In defence of Johnny Cash’s wonderfully depressing ‘The Christmas Spirit’
A slow but rewarding sleigh ride to Dyess, Arkansas.
Author: Andrew Clayman Archives: 12/2025
Jim Henson’s ‘The Christmas Toy’: A holiday classic buried by Disney
The 1986 TV special likely influenced Pixar’s ‘Toy Story.’
The Police, IRS records, and FBI booking: How Stewart Copeland and his brothers honoured their real-life CIA agent father
A bit of a bizarre family joke.
Forgotten no more: The story of how Robert Lester Folsom kept his old archive music alive
The singer-songwriter’s previously unheard 1970s songs are striking a chord 50 years later.
The Swans album that Michael Gira hates his “stilted” vocals on
“You gotta embarrass yourself in public along the way.”
How Trent Reznor described himself and his music at 25: “A bummed out guy from Cleveland”
Staying grounded as Nine Inch Nails took off.
“Blues Boy”: How a kid named Riley became BB King
Even a legend sometimes needs to sell snake oil on the radio.
David Rockola and ‘Rock-Ola’ jukeboxes: the true inspiration for the term ‘rock and roll’?
Before the music had a name, it had a vehicle.
Why Björk felt rock music was too guitar-centric in the US: “Poor old Americans”
“You got one pink dot and everybody freaks out.”
How Arthur Russell transformed the sound of Talking Heads: “A wide range of musical interests”
“I had to completely reorient my thinking.”
Frank Sinatra’s secret trick that made him the greatest singer of his age: “Tapped into an experience”
“A complete thought without a break.”
The Phil Collins song that wrote itself: “That’s jazz to me”
A track from his most personal solo album.