[contextly_auto_sidebar] LONGTIME music journalist Steve Mirkin has been, like a lot of us in the creative class, though a series ups and downs since the Internet remade journalism and the recession undercut the middle class. He appears briefly in my book Culture Crash. Here is an update, which begins around January 1. It was not going to be a happy new year for me. After more than two … [Read more...]
Archives for January 2017
Pres Obama’s cultural policy
[contextly_auto_sidebar] LIKE a lot of Americans, I'm sorry to see President Obama go. But in at least two areas, he was a real disappointment. One was his gutless response -- or lack of response -- to the housing crisis, which involved mostly looking the other way and proposing toothless acronyms while banks crushed homeowners struggling with the Great Recession. His second great failure … [Read more...]
Reflections on a Half Century
[contextly_auto_sidebar] His mother was a model. He was a 26-year-old officer driving around the jungle, giving bonus pay to his fellow Marines. Fifty years ago this week, the vehicle he was in rolled over a North Vietnamese land mine. His life would changed radically. And today, everything my father fought and nearly died for was assaulted by a scheming narcissist. … [Read more...]
The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters
[contextly_auto_sidebar] ONE of my favorite writers in any genre is the USC humanities professor Leo Braudy, justly celebrated for his Frenzy of Renown, a history of fame going back to Alexander the Great. Braudy writes widely on literature, film, ancient civilizations. the question of America, the overlap of culture and politics, and all kinds of subjects that interest me. He's insightful, … [Read more...]
“Best Books of the Last 20 Years,” and the Canon
[contextly_auto_sidebar] It sounds like a great idea, or at least a revealing one: Assemble a list of the most important books of the last two decades, in any genre, from poetry to the novel. Find accomplished writers in a variety or genres — Rebecca Solnit, Jonathan Lethem, Roxane Gay, Ann Padgett, Patti Smith, and so on — and ask them for their favorites since 1997. “The end of December is a … [Read more...]
Jazz and “La La Land”
[contextly_auto_sidebar] FOR weeks now I've been meaning to write about the poorly named film La La Land, which has drawn acclaim but also divided audiences, and produced a decidedly split response within the jazz world. Hoping to get to that today. I really loved the movie, for what it's worth. A lot of people I trust disliked or hated it. But starting today it becomes very cool/ … [Read more...]