Four Albums and a Film: The Best Summer Entertainment
Sean MurphyThe Congos - Heart of the Congos (1977) Great art knows no seasons. Nevertheless, some music is made for—or at least can be fully appreciated during—specific times of the year.…
Eric Dolphy at 85
Eric Dolphy would --and should-- have turned 85 today. He remains one of my favorite musicians of all time. My tribute, reposted several times over the years, is below. ***…
Paul McCartney Dropping Knowledge…and Acid
It 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…