People say the funniest things. In the latest Lefsetz Letter, Bob Lefsetz, incredulous at how little play the new Antony & the Johnsons disc has gotten in the US, wonders: Are Europeans just that more sophisticated, or does radio suck just that badly in the U.S? I can’t speculate on the first part of the question, although I have some
Read moreVerily, we have arrived at the end of all culture. Perhaps predictably, the culprit is technology. Or, to be a bit more specific, the culprit is Microsoft, which has now infused the art of songwriting with the same kind of magic and warmth you’ve come to expect from Excel. Microsoft is pitching software designed for you, no musical training required.
Read moreIn this season’s eighth episode, Boston Legal – the relentlessly liberal ABC dramedy starring William Shatner and James Spader – lobbed an absolute bomb at those of us on the pro-choice side of the Roe v. Wade question. The bunker-buster was posed, predictably enough, by Crane Poole & Schmitt’s resident conservative, the gleefully Republican Denny Crane, portrayed by Shatner. BL
Read moreDon Tapscott has some radical new ideas about education. Here’s a sampling (as related by ReadWriteWeb): “…the age of learning through the memorization of facts and figures is coming to an end. Instead, students should be taught to think creatively and better understand the knowledge that’s available online.” “…Google, Wikipedia, and other online libraries means that rote memorization is no
Read moreIn the past I’ve written about a variety of generational issues, and have often focused on the Millennials. At times I’ve been construed as dogging them pretty hard. As I’ve tried to explain, my criticisms of them (for being entitled, for lacking critical thinking skills, etc.) haven’t really been criticisms of them, per se – a cohort that’s 75-100 million
Read moreIt has been alleged that Scholars & Rogues is not, strictly speaking, a political blog. Sure, we write about overtly political issues and devote our share of time to things like media policy, energy and the environment, business and the economy, and international dynamics. Yes, we were credentialed to cover the DNC, but we don’t really do hard, insider, by
Read moreHappy Thanksgiving from all of us here at S&R. Today we invite those of you reading (and really, don’t you have anything better to do?) to tell us what you’re thankful about. I’ll go first. While I have much to be thankful for – a wonderful wife, the coolest dog alive, etc. – I find myself really appreciating the fact
Read morePart two in a series. There’s a rising tide on the rivers of blood But if the answer isn’t violence, neither is your silence – Pop Will Eat Itself, “Ich Bin Ein Auslander” When all is said and done, nothing communicates the racism and knee-buckling stupidity of all-too-wide swaths of our nation quite like video. So if you don’t trust
Read morePart one in a series. Listen to the victim, abused by the system The basis is racist, you know that we must face this In 1991 Pop Will Eat Itself produced one of the most damning comments on racism in society in the history of popular music. “Ich Bin Ein Auslander” was specifically aimed at anti-immigrant racism in Europe, but
Read moreFew events in recent memory have inflamed the American imagination quite like the murder of JonBenet Ramsey. More to the point, it’s hard to recall a case where passion and profound ignorance of the facts came together in such an explosive mass media cocktail. Ramsey’s death remains unsolved, but how many dollars has it generated for the nation’s “press”? When
Read moreA couple weeks I go I offered up part one in a series on poetry vs. lyrics, noting from firsthand experience the differences between the two. In brief, I’ve always felt like it was wrong to call rock stars poets – even if their words are fantastic, as they often are, the very nature of bending words to suit a
Read moreLast night we watched the Final Cut of Blade Runner again, and if you don’t have this package I can’t recommend it highly enough. 25 years on, Ridley Scott was able to finally re-craft the film as he wanted it originally, and the result is a stunning achievement. Scott has been one of our greatest directors for a very long
Read moreReach out and touch me now Aphrodite said You aren’t the only one with armies in your head We’re fond of calling our great rock stars poets. Dylan is a poet. Springsteen is a poet. John Lennon was a poet. Jim Morrison (*gag*) was a poet. And so on. Certainly the first three (have) produced some marvelous words, but as
Read moreScholars & Rogues is looking forward to meeting as many DNC attendees as possible – we aren’t the official hosts of the convention, but a lot of us live here in Denver and we’re excited about the prospect of introducing you to our town. We’re also pretty excited that Lime, one of the greatest restaurants in a town full of
Read moreDenver is an interesting city for Italian food. On the one hand, we don’t really have a lot of very good options, which is odd for a city this size (and for a city with as strong an Italian heritage as we have). On the other hand, what we lack in quantity we make up for in quality. So let
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lullaby pit 