They had a big falling out in 1962. But that was all over Brahms. When it came to Bach, things were more harmonious. So let’s rewind the videotape to 1960. Glenn Gould performs with Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic, playing (if I have this right) J. S. Bach’s Keyboard Concerto in d minor BWV 1052. Enjoy…
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A Young Glenn Gould Plays Bach
Bernstein Breaks Down Beethoven
Lance Lund, a professor at Anoka-Ramsey Community College, prepared this promotional video for cable TV. It never aired.
This was too good to pass up. This week’s celebration of John Lennon’s life unearthed a priceless picture of The Beatles preparing to take their iconic walk across Abbey Road. One detail worth pointing out: Sir Paul has yet to kick off his shoes.
Although taken back in 1969, tourists still flock to the same crosswalk today, hoping to snap a quick imitative photo before a car races by. You can watch the sometimes hair-raising action on this great live webcam provided by Abbey Road Studios. There’s obviously more to see during daylight hours in the UK. Thanks to Kottke for flagging this…
Beatles Box Sale: Just a heads up. We noticed that Amazon.com has deeply discounted the remastered Beatles Box Sets. The Stereo Box Set now goes for $126.32 for 14 discs, and the Mono Box Set runs $129.99 for 12 discs. Respectively, that’s 51% and 57% off list price, and it’s right in time for the holiday season…
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In early 1920, Robert Wiene premiered in Berlin his silent film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Ever since, critics have lavished praise upon Caligari, calling it a model of German expressionist film, the greatest horror film of early cinema, and an important influence on directors later working in the film noir tradition. And, what’s more (spoiler alert), Wiene’s film introduced the ‘twist ending’ to cinema. Today, you can watch this groundbreaking film in its entirety above, download it from the Internet Archive, or find it permanently listed in our ever-growing collection of Free Movies. Thanks to Melissa for the good find…
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Frankenstein Hits the Silver Screen (1910)
You can’t dabble in the world of philosophy very long without encountering John Searle. One of America’s most respected philosophers, Searle did important work on “speech act” theory during the 1960s, then later turned to consciousness and artificial intelligence, out of which came his famous “Chinese room” thought experiment. Searle has taught philosophy at UC-Berkeley since 1959, and, until recently, his courses were only available to matriculated students. But this fall semester, the good folks at Berkeley recorded three courses taught by Searle, and made them available online. We have added them to the Philosophy section of our big collection of Free Online Courses. Or, you can simply access the courses below, using your computer or your smart phone.
Note: All of these courses can also be accessed on YouTube (in audio format) using this big playlist.
On December 8, 1980, the New England Patriots-Miami Dolphins game was winding down, the end of another Monday Night Football game. Then, Howard Cosell, America’s legendary sportscaster, broke the news to unsuspecting viewers: “An unspeakable tragedy confirmed to us by ABC News in New York City: John Lennon, outside of his apartment building on the West Side of New York City, the most famous, perhaps, of all of The Beatles, shot twice in the back, rushed to Roosevelt Hospital, dead on arrival.” Soon enough, more formal news reports followed on the BBC and ABC’s Nightline, and you can still hear what New Yorkers heard on the radio the night the music died. Howard Cosell interviewed John Lennon on Monday Night Football back in 1974. Revisit the short conversation right here.
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John Lennon Sings Buddy Holly
John Lennon (and Yoko Ono) on the Dick Cavett Show
I Met the Walrus: An Animated Short Film with John Lennon
Ryan Woodward has worked on the art direction of many big name Hollywood films – Ironman 2, Spiderman 2 & 3, The Iron Giant, the list goes on. But he had an idea for a short animated film, a love story expressed through dance, and it led to a fruitful collaboration with dance choreographer Kori Wakamatsu. This short, behind-the-scenes film documents their artistic collaboration, revealing everything that went into making Thought of You, the 2D animated film featured above.
The 92nd Street Y, a cultural pillar of New York City, has released from its audio archive another little gem – Saul Bellow reading from his 1975 novel Humboldt’s Gift, which won the 1976 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and contributed to Bellow’s Nobel Prize in Literature.
Bellow’s reading (access it via iTunes, RSS, or the mp3 player below) runs 11 minutes, and it sits nicely alongside two other 92nd Street Y recordings – Truman Capote reading from Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1963) and William Carlos Williams reading selected poems in 1954. We featured both items in our popular post, 45 Great Cultural Icons Revisited.
Tor Even Mathisen shot these three minutes of timelapse beauty with a Canon EOS 5D mark II. Equally beautiful is this still-frame shot. Many thanks to @Eugenephoto for sending this our way…
Beatles Box Sale: Just a heads up. We noticed that Amazon.com has deeply discounted the remastered Beatles Box Sets. The Stereo Box Set now goes for $126.32 for 14 discs, and the Mono Box Set runs $129.99 for 12 discs. Respectively, that’s 51% and 57% off list price, and it’s right in time for the holiday season…
This morning, Google officially opened up the new Google eBookstore, which gives consumers access to three million ebooks, including many free classics. Taking a page out of Amazon’s playbook, Google now lets you purchase books at competitive ebook prices and read them across multiple platforms – meaning you can start reading a novel on your computer’s web browser, then seamlessly switch to the iPad, Kindle, or smartphone. And the content will stay in sync, all in the cloud. (Get instructions and apps here.) Another plus: you’re not forced to buy books from just Google. The new bookstore is open to independent booksellers and retail partners, which gives these smaller players a chance to play (and perhaps even thrive) in the ebook market. You can get more information on the new bookstore on the Google Books blog, and don’t miss our Free eBooks collection, which comes packed with many classics.
Note: the Google eBookstore is currently limited to the US market.
Last year, Dave Brubeck’s jazz standard, Take Five, turned 50 years old. (Watch his 1961 performance above.) And, today, the artist celebrates his 90th birthday. Throughout his 80s, Brubeck continued to perform across the US (we have him playing Take Five at the Montreal Jazz Festival just last year) and onward he plans to go — although his touring was recently halted by pacemaker surgery. To commemorate his birthday, Turner Classic Movies will premiere tonight In His Own Sweet Way, a documentary revisiting Brubeck’s life and music. And NPR’s Fresh Air has re-aired a 1999 interview where (in addition to his music) Brubeck talks about his early days on a California cattle ranch, and his first love: rodeo roping. The conversation runs 34 minutes. You can listen right here.
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