Christine McVie: RIP, Songbird
Sean MurphyShe was beautiful, preternaturally cool (has any singer of so many incandescent and indelible hit singles sounded so effortless and laid back?), and her graceful vibe was crucial to this…
1455’s Movable Type, Issue 13: The Story
Having offered our first live programming since Covid shut the world down, it’s at once a source of pride and anxiety to recall those early months of 2020, when we…
Kurt Vonnegut at 100
So It Goes: Reflections on Kurt Vonnegut (written after his death in 2007 and included in my first collection of non-fiction, Murphy's Law Vol. One). Kurt Vonnegut would say in…
The Killer: He Didn’t Want to Miss Out on Great
“If I had it all to do over, I'd do the same thing again. I think I would, because if I didn't, I'd miss out on something great. I've had…
Deliver Me From Nowhere: Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Nebraska’ at 40
Perhaps because of what followed—the next album, the acclaim—Springsteen’s decision to make the ultimate lo-fi album seems even more prescient, appropriate, and perfect. If Darkness on the Edge of Town was a,…
Original Poem: RICHARD PRYOR ON THE SUNSET STRIP, 1982: AN EXEGESIS
I consider Richard Pryor's Live in Concert ('79) the single best stand up special in history. But Live on the Sunset Strip is possibly more important (maybe even better, if…
Original Poem: Lightnin’ Hopkins’s Bottle
It's a thrill to once again grace the pages of The Blue Mountain Review. As someone who runs an exceedingly modest (though sublimely designed -- thanks again to 1455 Creative…
Steadfast and Inimitable: The Sound & Vision of Pharoah Sanders
Not a fan of Led Zeppelin, The Clash’s Paul Simonon once opined: “Just looking at their album covers makes me want to throw up.” When it comes to Pharoah Sanders,…
Celebrating Sue Mingus
Sad to hear the news of Sue Mingus's passing, but am here to celebrate an incredible life fully led, with adventure and passion to spare. And for us jazz fans…
Yes: Close to the Edge at 50
Listening to Yes is like listening to opera: the words are, or may as well be, in a different language. It’s all about the sounds: that voice, those instruments, that…