‘I wanted Kid ’n Play but the studio said, “Who are these guys?” I replied, “They’ve got platinum records.” I had no idea if they did’
Black music videos weren’t played on MTV in the late 80s. So while I was still at Harvard, I’d make music videos in my head. One day, while listening to Bad Boy/Having a Party by Luther Vandross, I thought: “This could be a great music video or movie.” And I sat down that night and wrote a script for a short film that ended up not only being made but shown at festivals and becoming a big hit in the world of student films. Spike Lee’s She’s Gotta Have It had piqued interest in up-and-coming black film-makers. New Line Cinema saw my short and brought me in for a meeting. I pitched an expanded version of my idea and they said: “Let’s do it.”
Musicians, theater groups and others from overseas are facing visa challenges and rising costs, posing a looming crisis for the performing arts sector.
Tinariwen canceled an American tour when the Trump administration announced travel restrictions on 19 countries, including Mali, where most of its members are from.
A composer and pianist as well, he was a prolific recording artist who integrated jazz, classical and world music traditions in a career that spanned seven decades.
Mr. Towner in about 1976. He took up the guitar after seeing a fellow student playing a Bach piece on it. He later moved to Vienna, where he studied with a renowned Austrian guitarist and teacher.
Dragging his hand across the piano keys, Nick Cave leaps into the air and charges towards the crowd like a preacher breaking from the pulpit. “Bring your spirit down!” he cries repeatedly, arms flung wide as the choir roars behind him.
It’s barely 10 minutes into their set at Fremantle Park in Perth, and Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds have the audience in the palm of their hands. Touring their 2024 album Wild God in Australia for the first time, they open with the brooding track Frogs and the eponymous Wild God, an explosive crescendo of high-pitched strings, soaring vocals and pounding percussion.
The former heptathlete throws shapes to Cameo and got gold-medal inspiration from Whitney, but which rapper helps get her out of bed?
The first song I fell in love with
I was at nursery school when Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen was the song of the moment. I remember seeing the video on Top of the Pops, which is chilling at first, but epic when it gets to the big guitar break.
The first single I bought
My mum had this little record player that used to keep me very entertained, so I got her to buy me Ring My Bell by Anita Ward for my birthday or Christmas, from a record shop in Wolverhampton.
Rhoda Levine in 1995 at a rehearsal for her production of Hindemith’s “Mathis Der Maler” at New York City Opera. She was acclaimed for clear, straightforward stagings of classics, rarities and new works.
Peshawar is a haven for Afghan artists who fled from the Taliban, which had banned music. A new policy of deportations by Pakistan threatens this community of exiles.
A sign in an entryway to the parking garage of the Kennedy Center. Since the board voted to change the center’s name to include that of President Trump, black tape has begun to cover up signage that has the old name.
Apple Music a mis en ligne la bande-annonce pour mettre en avant Bad Buddy qui assurera le show de la mi-temps du Super Bowl 2026. Cela aura lieu dans la nuit du 8 au 9 février en France. Bad Bunny pour la mi-temps du Super Bowl 2026 Il faut savoir qu’Apple Music est le sponsor […]
Apple Music a mis en ligne la bande-annonce pour mettre en avant Bad Buddy qui assurera le show de la mi-temps du Super Bowl 2026. Cela aura lieu dans la nuit du 8 au 9 février en France. Bad Bunny pour la mi-temps du Super Bowl 2026 Il faut savoir qu’Apple Music est le sponsor […]
In the week that we mourn the death of the Guardian’s long-serving classical music critic, composers, performers, colleagues and others who knew and worked with him pay tribute to a writer whose passing is a huge loss to the music world
I owe Andrew Clements big time. He wrote so positively about my music early in my career and the last article he wrote was singling out my opera Festen for special praise. He did seem to go off me a bit in mid career but he was such a serious and thoughtful critic that I often agreed with him. I got to know him very well in the late 90s as he was the partner of the librettist and translator Amanda Holden. He had such a broad knowledge of music and a great enthusiasm for new music which he wrote and spoke about with such warmth and humour. We spent many evenings in Highbury talking about Stravinsky, politics and Arsenal football club – he cared about the most important things in life. Mark-Anthony Turnage, composer
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