There are a few topics I am interested in that I don’t post on here because they are probably way too narrow and geeky to be of much use to most people. A borderline one is linguistics. If anyone wants more of these recommendations, say so in the comments.
All posts by Steve Griffin
Baseball in the winter.
Sometimes I think it’s easier to watch baseball in the winter because I don’t have as many outdoor chores and activities. The choices on YouTube vary from winter to winter. This link here is to Nicaraguan baseball but I’ve found Venezuelan, Dominican, Puerto Rican and Mexican at times. Do a search for “beisbol en vivo.” Did I mention it’s all in Spanish?
Great Russian folk music.
Beloe Zlato means “White Gold” in Russian. It’s an all-female vocal group singing Russian folk music. Lots of songs on their channel; this is probably my favorite.
The Confederate South that moved farther south.
A certain percentage of humanity is migratory. I’m a homebody and tend to forget that, so I have a natural curiosity about the stories of people who pull up stakes and moved everything they had to places you wouldn’t expect them to show up, especially back in the days when if you made a mistake, it wasn’t so easy to turn around and go back home.
The Armchair Historian.
A solid channel for people who have an interest in history. Decent technical quality, and he keeps most of the topics interesting.
I never understood why this song wasn’t a hit.
Maybe you can explain to me why. To me it borders on being the perfect pop tune and I never heard it until I found it on YouTube, decades after Rufus Wainwright recorded it.
If you haven’t heard Klezmer music you need to.
OK, I’ll admit it might be an acquired taste, but try it once. Klezmer is a style of folk music that comes from the Jewish communities of Eastern Europe. I think it dates back at least to the 1700’s but from what I can tell it’s been active ever since. Remember the song “If I Were A Rich Man” from Fiddler On The Roof? That’s like a “See Spot Run” introduction to Klezmer.
Learn to cook. Or learn how to cook better.
Geographic trivia.
This one is especially recommended for people who love to spend idle moments looking at maps.
Rick Beato is so cool.
He’s a rock musician who has taught music theory in colleges and can analyze the technical side of any song, but still likes it just because it’s rock and roll. Anybody who likes pop music will like him, but I can’t shake the feeling that boomers will like him roughly10% more.