Diana Ross

Latest Articles

Epic Win

The Martyrdom of Junius
It never seemed possible, but metal is finally getting comfortable with indie-rock proportions. What once required enormous stages with catwalks and hyperactive spark machines now really needs only kids throwing all-ages shows in basements. It's a bit more modest an existence — nobler, somehow. Nerdier, even.
By MATT PARISH | December 09, 2009

The Bigmouth strikes again

Kanye acts like himself; nation loses shit
Given all the conflicting emotions, it was tough to form an opinion on Kanye West's VMA bum rush against Taylor Swift.
By DAVID THORPE | September 22, 2009

The End of the Yellow Brick Road

The Wiz wanders off course
The Wiz wanders off course
By STEVEN SCHIFF | July 02, 2009

The Wiz arrives in Boston

Not truly spectacular, but significant
"If you believe in yourself, you will have brains, heart and courage to last your whole life through. . ."
By PHOENIX STAFF | June 30, 2009

The Wiz is alive in Boston

Ozians Reach Musical Heights
For many years, people have been asking me, 'Quincy, what was your very first big assignment?' My answer now is, "THE WIZ." – Anytime you have 9 singing principals, 120 dancers, 6 sound technicians, 3 conductors, 4 contractors, 300 musicians, 105 singers, 9 orchestrators, 6 copyists, 5 music editors; you are talkin' big numbers.
By PHOENIX STAFF | June 30, 2009

Inside out

Charlie Kohlhase's Explorer's Club, Lee Konitz + Minsarah, and Steve Swallow recanting
Charlie Kohlhase's love affair with jazz began with the avant-garde. As a high-school kid in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, he found that it was Ornette Coleman, Eric Dolphy, and the Art Ensemble of Chicago who rocked his world.
By JON GARELICK | July 06, 2009

The Thriller is gone

For Michael Jackson, Bad ain't good
With the release of Bad (Epic), Michael Jackson ends a recording hiatus of nearly five years. He could have stayed away for 10 years and still not have escaped the shadow of Thriller , the biggest-selling album of all time.
By JOYCE MILLMAN | June 30, 2009

Michael Jackson and his fears

Solo contendere
At the dead end of a decade when everyone was too discouraged to wonder if pop had a center, Michael Jackson's Off the Wall (1979) gathered up disillusioned factions of fans as confidently as it punted four singles into the Top 10.
By MARK MOSES | June 26, 2009

Michael Jackson and his fears

Justice prevails

Suttell's supreme nomination. Plus, no E-Z Pass, and a few big nights out.
Well, it's about time people in power began taking note of who Phillipe and Jorge support, just as we jettisoned Barack Obama into the presidency after endorsing him prior to the Iowa caucus.
By PHILLIPE and JORGE | June 03, 2009

The King and I

Steve Connolly's Spirit of the King
Watching a gaggle of aging townies shrieking "Love those buns!" and attempt to freak-dance with a buff leather-clad dude is scary enough at a Chippendales show — but the spectacle takes on a whole new level of disturbing when they're trying to molest a dead pop icon on his birthday.
By SHAULA CLARK | January 12, 2009

Metro sucks, you all

Letters to the Portland editor: December 14, 2007
I just read the December 7 article by Dave Brady and he seems to have missed two salient points about why riding the Metro here in Portland sucks royally.
By LETTERS TO THE PORTLAND EDITOR | December 12, 2007

Dreamgirls

No-town Motown
The chorus has been singing for months now: Bill Condon’s can’t-miss adaptation of Tom Eyen & Henry Krieger’s 25-year-old Broadway musical is roaring into theaters to save a lackluster fall. Watch the trailer for Dreamgirls (QuickTime)
By BRETT MICHEL | February 20, 2007

Diamond in the rough

Jackie De Shannon’s eternal promise
If today’s pop-music business is, as it was in the ’60s, driven largely by songwriters and producers who choose singers to put across their latest concoctions hoping for a hit, why does so much current pop feel so utterly charmless? Jackie DeShannon live in London (YouTube)
By CHARLES TAYLOR | August 01, 2006

Rae of light

England's next big export?
Touted as the second coming of Erykah Badu and Billie Holiday by the London press, Corinne Bailey Rae is a twentysomething singer whose luxurious, lazy phrasing and sweet tone are closer to Diana Ross in Lady Sings the Blues .
By KEN MICALLEF | March 15, 2006