A collection of 52 posts
A "live" album recorded in 1975 saved both KISS and their label from bankruptcy, transforming a struggling cult band into a merchandising juggernaut—even though most of it wasn't actually live.
Van Morrison turns eighty.
The Beatles phenomenon is being mined for more meaning than the people at its centre ever intended to convey.
A new boxset edits out one of John Lennon’s most controversial songs.
A tribute to the man who helped to revolutionise modern rock music and reality TV.
Robert Altman’s ‘Nashville’ is fifty.
Disco Demolition Night was an early episode of culture and counterculture being saddled with far greater political significance than they deserved.
Ian Penman has published an eccentric new book about Erik Satie, a French surrealist composer and celebratory nuisance with a tiny oeuvre and massive influence.
Bob Vylan’s “death to the IDF” chants at Glastonbury reveal how Britain’s economic despair has radicalised a generation and threatens to revive ancient hatreds.
The Blues Brothers (1980) fostered a renewed appreciation of some of the best music America has ever produced.
Classical music was one of the first fields to impose the self-censorship that now pervades so many areas of intellectual and cultural life.
A tribute to groundbreaking pop star Melanie Safka (1947–2024).
Eminem’s music helped him to cope with his own suffering. It also helped his listeners cope with theirs.
If Bach was the sound of God whistling while he worked, AC/DC was the sound of God ordering another round in a strip club on Saturday night.
A brief history of Bob Dylan on screen.