Happy Birthday Chazz: Mingus at 92
Sean MurphyToday would have been (and, still is) Charles Mingus's 92nd birthday. I've written about him often and I'll continue to write about him, not only because he is one of…
Five Songs for Tax Day
Happy Tax Day! The Beatles: Pink Floyd: Jethro Tull: Jimi Hendrix: Spinal Tap:
Celebrating Herbie Hancock, Again…
First and foremost: Thank you, universe, for giving us the gift of Herbie Hancock 74 years ago, Saturday (4/12). Second, PSA for the uninitiated: everything Herbie did during the '60s…
Giving it up for the Hottest Band in the World…KISS!
A proper tribute to the hottest band in the world has been on my to-do list going back to...1977? So yes, that will happen. For now, in honor of Kiss…
Arthur Smith, R.I.P.
Farewell to the man whose licks launched a thousand imitators. You know you've done your earthly work when you can accurately claim that you influenced multiple generations of followers. In…
For You Blue: The Beatles’ ‘Blue Album’, 41 Years Later
It was forty-one years ago, today. No, really. Check it out: Let us not forget, it’s the “Blue Album”. Before it was the cassette, the eight-track, CD or digital download,…
Five Songs to Welcome Spring*
(*Even though we are supposed to get snow tomorrow!) The incomparable John Fahey with the appropriately titled "When The Springtime Comes Again": Janácek's String Quartet "Intimate Letters", 3rd Movement: John…
Radiohead, Radiodread and Kudos to Consequence of Sound
What a great idea, pulled off with aplomb. My hat is tipped to the good folks @ Consequence of Sound for their (new?) series, "Masterpiece Reviews", which I've just gotten…
The Intersection of Art & Innovation, cont’d: A Conversation with Matt Merewitz
Music. Marketing. Merewitz. Murphy. My series concerning the Intersection of Art & Innovation continues! (previous discussions can be found here.) I've had the welcome opportunity to speak with a variety…
Taking It All Too Hard: Unironic Love For Phil Collins (Revisited)
After taking on the "holy trinity" of classic era Genesis, wherein Phil Collins arguably got short-shrift (I mean we had to discuss Peter Gabriel!), it seemed appropriate to revisit my…