O’Connor and Coltrane: Two Saints of American Art
Sean MurphyI 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…
The Master Musicians of Jajouka: The Road to Jajouka
Recommending this remarkable release is easy; describing it is not, so here goes: Originating from a village in southern Morocco, the music of Jajouka has been described by William S.…
Notes From the Underground: Two New Joints From Jamie Saft
Every day, Jamie Saft becomes more like his mentor, the indefatigable—and incomparable—John Zorn. Like Zorn, he is ludicrously productive, aesthetically audacious and churns out albums that are as amazing as…
Hurricane Music, Sandy Style (One Year Later)
Let's just get right into it. Some of Young's finest blistering guitar fury. Led Zep may have had the hammer of the gods, but there were four of them; Neil…
Rush’s Hemispheres: 35 Years Ago Today
Wow, 1978 was a long time ago, eh? I still vividly recall procuring this one on compact disc (!) on the last day of school, in 1987 (!) back when…
Lou Reed, R.I.P.
This one hurts. I'm working on a proper tribute that will appear within the week. For now, here are five of my personal favorites, all from the Velvet Underground years…
Deep Forbidden Lake
As the weather turns cool and increasingly crisp, there are certain artists that become (even more) right for the occasion. Today, I offer up this gem from Neil Young: the…
1492 B.C. (Before Columbus)
Before my annual anti-tribute, let me turn the spotlight to The Oatmeal. If you have not seen THIS yet, do so as soon as possible. Little Roy: Dead Man: The Man…