We liked Alan Parsons but now we love him.

Mr. Parsons is coming out with a new album, titled “Secrets.”  It is his first in 15 years and has a magician with cards on the cover.  Already we’re intrigued.  But then we read an article about the album and the man behind it on U Discover Music and learned he is a member of the Magic Castle and one of us.

The album returns to the progressive pop-rock sound for which the Project were so loved, also reflecting Parsons’ longtime interest in magic. “[It] has always been a passion of mine,” he says. “I am a member of the Magic Castle in Los Angeles. I’ve also worked with the Japanese magic company Tenyo, writing instruction books and catalogues for their tricks. I dabble with magic myself in my free time, so an album with magical influences was a natural progression.”

You read that right.  This man not only wrote Eye in the Sky, produced for Pink Floyd, appeared in the West Palm Beach Auditorium (across from the Palm Beach Mall and in the same parking lot as the Expos minor league stadium) but he wrote instructions for Tenyo.  Get out of town!

That means that when we read instructions for Squeeze Play, Soft Coins, Crazy Spots or even In the News, we could have been reading the words of Alan Parsons.

Check out the full story here.

Check out Tenyo’s on-line catalogue here.

Finally, if you like cool pictures that seem like they must have some magic component, check out the official website for the St. Louis Gateway Arch here.

Because we lack a background in structural engineering – or most engineering for that matter – we have no idea how it stays up.

Someone told us magnets are the secret but we doubt it because we once went to the top and had magnets (our PK devices) in our pockets.

It was unintentional and there were no signs saying to not bring magnets in the special elevator that brings you to the top and we didn’t notice any shaking or swaying.

Coincidentally, the name of our first album in 1959 was “Shaking and Swaying” and the title track went nowhere on the pop charts in the U.S. but was a big hit in, of all things, elevator music catalogs.  Unfortunately we sold all rights to the album and cover art to a former friend who now lives outside of Paris (technically everybody but Parisians live “outside” of Paris but you know what we mean) and has a winery (also outside of Paris but still in France).