That old, weird Beck

In defense of unpredictable, unpolished art

A dad’s thoughts on ‘Boyhood’

There’s a scene in the movie “Boyhood” in which one of the adult characters says something meant to help…

In praise of Notorious B.I.G. and Lyle Lovett, and for the same reason

Pop music exists for new Kidz Bop songs

If you’re a parent raising a kid in this modern age, there’s a good chance you’ve…

4 songs about Los Angeles

A highly selective musical snapshot of the city

Burning up and growing old

Kerouac, DeLillo and the fire of life

It comes toward the beginning of “On the Road,” as close to the summary of the dissertation that you can hope to piece out of this literary grad student’s rambling opus.

Google search data revealed as embarrassing, irrelevant

That time I fell asleep in the theater watching ‘Empire Strikes Back’

Zen and the art of aimless conversation

My sister was looking for a book on buddhism and asked, by phone, if she should read “Dharma Bums.”

I said Kerouac probably isn’t what you’re looking for right now.

Sticky thoughts on the Rolling Stones in Exile