So It Goes: Reflections on Kurt Vonnegut (Ten Years Later)
Sean MurphyKurt Vonnegut would say in speeches that a plausible mission of artists is to make people appreciate being alive at least a little bit. Often, he was asked: Have any…
The 100 Best Classic Progressive Rock Songs Part 4: 40-21
Jethro Tull: “Heavy Horses” (from Heavy Horses) Meanwhile back in the year… 1978? It’s an embarrassing commentary on how close-minded so many folks are that they’ve probably never even heard…
The 100 Best Classic Progressive Rock Songs: Part 3, 60-41
Rush: “Cygnus X-1 Book One: The Voyage” (from A Farewell to Kings) Rush is now, rightly, in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (not that this dubious honor from…
The 100 Best Classic Progressive Rock Songs: Part 2, 80-61
King Crimson “Red” (from Red) The progenitors of math rock on their last album of the ‘70s. <i>Red</i> is the paradigm that every pointy-headed prog rock band worships at the…
The 100 Best Classic Progressive Rock Songs: Part 1, 100-81
Welcome back, my friends to the show that never ends. After gamely, if humbly attempting to track the 25 best old-school progressive albums of all time, it’s inevitable to turn…
All Hail the King: Chuck Berry Reinvented Music, and America
It’s not important whether or not Chuck Berry “invented” rock ‘n’ roll, and the crucial thing isn’t that he perfected it. It’s that we call rock ‘n’ roll would sound…
Donald Trump and Participation Trophy Politics
I’VE BEEN THINKING A lot?—?since the election and particularly during the past two weeks?—?about the cliché (typically, in personal experience, uttered by my right-leaning friends) involving our so-called “participation trophy”…
“On This Day” or, Take My Life, Please
The author, en fuego in '09 Remember when Facebook was still new? The novelty of being able to keep tabs on everyone, like e-mail on amphetamines, with pictures (and now,…
Trump & Co.: The Great Deceivers
ALLOW ME TO BE contrary for a moment. That rambling, semi-coherent, solipsistic rant (half campaign speech; half cry for attention) Trump delivered at the CIA fills me with hope and…
Weird Scenes Inside the Gold Mine: 10 Songs of Righteous Protest
Ian Anderson called it, in '74: The ice-cream castles are refrigerated; The super-marketeers are on parade. There's a golden handshake hanging round your neck, As you light your cigarette on…