So many British major labels use a plant in the Czech Republic, GZ Vinyl, that there’s a six-month queue of orders. Sales director Michal Nemec says: “Don’t forget that everything is manually operated, and then there’s the cost of transportation. And there are licences and rights, which have to be counted into the merchant price.”
Month: October 2015
Shepard Fairey Trial Set In Detroit
The 45-year-old Fairey is charged with malicious destruction of property, including buildings and a railroad bridge. The damage is estimated at $30,000.
Iran Calls For Boycott Of Frankfurt Book Fair Because Salman Rushie Is Invited
Tehran on Wednesday said it was boycotting the Frankfurt fair, because it had “under the pretext of freedom of expression, invited a person who is hated in the Islamic world and created the opportunity for Salman Rushdie… to make a speech”. It also urged other Muslim nations to join its boycott.
Inside Nobel Winner Svetlana Alexievich’s Work
“Her method is the close interrogation of the past through the collection of individual voices; patient in overcoming cliché, attentive to the unexpected, and restrained in the exposition, her writing reaches those far beyond her own experiences and preoccupations, far beyond her generation, and far beyond the lands of the former Soviet Union.”
Does The New Pacific Trade Pact Endanger Canada’s Culture?
“The text of the current deal has not been made public yet, but as cultural executives quietly peruse summaries or read the smoke signals emitting from the recently concluded negotiations, one big difference is readily apparent: Nobody cares enough about their issues these days to launch a national debate about them. Sure, Canadians are worried what will happen to the auto-parts and dairy industries, but how the deal might affect their access to culture is barely mentioned in polls or news reports.”
So What Really Is World Literature?
“Must world literature be limited to a few popular movie and fiction genres? The alternative is a conception of world literature as global classicism that is more inclusive in terms of forms and genres — but more exclusive in terms of audience.”
Philadelphia Orchestra Musicians Accept New Contract – For One Year
“Musicians of the negotiating committee did not formally recommend the proposal to the rank-and-file membership, and … released a statement warning that unless Philadelphia’s contract keeps pace with those at other top orchestras, the talent will go elsewhere.” Orchestra management expects a $5.8 million deficit for this season.
They’re Putting A Swimming Hole On Berlin’s Museum Island?
“A proposal under consideration here called the Flussbad (‘river pool’) would clean up a filthy canal, part of the River Spree, that flows around the tourist-mobbed Museum Island. The plan would add new wetlands and some place the public can literally dive into. Despite detractors who picture Berlin’s cultural center being upstaged by the equivalent of one long, riotous water-filled bouncy castle, the idea, which has been around for a while, is gaining momentum.”
The Gold-Leaf Modernist Mural Inside A Mountain
To see it, “you’ll need to make a 2½-hour train journey from Glasgow to the Highlands, drive 1km into the heart of a mountain and climb a flight of slippery steps on to a viewing platform before you can catch a glimpse: a 48ft x 12ft mural made of wood, plastic and gold leaf, sparkling away at the centre of a vast cave like some fairytale treasure. … Even the artist behind the work has never made the trek to see it in situ.”
Philadelphia City Paper Bought By Competitor And Closed Down
Last week, City Paper was “purchased by Broad Street Media, a small local media conglomerate that owns the city’s other alt-weekly, Philadelphia Weekly. The staff only learned that their publication, and their jobs, would soon cease to exist after other journalists started calling them for information.”