Not To Mention a Nice Life: An Excerpt*
Sean MurphyTake a guy. Let’s say he’s about my age: old enough to own his own condo and pay almost all his bills, who is young enough to be unmarried but…
The Howling or, 105 Years of the Big Bad Wolf
Who's afraid of the big, bad Wolf? Plenty of people, and for good reason. Fortunately for us, we are not sketchy record company executives or anyone else who may have…
Wagner at 200 or, Get Your Götterdämmerung On (Revisited)
Or, If Loving Wagner is Wrong, I Don't Want To Be Reich. (More on one of the most complex and controversial composers ever, who was born 200 years ago today,…
The 50 Greatest Hockey Enforcer Names of All Time
I. Hockey rules, eh? ARE YOU WATCHING THE hockey playoffs? Don’t worry, no one else is either. Except for the relative handful of us who understand it’s the greatest, if least…
Pet Sounds: The Kind of World Where We Belong (Revisited)
5/16/66. A day that changed music, forever, for the better. A case could, and probably should, be made that we ought to refer to rock music as "BP" and "AP"…
All This Useless Beauty: The National Spelling Bee*
Look: More death and destruction. On TV, obviously. Only this is the worst one yet, the most gruesome, uncomfortable competition I’ve ever made myself suffer through. Worse than football. Worse…
Ray Manzarek: The Key to the Doors (Revisited)
When it comes to this great American band’s legacy, the best thing about the Doors is also the worst thing about the Doors: Jim Morrison. Blessed with one of the…
This Week in Music, 1983 (Revisited)
I don't know what you were up to but I was partying like it was 1983. Due to the miracles of technology, we can see precisely how I was living,…
50 Albums You May Not Know…But Need To Own: Part Five (Revisited)
10. Material: Hallucination Engine Speaking of Bill Laswell, if any single artist can be said to suffer from being too good, and too productive, it’s him. He is music’s quintessential…
50 Albums You May Not Know…But Need To Own: Part Four (Revisited)
20. Rashanim: Shalosh Shalosh showcases Jon Madof’s infectious surf guitar attack, but also represents an ever-evolving compositional prowess. This effort boasts several acoustic guitar tracks that retain the intensity of…