THE LISTENERS STRIKE BACK

From the desk of James Reel on Friday, December 30th 2005 at 8:20

    Just checking in long enough to point you to an amusing (from our distant perspective) article from the Chicago Tribune:

    Hell hath no fury like that of a scorned National Public Radio fan--especially in Detroit, where listeners angry over recent programming changes have gone to court, charging the city's ...

HIATUS

From the desk of James Reel on Friday, December 23rd 2005 at 8:56

    I’m taking the next week and a half off from KUAT, and may or may not blog during that period. In-laws are descending upon us, and since these are people I actually like, I want to devote some time to them. With luck, I can get my remaining work-related ...

COYOTE CAROL

From the desk of James Reel on Friday, December 23rd 2005 at 8:55

    A few years ago I heard a pack of coyotes howling on Christmas Eve, and was pleased to think of them as wild carolers, going wash to bosque with their own seasonal greetings. But what, exactly, would coyotes, good pagans all, sing about at this time of year? Here’s ...

CHILDREN OF THE CORN

From the desk of James Reel on Thursday, December 22nd 2005 at 7:15

    My contribution to the current Tucson Weekly:

    Kevin Johnson, the man who has produced local performances of such socially deviant musicals as Assassins (about president-killers) and Ruthless! (about a little girl who tries to murder her way to stage stardom), wants to get his clutches on your children.
    Yes, as ...

MEME OF FOUR

From the desk of James Reel on Tuesday, December 20th 2005 at 8:57

    Every so often, a “meme” infects the blogosphere; bloggers provide personal responses to a list that's floating around, with one blogger often tagging another to keep the meme going. Our Girl in Chicago has effectively tagged everyone, so I have no choice but to participate.

WHAT CLASSICAL RADIO CRISIS?

From the desk of James Reel on Monday, December 19th 2005 at 7:37

    The Hartford Courant is running an interesting article surveying the wide availability of classical music (not just wall-to-wall Vivaldi) on the Connecticut airwaves, and wondering why people are wringing their hands about the sad state of classical radio.

SHEPHERDS AND ZANIES

From the desk of James Reel on Thursday, December 15th 2005 at 7:06

    Two new plays opened in Tucson last weekend. Well, actually, they’re old plays, with a twist. First is Borderlands Theater’s annual update of the old Latin American pastorela, which somehow in the Tucson Weekly editing process got turned into “pastorella”:

    So you walk into this family theater show ...

LEARNING TO SAY "MAYBE LATER"

From the desk of James Reel on Wednesday, December 14th 2005 at 8:10

    When bloggers blog about being too busy to blog, I wonder why they didn’t take the time instead to blog about something other than not blogging. But now I understand; I feel that I owe you an explanation of why my blogging is so spotty these days. (Sorry; that sounds like a medical problem.)

SEALED FOR YOUR PROTECTION

From the desk of James Reel on Monday, December 12th 2005 at 7:53

    Claims for the “Mozart Effect” aside, classical music doesn’t make you less stupid, but stupid people are ignorant of classical music. Here’s the latest evidence that complete idiots and asses are in charge.

REVIEW: TUCSON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA/GEORGE HANSON

From the desk of James Reel on Friday, December 9th 2005 at 8:46

    Shakespeare has provided great fodder for composers over the past couple of centuries. The plays’ passions are strong, the plots and characters familiar, and they easily translate into highly effective music in the grand Romantic manner, music that can tell a tale even without benefit of Shakespeare’s words.
    Not all efforts to transform Shakespeare into music are equally successful, though, and last night’s Tucson Symphony Orchestra concert under George Hanson began a bit weakly, gathering strength piece by piece.

HANK AND THE VIRGIN

From the desk of James Reel on Thursday, December 8th 2005 at 9:32

    Two items of mine darken the pages of the latest Tucson Weekly. First, Arizona Theatre Company does a fine job with a script that should have been better:

What's cookin' at Arizona Theatre Company is a good lookin' revue called Hank Williams: Lost Highway. Well designed, acted and sung ...

WHORES AMOK

From the desk of James Reel on Thursday, December 8th 2005 at 9:30

    Why are so many Hollywood movies predictable? Because marketing experts conduct preview-audience surveys asking whether or not the viewers like the ending, among other things; if the test audience doesn’t get the ending it wants, the movie gets reshot. Why are so many clone novels being published? Because manuscripts ...

EVER AFTER

From the desk of James Reel on Tuesday, December 6th 2005 at 7:58

    I like a novel that, once nestled in my hands, throws open its cover and shouts, "Honey, I'm home!" I like a confident, grand entrance, a first sentence that announces itself with a flourish, takes charge, shakes up the place.

OLD WINE, NEW BOTTLES

From the desk of James Reel on Monday, December 5th 2005 at 7:37

    RCA is reissuing many of its old Living Stereo recordings in high-resolution SACD format, sounding better than ever (even better than the original LPs—no surface noise). I review several of the latest items in the latest issue of Fanfare; two of the reviews are online. Of Artur Rubinstein’s ...

WEIRDNESS IN A MINT BOX

From the desk of James Reel on Friday, December 2nd 2005 at 7:53

    Altoids, the curiously strong breath-mint company, held a contest inviting people to devise imaginative re-uses of what the Brits, in their quaint variant of our language, call the “tin.” The top winner, Jon R. Lennon, has pulled in $1,000 for his design of an Altoids theremin, in this case an electronic instrument that produces changing pitches depending on the amount of light it senses.

FROM THE LOFT

From the desk of James Reel on Friday, December 2nd 2005 at 7:45

    UA organ prof Pamela Decker is performing at Holsclaw Hall tonight. Here’s an interview I did with her for the latest issue of Fanfare, along with reviews of her two latest recordings of her own music.

CANTOR OF THE OPERA

From the desk of James Reel on Thursday, December 1st 2005 at 8:28

For a change, I’m writing about music in the current Tucson Weekly.