The Man Who Improved Music: An Appreciation of Norio Ohga
Sean MurphyDepending on how old you are, the iconic image above may mean different things. If you are young enough that digital files have been the primary way you've experienced music…
Down With The King: Wherein the Mysteries of Easter are Contemplated (Revisited)
Right. So what's scarier: a grown man dressed in a bunny costume, an actual adult-sized Bunny, or whatever chemicals comprise these things? Or, you know, this "bunny". Or Jimmy Stewart…
Two From Pat Martino for a Rainy Spring Day
Two perfect songs for a rainy day (two perfect songs, period) from the great Pat Martino's first album as a leader, El Hombre. This is a fantastic album (deep, soulful…
Every Day is Earth Day (Redux)
I'm so proud of my Pops. Last night, quite out of the blue (or, out of the black as the case may be), he said he had to ask…
Mark Twain: The Big Daddy of American Letters (Revisited)
On April 21, 1910, author Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, died in Redding, Conn. Patriot: the person who can holler the loudest without knowing what he is…
So It Goes: Reflections on Kurt Vonnegut (Revisited)
April, 2007. 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:…
Billy Bang: Goodbye and Rest in Peace
This hurts. Of course jazz enthusiasts are (always have been?) a small if discerning bunch, so it's unlikely the sudden passing of Billy Bang will register as much as it…
Pitom’s Unique, and Uniquely Awesome, Sound
I was unprepared for Pitom. As a result, my initial experience with the band’s debut album in 2008 was one of those exceedingly rare occasions when one’s astonishment is both…
A History of Violence*
I. Fighting doesn’t solve anything. Everyone knows that. But then, the point of fighting is not usually to solve anything, it’s to settle something. There is a significant discrepancy between…
In Memory of Sidney Lumet: Celebrating ‘Serpico’
It's difficult, and pointless, to try and isolate which film was Lumet's best or most enduring. The fact that he made three of the best movies of the '70s (three…