How many musicians have worked with both Dr. Dre and Michael Jackson? Madonna and Björk? George Clinton and Ben Folds? Colin Wolfe spans the musical spectrum as a player, writer, and producer. And he’s spending nearly a month as an Artist-In-Residence at UNCSA, culminating in a performance at Moogfest 2017. …
Covers and the Transformative Power of Art
Today it was announced that Bob Dylan won the Nobel Prize in literature. Last weekend, Taylor Mac performed A 24-Decade History of Popular Music, in which he sang his version of Dylan’s A Hard Rain A-Gonna Fall, a response to the Stonewall Riots and their place in American history and culture. Next …
The Miraverse: A Salon for the 21st Century
We are proud and fortunate to have created the inspiring space that is Manifold Recording. But we always envisioned achieving something more than what we can do for artists, engineers, and producers. We believe that there is a larger public sphere that is curious, excited, and even ravenous for new …
Renaissance Weekend speech texts
As we have in the past, our family participated in Renaissance Weekend in Charleston, South Carolina. It is a wonderful opportunity to share ideas we’ve been developing and to learn from many, many people whose perspectives are truly global. This year I was invited to share some remarks as part …
The importance of art education
Last week the church I attend highlighted The Arena Culture, an editorial by David Brooks which considers a new book All Things Shining. David Brooks writes: For the past hundred years or so, we have lived in a secular age. That does not mean that people aren’t religious. It means …
Glee? Not for me…
Last month after the buzz reached a fever pitch, I finally sat down to watch an episode of Glee. I have not watched it since, but I have been thinking about why not. I came across this blog posting, which begins: The fictional high school chorus at the center of …
Listening To Music
It may seem a radical notion, but Eddie’s Attic in Decatur, Georgia is a live music venue that actually encourages audiences to listen to music instead of talking over it.
Authenticity without Originality?
A new article in the New York Times poses a question by way of a quotation: can there be authenticity without originality?
Filling a Real Need
The artcile Is There an Ecological Unconscious? in the January 31 2010 Sunday New York Times Magazine probes a deep psychological question, examining solastalgia and soliphilia along the way. Both are rooted in the Latin solacium (comfort), but one riffs on nostalgia (which connects to the Greek root –algia (pain …
The conservative (and generous) economics of Wendell Berry
Wendell Berry has become one of my heroes. His writings and ideas are among the most penetrating I have encountered in any living author, and he has a wonderful and luminous presence. He was featured on the Diane Rehm show earlier this year, and that conversation was selected for re-broadcast …