A veteran music journalist takes his family to see K-pop sensations Stray Kids and gets a crash course on aging gratefully.
A.O.: Artificial Opinions
Have we graduated from A.I.-generated stories about compassionate celebrities to A.I.-enhanced political commentary?
The ‘Troubles’ with Mickey
A North Carolina singer revisits the ‘Wasteground’ of his Northern Ireland youth In 2018, I got a CD in the mail from an Irish singer-songwriter […]
New Day Rising
I’m excited by the endless possibilities of where retirement will take me and the people I love during this new chapter of my life. If you’d like to join us, please follow this blog
America: Should I Stay or Should I Go?
For those of us who have loved and valued the precious freedoms that America has offered — freedoms that were hard-earned for Americans who have been denied them in previous darker times — the decision is pretty clearcut: We can try to live under a certain dictatorship or say goodbye to our beloved country.
Earl Scruggs and Doc Watson: May the Circle Be Unbroken
In 2012, within the span of two months, North Carolina lost two of its most famous and most loved musical voices, Doc Watson and Earl Scruggs. This was my tribute to them.
Where Were You on 9/20?
I was talking to a friend recently about police violence against people of color. It hasn’t stopped. According to January 2023 data from Mapping Police Violence, Black people are still three times more likely to die at the hands of police than white people, even though they were 1.3 times less likely to be armed.
North Carolina Hardcore: Paradise Lost
It seemed ironic to me that two of the loudest, most prolific, and most politically vocal bands on North Carolina’s so-called new music scene of the mid-1980s represented a silent minority, shunned as if they were the black sheep of the South’s new musical family.
The Indie-Rock of Ages: Christian Bands Change Their Tune
The handful of fans has swelled into a formidable crowd, swaying along to the intense squall of guitars, hands waving in the air, eyes tightly shut as if everyone is praising God. Everyone is.
The Coup: Sorry to Bother You
This Oakland outfit continues to create danceable manifestos for the masses: “I got scars on my back, the truth on my tongue,” front man Boots Riley raps. “Tell Homeland Security we are the bomb.”