Rhyme and Reason

Today was the day. Friends and family spent time together, in the little town of Gardner, Kansas, celebrating Mom. She died on February 11 of this year (2021) and left the aches and pains of this world to go live in Heaven. And I was thankful we were celebrating mom, and not just mourning. For the past several years I called Mom just about every Sunday for our weekly “catch up.” And I...

I was a big fan of the popular duo from the seventies, Loggins and Messina. And when my brother and I started actually getting paid to play music, Loggins and Messina songs were a significant part of our repertoire. They released a double album of their live performances. And that collection was called “On Stage” (go figure). And one section of the 4th side was called “Trilogy.&#...

Hey, you might not know it. But I’m a podcasting host. And the podcast is zooming up on 700 episodes. But, to most of the listening (and non-listening) world, I’m still a ghost. Yeah, I know it’s hard to believe that your ol’ palsy walsy, Tony might not be a household name all around the world. But it’s true. So, this long-suffering podcasting host has a favor to ask....

Almost 20 years ago (and it seems like last week) I wrote about the sad state of truth in this world. And what’s even sadder is…my song is even more apropos now. Real Truth is eternal. But in the here and now it obscured with blithering, withering ideologies. And it’s attacked from every angle. Ironically in the name of tolerance and acceptance. But regardless of feelings and ide...

I’ve mentioned before how I enjoyed superhero comic books when I was a kid. And I mentioned how I didn’t dive into them nearly as much as other guys I knew back then. And I bring it up, now, because it’s really something how comic book superheroes pop up even when you’re not looking for them. For example, I was looking up some hawk and dove information, today, and *pop*&#82...

Life. Love. And freedom. Hope. Bread. And water. Joy. And a rock-solid promise. Yeah, I’ve definitely got something to sing about. And when I say “sing,” that’s how I cheer. Because, for me, singing is the best form of celebration. So you might ask, “Well, what IS this something to sing about” And I might answer, “Well, well, well…I’m not goin&...

“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” If you’re a principled person, or if you’re someone who knows the difference between good and evil, you’ve probably heard that quote by Edmund Burke. Or did Eddie actually come up with that one? Hmm, there appears to be some good evidence he didn’t. And, it’s a great way to say yo...

Elgielene and I were driving down the highway the other day, and we saw a small herd of longhorn cattle. And we both commented on how healthy they looked. We could tell it was at least partly because they were grazing in greener pastures than other cows in the area. But that didn’t stop one of the cows from poking its head way through the fence to graze on the other side. And that made me th...

“It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” You’ve heard that more than once I bet. And it sure applies to Christian doctrinal differences. Because I see it more and more, with each passing year, how Christians put words and actions into God’s mouth and hands that He didn’t (and doesn’t) do and say. In other words… There’s a ton of what...

John Lennon, that slightly famous Beatles guy, once said the Beatles were more popular than Jesus. And I actually think he might’ve been taken a little out of context by reporters and fans at the time. Because I’ve checked into what he said, and it appeared to not be a statement made out of arrogance. But the way it was blown out of proportion highlights the connection between influenc...

Oh, the dreadful misery. The likes of which the world might never see again. And it’s a miracle anything or anyone survived it. Of course, I’m talking about the Dark Ages of the world of art. It was the time of Homer. And the fall of Troy…say it ain’t so, Ma. And the golden Mycenean culture had basically faded away. Innovation did, too. Or so they (and who are they?) say. B...

They sure had some silly lyrics in the hits from the 50’s. For the most part it was one innocent song of love after another. Love Is A Many-Splendored Thing – You Make Me Feel So Young – When I Fall In Love – I Only Have Eyes For You – Those are just a few of the top 100 hits from the 50’s. Of course you had the occasional less than innocent song, too. After all...

Sometimes people ask me why I spend so much effort writing “Christian stuff” instead of just writing “more popular music.” And the short answer is, because there’s so much of the “popular stuff” that’s anti-God. So, there’s an urgent need to offset it with strong Christian words and music. The longer answer is “Christian stuff” will...

Do you speak Psalms? And how fluent is your Hymns? Or what about Spiritualese? What’s that you say? You don’t speak any of those languages? And you don’t even believe they ARE languages. Well, I guess, technically, they aren’t languages. But you could speak to me in any one of them if you’d start with a melody in your heart. But you can’t speak to me that way if...

OK, this is a manly post. So, women are only allowed as long as they intend to use the information to help the men in their lives. Are we clear? Good. Let’s proceed… As I was searching for some clothes, online, yesterday, an ad popped up (who’d’ve thunk it) with a reference to manly clothes. And I thought, “Hey, that’s definitely me. I’d better check this...

Ode to Joy is a musical and spiritual alloy. Even if Ludwig didn’t mean it that way. And of course, I’m talking about Beethoven’s Symphony #9. Or at least a section of it. If you wanna give your brain a revitalizing vacation, listen to the whole symphony: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3217H8JppI  Or you can go to the Ode section here: Imagine composing an Ode to Joy when you&#...

He said he had a dream where he heard Mexican trumpets. And I guess that’s how they became such a recognizable part of his hit song, “Ring of Fire.” In fact, it went to number 1 on March 25, 1963. And it stayed there for seven weeks. Not bad for a guy whose last name was Cash but was born into a family who didn’t have loads of it. Johnny Cash made “Ring of Fire”...

Different people don’t tend to get along so well. Have you noticed that? And history books denote sections of time, most often, using wars as markers. And almost all of those wars were between different peoples. Although it could be argued that America’s own civil war runs contrary to that assertion. But it doesn’t diminish my point. Which is how the basic issues of society haven...

Older and wiser. They should go together like sourdough bread and grass fed butter. But they don’t always. Especially in town of Ignoraville, on Mount Wealthscape, in the land of Rebelaphant. Sadly, most of the residents of Rebelephant aren’t older and wiser. But they’re richer. And that’s the most frequent cause of a lack of wisdom. And the ratio of wisdom to wealth decrea...

Yacht rock. Of course, I had no idea I was listening to music from that genre. And that’s mainly because it wasn’t called yacht rock at the time. Plus, to be completely transparent on this matter (as is the odd trend these days), I never heard of that term until this morning. Yacht rock is supposed to be the “West coast” sound of the 70’s and early 80’s. And app...

I remember a young lady telling me about The Joshua Tree when I was in Albuquerque, New Mexico back in 1987. I was booked there for two weeks, and she and couple of other friends asked me if I’d heard of that album by the band U2. And they asked because we’d all been in a friendly conversation about Christian values and principles in the music business. Or lack of them. Plus, they&#821...

This comes from back in the days of knights and lords and ladies. Apparently it was customary for a knight to wear the name of a certain lady during a tournament. And it was typically the lady he loved…or would compete to impress. In other words, he was laying it all out in the open. These days, when you wear your heart on your sleeve, you’re probably revealing your innermost thoughts....

47 years ago? Can it truly be that long? But you know what they say. Math don’t lie. And the numbers add up to (or subtract to) 47 years. I’m ramblin’ on about it because 1974 was the year, and today was the day (March 19), the band, Jefferson Airplane, became Jefferson Starship. And it was 1975 when they had a big hit with their “Miracles” song. And I can’t tel...

Adrenal glands. Oh yeah, now we’re talking about some pretty exciting stuff. And I bet when you got up this morning the first thought you had, after your coffee kicked in, was “Where can I find me some stimulatin’ adrenal conversation?” Never fear, I’ve got your adrenal glands gossip right here. First, let’s talk about the easy-to-understand stuff. Like the zona...

Did you see that movie “This Is Spinal Tap” about a fictitious rock band in a fictitious rockumentary? If not, no great loss. I never saw the whole movie either. But I saw some funny clips. And one that stands out is one of the members of the band is asked why the knobs on his power amplifier go to 11 instead of the usual 10. And in a fictitious English accent he answers, “Well,...