book Archive
06 Nov 2015
Book Review: Experiencing David Bowie
A few years back, Book publishers Rowman & Littlefield initiated an intriguing series. Each book in that series – each with its own author – would explore a particular slice […]
21 Sep 2015
Book Review: Baby You’re a Rich Man
One can and should be forgiven for greeting the news of yet another book about The Beatles with more than a hint of skepticism. I mean, the Beatles phenomenon has […]
20 Aug 2015
Book Review: So Many Roads, The Life and Times of The Grateful Dead
I’m on record as being very critical of The Grateful Dead. Despite what some of the hardest of hardcore Dead Heads might think, I don’t hate the Dead; not at […]
19 May 2015
Book Review: Feedback: The Who and Their Generation
I’ve mused before on these virtual pages about the uncomfortable – and arguably even tenuous – relationship between scholarship and rock music. Somehow the pairing just doesn’t seem natural, even […]
14 Apr 2015
Book Review: How to Talk to Rockstars
Like most writers, I read a lot. But I rarely read fiction; I think the last work of fiction I read prior to last week was Stieg Larsson‘s Girl with […]
13 Apr 2015
Book Review: Geek Rock
Rock’n’roll and scholarship make strange bedfellows. At first blush, the idea of approaching the work of rock bands from a scholarly point of view is patently absurd; such juxtapositions give […]
01 Apr 2015
Back to School with Les McCann (Part 3)
Continued from Part Two… I make the (not at all original) observation that many American musical forms seem to get more respect in Europe than at home. “That’s all right,” […]
31 Mar 2015
Back to School with Les McCann (Part 2)
Continued from Part One… Among the most celebrated releases in Les McCann‘s extensive catalog, Swiss Movement is his 1969 live collaboration with saxophonist Eddie Harris. The album was controversial on […]
30 Mar 2015
Back to School with Les McCann (Part 1)
Invitation to Openness is not only the title of one of jazz great Les McCann‘s most celebrated albums (newly reissued; more on that later); it’s also the title of his […]
24 Mar 2015
Book Review: Mavericks of Sound
There’s something endlessly fascinating about the creative process. And of course it’s not merely one process; it’s wholly unique for each individual. And because that’s true, conversations with those engage […]