Sean MurphyBorn in the U.S.A. (or, Every Day is Veterans Day)
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…
Strictly Business: The Dreaded Day-Trip (A Day in the Life)
A.M.: Departure Early, at the airport. Look around: some of the pretty people, many of the mediocre, and the rest of us, all sizes and shapes: men trying to look…
Seeing Red
Speaking of clichés, every time I watch a foreign film—recent, older, ancient, it doesn’t matter—I fall helplessly, irretrievably in love with the leading lady (whether she is German, Russian,…
Songs of the Day: Ornette Coleman
When Obama takes office in January of 2009, it will be a half-century since Free Jazz forefather Ornette Coleman dropped the provocatively titled "The Shape of Jazz to Come". 1959…
I Talk to the Wind
On the dissolving horizon the sky looks good enough to eat: orange sorbet on a dark purple plate; overhead black birds want in on the action, circling one another, entwined…
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
The only thing more impressive than the acting is the direction. The only thing more astonishing than the direction is the story. The only thing more miraculous than the…
Song of the Day: Water from an Ancient Well (Abdullah Ibrahim)
Historic times in America. Overdue times, as well. Of the myriad songs that leap to mind--songs of faith, songs of love, songs of hope--there is one song in particular (and…
The American Dream of Don Giovanni: An excerpt from the novel
Overture Listen: When some of your best friends are people who exist elsewhere—characters in books you’ve read, musicians you’ll never meet, people from the past who died decades (even centuries)…
The Money Dread: An excerpt from the novel
I am not alone. I have a best friend, who happens to be a dog. He is really good for me, reminding me to eat, sleep, go to the bathroom…