The Montreal Symphony Orchestra is currently marketing the heck out of a new Christmas CD it recorded with Quebec singer Bruno Pelletier. To date, the disc has sold over 100,000 copies, which has Arthur Kaptainis despairing for the orchestra’s reputation. “Pelletier is a voiceless wonder in the Helmut Lotti tradition. Splashy arrangements by Simon Leclerc cannot disguise the ghastly mediocrity of Pelletier’s singing, which is not even reliably in tune… If there is a musical equivalent of blasphemy in Quebec, this is surely it.”
Month: December 2003
Human Creativity vs. Human Crisis
“Are we as a species really on the razor’s edge between salvation and destruction? How does this impact the creative spirit of our generation?” Ben Tripp has had these and other fairly weighty questions on his mind of late, especially as the world appears to have settled into a near-permanent state of Global Crisis, which makes it fairly hard to concentrate on such niceties as Art. Still, we know from past experience that “the springs and freshets of Art will bubble up to wet the stoniest ground, if you must put it that way. But are all great works accomplished in the face of hardship, or can I get a massage?”
Whatever Happened To Using A Couple of AAs?
Apple iPod users are, let’s face it, a bit over-the-top in their love of the device, which is, let’s face it, just a jukebox with a long memory. Still, many iPod users claim they couldn’t live without theirs, which has caused some consternation of late, because as it turns out, the rechargable battery packs that power the little boxes of joy can run down after a year or so. No problem, you say? Just pick up a replacement pack, you say? Good thought, but Apple doesn’t actually sell replacements, and the company has been telling users to shell out $300-$500 for a whole new iPod when their batteries run down. One jilted user was so angry that he’s made a film about Apple’s betrayal.
Is The Pen Mightier Than The Playstation?
You can hardly turn around these days without encountering some public scold decrying the influence of violent movies, video games, and television shows on the behavior of the public at large. At the same time, you rarely hear anyone threatening to slap warning labels on books, lest any susceptible souls take them seriously. But literature has long influenced some of the world’s most notorious crackpots, (the Aum Shinrikyo cult took some of its ideas from an Isaac Asimov novel,) and such notorious terrorists as Timothy McVeigh are known to have worshipped at the altar of a terrifying book of hate called The Turner Diaries, not at the game console of Grand Theft Auto.
Pop Opera Comes Full Circle
When Bugs Bunny first appeared in a cartoon as the protagonist of a spoof of The Barber of Seville, the public roared with laughter, but classical purists rolled their eyes at what they saw as the bastardization of Great Art. Decades later, with classical music becoming an endangered art form, and pop culture occupying an ever more important role in society, the Vancouver Opera is using the cartoon to promote their more traditional performances. “You might call this missionary work. From a company with a million-dollar debt, teetering a few years ago on the brink of bankruptcy, Vancouver Opera has transformed itself into a debt-free, community-conscious, grassroots purveyor of an art form once associated with social elitism and a disdain for everything Bugs Bunny stood for.”
The Once And Future Toronto?
There was a time when Toronto was one of the world’s intellectual centers, writes Philip Marchand, a gathering place for the study of what used to be called “arts and letters,” and there are those who believe it can be again. But as Canada embarks on a supposed ‘new direction’ under Prime Minister Paul Martin, one has to wonder about the priorities of the new PM and his countrymen. With the University of Toronto deemphasizing many of its less ‘glamorous’ departments and the country as a whole seemingly under-interested in the pursuit of studied thought for its own sake, can Toronto really be on the intellectual comeback trail?
Court Ruling Stuns Record Industry
In a surprise ruling, a U.S. federal appeals court has told the recording industry in no uncertain terms that it does not have the right to demand the names and addresses of subscribers from the nation’s internet service providers (ISPs). A lower court had previously upheld the industry’s demand that Verizon and other ISPs release the names of their subscribers, and paved the way for nearly 400 lawsuits against users suspected of illegal file-trading. The ruling doesn’t mean that the industry must cease suing online pirates, but it will make such actions much more complicated.
Am I My Users’ Keeper? Not In Holland.
“The makers of Kazaa, the world’s most popular computer file-sharing program, cannot be held liable for copyright infringement of music or movies swapped on its free software, the Dutch Supreme Court ruled Friday. The decision upheld a 2002 appellate-court verdict… In the United States, a federal judge already has dismissed the entertainment industry’s lawsuits against two rival file-sharing services, Grokster and StreamCast Networks, saying they could not be held liable for what their users do with the software. That ruling has been appealed, with a decision expected in February.”
Reasonable Faith, Or Faith In Reason?
The 21st century’s great intellectual conflict seems to be coming into focus, and it is a battle between Reason, the logic-based truth of scientists and academics; and Faith, the popular notion that truth is as much what we believe as what we can prove. The battle could be seen as a conflict between East and West, but those lines are blurring daily. It could be perceived as a battle between Left and Right, with the American right now teeming with evangelical Christians, and the left with secular intellectuals, but that leaves out the complicating factors of what is shaping up to be a truly global debate. “It is a conflict between competing certainties: between followers of Faith, who know because they believe, and followers of Reason, who believe because they know.”
Final WTC Plans Unveiled
“After months of bitter disagreement, the master planner and lead architect for the World Trade Center site yesterday unveiled the design of an iconic new tower that will rise 1,776 feet above Ground Zero to become the world’s tallest building… The structure would be torqued in shape, giving it an asymmetrical look. And though its grand spire would pierce the sky, the building would house 2.6 million square feet of office space only up to the 60th floor… At the 66th floor, a public observation deck will be built. And at the 67th, the famed Windows on the World restaurant will return when the building is completed in early 2009.”