Spanish Donkey: Almost As Good As Being There
Sean MurphyIt pays to have friends in high places. Or at least on Facebook. Jamie Saft, whose beard is cooler than anyone you know (more about him HERE), understands that all…
George Saunders: This Is His Time
Earlier this month, the New York Times magazine featured the guy pictured above in a cover story entitled "George Saunders Has Written The Best Book You'll Read This Year". Check it out here. Who is…
Dr. Strangelove, A Half-Century (Almost) Later
Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove was released 49 years ago, today. In a longer piece entitled "Making the Case for Kubrick", I assessed his remarkable career (find that HERE). Here is some…
In Praise of Porn…Music: A Primer on Obscure Italian (and German) Soundtrack Bliss (Revisited)
This story begins, as so many of them do, with porn. Sort of. Back in 2004, my boy Serf came back from a trip to Thailand with a treasure trove…
The Problem With the Homeless Problem (Revisited)
Who was he? I think the same question each time I see him (every day: the same man in the same spot, holding the same sign that tells everyone who…
Beethoven & Barenboim: The Power of Music*
Awake, alive. Alone. Never forget this feeling. That evening, halfway through high school, watching the snow fall outside your window. Lights out and that music playing: Beethoven. The sonatas, with…
Living Colour & Friends: The Power of Music (and Memory…)
I don't need to say a single thing, so I won't. Enjoy!
Peter Gabriel & Me: The Power of Music
The face this guy makes when he listens to "Here Comes the Flood" by Peter Gabriel. Maybe not every time, and certainly not every time he is driving. But it's…
Improving Upon Perfection, Part Three: Rodgers & Hammerstein & Coltrane
Check it out: Most people, at least post Baby Boom generation, know this from the insufferable, I mean delightful family masterpiece, The Sound of Music. It was, and remains, an…
Improving Upon Perfection, Part Two: Brian Wilson and Danny Gatton
One of the best ballads ever? No question. Brian Wilson, whom one can never say enough about, evinced such astonishing growth in such a short period of time, only The…