George Orwell “was so ahead of his time that we are only now catching up with him. The concepts of Big Brother, the Thought Police, Doublethink and Newspeak are all his inventions, and they resonate in our time with even greater force than they did in his. So how did a crusty Englishman who was born 100 years ago, and who died in 1950, see all these horrors coming our way? Was he simply gifted with incredible foresight?”
Blog
What’s Wrong With Today’s Young Singers?
Rupert Christiansen goes to this year’s Kathleen Ferrier competition and wonders: “What is it about young singers today? It’s not that their techniques are uniformly bad or that the sounds they make are unattractive. It’s just that they so seldom seem rigorous or engaged: there’s a crucial lack of depth, feeling, imagination. They leave you with the old-fart thought that they’ve had it too easy.”
Where’s The Diversity? Children’s Books Get An “F”
The Cooperative Children’s Book Center has been tracking diversity in children’s books in America. “Of the 5,000 children’s books published in 2002, the center looked at 3,150. Of those, 235 were by and/or about African-Americans, 94 by and/or about Latinos, 91 by and/or about Asian/Pacific Americans and 64 by and/or about American Indians. While those numbers are really shockingly low, they are still higher than they were 15 years ago. In 1985, the center found that 18 books of the 2,500 published that year were created by African-Americans.”
Fans Sue Band For Inadequate Performance
Four fans of the band Creed are suing the band for $2 million in damages after a concert in Chicago, claiming that the band “failed to perform substantially” at the show. “Lead singer Scott Stapp is alleged to have been either so drunk or so stoned that he was unable to sing a single Creed song. Instead, he frequently left the stage, rolled around on the floor and appeared to pass out. On one hand, it’s difficult to hear this story without smirking. On the other hand, however, it sets a frankly terrifying precedent. If the lawsuit is successful, where will it lead? Every band has their off nights – will any dissatisfied fan then go rushing to court? Who will decide what constitutes a substandard show? How?”
Who’s Got The Top Top 40 List?
A new British Top 40 chart has the BBC fighting two commercial companies. “Before the arrival of the internet, BBC Radio 1’s Top 40 countdown on Sunday afternoons – based solely on single sales – was the pre-eminent chart. But now commercial companies believe it is vital to take airplay and internet listening into account because online music piracy is widespread and teenagers are often long bored of a single by the time it is released in the record shops.”
Stolen Van Gogh, Others Recovered…Maybe Damaged
Detectives investigating the theft of £1 million of artwork from the Manchester art gallery recovered three paintings after an anonymous phone call. “The Whitworth Gallery’s three paintings, works by Picasso, Gauguin and Van Gogh, are thought to have been damaged by heavy overnight rain. The extent of the damage, and the authenticity of the works, is still being assessed by experts.”
Wanted: More Accuracy In Bestseller Charts
Why is a new Top 40 music chart needed to determine which music is most popular? Many think the current system measuring only CD sales, is inaccurate and open to manipulation. “The use of radio airplay as a criterion is contentious: the playlist is compiled by radio-station programmers. And one area not yet factored in by any of the charts is arguably the most important for the music industry’s future: internet sales.”
Theft Was Meticulously Executed
The theft of three paintings from the Manchester gallery was meticulously planned and executed. “With no noise, no fuss and no suspicion, thieves had entered overnight and coolly strolled out with £1m worth of work. The only sign of the drawings by Gauguin, Picasso and Van Gogh were the blank spaces left on the white wall of a ground-floor gallery, where the frames had hung side by side.”
Mobile TKTS Coming To NY
Plans are underway in New York to build a mobile ticket booth – a kind of TKTS-on-wheels to “help shows below 14th Street to fill the house and spread the word. Dubbed the ‘ArtsVan,’ this distribution depot for downtown ducats is a project of DowntownNYC!, a not-for-profit coalition of theater companies, performing artists, galleries, museums, restaurants, businesses, and organizations and associations, formed after Sept. 11 to boost business and rally the spirits of those living and working below 14th Street.”
Edinburgh Festival Selling At Record Pace
Though many arts events are hurting for money and patrons, the Edinburgh Festival is selling tickets at a record clip for this summer’s offerings. “Already, £1.26 million has been generated, more than half of last year’s total sale of £2.3 million, a sum which almost certainly represents a significant year-on-year rise.”