book feature

The Unmentionable Whiteness of ‘Americanaland’

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.

Recorded Music Is Everlasting and That’s a Problem Argues ‘Decomposed’

Recorded Music Is Everlasting and That’s a Problem Argues ‘Decomposed’

Kyle Devine’s Decomposed is a landmark contribution to musicology, offering a sobering but sorely needed account of recorded music’s environmental consequences.

Is Louis Menand Right About the Death of Art and Thought in America?

Is Louis Menand Right About the Death of Art and Thought in America?

For intellectual historian Louis Menand, the Cold War gave rise to prospects and paradoxes in America, and Art was given status through essential criticism.

Bob Dylan Would Dig Michael Gray’s ‘Outtakes’

Bob Dylan Would Dig Michael Gray’s ‘Outtakes’

Michael Gray is the Bob Dylan of Dylan studies, a man whose Dylan criticism has done more to augment and illuminate Dylan’s art than all of his rivals combined.

Simone de Beauvoir’s ‘Inseparable’ Resonates in Our Times

Simone de Beauvoir’s ‘Inseparable’ Resonates in Our Times

Simone de Beauvoir’s Inseparable reveals the devastating consequences of succumbing to conventions at the expense of one’s own autonomy and well-being.

Why Hasn’t Daphne Gottlieb Won a Lambda Literary Award?

Why Hasn’t Daphne Gottlieb Won a Lambda Literary Award?

As always, Daphne Gottlieb’s excellent Saint 1001 will please all of her readers – hetero and queer. Does that make her work “not queer enough” for Lambda?

Judge – or Let the Market Be the Judge

Judge – or Let the Market Be the Judge

Michael W. Clune argues that a popular mantra about art – everyone’s judgment is equal – impedes our ability to imagine a world outside of the capitalist marketplace.

Billie Jean King’s ‘All In’ Takes a Swing at Gender Equity and the Big Game Called Life

Billie Jean King’s ‘All In’ Takes a Swing at Gender Equity and the Big Game Called Life

A maverick force in promoting women’s sports, Billie Jean King’s courage and diligence also helped transform acceptance of gay and lesbian culture in America.

‘The Afghanistan Papers’ Reveals How Not to Fight a War

‘The Afghanistan Papers’ Reveals How Not to Fight a War

Craig Whitlock’s searing Afghanistan war book is a jaw-dropping compilation of arrogance and stupidities that nobody wanted to see.

Shiori Ito and the ‘Black Box’ of Sexual Assault in Japan

Shiori Ito and the ‘Black Box’ of Sexual Assault in Japan

Shiori Ito’s memoir ‘Black Box’ smashes open the legal norms that box in sexual assault victim’s rights in Japan and drags the system’s misogyny into the light.

Manifest Technique: The Cosmic Vision of Afro-Filipino Futurism (Excerpt)

Manifest Technique: The Cosmic Vision of Afro-Filipino Futurism (Excerpt)

In this excerpt of Mark R. Villegas’ Manifest Technique, we vibe with ISP’s avant-garde turntablism spinning Filipino alienation.

What Donna Summer’s ‘I Feel Love’ Did to Brian Eno and Giorgio Moroder (Excerpt)

What Donna Summer’s ‘I Feel Love’ Did to Brian Eno and Giorgio Moroder (Excerpt)

In this excerpt from Thompson’s I Feel Love, which explores the far-reaching influence of song and singer, the disco groove moves Brian Eno and Giorgio Moroder.

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