On January 29th I attended a screening of The Lives of Others, a fantastic film about life in East Berlin under the Communism. This Sunday, Lives upset the prohibitive favorite Pan’s Labyrinth to win best foreign language picture at the Oscars. I highly doubt that was indicative of the influence of this blog in Hollywood, but it arguably vindicated the aesthetic judgment of that particular post. (Of course, that was the same tin-eared Academy that gave best song to Inconvenient Truth over Dreamgirls.)
Posts have been going up here for over a year now, and I want to thank everyone who came out to mark that occasion last night. It was great to discuss music and politics with people who take both seriously. I have certainly learned much about both subjects in the course of writing here. Hopefully, others have been hipped to some new things as a result of checking out posts here.
The balance in recent months has probably shifted somewhat in favor of music over politics. That is a logical result of the dreary state of political affairs, nationally and particularly in New York. These things ebb and flow. At least New York is a constant source of rewarding sounds. Tentative upcoming release schedules suggest some great recordings are forthcoming as well, so there is much to look forward to.
Thanks for reading. Again, keep the e-mails coming, particularly the nasty-grams, as those are what my friends always get a good laugh out of them.
