Don Cornelius: Rest in Peace, Love and Soul (Revisited)
Sean Murphy2/2/12. This hurts. A genuine American icon has left the planet. (NYT obit here.) People born during or after the '80s might know Don Cornelius mostly from name-checks in interviews,…
Spanish Donkey: Almost As Good As Being There
It pays to have friends in high places. Or at least on Facebook. Jamie Saft, whose beard is cooler than anyone you know (more about him HERE), understands that all…
In Praise of Porn…Music: A Primer on Obscure Italian (and German) Soundtrack Bliss (Revisited)
This story begins, as so many of them do, with porn. Sort of. Back in 2004, my boy Serf came back from a trip to Thailand with a treasure trove…
Living Colour & Friends: The Power of Music (and Memory…)
I don't need to say a single thing, so I won't. Enjoy!
Peter Gabriel & Me: The Power of Music
The face this guy makes when he listens to "Here Comes the Flood" by Peter Gabriel. Maybe not every time, and certainly not every time he is driving. But it's…
Improving Upon Perfection, Part Three: Rodgers & Hammerstein & Coltrane
Check it out: Most people, at least post Baby Boom generation, know this from the insufferable, I mean delightful family masterpiece, The Sound of Music. It was, and remains, an…
Improving Upon Perfection, Part Two: Brian Wilson and Danny Gatton
One of the best ballads ever? No question. Brian Wilson, whom one can never say enough about, evinced such astonishing growth in such a short period of time, only The…
Improving Upon Perfection, Part One: Curtis Mayfield and Junior Murvin
First, the sweet, angelic genius of Curtis Mayfield. (Sidenote: if you've lived this long without getting a proper exposure to Curtis, remedy that as soon as possible. Virtually everything the…
Paul McCartney and Lee “Scratch” Perry
It was 33 years ago today... They almost put Macca away! Do you remember what a huge thing this was at the time? This, of course, was not Paul's first…
Julian Priester: Help Him, Help Yourself
Needless to say, if I had my way jazz musicians would be famous, well-paid and appreciated. This is not a selfish desire: I would make no money in the venture,…