I don't normally go for gotchas based on political candidates'
rambling improvisations. But this one is hard to ignore: when Herman Cain
appeared on Piers Morgan this week,
he first told Morgan that he's opposed to abortion in all circumstances.
I'm a big fan of The
Conversation, the New York Times online
feature in which Gail Collins and David Brooks have a casual chat. I think the
appeal is supposed to be that the two are reasonable, amicable and witty
columnists who clearly like each other a lot. That's all nice, but what I enjoy is the palpable pleasure the
hilarious Collins takes in needling the less intentionally hilarious Brooks.
Last week, Faith in Public
Life asked Rick Santorum if he agrees with the Catholic teaching that public
policy should include a "preferential option for the poor." He appeared to be
unfamiliar with the concept.
The McGarrigle sisters (Kate died of sarcoma last year) were more successful in their native Canada than in the States, but they were deeply admired by those who covered their songs: Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt, Maria Muldaur, Kate's son Rufus Wainwright.
While it's hard to imagine many pop artists signing up to
write a song cycle based on the history of classical music, for
Amos—whom Deutsche Grammophon approached with this idea—the project
seems almost inevitable.
This year's Sundance festival featured several films
offering unflattering portrayals of evangelical Christianity. Alison Willmore raises a good question
about independent cinema.
The usually pejorative term slowcore was coined to describe Low's general minimalism and especially the glacial pace at which the Duluth, Minnesota, trio's songs develop. But patient listeners have always been rewarded with warm guitar sounds, memorable tunes and sweet harmony.
Today the Supreme Court is set to hear arguments for Hosanna-Tabor v
EEOC, a major case about church exemptions to employment laws.
Wendy Kaminer offers a helpful introduction.
Earlier this year, NPR's All Songs Considered solicited Ryan Lott, aka Son Lux, for an experiment: could he write and record an album in one month? Lott agreed.
