Looking Closer
What album meant the most to you in 2014? Tell us about it, and you may win a copy of the excellent 2014 double album by Lucinda Williams: Down Where the Spirit Meets the Bone. Read more
What album meant the most to you in 2014? Tell us about it, and you may win a copy of the excellent 2014 double album by Lucinda Williams: Down Where the Spirit Meets the Bone. Read more
It started as a spur-of-the-moment experiment. I asked Joe Henry if he’d be willing to share his Christmas favorites playlist. I so admire his music, the projects that he chooses to produce, and the way that he listens. I wanted to hear what he hears at Christmas time. But by the time I finished writing him an email, I began to think of other listeners I wanted to ask. And before long, I’d send out so many invitations that I... Read more
I couldn’t have asked for a bigger Christmas surprise, or a more enjoyable Christmas blessing, than the personal, thoughtful, revealing Christmas playlists that so many friends have sent in over the past few weeks. Thank you, one and all. I sincerely hope to host Round Two next year. Are you tired of Christmas music yet? I hope not. I have a few favorites of my own to share, some that move me, some that bring back memories, some that mystify me.... Read more
It just made sense. Inviting people to share Christmas playlists, shouldn't I invite someone who spends her days welcoming newborn babies? Read more
W. David O. Taylor and Phaedra Taylor bring us one step closer to Christmas Eve with their own Christmas playlist. Read more
Nobody I know writes about music with more passion, personality, and insight than Andy Whitman. And here he is with a Christmas playlist. Read more
How many movies that promise to “inspire” you actually inspire you? I don’t mean “Do they make you feel good?” Inspiration changes people. It motivates them. It spurs them into action. In my experience at the movies, 9 out of 10 that promise they will be “inspiring” … aren’t inspiring. (It may be closer to 99 out of 100.) Films that are marketed that way usually conform to simple storytelling formulas about determination and the power of “the human spirit,” mining... Read more
I first encountered Robert Deeble‘s music on Seattle alt-rock radio, and I was immediately taken with his hushed delivery, his haunting lyrics. Think Leonard Cohen meets Sparklehorse. Earthside Down was my first Deeble album. (more…) Read more
It is a thrill for me to share this Christmas playlist from one of my heroes for more than 30 years of artmaking. Read more
You may know the name Robert Clark because of his celebrated writing. Since I pay attention to his recommendations in almost everything, I knew that I wanted to include his Christmas playlist in this series. Read more
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