More than 5m vinyl albums have been bought in the UK over the past 12 months, up 8% on sales in 2020 and the 14th consecutive year of growth since 2007. By the end of the year, vinyl will have accounted for almost one in four album purchases – the highest proportion since 1990. - The Guardian
These picture/word puzzles, sort of like charades on paper, were very popular in the mid-20th century and even had a game show (Concentration) based on them. A.J. Jacobs offers an explanation, along with a history of the Great Rebus Craze of 1937. - Mental Floss
“The attention paid by the game developers and their historical consultants to details of both the actual and social geography of these urban settings produced one of the most authentic depictions of eighteenth-century life in popular culture”—far more historically accurate than Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton. - Lapham's Quarterly
If all moments of time exist, does that mean that my staying in bed every morning in 2022 instead of going for a run exists, too? Are future events already “there” without me being able to do anything about them? - The Conversation
As millennials age into the solid middle of the culture here at the end of 2021, they’re getting to experience that disorienting slip with some of the most beloved pop culture of their youths, and most particularly the pop culture that was celebrated during the presidency of Barack Obama. - Vox
After 15 years of riding a boom in mobile computing that has turned tech’s biggest companies into giants worth trillions of dollars, the power brokers of the industry believe that controlling the doors into the metaverse and virtual reality could be the centerpiece of a new business. - The New York Times
A trailblazer and pioneer in media, Betty had the longest running career for any woman in TV prior to her death -- starring in multiple shows over the past 8 decades, starting way back in 1939. - TMZ
The unlucky British King is the great villain of the USA's founding narrative, portrayed as both hapless and tyrannical. That's not a completely false portrait, but it's not completely true, either. For instance, George III was a sound constitutionalist and the first British monarch to oppose slavery. - Bloomberg
The use of AI in music is here today, and while its contribution is still small, it will likely grow. If you take that to its logical conclusion, the question arises: Could AI create pop stars -- and Grammy award winners -- completely out of thin air? - CNET
"It's about more than who you see on screen, she said, but how those characters are written. And who's doing the writing. And what (if any) studio notes they are required to heed — and what's motivating those notes." - Yahoo! (Chicago Tribune)
In being asked to stand in for clubs, concert halls, and festivals so frequently these last two years, recordings are still being asked to do an awful lot, far too much. Have they succeeded? Probably not, but I wouldn’t advise Sky Masterson and Nathan Detroit to bet against it. - Arts Fuse
The Times's Joshua Barone says she's "one of the world's top conductors." The LA Phil's CEO says "Susanna has to be at the top of anyone's list." And Mälkki herself? "I think this is a question that will be carefully thought about if it comes up." - The New York Times
The Lincoln Center complex, which opened in 1962, was a citadel. Critics noted that it was designed to separate itself from the Black and Latino people who still lived in the area, particularly in the New York City Housing Authority’s Amsterdam Houses, which were built in 1948 as part of an earlier eminent domain project. - Gothamist
Omicron is spreading, sequin prices have gone up, and it may well rain; nevertheless, after last year's cancellation, the Mummers Parade is going ahead, even if the string bands, brigades, and fancies have to skimp a bit on costumes. - The Philadelphia Inquirer
