George De Stefano

Levon Helm's Electric Dirt
The Band's drummer makes an Americana classic

The Beat Goes On
The ancient rhythms of Italy's pizzica thrive in the 21st century

Italian DOCS on the Cuting Edge
A review of a great gig by a new NYC band

The Hugh Tracey Recordings: Colonial Dance Bands and Bulawayo Jazz
Review essay of two African music compilations from the Hugh Tracey archives

Personal Choice, Political Act
The De-Baptism Movement

An Offer We Can’t Refuse: The Mafia in the Mind of America
"Finally, a book that helps to explain America’s enduring fascination with the mythology of the Mafia."

There He Goes Again
The Pope, Condoms, and Necessary Satire

Look for the Union Libel
GOP and Big Business Smear Labor

"It's All 'Too Much'"
Labor journalist Sam Pizzigati on American inequality, corporate malfeasance, and Obama's economics

A 'Finook' in the Crew: Vito Spatafore, The Sopranos, and the Queering of the Mafia Gangster Genre
I presented this paper at "The Sopranos: A Wake," a conference held in New York City in May 2008

Gore Vidal's America
A review of Dennis Altman's book

Nativity Scene
My review of Tobias Schneebaum's final book, Secret Places: My Life in New York and New Guinea, from The Nation

Livin' La Vida Loca
Jaime Manrique's "Eminent Maricones," from The Nation

21st Century W.O.P.s: Roy Paci, Raiz, and the Cultural Politics of Migration
Presented at the EMP Pop Conference in Seattle, April 2008

Justice Denied?
Commentary on the police riot at the 2001 G8 conference in Genoa

“A Burning Hatred for the Ruling Class”: Frank Barbaro’s Radical Life, from the (Brooklyn) Docks to the (New York) Supreme Court
Veteran New York left-wing politico Frank Barbaro recalls his radical life