Issue Articles — BackTalk
Backtalk: Irma Thomas
No other city can lay claim to as many unsung musical geniuses as New Orleans. It’s caused by the same combination of provinciality and miscegenation that makes the city such […]
Charlie Hunter
“It’s just become who I am,” says Charlie Hunter when asked about his relationship with his rare musical weapon of choice, the eight-string guitar. Hunter grew up in a household […]
George Clinton
Over the years since 1967 when his barbershop-based do-wop group the Parliaments (named after the members’ favorite cigarette) had a Top Ten hit with “Testify,” George Clinton has worn many […]
Pharoah Sanders
Pharoah Sanders, a titan of the saxophone, has been an influential force in jazz for over three decades. Widely known for his work and recordings with the late great John […]
Dave Alvin talks back
Dave Alvin’s songwriting talent first emerged a little over two decades ago when he formed the Blasters with his brother Phil and several lifelong buddies from the Los Angeles suburb […]
John Prine
It was only in retrospect I realized I talked to John Prine on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. While President George W. Bush spent […]
John Stirratt of Wilco Talks Back
When a rock band loses two of its members and is dropped by a major record label, chances are its days are numbered. With alt.country turned avant-rockers Wilco, these rules don’t seem to apply. With the release of the critically fawned over Yankee Hotel Foxtrot last April, Wilco is enjoying its most commercially successful year yet. Founded by chief songwriter and guitarist Jeff Tweedy and bassist John Stirratt in 1994, Wilco descended from the seminal country punk band Uncle Tupelo and has steadily emerged as one of the most “important” rock bands in popular music. Wilco’s blend of heartfelt country rock and ambient, sonic textures have touched a nerve in both critics and fans alike, creating a massive cult following that is threatening to explode into the mainstream consciousness.
BackTalk: Branford Marsalis
Branford Marsalis’ musical career has been anything but humdrum. At 42, the saxophonist initially became renowned as a jazz artist before shocking fans when in the mid-1980s he quit his […]
Thurston Moore
Sonic Youth have been around for 21 years—god knows how long that is in dog years. A generation of music listeners have grown up never knowing a world without Sonic […]
