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WRITINGS

- Poems, prose and travelogues with social commentary -

 

Disgrace with a Capitol D

Written by Jonathan Aryeh Wayne, January 9, 2021 Though the attempted takeover of the United States government by the violent mob of Donald Trump supporters this past Wednesday failed, could we be on the precipice of the 2021 American Civil War, coming nearly exactly 150 years after the 1861 American Civil War? The thugs, roughnecks,…

My Top 100 Most Influential Film Soundtracks

Watching cinema is one of my favorite hobbies, and why I consider it the highest form of art is the fact that the combination of music combined with film creates an emotional effect I can find nowhere else in the world, no matter how hard I try. Ever since I was a child, film scores…

My Top 50 Most Influential Albums from the 2010s

Some decades are remembered for certain genres of music, but the 2010s were a decade that belonged to powerful women in music. Female singer-songwriters have been around since the 19th century, but the 2010s in particular were dominated by women of all colors. Angel Olsen, Grimes, St. Vincent, Mitski, Jamila Woods, Sharon Van Etten, SZA,…

My Top 50 Most Influential Albums from the 2000s

When the year 2000 arrived and the world didn’t end, a lot of people breathed a sigh of relief that their Y2K fears were all in their heads. Thankfully the fears shifted to bizarre fashion trends including: Midriff-baring crop tops, hip-cleavage-revealing jeans, metallic hardware, body glitter, and flip flops. On the technology front, Apple introduced…

My Top 50 Most Influential Albums from the 1990s

Every decade that comes and goes brings something new and different to the world of music and pop culture, and the 1990s were no exception. Frosted tips, mullets, hoop earrings, halter tops, cropped tanks, flared jeans, baggy pants, and Doc Martens were in style. Super bright colors accompanied roller blades, Super Nintendo competed with Sega…

My Top 50 Most Influential Albums from the 1980s

The 1980s were (and still are) one of my favorite decades of music in my life. The conservative Reagan Era ushered in a sense of rebellion in pop culture, complete with wacky haircuts, bean bags, and kids walking around with Walkmans in their pockets wearing leg warmers. Everything from Post-Punk to New Wave dominated the…

My Top 50 Most Influential Albums from the 1970s

Though I was born in 1978 and only a toddler at the time, I was alive during one of the greatest decades of music on this planet. Perhaps I might have heard the music of Billy Joel or Van Morrison while I was still in my mother’s womb, and for all I know, the soft…

The Sugar Shack

Written by Jonathan Aryeh Wayne, June 12, 2019 The temperature was 90 degrees with a heat index of 96, as I sweated profusely in the daytime sun, standing in a line stretching more than half a mile long as I waited to board the ferry to Rockaway Beach, NY. It was the day before Memorial…

Florida Dreams

Written by Jonathan Aryeh Wayne, May 8, 2019 Sometime in the afternoon on a brisk, cool day in Delray Beach, Florida, I found myself trapped along Atlantic Avenue, unable to cross the street because of a massive St. Patricks Day parade. The sea of people stretched for miles in either direction and included fire engines,…

A Generous Man

Written by Jonathan Aryeh Wayne, April 10, 2019 “Throw away the fear. Leave the anger far behind you. Hope is near, This I pray. All I know, we are a one world people, share it now or throw it all away. We could share it now or throw it all away.” For the past 9…