Blogs
SXSW Notebook Dump, Day 1
My afternoon started at the Guitartown/Conqueroo party with James McMurtry, whose set illustrated the power of an angry guitar. McMurtry’s songs depict people living in hard times, and they frequently […]
What to Do, What to Do?
I recently reviewed the new Ray Davies album, Working Man’s Cafe, and faced the question of what you say about a new album by an artist who has the sort […]
Oh My Stars
Recently, Robert Christgau weighed in the Maxim/Black Crowes dust-up. According to Maxim writer David Peisner, the piece was only supposed to be a preview, and it was his editors who […]
What I’m Listening to Today
To make OffBeat‘s “Pop Life” more of a dialogue, I’ve temporarily moved it to this site. It’s also easier to write more regularly and spontaneously, more accurately reflecting how and […]
Wilco at Tipitina’s
Tuesday night’s show was typical Wilco; by now I’m not sure there’s much left to say beyond a few beautiful Nels Cline solos that recalled Tom Verlaine with Television. I […]
Hillary on the Daily Show
Hillary Clinton’s appearance on The Daily Show could only have gone worse if there had been an on-screen breakout of the Ebola virus. Let’s count the ways: 1. The fish-eye lens […]
An Interim Solution
I’ve wanted “Pop Life,” my weekly online column at OffBeat.com to be a blog so that it can function as a conversation instead of a pronouncement. Since changes to our […]