Happy 72nd, Van Morrison!

I almost missed it. Indeed, from the point of view of Van's hometown, Belfast, I did. It's already September 1 there. Anyway, thanks for so many years of splendid music, which, for me, started at the beginning of September, 1967, in a little lunch spot called Hazen's in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where I'd just arrived to start law school, when someone played "Brown Eyed Girl" on the jukebox. Thanks also to my friend Adrian Rice (not to be confused with a poet by the same name who, like Van, was born in Belfast) for alerting me to what I almost missed.

The clip below is a recent one, of Van singing "Transformation," a song from his latest album, Roll with the Punches. I love the way Van can't resist playing orchestra conductor before he takes the mike.