Paul McCartney Dropping Knowledge…and Acid
Sean MurphyIt was on this day, in 1967 (a few weeks after a semi-impressive album called Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was released), that Paul McCartney put a prurient, and…
The Boss, The Big Man and the Best Rock Song of the ’70s (Revisited)
(6/18/2011: Reposted from two years ago. R.I.P., Big Man!) When the change was made uptown and the Big Man joined the band... The rest was history, wasn't it? I am,…
Mad Props to Open Culture
In the past week, I've seen links to not one, but two amazing clips. I want to give all the credit to Open Culture, so please visit them for the…
The Howling or, 100 Years of the Big Bad Wolf (Revisited)
Who's afraid of the big, bad Wolf? Plenty of people, and for good reason. Fortunately for us, we are not sketchy record company executives or anyone else who may have…
Pink Floyd: The Prog Rock Archetype
It isn’t that Pink Floyd made some of the best albums of the ‘70s (they did), or that Pink Floyd moved the art form forward (they did); it’s that Pink…
Storm Thorgerson, R.I.P.: An A/V Appreciation
You know Storm Thorgerson. Even if you've never heard his name before, you know him. More, if you are any kind of fan of late 20th Century rock music (most especially…
Giving the Devil His Due
So I was getting my air fiddle on --much to the amusement and/or horror of my fellow commuters-- this A.M. to the epic "The Devil Went Down To Georgia". A…
What’s It All About, Then? Part Four: Jazz, Featuring McCoy Tyner (Revisited)
It occurs to me that I've said little, on the record, about McCoy Tyner. This is a shame, since he is one of my all-time favorite musicians and a case…
Ray Manzarek: The Key to the Doors
When it comes to this great American band’s legacy, the best thing about the Doors is also the worst thing about the Doors: Jim Morrison. Blessed with one of the…
Wagner at 200 or, Get Your Götterdämmerung On
Or, 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,…