Giving Tuesday: An Anti-Appeal
Sean MurphyThis blog is free to read. Most of my writing, going back three decades, is also free (find some of it here). As I get older if not necessarily wiser,…
‘They Live’: The Most Blunt Critique of Unfettered Capitalism Ever Committed to Celluloid
*shirt fully endorsed (and worn) by author of this article. (Author’s note: Most self-respecting writers do anything to avoid using words like “timeless” and “more true today than ever!” but…
Deliver Me From Nowhere: Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Nebraska’
(Damn right I came up with the title of the movie first. Actually, Bruce did—and it’s one of his best lines, from one of his best songs from an album…
The Big Saudi Sellout
i. Look, this doesn’t warrant or require a great deal of description or detail. A bunch of hacks sold out. This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support…
Robert Redford, an American Museum
What am I supposed to say that everyone doesn’t already know? Robert Redford, in so many of the important ways, was that guy, always was that guy, and now that he…
Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here at 50
It isn’t that Pink Floyd made some of the best albums of the ‘70s (they did), or that Pink Floyd moved the art form forward (they did); it’s that Pink…
Academia Is Engagement, Not Indoctrination
I remember first learning I wasn't white my second year of college. Well, not really white. By that I mean that I encountered other white people—men from small towns south of northern…
Wayne Shorter on Thelonious Monk & More…
Wayne Shorter performs with his quartet at the 2008 Vitoria-Gasteiz Jazz Festival in Basque Country, Spain. Insights into music, mental illness, iconoclasm, and a particular American Genius i. First off,…
When Bruce Became Boss: Born To Run at 50
In a rather counterintuitive turn of events, the fact that the first two albums didn’t make as much noise as they could (or should) have ended up being the best…
Big Shot: Making a Case for Billy Joel
Five hours is a lot of time to spend with Billy Joel. But it’s worth it. And he deserves it. He’s earned that, as far as I’m concerned. For all…