Music Archive

“You can blow out a candle/ But you can’t blow out a fire/ Once the flames begin to catch/ The wind will blow it higher” - Chris Wallace was the only American journalist permitted to interview Vladimir Putin face-to-face at the Helsinki summit in 2018. As Craig Lambert writes in a profile of Wallace, the longtime

“Alexa… play ‘Free’, by Florence + the Machine… Alexa… again.” - For a week, “Free," a new song from Florence + the Machine, has been in heavy rotation here, sometimes at a volume that the neighbors notice. If you’ve ever had personal

10 Remixes - Remixes of some of the greater hits of Les Negresses Vertes? But you've never heard the original songs! Remixes, as you know, are generally done to make music more

21st Century Breakdown - Consumer Warning: This is not a site that deals with politics; I struggle with that sometimes, but I generally manage to take no positions or even refer to current events,

A Date with John Waters - Those who have heeded my advice and added A John Waters Christmas to their holiday music collection need read no further. The maestro has followed

A Head Butler Investigation: The Eschaton, David Foster Wallace, and the Decemberists - David Foster Wallace’s “Infinite Jest” was published in 1996. I haven’t read one of its 1,096 pages. The Decemberists released “Calamity Song” in 2011. I just heard it. I got to

A John Waters Christmas - Do you know John Waters? Of course you do --- he's the film director from Baltimore. The one with the sinister moustache. The one who makes those

A Venetian Coronation, 1595 - It's generally good to be king --- or, in Venice, Doge. The Doge was the chief magistrate. Thus, a man of a certain age and accomplishment. And, in Venice, a man

Abdel Wright -     Abdel Wright How's this

Adele - “Television,” a wise man said, “is not to watch, it’s to appear on.”  My sentiments, exactly. I sit in front of a screen all day. At night, why would I want

Aftermath - The "world's greatest rock band" has been a parody of itself for so long that even those of us who were around when they earned the title have trouble explaining the

Al Green: He Is the Light - For a lot of people, Al Green is the sophisticated version of Barry White. Consider the songs he released in the early 1970s: "Tired of Being Alone," "Let's Stay Together,"

Al Kooper: Blood, Sweat & Tears - You don’t have to be old to take this quiz. An acquaintance with Classic Rock will suffice. Here’s the question: Which is your least favorite band of the 1970s --- Chicago,

Alabama Shakes - I think it all the time: Where is the successor to Otis Redding? Janis Joplin? Mavis Staples? Why can’t any young band --- and I do mean any band that’s

Alabama Shakes (Take 2) - You’d like to know which of the new hot books you should read, or if the top-grossing new movie is worth it, or what the cool kids are listening to? Sorry.

Albert King: Born Under a Bad Sign - One of 13 children. As a child in Arkansas, picked cotton. Grew up to be 6’4”, 250 pounds on a thin day. Known to carry a .45 in his waistband. Think

Albinoni (or is it Giazotto?): Adagio in G Minor - Over the holidays, the Times published a compelling video: how, in 90 minutes, Ed Sheeran made the biggest hit of the year. It’s not what you expect from the Times:

Alexander Nevsky - The greatest score in all of film --- so good that it inspired John Williams' shark theme in “Jaws” and James Horner's music for “Star Trek II:

Ali Farka Toure - When Ali Farka Toure died in 2006, all Mali wept. This was a giant --- he took his country's music and blended it with the American blues of

Alicia Keys - I usually make fun of Valentine’s Day. It’s too depressing to do anything else. All those couples jammed into restaurants. All those roses. All that chocolate. All those wasted trips