Sue Mingus and the Mingus Big Band: Letting Our Children Hear Music
Sean MurphyThe Mingus Big Band is bigger than most big bands because they play the music of Charles Mingus. Of the many words one could use to describe Mingus, (and one…
Forever Never Changes: Remembering Arthur Lee
Arthur Lee died almost exactly four years ago (August 3, 2006). I not only am keen to remember --and celebrate-- his life and work, I also appreciate the fact that…
Party Music for the Apocalypse: Mikey Dread’s ‘Beyond World War III’
If Mikey Dread (Michael Campbell) had never decided to pick up the microphone and sing, his status would be secure in reggae history. His groundbreaking weekly show on Jamaican radio,…
Celebrating Chinatown: The Ultimate Summer Movie (and the Perfect American Movie)
Chinatown does not usually make the short list of best American films. In fairness, it probably shouldn’t. It will have to settle for merely being the only perfect American film…
Remembering the USS Indianapolis, Robert Shaw and The Scene
On July 30, 1945, the USS Indianapolis, which had just delivered key components of the Hiroshima atomic bomb to the Pacific island of Tinian, was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine.…
July 28, 1979: The Long Way Home (Revisited)
If I ever need to check myself and consider what a privileged life I've led, I simply need to recall that moving across town in the summer of '79 was…
Summertime is Reggae Time (Revisited)– Part Four: ‘The Same Song’ by Israel Vibration
The cardinal rule for any serious appraisal of art involves a necessity to separate all discussion of the artist from the artifact. Mostly this is essential because so many unsavory…
Remembering (and Celebrating) The Kids In The Hall
This weekend PopMatters is revisiting an outstanding feature from a couple of years ago: The Best of TV on DVD. Definitely worth checking out. My entry, below, was on the gone…
Newt Gingrich: Dimestore Despot
This just in: Newt gingrich remains the most repugnant and despicable ass-clown in America! (Narrowly edging out the oleaginous Andrew Breitbart, who may finally have done civilization a favor by…
Summertime is Reggae Time (Revisited)– Part Three: ‘Right Time’ by The Mighty Diamonds
Big misconception about reggae music: it’s all happy, at the beach, drinking music. Biggest misconception about reggae music: it all sounds the same. Even Bob Marley (and it is both…