Semi-Autobiographical, Inspired By a Best Friend (Revisited)*
Sean MurphyI am not alone. I have a best friend, who happens to be a dog. He is really good for me, reminding me to eat, sleep, go to the bathroom…
Mardi Gras In My Mind (Revisited)
Mardi gras makes me think of New Orleans and all the good things I associate with The Crescent City. Among many other things, New Orleans makes me think of snapping…
Following These Footprints
Check this out. A few years back I opined that the second great Miles Davis quintet was the greatest group of musicians ever assembled in one collective. I stand by that,…
Happy Birthday, Henry Threadgill
69 years ago Henry Threadgill was born. Words like "original" and "uncompromising" are used too easily, even when talking about jazz music. Still, if ever there has been an iconoclast…
Say Anything (Revisited)
It could have been a great story. Boy moves across the country (actually across the town, but at age nine it’s the same difference), girl moves into house across the…
Halo of Ashes (Revisited)
It’s Ash Wednesday, which affords me the opportunity to talk about the Screaming Trees. (What, did you think I was going to talk about the hopelessly outdated tradition of Catholics…
Art vs. Life and Death, Again (Revisited)
We were saying? Wow, look at the New York Times, today, on the complicated legacy of Roberto Bolano, here. Money quote(s): Few writers are more acclaimed right now than the…
Art vs. Life and Death, cont’d (Revisited)
Here's the thing: one wonders how many of these artistic types are producing anything worthwhile? How many worthwhile artists do you run into who are even comfortable talking about the…
Art vs. Life and Death (Revisited)
Subj: art Date: 11/28/98 12:55:40 PM Eastern Standard Time From: BULLMURPH To: BULLMURPH Question: If artists are inherently not normal, but the goal of analysis is more or less to…
Why Is Prog Rock So Inadequate, Simplistic, Reductive, Portentous and…Perfect?*
It’s always crucial, when talking trends—musical or otherwise—to contextualize the times and remember that wardrobe malfunctions, chemical excess and unspeakable atrocities like porn-star mustaches never exist within a vacuum. To…