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Going to send out a quick Halloween podcast, full of witches, ghosts, zombies, and monsters. Kate and I are headed to Cambridge this weekend to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary. Enjoy Halloween! Elvis Presley, October Country, Donovan, Frank Sinatra, Fleetwood Mac, Psychedelic Furs, the Bamboos, Emmett Miller, the Fleshtones, the Jazz Butcher, Nilsson, Faith No … Continue reading "Halloween"

Yesterday was my birthday. When I was young my birthday was a big deal for me, but as I’ve gotten older the passing of time with markers has become less important to me. Still, it’s becoming an achievement to hit some of these markers (I am 21…times 3). So I’d like to thank everyone who … Continue reading "Birthday"

October is one of my favorite months. I love the crisp fall days when the hot, humid days have passed and the leaves have fallen from the trees. It’s my kind of weather. It’s also the month in which I was born (I’ll be 3 x 21), and the month I got married (it’ll be … Continue reading "Oktoberfest"

Took last week off. We were babysitting, including a sick little boy who couldn’t go to daycare on Friday. He tested clean for COVID, but still had a slight fever and was pretty sluggish. My wife and I got our flu shots and COVID booster on Thursday. One in each arm – I’m feeling pretty … Continue reading "Double Shot"

Quick one today – we’re babysitting and will be heading out to pick apples and have fun at a local farm/orchard. Hope everyone’s had a good weekend. Today’s podcast includes Little Feat, Jesse Ed Davis, Bob Dylan, the Byrds, the Delgados, Steve Wynn, the Primitives, La Sera, Murray Head, Paul McCartney, Elvis Costello, John Lennon, … Continue reading "Owen Day"

End of the Summer holiday. I don’t think this is what everyone had in mind when Labor Day became a national holiday, but to bookend Independence Day (US) and Labor Day as the beginning of and the end of summer worked out nicely. Let’s hope the weather cooperates and we start getting autumn-like weather now. … Continue reading "Laborious Day"

Kate and I were babysitting from Thursday through Saturday afternoon. It was exhausting but fun. We have two grandchildren – Owen, 2 years 8 months, and Antonia, aged 5 months. They are very fun but are very active. The kids were very good and we had a blast looking after them (my son and his … Continue reading "Grandchildren"

Second straight week of posting. Must be some sort of record. I remember a time… seriously when I was in high school and college I was a very good letter writer. I had a lot of friends that I corresponded with on a regular basis. Sometimes it was just a card with a humorous sentiment, … Continue reading "Back Again"

I’m back. Am I back? I’ve been off since November 30, and truthfully, I haven’t really missed putting together a playlist for a new podcast. Every once in a while I’ll hear a song and say that it would be good on the pod, but it’s been fleeting. So why now? Don’t know – I … Continue reading "A Brand New Me"

I had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family on Thursday. Food was great, company fantastic, nothing (really) went amiss. The next morning at 1;30, I started to projectile vomit, and did so every ninety minutes until 6:00 AM. Thus I had the stomach flu that was going around. It started with my grandson last weekend, then … Continue reading "Sick of Turkey"

Just back from vacation in Hilton Head. The word of the week was alligators. We were in Hilton Head previously, ut it was at Christmastime, and it was much colder, so all of the alligators were hibernating. Not last week. We had an alligator in our back swamp (we named him Beauchamps). We also saw … Continue reading "Alligators"

In 2020 Kate and I had planned our long-awaited trip to France. I was researching hotels and places to visit (beyond the obvious ones). Something happened to derail those plans – wait, I’m getting old and don’t always remember what happened… anyway, we did not go. We finally decided that we would take a vacation … Continue reading "Vacation!"

I don’t know about anyone else, but I’ve been very busy lately, and there’s no slowing down (relatively) in November. I attended a conference – in person! – earlier this week, have Board meetings next week along with Veteran’s Day, then am taking an actual vacation the week after that, coming back to have Thanksgiving … Continue reading "Busy Times"

Happy Halloween everyone! The weather’s been bad for trick or treating around here, but should be good tonight. Shouldn’t be too cold, wither, so Batman doesn’t have to wear a winter jacket over his costume. Let’s focus on some great music in today’s podcast, with Pokey LaFarge, David Crosby, Phoebe Bridgers, the Beatles, Elton John, … Continue reading "Happy Halloween"

The world circled the sun one more time with me on the planet on Friday. I am now 62 years old. I believe as we get older we are supposed to accumulate wisdom, but I’m out of the wisdom game. I think that I was a lot smarter and wiser when I was younger (and … Continue reading "Birthday"

I went to a concert on Thursday night – a real-life concert! It was just like the before times…well, except it took longer to get in the concert because we had to show our vaccination cards, and we had to mask up all night. But other than that – a real-life concert! We saw St. … Continue reading "Concert"

Hope everyone is enjoying the long weekend, or as my wife calls it, another Monday with me around. Such is the life of a retiree. I won’t know what that feels like for 5 more years (not that I’m counting – do you want work days or just all days between now and when I … Continue reading "Another Nothing Day"

A couple of weeks ago someone was talking about how they had planned to finish something in October. “October?” I thought, “why so late in the year?” Then Friday happened, and it’s October 1. “Oh, we are getting to the end of the year.” It’s been another long year, but the end is in sight. … Continue reading "October"

The little guy was sick this week. He had a slight fever, coughing, runny nose, and the bad mood you get when you’re sick. Not jumping to conclusions, but being level-headed, we thought, “COVID?” After he didn’t shake it after three days, we decided to test him (and keep him home from daycare. This meant … Continue reading "Panic"

Busy day today. No time to do anything except present podcast, which features The Everly Brothers, Tom T. Hall, George Jones, the Flying Burrito Brothers, the Jayhawks, the Bats, the Rolling Stones, Bead Game, Love, the Hushtones, Morcheeba, Hooverphonic, Hamell on Trial, the Fall, and Gang of Four. Please go to brennick.net to stream or … Continue reading "Best Laid Plans"

I’m usually far more prepared for my weekly scribbling, but I’m just behind today. I’m exhausted by everything going on at work, at home, and globally. Remembering 9/11 isn’t all that fun. We had friends in NYC and it took days to hear whether they were all right, and we heard that in a roundabout … Continue reading "Preparation"

When is Labor Day? In the U.S. and Canada, it’s the first Monday in September. For most of Europe, it’s May 1. It’s not May 1 in the U.S. for reasons that you can probably guess. Yes, we celebrate it later because we don’t want to strengthen socialist (and anarchist) movements by associating it with … Continue reading "Labor Day"

Cool, dry air has descended on New England. It’s nice but not what we usually get in late August. We’ve had so many hot and humid days this summer that the contrast seems greater than usual. We just came off another hot week and next week looks like typical New England weather – high 80’s … Continue reading "Weather Update"

Sometimes it's not worth looking at what happened in a year. 1991 was known for Operation Desert Storm. How'd that turn out? Oh yeah, leaving Afghanistan is tied in with that in a way. Maybe movies will be better. Let's see; there's Silence of the Lambs, Terminator 2, Cape Fear, Soapdish, and many, many more. … Continue reading "The Year: 1991"

It’s going to rain here today…again. We’ve had a wet summer, not that it’s helped the dwindling water supplies in the area. Most towns around here still have a mandatory water ban, as the rains have still not raised the water tables enough. We don’t live in the desert southwest, either. Saturday was nice, so … Continue reading "Rainy Summer"

Quick post today. Heading down to the Boston Aquarium to take my grandson to see the fish and penguins. Wonder if there are any sharks – they are Owen’s favorites. No shark will eat today’s podcast, with Jonathan Richman, Light & Motion, Automatic, Squeeze, Alex Little & the Suspicious Minds, Pretenders, DiVinyls, the Bangles, My … Continue reading "Shark Attack"

I’ve been a comics reader for as long as I can remember. I loved looking at the comics as a child and have continued to read them today. They still put out a (classic) Peanuts strip daily. I have the first few volumes of the complete strips from the beginning and still chuckle at Charlie … Continue reading "Comics"

Happy 4th of July weekend! What’re you doing for the holiday? We finally have a quiet weekend – had all of our fun last week and weekend, with vacation with my son, daughter, and grandson, a nephew’s wedding, and hosting my brother-in-law and his wife through Tuesday. We need to breathe. The weather, which may … Continue reading "Independence Day"

Just got back from vacation. What a great week. Eighteen-month-olds are fascinating. It was interesting to observe throughout the week. Owen has a great sense of humor and he loves his grandpa. I’m the favorite. Still, it’s funny. He loves saying no to things he doesn’t like, but if you say no to him it’s … Continue reading "Home from Vacation"

We’re heading out on vacation today. Going to North Conway for a week of fun with my son, his wife, and the grandchild. Will update you on how it went next week. This week’s podcast has a raft of favorites, including Strawbs, Richard & Linda Thompson, John Martyn, Crowded House, Squeeze, Billy Bragg, Paul Weller, … Continue reading "Vacation"

It’s too nice to be sitting around and writing today. Let’s just enjoy the day (I hope the weather is beautiful everywhere today). So on today’s pod, we mess around with the Call, the Connells, the Fixx, INXS, Jethro Tull, Family, Ten Years After, Led Zeppelin, Alex Little & the Suspicious Minds, the Get Up … Continue reading "Too Nice"

Continuing with the year 1971, this set is a bunch of songs that were on the Billboard 100 during the year, presented semi-1971 style. I don’t speak in-between or over the songs, but they’re just presented without a thought of any semblance of order. Just like 1971. You’d hear a country song followed by a … Continue reading "AM 1971"

In he before time I was thinking about changes that I was going through as I was getting older. To me it was very gradual – I didn’t really feel any effects of getting older until the cartilage in my left knee went away. Then I started to feel old. I couldn’t run anymore, and … Continue reading "Old Age"

Starting after the Civil War, Memorial Day was founded to honor soldiers who died serving their country here in the United States. Let us honor these soldiers – remember them at your cookout this weekend. Today’s podcast includes some new music as well as some soul music from the 1970’s, so listen to Paul Weller, … Continue reading "Memorial Day"

We’re on dogsitting duty today. The dogs we’re sitting don’t like being alone all day, so we’re going over to comfort them (and feed them). They’re the type of dogs that could not have food sitting around. Both of the dogs we owned could have food sitting in their bowls all day, but these two … Continue reading "Dogsitting"

The weather around here is changing over to summer-like conditions. We’re now hitting temperatures in the 70’s through the week. That’s nice. I hope that doesn’t mean that when we are in July and August that temperatures will continue to climb. I like temps in the 70’s – don’t you? Looks like we’re going to … Continue reading "Nice?"

“Do you like good music? That sweet soul music…” 1971 had some great soul music in addition to all of the other great music available to hear on your AM radio. It was still a time when all styles were played on the radio one after another. It didn’t take much to hear a rock … Continue reading "Soul 1971"

Happy Mother’s Day. First celebrated in 1907 as a religious observance. Woodrow Wilson proclaimed it a national holiday in 1914. Quickly taken over by Hallmark cards and florists in the 1920s. Interesting Wikipedia read. I think the day has become too commercialized, but it’s nice to give a shout-out to the moms. Here in America, … Continue reading "Mother’s Day"

Don’t have much for today. Auto-correct is anticipating what I want to say pretty well this morning, so I’m definitely in cliche land. Hope all’s well with everyone, and that May will be a great month. Fully vaxed and two weeks out and we’re feeling much better about things. Today’s podcast is another one thrown … Continue reading "Better Days Ahead"

I have a book that purports to have “The 100 Best Rock ‘n’ Roll Records of All Time” by Jimmy Guterman. Not sure that I agree with him on all of his choices, but he makes compelling arguments for them. Most are among the best of all time, so there’s something to the list. And … Continue reading "The Year is 1971"

Quick one today. We’re headed down to see the grandson. He’s sixteen months old and a pure delight. We’ll have a great time. We’re all over the place with this week’s podcast, so listen in to hear Dusty Trails, Stereolab, the Cardigans, Belle & Sebastian, the Moon, the Beach Boys, the Monkees, Nancy Sinatra, the … Continue reading "No Time"

Well, we got our second shot on Thursday. Unlike the first shot, there was no line when we showed up for our appointment. Good thing we got it on Thursday, as I was down for the count on Friday. Had a little bit of an elevated temperature, but it felt like my body was hit … Continue reading "Call me Two Shots"

It’s been a quiet week here. Quiet is good We had some days that reminded us that summer is coming soon. It’s heading back into the 50s, but even the 50s sounds good. Proper spring weather. Lots of good music on today’s podcast, with a mix of old and new from Cloud Nothings, the Mekons, … Continue reading "Quiet Week"

Happy Pascha. It was originally a variant of Passover used by the Jewish people but early Christians claimed it for what we know as “Easter.” Passover is now Pesach in Hebrew, which ends at nightfall today. Why Easter? The was a goddess named Eostre (or Ostara), who had celebrations named for her. She is either … Continue reading "Pascha"

Tuesday, 1:00-1:10. First shot. Come on over to the bus station to get vaccinated…or words to that effect. Kate and I went over at 12:50, figuring this would be a breeze. There was some backup, but it wasn’t bad. We waited in line in our car, slowly moving around the perimeter of the parking lot. … Continue reading "Shot One in the Books"

Good news (for Kate and me) – we have our vaccination scheduled for Tuesday. New Hampshire is starting to let the kids get vaccinated (well, kids = 50-64 year-olds) beginning on Monday, and we managed to get on the schedule early. I thought that it would take months, but persistence (over an hour on hold) … Continue reading "Vaccination Nation Station Creation"

Could it actually be spring? The equinox is a week off, and yet it was really warm this week, getting to the high 60’s on Thursday. Can’t really rely on forecasts, but it’s supposed to be warm by mid-week next week (this is in New England – ymmv). Overall the winter was pretty mild – … Continue reading "Could it be…Spring"

March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. I don’t know how I know this – it’s just one of those expressions that I heard when I was young and has stuck with me. This March has certainly been lion-like, if lions are very, very cold. But are lions cold? Don’t … Continue reading "March"

Today marks the end of another month. On Monday it’s March 1. And what is happening in March? Why, it’s anniversary time. It’ll be a year since the pandemic hit and kept us cooped up at home. The first-year anniversary present is paper. I know what paper I want – one that has a date … Continue reading "Anniversary"

How’s everyone doing? Hope all’s still well out there. New strains of the virus, vaccinations on the upswing, weather doing weather things out there. We’re having a normal winter – if anything snow’s been a little light overall. We’re still hunkered down. Kate’s starting to go stir crazy, but if anything is even more cautious … Continue reading "Check-In"

I saw a tweet yesterday that said “Am I depressed or is laying in bed f*ing awesome?” We’ve got the Pandemic blues, and one way to celebrate is to listen to the blues. I’ve put together an hour’s worth of blues music from the last 5 years. The blues is alive and well, so listen … Continue reading "Pandemic Blues"