In 1985, one of rock ‘n’ roll’s most beloved songwriters made a regrettable misstep with a narrow conception of Southern identity.
music writing
Posted inArts & Culture, Feature, Nonfiction, Story
Shelved: Lee Hazlewood’s Cruisin’ For Surf Bunnies
It’s no surprise that the legendary songwriter and producer dabbled in surf music. What’s surprising is why music this good remained unreleased for 50 years.
Posted inArts & Culture, Books, Nonfiction, Story
Manic Street Preachers’ Album The Holy Bible
How a band seemingly out of step with its times outlasted so many of its indulgent, in-step contemporaries.
Posted inNonfiction
Those Limits Were Not Hindrances: An Interview with Megan Pugh
How a writer worked hard to understand one of American music’s most mysterious performers while protecting his past, and art.
Posted inArts & Culture, Books, Nonfiction, Story
William S. Burroughs and the Cult of Rock ‘n’ Roll
From Bob Dylan to David Bowie to The Beatles, the legendary Beat writer’s influence reached beyond literature into music in surprising ways.
Posted inNonfiction
It’s Like That: The Makings of a Hip-Hop Writer
Hip-hop was a different kind of music that needed a different kind of writer to cover it. This is how Michael A. Gonzales came of age in a time when Black writers began breaking the white ceiling.
Posted inNonfiction
Remembering Roky Erickson
Despite ongoing personal struggle, the psychedelic rock pioneer left a singular body of work that continues to influence musicians and challenge listeners.
Posted inArts & Culture, Books, Nonfiction, Story
Odetta Holmes’ Album One Grain of Sand
The singular singer released her groundbreaking album in 1963, the same year as the March on Washington, and used her art and appearance as weapons in the Civil Rights struggle.
Posted inArts & Culture, Feature, Nonfiction, Story
Shelved: Tupac and MC Hammer’s Promising Collaboration
Sometimes the most fertile creative relationships are the most unlikely.