Andy Warhol is known for his print screens of Marilyn Monroe and Campbell’s Soup cans, but the 1960s pop artist actually started his career illustrating novel covers and books of poetry.
The Morgan Library & Museum’s exhibition, Warhol By the Book— which wrapped up this weekend — chronicled the artist’s early career as an art student in the 1950s through the 1980s by presenting a collection of all different kinds of books associated with him, from a high school psychology textbook filled with sloppy scribbles, to books that he himself authored like The Philosophy of Andy Warhol, POPism, and The Andy Warhol Diaries, along with everything in between.
Fans of the California-based electronica duo Blaqk Audio have waited over three years for a new album, but the frustration and impatience finally broke on April 15 when the band released Material, its third studio album.
Although not heavily advertised, fans who kept a close eye on the band online learned that was streaming on Pandora in its entirety a whole week before it was available for purchase, which was very good news for those who have played Blaqk Audio’s last two albums to death.
Nihilism is usually a word thrown around by philosophy students who have read too much Albert Camus. But lately, it’s been the source of internet entertainment for a number of memers.
Existential nihilism, a branch of nihilism that states that human existence is devoid of all meaning and value, is supplying the internet with a seemingly endless amount of jokes about “staring into the abyss” — an allusion to Nietzsche’s infamous quote “And if you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you,” — and about death being the only escape.Continue reading →
The New York Pops tunes up before the show. Photo: Stephanie Kotsikonas
The New York Pops concluded the final concert of its 2015-2016 season on April 8 at Carnegie Hall with a program celebrating the music of John Williams, the infamous film score composer whose soundtracks of films like Star Wars, Jaws and Close Encounters of the Third Kind have solidified him as one of the most well-known film composers of our time.
According to a February 25, 2016 Public Policy Polling survey, 38% of Floridians are either unsure or believe that Republican Presidential candidate Ted Cruz is the Zodiac Killer, the California serial killer who claimed to have murdered 37 people in the late 1960s and early 70s.
Though many usually only envision its outdoor incarnation at the mention of the well-known food event, Smorgasburg carries on even during the winter season. From November to March, the 40 food stands and 100 Brooklyn Flea market vendors move indoors for the Winter Market. This year, the weekend market operated out of an old warehouse in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.
Constantly rewinding. Praying that the thin brown, reflective ream holding your favorite album doesn’t get caught in and pulled by the spokes of your boombox. Having to deal with the wonky sounds that came from over-playing.
Listening to cassettes was nothing short of nerve wracking in the decades before CD’s or iTunes. So, whennewsoutlets around the globe like Bloomberg report that cassette sales are “back and better than ever,” it’s hard to believe music consumers would take a daunting trip back in time when there are more convenient and accessible options available to them.
Photographer Steve McCurry has been dazzling viewers with his iconic photographs for over 30 years, producing some of the most recognizable images of the 20th century. Now until April 4 New Yorkers can catch a glimpse of McCurry’s work at the Rubin Museum of Art.
McCurry is best known for his image, “Afghan Girl,” which appeared on the June 1985 issue of National Geographic, and for his extensive use of Kodak’s Kodachrome film. He has spent most of his career covering armed conflicts around the world and bringing breathtaking images back with him.
The photographs featured in Steve McCurry: India were taken over decades of visits. He first traveled to India as a freelance photographer. According to his National Geographic biography page, his trip to India taught him how to watch and wait: “If you wait,” he said, “people will forget your camera and the soul will drift up into view.”
Pantelis Pantelidis onstage, with a mountain of audience-thrown flowers. From www.mixanitouxronou.gr
Greek music fans are still shocked at the sudden death of Pantelis Pantelidis, the 32-year-old singer-songwriter who died in a car crash on the morning of February 18. But his death marked much more than a tragic end for a young and talented performer — it signified a prominent loss in the rare music industry commodity of Greek singer-songwriters.
Since the early 20th century, the creative business model used in the music world has remained largely unchanged: lyricists and composers wrote songs they sold to well-known singers to perform and record. Many artists hardly ever had any part in process of musical composition, and composers’ songs never succeeded as well without major name recognition behind them. The voice of a great singer and the compositions of an exceptional songwriter were soon found to be the perfect formula for a successful record.
Pantelidis was one of the rare exceptions to the rule — which makes his death so devastating to the music world.
For over 30 years, The Smiths have been the voice of angsty and lonely teenagers looking for somewhere to belong. And while lead singer Morrissey’s lyrics touch on a spectrum of different topics–from Oscar Wilde to the evils of meat-eating–the most recurring subject in both his solo work and The Smiths’ discography is love, and not always the happy kind.
Morrissey’s infamously lovelorn lyrics usually delve into the darker aspects of the phenomenon, which is perhaps why some may think The Bell House’s Smiths-themed Valentine’s Day concert doesn’t make much sense. Nevertheless, Brooklynites have the opportunity to listen to Smiths tribute band Sons & Heirs perform the group’s tragic tunes of lost love in an effort to make the love-centric holiday more tolerable — or perhaps to just simply appreciate some well crafted lyrics and sharp melodies.
As a lyricist, Morrissey is known for his biting, honest, and relatable lines. Even the most romantically successful and charming have no doubt shed a tear or two during “I Know It’s Over”:
If you’re so funny,
Then why are you on your own tonight?
And if you’re so clever,
Then why are you on your own tonight?
If you’re so very entertaining,
Then why are you on your own tonight?
If you’re so very good-looking,
Why do you sleep alone tonight?
“How Soon is Now?” declares “I am human and I need to be loved just like everybody else does,” while “Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me” assures:
Last night I dreamt
That somebody loved me
No hope, no harm
Just another false alarm
Morrissey’s great humor that often permeates his lyrics can’t be ignored, though. To haphazardly categorize all Smiths songs as “sad” or “depressing” would be missing the point, and would paint the group as something that they simply are not. In their most well-known song, “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out,” Morrissey famously sings, “And if a double-decker bus crashes into us, to die by your side would be a heavenly way to die.” “Shoplifters of the World Unite” jokingly encourages kleptomaniacs to grab whatever they can get their hands on, and “Vicar in a Tutu” tells the tale of, well, a vicar who has a habit of wearing tutus.
Still, it’s not hard to imagine a room full of singles at Brooklyn’s Bell House connecting to lyrics like, “Love is just a miserable lie,” and “I am human and I need to be loved just like everybody else does.” While there is always a fine line between making ourselves feel worse and comforting ourselves when we decide to put on a sad song, it seems that more often than not, we have to get more upset in order to feel better.
So next time you find one of your friends moping around over Valentine’s Day, send them a Smith’s playlist and hand them a box of Kleenex. Though it would probably be a good idea to sprinkle in a few lighter tunes just to keep them even.
Here’s a list of some of my favorite Smiths songs, made up of both the funny and the dark:
