The Shock Heard ‘Round the World: ‘Bitches Brew’ Turns 40
Sean MurphyShortly before his death in 1991, Miles Davis remarked “You don’t change music, music changes you.” While that statement is unassailable regarding the vast majority of artists, no matter how…
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 Real Life Fable of Charles Mingus and Orval Faubus
On Sept. 4, 1957, Arkansas Gov. Orval Faubus called out the National Guard to prevent nine black students from entering Central High School in Little Rock. Charles Mingus had many things…
The Shape of Jazz That Came…
1959 was a watershed year for jazz music (arguably the greatest single year for jazz in all history–which is saying a lot). Here’s a taste: Miles Davis Kind of Blue,…
8K? What Can I Say…
People who are a lot smarter and more business-savvy than I am (which admittedly is not saying much) have asked me if I have Google Analytics for this site. I…
Hey Glenn Beck: What Color Is Your Soul?
First, a confession. I have to admit, when I took the clownish charlatan Glenn Beck in my sights more than a year ago, I frankly underestimated his influence and staying…
God Is Dead (Again): Remembering Stevie Ray Vaughan (Revisited)
Eighteen years ago today. First day of classes, junior year. Standing in the bathroom with too much shaving cream and not enough whiskers, getting geared up for another semester of…
Ten Songs For Myself
Eight years ago today. I'm sure anyone who has lost a parent (or heaven forbid, a child) can understand that when this happens it becomes a line of demarcation: your…
Ten Songs For My Mother
Happy birthday, mama. Stevie Wonder, "You are the Sunshine of my Life": John Coltrane, "Naima": Booker Little, "Strength and Sanity": Janis Ian, "Tea and Sympathy": Abdullah Ibrahim, "Water…
Here’s The Thing… (Revisited)
In the late summer of 1982, two distinct entities from outer space infiltrated planet earth. One was a prehistoric creature with the ability to kill, then imitate its prey: it…