The Real Life Fable of Charles Mingus and Orval Faubus (Revisited)
Sean MurphyOn Sept. 4, 1957, Arkansas Gov. Orval Faubus called out the National Guard to prevent...
Strange Love
ON THIS DAY: On Aug. 30, 1963, the hot-line communications link between Washington, D.C., and...
Gary Clark, Jr.: You’re Gonna Know His Name By The End of the Year
So….I read the borderline rapturous review of his new EP in the recent Rolling Stone. Exactly…...
Hurricane Music
Ten songs to weather the storm. First and foremost, a nod to Alex Chilton (and...
August 26, 2002: Nine Ways of Looking at Nine Years
I had the opportunity to deliver the eulogy at my mother’s funeral (which, incredibly, occurred only...
Fifteen Songs For My Mother, on Her Birthday
Happy birthday, mama. Thelonious Monk (with John Coltrane), “Ruby, My Dear”: Paul Simon, “Mother and...
Elvis Is (Still) Dead, Long Live The King!
Poor Elvis. The one-time king is now more often the (big) butt of jokes (see?)....
Making the Case for Kubrick
Three Key Films: Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love The...
The Eccentric and Inimitable Genius of Werner Herzog
PopMatters currently is running a huge feature discussing and celebrating 100 of the most important...
In Defense of Good Sax, Part Five: The (Ongoing) Evolution of a Masterpiece
1959 was a watershed year for jazz music (arguably the greatest single year for jazz...