Doug Jones’s victory and a new play drawing on Nina Simone’s songs illustrate the opportunities and challenges we face in 2018.
Music
Posted inWorking in America
Silk Roadblock
Yo-Yo Ma’s celebrated project for global understanding through music runs into Donald Trump’s sour note.
Posted inBooks, Arts and Culture
In the Age of Trump, Resistance Requires Creativity
As the political class in Washington, D.C., struggles to carve a path of resistance to the incoming Trump administration, artists are leading the way. Institutional players in liberal politics should pay attention.
Posted inBooks, Arts and Culture
Half of Prince’s $300 Million Estate Could Be Taxed. That’s a Good Thing.
The late pop star eschewed tax-dodging chicanery and will still leave a sizable fortune to his heirs—as well as to the taxpayers who helped him succeed.
Posted inBooks, Arts and Culture
David Bowie, Media Economist
How Bowie’s predictions of the digital media revolution reshaped music, books, and journalism.Â
Posted inBooks, Arts and Culture
Frank Sinatra, America’s Definitive Voice
An immigrant’s kid gave our Songbook eternal life.Â
Posted inBooks, Arts and Culture
Still Missing New Orleans
When Europe lost the home of Mozart to war, America rebuilt it. When the U.S. lost the home of jazz to flood, it sold it to private speculators.
Posted inBooks, Arts and Culture
The Evolving Politics of Punk in the Nation’s Capital
Retrospective projects like the library’s new Punk Archive uncover D.C.’s radical past, but the scene remains at the center of the struggle for inclusion and human rights.
Posted inBooks, Arts and Culture
North Charleston Murder Stems from American Tradition
Posted by guest-blogger Adele M. Stan An unarmed man shot in the back. An innocent man released after serving 30 years on death row. The centennial of Billie Holiday’s birth. These are the stories that emanated from my radio yesterday, and all bear a common thread: the devaluing of black life. The biggest news, of […]
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Judging Candidates By Their Fake Musical Tastes
This is how you do it right. (White House photo by Pete Souza) The first rule an aspiring writer learns in any fiction workshop is, “Don’t tell me, show me.” You can’t create compelling characters just by saying, “Bob was mean” or “Alice was generous.” You have to show it, through the the things those […]
