Author: davestankowicz

Dave Stankowicz is a retired educator who lives on an island off the coast of Portland, Maine with his wife Debbie Jordan and their dog Cody. Liberated from the responsibilities of teaching he has found the space and time to pursue so much that interests him. Dave is the former host of the WMPG radio show Palm Wine Radio, and currently hosts Next To Silence - an hour long show that explores different themes, genres, artists and record labels. Next to Silence can be streamed live on Peaks Island Radio at https://peaksislandradio.com on Mondays and Fridays @ 7:00 PM EDT, and Tuesdays @noon. You can also stream archived shows at his site (category: next to silence) He continues his lifelong efforts to master space and time.

October 6, 2025 – Autumn

Playlist for the week of October 6, 2025

00:00:00 Billie Holiday – Autumn in New York

00:06:05 Peggy Lee – Autumn in Rome

00:08:47 Van Morrison – Golden Autumn Day

00:15:19 John Coltrane & Johnny Hartman – Autumn Serenade

00:19:36 The Kinks – Autumn Almanac

00:24:28 Paolo Nutini – Autumn

00:27:17 The Marcus King Band – Autumn Rains

00:31:16 Nat King Cole Trio – ’Tis Autumn

00:34:23 Small Faces – The Autumn Stone

00:38:19 Clannad – Autumn Leaves Are Falling

00:42:02 Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band – Autumn’s Child

00:48:07 Leslie Odom Jr. – Autumn Leaves

00:51:16 The Flaming Lips – My Cosmic Autumn Rebellion

00:56:03 Ella Fitzgerald – Early Autumn

00:59:53 Cheryl Wheeler – When Fall Comes to New England
01:03:05 Jazzwaves – Autumn in Amsterdam

01:05:50 Paul Bley – Autumn Breeze

01:09:59 Woody Herman & Friends – Early Autumn

01:12:49 George Winston – Autumn Longing

01:16:18 Sonny Rollins – Autumn Nocturne

01:19:16 Edgar Winter Group – Autumn

01:23:08 Neil Young – Harvest Moon

September 22, 2025- 10 Jazz Albums that Changed History

This week’s show is built around ten jazz albums that didn’t just make waves—they changed the course of music history. These recordings stretch from the early roots of jazz to the boldest innovations of the modern era, each one a landmark that expanded what jazz could be. Tonight, we’ll move from Armstrong’s Hot Five in the 1920s, to Ellington’s Newport triumph, to Coltrane’s spiritual masterpiece, and beyond. Let’s lean in, listen closely, and hear the moments when the world of music opened a little wider.

Playlistst for the week of September 22, 2025:

00:02:12 Miles Davis (with John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley, Bill Evans) – So What

00:11:33 John Coltrane – A Love Supreme – Pt. I: Acknowledgement

00:22:33 Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five – Heebie Jeebies

00:25:24 The Dave Brubeck Quartet – Take Five

00:30:45 The Dave Brubeck Quartet – Blue Rondo à la Turk

00:37:28 Charles Mingus – Fables of Faubus

00:48:59 Herbie Hancock – Chameleon

01:04:31 Ornette Coleman – Lonely Woman

01:09:28 Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong – Dream a Little Dream of Me

01:12:32 Duke Ellington – Diminuendo in Blue – Live at Newport

01:28:15 Billie Holiday – You’ve Changed

A Reminder:

Next To Silence streams live at:

1700AM and on the web at PeaksIslandRadio.com

On:

Mondays Fridays @7:00PM

Tuesdays @Noon

You can stream past shows at any time.

Go to PeaksIslandRadio.com

Click on Schedule. Open NEXT TO SILENCE

And you will find. Treasure trove of great music.

Thanks for listening,

Dave

Jellyfish Donuts

The door pushes back with a soft groan,
and the air is sugared brine,
half bakery, half tidepool. 
Glass lamps shaped like jellyfish hang above, 
their glow steady, not quite natural. 
The menu glints in chalk dust, 
part joke, part warning, 
a dare scrawled in sugar.

House Specialties — Today Only:

Seaweed & Salted Caramel Ripple - 
kelp flakes tangled into sticky sweetness.

Beetroot & Black Garlic Glazed - 
a purple-red bite with a shadow of earth.

Turmeric Pineapple Fire Ring - 
golden heat meeting citrus sting.

Lavender Pickle Surprise - 
floral calm ambushed by brine.

Sardine & Lemon Zest Cruller - 
ocean breeze with a citrus slap.

Charcoal & Hibiscus Swirl - 
ash-black dough bleeding crimson bloom.

Avocado & Wasabi Glazed Twist - 
creamy green mellow, then the nose-burn.

Rosemary Grapefruit Crunch - 
bitter pith under sharp pine needles.

Miso Maple Bar - 
savory umami wrapped in tree sugar.

Dandelion Honey Puff - 
a meadow fried into golden fluff.

Pumpkin Kimchi Knot - 
spicy funk bound in autumn orange.

Cactus Pear & Chili Powder Jelly-Fill - 
sweet desert sting at the heart.

And at the end of the counter, 
a glass case with a handwritten sign:

Plain donuts — sold out.

Juneau, Alaska

September 15, 2025 – Favorite Songs Sung by Women Part 1

Dear Friends,

This Week’s Show brings you female voices that changed everything — Joni, Aretha, Rickie, Janis, Stevie, and more. Songs of power, tenderness, and soul, sung by women who left their mark on music history. This is the first of many shows featuring some of my favorite songs sung by female singers.

Playlist for the week of September 15, 2025:

00:00:00 Joni Mitchell – “Coyote”

00:07:44 Rickie Lee Jones – “We Belong Together”

00:12:45 Stone Poneys (feat. Linda Ronstadt) – “Different Drum”

00:15:22 Jefferson Airplane – “Somebody to Love”

00:18:16 Carole King – “It’s Too Late”

00:22:08 Jim Kweskin & Maria Muldaur – “I’m a Woman”

00:25:59 Ronnie Spector – “Don’t Worry Baby”

00:29:38 Etta James – “I’d Rather Go Blind” (1967)

00:32:13 Linda Lewis – “Spring Song”

00:34:20 Stevie Nicks – “Edge of Seventeen”

00:41:58 Heart – “Crazy On You”

00:46:52 Tina Turner – “What’s Love Got to Do With It”

00:50:40 Martha Reeves & The Vandellas – “Dancing in the Street”

00:53:18 Carly Simon – “You’re So Vain”

00:57:34 Eurythmics (Annie Lennox & Dave Stewart) – “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)”

01:01:09 Peggy Lee – “Is That All There Is?”

01:06:47 Janis Joplin – “Mercedes Benz”

A Reminder:

Next To Silence streams live at:

1700AM and on the web at PeaksIslandRadio.com

On:

Mondays Fridays @7:00PM

Tuesdays @Noon

You can stream past shows at any time.

Go to PeaksIslandRadio.com

Click on Schedule. Open NEXT TO SILENCE

And you will find. Treasure trove of great music.

Blue Hand

Ghost glove of the cosmos
stuck on the window of eternity
like a lost kite tangled in its knotted tail,
lonely semaphore of the star-drunk night.

What are you doing here? 
Signaling a mail truck from Mars? 
Chasing rubber checks through Northern Lights? 
Playing patty-cake with the void?

Maybe you’re a glove
lost in the subway of eternity,
or the handprint of a thief
caught passing counterfeit stars.

I want to wear you— 
shake the galaxies awake, 
slap Saturn across its rings, 
tickle the black holes 
until they spit out light.

But you just hang there, 
blue and stubborn, 
grinning like eternity’s fool, 
saying nothing 
but still mouthing off: 
Here I am. Where are you?

Peaks Island, Maine

August 11, 2025 – Bob Dylan Covers Part 1

This week’s NEXT TO SILENCE is all about transformation—when a Bob Dylan song takes on new life in someone else’s voice. From rock to folk, soul to Cajun, gospel to garage—these covers prove Dylan’s songwriting has no borders. Whether it’s Hendrix electrifying the apocalypse or Judy Collins spinning poetry into silk, we’re traveling across genres, generations, and states of mind. Let’s hear how other legends interpret the man who’s been called a poet, a prophet, and a mystery.

Playlist for the week of August 11, 2025:

00:00:00 Bruce Springsteen – “The Times They Are A-Changin’”

00:06:56 The Byrds – “Mr. Tambourine Man”

00:09:12 Jimi Hendrix – “All Along the Watchtower”

00:13:11 George Harrison – “If Not For You” (Remastered)

00:16:4 Leon Russell – “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall”

00:21:47 Manfred Mann – “The Mighty Quinn”

00:24:38 Richie Havens – “Just Like a Woman”

00:29:23 Wanda Jackson – “Thunder on the Mountain”

00:34:37 Jimmy Buffett & Emmylou Harris – “Mozambique”

00:40:41 Judy Collins – “Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues”

00:45:46 The Band – “This Wheel’s On Fire” (Remastered)

00:48:53 Elvis Presley – “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right”

00:51:36 The Rolling Stones – “Like A Rolling Stone”

00:57:15 Etta James – “Gotta Serve Somebody”

01:03:51 Kuku – “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door (A Sight to Rejoice)”

01:07:59 Johnny Winter – “Highway 61 Revisited”

01:13:04 The Turtles – “It Ain’t Me Babe”

01:15:15 Odetta – “Masters of War”

01:21:29 Doug Kershaw – “Subterranean Homesick Blues”

01:26:35 Cat Power – “Ballad of a Thin Man” (Live at Royal Albert Hall)

A Reminder:

Next To Silence streams live at:

1700AM and on the web at PeaksIslandRadio.com

On:

Mondays Fridays @7:00PM

Tuesdays @Noon

Thanks for listening,

Dave

Safe

I like to think of them 
finishing up their shift, 
punching out of whatever clock 
the sun keeps in the sky, 
maybe gossiping a little 
about the new patch of clover 
down by the fence post.

Then, without ceremony, 
they curl themselves into the purple 
like a guest slipping under 
a heavy quilt in an unfamiliar house, 
the air full of quiet 
and whatever dream bees dream.

Meanwhile, I’m here at the window, 
pretending to work, 
watching the day close shop—

and the bees are safe sleeping in the thistle.

Peaks Island, Maine

August 4, 2025 – Contemporary Indian Virtuoso Violinists

This week’s show features Contemporary Indian Virtuoso Violinists. We’ll trace the resonant strings of the Indian violin through East-West fusions, rhythmic dialogues, and meditative fire. These are virtuosos who don’t just play — they translate tradition into new language.

Playlist for the week of August 4, 2025:

00:00:00 L. Shankar – “Song For Everyone”

00:09:05 L. Subramaniam – “Blue Lotus”

00:20:24 Shakti – “Joy”

00:41:36 Ganesh & Kumaresh – “Gambhira”

00:45:15 L. Shankar; Jan Garbarek; Palle Mikkelborg – “All For You”

00:51:48 Bickram Ghosh – “Gangotri”

01:02:07 Ganesh & Kumaresh – “Greeshma”

01:08:22 L. Subramaniam – “Dance of Siva”

The Sign at the End of the Street

It was a peaceful neighborhood 
until the signs started speaking— 
first they warned us, 
then they laughed.

Now a child runs forever— 
a small joke from the underworld.

But even the joke feels holy 
when the light hits right— 
when the mind forgets itself 
and floats like clouds 
through the blue dome 
of a sticker someone placed 
with quiet mischief.

The sign says SLOW. 
The sign says CHILDREN.

But it’s the skull that knows. 
Knows the world slows down 
only after. 
Knows how warning 
is a privilege 
disguised as concern.

Is it still running— 
that figure on the sign, 
some version of us, 
once wind-stung, 
barefoot, unafraid?

We wave, 
as if it matters.

I saw him once— 
third-grade me, maybe, 
invisible cape, skinned knees, 
halfway to Mars 
and all the way lost in joy.

He’s still out there, 
dodging traffic 
and dreaming about outer space, 
or cotton candy, 
or something better.

The sign still holds 
the shape of a child 
leaning into the forever 
no one meant to promise.

We keep walking. 
We obey. 
We forget.

But the child, 
skull full of clouds, 
keeps running into the deep, 
unspoken now.