THERE'S something genuinely -- and not just fashionably -- retro about joe henry, an artist who keeps us guessing about where he'll go next but stays deeply rooted in the american past.i could have spent all day talking about music with henry -- about the portrait of billy strayhorn over his piano, for instance which he compares to the "what would jesus do" bracelets christian teens wear. but he … [Read more...]
Classical Underground Vs. The Philistines
IN my decade and a half writing about artists and cultural figures, i never met anyone as passionate, committed and outright insane for art as alexey steele, a soviet born painter who runs a monthly "classical underground" series in his artists loft. (here's my piece.)but at first, i thought the whole thing might be a joke -- that alexey, who comes on a little bit like borat (check this out) might … [Read more...]
The Late, Great Elliott Smith
YESTERDAY would have been the 40st birthday of elliott smith, perhaps the finest songwriter of my generation, and a musician who killed himself six years ago. my wife -- a longtime music journalist who considers him the deepest artist she's ever interviewed -- and i remember that dark day well.smith, of course, came up through the portland band heatmiser, and released some powerful and very spare … [Read more...]
Eric Owen Moss Vs. Los Angeles
For decades now, eric owen moss has been one of the most innovative, influential and feared architects in the southland. he's designed striking postmodern buildings in culver city and environs, taken the helm at SCI-Arc, and become what colleague thom mayne calls "a gladiator" in his appearances at various panels and reviews.HERE is my LAT piece on moss and his latest work. the story comes from … [Read more...]
Crazy For The Big Lebowski
DO you spend your free time dressing up like figures of speech, drunkenly bowling for endless hours and memorizing non-sequitors from an obscure film? if so, you must be "an achiever," one of the group of "big lebowski" zealots who gathers to celebrate the coens brothers movie at least once a year. the film, of course, was considered a disappointment upon opening but has become -- thanks to a few … [Read more...]
The Elegant Espionage of Alan Furst
THE spy novels of alan furst are elegant, melancholy glimpses of history and the period right before world war II in central and eastern europe. does any working novelist sketch atmosphere as well as alan furst?because 2008's "the spies of warsaw" was just released in paperback, i'm posting my interview with furst from last year. the book looks at a de gaulle-like aristocrat caught up in movements … [Read more...]
The Late Great Julius Shulman
I WAS saddened to see, upon returning from a trip, that we've lost not only walter cronkite -- who i once met at an annapolis pub he used to frequent on sailing trips -- but the consummate architecture photographer julius shulman.HERE is my interview with shulman from a few years back. i visited the man in his rambling laurel canyon home and he showed me the range of his work -- the old modernist, … [Read more...]
Philip Glass Vs. Film Music
GLASS, who makes his Hollywood Bowl debut this week, discussed his film work with me recently.“Here’s an interesting experiment,” he said. “Play a film, any film, and then change the music. The film looks different. Then take the music, and change the film – the music doesn’t change. It’s astonishing. What does it tell us? When you put the two together, the core may be the music. Bernard Herrmann … [Read more...]
Pianist Paul Lewis
I'D expected the brooder i saw on the cover of the wonderful harmonia mundi LPS. but paul lewis, the young liverpool-reared pianist i met at the standard hotel a few months ago, looked like a juggler on his way to a renaissance festival.lewis, who plays the hollywood bowl twice this week, takes beethoven, schubert, and the heart of the austro-german repertoire very seriously. HERE is my LATimes … [Read more...]
John D. MacDonald Vs. Hollywood
I CAME a bit late to the work of john d. macdonald, the floridian whose most famous character, self-proclaimed "boat bum" travis mcgee, has sold more than 40 million books worldwide. but these books, while light on the surface, are not only fun reads -- in some ways resembling detective novels -- they lay out an appealing and persuasive worldview that resonates in our uncertain times.for decades … [Read more...]