“Large crowds have flocked to a memorial service in Johannesburg for South African singer Miriam Makeba, who died last weekend after a concert in Italy. Musicians, poets and politicians paid tribute to the 76-year-old performer… The singer, who was known as Mama Africa, spent more than 30 years in exile after lending her support to the campaign against apartheid.”
Tag: 11.15.08
CBC Radio Orchestra Not Going Quietly
The Vancouver-based CBC Radio Orchestra plays its final concert this weekend, and fans of the ensemble are expected to protest the CBC’s decision to scrap it. And while the orchestra is expected to continue performing, at least for now, under a new name, the sting of the CBC’s slap is still fresh.
Seven Words You Can’t Say Anywhere, Apparently
“George Carlin’s ‘Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television’ was so far ahead of its time — or maybe just so plain profane — in 1972 that you still can’t utter the Big Seven on prime-time broadcast television… And as it happens, you can’t necessarily hear them at the Kennedy Center, either,” where the routine was mercilessly bleeped during a ceremony honoring the late comic. Some in attendance found it ironic – others were merely annoyed.
The Dancing Seagull
Canada’s National Ballet is giving the North American premiere of a newly choreographed version of Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull. “Chekhov’s original play is about actors and playwrights. In [John Neumeier’s] ballet, they have become dancers and choreographers.”
Music Is Back In Baghdad
“After years on the run from Shiite and Sunni militias and morality police, Iraqi musicians are slowly returning to the streets of Baghdad, looking to fill the silence left by the fading civil war… Under the strict interpretation of Islamic law imposed by Al-Qaeda on the areas it controlled, musicians were considered a threat to morality, along with alcohol vendors, barbers and women who did not cover their hair.”