Weird Scenes Inside the Gold Mine*: Part One
Sean MurphyMerry Christmas to me. So, a year or so ago I did something I'd been meaning --and promising-- to do for ages: I acquired a turntable. I knew it was…
The Narrow Path: A Tone Poem for Christmas
You are alone. You are back in the city and you are alone as you emerge into the open and empty space, stepping out from the stale depths of the…
Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead: The Play’s The Thing (Revisited)
(So...I guess the world didn't end yesterday. Seems appropriate, then, to think about where we go before and after we're here. Or what about if we were never here in…
Sui generis on the rocks: Christopher Hitchens (One Year Later)
The best way to compliment a writer, as a reader, is to recommend their work to others. That I wholeheartedly do --and have done. The best way to compliment a…
Back To Bach
It's that time of the year, prompting reflection, peace and positive vibes. At least if you're smart and do most of your holiday shopping online. I doubt it's just me,…
Jethro Tull’s ‘Aqualung’: Even Better Than You Thought It Was (Revisited)
Whatever one’s feelings about progressive rock, Jethro Tull’s Aqualung is a rare album that remains at once part of, and above, the fray. It is, to be certain, a cornerstone…
The Antidote for Despair…
...is Love. Story Here. Key takeaway: At the end of Friday’s nationally televised game, what generated the most attention was a long, soulful postgame embrace that McHale shared with Kevin…
Snow Miser vs. Heat Miser
So it's that time of year. I don't remember the last time I watched the entire 60 minutes of The Year Without a Santa Claus, but I did the other…
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…
The Who: Live in Texas ’75
It was a transitional year, for The Who and for rock music. On the precipice of the punk-led detonation, it was increasingly fashionable to kick sand on arena acts that…