Apr 30Maybe AI Music Is Bad Actuallyor The Sadness of Singing Robots (cross-posted from https://stringtheories.substack.com/) If you’re not awestruck and a little bit frightened by Artificial Intelligence right now, I’d suggest you’re not paying attention. While we’ve been taking advantage of various AI tools for years in voice command apps and content recommendation engines, new “generative AI” tools like ChatGPT (for text)…11 min read11 min read
Jan 11, 2021Power, Lies and Reckoning for Jan. 6It will take weeks and years to put together a complete and accurate story of what happened on Jan. 6, but anybody who tries to tell it with any sympathy for the insurrectionists, or with revisionist disassociation, is duplicitous and wicked. The USA has a history of political violence, some…Republican Party6 min readRepublican Party6 min read
Jul 4, 2020Member-onlyThe Last Confederate Fourth of JulyToday may well be Donald Trump’s last Fourth of July as president of the United States. I’m more optimistic than in some time that he will lose November’s election decisively and go down in history as a failed leader — a larcenous petty fascist who showed us everything America might…Confederate Flag11 min readConfederate Flag11 min read
Sep 15, 2019With Momentum And Growing Diversity, Americana Celebrates 20 YearsThe following essay was posted as a preview of this week’s AmericanaFest in Nashville at WMOT.org. When the founders of the brand-new Americana Music Association first met in Nashville in 1999, there was no Third Man Records, no 5 Spot and no Mercy Lounge. The Country Music Hall of Fame…Music7 min readMusic7 min read
Jan 5, 2019RE-VALUING MUSIC: Seven YouTube Explainers To Follow And PromoteI’m on record grumbling like an old curmudgeon (even though I’m merely a middle-aged curmudgeon) about the diminished and devalued state of music. Not popular music, which is abundant, varied and widely-covered, but music-only music — the art of sound. I want more for music that’s artistically ambitious, music that’s…Music6 min readMusic6 min read
Jan 7, 2018The Word That Unwires TrumpismLike many of you, I’m approaching 2018 with an uneasy mix of hope, resolve and dread. It’s the 50th anniversary of 1968, and by all indications, we’re due for another year like that. …Politics5 min readPolitics5 min read
Aug 20, 2017Witness To The LightTomorrow, the Moon will cast its shadow across the entire United States of America, hoving from northwest to southeast, shrouding much of the nation in temporary, recreational darkness in the middle of the day. Unlike most space and sky events, the 2017 Eclipse has captivated the whole country. Viewing glasses…Eclipse4 min readEclipse4 min read
Jul 4, 2017Out Of Sorts On The FourthMy family and I are just home after time in China, making the jarring adjustments we’ve come to expect after a number of visits to that vast and complex civilization. One paradox I’m currently hung up on is how that nominally communist country’s approach to capitalism actually involves hiring lots…Politics6 min readPolitics6 min read
Apr 21, 2017Print Is PrintThe following was adapted from a talk about journalism and music presented to Leadership Music’s Media Day in Nashville on April 16, 2017. We The People of the USA are having a national political conniption fit, including an ugly recent election, characterized by groups of people lamenting that they’ve had…Journalism6 min readJournalism6 min read
Jan 28, 2017A Moderate MarchesThe Women’s March On Washington as seen by a father, husband, citizen and proud centrist. — Our daughter is an immigrant, a native of China and, obviously, female. So she’s part of at least three groups of people maligned, antagonized or degraded in one way or another by her new president during his campaign and even since his election victory. …Politics9 min readPolitics9 min read
