Two Disasters of the 20th Century
Sean MurphyOn April 15, 1912, the British luxury liner Titanic sank in the North Atlantic off Newfoundland, less than three hours after striking an iceberg. About 1,500 people died. Unfortunately, one…
My Mix Tape Confession
God I miss mixed tapes. (Which begs the question: Is it mixed tape, mix tape or mixtape? I say all of the above, and shall use them interchangeably.) I know this…
Like Ray Charles on Helium…
One of the blogs I take great pleasure in linking to is my man Mark's delectably named Trotsky's Cranium, here. There are always worthwhile and insightful nuggets to glean over…
Got A Beef? Sure ‘Nuff ‘N Yes I Do
As T.S. Eliot portentously opined: April is the cruelest month. Apparently someone once pulled an April Fools' Day joke on him too. What's really sad is I saw this one coming almost…
Steven Wilson: Appetite for Construction
To point out the superhuman scale Steven Wilson operates on is like pondering whether Donald Trump's hair is for real. Wilson, whose name you may not know, nevertheless recorded a new…
It Was 335 Years Ago Today: A Brief History of Jethro Tull (Both of Them)
Most people knew Jethro Tull had been around forever, but more than three centuries?? Oh. You mean the actual British dude, Mr. Tull, whom the progressive band was named after?…
John Zorn: Rebel With A Cause
I've not had much to say, in print, to this point about John Zorn for a variety of reasons, but it ultimately boils down to two very simple issues. First,…
(Not) Sucking in the ’70s: Jazz, Volume One
Yes, sometimes you can judge an album by its cover. Especially if it Jazz. Most especially if it was from the '70s (that Sun Ra cover is from the…
Jazz Is Recession-Proof
John Coltrane. Eric Dolphy. McCoy Tyner. Elvin Jones. Any questions?
Bad Brains Before Bad Brains?
This is the reason you always remain humble, if not entirely content in the knowledge of how little you actually know. Not only about all the great art we know…