blog riley

Dear Jonathan Gould, Whew you got a great agent, serialized in USA TODAY, man that's EXPOSURE. Congratulations on all this, very handsomely produced and marketed product. But most of all pat yourself on the back... there is so much hard work reflected in these pages, so many long library hours … [Read more...]

A Paler Shade of White by Sasha Frere-Jones in the New Yorker The first and most obvious point is: here's an essay that's long overdue, of the stripe the New Yorker should have been running for at least the past twenty-thirty years, ever since Ellen Willis left. The color line is still the most … [Read more...]

"The only thing that I got's been botherin' me my whole life..." Is there a Springsteen line more suited to Win Butler? (via Zoilus) Setlist via Backstreets More at the Riley Rock Index.com page on YouTube … [Read more...]

Sign of the Times: Scott Peley's 60 Minutes interview with Bruce Springsteen approaches his anti-war stance so gingerly: "You know some people are going to say Bruce Springsteen is no patriot..." How different is that from O'Reilly saying "Why do you hate America?" It may be a tad more polite, but … [Read more...]

Notes on opening night of Bruce Springsteen's MAGIC TOUR with the E Street Band Hartford Civic Center, Connecticut October 2, 2007 (Listen today, Thursday 10/4, for the WBUR story, podcast archived this afternoon.) LEAD: Bruce Springsteen, a spry 58 years young, proved once again that rock'n'roll … [Read more...]

Last season was marked by two high-profile flameouts, one network, the other cable. Aaron Sorkin dumped West Wing, which although self-important (especially that 9/11 episode) and pompous and winded and haughty sported cracking dialogue, snappy performances, plot out the wazoo and a President on the … [Read more...]

Michael Palin has published his dairies (1969-1979) but its only portentous aspect is the title (The Python Years). It contains lots of juicy descriptions of George Harrison and others, sports a very useful index, and includes choice entries such as this dated August 25th, 1977: "A phone call from … [Read more...]

Today's Here and Now [audio] review of Across the Universe, a movie that's as impressive as it is disappointing. (At least they don't have the poor guy sing "Yesterday.") Reminded me of how poorly served T Bone Burnett was in WALK THE LINE: even material this well arranged and produced can't support … [Read more...]

Would this have happened without this? … [Read more...]

Bruce Springsteen "Nowhere Radio" Playing on his great theme of righteous, uplifting anger, this hook-studded throwback sports his first key change since "Hungry Heart," which was also thin-yet-crowd-friendly (anybody remember the EXPRESSIVE key change?). But the irony here doesn't quite catch hold: … [Read more...]

"Cooking was my thing." Bonus points for Eric Clapton's daytime Emmy mash notes. … [Read more...]

"Tonite 8:15--Staff party here at W.H.--receiving line & entertainment," Ronald Reagan wrapped up his diary entry for December 18, 1986, just weeks after the Iran-Contra "mess" or fuss" had gone public enough to Grinchify a lesser man's Christmas. "A magic night--a magician who baffled even the most … [Read more...]

Headaches have themselves by Jerry Fodor Consciousness and Its Place in Nature: DOES PHYSICALISM ENTAIL PANPSYCHISM? by Galen Strawson and et al · Imprint Academic, 285 pp, £17.95 Are we talking about non-combatants? … [Read more...]

It only takes 30 seconds for Weaver to equate herself with William Shatner (Star Trek) and Christopher Lloyd (Back to the Future) in Directv's new HD ads...the kind of ad they USED to make for the Japanese market. What kind of cash does Sigourney need to justify this low-rent move? Remember Robert … [Read more...]

Brian Lehrer Show Tuesday, August 14 … [Read more...]