Category: Music
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How Pop Culture and Music Inform the Garratyverse
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in A Bridge Too Far (1977 film), Alex Diaz-Granados, All the Things You Are, All the Things You Are (Kern and Hammerstein), Amazon, Billy Joel, Classical music, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, John Williams (Composer), Kindle, Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Ludwig van Beethoven, Melodies and Memories: Music, Songs, and Singers, Movies, Music, Music & Concert Specials, Pop Music, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Star Wars, Superman: The Movie, The Summer of Two Movies, West Side Story – Original Broadway Cast (1957)How Pop Culture and Music Inform the Garratyverse If you spend enough time inside the Garratyverse, you eventually notice something: Jim Garraty’s world doesn’t just contain pop culture and music—it breathes through them. Songs, films, TV shows, and the cultural noise of their eras aren’t background decoration. They’re emotional weather systems. They shape memory, mood,…
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Music Album Review: ‘West Side Story – Original Broadway Cast Recording’
West Side Story – Original Broadway Cast Recording (1957, 1990 CD Reissue) Label: Columbia – CK 32603 Format: CD, Album, Reissue Released: 1990 Genre: Classical, Stage & Screen Style: Soundtrack, Musical West Side Story has generated several indispensable recordings, but the 1957 original Broadway cast album remains the most historically revealing of them. Released shortly…
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The Duet That Never Was: Revisiting Jim and Marty’s Unfinished Song
Wednesday, June 10, 2026, Orlando, Florida When I wrote Reunion: A Story in the fall of 1998, I wanted to give my protagonist, Jim Garraty, a connection with Martina Elizabeth “Marty” Reynaud that reached beyond the unspoken love he feels for her in the novella. It could not, of course, be openly romantic; otherwise, Jim’s…
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A Mini Musicale for Tuesday, June 9, 2026
“Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent” ― Victor Hugo
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Ending the Merry Month of May with a Sunday Musicale
Hi, everyone. Well, it’s the last day of May and, if you go by the meteorological calendar, it’s also the last day of spring. It’s also Sunday, and as much as I love writing – it’s what I do, after all – I do need to take an occasional day of rest. So, I’m waving…
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Music Album Review: ‘Cinema Serenade 2: The Golden Age – Itzhak Perlman, John Williams & The Boston Pops Orchestra’ (1999)
Cinema Serenade 2: The Golden Age – Itzhak Perlman, John Williams & The Boston Pops Orchestra Label: Sony Classical Year Released: 1999 Genre(s): Film Music, Light Classical, Violin Transcriptions Cinema Serenade 2: The Golden Age — A New and Expanded Review Following the unexpected and well‑deserved success of Cinema Serenade, conductor John Williams and violinist…
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Songs from All My Yesterdays (A Thursday Musicale)
Thursday, May 21, 2026, Orlando, Florida Hi there, Dear Reader. It is midafternoon on a hot, humid, and potentially rainy late spring afternoon in Central Florida. As I write this, it’s just past three, and the temperature outside is 88°F (31°C) under partly sunny skies. With humidity at a sticky 59% and the wind blowing…
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With a Little Help from My Friends
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in Adria K. Woomer-Hernandez, Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Reviews, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Boy of Harvard (Men of Harlech parody), Creative Writing, Juan Carlos Hernandez, Kindle, Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Music, Popcorn Sky Productions, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Song ParodyI am, as you know, an indie author. That means that unlike, say, Danielle Steel, James Patterson, or Stephen King, I don’t publish my stories via any of the giant publishing conglomerates (Penguin Random House, Hachette, or Simon & Schuster). Consequently, I not only write short stories, novellas, novelettes, and novels, but I also must…
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A Saturday Musicale on a Day Very Warm for May
Hi, everyone. It’s an extremely warm…nay, hot…late spring day here in Central Florida, and I don’t have anything interesting to write about, so here’s a “low effort” collection of musical videos for your listening pleasure. Enjoy!
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A Monday Afternoon Musicale Fit for “May the Fourth Be with You” Day
Music from a Galaxy Far, Far Away…. I’ve proudly waved my Star Wars fan flag since 1977. Admittedly, I was a bit of a holdout at first—much like my character Jim Garraty in “The Summer of Two Movies,” I didn’t rush to see George Lucas’s original space-fantasy adventure. But once I finally took my seat…
A Certain Point of View, Too 