David Foster Wallace

The Quiet Heroism of ‘Right Living’

Contributing editor MICHAEL SIGMAN reflects on the recent fall of 'self-appointed heroes' and the virtues of 'quietly going about one's business.'
by David McGee
 

 
 
alfred neumann featured

The Music Industry, Such as It Is…

So this is what A&R has come to? Someone taking English lessons from Beyonce?
by David McGee
 

 

 
wexler featured

Field Notes From a Music Biz Life (Part 2)

In Part 2 of his autobiography, MICHAEL SIGMAN recalls the 'extraordinary collection of minds, heart and ears' that gathered for Saturday night festivities at the Sigman household.
by David McGee
 

 
 
los lobos featured

Chris Morris Writes the Book on a Great American Band

LOS LOBOS is a vitally important American band, and now it has a biography to suit its stature. MICHAEL SIGMAN gets the story behind CHRIS MORRIS's LOS LOBOS: DREAM IN BLUE.
by David McGee
 

 

 
beverly kenny come swing

‘The Cry of Anguished Protest, The First of Many Wrought From Me’

From The Bluegrass Special archives: an updated feature on the enigma that was the late BEVERLY KENNEY: Her voice was soft and cool, her eyes were clear and bright, but she's not there.
by David McGee
 

 
 
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‘Our Spirit Refuses to Die’: Declaring A National Day of Mourning

The story of the National Day of Mourning marked by Native Americans on the fourth Thursday of November begins in November 1970, the 350th anniversary of 'the first Thanksgiving,' with the suppressed speech of Wamsutta (Frank B...
by David McGee
 

 

 
lara downes feature spotlight 880x385

Pianist-Entrepreneur-Innovator

Pianist-entrepreneur-innovator LARA DOWNES is back with her most ambitious project, EXILES' CAFE, focusing on the concept of music written in exile. The album, though, is only the beginning.
by David McGee
 

 
 
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The Mythic Weight Of Phil Spector’s Christmas Gift: A Semicentennial Reflection

November 22, 1963, was a horrible day for the nation, and for PHIL SPECTOR, a personal disaster as well, as his ambitious Christmas album arrived and was promptly forgotten. A semicentennial look back ensues.
by David McGee
 

 

 
chokepear featured

How Mr. Chokepear Keeps A Merry Christmas.

From a December 25, 1841 issue of the British humor and satire magazine PUNCH, a story satirizing a heartless one-percenter's self-absorbed Christmas rituals.
by David McGee
 

 
 
ginbsburg featured

The Heroic and Visionary Women of Passover

'...at Passover, we must tell the stories of the women who played a crucial role in the Exodus narrative.' JUSTICE RUTH BADER GINSBERG and RABBI LAUREN HOLTBLATT offer an important perspective.
by David McGee
 

 

 
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Peter Rowan Honors ‘Old School’ Bluegrass on 2013 Release

Bluegrass legend PETER ROWAN is in the studio with an inter-gernerational lineup of musicians recording his new album, The Old School, for a spring 2013 release. Session details and a teaser video from Compass Records comprise ...
by David McGee
 

 
 
scott miller spotlight 880x385 1368672961

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