Amiri Baraka, R.I.P.
Sean MurphyR.I.P., Brother Baraka. Thank you for 'Blues People'; Thank you for Dutchman'. Eternal gratitude for writing one of my favorite poems. Peace. In Memory of Radio Who has ever stopped…
Weird Scenes Inside the Goldmine, Redux (Revisited)
Talk about better living through chemistry! Albert Hofmann, the chemist who invented/discovered LSD, has passed away at the dignified, enviable age of 102. On April 16, 1943, he made history.…
Just Like a Big Daydream in the Middle of the Night: The Return of Shuggie Otis (Revisited)
True story: Already an industry veteran although barely legal drinking age, Shuggie Otis was asked to join the Rolling Stones. Famously, he declined the offer. Had he accepted that once-in-a-lifetime…
1967 and the Prog-Rock Progenitors* (Revisited)
Progressive rock reached its full potential in the ‘70s, but its roots trace back to the previous decade. While an attempt to determine when and with whom prog-rock formally originated…
Wishing For Eternity So Dick Cheney Could Spend It In Disgrace (Revisited)
I'm not sure what it says about me, but I've gone on record declaring, at times, a fervent wish that there was a God. Because if there was a God,…
Peter Gabriel & Me: The Power of Music (Revisited)
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…
Emotional feedback on a timeless wavelength: Rush’s ‘Permanent Waves’ (Revisited)
How unbelievably appropriate that Permanent Waves was released on January 1, 1980? In virtually every regard, this album ended the '70s (literally) and foreshadowed the fertile grounds (reggae, pop elements,…
Stop Me If You’ve Heard This One Before*
Let me tell you a story. It involves a white male born in a steadily prospering town to a slowly prospering family. His father, the first in his Irish family…