A band called the Bays is getting some serious attention. But the band refuses to record and make CD’s, saying that live performance is an essential element to enjoying their music. “The Bays remind you that music is about experience rather than shopping. Making records may be “an aberration in the history of music”, which has always been about performance.”
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The Do-It-Yourself Recording Orchestra
With the Philadelphia Orchestra announcing it will record every performance for possible later release on CD, might other orchestras be far behind? “Every situation is unique, but all of us are operating in a totally changed environment. In the old days, if things didn’t work out with one recording company, there were always a dozen other options. Now there aren’t any, and I think everyone realizes that. To make this happen, management and orchestra will have to be partners, not adversaries.”
Soaps Getting Cleaned In The Ratings
After decades as cash cows for American TV networks, the daytime soaps are losing audience fast. “Nielsen Media Research had found that in the first three months of the season that began in September, CBS, ABC, and NBC network soaps lost 18 percent of their female viewers ages 18 to 34, another blow to broadcasters reeling from the rise of cable and satellite services.”
It’s Tony Season Again
“With 39 productions, this has been a bustling Broadway season, one of the busiest in more than a decade. So the joy of those anointed could be tempered by a nagging question: Who will be left out when the 2005 Tony Awards nominations are announced May 10? There may be a few surprises.”
End Of The Age Of Irony?
The 90s were the Age of Irony. It was an art, actually… But Scott McLamee sees some distressing signs that irony is… soooo yesterday.
Bourne Reinvents The Classics
“Over the last decade and a half, Matthew Bourne has virtually reinvented some of the sacred cows of the classical ballet repertoire: “La Sylphide,” “Swan Lake,” and “The Nutcracker” on his own markedly accessible terms. He’s aware, perhaps, that these works were probably never as “sacred” as purists would like to suppose, and he has invested them with a funny, sexy, surprising, mischievous, and even dangerous freshness. He has also discovered in them, and their musical scores, unsuspected and compelling story lines.”
Chicago’s Unique Place In Theatre
“Chicago has always been a city with an exceptionally vibrant theater scene – arguably as exciting, if not as commercially successful, as New York’s. Malkovich’s return is a reminder of the many talented actors and writers – Gary Sinise, David Mamet, John C. Reilly – who got their start here. But it’s also been a city of ensembles, rather than stars – a town known for collaboration, rather than cutthroat competition (among theater companies, at least). And its audiences are still unusually quick to embrace edgy, untested fare.”
A Broadway With Substance… (Who Knew?)
Broadway has some meaty new plays this season. “Significant new works by August Wilson, Michael Frayn and Donald Margulies were produced on the Great White Way this season, and the two new plays still on the boards, John Patrick Shanley’s “Doubt” and Martin McDonagh’s “Pillowman,” are causing the kind of excitement among audiences that is usually reserved for overproduced and overhyped musicals.”
In-phone-tainment Endangered By Anti-Piracy
Could entertainment content long promised for mobile phones be derailed by anti-piracy measures? “At issue is a set of technologies aimed at protecting music and other content from being indiscriminately copied after being sold through mobile phone networks, a critical component of the new content services if record labels and movie studios are to sign on.”
Should Canadian Content Rules Be Revised?
A group of Canadian indie bands wants the federal government to revise broadcast rules for Canadian content on the airwaves. “The Toronto-based Indie Pool, which says it represents more than 40,000 indie artists in Canada, wants developing artists to get more CanCon “weight” than established ones, so that up-and-comers are not squashed by the big stars. The reason why CanCon is failing is because it worked.”