End of Summer (Camp) with a Bat, a Cat and a Clown (Revisited)
Sean MurphyIt is an inexorable, if lamentable rite of passage to revisit cultural mementos from one's childhood and discover that, to an adult's eyes, they are lacking. But then, "putting away…
The Once and Future King: ‘SMiLE’ and Brian Wilson’s Very American Dream
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. Icarus soars too close to the sun. Othello, vulnerable and halfway crazy, mistakenly trusts the evil Iago. The product of a celebrated…
God Is Dead (Again): Remembering Stevie Ray Vaughan
Twenty-four years ago today. First day of classes, junior year. Standing in the bathroom with too much shaving cream and not enough whiskers, getting geared up for another semester of…
Sanctuary
I visited my mother’s grave the first several years for the same reason I used to attend church: it was expected, it was meant to make me feel better, it…
Art and Life (Two Years Later)
(2003) Every so often I can’t help hoping that there will be a knock on my door and when I open it, who is there but my sexy soul mate,…
For My Mother on Her Birthday
I’m scared, I said. “It’s okay,” she said. “You know I’ll never leave you, right? I would never leave this place without you.” How many times did she tell me…
Brooklyn, 2014: Words & Music, New-School Style
May 29, 2014. It was billed as a throwback to the old Beatnik days, minus the bongos and clove cigarettes. As such, New York City was a mandatory locale; Brooklyn…
Every Dog Owner Has His Day
i. Isn’t being irreplaceable the whole point? ONCE YOU’VE BECOME an adult of a certain age, you cease to be surprised by how quickly time passes. I’ve gone from lamenting…
What Is and What Will Always Be: A Fresh Look at Led Zeppelin’s Familiar Masterpieces
Shamelessly utilized other artists’ work, didn’t bother to acknowledge the source material most of the time, became famous, influential and wealthy, is celebrated years later as a creative force without…
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,…