Fire In My Bones: Get Your Gospel On
Sean MurphyWhen's the last time you got your Gospel on? Of the many things I'll miss, again, this year at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, as much as the…
Mardi Gras In My Mind (Revisited)
Mardi gras makes me think of New Orleans and all the good things I associate with The Crescent City. Among many other things, New Orleans makes me think of snapping…
Whitney Houston and the Wages of Fame
Sadly, only the most optimistic or naive observers did not see this coming. Indeed, it is fair, if harsh, to wonder how it took so long. I make it a…
The Ugly and Unlistenable Death Spiral of Eddie Van Halen (Cont’d?)
They're...back? You tell me, because I have not listened to it yet and am not in any special hurry to do so. Does the new Van Halen redeem them and…
Don Cornelius, Cont’d…
I only have one more thing to add to yesterday's tribute. WATCH THE VIDEOS CONTAINED IN THIS LINK. Let's run it down: A young, beautiful Michael Jackson? Check. A younger,…
Don Cornelius: Rest in Peace, Love and Soul
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, songs…
2/1/12
2/1/12. 2112. Get it? Since none of us will be around a century from now to celebrate the official day all planets of the solar federation may rest easily with the…
Alligator Lizards in the Air: In Search of the Sublimely Awful Lyric (9/09)
I can think of a lot of rock bands who have written some laughably awful lyrics. So can you. Part of rock and roll's infectious (and mostly innocuous) appeal is…
Prog Rock is Never Dead; It’s Just Resting Until the Next Round of Reissues, or, Two from Gentle Giant
Reissues From An Era When Giants Roamed the Earth For all the critical savaging Yes, ELP and Rush took in the early-to-mid ‘70s, they at least had the devotion of…
Kicking off the New Year with Rashanim
2011 is so last year. What, you might ask, can we look forward to in 2012? Three of my favorite things, all at once: Rashanim, Tzadik and Fela Kuti. Here…