He called out Madonna. Now I realize rappers have been criticizing each other since the advent of the art form, but ever since the MTV era mainstream artists have remained mute. It’s like they all belong to a social club in school, watching each other’s backs as they abuse the nerds. So it’s a new […]

Why are artists so damn ignorant?THE HARLAN COBEN RULE "Mr. Coben says he just wants what any writer wants – more readers. ‘The most annoying and full-of-crap thing a writer says is, I write only for myself, I don’t care if anyone reads it,’ Mr. Coben says. ‘A writer without a reader doesn’t exist.’" Harlan […]

My mother sent me the wrong album. I was a freshman in college and I told her to send me the second Band album and Joe Cocker’s debut. But she sent me "Stage Fright" and Cocker’s second album. And as a result, I know every lick on each of those records. You see I was […]

Forget the money. You’ll never make as much as a banker. What artists want today is power. Forget the circle jerk of appearing at SXSW. That’s just preaching to the converted. People who are at the tail end of the dog, yes, the government and the rich are wagging the artists and most don’t even […]