There’s Me….Then There’s….

Riffs&Revolutions: Michael Gonzales on Luther Vandross

Recently my friend and fellow critic Amy Linden and I were discussing the joy of finding buried treasures in the closet; which, in our case means discovering music we haven’t listened to in ages. She recently began spinning the brillant 1995 Society of Soul disc Brainchild, and couldn’t be happier.

Gmail Helps End Drunk Emails?

From time to time, all of us have been guilty of sending an email we didn’t mean to send. You know, a gushy love letter to a guy or girl we just met. Or perhaps you sent a piece of “rage mail” to someone who really pissed you off. We really didn’t mean to send [...]

All That Jazz

My friend, venerable music critic Michaelangelo Matos, has a good piece in Good magazine, titled, “Who’s A Dilettante?” It’s about how, despite the fact that he likes jazz, and listens to it, he’ll never be an expert on it. Which, for a critic, is sort of like admitting total defeat, because critics are supposed to [...]

Off the Bus: Marc Cooper on McCain’s Own 60s Radical

The McCain campaign shows no shame in engaging in a tired guilt-by-association tactic as Sarah Palin accuses Obama of “palling around with terrorists.” This desperate calumny derives from Obama once serving on the same non-profit board as former 60’s radical Bill Ayers, one of the founders of the Weather Underground.
But what about McCain’s [...]

Morning News Roundup: The Last Gasp Edition

Something kooky could still happen … The second presidential debate airs tonight, and the town-hall style is designed to keep the candidates on their toes. John Dickerson, Slate’s political correspondent,cautions John McCain and Barack Obama to watch out for “Ponytail Guy,” an audience member who scolds the candidates about the tone of the campaign. The [...]

Off the Bus: Eric Morse Dishes Advice to Obama for Tonight

With one presidential and one vice presidential debate behind us, a pattern is emerging: each time, the Democratic candidate has come to the table armed with facts and policy proposals, while the Republican catered to pundits and the public with an amalgam of attitude and atmospherics, colloquialisms and avoidance-by-way-of-personal-anecdote.
And in tomorrow’s town hall meeting in [...]

Amuse Bouche: Is McCain the Real Black Candidate?

Larry Wilmore of The Daily Show questions Barack Obama’s “blackness” while highlighting John McCain’s recent show of flavor. With tongue in cheek, Wilmore says he only wants to vote for the black candidate but is now seriously confused because of John McCain’s recent behavior. He is left with having to examine the issues. Enjoy!