01/03/2025

I’m putting it right out there, Gentle Reader(s)—right at the git go: I have NO idea what I’m talking about. Certainly when it comes to futbol—and yes, I’m going to call it futbol, just to be clear that I’m talking about The Beautiful Game and not the gladiatorial concussion-fest that us colonials are traditionally frothing over. I’ve been a fan for several years now, and what little I know about futbol is what I have gradually gleaned through the process of acquainting myself with the Premier League via the good graces of over-the-air NBC broadcasts (one, perhaps two, matches on Saturday or Sunday mornings), Telemundo (also Saturday and/or Sunday morning fixtures, en Español), and, for the last couple of years, the Peacock streaming channel. The 2022 World Cup and its seemingly endless rounds of buildup matches further served to expose me to the substantially more boggling realm of international futbol competition. I trust Harry Kane is feeling somewhat better by now.
12/30/2024

Tis’ the season, Gentle Reader(s), for a festive holly jolly Matador playlist! What could possibly say ‘Merry Christmas, one and all!’ quite like ‘Breaking Glass’ by David Bowie and AC/DC’s ‘Hells Bells’? Kind of sums up the whole holiday vibe right there, does it not? Well, maybe not at your house, but at Ye Olde Matador Bar & Lounge—HELL yeah!
12/18/2024

Somewhere ago, sometime ago, I heard related an anecdote of a sort regarding the legendary folk/rock impresario Albert Grossman. Confronted with an individual who is insufficiently in awe of his music biz stature and far-ranging influence, Grossman blusters ‘I’m BOB DYLAN’S manager!!’ To which the other party replies, ‘Do I come to you with my problems?’ This doesn’t really have much of anything to do with anything as regards this week’s playlist, but it’s amusing and I thought I’d take the opportunity to share it with you. You are welcome, Gentle Reader(s).
12/10/2024

Alright, Gentle Reader(s)—full disclosure right up front: This is only a partial playlist for Ye Olde Matador Bar & Lounge. I descended the steps at the usual time this Thursday past, loaded for bear, in full anticipation of putting in an evening’s duty tending to the Euterpian/Terpsichorian/Callopian well being of the patrons of everyone’s favorite subterranean watering hole. My anticipation was tempered, however, by the knowledge that I had a 10 AM appointment of some import scheduled for Friday morning. A full night at the Mat usually means that Your Humble Narrator is rolling into bed sometime around 3:00 AM, which is not entirely optimal for 10 AM appointments of some import. I therefore resolved that, should things turn out to be on the slow side, I would consider letting discretion be the better part of valor and bail out at midnight.
11/22/2024

  Welcome back, Gentle Reader(s). Let us start off today’s post with a fun Pop Quiz. Which of the following two options do you think a plurality of the American populace might prefer to lead the country? A)  A delusional narcissistic racist misogynist pathological liar insurrectionist sexual predator grifter and convicted felon? Or, B)  A highly qualified, highly intelligent career public servant with four years on-the-job experience as Vice President who just happens to be an Indian/Black woman? If you picked option A then, congratulations—you are correct! Okay, not much of a pop quiz, I admit, and not much fun either, but the ‘whys’ and ‘wherefores’ of the question are worthy of some in-depth ponderation.
11/18/2024

I am returned, Gentle Reader(s), to the City Indifferent after a month in the town of my birth. It was an enjoyable sojourn down south, but by the time I packed up for the long drive home I was very much ready to go. The burst of cool, dry, sunny autumnal weather that had taken hold around mid-October gradually gave away to a damp swampy vibe by the end of the month. While an extraordinary early fall blizzard was blowing through northern New Mexico in the first week of November, setting snowfall records across the region in the process, I was slogging through 85 degree temps and 85% humidity in New Orleans, returning dripping wet to Ink South after my alternating-day 25-mile bike rides and intervening Audubon Park perambulations. Time to initiate the transition from the Low and Wet back to the High and Dry.
11/01/2024

I know, I know. I said that the more frequently I do these playlists the easier and faster it becomes to get the YouTube videos all lined up and posted, etc etc, and now it’s been weeks—several weeks—since my last Matador set list went online! That’s, like, the equivalent of at least a year in intrawebby/election year/news cycle time! Shameful, I admit, but there are reasons for that. Let’s call them excuses.
10/01/2024

Having taken a brief 4 1/2 year hiatus from the DJ booth at Ye Olde Matador Bar & Lounge, I had forgotten how quickly these playlists come along. Like, uh, one a week it seems. There’s no small amount of busy work involved in transcribing these things from the Matador laptop (an older but still very serviceable MacBook that has no other purpose but to be home to my Matador music) to my Numero Uno laptop (a brand spanking new maxed out 2024 MacBook Pro) and then compiling all the associated YouTube links together so that you, Gentle Reader(s), can be a Gentle Listener(s), if you so desire. I have no idea if anyone anywhere ever clicks the link and actually listens to these playlists, but for some obscure reason I feel compelled to put them up regardless. It gets easier and faster the more I do it, but still… I’m sure there must be some sort of support group or 12-step program out there to gently prod me back in the direction of rationality, but who’s got time for that? Reality? Pffft! Overrated.
09/30/2024

What can I tell you of Joe Boyd? Well, I don’t think that I would be overstating it to say that the man is a legend, but he’s kind of a stealth legend. Music people know about Joe, which isn’t at all surprising given that his extraordinary career is now into its seventh decade, but he’s one of those guys who a lot of people aren’t necessarily aware that they’re aware of… if you get my drift. If you’ve listened to music or watched movies to any depth since around 1966 or so, it's very likely that you've heard or seen Joe’s work.
09/17/2024

With Santa Fe Fiestas and its attendant mayhem now safely in the rear view mirror, it was back to bidness at Ye Olde Matador Bar & Lounge. Bartender Katia was back from the DL, none the worse for her unfortunate close encounter of the arachnid kind, and Big Dom kept his steady eye on everything from the door. This is the traditional Matador format—a tight three-person crew running the show, keeping a positive vibe in effect, backing one another up. Case in point: Around mid-evening a diminutive young lady entered the bar decked out in notably unseasonable attire. Though it was still 70-ish outside she wore a heavy winter coat, a knit hat, dark glasses and a black turtle neck sweater pulled up to completely cover the lower part of her face. She ordered a draft beer from Katia and then began to wander around in the nether regions of the bar, eventually disappearing into one of the bathrooms. Noting this from my DJ post, I began to get a bit curious when, after 15 minutes, she was still in there. I alerted Katia that something odd was afoot, she alerted Dom, Dom went to investigate and, after cueing up several songs, I went to cover the door. Dom got everything sorted and the mysterious diminutive individual emerged from the bathroom, finished her beer and disappeared into the streets of a Thursday night. Interesting.  No harm/no foul.