Beefheart & The Black Keys: Grown So Ugly
Sean MurphyAnother song from Safe As Milk, the great "Grown So Ugly": The Black Keys attacking it, in one of the best covers you'll ever hear (from their amazing album Rubber Factory):…
O Captain! My Captain!: The Unique Magic of Don Van Vliet
As Ian Anderson said, “We’re getting a bit short on heroes lately.” And Ian, while he wasn’t speaking of Don Van Vliet, nevertheless would --and has— endorsed the man better known…
Honing In On Hendrix
If you had told me one year ago that I'd have not only one, but two opportunities to write feature-length pieces on Jimi Hendrix I would have been excited, inspired…
Rubber Soulive: Put This One On Your Wish-List
I can't go on, I'll go on... When it comes to The Beatles, I feel obliged to invoke Samuel Beckett. Everything has been said; enough can never be said. So…
Life in the Key of Song: Strawberry Fields Forever
Living is easy with eyes closed/Misunderstanding all you see, It's getting hard to be someone but it all works out/It doesn't matter much to me. Those aren't just defining lines…
The Day The Music Died, Redux (Revisited)
It was thirty years ago today... Where were you? I was in my mother's bedroom, kissing her goodbye before I caught the school bus, and I heard the horrible news…
Five From Frank Zappa
December 4, 1993: impossible as it is (at least for me) to believe, Frank Zappa passed away (yet another casualty of the Big C.) seventeen years ago, today. Zappa, to…
Jethro Tull: Stand Up (Expanded Collector’s Edition)
The first bit of good news regarding this “collector’s edition” of Stand Up is that you don’t need it. The second bit of good news is that for the most…
A Dose Of Dennis Miller With An Ian Curtis Chaser
I saw something the other night that really depressed me. It concerns a genius who, for a variety of reasons, could not maintain control. His implosion can be attributed to many of the usual ailments:…
What’s It All About, Then? Part Three: Jazz, Featuring Five Of My Favorite Things
Just before my birthday, on the subject of Eric Dolphy (who I'm happy to call attention to anytime the opportunity presents itself), I had the following to say about what the…