“Now, when a pop star reaches a certain strata of fame — and we’re talking Beyoncé, Drake, Taylor Swift, Arcade Fire levels here — something magical happens. They no longer seem to get bad reviews. Stars become superstars, critics become cheerleaders and the discussion froths into a consensus of uncritical excitement.”
London’s Royal Opera House Trying To Fend Off Backstage Strike
“A last-ditch attempt to prevent strike action at the Royal Opera House has begun between the Covent Garden venue and backstage union BECTU. The union is seeking a 4% across the board pay increase for backstage staff who, in early March, rejected an offer from the Royal Opera House for a 2% rise.”
The Art Of Being Philip Glass (Not So Easy, As It Turns Out)
For Glass, the point is always process, the doing of the thing, more so than the result. And keeping that in mind, I’m inclined to let him define success here in his own terms: “If you don’t know what to do, there’s actually a chance of doing something new. As long as you know what you’re doing, nothing much of interest is going to happen.”
Dear Norman Lear: Is PBS Failing Its Mission? Maybe Not If You’re Thinking About The Future
I agree with Lear that “Freedom of expression is hollow if you can’t be seen or heard” — ie, if a film airs in a forest, does it change the world? — but here is where we differ, because I would argue that there are so many places to be seen and heard beyond primetime.”
Why Are There So Many Bad Public Statues?
“The mystery is why these purportedly realistic statues keep appearing all over the world when so many are corny and bad. Modern art supposedly killed off this kind of vulgar realism. Picasso showed that a great sculpture can be a bull’s head made from a bike seat and handlebars. Why, then, continue casting shoddy simulacra of celebrities?”
The Hell With It: Toronto Symphony Pulls Concerto From Program Altogether
When the TSO bought out Valentina Lisitsa’s contract because of controversial statements she tweeted about the situation in Ukraine, they engaged Stewart Goodyear as her replacement – whereupon he became the target of abuse and threats on social media from Lisitsa fans and/or Putin partisans. So the TSO threw up its hands. (includes astonished, heartfelt statement from Goodyear)
What Does ‘New Age’ Really Mean? And How Did It Spring Up In The Age Of High Tech?
“It’s worth noting at the outset: New Age is not so much a discrete collection of beliefs as it is a Venn diagram (or a mandala, if you like) of intersecting interests, objectives and motifs. The New Age ‘movement’ is not a single movement at all. The term contains multitudes. … The aesthetic is one of unabashed pastiche. So, too, are the beliefs undergirding it.”
Recreating Pina Bausch Dances After 30 Years
It’s not just a matter of the movement. There are the thick layer of earth covering the stage, 20 Christmas trees, the stage fog, the brass band; the huge wading pool; the giant cactuses, the glass coffin on wheels, and the toilet chain hanging from a dancer’s mouth …
Frederick Douglass, Defender Of The Liberal Arts
“[His] example offers a helpful corrective to the tendency of contemporary education debates to fixate on economic questions. … Douglass’s own life testified to the ability of the liberal arts – fields such as literature, philosophy, the physical sciences, and social sciences – to inspire internal emancipation as well.”
Watch The 1000-Year-Old Dance Tradition Nearly Killed By The Khmer Rouge
“Charya Burt trained in and taught classical Cambodian dance in Phnom Penh, where her family suffered oppression by the Khmer Rouge. Now in the Bay Area, she’s passing on her art – and pushing it in new directions.” (video)
Norman Lear: PBS Is Stepping Away From Its Core Mission
“Unfortunately, PBS is now threatening, for the second time in four years, to downgrade documentaries, which are at the heart of its public mission. As it chases ratings, PBS risks neglecting the core of its public mission and mandate.”
American Museums Begin Returning Stolen Antiquities To India
“Several American museums have begun returning possibly stolen artifacts to India in response to a major federal investigation into the activities of Subhash Kapoor, a dealer identified by authorities as having once run the largest antiquities smuggling operation on American soil.”
Don McLean’s “American Pie” Manuscript Sells For $1.2 Million
“The manuscript and McLean’s supporting notes “achieved the 3rd highest auction price for an American literary manuscript, a fitting tribute to one the foremost singer-songwriters of his generation,” said Tom Lecky, head of the books and manuscripts department at Christie’s auction house in New York.”
Writing A Play In Which The Characters Can’t Speak
Bess Wohl’s Small Mouth Sounds takes place at a silent Buddhist retreat. “Aside from the unseen teacher, who lectures from offstage, its characters say almost nothing. Most of the play is written in the form of stage directions, and the audience bases many of its assumptions on nonverbal cues.”
Atticus Lish Wins PEN/Faulkner Award
In their citation, the judges wrote that Preparation for the Next Life “scours and illuminates the vast, traumatized America that lives, works and loves outside the castle gates. The result is an incantation, a song of ourselves, a shout.”
What’s This Week’s Tool For Boosting Your Kids’ Brain Development? Family Card Games
“Looking for a way to help your children take turns, follow rules, learn math and memory skills and face competition in a healthy way? How about a game of Crazy Eights?” (Naaah – bridge works much better.)
Top Posts From AJBlogs 04.07.15
Being the Boss
AJBlog: Field Notes Published 2015-04-07
The Collapsing Fortunes of the Club Deejay
AJBlog: CultureCrash Published 2015-04-07
Listening Tip: Mays, Stamm And The WDR In Cologne
AJBlog: RiffTides Published 2015-04-07
Happy Birthday, Billie Holiday
AJBlog: CultureCrash Published 2015-04-07
[ssba_hide]
Damn Kids Today Don’t Have The Discipline To Succeed In Ballet, Suggests Tamara Rojo
“We live in a society that rewards fast success based on little talent or commitment, which is transient and a dangerous place to be. Do we want to promote instant success and instant failure, or do we want to promote self-esteem and hard work? … I had a strong technique and was hard-working – I trained for six hours, six days a week from the age of 11.”