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An Argument For “Canceling” Beethoven?

“He was the most performed composer in America in 2019-20, with over double the number of performances of Mozart (the second most performed). Being a guaranteed ticket-seller and donor pleaser, he keeps reappearing in concert programmes to the exclusion of other, more diverse composers. In the neo-liberal world, where audiences prefer the familiar, such attitudes to programming are unlikely to change unless there is a mass cultural boycott (i.e. ‘cancelling’) of composers like Beethoven.” – Varsity

Why A Charlie Brown Christmas Is So Enduring

“Charles Schulz had what Maurice Sendak had: respect for children. He understood the way they think and feel, not the way adults want them to think and feel. He understood that there’s a point in children’s growing up when Christmas doesn’t work its magic as reliably as it once did. Schulz let them explore a taboo subject, Christmastime unhappiness, while still reassuring them that Christmas is a good and fun and wonderful thing.” – The Atlantic

What To Look Forward To In The Arts In A Biden Administration

Proposed actions include an expansion of existing workforce hiring programs to include artists and creative workers, launching a program of federal arts commissions, developing an ArtistCorps within AmeriCorps, continuing CARES Act policies that extended benefits to the self-employed, and the creation of a new leadership position to coordinate federal arts policy. – Forbes

Our Meta-Moviegoer Hearts Were Filled With A Void In 2020

And that’s because we couldn’t check the box office receipts obsessively. “Early on in the pandemic, I would feel a phantom curiosity every Sunday afternoon. Isn’t there something I’m supposed to do right about now? It was a tiny, unscratchable itch that has since numbed to almost nothing. But it’s still there. I miss the feeling of a continuous curiosity regularly sated, and I know I’m not alone.” – Fast Company

Prestige TV Just Doesn’t Matter Anymore

Nobody cared in 2020 about “good” or “bad” TV. It was there for something different. “I craved a slightly different definition of quality. I wanted shows that made me feel just a bit better about the world, through their kindness or their zaniness or their offering of nostalgia—shows that made me, physically isolated from so many of the people I love, feel a little less alone.” – The Atlantic

An L.A. Couple Rallies To Save Indie Bookstores And Other Small Businesses

Inspired by stories about the woes of local indie bookstores, the couple at the head of a skin-care company (this is Los Angeles, after all) decided to do what they could to aid small businesses, including indie bookstores, in the area. “The thing I’m fearful the most of after this is, when we lift our heads and look around our communities and neighborhoods, I think we’re going to see a lot missing, and we have to rebuild our main streets in our neighborhoods because otherwise we just don’t have a point of connection.” – Los Angeles Times