February 2009

It’ll be difficult to watch the Oscars tonight with even the slightest bit of respect. When the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced its nominees last month, Bruce Springsteen’s “The Wrestler” failed to make the cut in the “Best Original Song” category—thereby undermining the credibility of the entire selection process.

Not nominating the song, which won the Golden Globe, is inexplicable. Simple and raw, emotive and powerful, Springsteen managed to capture the spirit and essence of the film in a way none of the nominated songs do. Not only is “The Wrestler” the best song written for a movie in 2008, but it is arguably the best song of the year.

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Supporters of the arts received good news late Friday when the Senate voted 60 to 38 in favor of a $787 billion economic stimulus bill following a 246-183 House vote earlier in the day. The bill included $50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts, which seemed to be in serious jeopardy mid-week. Read more…

“You can’t give up something you really believe in for financial reasons. If you die by the roadside—so be it. But at least you know you’ve tried. Ten minutes in the music scene was the equal of one hundred years outside of it.”—Robert Plant

Critics of the economic stimulus plan (read: impotent Republicans in Congress) have, throughout the debate over the size and scope of the package, cherry-picked various programs—ones, of course, that they don’t like or that run counter to their ideology—as evidence of “pork.” And in some cases, both in the House and especially in the Senate, Democrats have caved, stripping billions of dollars from the package in the name of bipartisanship, despite the obvious ways in which these programs would have played important roles in moving this country forward during tough economic times. Read more…

It’s official. The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival—an annual four-day, multi-stage musical “experience” held on a 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tenn., since 2002—is the place to be this summer.

The festival, set for June 11-14, unveiled its 2009 lineup this week—and, somewhat miraculously, it doesn’t disappoint, despite all the pre-announcement anticipation and expectations that has been building since last year’s event. Some are already calling it the best Roo lineup ever. It’s hard to disagree with that assessment, especially with a reunited Phish (two shows) and Bruce Springsteen—the best two live bands, arguably, of all time (in my experience, at least, and the reason I’ve seen both multiple times)—headlining the megafestival. Here’s what else has me buying Bonnaroo tickets, for the first time, this Saturday at noon: Rodrigo y Gabriela, MGMT, Ben Harper, TV on the Radio, David Byrne, Beastie Boys, Wilco—just to name a few.

And then there’s that “many more acts to be announced” teaser. Here’s my wishlist (even though some performed at Roo last year, I wasn’t there!): Pearl Jam, Vampire Weekend, Coldplay, The Killers, Modest Mouse, The Dead, Damien Rice, Kings of Leon…

Who would you like to see added to the lineup?