Articles and Essays by Chris
General Interest
Days of Future Past
What the Repeating Patterns in History Tell Us About the Years Ahead
12 Music Documentaries You Might Enjoy!
Some above-average entertainment available for streaming!
Beating the Odds
How persistence — and a little luck — helped extraordinary creations survive rejection and go on to become world-class hits.
How Audio Technology Created Popular Music (and Changed the Way We Listen)
A look at the history of recorded sound that may change the way you hear your favorite music forever!
Eight Secrets to Creating What You Want in 2023!
Here’s a worthwhile New Year’s Resolution: Resolve to do a better job of creating what you want next year!
Ghostly Encounters
First-hand interactions with the extraordinary!
Looking for Love: Lessons Learned
Advice from someone who found what he was looking for.
The Evolution of Christmas
How a straightforward religious holiday became a worldwide celebration of peace, joy, love and hope.
The 18 Coolest Things I Ever Learned!
Lightning Strikes!
A collection of three true stories about friends of mine who had close encounters with one of natures most powerful earthly forces: lightning! (They lived to tell the tale!A
The 12 Lists of Christmas!
More than 80 wonderful Christmas songs and recordings you’ve probably never heard!
Gene Roddenberry’s Secret Ingredient
A little-known behind-the-scenes conflict may be responsible for the unparalleled success of the Star Trek TV empire. (Note: this is an edited version of an article that first appeared in Reality Change magazine.)
Boys Are In Trouble (And We’re All Paying the Price)
Men appear to be the cause of most of the world’s problems. Is there something inherently wrong with the male of the species? A closer look suggests otherwise – and that it’s time for some changes.
Strategies for Sanity and Survival
Taking a Break from Stress with Immersion Listening
By listening in the right way, you can elevate music to a multidimensional experience — and by choosing the right music, that experience can be one of profound peace and joy.
How to Stay Sane During Massive Change
Strategies for maintaining peace of mind and staying effective in the midst of world upheaval.
A Quorum of Pithy Quotes for Pandemic Quarantine!
A collection of wise and witty quotes from Einstein, Groucho Marx, Bozo the Clown, Robert Frost, H.G. Wells, George Carlin, Mark Twain, Andy Rooney and many, many more!
Some Quotes of Note for Those Who Vote
A second collection of wise and witty quotes….
Political Commentary
The Upside of Crisis: Solving “Unsolvable” Problems
“It Was the Worst of Times …”? Maybe Not.
The same huge problems keep returning to plague us — but that doesn’t mean nothing is changing.
Getting Past Impossible
Want to change the world for the better? The first step is believing it’s possible.
Solving the Unsolvable
Sometimes solving the toughest problems requires solving a meta-problem first.
Autobiographical
Best of the Fest: Memories From a Lifetime of Philadelphia Folk Festivals!
It’s an annual four-day party held on a farm far from the city, with thousands of people camping together to party and enjoy nature, featuring non-stop music of almost every variety you can imagine. As remembered by Christopher Kent!
Writing 150 Songs!
Christopher explains how he learned to write songs, starting with his musical education at the American Boychoir School and a trip to Japan, through years of writing, learning and teaching songwriting in New York City. Includes lots of pictures of Chris at the different periods in his life and sample songs from each era, some of which you may not have heard.
The Song That Changed Everything
Sometime we wait years for some wonderful to happen. And then when it does, one little thing—a song, for example—can make all the difference.
Humor
‘Twas the Day of Thanksgiving
An ode to the holiday and how we celebrate it
F.A.Q. (Frequently Asked Questions)
Christopher Kent answers the great philosophical questions we all ponder over the course of our lives….
A Quorum of Pithy Quotes for Pandemic Quarantine!
A collection of wise and witty quotes from Einstein, Groucho Marx, Bozo the Clown, Robert Frost, H.G. Wells, George Carlin, Mark Twain, Andy Rooney and many, many more!
Songwriting
Ten Tips for Songwriting Success
Adapted from the forthcoming book Songwriting Demystified.
Making Creativity Work for You
Excerpted from the forthcoming book, Songwriting Demystified. Previously appeared in Songwriter’s Monthly.
Four Secrets to Writing Great Songs
Excerpted from the forthcoming book, Songwriting Demystified.
A Creative Person’s Secret Weapon
Excerpted from the forthcoming book, Songwriting Demystified.