Manson had three primary lures: LSD, sex, and music. But music, and its power to unite a community of outsiders and misfits, remains the least-examined weapon in his arsenal. – The New Yorker
Blog
Are You Ready To Take Advice On Morality From Machines?
“Some scholars herald artificial moral advisors as vast improvements over morally frail humans, as presenting the best opportunity for avoiding the extinction of human life from our own hands. They demand that we should take listen to machines for ethical advice. But should we?” – 3 Quarks Daily
On Broadway, Female Lead Producers Are Coming Into Their Own
“Many in this new generation of female producers are taking alternate paths to the industry’s top rung — picking up skills in the nonprofit theater world, which has become an important breeding ground for Broadway shows, or in the corporate entertainment industry, home to many of the movie and pop-music brands that end up seeding international stages.” – The New York Times
How Music Festivals Got To Be A Mega-Business
This year there will be roughly 100 large, multi-day events—attended by more than 10,000 people each—around the United States. Live Nation, the concert and festival promoter, is now arguably the most important firm in the music industry, with more revenues than most traditional record labels. It owns four of the five largest festivals. AEG, the sports and entertainment company, owns two others. – CityLab
And What Have The Hong Kong Protesters Adopted As Their Anthem? A Broadway Show Tune
“In a video recorded during the airport protest Friday, hundreds of demonstrators can be seen participating in a sit-down and heard singing and clapping to an a cappella version of ‘Do You Hear the People Sing?’ from the 1987 blockbuster … Les Misérables.” – The Washington Post
Mural Muddle: San Francisco School Board’s Lose-Lose Decision on Its WPA Art
In a 4-3 decision that’s likely to satisfy no one, the board elected to cover the Life of Washington mural without destroying it. The estimated cost: $875,000. Wouldn’t that money be better spent on education, not obliteration? – Lee Rosenbaum
Western Classical Music Is Booming In China. Here’s How Much
From 2013 to 2017, the number of orchestras in China leaped from 32 to 82. In 2019, the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra celebrated its 140th season, and the orchestra, along with its conductor, was recently signed to the prestigious Deutsche Grammophon label for a multi-year deal. – Ludwig Van
How The Royal Ballet Trains Pigeons To Play The Title Roles In A Frederick Ashton Ballet
The eponymous avians in Ashton’s The Two Pigeons are meant to be living symbols of the relationship between the two human leads, called the Young Man and the Young Girl. Reporter Jennifer Lu talks with Emma Hills, who trains the pigeons who have been doing the show for a decade, about how she teaches them and what mischief they occasionally get up to. – Pointe Magazine
After Difficult Period, New York Public Radio Has New CEO
Goli Sheikholeslami, who since 2014 has led a major turnaround as Chicago Public Radio (WBEZ), will take the helm at New York Public Radio (which includes WNYC, classical station WQXR, NJ Public Radio, and WNYC Studios, a major podcast producer) in October. She succeeds Laura Walker, who presided over extraordinary growth over more than two decades but came under pressure after a series of accusations and scandals involving longtime radio hosts. – The New York Times
Viacom And CBS Merger Gives The New Company Scale To Compete With Disney, Streamers
In an interview with CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin, CEO Bob Bakish cited ViacomCBS’s content library, which includes 140,000 TV episodes, 36,000 films and 750 series, as enough ammo to fight the likes of Netflix, Disney, Comcast and others entering the TV streaming wars. – CNBC