Happy Birthday, Henry Threadgill
Sean Murphy69 years ago Henry Threadgill was born. Words like "original" and "uncompromising" are used too easily, even when talking about jazz music. Still, if ever there has been an iconoclast…
Say Anything (Revisited)
It could have been a great story. Boy moves across the country (actually across the town, but at age nine it’s the same difference), girl moves into house across the…
Halo of Ashes (Revisited)
It’s Ash Wednesday, which affords me the opportunity to talk about the Screaming Trees. (What, did you think I was going to talk about the hopelessly outdated tradition of Catholics…
Art vs. Life and Death, Again (Revisited)
We were saying? Wow, look at the New York Times, today, on the complicated legacy of Roberto Bolano, here. Money quote(s): Few writers are more acclaimed right now than the…
Art vs. Life and Death, cont’d (Revisited)
Here's the thing: one wonders how many of these artistic types are producing anything worthwhile? How many worthwhile artists do you run into who are even comfortable talking about the…
Art vs. Life and Death (Revisited)
Subj: art Date: 11/28/98 12:55:40 PM Eastern Standard Time From: BULLMURPH To: BULLMURPH Question: If artists are inherently not normal, but the goal of analysis is more or less to…
Why Is Prog Rock So Inadequate, Simplistic, Reductive, Portentous and…Perfect?*
It’s always crucial, when talking trends—musical or otherwise—to contextualize the times and remember that wardrobe malfunctions, chemical excess and unspeakable atrocities like porn-star mustaches never exist within a vacuum. To…
Bob Marley: 68 Years and Going Strong
Bob Marley was born February 6, 1945, which means he would be turning 68 today. A few years back I chose what I consider five reggae albums that are lesser known,…
What’s It All About, Then? Part Two: Jazz, Featuring Wayne Shorter (Revisited)
Wayne Shorter is about to turn 80. He continues to record, play and inspire. Of the many musicians I admire and seek in some way to emulate (as artists, as…
A Combination of Santa Claus, Superman and Peter Pan (Revisited)
So, it was slightly more than three years ago (ensconced in phase 2 of "Snowpocalpyse 2010") that I wrote the mash note, below. Two things: I totally stand by what…