photo by Todd Roeth by Mark Saleski I have proclaimed, on more than one occasion, that the world needs more sincerity. Just think of what it would do for politics: the black hole of sincerity. OK, it would destroy it! Never mind. Seriously, it has always bothered me when wordsRead More

by Tom Johnson Every year it seems, some movie I see stands out immediately upon seeing it. Most memorably, Magnolia did it, American Movie did it, High Fidelity did it, Punch Drunk Love did it, and today, American Splendor did it. American Splendor is the real-life story of comic bookRead More

by Mark Saleski You’ll often find writing about music and art that separates the two things: music – art. We can all agree that music is an art form and that musicians are (or at least can be) artists. But what about the relationship between music and art? There hasRead More

by Mark Saleski OK, so let’s get the list over with quickly. Here are your 2011 nominees for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Alice Cooper, Beastie Boys, Bon Jovi, Chic, Neil Diamond, Donovan, Dr. John, J. Geils Band, LL Cool J, Darlene Love, Laura Nyro, DonnaRead More

by Mark Saleski She put on Stevie Wonder’s “Living For The City” and then asked us to call out the instruments that we heard. I don’t really remember how we all did, but that moment has always stayed with me. An actual music class in middle school. It wasn’t justRead More

photo by Johan Eriksson by Mark Saleski There are so many ways we discover music: from a film soundtrack, the radio (Internet, satellite, earthbound), word of mouth, advertising. Most of these can be thought of as happy accidents. Is there such a thing as an “unhappy accident”? This is theRead More

by Mark Saleski Over at A Blog Supreme, they’re tossing around an interesting question: What’s The First Coltrane Album You Fell In Love With? That’s an easy one for me: it was Interstellar Space. It sort of confused me (OK, it confused the heck out of me!) but I totallyRead More

by Mark Saleski If you have a few hours to spare, and are looking for some cheap entertainment, search for one of those “Best Guitarists” lists on the Internet. Oh dear, the comments will absolutely slay you with their hilarity. Just about everybody can find a way to be offendedRead More

by Mark Saleski A variant of the “I remember exactly where I was when I first heard this” thing is the phenomenon of incomplete Déjà Vu. This occurs when you hear a piece of music and it seems totally familiar … except … hmmm … what was it? The musicRead More

by Mark Saleski In our society, it seems like there’s a constant battle between idealism and cynicism. A person will take a stand on a particular issue, and no matter how quietly they do it, there is always an opposing force with the can of hot tar at the ready.Read More