Tipper Gore, wife of Tennessee senator Albert Gore, is concerned with the increasingly violent and sexual nature of popular music's lyrics, videos, and culture. She believes that record companies should alert consumers to an album's explicit content so parents can make informed decision regarding what their children listen to.
Despite the current popularity of minimalist music, classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz believes that Ellott Carter, whose work never shies away from complexity, is the greatest living composer.
Dave Marsh is a friend and biographer of the New Jersey rock star. He explains how Springsteen's work has matured, and the impact the artist's albums have had on the songwriter's fans.
Bill James publishes yearly collections of baseball statistics. From the data he compiles, James sees narratives emerge about the sport and its athletes.
In his new memoir, The Body Silent, anthropologist Robert Francis Murphy explores his experiences as a quadriplegic, a condition brought on by a spinal tumor.
Playwright Marsha Norman's first novel The Fortune Teller, about missing children and abortion, adopts a freewheeling, almost primitive approach to narrative. Critic John Leonard says unconventional structure works.
The Frontline documentary, about the conflict between MOVE activists and the Philadelphia Police, will be broadcast this week throughout the country -- except for Philadelphia, which has a mayoral primary. TV critic David Bianculli reviews the program and questions why the broadcast has been delayed in the region.
ABC reporter Sam Donaldson is known for his loud, often aggressive manner of questioning President Reagan during press conferences and other news events. He believes his style is necessary, especially considering Reagan's predilection for secluding himself from the media.
Stephen Schiff reviews Prick Up Your Ears, about the relationship between playwright Joe Orton and his partner Ken Halliwell -- which ended in a murder-suicide.
Jill Godmilow's American Playhouse film explores the relationship between the avant-garde writer and her partner Alice Toklas. While much of the plot is invented, Godmilow was careful to stay true to the women's lives.
Nicholas Proffitt's book Garden of Stone, inspired by his ceremonial role in the Army during the Vietnam War, was recently adapted into a film by Francis Ford Coppola.
Language commentator Geoff Nunberg considers why actors adopt foreign or regional accents in film -- and why they sometimes speak in their natural voice, regardless of the part they play.
British novelist Julian Barnes takes great pleasure in quoting bad writing, as well as how words often fail to convey their intended meaning. His new book is called Staring at the Sun.
In his new book, music writer Joseph Horowitz considers the rise of Italian conductor Arturo Toscanini, whose popularity grew during wartime. Many of Toscanini's contemporaries fell out of favor because of their German heritage.
