R.E.M. have a new album out today, called Collapse into Now. I like late-period R.E.M. more than your average muskrat–but I still can’t get used to the notion that their albums now have lyrics sheets. If you want to revisit the bygone days of 2008, you can check out my article in the archives about […]

posted 8 March 2011 in Archives. no comments yet

I actually wrote two different pieces about last month’s Van Morrison concert, which was an interesting exercise. I was trying to repeat myself as little as possible–but make sure that each dispatch made sense. (It helped that the Rolling Stone website wanted a newsier angle, while the paper magazine asked for a critical review.) I […]

posted 8 December 2008 in Reviews. no comments yet

I was lucky enough to attend Van Morrison’s show at the Hollywood Bowl Saturday night where he performed the entirety of Astral Weeks. Single-word reaction: Wow. I should have a full-length review in the next issue of Rolling Stone, but I also filed a short dispatch (with a set list, which isn’t as pointless as […]

posted 10 November 2008 in Outside, Reviews. 1 comment

I first met Michael Stipe in late 1989 or early 1990; he was tagging along with KRS-One, who was giving a talk (about world history, I believe) at Yale University. (They had not yet released their collaboration on Out of Time’s “Radio Song.”) I introduced myself to KRS-One’s publicist, Leyla Turkkan. She had a request: […]

posted 6 October 2008 in Archives, Articles. 3 comments