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This is one of my favorite little scenes from Friends. I’ve always loved this little exchange, and in tribute to it, I have ever since referred to all spiders as “Phil”. (In this case I now assume that Phil can be a genderless name: Philip, Philomena, Philopina, you get the drift.) Actor Matthew Perry died yesterday–that’s him in the clip–after apparently having drowned in his own hot tub. I expect that there will eventually be more sordid details about his passing, considering his long struggles with addiction and other medical issues. But that doesn’t matter now. Perry did a lot ofDown the rabbit hole….

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The Pittsburgh Pirates entered the 1992 season as two-time defending National League East champions. Back then, both the AL and NL had just two divisions, East and West, and the playoffs consisted of a single Championship Series pitting the division winners of each league; the winners of the LCSs would then face off in the World Series. No wild-card teams, no play-in games, no divisional series, just two teams in each league facing each other for the pennant and then the World Series. The Pirates had lost the NLCS in 1990 to the Reds, and then they lost the NLCSDown the rabbit hole….

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I had two t-shirts way back in high school and college. I wore them to death. The label was “Caribbean Soul”, and they featured nautical art and some words that were evocative, even if I honestly didn’t know where they were from. It took me a few years but I wore those poor shirts to the point of unwearability. Then, in 1998, while shopping in Disney World while celebrating our first anniversary, I found new versions of those same shirts. The art was slightly different, but somehow better. I bought them both, and I have kept those shirts in very goodDown the rabbit hole….

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What a voice she had. What a musician she was. Too hard was her life. On the musical collaboration above: And back through the glen I rode again And my heart with grief was sore For I parted then with valiant men Whom I never shall see more But to and fro In my dreams I go And I kneel and pray for you For slavery fled Oh, glorious dead When you fell in the foggy dew Sheila O’Malley: It’s hard to describe what it was like when Sinéad O’Connor arrived on the world stage. She came from seemingly nowhere.Down the rabbit hole….

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Thank you for the music, sir. What a life. I’m not one to appoint “golden ages” of this or that, but…there really is something awfully and uniquely special about the first half of the 20th century in American popular song-writing, isn’t there? Share This PostDown the rabbit hole….

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Pianist Andre Watts has died. Watts was 77 years old when he died of prostate cancer last week. Born in 1946, Watts was best known for his expressive performances of piano music from the Romantic and early modern eras, which constitute the bulk of his recorded work. His music-making was always fiery and emotional, which I always appreciate; emotional distance and cool temperatures are never what I look for in music. Here is a selection of remembrances of Watts. In this selection, Watts performs the Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, by Camille Saint-Saens. The performance is taken fromDown the rabbit hole….

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Damn. I never knew that Tina Turner was just a few months younger than my father. She had a life full of triumphs and enormous difficulties, and she leaves an enormous legacy of music. I salute her. (image: via) Share This PostDown the rabbit hole….