- The 50 Worst Artists In Music History? Blender magazine takes a stab at a list, and some A-list musicians take some abuse. "Along with expected names like Celine Dion and Vanilla Ice are legends like The Doors and Mick Jagger. Even current top-selling acts, such as the Goo Goo Dolls, Creed and the Gipsy Kings, get savaged." New York Post 08/11/03
- Julian Schnabel - Gone Before His Time Once Julian Schnabel was hot. Now not... "Everything Julian Schnabel does has only one meaning: it's over. The story of American art that seemed so epic, so inexhaustible, from Jackson Pollock in the 1940s to Robert Smithson and Gordon Matta-Clark in the 1970s, is over. How can a culture become so creative so suddenly, and then, as suddenly, dry up? You have to admire Schnabel's cojones for carrying on at all, so ruthlessly has he been expunged from the memory of the art world." The Guardian (UK) 08/12/03
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Orchestra Joke Has Audience Running For The Exits The audience for a Sydney Symphony concert was clapping between every movement of a Tchaikovsky symphony. As a joke, the conductor also began applauding, then bade the orchestra rise for a bow. "But rather than creating an embarrassed silence for Tchaikovsky's tragic finale, the cheers swelled, the bravos grew, some took their coats and ran for trains, and it looked for a moment as though Tchaikovsky's most tragic work had become his most optimistic, its hidden program, of which he spoke but which he never revealed, rewritten with a happy ending..." Sydney Morning Herald 08/15/03
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The Problem When Your Book Exceeds Expectations David Lipsky got his book launched with plenty of buzz. His publisher was foursquare behind him. And the opening round of publicity created aa run of sales any publisher would envy. One problem? You can't buy the book anywhere. Lipsky's book sold out of its first printing of 40,000, and making more takes three weeks or longer. By then, will people stiull be lining up to buy it? The story shows how cautious publishers have become... New York Observer 08/13/03
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Making Monet Look Like A Hack...But Who Seems To Care? Edinburgh's mamoth Monet show has Richard Dorment wondering if Monet "may not be the most overrated painter of the 19th century. Monet was a virtuoso, like the composer Rossini. Both were prolific with their enormous talents. Ravishing though it is, their work needs to be taken in small doses so that you don't notice how formulaic and repetitive it can be. This sprawling, grab-bag of a show looks at the period 1878-83" and reveals a formula applied over and over again. "So what if the show is lousy? It's Monet, stupid. The box-office queues are long, and the gift shop is busy. The cynicism of the whole enterprise boggles the mind." The Telegraph (UK) 08/13/03
