Month: October 2013

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Things That Need to Die Before British Culture Can Move Forwards.

Things That Need to Die Before British Culture Can Move Forwards.

Excellent.  Just, excellent.

“Let’s face it: British culture is in a weird place right now. Teenagers are buying their drugs on the internet, but getting their clothes from Hollister. Hardbody MCs are beefing with each other about the merits of Ed Sheeran and Mail Online’s Sidebar of Shame is a cultural staple on which careers are born and killed. A lot of people can’t get their heads around this. We’ve done modernity and everyone’s sick to death of the term “post-modernity”, so what the fuck do we call the moment we’re living in right now? And, more importantly, does it suck?”

Banksy Plays the Violin

The Hipping Post

Banksy

Earlier this year, I read an article about Joshua Bell, a violinist who played at a Washington D.C. subway station during the morning rush hour. Unlike most buskers, this musician was one of the most accomplished virtuosos in the world. Three nights before, Joshua Bell played in Boston’s Symphony Hall for patrons who paid over $100 a ticket. And the instrument he played? A violin from 1713, handcrafted by Antonio Stradivari, that cost Bell $3.5 million.

You would expect that one of the best musicians on the planet to garner some attention. But during his 43 minutes of playing time, only seven people stopped to listen, and he earned a total of $32.17.

This experiment, the brainchild of The Washington Post, raises all sorts of questions, including: Can we appreciate beauty in unfamiliar settings? Are we able to recognize talent without signposts? And how do we know when we…

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