Somewhere in Hawaii, awash in the good vibe of finishing up CIRCUS MONEY, his second solo album, Walter Becker pitches a marketing idea to his publicists: A campaign which kicks off with a "promotional stunt" -- in this case, it would be me faking or simulating my own disappearance, abduction, or … [Read more...]

Another TOP TEN POMO list by Jason Gross of Perfect Sound Forever: 1. Bugs Bunny "Rabbit Rampage" (Warner Bros, June 11, 1955) One of Chuck Jones's many classic cartoons with that rascally wabbit,this is also the baby of one of his long-time partners, MichaelMaltese. Here, Maltese's background as … [Read more...]

We think this is good news, or at the least great casting. … [Read more...]

At a press conference for his new Crosby Stills Nash & Young documentary at the Berlin Film Festival recently, Neil Young told reporters that "the time when music could change the world is past." It's time for science and spirituality so save the planet, the 62-year-old songwriter added. Perhaps … [Read more...]

SHINE A LIGHT On the way home from the iMax, my 10-year-old asked me "Dad, were the Rolling Stones always so OLD?" … [Read more...]

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"We're all Jesus and we're all Hitler," John Lennon Any links between this, this and this? … [Read more...]

Are there any other journalists out there offended by the oppressive praise smothering the final season of The Wire, especially with this season's bizarrely fatuous depiction of a Baltimore Sun newsroom? In the opening episode we were insulted by a grammar lesson on the use of the term "evacuate," … [Read more...]

War profiteers stole two elections and screwed Iraq's pooch, but at least string theory's on track to explain physical reality... … [Read more...]

"In the film [Lust, Caution] moderately scrutable orientals play inscrutable orientals pretending to be inscrutable orientals..."--Michael Wood in the London Review of Books … [Read more...]

[it's been THAT KIND of week...] from The Human Stain, by Philip Roth 312-13 [Adagio from Third Symphony to close Coleman Silk's funeral...] That was it. They pulled out all the stops. They played Mahler. Well, you can't listen to Mahler sometimes. When he picks you up to shake you, he doesn't stop. … [Read more...]

from The Human Stain, by Philip Roth pp. 209-210 Then Bronfman appears. Bronfman the brontosaur! Mr. Fortissimo! Enter Bronfman to play Prokofiev at such a pace and with such bravado as to knock my morbidity clear out of the ring. He is conscpiuously massive through the upper torso, a force of … [Read more...]

My review of Levon Helm's Dirt Farmer aired this week on NPR's Here and Now. … [Read more...]

Part 3 (part one, two) EP: Do I get paid for these gems? If so, I charge by the word!!! TR: You sound like a writer. EP: In my estimation Horowitz recorded better due to his being a more sound oriented pianist. Also his virtuosity was more electrifying than Serkin's. I heard Horowitz live only … [Read more...]

--includes my "Hey Jude" essay from Tell Me Why: A Beatles Commentary. … [Read more...]