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
Wednesday, May 15 2013
In Defense Of... The Greatness of the Gatsby
Kathryn Schulz’s failure to appreciate F. Scott Fitzgerald’s masterwork, as professed on Vulture.com, is a contemporary case study for how not to assess literature.
Monday, April 1 2013
Neil Young: Long May He Run
If Neil Young had once been inclined, or tempted to say either/or to the burn out/fade away options, he is now declaring neither/nor.
Friday, November 2 2012
Ten Horrific Movie Scenes for Post-Halloween
Since truth is invariably stranger -- and scarier -- than fiction, some of cinema's most unnerving scenes come from movies not found in the Horror section.
Monday, August 27 2012
The Once and Future King: 'SMiLE' and Brian Wilson’s Very American Dream
Almost half a century later, The SMiLE Sessions fully vindicate Brian Wilson's obsessive efforts: the material is complex but accessible, intense but assured, the fully realized vision of a unique talent.
Wednesday, August 8 2012
Thoughts on the Olympics, Improvisation and Jay Adams
In Olympic action we hope to see perfection. With jazz improvisation we want something beyond even that.
Columns
Wednesday, May 8 2013
Pink Floyd: The Prog Rock Archetype
Although they became hugely successful, Pink Floyd championed a type of integrity that seems uniquely associated with progressive rock: they never imitated anyone else or copied their own previous efforts.
Tuesday, April 9 2013
Time Stand Still: Why Rush Belongs in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rush, as much as any rock band, represents the eternal present tense: they adapted and evolved in real time, reflecting the issues, sounds and styles of their day.
Thursday, March 7 2013
1967 and the Prog-Rock Progenitors
If 1967 characterizes a high point where rock music could be appraised as Art, it also initiated an explicit realignment of what was henceforth possible.
Thursday, February 7 2013
Why Is Prog Rock So Inadequate, Simplistic, Reductive, Portentous and Perfect?
Somewhere between the first hit of acid and the last ray of light from the disco ball, rock music got ambitious. What we would come to know as prog rock would go on to launch a million air guitars.
Friday, April 9 2010
Hellraisers: They Lived This Way Because Nobody Else Could
These guys were geniuses at life: living fully on their own terms, and after all the broken glass, bludgeoned livers, and wrecked relationships, the sum shined brighter than the scattered bits and pieces.
Reviews
Friday, April 19 2013
Shuggie Otis: Inspiration Information / Wings of Love
Certain albums, such as Inspiration Information, never quite find the audience they deserve, failing to connect due to fashion or fate, or because too many souls have been sold in the service of crossover pop candy.
Friday, March 8 2013
Jimi Hendrix: People, Hell & Angels
For Hendrix enthusiasts, and the historical record, this latest (and hopefully not last) installment is priceless in its way.
Thursday, December 13 2012
'The Who Live In Texas '75': 'Nough Said
By the time they got to Texas, in 1975, The Who had nothing to prove except the undeniable impact they could still make, any place, any time.
Thursday, December 6 2012
Emerson Lake & Palmer: Emerson Lake & Palmer / Tarkus (Deluxe Edition)
Steven Wilson's magic touch graces these reissues, and whether you’d like the familiar versions made slightly better, or are keen to enjoy slightly remixed versions, or want to see how these chestnuts translate in 5.1 Surround Sound, these are the discs you’ve been praying for.
Tuesday, November 13 2012
'They Live' Is the Most Blunt Critique of Unfettered Capitalism Ever Committed to Celluloid
They Live is like The Matrix, without the billion dollar ballet routines.
Blogs
Wednesday, March 20 2013
Ten Songs From 1967 That Shaped Prog Rock
If 1967 characterizes a high point in rock music, it also initiated an explicit realignment of what was possible in the genre -- for better or worse.
Tuesday, January 8 2013
Emotional Feedback on a Timeless Wavelength: Rush's 'Permanent Waves'
Permanent Waves is, on multiple levels, an unblinking stride toward the future, while it effectively shuts the door on the ‘70s.
Tuesday, November 20 2012
Gary Clark Jr.: Seeing Is Believing
If you have a chance to check Clark out live, do so. He sounds fine in a studio setting, and I encourage you to grab his new disc. But like most of the better acts, especially of the jazz and blues idioms, he needs to be seen to be appreciated, and believed.
Thursday, September 20 2012
Burt Bacharach Meets the Brady Bunch... on Psilocybin
Celebrating the great lost (and never found) Love single from the Summer of 1967.
Thursday, September 13 2012
Finding Grace in Beautiful Places
I use music as a viable source of empowerment: it is capable of conjuring up words and concepts that are oblique, or pretentious, or all-too-easily invoked, expedient for folks who ardently need a way to articulate the feeling they either can’t quite explain or desperately wish to get in touch with.
