Why doesn’t folk play a larger part in environmentalism? There is wonderful and powerful music already out there; Karine Polwart and Nancy Kerr are among the artists writing environmental material. And there’s a fascinating new project, Songhive, that highlights the plight of Britain’s native bees. But much more can be done to poetically explore the environmental challenges we face as a species, the politics that underpin the damage we are doing and how as humans we are responding.
Author: Douglas McLennan
Has Spotify Ruined Music For The Rest Of Us?
Spotify speaks to this silent majority of music fans. Audiophiles, object fetishists, anti-capitalists, musicians – these groups noisily protest Spotify, but are marginal compared with the number of ordinary listeners, who never read the liner notes in the first place. For many people, music is just for mood, something to work, exercise or have sex to – situations that Spotify usefully caters to with playlists such as Productive Morning, Extreme Metal Workout and 90s Baby Makers.
Few #MeToo Prosecutions In Hollywood, Though Plenty Of Exiles
The lack of prosecutions stems from a clash between the #MeToo ethos, which encourages victims to come forward years or even decades after abuse and harassment that they’ve kept private, and a legal system that demands fast reporting of crimes and hard evidence.
How Theatre Training Builds Better Doctors
If you think about it, the doctor- or surgeon-patient encounter is like improv, requiring two characters, in role, to build a scene together. Improvisers must think creatively and adapt in the moment. In the same way, health professionals must learn to respond creatively and with mental agility in rapidly changing circumstances, under time pressure, sometimes in life-and-death situations — while maintaining their professional composure.
New York City Ballet – A Company In Transition(s)
Dancer Teresa Reichlen’s delivered a speech at a company gala. Her point — her whole speech — should become part of the search committee’s criteria in choosing a successor to Mr. Martins. It should also become an ultimatum to the company’s board about the Martins legacy.
Report: High Burnout Rate Among Arts Leaders
The report on cultural leadership, authored by independent consultant Sue Hoyle and researchers at Kings College London (KCL), says that burnout is a serious health concern which affects cognitive functions such as creativity, problem solving and memory.
An Argument For Translation As Art
There is no reason why literary translators should not promote their art as an art, as an exercise in making as well as understanding, nor any reason why they should not at least aim for artistic distinction within their own field — even if their art, and their distinction as artists, will always derive from someone else’s work.
How A Cheap Ticket Scheme Changed London’s West End Theatre
At a time when internet bookings were beginning to become more popular, here was a way to get people to come to the theatre box office to buy tickets. Who doesn’t like a queue outside the theatre to make a show look popular? Also, having people arrive early in the day to buy tickets helps you shift a few extra when you’re not quite as busy as you would like. Many’s the time a box office will sell beyond the allocation of day seats to fill a draughty stalls.
Free Will, A Concept (You Decide)
We don’t try to reason with bears or babies or lunatics because they aren’t able to respond appropriately. Why do we reason with people? Why do we try to convince them of conclusions about free will or science or causation or anything else? Because we think – for good reason – that in general people are reasonable, are moved by reasons, can adjust their behaviour and goals in the light of reasons presented to them. There is something indirectly self-refuting in arguing that people are not moved by reasons!
Columbus Day As A Culture War
Columbus Day, named for the Italian explorer who sailed to the Americas on behalf of Spain more than 500 years ago, has become a painful reminder of the oppression endured by native peoples. At the same time, the holiday remains an important part of Italian-American heritage, and for many, it is one worth keeping.