Commentary

Jazz Review / Commentary: Brian Carpenter’s Ghost Train Orchestra and Some Notes on “Irony”

December 27, 2013
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Brian Carpenter and the Ghost Train Orchestra are not about re-creating either hot jazz from the ’20s or novelty works from the ’30s and ’40s. They’re interested in capturing the spirit that they perceive to be inside these almost-forgotten pieces and using that spirit to make original new music.

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Film Commentary: You Know It When You See It — Desire and “Blue is the Warmest Color”

December 22, 2013
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Without its many steamy lesbian sex interludes tarting up what could otherwise be classified as a routine narrative, would “Blue is the Warmest Color” have garnered so many rave reviews and prizes?

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Film Commentary: A Contrarian View of “12 Years a Slave”

November 17, 2013
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Why haven’t more movies been made about American slavery? Hollywood studio racism is certainly a prime factor; but even for determined anti-racists, there’s also the aesthetic problem of creating a compelling film drama.

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Music Commentary: Capleton’s Redemption Song?

November 14, 2013
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Capleton’s cancellation at Boston’s Hibernian Hall shows that reggae stars can’t easily escape their anti-gay discographies.

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Arts Remembrance: His Soapbox Was The Brillo Box — Arthur Danto, 1/1/1924 –10/25/2013

November 12, 2013
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The late Arthur Danto was open to and appreciative of all sorts of possibilities in art, as other visual arts critics were not.

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Book Review: Julian Assange Trades Hopes and Fears With Cyberpunks

October 25, 2013
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Any book in which the fourth sentence is “The world is not sliding, but galloping into a new transnational dystopia” runs the risk of overstating its case from the get-go.

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Arts Commentary: David Koch, WGBH Trustee — The Real God of Carnage?

October 8, 2013
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The opportunity to protest the presence of Tea Party mega-funder David Koch on the board of WGBH this Wednesday should not be missed by anyone who is interested in preserving the soul (and/or sanity) of public broadcasting.

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Arts Commentary: To Stay or Not to Stay? Copley Place’s fountain faces an uphill battle

September 26, 2013
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Today, the fountain at Copley Place feels embarrassing in some way; not its form or execution, but its very existence.

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Fuse Music Commentary: Free-For-Alls Bode Well for Jazz’s Future

September 17, 2013
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The obvious question is how can such a sprawling free festival – and the nightly fireworks shop that capped two of the nights – happen in such a cash-strapped city?

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Fuse Commentary: 2013-1014 Orchestral Season Preview

September 11, 2013
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So, even though certain pieces by Mendelssohn and Beethoven seem to be turning up with greater frequency than perhaps may be healthy, there is still much to admire and look forward to in the upcoming orchestral season.

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