For J.D. Salinger, Jethro Tull and Me
Sean MurphyShe nodded. "Make it extraordinarily squalid and moving," she suggested. "Are you at all acquainted with squalor?" I said not exactly but that I was getting better acquainted with it,…
A Combination of Santa Claus, Superman and Peter Pan
When I was growing up, Larry Bird was by far my favorite athlete. His capacity for heroics, it often seemed, was limitless. I've celebrated that love affair here and here.…
Why Dogs Rule, Redux
From Sigourney Weaver's "What You've Learned" feature in December's Esquire: I volunteered to serve food to the workers at Ground Zero after 9/11. There were dogs trained to find living…
I’m In Love!
I'm in love! No, not really. But I am in love with this movie (Sunshine Cleaning), the writer (Megan Holley) and especially the two leading ladies, Amy Adams and Emily…
This Was The Life*
When I first took this job I got in the habit of referring to the time—admittedly too long—spent in the service industry as the bad old days. It wasn’t because…
The Hope of Audacity
Question: How many GOP staffers are looking for new jobs after agreeing to let the cameras roll during Obama's smackdown at the Republican Retreat Q&A today? (Answer: hopefully, none; if…
Top 50 Albums of the Decade, Part Five
10. The Fiery Furnaces, Bitter Tea (2006) It's a funny thing: as decidedly out there as this effort obviously is, compared to the album that preceded it, Bitter Tea is practically conventional. Well,…
Top 50 Albums of the Decade, Part Four
20. Fiona Apple, Extraordinary Machine (2005) Mad genius? Compulsive artiste? Fragile chanteuse? Misunderstood icon? All of the above? More? Whatever it is (and it could be none of this), there…
Top 50 Albums of the Decade, Part Three
30. Sonic Youth, Murray Street (2002) Some might say Sonic Youth did their best work in the '80s; some may claim it was the '90s; others may insist they reached…
Top 50 Albums of the Decade, Part Two
40. Cornershop, Handcream For A Generation (2002) It seemed too good to be true that this band became one of the big stories in 1997 with their breakthrough When I…