "(Ghost) RIders in the Sky," but has an altogether different vibe. Appearing in 1971, it's roots in the psychedelic anthems of the sixties are obvious. It was also influential in later develops in rock music, including punk rock and heavy metal.
Morrison attended a 1963 lecture on Martin Heidegger at Florida State University, a lecture which exerted deep influence on his life and art. In partiular, the lyrics of "Riders on the Storm" relfect this influence.. In Heidegger's view, humans are "thrown" into the world, left to confront issues such as personhood, mortality, and the dilemma of being surrounded by other humans while ultimately being alone. The song's lyrics reflect Heidegger's beliefs about existence:
Riders on the storm...
into this world we are thrown,
Like a dog without a bone
In "Chapter 10--Rider on the Storm" of "Dreamin' Life Away" , the protagonist Dante must finallly face the reality of his life. The storm that drums against the windows of his home echoes the consequences of the Faustean bargains he's made. The Doors song, starting with the sound of thunder and rainfall, followed by a keyboard riff leading to Morrison's haunting voice, is the perfect soundtrack for this chapter. Thiis is the penulitmate chapter of a novella that is, ultimately, about the questions Heidegger raised.
Max Griffin
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February 21, 2025 at 8:55am February 21, 2025 at 8:55am
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Harold Arlen is perhaps best known for writing the score to MGM's 1939 release of "The Wizard of Oz." The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) ranked his "Over the Rainbow" number one on their Songs of the Century list. But Arlen was nominated eight times for the Academy award and was responsible for many familiar classics, including standards like "That Old Black Magic" and "Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive." He also wrote "Get Happy" in 1930. Judy Garland sang the song in 1952 in her last MGM musical, "A Star is Born." Her performance is linked below.
The exuberant music and lyrics have gospel roots, and exhort the listener to "get happy" and "get ready for the judgement day."
There are two songs referenced in "Chapter 9--Get Happy, In Dreams" of "Dreamin' Life Away" . Yesterday's blog dealt with the Roy Orbison classic, "In Dreams," and explained its connection to the story. For "Get Happy," the connection is the line "get ready for the judgement day." In earlier chapters, the protagonist, Dante, has made a Fausitian bargain and has gotten his reward. But now it's time to pay the price. So, hearing the lyrics to "Get Happy" warns him to "get ready for the judgement day." The payoff comes when he hears "In Dreams," with a turning point that mirrors a scene in David Lynch's "Mullholland Drive."
The story has a surreal, slipstream mood, and I wanted the performance of the song to reflect that. So, instead of Judy's famililar performance, I chose the one Rufus Wainwright did in his Canrengie Hall concert. Wainwright's performance and staging copy the familiar MGM clip, right down to Wainwright dressing in drag, wearing black nylons, high heels, and a saucy little hat. Since Dante is celebrating his reward in the 1950s, I described Wainwright's performance but placed it in a 1950s gay club.
Here's Judy Garland in "A Star is Born"
And here's Rubus Wainwright, at Carnegie Hall
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