There have been times in the MFA’s past when it hasn’t lived up to its educational mission, when it has pandered to the whims of the wealthy — particularly its fat cat benefactors.
Commentary
Commentary/Interview: Boston Globe Union Negotiations — Anger and Resistance
Those who value serious journalism (as well as the rights of journalists) should be quite worried about just how lethally Boston Globe management is attempting to undercut the newspaper’s union.
Literary Appreciation: The Late Harold Bloom — Pursuer of “Difficult Pleasures”
“What is the function of literary criticism in a Disinformation Age? Read, reread, describe, evaluate, appreciate: that is the art of literary criticism for the present time.” — Harold Bloom
Music Commentary: Songs Ken Burns Overlooked in “Country Music”
Country music is as rich and complex as any other genre, but given the inevitable marketing tie-ins, it might be a good time to offer the names of artists and songs that either weren’t included or were briefly touched on at best.
Film Reconsideration: The Beats’s “Pull My Daisy” at 60
You can go home again, daddy-o, but you’re not the same person you were the first time around.
Music Commentary: Ken Burns’ “Country Music” — Superb Cinematic Storytelling
Country Music digs into the rich, deep dirt of a music with a complicated past, a hybrid genre soaked in soulful suffering, twangy glory, and times both high and tough.
Music Commentary: Modern Marketing and The Hella Mega Tour
If the music industry put as much effort into being fair to their customers as they put into taking their money, everyone could participate in the rocking world.
Visual Arts Commentary: Public Art — Much More than Murals
Thankfully, public art has become much more than murals for blank wall spaces.
Rock Feature: Roger Daltrey of The Who — How Can He Afford to Tour?
If there is any theme that runs throughout the story of Roger Daltrey’s life as he tells it, it’s that he has always needed more money to – as he so folksily puts it – “pay the bills.”
Book Commentary: “Dying of Whiteness” — What Rough Beast Slouches Toward Kansas to be Born?
Class pressures are exerting themselves, class fault-lines are emerging, and ancient demons are being released as a result.