We huddled outside the North Olmsted recreation center waiting for the rest of the spirit band to arrive. On this cold December night, we were supposed to be energizing high…
Basement Songs
157 Articles
Scott Malchus
2 Min Read
My father was admitted into the hospital this week complaining of chest pains; because heÁ¢€â„¢d had bypass surgery in 1992, the doctors were very concerned about the condition of his…
Scott Malchus
1 Min Read
Like a long-lost brother, Elliott greeted me with a warm hug as I stepped into his house. Although it had only been six months since we last saw one another,…
Scott Malchus
1 Min Read
The phone rang while a few of us were hanging out. I donÁ¢€â„¢t recall who specifically was present; it wasnÁ¢€â„¢t an organized gathering, just one of those times in college…
Scott Malchus
1 Min Read
Á¢€Å“What are you doinÁ¢€â„¢?Á¢€ Bob asked as he entered my dorm room. It was December 1989. I had just returned from acing the final exam of an incredibly difficult English…
Scott Malchus
2 Min Read
Last year our house was overrun by witches.Á‚ YouÁ¢€â„¢d think that in the 21st Century there would be some kind of way to control witch infestation, but there was no…
Scott Malchus
2 Min Read
Throughout the winter of 1984 and 1985, I was stuck on crutches and wearing a leg brace as I recovered from reconstructive surgery on my right knee that repaired my…
Scott Malchus
2 Min Read
Cleveland in the wintertime can be a cruel, desolate town. The wind chill often drops temperatures below zero and gray slush mounds crowd the streets and seep onto the asphalt,…
Scott Malchus
1 Min Read
Last Saturday, as the latest round of California wild fires burned on in cities nearby our home, we waited anxiously to see whether the Pasadena Marathon would be canceled. For…
Scott Malchus
1 Min Read
Back in January, I wrote a special Basement Song column dedicated to my daughter, Sophie, on her birthday.Á‚ Tomorrow, November 14, is my son Jacob’s birthday, and I now I…
Scott Malchus
1 Min Read
Five years ago I began a mission running marathons and half marathons to raise money and awareness for cystic fibrosis. I felt helpless. I felt that I wasnÁ¢€â„¢t doing enough…
Scott Malchus
1 Min Read
Birthday wishes: IÁ¢€â„¢ve never given much credence to the old Á¢€Å“make a wish and blow out the candlesÁ¢€ bit simply because most of my wishes, my birthday wishes, never came…
Scott Malchus
1 Min Read
The Whomobile was a 1978 Oldsmobile Delta 88 rustbucket my dadÁ‚ purchased in 1984. By the time I got around to driving it in 1985, its roof was covered with…
Scott Malchus
2 Min Read
In 1982, the rock supergroup Asia kept my interest long enough to make me seek out previous work by the band members. This led me to the band Yes, and…
Scott Malchus
1 Min Read
The first time I heard Tom Waits’ Á¢€Å“Kentucky AvenueÁ¢€ was in my AP English class back in 1987. My teacher, a brilliant Á¢€Å“Mr. ChipsÁ¢€ type of character named Mr. Denman,…
Scott Malchus
1 Min Read
I donÁ¢€â„¢t have anything profound to add to the many comments and editorials you are going to see and hear today. All of you fine readers that come to Popdose…
Scott Malchus
1 Min Read
Maybe itÁ¢€â„¢s the fall, or the fact that IÁ¢€â„¢m missing the fall, but every September my heart starts to feel the season change as if it were turning from blood…
Scott Malchus
1 Min Read
The freshmanÁ¢€â„¢s bags sat on the floor next to the bed his mother had just finished making up. It would be the last time she made his bed and the…
Scott Malchus
1 Min Read
For me, the waning days of summer always bring to mind the city homecoming fair that took place at the end of every August in my hometown of North Olmsted,…
Scott Malchus
2 Min Read
I am running for my son. That is the mantra I repeated to myself in times of exhaustion when I was training for my first two marathons back in 2003…
Scott Malchus
1 Min Read
Running is a solitary sport. You may train with a group or run a race in the company of one or two other people, but in the end, the concentration…
Scott Malchus
1 Min Read
Once chance intervention, see what it can signify The slightest misapprehension, baby And we’d have passed each other by When I heard your sweet voice callin’ Saw your light come…
Scott Malchus
2 Min Read
Years ago, after packing away most of my old 45Á¢€â„¢s, I gave several to my friend Steve for prosperityÁ¢€â„¢s sake. Among them was Led ZeppelinÁ¢€â„¢s Á¢€Å“The Immigrant Song,Á¢€ one of…
Scott Malchus
1 Min Read
In the fall of 1991, Robbie Robertson released his second solo album, Storyville, to glowing reviews, including a four-star feature write up in Rolling Stone (Á¢€Å“a mature and masterful work…
Scott Malchus
1 Min Read
If you should find yourself in North Olmsted, Ohio with a few extra minutes, you can drive past the North Olmsted high school. There, if you know where to look,…
Scott Malchus
2 Min Read
Like many Saturday afternoons, we found ourselves straightening up the house, the children and I. It was June 2007, it was hot, and they were beginning to bicker. What can…
Scott Malchus
2 Min Read
The death of Stevie Ray Vaughan struck a deep chord in me. Back when he was making his breakthrough in the early ’80s, an upstart Akron radio station, WONE, became…
Scott Malchus
2 Min Read
Late. I was late getting to the damn airport. If I hadnÁ¢€â„¢t stopped by the library to renew that Le Carre book, I would have been on the road already….
Scott Malchus
2 Min Read
The first full-length screenplay I wrote was a semi-autobiographical account of an out of control party I threw in the summer of 1987. My script was an attempt to capture…
Scott Malchus
2 Min Read
IÁ¢€™m not sure when my brother, Budd, brought home his copy of John (then) Cougar MellencampÁ¢€™s Uh Huh. The cassette showed up in the basement one summer, a year or…