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,…
Some Day A Real Rain Will Come: What Travis Bickle Can –And Cannot– Tell Us About Tucson (Revisited)
Voices In Our Heads You talking to me? It is the pivotal scene in Scorsese’s Taxi Driver and it remains one of the seminal moments in movie history. Not so…
Murphy’s Law, Vol. One: A Primer
In this collection of essays, reviews and ruminations, best-selling author Sean Murphy attempts to tackle the world in writing, one topic at a time. Selecting a sampling of his most…
A Portrait of the Boss As a Young Man
There is one key question that arises whenever a new box set of previously-available material is released: is it necessary? With Bruce Springsteen’s eight-disc The Album Collection Vol. 1: 1973-1984,…
Why Not Pink Floyd? (Revisited)
The Pink Floyd Discovery Studio Album Box Set I. See Saw I have recently listened to every single song from every single Pink Floyd album, so you don’t have to.…
Never Say Nevermore: A Reappraisal of Edgar Allan Poe
If Edgar Allan Poe—and his writing—has not aged well and seems more than a little passé for 21st century sensibilities, it’s not entirely his fault. Like others who have done…
Sleater-Kinney: The Woods (Revisited)
Cont'd: PopMatters is doing some heavy lifting in the service of setting the historical record straight. Starting today, they are assessing the Top 100 albums of the last decade. I…
Iron And Wine: The Shepherd’s Dog (Revisited)
PopMatters is doing some heavy lifting in the service of setting the historical record straight. Starting today, they are assessing the Top 100 albums of the last decade. I contributed…