Murphy's Place

Dan Murphy
Updated 7-Apr-2012
When all the demonstrations have ended
And the reasons have vanished into space
And you can't seem to recall what you defended
Won't you come visit my place.  (Listen)

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Hollis, NH, USA
Hollis Weather


Don't miss:
Radio Radio Online! The Outpost Radio Network has grown to four stations.  The Acoustic Outpost, is where I play urban folk and acoustic music 24/7.  This continues the style of music from my shows on WCAS, WATD, and New Hampshire Public Radio. Closely related is Bob Dylan Tracks, a station playing exclusively the songs of Bob Dylan as performed by Bob and others.  I did my first all-Dylan show in 1968, and a series called "Dylan Days" on WATD.  For the original "oldies", there is 57 Chevy Radio playing good 'ol Rock and Roll from the 60s and late 50s and named for that icon of the era, the 1957 Chevy. Finally, from a slightly later era, there is Feel Good Rock - classic rock tracks with no agenda.  These stations can be heard any hour of the day, anywhere in the world! Each station website shows tracks currently playing and upcoming show information. By the way, 57 Chevy Radio is the #1 50s-60s oldies station on Live365, and The Acoustic Outpost is #1 in 'contemporary folk' and 'singer-songwriter' categories.

And for anyone who remembers WCAS, we now have a WCAS history page. If you have any old WCAS stories or recollections, send them along. Going back further, here's a page for WTBS Nite Owl in the 60s and 70s.  For even more ancient history, check out Downhome Radio, an article originally published in April 1995 about a couple of kids who were doing bootleg radio in the late 1950's.
My BLOG, in a new format once again. A look out the virtual window at the passing parade. Used to be, I delivered these on the radio (WMBR, 88.1 FM, Cambridge/Boston and elsewhere) and then put the text here on the web. Years later, that got called "blogging".  Whatever. Click here for the latest rants. Comments from the Outpost have been heard sporadically on WMBR since 1996. All of those old commentaries, plus MP3 downloads, can be found here.
woody with guitar The Spirit of Woody Guthrie.  I recently provided the music for a words-and-music presentation on the "spiritual" songs of Woody Guthrie.  Everyone knows "This Land Is Your Land" and maybe a few of Woody's other old ballads, but these songs are hidden gems!  See and hear them all on youtube:
God's Promise
Holy Ground
Heaven
This Morning I Am Born Again
Jesus Christ
This Train Is Bound for Glory
This Land Is Your Land - The Whole Story
We reprise all these plus a half-dozen of Woody's best known songs at a Woody Guthrie Centennial show Saturday evening May 5, 2012 at the Simple Gifts Coffee House.
Survivorland Restaurant
More Video: It's been some years now since I pulled an old video out of my files and did my first post on youtube. It was made the time I auditioned for the Survivor TV show.   OK, one of the times.  It's called Survivorland Restaurant, and any similarity to any other song you might have ever heard is, well, not surprising.  Watch here.  And digging even futher back in the archives, what did I find but the music video version of The Outpost, signature song on my 1997 CDWatch here.  Various other things have been added too; one is a new video of an old song, a little gem called "Think of Me As Music" by Ric Masten.  Watch.
The Outpost and other Odd Places. "The Outpost" and 12 other odd and varied songs, featuring "The White House Un-American Activities Rag", aka the Watergate Story. Yes, that was almost 4 decades ago, but the story keeps being rerun in various forms every few years. Then too, there is "Danforth", aka J. Danforth Quayle. The song should be irrelevant, but some of the people running for office now make Dan Quayle sound like a Harvard scholar.
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Music: And speaking of The Outpost, songs are slowly accumulating for another CD release.  Check 'em out here.
A set of tunes recorded on the organ at the UU Church of Nashua, NH.
More Songs. Hymn for a Green Tomorrow.
The Doormat Singers. In the mid 1960s, there emerged around MIT's Cambridge campus a couple of guys doing stupid songs about student life. They went by the name of the Doormat Singers. For some unfathomable reason, I have had several inquiries about the Doormat Singers recently, so I've collected all the junk I can find and put it here. Bulletin: a most improbable event occurred recently - a Doormat Singers reunion concert.  Details here. Checkout even more info courtesy of Daniel P. B. Smith who had the very first Doormat Singers page.

Other varied things to peruse:
TECO. TECO is the name of a text editor that I created on the DEC PDP-1 computer in 1962-63. It was subsequently ported to many other machines, and it was the original text engine for EMACS. I don't have a bunch of TECO lore here at present, but there is lots to be found on the web. I particularly enjoyed Tom Almy's page which includes versions of TECO that run on Windows! Imagine that. Some other interesting quotes are here.
A recent issue of the IEEE Annals of Computing History will included an article by me entitled "The Beginnings of TECO".
Origins and Development of TOPS-20 TOPS-20 is a nifty operating system which I helped to create. It was originally known as TENEX, and this paper recounts the whole history. Visit TENEX and TOPS-20 Papers for more history and technical discussion. And check out Joe Smith's PDP-10 Page for tons of lore on DEC's 36-bit computers and operating systems. KI10 picture.
Unitarian Universalist Church of Nashua Check out Sermons for more of mine, including Rationality and Spirituality - The church also has a nifty pipe organ originally made in the 1890's.  Click here for a set of tunes I recorded on it a few years ago.
Imagine -- John Lennon
The Human Awareness Institute Producers of workshops on Sex, Love, and Intimacy. Stan Dale, the founder of the Human Awareness Institute and a dear friend, passed away on June 8, 2007 leaving behind an unmatched legacy of love and many thousands of people whose lives have been touched by Stan and the workshops he created.  For me, there is no better way to remember Stan than by listening to his voice and his heart through the recordings on this page dedicated to him.
Sun, Sand, and... Sometimes less is more!
Theater organs Yes, long before synthesizers, 10,000 watt PA amplifiers, and rock light shows, the most amazing combination of music and technology on earth was the theater pipe organ -- the "Mighty WurliTzer" and those made by several other companies. Many of these instruments are still use after 60+ years, lovingly maintained by loyal fans. I've had the opportunity to play a number of these, including the Detroit Fox 36-rank Wurlitzer. For the finest electronic theater organ ever, listen to the Rodgers Theatre 360 whic It is no longer in production, but I know of one for sale. Email if interested. Finally, check out some recordings I made a few years ago on the pipe organ at the UU Church in Nashua.  It is not a theater organ -- I just play it like one.

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