Remembrances ⭐️
Michael Hurley 1941-2025
The original freak-folkie and one of this country's great outsider artists has passed on to the jamboree in the sky. You don't know what we've lost.
Music 🎸
What to Watch
What to Watch: Stone'd Again
Questlove's "Sly Lives!" comes to Hulu, a powerhouse Marianne Jean-Baptiste double-bill pops up on Amazon, and more.
Music 🎸
50 Ways of Hearing "Marquee Moon"
In which I escape bleak reality by offering you a supercut of Tom Verlaine guitar solos.
What to Watch
What to Watch: Outsider Art Edition
Reviews of "Hundreds of Beavers," "Sasquatch Sunset," Cindy Lee's double album "Diamond Jubilee" and more.
Music 🎸
Playlist Madness: Byrds v. Fairport
With further thoughts on the egotistical futility of music management.
Music 🎸
You Can't Do That
"Now and Then" makes a case that the surviving Beatles should probably just let it be.
Music 🎸
I Want My Maypole
A memory and a brilliant unknown pop song for the first of May.
Music 🎸
Tom Verlaine 1949-2023
One of rock's most mysterious figures drifts into the night.
Music 🎸
What Makes a Perfect Pop Song?
Some thoughts on recorded serendipity.
Music 🎸
"Exile on Main Street" Turns 50
The Stones' masterpiece may be the only time they actually meant it.
Music 🎸
What Was Your First Album?
On the vanished joys of music ownership. Plus: "Rothaniel" on HBO Max and J.M.W. Turner on the walls and onscreen.
Music 🎸
Is There Life After Spotify?
So you want to switch music platforms.