FYI: In honÂor of Jazz AppreÂciÂaÂtion Month, VioÂla Davis treats us to a readÂing of Rent ParÂty Jazz, a chilÂdren’s book writÂten by William Miller and illusÂtratÂed by CharÂlotte Riley-Webb. Here’s a quick synÂopÂsis of the stoÂry:
This stoÂry is set in New Orleans in the 1930s. SonÂny and his mothÂer are scrapÂing by to pay their rent. Mama works in a fish canÂning facÂtoÂry, and SonÂny works for the coal man before school each mornÂing. When Mama losÂes her job, they no longer have enough monÂey for the rent and fear that the landÂlord will turn them out. One day SonÂny meets Smilin’ Jack, a jazz musiÂcian who is playÂing his trumÂpet in JackÂson Square. Smilin’ Jack offers to play at a parÂty at Sonny’s house to help raise monÂey for the rent. The neighÂbors all come to sing and dance and before they leave, drop some coins in a buckÂet. SonÂny learns how peoÂple can help one anothÂer “if they put their minds and hearts to it.”
For anyÂone not familÂiar with them, rent parÂties startÂed in Harlem durÂing the 1920s, when jazz musiÂcians would play at a friend’s apartÂment to help them raise enough monÂey to pay the rent. If you hop over to the webÂsite of Yale’s BeiÂnecke Library, you can see a colÂlecÂtion of rent cards that belonged to Langston HughÂes.
Last month, Lawrence LivÂerÂmore NationÂal LabÂoÂraÂtoÂry put on YouTube 200 now-declasÂsiÂfied videos docÂuÂmentÂing AmerÂiÂcan nuclear tests conÂductÂed between 1945 and 1962. AccordÂing the Lab, “around 10,000 of these films sat idle, scatÂtered across the counÂtry in high-secuÂriÂty vaults. Not only were they gathÂerÂing dust, the film mateÂrÂiÂal itself was slowÂly decomÂposÂing, bringÂing the data they conÂtained to the brink of being lost forÂevÂer.”
In the first video above, weapon physiÂcist Greg SprigÂgs disÂcussÂes how a team of experts salÂvaged these decomÂposÂing films, with the hope that they can “proÂvide betÂter data to the post-testÂing-era sciÂenÂtists who use comÂputÂer codes to help cerÂtiÂfy that the aging U.S. nuclear deterÂrent remains safe, secure and effecÂtive.”
If you click the forÂward butÂton, the playlist will skip to the next video, the first of 63 nuclear tests. SevÂerÂal of those clips you can watch below:
OperÂaÂtion HardÂtack
OperÂaÂtion PlumbÂbob
OperÂaÂtion Teapot
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As the co-founders of ImpactÂstoÂry describe it, UnpayÂwall is “an extenÂsion for Chrome and FireÂfox that links you to free full-text as you browse research artiÂcles. Hit a payÂwall? No probÂlem: click the green tab and read it free!”
Their FAQ gets into the mechanÂics a litÂtle more, but here’s the gist of how it works: “When you view a payÂwalled research artiÂcle, UnpayÂwall autoÂmatÂiÂcalÂly looks for a copy in our index of over 10 milÂlion free, legal fullÂtext PDFs. If we find one, click the green tab to read the artiÂcle.”
While many sciÂence pubÂlishÂers put a payÂwall in front of sciÂenÂtifÂic artiÂcles, it’s often the case that these artiÂcles have been pubÂlished elseÂwhere in an open forÂmat. “More and more funÂders and uniÂverÂsiÂties are requirÂing authors to upload copies of their papers to [open] reposÂiÂtoÂries. This has creÂatÂed a deep resource of legal open access papers…” And that’s what UnpayÂwall draws on.
This seems like quite a boon for researchers, jourÂnalÂists, stuÂdents and polÂiÂcyÂmakÂers. You can downÂload the UnpayÂwall extenÂsion for Chrome and FireÂfox, or learn more about the new serÂvice at the UnpayÂwall webÂsite.
If you would like to sign up for Open Culture’s free email newsletÂter, please find it here. It’s a great way to see our new posts, all bunÂdled in one email, each day.
If you would like to supÂport the misÂsion of Open CulÂture, conÂsidÂer makÂing a donaÂtion to our site. It’s hard to rely 100% on ads, and your conÂtriÂbuÂtions will help us conÂtinÂue proÂvidÂing the best free culÂturÂal and eduÂcaÂtionÂal mateÂriÂals to learnÂers everyÂwhere. You can conÂtribute through PayÂPal, PatreÂon, and VenÂmo (@openculture). Thanks!
Uruguayan-French poet Jules Laforgue, one of the young T.S. Eliot’s favorites, pubÂlished his major work, The ImiÂtaÂtion of Our Lady the Moon, in 1886, two years before his untimeÂly death at 27 from tuberÂcuÂloÂsis. It is “a book of poems,” notes WutherÂing ExpecÂtaÂtions, “about clowns who live on the moon… wear black silk skullÂcaps and use danÂdeÂlions as bouÂtonieres.” The PierÂrots in his poems, Laforgue once wrote in a letÂter, “seem to me to have arrived at true wisÂdom” as they conÂtemÂplate themÂselves and their conÂflicts in the light of the moon’s many faces.
I canÂnot help but think of Laforgue when I think of anothÂer artist who, around the same time, began on the othÂer side of the world what is often conÂsidÂered the greatÂest work of his career. The artist, JapanÂese printÂmakÂer TsukioÂka YoshiÂtoshi, also stood astride an old world and a rapidÂly modÂernÂizÂing new one. And his visuÂal rumiÂnaÂtions, though lackÂing Laforgue’s arch comÂeÂdy, beauÂtiÂfulÂly illusÂtrate the same kind of dreamy conÂtemÂplaÂtion, loneÂliÂness, melanÂcholy, and weary resÂigÂnaÂtion. The moon, as Laforgue wrote—a “Cat’s‑eye of bright / RedeemÂing light”—both comÂforts and taunts us: “It comes with the force of a body blow / That the Moon is a place one canÂnot go.”
Yoshitoshi’s prints feaÂture a fixÂaÂtion on the moon’s mysÂterÂies, and a theÂatriÂcal device to aid in the conÂtemÂplaÂtion of its meanÂings: charÂacÂters from ChiÂnese and JapanÂese folkÂlore and heroes from novÂels and plays, all of them staged just after key moments in their stoÂries, in staÂtÂic posÂtures and in silent diaÂlogue with the night. HeavÂiÂly investÂed with litÂerÂary alluÂsions and deeply laden with symÂbolÂism, the 100 prints, writes the Fitzwilliam MuseÂum, “conÂjure a refined poetÂry to give a new twist to traÂdiÂtionÂal subÂjects.”
The porÂtraits, mostÂly soliÂtary, wistÂful, and broodÂing, “penÂeÂtratÂed deepÂer into the psyÂcholÂoÂgy of his subÂjects” than preÂviÂous work in YoshiÂtoshi’s Ukiyo‑e style, one soon to be altered perÂmaÂnentÂly by WestÂern influÂences floodÂing in between the Edo and MeiÂji periÂods. YoshiÂtoshi both incorÂpoÂratÂed and resistÂed this influÂence, using figÂures from KabuÂki and Noh theÂater to repÂreÂsent traÂdiÂtionÂal JapanÂese arts, yet introÂducÂing techÂniques “nevÂer seen before in JapanÂese woodÂblock prints,” writes J. Noel ChiÂapÂpa, breakÂing conÂvenÂtion by “show[ing] peoÂple freely, from all angles,” rather than only in three-quarÂter view, and by using increased realÂism and WestÂern perÂspecÂtives.
YoshiÂtoshi began pubÂlishÂing these prints in 1885, and they proved hugeÂly popÂuÂlar. PeoÂple lined up for new addiÂtions to the series, which ran until 1892, when the artist died after a long strugÂgle with menÂtal illÂness. In these last years, he proÂduced his greatÂest work, which also includes a kabuÂki-style series based on JapanÂese and ChiÂnese ghost stoÂries, New Forms of 36 Ghost StoÂries. “In a Japan that was turnÂing away from its own past,” ChiÂapÂpa writes, YoshiÂtoshi, “almost sinÂgle-handÂedÂly manÂaged to push the traÂdiÂtionÂal JapanÂese woodÂblock print to a new levÂel, before it effecÂtiveÂly died with him.
His tumulÂtuous career, after very sucÂcessÂful beginÂnings, had fallÂen into disÂreÂpair and he had been pubÂlishÂing illusÂtraÂtions for senÂsaÂtionÂalÂist newsÂpaÂpers, an erotÂic porÂtrait series of famous courÂteÂsans, and macabre prints of vioÂlence and cruÂelÂty. These preÂocÂcuÂpaÂtions become comÂpleteÂly stylÂized and psyÂcholÂoÂgized in his final works, espeÂcialÂly in One HunÂdred Aspects of the Moon, an extraÂorÂdiÂnary series of prints. View them all, with short descripÂtions of each subÂject, here, or at the Ronin Gallery, who proÂvide inforÂmaÂtion on the size and conÂdiÂtion of each of its prints and allow viewÂers to zoom in on every detail. The images have also been pubÂlishished in a 2003 book, One HunÂdred Aspects of the Moon: JapanÂese WoodÂblock Prints by YoshiÂtoshi.
While it cerÂtainÂly helps to underÂstand the litÂerÂary and culÂturÂal conÂtext of each print in the series, it is not necÂesÂsary for an appreÂciÂaÂtion of their exquisÂite visuÂal poetÂry. PerÂhaps the artist’s memoÂrÂiÂal poem after his death at age 53 proÂvides us with a masÂter key for viewÂing his One HunÂdred Aspects of the Moon.
holdÂing back the night with increasÂing brilÂliance the sumÂmer moon
“Movies haven’t always looked like they do now,” says host Craig BenÂzine (betÂter known as the YoutuÂber WheezyÂWaitÂer) in the trailÂer above. “There was a real long process to figÂure out what they… were. Were they specÂtaÂcles? DocÂuÂmenÂtaries? Short films? If so, how short? Long films?
If so, how long? Is black and white betÂter than colÂor? Should sound be the indusÂtry stanÂdard? And where should we make them?” And even though we’ve now seen over a cenÂtuÂry of develÂopÂment in cinÂeÂma, those issues still seem up for grabs — some of them more than ever.
In the first episode, BenÂzine dives right into his search for the source of the powÂer of movies, “one of the most influÂenÂtial forms of mass comÂmuÂniÂcaÂtion the world has ever known,” a “uniÂverÂsal lanÂguage that lets us tell stoÂries about our colÂlecÂtive hopes and fears, to make sense of the world around us and the peoÂple around us.” To do so, he must begin with the invenÂtion of film — the actuÂal image-capÂturÂing celÂluÂloid subÂstance that made cinÂeÂma posÂsiÂble — and then goes even farÂther back in time to the very first movÂing images, “illuÂsions” in their day, and the surÂprisÂing qualÂiÂties of human visuÂal perÂcepÂtion they exploitÂed.
All this might seem a far cry from the specÂtaÂcles you’d see at the mulÂtiÂplex today, but Crash Course Film HisÂtoÂry (which comes from the same folks who gave us A Crash Course in EngÂlish LitÂerÂaÂture and A Crash Course in World HisÂtoÂry) assures us that both of them exist on the same specÂtrum — the ride along that specÂtrum being the stoÂry of movies. It will last sixÂteen weeks, after which Crash Course and PBS DigÂiÂtal StuÂdios will conÂtinÂue their colÂlabÂoÂraÂtive exploÂration of film with a course on proÂducÂtion folÂlowed by a course on critÂiÂcism. Take all three and you’ll no doubt come out impressed not just by the size of the creÂative space into which film has expandÂed, but also by how much it has yet to touch.
Note: There are a couÂple brief not-safe-for-work moments in this film.
PatronÂizÂing, ponÂderÂous, well-meanÂing, self-aggranÂdizÂing, incoÂherÂent… young artists are subÂjectÂed to a lot of unsoÂlicitÂed advice, and not just from their parÂents.
But what hapÂpens when a young artist activeÂly seeks it out?
Her resulÂtant short film, above, appears to be the work of a deliriÂousÂly aggro inner child, one with a keen bullÂshit meter and an anarÂchic sense of humor.
The pulÂsatÂing reproÂducÂtive organs aren’t entireÂly inapÂproÂpriÂate. LisÂten to Eliasson’s full interÂview to hear him equate makÂing art with makÂing the world. Now that’s the sort of advice that will put a young artist to work!
Some of the more genÂerÂous advice:
Build a good name, keep your name clean, don’t make comÂproÂmisÂes, don’t worÂry about makÂing a bunch of monÂey or being sucÂcessÂful.
Don’t be embarÂrassed about what excites you.
If you are doing someÂthing weird that everyÂbody hates, that might be someÂthing worth lookÂing into and worth invesÂtiÂgatÂing.
Make your own way in the world. Wrap up warm. Eat propÂerÂly, senÂsiÂbly. Don’t smoke and phone your mom.
We love imagÂinÂing the sort of unfetÂtered advice ShuhÂman will one day be in a posiÂtion to disÂpense.
You can see some of her post gradÂuÂaÂtion illusÂtraÂtion work on her Flickr page.
I’ll be honÂest, for a long time when I thought of Frank SinaÂtra, I thought of MarÂiÂlyn MonÂroe, ratÂpack films, and the Olive GarÂden. That is, until I lived for a short time near The Bronx’s Arthur Avenue, the best LitÂtle Italy in New York. SinaÂtra poured from the speakÂers of ItalÂian eaterÂies and cigÂar and pasÂtry shops. It draÂmatÂiÂcalÂly increased the qualÂiÂty of my pleasÂant assoÂciÂaÂtions with his music. Still, I rarely lisÂtened very closeÂly. I can’t entireÂly blame pop culÂture for turnÂing him into backÂground music—it hapÂpens to nearÂly every major star. But overuse of his voice as accomÂpaÂniÂment to olive oil, cigÂars, and marÂtiÂnis has perÂhaps made us tune him out too often.
TreatÂing SinaÂtra as mood music would not have sat well with some of the singers many of us grew up idolÂizÂing from a young age, like Paul McCartÂney and David Bowie, who both found his work forÂmaÂtive. McCartÂney thought so highÂly of it, he sent SinaÂtra one of his earÂliÂest comÂpoÂsiÂtions, an off-kilÂter lounge croonÂer called “SuiÂcide” that he wrote at the age of 14. (Hear an unreÂleased recordÂing below.)
“I thought it was quite a good one,” he rememÂbered, “but apparÂentÂly [SinaÂtra] thought I was takÂing the mickÂey out of him and he rejectÂed it.”
Bowie, in 1977, wrote what he expressÂly intendÂed as a parÂoÂdy of Sinatra—“Life on Mars.” But the stoÂry is even stranger than that. He specifÂiÂcalÂly tried to “take the mickÂey” out of Sinatra’s “My Way,” a song credÂitÂed to Paul Anka that just hapÂpens to have first been writÂten, with difÂferÂent lyrics, by Bowie, as “Even a Fool Learns to Love” in 1968 (hear Bowie sing it above). “Life on Mars,” one of the most beauÂtiÂfulÂly melodÂic songs in all of pop music, with one of Bowie’s best vocal perÂforÂmances, shows how much the Thin White Duke owed to Ole Blue Eyes.
These are just two of hunÂdreds of male singers whose melodies have takÂen up immorÂtal resÂiÂdence in our brains and who owe a tremenÂdous debt to Frank SinaÂtra. In addiÂtion to his keen melodÂic senÂsiÂbilÂiÂty, SinaÂtra also set a high bar with his techÂnique. In the video at the top of the post from 1965, we see the conÂsumÂmate artist record “It Was a Very Good Year” in the stuÂdio, while smokÂing a cigÂaÂrette and casuÂalÂly sipÂping what may be cofÂfee from a paper cup in his othÂer hand.
At one point, he stops and banÂters with the engiÂneer, askÂing him to stop for any “P popÂping,” the exploÂsive sound resultÂing from singers putting too much force into their “p” sounds and disÂtortÂing the microÂphone. NowaÂdays everyÂone uses what’s called a “pop filÂter” to catch these bursts of air, but SinaÂtra doesn’t have one, or seem to need one. “I don’t thump,” he tells the recordÂing engiÂneer, “I’m a sneaky P popÂper.” Indeed. One comÂmenter on YouTube pointÂed out Sinatra’s graceÂful mic techÂnique:
Notice how he turned his head when he sang “it poured sweet and clear” to avoid the spike on the P. In fact, he backed away from the mic just a bit for that whole last verse because he was singing much stronger for the last stateÂment of the song. Think about it… this was a live stuÂdio recordÂing. One take. No overÂdubs, No added tracks. Just pure talÂent. The only thing the sound engiÂneers had to do was adjust the eq levÂels a bit and that’s it. This is what you hear on the album. You’d be hard pressed to find ANYONE who could do that today.
Most vocal perÂforÂmances get recordÂed in booths, and cerÂtainÂly not in big open rooms with an orchesÂtra and no headÂphones. Some singers learn to hanÂdle a microÂphone well. Many do not. Audio comÂpresÂsion supÂplies the dynamÂics, perÂforÂmances get processed digÂiÂtalÂly and editÂed togethÂer from sevÂerÂal takes. Young proÂducÂers often wonÂder how peoÂple made great soundÂing records before improveÂments like pop filÂters, isoÂlatÂing monÂiÂtorÂing sysÂtems, or softÂware that allow a nearÂly infiÂnite numÂber of corÂrecÂtive techÂniques. The answer: perÂhaps many of these things aren’t always improveÂments, but props. As SinaÂtra shows us in this footage, great sound in the stuÂdio came from the proÂfesÂsionÂalÂism and attenÂtive techÂnique of artists and engiÂneers who got it right at the source.
This weekÂend, YouTube is live streamÂing CoachelÂla 2017, which will feaÂture perÂforÂmances by Lady Gaga, Kendrick Lamar, RadioÂhead, Lorde, Bon Iver, New Order and more.
To watch the shows, you can tune into three chanÂnels throughÂout the weekÂend, plus a Live 360 chanÂnel for select perÂforÂmances. The chanÂnels all appear below. And furÂther down the page, you can find the schedÂule for the entire weekÂend. Enjoy!
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