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Archive for the ‘Arts’ Category

Seven Brides For Seven Brothers

Posted in Arts, tagged , , on May 20, 2013 |

Saw this live once at a community theater performance and loved it.  Still love the movie–fantastic dancing.  And the humor in this musical is just excellent.


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“Music Box Dancer” on Hammered Dulcimer

Posted in Arts, tagged , on May 13, 2013 |

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“Dominique”

Posted in Arts, tagged , on May 6, 2013 |

I still think this is catchy and sweet as all get out.

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“Besame Mucho”

Posted in Arts, tagged , , , on April 15, 2013 |

I’ve watched this whole concert many times.  Beautiful.  And it doesn’t hurt that it was in my neck of the woods!

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“On Broadway”

Posted in Arts, tagged , , , on April 8, 2013 |

Still one of the coolest, catchiest songs ever.




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Classic Simpsons Essays

Posted in Arts, Humor, tagged , , on April 1, 2013 |

I’ve been enjoying Nathan Rabin’s loving analyses of classic Simpsons episodes over at the AV Club.  Right now he’s in the middle of season 5, and his musings are making me realize that that one might be the best season overall.  Just wall to wall perfection.  Looking forward to more of these.

From yesterday’s brilliant summary of “Bart Gets An Elephant:”

Later, Bill and Marty, the premiere chatter-monkeys of KBBL, face down their greatest threat in the form of DJ 3000, a computer that plays CDs and boasts three different kinds of inane chatter and consequently represents a grave challenge to their jobs after the gabby twosome end up in hot water with management when Bart shocks everyone by taking the crazy gag gift offered in a radio contest (a free elephant) rather than ten thousand dollars.

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Gene Kelly’s Dancing

Posted in Arts, tagged , , on March 25, 2013 |

I don’t know much about dance as an art form.  Despite some effort, I still can’t get into ballet, for example.

But I love watching Gene Kelly dance.  I love how totally he controls every aspect of form and movement.  He must be aware of every muscle in his body, and his work is perfectly balanced–unlike any other dancer I can think of, his dancing is both graceful and macho.

Yes, macho, in the sense of forceful and aggressive.  But his aggression is still restrained by suave control.  But the control is so relaxed!

So Gene Kelly’s work is a mobius strip of awesomeness; the best of all worlds.  A true gentle man.

Case in point: An American in Paris is not a great movie–the plot is thin and so are the characters.  But this movie is a joy to watch because it lets Kelly’s dancing show off!

Just watch:

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Bela Fleck & Chick Corea

Posted in Arts, tagged , , , , on March 18, 2013 |

I didn’t even know that these two had teamed up to record together until I heard an ad for a show they’re doing next week at the Smith Center here in Las Vegas.  Here’s a couple tracks from the album they’re touring for:

 

 

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“No One Is To Blame”

Posted in Arts, tagged , , on March 18, 2013 |

Decent 80′s track; excellent live acoustic performance.

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Art and Societal Renewal

Posted in Arts, Politics and Society, tagged , , , , , on March 16, 2013 |

James F. Cooper, in the last chapter of his Knights of the Brush: The Hudson River School and the Moral Landscape, says this of the role of art in renewing our society’s disoriented moral compass:

A revolution of beauty, truth, and goodness requires leadership from all parts of society–parents, educators, politicians, business people.   Solutions for the crisis in contemporary culture cannot be successfully addressed only by looking to the past.  We must use language that speaks directly to the people of today.  We must create public and private spaces that invite worship, civility, education, virtue, love, and fidelity.  

Cooper then mentions two fascinating historical precedents for what he envisions.  First,

The emperor Augustus dramatically revitalized the faltering Roman Empire, beset by internal chaos and civil strife, by embarking on an ambitious “cultural program.”  Refurbishing old temples, creating beautiful new works of civic architecture and public sculpture, he found a way to express the longing of the Romans for the virtues of the past.  

Also:

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The Time Machine

Posted in Arts, tagged , , , on February 18, 2013 |

I saw the 2002 version of The Time Machine over the weekend.  Talk about plot holes!

  • The Eloi learned English from a small collection of stone signs?  You can’t decode a foreign language from the names of stores and bridges.  How would they know the sounds, much less the grammar?
  • One of the signs uses Elizabethan verbs like “abideth,” but the Eloi don’t talk like that.  Why not, if that’s how they learned English?
  • None of the Eloi wonder about the time traveler’s skin, even though they’re all caramel-colored and he’s as white as chalk.  If anything, they should have assumed he was a Morlock.
  • After 800,000 years, the Eloi are still completely the same as humans now.  Especially considering the massive environmental disasters shown in the film between today and then, why haven’t they evolved more?  Meanwhile, some Morlocks evolved psychic powers?
  • Though not really a plot hole, I have to wonder: with all the great special effects in the film (the broken moon is awesome), why not use more of H.G. Wells’ original ending, where the time traveler goes ahead and watches the gradual death of earth as the sun goes out?  That could have been beautiful!

 

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“Foggy Mountain Breakdown”

Posted in Arts, tagged , , , , on February 18, 2013 |

So apparently Steve Martin plays a pretty mean banjo.

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“She Was The Prize”

Posted in Arts, tagged , , , , on February 11, 2013 |

My vote for most romantic song ever:

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Paintings With Purpose

Posted in Arts, tagged , , , , , on February 4, 2013 |

 

“A nation’s leaders must be constantly reminded by artists and intellectuals not to mistake political correctness for eternal truths.  In the absence of a genuine aesthetic, spiritual, and moral culture, the vision of the people will be shaped by the prevailing political ideology….Americans who yearn for renewal must understand that real and lasting change begins within the minds and imaginations of gifted artists of all disciplines.  They in turn need a cultural milieu that welcomes subtlety and beauty of thought and form….

“The influence of even the most powerful government is dwarfed by the influence of great art, literature, architecture, music, and drama to give shape and meaning to the world we inhabit.”

–James F. Cooper, Knights of the Brush: The Hudson River School and the Moral Landscape

 

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Words and Music 2

Posted in Arts, Living well, tagged , , , on February 1, 2013 |

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