The ongoing vinyl revival, which was perhaps truly minted in 2017, when Sony Music announced it would begin producing vinyl records for the first time since 1989, has been fantastic for music fans and musicians alike. But it comes at a cost. - Spin
“Foreman’s plays tended to be ‘peerless mini-extravaganzas’ offering ‘dizzying theatrical joys,’ Ben Brantley wrote in one 2004 Times review.” Then there was the genius grant, the films, and, of course, the operas. - The New York Times
“The original organ mechanisms from the 1920s were made of hair sheep leather imported from England. They have been replaced with new hair sheep leather.” - San Diego Union-Tribune (MSN)
Just … wow: “The neo-payola promotional schemes; the minuscule royalties paid to artists, not to mention the royalty-free 'ghost artists'; the designation of huge swaths of artists as royalty-ineligible ‘hobbyists'; the investments in podcasts, military technology and aural wallpaper repackaged for wellness culture.” - Washington Post (MSN)
Board books: They’re really hard. Imagine a baby. “The baby has a note taped to them. The note says, 'I can’t read. I can’t talk. I don’t care about stories or plots, classically speaking, or characters as they’re usually defined. What do you have for me?’” - The New York Times
According to Fortune, Justin Sun “pressured the crypto trade publication CoinDesk to retract a December 2 article by Callan Quinn that was critical of Sun’s press conference,” where he ate the banana for which he’d paid millions. - ArtNews
“Many musicians and other creative spirits feel as if they have little significance or impact in our society. The prevailing metrics of success—money, power, whatever—relegate their work to the fringes and sub-fringes.” But let’s take a look at how the arts truly matter. - The Honest Broker
“There has been a surge in applications for office-to-residential conversions since the lifting of an office space limit last March. However, architects say they can be daunting and costly with challenges around deep floorplates and a lack of natural light.” - The Guardian (UK)
Will it be banned? “That’s the pressing question keeping creators and small business owners in anxious limbo as they await a decision that could upend their livelihoods.” - Seattle Times (AP)
Turns out the improvisational process he goes through with his actors is similar for the set designers. "I discover the story as the characters are developed. It is a case of dipping in and out and learning as much as I can,” says designer Suzie Davies. - The Observer (UK)
Studios plan to use artists to create characters or looks - and then “fine-tune” them, owning them forever, using AI. As you might imagine, this “would seem to signal potential for talent exploitation and diminished future opportunities for artists and animators.” - Variety
"There is no room for revisionism concerning the regime’s cruelty, but the Casa del Fascio and other buildings by Terragni and his circle show how complicated it can be to pass judgments on the intentions and messages of the architects who served it.” - The New York Times
"Journalism is not a business that responds well to the usual American capitalist imperative to treat your customers as victims to be tricked and sucked dry. The overall health of the free press is therefore a handy barometer” to tell how things stand (they don’t look good). - How Things Work
