Or, a rose by any other name So I want to talk about this song, which I called a Beatles song in the title for good old SEO purposes and because everyone is doing it. But I must confess to being somewhat disingenuous. I don’t think of it as a true Beatles song; it’s aContinue reading ““Now and Then,” the last (lost?) Beatles song”
Category Archives: History
Saint-Saëns’ “Danse macabre”: a perennial appreciation
Or, a musical memory Halloween may be past, but All Souls’ Day is the second-best day of the year to discuss Camille Saint-Saëns’ 1875 symphonic poem Danse macabre. Besides, the day one of my grade-school music teachers introduced us to it was twenty years ago either this year or last year. So I’m late anyContinue reading “Saint-Saëns’ “Danse macabre”: a perennial appreciation”
Un viaggio a Milano
In which I give my airport city its turn I have flown into Milan three times now, and the third time I stayed. Granted, all of four days. But four days that went quite a ways toward a sense of the spirit of the city and the people who spend any kind of time there.Continue reading “Un viaggio a Milano”
Inspirations have I none…
All I have is my love of love, and love is not loving. Today my beloved entrée to the land of concept albums, the record whose production quality still bears the standard, the galaxy’s greatest release by a metafictional band, turns 50. Similar to past honorary breakdowns (see here and here), I now break downContinue reading “Inspirations have I none…”
Denial! Betrayal! C. S. Lewis!
Or, the Triduum Well, friends, here we are, in the sweet spot between Good Friday and Easter Sunday, the night of vigils and multiple readings of Scripture. Lifelong literature student and irrevocable cultural Catholic that I am—and having spent much of the past week down with a flu that’s been going around—I’ve seized upon thisContinue reading “Denial! Betrayal! C. S. Lewis!”
Anna Delvey, America’s iCon
Or, stop being so dramatic 🙄 Like much of the world, I was drawn into Shonda Rhimes’ new Netflix series Inventing Anna, which documents the almost unreal rise and fall of ‘fake German heiress’ Anna Sorokin, better known as Anna Delvey, over the mid-to-late-2010s. From boutique hotel rooms to glitzy trips abroad to stolen jets,Continue reading “Anna Delvey, America’s iCon”
News of the Soul: February
I’ve become the in-house reporter for the Berlin arts collective Soul and the City. Check out our first monthly roundup of events, workshops, and things to look forward to here. I took the photos too! (Psst—a certain masterclass with yours truly is featured. 😉) Take care of yourselves this Winterspring, folks! Love—Cecilia
A POD SOUNDS special!
In which we interrupt our regularly scheduled programming This past week on the pod I got my act together (well, the timing was somewhat planned, as we just finished the album portion of season 2) and released an episode I’d recorded back in mid-December. With our first-ever guest. Who isn’t a blood relative! On thisContinue reading “A POD SOUNDS special!”
Have you guys heard of the “Checkers speech”?!
Or, “Show me the money!” It’s been an educational week. Between this oratory byte and the hitherto-unknown exclamation “Great Caesar’s Ghost,” I have realized that I know absolutely nothing about American history, political or pop-cultural. So, as long as I’m back to square one, I thought I’d start it off right! What’s really weird aboutContinue reading “Have you guys heard of the “Checkers speech”?!”
David Bowie at 75
In which I *am* the young American Happy what would be three-quarters of a century to the one and only Starman. Though the ‘man’ part of that portmanteau, I think, belies his enormous contributions to bringing gender weirdness to the fore of the music industry and mainstream media. Hunky Dory has been on heavy rotationContinue reading “David Bowie at 75”