Kelly Clarkson performs on American Idol in 2002. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

by Linda Holmes

If you've been watching things over at NPR Music, you know that they've just posted their list of The Decade's 50 Most Important Recordings. I recently referred to this feature elsewhere as "NPR Music Whacks The Beehive With A Broom Handle." Because nothing makes people angry quite like lists, and trying to pick 50 recordings over 10 years -- five per year, for non-mathematicians -- leads to unavoidable incompleteness and so forth and so on, and then everybody is mad.

But really, what's most interesting about the discussion they're having in the comments is the entire concept of "importance."

Here's how the piece explains importance: "These are the game-changers: records that signaled some sort of shift in the way music is made or sounds, or ones that were especially influential or historically significant." That's about the same way I would explain it.

Note that this description is value-neutral. It has nothing -- nothing -- to do with quality. If I made a recording of myself whanging away on a couple of tin cans with a meat thermometer, and somehow it turned out that this was an untapped market, and I sold five million copies, and lots and lots of other people followed with their own kitchen-implement records, my recording would be important. Influential, historically significant, and -- let's face it -- a game-changer.

It would not, however, be important to every individual person. If you later made a list of the records that were most important not to music, but to you, and you included my Linda Plays The Meat Thermometer on your list, people might quite rightly think less of you. But if you put it on a list of what's most important objectively, nobody could argue.

To put this in the context of the actual discussion going on over there, you need to think of American Idol as many people's equivalent of banging on tin cans with a meat thermometer, and you'll see a great example of the difference between culture as a freestanding, unpredictable product of the hive mind and culture as something that affects you personally.

Controversy swirls, after the jump.

Continue reading "There's 'Important,' And Then There's 'Important': Another Hazard Of Listmaking" >

(iStockphoto.com)

by Linda Holmes

It's an old debate, but it's cropped up again, this time in the context of Sunday night's Mad Men finale: spoiler warnings. Or, I should say, "spoiler" warnings.

After -- seriously -- a commenter expressed irritation that a story titled "Mad Men Postmortem" contained information about the finale of Mad Men, writer Jace Lacob, who writes the blog Televisionary, took a stand.

Lacob argues that anything that has already aired is not a spoiler. Period, end of sentence, thank you very much. If you are seven episodes behind on Mad Men, that is your problem, not his.

This morning, Slashfilm (which, notably, works primarily in movies and not in television) fired back, arguing that there's absolutely no reason you can't warn readers that an essay contains spoilers. All you have to do is throw in a sentence at the beginning that says that there are spoilers. "Really, how difficult is it to just throw up a sentence at the beginning of the post explaining what exactly you'll cover/spoil?"

Well, it's quite difficult, actually. In fact, in every meaningful way, it's completely impossible.

Suppose that I am discussing a new TV show featuring Jay McCarroll, the first-season winner of Project Runway. (There is no such show at the moment; this is a hypothetical.) The only reason he has this hypothetical show is that he won Project Runway. His season of Project Runway finished airing in 2005. It is, however, available on DVD, and there are undoubtedly people who haven't watched it yet and one day will. Can I refer to him as "Project Runway winner Jay McCarroll"? Have I just spoiled the entire first season of Project Runway for people who haven't yet seen it? Have I done so right now?

The bubble and your responsibility to maintain it, after the jump.

Continue reading "The Spoiler Problem (Contains Spoilers)" >

Pirate, skeleton, witch: Tweaking fears of crime, innards, and spells. (iStockphoto.com)

by Linda Holmes

According to this New York Times article, some schools are encouraging kids to dress in positive costumes for Halloween, which means, for instance, "historical characters or delicious food items."

Now, many of the costumes of my childhood were positive. I remember being a blue fairy, and also a nurse, and I'm sure both of those would pass muster. But one memo to parents says costumes can't be "scary." The "not scary" district and the "please come as food or history" district aren't the same, but imagine if you tried to follow both of those guidelines.

What if you are afraid of giant boxes of cereal? That would seem to indicate that the "box of Wheaties" costume referenced later in the article would not suffice. Or what if your "historical character" were, say, Napoleon? Some people would be afraid of Napoleon, and others would not know who Napoleon was, meaning they would assume you were dressed as "angry short military person," and plenty of people would be upset about that. Come as a cat, and you could potentially bother those with allergies. I shudder to think how many costumes would be frightening if you were afraid of mass media or consumerism.

I can certainly understand discouraging axe-murderer costumes. That seems prudent, to say the least. But I would struggle to think of a costume so positive that it could not possibly scare anyone. Come to think of it, the Blue Fairy is a little creepy, and nurses give shots.

Roman Polanski, seen here in 1980, has made films that many now find difficult to watch. (Hulton Archive / Getty Images)

by Marc Hirsh

If this summer's seemingly endless parade of beloved public figures bound for the great beyond earned it the blunt but evocative nickname the Summer Of Death, recent weeks have underlined another pop-culture trend that's far less bittersweet -- but that might help define 2009 nonetheless. Call it the Year Of The Fan's Discomfort.

The latest example, of course, is Sunday's arrest of Roman Polanski, which once again puts the director's past front and center in the public imagination. Before that, former teen star Mackenzie Phillips went on Oprah and told the world that her father, Mamas and the Papas leader John Phillips, had sex with her when she was 19. Earlier in the summer, meanwhile, iconic record producer Phil Spector earned a sentence of 19 years to life -- for murder.

And in each instance, there's a thorny question lurking behind the news reports: "How can I listen to his music, or watch his movies, in light of this?"

Difficult questions, after the jump.

Continue reading "Roman Polanski At The Uncomfortable Intersection Of Art And Life" >

You can't even tell that the new Barbies based on Twilight are involved in a vampire-human romance. Or wait -- is that the point? (Mattel)

by Linda Holmes

So those are the Twilight Barbies that will be released by Mattel on November 1. For a closer look, check after the jump.

Continue reading "Passed Along Without Comment: Are These 'Twilight' Barbies Vampire-ish Enough?" >

by Linda Holmes

NPR, like lots of other organizations, has interns. They work all over the building in all kinds of capacities, many of which -- in the great tradition of being an intern -- are not glamorous. But they also get the opportunity to do their own work and to showcase it.

A lot of them stick around -- former NPR interns include not only scads of people working in production and editing and (again) all kinds of capacities, but on-air personalities like Guy Raz and Ari Shapiro, and even bloggers like Patrick Jarenwattananon, who writes the jazz blog A Blog Supreme.

And today is the day this season's crop of interns released Intern Edition, their 30-minute show that offers a listen to some of their radio work, which is enhanced with photos and video elements in some cases. And a lot of it, though not all of it, has ties to arts and entertainment.

The show features stories on the famous no-pants subway rides conducted by flashmobs; a look at the D.C. Hip-Hop Theatre Festival; a moving essay on why James Baldwin moved to France (which could have fallen right out of This American Life); a multimedia piece on playing bike polo in D.C. (that one is put together really interestingly); a discussion of a perplexing disorder that causes uncontrollable laughing and crying; a nice piece on charitable donations in the checkout line; and a glimpse of Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears as opera fodder (oh, it's real). You can watch it right here (though it's bigger, so the photo stuff is better served, if you go to their site).

Intern Edition Summer 2009 from NPR Interns on Vimeo.

But! Not all of their work is included in the show, and you should make sure to check out all of it -- some is audio, some is writing, and some is neat multimedia stuff.

Even outside the premiere, you'll find an insightful response to David Denby's book Snark, a terrific look at state-fair butter sculptures that warmed my Minnesotan heart, a meticulously researched look at D.C.'s Go-Go music scene, and a very, very funny discussion of battling rats in a New York apartment that, unfortunately, brought back memories of my time in Brooklyn.

Public 'grief' on display: A fan writes on Michael Jackson's memorial wall outside the Staples Center, where tomorrow's memorial service will take place. Gabriel Bouys/AFP/Getty Images

 

by Linda Holmes

This was a Michael Jackson-free zone all of last week, primarily because most of what was happening was not pop culture, but paparazzi culture. Assorted grotesques related to drugs, child custody, and other things best consigned to the dustbin of None Of Our Business were really all that was happening.

Now, inevitably, we have entered the stage of intense public "grieving," just as happened with Princess Diana, and there's no ignoring the fact that the entertainment news cycle over the next two days will be not just dominated but steamrolled by coverage of the memorial service taking place at the Staples Center tomorrow.

It's highly questionable to use the term "memorial service," of course, because a memorial service is not typically attended largely by strangers. Nor is a memorial service typically an event to which you raffle off tickets. Nor is it an event where the ability to attend is greeted by an excited trip straight to your Twitter feed to say, "OMG OMG OMG OMG i got tickets to the michael jackson memorial service!!!"

Dear Michael Jackson: We got tickets to your memorial service. OMG.

Counterfeit grief and the winners of the raffle, after the jump...

Continue reading "The Staples Center & The Strange Spectacle Of Public 'Grief'" >

Robert Pattinson: He knows they're taking this picture, which is what makes it less creepy. Jason Merritt/Getty Images

 

by Linda Holmes

It was more than a little unsettling to read the reports last week about Twilight star Robert Pattinson being clipped by a taxi in New York in an incident that at least some reports attributed to a throng of fans that had tracked him to the filming location of his new movie, Remember Me. (The studio denied it was the fans, but frankly, they would.)

Even if it wasn't the fans who caused Pattinson to be running across the street, it certainly could have been. It's a hallmark of modern fandom to share information about filming locations, and that means people show up. In fact, Alan Ball, who's done several shows and currently works on HBO's True Blood, discussed the problem in the same clip we linked to last week in the context of spoilers.

This behavior is, to say the least, gross. And it's not that hard to be an ethical fan. A few humble suggestions follow.

1. No stalking. Don't assume this applies only to people who like Twilight and the Jonas Brothers. The first expression of concern I remember hearing from someone who was concerned that her fellow fans were going too far in their pursuit of personal contact with actors had to do with The West Wing. You take regular fandom and combine it with high-functioning nerds, and that's a potent combination.

If you know you're not welcome and you show up anyway, and your reason is to try to make personal contact with someone against his or her will -- be it Robert Pattinson or Martin Sheen -- you are being creepy. Don't be creepy. Don't bring cupcakes, don't bring their needlepoint likenesses, don't bring your exposed bosom and a Sharpie. It's creepy.

Photos of the hunted and the proper selection of mortal enemies, after the jump...

Continue reading "Five Humble Suggestions That Will Make You A More Ethical Fan" >

by Linda Holmes

In a roundabout way (by which I mean via Peter Sagal's Twitter feed), I discovered this entirely user-created and absolutely unofficial time-killer in which you discover "Your NPR name." (Hat-tip to Liana and Eric, who seem to have invented the game.)

The rules: Take the first letter of your middle name and insert it anywhere you'd like in your first name. And then your last name is the smallest foreign town you've ever visited. Presto: You too can compete with Korva Coleman, Lakshmi Singh and Mandalit del Barco.

My NPR name? Alinda Castelldefels, which you must admit is awesome. I am absolutely using that next time they let me on the radio.

Hit it, in the comments.

Escapism: As you might expect, there are signs that the times are driving us into the arms of low-stress entertainment. iStockphoto.com

 

by Linda Holmes

There are at least some signs that Cheap And Happy is the most promising trend in entertainment at the moment. It's not the only thing that gets people excited -- witness the great anticipation of the sure-to-be-bleak Battlestar Galactica finale on Friday -- but Cheap And Happy is on a roll.

Take Dancing With The Stars. (Please.) Most shows do not thrive in their eighth seasons. They tend to at least show some signs of age. Instead, this relentlessly upbeat dance/variety show, which has a lot in common with all the relentlessly upbeat variety shows of the past, had its highest-rated premiere ever last week.

Cable is on the rise, choices are expanding, networks are struggling, and...more people than ever are watching the years-old Dancing With The Stars.

Contrast that with the fate of Watchmen, a moderately reviewed film that had a huge opening among eager fans but has failed to capture the attention of the public at large.

Sure, you say, we live in the age of perky reality television; isn't that the story of the last ten years? It might be, but there's one current moneymaker that has its roots in such old-fashioned media that it sure seems like a peek at the national mood.

The surprise moneymaker, after the jump...

Continue reading "The Rise Of Cheap And Happy: Is Recession Escapism Sneaking Up On Us?" >

Charlie Papazian: Homebrewer Charlie Papazian encourages you to relax and enjoy the beverage you make with your own hands. Charlie Papazian

 

by Rob Sachs

Hello Monkey Seers, Rob Sachs here, from What Would Rob Do?

I've decided to leave the good old WWRD blog behind. But never fear: We're trying out a move over here, where I'll be chiming in occasionally on the same sorts of topics.

For my first foray, Linda joined me for a podcast on homebrewing -- you know, making beer at home. And you can hear it right here.

To prepare, I interviewed Charlie Papazian, who pretty much wrote the book on homebrewing.

Charlie says that making beer at home is as simple as boiling ingredients in a pot. I hung out with some homebrewers more recently and learned it's a little more involved than that, but Papazian's overall message rings true: making your own beer isn't as hard as you'd think. In fact, the more I learn about homebrewing, the more I can understand how widespread the hobby has become.

Little known fact, former swimsuit model Kathy Ireland was once a homebrewer. (I called her for an interview, but her manager declined.)

After listening to descriptions of how easy it is, and after seeing how its done, I think I'm going to jump into it. St. Paddy's Day is rapidly approaching, and I think if I get a batch going this weekend, I have a shot at it being ready for the 17th. I'm going to try to make a stout, since I hear those are easy to make.

Besides, if I screw it up, the strong flavor will mask my mistakes.

Don't forget -- if you haven't signed up for the mailing list so you can be apprised of developments here if you (and I realize it's hard to imagine this happening) forget to stop by because you are working or something, the signup is over to the right. See it? I knew you would. If you don't, it's also here.

We're also trying out uses of the Twitter feed, which I took advantage of last night to get all of my random American Idol opinions out of my system in a semi-organized fashion. It's ramping up gradually, currently in periodic use for pointing out noteworthy blog posts or mentioning bizarre happenings that don't need or deserve more than 140 characters. Further updates as events warrant.

Above: The Box Tops sing "The Letter." But you knew that.

by Linda Holmes

Do you occasionally forget to come by? We always miss you, but we understand you're busy. But you'll be thrilled to see, over there to the right -- see it? -- the link to sign up for our newsletter, which will allow you to see what's going on in the event you forget to drop by. If you don't get an NPR account for any other reason, you can use it to get the newsletter, which will give you a daily rundown of what we're up to and keep you thoroughly looped. And then you'll have an account, which you can use for commenting and whatnot, so why not sign up today? I promise not to return too soon to Celebrity Apprentice.

Profanity, angry and otherwise: Is there a time and a place for everything, even if it starts with F? iStockphoto.com

 

by Linda Holmes

Let us unpack the diverse set of issues that have bloomed in the wake of yesterday's story about young McKay Hatch and his crusade against profanity.

Bullying is terrible. Sending $2000 worth of pizza to a kid's house is terrible. Overnight phone calls are awful, death threats are criminal, and trying to get people to join a club and behave differently is not the same thing as censorship. In social settings, people who unleash a string of infuriated profanity at the slightest provocation are profoundly unsettling — though I'd argue that's more because of the fury than because of the profanity.

But here's the thing: There are times, in life and in art, when there's no substitute for "bulls--t." Or "f---." Or whatever other word you want to substitute that requires the use of asterisks. There just ... isn't.

Some examples of colorful profanity, from art and from experience, after the jump ...

Continue reading "The Well-Tempered F-Word" >

Roger Ebert's blistering takedown of what he calls the "CelebCult" delivers a well-earned beating to magazines and web sites supported by what would, without the intervention of cameras and thus "journalism," be easily classifiable as stalking. It's bad for us all, dealing daily in the details of whether Suri Cruise will or will not wear pants. Let us agree on that premise.

But because Ebert has bitten off so much -- the publishing crisis, the AP's 500-word limit on everything from reviews to interviews, celebrity obsessions, the disappearance of critical critics -- the piece is a little bit...all over the place. One of the things he doesn't directly address came roaring to the front of my mind as I perused the Rolling Stone "Hot List" for 2008: I have come to view hotness as the enemy of everything about pop culture that I enjoy. I hate hotness.

Why hotness is a menace, and what it's crowding out, after the jump...

Continue reading "The Hotness Menace" >

The more things change...: "Friends, Romans, countrymen...wocka wocka wocka!" iStockphoto.com

 

by Marc Hirsh

Reuters reports that Monty Python's legendary "Parrot Sketch" draws on many of the same ideas found in a bit from a recently-discovered 4th Century Greek joke book. Of course, back then it wasn't pet birds that were being returned by irate customers but slaves (the Python routine having succumbed to the pressures of political correctness), but the concept was the same. We're not sure why that's news, though. It's long been an open secret that modern comedy is little more than a gloss on the classics. Hard to believe? Check out some more surprising examples:

* Saturday Night Live's "Land Shark" sketch originally involved an errant Charybdis.
* "You might be a minotaur if..."
* Bugs Bunny cartoons borrowed directly from the tales of the Norse trickster god Loki; famed "What's Opera, Doc?" nothing but a word-for-word retelling.
* Diogenes searched Athens in vain for an honest man, paving the way for Jon Stewart.
* Obscure myth of Pythagoras swallowing a bitter poultice to transform temporarily into Narcissus bears eerie similarity to plot of Jerry Lewis's The Nutty Professor.
* Like Steve Martin, ancient Roman gladiators often had arrows through their heads during performances. Also, lions' jaws.
* Penn and Teller's fork-in-the-eye trick pioneered by the Oracle of Delphi, though the splatter no longer used to predict the success of military excursions.
* "Your momma's so cheap, she makes King Leonidas of Sparta look like King Midas of Pessinus."
* The entirety of Jackass cribbed from the little-known Twelve Other Labors Of Hercules.
* "The 39-Year-Old Man" routine debuts to little fanfare in 1 A.D.; remains unsuccessful until Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks get a hold of it much, much later.
* Sisyphus:boulder::Charlie Brown:football. Actually, that one you can pretty much take to the bank.

Blah blah blah: "Please send money, etc. etc. etc." iStockphoto.com

 

It's always extraordinarily hazardous to make a specific attempt to be edgily humorous, especially when you aren't well-positioned to pull it off credibly.

Just ask the fundraisers at Framingham State College, who recently sent out an appeal for donations that included 137 uses of the word "blah." You may have heard the story yesterday on All Things Considered.

How did it happen? Like this: "Today, the fact of the matter is that deserving students need help to finance their education. Blah, blah, blah, blah blah..." And it went on from there, covering the page with "blah blah blah" until the "and so, please send your money here" section at the bottom.

Blah blah blah, after the jump...

Continue reading "Beware Attempts At Edgy Humor" >