A few years ago I did a post on how country music seemed to have a Southern bias. Well, Donald Federikovich Trump owes his victory to the northern counterpart of rednecks, whatever they are called, that won him the states […]
Arts
What Really Happened to Poetry and Classical Music?
In recent years one would get the impression that both poetry and classical music have declined in popularity except in rather esoteric “hip” circles; at least the newer kinds of poetry and classical music being written are not, for the […]
So-Called “Bro-Country” is a New Thing, and an Old Thing
I spent a few days in Jackson, Mississippi, last fall, and for the interest of the thing had a country music station on in my car, because you never know. It turned out a large number of the songs were […]
Valentine’s Day Carols? And Other Observations
A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all our readers. As usual, what Americans call ‘The Holidays’ is an odd mix, especially in the special music now played. What are effectively Gospel carols [especially if they sing all […]
Art Epiphany, Part II: the Millennium Bridge
I write this, and the previous post, from London. One of the newer features of the city, finished in 2000 [opened for two days, shut down for repairs, and reopened in 2002], is a pedestrian bridge called Millennium Bridge. It […]
My Great Art Epiphany of 1995
I think I must have read, somewhere before 1995, that arts institutions were taking the place of religious institutions among the upper classes of this country. But it did not stick with me until an important epiphany I had in […]
Popular Music: The Ancients and the Moderns
In eighteenth century Europe, one of the favorite intellectual debates was the Debate of the Ancients and the Moderns, whether Europe had now exceeded the greatness of the Greco-Roman era or had not yet done so. There is a similar […]
If a picture beats a thousand words…
If a picture beats a thousand words, how come so many art commenters can get two thousand words out of every picture?
The Uses of Classical Music in the Public Square
It turns out that classical music in the public square has a function of value. Adolescents tend to disperse from where it is played, so even such as McDonalds are now discovering the delights of the Western classical music tradition. […]
An Amazing Millay Sonnet
This sonnet by Edna St Vincent Millay has, for some reason, been sitting on my desk for a year or so, and I just found it. Keep in mind that it was written in 1939, thirty years before men actually […]