Known in the West in Soviet days as the “Red Army Choir” and praised in post-Soviet era as “cultural paratroopers and “Russia’s singing weapon,” the Alexandrov Russian Army Song and Dance Ensemble lost 64 members – more than one-third of the total, including all but three of its singers – when a military transport plane crashed into the Black Sea shortly after takeoff from Sochi.
Author: Matthew Westphal
Top Posts From AJBlogs 12.26.16
What do we actually mean by intrinsic benefits?
If we cannot find any impacts, if attending music recitals doesn’t lead to your giving higher reported subjective wellbeing, what then? … read more
AJBlog: For What It’s Worth Published 2016-12-26
Monday Recommendation: Dr. Lonnie Smith
Dr. Lonnie Smith, Evolution (Blue Note)
The venerable organist’s doctorate is a figment, but his musicianship and ability to mold combos of any size into formidable units are even more real than when … read more
AJBlog: RiffTides Published 2016-12-26
On a screen, darkly
My brother, like me, is deeply attached to the increasingly distant past that we share. That’s one of the reasons why he and my sister-in-law live in the house where the two of us grew up, … read more
AJBlog: About Last Night Published 2016-12-26
What Makes Kids Stop Believing In Santa? The Real Question Is Why They Keep Believing In Him For So Long
“When it comes to evaluating information – and separating the real from the bullshit – kids aren’t that different from adults. .. [So why do] kids still happily wait on line to sit on a jolly guy’s lap and throw their energy into composing letters to the North Pole? The answer: Because we tell them it’s worth their while.”
Can China’s Film Industry Serve Up A Global Blockbuster? We’re About To Find Out
“The Great Wall, an epic fantasy film that cost at least $150 million to make, opens with Matt Damon fleeing on horseback through red stone formations in Northwest China. A snarling swarm of razor-toothed green monsters is hot on his heels.”
Why It Took Almost 30 Years To Get August Wilson’s ‘Fences’ Onto Movie Screens
“The saga started in 1987, when Eddie Murphy … thought the role of the son would be an opportunity to tackle serious material for a change, and Paramount Pictures bought the rights for him for more than $1 million, at that time one of the highest sums ever paid for a theatrical property.”
The Importance Of Being Wrong Is One Of Jane Austen’s Greatest Lessons
“Unlike other fictional heroines of the time, Fanny [Price of Mansfield Park] gains happiness because she is aware of her faults.”
The Sound Of Science: A Brief History Of The Bose Wave Music System
Sure, the infomercials speak all too highly of it, and it’s kind of pricey, but the Wave was created from genuine engineering expertise and hard work. Here’s the story of how the speaker system went from Dr. Bose’s lab at MIT to the Sharper Image catalogue and QVC.
When Mariachi Ruled The Airwaves Of Yugoslavia
In the 1950s, thanks to an odd confluence of postwar economics and intra-Communist rivalry, Mexican music became arguably the top pop genre in Yugoslavia. Most of its practitioners weren’t Mexican; they were local..
For Eight Years, A Ballet Company Performed At Austin’s Funkiest Hippie Bar
From the fall of 1972 to December 1980, the Austin Ballet Theatre appeared monthly at the now-legendary Armadillo World Headquarters. The cover charge ran from $1 to $3; beer was ¢35.
We Know We’re In A New Gilded Age, But We’re Also In A New Age Of Gilt
“Gilt – gold’s application to metal, whether powder, leaf or plate – is the assertive surface of self-importance. We seem to be having a Midas moment. With the election of the commercial Sun King Donald J. Trump to the presidency, and the pedestrian aristocracy of gold sneakers walking the street … there is again the gleam of gilt in the public eye.”