Reading is dying, asks Tim Egan. “For most of my lifetime, I’ve heard that reading is dead. In that time, disco has died, drive-in movies have nearly died, and something called The Clapper has come and gone through bedrooms across the nation. But reading?”
Tag: 02.23.08
Magazine Reviews Band Without Hearing The Music
The Black Crowes were surprised to see a review of their latest in Maxim. The magazine didn’t have the album, and when challenged, an editor replied: “Of course, we always prefer to (sic) hearing music, but sometimes there are big albums that we don’t want to ignore that aren’t available to hear, which is what happened with the Crowes. It’s either an educated guess preview or no coverage at all, so in this case we chose the former.”
Has Hollywood’s Reign Come To An End?
“For the past 75 years or so, the thought of making it big in Hollywood has created a gold-rush mentality in aspiring scriptwriters typing away – or ‘schmucks with Underwoods’, as the legendary studio boss Jack Warner called them. Yet, for many people in the entertainment industry, the 80th Annual Academy Awards have the whiff of a last hurrah.”
Te Kanawa Blasts “Opera Fakes”
Broadening her attack to decry the popular genre, which has seen singers such as Charlotte Church and Katherine Jenkins rise to stardom, Dame Kiri said: “They are all fake singers, they sing with a microphone. These people, two or three years and they’re gone.”
Judge Throws Out Suit Against Recording Industry
A federal judge has tossed a racketeering lawsuit seeking to represent those falsely sued for copyright infringement. The plaintif had sought damages against the Recording Industry Association of America, claining that the association was wrongfully suing thousands of consumers.
Scottish Opera – Home Of The 15-Minute Opera
The company commissioned five short operas from well-known writers and composers. “The contributors, many of whom are new to writing opera, were given a free choice of subject matter. The results are intriguing, with protagonists ranging from the Celtic god of dreams to a young Asian girl who works in a Glasgow kebab shop.”
Canadian Music Factions Squabble About Plan
The Songwriters Association wants a $5 tax on internet connections that would be used to pay musicians. The recording industry opposes the idea, saying it would ruin online music sales…
When The Internet Takes Over
“The Internet is becoming real now in a way it has never been before. It’s becoming the main medium in which consumers engage to get information and to communicate. You can see this happening in advertising, you can see it happening in telecom, video with YouTube, with music, with newspapers and magazines. It is all shifting en masse, and all consumers are basically moving over to the Internet.”
DC’s Arena Stage Has Left The Building
“And after eight conspicuous years of the Renovation Maybes — Will they? Won’t they? When? — Arena’s long-planned $125 million makeover has swept it into itinerant territory largely uncharted by any major American theater.”