Novelist Charles Dickens and the musician Prince were very different types of artists, but they also had a lot in common. A new book chronicling their extraordinary careers becomes a larger meditation on perfectionism and creativity itself. Plus...
Chris in San Antonio, Texas, a professional musician, asks where the word gig comes from. While gig is now the standard term for a musical engagement and has broadened to any short-term job, its early origins are murky. It may be related to the term...
Jennifer teaches yoga on the beach on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and she and her students have been collecting synonyms for derrière, such as dump truck, rear end, and badonkadonk. The last of these has been around for at least 25 years, and was...
Responding to our discussion about thin places, those spots where the boundary between this world and other realities seems narrow or permeable, a listener in Kirkland, Washington, sent us some eloquent thoughts about her own experiences of that...
Woodshedding means practicing a difficult musical passage over and over, alone or in a small section, until the notes, rhythm, and performance details are secure. Tim in Tucson, a longtime choral singer, knew it as the frustrating repetition that...
Want a clever way to say you’re ready to do something? Try this one: If you’re waiting on me, you’re backing up. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “If You’re Waiting on Me, You’re Backing Up” Hello, you have A Way with Words. Hey...