“While people’s strategies for ridding themselves of unwanted aural guests fell into one of two broad categories—distraction or coping—the most successful way to remove an earworm, they found, was to deal with it head on, by intentionally listening to the song or singing it out loud, no matter how embarrassing the song.”
Where The Oscars Orchestra Was (Not In The Theatre)
“While TV viewers could hear the song, they couldn’t see the orchestra in the Dolby Theatre. That’s because the orchestra was about a mile away from the stage.”
Officials Seize Ancient Roman Statue in Queens, Saying It’s Stolen
“United States officials said that they began tracking the life-size, 1,700-pound statue last year after they were alerted that it had been exhibited for sale at the Park Avenue Armory in Manhattan by Phoenix Ancient Art.” (Why is so much art crime lately in Queens?)
What’s Wrong With Art Today
“Big art, big artists, big dealers and big money play their roles in a hypnotic and well-rehearsed production, and toothy smiles abound. Yet this intoxicating spectacle is just the most public manifestation of a problem in the art world that has become increasingly obvious over the past decade: more and more, the cart is pulling the horse.”
What’s Really Wrong At The Metropolitan Opera (The Experience Sucks)
There’s no lobby, the food is bad, the bathrooms are inadequate, and… Why is it so hard to take care of audiences when they spend a lot of money to go to the opera? Manuela Hoelterhoff unloads.
How Brazilian Funk Left The Favellas And Moved Into The Mainstream
“Funk’s newfound popularity is fueled by listeners from a generation that has undergone the biggest class shift in Brazil’s history: tens of millions of people moving out of poverty to form a new middle class. If economic empowerment has given this new class a voice, funk has given many of its members something to sing.”
Music For The Hardest Days (No, It’s Not *Exactly* Therapy)
“Turning to music for comfort and solace is not a subject that is talked about much—not out loud, at any rate—in our community, even though it is a perfectly natural inclination, and something that many of us engage in regularly.”
What Does The Explosion Of Pre-Academy Awards Do For (And To) Movies?
“An increasingly eclectic group is also capitalizing on the Oscar-season feeding frenzy, taking advantage of celebrities’ and filmmakers’ willingness to be seen just about anywhere, accepting virtually anything, in a bid to generate heat for the prize that really matters.”
Will The Oscars Honor Camera Assistant Killed On Film Set?
“The 27-year-old was killed last week and has inspired the ‘Slate for Sarah’ social media campaign where crew members post photos and comments with Jones’ name written on their film slates.”
Do The Oscars Mean Anything At All? [AUDIO]
Bob Mondello: “I don’t think they mean anything. And it drives me nuts they’re taken so seriously. Let me give you an example. In 1952, the picture that won best picture was ‘Greatest Show on Earth,’ the circus movie. ‘Singing in the Rain’ was not nominated. What kind of sense does that make?”
NY’s Frieze Art Fair In Talks With Labor Leaders
“The fair, which is set to return to Randall’s Island in May, has been criticised by artists and activist groups for employing non-union workers to build its sprawling tent and transport art.”
How Can Amazon Ease The Pain Of A Prime Price Hike? Music.
“Amazon needs to figure out how to hold onto Prime members, its most valuable retail customers. Since keeping them happy is so vital, any additional Prime offerings can’t just be afterthoughts. If Amazon does music, it has to do it right.”
You Know What Makes More Money Than Google? Television
“On a profit-per-employee basis, 21st Century Fox (annual net income: $7.1b) is even richer than Google ($12.9b), according to calculations by BuzzFeed business editor Peter Lauria. That’s pretty astonishing.”
Writing A Bestselling, Super-Famous Book At Age 18 Might Not Be The Best Thing For You
“Instead of leaving for Chile with a band of gangsters, one stays in Paris and writes a novel. That seems to me a great adventure.”
Hello, Paradise: The Godfather Showing In Royal Albert Hall With A Live Orchestra
“There is little film music as instantly recognizable as Nino Rota’s opening music played on trumpet, and only a handful of films as masterfully made as The Godfather.”
Beyoncé Is The Gateway Drug To Literature (Yes, Really)
On her recent self-titled surprise album, the queen of pop music references novelist Chimimanda Ngozi Adichie – and that sets off a chain reaction of knowledge.
Writing Historically Accurate Music For ’12 Years A Slave’
“Mr. Britell, who developed the on-screen violin music and spirituals, had a unique set of challenges: being historically accurate to a time period from which no recordings, and little musical documentation of folk traditions, were available.”
What Sticks Around Longer In The Brain – Sight, Sound, Or Touch?
“Their study is the first to show that our ability to remember what we touch is roughly on par with our ability to remember what we see — which should surprise anyone who assumes sight is the most reliable sense.”
Not Even Writers Can Really Justify This Deeply Ingrained Habit
“I had inadvertently revealed my strongest personal compulsion, which is to hoard verbal matter, overheard conversation, stray remarks, stray thoughts, notes, lists, e-mails, gchats, text messages, diaries, notebooks, any and every piece of paper on which something mysterious or funny is written.”
Oscars’ Problem With Historical Dramas
“I don’t mean to sound cynical, but when I look at the films nominated for Best Picture, I can’t help but feel disappointed that such a glittery, bloated event, which costs roughly $38 million to produce, doesn’t have more substance to justify its self-congratulatory pride.”
Women At The Top: Museum Directors Run Majority Of American Museums
“As of 2012, 57 percent of museum directors in the United States are women, according to the American Alliance of Museums. In Washington, about 50 percent of museums and historical sites are now led by women.”
Evidence-Based Philanthropy? I Have A Problem With That
“It’s time to rethink that pesky E word: evidence. Evidence = Observations. The problem is that “evidence” means different things to different people.”
Why Coverage Of That Smashed Ai Wei Wei Vase In Florida Was So Bad
“Stories of vandalism, destruction, forgery, and theft fascinate us because they are such tidy allegories of our relationship to art, a relationship that, at least since the time of the Armory Show, has consisted of a bizarre admixture of suspicion, discomfort, and occult reverence. Today, these attitudes are neatly characterized by the large fortunes that art sometimes commands.”
Metropolitan Opera To Ask Unions To Take Pay Cuts (First Time In 134 Years)
“The cost-cutting move comes after the board of the opera company, with ticket sales faltering, decided that it had reached the limit of its donors’ willingness to cover, year after year, the company’s growing expenses, according to a person familiar with the matter.”
Liverpool’s Famous Everyman Theatre Reopens After £27 Million Makeover (And The City Chops Arts Budget In Half)
“Its rebirth comes as Liverpool City Council plans to cut its culture budget by 50% by 2017, although the council said the Everyman would be protected.”