The Real Life Fable of Charles Mingus and Orval Faubus (Revisited)
Sean MurphyOn Sept. 4, 1957, Arkansas Gov. Orval Faubus called out the National Guard to prevent nine black students from entering Central High School in Little Rock. Charles Mingus had many…
Strange Love
ON THIS DAY: On Aug. 30, 1963, the hot-line communications link between Washington, D.C., and Moscow went into operation. Kubrick (1964) Arthur Lee (1967)
Gary Clark, Jr.: You’re Gonna Know His Name By The End of the Year
So....I read the borderline rapturous review of his new EP in the recent Rolling Stone. Exactly... And yet...the review was sufficiently ecstatic that I made a mental note to check him…
Hurricane Music
Ten songs to weather the storm. First and foremost, a nod to Alex Chilton (and Alan Vega!), remembering 2003 and the soundtrack from the last hurricane. Some Floyd for the…
August 26, 2002: Nine Ways of Looking at Nine Years
I had the opportunity to deliver the eulogy at my mother’s funeral (which, incredibly, occurred only a few months after this photo was taken, at my cousin’s wedding in June 2002).…
Fifteen Songs For My Mother, on Her Birthday
Happy birthday, mama. Thelonious Monk (with John Coltrane), "Ruby, My Dear": Paul Simon, "Mother and Child Reunion": Booker Little, "Victory and Sorrow" (plus bonus tracks): Janis Ian, "Light A Light":…
Elvis Is (Still) Dead, Long Live The King!
Poor Elvis. The one-time king is now more often the (big) butt of jokes (see?). But his musical and cultural imprint remains huge and will forever be impossible to escape…
Making the Case for Kubrick
Three Key Films: Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love The Bomb (1964), 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), A Clockwork Orange (1971) Underrated: Full Metal Jacket…
The Eccentric and Inimitable Genius of Werner Herzog
PopMatters currently is running a huge feature discussing and celebrating 100 of the most important directors. I signed up to tackle Werner Herzog and Stanely Kubrick. As eager as I…
In Defense of Good Sax, Part Five: The (Ongoing) Evolution of a Masterpiece
1959 was a watershed year for jazz music (arguably the greatest single year for jazz in all history–which is saying a lot). Here’s a taste: Miles Davis Kind of Blue,…