Let me tell you the story of the long lost jazz record of Theolonius Monk’s Palo Alto. Thelonious Monk ‘Palo Alto’ Album Review It’s a rainy day in California. The year is 1968. Cold War America still reeling from the fallout of the MLK and Kennedy assassinations. Theolonius Monk is nearing the end of his […]
An American Prayer
Have you ever grieved for someone who died before you were born? I have. On this morning’s run, spoken word poetry album An American Prayer (1978) in my ear, I grieved for Jim Morrison. Tears and all. If I were Jim Morrison, I would have died in a blood-filled Parisian Hotel bathtub ten months ago. […]
Solid Air
Nick Drake saved my life. I had vicious insomnia aged fourteen. The doctor prescribed an old-school heavy-duty tricyclic antidepressant called amitriptyline. He wouldn’t prescribe my requested melatonin because, in his words, ‘It’s a hormone. You’ll become addicted. And then you’ll be back for more.’ This only scratches the surface of why I despise most doctors. […]