“Whether or not this boom is directly due to the rise of jukebox musicals is uncertain. What is certain, though, is the relative security of jukebox musicals in the industry.”
Tag: 07.20.15
Police Pull ‘American Psycho’ From Shelves In Australia
An Adelaide bookstore was raided following a complaint that the notorious Bret Easton Ellis novel didn’t have the sealed plastic cover required for all “restricted classification” titles (meaning for 18-and-older individuals only).
Battles, Batman, And Liberace: A Cultural History Of Capes
“Simple in design, yet evocative of the utmost drama and intrigue, capes are sartorial shorthand for imminent action. To fasten one around your shoulders is to say to the world: ‘Some pretty major scenes are about to go down. And make no mistake: I am ready.’ It’s a message that comes across regardless of whether the wearer is a warrior, a superhero, or Liberace. But how did capes come to be imbued with excitement and peril?”
The Ten Most Beautiful Movies Of All Time (Not Best, Mind You; Most Beautiful)
Well, really, it’s ten categories of beautiful movie (Chinese historical epic, classic Hollywood black-and-white, Terrence Malick movie, wordless montage of landscapes, Stanley Kubrick film, etc.) and the Cinefix guys’ favorite examples of each type. Plenty to argue about (e.g., Days of Heaven isn’t there, and neither are any of the Qatsi films). (video)
Ireland Gives Brian Friel His Own Theatre Festival
“Details will be announced on Monday for the Lughnasa International Friel Festival which will have, at its heart, a production of one of Friel’s plays presented on both sides of the border in Donegal and Belfast. … The festival will be directed by Séan Doran, who is also in charge of the Samuel Beckett festival, now in its fourth year and due to open next week in Enniskillen.”
The Music App That Has Made Steve Reich The Cool Composer Of The Moment
“The app is perfectly modern and delightful. It’s called Steve Reich’s Clapping Music. It is available only for iPhone or iPad, and it’s free. It is simple: It plays a famous piece of experimental music composed by Reich in 1972.”
Artists And The “Gig” Economy
“Artists remain pretty firmly entrenched as contract workers – with some of the advantages, but most of the negatives associated with being in the Gig Economy. There are some areas in which artists have moved to being employees with the attendant benefits, but often little of the real security.”
Explosion Of Street Art In Detroit Sparks Debate
“The rush of news and the controversy surrounding Fairey’s arrest have re-ignited a debate over the value of street art, its connection to unauthorized graffiti and vandalism and the increasing role that public art is playing in revitalizing and beautifying the city in myriad neighborhoods, from southwest Detroit to Eastern Market, downtown, the Grand River corridor and elsewhere.”
Comic Book Guru: Today’s Superhero Culture Is A Catastrophe For Culture Of Our Time
“It looks to me very much like a significant section of the public, having given up on attempting to understand the reality they are actually living in, have instead reasoned that they might at least be able to comprehend the sprawling, meaningless, but at-least-still-finite ‘universes’ presented by DC or Marvel Comics. I would also observe that it is, potentially, culturally catastrophic to have the ephemera of a previous century squatting possessively on the cultural stage and refusing to allow this surely unprecedented era to develop a culture of its own, relevant and sufficient to its times.”
Study: Music Instruction Helps Teenage Brains
“We show that in-school music training changes the course of adolescent brain development. Our results support the notion that the adolescent brain remains receptive to training, underscoring the importance of enrichment during teenage years.”