Good Writing about Good Music

OK, so I’m seventeen years late to the party, but man, the Oxford American is one hell of a magazine. The guy at Issues pushed it on me and for once I bit, and I haven’t put the thing down or stopped listening to the double cd since. Apparently, four times a year this thing comes out and focuses on a different aspect of southern art. This time it’s soul music, and aside from a few clunkers (out of over fifty songs), the thing has me punishing the keyboard in soulseek searching for that Betty Lloyd album or that Henry Flynt material. The magazine includes essay-length pieces on each artist, and here is the shocking part: the writing is strong throughout. Hip lingo is nowhere to be found, and writers (or editors) have full command of the language. They also have a wonderfully loose definition of soul, as rockabilly, blues, gospel, country, folk and even rock artists make the cut. This will sit neatly on that end table in the music room for awhile, getting far more couch time than any of those old Mojos.