Doja Cat offers a glaring example of why the music industry’s new (albeit Big Brother-inspired) way of doing digital business is here to stay.
Commentary
Music Commentary: The Catechism of Jazz Critical Cliches
A cautionary list of cliches, accumulated during a lifetime’s observation, for the next generation of jazz critics — and readers of same.
Book Review: A Troubling yet Timely Screed — America’s Debilitating “Meritocracy Trap”
Though its prose veers into academic rough patches, the volume does what it sets out to do, brilliantly portraying how the delusive demon of meritocracy has led America into its current socioeconomic quagmire.
Visual Arts Commentary: Street Furniture — The Dilemma of Making Urban Spaces Comfortable and Unique
The City of Boston needs to think seriously about maintaining its distinctive charm, and street furniture is a very powerful tool to that end, when strategically applied.
Dance Feature: Sara Juli’s “Burnt-Out Wife” — Scorched
In Burnt-Out Wife, Maine-based performance artist Sara Juli takes on the unarticulated rage lurking in a long-term marriage with a deft touch and the humor of a born stand-up comic.
Jazz Album Review: What “Data Lords” Says About the Remarkable Career of Maria Schneider
“The sun and everything in this world is there waiting for us—patiently and loyally. To feel its power, we just need to make the choice to get up, go out, look up and connect to its magnificence.” That is really, truly, there in the music.
Jazz Appreciation: Rahsaan Roland Kirk — A Musical Force Field
If there’s ever been a more distinctive jazz musician than Rahsaan Roland Kirk, you’ll have to prove it to me.
Life Commentary: A Cultural Journalist Dealing with Cancer During Covid
It’s never a good time to be diagnosed with cancer, but June 10th, 2020, was among the worst. By that day, 7,454 people had died of COVID-19 in my state of Massachusetts.
Author Remembrance: Writer Pete Hamill — Sane, Liberal, and Literate
The blogosphere might be very useful as propaganda or as therapy. But it’s not journalism.
Critical Commentary: The Shaky Life of a Film Critic
Cinema reviewing exists as a respected profession only as long as the traditional role of the critic is honored.