Yusef Lateef: R.I.P., Gentle Giant (Revisited)
Sean MurphyWe have lost one of the great, indeed one of the greatest, ones. Yusef Lateef, aged 93 years young, was finally stopped by cancer on December 23. I say "finally"…
My Kind of Christmas Music (Revisited)
Tchaikovsky Corelli Bach A couple from John Fahey The Who Chuck Berry a three-fer from Jethro Tull! Sonny Boy The Godfather Donny Satchmo Ella! (An embarrassment of riches here, here,…
“Only Let Be No War”: The Films of Nikita Mikhalkov, Volume 1 (Revisited)
The release of this box set is a welcome development. This is not necessarily to suggest anyone is likely to shell out $80 for five films, but the fact that…
O Captain! My Captain!: The Unique Magic of Don Van Vliet (Revisited)
As Ian Anderson said, “We’re getting a bit short on heroes lately.” And Ian, while he wasn’t speaking of Don Van Vliet, nevertheless would --and has— endorsed the man better…
What We Talk About When We Talk About Sex (In Fiction)
WRITING ABOUT SEX is like engaging in sex: it’s hard. Or, it should be. It’s that time of year again, where we can count on three things: shopping-related stress during…
Peter O’Toole, R.I.P. (Revisited)
They're all gone. Burton, then Harris, then Reed, then Taylor. And now, O'Toole. Yes, it all begins and ends with his once-in-a-millennium turn as T.E. Lawrence, and attention must be…
Sui generis on the rocks: Christopher Hitchens (Revisited)
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…
Backs to the Future (Revisited)
TAKE A GUY. Let’s say he is about my age: old enough to own a place and pay almost all his bills sometimes; young enough to understand that he is…
Life in the Key of Song: Strawberry Fields Forever (Revisited)
Living is easy with eyes closed/Misunderstanding all you see, It's getting hard to be someone but it all works out/It doesn't matter much to me. Those aren't just defining lines…
The Day The Music Died, Redux (Revisited)
(12/9/2010) It was thirty years ago today... Where were you? I was in my mother's bedroom, kissing her goodbye before I caught the school bus, and I heard the horrible…