In the New Yorker...

[serious crayons]

I was surprised and delighted to find a book titled Through The Children's Gate: A Home in New York--by Adam Gopnik! 

I think he wrote about his family's time living in Paris too, right? Maybe this is about their returning to North America?

[serious crayons]

What rock star has the name Ed anyway?

Well, would you count Eddie Vedder, one of rock's most popular and enduring stars? I've seen people call him Ed.

[Front-Ranger]

Well, would you count Eddie Vedder, one of rock's most popular and enduring stars? I've seen people call him Ed.

I'm only dimly aware of him. I thought he was in the band Van Halen but, looking it up, I see he's in the band Pearl Jam, or was, and now he's on his own.

[Jeff Wrangler]

I think he wrote about his family's time living in Paris too, right? Maybe this is about their returning to North America?

That would be a yes and a yes.

This is by now a very old book--copyright 2006. They moved back to NYC just in time for 9/11.

[Front-Ranger]

It seems Ed Sheeran played to a sold-out Empower (Mile-High) Stadium last night here. I can't understand the appeal. What rock star has the name Ed anyway? Now if it were Hauser...

So apparently 12,000 more people attended the Ed concert than came to the Taylor concert last month! I don't really see the appeal of either of them. I haven't heard a song by either of them either.

[Jeff Wrangler]

So apparently 12,000 more people attended the Ed concert than came to the Taylor concert last month! I don't really see the appeal of either of them. I haven't heard a song by either of them either.

But you're not a teenager. ...

Taylor Swift ain't done too bad for a girl from Berks County, Pennsylvania.

[serious crayons]

I'm only dimly aware of him. I thought he was in the band Van Halen but, looking it up, I see he's in the band Pearl Jam, or was, and now he's on his own.

So apparently 12,000 more people attended the Ed concert than came to the Taylor concert last month! I don't really see the appeal of either of them. I haven't heard a song by either of them either.

No offense, but I'm starting to suspect that your awareness and appreciation of a rock- or pop-music star is not the best measure of their success.

Amanda and I were going to go to Pearl Jam when they played near her current home. We couldn't get tickets, but that's just as well because the concert was scheduled for March 24, 2020.

Here's IMDb:
To date, the band has sold nearly 32 million records in the United States and an estimated 60 million worldwide. Pearl Jam has outlasted and outsold many of its contemporaries from the alternative rock breakthrough of the early 1990s, and is considered one of the most influential bands of that decade.

And here's Wikipedia:
Pearl Jam outsold many of their contemporaries from the early 1990s, and are considered one of the most influential bands of the decade, being dubbed as "the most popular American rock and roll band of the '90s".

But I'm not making fun of you, because I'm in the same boat. I have heard OF many big famous musical artists but I haven't always heard their music. I couldn't name a song by either Ed Sheeran or Taylor Swift. I don't think Ed outsold Taylor here but came closer than I would have thought. I have a FB friend who's, I think, 53, who's always posting about how much she loves some band or other that I've never heard of.

[Jeff Wrangler]

I have a FB friend who's, I think, 53, who's always posting about how much she loves some band or other that I've never heard of.

When the Today show does its Summer Concert Series on the Plaza, so often these days the performers are bands or individuals I've never heard of, yet the Plaza always seems to be filled with screaming fans.

[Front-Ranger]

I must cite two things in my defense: (1) I did read the New Yorker article on plagiarism, which prominently features Ed, all the way through and (2) I see that David Harbour is in the news talking about attending the Swift concert in Minneapolis. So don't count me completely out!!

I may not know Swift or Sheerhan, but I do know a few Strausses, Schumann, Schubert and even Satie, pretty well!

[Front-Ranger]

So, interestingly, Ed is a ginger!

https://1883magazine.com/how-ed-sheeran-became-famous/