radical druid

The White Album

Published on February 28, 2026

After another careful yet throughly enjoyable listen last night, I must again rank the #WhiteAlbum as the #Beatles crowning glory. Unlike their previous album, the costumes were off. Yes, you can hear the band disintegrating, yet they were never off target. The styles they explored and the way the sound filled the special spectrum with every instrument and sound specifically put where you hear it, the way each of the members created, reinvented, and predicted most of their own, and everybody else’s musical direction for the next 20 years, is mind-boggling. There is not a revelation-free moment. This is the Beatles naked. Exposed. Not a product or gimmick or novel social experiment. A real band. That could groove its ass off and then break your heart, only to then blow your mind. They put the polish back on, later, but this is where you saw them backstage. If you haven’t heard this on headphones or studio monitors, try it again.

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Left of U at Least

Published on February 28, 2026

More out of left field crazy country lyrics: “It never made a profit so I give it out for free. It doesn’t matter either way that’s how it’s gonna be. In any case the fixing it is not all up to me & I ain’t much use to bring along, but what will be will be. The answer’s never where you’re looking, stop looking @ me. I’ll have 2 charge admission & u can’t afford my fee.” I’ll be here all night. I ain’t wearing the hat because you’re supposed to be throwing money in it, right? Living the dream, right? Well, it’s somebody’s dream. I never wanted a guitar-shaped swimming pool or nothing, but maybe a bit of a concrete pond in the back yard and a fence to keep it private would do. Of course, there’s the money to think about. Gives you pause, don’t it? That’s what the hat’s for, remember? It ain’t a tip. It’s for services rendered. As if that was enough to hold up the rest of your life you carved away just learning how to play that last fifteen or so minutes. Yeah, thats the Art of the Midwest as I learned it. Oh, but that’s so Appalachian, ain’t it? JD Vance might think I made it up. LOL.

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Et Tu, Gen X

Published on January 10, 2026

Everybody always says this generation is going to the dogs. Religion is dying, morality is dead, we live in a post truth society, our values and valued institutions are crumbling. Life will surely suck harder for those who follow us. Etc. Well, you reap what you sow, Gen X. All that 80s greed-is-good Gordon Gekko worship is biting us in the ass. We chose Veruca Salt instead of Charlie Bucket long ago. And now you’re surprised that your world sucks? Ask your grandparents what they thought of their kids generation. You’ll hear the same story since the beginning of time. Because nobody really wants change, do they? If you stub or stunt or otherwise kill off the symptoms, the underlying cause still remains. That same selfish rotten core that has what it wants, but doesn’t want what it has.

10 JAN 2026

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If N Then X Less Y

Published on December 13, 2025

If you make sufficient contribution, you can choose your brand of execution. In the long run, it’s not a solution, but right here and now it’s not so bad.

If you choose the preferred plan of action, letting those who wish it, satisfaction, you may be more driven to distraction by what you might get than what you have.

If you spin your wheels in such delusion, that may be your whole life’s contribution. Not that there need be any confusion: it’s your recipe, no substitutions. That’s a handicap sometimes. Too bad.

13 DEC 2026

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Make Life Musical

Published on November 21, 2025

The goal is making life more musical.

Sometimes that requires instruments. Sometimes those cost a whole lot of money. Sometimes not. Sometimes you can get a deal. Sometimes you make a deal. Sometimes you want that deal. Other times, you don’t. Sometimes you get to choose.

You get out of it what you put into it. Sometimes that’s money. Most of the time, it isn’t. Most of the time, if you’re lucky, any money at all changes hands.

Sometimes you have to put in years of practice. Sometimes not so much. If you’re really, really lucky, you’ll seem like you must have done a lot of practicing, even if you never even wanted to do that. That’s just how it goes.

You can spend years “practicing” things and never really get it. If you don’t dig it, a lot of other peoples’ music can hit you that way. But even you still practiced. Some. Others aggravate you with that out of the box intuitive “feel” for the thing. It’s a crap shoot, for sure. But you know where you stand, if you really ever know it at all, while the dice are still cold in your hand.

Sometimes, though, you don’t need to worry over any of that. It ain’t, as they say, Carnegie Hall. Even if it is, you know, a fresh scuff mark on the stage probably won’t be remembered as long as you think anyway.

You just need to open your mouth, clap your hands, move your feet, or even just nod your eyelids. Let the energy of community (and commune with whomever or whatever you like, there’s no reason to limit your inclusiveness without a damned good reason) match with your heartbeat. Once they’re in sync, you can slow both of ’em down (or speed ’em up) to whatever best suits you.

Then sing your ass off – all the time. Don’t ever drop the mic.

Wait. I take that back. If you’ve ever actually PAID for a great microphone, you damned sure know better than to let that thing hit the floor. Get real. And keep it that way. As if you had a choice, anyway. This isn’t pretend.

21 NOV 2025

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Sometimes It Matters

Published on November 20, 2025

Sometimes the past parades itself
before the sun makes its appearance
in the tiny shrinking shadows of dawn
when the world is not yet awake.
In these times, the memories flood my mind
and overwhelm my sense of self.

Sometimes a thing explains itself:
each of us is somewhat self-contained,
our sense of purpose lost in pointless lyrics,
we seek out more than mere melody.
In these times, the songs we learn to sing
can be enough to get by.

Sometimes a thought makes itself known,
peeking its cautious nose around the corner
looking to root out a treat from your clenched hand
like a puppy after its first yoga stretch.
In these times, the words we speak
are relatively unimportant.

Sometimes a great notion comes into being.
It’s usually the least recognizable thing in the room.
What can you do with it now?

20 NOV 2025

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Into the Shadows

Published on November 19, 2025

My thoughts have run to darker shades of late.
I could always blame Daylight Savings time,
but that would sugar coat the thing. And fate
is usually too busy for sublime.

The world seems slightly cooler than it was,
but summertime has never been my scene.
So it’s not due to temperature. Because
it is that way, the way it’s always been.

So there is something eating at my light.
I try, but find it hard to last the day.
When everything you do creates a fight,
you find yourself with less and less to say.

Perhaps the wisest choice is hibernate.
Come, wake me up some time in March. I’ll wait.

19 NOV 2025

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radical druid Posts

The White Album

Left of U at Least

Et Tu, Gen X

If N Then X Less Y

Make Life Musical

Sometimes It Matters

Into the Shadows