Heidi WalesonPhoto by Melissa Richard

Intellectual property has been a locus of debate for centuries. The difficulties of establishing standards for its ownership and exploitation stem from the fact that such property is not …

Photo of Ken Smithin front of “Smoke Free” (1999){cigarette butts and wood, 45″x67″}by John Salvest(courtesy Rudolph Projects)Photo by Melissa Richard

A former political journalist turned music critic offers up a HyperHistory uncovering “smoke and …

Twelve-tone equal temperament, as this common tuning is called, is a 20th-century phenomenon, a blandly homogenous tuning increasingly imposed on all the world’s musics in the name of scientific progress. In short, twelve-tone equal temperament is to tuning what the McDonald’s hamburger is to food.

Theodore WiprudPhoto by Melissa Richard

Think “new music,” and chances are, whatever you mean by “new music” does not earn its keep.
Fortunately, there is more to musical life than earned income. That’s because in …

Jason Gross and Steve SmithPhoto by Melissa Richard

Much as it might bewilder major record companies and fundamentalist critics, rock isn’t only background music for TV commercials and cherished momentos for teenybopper spend-a-thons. It’s …

Adam SilvermanPhoto by Melissa Richard

I used tell people at parties that I flew helicopters, even though I have never ridden in one and don’t know anything about piloting. But the story would draw …

Jennifer UndercoflerPhoto by Brian Krinke

Lately, it has gotten so that almost every time I turn in to my local classical music station, I feel as if I have been transported back to a …

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