The Top 10 Albums of 2011, According To Me (Part One)
Sean MurphyA couple of quick things. In fairness, both Tom Waits and Paul Simon could easily be on this list. They show few signs of slowing down and it is appropriate…
Five Songs From 2011
Here are five songs from albums that did not make my personal Top 10 for 2011 (stay tuned for that list...): 5. Gary Clark, Jr: "Bright Lights Big City". This…
Vaclav Havel, R.I.P.
This representative quote has been reprinted many times elsewhere, with good reason, so I have no qualms utilizing it here: Hope in this deep and powerful sense is not the…
Socrates, R.I.P.
I read with sadness about the recent passing of Brazilian soccer legend Socrates Brasileiro Sampaio Vieira de Oliveira. Or, Socrates for short. He has been adequately eulogized already (a decent…
Jimi Hendrix Experience: Winterland
More Hendrix? For anyone who has—or who has not, for that matter—been paying attention the last couple of years, a major initiative has been underway to get the world to…
Sui generis on the rocks: Christopher Hitchens, R.I.P.
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…
New Zion Trio: Fight Against Babylon
Zelig-like, Jamie Saft has been an indefatigable fixture in the downtown NYC music scene. Equal parts MVP and unsung hero, his presence—as player, producer and composer—is at once daunting and…
Howard Tate, R.I.P.
Not a lot of fanfare surrounded the death of Howard Tate (a couple of obits here and here). In a sad, sadly typical way, this is appropriate, since there was…
Jethro Tull’s ‘Aqualung’: Even Better Than You Thought It Was
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…
Hubert Sumlin, R.I.P.
Another giant of whom we'll never see the likes of again has left the planet. R.I.P. Hubert Sumlin. I'll resist the urge to say it's the least they could do,…