Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz recently attended the Boston Early Music Festival, which featured all-day programs of performances and workshops. He has this review.
Some people bemoan the use of computer language to describe human behavior. But linguist Geoff Nunberg says the trend works both ways: we often discuss technology in anthropomorphic terms -- but only when it malfunctions.
Before starting his anarchic, avant-garde band the Mothers of Invention, Frank Zappa wrote chamber music and played in lounge bands. His new memoir explains how he went from a freelance guitarist to an unwitting rock star.
Cooper says his new novel Closer -- which features explicit depictions of sex acts -- is meant to disturb, but not shock or arouse. While honing in on the experiences of gay men, Cooper sidesteps the issue of AIDS; he says sexuality generates enough anxiety on its own.
Baker's new memoir, a sequel to his book Growing Up, chronicles his career as a reporter during his twenties and thirties. Book critic John Leonard says that the story, like Baker's New York Times columns, twists and turns to explore the fraught inner workings of journalism.
Rock historian Ed Ward looks at how country musicians in the age of Elvis took their cues from African American blues and boogie-woogie to develop a new, electric guitar-fueled style.
Television critic David Bianculli reviews two shows that wouldn't have been possible on network TV. Steven Banks: Home Entertainment Center succeeds in part because it unfolds uninterrupted, without commercial breaks; cable gives the macabre and funny Tales from the Crypt license to be as violent as it needs to be.
The west coast jazz trumpeter is known for his big band recordings in the 1950s. But he also made records with several smaller ensembles. Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews a new box set collecting those little-heard tracks.
Apelfeld is a Holocaust survivor; his family was sent to a concentration camp, despite their being non-practicing Jews. This history informs much of Apelfeld's work, including his new novel, For Every Sin.
Book critic Maureen Corrigan is no fan of minimalist literature, which she derides for its familiar, navel-gazing themes. By contrast, she admires T. Coraghesson's expansive, political, and historical fiction. Unfortunately, his approach is better suited to the novel, rather than the short stories in his latest collection, If the River Was Whiskey.
Staples' new album, Time Waits for No One, was produced by Prince. Early in life, she was discouraged from singing secular music, and later co-founded the gospel group The Staples Singers with members of her family.
After a series of flops, David Bowie returns with a new band called Tin Machine. Rock critic Ken Tucker says they've succeeded in making some very dumb music. He suggests passing on their debut album and checking out the Royal Crescent Mob's Spin the World instead.
The writer published her first story she was 35; her first novel came out nine years later. Her latest book, Silver, is about marriage, domesticity and suburban life.
Buba is conflicted about the movies he makes about his hometown -- he garners acclaim while Braddock, Pennsylvania counties to decline. His new movie, Lightning over Braddock, is about a steel plant closing, a grifter named Sal, and Buba's own filmmaking.
Film critic Stephen Schiff says the new, boarding-school themed movie never really allows star Robin Williams to cut loose; the younger actors, while good, exist in a kind of bland never-land. It's a departure from the normal Hollywood summer fare, but audiences will be turned off by the film's self-righteous piety.
Joe Frank produces the long-running program Work in Progress, which features improvised monologues and dramatic conversations about his fears and insecurities. Recently, Frank has been drawing inspiration from in-depth interview with his friends.
Critic Ken Tucker reviews a three-tape release of The Milton Berle Show, a classic variety program known for featuring prominent jazz musicians, among others. Tucker says that some of the humor doesn't hold up, but it's easy to see why Berle was successful.
Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews a new live recording of composer Bedrich Smetana's patriotic music, including his oft-performed "Ma Vlast."
Joel Forrester and Phillip Johnston founded the NYC-based jazz combo. The group had trouble finding an audience early on, in part because of their unique blending of styles. Forrester and Johnston join Fresh Air to talk about their influences, and the logistics of keeping such a large group together.
