With derivative art invading our cultural spaces like never before, is this the start of a new artistic movement or the death of originality?
In 1951, the science-fiction writer Theodore Sturgeon said 90 per cent of everything is crap. Since then, the percentage hasn’t changed, but the volume sure has.
Digital culture serves up more derivative, unoriginal, and — let’s face it — bad art than we ever got in the old analog world. But why? [Read more →]
Wednesday evening is ‘church night’ for some of us, and you’ll find me attending “The Gathering” at First Prez-Midland each Wednesday night, enjoying a shared meal, fellowship and a variety of activities … sometimes choir practice, sometimes Bible study, sometimes a worship service … and sometimes, an intense discussion of contenders for the title “Best Rock Band” … e-vuh!
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When writers do columns about, say, politics, they might hear from people who disagree with them. The comments might be vehement — even violent. Commenters might sling some digital poo — accuse the writer of being an under-evolved toad or something. But did you ever notice that, no matter how nasty the banter gets, no one ever tells a political columnist he is in error simply for stating his opinion at all? So, why is it that a guy who says what he thinks about matters relating to the arts sometimes gets told he should not? I’ll tell you why: art is incredibly dear to people. [Read more →]
I think Charlie Sheen is making perfect sense, and that from his point of view, from his experience and position in life, he’s entirely correct.
Is that a scary thing?
Bear with me for two reasons: First, I can’t believe that someone, somewhere in the history of philosophical thinking, hasn’t said what I am about to say — but as a guy who cranks out a column a week here and three other pieces per week on his own blog, I’m simply not going to research it and find out. (Please feel free to let me know if I am parroting Descartes or Dr. Phil or something.) Second, I’m going to start with people, in general, and then apply it to the artistic types, so, please be patient, dear reader. [Read more →]
This past Friday night, my girlfriend Cailin went out, so I had our son Jack all alone. I wasn’t wild about the prospect of watching Thomas the Train on repeat, so I thought of things to do. I am devastated that I couldn’t make my friend Rita Marley’s going away/wig out party, but I was thinking that showing up with a raucous, manic, wild(almost)three year old might not be a good idea. Then again, Rita is one of my brother Patrick’s best friends, so it may not have been so bad after all. But I hit the open South Jersey road with Jack, and while he played Angry Birds on my itouch, I thought about a place we could wander around and explore. I was having a comically bad day on Friday, and the place I decided to visit certainly didn’t help matters. I took Jack to the Voorhees Town Center, the shopping destination formerly known as the Echelon Mall. Instead of a fun night out, I wound up depressed over a once glorious shopping mall. [Read more →]
10. “I hope Inception wins for Best Brain Cramp.”
9. “Only three hours to go?! Man, this show is just zippin’ by!”
8. “Best Picture? – Hah! My favorite is Best Sound Mixing!”
7. “What about Sex & the City 2? Or are they just giving prizes for good stuff?”
6. “I never realized that the Oscar is just chocolate wrapped in tinfoil.”
5. “I hope Jeff Bridges wins Best John Wayne Impression.”
4. “Crap! Justin Bieber: Never Say Never won’t be eligible until next year!”
3. “If 127 Hours wins, how’s that guy gonna clap?”
2. “Isn’t Lindsay Lohan up for Best Special Defects?”
1. “I thought The King’s Speech was about that whole ‘I have a dream’ thing.”
Bob Sullivan’s Top Ten Everything appears every Monday.
Charlie Sheen and his poetic fingertips have been the source of great entertainment and speculation over the last several days. His antics have provided a much-needed distraction from events in that other part of the world where all that stuff is happening that I’m not really following anyway because it in no way affects me, and rising gas prices. But now that CBS and Warner Bros. have pulled the plug on the remainder of this season of his show “Two and a Half Men,” things have gotten a lot less funny and a whole lot more serious. After all,
If the show can’t return after this shortened season, it will still have a long life in re-runs and remain a cash cow. Warner Bros. still retains the syndication rights, and the show is watched almost as much in syndication each week as it is in primetime.
“Great would be an understatement,” said one studio insider asked to describe the show’s success, who said the show remains on-track to be a billion-dollar asset for Warner Bros. “This is one of the most successful sitcoms in the history of television.”
I have to admit that I have never watched more than a few minutes of the show. But given the importance of this program to the American economy, it is vitally important that it continue. It “is one of the most successful sitcoms in the history of television.”
It can’t die. Therefore I would like to present some suggestions as to how “Two and a Half Men” can continue its run. [Read more →]
On Sunday, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will present its awards for the year’s “best” cinematic achievements. The Academy Awards is a celebration of success. It’s well worth remembering that for most who live in Hollywood, such success is elusive, and the Academy Awards ceremony offers a distorted view of life in the shadow of the dream factory. The following expose is an unflinching and thought-provoking look at the all-too typical of the experiences of Hollywood denizens.
In a rundown bachelor apartment in Hollywood, there lives a dream. A dream denied and battered, scraping by on memories of might-have-been, at that cold intersection of Loneliness and Possibility, but actually closer to Yucca and Las Palmas, literally speaking. For $750 a month, one man who is the living embodiment of Hollywood watches from his window as the traffic, which is a metaphor for the world at large, passes by.
“They’re heading to Chateau Marmont,” he says, knowingly. His voice is gravelly, with the age that comes from wisdom, of having seen and experienced much in pursuit of that elusive dream of Hollywood fulfillment.
I ask him how he knows this, and he replies, “Because it’s where I’d go, if I had any hope.”
I realized, after rereading my post from last week, that I hate the word “experimental” as it applies to the arts. Done right, all art is experimental. I recognize the need for artists in every discipline to be able to stretch their legs — to try new things. But the thing is, I don’t see art without any boundaries as much of a help in the growth of human expression. An artist who creates only to be different; who creates only to “break the rules” might be making a statement, but I am not sure that statement is as much about art as it is about desperation. [Read more →]
Spider-Man has joined the Fantastic Four. Actually, he’s joined something called “The Future Foundation.” One member of the Fantastic Four, Johnny Storm AKA the Human Torch, was recently “rebooted to the curb.” And, although the Fantastic Four is no longer calling itself “the Fantastic Four,” they still needed “a fourth.” Hence, the inclusion of Spider-Man.
There are a number of disturbing aspects of this story. It is one of cynicism, corporatism, and psychosexual braggadocio. I intend to touch on all of these aspects in the compelling and thought-provoking essay below. [Read more →]
I awoke with a start. A cruel, twisted nightmare had run its course through my synapses, triggering primal fears embedded deep within my psyche. Moments ago I had witnessed the murder of my childhood, the stagnation of any creativity that made residence in my bones. [Read more →]
I was looking for information about the massive national debt expansions proposed by the new budget deficit, which I believe to be one of the most important issues of our time. But so many of the headlines right now are about Lady Gaga. The following was the only reasonable course of action:
Over the years, I’ve fallen in love with Ravel and Debussy’s work and gaped at and then studied their complex, soul-crumpling harmonies; I’ve gone through my progressive rock period and my jazz period (fusion to big band to mainstream) and thankfully escaped sane; I often enjoy playing a Renaissance piece on the guitar; I’ve even dabbled in Gaelic folk music, for Pete’s sake. I’ve learned to appreciate all of the great classical stuff that really doesn’t move me much, just because it has merit supported by years of scholarship. But, in the end, the music I have the most faith in — the music I think has the most potential — is popular music. I still think 95% of it is total crap, mind you, but that doesn’t stop me from believing it is the musical area with the greatest artistic potential. [Read more →]
Sometimes our celebrity brethren need to feel the white hot sting of my bitch-slap o’ advice so badly, I have trouble even typing. This, friends, is one of those times. Our girl crush Scarlett Johansson, who, until very recently, was married to Ryan Reynolds, People Magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive, may be hooking up with — guys, y’all might have to sit down for this – Sean Penn. Ohhhh, it hurts. [Read more →]
Stephen Sondheim has been pretty hot in his 80th year. His book, Finishing the Hat, became available in time for the holidays and I have finally had the chance to read and enjoy. It is a demanding text. What is it? The subtitle tells us: Collected Lyrics (1954-1981) with Attendant Comments, Principles, Heresies, Grudges, Whines and Anecdotes.
There really is nothing worse than having someone tell you how you are supposed to feel, except maybe having someone blow an emotion right down your throat like a horse pill. This is probably why sentimentality in art has become, over the years, such an offensive sin. But the shame of it is, it seems that some artists have confused sentimentality with the mere presence of emotion in art. These people have allowed the fear of being sentimental to sterilize their work. [Read more →]
This week, I am not really digging how I have been feeling lately. I’m in a bit of a rut; at least that’s how it seems. I’m not depressed or anything, but I guess I am down because of the weather, the time of year, and the fact that the Super Bowl featured two teams that weren’t the Philadelphia Eagles. Or maybe my rut is based on the fact that I think my proudest recent accomplishment is that I haven’t eaten a hot dog in nine months. [Read more →]
10. Players unsettled by Brett Favre constantly sexting them
9. Under the mistaken impression there was going to be a fifth quarter
8. Players constantly getting creeped out by their weird-looking mascot, Steely McBeam
7. Never recovered from the disappointment of Christina Aguilera singing “The National Anthem” instead of “Genie in a Bottle”
6. Going in, they didn’t realize it was a contact sport with lots of pushing and shoving
5. Players crestfallen they weren’t up against the Chicago Bears; they really wanted to meet Obama
4. With no cheerleaders, team was unsure whether or not they should “Push ’em back, shove ’em back, way back!”
3. Players were so excited about seeing The Black Eyed Peas, they completely lost their focus
2. Thought, with six games to go, there was still plenty of time to win the series
1. Players creeped out by Rex Ryan constantly texting them asking if they want to play footsie
Bob Sullivan’s Top Ten Everything appears every Monday.
Someone may have pointed this out already, but Citizen Kane is quite good. Every few minutes you get an iconic image, the storytelling’s effortlessly visual, it features rousing sledding sequences, etc. Also, it’s ensured that a majority of American movies will be, even if they aspire to greatness, pretty terrible. For most films are not photographed nearly so nicely as Kane, yet they still utilize at least one of its three poisonous legacies: [Read more →]
