“Before the music begins, app users can read background information about the piece. When the music starts, a sequence of brief annotations begins, cued by an operator in the hall who follows the musical score. The annotations alert listeners to when an important theme in the work is coming up, for example, or describe important subtexts to the music.”
The Rock ‘n Roll Hall Of Fame Just Ditched Half Its Nominating Committee. Why?
“They just got rid of the guys who have all the histories of thousands of artists in their heads. That’s like letting go the intent of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.”
Can An Algorithm Really Tell Us If A Play Is Authentic Shakespeare?
The case of Double Falsehood and the search for “function words.”
The Pollyanna Hypothesis: All Languages Have A Positivity Bias
All of them? That’s what the research says. Mike Vuolo and Bob Garfield explain. (podcast)
Nina Simone’s Moment Has Come (Again)
“Simone is striking posthumous gold as the inspiration for three films and a star-studded tribute album, and she was name-dropped in John Legend’s Oscar acceptance speech for best song. This flurry comes on the heels of a decade-long resurgence: two biographies, a poetry collection, several plays, and the sampling of her signature haunting contralto by hip-hop performers including Jay Z, the Roots and, most relentlessly, Kanye West. Fifty years after her prominence, Nina Simone is now reaching her peak.”
Bookstores Will Not Go The Way Of Video Stores (Really!)
“Why is everyone so quick to write bookstores’ obituary? What is this cultural obsession with obsoletism? Perhaps it’s just in our bones—that technology always wins.”
How To Support Your Creative Friends When You Have A Mildly Boring And Stable Life
“Do you sympathize when they encounter adversity and cheer them on when they overcome it? Can you share in the bitter, bursting fruits of their outrage even when you find it mystifying? Then you are being a Good Friend. Really, I promise. You are exemplary.”
New Photo Shows Van Gogh, Gauguin And Other Artists Drinking Together
“The photograph was identified through discovering the names of the other figures in the picture (who include artists Paul Gauguin and Emile Bernard, no small discovery in themselves), fixing it in a place and time, and analyzing the photographic process.”
Do Open Auditions Ever Truly Work, For The Actors Or The Films?
“Film producer Kathleen Kennedy said they decided to have open auditions because of the film’s tradition of casting unknown actors in the past such as Mark Hamill, albeit through the traditional casting process.”
How Pixar Got Its Animated Groove Back
“While Inside Out has a personal connection, it also reflects the science-geek sensibility that runs through much of Pixar’s history.”
Fans Of ‘Fifty Shades’ Take Control Of The Story With Fan Fiction
“That fans would run amok with the story was probably inevitable. Readers today often behave more like corporate shareholders than consumers, demanding a say in the direction a story takes and adding their own flourishes and twists. With thriving online fan communities, devotees of a franchise can easily find their niche.”
Time For A Disloyalty Card For Theatres?
“It could be a way to grow audiences, possibly across the commercial and subsidised sector, the big subsidised houses and smaller venues, for the benefit of all.”
TV Credits Re-enter A Golden Age (Just Try To Get That ‘Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt’ Song Out Of Your Head)
“As credits sequences shrank, many of the beloved elements—like catchy tunes and meta-references—were lost. But in the last year, a few shows have started to buck that trend.”
‘America’s Most Underrated Underrated Writer’ Dies At 90
“‘You can’t be admitted to the ranks of writers of importance unless you have sales,’ he said. Mr. Salter had to settle for an admiring readership on college campuses and critical acclaim, even if the praise came with a touch of sympathy.”
Twitter-Inspired Summer Reading For Everyone Who Wonders About The True History Of Charleston
“#Charlestonsyllabus was conceived by Chad Williams (@Dr_ChadWilliams), Associate Professor of African and Afro-American Studies at Brandeis University. With the help of Kidada Williams (@KidadaEWilliams), the hashtag started trending on the evening of June 19, 2015. … These readings provide valuable information about the history of racial violence in this country and contextualize the history of race relations in South Carolina and the United States in general.”
Alumni Of USC’s MFA Program Send Letter In Support Of Students Who Resigned
“This was an extraordinary and painful action for these graduate students to have taken, and presents evidence of serious wrongdoing and extensive problems in the School. … We do not want to see this jewel of the University recklessly discarded.”
Underground Economy: Ghost Writers For The Toast Or Talk You Have To Give
“At a time when everything is a branding opportunity, and toasts live on for posterity in social media, few people want to be memorialized “um”-ing, “you know”-ing” and “remember that time we got drunk”-ing their way into ignominy. And yet: Nobody wants to admit he Botoxed his son’s bar mitzvah toast with some punch lines from an “Everybody Loves Raymond” writer. A result is a little-known under-the-table economy.”
Conductor Condemns Vancouver Opera’s Decision To Abandon Season, Become Festival
Bramwell Tovey: “Deeply concerned at the announcement, I tweeted ‘Distressing to see @VancouverOpera news spun as visionary. It’s terrible news. Vancouver to be only major Cdn city without an opera season.’ Within the hour, VO had tweeted back it was “disappointed” with me, presumably for not following the party line. Like many others, I was taken aback by the news.”
Coming: Facial Recognition Software For All (Now Anyone Will Be Able To ID You The Street)
The lack of consensus means face recognition is moving into creepy territory. One example is California-based company Face First, which is rolling out a system for retailers that it says will “boost sales by recognising high-value customers each time they shop” and send “alerts when known litigious individuals enter any of your locations”.
Music Streaming Is The Future. So Who Will Win The Streaming Wars?
“More than 40m people currently pay to subscribe to a music-streaming service, and this number is increasing by 50 per cent each year. Outstanding questions about low royalty payments to artists persist, but for the customer, at least, the value proposition is obvious—for $120 a year, you get everything. Streaming services are pricey, but once you’ve subscribed to one, you know there’s no going back. Of the original subscribers to Spotify’s first premium offering in 2010, 70 per cent were still enrolled after four years.”
As Challenges Pile Up, The American Arts Model Is In Jeopardy
“Regardless of the enormity of future challenges, Michael Kaiser insists that “one simply cannot save one’s way to health in the arts.” Survival in the universe he foresees will depend on creating exciting, ambitious work that distinguishes itself from online competition.”
Heritage Wars – London’s Important Buildings That Need Saving
“London, in particular, is in the throes of a heritage war. This is partly because the city is at the sharp end of the development wedge. There simply isn’t enough space for all the luxury apartments, skyscrapers with huge trading floors and “public” lookout points that you have to pay to access. Small buildings that no one really notices, but are hugely important to London’s character, are often first in the line of fire. So are the big ones.”
Jack Rollins, Manager And Mentor To Generations Of Comedy Legends, Dead At 100
“[He was] a sharp judge of talent who saw more than a shy gag-writer in Woody Allen and believed that the manic improvisations of Robin Williams would crack up audiences … To his clients – who also included Billy Crystal, David Letterman, Lenny Bruce and the team of Mike Nichols and Elaine May, an American pantheon of hilarity – he was a father-confessor, real estate agent, psychiatrist, marriage counselor and financial guru.”
Long-Lost Merce Cunningham Work Is Reconstructed In Boston
“Merce Cunningham used chance to choreograph his legendary solo dance Changeling. Now chance has given new life to this long-lost work.”