Posts

Television Review: Netflix’s “The English Game” — The Sport of Class Warfare

April 7, 2020
Posted in , ,

For those averse to sports, The English Game is focused more on attitudes and mores of the time than on the game itself.

Read More

Cultural Commentary: Songs of Forgetting – From the Cultural Quarantine of the 1918 Flu Pandemic

April 7, 2020
Posted in ,

At a time when fear of the influenza was in danger of being deemed unpatriotic, art retreated to nationalism or escapism.

Read More

Book Review: “The Mountains Sing” — The Power of Witnessing

April 6, 2020
Posted in , ,

This is a love letter, told honestly and poignantly, to the Vietnamese people, an homage to their dedication to remembrance, during and after a painful time.

Read More

Rock Album Review: Phish — Comfortably Optimistic at Home

April 6, 2020
Posted in , , ,

Sigma Oasis is one of Phish’s better albums since the group reunited in 2009 after a five-year breakup.

Read More

Arts Remembrance: Krzysztof Penderecki (1933-2020) and Christopher Rouse (1949-2019)

April 5, 2020
Posted in ,

Many of the qualities that mark Penderecki’s best work – exquisite technique, an innate feel for rhythmic athleticism, an ear for dazzling colors and theatrical gestures, an impeccable sense of musical structure, and the affinity for emotional immediacy – are also hallmarks of Rouse’s.

Read More

Book Review: “Shakespeare in a Divided America” — Illuminating the Bard’s Influence on Our History

April 5, 2020
Posted in , ,

Shakespeare’s role in American history is not immediately apparent — at least it wasn’t to me. Part of the considerable pleasure of reading this book is seeing how James Shapiro draws the connections.

Read More

Jazz CD Reviews: Lakecia Benjamin & Dave Liebman Group — Rejuvenating the Past

April 5, 2020
Posted in , , ,

I’d have to give the edge to Dave Liebman in terms of innovative creative reach. But Lakecia Benjamin more than holds her own in how she gives re-vitalizing attention to some very important musical roots.

Read More

Music Review: Childish Gambino’s “3.15.20” — The Best (And Worst) of Both Worlds

April 4, 2020
Posted in , , ,

Childish Gambino is hamstrung by ambition, but 3.15.20 still contains a bevy of enjoyable songs, including one or two tracks that brush against brilliance.

Read More

Book Review: “August” — A Rewarding Curiosity in the Ordinary

April 4, 2020
Posted in , ,

August is funny in a way — over time its small scale rhythms and monosyllabic reactions generate a comforting beauty that settles in.

Read More

Television Review: “The Virtues” — The Twisted Path to Redemption

April 4, 2020
Posted in , , ,

The pace of this superb mini-series is keyed to generating intimacy with the characters and their struggles.

Read More

Recent Posts

Popular Posts

Categories

Archives