Part 1:
Why Music Writing Matters in 2011
In his introduction to an anthology of The Best Music Writing 2011, Alex Ross shares a selection of tweets reacting to bassist and singer Esperanza Spaulding’s upset over teen star Justin Bieber for the Best New Artist Grammy.
The viral dustup is emblematic of the convergence –and collisions of cultures in the age of the internet. Despite disputes over taste, Ross writes, “music always seems to remember back to a lost bond of common feeling.” We spoke with him about writing that allows that longing to speak and about his role as guest editor of Best Music Writing 2011” from DeCapo Press. He and series editor Daphne Carr selected works for the anthology that could appeal to general readers in a time of such tall fences of taste .
LINK: The original, slightly longer air version of this interview, which includes a great bit about Beethoven.
Part 2:
Synthesizing a Silent Classic
When this year’s golden globe nominations were announced, 3D, CGI, and IMAX were all bested by a silent, black and white film – The Artist, set in 1927 Hollywood, got more nods than any other nominee.
Now, another silent film, this one a 1927 original, is set to screen at Red River Theatres in Concord on New Year’s Eve – Fritz Lang’s Metropolis. Set in the not-too-distant future, it’s a miracle Metropolis hasn’t been remade - the dystopian science fiction classic comes complete with robots, a mad scientists, and class warfare. What it doesn’t come with, is a set soundtrack. Scores for silent films were created live – and the showing at Red River Theatre is no different. Enter Jeff Rapsis– when he isn’t working at The Hippo, he’s recreating orchestral scores for silent classics. He’ll be providing the score for Metropolis as it rings in the New Year.
Links
Part 3:
Here's What's Awesome: 2011!
Awesomator Brady Carlson runs down his top ten awesomest online moments of the year.
Part 4:
A Year of Big Ideas
Raj Patel, Sherry Turkle, Bruce Levine, Tyler Cowen and Eliza Griswold...oh, my! We smack a big red bow on our 11 for '11 series of conversations with big thinkers, analyze their predictive powers, and talk about their spheres of influence. How
We also look at some folks who, in retrospect, should have made the list, like leading edge tweeter Evan Hill, and music critic and retro-downer Simon Reynolds.
Related Posts:
11 for '11: Bruce Levine and Political Participation
11 for '11: Eliza Griswold
11 for '11: Michael Klare and Extreme Energy
11 for '11: Raj Patel
11 for '11: Raymond Tallis
11 for '11: Stephen Pinker
11 for '11: Tyler Cowen
