A freewheeling, old-time radio show highlights the Eastern Shore's cultural landscape.
"Are we having fun yet?" The tongue-in-cheek question elicits a smile from Van Williamson, but, uncharacteristically, the creative force behind Radio From Downtown doesn't have a clever rejoinder...
Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Greg Bottoms, and James Tigner Jr.
Kathleen Kennedy TownsendFailing America's Faithful (Warner)After a few pages—even a few sentences—of this book, I almost put it down. Here's how it opens: "Now, more than ever before, we Americans...
The JennifersColors from the Future (Beef Platter)This disc's cover art, a photo of a carefully constructed landscape of gumdrops, hints at the sugar-rush exuberance that infuses the Jennifers'...
Sherrilyn Ifill, Michael Kun, and Blaster Al Ackerman
Sherrilyn IfillOn the Courthouse Lawn (Beacon)A professor at the University of Maryland's School of Law, Ifill accomplishes two things with this important book, which focuses on the legacy of...
Tom BeckhamCenter Songs (Apria)A few years back, I went to New York to write about Baltimore native Joe Holtzman and his acclaimed magazine, Nest. While there, I met Beckham, Holtzman's ace graphic...
The Fretboard Journal and Derry Moore, Carl Skoggard, Joseph Holtzman
The Fretboard Journal (Number 4)When a guitar player friend asked if I'd ever checked out this magazine, I couldn't imagine it appealing to non-musicians like myself. But lo and behold, it's for...
Laura Amy SchlitzA Drowned Maiden's Hair (Candlewick)Schlitz, a librarian at Park School, crafts an engaging and unusual tale about Maud Flynn, an orphan girl who's adopted by a trio of...
Daniel Higgs, Philip Glass/Beni Montresor, and Lurch & Holler
Daniel HiggsAncestral Songs (Holy Mountain)Walking through AVAM's current show, Home and Beast, it was an unexpected surprise to come across paintings by Higgs, who's better known in Baltimore as...
David ByrneArboretum (McSweeney's)Byrne, a former Baltimore resident and ex-Talking Heads frontman, has always had a knack for conceptual art. At their peak, the Heads were a sublime hybrid of hip-...
ArbouretumRites of Uncovering(Thrill Jockey)A sprawling, meandering, and glorious mess, the second CD from this Baltimore quartet brings to mind The Doors, Fairport Convention, and Lungfish—all at...
