The song is stealthily subversive: a traditional raga—the classical Indian framework for musical improvisation—has been laid over an infectious beat that sounds South Asian, Middle Eastern, and, improbably, reggaetón, all at once. - The New Yorker
The conspiracy theorist’s dogmatism often distracts from the objects of his skepticism, and it is the latter that I believe are more revealing. The ideas or events that provoke his strongest doubts show us what he flees, what he trades away so many mental comforts to avoid. - Guernica
TikTok’s real power isn’t over our data. It’s over what users watch and create. It’s over the opaque algorithm that governs what gets seen and what doesn’t. - The New York Times
24th of February, this is, was the line, Because it's all changed. All changed. The reputation of Russia and Russian people, even if you are not a soldier, you're just Russian. It, it's all, it still make a shadow on you. - 60 Minutes
For best play, The Lehman Trilogy has the most nominations, and Company is in the mix for best musical revival. The ceremony was delayed until June 12. - The New York Times
There's no research; it's just the bus stop thing. "A producer I used to work with would constantly tell me: 'If I’m driving down the street at 40mph and it’s raining, I want to see a bus shelter poster that has impact. I want to see it from eight blocks away.'" - The Guardian (UK)
Pérez had a comic book career that spanned four decades. His "meticulous pencil was behind some of the biggest comic book heroes," including New Teen Titans and The Avengers. "Pérez's mid-'80s reboot of Wonder Woman returned the superheroine to her Greek mythology origins." - NPR
Marjan Neshat, a 45-year-old Iranian American actor, is having a real one, with three critically acclaimed performances in one season. Says playwright Sanaz Toossi, "She’s a very Chekhovian actor. ... She’s so interested in the tiny ways we can destroy each other." - The New York Times
It's big for L.A.: "Five dance studios, a 200-seat performance area and classrooms for the Debbie Allen Middle School of the Performing Arts. The facility also has a studio theater and art gallery." Thank you, Grey's Anatomy and Fame. - Los Angeles Times
Happy day after Mother's Day in the U.S.: "The kingdoms are at odds. The baby cannot care for itself, the art cannot create itself, and rarely can the two be done in tandem." - The Atlantic
"Parnell had been in several bands, including the British prog-rock outfit Atomic Rooster, when he auditioned for This Is Spinal Tap, a deadpan sendup of rock clichés, and got the role of the drummer, Mick Shrimpton." He fit in just fine. - The New York Times
Sometimes, collectors of physical objects also make a transition to "curating" those objects in digital forms for social media or other online exhibits. But others hold tight, and try to figure out conservation along the way. - The Observer (UK)
The Keller, where the Portland Opera and Oregon Ballet Theatre perform, isn't seismic safe, a report says. (That's not even addressing the myriad of acoustic problems in the auditorium.) But it's part of Portland's civic architecture. What should the city do? - Oregon ArtsWatch
Director Awoye Timpo and dramaturg Arminda Thomas: "We were thinking about this notion of what what does it mean to expand the canon? .. Now what we think of is exploding the castle of classical canon." (Note: The transcript of this podcast is here.) - Slate
Not shocking, perhaps, but still pretty monstrous: "The increasing pride with which the studio uses exact replicas of artists’ work leads one to wonder whether those artists are being fairly compensated for that usage, if at all." (The answer is pretty much "nope.") - Hyperallergic
