Hey, rocker, remember the Summer of Love? Well, this sure ain’t it. That Age of Aquarius that was supposed to be coming?, that needs a jump-start. Today you may feel more like Neil Tennant in “Dreaming Of The Queen” — no lovers left alive, and no one with any humanity in a position of ultimate […]
Author Archives: tris
Critics Poll 27 — My ballot, part 1
The news has been so awful lately, and the task of reporting it so joyless (not to mention thankless), that I have hesitated to add my voice to the chorus that has been singing such a sad song. Surely even in a time of crisis there are more rewarding things to discuss. But there is […]
Critics Poll 27 — My ballot, part 2
Song Of The Year Since William Godwin, the social-problem novel has had several periods of vogue: the early Industrial Revolution, World War I and its aftermath, the White Shadow 1970s, etc. Its central premise — that a reader can emerge from her encounter with a work of art with her compassion for the downtrodden enhanced […]
Critics Poll 27 — Page three and a half
Ben Krieger asked some questions that I felt I should stop and think about. This is my attempt to answer him. Why do family and friends always instinctively frame our talents potential within the confines of a capitalist model? I know what you’re getting at, and I sympathize — the arts aren’t a business enterprise, […]
Critics Poll 27 — Miscellaneous Stuff
There’s a damned good case to be made that I shouldn’t be doing this at all. In a time of national crisis, squawking about the wonders of the Knowles sisters and various college rock bands is at best uncouth and at worst a conciliatory distraction. I ought to be devoting my attention and my talents, […]
Critics Poll 27 — Singles
Rock is fine. That’s not the present consensus. Nostalgic music fans often treat rock as if it’s on the ropes, or imperiled by inattention in the age of 140 characters, or the exclusive possession of an older generation that won’t share it with newer ones that wouldn’t understand its glories anyway. The Rock And Roll […]
Critics Poll 27 — Results
Dateline 1991. Playing in the background: “Can I Kick It?”, the first Tribe song I ever heard. So polite, so laid-back and crowd-participatory, so jazzy and skilled, so confident, so redolent of the new New York we were trying to create. Here was my first encounter with a friendly character we’d all come to know […]
ISIS is baiting you. Don’t fall for it.
This was originally written on November 16, 2015. I’m re-posting it here today because… well, you know why. Travel safe, everybody. Grief, as C.S Lewis explained, can prompt a rational man to do foolish things. For instance, just last night, I read the comments. Not just the comments — I read several articles in famous […]
Play the game tonight ’16
Croquet is satisfying, and video games are addictive, and political scheming has its time and place. But the older I get, the more fun I require, and the more fiercely I cling to my first love: boardgames. Not just any board games, either, but meticulously designed and beautifully illustrated ones that have been coming at […]
Yum ’16
I’ve always been a little suspicious of record reviewers who don’t play in bands. How can they properly evaluate an album if they’re unfamiliar with the delicate art of sticking quarter-inch cables in holes and/or screen freezes and “ProTools has unexpectedly quit” errors? Consequently, as I appear to be incapable of making toast without burning […]