Category Archives: Music

“Be able to keep two completely contradictory ideas alive and well inside of your heart and head at all times. If it doesn’t drive you crazy, it will make you strong. ” — Bruce Springsteen

Posted on September 23, 2024 by sheila

I’ve always loved Bruce Springsteen’s fervent adoration of Elvis. His fantastic memoir devotes an entire chapter to what it was like hearing Elvis’ music for the first time – and the chapter doesn’t once include the word “Elvis”. That’s how … Continue reading →

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For Liberties: Marion Keisker Loved Elvis First

Posted on September 13, 2024 by sheila

Sometimes a piece rattles around in your head for years and you finally get an opportunity to just go ahead and write it. For my monthly column at Liberties magazine I wrote about Marion Keisker, and how I think she’s … Continue reading →

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“Was it a millionaire who said, ‘Imagine no possessions’?” — Elvis Costello

Posted on August 25, 2024 by sheila

It’s his birthday today. Yes. It was a millionaire who spouted that line. And I love that millionaire, don’t get me wrong, but I do not love the lyrics of that beloved song. I saw Elvis Costello in concert three … Continue reading →

Posted in Music, On This Day | Tagged | 7 Comments

Review: Kneecap (2024)

Posted on August 2, 2024 by sheila

I reviewed Kneecap for Ebert, a fun interesting fictionalized-ish movie about the formation/rise of Kneecap, the Irish-language-only hiphop trio from Belfast. The trio play themselves!

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Tennessee and Elvis in Arty Magazine

Posted on June 7, 2024 by sheila

Last names not necessary in both cases. I am psyched to have a piece in the Spring/Summer issue of the long-running Arty zine, run by Cathy Lomax. This issue is devoted to all things Tennessee Williams. I wrote about Elvis. … Continue reading →

Posted in Actors, Music, Theatre, writers | Tagged , , | 15 Comments

Two Eminem News Items

Posted on May 23, 2024 by sheila

After over a year of almost no reminders that he even existed: “Hailie’s getting so big now. You should see her. She’s beautiful.” — Eminem, “Cleaning Out My Closet” Heart-crack. I’ve known about this woman since she was a baby. … Continue reading →

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“The problem for me, still today, is that I write purely with one dramatic structure and that is the rite of passage. I’m not really skilled in any other. Rock and roll itself can be described as music to accompany the rite of passage.” — Pete Townshend

Posted on May 19, 2024 by sheila

It’s his birthday today. The Who’s songs were in my consciousness from a very early age. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t know about them – somehow. This is what it meant to grow up without the technological … Continue reading →

Posted in Music, On This Day | 2 Comments

R.I.P. Steve Albini

Posted on May 9, 2024 by sheila

It’s strange to be at the age where someone dies at 61 and … it doesn’t sound that old. 61 would have sounded really old to me in the 90s, when Steve Albini and the music he produced was such … Continue reading →

Posted in Music, RIP | Tagged | 6 Comments

Review: It’s Only Life After All (2024)

Posted on April 10, 2024 by sheila

I love the Indigo Girls so much. I’ve been “in” from the beginning. From the first moment I heard “Closer to Fine” on the radio. They have been with me through so many dark hours. They capture yearning like no … Continue reading →

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Three unknowable men from the same angle

Posted on April 6, 2024 by sheila

Devlin (Cary Grant), Notorious, 1946 Don Draper (Jon Hamm), Mad Men pilot, 2007 Tom Ripley (Andrew Scott), Ripley, 2024

Posted in Music, Television | Tagged , , | 3 Comments