Original Poem: Albert Ayler’s Vision
Sean MurphyIf it’s true a picture is worth a thousand words, this particular image seems able to conjure up entire books, libraries filled with stories of pain and pathos, apathy and…
William Dowd, RIP–and some thoughts about the harpsichord (Revisited)
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA (From Dec 6, 2008.) A life well spent? That’s the goal, isn’t it? For any of us. Not necessarily to be enshrined in a newspaper’s obituary (although few people…
Every Day is Veterans Day
I. Personal Remember when Born in the U.S.A. was ubiquitous? The album and the song. Springsteen was already a big deal, but he wasn't ubiquitous. (A lot more on how Bruce went…
The Who’s Quadrophenia at 50
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, ever?…
This Day in History: “Porgy and Bess,” the first great American opera, premieres on Broadway
From History.com On October 10, 1935, George Gershwin’s opera Porgy and Bess premieres on Broadway. Porgy and Bess began its journey to the Broadway stage in 1926, when George Gershwin wrote a letter…
Robbie Robertson: The Man in the Band
When it comes to The Band, I've always been inflexible in my opinion that their best work was entirely a team effort, the sum greater than the considerable brilliance of…
Be at Peace, Sweet Sinéad
She was brave. She was beautiful. She was brilliant. We all found our lives enriched thanks to her gift and, as is so often the case with our most fragile…
1993 + 30 = Saturn (or, a Sun Ra Sampler)
Sun Ra's music sounds like it was intercepted from another world. Thirty years ago, today, Herman Poole Blount, aka Sonny Blount, aka Le Sony'r Ra, aka SUN RA, left these…
Happy Trails, Peter Brown
Never heard of him? Don't worry, you've heard him, nevertheless. Unless you've managed to go your entire life without listening to Cream, and if you've never heard "Sunshine of Your…
Tina Tuner: Twilight of the Goddess
Wow. Another irreplaceable icon has departed a planet that could scarcely contain her. Tina Turner: what a goddess, an inspiration, a river deep & mountain high human being and a…