Van Morrison Is The Man.

I have met folks who do not see life as I do - and that's fine. In this instance, my particular point of view being that Van Morrison is the man - top chief musician/songwriter. Period. End of story for me, but some see it different. And I respect people's right to be wrong...

The shocking moments for me as of late though have come from the confused, unknowing look I receive from small pockets of people when I even mention Van in conversation. "Who's Van Morrison?" I wasn't sure a group like this existed, but just like some of the Sci-Fi movies that exist - they are out there.

Don't know Van Morrison? C'mon! So then I rattle off his most obvious moments in music: "Brown Eyed Girl"? "Moondance"? "Domino"? "Have I Told You Lately" (before Rod Steward placed it on the butcher's block)? "Gloria"? "Baby, Please Don't Go"? "Warm Love"?

After I mention another 20 songs or so, I usually give up, and instead offer them a brief primer (it all fits in a 5" notebook) on Van the man. I won't go into it here, suffice to say he has a new album out (yes, we're talking half a century of music and still going - thus the man). And it's great.

Here's a link to check it out - it's like doing yourself a favor without knowing it. And it might keep me off your back about not knowing Van...