If you’ve ever been required to sit through a excruciatingly boring lecture by a self-important professor, it’s easy to understand why the mere mention of the word itself—lecture—might trigger a negative reaction, or even sheer terror. If you’ve ever been required to attend a mind-numbing, time-wasting conference by your employer, it’s easy to understand why the suggestion of attending such an event could cause unease, at the very least.

So when I stumbled upon TEDTalks a while ago, I was surprised by what I discovered: lectures that were intriguing, insightful and inspiring. Could this really be possible? These few clips must have been anomalies, I thought, rare standouts plucked from hundreds or more of the aforementioned variety. But over time, as I watched new and newly discovered selections, TEDTalks—videos of lectures given at annual conferences put on by TED (which stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design)—rarely failed to deliver, even when the subject matter seemed a bit outside my typical interest zone.

TED, a nonprofit, has a simple but noble mission: “Spreading ideas.” And it does so through a well-designed, fun-to-explore site (along with a YouTube presence). The themes of the engaging and thought-provoking talks are wide-ranging, from arts, culture and entertainment to technology, science and a host of global issues. The styles, backgrounds and expertise of the speakers are equally diverse. TEDTalks, as a result, is fairly addicting (and healthy) Internet fare, especially considering what’s on the rest of the menu.

With TED2010 only a few weeks away, The Madness of Art presents its Top 10 TEDTalks—most of which deal with the topic of creativity (in some way) and its powerful effects. So, in the spirit of TED, here are some ideas I thought were worth spreading. Read more…

“A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldy cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul.”—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

“Don’t think. Thinking is the enemy of creativity. It’s self-conscious, and anything self-conscious is lousy. You can’t try to do things. You simply must do things.”—Ray Bradbury

The long-awaited Spike Jonze-directed Where the Wild Things Are arrived in theaters on Friday, and the film—based on the beloved 1963 book by author and illustrator Maurice Sendak—topped the domestic box office over the weekend, grossing an estimated $32.5 million from 3,735 theaters, according to Variety.

Just like the classic children’s book, which won Sendak the Caldecott Medal, the PG-rated movie’s appeal extends far beyond contemporaries of its main character: those over the age of 18 comprised 43 percent of the audience this weekend, while families accounted for a mere 27 percent. While I’ve yet to see Where the Wild Things Are, it will likely get me to a movie theater for the first time in about two years. (So there’s no misunderstanding, I love movies and watch a lot of them, but I simply prefer to do so from the comfort of my couch with conveniences of home, i.e., wine.)

Obviously, Where the Wild Things Are is one of the hottest topics on the Web in recent weeks. More importantly, the book and the movie both seem to inspire creativity, awakening that sense of pure imagination that resides within all of us.

So, The Madness of Art offers this roundup of all things wild. Read more…

Next week, as highlighted in a previous post, Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova’s follow-up to Once—the indie musical that became 2007’s surprise hit (both the film and its soundtrack)—will finally be released after a fair amount of buzz and anticipation.

Fans, and there are many now following these once-obscure musicians turned Oscar winners, don’t have to wait until October 27 to hear the dozen tracks that comprise the duo’s new album, Strict Joy. NPR Music—arguably the best, all-encompassing music site on the Web, featuring live concerts, studio sessions, interviews, profiles, and more—is now offering an “Exclusive First Listen” of the entire album by The Swell Season (the duo’s post-Once moniker) until its official release. Read more…

“Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music.”—Sergei Rachmaninov

Rob Gibson, executive and artistic director of the Savannah Music Festival, announced earlier this evening the lineup for the 2010 edition of the two-week, multi-venue musical celebration in March, and it’s arguably the most impressive, and diverse, roster of artists yet in the festival’s eight years.

After attending my first Savannah Music Festival last year—five concerts in about ten days (mostly of the classical music variety) that surpassed even my exceedingly high expectations—I didn’t think it could get much better. Until tonight’s lineup announcement, which will likely result in a severely depleted bank account by tomorrow afternoon (tickets go on sale Friday morning). But, as the 2009 experience demonstrated, it’s worth every penny. Read more…

“You’d like to be able to go to work and have everything be smooth, but there’s some weird artistic gene in some of us. It can feel like a curse, because it makes you push yourself to make things better and not allow them to be easy. That’s how you get the good stuff.”—Eddie Vedder

Music is, of course, one of the great forms of artistic expression. Music also influences, to some degree, the creation of all kinds of other art, inspiring artists across a variety of disciplines, including writers, painter, filmmakers, and other creative souls.

With that in mind, The Madness of Art introduces a new feature: “Listen Up!” Located in the right sidebar, between “Exhibit A” and “Hot Topics,” “Listen Up!” will feature a new song each week, so be sure to check back regularly to check out the latest musical selection. To browse the archive and hear previous picks, click on the link below the player. There is no rigid criteria to guide the selection of songs—just great music, new and old, that hopefully inspires a bit of creativity.

“In writing songs I’ve learned as much from Cezanne as I have from Woody Guthrie.”—Bob Dylan