Acoustic music, blues, country.
April is the fourth month, and Bumbastories feels obliged, nay compelled, to acknowledge the number four. You’ll excuse me for all this fourplay, but let’s talk about the four. What Four? Let’s talk about the symmetry of the four. We see it, we use it all the time. Check out these 4-based tesselations from the … Continue reading The Bumbastories’ Latest April Magazine
Since the Inauguration I feel almost happy, almost normal. It’s caught me unawares. I thought I’d never breathe easy again. But old Joe Biden is pulling it off. He’s actually competent. Trump and his allies are not gone by any means, but they have taken one on the nose. Maybe America can bounce back from Trump. The alt-right “revolutionaries” who crawled out from under their … Continue reading Feeling Normal Again and a Sing Along
2021 is here. Happy New Year. I guess it’s because of the proud tradition of getting stupid drunk on New Year’s Eve that on the morning after or thereabouts people begin to make those pitiful New Years resolutions. I don’t understand it. You’d think that by now they would have learned not to torture themselves so much. I mean, we all make the same New … Continue reading New Year’s Irresolutions
Somebody Stole My Gal, written by Leon Wood in 1918, is, in my not-very-humble opinion, a terrific song. According to Bumbastories’ staff of certified “math experts”, 1918 was over 100 years ago. Yikes! They had a pandemic back then too. Yikes again! Nevertheless and all the same, Somebody Stole My Gal is a swell song, which is why I’m posting about it again. Like a … Continue reading Somebody Stole My Gal
I know I’ve posted this song before, but it should be no great secret that Bumba, the editor of this wanna-be magazine, is one lazy son of a you know what. The Bumbastories Magazine staff – all of them imaginary alter-egos for Bumba by the way – are also a sorry collection of empty coconuts. So what we’re trying to get to is that every … Continue reading I’m Worried Now…. But I Won’t Be Worried Long
American democracy was already on the ropes. But now, with the passing of Justice Bader-Ginsberg, many of the progressive advances that have been so painfully obtained are at risk. We also have the added concern that the Supreme Court may no longer serve as a brake on authoritarianism. The country may take a turn down a right wing dead end. It’s a sad state of … Continue reading Sad Days
Ever since I was a kid, I’ve been crazy about Ray Charles. Ray Charles was one of the greats. I was lucky enough to see him perform three times over the years. Each time he played disappointingly short sets. But each moment was special. If I had to vote for the best pop/jazz singer of the past generation it would be for the late, great … Continue reading You Don’t Know Me
I wrote this one a long time ago, but I still like to play it. The title is Trust Me, or She Looks and Tells Me, because that’s the first line. But recently I refer to it in my mind as Rockland County, because that’s where the little story takes place. To borrow a bit of Bill Monroe’s terminology, it’s a “true life” song – … Continue reading Trust Me: A Rockland County Song
Side By Side is one of those old-fashioned, unabashedly optimistic songs, which we hope can cheer you up, especially if you song along. “Oh, we ain’t got a barrel of money/maybe we’re ragged and funny…etc, etc.”. It’s kinda schlocky. I must’ve heard it a million times on TV when I was a kid, because I still know all the words. I used to play it … Continue reading Cheer Up
The other day I watched a video on TV of the Stones doing this song for the Stripped album. It’s a great song, written and played terrifically by Robert Johnson. I learned it from the Stones, and I love to play it too. As does Maybank. We haven’t played it for a while, doggarn this virus. Continue reading Love In Vain
