O’Connor and Coltrane: Two Saints of American Art
Sean MurphyI never, until this week, made the explicit connection between John Coltrane and Flannery O'Connor. And why should I have? One was an introverted white woman, a southern writer who…
The Intersection of Innovation and Art: Looking at the Music and Book Industries
I’ve followed developments in the shifting landscape of content—the ways it’s created and the ways it’s utilized—with keen professional, as well as personal interest. During the last decade advancements that…
I Talk to the Wind*
On the dissolving horizon the sky looks good enough to eat: orange sorbet on a dark purple plate; overhead black birds want in on the action, circling one another, entwined…
Born In The U.S.A. or, Every Day Is Veterans Day (Revisited)
I. Personal Remember when Born in the U.S.A. was ubiquitous? The album and the song. Bruce was already big, but he wasn’t over the top. Born in the U.S.A. put…
They’ll Never Put Me in Their Bag: The Continuing Story of Syd Barrett
(REVISITED FROM 11/10): 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…
Lou Reed: Rock and Roll’s Dark, Beautiful Heart
EVERYONE WHO JOINS A ROCK BAND WANTS TO BE HEARD. The good ones want to be unique, while the pretenders tend to imitate what has already been done. The soulless…
The Master Musicians of Jajouka: The Road to Jajouka
Recommending this remarkable release is easy; describing it is not, so here goes: Originating from a village in southern Morocco, the music of Jajouka has been described by William S.…
Orwell, Kafka and Us or, It’s All Part of Der Process
Back in 2008 Roger Cohen wrote the following in the New York Times – the same newspaper that declined to use the word “torture” as a matter of editorial policy: Of the 770…
Notes From the Underground: Two New Joints From Jamie Saft
Every day, Jamie Saft becomes more like his mentor, the indefatigable—and incomparable—John Zorn. Like Zorn, he is ludicrously productive, aesthetically audacious and churns out albums that are as amazing as…
You Want To See Something Really Scary?* 10 Horrific Scenes for Halloween
First off, a confession of sorts: scary movies don't scare me. Or, to put it less bluntly, as a one-time horror movie aficionado, I quickly outgrew the ways gore supplanted…