Happy Birthday Chazz: Mingus at 91
Sean MurphyToday would have been (and, still is) Charles Mingus's 91st birthday. I've written about him often and I'll continue to write about him, not only because he is one of…
Levon Helm: So Real It Makes You Believe (One Year Later)
There are probably countless ways to talk about what makes a particular artist compelling, and all of them are true. There are not that many ways to articulate how or…
RUSH HOUR
4/18/2003: today is the day mein froinds! Rush is officially inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame tonight. I've written quite a bit about one of my favorite…
Herbie Hancock: IN THE HOUSE
The coolness of Herbie Hancock is a topic I've grappled with on at least a couple of occasions (the key takeaway: he's cooler than me, you, and everyone else we…
Rashanim: Healing Music for Unrighteous Times (Revisited)
4/16/2013: After yesterday's horrific reminder of the depths we are willing to sink, as humans, inflicting pain (and/or death) to make some type of senseless point, I don't have much…
Five Songs for April 15
Happy Tax Day! The Beatles: Pink Floyd: Jethro Tull: Jimi Hendrix: Spinal Tap:
John Zorn at 60
I’ve written a great deal about John Zorn (in some detail here and here, and his name is appropriately dropped and checked in the course of discussions of other jazz musicians,…
Time Stand Still: Why Rush Belongs in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
First things first. Just because Rush is finally getting inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, it doesn’t mean that institution is not still problematic for reasons too…
Neil Young: Long May He Run
It's better to burn out than to fade away. When Neil Young sang that immortal line, he was 33 years old. That was 35 years ago. Neil Young is still…
Five From Albert Ayler, For M.L.K.
On April 4, 1968, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., 39, was shot to death in Memphis, Tenn. Spirits Rejoice: The Truth Is Marching In (alternate version here): Nobody…