“Chaos continues to be the guiding principle in every facet of the pop landscape, as veterans and upstarts alike grapple with the unraveling of old business models and a deeply uncertain future.”
Tag: 12.30.07
Americans Head To The Ballroom
“USA Dance, a national nonprofit group devoted to getting ballroom dance into the Olympics, reports a 30 percent increase in its membership since the debut of “Dancing With the Stars” five seasons ago. There are about 200 USA Dance chapters across the United States, and on any given weekend those chapters have about 23,000 dues-paying members hoofing it on dance floors.”
The Kahlil Gibran Phenomenon
Since its publication, in 1923, “The Prophet” has sold more than nine million copies in its American edition alone. There are public schools named for Gibran in Brooklyn and Yonkers.
So What Literary Generation Just Ended?
“Critics love the idea of literary generations, but it would be a challenge to find themes or ideas to link the disparate work of Norman Mailer, Grace Paley and Kurt Vonnegut.”
2007 Broadway- The Year Of The Play
“In a typical Broadway fall, star-led revivals and glittery new songfests might make the news. This year the lone major musical to open, “Young Frankenstein,” landed with a splat and proved how tricky it is to fine-tune the work of a stage full of talent in the context of a machine-tooled megamusical.”
The Master List Of Artists Who Died In 2007
Listed month by month…
St. Louis Theatre Expands
Three new theatres opened in St. Louis. “That, in a city plagued for years by venue wars, would be good news all by itself. What’s better: Plans call for all of the theaters to be used by different troupes. That’s a healthy plan for the community on both sides of the lights.”
Classical Music Back On Top?
Tony Tommasini says stories about declines in classical music don’t jibe with his experience. “In my experience classical music seems in the midst of an unmistakable rebound. Most of the concerts and operas I attended this year drew large, eager and appreciative audiences.”
Hip-Hop’s Big Swoon
“Sales are down all over, but hip-hop has been hit particularly hard. Rap sales fell 21 percent from 2005 to 2006, and that trend seems to be continuing. It’s the inevitable aftermath, perhaps, of the genre’s vertiginous rise in the 1990s, during which a series of breakout stars figured out that they could sell millions without shaving off their rough edges.”
2007 – The Year Greatness Died
“Something happened in 2007, something ended. Old gods stumbled and fell. New ones sprang up. But they sprang up in their thousands. That’s the point these days.”