Dear editor, As the Michael Moore movie Fahrenheit 9/11 continues to gain attention, money, and controversy [“The Screed We Need,” June 25], I can’t help but wonder why critics of the film (such as the right-wing group Move America Forward) deem it “anti-American.” The latest polls reveal that the majority of Americans now believe that […]
Author Archives: Chris Morris
Posted inNews & Politics
Bias by Omission?
Hello there, In your recent cover story on the Chicago protest on LSD [April 4] you fell into the ranks of the media majority. Pages and pages of what happened at the protest (organization, police, etc), but no information on why so many protested–except for stating that they were “antiwar” and, ironically, needed to get […]
Posted inMusic
Marianne Faithful–Strange Weather
STRANGE WEATHER Marianne Faithfull Island Records 90613-1 Most rock crits wear the mantle of infallibility like Superman’s bulletproof long johns. Their year-end lists have a particularly definitive ring: “I’ve listened to ’em all, and these are the best that be” is the accepted subtext of such December tallies. But inevitably, come January, I wind up […]
Posted inNews & Politics
Reading: Lester Bangs Played Typewriter
His performance was funny, dumb, imspired, fantastic, and self-aggrandizing all at once. He raised rock criticism to new heights of bizarreness and sensitivity.
Posted inMusic
John Hiatt–Bring the Family
BRING THE FAMILY John Hiatt A&M Records A&M SP 5158 It isn’t surprising that the title of John Hiatt’s latest album takes the form of an invitation. Bring the Family is certainly Hiatt’s most inviting work ever. But the title cuts a bit deeper than mere coziness. Most of the songs on this immensely moving […]
Posted inMusic
Duke Ellington: The Blanton-Webster Band; Duke Ellington Orchestra/Count Basie Orchestra–First Time! The Count Meets the Duke; Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus, Max Roach–Money Jungle
DUKE ELLINGTON: THE BLANTON-WEBSTER BAND RCA Bluebird 5659-1-RB FIRST TIME! THE COUNT MEETS THE DUKE Duke Ellington Orchestra/Count Basie Orchestra Columbia Jazz Masterpieces CJ 40586 MONEY JUNGLE Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus, Max Roach Blue Note BT 85129 Few American popular musicians were quite as honored and lionized in their lifetime as Duke Ellington. The great […]
Posted inMusic
Frank Sinatra–The Voice: The Columbia Years 1943-1952; Jerry Lee Lewis–The Killer 1963-1968; Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band–Live/1975-85
THE VOICE: THE COLUMBIA YEARS 1943-1952 Frank Sinatra Columbia CXT 40343 JERRY LEE LEWIS: THE KILLER 1963-1968 Jerry Lee Lewis Bear Family Records BFX 15210 BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN AND THE E STREET BAND: LIVE/1975-85 Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Columbia C5X 40558 Boxed sets–those unwieldy but rewarding multivolume compendiums– probably represent the best way […]