Column

The unfettered Leonard Cohen

Leonard Cohen fronts the house band in Purgatory.

Now that I ponder, I don’t remember exactly when I stopped writing concert reviews. Certainly I have loaded the landfill of popular culture with more than my share of such, but time is revealing them

Politics

Paltry prayer vigil means Langford love lagging

Some 26,227 citizens went out of their way to vote for Larry Langford, but last Sunday only .002% of that number came out to pray for his immortal soul.

By Courtney Haden

I knew Larry Langford was in trouble after the prayer vigil. Not that our mayor, innocent until tweeted guilty, hasn’t faced adversity on a fairly regular basis, but I hadn’t had any real sense of for

Column

Miss Keller goes to Washington

The new statue of Alabama native Helen Keller in Washington D.C. is not only the first representation of a child and the first of a disabled person in the Capitol, but also likely the first bronze rendering of a radical socialist activist erected there.

By Courtney Haden

Through the years Alabama has had pretty good luck sneaking its progressive thinkers through enemy lines. Jabez Curry, the old rebel soldier whose statue used to stand in the Capitol, was an early cha

Column

The Protean Picker Jim Lauderdale

Jim Lauderdale reigns as one of the busiest players in the music industry, writing hit songs for artists like George Strait and working on projects with everyone from Willie Nelson to Donna the Buffalo.

By Courtney Haden

In the words of the great Southern novelist Dr. Ferrol Sams, Jim Lauderdale was Raised Right. Despite being one of the busiest players in the music industry, writing hit songs for artists like George

Column

Interview with St. Vincent

Annie Clark is a girl on the cusp of transmutation.

By Courtney Haden

Sleepy Annie Clark calls from a noisy place in New York (but aren’t they all?) to be interviewed, and she is entitled to be sleepy, for it surely keeps one up nights staring at all that destiny ahead.

Column

Afghanistan war promises a victory so glorious we never shall win

There will be debate over war in Afghanistan, waged by those struggling for political advantage, while those who wage the actual war in the hard place on our behalf do so in abysmal circumstances.

By Courtney Haden

The old joke says that since 2003, U.S. soldiers have been between Iraq and a hard place. With a sanctioned Iraqi withdrawal underway at last, our troops are now in the hard place. It’s no joke. It

Column

Radio waves & anthropological havoc

People buy champagne for the bubbles. In radio, the fizz comes from an on-air attitude that reflects the interests of its listenership.

By Courtney Haden

In times like these and those, it’s good to have science around to keep things in perspective. Just when you thought we had the evolutionary timeline squared away so the Texas Board of Education would

Column

Shaping stories at regional history museum

By Courtney Haden

Jerry Desmond was 13 years old when he first heard about Birmingham, Alabama. Throwing papers for the Bangor Daily News 46 years ago this month, he scanned a headline he still remembers: Church bombed

Column

So What WOULD Jesus Do about health care reform?

Think Barack Obama’s a socialist? He’s practically Calvin Coolidge if you compare his ideas on health care to those of Jesus.

By Courtney Haden

You think Barack Obama’s a radical socialist? He’s practically Calvin Coolidge if you compare his ideas on providing health care to those of Jesus Christ. Two thousand years later, the mandate that we

Column

The meaning of Moon Pies

By Courtney Haden

The Moon Pie is a distinctive pastry treat dating back to the First World War, predating Chattanooga’s other contribution to snacking, the Krystal burger, by about 15 years. Part of what makes the Mo