Steve Horowitz

Steven Horowitz has a Ph.D. in American Studies from the University of Iowa, where he continues to teach a three-credit online course on "Rock and Roll in America". He has written for many different popular and academic publications including American Music, Paste and the Icon. Horowitz is a firm believer in Paul Goodman's neofunctional perspective on culture and that Sam Cooke was right, a change is gonna come.

Recent

Rhiannon Giddens Understands That 'there is no Other'

MacArthur genius grant winner Rhiannon Giddens' new album, there is no Other, invites us to do more than share our misery. It asks us to see ourselves as part of something bigger.

Music

Mavis Staples Reminds Us That 'We Get By'

Mavis Staples has witnessed the great transformations that have been made in terms of race relations in American life. But she is not satisfied on We Get By.

Music

Stefan Goldmann Follows a 'Tacit Script'

Electronic producer Stefan Goldmann's recordings on Tacit Script convey the industrial aspects of the world as natural as the primitive environment.

Music

The Felice Brothers Want Us All to 'Undress'

The Felice Brothers take the bromide "the personal is the political" and stand it on is head and have it stick out its tongue so that the political becomes personal on Undress.

Music

'I Like It Down Here' Southerner Will Kimbrough Says

The American South may not be a perfect place, but Will Kimbrough displays its riches through these tales of life on I Like It Down Here.

Music

Charlie Chaplin's Film Music Can Stand Alone and Provide Solace Today

While Charlie Chaplin's music may have been meant as accompaniment to his movies, it can stand alone and provide solace today.

Music

Lissie Goes It Alone on 'When I'm Alone: The Piano Retrospective'

As the album title suggests, Lissie has stripped down the songs to their essence. It's just her voice and piano. It's like putting a lion in a cage and calling it a cat. She should let herself out.

Music

Liz Carroll and Jake Charron Take a Trip on the 'Half Day Road'

Two North Americans take Irish traditional music into the future by enhancing its distinctive features and making it fresh and contemporary.

Music

Terry Allen and the Panhandle Mystery Band Dramatically Traverse the American Landscape of the Mind

Terry Allen's musical compositions suggest that the Southwestern desert landscape is made up equally of wavering guitar lines, a broken television set, mad women, pounding drums, Indian chants, buzzing insects, and of course rodents and birds of all variety.

Music

Patty Griffin Tells It True on Her New Self-Titled Album

There's a Lone Star saying that goes something like, "It doesn't matter if I am right, as long as I know I am true". Patty Griffin follows that motto.

Music

Mercury Rev Revive Bobbie Gentry by Revisiting 'Delta Sweete'

Mercury Rev have revived Delta Sweete as Bobbie Gentry's The Delta Sweete Revisited and have enlisted a stellar cast of female singers to help, including Norah Jones, Margo Price, Beth Orton, Vashti Bunyan, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lucinda Williams.

Reviews

Hayes Carll Says 'What It Is' Is Up to You

What It Is reveals Americana singer-songwriter Hayes Carll's methodical craftsmanship at creating songs that warily address the modern world.

Music

Maggie Rogers 'Heard It in a Past Life' But She's Okay Now

Despite the title, Maggie Rogers' Heard It in a Past Life provides a snapshot of life in America today. The past is past, the present is hard to define, but the future is coming, and it just may be awesome.

Music

The Bevis Frond Just Want to Be Your Friend, Man

The songs have a sunny playful spirit even when a song's topic suggests serious contemplation. This is the sound of one hand clapping, and who knows what's happening with the other hand!

Music

Robert Ellis Has Transformed Into the 'Texas Piano Man'

Robert Ellis is a changed man on Texas Piano Man. Ellis has always composed sharp introspective lyrics about himself and the world. That hasn't altered, albeit his music has become more outwardly sophisticated.

Music

Michael Chapman Heads 'True North'

As Michael Chapman's guitar playing demonstrates, there is something transcendent in quotidian reality: dreams to pursue, places to relax and reflect, and people to be with.

Music

Pop Ten

Scorsese and Dylan: A Match Made in Fantasy

When the Camera Swings: Silent Film Master Paul Leni's 'The Man Who Laughs' and 'The Last Warning'

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