Five by Frank Zappa @ 20 Years
Sean MurphyDecember 4, 1993: impossible as it is (at least for me) to believe, Frank Zappa passed away (yet another casualty of the Big C.) twenty years ago, today. Zappa, to…
Let Us Give Thanks for the Guitar Solo (Revisited)
Let us give thanks for the guitar solo. This excercise is equal parts pointless and onanistic, which, of course, is the entire point. (Quick: what was your favorite orgasm? Thought…
The Intersection of Art & Innovation, cont’d: A Conversation with Kevin Calabro
Yesterday we wrapped another conversation for CEA's ongoing series "The Intersection of Art & Innovation." (Previous discussions can be found HERE, HERE HERE and HERE.) Kevin founded the record label The…
The Whiteness of the Whale: Remembering The White Album (Revisited)
Therefore, in his other moods, symbolize whatever grand or gracious thing he will by whiteness, no man can deny that in its profoundest idealized significance it calls up a peculiar…
The Intersection of Art & Innovation, cont’d: A Conversation with Aram Bajakian
Yesterday we wrapped another conversation for CEA's ongoing series "The Intersection of Art & Innovation." (Previous discussions can be found HERE, HERE and HERE.) It was my pleasure to speak with…
Pete La Roca, R.I.P. (One Year Later)
It will be an ongoing, and very somber, progression, watching so many old-school jazz musicians (many of whom recorded on the epic Blue Note label during the glory years of…
The Holy Trinity, Part Two: Jethro Tull
I, like too many prog-rock fanatics to count, was delighted when Rush received their overdue induction into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame. I still hold out hope that…
O’Connor and Coltrane: Two Saints of American Art
I never, until this week, made the explicit connection between John Coltrane and Flannery O'Connor. And why should I have? One was an introverted white woman, a southern writer who…
They’ll Never Put Me in Their Bag: The Continuing Story of Syd Barrett
(REVISITED FROM 11/10): When he died in 2006, after decades of cult-figure status and willful anonymity, Syd Barrett was arguably better known as the person who inspired one of Pink…
Lou Reed: Rock and Roll’s Dark, Beautiful Heart
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…