10 for NYC by 10, on 9/11
Sean MurphyNew York City would be unimaginable without jazz, and vice versa: here's a tribute for --and by-- several musicians who help define and celebrate the cultural mecca of our known…
ALL HAIL THE QUEEN
Everyone is posting this (and why shouldn’t they?), and I’m happy to join the crowd—with love, respect, and appreciation. I’m sure, when I first saw this, age 10-ish, I’d heard…
The Moon is Glued to a Picture of Heaven: Ten Thoughts on Chris Cornell (Revisited)
In Bull Durham, the cranky and overachieving Crash Davis, at once in awe and envious, explains to the preternaturally talented but callow Nuke LaLoosh why he should appreciate his good…
David Bowie: The Man Who Owned the World (Two Years Later)
ONLY THE BEATLES. That’s the sole comparison that comes to mind when compelled to name a musical act with similar impact and importance. The Beatles, as we all know, changed…
Ray Thomas: Legend of a Mind, RIP
Sad news to report the passing of original member Ray Thomas. In tribute, I'm reposting my entry on The Moody Blues (from my PopMatters column The Amazing Pudding), originally published…
Nat Hentoff: Great American Hero (Revisited)
Spiderman, I suppose, came first. Six or seven, comic book in hand, convinced there was no one cooler, no one more righteous, no one else I’d rather be. After a…
God is (Still) Not Dead: Jimi Hendrix at 75
It was 75 years ago, today. Attention, of course, must (and will) be paid, but the real question remains: what more can possibly be said, at this point, about Jimi…
Lou Reed: Rock and Roll’s Dark, Beautiful Heart (Revisited)
EVERYONE WHO JOINS A ROCK BAND WANTS TO BE HEARD. The good ones want to be unique, while the pretenders tend to imitate what has already been done. The soulless…
RIP Walter Becker, Your Work Here is Done
RIP Walter Becker. Not many musicians were involved in a run as productive and consistently sublime as Steely Dan's. My life, in short, would make much less sense without his…
It Was Fifty Years Ago Today: Celebrating Sgt. Pepper
It was fifty years ago today… But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. To get a proper handle on how revolutionary Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was, it’s imperative…