Torch Ballads & Jukebox Music
April 6, 2012
Becoming James Brown: On RJ Smith’s The One 2
by Philip Eil
What Brown wanted to do was lay down a strutting, macho anthem marked by explosions of brass and a guitar that sounds like chrome wheels spinning. He hums a melody to the sax player and a bass line to the bassist. He thumps out a beat for the drummer. He watches a trumpet player struggle, fires him, then re-hires him moments later. And when the singer is ready, he screams out a set of lyrics scratched on a sheet of paper. The song is called “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag.”
February 2, 2012
Nevermind Nostalgia: Twenty Years After Nirvana 13
by Matt Hanson
Hearing that Nirvana’s Nevermind was 20 years old was kind of like seeing an old drinking buddy turn to Jesus in his autumn years. I was happy for him and everything, but I missed the old days when we shared the fortress of solitude.
January 30, 2012
Find Myself A City To Live In: Ed Sanders’ Fug You & Will Hermes’ Love Goes To Buildings On Fire 0
by Jesse Jarnow
Finding the entrance points to New York’s musical undergrounds has never been quite as simple as decoding MTA maps, though that’s usually the first step. Two excellent new books chart a decade-and-a-half worth of street-level detail, illuminating not only entrance points, but how they were willed into existence.
January 5, 2012
The Soundtrack of Our Books 13
by Sharon Steel
Publishers and authors have begun to experiment more with audio as a natural step in the promotion of their books. But recent trends suggest that readers are looking for even more direct ways to incorporate music into the reading experience.
May 24, 2011
Dylan at 70 3
by Buzz Poole
Lurking in everything Dylan has ever done, for better or worse, is the myth of America, its chameleon-like quality to be everything to everybody its greatest asset, permitting openness, not for the sake of change but because of its necessity. This is the history Dylan, who turns 70 years old today, has drawn from to create his own history.
December 29, 2010
Take This Waltz: Leonard Cohen’s Tour Comes to an End 10
by Emily St. John Mandel
I have a hard time describing the concerts themselves. I can describe the external details, but the problem is that words fall flat when describing a religious experience.
