Category Archives: Popular music & culture

Appreciating Canadian Artists on Flag Day

Posted on February 14, 2025 by barczablog

The day after Valentine’s Day, February 15th 1965, the new Canadian flag replaced the old one. On both February 14th and 15th we see red, both days to show our love. Twenty-nine years ago, in 1996 Jean Chretien proclaimed “Flag … Continue reading →

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Mourning Donald Sutherland

Posted on June 22, 2024 by barczablog

I am another Canadian mourning the passing of Donald Sutherland. When celebrities pass we may sometimes feel the loss more keenly than would seem reasonable for a stranger. I never met him even though I saw many of his films. … Continue reading →

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2024 Met Gala – JG Ballard’s Garden of Time tone deaf to the rabble

Posted on May 16, 2024 by barczablog

The 2024 Met Gala fund-raiser used a JG Ballard story for its theme, The Garden of Time. Ballard is one of my favourite writers, especially his short stories and science fiction. Several have made wonderful films. Art and commerce lurk … Continue reading →

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Questions for Jack Hui Litster in anticipation of his Gates of Heaven: Requiem for a Life of Peace

Posted on February 8, 2024 by barczablog

Jack Hui Litster has recently had two original operas produced by OperOttawa. Jack is a multi-instrumentalist and composer of concert music and film and TV score based in Ottawa, blending his classical and popular music training. As Composer-in-Residence for OperOttawa, Jack … Continue reading →

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Pete Davidson’s Bupkis

Posted on May 26, 2023 by barczablog

Pete Davidson’s new series Bupkis is in the twilight zone between reality tv and fiction.  It’s a kind of fiction made from reality…? I’m not sure, perhaps I’m giving it too much credit. It feels original. And so we watch … Continue reading →

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A Blue Christmas pointing me to Elvis’s redemption

Posted on December 26, 2022 by barczablog

The recent Saturday Night Live hosted by Austin Butler persuaded me to watch the recent biography of Elvis Presley, starring Butler. As we watched, Erika pointed to the similarity between Butler and Elvis, two men who both lost their mother … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Dance, theatre & musicals, Popular music & culture | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Popular Tchaikovsky at the TSO

Posted on November 24, 2022 by barczablog

Handel speaks from beyond the grave to remind musicians how he helps pay the rent in a meme. Ballet companies owe Tchaikovsky a similar debt, when families flock to the theatre for The Nutcracker. Popularity can be problematic when it … Continue reading →

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Sarah Polley – Run Towards the Danger

Posted on October 4, 2022 by barczablog

I have just finished reading Sarah Polley’s Run Towards the Danger, a book like none I’ve ever read before. It might be the most authentic autobiography I’ve ever encountered. Except that it’s not an autobiography. I notice too that while … Continue reading →

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Moving memoir from Molly

Posted on September 14, 2022 by barczablog

I’m re-reading Hello Molly, the memoir of Molly Shannon. It’s likely a bestseller mainly because of the fame of its author, a star on Saturday Night Live from 1995-2001. But I didn’t expect to be so moved, reading the book … Continue reading →

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Philip Glass: The Complete Piano Etudes

Posted on September 9, 2022 by barczablog

Do you compartmentalize? I ask because it’s common, a given in a modern life. Whether we’re speaking of the things we do for work-life balance, as part of an artistic discipline or simply to get through a busy day, it’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, domestic & wild, Books & Literature, Food, Health and Nutrition, Music and musicology, Opera, Personal ruminations & essays, Popular music & culture, Psychology and perception, Spirituality & Religion | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment