These are demoralizing times for most Americans, and it’s at such historical junctures that music is most potent and therapeutic. Ruthie Foster couldn’t have known it as she was recording her deeply satisfying new album, Joy Comes Back, but the […]
When Curtis McMurtry released his debut album, Respectable Enemy, in 2014, there were at least traces of his father’s influence, punctuated by Curtis’ cover of one of James’ masterpieces, the spare, heart-wrenching “Gulf Road.” But on Curtis’ new album, The Hornet’s […]
It’s hard to pick a favorite James McMurtry lyric, and not for lack of quality. One could opt for the produndity of “We Can’t Make It Here,” the solemnity of “Gulf Road,” the dizzyingly detailed landscape of “Choctaw Bingo,” or the entirety […]
A friend’s dad dies in his seventies. Another friend succumbs to cancer at the age of 37. Trump wins. Leonard Cohen passes away. The University of Washington Huskies lose their first game of the football season. I had jury duty […]
Like most left-leaning Americans, I woke up on the ninth of November in a depressed fog, a situation which wasn’t helped by having to drive 15 miles in the rain to report to jury duty in a landlocked Seattle suburb. […]
Americana music is made around the world, from Austin’s Reckless Kelly to Australia’s Paul Kelly. But its soul rests deep in the heart of Texas. This is punctuated by two of the genre’s best releases of 2016, one a tribute […]
The 1993-1994 Chicago Bulls were, by any objective measure, an excellent basketball team, making it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals before succumbing to a Patrick Ewing-led New York Knicks squad in seven games. The versatile forward Scottie […]
If you were to Weird Science the prototype for a technically perfect, ethereal female singer, you’d come up with someone like Mikaela Davis. Petite, young and blonde, she’s a harpist with a high, dreamy, limber voice who boasts an affinity for […]
“Don’t call what you’re wearing an outfit. Don’t ever say your car is broke. Don’t worry about losing your accent; a southern man tells better jokes. Have fun and stay clear of the needle. Call home on your sister’s birthday. […]
Depending on what you like and where you’re at, Jason Isbell, Mike McCready and Damien Jurado are three fairly significant male names in popular music. Behind them, at varying junctures, have been three fabulous female musicians: Amanda Shires, Star Anna […]
