Forever Never Changes: Remembering Arthur Lee (Ten Years Later)
Sean MurphyArthur Lee died ten years ago today (August 3, 2006). I not only am keen to remember --and celebrate-- his life and work, I also appreciate the fact that the piece…
Coppola’s ‘The Conversation’: A Love Letter to the Process of Making Art
In Dostoeyevsky’s Notes From Underground the self-loathing narrator proposes that every man has secrets he will only reveal to friends and secrets he must keep to himself. And then there…
The Past is Calling: The Who’s ‘Quadrophenia’ (Revisited)
Most popular Who album? No. Most important Who album? No. Most influential Who album? No. Best Who album? Definitely. More: Best album of the ‘70s? Probably. More? Best rock album,…
Borne Back Ceaselessly Into the Past: Steinbeck, Nostalgia, Empathy and Amtrak (Revisited)
WHEN I FIRST read John Steinbeck’s Travels with Charley: In Search of America I was not quite old enough to drive. Still, I felt I could appreciate his somewhat…
Shine On You Crazy Diamond: Syd Barrett, 10 Years Later
When he died in 2006, after decades of cult-figure status and willful anonymity, Syd Barrett was arguably better known as the person who inspired one of Pink Floyd’s best albums,…
Four Albums and a Film: The Best Summer Entertainment
The Congos - Heart of the Congos (1977) Great art knows no seasons. Nevertheless, some music is made for—or at least can be fully appreciated during—specific times of the year.…
Celebrating Chinatown: The Ultimate Summer Movie (and the Perfect American Movie)
Chinatown does not usually make the short list of best American films. In fairness, it probably shouldn’t. It will have to settle for merely being the only perfect American film…
God Is Not Dead: The Jimi Hendrix Re-Issues (Revisited)
Get excited. There is a new Jimi Hendrix album fully comprised of previously unreleased material. I know I was excited when I first heard the news of Valleys of Neptune,…
Rage Against the MFA Machine (Revisited)
(For the remainder of the month, I’ll be revisiting some personal favorites, all of which are available in my recently-released collection, MURPHY’S LAW VOL. ONE, which is available NOW!) The people…
The Strange Case of Dr. Dennis and Mr. Miller (Revisited)
(For the remainder of the month, I’ll be revisiting some personal favorites, all of which are available in my recently-released collection, MURPHY’S LAW VOL. ONE, which is available NOW!) March, 2009…