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Meta
Category Archives: Personal ruminations & essays
Musical Gentrification
I don’t know about you, but I’ve got lots of time to think, to ponder questions old & new. One of my oldest questions is the conundrum of popularity in music. It’s a complicated phenomenon, and I’m not saying I … Continue reading
10 Movies: a quiz
Social media can be a lot like real life. There we are, all alone, when someone tries to get our attention demanding some sort of response. It may involve some work, or some fun: or both. I’m recapping the way … Continue reading
Wordless chorus
This subject seems apt right now. The voices in this music have no words, which is a perfect expression for a time when we don’t know what’s to come. Of course we never do, but it’s especially noticeable when we’re … Continue reading
Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Essays, Music and musicology, Personal ruminations & essays, Popular music & culture
Tagged Claude Debussy, Danny Elfman, Edward Scissorhands, Giuseppe Verdi, Good Will Hunting, Gustav Holst, Maurice Ravel, Rigoletto, Scrooged, The Planets, The Wizard of Oz, wordless chorus
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Douglas Chambers – Stonyground
I heard today that Douglas Chambers passed away this past weekend, and that the cause of his passing was COVID-19. I sometimes make big long preambles when I’m avoiding something. I can’t deny this time that I’m avoiding several big … Continue reading
Lepage’s Coriolanus: a video sandwich
There’s a particular magic to live theatre that you can almost glimpse in an online transmission, but it’s not really the same, not quite so magical. When I see Coriolanus get into a car onstage that seems to drive into … Continue reading
Disappointing Planet of the Humans
I’m giggling as I begin writing this, because I know that for some people, credentials are everything. If I dare speak about an enviro-documentary where do I stand, where am I coming from? This is such a partisan world that … Continue reading
Saturday not quite Live
SNL in the era of quarantine? It’s impossible in the usual way: The eager audience in Studio 8H of the Comcast Building (the one many of us know as the “RCA Building”) The cold opening The monologue The musical guests … Continue reading
Posted in Personal ruminations & essays, Politics, Popular music & culture
Tagged Adam Sandler, Anthony Fauci, Big Papi, Brad PItt, Colin Jost, comedy, COVID-19, David Ortiz, Kenan Thompson, Michael Che, Miley Cyrus, Pandemic, Pete Davidsen, saturday night live, SNL, Weekend Update, WFH, What's up with that
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