Some “NOs” arrive like thunder. Others arrive cool, clear, and long overdue. This playlist leans into both: the theatrical refusal, the bright pop shutdown, the stylish brush-off, the final curtain. Most of these songs live in the world of romantic relationships — breakups, dismissals, and the moment someone realizes they don’t owe someone another chance. … Read more

The Stranger Things finale landed on New Year’s Eve 2025, closing a story that began on July 15, 2016, and captivating viewers of all ages with a decade of bikes, flashlights, mixtapes, malls, and monsters. If the show’s impact on pop culture ever needed proof, it’s this: Stranger Things didn’t just resurrect an era … … Read more

I almost didn’t post this. Oh, who am I kidding? I almost didn’t even write this post. I’m not really sure why, but this one was a hard one to work on. I had all kinds of ideas for things to write about. But I just couldn’t. (Fortunately, I do still have them listed!)  If … Read more

So, yeah, the title probably gives it away. I buried the lede, as they say. Unrelated but fun fact: As I post this article, it occurs to me that I’m posting on the same date that I celebrated another achievement. Today is May 27, 2023, and 40 years ago today, I graduated from Waco Richfield … Read more

With all due respect to Britney Spears, oops! I did it again. I left you hanging. In my very first post, I said I wanted to try to write one post a week. But as it does, life intervened, and it’s turned out to be more like every two weeks. Once upon a time, I … Read more

A few weeks ago, I did a crazy thing. No, I’m not talking about clicking “Publish” on the first Songbird Soundtrack post, although I’m sure some would call that crazy, too. This crazy thing started about the same time I began compiling playlists and outlining the first couple of posts for the blog, though. And … Read more

Find all the songs I mentioned or alluded to in Soundtrack 1 in this playlist.

Welcome to the B-side. Well, I’ve already been unable to achieve my goal of writing a post a week. That’s actually only partially true, as I’ve been working on this post for well over a week. I’ll tell you now that it’s another long one, so if you plan to read, make sure you have … Read more

So here I am … one week later, and the Songbird Soundtracks — the playlists I’ve been building — officially begin. An admission: I’ve been working on the first playlist for over a month … ever since I decided to start the blog. I had a rough structure and even some songs in mind when … Read more

Here I am, “putting my records on,” as the song says. But why? Why a Soundtrack? Like many of my stories, this is not a short one. (Yes, I’m painfully self-aware about how I can ramble when talking about something I care about or to someone I care about!) In fact, you could probably say … Read more