Rock critic Ken Tucker says the group's first collaboration with country artists, Will the Circle Be Unbroken, breathed new life into their music. The second volume of that effort is less focused, with a strange and haphazard assortment of collaborators.
The Dutch stage and screen actor is often cast as a Russian character, including in the new movie Scandal. In the Netherlands, he often worked with director Paul Verhoeven. In the U.S., he's best known for his role as a womanizer in Crossing Delancey.
Gordimer returns to Fresh Air to discuss her new collection of essays called The Essential Gesture, about her role as a white woman in South Africa fighting against Apartheid.
The former Steve Miller Band guitarist took a break from the music industry, but is back with a new album called Other Roads. He joins Fresh Air to talk about his early albums and the evolution of his music over the decades.
Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews a CD of Olaf Bar's performances of selections from Mozart's operatic oeuvre. Schwartz says Bar's lower range is limited, causing him to growl and bark. It's an affect that might work for a full production, but is distracting in a recital setting.
Lasseter began his career as a traditional animator; now he works for the production studio Pixar, founded by Steve Jobs. He joins Fresh Air to talk about the mechanics of computer animation, and how he tries to get audiences to look past the novelty of his approach and focus on the story.
La Russa joins Fresh Air to talk about how he leads his team through success and failure. His managerial style boils down to just a few rules: show up on time and do your best.
Rock historian Ed Ward says that the 1970s were a wasteland for rock music. But two notable, experimental bands emerged from the era. The Residents' music was bizarre and hollow sounding, while Pere Ubu sought to bring an experimental edge to rock and roll.
John Le Carre's new spy novel is set against the backdrop of the Soviet Union's recent reforms. Book critic John Leonard calls it a "great gray lump" -- The Russia House strains for greatness with big ideas about selfhood, but falls flat with its long sentences and pretensions of literary sophistication.
Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead says many other critics don't know what to make of the jazz pianist's percussive, atonal playing. Cecil Taylor doesn't improvise using standard jazz changes or harmonies, yet he says his biggest influence is the blues. Whitehead reviews a reissue of Taylor's album Indent, and explains what to listen for.
Television critic David Bianculli reviews the series finale of the glossy crime show. He says the ending was as contrived as the past few seasons -- big on action, short on character development.
Critic Ken Tucker, a big fan of rap music, missed the theatrical release of Run D.M.C.'s film. He had high hopes it might capture the spirit of black action movies of the 1970s; but after watching the home video release, Tucker says the movie failed to live up to its promise.
The crime writer says he's more focused on characters than the gritty, violent plots that drive his novels. Yet Elmore garners praise for those tightly woven and realistic plots; Leonard is careful to consult experts about bomb making, guns, and explosions.
Jillette, along with his silent partner Teller, created his magic act partly in opposition to the comedy and theater performances he disliked. His duo's edgy, sometimes violent, performances have won Emmy Awards and spawned companion books and videos. Jillette takes pride in maintaining an aggressive persona while treating his audience with respect.
A new anthology of Wilbur's early and recent poetry has recently been published. He joins Fresh Air to talk about his writing, the effect of how reading in front of audiences has had on his work, and his relationship with his children. Wilbur was Poet Laureate from 1987 to 1988.
Rock critic Ken Tucker says the pop star rails against commercialism -- despite the fact that his success depends on it. But it's the music on Big Daddy -- moreso than the lyrics -- that best coveys Mellencamp's anti-pop message.
Sendak illustrated a version of a recently-discovered Grimm story, about a girl named Mili who loses her mother during a war. Sendak, best known for his book Where the Wild Things Are, often incorporates difficult subjects like death and divorce into his children's books.
The San Francisco-based Graham organized and promoted concerts for several important bands in the 1960s. He worked hard to create diverse lineups, and balance the needs and desires of artists and record labels. Graham closed his iconic Fillmore Theater in 1971.
Writer Stuart Brand joins Fresh Air to talk about the technology-focused business culture that's developing in the Bay Area. He says it's turned San Francisco into a kind of global frontier town.
