ties that bind

Tomorrow Belongs to Me: “Freedom’s Call”, Donald Trump and Propaganda
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Tomorrow Belongs to Me: “Freedom’s Call”, Donald Trump and Propaganda

By
 / 7 March 2016
When you see and hear a group of children in star-spangled cheerleader outfits lip-syncing the words “Cowardice! Are you serious?” to an EDM reworking of the 1917 patriotic song “Over There”, that is the moment you should wake up.
When Is Art Beautiful? When Is It Just Boring?
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When Is Art Beautiful? When Is It Just Boring?

By
 / 10 February 2016
To paraphrase art critic Peter Schjeldahl, beauty is a kind of action and reaction between the work and the viewer, or the listener, or the reader. Beauty happens.
Bruce Springsteen, ‘The Ties That Bind’, the Working Class, and Authenticity
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Bruce Springsteen, ‘The Ties That Bind’, the Working Class, and Authenticity

By
 / 4 February 2016
As we use the term today, authenticity allows no truth from art, only from artists. It visits art the way one visits a subway station or an airport: to get to somewhere else.
John Lennon’s ‘Working Class Hero’: Boundaries, Mobility, and Honesty
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John Lennon’s ‘Working Class Hero’: Boundaries, Mobility, and Honesty

By
 / 12 January 2016
The working class song has to speak of boundaries and ambition, but it also has to say where the performer stands among the people, among the classes—or where he thinks he stands, or wants to stand.
‘A Town Called Malice’: What’s Happened to Working-Class Music?
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‘A Town Called Malice’: What’s Happened to Working-Class Music?

By
 / 10 November 2015
Is it possible that the very idea of the working class doesn't exist in popular music today -- as if it's been erased?
Ryan Adams by Taylor Swift: Authoring ‘1989’
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Ryan Adams by Taylor Swift: Authoring ‘1989’

By
 / 13 October 2015
Even if you've never heard Swift's original performances, you're hearing them when you listen to Ryan Adams perform 1989.
“Sound Is Our Weapon”: Protest Music and Black Lives Matter
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“Sound Is Our Weapon”: Protest Music and Black Lives Matter

By
 / 14 September 2015
"Hell You Talmbout" and "Cry No More" are a new kind of protest song that reintroduces traditional minimalism and congregational singing into this contemporary moment.
No Apologies: A Critique of the Rockist v. Poptimist Paradigm
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No Apologies: A Critique of the Rockist v. Poptimist Paradigm

By
 / 10 August 2015
Both rockists and poptimists treat music as not much more than a social commodity, a consumerized product within the spectacle of American capitalism.
The Thunderbolt of Change: ‘Angels in America’ and the Marriage Equality Victory
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The Thunderbolt of Change: ‘Angels in America’ and the Marriage Equality Victory

By
 / 9 July 2015
Complicated, fabulous and deeply progressive, Angels in America may be more pressing and relevant in the time of SCOTUS' decision on marriage equality than it was during the height of the AIDS crises.
A Nightly Ritual: Bob Dylan’s Never-Changing Set List
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A Nightly Ritual: Bob Dylan’s Never-Changing Set List

By
 / 8 June 2015
Bob Dylan's current show is a book musical without the book, crafted by the American Shakespeare.
Spectacle of Empty Gestures: Rihanna’s “American Oxygen”
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Spectacle of Empty Gestures: Rihanna’s “American Oxygen”

By
 / 6 May 2015
The problem isn't that Rihanna's "American Oxygen" fails as political art, it's that we might consider it a success instead of a mere gesture.
Bill O’Reilly’s Rock & Roll Machine
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Bill O’Reilly’s Rock & Roll Machine

By
 / 8 April 2015
Nostalgia has its uses, its benefits. But is it useful and beneficial when it obscures the reality of the past and present, usually in the service of power, prestige, and making a buck?