Author: Douglas McLennan

This Idea Of Progress? It’s A Fairly New One (And Shouldn’t Be Taken For Granted)

Why might people in the past have been hesitant to embrace the idea of progress? The main argument against it was that it implies a disrespect of previous generations. As the historian Carl Becker noted in a classic work written in the early 1930s, “a Philosopher could not grasp the modern idea of progress … until he was willing to abandon ancestor worship, until he analyzed away his inferiority complex toward the past, and realized that his own generation was superior to any yet known.”

In The Time Of Trump, The Arts Might Actually Flourish

“The United States may be entering a time of great conservative reactionism, but it will be also, due to its unique traditions, a place of unfettered expression. This is a state whose extreme conservatives – unlike those anywhere else – value free speech above almost any other right. So banning expression of any kind is not going to be possible, even under the most troglodytic of Trumpian administrations. The protest art will flourish.”

Pianist Lara Downes On How The Role Of The Artist Has Suddenly Changed

“I’m glad I got up and went to work on Wednesday morning. This job of mine—it’s changed now. I’m a performer, and in hard times, this job gets harder. I make music when the nation mourns, and my music can sound like hope. I can find a quiet smile even in my sadness. I can help people find their dreams and their promise. This is my job now.”

Critical Juncture – The Role (And Reach) Of Critics Is Changing

Once, critics like Trilling, Sontag, and Kael commanded the attention of a large audience and were expected to shape and challenge a still roughly homogenous public opinion. Today, many critics struggle to find a unified culture to interpret and criticize and a public to address. As A.O. Scott insists, the critic’s role is “to disagree, to refuse to look at anything simply as what it is,” and yet in an age in which critics often are forced to set their sights on films like Avengers: Age of Ultron, it appears that the critic can be nothing other than “the vanguard of pointing out the obvious.”

Los Angeles Passed A Law That Resulted In A 95% Decrease In Porn Production. Now Voters Have Done Away With That Law…

“L.A. has seen a staggering 95% drop in on-location porn permit requests in the last four years, following the passage of a separate 2012 county measure requiring condoms, according to county permit data. But porn industry leaders say they are now bullish that the defeat of Prop. 60 as well as other recent condom-related victories will reverse the exodus.”

Edinburgh To Get A New Concert Hall (Home To Scottish Chamber Orchestra)

“The 1000-capacity venue, earmarked for a gap site behind the Royal Bank of Scotland’s historic head office, would be available for the Edinburgh International Festival each summer. The venue will be also be designed to make it suitable for rock, pop, electronica, jazz, folk and chamber concerts, as well as dance events. Other features will include rehearsal and recording rooms, conference and event spaces, and cafe, bar and restaurant facilities.”

Provocative: Do We Need To “De-Colonize” Our Music?

“The companies with the financial resources and the political clout often impose a uniformity on the consumption of the music they believe is popular and therefore profitable. Given the ubiquity of their total command of the internet, the “world” becomes their colony and the “popular” tastes rule, again to the detriment of the indigenous music, but also to art music and to any other music with a limited audience and appeal. This scenario has forced indigenous music and even our beloved ‘classical’ music into competing with everything—sports, popular music, even each other.”