This has become a popular music genre. But “the music wasn’t for anything. It merely existed to facilitate and sustain a mood, which in turn might enable a task: studying, folding laundry, making spreadsheets, idly browsing the Internet. Spotify presently classifies chill as a genre, and there are an incredible number of playlists devoted to insuring a chill experience.” – The New Yorker
Author: Douglas McLennan
Is The Met Fashion Gala Falling Out Of Fashion Itself?
Tickets are expensive – $35k per person – for the “Oscars of the East.” But the event, managed by Vogue is showing some signs of waning. No magazine, not even Vogue, has the same influence over the industry that it once did and social media has given advertisers, brands and designers a lot of their own power to create “moments” and “brand awareness.” – Women’s Wear Daily
Nathan Glazer Rose In An Era Of Rich Intellectual Stew. It’s Fascinating To Reflect On What’s Changed Since Then
Peter Skerry’s essay is quite pessimistic about how the world has evolved. He writes that the meritocracy structures we have built have become ingrown, timid and self-involved. He wonders if Glazer would agree with him… – The American Interest
We Live In A Productivity Optimization Culture. Just Stop It!
Jenny Odell is tired of all the exhortations to be a better you. Even the acres of digital detox books now flooding stores masquerade as reconnecting with what’s real while all the while suggesting you’ll get even more productive after the detox. Her suggestion. Stop. Be a better you. – The Baffler
Music Is Ephemeral: That Makes It Difficult To Write About. Also To Understand How A Conductor Does What S/he Does
Conductor Mark Wigglesworth wrote a book to try to explain the latter. Robert Philip wrote another that tries to make music comprehensible in words. These aren’t meager tasks. – Times Literary Supplement
Los Angeles Approves Funding For New LACMA Building With Help From Brad Pitt And Diane Keaton
The county board of supervisors voted Tuesday to approve the current plan and release $117.5 million in taxpayer funding for it, despite last-minute entreaties from some art and architecture critics who urged the board to vote against the project. – The New York Times
Artists Slam Spotify In Open Letter After Company Appeals Copyright Decision That Would Make Them Pay Songwriters More
“We’re hurt and disappointed,” begins the letter, which is addressed to Spotify CEO Daniel Ek. Their reason for calling out Spotify alone, while Google, Amazon, and Pandora were also listed on the appeal, is because the artists say it was “the only provider that made us feel we were working to build a modern music industry together.” – New York Magazine
What Pricks The Conscience (And When): The Ethics Of Whose Money You Take
I understand the logic of “We’ll take everyone’s money” and the logic of “We won’t take any ethically impure money.” Those are pure. What I question is the efficacy of cherry-picking the ethics of the donors to your arts organization. Do you choose to receive or not to receive donations from particular corners of the philanthropic universe because of the nonprofit’s core belief or your own personal core beliefs? Is your collective conscience bothered before you choose to accept the gift or after there’s a public outcry about it? – Clyde Fitch Report
Academia’s Itinerant Labor Problem: How Exploitation Of Adjuncts Betrays Students
In the nineteen-seventies, about a quarter of college faculty were on limited-term, adjunct contracts; the majority of professors were tenured or on the tenure-track. Today, it’s estimated that nearly three-quarters of college faculty are adjuncts. – The New Yorker
I Used To Have A Great Sense Of Direction. Then Came GPS… What Skills Is It Safe To Forget?
Instead of looking at what we’re learning, perhaps we should consider the obverse: what becomes safe to forget? As the internet grows ever more powerful and comprehensive, why bother to remember and retain information? If students can access the world’s knowledge on a smartphone, why should they be required to carry so much of it around in their heads? – Aeon