On April Fools’ Day: Celebrating America’s Irreplaceable Court Jester
Sean MurphyTake this joke, please. Or this one: Funny, for sure. But cut with way more than a sliver of dead seriousness. This is what Bill Hicks brought to the planet,…
Jimi Hendrix: People, Hell & Angels (Revisited)
Do we, at this point, require further evidence that Jimi Hendrix was the most prodigiously gifted guitarist to ever play the instrument? We do not. Then again, we don’t need…
Indie Author Interview: Sean Murphy (Revisited)
Indie Author Interview with Sean Murphy - Author of the "Memoir for My Mother" Please Talk about Me When I'm Gone. Sean Murphy has been publishing fiction, reviews (music, movie,…
What We Talk About When We (Don’t) Talk About Dying (Revisited)
MY MOTHER EVENTUALLY became acquainted with the white-walled world of procedures and all that happens—before, during, after and beyond: Hope and fear, faith and then despair, the nagging need to…
Jethro Tull: Back to Basics (Sort Of)
Jethro Tull, again? It’s Steven Wilson’s fault. Actually, it’s Jethro Tull’s fault. That is, the fact that we have yet another deluxe reissue of another Jethro Tull album has everything…
Orrin Keepnews: Hero for America’s Music
Orrin Keepnews frequently talked about jazz the way war veterans will talk about experiences on the front lines. There were at least two reasons for this. One, it was never…
33 Thoughts about Villanova vs. Georgetown, 1985 (Revisited)
March Madness, indeed. The timing could not have been better: gearing up for another annual marathon to see which team emerges from the fray (and that’s just my personal bracket),…
Ten Songs From 1967 That Shaped Prog-Rock (Revisited)
1. "Heroes and Villains", The Beach Boys What has tended to get lost or forgotten in the shuffle of sensationalistic trivia (of the infamously aborted SMiLE sessions) is that Wilson…
Vegas Baby
Q: So tell us about that time you were in Vegas. A: As I semi-stumbled to my elevator too late one night at a surpassingly reasonable hour a dude with…
Where the Hell is Shafi Hadi?: A Poem
(*Saxophone player Shafi Hadi, born Curtis Porter, is best-known for his association with jazz legend Charles Mingus, and played on the seminal recording Mingus Ah Um, from 1959. He dropped…