‘How come you’re so calm?’ — A Bigger Bang

Two weeks ago, I aired a reappraisal of Dirty Work, the Rolling Stones’ most misunderstood album. Almost ten years ago I reviewed the album around which consensus has hardened, notably now that we have seen no followup. The second side has title that Poison thunk up, but otherwise the record boasts a concision I doubt

Weightless, semi-erotic: Interpol in 2007

As nostalgia objects, Interpol are more fun than when they fooled a lot of us into thinking they were going to be a great band. Few kids of either sex took Duran Duran seriously — those sassy boys with impeccable makeup and two-finger synth hooks. Turns out I was the one who took Interpol too

‘Boys don’t sing Madonna’

Continuing my series of Stylus Magazine reposts before the site disappears, here’s an article that Wikipedia has excerpted several times, and one of the three or four I’m proudest of, one of the few times I interpolated autobiography for the purposes of an entry in The Diamond, our series dedicated to those albums that shipped

Reconsidering a Luther Vandross reconsideration

Nine years ago, new to appreciating R&B balladry but submitting to the tutelage of Thomas Inskeep, Andy Kellman, Greg Tate, and others, I devoted my favorite entry in Stylus Magazine’s On First Listen series to Luther Vandross. I wasn’t new to Vandross in June 2006 — I’d grown up with “Never Too Much,” “Stop to

Dirty Work: ‘a tattered, embarrassed triumph’

As the online bone structure of Stylus Magazine begins to fray like an undusted dinosaur skeleton in a museum, I’ve taken to scanning, printing, and caching my archives. I’ll post them from time to time.

“Boys don’t sing Madonna”

Tonight, after I dream of dancing with someone else, I remember what I wrote eight years ago about Like a Virgin and The Immaculate Collection: Since my parents didn’t get cable until 1999 I never dismissed Madonna as a videos-yes-songs-meh Camille Paglia-promoted pleasure as lots of frivolous people did too long into her career. I

“No coward soul is mine – “

After completing a round of triumphant returns to the UK stage, Kate Bush deserves to bask. Audience responses validated her decision to limit set lists to albums recorded after 1985. Before Stylus Magazine folded, the editorial board on which I sat chose her as the third member of our artist hall of fame. A round

The Stylus Decade

We’re back for the week, counting down the decade’s best albums and singles. Look for retrospective essays too. http://www.thestylusdecade.com/