Music and Poetry
Music should not be a selfish thing
An interview with Sleepy LaBeef
By David Walsh, October 3, 2003
Sleepy LaBeef is as gracious in an interview as he is generous in performance. After the show I asked him:
The country boogie-woogie of Sleepy LaBeef
By David Walsh, October 3, 2003
The recent appearance by Sleepy LaBeef at the Magic Bag in Ferndale, Michigan, confirms his status as one of the greatest living performers of American popular music. It is hard to imagine anyone surp...
A human sound of the world
The Hour of Two Lights, an album by Terry Hall and Mushtaq
By Paul Bond, September 2, 2003
The Hour of Two Lights, an album by Terry Hall and Mushtaq (Honest Jons Records)
A review of music from the motion picture The Pianist
By Dorian Griscom, August 1, 2003
The Warsaw Philharmonic National Orchestra of Poland; Hanna Wolczedska, clarinet; Janusz Olejniczak, piano; Wladyslaw Szpilman, piano; Tadeusz Strugala, conductor.
The work of British composer Mark Anthony Turnage
By Barbara Slaughter, July 15, 2003
Every year BBC Radio 3 presents a weekend of performances by the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus at the Barbican Centre in London to celebrate the work of a particular composer. In recent years, Kur...
Thirty years down the road
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band at Manchester, England
By Robert Stevens, June 18, 2003
US singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band are currently on the European leg of their world tour following the release of their latest album, The Rising. The album and the tour mark ...
Beyond the roots of American popular music
Examining the legacy of Alan Lomax
By James Brewer, June 13, 2003
At its 45th annual award ceremony earlier this year, the Recording Academy’s National Trustees, the body behind the Grammy Awards, posthumously bestowed a “Trustees Award” on Alan Lo...
Impassive resistance: Protest songs for today
By Mike McHone, April 23, 2003
“I cannot be a vegetarian just between meals”—Nanci Griffith, folk artist
Tilt by Scott Walker: A remarkable album by a serious musician
By Tony Cornwell, June 4, 2002
Corporate mergers in television, radio and record industries have resulted in the coordination of “play lists” around demographics. “Pop” or “Popular” music therefo...
Charlie Musselwhite—Music true to real life
A review of bluesman's new CD: "One Night In America"
By James Brewer, March 7, 2002
One can be forgiven for being a bit suspicious nowadays when the word “America” appears in the title of any musical piece or recording. The American population is being barraged with mind-...
"Strange Fruit": the story of a song
By Peter Daniels, February 8, 2002
Southern trees bear a strange fruit, Blood on the leaves and blood at the root, Black body swinging in the Southern breeze, Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.
One critic’s picks for best jazz and blues recordings of 2001
By Michael G. Nastos, December 28, 2001
The following list of jazz and blues recordings for 2001 has been submitted to the WSWS by Michael G. Nastos, who hosts “Evening Jazz & Blues” weeknights on WEMU-FM, 89.1, in Ypsilanti, Mi...
