Whitney Houston and the Wages of Fame (Revisited)
Sean MurphySadly, only the most optimistic or naive observers did not see this coming. Indeed, it is fair, if harsh, to wonder how it took so long. I make it a…
We’ve Seen This Movie Before: Trying to Make Sense of Philip Seymour Hoffman (Revisited)
This isn't quite in the day John Lennon died territory, but I'll never forget where I was and what I was doing. Sitting at home, Super Bowl shopping complete, biding…
Victory and Sorrow: Bright Moments from Three Masters (Revisited)
HOW TO TALK ABOUT JAZZ MUSIC? Well, perhaps it’s better to determine how not to talk about jazz music. Hearing is believing. That’s all there is to it. And if…
Led Zeppelin on Led Zeppelin
We tend to not think of Led Zeppelin as actual human beings. The reason, of course, is that they are not. At least not in the ways that can be…
Sorry, Charlie
i. OF COURSE RELIGION IS the problem. For anyone who, understandably, would say it’s a political issue and not a religious issue, I aver that so many of our…
From The Annals of Inscrutability…Robert Plant! (Revisited)
After praising The Marshall Tucker Band I reckon it's time to break out the big guns. Everyone can list a handful --or more-- songs that have presented lyrical challenges. I…
Mathias Kunzli: Playground
Approximately once a year I’ll choose one album to recommend to my fed-up or uninitiated friends who insist nothing new is happening in music. You know these people, you may…
Brooklyn Reading #10: Golfing Buddies
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…
Brooklyn Reading #9: Good Neighbors/Newark Airport, 1980
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…
Victory and Sorrow: Bright Moments from Three Masters (Revisited)
HOW TO TALK ABOUT JAZZ MUSIC? Well, perhaps it’s better to determine how not to talk about jazz music. Hearing is believing. That’s all there is to it. And if…