From The Annals of Inscrutability…Robert Plant!
Sean MurphyAfter 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…
Coal Mines, Unions, Big Business and (of course) George Orwell
Watching coal-miners at work, you realize momentarily what different universes people inhabit. --George Orwell Quite by chance (no, really), I saw an old classic that had been languishing in my…
Do You Believe In Miracles? (Revisited)
On Feb. 22, 1980, in a stunning upset, the United States Olympic hockey team defeated the Soviets at Lake Placid, N.Y., 4-to-3. (The U.S. team went on to win the…
Bright Moments vs. The Dying of the Light*
I. L’amour de l’art fait perdre l’amour vrai. Or, the love of art makes one lose real love (attributed to Richepin). As quoted by Vincent Van Gogh in one his…
Songs Of Freedom
On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, I had a few things on my mind. Fortunately, I can take a nap because the ever-reliable and brilliant…
Interpolating A Poem: As Opposed To Prayer*
I. Nervous and unnerved this evening, alone: Searching for solace, something not unlike prayer, A hope that the past will not repeat itself, Progress: a preemptive strike, this procedure (They…