‘Heaven Stood Still: The Incarnations of Willy DeVille’
While Europe embraced Willy Deville’s Bohemian multi-genre artistry, most US listeners remained ignorant of his music. The documentary Heaven Stood Still was made, in part, to rectify that.
George de Stefano
George De Stefano is a New York-based writer and editor specializing in culture and politics. He is the author of An Offer We Can't Refuse: The Mafia in the Mind of America (Farrar, Straus, Giroux) and a contributor to numerous other books, including the Routledge History of Italian Americans, Our Naked Lives: Essays from Gay Italian American Men (Bordighera Press), Mafia Movies (University of Toronto) and The Essential Sopranos Reader (University of Kentucky Presses). He is currently working on a book about the Sicilians of New Orleans. His articles, essays, and reviews have appeared in The Nation, Newsday, Film Comment, The Advocate, The Italian American Review, Gay and Lesbian Review Worldwide, and the online publications PopMatters, Rootsworld, and the New York Journal of Books, La Voce di New York and I-Italy. He also has appeared in the documentary films "Beyond Wiseguys," "The Godfather Legacy," and the four-part PBS series "The Italian Americans."
GlobalFEST 2023: On Stage and Tiny Desks
This year’s edition of globalFEST, the 22-year-old music event, brought an eclectic array of artists to New York stages and NPR’s Tiny Desk series.
Bob Dylan Remains Hard to Pin Down with ‘The Philosophy of Modern Song’
In The Philosophy of Modern Song, Bob Dylan conveys his thoughts in his signature styles, as in his lyrics, he can be plainspoken, gnomic, and over the top.
The Making of Our “Viral Underclass”
The Viral Underclass digs into capitalism, Big Pharma, “Gay-Inc.” and other factors surrounding Covid-19 and HIV that force a greater toll on the already marginalized.
Ibrahim Maalouf and Angélique Kidjo Celebrate the Return of the ‘Queen of Sheba’
Ibrahim Maalouf and Angelique Kidjo reinvent the Solomon-Sheba legend as a cross-cultural story with contemporary resonance on Queen of Sheba.
States of (Gay) Liberation in East Germany and West Germany
Samuel Clowes-Huneke’s decades-spanning, groundbreaking history of gay liberation in East Germany and West Germany challenges conventional assumptions about dictatorships and democracies.
Taj Mahal and Ry Cooder Reunite After 50 Years for ‘Get on Board’
More than 50 years since they last recorded together, Taj Mahal and Ry Cooder reunite for a tribute to blues heroes Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee.
12 Essential Contemporary Blues Artists
Blues is the foundation of much American music, but it’s often seen as a legacy genre. These 12 blues artists make the case for its continuing relevance and vitality.
Bob Dylan’s ‘Rough and Rowdy Ways’ Live in New York
Back on the road after a pandemic layoff, Bob Dylan and his band returned to New York’s Beacon Theater with a captivating show focused on his latest album.
The Unmentionable Whiteness of ‘Americanaland’
John Milward’s new history of Americana puts the mixed genre at the corner of country and rock while slighting race and the music’s Black roots and performers.
Alfio Antico’s ‘Trema La Terra’ Will Carry You Off to Mount Etna
On his latest album, Trema La Terra, Sicilian percussionist Alfio Antico makes the earth tremble with deep, visceral pulsations.
Lecklider’s Historical Work Love’s Next Meeting Examines Homosexuals and Communism in the US
In the virulently anti-Communist and homophobic climate of the postwar era many feared any association between the emerging lesbian and gay cause and Communism.
