Articles in section: 'Reviews'

Follow the light: The heart in Bob Dylan’s Christmas

Christmas In The Heart by Bob Dylan(Warning: Contains spoilers for those who still believe in Santa Claus)

Bob Dylan’s album Christmas In The Heart struck me both strongly and delightfully upon the very first listen, and it continues to strike me that way after many further spins. However, rather than try to make a grand case here as to why others ought to like the album (I know that some people love it and some people feel quite otherwise) I’m just going to explore why it seems to work better for me personally than most Christmas albums. I do suspect that how I have inwardly responded to it is true for quite a few others as well, whether or not they have analyzed it for themselves in the same way I do here. [Read more →]

From section: Music Reviews, Reviews by Sean Curnyn
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Tears of Rage: The Great Bob Dylan Audio Scandal

Modern Times by Bob DylanAt the outset, I should say that I am no extreme hi-fi buff, in my own estimation; perhaps not even a moderate hi-fi buff. It’s well that I remember being a teenager and how intensely I enjoyed music, some of which I still listen to today, on some of the worst equipment imaginable: a monophonic compact cassette player that would eat up my precious tapes; an old portable mono phonograph with a buzzing speaker and a tendency of the arm to skip right down a perfect brand new album. Ah, my poor deprived childhood! It was a hellish effort just [Read more →]

From section: Commentary, Music Reviews, Reviews by Sean Curnyn
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Bob Dylan: Keeping It Together

Together Through Life by Bob DylanI have a piece today on Bob Dylan’s new album, Together Through Life, and thoughts generated out of listening to it and through reading recent interviews with him. It’s in The New Ledger: Bob Dylan: Keeping It Together.

Together Through Life, the album just released by Bob Dylan, has entered both the U.S. and U.K. charts at the number one position, and is at or near the top of the charts in numerous other countries across the world. Dylan appears to be doing something very right, in commercial terms, at the ripe old age of 68, but I question whether even he has any firm idea of what that might be. One thing for which he doesn’t get much credit, but which I think has paid off for him in the end, is his consistency. The curious thing is that his kind of consistency has often been portrayed instead as a mysterious and chameleon-like series of transformations, perhaps largely because of a failure by commentators to grasp the nature of the steadiness at the core of his work. Average listeners may well appreciate it better than the storied rock critics who have filled shelves with books on his songs and his various phases and incarnations.

Click to read it all.

From section: Music Reviews, Reviews by Sean Curnyn
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The RCA RP5435 AM/FM Clock Radio: A timeless tale

RCA clock radioI purchased the RCA RP5435 AM/FM Clock Radio with an extra-large 1.4-inch display yesterday. And yes, I did it because (without my glasses on) I am virtually blind, at least when it comes to objects at a distance. I did not buy this clock radio for the various sexy selling points described on the box, such as the automatic time-set (which just means it’s preset at the factory, by the way), or the audio input for an mp3 player (I like waking up to the news headlines; I guess getting angry and disgusted helps me get out of bed), or the “programmable snooze & sleep” (I can’t imagine a single circumstance where I’d want to use that). I bought it because I wanted a clock radio with big numbers that I could easily see when I wake up in the middle of the night.

The thing is, if you wake up in the middle of the night and have to really strain your eyes or move some distance to read the clock (let alone put your glasses on), then it’s that much less likely you’re going to get back to sleep with any ease. Yet, the one thing I most want to know when I stir at night is: “What time is it? How many more hours do I have left to sleep?” I’m certain that I am far from alone in this. It’s such a heavenly pleasure to discover that you still have most of the night ahead, especially if you feel that you’ve already been sleeping a long time. It is of-course highly demoralizing to discover that only about an hour remains, especially if you feel totally wrecked. But these things must be faced, and the desire to face them is evidence of the deep and unalterable human yearning for truth. [Read more →]

From section: General, Reviews by Sean Curnyn
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Samuel Menashe: New and Selected Poems

Samuel MenasheA few years ago, at the age of eighty, Samuel Menashe became the first recipient of the “Neglected Masters Award” from The Poetry Foundation.

And a master he is, without much doubt. I suppose that almost any worthy contemporary poet might qualify to be described as “neglected,” at least relatively speaking. After all, in these modern times when our entertainment comes buzzing down wires at the speed of light directly into our veins and our neurons, even to slow down sufficiently to pick up and read a book of poetry is to flirt with a possibly fatal whiplash injury.

Nonetheless, Samuel Menashe’s work has a kind of [Read more →]

From section: Book Reviews, Reviews by Sean Curnyn
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Frank Sinatra’s In the Wee Small Hours

Frank Sinatra In The Wee Small Hours(This was originally published May 14th, 2008. )

Frank Sinatra passed on ten years ago today. I recall thinking at the time that with Sinatra gone, all bets were off — anything might now happen in this sad old world. (And I think the record would show that my fear in this respect has proven largely correct.) [Read more →]

From section: Music Reviews, Reviews by Sean Curnyn
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