All The City Lights http://billchapin.net/allthecitylights A Bay Area music / urban planning blog Wed, 31 Dec 2025 19:45:46 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.8 http://billchapin.net/allthecitylights/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/cropped-2015-03-19-23.39.28-1-32x32.jpg All The City Lights http://billchapin.net/allthecitylights 32 32 Rankstravaganza: My 30 Favorite Songs of 2025 http://billchapin.net/allthecitylights/2025/12/rankstravaganza-my-30-favorite-songs-of-2025/ http://billchapin.net/allthecitylights/2025/12/rankstravaganza-my-30-favorite-songs-of-2025/#respond Wed, 31 Dec 2025 09:31:30 +0000 http://billchapin.net/allthecitylights/?p=3583 For me, the story of 2025 was falling further and further into the singularity that is #MusicSky. I am drowning in a sea of fantastic music recommendations.

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]]> http://billchapin.net/allthecitylights/2025/12/rankstravaganza-my-30-favorite-songs-of-2025/feed/ 0 Open Letters to Lake Erie and Lake Ontario on their Treatment by Gordon Lightfoot in the Sixth Verse of “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” http://billchapin.net/allthecitylights/2025/11/open-letters-to-lake-erie-and-lake-ontario-on-their-treatment-by-gordon-lightfoot-in-the-sixth-verse-of-the-wreck-of-the-edmund-fitzgerald/ http://billchapin.net/allthecitylights/2025/11/open-letters-to-lake-erie-and-lake-ontario-on-their-treatment-by-gordon-lightfoot-in-the-sixth-verse-of-the-wreck-of-the-edmund-fitzgerald/#respond Mon, 10 Nov 2025 18:17:08 +0000 http://billchapin.net/allthecitylights/?p=3574 I am sure that you’ve been known to steam like a young man’s dreams in your day. I am sure there have been at least a couple people who have felt inspired and wondered what their life held for them while gazing out on your green, musty waters.

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]]> http://billchapin.net/allthecitylights/2025/11/open-letters-to-lake-erie-and-lake-ontario-on-their-treatment-by-gordon-lightfoot-in-the-sixth-verse-of-the-wreck-of-the-edmund-fitzgerald/feed/ 0 Rankstravaganza: My 30 Favorite Songs of 2024 http://billchapin.net/allthecitylights/2024/12/rankstravaganza-my-30-favorite-songs-of-2024/ http://billchapin.net/allthecitylights/2024/12/rankstravaganza-my-30-favorite-songs-of-2024/#respond Sat, 28 Dec 2024 18:30:35 +0000 http://billchapin.net/allthecitylights/?p=3501 To offer more insight into the preteen perspective on music in 2024, my 11-year-old daughter—at her request—will be offering some color commentary throughout this post.

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]]> http://billchapin.net/allthecitylights/2024/12/rankstravaganza-my-30-favorite-songs-of-2024/feed/ 0 Here Are My Picks for the Top 5 Singles from 1977-1999 for #UncoolTwo50 http://billchapin.net/allthecitylights/2024/11/here-are-my-picks-for-the-top-5-singles-from-1977-1999-for-uncooltwo50/ http://billchapin.net/allthecitylights/2024/11/here-are-my-picks-for-the-top-5-singles-from-1977-1999-for-uncooltwo50/#comments Fri, 15 Nov 2024 00:16:18 +0000 https://billchapin.net/allthecitylights/?p=3474 For the last 45 days, I’ve been participating in another Blue Sky music challenge: #UncoolTwo50.  Organized by the account @uncooltwo50.bsky.social, the idea is to is…

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]]> http://billchapin.net/allthecitylights/2024/11/here-are-my-picks-for-the-top-5-singles-from-1977-1999-for-uncooltwo50/feed/ 1 Introducing #MyYearInMix for 2005, and Why it Was a Formative Year for Me and Music in General http://billchapin.net/allthecitylights/2024/08/introducing-myyearinmix-for-2005-and-why-it-was-a-formative-year-for-me-and-music-in-general/ http://billchapin.net/allthecitylights/2024/08/introducing-myyearinmix-for-2005-and-why-it-was-a-formative-year-for-me-and-music-in-general/#respond Fri, 30 Aug 2024 09:38:40 +0000 http://billchapin.net/allthecitylights/?p=3459 For me, 2005 was an entirely new era for the discovery of and interaction with music—establishing habits and patterns that I basically still follow today. Many of those tracks I added in those first few months of the iPod age are still among my most played and most beloved songs.

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]]> http://billchapin.net/allthecitylights/2024/08/introducing-myyearinmix-for-2005-and-why-it-was-a-formative-year-for-me-and-music-in-general/feed/ 0 10 Little Moments from P.D.Q. Bach’s Oeuvre That Play in My Head with Shocking Regularity http://billchapin.net/allthecitylights/2024/01/10-little-moments-from-p-d-q-bachs-oeuvre-that-play-in-my-head-with-shocking-regularity/ http://billchapin.net/allthecitylights/2024/01/10-little-moments-from-p-d-q-bachs-oeuvre-that-play-in-my-head-with-shocking-regularity/#comments Tue, 23 Jan 2024 08:31:36 +0000 http://billchapin.net/allthecitylights/?p=3440 This list is partly an appreciation, partly a primer for folks who may grow to appreciate P.D.Q. Bach given some options for staring points, and partly as way for me to process the loss of a truly gifted musician and humorist.

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]]> http://billchapin.net/allthecitylights/2024/01/10-little-moments-from-p-d-q-bachs-oeuvre-that-play-in-my-head-with-shocking-regularity/feed/ 2 Rankstravaganza: My 30 Favorite Songs of 2023 http://billchapin.net/allthecitylights/2024/01/rankstravaganza-my-30-favorite-songs-of-2023/ http://billchapin.net/allthecitylights/2024/01/rankstravaganza-my-30-favorite-songs-of-2023/#respond Sat, 06 Jan 2024 20:16:18 +0000 http://billchapin.net/allthecitylights/?p=3409 When I tally up my most-played artists of the last year, the vast majority of my Top 10 is basically indistinguishable from my Top 10 most-payed artists from 20 years ago. Is it my fault they insist on still putting out strong, fresh material?

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]]> http://billchapin.net/allthecitylights/2024/01/rankstravaganza-my-30-favorite-songs-of-2023/feed/ 0 Most Captivating New Releases by East Bay Musicians, May 2023 http://billchapin.net/allthecitylights/2023/06/most-captivating-new-releases-by-east-bay-musicians-may-2023/ http://billchapin.net/allthecitylights/2023/06/most-captivating-new-releases-by-east-bay-musicians-may-2023/#respond Sat, 03 Jun 2023 06:47:28 +0000 http://billchapin.net/allthecitylights/?p=3401 This is an alternately twangy-and-laid-back and groovy-and-danceable and noisy-and-unhinged playlist this month. Just press play and treat yourself to the perfect mix for having your mind blown by the vastness of the night sky as you get ready to hit the clubs for a night of ranging against the machine.

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]]> http://billchapin.net/allthecitylights/2023/06/most-captivating-new-releases-by-east-bay-musicians-may-2023/feed/ 0 Most Beguiling New Releases by East Bay Musicians, April 2023 http://billchapin.net/allthecitylights/2023/05/most-beguiling-new-releases-by-east-bay-musicians-april-2023/ http://billchapin.net/allthecitylights/2023/05/most-beguiling-new-releases-by-east-bay-musicians-april-2023/#respond Thu, 04 May 2023 02:40:00 +0000 http://billchapin.net/allthecitylights/?p=3392 It's going to take more time to let these songs rattle around in my noggin. But there's potential. Listen for yourself to this month's playlist.

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]]> http://billchapin.net/allthecitylights/2023/05/most-beguiling-new-releases-by-east-bay-musicians-april-2023/feed/ 0 Most Intriguing New Releases by East Bay Musicians of March 2023 http://billchapin.net/allthecitylights/2023/04/most-intriguing-new-releases-by-east-bay-musicians-of-march-2023/ http://billchapin.net/allthecitylights/2023/04/most-intriguing-new-releases-by-east-bay-musicians-of-march-2023/#respond Sat, 01 Apr 2023 08:33:36 +0000 http://billchapin.net/allthecitylights/?p=3385 This is a good month, folks. I am excited about several of these new musical offerings from Oakland and Berkeley singer-songwriters, rappers, mystery jazz ensembles, alter-egos, you name it. I want to just jump right into it.

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