Articles

On the song “Early Roman Kings” from Bob Dylan’s 2012 album “Tempest,” he sings, “If you see me coming and you’re standing there, wave your handkerchief in the air. I ain’t dead yet, my bell still rings.”

It’s never a good idea to take a Dylan lyric literally. His songs are usually shrouded in so many layers of metaphor, it all blends together like individual ice cubes melting into a pool of water. This song’s no different …

The path toward the Age of Representation has been anything but even. As Hollywood hurtles toward an all-encompassing future, some underrepresented groups have secured a far louder voice than others …

As the charts struggled to come up with a streaming equivalent to an album purchase or a song download, the media has been awash with headlines touting the latest record-breaking chart numbers. Artists such as Adele, Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Drake, Kanye, Lil Wayne and Post Malone are constantly breaking each others’ records, leaving bands such as Prince, the Rolling Stones and ABBA in digital obscurity …

The first words I hear when I deplane in Lexington are: “The bourbon store is open if you’re thirsty.” It’s 11:28 a.m., and indeed, the airport liquor shop is open. I’m then greeted by several statues of horses stately planted in the grass outside the baggage claim. As a Southerner — New Orleans-born with stints living throughout the South — I’m particularly sensitive to the ways our towns are often stereotyped. But as more than one person, in varying dialects, points out to me, if you do something well, celebrate it. By the Kentucky locals’ estimation, no one does bourbon and horse racing better than Lexington …