Mar 15William Hurt: The Complete PackageSexy. Cerebral. Inscrutable. William Hurt, in part because he was perfect and in part because he remained impossible to pin down, was the thinking cinema fan’s god, always easy on the eyes but the rare actor who got not only under your skin, but inside your head. Has any modern…Movies5 min read
Feb 13RIP Ian McDonald: MVP of the Best Prog Album EverIf Ian McDonald had done nothing other than be a crucial (arguably the crucial) member of the band that, in 1969, recorded the album that launched a thousand pretentious, proggy, perfect sonic ships, his status as a cultural icon would be assured. Indeed, if he’d only participated in any single…Rock6 min read
Aug 30, 2021Eternity Doesn’t Die: An Appreciation of Lee “Scratch” PerryIt’s impossible to adequately summarize or describe Lee “Scratch” Perry’s life in sounds; from inventing/advancing dub to mentoring Bob Marley to an entire decade (the ’70s) that saw him churn out masterpiece after masterpiece and produce/direct some of the best reggae albums of all time; to becoming Jamaica’s Crazy Uncle…Music8 min read
Aug 25, 2021Charlie Watts: The Rock of the Rolling StonesI was recently involved in a discussion about Led Zeppelin’s least understood and appreciated album, In Through the Out Door (a topic I covered exactly a decade ago for a feature entitled “Ten Albums That Supposedly Suck (But Don’t”), and although no sane person with working ears would ever doubt…Rolling Stones8 min read
May 17, 2021Robert Fripp at 75: The King of the CourtHappy 75th to an artist who has not merely helped shape and define whatever it is, exactly, prog rock has managed to encompass, but as a positive force for music: an impeccable craftsman and perfectionist; a visionary who marches defiantly and purposefully to the beat of his own axe; at…King Crimson9 min read
Mar 19, 2021Jethro Tull’s ‘Aqualung’ at 50Whatever one’s feelings about progressive rock, Jethro Tull’s Aqualung is a rare album that remains at once part of, and above, the fray. It is, to be certain, a cornerstone of the then-nascent prog-rock canon, but it did — and does — exist wholly on its own terms as a…Music10 min read
Feb 17, 2021Rush Limbaugh: America’s Cultural Cancer(*Author’s note: Equal parts infuriating and appalling (and, for our country, embarrassing) that this piece, written ELEVEN years ago, holds up. Indeed, that things have only become more obscene via Trump is pitiful. Good riddance to our least favorite cultural cancer; a hollow husk of a man who elevated projection…Politics4 min read
Feb 12, 2021Rush’s ‘Moving Pictures’ at 40Every band, if they’re lucky, is able to create a definitive work — a document that embodies their unique qualities. Most great bands, at some point in their career, successfully produce an enduring statement. Some artists, like The Beatles or Pink Floyd, are able to capture — or create —…Music11 min read
Dec 16, 2020Beethoven at 250Beethoven at 250. Aside from the two other points in the eternal triangle, Bach and Mozart, has any artist contained such multitudes, expressed so much in ways that are ceaselessly challenging and rewarding? Maybe Shakespeare? Perhaps Hendrix or Coltrane had they been given more time? Suffice it to say, the…Classical Music4 min read
Dec 11, 2020King Crimson’s ‘Lizard’ at 50Considering that the only constant during the early years (and later, for that matter) of King Crimson was change, the quality and variety of their third and fourth albums are astonishing. The line-up rotations turned out to be a fortuitous blessing, as both Lizard and Islands sound original and unconnected…Rock4 min read
