Ray Brown Was an Elder Statesman of Jazz
Bassist Ray Brown navigated changing trends in jazz while upholding high standards, creating some of the finest music in the jazz repertoire.
Books
Features, reviews, interviews, and lists about books including cultural commentary and history, non-fiction, literature, and more.
How Coppola and Faulkner Made Art from Apocalypse
Coppola’s Apocalypse Now and Faulkner’s “The Bear” deliberately confuse and disquiet our comprehension of slavery’s traumatic past.
‘Such Great Heights’ Views Indie Rock from a High Vantage Point
Chris DeVille’s cultural commentary about the indie rock explosion, Such Great Heights, covers new ground and proves to be an entertaining read from a credible source.
John Patrick Higgins’ Spinal Fantasy
Humor writer John Patrick Higgins talks about the fading art of painful self-deprecation and other sore subjects in his new “Misery Memoir”, Spine.
‘Tearing Down the Orange Curtain’ Leaves a Pile of Rubble to Sift Through
SoCal punk music history book Tearing Down the Orange Curtain has gobs of literary equivalents to falling off the stage.
The Pornification of Everything
In this attention economy, where shock pays dividends and subtlety is a liability, the stripper is a cultural archetype, the influencer a high priest of exposure.
Shon Faye Embraces Love’s Contradictions
In the clear-eyed and sophisticated memoir Love In Exile, British journalist Shon Faye mines from her life and the past to interrogate why we’re denied, or we deny, love.
How the Remarkable Tom Wilson Shaped Jazz and Rock
With his taste and track record, music producer Tom Wilson deserves the kind of fame afforded to his contemporaries Phil Spector and George Martin.
‘Only Smoke’ Obscures Fiction and Reality
Juan José Millás’ Only Smoke explores the relationship between meaning and observation.
‘The Story of ABBA’ Neglects to Tell the Story of ABBA
In a typical biography, I’d permit ten pages that are completely unrelated to the subject. The Story of ABBA has about 100 such pages.
Fitz-James O’Brien’s Exuberant Morbidity
Fitz-James O’Brien’s exuberantly morbid stories, set amongst mid-century New York’s boarding houses and alleyways, are works of comic skepticism and cosmic messiness.
Marsha P. Johnson’s Story of Community and Solidarity
Tourmaline’s biography of Marsha P. Johnson urges readers to witness the complexity and collective power of Black trans life.