God is (Still) Not Dead: Jimi Hendrix at 75
Sean MurphyIt was 75 years ago, today. Attention, of course, must (and will) be paid, but the real question remains: what more can possibly be said, at this point, about Jimi…
Born In The U.S.A. or, Every Day Is Veterans Day (Revisited)
I. Personal Remember when Born in the U.S.A. was ubiquitous? The album and the song. Bruce was already big, but he wasn’t over the top. Born in the U.S.A. put…
You Want To See Something Really Scary?* 10 Horrific Scenes for Halloween
First off, a confession of sorts: scary movies don't scare me. Or, to put it less bluntly, as a one-time horror movie aficionado, I quickly outgrew the ways gore supplanted…
Lou Reed: Rock and Roll’s Dark, Beautiful Heart (Revisited)
EVERYONE WHO JOINS A ROCK BAND WANTS TO BE HEARD. The good ones want to be unique, while the pretenders tend to imitate what has already been done. The soulless…
The Fall Classic: 29 Years Ago
I don’t believe what I just saw! No one else in the room could believe it, either. Kirk Gibson had, before our eyes and on television, done something so improbable,…
50 BULLET POINTS CONCERNING AMERICA’S GUN PSYCHOSIS
Let’s politicize these acts, if for no other reason because, in America, we politicize everything else. Of course it’s a mental health issue. For starters, the mental handicap of anyone…
IT’s Good to Be KING: Stephen King at 70
FACT: STEPHEN KING, the most successful author of our time, arguably toils more diligently than any other writer. For this alone he deserves recognition and respect. To the haters: Yes,…
Why Taxi Driver Still Endures
Besides being a masterpiece, Taxi Driver endures in part because the conditions that inspired it endure. Not many critics would name it as the best American movie, and it probably…
Please Talk about Me When I’m Gone: First Reading, Revisited
Four years ago today. Thanks again to the Jasmine Café (RIP). Kudos to Reston legend Robert E. Simon (RIP) for showing up. Love to all my friends and family who came…
10 for NYC by 10, on 9/11
New York City would be unimaginable without jazz, and vice versa. Here then is a tribute for --and by-- several musicians who help define and celebrate the cultural mecca of…