Larry Blumenfeld on Truthdig: Drilling Beneath the Headlines http://www.truthdig.com/larry_blumenfeld Truthdig, a Web magazine that provides expert in-depth coverage of current affairs as well as a variety of thoughtful, provocative content assembled from a progressive point of view. Editor, Robert Scheer. Publisher, Zuade Kaufman. en editor@truthdig.com Copyright 2010 2010-08-06T07:51:00+00:00 http://www.truthdig.com/ http://www.truthdig.com/images/rss_feed_promo.gif Truthdig logo Larry Blumenfeld on Nat Hentoff http://www.truthdig.com/arts_culture/item/larry_blumenfeld_on_nat_hentoff_20100806/ http://www.truthdig.com/arts_culture/item/larry_blumenfeld_on_nat_hentoff_20100806/ atheists, book, book review, civil liberties, election, history, jazz, jews, larry blumenfeld, music, nat hentoff, war, Book Review

A new collection of writings by one of America’s greatest self-described Jewish atheists distills the essence of his half-century defense of civil liberties and jazz—the nation’s most original and influential art.

Related Entries

]]> 2010-08-06T07:51:00+00:00 Joyful Noises and Joyless Measures in New Orleans http://www.truthdig.com/arts_culture/item/joyful_noises_and_joyless_ordinances_in_new_orleans_20100702/ http://www.truthdig.com/arts_culture/item/joyful_noises_and_joyless_ordinances_in_new_orleans_20100702/ bourbon street, french quarter, hbo, hurricane katrina, music, new orleans, street musician, treme, Music N.O. musicians

David Simon’s HBO series “Treme” picks up on a theme that courses through the show: the longstanding tension between the city’s culture bearers and its powers that be. That tension has ratcheted up, or at least has grown more pointed, since 2005.

Related Entries

]]> 2010-07-03T00:50:00+00:00 Larry Blumenfeld on Ned Sublette’s ‘The Year Before the Flood’ http://www.truthdig.com/arts_culture/item/larry_blumenfeld_on_ned_sublettes_the_year_before_the_flood_20100205/ http://www.truthdig.com/arts_culture/item/larry_blumenfeld_on_ned_sublettes_the_year_before_the_flood_20100205/ book, jazz, katrina, larry blumenfeld, music, ned sublette, new orleans, review, the year before the flood, Book Review book cover

Four years after Katrina, New Orleans struggles against the odds to preserve its unruly spirit through its unique musical legacy.

Related Entries

]]> 2010-02-05T07:59:00+00:00 Larry Blumenfeld on New Orleans After Katrina http://www.truthdig.com/arts_culture/item/20090723_larry_blumenfeld_on_new_orleans_after_katrina/ http://www.truthdig.com/arts_culture/item/20090723_larry_blumenfeld_on_new_orleans_after_katrina/ baum, blumenfeld, book, dan baum, hurricane katrina, katrina, new orleans, nine lives, review, Book Review

Why are New Orleanians—along with people from all over the world who continue to flock there—so devoted to a place that was, even before the storm, the most corrupt, impoverished and violent corner of America? “Nine Lives” by Dan Baum helps provide an answer.

Related Entries

]]> 2009-07-24T08:00:00+00:00 Yes We Can Can http://www.truthdig.com/arts_culture/item/20080829_yes_we_can_can/ http://www.truthdig.com/arts_culture/item/20080829_yes_we_can_can/ anniversary, convention, democrat, denver, dnc, hurricane katrina, jazz, larry blumenfeld, mardi gras, obama, president, yes we can can, Music Zulu Social Aid & Pleasure Club

New Orleans has figured into this election season as a reminder of the Bush administration’s bungled, uncaring response to Katrina. Yet amid so much talk of hope and change, on this anniversary of disaster, many in New Orleans hope for a change of policy—the kind of federal assistance that can make a dent in crises of housing, public safety, education, health care and levee protection. It makes sense for musicians to kick-start that conversation.

Related Entries

]]> 2008-08-30T05:32:00+00:00 Jazz Fest ‘08: Homecoming on Muddy Ground http://www.truthdig.com/arts_culture/item/20080526_jazzfest_08_a_homecoming_on_muddy_ground/ http://www.truthdig.com/arts_culture/item/20080526_jazzfest_08_a_homecoming_on_muddy_ground/ barack obama, blumenfeld, dr. john, festival, hud, hurricane, jazz, jazzfest, katrina, lafayette square, mardi gras, music, neville brothers, new orleans, picayune, stevie wonder, Nevilles perform

It’s easy in New Orleans these days to read meaning and purpose into every lyric or song choice—was Sheryl Crow commenting on the housing crisis by covering “Gimme Shelter,” or was she just doing a Stones tune? Also, it’s impossible to take in all the music and all the messages emanating from the Jazz Fest’s 10 stages. Still, a good deal of what I did catch was timely, topical and worth remembering.

Related Entries

]]> 2008-05-27T08:05:00+00:00 Larry Blumenfeld on New Orleans’ Refusal to Vanish http://www.truthdig.com/arts_culture/item/20080222_larry_blumenfeld_on_new_orleans_refusal_to_vanish/ http://www.truthdig.com/arts_culture/item/20080222_larry_blumenfeld_on_new_orleans_refusal_to_vanish/ blumenfeld, book, culture, history, katrina, law, media, new orleans, politics, race, review, sublette, Book Review Ned Sublette’s remarkable new book tells an inspiring story of resilience and resistance by ordinary men and women who won’t cooperate in their own erasure.

Related Entries

]]> 2008-02-22T12:14:00+00:00