Levon Helm: Five Years Gone
There are probably countless ways to talk about what makes a particular artist compelling, and all of them are true. There are not that many ways to articulate how or…
There are probably countless ways to talk about what makes a particular artist compelling, and all of them are true. There are not that many ways to articulate how or…
Yes: “Awaken” (from Going for the One) 1977 was not only about clothespins and green-toothed sneers: just as punk was gaining steam, Yes, the band that represented everything everyone hated…
Kurt Vonnegut would say in speeches that a plausible mission of artists is to make people appreciate being alive at least a little bit. Often, he was asked: Have any…
Jethro Tull: “Heavy Horses” (from Heavy Horses) Meanwhile back in the year… 1978? It’s an embarrassing commentary on how close-minded so many folks are that they’ve probably never even heard…
Rush: “Cygnus X-1 Book One: The Voyage” (from A Farewell to Kings) Rush is now, rightly, in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (not that this dubious honor from…
King Crimson “Red” (from Red) The progenitors of math rock on their last album of the ‘70s. <i>Red</i> is the paradigm that every pointy-headed prog rock band worships at the…
Welcome back, my friends to the show that never ends. After gamely, if humbly attempting to track the 25 best old-school progressive albums of all time, it’s inevitable to turn…
It’s not important whether or not Chuck Berry “invented” rock ‘n’ roll, and the crucial thing isn’t that he perfected it. It’s that we call rock ‘n’ roll would sound…
I’VE BEEN THINKING A lot?—?since the election and particularly during the past two weeks?—?about the cliché (typically, in personal experience, uttered by my right-leaning friends) involving our so-called “participation trophy”…
The author, en fuego in '09 Remember when Facebook was still new? The novelty of being able to keep tabs on everyone, like e-mail on amphetamines, with pictures (and now,…