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Admit it, you've always wanted this to happen.
Folks just keep sending me librarian humor—I love it! The First Post hosts this most excellent installment.
Despite the ongoing post-SXSW recovery problem, sorta like jet lag that will not go away, I managed to stagger forth and see two shows this week both of which were worth the trek.
First up was Ruthie Foster. Say the word "folky" and I'm pretty much outta there. I no longer feel the need to torture myself by attending shows where someone with a guitar, who can't sing or play and has no real material feels it necessary to get up and bore a crowd to death. Join a band people, that way you have somewhere to hide.
Ruthie however is a different story. I saw a bit of her set in Austin…
The process behind yesterday's entry also led me to an old essay by Art Dudley. "Academy? What Academy?!" is special because it was AD's first piece published in Stereophile. Beyond that, and like all of Art's writing, it is special also because of the message it contains. While, on the surface, it's something of a deathblow to what was The Academy Advancing High Performance Audio and Video (what a crappy name!), there is a more important message, one that is just as relevant today as it was when the article was written, nearly ten years ago.
Art gives us his own…
We attended the New York Philharmonic Saturday, and, if the classical record industry is in trouble, classical music is still vibrantly alive. Ionarts gets it precisely right, Saturday's concert was about as balanced a program as I've ever heard and it was a meeting of equals.
Sir Colin Davis cannot possibly be 80! He was a marvel to watch, as he coaxed color and precision out of the Phil—and the post-Masur NYP is a remarkable orchestra. It has the lush ensemble sound of Ormandy's Philadelphia band and the precision of the Reiner era CSO. It has come a long way from the late '80s doldrums…
The story behind The Raft of the Medusa. Like the painting, it isn't pretty, but you can't look away.
As a sci-fi fan, I can assure you that this never ends well.