The payola scandal destroyed Alan Freed, but Dick Clark put his boyish good looks and vanilla style to good use in saving himself. “Rock and roll might best be summed up as […]
All shook up: a historian examines rock and roll…sorta
Overthinking: rock music, pop culture, Donald Trump and America’s desperate race to the bottom
Donald Trump isn’t an anomaly. He isn’t an outlier. He isn’t a blip on the radar of history. He’s the very embodiment of the black, ignorant American soul. [Apologies in advance. These […]
Tom Petty…anything that’s rock and roll’s fine….
Out of a catalogue of superb music, all of which I like a lot, most of which I love deeply, “Anything That’s Rock and Roll” is still my favorite. “It’s sort of […]
I Me Mine: George Harrison’s non-autobiographical autobiography
Only about 80 pages of I Me Mine are given over to George’s conversations with Derek Taylor. The rest of the book is devoted to Harrison’s songs. For the serious Beatle or […]
The Savoy Truffle: you know that what you eat you are…
George has a laugh at Eric Clapton’s expense. “‘Savoy Truffle’ on The White Album was written for Eric [Clapton]. He’s got this real sweet tooth and he’d just had his mouth worked […]
Hey Jude: Paul acts the peacemaker…
In a song canon filled with incredible moments “Hey Jude,” a song of conciliation and consolation by Paul the peacemaker, is one of the Beatles’ finest. “He told me that he’d been […]
Walter Becker: every word was true… (S&R Honors)
Walter Becker and his partner Donald Fagen created some of rock’s darkest music, giving voice to the disenchanted, the cynical, those who, to paraphrase, want a name when they lose. “All night […]
Toward a geography of rock: part 4, the West – good vibrations in a heart-shaped box…
“Any minute playing ‘Good Vibrations’ is a minute that I feel spiritually whole. I hope that any minute hearing it is the same.” – Brian Wilson “I sing and play the guitar, […]
The 20 greatest music videos of all time: #ArtSunday
For a bright, shining moment in our cultural history there was an art form called “music video.” Some clever people once ushered in a golden age, transforming “promotional video” into a legitimate, […]
I Me Mine: George lets go of the little i…
George looks past desire to find happiness. “I Me Mine is the ego problem. There are two ‘I’s: the little ‘i’ when people say ‘I am this’; and the big ‘I’ – […]
