A quarter century since the passing of his father — beloved Cockney poet, punk, and actor Ian Dury — there is much that unites the sound of vocalist-composer Baxter Dury to his dad. And more that does not. Especially now that Baxter’s dry, witty brand of sing-speak is married to the bubbling-over electronic music of […]
I remember the confusion and excitement I felt seeing “Captain” Lou Albano of the WWE (formerly called the WWF) appear in Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” music video when it premiered in December 1983. Why was a wrestling star in a Cyndi Lauper video on MTV? It turns out that Albano and […]
Epiphanies come, as epiphanies do, in unexpected and often far-flung settings. For trumpeter Amir ElSaffar, three such horizon-openers converge in his latest album, New Quartet Live at Pierre Boulez Saal. Recorded at the famed Frank Gehry-designed concert hall, it’s a scintillating performance in which he is joined by Ole Mathisen on saxophone, Tomas Fujiwara on […]
Mark Feld was born in London in 1947, and adopted the stage name Marc Bolan as a teenager. Like many British rock stars of his generation, Bolan flirted with different sounds as he adapted to the rapidly changing times, starting a skiffle band as a child before becoming a mod and then a psychedelic folkie. […]
Richard Philip Henry John Benson was not a normal person. In the mid-90s, he was a hunk Italian prog guitarist in nuts-tight denim, bare-chested beneath a black silk blazer, famous across Rome for his fretboard stunt show VHS tapes. The guitar tricks on his mail-order “instructional” videos were nearly irreplicable — dizzying two-hand tap triplets […]
Name Crispian Mills of Kula Shaker Best known for Britpop on to Lord Krishna (people are still high from that mantra shizz). Current city London, rehearsing for a tour. Really want to be in Home in Penzance, Cornwall. If I was there I would be staring out of the window at the beautiful island of St Michael’s Mount, reminding myself that the […]
Horror Show is a new series uncovering the stories of artists’ experiences with the supernatural, paranormal, and unexplained—and how surviving it provided new appreciation for creating in the here and now. For many generations, the family of filmmakers Ximena and Eduardo García Lecuona has experienced a long-running phenomenon: When it’s your time to leave this […]
In December of 1991, I was asked to do a photoshoot with Henry Rollins for SPIN. The majority, if not all, the photos I had seen of Henry had presented that intensity and punk-like rage he was known for. I planned to capture images that went beyond that facade while remaining true to the Rollins […]
Of course you’ve missed some great stuff since 1985! A lot of you weren’t even born then! Not only has the advent of digital releases made more music available, but it has also made keeping up (whatever that means these days) increasingly impossible. So regard the following 40 recommendations as mini-subsurface maps and drill accordingly! […]
As always, this year’s Miami Art Week, brought the convergence of global art fairs, cultural events, brand activations, and late-night bacchanals that transform the city into an around-the-clock cultural ecosystem. The 2025 edition brought together creatives and tastemakers across art, fashion, music, culture, gastronomy, and nightlife. The week began on a softer frequency with two […]