Wagner at 200 or, Get Your Götterdämmerung On (Revisited)
Sean MurphyOr, If Loving Wagner is Wrong, I Don't Want To Be Reich. (More on one of the most complex and controversial composers ever, who was born 200 years ago today,…
Just Like a Big Daydream in the Middle of the Night: The Return of Shuggie Otis (Revisited)
True story: Already an industry veteran although barely legal drinking age, Shuggie Otis was asked to join the Rolling Stones. Famously, he declined the offer. Had he accepted that once-in-a-lifetime…
1967 and the Prog-Rock Progenitors* (Revisited)
Progressive rock reached its full potential in the ‘70s, but its roots trace back to the previous decade. While an attempt to determine when and with whom prog-rock formally originated…
Peter Gabriel & Me: The Power of Music (Revisited)
The face this guy makes when he listens to "Here Comes the Flood" by Peter Gabriel. Maybe not every time, and certainly not every time he is driving. But it's…
Emotional feedback on a timeless wavelength: Rush’s ‘Permanent Waves’ (Revisited)
How unbelievably appropriate that Permanent Waves was released on January 1, 1980? In virtually every regard, this album ended the '70s (literally) and foreshadowed the fertile grounds (reggae, pop elements,…
Yusef Lateef: R.I.P., Gentle Giant
We have lost one of the great, indeed one of the greatest, ones. Yusef Lateef, aged 93 years young, was finally stopped by cancer on December 23. I say…
My Kind of Christmas Music (Revisited)
Tchaikovsky Corelli Bach A few from John Fahey The Who Chuck Berry a three-fer from Jethro Tull! Sonny Boy The Godfather Donny Satchmo Ella! (An embarrassment of riches here, here,…
Your Holiday Shopping List or, My Island of Misfit Toys
If you're wise (and/or foolish) enough to take my advice seriously, here are some of my favorite things from 2013. If you are looking for gift ideas, for yourself or…
Howard Tate, R.I.P. (Two Years Later)
Not a lot of fanfare surrounded the death of Howard Tate (a couple of obits here and here). In a sad, sadly typical way, this is appropriate, since there was…
Five for Mandela
Some directly, some indirectly inspired by the great man. (Bonus!)