Archives for May 2017

Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys perform his “Blue Grass Breakdown” on a 1965 episode of National Life Grand Ole Opry. In addition to Monroe on mandolin, the members of the band are Gene Lowinger on fiddle, Don Lineburger on banjo, Pete Rowan on guitar, and James Monroe on bass:

(This is the latest in a series of arts-related videos that appear in this space each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday)

“Artificial Intelligence is going nowhere until we have mastered Artificial Emotion. AI will continue to solve particular, set problems brilliantly, as it has been doing with slowly-increasing prowess since the 1950s, but AI software won’t show a glimmer of originality or creativity, which are essential to the very idea of thought, until it can simulate emotion as accurately as it does other mental phenomena.”

David Gelernter, interviewed by Conor Friedersdorf (The Atlantic, Feb. 23, 2017)

Here’s my list of recommended Broadway, off-Broadway, and out-of-town shows, updated weekly. In all cases, I gave these shows favorable reviews (if sometimes qualifiedly so) in The Wall Street Journal when they opened. For more information, click on the title.

BROADWAY:
• Dear Evan Hansen (musical, PG-13, all shows sold out last week, reviewed here)
• Groundhog Day (musical, G/PG-13, reviewed here)
• Hamilton (musical, PG-13, Broadway transfer of off-Broadway production, all shows sold out last week, reviewed here)
• On Your Feet! (jukebox musical, G, reviewed here)
• Present Laughter (comedy, PG-13, closes July 2, reviewed here)
• Six Degrees of Separation (serious comedy, PG-13/R, closes July 16, reviewed here)
• Sweat (drama, PG-13, Broadway transfer of off-Broadway production, original production reviewed here)

CLOSING SOON OFF BROADWAY:
• The Fantasticks (musical, G, suitable for children capable of enjoying a love story, closes June 4, reviewed here)
• Vanity Fair (serious comedy, PG-13, newly extended through May 27, reviewed here)

CLOSING SUNDAY ON BROADWAY:
• The Price (drama, G, too long and serious for children, all shows sold out last week, reviewed here)

“The play will be worthless if all the characters resemble you.”

Anton Chekhov, letter to A.P. Chekhov, May 8, 1889

“Happy Birthday, Samuel Barber,” originally telecast by CBS on March 17, 1977, as an episode of Camera Three. The composer is interviewed in his New York apartment by James Tocco on the occasion of his sixty-seventh birthday:

(This is the latest in a series of arts-related videos that appear in this space each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday)

“Brevity is the sister of talent.”

Anton Chekhov, letter to A.P. Chekhov, April 11, 1889

In the wake of the thirty-day movie challenge comes a new meme that I find—perhaps not surprisingly—irresistible. As before, I’ve opted to do it in a single sitting, so here goes:

1. A song you like with a color in the title
Steely Dan, “Black Cow” (Becker-Fagen)

2. A song you like with a number in the title
The Dominoes, “Sixty Minute Man” (Ward-Marks)

3. A song that reminds you of summertime
Otis Redding, “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay” (Redding-Cropper)

4. A song that reminds you of someone you would rather forget about
Patricia Elliott and Victoria Mallory, “Every Day a Little Death” (from A Little Night Music) (Sondheim)

5. A song that needs to be played loud
The Pixies, “Gigantic” (Deal-Francis)

6. A song that makes you want to dance
D’Angelo and the Vanguard, “Sugah Daddy” (D’Angelo-Q-Tip-Foster)

7. A song to drive to
Dwight Yoakam, “Long White Cadillac” (Alvin)

8. A song about drugs or alcohol
Doc and Merle Watson, “Let the Cocaine Be” (traditional)

9. A song that makes you happy
Marvin Gaye, “Got to Give It Up” (Gaye)

10. A song that makes you sad
The Band, “Rockin’ Chair” (Robertson)

11. A song that you never get tired of
Louvin Brothers, “Cash on the Barrelhead” (Louvin-Louvin)

12. A song that you love from 2011
Paul Simon, “Rewrite” (Simon)

13. One of your favorite Seventies songs
Rod Stewart, “Every Picture Tells a Story” (Stewart-Wood)

14. A song that you would love played at your wedding
Fred Astaire, “Something’s Gotta Give” (Mercer)

15. A song that is a cover by another artist
Pomplamoose, “Single Ladies” (Put a Ring on It) (Beyoncé-Nash-Harrell-Stewart)

16. One of your favorite songs from a movie
Aimee Mann, “Save Me” (from Magnolia) (Mann)

17. A song that features your favorite artist
Nancy LaMott, “Two for the Road” (Bricusse-Mancini)

18. A song from the year you were born
Johnny Cash, “Get Rhythm” (Cash)

19. A song that makes you think about life
Diana Krall, “Black Crow” (Mitchell)

20. A song that reminds you of your mom
Louis Armstrong, “Winter Wonderland” (Bernard-Smith)

21. A favorite song with a person’s name in the title
Ry Cooder, “FDR in Trinidad” (McLean)

22. A song that motivates you
Erin McKeown, “Air” (McKeown)

23. A song that you think everybody should listen to
Mabel Mercer, “The World Today” (Roy)

24. A song by a band/group you wish were still together
Dave’s True Story, “Blue Nile” (Cantor)

25. A song by an artist no longer living
Ray Price, “Invitation to the Blues” (Miller)

26. A song that makes you want to fall in love
Ani DiFranco, “Anyday” (DiFranco)

27. A song that breaks your heart
Bob Dylan, “Not Dark Yet” (Dylan)

28. A song by an artist with a voice that you love
Luciana Souza, “Doce de Côco” (Bandolim)

29. A song that you remember from your childhood
Petula Clark, “Downtown” (Hatch)

30. A song that reminds you of yourself
Frank Sinatra, “Lonely Town” (from On the Town) (Bernstein-Comden-Green)

* * *

The Pixies perform “Gigantic” in concert:

From 2007:

It is, I suspect, no accident that so many modernist buildings have either been torn down or are at risk of demolition. Most of them are respected but not loved, and even a truly great building like the Farnsworth House inspires an austere, even chilly kind of awe in most of its visitors, myself most definitely included. Wright’s houses are different. Some, to be sure, are more problematic than others, but those who are fortunate enough to live in Usonian houses know better than anyone else how lovable they can be….

Read the whole thing here.