The following roundtable discussion was published in Option magazine 25 years ago. The points made in this discussion by members of the L.A. community and […]
When the ‘SF Chronicle’ Sends Its Wine Critic to a Music Festival
My friend and colleague Gina Arnold, a top veteran music critic who wrote for me when I was editor of Option magazine in the 1990s, […]
God Bless the Black American National Anthem
The paradox of the Obama presidency, CNN recently pointed out, is that it has exposed a more deeply ingrained and widespread racism in America than […]
Welcome to Fez, Morocco: The Sacred Music Capital of the World
“The city of Fez lies below, very slowly disengaging itself from the morning mist and smoke, while a million cocks crow at once.” — Paul Bowles in Morocco […]
That Time When Paul Kantner Stood Up to the Hells Angels
If you’ve seen the Maysles brothers’ concert documentary Gimme Shelter, you know the story of what happens in the clip below: Jefferson Airplane begins performing “The […]
When Will the Grateful Dead Stop Trolling Us?
Last week, my friend Whitney suggested I write an essay on the (Grateful) Dead’s incessant trolling of America in 2015. We’d been talking about the […]
It’s a New Orleans Thing: An Allen Toussaint Playlist
When I heard earlier today that Allen Toussaint had died at 77 while on tour in Spain, a flood of great New Orleans funk rushed […]
Morrissey: Inside Looking In
Sitting at a table in the lobby of Manchester’s famed Midland Hotel, Morrissey is sipping herbal tea and feeling just miserable. That’s nothing new, of course.
Meat Puppets: There’s No Business Like Show Business
Less than a year after the suicide death of Kurt Cobain, I saw one of his favorite bands, Meat Puppets, perform at a big Christmas […]
Major success in a minor key
This story about Merge Records was published at Business North Carolina magazine in July 2011. I’m reposting it on my blog in celebration the label’s 25th Anniversary. The […]