"The Way It Is" by Bruce Hornsby and the Range (1986)

It's Memorial Day 2025.

Back in 1988, my future wife agreed to take a trip with me to San Diego to visit the parents.

We were living in Los Angeles at the time.

That Memorial Day weekend trip started it all, for us.

The rest is history.

I had to really grind to learn something new here. The the second solo and outro to this song were not part of the original sheet music, so I had to watch YT videos to learn it.  

It's not perfect, but it's the real deal.

Bruce Hornsby was emphatic about the fact that he wanted to convey "a sense of place" in this song. He grew up in the Williamsburg, VA area. 

Who would have thought that a jazz infused, piano-based, rock song about civil rights in the Reagan era would become such a classic?

Anyway, I worked pretty hard to get this one.

And here's the good news . . . I didn't sing for this one.

 © 2025 by Roy Santonil

"Knockin' on Heaven's Door" ft. Pink Floyd's "Time" guitar solo (1973)

Happy Easter. Happy 420. Happy Birthday. "He is not here."

© 2025 by Roy Santonil

"Tell Me Why" from AFTER THE GOLD RUSH (1970)

This album has haunted me since my freshman year, when I played the crap out of this album in my dorm room. 

It was recorded in the artist's home studio, and was the prequel to his biggest commercial success "Harvest." which had "Old Man," the song I covered here.

"After The Gold Rush" has a strong country influence, and one of the tracks,"Southern Man," was the basis for the line from the Lynyrd Skynyrd song, "Well I hope Neil Young will remember, a Southern Man don't need him around, anyhow."

 SPOILER ALERT:

I've always thought this song needed another verse, so I added one, with a resolution in the final chorus.

Hope you like it.

© 2025 Roy Santonil

"Overkill" from CARGO (1983)

Next up on the Boomer Hit Parade comes from the land down under.

"Cargo" was the 1983 release from the Australian band "Men at Work."

There are some nice cover versions on You Tube. I think the best is this one by Lazlo Bean, in which the song's writer, Colin Hay, makes a cameo appearance.  The song gained a new generation of fans when Colin appeared on the hit TV comedy "Scrubs," playing this song over several scenes.

This was a second upload because I had to fix the lyrics as follows: 

• I worry "over" situations I know will be alright, not "about" those situations.
  
• Ghosts appear "and" fade away, not "then" fade away.
  

Insomnia sucks, but sometimes, it just makes you work harder.

This one is dedicated to all my jamming buddies through the years: Ann and Andy, Max, Mark, Mike, Chris, Pam, Blake, Rocco, Ross, and Virgil. I will never forget you guys.

I did what I could with what I had.

 

© 2025 Roy Santonil

"Just Remember I Love You" from LUNA SEA (1977)

This one was harder to produce than the previous three music videos, and in my opinion, it sucks. The video editor kept crashing, and just like the previous video, "Old Man," I had to restart after losing hours of work.

It's also cringey. But I'm trying.

Funny thing is, I'm nowhere near the boss battle in my music journey.

Anyway, this song is dedicated to all the girls I've loved and will love ...

Can't you kids see us boomers also want to stop hate ... except for evil. 

It's OK to hate what is evil.

In the end, True Love conquers all.

© 2025 Roy Santonil

"Old Man" from HARVEST (1972)

If you know, you know. 

© 2025 Roy Santonil

"Aspen + These Days" from CAPTURED ANGEL (1975)

So I did it.

Here's the full cover version of the song, with both parts.

[These Days] includes me trying to sing, as well as the lyrics

Also, the YouTube channel will be under a pseudonym >>> Clarence Quemuel -- long story.

Don't be cruel.

 

YouTube is hassling me about copyrights and whatnot.

We'll see how long this lasts.

 © 2025 by Roy Santonil

"Aspen" from CAPTURED ANGEL (1975)

The subject is angels.

This is one you can approach from different --- angles.

I do not want to be obtuse, so let me say: "It's Time."

My musical journey has arrived at 2025 with a 50-year backlog of lyrical stress relief, and finally, I'm happy to share it with you, reader, in this stream of consciousness social medium. 

I picked this as a first foray into YouTubery because, well, it's fairly simple to play, and more importantly there are no words! It may get worse if I start to sing, but it also might get better.

It took a couple dozen takes, and there's still a minor flaw at the end of the piece, but that's not important. Basically, I needed to learn how to properly edit videos. I used OpenShot software, and recorded on my Samsung Note 23 Phone. It's only a first effort and we'll see how this journey evolves.

Thanks in advance for (ahem) Liking, Sharing, and Subscribing. 

Oh, and also, NEVER GIVE UP. Happy Birthday and Happy Valentines Day to the love of my life.

© 2025 by Roy Santonil

 

Tails from the Crypto

I like words.

But words don't like me.

The more I try and use them, the more they stick around, and the more they haunt me for using them. Using the wrong words can get you in trouble.

Sometimes, words make ME laugh.

Sometimes, words make OTHER PEOPLE laugh.

And sometimes, words make other people BIG MAD.

The internet is a big place.

It is bigger than I imagined when I first connected to it with an IBM clone, running MS-DOS on a x286 CPU through a 14.4K baud dail-up modem in 1994. Back then, we lived out of a two-bedroom apartment, and I worked graveyard shifts to help raise our newborn baby girl.

My my, hey hey.

It is the best of times.

It is the wierdest of times.

It is time to communicate on another level because words to not do justice to explain reality.

Justice seeks 

--- its own resolution.

Justice pays 

--- no heed to the foibles of human desire. 

What is the point? 

I haven't posted since before what's-his-name was inaugurated to preside over the dissolution of the bankrupt corporation of 1871 (look it up) because we ALL needed a brief pause.  Well, that pause is DONE, and it looks like the 60,000 soldiers of the digital army (look it up) are in full operational mode, and the restoration of the American Republic is underway.

I have put 5K into $BTC $ETH $ETC $XRP and $SOL. 

Crypto currency comes from the crypt.

Look, all you young geniuses, I have been advocating in the Spirit of my Father's oath, and now, I can't quit.  I care about our constitution. You will have to kill me if you think I'm giving up on you.

It's time to start makiing videos. Stay tuned. 

The hunters are now the hunted. 

A LAKE OF FIRE awaits you murdering monsters. Notice given.  It is TIME for the musical part of this jurist to break the false and evil curse that you placed on my Father's legacy.

 In the words of Kanye West, "FUCK YOU."

 

 

 

 

 

 

© 2025 by Roy Santonil