“Is it time to stop talking about sex and sexuality, as Mr. Setoodeh’s piece appears to suggest? On the contrary, I think the opposite – that this article points to the sexual hypocrisy that’s still in evidence in North America today, permeating the entertainment industry, which is as virulently homophobic as it ever was.”
Tag: 05.14.10
British Columbia Libraries To Lend Digital Books
“Nothing is downloadable — instead a digital copy of the book pops up with an image that resembles a page. The entire book — and the entire collection — is searchable for researchers looking into subjects such as Emily Carr or Simon Fraser.”
Live Concerts, Festivals Booming As Recording Business Slips
“UK fans spent £1.45bn on gigs in 2009 – up 4% from the previous year. In 2008, fans spent more money on live music than recorded music for the first time in modern history, and that gap has now widened. Sales of CDs, records and digital downloads remained flat at £1.35bn in 2009. The picture has changed dramatically since 2004, when almost £2bn was spent on recorded music – more than double the amount spent on live music.”
Recording Exec: Musical Piracy Is Unstoppable
“We’ve got markets like Spain and Italy, where [people say] ‘You buy music? What are you doing buying music when you can get it for free?’ Clearly those markets are in the situation where, unless we can turn those markets around, we’re going to have a major problem having a music business there.”
Stars Of L.A. Ring Cycle Go Public With Complaints About Staging
“British tenor John Treleaven, who plays the hero Siegfried, and American soprano Linda Watson, who plays Brünnhilde, said German director Achim Freyer’s avant-garde staging – which features a steeply tilted stage, bulky costumes and oversized masks – interferes with their acting and singing and poses excruciating physical burdens.”
Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui’s Response To The Tower Of Babel
On his new dance, Babel (words): “It was the first time in the Bible that everybody did something wrong, it wasn’t just Eve or only Judas; it was actually all of us … And God decided to punish us by separating languages so that we couldn’t understand each other. Well, I have an issue with that. … And I feel that in a sense there is a language that we still do have in common, all of us, and I would say that is rhythm.”
UK’s Top Foreign Fiction Prize Goes To Philippe Claudel
“The winner of this year’s Independent Foreign Fiction Prize is Brodeck’s Report by Philippe Claudel. The French novelist – and now film director – shares the £10,000 award with translator John Cullen for the English edition of his work.”
What’s A Balletomane?
“Someone who thinks dancers matter more than choreography. While New York City Ballet does not reveal casts until a week or two before the performance … [American] Ballet Theater issues its first announcement of who will dance what back in October. The groupies have had months to plan their lives accordingly.”