Congratulations to Peter Hessler, who has written three great books about contemporary China, for receiving a MacArthur “genius grant.” It is really well deserved. He and his wife Leslie Chang, who also wrote a fabulous book about China — Factory Girls — will doubtlessly use the funds wisely and as a springboard for some terrific […]
Stevie Ray Vaughan has played a large role throughout my career. Though I never interviewed him because he passed away before I started working for Guitar World, I have written many, many articles about Stevie, including a massive oral history which led me to interview almost everyone involved with his music. I was in […]
I have written about in on Facebook and Twitter and seemingly discussed this with everybody I know, but I can’t allow it to go unmentioned here… I am very proud of my wife Rebecca for her new position, announced on Friday. There’s a story here: Rebecca Blumenstein named WSJ Page One Editor. Or here, from […]
In honor the Replacements’ impending reunion shows, I present to you this interview with Paul Westerberg. The Replacements were a very important band to me. I saw them in September, 1984, at the late and lamented Joe’s Star Lounge, weeks after arriving in Ann Arbor as a freshman. Per Hoffman – now one of my […]
With Special guest Peter Schloss on banjo. This is a pretty raggedy performance, so much so that I hesitated about putting it up here, and then I figured, “Well, whatever…it captures some of the fun we had.” Certainly, we had better tunes, and I may dig one off a video somewhere sooner or later. But […]
I love jianbing. Really, really love these tasty, cheap, nutritious egg pancakes. This guy is my regular man. He sets up near Pinnacle Plaza every morning and whenever I’m staying with my dear friend Scott Kronick, I set out in search of my pal, usually pedaling a kids bike around in a stupor. When I […]
Now, for a radical change in directions. I came across this rather remarkable tidbit about Sarah Palin and Glen Rice having a one-night stand when U-M was up North for the 1987 Great Alaska Shootout. Could it be? The Deadpsin source, it should be noted, is the National Enquirer, but their source is The Rogue, the […]
It’s no secret to most people reading this blog that Gregg Allman and the Allman Brothers Band have been a profound influence and source of inspiration for me. Last winter, on the heels of a liver transplant, he released Low Country Blues, his first solo album in 13 or 14 years. It was hailed as […]
Several weeks ago, I read this Slate article which asked contemporary writers to pick the most overrated famous novels. I enjoyed the whole piece, but was especially interested in seeing that several people picked Catcher in the Rye. I bought and re-read the book following JD Salinger’s death and found it kind of … annoying. […]