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The (Eastern) Beat Goes On

Across the Middle East and North Africa, the beat goes on. This scene shines on Putumayo’s Arabic Beat, a collection that chronicles the musical creativity of Arabic musicians today. The album revels in artists rarely heard i...
by David McGee
 

 
 
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‘A Life Is But a Day and Expresses But a Single Note’

In December 1882 the distinguished psychologist WILLIAM JAMES learned that his father was dying, and immediately penned a beautiful farewell letter to him.
by David McGee
 

 

 
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Chuck Yeager Struts The Right Stuff At 89

This week, 89-year-old nonpareil badass Gen. Chuck Yeager, the first person to break the sound barrier, recreated his historic achievement of Oct. 14, 1947 on that very day in 2012. The right stuff indeed.
by David McGee
 

 
 
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Young Mozart, Poised to Beguile Georgian Society

When eight-year-old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart arrived in London in 1764, he was, according to JOSEPH NEWSOME, 'poised to beguile the music-loving denizens of Georgian society.' A new album, MOZART IN LONDON, captures that moment.
by David McGee
 

 

 
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All In Good Time: Scott Miller’s Rock and Roll

Contributing editor CHRISTOPHER HILL offers an appreciation and appraisal of the late SCOTT MILLER's 'gracious and nourishing, even ennobling' rock 'n' roll.
by David McGee
 

 
 
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It Happened on 5th Avenue (1947)

Often overlooked among holiday evergreens, IT HAPPENED ON 5TH AVENUE features CHARLES RUGGLES leading a fine cast in a tale of redemption filmed in New York City in 1947, when 5th Avenue was still a 2-way street. Plus 14 Disney...
by David McGee
 

 

 
02

Hep Cats

Since making their recording debut in 1999, North Carolina’s Grass Cats have become accustomed to their albums residing in the top 10 of bluegrass charts; with their newest, The Mountains My Baby And Me, they may well find th...
by David McGee
 

 
 
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Doubtful Lake

NATURES TEMPLE: One of the great women of 20th Century American letters chronicles her extraordinary hike in 1918 from Doubtful Lake to the Cascade Mountains. From her book Tenting To-Night.
by David McGee
 

 

 
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The Pelican Warning

DUNCAN STRAUSS checks in with another scoop: an interview with DUNCAN P. FORGEY, author of FLYIN' KAI: A PELICAN'S TALE complete with a warning about climate change.
by David McGee