As I write this, today is the 21st day of September in the year 2021…..twenty-one years into the 21st century already! If we take a hard look back in the history books, has humankind really and truly changed? Are we more civilized, more intelligent, more advanced, more knowledgeable (or better at using the knowledge we have accumulated); more accepting, more just…..? I’m not so sure. Appearances can be deceiving!
Continue readingSeptember…..the beginning of my favourite time of year. There’s something so crisp and refreshing…..a newness spring doesn’t possess. New jobs, new schools, new grades, new homes, new lives…..September to me has always meant “beginning”. Maybe because it’s the month of my birth, or maybe it’s all the fall colours and brightness of the air, but I always feel inspired and invigorated in the comfortable cool months of fall. Of course, all things pumpkin spice doesn’t hurt either!
Continue readingWhy not?! I’ve covered the guitar, the violin, drums, the cowbell, all things keyboard and synthesizer….so why not the cymbal? There’s nary a drum kit or a percussion setup without them. From marching bands to the person in the back of the orchestra who sits patiently, waiting for the build-up and that one moment when they can leap to their feet to crash those two giant cymbals together for that dramatic crescendo……and then (like Christmas) it’s suddenly over. I can’t think of one child who doesn’t love banging and clanging those noisemakers together. So let’s delve right in, shall we.
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There’s been much written about the vibrancy of Yonge Street, particularly beginning in the late 50s to its eventual winding down during the mid to late 80s. Clubs like the Brown Derby, The Colonial Tavern, Club Blue Note, Town Tavern, Le Coq d’Or, Steeles Tavern, Friars Tavern, Hawk’s Nest, The Zanzibar, Silver Rail…..graduating to The Gasworks, Piccadilly Tube, Nickelodeon, Hard Rock Cafe and many others. All gone, except the memories. The jazz and blues, the beginning of the Toronto Sound, rock, disco and punk invasions, the Yonge St. Mall…..
Here I am, Tuesday afternoon and I’m not sure what to write about. I usually have a thousand ideas racing through my brain leading up to today. But as I sit in my usual spot on the couch I’m drawing a blank!
Tuesday, January 26 at 6:01am my first podcast was posted on Podbean. It’s been a work in progress since last May….well technically last August/September. Let me ‘splain…..
I’m finding more tidbits of material and articles of interest as I go through files, newsfeeds and a rather stocked bookcase in my kitchen. Primarily a home for my many cookbooks, there are odds and sods of non food-related novels, appliance directions, clippings, etc. I find myself, over the years, spending more time dusting them off than actually using them. I confess I am a huge lover of food porn.
Hi, my name is Pat Blythe…..just in case you forgot!
Welcome to 2021! It’s been five weeks…..five columns since you’ve heard from me. Such a lot (and that’s putting it mildly) has happened globally, but especially south of our border. Every major news network is on it…..so I’m not. Today’s column will be one of lightness and fluff…..maybe a little fairy dust and little nonsense. I feel we could use some twaddle and trivia.
I’ve had all sorts of ideas and nonsense going through my mind for the past several days. Some quiet reflection in a totally silent house (that means no music), some on walks in this spectacular weather, memories that keep replaying in my mind translating into some very weird and disjointed dreams, very late nights and very late mornings. It’s a strange sensation feeling like everything rapidly circles around me while I stand still, unsure of the direction I should move in. Like you’re a part of something…..but then you’re not, standing on the outside looking in. I have no idea what’s going on, maybe the planets have misaligned or someone’s in retrograde, or maybe this whole fucking COVID thing has finally hit me. This too shall pass…..it always does.
I’ve been finding it difficult to focus on my column this week. Last Friday we received news that a much loved friend and musician had passed away. Chris Reed didn’t even achieve the revered status of joining “The 50 Club”. We’ve all been blindsided….totally stunned and still trying to absorb the news. I had to read his brother’s official FB announcement three times before it sunk in who he was really writing about. I thought for sure I was mistaken….but no, and then I burst into tears.
Bullseye Records of Canada
