Reviews of new releases from the Kinks, Wynton Marsalis, the Mayflies USA and Robert Cray.

A member of Salon's Table Talk community shares his perspective on the Michael myth

He was the Man in Black and the man with the voice that sounded like black coffee. America's greatest protest singer, a seminal figure in both rock and country, is dead at 71.

Frances Moore Lappé's classic is 50, so we broke out the beans

"Keith went mad, but it sounded great on the dance floor"

The year's best in box sets provides obsessed fans of country, jazz, blues and rock with some treasures and some trash.

You won't find a sudden burst of originality here, but "Threat of Joy" and its new video rock hard

The neuroscientist explains how music, emotion and memory shape our identities -- and why he has donned a Stratocaster to keep the brain rollin' all night long.

Salon talks to one-third of the surviving Monkees about indie rock collaboration, their legacy and "Good Times!"

Britney Spears rockets through "SNL," U2's the Edge sings for Stephen Hawking and Clinton makes a connection between Republicans and Islamicists.

Despite the battered grandeur of Kurt Russell, this fable of rotten cops in Rodney King's L.A. is mostly macho posturing.

At age 60, with a career that spans four decades, he remains one of rock's most eloquent, sexy and unpredictable singers.

Nashville native, known for his mix of old-timey roots music and modern folk-rock, was the son of Steve Earle