Empty Mirror

a literary magazine

Ray Manzarek

I turned my laptop on just after dawn this morning, as I usually do, and sat down with a cup of strong black coffee to see what was happening in the world. Two stories caught me like punches to the stomach and I woke up without any need for caffeine: a tornado killing scores of people in Oklahoma, and Ray Manzarek of the Doors dying at 74 of bile duct cancer. Jesus, is there … [Read more...]

Music Review – Bee Thousand by Guided By Voices

"I love the sound of background noise I wanna hear the crack in the singer's voice Fingers moving on the fret board Every time he plays a new chord" (Art Brut, "Slap Dash For No Cash") When most people think about the best records of the 90’s they recall classics such as Radiohead’s OK Computer, Nirvana’s Nevermind or maybe REM’s Automatic for People. The name Guided … [Read more...]

5 Recurring Themes In Early Bob Dylan Songs

One of the most important people in music history, Mr. Bob Dylan still stuns music lovers worldwide with his witty rhymes and colorful guitar sound. With his music being the definition of timelessness, now is the perfect time to revisit his early albums and enjoy the raw melodic expression of Dylan’s unchained stream of consciousness. Dylan is considered by many an integral … [Read more...]

Love That Loves Us: The Two Loves of To the Wonder

note: Here there be spoilers By now it is cliche to label a Terrence Malick film a "visual poem," but in the case of To The Wonder, that is what it is. Malick's cinematic eye defers to poetry more strongly than that of cinema and though I'm certain that he doesn't regard himself as a poet, he has taken the raw matter of his sensorium and fashioned it into something that … [Read more...]

Richie Havens at the Festival of the River: Photos

[Note: I took these photos in 2009, and present them here again in memory of Richie Havens, who passed away on April 22, 2013 at the age of 72. Rest in peace, Richie.] Richie Havens played the Festival of the River & Pow-Wow, sponsored by the Stillaguamish Tribe, on August 8, 2009, in Arlington, Washington. He was accompanied by Walter … [Read more...]

Film Review – Searching for Sugar Man

Searching For Sugarman (2012) 4 stars A documentary about the mysterious Rodriguez, the singer/songwriter who released the album Cold Fact in 1970. Directed by Swedish-British filmmaker Malik Bendjelloul, this is a well told underdog story that left me in happy tears, despite some factual omissions and mysteries left unsolved. Growing up in Australia in the 1980s, I was … [Read more...]

Paintings: Kristen Stewart as Marylou Moriarty in On the Road

T.E. Priemon - Encaustic Artist Artist's Statement I am an artist who paints using a 2000-year-old painting medium used in the way the Fayum Egyptian artist used their encaustic paints for portraits, which have survived in much the same way as they were painted. I hope my paintings will survive the same test of time, and they should outside of being physically destroyed. To … [Read more...]

Book Review – Love Me Do: Behind the Scenes at the Recording of the Beatles’ First Single

Bill Harry's chronicle of the Beatles road to their first single release may not get any awards for journalistic style, but it is still a fascinating rundown of the lucky breaks, perseverence, and machinations it can take to get even a talented band signed. Harry's e-book is great for the little insider details of how Beatle manager Brian Epstein had to work through others to … [Read more...]

The Art of the Statement – Be the Mule

I found humanity through music. I lose focus and grow cynical at times, but if I am honest as a listener, and remain receptive, the chance of transcending my emotional disturbances and triumphs through music remains. There's the possibility of unity, and humility, but always humanity, in sharing our art. The very idea of allowing our naked self to be exposed through what we … [Read more...]

The Time that John Lurie Called Me

My artistic, maybe even my personal, aesthetic had me identifying with the music of John Lurie the first time I heard his compositions on record. Close to a bunch of things I cannot, or do not care, to be. The celebration of the idea. The joy in imagination. But serious, measured, and often biting. Love in darkness. The acknowledgement that illusion permeates commercial music … [Read more...]

Terrence Malick, Badlands and Caril Fugate: An Interview

Photos courtesy of Jeff McArthur (All Rights Reserved) Jeff McArthur is the author of Pro Bono: The 18-Year Defense of Caril Fugate. Mr. McArthur’s grandfather, John C. McArthur, defended Caril Fugate in her trial for her part in the Starkweather murders that occurred in 1959 and would do so for the next eighteen years in her attempts to apply for … [Read more...]

An Essay on the Arcana Series

I sat down to write this as a commentary on the series of books edited by John Zorn, all of which are entitled Arcana. The series comes in six parts, including hundreds of essays written by musicians, artists, on their creative process, technique, philosophy, social commentary, and more. Some artists address alternate technique discussion, others essays on a unique approach to … [Read more...]

Jack Kerouac – “Big Sur” Movie Trailer

The film, Big Sur, based upon Jack Kerouac's novel of the same name, released nationwide on November 1, 2013. Directed by Michael Polish, who also wrote the screenplay, it stars Jean-Marc Barr as Jack Kerouac. Other cast are: Stana Katic as Lenore; Henry Thomas as Phillip Whalen; Josh Lucas as Neal Cassady; Kate Bosworth as Billie; Radha Mitchell as Carolyn Cassady; Anthony … [Read more...]

How Dennis Hopper conquered the American century

Dennis Hopper’s extensive filmography is filled with an array of painfully bad films. His early career saw him appear in any number of B-Movies and exploitation flicks; his late eighties/early nineties excursion into mainstream blockbusters such as Super Mario Bros (1993) and Waterworld (1995) were undeniably poor; and from the late nineties and beyond, his backlist of movies … [Read more...]

Review – The John Lennon Letters

It's the small artifacts of everyday life which reveal so much about us - the notes, letters, photos, lists, all capture our daily moods and thoughts. Some are intimate; others are mundane, but all have the capacity to shed light on who we are. Collected here are John Lennon's letters, postcards and other ephemera; each pictured with a transcription (in case you can't read … [Read more...]

Review – The Abbey Road Sessions by Kylie Minogue

I was in college back in 1987 when Kylie Minogue had her first hit with "Locomotion," which I remember dancing to on nights out. But after that, though I occasionally heard songs on the radio, I confess her music mostly fell of my radar. (I mostly listen to indie and singer-songwriter type music, with some classic rock, world music, classical, folk, jazz & blues in the … [Read more...]

The Official Kerouac “On the Road” Movie Trailer is Here!

"On the Road," the movie based on Jack Kerouac's novel of the same name, will be released in the United States on December 21, 2012. Produced by Francis Ford Coppola's American Zoetrope, it's directed by Walter Salles (Motorcycle Diaries) and stars Sam Riley, Garrett Hedlund, and Kristen Stewart. Check out the official trailer below! Haven't read On the Road yet, or want … [Read more...]

The Biggest Mystery in Hollywood History

"An author should have no other biography than his books." “The biography of a creative man is completely unimportant.”  - B. Traven Warner Brothers bought the novel THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE in 1941 with John Huston in mind as director. When the studio wrote the author, a Mr. B. Traven, in Mexico City suggesting that they pay him to come to Los Angeles to work … [Read more...]

Music Review – Ringo 2012

Ringo Starr has been on a roll the past several years with the well-reviewed 2010 release Y Not, a successful tour, and now a lively new album titled Ringo 2012. This marks Ringo's 17th solo outing as well as his first self-produced effort, and is an infectious pop-rock project with a good feel and damnably catchy tunes. Ringo 2012 kicks off with a nod to old-school … [Read more...]

Book Review – Bob Dylan and the Beatles by Al Aronowitz

Al Aronowitz is often referred to as "the godfather of rock journalism." But his roots are in the tradition of the writers who trailed behind the Old West's outlaws and revolutionaries, embellishing the truth to delight an eager readership. However, Al was always more a participant than a mere observer, positioned early at the crossroads of one of modern America's defining … [Read more...]

Tom Waits’ Influence On Modern Jazz

When I first wrote about the influence that Tom Waits had on me as a songwriter (Introduction to Alchemy), I had one thing on my mind: publicity. When the idea for the second article (Applied Alchemy) hit me like an epiphany (or maybe a migraine), I knew this would lead to something much deeper and meaningful: notoriety. Once I had achieved my minor notorious status ("If you … [Read more...]

A Study of Tom Waits through Cover Songs

When I wrote "Inherited Alchemy" my intentions were dualistic: to pinpoint the qualities Tom Waits held as a songwriter that were worthy of imitation, and flat-out, shameless hero-worship. Judging by the response I've received, my goals were achieved; yet there was a single concern the readers constantly brought to my attention, "Who is Tom Waits?" In my attempt to glorify … [Read more...]

Tom Waits’s Inspiration on Songwriting

As a songwriter, everything I hear is an influence, whether good or bad, loved or hated; it is "influential." In order to understand what has truly inspired a song, one should first look for the obvious imitations. Like Prometheus of old, I steal fire from the gods, or rather, I mimic the mastery of Tom Waits. To see the influence Waits has had on me, one must focus on … [Read more...]

Review: Jamming with Relix: The Book

I first experienced what would eventually be called "Jam Band" music when I attended one of Ken Kesey's Acid Tests in 1965. In order to get into the place you had to first walk literally through the Acid Test band then playing a warped rendition of Wilson Pickett's "Midnight Hour." The first person I locked eyes with was Jerry Garcia, lead guitarist of the then nascent … [Read more...]

Legendary Poet, Lyricist Pete Brown

On June 16 ("Bloomsday"), 1964, Pete Brown gave the first ever poetry reading at Morden Tower, now a literary landmark in Newcastle, England. The Morden Tower Readings, conceived and organized by Tom and Connie Pickard, went on to host readings by more poets than can be listed here, especially from the Beat and Black Mountain movements, including Allen Ginsberg's first European … [Read more...]

Down by Law: The Loneliness of Jim Jarmusch

Not that it would make any difference. But if only for the sake of morale, you are willing to admit that it's a welcome shade of orange that breaks east at the horizon of what has been a roughandtumble one hell of fucked up night. A dull weariness works on your bones, your mind swirls in and out of a strange daze that threatens to rot you from within, and frankly, you'd rather … [Read more...]

(Revisiting) Mondo Hollywood: A Film and Event

At midnight on June 10, 2006, in a special event for the Moondance Film Festival, The Chaplin Theater (5300 Melrose Ave) in Los Angeles will be presenting the digitally-enhanced Director's cut of Mondo Hollywood. Written, produced, directed and edited by Robert Carl Cohen -- renowned for his pioneering documentary films INSIDE RED CHINA, INSIDE EAST GERMANY, THREE CUBANS, and … [Read more...]

Diamanda Galas – Love is a Ballad that Eviscerates

When I listen to the music of Diamanda Galás, I am reminded that I have veins. There is something in her voice that punctures the flesh, the ears, the heart, in order to get at something visceral. Hers is a sound that courses like blood, infiltrates capillaries, and passes through arteries. It is also the sound of years of hard work, of rigorous vocal training, and of … [Read more...]

Singer-Songwriter Elizabeth Anderson Interview

I was recently fortunate to have a conversation with Elizabeth Anderson, a talented singer-songwriter whose debut CD, The Stars are Falling, was recently released. We chatted about her sound, her musical inspirations, and the art of songwriting. How did you get started with playing - and creating - music? I started playing the piano in the second grade and began … [Read more...]

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Empty Mirror

Established in 2000 and edited by Denise Enck, Empty Mirror is an online literary magazine which publishes new work each Friday.

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