about contributors submissions book series advertising contests tour dates Mixed Media PopMatters Picks
|
|
Sean MurphyAbout Sean Murphy Sean Murphy loves music, books, and movies and can’t imagine a world without sub-titles. He was born in northern Virginia and has never found a compelling reason to leave. He studied English at George Mason University and has an MA in Literature. One of his thesis papers dealt with the utopian impulse in ‘70s rock (which, depending upon one’s perspective, at least partially explains why he opted not to purse that PhD in Cultural Studies). During his time at PopMatters he has written music and movie reviews, along with the occasional essay. Despite living just outside DC, he remains recalcitrant in his conviction that paychecks mean less than personal fulfillment and that the pursuit of peace is not ironic. Endorses, in no particular order: anyone who is similarly allergic to right-wing radio and reality TV, the Red Sox, miniature schnauzers, Pho and Blanton’s single barrel bourbon. Ambition: to write the pretty-good American novel. Other stuff, too: http://bullmurph.com/ Features
Alligator Lizards in the Air: In Search of the Sublimely Awful LyricWhen it comes to identifying truly awful lyrics that are the result of neither idiocy nor ambition, it’s best to consider the soft and mushy center between those two poles. [1 October 2009] Dan Auerbach: In Search of the Authentic SoundDan Auerbach tells PopMatters: “Of course I want my albums to be successful, but ultimately I don’t care too much what anyone thinks ... I’m going to sound this way, no matter what.” [23 July 2009] Charles Mingus: Mingus Ah Um 50th Anniversary (Legacy Edition)Mingus Ah Um sounds like the 20th Century: it is a self-portrait of a man who helped define the direction of post-bop jazz, commenting on the country that created him. [8 July 2009] Uneasy Lies the Head that Wears a Crown: Remembering Michael JacksonNo case study can come close to approximating the one-of-a-kind wunderkind who became the King of Pop. His story is unique, and will likely remain the triumphant and ultimately tragic cultural touchstone of our times. [7 July 2009] Miles Davis: Sketches of Spain (Legacy Edition)The secret to creating music that stands the test of time is to create timeless music: Sketches of Spain was, and remains, quite unlike anything else created in the jazz idiom. [23 June 2009] Beastie Boys: Check Your HeadAt first the Beastie Boys were brats, then they were bratty; with their third album Check Your Head they dropped an ebullient bomb that is both heartfelt and soulful. [29 April 2009] The Humble Calf: A Conversation with Burning Spear“I love what I do, there is no pressure. The music doesn’t like pressure.” PopMatters talks to the reggae legend. [13 January 2009] The Doors: Open for Business (Again)If the first two Doors albums are drugs, they’d be of the decidedly psychedelic variety; the next couple are a dangerous cocktail of amphetamines and Quaaludes. Morrison Hotel is beer: authentic, unfiltered, as American as it gets. L.A. Woman manages to be all of the above. [8 May 2007] Moby Dick: American Chowder'Reduced to more practical terms, if Jazz music is gumbo -- and it is -- the archetypal American novel, with Moby Dick as its progenitor and arguably its apotheosis, is a chowder.' Sean Murphy takes a new look at an old classic. [1 September 2006] Reviews
Henry Threadgill: This Brings Us To, Volume 1Henry Threadgill's new release is not music for everyone, but it is music for anyone. [30 October 2009] 
Easy Star All-Stars: Easy Star’s Lonely Hearts Dub BandEasy Star’s Lonely Hearts Dub Band lacks the refreshing irreverence that has been the Easy Star All-Stars' trademark; it’s less a failure of execution than a failure of imagination. [17 April 2009] 
Dennis Miller: The HBO Comedy SpecialsDespite his curious and regrettable turn toward the unfunny, Dennis Miller still looms large as one of the five best stand-up comedians of the past 20 years. [31 March 2009] 
Dan Auerbach: Keep It HidKeep It Hid offers further evidence that the music Dan Auerbach has so obviously, and voraciously, absorbed makes him who he is, pure and simple. [10 February 2009] 
Bottle RocketThe actual payoff in Bottle Rocket is all about the journey, and the somewhat refreshing resolution of lessons not necessarily learned. [9 January 2009] 
The Black Keys: Live at the Crystal Ballroom (DVD)A few years ago, the Black Keys might have considered themselves lucky and been quite content to labor in the shadow of the White Stripes. Those days are over. [8 January 2009] Burning Spear: Jah is RealFrom first note to last, Jah Is Real is not only impressive, but infectiously alive. [17 October 2008] 
The Melvins: Nude With BootsMelvins are not a band so much as a machine that rolls over the earth, leaving a trail for anyone bothering to look, and inventing an entirely new language for anyone able to hear. [15 August 2008] 
Love StoryA considerable achievement, this is an overdue gift for the converted, and a valuable introduction for the uninitiated. [1 August 2008] 
Tom Snyder: The Tomorrow Show With Tom Snyder [DVD]Tom Snyder was goofy, gregarious, and utterly without guile; in other words, he was perfect. [12 May 2008] 
Various Artists: Soul Jazz Records Presents Studio One Roots Vol. 3Those of us who care should be deeply grateful to Soul Jazz Records that these performances are steadily being liberated from oblivion. [2 January 2008] 
King Tubby: King Tubby Meets the Agrovators at Dub StationThis reissue is worthwhile for owners of the original, and serves as a more than enticing introduction for those on the outside looking in on the messy office of old school dub. [26 October 2007] Thelonious Monk: Thelonious Monk Plays Duke EllingtonMonk, after a while, begins to remind you of a wily raconteur, retelling a funny story that you’ve never heard before. [5 October 2007] 
Eyvind Kang: AthlantisEyvind Kang is an artist who is inspired by, and incorporates, other times and far-off places, interpreting history with the curiosity of an explorer and the delight of a devoted scholar. [17 September 2007] 
Roky Erickson: Youre Gonna Miss Me: A Film About Roky Erickson [DVD]You're Gonna Miss Me is a documentary that unfolds like a mystery story, each anecdote and interview revealing another layer that helps explain who Roky Erickson was, who he became, and who he is now. [9 August 2007] 
Various Artists: Studio One Kings and Studio One Rub-A-DubIt is for unearthing small miracles like this that Soul Jazz Records should not only be appreciated, but worshipped. [13 July 2007] 
fPink Floyd: Pink Floyd—Meddle: A Classic Album Under Review [DVD]Without The Dark Side of the Moon there would be no Pink Floyd as we know them today. Without Meddle there would have been no Dark Side of the Moon . [1 June 2007] 
Neil Young: Live At Massey HallThis is Neil Young as accessible and honest as he has ever been, busy at work on the soundtrack of his life, an open letter to anyone willing to listen. [20 March 2007] 
Ennio Morricone: We All Love Ennio MorriconeIt is only appropriate that this tribute to Ennio Morricone features contributions that range from the good, to the bad, to the ugly. [2 March 2007] 
Mike Dillons Go-Go Jungle: Battery MilkDespite evidence to the contrary, Mike Dillon is ready for prime time; he just might not realize it. [22 February 2007] 
Eric Dolphy Quintet: Outward BoundListening to Eric Dolphy’s Outward Bound is like seeing a familiar movie dubbed in a different language: it disorients and ultimately delights. [7 February 2007] 
The Melvins: A Senile AnimalIt is almost too much to ask for, but King Buzzo is actually getting better with age, and on A Senile Animal he continues to refine and define a sound that is his alone. [19 January 2007] 
Neil Young and Crazy Horse: Live at the Fillmore EastWhat does this concert sound like? It sounds like what it is: a remarkable document of one of the better bands of its time, performing live with palpable purpose and passion, achieving something pretty close to perfect. [12 January 2007] 
The Doors by The Doors by The Doors, with Ben Fong-TorresDeath has been very good to Jim Morrison, but it's been even better for those who continue to profit from his fleeting but fruitful body of his work. Not to mention his body. With that in mind, the following words will be eschewed for the duration of this discussion: Shaman, Dionysus, Rimbaud, God, Satan, and Witchcraft. [21 December 2006] 
Oliver Nelson: Screamin’ the BluesThis seminal Oliver Nelson session often sounds like a conversation amongst the cutting edge, celebrating the past whilst pointing toward the future. 
Stanton Moore: IIISome albums simply cannot be separated from the context of their creation, as Stanton Moore’s moving and ultimately triumphant tribute to his hometown of New Orleans makes clear. [30 November 2006] 
The Pretenders: PretendersOne of the best one-two punches in rock and roll gets the well-earned deluxe treatment. [16 November 2006] 
African Head Charge: Off the Beaten TrackTo walk the path from the Upsetta to Electronica, you must get Off The Beaten Track. [12 November 2006] 
Charles Mingus: Music Written for Monterey, 1965. Not Heard…Played in Its Entirety, at UCLAAll Mingus asked for was the impossible. More often than not, he achieved it. [2 November 2006] 
Invitation to a Suicide (2004)The putative consequences are very real, yet the various reactions of everyone involved in Invitation to a Suicide undermine the narrative's integrity. [20 October 2006] 
Steely Dan: The Definitive CollectionThe only reason yet another Steely Dan collection is tolerable is because they earned this excess. [25 September 2006] BlogsShort Ends and Leader: Hey Woody, Irony rhymes with Soon-Yi (and other thoughts on L’affaire Polanski) [1 October 2009]Short Ends and Leader: In Praise of Patrick Swayze, Our All-American Alpha Male [16 September 2009]Sound Affects: August Left Our World a Poorer Place x2 [10 September 2009]Sound Affects: “Radical Jewish Culture” Redux [9 September 2009]Re:Print: Obsession, Hope and Glory: Percy Fawcett’s Excellent Adventure [4 September 2009]Sound Affects: Rashanim: Healing Music for Unrighteous Times [13 August 2009]Sound Affects: Upfull Living Or, A Tale of Two Album Covers [3 August 2009]Mixed Media: R.E.M. - “Exhuming McCarthy” (stream) [10 June 2009]Short Ends and Leader: Kwai Chang Caine R.I.P. [4 June 2009]Sound Affects: See Me, Feel Me, Touch Me…Sell Me [23 May 2009]Sound Affects: Keeping Hope Alive: Remembering Opal and Mazzy Star [23 April 2009]Re:Print: Mark Twain: The Big Daddy of American Letters [22 April 2009]Sound Affects: Herbie Hancock: Old School American Idol [20 April 2009]Sound Affects: It Was 335 Years Ago Today: A Brief History of Jethro Tull (Both of Them) [6 April 2009]Sound Affects: Got a Beef? Sure ‘Nuff ‘N Yes I Do [3 April 2009]Sound Affects: John Zorn: Rebel with a Cause [31 March 2009]Short Ends and Leader: The Things They Carried [30 March 2009]Mixed Media: Somchai Yoosabai: The Jumping Master (video) [25 March 2009]Sound Affects: Before Bad Brains There Was Death [17 March 2009]Short Ends and Leader: Work Pig: Bringing Home the Bacon [16 March 2009]Sound Affects: Another Great Bluesman Has Left The Building [6 March 2009]Mixed Media: The Spooks - “Things I’ve Seen” (video)Mixed Media: Art Ensemble of Chicago - “Theme De Celin” (video) [4 March 2009]Re:Print: Cheever: Straight No ChaserRe:Print: “In my stories is where I live.” [25 February 2009]Re:Print: Mistaken Identity? [2 February 2009]Sound Affects: Freddie Hubbard: An Appreciation [31 December 2008]Sound Affects: What’s next? Ozzy was really just snorting baking powder? [16 December 2008]Sound Affects: William Dowd, RIP (and some thoughts about the harpsichord) [6 December 2008]Re:Print: It’s All Part of Der Process [3 December 2008]Sound Affects: The Whiteness of this Whale [25 November 2008]Sound Affects: Mitch Mitchell: The Perfect Engine [17 November 2008]Sound Affects: Born in the U.S.A. or, Every Day Is Veterans Day [13 November 2008]Sound Affects: Ornette Coleman: Then and Now [10 November 2008]Sound Affects: They Will Rock You (They Are The Champions) [24 October 2008]Sound Affects: They Will Rock You (They Are The Champions) [22 October 2008]Sound Affects: The Great Gig In The Sky: An Appreciation of Rick Wright [19 September 2008]Sound Affects: Five Reggae Albums You Cannot Live Without: Part Five [8 September 2008]Sound Affects: God Is Dead (Again): Remembering Stevie Ray Vaughan [27 August 2008]Sound Affects: Five Reggae Albums You Cannot Live Without: Part Four [22 August 2008]Sound Affects: Five Reggae Albums You Cannot Live Without: Part Three [8 August 2008]Sound Affects: Five Reggae Albums You Cannot Live Without [11 July 2008]Sound Affects: Five Reggae Albums You Cannot Live Without [3 July 2008]Sound Affects: John Belushi’s Greatest Performance [23 June 2008]Short Ends and Leader: Here’s The Thing… [18 June 2008]Sound Affects: All Hail Me: The Golden Goddesses, Exhibit A [30 May 2008]Sound Affects: Nothing Golden God Can Stay [29 May 2008]Sound Affects: The David Lynch Dilemma [12 May 2008]Sound Affects: Requiem for The Regal Beagle: A Mostly Fond Recollection of Three’s Company [6 May 2008]Sound Affects: Earth Day [3 May 2008] |
Now on PopMatters
Columns
Moving Pixels: Parent-Child Bonding: Video Games that Bridge the Generation Gap The Rockist: Metal, Back from Purgatory
Blogs
Short Ends and Leader: Shameless! Tasteless! Hilarious! The Films of Yakov Levi Marginal Utility: A Quick Theory of the Self Mixed Media: Monsters of Folk - “Temazcal” (video) Sound Affects: Masters of the Form: Rage Against the Machine (1992) Moving Pixels: Cut Scenes Can Work in Games Notes from the Road: Fuck Buttons + Growing: 4.Nov.09 - Washington DC
Music
:. Say Anything: Say Anything :. Wolfmother: Cosmic Egg :. The Swell Season: Strict Joy :. Neon Indian: Psychic Chasms :. Karen O and the Kids: Where The Wild Things Are :. Slaraffenland: We’re on Your Side :. Gloria Jones: Share My Love
Film
:. The Men Who Stare at Goats :. Endgame :. The Fourth Kind :. Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire :. Disney’s A Christmas Carol :. Gentlemen Broncos
DVDs
:. Adult Swim in a Box :. The 39 Steps :. Planes, Trains and Automobiles (Those Aren’t Pillows Edition)
News
:. Craig Ferguson’s autobiography is a testimony to America’s eternal appeal to immigrants :. INTERVIEW:Jeff Bridges abides, and works like crazy :. Roland Emmerich’s latest big-budget doomsday extravaganza is his ‘darkest film’ to date :. INTERVIEW:Hit repeat with Steely Dan and ‘Aja’ :. INTERVIEW:Lily Tomlin has had an extraordinary career being ordinary :. Film changes student’s course: ‘Precious’ star pursuing acting
|
