There are some subjects I know not to talk to most people about, because they probably won't like what I have to say on the matter. Always having been slightly left of most anarchists I'm supposed to … [Read more...]
Film Review – Broken, starring Tim Roth & Cillian Murphy
There are some books you always remember for the way in which they opened your eyes to the world around you. They might have stripped away your innocence in the process, but they also reassured you … [Read more...]
Merry Christmas! Here’s the Jerry Garcia Band performing Jingle Bells
Merry Christmas! Here's the Jerry Garcia Band performing "Jingle Bells" at San Francisco's Winterland on December 20, 1975. Never heard it quite like this before! Jerry Garcia - guitar, … [Read more...]
Bob Dylan – It Must Be Santa
Today's Christmas tune is "It Must Be Santa" by Bob Dylan. It's from his Christmas album, Christmas in the Heart (which is a whole lot of fun). … [Read more...]
The Beatles – Christmas Time (Is Here Again)
Christmas Time (Is Here Again) was written and recorded by The Beatles for their 1967 fan club Christmas record. Ringo also recorded it for his Christmas album, I Wanna Be Santa Claus. Be sure to … [Read more...]
Ringo Starr – Come on Christmas, Christmas Come On!
Ringo gets the holidays rockin' with "Come on Christmas," a song from his very fun Christmas album, I Wanna Be Santa Claus which includes both original and traditional songs. … [Read more...]
Review – The Clash Special Edition Releases
I remember a conversation I had with my brother when I was a teenager. He asked me if I thought I would still be listening to any of the music I liked then when I was 50. At the time it seemed like it … [Read more...]
“Run, Run Rudolph” performed by the Grateful Dead
Today's Christmas tune is "Run, Run Rudolph," performed by the Grateful Dead at Madison Garden, on December 7, 1971. That's Pigpen singing. … [Read more...]
Film Review – The Last Song Before The War
I can't remember when I heard about the Festival au Desert, which has been taking place in Northern Mali since 2001, for the first time. I do remember it was in 2009 I was offered press credentials to … [Read more...]
Music Review – An Evening With Neil Gaiman and Amanda Palmer
There have been many great artistic couples down through the ages. Now a days there seems to be more celebrity couplings than any real co-joining of artistic talents. So when I first began to hear … [Read more...]
Review – Nashville 2.0: The Rise of Americana
Once upon a time there was pop music. You either liked what you heard or you didn't, and you didn't particularly care about anything else. There were other types of music other people listened to, but … [Read more...]
Sly as a Vox
They’re back! The often-awful eighties with the pre-school neon colors and the radio infested with neo-synth-pop bubblegum bands. Although a few groups like Phoenix, the Killers and the recent … [Read more...]
Music Review – Tartit With Imharhan – Live from the Sahara
When the annual Festival Au Desert in Northern Mali was cancelled in 2013 due to the territory's occupation by terrorist organizations intent on imposing a very narrow definition of Islamic rule, … [Read more...]
Jim Morrison and Jack Kerouac
“If he (Jack Kerouac) hadn’t written On The Road, The Doors never would have existed.” — Ray Manzarek Manzarek might have added that if Jack Kerouac hadn’t written On The Road, none of … [Read more...]
The Naked Beat
The Love Electric's new video was filmed in New York City, Lisbon, Berlin, and Woodstock. You can get "The Naked Beat" here. About A Love Electric The Love Electric is a band that does … [Read more...]
Book Review – Roger Waters: The Man Behind The Wall
Roger Waters: The Man Behind The Wall by Dave Thompson / Backbeat Books / 978-1-61713-564-4 271 pages Music journalist Dave Thompson's new book Roger Waters: The Man Behind The Wall is an … [Read more...]
Review – Les Paul: The Lost Interviews by Jim O’Donnell
Les Paul: The Lost Interviews: Five Never-Before-Published Talks With a Guitar Genius by Jim O'Donnell / 978-1492218913 / 152 pages What comes to mind when you hear the name "Les Paul"? Maybe the … [Read more...]
Beat Generation film – Kill Your Darlings trailer released!
Kill Your Darlings dramatizes an actual event that took place in 1944, as the writers who would later be identified with the Beat Generation became embroiled in a murder that made headlines. While … [Read more...]
Book Review – Erik Verhaar’s Andalusian Dogging
Andalusian Dogging by Erik Verhaar, translated by Jonathan Ellis / The Reception Game / 2013 / 17 pages In Erik Verhaar's short story, inspired by Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dali's 1929 film An … [Read more...]
Review – I Dreamed I Was a Very Clean Tramp by Richard Hell
I Dreamed I Was a Very Clean Tramp: An Autobiography by Richard Hell / Ecco / 978-0062190833 / 304 pages Where do ideas come from? How does an individual up with an idea that starts a whole … [Read more...]