Stuart Scott: Winning
Sean MurphyAll of us are winning by virtue of being alive. By fighting. But we too often frame discussion of cancer with the now-obligatory martial themes: fighting, battling, winning, losing. Etc.…
Echoing out of the Passion Play…
Wow. So I'm working on (yet another) feature about Jethro Tull, this time about the recently released deluxe reissue of A Passion Play. (See previous ones HERE, HERE, HERE, and …
Charlie Haden, R.I.P.
i. 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…
Mundial de Futbol*
Tomaso sat down to watch the day’s action. He had missed several crucial games from the 1990 tournament because, like most men, the extraordinary physics and logistics involved in setting…
Borne Back Ceaselessly Into the Past: Steinbeck, Nostalgia, Empathy and Amtrak*
i. WHEN I FIRST read John Steinbeck’s Travels with Charley: In Search of America I was not quite old enough to drive. Still, I felt I could appreciate his somewhat…
A Week of Americana. Part Five: Chinatown
Chinatown does not usually make the short list of best American films. In fairness, it probably shouldn’t. It will have to settle for merely being the only perfect American film…
A Week of Americana. Part Four: James Brown
On this most American of holidays, it seems appropriate --if not obligatory-- to celebrate the most American of geniuses. It does not get any more American than James Brown, does…
A Week of Americana. Part Three: The Doors
If the discussion is going to turn to American rock bands, it would be impossible to avoid R.E.M. Fortunately, I already dealt with their legacy and am on record declaring…
A Week of Americana. Part Two: Captain Beefheart
Don Van Vliet (R.I.P.), with his idiosyncracies, individuality and iconoclasm, represents virtually everything that is profoundly beautiful about America both as a concept and actuality. Like his compatriots Syd Barrett…
A Week of Americana. Part One: Moby Dick
As our nation prepares to celebrate another birthday this week, it seems like an appropriate time to revisit some posts that celebrate art, American style. The first one, fittingly, is…