Deconstruction*
Sean MurphyI. Il n’y pas hors-texte. Or, there is nothing outside the text. If the names Barthes, Foucault and Saussure (for starters) mean nothing to you, it would be difficult to…
Halo of Ashes
It's Ash Wednesday, which affords me the opportunity to talk about the Screaming Trees. (What, did you think I was going to talk about the hopelessly outdated tradition of Catholics…
Mardi gras in my mind (Revisited)
Mardi gras makes me think of New Orleans and all the good things I associate with The Crescent City. Among many other things, New Orleans makes me think of snapping…
Hello!
#Winning. No, not Charlie Sheen; the Internet. Once again, random acts of staggering genius elevates our common humanity. And then there is Lionel Richie. If you didn't --or don't-- appreciate…
20 Years Later: How Rodney King Helped Us Plug In, Dial On and Wake Up
ON THIS DAY On March 3, 1991, in a case that sparked a national outcry, motorist Rodney King was severely beaten by Los Angeles police officers in a scene captured…
From The Annals of Inscrutability…Robert Plant!
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 can…
Heard ____ In A Love Song
Any questions? Kind of like a wine cooler fan's Lynyrd Skynyrd, you have to appreciate the Marshall Tucker Band for incorporating a flute (effectively! convincingly!) into their safe-for-radio country rock.…
Marlon Brando, Pocahontas and Me
And the Oscar goes to... Who cares? Okay, okay: I'll resist the urge to be a sourpuss and let it suffice that I express my indifference to the pompous…
Less Cowbell; More Cult (Blue Öyster, Naturally)
Your reaction to this image might reveal many things about yourself and your attitude toward, and awareness of, a certain sort of music. Quick: what is Blue Öyster Cult's most…
Ten Years Gone: Happy Birthday, George
Hard as it is (for me, anyway) to believe, this November will be the 10th anniversary of Harrison's untimely passing (of course it's devastating enough to consider that we've already…