Rock historian Ed Ward says its time we give bubblegum pop another listen. In contrast to the bombastic concept albums of the 1970s that were released at the same time, these one-off songs were catchy and accessible, and helped expand rock and roll's fanbase.
Kingston wrote two dreamlike memoirs before publishing a novel, Tripmaster Monkey. The story follows a Chinese American grad student in the 1960s who is as influenced by Chinese literature as he is Beat culture. Book critic John Leonard calls it brilliant.
The avant-garde artist has a retrospective exhibition at the Whitney Museum in New York City. Growing up, she divided her time between the United States and Japan, before and during World War II. Her marriage to John Lennon made her a celebrity, but overshadowed her own work.
Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead says that tenor saxophonist Benny Carter, now 81, has preferred to work behind the scenes, often allowing his collaborators to take the spotlight on his recordings. But Carter's newest album, My Kind of Trouble, puts him front and center where he belongs.
TV critic David Bianculli reviews the network's latest pilots, including a ghastly sitcom, a thirtysomething ripoff, and a magical hour from the Muppet's creator.
Film mogul Samuel Goldwyn's son gave permission to A. Scott Berg to write the movie producer's biography. Berg says the elder Goldwyn entered the United States illegally, and later built himself by working at a glove factory before helping develop the studio system.
Critic Ken Tucker reviews the home video release of The Great Ziegfeld, a biopic about the famed impresario. The film won the Academy Award for Best Picture, an honor Tucker says was undeserved. Yet the film is fun, despite some slow moments, and paints a clear picture of a bygone era of of Hollywood.
Matthiessen is a naturalist and novelist who co-founded The Paris Review. His nonfiction has explored Zen Buddhism and American Indians, among other topics. A new collection of his short stories, spanning his entire career, his nearly four-decade long career, just been published.
Marcus is fascinated by the disruptive and enduring power of the Sex Pistols. His new book, Lipstick Traces, connects the rise of punk with Dadaism and other nihilistic art movements.
Film critic Stephen Schiff admits he's instantly charmed by movies about unfamiliar worlds. He says the new road movie Powwow Highway, about two American Indians confronting the development of tribal lands, has promise, but is ineptly written and directed. But, somehow, Schiff didn't mind watching it.
Rock critic Ken Tucker considers the recent trend of British bands taking their cues from American soul music, with varying success. Recent examples include songs by Simply Red, The Pasadenas, Boy George, and Fine Young Cannibals.
Linguist Geoff Nunberg takes issue with the use and misuse of loaded terms like holocaust, genocide, and terrorism in political discourse. He says that a person's reluctance to use such inflated terms doesn't mean they take an issue any less seriously.
Tim Cahill writes for Outside and Rolling Stone about his adventure traveling. His humorous columns have been collected in a new book called A Wolverine Is Eating My Leg. Cahill joins Fresh Air to talk about some of his more memorable trips.
Taylor has cast over fifty films to date. Early in her career, she formed a professional relationship with Woody Allen, and has worked on sixteen of his movies.
Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz that many performers have overlooked Liszt's music, in part because of the composer's flamboyant reputation. But a new album by pianist Russell Sherman reveals the craft and innovations of Liszt's work.
Despite his often misanthropic themes, Galway says he's been roused from his depression, in part because of his wonder of nature. He's known for exploring emotional extremes in his writing.
William Bell had a decade-long career with the label. Rock historian Ed Ward says that, while Bell never had a mainstream hit, he made consistently great, literate soul music.
Book critic John Leonard says that Warner's third novel is her best. The book, about a family coping with the loss of its patriarch, succeeds because it questions ideas as much as it advances them.
Journalist William Shawcross says that countries in the West are often fatigued by the perpetual struggles of refugees around the world. He recently wrote the introduction for the book Forced Out; an earlier book of his own, called The Quality of Mercy, covered Cambodians fleeing the American bombing and the Pol Pot regime.
