Tag: Music
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Movie Review: ‘Evita’ (1996)
Evita (1996): Style, Spectacle, and the Woman Behind the Myth Alan Parker’s Evita is a film that dazzles with spectacle but struggles to reveal the heart of its heroine. Starring Madonna as Eva Duarte de Perón, Antonio Banderas as Che, and Jonathan Pryce as Juan Perón, the movie adapts Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s…
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Music Album Review: ‘Billy Joel – Greatest Hits, Volumes I & II (1973-1983)’
🎶 Billy Joel – Greatest Hits: Volume I & Volume II Some albums become more than music—they turn into companions. For me, Billy Joel’s Greatest Hits: Volume I & Volume II was exactly that. I received the cassette in 1986 for my 23rd birthday, one of my last big celebrations. That tape became a lifeline:…
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The Quill and the Lyre: Music and ‘Comings and Goings’
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Music, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Audible, Billy Joel, Bryan Haddock, Comings and Goings (Short Story), Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Garratyverse, Ludwig van Beethoven, Music, Music & Concert Specials, Pathetique Piano Sonata (Adagio cantabile), Reunion DuologyEvery story has its soundtrack. For Comings and Goings, the most overtly relevant piece isn’t tucked away in a concert hall—it’s right there in Billy Joel’s “This Night”, spinning from Kelly’s stereo in Mission Hill. Yet, at the heart of this pop ballad lies Beethoven’s Adagio cantabile, whose timeless melody Joel borrowed and reimagined, creating…
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A Sunday Musicale for a Cloudy November Day in Florida
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in ACX, Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Anxiety, Audible, Audiobooks, Autumn in Florida, Brandon Padilla, Bryan Haddock, Comings and Goings (Short Story), Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Family History, Life in Central Florida, Life in Florida, Melodies and Memories: Music, Songs, and Singers, Personal Thoughts, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A StorySunday, November 9, 2025, Orlando, Florida It’s late morning here in my corner of Central Florida, and the second weekend of November has arrived cloaked in gray skies and a damp chill that mirrors my mood a little too well. I’m still worried—quietly, persistently—about when (or if) I’ll be reunited with my belongings that remain…
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Honorable Mention at Nassau: A Simple Ad’s Journey
Friday, October 31, 2025 – Orlando, FloridaIt’s a chilly—at least by Florida standards—late autumn morning here in my corner of Orange County. As I write this, it’s 62°F (16°C) under clear, sunny skies, though it may warm up a bit by the time I post this on WordPress. Today’s forecast calls for sunshine and a…
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Music Album Review: ’20th Century Masters – The Millennium Collection: The Best of Louis Armstrong’
Review: 20th Century Masters – The Millennium Collection: The Best of Louis Armstrong Louis Armstrong may never have possessed the velvety croon of Bing Crosby, nor did he set out to reinvent the musical landscape with each recording. Yet what he offered was something rarer: a warmth, humanity, and sheer joy in performance that made…
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Music Album Retrospective: ‘The Beatles: 1962-1966 (The Red Album)
The Beatles’ Red Album (1962–1966) was originally released in April 1973 by Apple Records in collaboration with EMI/Capitol, and reissued on compact disc in September 1993. It features 26 Lennon–McCartney tracks from the band’s early years, offering a curated glimpse into their meteoric rise before Sgt. Pepper. 🎵 A Personal Reflection on The Beatles: 1962–1966…
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Music Album Review: ‘Billy Joel – 2000 Years: The Millennium Concert’
Billy Joel – 2000 Years: The Millennium Concert Label: Sony Legacy Genre: Pop Rock Year of Release: 2000 Billy Joel’s 2000 Years: The Millennium Concert may not be his most polished live album, but it’s one of his most emotionally honest. Recorded on New Year’s Eve 1999 at Madison Square Garden, this two-disc set captures…
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Music Album Review: ‘Platoon and Songs from the Era: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack’
Platoon and Songs from the Era: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Year of Release: 1986 Record Label: Atlantic, Warner Records (International) Genre: Film Score (Classical/Pop/Rock) Oliver Stone’s Platoon (1986) remains, nearly four decades later, one of the most searing and authentic portrayals of the Vietnam War ever committed to film. Drawing from Stone’s own harrowing experiences…
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The Music That Hurt Less: A Response to Thomas Wikman’s Review of ‘Comings and Goings’
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The Music That Hurt Less: A Response to Thomas Wikman’s Review When Thomas Wikman described Comings and Goings – The Art of Being Seen as a luminous prelude to Reunion: Coda, I felt seen—not just as a writer, but as someone who stitched memory and melody into fiction, hoping someone might hear the emotional subtext.…
A Certain Point of View, Too 