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Briefly Noted

The Best American Poetry 2018  edited by dana gioia scribner, 240 pages, $18.99 American poetry lost three greats last year: John ­Ashbery, ­Richard Wilbur, and ­Donald Hall. But it also welcomed A. R. ­Ammons’s “Finishing Up,” A. E. ­Stallings’s “Pencil,” and Anne . . . . Continue Reading »

Saving Rock and Roll

Rock and roll has a rebellious sound. I write that hesitantly, because there is really no such thing as rock and roll, in terms of having a permanent nature or ongoing essence. Speed, loudness, and distorted acoustical effects do not a musical genre make. Rock is a mishmash of various musical . . . . Continue Reading »

Progressive Rock Redeemed

On February 9, I had the pleasure of finally seeing one of my favorite bands for the first time—a progressive rock supergroup called Transatlantic. Because all of my friends are too respectable for such things, I made my journey to the concert alone. For a progressive rock supergroup, however, Transatlantic has an excellent pedigree: The band was founded in 1999 as a side project of four progressive rock musicians from America and Europe (hence the name Transatlantic): Neal Morse, then of Spock’s Beard; Mike Portnoy, then the drummer for Dream Theater; Roine Stolt, the lead guitarist of The Flower Kings; and Pete Trewevas, the bassist from Marillion. Continue Reading »

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