After Recording Welcome Up: Songs of Space and Time, at Old Bear Records, October 2018

Tina Vozick & Paul Levinson at Old Bear Records, October 2018

Two-Hour, In-Depth Interview about My Music

 

a nearly two-hour interview by Greg Shanks about my music, with details 

I haven't written or talked about before

"Merri Goes Round" Played on The Music Authority Today

Robbie Rist + Don Frankel = Sundial Symphony

That's right -- starting at 4 minutes 54 seconds into the first hour of today's Music Authority program, you'll hear Sundial Symphony singing "Merri Goes Round," a song I wrote with Ed Fox in 1971, recorded back then by a studio group I put together called The Trousers.

Sundial Symphony's version was recorded in 2016, and released on Big Stir Records in 2019.  I should mention that Sundial Symphony consists of Robbie Rist (yep, Cousin Oliver) and Don Frankel.  Don played keyboard on lots of the tracks on my 1972 LP Twice Upon A Rhyme, and accordion on "If I Traveled to the Past" and "Tau Ceti" on Welcome Up: Songs of Space and Time, released on Old Bear Records and Light in the Attic Records (vinyl) in 2020.

James Jim Prell, DJ for The Music Authority, says all the songs he plays are chosen by "algorithm".  But I owe him a big thank you anyway, for presiding over that algorithmic choice!

• listen to today's Music Authority (any time) -- Merri Goes Round starts at 4min54sec, and there are lots of other great songs in this episode
• Twice Upon A Rhyme on Spotify and Bandcamp
• Welcome Up on Spotify and Bandcamp
• reviews of these albums and more

Borrowed Tides and "Alpha Centauri"

As some of you may know, my second science fiction novel, Borrowed Tides (Tor Books, 2001), is about the first starship to Alpha Centauri.

As others of you may know, or as the same some of you may also know, one of the songs on my Welcome Up: Songs of Space and Time album (released this past February by Old Bear Records, with vinyl distribution by Light in the Attic Records) is "Alpha Centauri," about an astronaut who travels the 4.3 light years to that triple star system.   That song was written (words by me, music by Peter Rosenthal) around the same time as Borrowed Tides.

I performed it this past weekend, online, at Amazingcon.  Here's a video (that sounds like it was broadcast from Alpha Centauri) of the Zoom performance.



review of Welcome Up album by Joseph Neff for The Vinyl District

Paul Levinson virtual concert (video) at HELIOsphere 4 April 2020

And here's the video of my complete 1-hour virtual concert at HELIOsphere, April 4, 2020.

I sing songs from Welcome Up: Songs of Space and Time (Old Bear Records, Light In the Attic Records) and from Twice Upon A Rhyme (HappySad Records, Beatball Records, Vivid Records, Whiplash Records), and several new songs not yet on any album.

Set list:

"Cloudy Sunday" from Welcome Up (words by Paul Levinson, music by Linda Kaplan Thaler)

"I Knew You By Heart" from Welcome Up (words by Paul Levinson, music by Peter Rosenthal)

"The Lama Will Be Late This Year" from Twice Upon A Rhyme (words by Paul Levinson, music by Ed Fox)

"Tau Ceti" from Welcome Up (words by Paul Levinson, music by John Anealio)

"Picture Postcard World" from Welcome Up (words & music by Paul Levinson)

"Samantha" (from Welcome Up) (words & music by Paul Levinson)

"If I Traveled to the Past" (from Welcome Up) (words by Paul Levinson, music by John Anealio)

"Lime Streets" (words & music by Paul Levinson)

"Looking for Sunsets (In the Early Morning)" from Twice Upon A Rhyme (words by Paul Levinson, music by Ed Fox)

"Alpha Centauri" from Welcome Up (words by Paul Levinson, music by Peter Rosenthal)

"Welcome Up" from Welcome Up (words & music by Paul Levinson)

"The Soft of Your Eyes" from Twice Upon A Rhyme (words & music by Paul Levinson)

"Pictures on the Phone" (words & music by Paul Levinson)

====

Welcome Up: Songs of Space and Time tracks produced by Chris Hoisington

all lead vocals by Paul Levinson

backing tracks: Chris Hoisington (harmonies), Jeremy Thompson (guitars, stand-up bass, mellotron, etc), Steve Padin (keyboard, drums), Anthony Hoisington (piano on Tau Ceti), Don Frankel (accordion on If I Traveled to the Past & Tau Ceti), Peter Rosenthal (guitar on Cloudy Sunday and Twice Upon a Rhyme tracks), Barbara Krupnick (piano on Cloudy Sunday), Paul Levinson (piano on Pictures on the Phone)

Welcome Up recording engineer: Ronnie Shrock

Welcome Up mixed and mastered: Evan Sieling

for HELIOsphere: Marc Grossman and thanks Liz Crefin

listen to complete album, free, on Bandcamp https://oldbearpaullevinson.bandcamp.com/album/welcome-up-songs-of-space-and-time

and on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/album/4S1oaV75qF6tRFfdDwDczE?si=WYXs2mRITdqQMEgMF3gxFw

CDs here: http://paullev.com/product/welcome-up-songs-of-space-and-time-cd/

->  lyrics to all of the songs on the album on the CD page  <- span="">

Light In the Attic vinyl Welcome Up: Songs of Space and Time https://lightintheattic.net/releases/6371-welcome-up-songs-of-space-and-time

Twice Upon A Rhyme on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/artist/5wWMm7Q8SSRTvvIJ1GLiRY

and on Bandcamp https://paullevinson.bandcamp.com/album/twice-upon-a-rhyme

Twice Upon A Rhyme original sealed 1972 vinyl HappySad Records http://paullev.com/product/twice-upon-a-rhyme-vinyl-original-1972-album/

Podcast: Paul Levinson virtual concert (audio) at HELIOsphere 4 April 2020

audio of the entire 1-hour virtual concert I did via Zoom at HELIOsphere: Beyond the Corona on the afternoon of April 4, 2004.  (You can get the video + audio of my concert here.)

I sing songs from Welcome Up: Songs of Space and Time (Old Bear Records, Light In the Attic Records) and from Twice Upon A Rhyme (HappySad Records, Beatball Records, Vivid Records, Whiplash Records), and several new songs not yet on any album.

Set list:

"Cloudy Sunday" from Welcome Up (words by Paul Levinson, music by Linda Kaplan Thaler)

"I Knew You By Heart" from Welcome Up (words by Paul Levinson, music by Peter Rosenthal)

"The Lama Will Be Late This Year" from Twice Upon A Rhyme (words by Paul Levinson, music by Ed Fox)

"Tau Ceti" from Welcome Up (words by Paul Levinson, music by John Anealio)

"Picture Postcard World" from Welcome Up (words & music by Paul Levinson)

"Samantha" (from Welcome Up) (words & music by Paul Levinson)

"If I Traveled to the Past" (from Welcome Up) (words by Paul Levinson, music by John Anealio)

"Lime Streets" (words & music by Paul Levinson)

"Looking for Sunsets (In the Early Morning)" from Twice Upon A Rhyme (words by Paul Levinson, music by Ed Fox)

"Alpha Centauri" from Welcome Up (words by Paul Levinson, music by Peter Rosenthal)

"Welcome Up" from Welcome Up (words & music by Paul Levinson)

"The Soft of Your Eyes" from Twice Upon A Rhyme (words & music by Paul Levinson)

"Pictures on the Phone" (words & music by Paul Levinson)

====

Welcome Up: Songs of Space and Time tracks produced by Chris Hoisington

all lead vocals by Paul Levinson

backing tracks: Chris Hoisington (harmonies), Jeremy Thompson (guitars, stand-up bass, mellotron, etc), Steve Padin (keyboard, drums), Anthony Hoisington (piano on Tau Ceti), Don Frankel (accordion on If I Traveled to the Past & Tau Ceti), Peter Rosenthal (guitar on Cloudy Sunday and Twice Upon a Rhyme tracks), Barbara Krupnick (piano on Cloudy Sunday), Paul Levinson (piano on Pictures on the Phone)

Welcome Up recording engineer: Ronnie Shrock

Welcome Up mixed and mastered: Evan Sieling

for HELIOsphere: Marc Grossman and thanks Liz Crefin

listen to complete album, free, on Bandcamp https://oldbearpaullevinson.bandcamp.com/album/welcome-up-songs-of-space-and-time

and on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/album/4S1oaV75qF6tRFfdDwDczE?si=WYXs2mRITdqQMEgMF3gxFw

CDs here: http://paullev.com/product/welcome-up-songs-of-space-and-time-cd/

->  lyrics to all of the songs on the album on the CD page  <- span="">

Light In the Attic vinyl Welcome Up: Songs of Space and Time https://lightintheattic.net/releases/6371-welcome-up-songs-of-space-and-time

Twice Upon A Rhyme on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/artist/5wWMm7Q8SSRTvvIJ1GLiRY

and on Bandcamp https://paullevinson.bandcamp.com/album/twice-upon-a-rhyme

Twice Upon A Rhyme original sealed 1972 vinyl HappySad Records http://paullev.com/product/twice-upon-a-rhyme-vinyl-original-1972-album/

Patrick Rands Debuts "Welcome Up" in Boston

Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 122, in which I play for you the entire interview, along with the music, which Patrick Rands did with me the other day (January 21, 2020) on his show Abstract Terrain on WZBC Radio out of Boston (Newton, MA, to be more exact).  You may recall that Patrick interviewed me in 2005 about Twice Upon A Rhyme and all the other music I had out in various corners of the world back then.  That interview became episode 79 on Light On Light Through in 2010.  The new interview spotlights my new album Welcome Up: Songs of Space and Time, being released right now on digital. vinyl, and CD by Old Bear Records (see links below; limited vinyl being distributed by Light In the Attic).  Patrick also plays some lesser known songs from Twice Upon A Rhyme, and all kinds of demos and singles of my music over the years he's dug up in his inimitable way.   Enjoy -- and here's the playlist if you want to follow along:

1.  "Samantha"  Paul Levinson (words & music by Paul Levinson, 2018) from Welcome Up, Old Bear Records, 2020

2. "Alpha Centauri" Paul Levinson (words by Paul Levinson, music by Peter Rosenthal, 2000) from Welcome Up, Old Bear Records, 2020

3. "Alpha Centauri" Peter Rosenthal (words by Paul Levinson, music by Peter Rosenthal, 2000) studio demo

4. "Picture Postcard World" Paul Levinson (words & music by Paul Levinson, 1968) from Welcome Up, Old Bear Records, 2020

5. "Picture Postcard World" The Definitive Rock Chorale (words & music by Paul Levinson, 1968) single released on Decca Records, 1968

6. "If I Traveled to the Past" Paul Levinson (words by Paul Levinson, music by John Anealio, 2010) from Welcome Up, Old Bear Records, 2020

7.  "Welcome Up" Paul Levinson (words & music by Paul Levinson, 2018) from Welcome Up, Old Bear Records, 2020

8. "Tau Ceti" Paul Levinson (words by Paul Levinson, music by John Anealio, 2010) from Welcome Up, Old Bear Records, 2020

9. "Cloudy Sunday" Paul Levinson (words by Paul Levinson, music by Linda Kaplan, 1968) from Welcome Up, Old Bear Records, 2020

10. "Cloudy Sunday" Linda Kaplan (words by Paul Levinson, music by Linda Kaplan, 1968) studio demo

11. "Antique Shop (The Coming of Winter)" Paul Levinson (words by Paul Levinson, music by Peter Rosenthal, 1968) from Twice Upon A Rhyme, HappySad Records, 1972

12. "I'm Seeing You in a Different Light" Paul Levinson (words by Paul Levinson, music by Ed Fox, 1969 ) from Twice Upon A Rhyme, HappySad Records, 1972

13. "Ring Around My Rosie"  Protozoa (words & music by David Fox, 1968), single released on Buddah Records (produced by Paul Levinson, Herb Abramson, and Ed Fox), 1968

14. "My Pink Hippopotamus" Protozoa (words & music by David Fox, 1968), single released on Buddah Records (produced by Paul Levinson, Herb Abramson, and Ed Fox), 1968

15. "Merri Goes Round"  Sundial Symphony (= Don Frankel & Robbie Rist) (words by Paul Levinson, music by Ed Fox, 1969), single released on Big Stir Records, 2019

16.  "Merri Goes Round"  Trousers (words by Paul Levinson, music by Ed Fox, 1969), single released on HappySad Records, 1969 and on Wizdom Records, 1969

17.  "Hung Up On Love"  The Other Voices (aka The New Outlook: Paul Levinson, Stu Nitekman, Ira Margolis) (words by Paul Levinson, music by Mikie Harris, 1968), single released on Atlantic Records, 1969

18.  "Unbelievable (Inconceivable You)" The Vogues (words & music by Paul Levinson, 1968), unreleased single on Reprise Records

19.  "Park at Night" Paul Levinson & Paul Gorman (words by Paul Levinson, music by Paul Gorman, 1963) studio demo

20.  "Sunshine's Mine" The New Outlook (aka The Other Voices: Paul Levinson, Stu Nitekman, Ira Margolis) (words by Paul Levinson, music by Stu Nitekman, 1969) studio demo, 1966 (on Spun Dreams album, HappySad Records, 2010)

21.  "Pictures on the Phone" Paul Levinson (words & music by Paul Levinson, 2020) home demo

Where to get most of this music:

Welcome Up: Songs of Space and Time: digital, vinyl, CD
Twice Upon A Rhyme: digital, original 1972 vinyl

Where to see the lyrics to most of these songs:
for Welcome Up (scroll down); for  Twice Upon A Rhyme 

• join my music mailing list
• Patrick's 2005 interview with me, with music

Check out this episode!

Debuting Welcome Up LP at Philcon 9 November 2019

vinyl, digital, and CD copies of Welcome Up: Songs of Space and Time to be officially released by Old Bear Records in early 2020 - but you can get an advance copy of the CD here

more about Paul Levinson's music 

Everybody Hates Elves by Kari Maaren: You'll Just Love It

Hey, I had a great time in Toronto on Wednesday night at Bakka-Phoenix Books' Night of Amazing Stories, where I and four other authors (Jen Frankel, Shirley Meier, Liz Westbrook-Trenholm, and Lena Ng) read from our stories published in the amazing Amazing Stories.  Editor Ira Nayman put this all together, Gisela McKay video-recorded the event (I'll post the link here when it's up on YouTube), and I actually not only read a story but sang a song, "If I Traveled to the Past," which will be on my new album, Welcome Up: Songs of Space and Time, to be released by Old Bear Records in early 2020.  (If you'd like to hear that song, there's rough mix of it, right above this post, right above the snowy window.)

But speaking of songs, one of the best surprises for me of the evening was Kari Maaren, who sang two songs, one about a nerd, one about a werewolf, with her ukulele and her delightful, strong, funny (as in laughing) voice.  The songs both had clever, bouncy lyrics, just my cup of tea.  They've not yet been released.  But Kari has released a CD, which I couldn't resist listening to and reviewing here.

In general, Kari’s a little like Raffi with a ukelele - but mostly not like anyone else.  Her CD Everybody Hates Elves - which you can listen to here - has 14 songs, all of which have Kari's unique sparkle and style.

Here are my comments on most of them (I always like leaving a little something out when I review an album or an LP, to keep you in suspense) -

• “It must be so dreary to die” typifies the title song  "Everybody Hates Elves," a defiant song, with irrepressible, alliterate lyrics, which, come to think of it, light up just about every song on the CD
• "Fake Geek Guy" has some excellent counterpoint, and splashy sarcasm, another hallmark of these songs
• But "Come Rescue Me," from the Star Wars universe, is a plaintiff, almost lilting, altogether beautiful ballad
• "Trekless," on the other hand, rhymes Borg and morgue, hard and Jean-Luc Picard, binge and Fringe, and mentions Hulu
• Like most science fiction writers, Maaren dabbles in a little mystery, then returns to science fiction - but in the same song - and gets in another bevy of good rhymes, like "soil" and "foil" - in "Being Watson"
• She has a good love song in "I Did It For Love," and follows it with a good meta-love song, "They Are in Love," which stresses that nothing else matters, and brings the point home with the line "gives the tale its punch" which I think may be (homonymically) provocative
• "The Prophecy Hotline" is a very different kind of song, with a great ending, and one of my favorites lines in this collection of songs, "well meaning morons"
• Next up, "When the Starcats Come," has to be auto-biographical, about a kid oppressed in school, hoping for extra-terrestrials to rescue her
• Even more desperate is "Take My Sheep," which finds the troubadour unable to sleep, "buried in mounds of sheep"
• Boy A or Boy B is the dilemma presented in "I Can't Decide" - one is "excellent without a shirt" ... and the other? well, you have to listen to the song to find out
• And, trite as it may be for me to say this, Kari saves the best for last, with another other meta song, this one about a magazine seeking submissions (of stories), with rhymes of historical and metaphorical, in a refrain that features “we don’t want your unrealistic shit” which rhymes with ... "Can Lit" the title of the song

So, you get the acoustic picture.  If you'd like some laughs, memorable melodies, and creme de la creme rhyming lyrics, do yourself a favor and acquaint yourself with Kari Maaren's Everbody Hates Elves, which, again, you can listen to right here.

And if you'd like to know why I like rhymes so much, you'll find at least part of the explanation here.

My Set List for 9 November 5:30pm Philcon performance

Jeremy Thompson, Paul Levinson, Steve Padin, Chris Hoisington

Here's the set list for my 9 November 2019 (Saturday), 5:30-6pm performance at Philcon (in Cherry Hill, NJ, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel), room Plaza VI (Six) - the first public performance of songs from my new science fiction related album, Welcome Up: Songs of Space and Time, produced by Chris Hoisington and to be released by Old Bear Records in early 2020:

If I Traveled to the Past (words by Paul Levinson, music by John Anealio)  

Tau Ceti (Paul Levinson and John Anealio)

Samantha (Paul Levinson)
Welcome Up (Paul Levinson)

Alpha Centauri (Paul Levinson and Peter Rosenthal) 

Cloudy Sunday (Paul Levinson and Linda Kaplan) 

I Knew You By Heart (Paul Levinson and Peter Rosenthal)
Picture Postcard World (Paul Levinson)

The names in parentheses are the songwriters.  I'll be singing all the songs, against backing tracks from my new album Welcome Up (to be released by Old Bear Records early in 2020) and two other songs from Twice Upon a Rhyme (Happysad Records, 1972).

backing tracks for If I Traveled to the Past, Tau Ceti, Samantha, Alpha Centauri, Welcome Up, I Knew You By Heart, Picture Postcard World:  guitars Jeremy Thompson, drums and keyboard Steven Carlos Padin, harmony and production Chris Hoisington, keyboard Anthony Hoisington, accordion Don Frankel

backing track for Cloudy Sunday: guitar Peter Rosenthal, piano Barbara Krupnick, harmony and production Chris Hoisington, production Paul Levinson

more about my music: Reverbnation, Facebook, Bandcamp, Spotify 

==========
The rest of the convention should be lots of fun, too.  Here's my schedule:

Fri 6:00 PM in Executive Suite 623 (1 hour) READINGS: PAUL LEVINSON, APRIL GREY, JAMES CAMBIAS (3723) [Panelists: Paul Levinson (mod), April Grey, James L. Cambias]  Note: I'll be reading from a  brand new alternate-Beatles story, "It's Real Life," for the first time in public!

Fri 7:00 PM in Crystal Ballroom Promenade (Gaming) (1 hour) AUTOGRAPHS: PAUL LEVINSON, APRIL GREY, JAMES CAMBIAS (3726) [Panelists: Paul Levinson (mod), April Grey, James L. Cambias]

Sat 11:00 AM in Crystal Ballroom Two (1 hour) ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND CONSCIOUSNESS (3590) [Panelists: Jeff Warner (mod), David Walton, Rebecca Robare, Anna Kashina, Paul Levinson, Muriel Hykes] Does “I think, therefore I am” apply to AI? Could it ever? How could we tell if it happens

Sat 3:00 PM in Plaza V (Five) (1 hour) JEWISH SCIENCE FICTION (3530) [Panelists: Simone Zelitch (mod), Paul Levinson, Aaron Feldman, B. Lana Guggenheim, Daniel Kimmel, Alex Shvartsman] Is it a subgenre of its own? Plenty of Jews write SF, and plenty of non-Jews incorporate Jewish history and elements of the Jewish supernatural into their work. What can we learn from this classification, and does it enrich or limit how we read

Sat 5:30 PM in Plaza VI (Six) (30 mins) Paul Levinson mini-concert

Sat 11:00 PM in Crystal Ballroom Two (1 hour) GAME OF THRONES (3600) [Panelists: Charlie Robertson (mod), Michael A. Ventrella, Muriel Hykes, Paul Levinson] It wouldn't be inaccurate to say that *everybody* lost when it comes to the HBO adaptation. How should the show have ended? How might the ending of the novels differ

Sun 12:00 PM in Crystal Ballroom Two (1 hour) HOW FAR CAN YOU SUSPEND SOMEONE'S DISBELIEF? (3514) [Panelists: Elektra Hammond (mod), Paul Levinson, Lawrence Kramer, Julie Ann Dawson, Robert E. Waters] How much can you ask a reader to take on faith before they can't take your story seriously any more? Are there ways to get readers willing to accept more challenging changes and assumptions? What authors have succeed at pushing the boundaries without pushing their readers out of the story

Captain Phil interviews Paul Levinson about his Music, Views of Trump, and Ultima Thule

Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 115 - a 2019 New Year's special - in which Captain Phil (on WUSB Radio) interviews me about my music, views of Donald Trump, and NASA's Ultima Thule fly-by.  Not only that - Phil plays, for the first time on any radio station, three rough mixes from my forthcoming Welcome Up album of science fiction songs, to be released by Old Bear Records this Spring: "Samantha", "If I Traveled to the Past", and "Welcome Up".  I always have a good time talking to Phil, but these 90 minutes were really out of the ball park.
Relevant links:
1. Music from my one other album - Twice Upon a Rhyme (1972) - on Bandcamp, Spotify, and Apple Music.
2. Bill O'Reilly's interview with me about Catherine Bosley: the video.
3. My review of Alec Nevala-Lee's Astounding.
4. My best-known book about Trump: Fake News in Real Context


Check out this episode!

Recording Brand New Album of Science Fiction Related Songs

For immediate release...

Paul Levinson Off in a few days to Batavia, NY - Old Bear Records - to record a brand new album of my science fiction related songs with Chris L. Hoisington producing ... my first album of new songs since Twice Upon A Rhyme in 1972!  Watch my music page on Facebook for progress reports, including photos and video clips from the studio. I wrote the words and music to most of these songs, and collaborated with Linda Thaler, John Anealio Mazzarella, and Peter Rosenthal on several songs in which I wrote the lyrics and one of those fine composers the music. Here's a list of the songs I'll be recording: "Alpha Centauri" (words by Paul Levinson, music by Peter Rosenthal, 2000) "Cloudy Sunday" (words by Paul Levinson, music by Linda Kaplan Thaler, 1968) "I Knew You By Heart" (words by Paul Levinson, music by Peter Rosenthal, 2000) "If I Traveled to the Past" (words by Paul Levinson, music by John Anealio, 2011) "Picture Postcard World" (words and music by Paul Levinson, 1968) "Samantha" (words and music by Paul Levinson, 2018) "Tau Ceti" (words by Paul Levinson, music by John Anealio, 2011) "Welcome Up (Hiding Behind a Raindrop)" (words and music by Paul Levinson, 2018) I'll be touring in the Spring and Summer, performing these songs, mostly at science fiction conventions.  Watch here and on my Facebook music page for announcements.

Free Electronic Press Kits from ReverbNation.com

Farewell Elton John at Nassau Coliseum

Tina and I just got back from Elton John's fabulous Farewell Yellow Brick Road Concert at the Nassau Coliseum.  This is the third retiring tour concert we've been to in the past few weeks - Paul Simon and Joan Baez were the previous - and each was superb and special in its own way.

Elton John's music has played a surprisingly significant role throughout my professional life - surprising not because his songs (with lyrics by Bernie Taupin) have been wonderful, numerous, and memorable, but because they've had such diverse impact on my own creative work.


Most recently, my novelette, Marilyn and Monet, maybe in the earliest stages of being made into a movie, begins with Marilyn hearing "Candle in the Wind" as she walks off the set of The Misfits with Montgomery Clift in 1961 (hey, it's a science fantasy story).

Back when I began my life as a published writer, the fourth article I wrote for The Village Voice was inspired by "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" - an assessment of how the Wizard of Oz figured in rock music in its first decades.  Never read that article?  Not surprising.  The Village Voice - or rather its then new music editor, dyspeptic critic Robert Christgau, declined to publish it, after his predecessor Diane Fischer had published my first three articles ever published, all about music.  (I tell more of that story here.)

And Elton John's "Rocket Man" has had more long range influence on my work.  One of the few rock songs that were science fiction, it epitomized my passion as a writer for both rock music and science fiction.  And, indeed, I'll soon be recording a brand new album of my songs with science fiction themes for Old Bear Records in Batavia, New York.


Elton John sang all of these and 21 more at his concert tonight.   He hit most of the notes beautifully, and his back-up band was tight as a drum.  I've admired Ray Cooper even since I saw the way he played the tambourine in the George Harrison Memorial Concert.  It was a real treat seeing him in person, singing "pow, pow, pow" as he beat the bejesus out of the drums and anything percussive he could hit.

Elton's repartee was clever, but, more important, he comes across as one decent, sincere human being.  The graphics on the screen behind him were a tour de force.   I'm glad I had a chance to see him in person.  I know I'll continue singing his songs in my head, and who knows what big things that may lead to.