Stories

NPR Goes Back In Time To Talk To A Younger Steve Reich

As the composer turns 90, Fresh Air mines the archives - and it's worth a listen. "I don't work as a scientist. That's not an intellectual - it's not an emotionally rewarding way to work. I was just following my intuition, just following my nose, so to speak." - NPR

In Censor-Happy Texas, School Librarians And Teachers Are Afraid To Discuss Books

"When you put your finger on every single book in order to type it into a spreadsheet, you really do think, ‘Am I willing to lose my job over this particular book?’ ... I think that is a real concern for teachers around the state." - The 74

Nashville Symphony’s Musicians ‘Blindsided’ By The Cancellations And Furloughs

Violinist Dawn Gingrich: "We have new hires this season who upended their lives and moved to Nashville at the end of August ... gave up prestigious fellowships and positions with other orchestras because they believed that the work here was secure." - The Tennessean (Yahoo)

Digital Lists Are Destroying The Fabric Of Society

"The issue goes deeper than presents. I have four kids from elementary to high-school age, and as hard as I try to expose them to life’s realities, they remain sheltered from disappointment and dissatisfaction at every turn." - Slate

The British Museum Adds An Audio Tour To The Bayeux Tapestry in Response To Blind Man’s Lawsuit

The museum apparently hadn't thought of adding an audio description to its app, or having more audio description tours, before the lawsuit - despite saying they worked with specialists on accessibility. - BBC

We’re In A Gross ‘Great Man’ Statuary Backlash, But Look At Ancient Egypt

"The great public efforts—the colossal statuary, the expansive propaganda programs, the image campaigns, the attempts to remake the world of living people—have been shattered, defaced, and refaced." - The Atlantic

The Joys Of Music Discovery Don’t Include Robots

With AI-generated "music," "It’s not just the lack of discovery. ... It’s more about the lack of anything personal behind the music. No history, no struggle, no catharsis, no exploration, no humanity. I listen to music because it’s flawed, raw and human." - Salon

Turning Millennial Nostalgia For Raves Into A Big Business

But this one's for the real kids (of Millennials and older Gen-Zers): "We wanted to get the baby into the rave scene," says one set of parents. - NPR

As A New Show Opens, It’s Past Time To Reevaluate Our Reactions To Lee Krasner’s Work

"Her response to life with a mean and desperate drunk was to cannibalize her old canvases and explode into the pugnacious scale, audacious color, and thrusting verticles of collages." - The New York Times

Russia’s War On Ukraine’s Books

"In total, this summer, 13 Ukrainian books have been destroyed by Russian missiles or drones – a third, estimates the government, of all books printed in Ukraine this year." - The Guardian (UK)

So Now There’s Apparently ‘Weird Girl Lit’?

Emerging from Reddit, the subgenre is not fully defined, but "books that get called weird girl lit tend to deal in uncanny or dreamlike circumstances." - The New York Times

Netflix Had A Little Pivot Toward Prestige, But That’s Ending

Prestige movies don't reliably make money on streaming. "It seems like Netflix’s main game plan is to put an increased focus on producing lower-budget series, live events, and sports programming." - The Verge

When Will We Know The Answers To AI’s Most Important Questions?

"Several of the most fundamental debates about the future and safety of AI remain unresolved. I believe we can’t expect these disagreements to be resolved until it’s too late to change course." - Time

Eugenia Errazuriz, Who Made Picasso Possible

Errázuriz was "a patron, adviser, connector and tastemaker whose influence expanded beyond Picasso and Stravinsky to fashion and interior design. She ... opened doors, offered criticism and used her considerable wealth to steer artists toward the work that would make them famous." - The New York Times

What It’s Like For Musician And Filmmaker Hayley Kiyoko To Be Called ‘Lesbian Jesus’ By Her Fans

She's felt a pretty big responsibility, honestly, and she's proud of the film Girls Like Girls. "We go to watch movies to dream and to fantasise and to see representation that maybe we lack in our lives.” - The Guardian (UK)

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