It's almost like there's too much noise around FAHRENHEIT 9/11 to watch it with a clear head, and I still wonder whether it will change minds. Bush is such an easy, wide-ass target by now that as his defenders grow more shrill, his critics seem to carp in vain. I wish Moore was more responsible with … [Read more...]

Freddie Mercury Nesting Eggs … [Read more...]

Is it me? Feels like I've taken crazy pills: "...hedonism, as expressed by rock, is playing center stage in our culture. But being 'out front' doesn’t have to mean 'better than the rest.' More influential? Sure. More perfect? No.'" I tried very hard to make the case that rock figures symbolized … [Read more...]

Mr. Riley, Fever limits its discussion of country music’s influence to Johnny Cash (starting on page 9). With that, you seem to suggest that rock, following Elvis, completely overshadowed any other manly ideal, especially the one you associate with John Wayne and Johnny Cash. Is that what you meant? … [Read more...]

Some very worthy-ass lists from McSweeney's. We gravitated towards Dick Cheney's iPod playlists, Wasploitation flicks, and Alcoholics Anonymous Slogans as Eleven Murder Mystery Titles and One Spy Thriller Title, but we didn't have all day. Irresistible. This alone is a site waiting to happen. And … [Read more...]

Self-Righteous Brothers RUNNER-UP: Wack-Ass Egyptians … [Read more...]

...The film takes for granted that rock 'n' roll, while it remains the soundtrack of youthful disaffection, has long since become a respectable middle-aged profession. Both Mr. Ulrich and Mr. Hetfield, the band's founding members, who started playing music together in the early 1980's, are married … [Read more...]

...Mr. Ricks’ work is filled with offhand Empsonian brilliance, uncanny erudition and a belief in literary value that will, hopefully, finally shut up the poorly read types who waste time questioning whether Dylan’s works have earned the "right" to be called poetry. What a useless argument: Of … [Read more...]

The Pixies, Sonic Youth, Rocket From the Tombs, Los Lobos, Wilco, the Beastie Boys, and Sam Phillips channels PJ, in what Republicans might call a "big tent"... on WBUR. … [Read more...]

Since it opened, "Fahrenheit 9/11" has been a hit in both blue and red America, even at theaters close to military bases. Last Saturday, Dale Earnhardt Jr. took his Nascar crew to see it. The film's appeal to working-class Americans, who are the true victims of George Bush's policies, should give … [Read more...]

Goldstein on Hitchens: When someone is attacked with such operatic ferocity, one thing is certain: That person is successful. … [Read more...]

I'm wary of Michael Moore, but I want to see FARENHEIT 9/11 for myself. Hitchens is a pretty persuasive hatchet job, but Rosenbaum is generally worhtwhile, so perhaps it's somehow redemptive for Moore in the way that Iowa's victory was redemptive for Kerry. I do think it's telling that we're … [Read more...]

Today in Harvard Square, I saw someone wearing a Leon Fleisher t-shirt. … [Read more...]

An ambitious scholarly treatment of Dylan puts his lyrics beneath the microscope. By Tim Riley Posted on Slate, Monday, June 21, 2004 Cherish the cultural moment: Just as Bob Dylan sells his soul for a Victoria's Secret Venetian holiday, the academy ushers him into the Great Hall of Poets. With … [Read more...]

Thu Jun 17, 2004 10:00 AM ET By Jill Serjeant LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Hip-swiveling Elvis, womanizer Mick Jagger and "Material Girl" Madonna may be some of rock 'n' roll's greatest musical icons but as positive role models, they've yet to win many fans. Think again, argues rock critic Tim Riley. … [Read more...]