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 Songwriter Jim Steinman, one of the biggest contributors to the “bigger than life” aura of a lot of rock music of the 1970s, 80s, 90s, and beyond, has died. He was 73. Steinman’s songs were the stuff of excess: in a genre where radio play discourages songs much longer than four or five minutes, Steinman filled artists’ albums with epic anthems eight, nine, even twelve minutes long. His songs were huge-sounding, too, seemingly written to take advantage of a singer’s full range (and God help a singer of limited range who tries to enter the juuuust-this-side-of-campy emotional world of aDown the rabbit hole….

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 In honor of the passing of Chuck Yeager (with a typically wonderful memorial by post by Sheila O’Malley), here is a suite of music by Bill Conti from the film The Right Stuff, which adapted the Tom Wolfe book that told the story of the early years of the American space program, with interesting focus on Mr. Yeager himself. Godspeed, Mr. Yeager. Share This PostDown the rabbit hole….

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Fifteen months after his brother Lester departed, we have had to say goodbye to Julio today. They came to us as a package deal, and I hope there’s some realm beyond the rain and the clouds where they can be so again. Julio got sick recently and never really got better, and yesterday he had the kind of day that’s hard not see after the fact as a farewell. He curled up in my legs last night on our bed while we watched a little teevee–one of his favorite things to do–and then he barely moved again. Today, we allDown the rabbit hole….

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 Eddie’s gone. This one hurts, folks. It took me a while to start loving rock music. I heard a lot of it as a kid (benefits of having an older sister, which I did not appreciate at the time because there are things you need years to figure out, especially when you’re a not-terribly-smart nine-year-old), but for various reasons none of it really captured my attention until the early-to-mid 1980s. Part of it might have been a kind of peer-pressure, as I did tire of being the kid who had no idea what all of my friends were talking aboutDown the rabbit hole….

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RICHARD: He’s here. He’ll get no satisfaction out of me. He isn’t going to see me beg. GEOFFREY: My you chivalric fool… as if the way one fell down mattered. RICHARD: When the fall is all there is, it matters. (From The Lion In Winter) Share This PostDown the rabbit hole….

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 Actress Diana Rigg has died. She lived a long life (82 years) and did a lot of amazing work, but for me, she will always be Contessa Teresa di Vicenzo, also known as Tracy…who would, very briefly, be Mrs. James Bond. Rigg was the greatest Bond Woman in the long history of Bond Women, and she is a huge reason why On Her Majesty’s Secret Service is the greatest Bond movie ever made. Thank you for the wonderful work, Diana Rigg! Here’s Louis Armstrong with his signature ballad from OHMSS. Share This PostDown the rabbit hole….

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 It’s strange about comets. Except for a few notable exceptions, the vast majority of comets come quickly, brighten our sky, and then disappear forever (or for so long it’s functionally forever). For the brief time they are in the sky, they are a wonder…and then they are gone, leaving us with only the memory of this wonderful thing that blazed amongst the stars for a short time. That is how I keep thinking of Chadwick Boseman, a man of incandescent talent who blazed across movies and teevee for a few years…and now is gone. Here is the End Credits suiteDown the rabbit hole….

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 My mother’s cat, a beautiful red Persian named “Maliboo”, died today at the fine age of 17. He had a fantastic life, truly winning the Cat Lottery. Oddly, Maliboo hated me until several years ago when he had no choice but to warm up to me while Mom took a 17-day trip to Wales. After that, he was fine with me. Farewell, Maliboo. You were a good cat. Share This PostDown the rabbit hole….

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Pianist Leon Fleischer has died, at the age of 92. Fleischer was one of the greatest American musicians of the twentieth century (and a chunk of the 21st!), and his story is one of consummate musicianship along with triumph to overcome and live with disability. Fleischer was already a pianist and teacher of great renown by 1964, when a neurological condition made playing with his right hand impossible. Fleischer didn’t lose a step, though: because one-armed pianists are hardly unheard of, there is a substantial amount of repertoire for them, including today’s feature piece. Maurice Ravel, the great French ImpressionistDown the rabbit hole….