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Don’t trust a man (except me, of course) »

By Old Grumpy Guy on May 6, 2009 in Feminism, Gender Bias, Misogyny, OldGrumpyGuy, Open Thread, Sexism, Women's Suffrage | 15 Comments

Here’s one for the feminists. It’s another tongue-in-cheek song from my musical $ucce$$! (now seeking a Broadway home). The song is sung by an Irish-Latino character named Juanita Fitzgerald. The lyrics are as follows:

The Marketing Game (who or what does it remind you of?) »

By Old Grumpy Guy on Apr 18, 2009 in OldGrumpyGuy | 15 Comments

I wrote the song in this video for a musical called “SUCCESS!” (which I recently revised and which is currently looking for a Broadway home). It occurred to me that the observations in this song could be applied to a lot of the people and situations discussed here since the start of the elections.
Part of [...]

Inner and outer lives »

By Old Grumpy Guy on Mar 4, 2009 in OldGrumpyGuy | 7 Comments

As I say in the video, it seems to me that many, if not most people tend to live their lives on the surface, hiding their true natures from the world so as to present a facade of normality, whatever the concept of normality happens to be at the time and in the circumstances [...]

Criticizing America: “Don’t Bite the Hand That Feeds You” »

By Old Grumpy Guy on Feb 18, 2009 in Congress (House & Senate), Current Affairs, Nancy Pelosi, OldGrumpyGuy, Open Thread | 42 Comments

This recording was apparently unearthed in Australia. Written in 1915, with words by Thomas Hoier and music by Jimmie Morgan, it was recorded in 1929, the year that saw the start of the Great Depression.
It raises some interesting questions, particularly for someone like me who arrived on these shores rather late in [...]

Fitzgerald - Poet of the Jazz Age - a litmus test »

By Old Grumpy Guy on Feb 8, 2009 in Humor, OldGrumpyGuy, Political Correctness | 49 Comments

Just as the world can be divided into those who prefer Mozart to Bach and those who don’t, so the world can be divided into those who prefer F. Scott Fitzgerald over Ernest Hemingway and those who don’t.
In my series on the great composers, I found that some of those who [...]

The Cultural Revolution Starts Here! »

By Old Grumpy Guy on Jan 30, 2009 in Arrogance, Censorship, Civil Liberties, Democracy, Disenfranchisement, Elitism, Fascism, Humor, Media, OldGrumpyGuy | 112 Comments

In my new video I look at the way the Emperor’s Clothing Syndrome has dominated the arts and humanities over the past half century, with the help of academic practitioners looking for theories to build on, trying to carve out some academic territory for themselves and becoming the high priests or priestesses of their [...]

Beware the Malthus mindset »

By Old Grumpy Guy on Jan 26, 2009 in Economic Stimulus, Economy, Emperor's Clothing Syndrome, Energy Policy, OldGrumpyGuy | 127 Comments

For those of you who may not be aware of the fact, Thomas Malthus was the Chicken Little of economics and the guy who created the concept of the “Malthusian Catastrophe”, with his predictions that the world would soon run out of food and other resources because of the rapid growth in the [...]

Composers who didn’t make the top 10 list and why (can you handle the truth?) »

By Old Grumpy Guy on Jan 22, 2009 in Humor, OldGrumpyGuy, Open Thread | 2 Comments

In my last video - the penultimate in the composer series - I look at some of the other composers who were considered for the list of the top ten composers who ever lived, but who didn’t make it - and why.

The greatest composer of them all »

By Old Grumpy Guy on Jan 17, 2009 in OldGrumpyGuy | 47 Comments

Finally we come to the number one spot in the series on the greatest composers of all time. There will be seven additional videos on this composer presented on my Youtube channel over the next two weeks - six devoted to his “Greatest Hits” and one to his Requiem.

And so to Number 2 in the list of the Greatest Composers Ever »

By Old Grumpy Guy on Jan 10, 2009 in Humor, OldGrumpyGuy | 37 Comments

As many people guessed, the composer at number 2 in the list of the greatest composers of all time is Ludwig von Beethoven.

The news you have all been waiting for »

By Old Grumpy Guy on Jan 3, 2009 in Humor, OldGrumpyGuy | 38 Comments

Yes, it’s the news about who is at number three in the list of the Top Ten Composers of All Time.

Can you be trusted to keep your eyes closed? »

By Old Grumpy Guy on Dec 29, 2008 in Humor, OldGrumpyGuy | 42 Comments

My new video names one of the most important composers who ever lived, even though he is only ranked at number four in the list of the top ten greatest composers ever. Maybe he deserved a higher ranking. But the music of the composer at number three is more widely known. It was a [...]

The festive season can be lonely for many »

By Old Grumpy Guy on Dec 25, 2008 in Depression, Economy, Employment, OldGrumpyGuy, Open Thread | 35 Comments

The Christmas to New Year period can be the loneliest time of the year for those not celebrating with family or friends, or who are stuck in the rut of depression. There are many more lonely people out there than most of us can imagine, and in the current economic climate there is no doubt [...]

A Composer for Christmas »

By Old Grumpy Guy on Dec 22, 2008 in Humor, OldGrumpyGuy | 23 Comments

By sheer chance, the composer who makes his debut at number five in the list of the Top Ten Composers Ever is someone whose name is synonymous with Christmas. This time I am simultaneously uploading another video of his greatest hits on my Youtube channel, so that everyone can enjoy his music over the Christmas [...]

Who says music isn’t political? »

By Old Grumpy Guy on Dec 19, 2008 in Humor, OldGrumpyGuy, Open Thread | 24 Comments

As the countdown continues, we come to the top of the bottom half of the list of the world’s greatest composers ever, and this time it’s a Frenchman (unfortunately) at number 6.
And if anyone asks (as someone often does) what a list of the greatest composers has to do with the kind of political [...]

The first ever rocker! »

By Old Grumpy Guy on Dec 8, 2008 in Humor, OldGrumpyGuy | 39 Comments

With this video - my latest salvo in the battle to save western civilization from the chaos of utter darkness - I not only reveal the name of the composer in seventh place on the list of the greatest composers of all time, but also the guy who wrote the first-ever rock song.

The Mozart effect and its legacy »

By Old Grumpy Guy on Dec 6, 2008 in OldGrumpyGuy | 38 Comments

In response to the above video (a sampler of Gershwin’s “greatest hits”), one of my subscribers on Youtube posted a comment that her 11-year-old son loved my composer videos. I have heard this from a number of other subscribers, and it is very heartening to know that my videos are appealing to some of [...]

Someone To Watch Over Me »

By Old Grumpy Guy on Dec 2, 2008 in OldGrumpyGuy | 35 Comments

Here is my latest dispatch from the war zone on the cultural front. As a companion piece to “The Top 10 Composers Ever (Part 8)”, featured here on NQ yesterday, I have brilliantly strung together twelve different versions of this classic song as a tribute to George Gershwin and to show how his music has [...]

And now for something completely different - an American composer »

By Old Grumpy Guy on Dec 1, 2008 in Humor, OldGrumpyGuy | 45 Comments

Yes, it’s the moment you have all been breathlessly waiting for - the moment when I name the American composer in 8th place on the list of the greatest composers ever.

At the crossroads »

By Old Grumpy Guy on Dec 1, 2008 in Current Affairs, Economic Stimulus, Economy, Hillary Clinton, Obama, OldGrumpyGuy, Open Thread | 19 Comments

It is obvious that we are standing at a major crossroads in the economic life of this country, and it is equally obvious that a major reassessment is needed about the way things are done, both in America and elsewhere. It has been my feeling for a long time that a major overhaul is needed [...]

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