“We’ve created a scammy society where we concentrate wealth in ways that are petty and not helpful, and we’ve given them a world of far fewer options than we had. There’s nothing I want more than for the younger people to create successful lives and create a world that they love. I mean, that’s what it’s all about. But to say that the path to that is for them to agree with the thing we made for them is just so self-serving and so obnoxiously narcissistic that it makes me wanna throw up.”
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John Von Rhein Steps Down As Chicago Tribune Music Critic
“On a personal note, I would like to announce my upcoming retirement as classical music critic of the Chicago Tribune. When I step down July 1, I will have held this position at the paper for nearly 41 years, a record for Chicago (and perhaps U.S.) musical journalism insofar as I have been able to determine. It’s been a great ride, but the time has come to move off into other ventures and give somebody else a shot at one of the best jobs in journalism.”
Why I Turned Marx’s Communist Manifesto Into A Graphic Novel
Martin Rowson: “After I graduated I sold a cartoon series to New Statesman titled ‘Scenes from the Lives of the Great Socialists’, based on hideously contrived puns on the defining dicta of Marxism. … I had unfinished business with Marx, and occasionally images would flash into the back of my mind of great geological slabs of History grinding against massive clumps of the Dialectic. Then SelfMadeHero asked if I fancied adapting The Communist Manifesto as a comic book for Marx’s 200th birthday. The whole thing came instantly into my head.”
Corporate Boss Caught On TV Video Singing “We’re In The Money” Undermines His Interview
Intoning lines from a piece called “The Gold Diggers’ Song (We’re in the Money)” was probably not the best way to assuage concerns that shareholders might be making hay on the back of higher prices and job cuts. The song was first written for a 1933 film, but is perhaps most famously used in the musical “42nd Street.”
Art Fairs Are Like America – Broken, Says Jerry Saltz
“As a system, art fairs are like America: They’re broken and no one knows how to fix them. Like America, they also benefit those at very top more than anyone else, and this gap is only growing. Like America, the art world is preoccupied by spectacle – which means nonstop art fairs, biennials, and other blowouts. … This art-fair industrial complex makes it next to impossible for any medium/small gallery to take a chance on bringing unknown or lower-priced artists to art fairs without risking major financial losses. Meanwhile high-end galleries clean up without showing much, if anything, that’s risky or innovative.”
Marilyn Horne At 84
Horne carries her 84 years the way others carry 60. Her mind is sharp, likewise her memory, and her speaking voice retains its unmistakable metal. Dwelling on the past is not her style. “I don’t listen to myself,” she says. “I don’t watch myself.” Yet in anticipation of the move to the West Coast, she has been forced to contemplate her archive of private recordings.
Dancers Are Choreographers, Too, And It’s Time For Dance Criticism To Reflect That
Dancer Benedict Nguyen: “We make contributions to creative processes all the time. Some of these are obvious: We often improvise material or generate entire phrases to be incorporated into a work. Others are more innocuous: Dancers are sometimes asked to give feedback that ends up shaping the composition of a work. This is choreography. As working relationships between dancers and choreographers evolve, the dialogue on crediting authorship needs to reflect the collaboration at the heart of so many works.”
Arts Orgs Fear They Simply Can’t Afford To Turn Down Donations From Ethically Dubious Sources
“Although the vast majority are concerned that taking the ‘wrong’ sort of money could damage their reputation, just one in four report that their organisation has any sort of ethical fundraising policy. The findings emerge out of a survey of over 500 arts workers who shared their views on ethical fundraising and sponsorship. Their comments also reveal why organisations do or do not have a policy in place, and how useful they consider such policies to be.”
Resellers Who Use Bots To Buy Up Hot Tickets Could See Their Fines Soar
Under a new law submitted in the UK Parliament last week, “anyone caught using automated software to instantly buy tickets in such a way will face an unlimited fine. The move is part of a wider government drive to protect ‘real fans’ whose experience is being soured by inflated prices and limited ticket availability.”
In Interview On Record-Breaking Episode, ‘Simpsons’ Creator Matt Groening Puts His Foot In It
With its 636th having aired last weekend, The Simpsons now holds the record for most episodes of any scripted prime-time series. Said Groening, “I actually sometimes meet a famous actor and say, ‘Aw, you should do The Simpsons sometime.’ And they say, ‘I already did.'” But that’s not where he put his foot in it – his comment about the Apu controversy is what has Twitter a-twitter.