The Column of Life

No reason left for living, still there's a lot to do. New tears to cry, old songs to sing. And feel forever blue. And be forever.... Blue -- Chris Isaak The episode "Forever Blue," featured on the CBS forensic drama, Cold Case picked up some buzz on the internet back in December 2006.  The quote from Chris Isaak's "Forever Blue" in homage to the episode's title and the sadness that envelopes the tale of two policemen who love each other with the love that dared not speak its name. Once again prime time television has spoken its name and placed it before our eyes. AfterElton interviewed Shane Johnson who portrayed one of the lovers: I think it’s a necessity for people to understand that gays and lesbians did–and do–get beaten and murdered just for being gay. (The show went out of its way to ask if things were really that much better for gay cops today.) Besides the aforementioned kiss, the show not only portrayed the two men as being ...

    John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman gave the world what is clearly a  great musical achievement. Here is a critique lifted from Music Direct: John Coltrane & Johnny Hartman  (1963-IMPULSE) " ... Hartman's voice is right there and full-throated; again, I've never heard all the subtleties of his vibrato or all the slight accents in his phrasing. Coltrane's saxophone is in the room. Elvin Jones' drums bang and whisper. (Listen to that brush-wooshing! You get every wisp and sizzle.) Even McCoy Tyner's piano, often hooded in Van Gelder sessions, rings clear. Jimmy Garrison's bass may be a little forward, but it sounds like the pick-up amp, not a recording artifact. This is a gorgeous album, gorgeously mastered and essential." - Fred Kaplan, The Absolute Sound, June/July 2005, Issue 154 The clarinetist Tony Scott, who trod the same musical path as Billie Holiday and Charlie Parker, once called the number “Lush Life” “the Mount Everest of Ja...