The (Really) Real McCoy
Sean MurphyAn absolute giant, musical genius, and the rarest of human beings has departed from a planet that could scarcely contain him. McCoy Tyner is, without question, one of the most…
David Roback and the Deep, Dark Groove
Not a ton of people remember Opal (actually, to remember a band, you need to have heard of them in the first place, right?). It’s a shame, although admittedly, this…
New World Man: An Appreciation of Neil Peart
He knows changes aren’t permanent, but change is. Taken from Rush’s most famous song, “Tom Sawyer,” this line might best illuminate the “elemental empathy” that came to define Neil Peart,…
A Farewell to the King: Neil Peart
Like, I know, many (many, many) others, it'll be impossible to succinctly or adequately convey my admiration for Neil Peart. (Full and semi-embarrassing disclosure: I wrote my graduate school thesis…
Original Poem, “Bud Powell’s Brain,” in new Anthology
I'm honored to have my poem "Bud Powell's Brain" included in the new anthology Revisiting the Elegy in the Black Lives Matter Era. From the book's description: Revisiting the Elegy…
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…
Never Say Die! Celebrating Ozzy on His Birthday
Happy 70th birthday to Ozzy Osbourne, the self-proclaimed Prince of Darkness. If you'd guessed, circa 1974, or 1984 (or 1994, etc.), that any of us would be celebrating John Michael…
The Whiteness of the Whale: Remembering The White Album (Revisited)
Therefore, in his other moods, symbolize whatever grand or gracious thing he will by whiteness, no man can deny that in its profoundest idealized significance it calls up a peculiar…
Abbey Road, Again
So, a few quick thoughts after spending a good chunk of the last 24 hours obsessively listening to the entire Abbey Road Deluxe Edition set. One, I highly recommend any…
They Will Rock You, They Are The Champions: The Consummate American Bands (Revisited)
October ’08. In the spirit of two quintessentially American inventions (obsessions, really), baseball and rock and roll, it seemed like a swell idea to merge the two in a lighthearted…