Listening again to LA Woman — Of course I was aware of The Doors in 1967. Who of that time wouldn’t have been since “Light My Fire” spread everywhere? Even in Birmingham, Alabama, where they burned Beatles’ records, a song about igniting sexual craving couldn’t be denied. The Doors played Birmingham’s Municipal Auditorium, and given that…

New York before and after… — Heat to Boil “It was also clear…in 1988 that the political process had already become perilously remote from the electorate it was meant to represent…It was also clear in 1988 that the rhetorical manipulation of resentment and anger designed to attract these target voters had reduced the nation’s political dialogue…

And our rights — Two weeks before Christmas, 1983. I’m home from grad school, sound asleep, my parents both at work, and the phone rings: “Hullo.” “Terry, it’s….I’m pregnant, and I need some money for an abortion.” “Oh. Sure. How much is it?” “$250.” “I’ll go to my bank this morning and wire it…

How to Chase your dog without really trying — My mother referred to our dog Donald as a “rogue,” meaning that in every season, but especially in the summertime, he liked to go tearing through the neighborhood searching for gold. Or for what passes for gold to a dog: house welcome mats; new, slightly used, or weatherbeaten garden hosepipes…

Tripping the Lights: Fantastic — It should all look so pretty like this: a live concert, the artists performing for all they’re worth, and you and I — we’re there, grooving, funking out, and maybe, maybe… Well, I’m supposed to keep this audience-friendly, and while being altered has its place, Dick Clark never allowed it…

Beach House’s “Superstar” — “Out there on the run You’re not the only one Shadow from the sun Somewhere out on the radio…” I think of listening to the radio — especially while driving — like I want to think about God: a voice issuing from a set of clear speakers, distinct but otherworldly. …

Art for Music’s Sake — “Outside they waited for their cars and she tried once again. ‘I wanted to tell you more…’ ‘I…this is enough. This is more than I can stand at all,’ he said, touching her. ‘Well listen,’ she said. ‘Don’t do anything.’ ‘Don’t worry,’ he said, and she knew she didn’t have…

Thank you Daft Punk — I. A student tells me yesterday that she plans to write about the culture of small-town life, like the town our college lies in, a place where fraternity courts rule, and sometimes on increasingly random weekends, a student might get so rushed — adrenaline, alcohol, rohypnol — as to lean…

What I found at the record store yesterday — I seem to be behind other people a lot these days, as my story on The Riff recently indicates: Jack White and a Bulbous Head He was fantastic; the head…?medium.com More on Mr. White soon. As I parked and headed toward the door of Horizon Records yesterday, another tall guy, very politely appeared from a distant corner, held the door until…